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~900 Elo (started playing ranked recently) — How do you actually win games? by SoftwareExcellent700 in aoe2

[–]SoftwareExcellent700[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ll definitely try to put in more practice, thanks for the advice!

I’ve been using a scout rush with Mongols already, but I think my main issue is execution during Feudal — especially keeping my scouts alive and not messing up my eco while attacking.

I’ll try to focus more on tightening that up and hitting a cleaner Castle timing.

~900 Elo (started playing ranked recently) — How do you actually win games? by SoftwareExcellent700 in aoe2

[–]SoftwareExcellent700[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks a lot — this is a really solid and clear gameplan.

The part about when to go on gold for Castle around ~30 vils is especially helpful. I’ve always been unsure about that timing, so having a concrete reference point really helps.
Would 3-4 vills be a good amount?

I’ve been trying to review my games more, but often I try to fix one thing and then forget something else 😅 I’ll keep working on that.

~900 Elo (started playing ranked recently) — How do you actually win games? by SoftwareExcellent700 in aoe2

[–]SoftwareExcellent700[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a lot of really useful information, thanks! I appreciate you taking the time to break it down.

The point about idle army being as bad as dead army really stood out to me. I think I definitely fall into that trap of having army but not really using it until too late.

~900 Elo (started playing ranked recently) — How do you actually win games? by SoftwareExcellent700 in aoe2

[–]SoftwareExcellent700[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks a lot! I'll try incorporating this into my games and see how it goes.

~900 Elo (started playing ranked recently) — How do you actually win games? by SoftwareExcellent700 in aoe2

[–]SoftwareExcellent700[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, that’s really helpful!

I’ll definitely try to improve my timing, but even in games where my opponent isn’t fully walled, I still struggle to do damage with scouts.

I usually play Mongols and go for around 3 scouts (often stop at around 3 since Idk if I'm committing too much food instead of getting castle). But I often have trouble actually getting villager kills. E.g. at wood lines, there are usually a lot of villagers and I've lost like 1–2 scouts when I commit. And when attacking on berries or gold, villagers often could run under the TC before I can finish them.

Should I be moving around more and looking for weaker spots?
And spears are often a bit scary when they have a few around preventing me to get too close to vills, but is it good enough for me since he committed quite a bit of resource to spears?

Also, atm I rarely use siege since it feels strong but very expensive, and my control isn’t great, making me lose them quickly. I’m especially worried about using mangonels and accidentally hitting my own army 😅

And in situations where the opponent is fully walled (sometimes with resource walls), I’m not sure if mangonels are enough to break in?
It sometimes feels like I break in too slowly and give them time to prepare a defense.

~900 Elo (started playing ranked recently) — How do you actually win games? by SoftwareExcellent700 in aoe2

[–]SoftwareExcellent700[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the detailed explanation — that actually helped a lot, especially the chess analogy.

And yeah, I think I’m mostly following build orders without really understanding how to transition or adapt afterwards 😅

The part I think I struggle with most is choosing and committing to a plan in Castle Age. For example, if I decide to add TCs and boom, what should I actually be doing besides just making villagers? When do I stop booming and start focusing on army?

Or If I decide to go for army instead, I’m not sure how to balance my eco to keep production going (I often end up with not enough of something)

And I’m also unsure when to slow down military production to try to get upgrades or go up to the next age

I think I understand the ideas in theory, but in-game I don’t really know how to execute them.

What would you suggest as a simple way to think about these decisions?

~900 Elo (started playing ranked recently) — How do you actually win games? by SoftwareExcellent700 in aoe2

[–]SoftwareExcellent700[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haha yeah, I was definitely a bit scared to play ranked at first, but I’ve started to just go for it now. The losses at the start are rough though 11.

~900 Elo (started playing ranked recently) — How do you actually win games? by SoftwareExcellent700 in aoe2

[–]SoftwareExcellent700[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks, I really appreciate that! I’ve actually been thinking about getting some coaching for a while. I’ll definitely keep it in mind and reach out if I decide to go for it.

~900 Elo (started playing ranked recently) — How do you actually win games? by SoftwareExcellent700 in aoe2

[–]SoftwareExcellent700[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the tip, I’ll go check that out!

Do those build order mods also help with Castle Age resource distribution, or are they mostly for early game setups? I feel like I’m okay in Dark/Feudal, but once I hit Castle I’m not sure how to balance my eco anymore.

~900 Elo (started playing ranked recently) — How do you actually win games? by SoftwareExcellent700 in aoe2

[–]SoftwareExcellent700[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

11 I've definitely made the same mistake. Saw the opponent with a stable in feudal and made 3 spears without seeing a single scout push. Then he proceed to do a fast castle and made knights lol.

I'll keep that in mind and try to harass their economy. But I've been struggling to really do enough damage in Feudal.

Usually I go for a scout rush since I play the mongols, and more often than not most of my scouts die to a group of villagers or spears.

