Recap / Age Of Empires II Pyrrhus Of Epirus

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"As the Wars of the Diadochi saw Alexander the Great's successors throw the Greek world into chaos, Pyrrhus of Epirus began as a small player among titans. Will he become worthy of the legendary Hannibal Barca's judgment of him – a renowned general of the age – or will his constant uphill struggle prove insurmountable?"

— Campaign intro

Pyrrhus of Epirus is one of three campaigns introduced by the Age of Empires II DLC Return of Rome. It follows the titular character during his campaigns to restore and unify Macedonia. The campaign is narrated by Cineas, a close friend and advisor of Pyrrhus.

In this campaign, the player controls the Macedonians, and their color is Green.

Scenarios

#1: A Second Alexander

#2: The Many Kings of Macedon

#3: Pyrrhic Victories

#4: Savior of the Greeks

#5: Sisyphus

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These campaigns show examples of:

• Armor-Piercing Question: The beginning of "Pyrrhic Victories" has Cineas asking Pyrrhus, once the latter told him that "we will celebrate, of course! We will sing and drink and be at ease after all of our troubles!" once the Romans were dealt with, "what, pray tell, is stopping us from drinking and passing our time right now, instead of starting yet another war? If happiness and celebration is your goal, my friend, then you have already achieved it!". Pyrrhus has no answer for this, but his mind was set in that goal.
• Baseless Mission:
  • "A Second Alexander" starts with your troops in one corner of the map while you make your way to Demetrius's land with three Trade Carts. After the deed, the battle between Demetrius/Antigonus and Lysimachus/Seleucius begins and the player gains access to a base.
  • "The Many Kings of Macedon" begins with Pyrrhus and a small army making their way through the Ocean in order to seize control of Epirus.
• Blood Knight: Pyrrhus's lust for battle is the cause of many of his problems.
  (Intro to "Pyrrhic Victories"): Pyrrhus now neither had enemies to fight, nor pressing disputes to manage. It was the first period of prolonged peace that he had experienced in many years, and he hated every minute of it. Men like him are built for war, and they start to break down come peacetime. Pyrrhus was looking for any excuse to rally his men again.
• Book Ends: The campaign begins with Cineas telling Pyrrhus that he's an idiot, "if not by those words". The outro to "Sisyphus" has Cineas telling Pyrrhus that he's an idiot, "if not by those words".
• Cosmetic Award:
  • "Back to Square One", for completing the campaign.
  • "What Would Have Alexander Done?", for winning with all allied Town Centers remaining in "A Second Alexander".
  • "Greece'd Lightning", for winning before Demetrius arrives in "The Many Kings of Macedon".
  • "The Best Defence", for defeating all enemies in Sisyphus.
• Framing Device: The campaign is narrated by a close friend and advisor of Pyrrhus, Cineas, a Thessalian.
• Heel–Face Revolving Door: Epirus starts as an enemy faction, then turns into ally once taken over. And when news of Neoptolemus's plan to poison Pyrrhus are known from a defector, they turn into enemies again.
• Hold the Line: The last portion of "A Second Alexander" requires you to defend three allied Town Centers while Antigonus and Demetrius retreat. At least one of them must remain standing in order to win the scenario.
• I Just Want to Be Special:
  • In the intro to "A Second Alexander", Pyrrhus tells Cineas that the one thing that makes life worth living is the legacy left behind.
    "For him, carving a legacy is the one thing that truly gives life meaning. He says, 'a man must fight unrelentingly to become stronger than all others, until he finds himself alone on the throne of the world - just as Alexander did."
  • After his defeat at the end of "Sisyphus", he tells Cineas that despite the odds placed on him, he refuses to give up:
    Pyrrhus: Perhaps it is pointless in the end, and perhaps I will die before achieving what I set out to do. It does not matter. If you give up on your ambitions, then you might as well be dead — for you are already dead inside.
• Perspective Flip: "Pyrrhic Victories" has the player playing on the enemy side of the "Pyrrhus of Epirus" scenario from the The Rise of Rome campaign back in the original Age of Empires I.
• Protection Mission:
  • The first part of "A Second Alexander" requires you to deliver three Trade Carts to Demetrius's base.
  • "Pyrrhic Victories" requires you to protect two villages (first Tarentum then Heraclea) that are being invaded by the Romans.
• Pyrrhic Victory: A common theme on the campaigns, as Pyrrhus's victories always have a Bittersweet Ending: they're achieved at a huge cost, or the victory is rendered moot for some reason. It doesn't help that the faction the player controls, the Macedonians, lack any kind of healing unit due to the civ not having access to the Temple building, and by proxy, no access to Priests.
  • "A Second Alexander" ends with the death of Antigonus nullifying Pyrrhus's efforts.
  • "The Many Kings of Macedon" has Pyrrhus facing his old master Demetrius, then being challenged to a fight by Pantauchus. While he won, the war ended in a stalemate and Pyrrhus returned home empty-handed.
  • "Pyrrhic Victories" ends with the Romans learning how to counter the Macedonians' War Elephants and Pyrrhus losing thousands of his best men, even proclaiming in the outro that he'll not resist one more such expensive victory.
  • The victory at the end of "Savior of the Greeks" came at the cost of the Greeks turning on him after executing one of the people who invited Pyrrhus there, under suspicion of treason.
• Timed Mission:
  • "A Second Alexander" has two: the first (implied) requires you to deliver the Trade Carts before 5 in-game minutes pass, failure to do so prevents you from collecting any extra resource you may need. The second requires you to protect three Town Centers while Antigonus and Demetrius retreat over 5 in-game minutes.
  • "The Many Kings of Macedon" requires you to find and conquer Epirus by either destroying their Towers or reducing their massive army to just 5 soldiers in about 5 in-game minutes. Then you're given 10 minutes to make an ally out of one of three kingdoms (with the time running out having as a consequence facing all three armies at the same time). And once Epirus is taken over, Demetrius gives you 45 in-game minutes to cleanse the land and complete your objectives before going at full force on you. (Cleansing the three kingdoms before he arrives nets you the "Greece'd Lightning" achievement).
  • "Pyrrhic Victories" gives you 40 seconds since the map begins to make your way to Tarentum. Once the city is saved, you have 5 in-game minutes before the Romans start razing Heraclea, with the Town Center protection being a must.

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