RTK XI Challenge Scenarios & Rewards (PS2)

[Kong Wen]

UPDATE: The completed Challenge Scenario Strategies are scattered throughout this thread. For easier access, here is an index of links, in order, to the individual posts in which the strategies can be found:

Challenge #1: Hunting Dong Zhuo
Challenge #2: The Turbans' End
Challenge #3: Liu Bei's Subjugation
Challenge #4: Guan Du Skirmish
Challenge #5: Huang Zu
Challenge #6: Mai Castle Escape
Challenge #7: Nanman Rebellion
Challenge #8: Defense of Jie Ting
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I thought I'd create a new thread about these, since it seems like there's enough to talk about and I don't want to crowd the sticky thread with all this.

How are people doing with the challenge scenarios in this game?

I've been doing the challenges in order, and I've done alright. I did Hunting Dong Zhuo on my second try, The Turbans' End on my first shot, and Liu Bei's Subjugation on my second try. I did Guan Du Skirmish on my second try, as well. It seems like after a test try, I figure out what I need to do to win.

But the next one, Huang Zu, has been pretty tough on me so far. I think I am going into my sixth try right now. I can make it to the city and Incinerate it to oblivion, but I always end up dying as the city gets below 1000HP. These annoying boats and Huang Zu blasting arrows at me from the shore just do me in too quickly. It's a tricky one. It's amazing that the game rates this as Easy because it's the hardest of the five I've played so far.

EDIT: On my next try after posting, I totally destroyed this challenge. I got lucky with a bunch of Huang's units getting confused by fire ships, and I managed to roast the city with all four of my units before they could recover. I did lose Cheng Pu's and Dong Xi's units in the process, but Sun Quan's still had around 5000 troops and 30 or 40 will.

XM, when I'm done playing these, I'll be trying some Preset Scenarios to see if there are more officers unlocked that way.

[Kong Edit: Added poll, clarified title, etc.]

[Kong Wen]

Challenge #1: Hunting Dong Zhuo

Win: Survive 10 turns (100 days) or capture a bulwark.
Lose: Cao Cao's unit is defeated.

Strategy

The general strategy for this one is to tuck Cao Cao's unit into a corner and surround him with the other units so he can't be hurt too badly.

Specifically, move Cao Cao into the little corner directly to the left of his starting position right off the bat and have him build a Band Platform, leaving one space to the top and one space to the bottom. The Band Platform will give you 10 Will every turn, which you'll need for your constant use of Misinform.

The other three units should move into formation protecting Cao Cao and use Misinform. You may have to leave one of the units at the bottom un-Misinformed for now, so you can move someone into position and get the platform repaired up to full. If you leave a space between the unit and Cao Cao's unit, so that a unit on bottom, the platform, and another unit form a diagonal line, then you can prevent some archers getting at him, too.

Now, you can't Misinform Jia Xu, so you're probably going to take a volley of arrows every turn. Remember to use your Zone of Control to your advantage, but also remember that Lu Bu isn't affected by it. Try to focus on Misinforming the bow units and Lu Bu. If Cao Cao can reach him, he should Misinform Zhang Liao (because he's hard to get with the other units), but don't put him in danger. If Zhang Liao isn't around, just use Cao Cao to Misinform the smartest non-Jia Xu unit.

Keep Cao Cao behind stuff, remember ZoC, disable as many archers who can potentially get at Cao Cao around your defences, and you'll be fine for ten turns.

Reward

For winning this challenge, you unlock Cui Zhouping, whose profile looks something like this:

LDR: 12, WAR: 6, INT: 78, POL: 84, CHR: 77
Weaponry, Navy: B
Spear, Pike, Bow, Horse: C
Skill: Pedagogy (Technique research cost halved)
Character: Timid

Zhuge Liang's friend. The son of the late Han senior minister Cui Lie. The younger brother of Cui Jun. He appeared in the famous story in which Liu Bei paid three visits to the home of Zhuge Liang. While going to visit Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei, who had come to Long Zhong for the first time, mistook Cui Zhouping for Zhuge Liang. When asked by Liu Bei, Cui Zhouping explained his theory on the correction of disorder, warning Liu Bei that even if he did go to get Zhuge Liang's help, it was useless to try and fight against the fate of the times. Cui Zhouping and Xu Shu both recognized Zhuge Liang's brilliance, but Cui Zhouping pointed out his shortcomings whenever he discovered them. When Zhuge Liang compared himself to Guan Zhong, the great Qi Prime Minister of the Chun Qiu period, and Yue Yi, the famous Yan general of the Warring States period, Cui Zhouping agreed.