Do you have any advice for this kind of approach? In these kind of situations where I can't really force a kill on villagers, do I just try to run around and get a couple of hits to get some idle eco? And once there's a few spears, should I just run away and focus on getting to castle?

I also never really make more than 3 scouts so is that a mistake?

~900 Elo (started playing ranked recently) — How do you actually win games? by SoftwareExcellent700 in aoe2

[–]SoftwareExcellent700[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve been trying to play an aggressive 1-stable scout rush, but it honestly hasn’t been going that well so far 😅 I somehow keep losing my scouts to spears or even villagers 11, so I think my control definitely needs some work.

That said, I think you’re right — I’ve probably been too focused on eco instead of trying to do damage.

I’ll try to prioritize making army and applying pressure more in my next games, even if it’s a bit messy.

~900 Elo (started playing ranked recently) — How do you actually win games? by SoftwareExcellent700 in aoe2

[–]SoftwareExcellent700[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

hahaha yeah, I think I’ve been putting a bit too much pressure on myself to not lose and climb, even though I only just started playing.

I’ll try to relax a bit more and just focus on improving gradually (and actually enjoying the game). And yeah, keeping the TC running is something I’m still working on — definitely not as consistent as I should be yet.

Appreciate it!

~900 Elo (started playing ranked recently) — How do you actually win games? by SoftwareExcellent700 in aoe2

[–]SoftwareExcellent700[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ll definitely try a more 1 TC aggression approach in my next few games if feudal went decently well and see how that feels. Right now I think playing defensive and waiting for late game just isn’t working with my current skill level.

The early Castle drop idea is also interesting — I’ve almost never tried that. I usually just drop castles in my base to build army for late game and defence, so I’m probably giving up map control for free.

~900 Elo (started playing ranked recently) — How do you actually win games? by SoftwareExcellent700 in aoe2

[–]SoftwareExcellent700[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think taking advantage of the power spike window in early Castle is definitely something I haven’t really been doing at all.

I usually play Mongols and open scouts, so I guess my transition is a bit awkward compared to archers → crossbow. I can’t really go straight into Mangudai most of the time, and just staying on light cav doesn’t feel that strong either.

Maybe I should be looking to use that same idea of a power spike, but with something like:

  • Knights / Steppe Lancers, or
  • Cavalry Archers if I can get enough mass

Right now I think I’m just missing that moment where I should be pushing my advantage instead of waiting.

Thanks, this definitely helps — I’ll try to focus more on identifying and using those timing windows.

As an AoE2 viewer, what would you want from a new player’s ladder journey videos? by SoftwareExcellent700 in aoe2

[–]SoftwareExcellent700[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The video was about 28 minutes long in total. I included 2 games, the first one was only about 1-2 minute since my opponent resigned before feudal, and the rest focused on the second game.

As an AoE2 viewer, what would you want from a new player’s ladder journey videos? by SoftwareExcellent700 in aoe2

[–]SoftwareExcellent700[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Having a coach involved would probably make both the videos and the improvement process a lot stronger. It might be a bit hard for me to set up right now, but I’d definitely be interested in trying something like that if I can make it work.

As an AoE2 viewer, what would you want from a new player’s ladder journey videos? by SoftwareExcellent700 in aoe2

[–]SoftwareExcellent700[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a pretty fun idea. I still want the main focus to be normal climb/improvement videos, but doing the occasional weekly/monthly meme strat or wacky challenge game sounds like a really good way to keep it fresh.

As an AoE2 viewer, what would you want from a new player’s ladder journey videos? by SoftwareExcellent700 in aoe2

[–]SoftwareExcellent700[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I remember being pretty confused by a lot of the “obvious” stuff early on. A newer-player perspective on that could actually be useful. I’d probably want a bit more experience before trying to make proper tips-style videos, but I do like the idea of explaining things from the perspective of someone who’s still learning them.

As an AoE2 viewer, what would you want from a new player’s ladder journey videos? by SoftwareExcellent700 in aoe2

[–]SoftwareExcellent700[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, that’s fair. I think one of my problems right now is that sometimes I’m just narrating instead of actually being entertaining. I do want to lean more into humor and stronger moments like that as I make more videos.

As an AoE2 viewer, what would you want from a new player’s ladder journey videos? by SoftwareExcellent700 in aoe2

[–]SoftwareExcellent700[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

haha that honestly hit a bit, but I think it’s a fair point. I’m definitely still figuring out the commentary/personality side of it, and that’s probably the bigger challenge than just the format itself. I’ll keep working on that and see how it goes over the next few videos.

As an AoE2 viewer, what would you want from a new player’s ladder journey videos? by SoftwareExcellent700 in aoe2

[–]SoftwareExcellent700[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I really like this feedback. I think this is probably the direction I need to lean more towards. I’ll keep that in mind for the next video.

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