The scenarios in (also known as Dawn of Discovery) provide structured challenges that test your mastery of trade, diplomacy, and warfare beyond the main campaign. In the current History Edition or fully patched versions of the game, these scenarios include the original base game challenges and those added by the Venice expansion. Classic Scenarios (Base Game)
These scenarios range from beginner to expert difficulty and typically focus on long-term building goals or economic milestones.
Elector: A balanced introductory scenario focused on reaching 1,500 Nobles.
Master Builder: Focuses on massive construction projects, specifically the Imperial Cathedral.
Diplomat: Requires balancing relations and settling high numbers of Envoys in the Orient.
Guild Master: A high-difficulty economic challenge requiring a huge positive balance and massive gold reserves.
General: A military-focused scenario where you must eliminate specific AI opponents.
Imperator: The ultimate test, combining massive population requirements with the construction of both the Cathedral and the Sultan's Mosque. Venice Scenarios (Expansion)
The Venice expansion introduced more narrative-driven, shorter scenarios with unique win conditions like sabotage or puzzle-solving.
I: Vendetta: A focused revenge story involving the new espionage mechanics.
II: Ray of Hope: Centered on disaster recovery and helping a struggling settlement.
III: The Key to Power: Involves the Council Seat mechanic to take over an island politically rather than militarily.
IV: Reign of the Elements: High-difficulty scenario with frequent natural disasters.
V: Close to the Wind: A race against time focused on naval speed and efficiency.
VI: The di Mercante Case: A mystery-solving scenario utilizing the secret agent system.
VII: Archipelago: Survival challenge on a map with limited island space.
VIII: A Rotten Bet: A gambling-themed scenario with high-risk economic trade-offs.
IX: Scourge of the Seven Seas: You take on the role of a pirate hunter (or pirate-adjacent) to clear the waters.
X: Noblesse Oblige: Requires managing a massive population of Nobles under strict constraints.
XI: Incognito: A stealth-heavy scenario where you must achieve goals without being detected by the AI. Key Patched Improvements
Recent updates, especially in the History Edition on Steam, have resolved several long-standing issues that affected scenario completion:
Out-of-Memory Fixes: Older versions often crashed during long scenarios (like Imperator); the 64-bit update has fixed this.
Achievement Tracking: Patches ensured that scenario-specific achievements and unlocks (like the Golden Ship) track correctly across sessions.
Multiplayer Compatibility: While online services for the original were retired, the History Edition features restored multiplayer for scenarios.
An deep-dive feature into scenarios reveals a game that balances complex city-building with focused tactical challenges. While the game's official scenarios provide structured goals, the experience is significantly refined by community "patches," most notably the Unofficial Anno Patch by Brumbek, which addresses thousands of errors and restores hidden content. Core Scenarios and Objectives
The scenarios in Anno 1404 (and its expansion, Venice) range from introductory guides to brutal tests of efficiency. Success is typically defined by specific winning conditions like building a monument, accumulating massive wealth, or surviving hostile AI.
General/Introductory: Focuses on learning mechanics like trade routes and meeting population needs.
The Imperator: Often considered the ultimate challenge, requiring players to settle 10,000 Noblemen and Envoys.
Master Builder: Centers on the construction of the Imperial Cathedral and the Sultan's Mosque.
Elector: A mid-level challenge focused on political attainments and diplomatic quests.
Guildmaster: Heavily emphasizes trade and the accumulation of gold (often 1 million coins). Impact of the "Patched" Experience
The Unofficial Anno Patch (latest version 1.10) is a staple for dedicated players, transforming the gameplay experience through extensive fixes:
Restored Quest Lines: It restores over 1,100 lines of quest story text originally only found in the German version, giving scenarios more narrative depth.
Production Clarity: Adds production chain ratios directly to building tooltips (e.g., how many Hemp Plantations you need for a Weaver's Hut), which is essential for endgame scenario efficiency.
Achievement Fixes: Patches broken logic that made five of the 316 achievements impossible to complete.
Bug & Logic Fixes: Corrects over 50 quest logic errors that could crash the game or break scenario progression. History Edition Enhancements
The Anno 1404 History Edition (2020) provides an official "patch" to the game's core engine, though it notably does not include all of Brumbek's translation fixes: Scenarios | Anno 1404 Wiki
Whether you are playing the classic version or the History Edition
remains the gold standard for city-building strategy. If you are looking to conquer every challenge, here is the definitive list of scenarios available in the fully patched game and its Venice expansion. Base Game Scenarios
The original release features six scenarios that range from beginner tutorials to grueling tests of management.
