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Age of Empires Final Level Tips

By Odge (djgaunt86@hotmail.com)

Version 1.0

Contents
1)Introduction
2)General Hints on Military Units
3)Level Tips
4)Legal Stuff and Credits

1) Introduction
Age of Empires is a game that, despite being a little old and dated, still
is highly respected in the ranks of Strategy games (and its only just been
released on the Mac, despite a release four years ago on the PC. It provides
an interesting blend of the fast-paced gameplay provided by a game such as
Warcraft, to the long-term strategy presented by something such as
Civilisation. Even if you have Age of Empires 2, I recommend buying this,
simply because it is a superb game. In this FAQ, I will look at the
specialisations of each type of military unit, and give some level tips.

2) General hints – military units

There are loads of military units to choose from and all of them are useful
for one specific purpose (or several.) However, some are more useful than
others are. Units can be grouped into seven main subgroups. These are Boats,
Academy Units, Stable Units, Siege Weapons, Priests, Barracks units, and
Archers. Here’s the low-down on all of them:

Boats (Juggernaut, Catapult Trireme, Trireme, War Galley, Scout Ship) –
These usually have high hit points and are useful for eliminating any kind
of coastal building or unit. Their main disadvantage is that they have to
stick to the sea, so they can’t attack inland areas. There are two main
types of ship – warship, and siege ship. Warships fire arrows and are
generally better for attacking coastal military units such as chariots and
hoplites etc. Siege ships fire boulders, which do more damage, but aren’t as
accurate. Use siege ships against coastal towers and buildings. However, the
one unit that can pose a threat to ships is the siege weapon. Stay well away
from them.

Academy units (Centurion, Phalanx, Hoplite)– These units are land-based and
have enormous attacking power. They have large amounts of hit points also
but are very slow. Therefore they are unsuitable for attacking range weapons
such as the Siege Weapon, Boat or Archer. Also it is a bad idea to go near a
priest, as they will easily convert the unit before it can reach them.
However, they are ideal for attack against Stable or Barracks units because
of their superior attack power.

Stable Units (War Elephant, Cataphract, Heavy Cavalry, Cavalry, Chariot,
Scout) – These are usually very fast and can get to a fight quickly. They
are ideal for attacking Barrack units and Archers as they have larger
amounts of hit points and a better attack. However they really come into
their own when attacking Siege Weapons, as they can speed past the rocks
hurtled by the weapons, get within its minimum range, and kill it without
receiving any damage. However, they are useless against Academy units, which
have a much greater attack.

Siege Weapons (Heavy Catapult, Catapult, Stone Thrower, Helopolis,
Ballista) – These are the coolest units really. Their attack power is
phenomenal, and when their rocks make contact, they do serious damage and
can kill. They have enormous ranges and as you upgrade the units, the stones
you throw have a much larger damage area, so you can destroy a much wider
area. They are good for destroying other range weapons such as the priest,
boat or archer, as when the other units are firing at your catapult they
stay still... and when that stone comes down, they’re dead! However, they
are no good for hand to hand units, as they have a “minimum range” which
means that when the enemy is right next to you, you cannot fire at them. So
the Stable and Barracks units usually make mincemeat (or should I say
firewood?) of you. However, Academy units are so slow that they usually get
caught in the blast.

Priests – these do not destroy the enemy, but convert them to your
civilisation (which is better.) They have very low amounts of hit points,
but a large range. So it is a bad idea to try and convert an enemy warrior
that can fire back at you, so archers, siege weapons and boats are an
absolute no-no. That is, unless you have more than one priest – if you do,
then the enemy will become confused and cannot fire at you – this does not
work on siege weapons.) Stable units are also no good, as they can get to
you as quick as a flash, and will easily slaughter you. However, Barracks
and Academy units are easy prey, due to their slow speeds.

