The fifth challenge of The Art of War is the hardest one to get the gold medal. Here I will explain how to get it. Note that I tried this challenge over 25 times before I got it at the end. No cheats are allowed in this challenge.

In order to win this scenario, you need to create 28 Coureur des Bois (French settlers) (you start with 5, home city will send you 7 (in two different shipments) and there are 2 more in the map as treasures, so you will create 14, 15 or 16), 40 musketeers, 10 hussars, 1 barrack, 1 stable, 8 houses (90 population required), 1 Market (including the tecnologies you have to research) and 1 Trading Post in 10 minutes time.

Total cost in FOOD: 6,830 + 240 (if you don't rescue 2 Coureur des Bois as treasures).
Total cost in WOOD: 1,675. Home city can send you 2 shipments of 700 and 600 wood. But you wouldn't be able to gather the 600 wood shipment because it is at the end of the challenge. Also, when you pass to the second age you will get 400 wood. There is also one treasure that will give you 75 wood. So, you have to gather in the map 500 wood.
Total cost in GOLD: 1,975. Home city will send you a shipment of 700 gold and there is 50 gold in one treasure. So, you will have to gather in the map 1,225 gold.

In the scenario there are 5 groups of animals:
1. Right to your Town Center.
2. Right-south, close by the first group.
3. Right-north
4. Left-north
5. South, left to the trading post.

In this scenario there are 5 treasures:
1. South your Town Centre: no guardians and 50 gold as reward.
2. Left-north: 3 wolves and 75 wood as reward.
3. North: 3 outlaw riflemen and 1 Coureur des Bois as reward.
4. North-right: 2 cougars and 50 EXP. as reward.
5. South-right: 5 wolves and 1 Coureur de Bois as reward.

Shipment order:
1. 3 Coureur des Bois.
2. 4 Coureur des Bois.
3. 700 wood.
4. 700 gold.
5. 600 wood. You won't be able to gather this one, because you need the required wood of the challenge before this shipment arrives.

It is very important to get the animals you are going to hunt close to your Town Center. First of all, get the group 1 close to your town center with one Coureur des Bois (you need 2 shoots to kill an animal) and kill them all. This is important, because if you don't kill them, they will go back to their starting position. This will make losing a little bit of food, but try to put one Coureur des Bois on each animal, trying not waste the animal food. Gather the food and create more Coureur des Bois in your Town Center. With one Coureur des Bois, go behind the group 3 and get them close to your Town Center and kill them all again. Do the same for the fourth group. Get the shipments as soon as they are ready. Build you first house as soon as possible as well. Before pass to the second age, you need 14 settlers. As soon as you have 14 and you save 800 food, click the only option possible to pass age. After, put 3 settlers in queue. Never stop training Coureur des Bois, queue at least one.

While you are doing the things told before, with you Explorer, get the Treasure 1 and use his special skill to kill one of the Outlaw Riflemen at Treasure 3 and run away. Try to kill the wolves at Treasure 2 with your Explorer and the Native explorer that French civilization starts with. When his special skill is ready again, kill another Outlaw Rifleman at Treasure 3 and run away. Before you pass to second age, you will be able to get the Treasure 3 and collect that Coureur des Bois.

While you are in half process to pass second age, put 12 Coureur des Bois gathering wood until you have 500 wood. When you pass age, order Shipment 2 and gather the 400 wood by your Town Center. As soon as you have gathered 500 wood from the trees and gather the 400 wood by your Town Center, build the barracks, the market and 3 houses, and put 5 Coureur des Bois in gold and the rest in the animal food. When your Market is done, research first food investigations and after the gold one. Leave Coats until the end of the challenge.

As soon as your Barracks are built, start training musketeers. It doesn't matter if you put only one training at the beginning. Before they got trained, you should be able to put 5. YOU HAVE TO TRAIN MUSKETEERS 5 by 5. Don't forget to queue at least one while 5 are getting trained. NEVER STOP TRAINING MUSKETEERS. 8 times.

When you next shipment is ready click for Shipment 3, and when it comes, gather the 700 wood and build the Stable and the Trading Post with your Explorer. Build as well the 5 houses left. Research Coats in the Market.

Get Shipment 4 when is ready and gather the 700 gold with the 5 settlers you have mining gold. When your Stable is built, train at least one hussar, but before it gets trained, you need to click 4 times more, to get 5 (same as musketeers). Train them 5 by 5. Only 2 times.

Order shipment 5, but don't bother to gather the 600 wood. No need now.

With the troops you have, you can kill the rest of treasure guardians and get the rewards with your Explorer.

You can see how many hussars, musketeers and Coureur des Bois you have in the right top side of the screen.

When you are close to get the last 5 musketeers (you should have for that time 10 hussars and 28 Coureur des Bois) in time, send your army to the left side of the map, on top of that little mountain of sand there is by the trading route. Wait for the enemy and kill them all. Your Coureur des Bois can help to kill them. You can train more troops, but you can win easily.

This challenge is quite difficult because you have to do a micro-management of everything in the game. Most difficult part is training Coureur des Bois, musketeers and hussars at the same time, last two in 5 by 5.

You will need many tries to get the gold medal, but I hope this guide helps you.
There are videos in Youtube of this challenge. Go and have a look for more help.

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