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AoK Strategy Articles Collection

Qazitory
HG Alumnus

posted 11-29-04 01:41 PM CT (US)

Qazitory's Hand Picked Articles to AoK:TC Playing 2004
Based on dragons89's The Ultimate AOK Guide concept.

During my years playing Age of Kings, I've seen a lot of different strategies, ways of thinking, civilization specific threads and wonderful recorded games. Since dragons89's old guide was outdated, and most of the links were broken, I decided to create a whole new post collection. The function is slightly different though, I decreased the number of posts in order for the best threads to stand out. Don't worry though, there's still plenty of threads here.
Please note: Some of the articles here are in post archives, which can only be viewed by registered users.

The very basics
The things listed in this section are very basics for playing this game, and if you intend to be any good at this game, you should learn these.

Luring a boar - Boars have 340 meat each. You just can't let it go, especially because it's one of the fastest ways of gathering food.
Game basics - Some basics on villager production, scouting etc.
Economy basics - Here are some tips to keep your economy running
Scouting basics - If you don't find your resources in time, your opponent will.

Newbie Guides

Most of these guides are somewhat old. This means, the strategies in them don't usually work against human opponents any more. However, the ideas in them are still valuable to new players. You learn the basics very well from them.

Newbie Guide to AOK - This guide by Captn_Kidd is a good start. The guide is very old and the strategies definetly don't work anymore, but it's still a good read for beginners.
OEK's Fast Castle Guide - One Eyed King's Fast Castle Guide for the Terminally Slow is a very good read. While the Fast Castle strategy is not a viable one in 1v1 or 2v2 games anymore, it's still an important step when learning the game. It teaches you to run a good economy.
Grumpy Old Farts' Road of Kings - This guide gives a fairly good insight into how to practice starts. I hate to give this piece of advice, but 'take with a pinch of salt'. Not everything is as black/white the guides makes them to be.
Hotkeys - learn to use them right - A first touch to hotkeys in AoE2:TC. Learning hotkeys makes you a better player, no matter how good you're already.
Road to Expert - An excellent guide written by Ralber.
Recommended Civs for a New Player - Not all civs are equally easy to play. Doug Thompson gives advice to new players in choosing a civ to start with. Read the replies as well, there are some good points.
Tips from Gamers:Slugur - Slugur's tips here are of high importance to new players. This is a must read.
Maps overview - ES maps listed with short descriptions and good instructions.

Strategies

Flush

Don't think of it as a Feudal rush anymore. It is the way the game is played. It is not a rush. That's the first hurdle in thinking the game properly. - DaRq_Minos

The history links here include old flushes, which no longer work against real opponents. They've been included mainly to provide insight into why flushing is important, and of course the historical value. If you're impatient or want to read just one article, read the first one.

Modern
The Flush by Stevay - If you read just one article in this whole guide, make sure it's this.
Tips for Flushing - Good tips, especially from Minos.
A basic flush record - An example of a modern flush, by Chichiri.

Slaghter's Mongol Fast Archer Rush - Something different here. Scroll down for Myll_Slaghter's post with the build order and records.

History
A Fast Feudal Rush - The first flush is often contributed to Gutter_Rat. It included a very fast feudal and an attack with archers.
Mongol Power Flush - An interesting concept into using the Mongol hunting bonus to full extent. Forget the archers and the 3 archery ranges and you may get some ideas into your own playing as Mongols.

Fast castle
Fast Castle, while practically useless in 1v1 and 2v2, still holds its place in bigger team games. Fast castles usually have about 16-17 minute knight rushes.

Slaghter's Knight Rush - A 15:10 castle with knights from 2 stables.

DrushDark Age Rushing (Drush) is one of the most controversial strategies out there. It's unquestionably a strategy which can be used to gain a powerful advantage by harassing enemy villagers and maybe even killing them with militia, but some say it's just a waste of time and good players know how to counter it.
However, it's been extensively used even on the highest skill levels on the zone. Go figure. (In recent times, especially with the Master of Huns tournament, drushing has become the #1 strat for 1v1 hun wars. - DaVe)

DRUSH - An old guide. However, it has a couple of good points. The modern drush doesn't usually include having many more than a couple of militia.
Drushing by CutthroatSkunk - A pretty nice article on drushing. Should give you a good idea on what your aims are.

