Poseidon Walkthrough: Birth of Atlantis
» Episode 1: The Capital City
Goals:- Population of 1000
- 500 People in Homestead or better
Hints & Tips
Welcome to Atlantis! The oddly shaped landmass consists of a central island, two outer rings and two outer pieces of land with plenty of waterways and access to the open sea.
The main challenge in The Birth of Atlantis adventure is being able to effectively manage how you set up your housing and industry so as not to paint yourself into a corner with the limited amount of land available. It may look like a huge area - when it's empty. But start to fill it with houses, industry buildings, Sanctuaries and science buildings and then the space provided begins to look mighty small.
Atlantis has access to just about every resource imaginable. All in all you should have more than enough jobs for your people and goods to trade with the cities you will discover.
You will probably want to start your budding city by laying down your first housing block on the southern portion of the outermost landmass, just below the large swath of fertile ground. This will allow you to have immediate access to food and to the open sea when trade opens up. Try not to build too much on the innermost 'donut' of land. You'll probably want to use that land for a large Hippodrome that you will build later.
You start with a decent amount of cash, but you'll probably want to keep an eye on spending; you start off with no trading partners or tax collectors so there is no way to generate extra cash if you run out. Don't worry - a trade partner will blossom soon enough. Right now just concentrate on getting your city up and running.
Once your initial housing has been inhabited and supplied with water, you should have a few hundred citizens - great job!
Near the end of the first year, the city of Gades will be discovered, and they will want to trade with you. Left-Click on the World View to see where Gades is and then Left Click on the City itself to see which goods they are selling and which they are buying. Gades buys meat and orichalc.
Gades requires a Pier to buy and deliver goods, and not far from the orichalc deposits you should be able to find a suitable place to build one. Once you have placed it, begin selling orichalc. This should start bringing in a tidy profit for your budding metropolis!
In order to fulfill the housing requirement you need housing that receives food, water and fleece, and has at least one type of scientist passing by. Each Homestead can hold 32 occupants, and a Tenement can hold 40. Simple math will tell you at least 15 houses at Homestead or Tenement levels of development should net you your required Housing goal and 30 houses at the Tenement level will easily garner the second goal of 1000 people.
» Episode 2: All Creatures Great and Greater
Goals- Slay a Monster
- Population of 1500
- 1000 people in Apartment or better
- Modest Pyramid
Hints & Tips
Continue to build your city, keeping in mind your food stores, employment levels and industry. You will be allowed to tax your people from now on, so building a Palace and a Tax Office or two is a wise decision. Be careful where you place your Palace, however, for it will have to be surrounded by walls in order to summon Theseus later in the episode.
It would also be wise to build a grove of olive trees and grapevines to facilitate more trade with neighbors, as well as to satisfy your own people's needs. You may also wish to start constructing Aphrodite's Sanctuary as she might be useful in keeping your citizens contented and happy. Keep an eye out for jealous gods, whose feelings may have been hurt because they did not get the continent of Atlantis for their own and so plan to take out their frustrations on you!
Once you get your olive oil industry going, it shouldn't be long before distribution elevates your housing to the Apartment level and you will achieve your Population goal.
If you haven't set up a marble industry, then the Minotaur shouldn't give you any trouble when he appears near the quarries. Just make sure to get Theseus's requirements filled so that he can kill the beast. The requirements to summon Theseus are:
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- Build the Hall near the Palace
- Good Appeal around the Hall
- Hall is protected by Walls
- 32 slabs of Marble
- 16 Amphore of Wine
Next collect the materials you need and the pyramid should take no time at all to complete. If you build close to the Storehouses that holds the materials it needs, the faster it will get built . . . but then you already knew that, right? Right!
» Episode 3: Big Game Hunting
Goals- Sanctuary to Artemis
- Fulfill a forthcoming quest
- Population of 2000
- 1500 People in Townhouse or better
Hints & Tips
By now you should have a decent industry and distribution network that is keeping your city vibrant and productive. Adding another housing block will most likely be necessary to accomplish your population and housing goals. Remember to keep each block supplied and happy.
A good place to construct your second block of housing is North of your present housing block, just on the other side of the section where you set up your food/fleece/oil and wine block. This block doesn't have to be nearly as large as the first in order to meet your goals. A small block developed to the Townhouse stage should put you over the 2000 citizen mark. And if you've built Aphrodite's Sanctuary, she'll fill your houses for you.
It is also a good idea to start thinking about placing down a block of Elite Housing, as the armored and trained soldiers they will bring will be useful in the near future. The first, largest ring of land is a good spot to do this. Make sure that the houses have great appeal and access to all goods and services.
