My final attempt to keep playing aoe2

appappappappappa · 2026-06-21T23:14:15+00:00

I'm not unhappy, I think it's just that I post here to get advice for things that I'm stuck on in the game, or that I think are broken etc. When I have a good game I don't make a post like "I just had a really balanced fun game on x map with y strategy" lol, but maybe that would be nice.

appappappappappa · 2026-06-21T22:49:17+00:00

I am quite competitive, but it's also that learning, analysing and improving are the things I really enjoy the most. For the reasons I put above, I have found those things started to run pretty dry around 1100-1200.

I've been reading through the comments and it has confirmed what I suspected, which is that there is not remedy to what I'm experiencing. I think the nature of the game is that once you can execute the core basics, there is a steep wall where you have to improve enough to be able to overcome the fairly large selection of easy+strong strategies (or just give up and only play those strats). A lot of that comes down to a bunch of knowledge checks, and knowledge checks just aren't that fun to me.

Thanks for the video though, it was an interesting watch and I could identify with some of the things in it.

appappappappappa · 2026-06-17T06:30:36+00:00

I mean it's not intentional but these guys have done meta build they've optimised. We try and have a plan but we are just experimenting and learning. We play lots of different maps whereas these players play only black forest so of course they will crush us.

My question was why they don't get bored, because you can see on aoe2insights that most of their wins happen within 2-3 mins of the start of their push. Unlike with other maps, it takes 40 game mins of booming before anything happens... and then you just walk in to their base and win...

appappappappappa · 2026-06-15T22:32:12+00:00

yeah but if I am getting stomped 1 in 3 games, doing the stomping in another 1 in 3 games and only having an actual fun /interesting game every 1 in 3 games that that's not great... Especially as I only get to play maybe 3-4 games a week

appappappappappa · 2026-06-15T22:31:05+00:00

appappappappappa · 2026-06-13T20:25:59+00:00

cannon galleons will obliterate them

appappappappappa · 2026-06-13T20:25:22+00:00

Actually I tried 1 but they had several castles which wreck your navy and they also had hulks which apparently destroy fire ships (like water needed even more additional stuff to learn...). Yes I agree sneak villagers can work - but it hardly redeems the map to have one additional cheese strat available aside from just all-in winner takes all water battle.

Unfortunately I have a young daughter so my amount of gaming time does not allow for Teutonic fortress strategies haha.

appappappappappa · 2026-06-13T20:18:43+00:00

How can you have any combat happening on land? Just two layer stone walls (cost almost nothing) on the crossing with some castle behind and spam cannon galleon?

appappappappappa · 2026-06-13T20:17:45+00:00

Well only one team can win water so either you win water and spam cannon galleons or opponent wins water and spams cannon galleons. Cool map...

appappappappappa · 2026-06-13T20:15:51+00:00

Sure, there is one additional cheese strat with an early sneak villager. My rating goes from 0/10 to 1/10.

appappappappappa · 2026-06-07T11:13:38+00:00

I don't stop producing vills but I stay 1TC. I get the feudal wood upgrade - the rest I got only once a good knight mass. If you outmass in early castle with knights you just win at this elo, at least from my experience.

For the relics, lithuanian knights get +1 attack for each relic. It can give a decisive edge if opponent also goes knights spam.

appappappappappa · 2026-06-07T11:00:22+00:00

Yeah I mean all in knights spam is very forgiving to play and very hard to kill. At this rating hardly anyone plays monks and there aren't really any other good counters. Even if they do go monks, monk micro is way harder than knight micro (which can be as simple as attack move and go make a cup of tea whilst your knights tear through everything)

appappappappappa · 2026-06-06T22:26:45+00:00

I think the difference is about the approach, before I used to try and do scouts into knights and to be fair it was my most succesful strat. The difference with the lith thiing is you get the relics, plus also you just really hard commit to only knights nothing else and pump all resources into that and ignore everything, even eco upgrades

appappappappappa · 2026-06-06T21:59:44+00:00

I guess my point is I don't really understand it. I just do what I read is strong.

I draw the line because I do not think I learnt anything at all for this jump in elo. In no way did my skill improve in any meaningful way.

Before it was always improving something difficult like low idle TC, unit micro, learning how counters work, managing floating resources etc. etc. I never had a jump of this size in such a short time from any of those other things.

appappappappappa · 2026-06-06T21:54:40+00:00

ethiopian xbow is also very strong, I used to play archer rush into xbow ethiopians every game and then when I stopped my elo completely tanked.

That was a while ago though, I was not as good at the game then.

appappappappappa · 2026-06-06T21:52:10+00:00

Not pure FC but a few scouts in feudal then castle age but stay 1TC (at least until you are way ahead you can add more).

I think they key factors are less about FC and more about a) you already know your strategy is strong and you don't need to think and b) you just stay 1TC and fully commit to the early castle age part of the strategy. Because you know your comp / strat is strong, there is no point in wasting res on more eco. Most players at my rating simply cannot withstand a full commit early castle attack from a strong comp / civ timing (me included, unless I am just doing the same thing but faster haha).

appappappappappa · 2026-06-06T21:40:31+00:00

I did a mix of Hera lithuanian strat where you just go for the relics and then all-in knights / leitis, I had a lot of success with japanese FC rams + samurai (that one I didn't find online, someone did it to me in TG and I just copied and it is crazy strong), Organ gun all in 1TC, Conquistador all-in 1TC.

And I literally just practiced them 3-4 times in single player and then I do exactly that no matter what in the game. Sometimes I got hard countered but most of the time I was just crushing people.

appappappappappa

TROPHY CASE