KLEWKLEW stands for Kidd's Lightning Eagle Warrior. It's basically a very fast castle (~14 minutes) followed by a few eagle warriors. On today's criteria, it's not very useful - but a funny strategy to try. The economy is very weak though, so don't expect it to do wonders (read: anything) vs good opponents.
KLEW by Kidd - A copy of the original article.
Mayan Power Klew - An alternative to Kidd's build order

The Douche
Douching involves deleting your Town Center and rebuilding it next to the enemy town center, using it as an attack weapon. Usually done by civs with TC bonii, such as Persians and Byzantines. Usually doesn't work, if the enemy knows what he's doing.

THE DOUCHE - The Dark Age Rush - Out4Blood's short article on how to do it.
Douche databases - Trouble_4_U's excellent posts on Douching. A bit old, though.
A Douche of Islands - Don't take this rec by Annoyomous (aka. TrixR4Kidz) too seriously, but it's nevertheless funny

MUSH/SMUSH

A monk rush was a clever innovation when people were still going for fast castles. Nowadays, trying a monk rush will get you killed by a flusher - but if you get the chance to try it sometime, go for it! It's fun

The Smush - Saracen monk rush by Out4Blood.
Flammifer's Japanese Monk Rush - A well thought out post.

GrushGrush (Galley Rush) hasn't changed much during the last few years. It's basically the way water maps are played - if you aren't afraid to get your feet wet on water maps, you can't miss these articles.

Crappy Grushing - A very good and detailed guide to grushing. Read this.
Anyone here wanna learn how to GUSH ? - The scenario here practically holds your hand when you do a grush. You just can't fail with it.
Galley Rushing - Another great article of Grushing, by Lightning_CN.
Slaghter's Grush - A Grush build order by Myll_Slaghter (the third post in the thread).
_NeT_AnGeLs_: Grushing - A grush article from _NeT_ clan.

Fireship RushThe knight rush of water maps. Still viable in 3v3 and 4v4 games.

Slaghter's Fireship rush - A build order for Fireship rush with Persians (the second post in the thread).

Dock First - Persians are about the only civ that can build a dock before a lumber camp with standard resources. This can give you a very good boost and on migration, it's usually an important skill to learn.

The Sheriff's Persian Dock First by Captn_KIdd - A very good how-to article.
A record by Slamdrew - A demonstration of dock first

Tips and Helpful information

Useful Tips For Every Player - Chichiri's advice here is not just for newbies, but applies to good players as well. He shows some important points, largely ignored.
Booming - A nice guide for learning booming. Make a note to ignore the military aspect of the guide, though.
Little Known Strategies of the Greats - Winston posted a long series of good articles, well worth the read.
ME_Count_Rahl's tips - Sometimes knowing your goals is more important than having all the best strategies memorized.
Sending villagers back to work easier - A helpful hint from Simfish
Swp's Guide to House Starts - Not all civs have the same kind of start: not knowing what to do in the first couple of seconds will cost you tenfold in the future.
MFO: Mental Strategies - A very good and up-to date article by WH_Eclipse
An Arabian Thought Process from an 1800's head - A detailed guide on how to improve your game.

Deathmatch

DeathMatch -- The Basics - Tonto_DaVe explains the basics of DeathMatch, a good read for starters.
DM - Hun Wars - Huns are the most powerful DM civ because of their bonuses, read this and you'll understand why.

Land Nomad

Land Nomad by Intimatum - The most extensive guide I've seen written on this map. Very good stuff. Be sure to read all of Intimatum's posts in this thread, the guide continues even after the initial posts.
Land Nomad - Understanding the Map - An analysis of the map. Gives a good insight into what the map offers.

