Smash

'Your Library is still not functional; you must enlarge it!' - The Mentor (DK2)

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Smash
Statistics
Appears in	Dungeon Keeper 2
Level Number	10
Preceded By	Ambush
Followed By	Carnage
Number of Other Keepers	1
Coat of Arms
Lord	Lord Ronin (formerly)

"Woodsong. The Land of Woodsong has been conquered by that weasel of a Keeper Asmodeus, who dares to claim the Portal Gem for himself. Pursued by the Sylvan Elves, Asmodeus has sealed himself and the Portal Gem in his dungeon and prepares for a long siege."

— The Mentor, level briefing

"Smash", located in Woodsong, is the 10th level in Dungeon Keeper 2. This level introduces the Tremor spell and the Spike Trap. It is the first level in which an enemy dungeon appears, and the objective includes destroying its Dungeon Heart as well and not only killing a single enemy hero.

Breakdown

"Smash"- Woodsong
Primary Goal
Vanquish Keeper Asmodeus and take his gem
Ancillary Goal(s)
Penetrate Lord Ronin's lines to assault Keeper Asmodeus Find the Achilles heel in Asmodeus' defences

Red Keeper (Human)
Creature Limit	25
Starting Gold	16000
Starting Forces	5 Imps
May Attract
May Create or Summon
Rooms
Spells   |       |
Traps & Doors

Blue Keeper (Asmodeus)
Creature Limit	25
Starting Gold	10000
Starting Forces	4 Imps
May Attract
May Create or Summon
Unable to construct Rooms
Spells   |           |
No Doors or Traps

Strategy

This level can be difficult to a player who hasn't played it before. Quick expansion and training are important in order to stay alive. The player has forty-five minutes to destroy Keeper Asmodeus' Dungeon Heart. Else, the besieging hero bands may assault his dungeon and finish him off before the player can do. Thus, the player needs to quickly raise and train a viable force to deal with the situation properly.

While Asmodeus' defenses and creatures aren't many and low leveled, the besieging heroes can be a tough force to deal with. Shock troops such as Mistresses and Warlocks, being supporters, are a good choice. They are fast, deal a lot of damage and can be quickly trained up to level four.

The player needs to be cautious as four hostile Hero Gates surround the outskirts of his dungeon. Enemy attackers will appear quite early in the match, and it is advised to assault their small, weakly defended bases in return. Destroying any Hero Gate will make it easier to strengthen one's creatures in his Dungeon undisturbed before approaching the siege forces. Magical Items, several traps and a Gem Seam are also spread around the outskirts. Some magic items will level the player's creatures up. There's need for them!

Once the player has gathered a strong force, micromanagement can easily decide the game here. It should be noted, that the besieging heroes will automatically attack Asmodeus when the player's creatures kill one of the heroes at the siege line. They will also tend to sortie out at the moment the player attacks Asmodeus dungeon. Thus, a frontal assault may be quickly stopped when a dozen level six and seven heroes will fall into the player's back. A second force may eventually head for the player's Dungeon Heart at the same time.

Here is how a sneaky player may ease the stress a bit:

One should build a Wooden Bridge to the central bridge of the heroes' siege lines, while having all his Imps picked up. Then he should drop an Imp on the hero Bridge to claim it. After this elegant move, he should pick up the Imp again immediately.

The next step is to continue the Bridge to either the very left or right side of Asmodeus' dungeon. The left side features a tiny entrance to his hideout and is only defended by a single Sentry Trap. There, the player has a direct and short path to Asmodeus' Dungeon Heart and a decent chance to destroy it before the heroes arrive. After docking his dungeon with the Wooden Bridge, the player should sell all other Bridge tiles. This prevents his Imps from spiraling out of control.

Then one must pick up his creatures, set a Call to Arms flag at Asmodeus' Dungeon Heart and drop his creatures near the side entrance. The rest of the mission should pose no problem anymore. But once your assault into the enemy dungeon begins before time runs out, the heroes will launch their own preemptive strike in a desperate attempt to stop you from victory.

Remember to claim the Locate Hidden Land magical item for Maze: Before Asmodeus' territory still in the watery area towards the west from his Guard Room.

In order to win, Asmodeus' Dungeon Heart must fall at the hand of your creatures. It is advised to ignore the heroes' attack on the player's Dungeon Heart.

Alternatively, it is possible to defend against the heroes' attack after 45 minutes. Take out the four Hero Gates, then take out one of the siege camps. Convert the high level Knights and Archers and imprison the low levels for Skeletons. This results in around 20 Skeletons, high level heroes, plus the rest of your minions, and can beat the assault with some micromanagement.

Tips

• The level has at least 4 Neutral Mistresses which you can claim.