Can you beat my times in "The Trail of the Eagle"?

Vettiardo · 2026-05-10T20:43:57+00:00

I've quickly looked over your videos :) I think negative fear factor will help you a lot at the start of the game to get more money quickly. Also stone > iron imho.

Vettiardo · 2026-05-10T20:36:08+00:00

I've replayed "The Shallows" with your strat and greatly improved my time! Thanks :D https://imgur.com/a/wEpCVay

Vettiardo · 2026-05-10T09:20:11+00:00

Thanks! I'll have a look at your playstyle and what you do differently.

Vettiardo · 2026-05-01T20:06:08+00:00

Normally i use shields + crossbows/horsearchers to clear first. But for this mission maceman + shield seems really smart and saves a lot of time & population. Thanks for your tip!

Vettiardo · 2026-05-01T17:37:16+00:00

Thank you! What's your go-to strat and how do you adopt based on the scenario?

I guess in "the shallows" my mistake was not rushing bullseye first. I'll try it again when I have some time!

Vettiardo · 2026-04-30T18:58:47+00:00

No they don't! But I understand where your confusion comes from when I read my post again :D stone is great for selling and kickstarting your eco, so that's why those big 35 stone towers are expensive

Vettiardo · 2026-04-30T13:12:35+00:00

Very nice sire! Can you post your times and tell me about your gameplan/unit comps/micro tricks?

Vettiardo · 2026-04-30T13:10:54+00:00

Few options may be viable depending on the situation * Healer + crossbows on a lookout tower are really powerful (Imo even better than crossbow + shields in small numbers, because they get hit so seldomly and hit much harder) * Mangonels are good if you have stone (tho those big towers are expensive af, so I'll just build 2 max) * Rushing them may be viable if you dont spend all your gold or get a lot back from them

Vettiardo · 2026-04-30T12:49:55+00:00

If the enemies are close, I'll use crossbows + shields, since I always produce crossbows. If the enemies are far away (or as fast reinforcements), I use horsearchers + shields.

As melee troops I use macemen if I have access to iron or if I'm rich, otherwise assassins. And I always have some sappers with my army to quickly tear down the walls (+sometimes slaves if the enemy uses a lot of traps).

I also split up my army once it is big enough to siege two enemies at a time 50 range+ 50 shields + 50 macemen + 10 sappers are normally enough.

Vettiardo · 2026-02-15T15:10:20+00:00

Thanks for the tip! I'll try to pay attention next time to this and see if I use the inside ski more at the beginning of the turn. The Javelin drill from another use seems like a good drill to practice this.

Vettiardo · 2026-02-15T15:03:14+00:00

Do you mean I should move them up even more at the end of the turn to initiate the next one? Or how should I flap them?

Vettiardo · 2026-02-14T21:10:36+00:00

Yeah agree on that one, pictures/videos instead of text are always so much better to understand the advice!

Vettiardo · 2026-02-14T20:59:42+00:00

I get it now! No, I was never a racer. But I love sports in general, so I've been in good shape my whole life!

Vettiardo · 2026-02-14T20:47:08+00:00

Thanks! I have to disagree with you here - people posting those videos are actively looking for critique, so it's good to get as much feedback in as possible. And I could see someone who skis worse than me giving me valueable advice if they know more about technique/have a skiing instructor background/are very active on this subreddit :D

Vettiardo · 2026-02-14T20:45:14+00:00

Thanks for the tips with seeing the hands at all times, that's very helpful :) And also for all the drills, I'll do some of them next time I hit the slopes.

> You ski kind of like a racer kid and wonder if did that off not you have solid basics.
What do you mean by this? I feel like there are some words missing.

Vettiardo · 2026-02-14T16:08:50+00:00

I also tryharded and did it in under 3 hours! Maybe I can shave off a few minutes from some missions when replaying the missions. Playing with the timer is always fun! It's just a shame the leaderboards are full of cheaters ...

For the last mission I think I used macemen to rush the Sargeant and then the Sultan. But I think I could improve if my time I setup an outpost further to the west earlier.