Tests and Stats

Unit vs unit tests Summary - Gaparr64's tests, practically everything tested you could ever wish for.
The first issue of Some Things to Think About - Sir Marf of Ans did some nice tests, although they're not done in Gaparrian manner, they're still high quality.
Unique units vs their counterparts - Sir Marf of Ans providing yet more excellent tests.
The complete guide to Saracen market - The Saracen Market bonus is definetly the hardest bonus to use in the game. Reading this article should make it a bit easier.
Unit Upgrade Chart - Forging or Scale mail first for Pikes? Find out here.
Economic Upgrades - Very good analysis on economic upgrades.
Unit Tables - Unit statistics database.
How Monks Really work - An extensive research of how converting works.
Rates of Fire - Keep in mind that the Japanese ROF bonus is now a constant, the article is pre-patch.
Trade Carts - Excellent analysis on how much gold trade carts produce.

Civilization Post Collections Summary - Some post collections listed

�Qazitory�
�AoE3 rating: Qazitory�
�My AoE3:TWC mods: QazUI - Treasure - Main Menu - Low Lag HC - Deck selection�
�Guide my keystrokes, keep my programs alive, protect me from viruses, back up my drive.�

[This message has been edited by TOAO_DaVe (edited 02-27-2010 @ 09:04 PM).]

Author

Replies:

zak
Squire
(id: Chewmen_zak)

posted 12-26-04 04:57 PM CT (US) 26 / 95

I have a slightly off-topic question.

What is the criteria that a guide has to meet to make it into the university?

I sent a guide to CC several months ago, but I haven't gotten any response. I emailed him about it, yet didn't get a reply. Since the guide didn't make it in, I'm assuming it wasn't good enough in some way. But it'd be nice to know where to improve or how I can edit the guide so that it's better.

^��_��^�^��hewmen_zak_��^��_�
Winner of the 2004 AoKH Best Newbie Award
.:AoKH*RMT*BibleGateway*R.I.P. Shiva*Firefox*Arsenal FC:.

ICEAGE
Squire

posted 12-26-04 07:40 PM CT (US) 27 / 95

They probably only want guides from good players or some people who actually know what they are talking about.

zak
Squire
(id: Chewmen_zak)

posted 12-26-04 11:49 PM CT (US) 28 / 95

Quote:

They probably only want guides from good players or some people who actually know what they are talking about.

You don't have to rub it in like that, jerk.

I probably only want responses from nice people or people who actually phrase their responses nicely.

^��_��^�^��hewmen_zak_��^��_�
Winner of the 2004 AoKH Best Newbie Award
.:AoKH*RMT*BibleGateway*R.I.P. Shiva*Firefox*Arsenal FC:.

Steve
Squire
(id: swp)

posted 12-26-04 11:53 PM CT (US) 29 / 95

Quote:

I probably only want responses from nice people or people who actually phrase their responses nicely.

You're not going to get very far in life.

STEVE
Age of Kings Heaven, Myll Clan

* Learn the Flush -- So you know how to play the game.
* Play Online -- So you can actually play the game.

zak
Squire
(id: Chewmen_zak)

posted 12-26-04 11:58 PM CT (US) 30 / 95

Quote:

You're not going to get very far in life.

Bah, just spiking him back. I'll take truthful advice that's mean but helpful, but ICEAGE's response didn't give any advice.

Edit: Maybe I should just post it here to get some feedback on where I went wrong.

^��_��^�^��hewmen_zak_��^��_�
Winner of the 2004 AoKH Best Newbie Award
.:AoKH*RMT*BibleGateway*R.I.P. Shiva*Firefox*Arsenal FC:.

[This message has been edited by Chewmen_zak (edited 12-26-2004 @ 11:59 PM).]

Eesti Vabariik
Squire
(id: Evil_Viking)

posted 12-31-04 05:31 AM CT (US) 31 / 95

Quote:

but ICEAGE's response didn't give any advice.

He basically said don't bother writing guides if you don't know what you are talking about just because you want an article in the university, becasue if you don't have half a clue about what you're going on about you aren't going to get very far.

zak
Squire
(id: Chewmen_zak)

posted 12-31-04 01:25 PM CT (US) 32 / 95

But I do know what I'm talking about... at least in the guide I'm writing. The reason why I'm only rook at RM is because my economy management sucks. My military micro and strategy is really good. That's why I kickass on FF custom scenarios.

I hate it when people insult others for no reason...

^��_��^�^��hewmen_zak_��^��_�
Winner of the 2004 AoKH Best Newbie Award
.:AoKH*RMT*BibleGateway*R.I.P. Shiva*Firefox*Arsenal FC:.

