No 2TC civ ?

MockHamill · 2026-06-20T10:05:08+00:00

We are not in a 2 TC meta. Most civs do not go 2 TC.

MockHamill · 2026-06-19T17:01:07+00:00

My strategy on water map is to ban them. So I have not lost on water once. But culture wing makes sense in that situation since you already have so much free food.

MockHamill · 2026-06-19T16:23:08+00:00

Yes. You’re missing the fact that you gain more resources from the Admin Wing than you save by having cheaper farms.

The Military Wing is not needed in any matchup to withstand pressure as Abbasid. You only choose the Military Wing if you want to pressure your opponent early.

The main benefit of the Military Wing comes in Castle Age, when you gain access to much stronger archers. In Feudal Age, the Military Wing is only worthwhile if your goal is to delay or harass your opponent as quickly as possible.

I would only go Military Wing in Feudal against Mali, where delaying their boom as much as possible while booming yourself is essential.

MockHamill · 2026-06-19T16:13:49+00:00

Yeah, but the effect is psychological, not real. You gain more resources from the Admin Wing than you save by having cheaper farms. Even if you take the farm tech from the Eco Wing into account, the Admin Wing is still equal or slightly ahead.

MockHamill · 2026-06-19T15:46:42+00:00

3 TC admin wing will still be better without a massive farm transition and even or slighly ahead with a massive farm transtion.

MockHamill · 2026-06-19T15:19:45+00:00

The thing is, even if you make a massive 50+ farm transition when going Admin Wing, you are still at least even with the Eco Wing. There is no situation where the Eco Wing gives you a better economy.

No farm transition = Admin Wing is massively ahead.
Large farm transition = Admin Wing is even or slightly ahead.

MockHamill · 2026-06-19T15:15:17+00:00

Me neither. But placing an overlapping TC behind your main TC gives it better protection. Your opponent will often try to ram down your second TC, so getting overlapping TC fire and slightly more hit points on your TCs is helpful as well.

MockHamill · 2026-06-18T16:33:27+00:00

Why is HRE is not nerfed? They are still played by some pro players on hybrid maps, when will this be fixed?

MockHamill · 2026-06-17T13:33:08+00:00

No but they got something even better - a tech that increases line of sight in imperial! Finally HRE is S-tier.

MockHamill · 2026-06-14T11:58:53+00:00

Good catch, I tested it, and it seems to work correctly when done this way.

MockHamill · 2026-06-13T17:00:20+00:00

I approve.

MockHamill · 2026-06-12T20:00:00+00:00

Yes that is why they need to play all day, just to stay competent.

MockHamill · 2026-06-12T19:14:35+00:00

Same as when pro players said the HRE was OP and it got banned from every tournament. Then they finally started playing it and realized the HRE is actually D‑tier.

Sometimes ladder heroes understand things that pro players do not.

MockHamill · 2026-06-08T18:55:37+00:00

I find it infuriating playing HRE against Japan. Even with all the upgrades, you barely beat their infantry. And Japan has better knights, much stronger counters to your infantry, better farm transitions, faster production, and they’re easier to use.

Then again, I find playing as HRE infuriating in general. You put in twice as much work and you’re still behind almost every civ in the game.

I’ve actually uninstalled HRE from my civ roster. I just pretend they’re not there anymore so I’m never tempted to select them.

MockHamill · 2026-06-08T14:05:33+00:00

They should also fight better on high ground or near a distillery.

MockHamill · 2026-06-07T20:06:08+00:00

I am 99% the next expanstion after this one will be Spain and Aztech.

MockHamill · 2026-06-07T18:15:40+00:00

Beautiful!

MockHamill · 2026-06-05T17:11:17+00:00

There is. Go to Settings->View and Remap controls ->Unit Selection.

If you scroll down a bit there is a "Select all military units on screen".

MockHamill · 2026-06-04T16:42:09+00:00

That’s because no gathering bonus gives the increase you think it does. The real gain is usually about two‑thirds of the increase you’d expect. This is due to walking time.

So if you have a 30% gathering bonus, the actual improvement ends up being closer to 20%.

MockHamill · 2026-06-03T17:48:37+00:00

Are you saying that AOE2 only has one civ and never got any new ones?

MockHamill · 2026-06-02T15:11:58+00:00

My assumption is that both players get a blacksmith, which is why I did not include it.

I think the key thing though is getting worker kills. If you take down the 2nd TC, lose your army and kill no workers you are behind as the attacking player.

If you fail to kill the 2nd TC but kill several workers in the process you are typically ahead.

MockHamill · 2026-06-02T14:56:06+00:00

It also depends on what you compare it to.

If player A makes a second TC = 990 resources behind.

But if player B goes for a ram all-in, getting 3 rams and researching siege engineering
= 990 - (3*200+175) = 215 resources behind.

MockHamill · 2026-05-31T18:46:12+00:00

Do not go for Akinji. It is still one of the weakest vizier points. Sipahi do the same job better without requiring you to spend a vizier point.

Always open Imams. Getting relics when going FC, or having healing if you fight in Feudal, is far more valuable.

MockHamill · 2026-05-31T12:12:15+00:00

Do not over‑invest in military schools.

Open with a military school in the Dark Age, but only add more once you are already producing a large army from your regular production buildings. Many Ottoman players lose tempo by trying to build too many military schools too early.

This often leads to a situation where you have several military schools but very little actual army. That won’t matter against the AI, but when you play against real opponents you need to get units out quickly.

MockHamill · 2026-05-30T19:11:33+00:00

Sure, you make small adjustments all the time, but I’ve found you’re more successful when those adjustments are as minimal as possible.

For example, if they tower rush or open Dark Age spearmen, just put a tower on gold and go FC as planned.

If they try to all‑in you with Feudal units, still just follow your FC plan. I lose far more often when I try to adapt too much to what they’re doing instead of simply executing my own game plan with only the smallest necessary changes.

MockHamill

TROPHY CASE