Strategy

From GenieWiki

Strategy is the basis for skillfully playing any real-time strategy game, as implied by the genre's name. Below are some basic strategy tips for the three games that everybody should know.

Contents 1 Strategy vs. tactics 2 Basic strategy in AoK 2.1 Hot Keys 2.2 Keep your Town Center busy 2.3 Scouting 2.4 Assigning groups 2.5 Idle Villagers 2.6 Keep playing 2.7 Drop resources 2.8 Sound 2.9 Relics 2.10 Starting resources

Strategy vs. tactics

There is a subtle difference between the terms strategy and tactics. Strategy refers to the overall approach to a game, while tactics refers to the changing techniques employed in a specific situation or location. For example a strategy could be rushing with a certain type of unit based on the layout of the map, while tactics might include micromanaging cavalry archers in a certain way (e.g. retreating, circling etc) to defeat a stronger force. In summary, strategy refers to the overall approach, while tactics are dynamic and refer to the strategy applied in a brief and specific situation.

Basic strategy in AoK

Thanks to the _NeT_AnGeLs_ clan for providing the basis of these tips.

Note: The basic worker unit will be referred to as a "villager" for convenience's sake and the base building as the "Town Center".

Hot Keys

Hot keys can greatly speed up your game. It takes a while to learn them, but you'll be surprised at how much time clicking the buttons actually takes up. For example, in AOK, HCCCC at the start of the game builds four villagers at the Town Center.

Keep your Town Center busy

The Town Center must be kept busy at all times until about halfway through the third age. Keep it busy be continuously creating villagers with breaks while researching the techs (like loom in AOK). This requires a constant supply of food so put the first 10 villagers created on gathering food. A good mix is six on animals and four on forage bushes (or equivalent).

Scouting

Scout your base first in a circular path. If you can, use waypoints (SHIFT key) to scout so you can concentrate on other duties. Once the area around your base is scouted, use the minimap to scout the rest of the map so you don't have to scroll a lot.

Assigning groups

Assign groups to units and even buildings using the CTRL key + a number for easy access. After you do this, you can press the number once to select the unit and again (or the space bar) to center the screen on it. A good strategy early game would be to assign numbers to your scout and to your hunting villagers. Another benefit of grouping is that you can command the unit without even having to change your view.

Idle Villagers

Use the idle villager key (.) at all times. This is one of the most important and most commonly forgotten function of the game. A few villager seconds wated early game turns into minutes later game.

Keep playing

Even if you are losing horribly against your opponent, keep playing. The practice will be worth it and you can watch the replay afterwards to see what you did wrong.

Drop resources

When changing a villager's job, always drop whatever resources they are carrying. If you don't do this, all the resources they were carrying will be lost. Also remember that different types of animals may have different types of meat, so still drop even if a villager is to remain a hunter.

Sound

It is probably a good idea to turn the sounds to the max and the music off. This way you can clearly hear all the important sounds in the game: researching, finishing building, and under attack. This is essential to a quick response!

Relics

Relics provide free gold, at a rate of 45 gold/minute. Monks can't heal or convert while carrying Relics, so they are potentially risky.

Starting resources

In AOK, the starting resources are:

• 8 sheep (in groups of 4, 2, and 2)
• 2 boars
• 1 group of 4 deer (possibly 2)
• 6 forage bushes
• 2 gold mines
• 2 stone mines