Steve
Squire
(id: swp)

posted 12-31-04 04:14 PM CT (US) 33 / 95

Quote:

The reason why I'm only rook at RM is because my economy management sucks. My military micro and strategy is really good. That's why I kickass on FF custom scenarios

Why wouldn't I be surprised if any one of the regular forumers in this forum would completely kill you in Gizer's Micro Machine scenario?

STEVE
Age of Kings Heaven, Myll Clan

* Learn the Flush -- So you know how to play the game.
* Play Online -- So you can actually play the game.

zak
Squire
(id: Chewmen_zak)

posted 12-31-04 04:51 PM CT (US) 34 / 95

Why? That's a good question.

^��_��^�^��hewmen_zak_��^��_�
Winner of the 2004 AoKH Best Newbie Award
.:AoKH*RMT*BibleGateway*R.I.P. Shiva*Firefox*Arsenal FC:.

Myll_Slaghter
Squire

posted 12-31-04 06:53 PM CT (US) 35 / 95

Chewmen_zak:

Quote:

The reason why I'm only rook at RM is because my economy management sucks. My military micro and strategy is really good. That's why I kickass on FF custom scenarios

Dont you see the conflicts in your own statement?
economy management = micro, so how can you suck at micro there but excel at military micro?

Beats me...

Quote:
You will never learn what I am thinking.
And those who boast most loudly that they know my thought, to such people I lie even more.
Adolf Hitler (August 1938)

Check out The Myll Clans Homepage.

zak
Squire
(id: Chewmen_zak)

posted 12-31-04 07:02 PM CT (US) 36 / 95

I get the feeling that this is my cue to shut up...

Dunno... maybe I'm just too slow for internet games. Besides, how would stevay know my skill level... I don't play online much. Only against my friends, where my dialup won't affect my play.

What does this have to do with my guides? Would John Madden survive two seconds playing football? Hell no, but when he starts commenting on the strengths and weaknesses of different teams, everybody pays attention. I'm not comparing myself to Madden, but I'm saying that you don't necessarily need to be good to say stuff worth listening too. Being good at what you're talking about only gives the stuff you say credence. Or else I'd be writing my own chess books.

^��_��^�^��hewmen_zak_��^��_�
Winner of the 2004 AoKH Best Newbie Award
.:AoKH*RMT*BibleGateway*R.I.P. Shiva*Firefox*Arsenal FC:.

[This message has been edited by Chewmen_zak (edited 12-31-2004 @ 07:02 PM).]

Steve
Squire
(id: swp)

posted 01-01-05 01:17 AM CT (US) 37 / 95

Quote:

John Madden has played football, and has coached football. His winning percentage in his entire career as a coach is only second to the late Vince Lombardi's. That's why people listen to him. Sorry, but you do need to be good at something to say something worth listening to, and Madden is good proof of that (not of the opposite).

Quote:

Being good at what you're talking about only gives the stuff you say credence.

Thank you for agreeing with us on our stance that no one will trust your guides because you have no credibility to back it up with.

STEVE
Age of Kings Heaven, Myll Clan

* Learn the Flush -- So you know how to play the game.
* Play Online -- So you can actually play the game.

Stephen Richards
Squire

posted 01-01-05 05:50 AM CT (US) 38 / 95

If somebody has gone to the trouble of writing a guide it would be good if somebody at least read it and commented on it. That seems to be all he is asking for. Of course, it helps if you have a good rating or track record but shouldn't it be judged on its merits?

My opus . My opinions . My opia

Tony Sillars
Squire

posted 01-01-05 08:45 AM CT (US) 39 / 95

ditto...

zak
Squire
(id: Chewmen_zak)

posted 01-03-05 01:39 PM CT (US) 40 / 95

Quote:

John Madden has played football, and has coached football. His winning percentage in his entire career as a coach is only second to the late Vince Lombardi's. That's why people listen to him. Sorry, but you do need to be good at something to say something worth listening to, and Madden is good proof of that (not of the opposite).

Dammit, I should back up my facts before I try to use them...

