No Empire Lasts Forever
No Empire Lasts Forever is an Age of Empires III scenario in Act II: China (scenario 5), set in 1422. The player commands Chinese.
Scenario setting & objectives
The required goals are Move to the northern beaches and recover your crew. (500 XP); Destroy the Mutineer Town Centers. (40,000 XP). Optional goals include Dig through the cave wall to reach the Mines. (500 XP).
Mission approach
Scout the named destination and keep the required hero or escort force safe on the route; clear defenders before moving the mission-critical unit into range. Scout the target and its approach, then preserve enough of the starting army to finish the required assault. Scout the route before moving the hero or starting force, and avoid splitting units the mission needs together. Take optional objectives when they add useful allies, routes, resources or reinforcements without putting the primary goal at risk.
Campaign place and objectives
No Empire Lasts Forever is the fifth and final scenario of Act II: China in The Asian Dynasties. The story follows the Treasure Fleet after Admiral Jinhai's attempt to establish himself as a ruler among the natives is exposed. Captain Huang, Lao Chen, and the crew are ambushed and must escape through cave passages to reach the northern beaches and recover the separated sailors. The first primary objective is to reach the beaches and recover the crew; the second is to destroy the Mutineer Town Centers. Digging through a cave wall to reach mines is a secondary objective. The mission begins with a small force—Lao Chen, Captain Huang, two Steppe Riders, three Chu Ko Nu, and two Qiang Pikemen—so the opening depends on movement and careful use of the heroes rather than immediate mass production.
Stealth through the cave network
At the start, move north toward the coast while avoiding patrols whenever possible. The narrow caves contain enemy units and treasures, and an early fight can cost a large share of the small starting army. Claim the nearby treasure guarded by a Cougar, then watch the patrol routes before moving on. A Medicine Man treasure guarded by Cougars can provide healing for later engagements. Lao Chen and Huang both have special abilities that can remove or weaken clustered attackers; save those abilities for unavoidable ambushes rather than using them against a minor patrol. In the longer eastern tunnel, Grizzly Bears guard additional treasures and may charge the group. Huang's ability helps soften them before the military units finish the fight. The cave route rewards patience: let enemy patrols pass, heal damaged troops, and take treasures only when the group can leave safely.
Recovering the crew and building an economy
After the cave route reaches the Treasure Ship and friendly settlement, the mission shifts from a small-unit escape to a base-building battle. Assign Villagers to nearby Capybara, Tapir, and Berry Bushes for Food, add Villagers to grow the economy, and prepare military production. Mines in the caves and across the map provide Coin, while forests supply Wood. There are no Fish or Whales to gather from the northern coast, so the sea does not provide a shortcut to the resource economy. The settlement supplies War Academies and supports Chinese banner armies; Territorial Army units can help balance the force. The Porcelain Tower is a useful Wonder choice when advancing to Fortress Age because it supports the resource economy. Keep the heroes and initial units alive during the transition: they remain valuable for exploration and for handling enemy attacks while the base develops.
Destroying the Mutineer bases
The Mutineers occupy three fortified bases and attack the player's settlement with Infantry and Cavalry. Once the economy and army are ready, attack the Hill Castles in the west, then turn south toward the central enemy village. Admiral Jinhai appears with the final defenses and should be dealt with before the last Town Center falls. Hand Mortars and Flamethrowers are useful for quickly destroying the Town Center; protect them from the units that rush out to defend it. After the central position is cleared, move west to the final Town Center. Iron Flails and Chu Ko Nu form part of the remaining defense, so keep anti-Cavalry and ranged support with the siege troops. The objective awards a large amount of experience when completed, reflecting that destroying the Mutineer Town Centers is the main military task after the crew is recovered.
Treasure and alternate hero strategy
The scenario contains twelve treasures distributed through the caves and surrounding terrain. They include two Hummingbird treasures, a Medicine Man, a Rubber treasure, Armadillos, a Qiang Pikeman, four Aspen treasures in the long cave, Cassava at the cave exit, and a Crawdad in the north. The treasures can reinforce or support the small starting army, but collecting every one is not necessary if patrols make the route unsafe. On Hard difficulty, an alternate strategy uses Huang and Lao Chen to move around the coast and attack the enemy Town Centers before triggering the expected base fight. Their abilities and regeneration let them defeat isolated troops and Villagers, and Huang's Heavenly Fire has a three-times multiplier against buildings. The heroes must recover before confronting Jinhai, whose appearance complicates the final approach. This method takes advantage of enemy forces that do not coordinate across regions until the player enters their area; it is a scenario-specific tactic rather than a general Chinese civilization strategy.
Map and story context
The map combines brown, silty ground, forests, Silver Mines, cave-only Gold Mines, and herds of Tapir and Capybara. The cave tunnels wind through otherwise inaccessible terrain and connect the escape route to the later battlefield. The coast lies to the north, but no Fish or Whales are available there. The scenario's story is loosely inspired by Zheng He's Treasure Fleet and its Treasure Ships, but the meeting with Aztec people in the Americas is not historically accurate. The in-game story identifies the natives as Aztecs, and the map places the fleet on the eastern shore of the Americas. The fleet's journey back to China follows the ending cinematic after the Mutineer bases are destroyed. Keep that narrative framing separate from the historical record: the mission uses Age of Empires III's alternate-history story.
A safe sequence from escape to siege
The mission's two halves require different priorities. Before reaching the beach, preserve the small force by avoiding unnecessary patrol fights and using hero abilities for unavoidable groups. After recovering the crew, grow the economy first, then gather banner armies and Territorial Army units while scouting the Mutineer bases. The Porcelain Tower supports resource income on the route to Fortress Age. Once the force is ready, remove the Hill Castles and approach the central base with Hand Mortars and Flamethrowers protected by anti-Cavalry troops. Defeat Admiral Jinhai before committing the siege line to the final Town Center. This sequence reduces the chance that expensive siege units are caught by a counterattack while the army is still spread across the map.
Keep version and mission rules distinct
This scenario belongs to the Chinese campaign of The Asian Dynasties and its Definitive Edition presentation. Its mission objectives, starting forces, caves, and treasure layout are scenario rules; they are not general Chinese civilization mechanics. The later base-building phase uses the banner armies and Wonder choices available in the mission, while the initial stealth section is specific to its scripted patrols. Some guides may describe different cutscenes or story details between the original and Definitive Edition. Follow the mission objective and on-screen conditions in the version being played, then use the campaign entry for its own starting units and strategy rather than applying the scenario's special army to a normal Skirmish match.
Recover the crew before destroying the mutineer bases
This is the final Act II: China scenario. The required goals are to reach the northern beaches and recover the crew, then destroy the Mutineer Town Centers. The optional cave-wall route opens access to the Mines and awards 500 XP. Secure the beach and crew first so the mission’s force is reunited before the base attacks begin. The Mutineers’ Town Centers are the required targets, so avoid spending the whole army on lesser structures that do not advance the objective. If taking the cave detour, clear the approach and decide whether the resources or route justify the time; it is optional, not a prerequisite to finish. Once the crew has regrouped, use the mission’s naval and land forces together where possible, and keep a reserve to cover the advance. As the capstone of the Chinese act, this scenario is resolved by completing its scripted objectives rather than by building a normal long-game economy.