A Strange Island: A gentle introduction to settling and trade.
The Elector: Focuses on achieving a high population and Nobleman status.
Archipelago: Encourages exploration and naval expansion across many small islands.
The Master Builder: A massive construction challenge centered around the Imperial Cathedral.
Diplomat: Requires balancing complex relationships with AI players.
Imperator: The ultimate challenge. You must complete 10 difficult objectives simultaneously, including settling huge populations. Venice Expansion Scenarios (Patched/History Edition)
The Venice expansion added 15 new scenarios, often featuring the spy mechanics and the "Council" seat system. These are generally more difficult than the base game. Easy Challenges The Key to the City : Focuses on using the new Venetian Council mechanics.
A Feast for the Eyes: A beauty-building challenge with specific aesthetic goals.
The Thief's Guild: Introduces the Espionage system and sabotage. Normal Challenges
Incognito: A race to find a specific person while managing your economy.
Succession: Navigate the tricky politics of inheritance and trade. The Renegade: Focuses on combat and taking back territory. Hard Challenges
Archipel: A much tougher version of the base game’s island-hopping challenge.
Icarus: You start with limited resources and must build a massive monument under a strict time limit.
Scourge of the Seas: Trade is replaced by piracy; you must survive by raiding others. 💡 Quick Pro-Tips for Success
Avoid Over-Exploration: Early on, try not to "find" too many AI players to avoid unnecessary conflict.
Manage Beggars: Use the Alms House to keep them off the streets; otherwise, they may turn into bandits and burn your city.
Golden Goal: Completing the hardest achievements across these scenarios will eventually unlock the legendary Gold Ship as a starting vessel. If you're looking for more specific help, let me know: Which specific scenario are you stuck on?
The Anno 1404 History Edition and the Venice expansion brought a wealth of content to the classic city-builder, but navigating the scenarios after years of patches and re-releases can be tricky. This list covers the primary scenarios included in the definitive, patched version of the game, including those added by the Venice DLC. Base Game Scenarios (The Classics)
These scenarios focus on the core mechanics of the 1404 experience, ranging from peaceful building to naval warfare.
Easy: The Diplomat – Focuses on building a large diplomatic presence and hosting guests.
Easy: The Guild Master – A pure economic challenge centered on wealth accumulation and trade routes.
Medium: The General – Shifts focus toward military conquest and land-based warfare.
Medium: The Master Builder – Requires constructing a massive Cathedral and reaching a specific population count.
Hard: Imperator – The ultimate challenge. You must complete several massive monuments while maintaining a huge population across multiple islands. Venice Expansion Scenarios (The Patch Additions)
The Venice expansion (and the subsequent History Edition patches) introduced more complex mechanics like sabotage, council seats, and volatile island types.
Easy: Incognito – A stealth-focused mission where you must use Venetian spies to uncover secrets.
Medium: False Prophets – Deals with religious unrest and keeping your population loyal during a crisis.
Medium: Icarus – A race against time to build a Monument before resources or environmental factors collapse.
Hard: Arch-Enemies – A brutal combat scenario where you are surrounded by aggressive AI opponents from the start.
Hard: The Scourge of the Seas – Focuses on piracy and naval dominance, requiring you to protect trade routes from constant raiding. Patched Changes and Quality of Life
With the latest patches (especially in the History Edition), several key fixes have stabilized these scenarios:
Memory Fixes: The infamous "Out of Memory" crash during long Master Builder or Imperator sessions is largely resolved.
AI Scaling: Patches adjusted the AI's aggressiveness in scenarios like Arch-Enemies to ensure they don't cheat as blatantly with resources.
Achievement Tracking: Fixed bugs where scenario-specific achievements (like the "Gold Ship") wouldn't trigger upon completion.
UI Scaling: The interface now scales properly for 4K, making the complex trade menus in The Guild Master much easier to read. Quick Strategy Tips for Success
Check the Win Conditions: Some scenarios have hidden timers or secondary objectives that can fail you instantly.
Master the Orient: You cannot win the harder scenarios without a perfect grasp of spice and quartz production.
Use the Council: In Venice scenarios, buying seats in your opponent's council is often cheaper and faster than a full-scale invasion. If you are looking to dive back in, I can help you with: Specific build orders for the Imperator scenario How to fix the crash-to-desktop issues on older hardware
The best mods that are compatible with the latest patched version
In (known as Dawn of Discovery), scenarios offer self-contained story challenges separate from the main campaign. With the latest patches and the History Edition
available on Steam, these missions are more stable and feature improved logic.