Barracks unit (Legion, Long Swordsman, Broad Swordsman, Short Swordsman,
Axeman, Clubman) – these guys are the general all-rounders of your army,
having medium hit points, speed, attack and defense. However this is not
really a good thing. You’re better off building an Academy and producing
much better Hoplites etc. They have roughly equivalent hit points to Academy
Units (eventually) but their attack and defence is much worse. Sure, they
walk much faster, but that is not much more useful. They can be beaten by
Archers, boats, Academy and Stable units and priests – in fact, the only
thing they can beat are Siege Weapons, and they can even be bettered at that
by Stable units!

3) Level tips

  Here are some hints for the final level of each campaign in Age of
Empires. Most of them are quite easy, but some require a certain amount of
thought. Where I recommend a technolgy, the place where you research it is
mentioned afterwards in square brackets (for example, if I recommend you
research The Wheel, then I will put ‘research the Wheel [Market] showing
that the wheel is researched at the market.

Ascent of Egypt Learning campaign: Siege of Canaan

This is a fairly simple final level, being the finishing scenario of the
Learning Campaign. Your objective is to destroy the Canaanite’s Government
Centre which is situated at the northern end of the map. You are separated
from your enemy by a river which is crossed at several places by shallows.
The enemy is generally defensive but has units, such as sentry towers,
clubmen and bowmen on your side of the bridge, guarding useful supplies of
gold. The enemy also has large amounts of food in the form of Berry Bushes.
Food for you is scarce. You start in the Stone Age with a few Villagers,
Bowmen, and Axemen, a Town Centre, and a Barracks.

Stage 1: Building up

The first thing you need to do is get out of the Stone Age. Order your
villagers to build a granary next to the nearby Berry Bushes, and order two
villagers to start collecting food from the bushes. Produce two more
villagers from the town centre and order these to start chopping wood. Now
order your last villager northwards (as in directly upward) along with your
Clubmen and Bowmen for protection. When you come to a river, construct a
Dock on it and when this is complete, make a fishing boat and order it to
fish in the nearby fishing spots.

Stage 2: Assault on enemy food stocks

  When you have 500 food, upgrade into the Tool Age. Now construct a Light
Transport in the Dock and research Small Walls in the Granary (when you have
sufficient food and wood.) Produce Villagers, Axemen and Bowmen as
necessary. Now order a villager into the Light Transport along with 4 troops
(2 bowmen, 2 axemen) and sail this boat North-east up the river until you
reach a piece of land with Berry Bushes on (the enemy will probably be
foraging in them.) Unload here, and order your villager to construct a wall
all the way along the land to cut off the enemy Granary from the Berry
Bushes. Now kill off any enemy troops on your side of the wall, and
construct a Granary. You can now take all the Berry Bushes on your side of
the wall without fear of attack.

Stage 3: Farming and Siege Weapons

Build a Market, a Stable and an Archery Range. You will now need to farm to
get the food you need. So construct four farms near Town Centres or
Granaries and order or create villagers to farm. Domestication [Market]
comes in useful here. When you can, upgrade into the Bronze Age. Construct a
Siege Workshop, a Temple, and an Academy. Build a Stone Thrower and research
the Wheel [Market.] Also produce some Chariot Archers.
Now take this group and head north-west and through the gap in the cliff.
Destroy the enemy Clubmen and Bowmen using your Chariot Archers. You will
see some gold and stone mines, but ignore them for now. Take your Stone
Thrower North- East until you see a Sentry Tower. Destroy it using the Stone
Thrower. Now wipe out the enemy troops in the area so that it is safe for
villagers. Bring a couple of villagers up onto the plateau and build a
storage pit. Now get them to mine gold primarily, then stone. Meanwhile take
your army group Northwest and off the plateau. Destroy any nearby troops and
continue up to the leftmost corner of the map. There are more gold mines
here. Use them if needs be.

