So You Suck at Age of Empires II and Want to Get Better

Introduction

Welcome to the club. We all suck at Age of Empires, or did at one point.

The good news is you can get pretty decent pretty quick. Age of Empires is a game filled with a ton of little things that make a big difference.

This guide is not meant to be comprehensive, but aims to act as a foundation to get you started.

Improving Your Play

1. Build more villagers. You aren’t building enough villagers. Your Town Center should always be doing something. If it isn’t advancing to the next age, it should be making more villagers. As a rule of thumb, your end goal is to have about half of your total population limit to be villagers. More villagers means you can build more military units and can keep building them longer.
2. Scouting. Your scout should always be working. Like your Town Center, your scout should always be doing something. Hotkey him. Scout in expanding circles around your base until you’ve found your resources. After that, your scout should gather information on the map and the actions of your enemy.
3. Boars. Learn to lure boars. Boars are 340 of the fastest gathering food in the game. Once you learn how to lure boar, you’ll be miles ahead of where you used to be.
4. Hotkeys. Learn and use hotkeys.
5. Build Orders. Learn build orders. Build orders are the foundation of this game. Age of Empires really only has one resource. Time. The player who makes the best use of time will win the match. Nerds have been playing this game for like 20 years now. That means that people have had a long time to figure out the most efficient way to do things. Basic Build Orders to Start:
   1. Fast Castle
   2. Scout Rush
   3. Archer Flush

These will give you a good place to start. They aren’t the only ones you need to know, but they’ll get you on the right track.

6. Recorded Games. Watch replays of your games to see what you did wrong. Recorded games are a great way to learn. The option to record games is on by default. There is basically no reason to switch it off. The files are small and it has no impact on the game. You’ll be busy during the game but after you can sit back and go at your own pace.
7. Spectating. Professional players stream their games and post them to YouTube. Hop in their stream and see what they’re doing. If you have questions, ask in the chat. There should be someone who is friendly and helpful. You can find a list of professional streams and YouTube channels in the resources section below.

Glossary

We use weird words here are some glossaries:
http://www.forgottenempires.net/aof/strategy/aoe2-glossary
http://aoe.heavengames.com/academy/glossary.shtml
http://www.cysion.be/aocbox/?p=203

Miscellaneous tools

• Utilities and professional Age of Empires 2 calendar
  • Especially Jineapple’s AoC Cheat Sheet
• Captains’ Mode: A turn-based civilization picker
• Statistical data for units, building and civilizations
• Reference sheet for Civs, Units and Technologies

Modding guides

Bots -Computer Wizards pt. II-

• A not terrible game browser for HD
• Hotkey editor
• For the properly titled recs of different strategies with Huns, executed by TheViper vs different opponents
• Patrolling Guide (for intermediate players)
• Spirit of the Law — Unit Maths/Stats/Thought Experiments
• See upcoming matches here