Act II "Ice" - Mission 5: "The Great Lakes" — "Age Of Empires III" Campaign Guide

Mission 5: “The Great Lakes”

Travelling to the Great Lakes, John and Kanyenke learn from Washington of Warwick’s rogue status as a British General and are promised help in the form of Washington’s navy to help in overcoming the threat he poses. The heroes will have to work on destroying Warwick’s bases in the area in preparation for the arrival of Washington’s forces.

Primary Objective: Advance to the Fortress Age and build an Artillery Foundry.

"Age of Empires 3" - Act II Ice - Mission 5: The Great Lakes (1 of 7)

"Age of Empires 3" - Act II Ice - Mission 5: The Great Lakes (2 of 7)

Starting off its going to be all about base building and economy one again, with this being the last mission in Act Two to be more on the tank and spank sort of strategies and by that I mean buildup over a period of time, withstanding attacks with a limited military until you can mass produce an army in no time to perpetually steamroll the enemy.

The enemy has several cannon outfitted outposts in the area so it is best not to wander much until you have a decent sized army as being spotted by them typically also draws out attacking soldiers on top of the massive balls of lead flying at your units from atop the towers. For that reason it is best to stick to Mills and Plantations, preferably having picked up some of the cards which improve their effectiveness to ship to your colony.

For defense the biggest impact can be made by placing a Fort on the north side of your base so its sits precisely in the path of the attacking enemy troops. This along with a handful of soldiers will do wonders for a long period of time in this level.

Primary Objective: Destroy the three Boneguard outposts.

"Age of Empires 3" - Act II Ice - Mission 5: The Great Lakes (3 of 7) — Overrunning the British base on your side of the map.

Once you have a substantial force, fully upgraded at the Arsenal, you can move against the British base that shares the same patch of land that your base is on. Get some Mortars to knock out the cannon Outposts and the Fort the enemy has likely built somewhere usually just a few screens north of your base. Although the enemy will have a large amount of facilities and units in the area, once the defending structures are knocked out it becomes just a matter of wiping the area clean.

Primary Objective: Destroy Warwick’s Navy and Town Center

"Age of Empires 3" - Act II Ice - Mission 5: The Great Lakes (4 of 7)

"Age of Empires 3" - Act II Ice - Mission 5: The Great Lakes (5 of 7)

Upon clearing out your side of the map, there is a second stretch of land across the water to the west which has the remaining British at its northern tip. Rebuild your army and use the pair of Galleons that Washington should have sent by now to transport your units across the water, landing at the southern point of the west land which is clear of enemies. It is pretty likely that this your will be decimated no matter how massive it is, since this section of land will have been untouched for a long stretch of the game. Just send them north along the strip to engage the enemy until the last man standing and start heading back to your base to replenish your forces. Focus on taking out as many Settlers as you can whenever they are within range to quickly deplete their income so your next attacks can go ore smoothly.

Secondary Objective: Avoid losing any of Wahington’s fleet (300 XP)

"Age of Empires 3" - Act II Ice - Mission 5: The Great Lakes (6 of 7)

"Age of Empires 3" - Act II Ice - Mission 5: The Great Lakes (7 of 7)

Now depending on your timing, things can work out differently for you, but in my playthroughs Warwick’s navy starts to attack while rebuilding the next wave to send across the water against the Town Center. Whatever the case once you have the massive warships sent by Washington and the enemy navy moves out, take as many of your land military units as you can, producing more constantly, and send them to the western most part of your land where the water reaches its narrowest point between the two pieces of land. From this point you can have your land units distract the enemy navy while your own vessels pummel the Brits without taking any damage whatsoever. Use the special broadside and long range mortar abilities of your ships to quickly smash apart the hostile fleet, pulling back any of your ships if they begin to be fired upon.

Once Warwick’s navy is sunk, rebuild land units once more and deposit them again on the west landmass to attack the Town Center again. This time you can bring your warships to support their advance, the Mortar ships being incredibly effective against massed groups of enemy land units. Just avoid coming into contact with hostile Outposts until your Mortars or other land units have had the chance to deal with them as their cannons do heavy damage to ships. Once you bring the Town Center, or both if they built a second nearby which can happen, The Great Lakes is completed in victory.