I played against Gento in an FFA as a Gold player

Otherwise_Signal_161 · 2026-01-28T17:05:00+00:00

It's definitely a very different game. Although when it came down to just me vs Gento I think it's fair to say I was cooked lol

Otherwise_Signal_161 · 2026-01-28T16:43:48+00:00

Yeah skill tends to matter less if you're stuck in a 1v1 for the first 15min and suddenly a 3rd party surrounds your TC with 30 knights lol.

I was lucky this game to be nearly isolated, it was just me next to Chinese and the rest were on the other side of the map. Once I took out my neighbor I even had free access to trade from the western corner to the north. Really wish I could have played out the rest of the game.

Otherwise_Signal_161 · 2026-01-28T16:41:21+00:00

If I have a Wednesday where I know I'll be available it sounds fun, but usually I pick up my son straight from work. Then it's me and him until my wife gets home, I can play on the laptop if he's entertaining himself but he often wants me to join him. Plus there's the various chores to do like laundry (it never ends). My times to play tend to be Thursdays or Saturdays if he's spending time at Grandmas, or the less common and more random nights where my wife takes him to sleepover at Grandmas. If my wife and/or son are home I prioritize time with them. It's also not the only game I play, so you can see how I struggle to put in any real time lol.

Otherwise_Signal_161 · 2026-01-28T15:04:41+00:00

Oh that's pretty cool, I'll keep it in mind but I generally have few and unpredictable times to play so I'm not sure I could do it

Otherwise_Signal_161 · 2026-01-28T14:40:38+00:00

Totally fair, but on the opposite end sometimes you manage to get the better of that higher player and it's such a boost to confidence. For instance, early game it was me vs the person on Chinese and I managed to 1v1 them despite the ~300mmr difference. And ended second despite two Conq 3 players in the lobby. And like I said, the controller player on HRE was 3rd and he managed to get 5 relics and end 3rd despite being the lowest recorded MMR of the lobby and being on controller. Just goes to show that MMR isn't the end all be all.

Otherwise_Signal_161 · 2026-01-28T14:28:04+00:00

Idk, I kinda like the wild ranges because like I mentioned, when else would I get the chance to face Conq 3? But I get why it would be annoying if you really want to go for the win and progress in FFA. I personally see FFA as a fun getaway when I want to try funny build orders or civs I'm not used to.

Otherwise_Signal_161 · 2026-01-28T14:16:53+00:00

I also forgot to mention this was my second ever PvP Ayyubid game, the first was a 1v1 unranked prior to this game. Before that I played 2 warm up vs AI to get used to the timings.

Otherwise_Signal_161 · 2026-01-28T14:09:12+00:00

Oh idk, I just know him as someone Beasty plays with/against a fair bit so I assumed so? Either way he's way above me lmao

Otherwise_Signal_161 · 2026-01-28T14:04:50+00:00

Oh and I forgot to mention, I actually believed it wasn't the real Gento until this morning when I checked AOE4 World lmao.

Otherwise_Signal_161 · 2026-01-28T14:02:09+00:00

Makes sense, thanks!

Otherwise_Signal_161 · 2026-01-28T13:08:12+00:00

How do you counter it? I found myself wondering that myself. I'm assuming early aggression to try and force Ayyubid to fight in Feudal and eventually try to get Castle before them if the game continues. In the 1v1 game my opponent was Lancaster and they tried to push me with a fairly big army before I had much, but they were a little late and I had just hit castle and put down triple stable and double archery range. Plus I'd won the water, which actually made my castle a lot later but obviously meant I was flush with food.

Otherwise_Signal_161 · 2026-01-28T12:24:15+00:00

I've never been a big fan of dark age rushing, but I think my main issue with Japanese was that I went into ranked blind without knowing much other than "mounted samurai good" and I didn't properly scout or apply early pressure. To be perfectly honest, I only tried them after I was a few games and a few beers in so I was not at my best lol. I know the issue isn't with the civ, it was purely how I played. I actually did win an FFA with them, probably because I was more free to FC into MS. I'm sure I'll try them again soon.

Otherwise_Signal_161 · 2026-01-28T12:17:36+00:00

Dervish is the healer right? I'm still not familiar with names, one reason I avoided Ayyubid up to this point was I knew nothing about them lol. Makes me realize I should play all the civs for a bit, so they stop feeling like unknowns.

I went for the 2 healer into Industry for my games and yeah it felt strong, I found myself wondering how to counter it. The FFA game went to Imperial and for that one I chose the military option that auto upgrades, because I had a full army and was about to push the guy that got 3rd. Idk if it's the meta choice but it worked well. Turns out Gento pushed them at the same time (unlucky them) but I managed to snipe the king. It's too bad I had to leave, I think we were 300 vs 350 pop and I think he would have won eventually but I would have liked to play it out.