[Kong Wen]

Challenge #2: The Turbans' End

Win: Capture Pu Yang within 36 turns (360 days).
Lose: Time runs out or Chen Liu is captured.

Strategy

The general strategy for this one is to get burn down the enemy camp, set up an archer tower, and have a few units sitting near the Band Platform keeping the enemies confused while another unit or two escorts your Rams to the city.

Start by having Bao Xin move forward one space and ignite the camp. Send out a cavalry unit of Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, and Yu Jin. They'll help burn the camp when they get down there, and they'll repair the archer tower that Bao Xin should be working on next. Get the archer tower going before you finish the camp off—it'll burn on its own, or your next wave of units will finish it off. Don't attack it; just use fire. Stay near the Band Platform to keep will up.

You should use the people who don't get sent out right away to Recruit troops, Drill them, and maybe build a market (only if it's going to be fast). On your next turn, Drill or Outfit (whichever you need) with the guys you want controlling the Rams (since they won't be going anywhere just yet), and then send out a few smart units (Cao Cao, Chen Gong, and Cheng Yu, with buff guys to help beef the units up). Cao Cao can be alone, since his strategies will always work and he should be able to avoid combat. Sit these smart units near the Band Platform, but don't be afraid to move them out a space or two if it means Perturbing another unit. Keep as many units Perturbed as possible. If the Camp isn't gone by the time the smart units get there, have them burn it too.

Bao Xin and Xiahou Dun should have an archer tower built by now. I put mine smack in the symmetrical middle of the Embankment formation, three spaces from the camp and three spaces from the enemy crossbow turret. Avoid that turret if at all possible, until it can't be avoided. The enemies should be closing in on you by now. Keep Liu Pi perturbed if you can help it, since his giant tower unit does big damage.

Your next wave of units will be the two Rams, led by Yue Jin and Li Dian, and possibly an escort unit. If you can't muster an escort right now, don't worry about it, since Bao Xin's unit will probably get wiped out and you can redeploy him with one. Have the Rams hang back around the Band Platform until enough enemies are confused that they have a path, and then send them through to attack that crossbow turret.

This is the part where luck comes into play. It would be great to be able to keep most if not all of the enemy units confused long enough for you to destroy those turrets and get to the city. Xiahou Dun's unit at least (and hopefully another, if you can spare it) should head up with the Rams, since Pu Yang will probably deploy another couple of weak, tattered units at you. Use the escorts to distract them while the Rams make short work of the city walls.

Reward

For winning this challenge, you unlock Shi Tao, whose profile looks something like this:

LDR: 62, WAR: 32, INT: 82, POL: 81, CHR: 78
Spear, Pike, Bow, Horse, Weaponry, Navy: B
Skill: Integrity (Immunity to 'Misinform')
Character: Bold

Zhuge Liang's friend. Appears as "Shi Guangyuan." In the famous story in which Liu Bei paid three visits to the home of Zhuge Liang, Shi Tao and Meng Gongwei (Meng Jian) met Liu Bei, who was trying to visit Zhuge Liang at his hermitage for the second time, when they were out drinking. Shi Tao was friends with Xu Shu, who was from the same area. When Dong Zhuo was in power and a conflict broke out in Zhong Yuan, Shi Tao and Xu Shu escaped to the south. Shi Tao and Zhuge Liang, Xu Shu and Meng Jian studied together in Jing Province, and Zhuge Liang commented that if these friends had government positions, they would be governors or prefects. Later, when Jing Province came under Cao Cao's rule, Shi Tao returned to the north. During Cao Pi's reign, he served Wei, and held the positions of prefect and agricultural advisor successively. It is said that when Zhuge Liang heard that Shi Tao did not hold a high government position, he expressed surprise at what an abundance of talented people Wei must have.

[Kong Wen]

Challenge #3: Liu Bei's Subjugation

Win: Capture Xiao Pei within 18 turns (180 days).
Lose: Time runs out or all allied units are destroyed.

Strategy

The general strategy for this one is to use Lu Bu and Zhang Liao as distractions for Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Jian Yong's units while Gao Shun moves his Ram up the road and towards the city.

Start by sending Lu Bu right up the middle and have him begin work on a Camp. The increased defence it offers will make him and Zhang Liao better distractions for a while. Move Zhang Liao to the far left. He can't reach the Camp to repair it yet, but he will on his next turn. Move Gao Shun as far up the road as you can.