Below is the story and objective breakdown for the core and expansion scenarios: Core Game Scenarios
The base game includes six scenarios that scale in difficulty, focusing on specific gameplay pillars like diplomacy, trade, or warfare.
Easy: The Elector – You play as a rising noble tasked with building a magnificent cathedral to prove your worth to the Emperor. It’s a race against time to gather resources while managing a growing population.
Easy: The Hanseatic League – Your story is one of pure commerce. You must establish a dominant trade network across the islands, fulfilling massive delivery contracts to secure your seat among the merchant elite.
Medium: The Master Builder – You are commissioned to construct the Imperial Cathedral under harsh conditions. The story focuses on the logistical nightmare of maintaining a Noble-class city with limited space.
Medium: The Diplomat – Set in a world of high-stakes politics, you must navigate delicate relationships with both Occidental and Oriental leaders to prevent a brewing war.
Hard: The General – Your story turns to the battlefield. You are the Empire's last hope against aggressive corsairs and hostile neighbors, requiring a balance between a war economy and naval dominance.
Hard: Guild Master – The ultimate economic test. You must achieve a massive population count and astronomical wealth, proving you are the undisputed master of the 15th-century world. Venice Expansion Scenarios The
expansion adds 15 scenarios with much stronger narrative elements, including voice acting and cut-scenes. These often revolve around the new Espionage and Council mechanics.
Incognito – You are an undercover agent in Venice. Your goal is to use the new spy system to infiltrate rival cities and sabotage their operations without being detected.
Vendetta – A classic tale of revenge. You must rebuild your family's fallen house and systematically dismantle the rival dynasty that betrayed you using both military and political pressure.
The Thief's Tale – You play as a rogue trying to survive and thrive by stealing secrets and resources, focusing heavily on the "Secret Cabinet" mechanics.
Irenes – A story of rebuilding a utopia. You are tasked with restoring a series of war-torn islands to their former glory, focusing on population needs and architectural beauty. Patched Content Improvements
The Anno 1404 Wiki notes that the History Edition (the most current "patched" version) fixes several legacy issues that previously broke scenario progression:
Memory Fixes: Eliminates the "Out of Memory" crashes that used to occur during long-form scenarios like Guild Master.
Quest Logic: Fixes bugs where certain story-critical quests wouldn't trigger, specifically in the Venice scenarios.
Save Compatibility: Improved stability when saving during large-scale naval battles or complex cathedral builds.
, scenarios are standalone challenges with specific winning conditions. The game was "patched" into the History Edition in 2020, which bundles the base game (6 scenarios) and the
expansion (15 scenarios) while fixing game-breaking RAM leaks and quest logic. Classic Scenarios (Base Game)
These focus on standard city-building and economic milestones. Anno 1404 Wiki Elector / Electress (Easy):
Settle 5,000 inhabitants and 2,000 Noblemen while accumulating 150,000 gold. Master Builder (Easy): Build an Imperial Cathedral and settle 5,000 Noblemen. General (Medium):
Win a military victory against three different computer players. The Guild Master (Medium):
Reach 2,000 Noblemen and 2,000 Envoys while maintaining complex trade balances. Diplomat (Hard): Build a Sultan's Mosque and maintain 5,000 Envoys. Imperator / Imperatrix (Hard):
The ultimate challenge. You must build both an Imperial Cathedral and Sultan's Mosque, settle 10,000 Noblemen and 10,000 Envoys, and be the last survivor. Venice Scenarios
The expansion added 15 scenarios that utilize new mechanics like council system The Masquerade The Scribe The Merchant The Emissary The Tactician The Condottiere The Informant The Scourge The Alliance The Arch-Enemy The Usurper The Inquisitor The Sovereign Patching & Performance Notes
2. Base Game Scenarios (Post-Patch v1.3)
After applying official patches (especially v1.3, which fixed memory leaks and trade route bugs), the following base scenarios are available:
| Scenario Name | Brief Objective | Notable Post-Patch Change | |---------------|----------------|----------------------------| | The Promised Land | Build a large Occidental metropolis and produce 50 tons of noblemen’s goods. | Fixed a bug where cargo ships would stop delivering spices. | | The Emperor’s Challenge | Fulfill the Emperor’s demands for war machines (cannons, armor, etc.) within a time limit. | Reduced required war machines from 100 to 75; rebalanced production chain ratios. | | The Treasure Fleet | Salvage sunken treasure ships while fending off pirates. | Pirate respawn timer increased; treasure detection range improved. | | The Diplomat | Achieve a high diplomatic reputation with all three AI opponents without military conquest. | Fixed a bug where certain gifts would not increase reputation. | | The Lost Temple | Discover and excavate a hidden temple in the southern islands. | Removed an exploit where players could repeatedly sell the same excavation item. | | The Caliph’s Contest | Outproduce the Caliph in Oriental goods (dates, carpets, coffee). | AI production rate slightly reduced to prevent impossible difficulty. | | The Inquisition | Defend a heretical settlement from waves of inquisitorial fleets. | Wave composition adjusted: fewer large warships in early waves. |
All base scenarios received a common patch improvement: save/load stability – corrupted saves from v1.0 became extremely rare.