In order to ensure you have sufficient resources to armor and train your soldiers, you'll need to place down a few Foundries and Armories to provide armor and weapons for your soldiers and possibly a Horse Ranch to upgrade your Spearmen to Cavalry. A Frigate Wharf or two isn't a bad idea either.
Of course all of these industries require workers, so lay down another block of housing to the North of your second block. And with the trade and industry you've set up, funds should be no problem at all.
Fairly early on in the episode you will receive a request from Artemis to round up some large animals roaming the landscape. To accomplish this you will need to summon Atalanta to help you.
The requirements for Atalanta's Hall are as follows:
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- A Sanctuary to Artemis
- A Working Museum
- 32 sides of meat
- 32 planks of wood
- 8 Companies of Soldiers
» Episode 4: War and Ethics
Goals- Rule Cennia
- Rule Mt. Geimm
- Rule Mt. Phaesus
Hints & Tips
This is a purely military episode, so make sure your soldiers are well- armored and up to the task of accomplishing these tough goals. The three cities you are required to rule are inhabited by the cruel and ugly Centaurs, who early on in the mission will begin sending raiding parties against you and your allies.
To counter these attacks, it is imperative that you have your armies at the ready to defend your city and your allies. Defending your neighbors will increase their favor with you and they will be more willing to assist in military strikes against the offending Centaur cities.
By now your city should be booming and your Foundries and Armories should be producing enough armor to support the troops housed in your Elite Housing.
During this Episode, the lame god Hephaestus will woo you to build a Sanctuary to him in order to boost your bronze and armor production. This may be a wise thing to do considering you may have a surplus of workers needing jobs to fill and the god's help may come in handy later down the road.
When you are ready, call upon one or two of your neighbors to assist in attacking either Mt. Geimm or Mt. Phaesus as they are the weakest of your opponents.
You should have Artemis's Sanctuary, and the soldiers she provides will allow you to take the three rival cities fairly easily, though it would be wise to send at least one or two companies of Spearmen and two to three companies of Charioteers and a Frigate or two along with the Amazons that the goddess provides.
At least six Elite Houses should garner you the necessary troops (either Spearmen or Charioteers) with which to defend yourself or attack the Centaur cities. Hopefully you planned well ahead and had the Elite housing set up in the previous episode and so will not have to spend too much time in this episode.
Once you have buttered up your allies to the point where they agree to grant you military aid, start taking the rivals down one by one. Before you know it, all of the Centaur cities will be your vassals!
» Episode 5: Symphonia Ithikos
Goals- Fulfill a forthcoming quest
- Fulfill a forthcoming quest
- Population of 3000
- 100 People in Mansion or better
Hints & Tips
Horrors! Because you attacked and destroyed the Centaurs, the gods have decided that in punishment for your crime you must never again attack another race of beings that inhabit the surrounding territories. You may defend yourself in times of war, but must never initiate an attack on another city.
To honor this pact, Atlas has vowed to inscribe the words of the sacred text onto a tablet. It will be up to you to find a suitable material for this magnificent work.
Meeting the Housing and Population requirements for this episode should be a snap if you followed the guidelines for building the housing blocks and elite homes from the previous episodes. By now you should have well over 3000 citizens and the six (or more!) elite homes you placed earlier should yield you at least 120 additional citizens living in luxury.
Soon, Poseidon, Lord of the Sea, will send you on the Quest for the Cornerstone. In order to find the cornerstone, which will be the first building block in the construction of the sea god's great Citadel, you must summon Atalanta once more.
Place down the hero's hall and then busy yourself fulfilling the necessary requirements to attract the hero to your city. The requirements for Atalanta's Hall are as follows:
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- A Sanctuary to Artemis
- A Working Museum
- 32 sides of meat
- 32 planks of wood
- 8 Companies of Soldiers
Next comes a Quest from Apollo, The Tablet of the Pact. You must summon Achilles to your city so that the hero can be persuaded to mine the orichalc found on the mysterious Crimson Isle in order to inscribe upon it the sacred text of the Symphonia Ithikos. The requirements for Achilles' Hall are as follows:
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- 32 suits of armor
- 3 Spearmen Companies or better
- A Sanctuary to Hephaestus
- No Unrest in the City
- 16 amphorae of wine
Once you have the necessary goods, send for Achilles and dispatch him to Crimson Isle. With that done you've proven once again that no goal is too tough for you!
Now you have to choice of one of two Colonies to build and develop, either Leucippium or Evenestus. There is no advantage to choosing one over the other, and you will get to build the other colony later. Leucippium will be discussed first.
