What's Your Hardest Mission in de?

[Asophix 98]

Right now I've been grinding the Sands of Time campaigns from left to right, and there were some sweaty missions. So far the recorder is the Trail of the Falcon M5 (its name is Safety on the Cliffs or similar).

Basically you start on a cliff with some modest iron deposits, which has one snaking way down to a cache of stone and some oasis. The best thing is that your enemies are all on one team: 5 Nomads & 2 Kahinahs, one of whom is placed on the same land as you, while the others can reach you through a ford. And oh boy is this mission a doozy!

It's Crusader mode, and the enemies rush you with hundreds of units from minute 3 or so, literally printing units on the back of their unhindered economies. Such insane pressure I never have experienced in any Crusader game: the Nomads literally bang their heads over and over again, and if you don't get a defense up in time, they will chew through your pitiful barricades. The Kahinahs aren't that bad, but they send heavier units that can be backbreaking.

What worked for me:

Spoiler

I deleted and re-siting the stockpile near the oasis, then I walled off that area while building a little cramped between farms and quarries. The insane gold income allowed me to rely on Arabian bowmen and Slingers, backed by a few Crossbowmen and Healers to fend off the limitless shooting gallery, with the Heavy Camels camped outside that I got by playing a Bedouin lord. Eventually I accumulated a large number of Horse Archers and cheesed the Nomads' spike traps with Demolishers; the Kahinahs also met the same fate on the way.

Even with enemies gradually weakened and swept from the way, the flood of Skirmishers and other trash troops took a number of my reinforcements, which was really annoying to deal with. 😄

What were really big challenges for you all throughout the campaigns?