Stage 4: Attack

Upgrade into the Iron Age. Use the market to research necessary technologies
(Woodworking, Artisanship, Craftsmanship) and research as many storage pit
technologies as you feel you need. Keep building farms and upgrading food
production using the Plow and Irrigation [Market.] Build a Government Centre
and research such technologies as Nobility, Aristocracy, Ballistics, and,
most importantly, Alchemy. Now produce units for attack. In the Archery
range, produce Chariot Archers and Elephant Archers. In the Stables produce
Chariots and War Elephants. Produce Priests and at least three more Stone
Throwers. Hoplites are also useful.
When you have reached your population limit, select your army and head for
the shallows connecting you and the Canaanites. Knock out the Sentry Towers
using Stone Throwers, and then run riot through the enemy settlement. Head
Northwards towards the top corner of the map. You will see the enemy Gov.
Centre surrounded by a wall. Knock this out and the pitiful defence movement
by the Canaanites. Now drive through and onto the Gov. Centre and turn it to
rubble using whatever you have left.

Glory of Greece: Wonder

Here you are pitted against three tribes. The Cambyses, in red, has built a
Wonder at the beginning of the scenario. However, they are weak and possess
only towers and archers. The Darius, in yellow, soon build a wonder after
you destroy the Cambyses one. They are much stronger, and depending on how
fast you eliminate the Cambyses wonder, they might have Temples, Academies,
Stables, Siege Workshops or Archery Ranges. Persia, to the North, in brown,
builds no Wonders so you never have to attack them, but they will be a
constant nuisance and often send in Catapults to wreak havoc.

Stage 1: Building up

The essence of this level is speed, as you start out superior to your
enemies, so don’t waste too much time building up. You should quickly
produce a few more villagers and houses, and assiagn most of your villagers
to chop wood. Build an academy, a temple and a siege worksgop and use your
500 gold to produce around 2 Heavy Catapults, 2 Priests and a Centurion. Now
select your whole army and send them off to the east towards Cambyses
wonder. Leave a few Broad Swordsmen behind to protect the town from
Catapults.

Stage 2: Siege of Cambyses wonder

All around the wonder is a wall, and protecting this wall are numerous Guard
Towers and Composite Bowmen. No problem. Choose a part of the wall and shell
the nearby Guard Towers using your Catapults. Then deal with the Composite
Bowmen by firing stones into the midst of a group of three and killing all
of them. Once you think you have cleared a big enough gap, take all your
troops through and kill off any attacking Bowmen or Towers. Destroy the
Wonder using your Catapults. Simple.

Stage 3: Preperation

The second wonder will soon be built. Take your main force westwards towards
it but try to clear away the Cambyses resistance in the east. They hold
valuable gold mines which you could use. Once you have brought low the
Cambyses, send in a few villagers to construct a Storage Pit and start
mining gold.
You could use some Centurions and Catapults right now, so make as many as
you can. Make some priests and any other unit of your choice.
Now you must attack the Darius wonder. You will have to knock out the Guard
Towers on the wall so do so using your Catapults. You can now blast the wall
down and rush in, but that is a tad risky, as the Darius like Elephant
archers and Phalanxs. So be sure that your army is at full strength, with
plenty of Centurions. However there is another, maybe better, way that is
mentioned below. However, it may not work and requires great patience.

Stage 4: A stealthy kill

Once most of the Guard Towers on the wall have been cleared, send a villager
to join your army. Blast a small hole in the wall (using the catapults) and
order your villager through it. Now build two pieces of wall going into the
enemy settlement at right angles to the enemy wall. As your villagers are
building this, lay the foundation for another bit of wall connecting the
ends of the two bits of wall you have constructed. This creates a kind of
“indent” in the enemy lines and your catapults can now fire without fear of
being assaulted by hand-to-hand units. Now bring up your catapults into the
indent and open fire on the Wonder. Should your catapults be attacked, bring
Priests in to continually heal them. Once the Wonder is destroyed, you have
won the scenario!

Voices of Babylon: Nineveh

This is another level where you have to destroy a Wonder [groan.] You are
facing around five “Enemies” and Nineveh himself. You have no villagers, but
phenenomenal amounts of all the resources. To your Northwest lies a yellow
tribe, which is significantly stronger than you but hold enormous quantities
of resources. Near the Northernmost corner of the map lies an island
surrounded by brown-grey Sentry Towers that has Gold mines on. Another
island lies to your east. Nineveh occupies a large land mass to your north
and is accompanied by many allied enemies, most of which possess only a few
units. Your task is to destroy the wonder Nineveh begins to build.