» Episode 6: The Hungry Sphinx (Leucippium Colony)
Goals- Slay a Monster
- 32 Ingots of Orichalc for Parent City
- 32 Bars of Bronze for Parent City
Hints & Tips
What a rocky and hilly place Leucippium is! Why, there's hardly any place to build a decent sized city block! That's the main challenge you face in this region, how to best utilize your limited space. But after working with the concentric rings of Atlantis, this should be a snap!
Right off the bat you should be able to see the huge deposits of both copper and orichalc. Try building your first block of housing close to the entry point near that big swath of fertile land just below where the copper ore is located.
Soon after you have begun to build your city, that nasty Sphinx arrives! She guards the orichalc ore and getting that material is going to be tough. You'll need to summon Atalanta again to clear a path. Think you have the requirements for her Hall memorized yet? Here they are again:
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- A Sanctuary to Artemis
- A Working Museum
- 32 sides of meat
- 32 planks of wood
- 8 Companies of Soldiers
Concentrate first on getting Artemis' Sanctuary up and running (she'll help with food shortages) and then get Atalanta to kill the Sphinx. Once those small problems are out of the way then you can throw all your efforts into mining and stockpiling the necessary goods to win. Make sure to delete the Artisans Guilds once Artemis' Temple is complete - you can always use extra ore miners!
Close to the end of the first year, the city of Mestonia will blossom, and this can be another source of materials you sorely need.
Concentrate on your goals, and you should win this episode with pride!
» Episode 7: The Citadel of Poseidon
Goals- Sanctuary to Poseidon
Hints & Tips
How simple can this be? Build a Sanctuary to Poseidon? No problem!
But what a Sanctuary it is! It's huge! Never fear, by now you have enough trading partners and enough industry of your own to complete this project in a matter of a few years. The obvious placement for it is the large central island, provided you haven't already begun building there. Be mindful of requests and demands of your neighbors and keep to the letter of the Symphonia Ithikos and you should see the magnificent structure up and running in all its glory!
After you finish the Citadel of Poseidon, it's off to found another colony.
» Episode 8: People of the Sea (Evenestus Colony)
Goals- 9 Trading Partners
- 60 People in Estate or better
Hints & Tips
Again the key here is not to overbuild. Get the first housing block up and running, fed and watered and then concentrate on building a defensive force. Its possible that the Oceanids may decide they want to flex their territorial muscles and push you off this piece of land. Stick fast though, and you'll win.
Get your first block of housing up quickly near the entry point in the south east, concentrate on feeding your people and getting a small army of archers to defend yourself against early incursions. Don't forget to ask for defensive troops from your allies or parent city if you need them! And of course you can always bribe the invaders.
Building walls and towers to defend the shoreline might also be a good way to deter those pesky Oceanids and give you the edge to beat them should your forces not be strong enough or your allies too slow in sending military help.
Begin trading with your current allies, and then construct an elite housing block in order to garner you the population goal of 60 people in an Estate. You merely need to wait out the invasions of the temperamental Oceanids; eventually they'll see the light of reason and ally with your glorious civilization.
» Episode 9: Atlas the God
Goals- Fulfill a forthcoming quest
- Population of 5000
- Pyramid of the Pantheon
- Hippodrome 40 Stades Long
Hints & Tips
By far the toughest goal to achieve is the construction of the Hippodrome. Now you can see the wisdom of leaving the innermost ring surrounding the central island free of other buildings. This is where you will build your Hippodrome. The Hippodrome's ends must be connected for it to function. You will note the inner ring of land closest to the large center island is perfect for the placement of your Hippodrome. Be patient when placing the structure and make sure that it has access to a Horse Ranch so that the races will soon be running. Hey, look at it this way: it's another source of income and a city could always use a few more Drachmas!
Also in this episode you will be called upon to once again summon the brave Atalanta to perform a Quest for Hades, King of the Underworld. He wants you to send the heroine to steal some Ambrosia of the gods from Tomb of Cronos! But you must be careful! If the gods catch wind of this plot, there could be dire consequences . . .
Remember the requirements for Atalanta's Hall? Sure you do!
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- A Sanctuary to Artemis
- A Working Museum
- 32 sides of Meat
- 32 planks of Wood
- 8 Companies of Soldiers
With the world obeying the Symphonia Ithikos, there really isn't that much need of a military in this episode. Send any Frigate Wharf workers home and put them to work at Artisans' Guilds, Black Marble Workshops and Masonry Shops. This will make the construction of the Pyramid go extremely quickly.
With your Population goal taken care of, the horses running at the Hippodrome, Atalanta stealing the Ambrosia, and the Pyramid of the Pantheon complete, you'll have achieved all of your goals and completed the episode . . . and the Birth of Atlantis Adventure entirely! Well done!