Bloodlust (Level)

Bloodlust

Bloodlust

Mode : Singleplayer

Players : 4

Stone Heads : 3

Vault of Knowledges : 0

Alliances : N/A

Difficulty : Very Hard

Bloodlust is the 16th level in Populous The Beginning, where the player faces all the 3 tribes. It is the first of the 4 vertical planets. The level introduces the Guest_Spell Bloodlust.

Starting Speech

"I sense a spell hidden somewhere in this desert land that will increase the strength of my Followers. I must find it."

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Setting

All four tribes are located on an open desert land with a few small rivers. A small island with a Stone Head containing the Angel of Death spell stands in the middle of the ocean. The player starts in an area with few trees west of a ridge which separates the base from the Matak tribe. North of the Matak settlement is a Stone Head containing an infinite number of Bloodlust spell uses. West of blue's base is a Stone Head. There is a small plateau in the way but it is possible to go around to reach the Stone Head. The Chumara base lies to the southwest while the Dakini base lies to the northwest.

Enemy tribes: Dakini, Chumara, Matak

Worship Objects:

Item	Shots	Spell/Effect	Follower Count
Stone Head	1	Bloodlust	6
Stone Head	∞	Bloodlust	6
Stone Head	1	Angel of Death	6

Strategy

This level can be very challenging due to three enemy tribes attacking you frequently in strong numbers, and the low availability of trees near your base. All three enemy tribes regularly fight over the Stone Head north of the Matak base which grants an infinite number of Bloodlust spell uses, but none of the tribes actually use the spell. There are certain things you should do to make your life easier in this level.

To start off, convert nearby wildmen quickly and build a few huts, a Warrior Training Hut and Temple. You need to train a couple of warriors and preachers fast to counter early attacks. Be very careful with your wood supply, it is very small and you will run out early if you don't use it wisely. Try to avoid fully chopping down trees to save you building time. You need a fully functional and well protected base as soon as possible to survive. Get a Firewarrior Training Hut up later when you can.

All enemy tribes will attack you often with their Shaman and some followers. The Shaman should be a priority to destroy since she can easily do the most damage. Get used to seeing Magical Shield being used and be able to counter it by fighting the enemy in hand-to-hand combat and by avoiding to hit them with spells directly. The Dakini will attack you by land from the northwest. The Chumara attack from the southwest either by land or with balloons. The Matak will attack from the east, either with balloons or by eroding the ridge separating your bases with Erode to attack by land.

For defense, you can try a few things.

Firstly, make sure that the Matak cannot attack by land by using Landbridge to repair the ridge to the east whenever they erode it. Wall off land access to the west through a combination of Landbridge and Flatten. You can do this faster by taking advantage of the northwest plateau controlled by the Dakini, but this will allow them to have access to your base and will therefore only prevent Chumara land attacks. It is far more effective to use Flatten to stretch the ridge that you are creating to the sea without having to give the Dakini access. Since the Dakini only ever seem to attack by land you can prevent all attacks from them completely by doing this.

Secondly, 20-30 warriors and about half as many preachers to patrol your base and deal with any enemies that get through.

Thirdly, build some Guard Towers at the western and eastern edges of your base and staff them with firewarriors to counter enemy balloon invasions. In case enemy troops reach the heart of your base by balloon, house some extra firewarriors in huts around your base to deal with them. Don't forget that it only takes two firewarrior blasts to knock an enemy Shaman out of her balloon.

Next, grab the Angel of Death spell from the Stone Head on the island and consider going for the Bloodlust spell from the other Stone Heads. It is an extremely useful spell but it will require some work setting up a defense for the Stone Head north of the Matak base, which is often under attack by enemy forces.

When your base is developed and your defenses are set up, you should prepare for an attack. You can try to attack by balloon or by land.

Attacking by balloon can be a lot easier but requires you to build a Balloon Hut or to steal enemy balloons. For a balloon invasion you will need some firewarriors, your Shaman, and some uses of Magical Shield. The tactic you want to follow is to soften up an enemy tribe with your Shaman's spells, then send your firewarriors in to finish the job. The Chumara and Matak bases are huge and will require a lot of work to destroy, so make sure to have a lot of mana before attempting an attack.

Attacking by land can be a lot harder than by balloon since you must deal with the full wrath of enemy forces, but you have a wider variety of units to help you. You will still definitely need your Shaman to soften them up as much as possible. The bloodlust spell is even more important in land attacks than in balloon attacks to give you the edge that you need (with balloons it helps a lot already that your firewarriors with Magical Shield are practically invincible). For a land attack you will need a very big army; do not settle for a small contingent of troops, especially against the Matak and Chumara.

Focus on one tribe at a time. If you blocked off all land access, it is good to attack the Matak first since they are closest. The Chumara should come next since both they and the Matak can attack you by balloon. The Dakini should be left for last simply because they cannot do anything to you anymore. If you did not block off land access focus on the Dakini first because they tend to be the most aggressive. Use the Angel of Death wherever it seems needed most, but keep in mind that large numbers of firewarriors will render it useless pretty quickly. Keep focused on one tribe at a time and victory will be yours.

Alternative Strategy

This strategy involves destroying the Matak very quickly in order to prevent having to deal with three enemy tribes.

Instead of the usual start, immediately build a Firewarrior Training Hut and a Balloon Hut. Convert some wildmen and train about nine firewarriors while building five balloons. Your balloons should hold your Shaman and the firewarriors. Once all this is ready immediately attack the Matak base. It should fall quickly since they do not have many units left, and the Matak Shaman is your only danger. Eliminate her quickly and target all enemy followers and undamaged huts and the Matak should fall fast.

Transport all remaining braves to where the Matak settlement was and build a base here. You can stay where you started off, but you will get attacked a lot less frequently where the Matak base was. Build a base quickly and train some warriors and preachers for defense. Keep building up and use your units and Shaman's spells to counter enemy attacks. The Chumara and Dakini will be focused on each other for quite a while so you have a lot of time to build up, but nevertheless, do not waste any time since you were slowed down in base construction at the beginning of the level.

Once you have established a large base and have charged your spells you can attack the other enemy tribes by land or balloon. Use the Stone Heads to your advantage if you wish and finish off your enemies to complete the level.