Stage 1: Building up

You will soon be attacked by a Catapult Trireme, so zoom to your Dock and
send in your many Scout Ships to fend off the attack. Now start using your
resources. Build a priest and several Stone Throwers. Order the priest into
one of the nearby Light Transports, and send him northwards to the banks of
the yellow enemy island. You should soon see a yellow villager walking along
the line of trees towards you. Convert him, and take both the priest and the
villager back to your shores. Order the villager to build a Town Centre and
produce another four or five villagers. Use these villagers to mine gold,
chop wood, hunt, farm etc. Produce more priests and stone throwers, and
research technologies. The Wheel [market] and Artisanship [market] are
useful. When you have enough gold and food, upgrade into the Iron Age.
Upgrade your ships and start making Triremes and Catapult Triremes.
Now take these ships northwards and assault the brown-grey enemy isle that
has lots of Sentry Towers on it. When they are destroyed, bring Villagers
over in Light Transports and have them mine the gold. You could also attack
the island to your east and take the gold there.

Stage 2: Attack

Produce more military units. Load five priests into a Light Transport, five
Stone Throwers into a Light Transport, and other Barracks and Stable units
into another Light Transport.
Now choose a port for your attack. I found that the one to your Northeast
was the best. Use your Catapult Triremes and Triremes to destroy the dock
and nearby Towers. Stay away from the Elephant Archers nearby though.
Unload your Stone Throwers, Priests and other troops Southwest from the
Docking area. Pound any Towers left in the area. Now attempt to pick off the
Elephant Archers guarding the dock one by one by converting them using your
Priests. If you use two or three at once then you should be able to convert
them. There is a path through the wall to your north linking you to the
Nineveh settlement but it is blocked by three priests, three horse archers,
three hoplites, four heavy cavalry, and one composite bowmen. Adding to the
threat are four orange Catapults enclosed by walls alongside the path. So
what you want to do is blow down the wall enclosing two of the catapults
using your stone throwers, and kill the catapults using some Hoplites or
Chariots. Now attempt to convert a lot of the Nineveh units blocking your
path into the settlement. If you haven’t already research Monotheism
[Temple] do so now. Start with the Priests, and then try the others. Do not
try to assign each priest to perform one task, order them all to try and
convert one unit. You have a greater chance of success then. If anything
goes wrong, be sure you have plenty of auxiliary troops to back the priests
up.
Once you have converted or killed all of the Nineveh defenders, proceed over
to the other side of the path and you will see another load of orange
catapults to deal with (groan.) Take them out using a similar strategy as
before. You can now proceed into the enemy settlement.
You’ll need a scout. If you have a converted Heavy Cavalry then that’s fine,
but otherwise you’ll need a Chariot. Proceed down the road and towards the
Wonder. You’ll notice that there are large groups of troops along the road,
but as long as you give them a wide berth, they’ll ignore you. As you
approach the wonder you’ll see that only one villager is actually working on
it! You can kill him without actually causing much trouble, so attack him
from behind. This will stop the “time limit” that you have on this scenario
as Nineveh only has one villager, and is probably way over the population
limit so another won’t be made.
What you do now is up to you. The wonder will never be finished or repaired,
so feel free to make lots of military units and attack the Wonder in force
(be warned though: Nineveh has a massive army and I’m not exaggerating.) Or
you could try a stealthy approach: send in only one unit at a time to attack
the Wonder. Although many will be killed and converted, Nineveh will
eventually tire of your little game and let you pull down his incomplete
Wonder.

Yamato Empire of the Rising Sun: Kyushu Revolts

This is the last level in the game and it could well be the hardest. Food
supplies are plentiful, and so are wood, but what you are lacking in this
scenario is gold. There are three main islands in this scenario, separated
by rivers, and connected by shallows. The Northwest one belongs to the
Kyushu, and has plenty of all resources on it. The Kyushu are very strong,
and possess Chariots, Chariot Archers, Stone Throwers, and Short Swordsmen.
They protect their island using Sentry Towers next to the shallows. The
Kyushu have a weak grip on the central isle also, but they only have Sentry
Towers and sparse infantry on it. The central isle is very useful to you as
it contains gold mines, which are rare on your island. However they may use
it as expansion ground, so beware. The Southeast isle belongs to you, and
has many food and wood sources available. However you only get a meagre
supply of gold which is situated to your west.

