-joecho
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THE DICHOTOMY:
War is a dichotomy of economy and military. Without a strong economy, you can't build and support a strong military. Without a strong military, you can't protect and expand a strong economy. This is why the Persian gulf is always so contested, why the Japanese were at a constant disadvantage during WWII, and why the U.S., is the current world power.
ECONOMY:
The most precious resource in AOE/ROR is villager time, sometimes referred to as villager-seconds (as in man-hours). This is why you want to minimize villager walking distance, and get those upgrades which improve their efficiency.
A second non-physical resource is the player's micromanagment time. Some players simply multitask better than others, but you just can't be everywhere at once. You simply need to make decisions on priority.
As for the physical resources:
Wood:
This is the most plentiful, but probably the most important of the four physical resources. With wood, you can generate food many times over. E.g. 75 wood spent on a farm will generate 100's of food. Most civs consume huge amounts of wood.
Food:
For some civs that use relatively little wood, food can be a more important resource than wood in the late game. Huge amounts of food are also required for many of the upgrades.
Gold:
This is the most precious physical resource. Many of the civs simply cannot function w/o gold. Any chariotless civ is reduced to their triremes and tool age units w/o gold. However, gold can be generated with wood, using trade. Many games are decided on who controls the available gold mines.
Stone:
This is the least used resource. Only towers/walls/slingers require stone. However, unlike food and gold, this resource cannot be generated with wood, hence this resource should not be overlooked.
So keeping the above in mind, here's an example.
In the early game, fishing boats are a superior food gathering method to farming. Fishing boats and farming gather food at the same speed, but fishing boats can be slower if the fishing spots are not close. However, fishing boats take only 50 wood, to gather hundreds of food. Farming takes 75. More importantly, fishing boats take 0 villager-seconds, while farming is a huge expenditure of villager-seconds. However, in the late game, when the player's micromanagement time becomes a precious resource, farming becomes superior. You can just plop a dozen farms down in a matter of seconds, and forget about your food income for a while. By then, the villager-seconds and wood is not as precious as the player's micromanagement time.
MILITARY:
The key to a successful military is combined units. You may recall from Warlords, that you needed to mix the units to maximize their effectiveness. Even the modern military, the M16s are supported by a few guys w/ M60s, mortars, flame throwers, rockets, and air strikes.
Every unit in AOE/ROR has strengths and weaknesses. The idea is to use the proper mix to minimize the weaknesses, while maximizing the strengths.
Example 1: The Hittite catapult and horse archer.
This is a classic. Catapults do tremendous damage, and are key units in the Iron age. They can handle practically any units from a distance. However, they cannot attack at point blank range, and at close range, they tend to destroy each other with friendly fire. Fast cavalry units destroy catapults. So the idea is use massed horse archers to stop any cavalry charge. Usually, the catapults are kept in the front bombarding the enemy, and the mass of horse archers are kept behind them, staying clear of the catapult fire, and shooting down anything that comes close. Other civs can use this combo, but Hittites do it the best, as they have bonuses with both unit types.
Example 2: The Egyptian scythe chariot and chariot archer.
Scythe chariots are the best cavalry units bar none. They require no gold, do area damage, have great speed, and have good attack and hit points. So scythes tend to be rampant in the Iron age, and scythe vs scythe battles tend to occur. So how do you come ahead? Assuming that both scythe armies have the same upgrades and hit points, the mixed army will win. I.e., 50 scythes vs 30 scythes and 20 chariot archers; not all the scythes will be able to engage in battle simply due to physical space and time. Meanwhile, the ranged chariot archers will be raining death upon them the whole time. Other civs can use this non-gold army combo, but Egyptians have bonuses on chariot units, and hence can best employ this combo.
Example 3: The Yamato cavalry and hoplite.
Yamato used to be top tier civ in AOE. However in ROR, the introduction of the camel (which kills cavalry 2 vs 1), and the scythe chariot (as per Ex 2), have downgraded the Yamato to a mid tier civ. A pure cavalry army mixed with a scout or two used to reign in AOE bronze. In ROR, Yamato needs counter units to the camels. Hoplites are slow, but can take on camels 3 vs 1. Composite archers can also take on camels, but I personally prefer hoplites as they need not be researched. So a Yamato attack in Bronze may consist of an initial shock attack by the cavalry, followed by a group of hoplites. If a mass of camels appear, the cavalry can run to the hoplites. The cavalry can also hunt down archers and priests, which are the vain of hoplites. A stone thrower or two accompanied by the hoplites is also quite useful. Other civs can use this combo, but Yamato gets discount horse units, hence is quite suited for this tactic.
CIVILIZATIONS:
So, combining the above Economy and Military aspects, I personally would rate the civs as per below. This list is IMHO only, but follows the general community preferences, and compiled for a default settings, random map game, of a 125-150 population.