Liu Bei's force will march out towards the archer tower to the right of your camp. Leave your Ram where it is until the enemy is distracted, or they'll go after it. Move Lu Bu and Zhang Liao into tempting positions towards the left while repairing the camp.

From here on in, all you have to do is keep the enemy occupied by moving Lu Bu and Zhang Liao into tempting positions and using Perturb. Lu Bu's unit usually has around a 45% change of Perturbing, while Zhang Liao's should be over 80%. When the enemies are distracted and confused enough, sneak that Ram up the road, destroying the archer towers that you pass (or else they'll weaken the Ram) in one hit. The city should take around four hits. Don't be afraid if one of Liu Bei's units breaks off and makes for the city. Just keep wailing on those walls and trying to Perturb with whoever you have left.

Reward

For winning this challenge, you unlock Meng Jian, whose profile looks something like this:

LDR: 73, WAR: 31, INT: 80, POL: 86, CHR: 75
Spear, Pike, Bow, Horse, Weaponry, Navy: B
Skill: Indomitable (Immunity to 'Perturb')
Character: Cool

Zhuge Liang's friend. Appears as "Meng Gongwei." He appears in the famous story in which Liu Bei paid three visits to the home of Zhuge Liang. When Meng Jian and Shi Tao (Shi Guangyuan) were out drinking, they met Liu Bei, who was trying to visit Zhuge Liang in Long Zhong for the second time. Meng Jian and Zhuge Liang, Xu Shu and Shi Tao studied together in Jing Province, and Zhuge Liang commented that these friends had the potential to be governors or prefects. Meng Jian served Wei, and after Wen Hui's death, became the governor of Liang Province and showed considerable political prowess.

[Kong Wen]

Challenge #4: Guan Du Skirmish

Win: Destroy Yan Liang's unit and Wen Chou's unit within 18 turns (180 days).
Lose: Time runs out, Pu Yang is captured, or Guan Yu's unit is destroyed.

Strategy

The basic strategy for this one is to isolate Yan Liang and Wen Chou for as long as possible and to defeat them as quickly as possible by confusing them, ganging up on them, and by using fires and towers to hold off everyone else.

Yan Liang and Wen Chou will make straight for the city, while the other units tend to concentrate on your facilities, so you can hang back and wait for the two main generals to isolate themselves.

Move Song Xian behind the Barracks and start building an archer tower beside it on the grasslands. This will give the enemies something else to destroy, and also do some extra damage to the big boys when they arrive. Have Guan Yu move down to repair it. Move every one else straight down except Cao Xiu, who should park slightly above Xu Huang (within range to repair the tower next turn).

Next turn, have Guan Yu move back a square and build an archer tower just north of Zhang Liao. Have Zhang Liao repair it. Done! Move Cao Xiu to where Guan Yu used to be standing and have him repair the first tower. Done! If that doesn't finish it, use Song Xian to finish it. If it does, move him north and build an embankment above the Farm just to hold people off. Song Xian will also function as an embankment soon enough.

By now, the enemies should be arriving. Focus only on Yan Liang and Wen Chou. Don't worry about repairing anything. Don't worry about Song Xian. Don't move your guys away from your towers. They'll be defensive structures for you.

First, try to confuse Yan Liang with Guan Yu's Rush tactic. If that works, this one's in the bag. You can now use the rest of your units to gang up on him with regulr attacks, Incinerate him with Cao Xiu, and watch the towers pound him before Wen Chou even arrives.

If Wen Chou arrives too soon—and he probably will—just try to hold him off with Song Xian and Cao Xiu (if they're still around) until you can finish Yan Liang. Try to make Guan Yu attack first, because he has spears and can confuse with Rush. Then use Zhang Liao. Xu Huang has pikes, so he's best used as support or against already-confused units.

Reward

For winning this challenge, you unlock Guan Ning, whose profile looks something like this:

LDR: 46, WAR: 60, INT: 70, POL: 72, CHR: 67
Weaponry: A
Spear, Bow, Navy: B
Pike, Horse: C
Skill: Invention (Weaponry production time halved)
Character: Cool

The eldest son of Guan Ding, who lived on the border of Nei Bei. The older brother of Guan Ping. Guan Ping trained in the martial arts, and Guan Ning devoted himself to academic studies. Guan Ning appears in "Guan Yu's Journey." When Guan Yu went to the border of Nei Bei to see Liu Bei again, Guan Ning, his father, and his younger brother received Guan Yu at their farm. They also exchanged greetings with Liu Bei, who had then reunited with Guan Yu. After that, Guan Ning's younger brother Guan Ping became Guan Yu's adopted son and joined Liu Bei and the others. Guan Ning stayed behind on the farm.