3. The Lost Temple (Exploration)
- Goal: Find a relic on a fog-covered island chain.
- Patched changes: The fog of war now lifts correctly. Pre-patch, the relic sometimes spawned under a mountain.
- Memorable moment: You’ll still need 5+ carracks.
3. Corsairs no longer cheat.
Pre-patch, corsairs would spawn ships directly inside your harbor during "Knight of the North." The v2.01 patch limits their spawn points to the map edges. Build watchtowers on the coast facing the open sea.
Part 1: What Does "Patched" Change About Scenarios?
Before the final patches (v1.1 to v2.01), Anno 1404 had several bugs that broke scenario triggers:
- "Knight of the North" often failed to recognize when you built a shipyard.
- "A Castle for the Prince" had memory leaks causing crashes at population thresholds.
- Venice scenarios required a separate executable.
The History Edition (2019-2020) patched all of these, rebalanced difficulty, and unified the scenario launcher. Today, "patched" means all 12 scenarios are stable, winnable, and accessible from one menu.
Part 6: Common Questions About the Patched Scenario List
Q: Does the "Gold Edition" include all these scenarios? A: Yes, the Gold Edition (physical or digital) includes the base game + Venice + the final patch. However, avoid old "Gold Edition" cracks – they often miss the unlockable scenarios. The History Edition on Steam/GOG is the safest.
Q: I have the History Edition. Why do I only see 6 scenarios? A: You must click the "Venice" button in the main menu (not "Anno 1404 Classic"). The Venice launcher contains all 12. The Classic launcher only has the original 6.
Q: Can I play scenarios in co-op? A: Yes, with the patched Venice expansion. In the scenario select screen, check the box "Cooperative Mode." All scenarios except "The Traitor" and "Lucius, The Patriarch" support 2-player co-op.
Q: Are there custom user-made scenarios? A: Yes, but they are not part of the "official patched list." The fan patch "I.A.M." (unofficial) adds 20+ custom scenarios. However, using I.A.M. will mark your save as modified and disable achievements in the History Edition.
Anno 1404 — Complete List of Scenarios (Patched)
Anno 1404 (Dawn of Discovery) remains a beloved city-builder and strategy title. Community fixes and official patches have adjusted scenario behavior, balance, and objectives over time. Below is a concise, organized article presenting the full list of single-player scenarios available in the base game and the Venice expansion, with notes about common patch-related changes and tips for running patched scenarios reliably.
Navigating the Crown: A Complete Guide to the Anno 1404 Scenarios List (Patched)
If you’ve spent hundreds of hours building sprawling metropolises in the continuous game mode of Anno 1404, you might be looking for a new challenge. That’s where the Scenarios come in.
However, if you’re returning to the game after a long break—or you’ve just upgraded to the History Edition (the fully patched, modern OS version)—you might be confused about what content is actually available. The original 2009 release, the Venice expansion, and the subsequent patches have shifted the goalposts.
Here is the definitive, up-to-date list of Anno 1404 scenarios as they exist in the fully patched game (History Edition v6.00).
The Complete Anno 1404 Scenarios List (Patched / History Edition)
Anno 1404 (known as Dawn of Discovery in North America) is widely regarded as the peak of the series by purists. Its blend of historical authenticity, intricate supply chains, and visual charm has kept it alive for over a decade.
However, finding a definitive list of all scenarios—especially after the final patches and the release of the History Edition (which removed DRM and integrated Venice)—can be confusing. Many old forum posts list unplayable beta scenarios or miss the ones added later.
This guide provides the complete, verified Anno 1404 scenarios list as it exists in the fully patched game (v2.01 or History Edition).
Note: "Patched" here means the game with all official updates plus the Venice expansion (which is included in the History Edition). Without Venice, you have 6 scenarios. With Venice, you get 12 core scenarios plus unlockable challenges.