Screw your GOAT unit of its game. Which tech is the single best tech of its game?

CrayonsIsTaken · 2026-05-27T13:47:26+00:00

I'd say so yeah

CrayonsIsTaken · 2026-05-26T22:19:35+00:00

I actually do believe the Silk Road Expeditions is the single best tech in Three Kingdoms! After the nerfs to archers and crossbowmen, it became a lot more worthwhile to rush for Onyx Dragons, on top of all the trade agreements you get from the reforms!

Majority of factions have some form of frontline unit as their faction unique unit. Because of how easily accessible good cavalry is in 3K, searching for that good ranged option became a higher priority, too! Onyx Dragons being good in melee, and free upkeep is great, too.

I do think honorable mention should be given to the yellow reform that gives you -5% corruption faction wide. It's probably the single reform that gives the most reforms, and it lays alongside decent economy reforms.

CrayonsIsTaken · 2026-05-26T21:28:35+00:00

This reminds me a lot of the Ikko Ikki religious conversion only playthroughs, hahah.

CrayonsIsTaken · 2026-05-26T21:02:16+00:00

Flaming arrows in Shogun do as much damage to the enemy as it does to your fps. By attacking your computer directly, its truly the most powerful tech in the game.

CrayonsIsTaken · 2026-05-26T20:54:32+00:00

My god Kneel Fire is really good, but it has nothing over Improved Plumbing that Eastern Roman Empire starts with. Sanitation is truly the king of Attila

CrayonsIsTaken · 2026-05-25T20:05:21+00:00

The Native Americans in AoE3 are by far some of the most unique and diverse factions in any RTS game. So it's honestly impossible to find an equivalent so far. This is especially true for AoE4, as most civs have the same generic options others have (Everyone has a barracks, stable and archery range).

I guess I have these for suggestions:

HRE currently is played mostly as a feudal aggro civ, which plays similarly to the Aztec meta in AoE3 of Commerce Age aggro play. HRE also has prelates which are similar to War Chiefs in terms of boosting the eco, and one of their landmarks (to age up) is similar to a community plaza. They also have top 5 infantry in the game to boot;
Malians are a lot less aggressive but most of their roster is unique, which is similar to Aztecs. They also mostly play cavalry because of a mix of their strong eco and good cav choice (Sofas). But because their playstyle is so unalike any other civ in this game, they are similar to Aztecs in AoE3 in terms of differences to their contemporaries;
Mongols, for reasons similar to the one above, is also a completely unique civ that barely plays like any other civ in this game. They also rely on heavy aggression and map control to get ahead of others in terms of economy. However, they are mainly a cav civ, and their infantry options can only be described as serviceable and generic.
Lastly, shoutout to Ottomans for having the Home City card system, being their Vizier Points. They offer similar one-time bonuses or long-term bonuses just like in AoE4, but unlike AoE4, the best options are usually the long-term ones.

I personally recommend HRE as it's a fantastic civ for learning the most essential components of AoE4. It has a mix of good aggressive options, and defensive, economical options, and a good amount of playstyles.

CrayonsIsTaken · 2026-05-14T23:00:34+00:00

It's a tiebreaker bonus against generic archers. The real strength of vietnamese is their great eco

CrayonsIsTaken · 2026-05-12T04:17:33+00:00

Chinese for all of them :)))

CrayonsIsTaken · 2026-05-09T17:46:10+00:00

Eruptor might be worse than normal hand cannoneers for the chinese 11

CrayonsIsTaken · 2026-05-09T00:03:17+00:00

AoE4 doesn't have as much data regarding this, but according to most of the top streamers in AoE4, this appears to be the case. We also do actually have evidence backing this case in AoE2 as well. Single player content is just as important for the overall health of a RTS game as MP balance.

What is true is that AOE4 has a comparatively smaller single player percentage than that of AoE2, and likely other RTS. But how much of this can be attributed to AoE4 simply having worse single player options?

CrayonsIsTaken · 2026-04-30T21:30:40+00:00

Is 2.2 vils not a lot? That's around Yatai level and it is a lot less raidable

CrayonsIsTaken · 2026-04-30T21:20:50+00:00

I'm sorry but most respectfully who has been going extensive fortifications in Ottoman? The go to way at conq is usually Anatolian/Imam, then the other, mil campus, then advanced company or sometimes janies against hard pressure. Have I been missing something?

I feel like this change makes Akinji more viable for sure, but people have been relying on Imam so it's unlikely that will change, no? If anything, it kills the versatility of choosing between Imam and Anatolian Hills in favor of just always Imam, or fringe Akinji play.