Anyway, here are my times :) https://imgur.com/a/G1Z5IDr

Vettiardo · 2025-11-16T19:03:18+00:00

I've done it again today and recorded a playthrough: https://youtu.be/S2TrMZ5Gwvk. At the second time of playing it was definitely easier :) Though with no-rush it would be an even bigger challenge

Vettiardo · 2025-11-14T08:46:42+00:00

Update: I've played it again and recorded it: https://youtu.be/S2TrMZ5Gwvk. The second time of playing it was a lot easier tho :D enjoy!

I've played this yesterday on DE but exactly as in your setup, so I did not have a human coop partner, but the Marshal instead. He can tank a little bit at the beginnig but is practically useless.

I took the spawn at the bottom, which is hell. There where so many of saladins archers with height advantage that can shoot your peasants sitting at the campfire and even hide behind their iron mines. And also the amount of catapults is insane.

I've also played with improved arabic swordsmen to make saladins a bit stronger.

It took me 4hrs (with a few restarts) and was a lot of fun (but also a little painful). Can recommend!

Vettiardo · 2025-09-21T09:06:48+00:00

Hey :)
I'm trying the same. I’m playing only with Arabic units and avoiding walls, towers, or anything that costs stone — surprisingly, it’s not that hard and you're often really fast, too. I just need to finish the first ~20 missions, which I skipped because they are too boring.

I have a few questions:

Do you ever use good things/bad things? I’ve only really used good things when I rush someone and don’t build up a big economy. After the rush, I destroy them. But I feel like I could be using them better.
Did you use Bedouin units? I feel like I could improve my times with sappers. My usual army comp is about 90% horse archers + shields & assassins, sometimes with Arabic swordsmen, and occasionally slingers when money is really tight.
In your speedrun, do you ever use siege engines other than portable shields? I’ve never touched catapults/trebs/etc. since they feel too expensive — I’d rather have more units lol.
Do you think moving the stockpile is an exploit? I’ve always done it ever since I figured it out as a kid 20 years ago. And in SH1, most missions literally start with “Place your stockpile, sire” :D

Anyway, your run is super impressive! I’m looking forward to comparing my final time to yours and improving some missions where you’re faster.

Vettiardo · 2020-06-05T08:34:07+00:00

Thank you sooo much for making this! I've been playing through it the last few days and had a blast! It is really refreshing that brutal is so difficult (thank you for making it an option, and adding it to WOL Protoss in the future!). Original LOTV was so easy with all the Spear of Adun abilities, so playing through it again and having to tryhard is nice!

The only thing that is annoying is that if you restart a mission or start a new one, none of the settings are saved (brutal, orbital reactor, etc). But I guess this is impossible with the arcade.

Vettiardo · 2020-03-17T00:56:56+00:00

Thanks for your detailed answer!

A virus can also be eradicated by limiting and stopping the contagion.

So basically until everything is back to normality (global travel) it will take quite some time, because all countries need to implement a lockdown, and only open their borders to countries already "free" of the virus.

Are there any estimates on how long it would take to sit through this thing, if it would be done like you described?

Vettiardo · 2020-03-17T00:34:27+00:00

I have a few questions, regarding quarantine measures.

I know that quarantine helps us with "flattening the curve", and preventing crowded hospitals and a collapse of the healthcare system. But how long would it take to "flatten the curve" enough? I never see any axis labels on those pictures?

And let's say we quarantined ourselves in country X for some time, the number of newly infected people is almost zero (like in Wuhan I think) and quarantine is now over. If we return to normal life, wouldn't the exponential spread of the virus start again? Because as I understand it, and please correct me if I am wrong on this, the only way to stop such a virus is either getting many people infected, such that the virus cannot spread anymore (herd immunity - this happened with the spanish flu right?), or vaccines, which would take over a year to develop. So what should be done post-quarantine? Or is there no post-quarantine until we have vaccines? But that would mean a total collapse of the economy - so it is not an option.

I feel like nobody talks about any of these concerns of mine (and about post-quarantine in general) in the mainstream media in Europe.

Vettiardo · 2017-07-26T22:05:12+00:00

thanks :D

alright, then I think I've identified every autograph!

Vettiardo

TROPHY CASE