Quote:

Thank you, Steve and Tony. Maybe I should post it here? I'm not suggesting that it's very good or anything, but it'd be highly appreciated if people would tell me what I did wrong. Maybe there's not enough graphics? Maybe I got a fact totally wrong (like I just did)? Maybe something needs to be changed so it's up to date?

^��_��^�^��hewmen_zak_��^��_�
Winner of the 2004 AoKH Best Newbie Award
.:AoKH*RMT*BibleGateway*R.I.P. Shiva*Firefox*Arsenal FC:.

Xingjianma
Squire

posted 01-06-05 08:23 AM CT (US) 41 / 95

Test Summary is a good article in which the author has done a lot of tests to prove different things, such as Hidden bonuses against Siege Weapons, Whose Champions are the best, Samuari vs. TK, TK vs. JW, etc.

.\~~/��~~��
/\ingjianma/|____
Proud Member of TWH since 2007 and AoKH since 2004
Seleucid AAR|Sarmatian AAR | Spain AAR

[This message has been edited by xingjianma (edited 01-06-2005 @ 08:35 AM).]

Qazitory
HG Alumnus

posted 01-06-05 11:29 AM CT (US) 42 / 95

Gaparr64's test summary is already in, it's the first item in Tests and Stats.

Xingjianma
Squire

posted 01-08-05 08:44 AM CT (US) 43 / 95

Oops, last time I checked, it wasn't there, but that was like a week ago.

.\~~/��~~��
/\ingjianma/|____
Proud Member of TWH since 2007 and AoKH since 2004
Seleucid AAR|Sarmatian AAR | Spain AAR

Cataphract887
Squire

posted 01-24-05 10:35 AM CT (US) 44 / 95

http://www.planetageofmythology.com/aok/strategy/articles/booming/

you should add this,or someone should propose another more updated one.if you ever get breathing space as a pocket in 4v4 or 3v3 booming and whiping out everyone will win for your team.

maybe someone has a more updated version of this?i know just yesterday i saw someone who couldnt boom get saved by his buddy cause i was rusty at it cough-Grub-cough

dragons89
Squire

posted 02-05-05 03:46 AM CT (US) 45 / 95

Quote:

Based on dragons89's The Ultimate AOK Guide concept.

I feel honored

Give me money, and I might feel generous enough to say something kind.
--My The Ultimate AOK Guide--
--My The Ultimate AOM Guide

Qazitory
HG Alumnus

posted 02-12-05 06:55 AM CT (US) 46 / 95

Quote:

I feel honored

Well, I couldn't let your guide go without a mention

Added the boom guide. It had some outdated/weird military advice, but the economy bit was OK. Keep them coming, I think I'm still missing a few guides which I remember seeing somewhere sometime.

Cataphract887
Squire

posted 02-12-05 09:14 AM CT (US) 47 / 95

Quoted from Quazitory:

It had some outdated/weird military advice,

Quoted from Cataphract887:

maybe someone has a more updated version of this?

Xingjianma
Squire

posted 02-20-07 11:24 PM CT (US) 48 / 95

I'm not sure if Qaz still posts here, but I just noticed that there's no article of the Trush here. Considering thatt it's used quite a few times, and you've include the Douche, I thought it'd be unfair otherwise.

.\~~/��~~��
/\ingjianma/|____
Proud Member of TWH since 2007 and AoKH since 2004
Seleucid AAR|Sarmatian AAR | Spain AAR

Nemant
Squire

posted 02-23-07 03:47 PM CT (US) 49 / 95

some of the links are broken

they dont work any more. Can you update them? really a good post, i liked it.

edit: omg, this forum is dead. Any1 there?? any mod can check the links and update them?

[This message has been edited by Nemant (edited 02-25-2007 @ 03:50 PM).]

zyxomma100
Squire

posted 02-26-07 02:31 AM CT (US) 50 / 95

The forum is hardly dead. It would be nice if you could tell us which links are broken... From what I can tell, most of what isn't working comes from MFO, and most of that is useless now anyway.

zyxomma100- Age of Kings Heaven forumer
Proudly thwarting Dark_Aro's evil plans since 2002
"There is nothing more sad than watching a teutonic knight chasing a petard."

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