[Sun Gongli]

Wow. The PS2 version challenge scenarios are vastly different from the PC ones.

[Kong Wen]

Wow. The PS2 version challenge scenarios are vastly different from the PC ones.

How so? I just assumed the regular PC version didn't have any, and the PUK had way more / better ones. I suppose I should edit PS2 into the title of the thread.

[James]

Thank you for this, Kong. Very well done! I’m looking forward to the others.
As soon as I beat my game (getting closer now) I’m going to start with these.

[Sun Gongli]

Wow. The PS2 version challenge scenarios are vastly different from the PC ones.

How so? I just assumed the regular PC version didn't have any, and the PUK had way more / better ones. I suppose I should edit PS2 into the title of the thread.

Well, I do mean the PUK ones. It probably has ones exclusive to itself, but from what you've written so far, the PS2 version has unique ones as well. The PUK one has a Guandu challenge, for instance, but it does not involve the killing of Wen Chou and Yan Liang, but rather Xu You's defection, the assault on Wu Chao, and Cao Ren defending against Liu Bei's sneak attack.

[Kong Wen]

Challenge #5: Huang Zu

Win: Capture Jiang Xia within 18 turns (180 days).
Lose: Time runs out or all allied forces are destroyed.

Strategy

The general strategy for this one is to try hope and pray to the Heavens that you can get a couple of Huang Zu's ships confused by setting off pyre ships, rush to the shores of Jiang Xia, and Incinerate it fast enough that it is destroyed before you are.

Move Sun Quan up and plant a pyre ship between Wen Pin and Wang Wei. Move Dong Xi to the spot a space away from Sun Quan and use Incinerate on the pyre ship. Wen Pin and Wang Wei will burn, and Wen Pin should be confused. Sun Quan should be uneffected. Move Cheng Pu as far left as you can (the goal of this is to avoid clumping your units together, giving you a better shot at rushing the city while keeping someone around in case you need another distraction for the ships). Move Lu Meng a space behind Sun Quan and use a regular attack on the pyre ship.

Wen Pin's confusion should wear off now, and Wang Wei will probably head for Cheng Pu. For the rest of your rush to the city, you're going to want to have Sun Quan move as far ahead as he can while still planting pyre ships between as many enemies as possible. Wu Ju should join the frey. Sun Quan can move up a space, plant a pyre ship between Wen Pin and Wu Ju; Dong Xi should move as close to the city as he can get and Incinerate the new pyre ship. If you're lucky, this will confuse the enem(y/ies) again, and not Sun Quan. If it confuses Wen Pin, Lu Meng can move above him and attack (doing free damage and getting free troops to join him thanks to his skill). If it confuses Sun Quan, Lu Meng can still move up, but use Settle instead. Cheng Pu should be free to make a rush into the middle of the river, especially if Wang Wei clashed him back a space.

From here on in, it's a mad dash, and you're pretty much on your own, left to chance. Get as many ships in front of Jiang Xia as you can and start launching Incinerate on every square of the city you can reach. Keep up the pyre shipping with Sun Quan as he makes his way to the city until he can get beside the city and Incinerate it in one move. The others should be there or close by now.

If Liu Pan comes out of Xia Kou with 5000 or 10000 troops, you might want to have Lu Meng (or someone—anyone!) Perturb him or try to light a pyre ship on him. If he comes out with 1000, then just ignore him, since he won't do as much damage. Just keep wailing on that city with Incinerate and hope you last longer than the walls!

Reward

For winning this challenge, you unlock Zhang Shiping, whose profile looks something like this:

LDR: 7, WAR: 15, INT: 58, POL: 66, CHR: 59
Horse: B
Spear, Pike, Bow, Weaponry, Navy: C
Skill: Wealth (Cities' monthly Gold income x1.5)
Character: Bold

A wealthy merchant who dealt in horses. When he and Su Shuang were out trading horses, they ran into the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei made an oath in the peach garden to be sworn brothers, and began preparing arms. When Zhang Shi Ping heard about this, he offered them funds and fifty good horses. They then used these funds to make the Swords of Fate, Blue Dragon, and Serpent Blade. Leading 500 soldiers, they went to join an army to subdue the Yellow Turbans.