Some (might not be useful) tips for Challenge 1.

Here comes some of my thoughts about Challenge 1. Hope they help your game.

1. Mesopotamia is a very special DLC map. It has standard-sized dimensions, but is actually a lot bigger than standard Pangaea, Earth, Continents, etc. that players have grown used to, because only a small portion of Mesopotamia is ocean. As a result, civilizations are spaced very far apart. It takes 40+ turns to march from one end to another. Conquest victory is much harder than usual.


2. Mesopotamia has two distinctive terrain: the rich terrain, and the poor terrain. About 70% of the map is poor terrain, which does not have enough luxurious resources to support city spawns. The good terrain are where the rivers are. Fortunately, Darius is born on one of the two river-rich regions. Unfortunately, Darius' good terrain is quite limited.


3. Darius' birth place is located at the center of the map. Expect frequent use of diplomacy and probably inevitable miliatry actions from the ever-warmongering AIs.


4. Since there are lots of empty spaces on the map, expect ruthless barbarian harassment throughout the game. Multiple garrison units are needed in most regions. Luckily, the AIs' barbarian fighting bonus have been removed in Level 9, so they get as much headache as you do.

Good luck!