Stage 1: Building up

Quickly create more villagers and assign existing ones to tasks. Build a
Storage Pit next to the Gold mines to your west, and assign a few villagers
to start mining in it [note also the stone mines nearby.] Search for food
supplies on your isle (Gazelles and Berry Bushes), construct Storage
Pits/Granaries nearby, and start to hunt and forage to create a steady food
supply. Send the rest of your villagers to chop wood in the south.
Bring all your troops together so that you can send them all to a disaster
spot if needs be. The Kyushu tend to attack your farms in the east using
Catapults, so Scouts and Short Swordsmen are useful.
When you have enough wood, start building Bronze Age buildings. Siege
Workshops and Temples are useful immediately, but later you’ll want
Academies and Gov. Centres to further your development. Research any
technologies that you think will be necessary. The Wheel [Market] is, as
always, useful, and so are Gold mining and Artisanship, which can also be
found in the market. Architecture [Gov. Centre] is useful to strengthen your
buildings due to the constant onslaught from enemy Catapults. If you are
running low on units, produce ones which are potentially upgradable (and so
will be useful in the future) such as Cavalry and Hoplites. Produce some
Priests and Stone Throwers for any problems at home. Start to build up gold
and food so that you can upgrade into the Iron Age. As soon as you have
enough food and gold, do so.

Stage 2: More Gold

There will come a time where your Gold Mines will run out, probably
somewhere in the above building up section. First research Small and Medium
walls [Granary] and Watch and Sentry Towers [Granary] if you think you’ll
need ‘em. Find or make Stone Throwers, troops (Cavalry and Hoplites are
good) and villagers, and head off in a north-westerly direction. Cross the
westernmost shallows, and head North. Soon you will come to a cliff. Follow
it round, fighting off any enemies nearby, until you come to an opening onto
a plateau. Send your Stone Throwers through and destroy the Sentry Tower
(beware of repercussions by the angry Kyushu.) Now withdraw your Stone
Throwers and send in your villagers. You will see some gold nearby. Build a
wall on the opening that prevents any enemies from getting in (but don’t
seal your villagers out though!) Now build a Storage Pit near the gold and
start mining it.
Once you’ve used up all that gold you have, well, a serious problem to say
the least... Your best bet is to take a small scout group (same as before)
up to the Northern end of this middle isle. You’ll see another cliff
formation with a Sentry Tower on. Blow the Sentry Tower on the plateau to
smithereens, and nab the gold there. However there is a serious problem
here. Where you are mining is right next to the Kyushu Siege Workshop.
Nasty. Unless you keep a constant watch on the mines you will come back to
your mining site with a few dead bodies laid out on the grass and your
Storage Pit on fire, a Catapult firing recklessly at it. Your best bet is to
build a complicated wall network to keep the Catapults out and get as many
Villagers as you can mining gold.
If you get through the gold there, then you must be either trying to
complete all the technologies or trying repeated failed attacks on the
Kyushu. If your sad case is the latter, then you should stop all attacks
right now. You WILL die unless you have an at least 25-strong army.
Well, your choices are not good here. There is a cliff formation in the
middle of the central isle but this is Kyushu overspill land and is heavily
guarded. You’ll need a large army for that, then. Of course, you could
always go for the gold in the enemy territory, but that’s just plain stupid.

Stage 3: More Building...

You need to upgrade as much as possible. Try to upgrade your Hoplites up to
Centurions [Academy]and your Cavalry up to Cataphracts [Stable]. Heavy horse
archers are also useful to have, so upgrade Horse archers into Heavy horse
archers [Archery Range.] Research all of the Temple technologies. Use the
Market and Gov. Centre to improve your soldiers; Craftsmanship [Market] is
useful, and Nobility, Aristocracy, Ballistics, Alchemy and Engineering from
the Gov. Centre are all necessities.
Start producing units as well. You’ll need around five Stone Throwers, four
priests, six Heavy Horse Archers, seven Centurions and five Cataphracts to
comfortably win.