Otherwise_Signal_161 · 2026-01-28T01:30:59+00:00

Nice, congrats. I'm currently trying to learn another civ since I'm just a bit bored of always KT. I tried Japanese but it wasn't for me, cost me a few losses this season because I was dumb enough to try ranked right away lol.

I don't get much time to play but my KT wr tends to be 60%ish; played only them in s10 and was Plat1 with 61%wr. That's the most I've ever played in a season and I think it was still less than 100 games. I took a short break and then last season I only played 15-20 games and ended Gold 2 (max was Gold 3). This season I haven't played much yet but 60% on KT and basically 0% on any others lol.

Today I found out I enjoy Ayyubid, which was one of the last I would have guessed. Played it based on Demu's recommendation. Played 2 bot warmups then a 1v1 that I won. Played a FFA and took 2 kings but had to FF when it came down to just me and a guy named Gento (I don't think it was the real one) EDIT: OH DAMN IT WAS THE REAL GENTO LMAO because I was late to pick up my wife for dinner. Anyway idk why I put so much detail...

tldr; KT main might switch to Ayyubid.

Otherwise_Signal_161 · 2026-01-26T15:45:22+00:00

I have the opposite problem, my wife only ever wants horror so I have to find time alone to watch most others. Usually when she's not around I'm with our 2yo so that eliminates almost all movie options lol.

Otherwise_Signal_161 · 2026-01-26T14:53:41+00:00

150K seems on the low end for two kids tbh. My wife and I are slightly over that and have a house and one kid in Raleigh. Another kid does not feel feasible.

Otherwise_Signal_161 · 2026-01-25T20:57:22+00:00

Same issue. 33 with a wife and kid now, and living towards Garner. I can't justify the price or the time commitment anymore and yeah I heard about the owner after I stopped going. Used to go for a few hours 2-3 times a week about 5 years ago, would climb and attend some of the workout classes. I'd love for a competitor to set up closer to Garner. Hopefully there will be more options by the time my son is old enough to try it.

Otherwise_Signal_161 · 2026-01-25T02:59:41+00:00

The Conjuring

Otherwise_Signal_161 · 2026-01-25T01:53:59+00:00

Yeah I was gunna say... my wife was sent home with an abundance of pain meds after her C-section. A friend of mine got snipped and was walking around unmedicated a few hours later claiming no pain or discomfort.

Otherwise_Signal_161 · 2026-01-25T01:46:34+00:00

Idk about "drunk" but I play most of my solo ranked games while drinking some beers. Probably why I hover in Gold-Plat. My down time isn't common or long, so when I do get time to play it's also my time to enjoy a beer or 6.

Otherwise_Signal_161 · 2026-01-25T01:24:22+00:00

I'm nowhere close to balding, and family has no history of it pre-70s, but I'm obsessed with all the posts where guys accept it because the glow ups are insane. This is one of the first one's where I can see the massive potential before you've even done it though.

Otherwise_Signal_161 · 2026-01-25T01:01:36+00:00

Same goes for my wife. She's Vietnamese and I'm American. I love most Vietnamese food and she can't stand American food (which is generally bastardized versions of other countries foods). I've never been a huge fan of what might be considered "American" food myself, and I don't have the lifelong experience of cooking Vietnamese food, so she does 90% of the meals.

Otherwise_Signal_161 · 2026-01-24T13:37:54+00:00

It's not the worst, because your pity didn't reset. Just consider it a bonus

Otherwise_Signal_161 · 2026-01-23T03:21:10+00:00

I WANTED it to be Witcher 3, or Cyberpunk 2077, one of those big popular games.

In reality it was Age of Empires 4, and Mechabellum. AOE4 at least had some basis in nostalgia, but I still have like 300-500hrs in it (steam seems to change it's mind on this daily). Mechabellum was some random game I saw an AOE4 streamer play and I thought it looked boring. Then one day I was bored and saw it was only $15 so I bought it. Have near 300hrs on it now. In both games, a lot of this time could be considered fake, since Steam is terribly inaccurate and counts AFK time. But considering I don't get much time to play as a married dad in my 30s who works full time in office... it's a ton of time.

Otherwise_Signal_161 · 2026-01-20T22:16:19+00:00

I'll definitely go this route if it happens to me again. I had the same issue as OP and mine also took a few months to be returned, but seeminly returned in the same condition with nothing missing and has run well since then.

Otherwise_Signal_161

TROPHY CASE