AoE 2: DE: Hard: Attila the Hun 5) The Catalaunian Fields

The Catalaunian Fields is the 5th scenario of the Attila the Hun campaign, with the objective to destroy the Romans, Alans, and Visigoths. Make no mistake, this is a brutal scenario, it's quite a step up in difficulty from the previous missions. Regardless, in terms of consistency for a strategy, it's probably best to strike at the Alans or the Visigoths first and put them out of the game or severely cripple them before turning to the other enemy you didn't defeat and eliminating them quicker before the Romans can eliminate your ally (the Ostrogoths), so you can take on the Romans with a 2v1 advantage towards the end of the scenario. If you're really good with your micro and your abilities, you can go for the Romans first and then eliminate the other two weaker enemies later, but you have to make sure to micromanage your army effectively and with few losses, lest your defeat be swift. All three enemies will start building a castle at the start of the scenario within the first minute of the game, so it's critical to launch an attack immediately before they can get any defences up. You can attack and eliminate either Alans or the Visigoths with the initial army, provided you stop their castle from being completed. In the meantime, you'll want to build a town center where you are as well as a stable and archer range to start producing knights and cavalry archers to send over as reinforcements to your initial army. Once the town center is up, you'll need a market, stables, archery range, university, blacksmith, siege workshop and a castle and try to age up to the Imperial age as fast as possible. You should build another town center or two as well when you get the chance as you need villagers for getting your economy and buildings up rather quickly. Reinforce your initial attack with cavalry and cavalry archers and finish off the first enemy and then double back to your base. You'll want to start attacking the Alans/Visigoths and just harass them while you wait for your Imperial age to come through. Next, get your blacksmith upgrades (blast furnace, etc), university upgrades (ballistics, chemistry), a few siege weapons and more archery ranges and stables and start mass producing units and get aggressive with the second enemy. In your spare time you should build some walls as defence, another castle (if you have the stone), get some trade going and build more town centers across the map to gain map control and access to resources. Resources are abundant and everywhere, so you should have no shortage of any resource late into the game. From here, keep attacking and pressing the second enemy, using your army to counter the enemy army while your siege weapons strike their military buildings and then the town center. That should be two enemies down. With the Romans going aggressive on your ally, get your army together (better have halberdiers) and start by bailing out your ally, who has copped an absolute bashing. I recommend attacking from the south as your ally can attack from the east and act as a temporary distraction while you rush in and try to deal damage. Siege weapons or tarkens are a must and they must be taking down military buildings and castles or you won't break down their defences. Keep throwing everything at them and build forward bases and castles to make progress. Eventually, they will fall and resign, and you'll cry sighs of relief as you finally get the victory you've deserved. Your enemies will field: Alans (Cyan): Have a small town north with a few Visigoth Men-at-Arms near their Town Center. They do not start with any Castle but will build one immediately when the scenario begins. They train Cavalry Archers, Knights, and Mangonels. They will not advance to the Imperial Age. Visigoths (Green): They reside at the southwestern part of the map with some Men-at-Arms and Pikemen and are the closest enemy to the player's starting area. They make only infantry, rams, and occasionally Petards and trebuchets once they advance to the Imperial age. They start with no Castles, but will build up to 2 Castles soon, and will build Barracks near the player's territory after they reach the Imperial Age. Western Roman Empire (Blue): They are the strongest opponent. They attack with Centurions, Legionaries, Heavy Scorpions, Trebuchets, Petards, and sometimes Cavaliers. Though their town is not walled, they build several defensive Castles and towers and will replace them when they get destroyed. They may also build Barracks near the player's territory. Against all three enemies, cavalry archers and knights/tarkens will be the backbone of your army but when facing the romans, you must add in halberdiers otherwise their centurions will run riot against and end your miserable existence. Add in siege where possible (rams, trebuchets) but with enough tarkens you can do without them.