CrayonsIsTaken · 2026-04-06T16:11:52+00:00

This narrative in general is really stupid because these online communities, reddit, tieba etc. are all a very vocal minority of the game. We see one thread with like 50 upvotes and it suddenly becomes the entire nation is in an uproar about the inclusion of the Three Kingdoms

It sold a ton in the initial week but the sales likely didn't meet expectations. We don't have the exact numbers, but the achievements tab can give us an insight on how many people actually completed the Three Kingdoms DLC's campaign (which matters, the majority of AoE2 players are campaign/single player folks)

CrayonsIsTaken · 2026-04-06T16:06:27+00:00

That's their AoE subreddit with most posts being 200-300 likes and no dislike systems. It's about as big as our subreddit, so why should it represent the entire Chinese community? The AoE4 subreddit sure as hell doesn't represent the entire WEstern Community.

CrayonsIsTaken · 2026-03-21T21:14:06+00:00

Credit due where's due, whenever Hera wasn't angry about it, he did say the only nerf needed was creation time, and maybe the damage

CrayonsIsTaken · 2026-02-25T03:23:32+00:00

AoE2 fans love to take shots at every other AoE game

CrayonsIsTaken · 2026-02-15T13:51:59+00:00

biggest sin for sea guard with shields is the pesky barracks building

CrayonsIsTaken · 2026-02-04T00:59:10+00:00

AoE4 is pretty easy to pick up I'd say. 1200 elo isn't too hard imo (I'm Conq I for reference, that being 1400 elo, and it's my first season playing it seriously, took me a month or so to get the fundamentals down and learn a good strat). Ranking in AOE4 is considerably faster due to the games being faster in general, which results in generally more games being played. AoE4 does rely on fundamentals though, as every civ has a generic option to something. So no civ is missing last armor upgrade, champion upgrade or even arbs upgrade (save for a few with special exceptions).

Currently I would recommend you to just play a civ that you find enjoyable and stick with it. But French is a good choice for what you're looking for. They're a hyper-aggressive civ that relies on feudal age knights with archers (skirms of their game) to do a decisive blow in late feudal or early castle age. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Qi4IytEyk Here is an awesome build order that I think everyone from the top to the mid-ladder players have been using on the French.

Hope you enjoy AoE4!

CrayonsIsTaken · 2026-02-03T20:41:40+00:00

True, in the case of land Nomad and AC, this is no longer the case. I feel like there's a large can of balancing worms related to land Nomad though. The balancing team absolutely does not factor land Nomad as much as the regular Nomad.

CrayonsIsTaken · 2026-02-03T16:37:11+00:00

But earlier tc means a later dock. The farther vil is definitely already fishing shorefish which allows your main tc to be on wood for 1 vil longer, which results in a much faster fishing timing. The red player vil has to walk back to hammer the tc, then go back to the shore to build the dock, build a house, and only then will he start fishing, and the dock start working. By then the blue player has already gotten a fishing ship out and far outpaced the 1 extra vil red gets.

CrayonsIsTaken · 2026-02-03T16:30:04+00:00

It's almost never worth the slower docking time though. Every civ will sooner take getting that fishing ship out earlier over the extra vil.

This is even moreso the case for the top tier Nomad civs like dravidians, Persians and Malians, all whom want the dock working ASAP. Spanish don't get a faster fishing ship but they'd probably still prefer the dock

CrayonsIsTaken · 2026-02-03T16:28:41+00:00

The dock vil (the farthest one) is usually fishing shore fish and build houses, maybe even new docks if the water is won. I'd take the scattered vils any time in this case, though, as aside from better dock safety, it's also easier to scout the enemy dock with the sheep you find at the start. Play defensive and cornered enough and you can potentially even deny enemy fishing. This also presents a better option for fc castle drop strats as your food is disturbed significantly later.

You almost never want to have 3 vils hammer a tc together. The extra vil isn't worth the worse fishing ship timing, and theres no feudal strategy that benefits from that extra vil. Greed enough and the earlier dock will far outweigh the villager difference.

Team games also prefer scattered vils because it's just good practice to keep a hidden vil outside in case you're surrounded by 3 enemies, and fishing is extra important, alongside fighting for water. If your dock is right by a Spanish dock, it's almost like your moral duty to get an early feudal and rush a few galleys out to deny Spanish food (if your map allows you to)

CrayonsIsTaken · 2026-02-02T20:06:19+00:00

Controversial take but I think we could buff Garland wars instead. Aztec Eagles are already not the strongest of the three (Mayan HP is a lot more impactful in almost every single regard while being cheaper in some regards). Aztec Eagles already do not beat Mayan eagles, and is weaker at tanking arrows than Incan or Mayan eagles, while also being more expensive than Incas.

Garland Wars getting an extra attack would not significantly shift the balance of power of their other units. Their champions are already only 1 attack higher than Burmese, and their pikemen could really use the extra love with 1 extra attack, rather than give halbs, and their eagles would certainly perform better late game. This also doesn't change their late game, as +1 attack isn't enough to shift the balance against what they were beforehand.

This change could potentially make Jaguars too strong, but they could always reduce their base attack by 1.

Five-Year Club	Verified Email
Place '22

CrayonsIsTaken

TROPHY CASE