TIER I.
Shang:
The 35 food villager bonus means more villagers, which means more villager-seconds in the early game, leading to more resource gathering, meaning this civ will run ahead of the other civs. On top of this, Shang gets a complete line of Tool and Bronze age military units, enabling it to adapt and control the situation. It even gets scythes for early iron. However, its Iron army lacks much of the vital upgrades, and Shang loses much of it's momentum in mid-Iron. However, the game is often won by then.
TIER II.
Phoenicia:
As per above, wood is the most important physical resource. Bonuses on this resource means that Phoe is only 2nd to Shang in terms of speed. As with Shang, its Tool and Bronze military is also complete. Also as with Shang, it loses its glory in Iron.
TIER III.
Minoa:
Nice economic bonus, but not overwhelming. Powerful bronze army with the advanced composite bowmen range, and a full line of fully upgradable siege in Iron. Heavily gold dependant however, and lacks serious cavalry units.
Hittite:
No economic bonuses, but has every economic upgrade, and probably the most powerful and diverse military, including the double hit point siege, archery bonus, and fully upgradable scythes. Military advantage in Tool, Bronze and Iron age, both in the waters and on land.
Egypt:
Minor economic bonus, but has the best non-gold unit in the game, the scythe chariot. Also has the 16 range priest, which outranges every unit in the game. Strong Bronze and a nice Iron. Very strong early Iron (when scythes first appear), and late Iron (when gold becomes scarce). Lacks serious siege.
TIER IV.
Rome:
Nice economic bonus, but not overwhelming. Powerful Iron and nice Tool age, but unfortunately has a weakness in Bronze where much of the game is decided. No fast mobile archers. The complete siege plus fully upgraded scythes are an amazing force in Iron. The swordsmen bonus often does not come in play.
Sumeria:
Nice economic bonus, but not overwhelming. Often considered the "Hittite's weaker brother". Still a powerhouse, and in certain situations, can overshadow the Hittite.
Yamato:
Still a nice civ. Superior Tool age, and nice Bronze age. Weak Iron, but the cheap horse archers are nice. Forget about the cataphract, a costly unit which gets munched on by the non-gold scythe.
Assyria:
Also used to be a top tier civ in AOE. Downgraded for the same reasons as Yamato. Still a fast civ with a military bonus. Assyria lacks nobility (which would enhance its chariot archers and horse archers), and is missing much of the Iron age technologies. Still has a nice Bronze.
Macedonia:
Weak economy, but a very strong Bronze. Better line of sight means better scouting, which leads to finding the resources and the enemy faster. Its Bronze army is very difficult to counter, but it really loses its power in Iron.
Babylon:
Sort of a jack-of-all trades, master of none. It does excel in stone related technologies, but that usually does not come into play except in wondering situations. Choson towers with additional range are superior to Babylonian towers with double hit points. A heavily fortified Babylon is can be quite a challenge to take down.
TIER V.
Choson:
A top tier civ in Death Match, and can be a major super power in early and mid Iron in Random Map. Weak Bronze offense, but good Bronze defense. Choson can play defensively in Bronze and shoot for an early Iron, but that can be disastrous in team games. Vulnerable to helepolis. Its own helepolis is lacking in range.
Persia:
Nice military, but without the economy to back it up. Heavily gold dependant. Hunting bonus is nice only if the map is agreeable.
Palmyra:
Nice economy, but without the military to back it up. Very much vulnerable in the early game due to the villager cost. Can do a nice supporting role in Bronze, and can act as a nice feeder civ in Iron, but not much else.
TIER VI.
Greece:
Nice Iron, but weak Bronze offense and defense. Its Iron army is also quite expensive, and heavily gold dependant. No archers whatsoever (except for tool age bowmen). At least Choson has a nice defense in Bronze and a cheap Iron army. No real answer to priests.
Carthage:
Also weak Bronze offense and defense with an expensive gold dependant Iron army. It's best Iron army is fodder for priests and Catapults. At least Choson has a nice defense in Bronze and a cheap Iron army. Commonly regarded as the worst civ in Random Map games.
TACTICS & STRATEGIES:
There's a wealth of information on the net regarding. http://www.heavengames.com/age/ and http://www.gamers.com are most recommended. The Crappy Bronzing Guide by Celestial_Dawn is a must read. Albeit written for AOE, much of it stills hold true.
But here's a quick summary:
Try to get the military advantage, and if you don't have the advantage, run and fight another day. If you ran, and still can't muster a superior military, fight like the Viet Cong, and do hit and runs, without direct confrontations. Hit his economy, and try to slow his military machine down. Use terrain, timing, surprise, etc., all to your advantage. Try to fight battles on his land and not yours.
-joecho