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Image Via Forgotten Empires, Tantalus Media & Wicked Witch

A Comprehensive Guide to Age of Empires 2: Joan of Arc Campaign

A guide to the 100 Year War.

Age of Empires 2 is a real-time strategy game that has been around for over two decades. One of the most popular campaigns in the game is the Joan of Arc campaign, which is set during the Hundred Years’ War. In this walkthrough, we will take a detailed look at the Joan of Arc campaign, providing you with essential tips and tricks to complete the campaign successfully.

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Age of Empires II screen grab
Image Via Xbox Games Studios

1: An Unlikely Messiah

The first scenario in the Joan of Arc campaign is a long adventure where you need to stay away from any enemy troops. Always make sure to have Joan as your scout because she has the best vision and also many events only trigger if she is present.

  • Keep the two knight you get at the start right behind Joan in the whole scenario.
  • The second battle is not something you have to participate in. Avoid at all costs but watch the chaos ensue and loot the battlefield after the British and French leave.
  • Once you make it to the abandoned bridge try your best to avoid all the bandits. Watch out for the warships.
  • Once you make it to the bandit city you can kill the camp or sneak around.
  • When you make it to a French town make sure to recruit a battering ram and a bunch of infantry.
  • Head through the Burgundian town in the middle of the map and allow your ram to do the heavy lifting.
  • Make your way to the Loire River close to Chinon, and you’re done.

2: The Maid of Orleans

In the second scenario we have to head to Blois. Make sure Joan at her knights are at the front. During the whole scenario you may need healing so make sure to keep note of the monk near Chinon who will heal you. Once you make it to Blois you will get a large and entirely useless army. Our goal now is to head to Orleans which is directly south.

  • During fights, you can easily dispatch monks due to Joan of Arc not being able to be converted.
  • Once you make it to Orleans you can control the whole city. Make some villagers and one scout and immediately go to Castle Age.
  • Craft as many archers as you possibly can.
  • Build two castles, one in the North and another in the South.
  • You don’t need to protect your dock, but it won’t hurt if you do.
Image via Forgotten Empires/Tantalus Media/Wicked Witch/World’s Edge

3: The Cleansing of the Loire

This scenario is way more restricted than the two before it. You will be stuck in the Castle Age during this scenario, and you have to assault castles around the whole map. You will get access to a boat which will then transport you all around the map.

  • For castles, we need rams, craft five rams for your castle destroying escapades.
  • Don’t be shy about playing aggressive during this scenario.
  • Destroy every pier you see.

4: The Rising

Another very straight forward scenario. Make sure to utilize your monks and have at least seven heavy calvaries so when you start making visits to your opponents castles you can easily dispose of them. The armies in this scenario are designed to be lower level than you so keep that in mind when you’re ruthlessly destroying them.

  • Wall off the South of the city to stop the Britains.
  • Play safe and increase your economy as far as you can.
  • Defensive strategies will carry you.

5: The Siege of Paris

This is where the rubber meets the road. We’re going to be liberating and laying hell fire on the city of Paris. There’s some set up that you need to do which we will go through now. Group your units by type and make sure to hotkey them. Use your trebuchets as scouts, their site is long and won’t activate any enemies but will give you vision. Set your diplomacy with the British to Neutral.

  • Head West and follow the western side of the map until you encounter a tower and a castle. Destroy the tower and castle at the North Eastern side.
  • There’s a gold deposit to the south, head there.
  • Kill the bowmen who are invading your army at the gold deposit with your knights.
  • Bring your cannons to the gold deposit and blow a hole in the wall of Paris right next to it.
  • Travel north on the road to the fork then take it south. Get Joan and the Villagers together and SAVE YOUR GAME.
  • Try your best to survive the all out warfare with your army while the villagers and Joan make it to the Paris city square.
Image via Forgotten Empires/Tantalus Media/Wicked Witch/World’s Edge

6: A Perfect Martyr

Somehow they made the last scenario even longer and more dense. Move the trebuchets forward to make contact with Burgundy’s main base. Use raid and ambush tactics with your six Bombard Cannons to assault the Burgundian base tower by tower. Scout to the southwest of the river to find another Burgundian base. Use heavy cavalry to take out the southwest Burgundy base, killing six villagers and one fishing boat, and destroying the monastery, the two barracks, the Town Center, the farmers, and the dock.

Activate the French artillery and sneak a few units along the south edge of the map. Wall your army in the ex-Burgundian base and start production operations. As soon as you have a Town Center, your infantry can be healed, and as soon as you have a castle, your cavalry can be healed.

Eventually, your defense will be strong enough that you can start thinking of attacking. Target Shrewsbury by investing his position with walls. After each of his main attack waves, you rush forward and clear out the remnants in the field, and then very quickly advance your Wall Complex. Eventually, your Wall Complex is close enough to Shrewsbury’s base that, on your next push, you can seal one of their two gates with stone. Repeat with the other gate when possible.

Take out the isolated towers first, then the larger outposts, and then go for Castellón itself. Castellón has only two gates. Once you have sealed them both off, the red British are completely helpless, and you can burn them alive or something, just make sure they no longer are alive.


Age of Empires 2 is widely regarded as one of the best Age of Empires games ever made, though some people would argue that the more recent Age of Empires releases are just as good, if not much better than Age of Empires 2. Check out Gamer Journalist’s guides on Age of Empires 2 and its successors if you want to judge which games are the best for yourself!

Author
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Zach Quest
Obsessed with grinding, always playing some game you've never heard of. I am a huge MMORPG, Gacha and farming simulator fan. If I'm not grinding something in one of the many games I play (Final Fantasy XIV, World of Warcraft, Runescape, Epic Seven etc) I can be found working on my novel, reading, watching anime or hanging out with my three dogs.