Kill ratio

From GenieWiki

Kill ratio is one of the selectable options when using the accumulate attribute condition in Age of Empires and Age of Kings.

Mechanics

The name is actually a misnomer, because it does not measure a ratio, but instead is the simple difference between a players kills and losses. Using P1 as an example:

   Kill ratio = Number of enemy units P1 has killed - Number of P1 units killed

Note that all player units that get destroyed in any way, including the remove object effect or deletion, are factored into losses, however the corresponding kills are not attributed to any player. It should also be noted that a player cannot have a kill ratio below zero, regardless of additional losses.

Reflection on player

A player with a high kill ratio may be use their units efficiently, showing good micromanagement. Conversely a higher number of losses than kills may indicate a wasteful and unskilled player. This is not however the case in all situations. A defensive player is more likely to have a low kill ratio, while an aggressive player may lose more units in their attempts to defeat a player who has walled themselves up and built lots of defensive structures. In multiplayer games it is often the aggressive player who wins in this situation, as many newer players tend to be defensive. This is not always the case, however - a player who defends well and exhausts their opponent's resources may well be able to turn things around with an effective counterattack.

Use in scenario design

This part of the accumulate attribute condition can be very useful for detecting when a player has killed an enemy unit, especially if the player is put in such a position that he is able to kill many enemy units while losing few, if any, in turn. Examples would include many single unit RPGs, as well as the popular multiplayer "Prey" and "Defence" map variations.

The most common use is to give the player rewards in such scenarios. The kill ratio condition can detect when the player reaches a number of kills, the reward can be given, and units can be given to the player in a remote corner of the map and immediately removed to reset the kill ratio to 0. (Units such as Joan of Arc work best for this, because they make no sound when created.) In this way the reward can be given each time the number of kills is reached.