Stage 4: Attack

Select your whole army (plus any military units you already have – they’ll
come in useful.) Now send them Northwest and over the westernmost shallows
to the central isle. Now head Northwest until you reach another shallows.
You will see a Sentry tower across the shallows. Fire a few shots at the
Sentry Tower, and you’ll immediately be set upon by millions of Short
Swordsman and Bowmen. Kill off the Bowmen, but the Short Swordsmen will be
useful assets to your army. Try and convert them where possible. Now head
over the shallows and into the enemy settlement. This is the “back way” into
the settlement so you may not see much initially. Head east and you’ll soon
see a cliff formation, on top of which are more, -sigh-, Sentry Towers.
Destroy them using your Stone Throwers. Now proceed north of the cliff
formation, stopping occasionally to polish off Sentry Towers on the cliffs.
You will see the outskirts of the enemy settlement. Start knocking out
buildings, but go slowly. If you head too far south you’ll meet Catapults
which are dangerous to a separated army.
Try to convert all the nearby Chariots and Chariot archers patrolling the
top of the map, but kill them off if you need to. Destroy houses, the Stable
and the Archery Range nearby, anmd start to progress southwards, destroying
all the buildings you come to. Any catapults you meet can be dealt with
using Cataphracts. Once you reach the shallows, head North again and east,
destroying the Granary, Storage Pit, Catapult and Chariot Archer there. Mop
up all the units on the Northernmost isle. Keep producing units at your
settlement. Send villagers up to claim the gold on the Northern island.
If you haven’t won yet, take your army south and onto the middle isle. Go to
the middle cliff formation and destroy the mini-settlement there. Now search
for any remaining units (Granaries, villagers, etc.) and kill ‘em off to win
the scenario.
4) Legal Stuff and Credits

All material © 2001 Odge

You may put my FAQ on your website without asking, but you must do a few
things in order to be able to put this article on your site. Firstly, you
must not change anything. Secondly, you must accredit me as the author of
the article. Thirdly, you must send me an e-mail telling me who you are and
what website you have put my FAQ on. Lastly, if possible, you should put a
link to www.satsumaonline.com on your website.

Any further tips would be greatly appreciated.

----------SHORTCUTS TO WINNING----------

This FAQ was made on Friday, March 12, and it was last revised Friday, March
12.
This FAQ was made by Blue Eye. My email is BlueEye006@aol.com. I hope you
enjoy this FAQ.

----------TABLE OF CONTENTS----------
1. Rushing
2. Wonders
3. Artifacts
4. Runes
5. Guerilla Warfare
6. Recon
7. Credits and How to Contact Me

----------RUSHING----------

The key to rushing is Villagers. No matter what type of rush
You do, you must have villagers, and a lot of them. Whenever you
do a Tool Age Rush (Axemen, Scout, Archer, and Tower Rushes) You
must have about 20-30 villagers before you go to Tool Age. If
you don't you might not have enough resources and you might not
be able to continue in the game. You should have three buildings
of whatever units you're rushing with, except for towers, you
should have a Granary for that. If you want to succeed, you
must build 3 buildings next to the enemy city, but far enough
so they won't attack it.

----------WONDERS----------

The most effective way to win by Wonders, which is sort of easy, is to build
it immediately. If you want to win the game quickly, you have to have the
settings "Iron Age, Deathmatch, and a larger map size" for this to work
properly. If you have those three things then you should try this out. Right
when you start highlight your three villagers. Click build then next then
Wonder. Right when you start building, go to your town center and make a
villager. This villager is the _builder_. Make as many town centers as you
want with him, but have more than 5 to be awesome. When you have 5 (or more)
town centers, pump out villagers (keep doing this until instructed to stop),
with your first villager, start making houses. The rest of the villagers make
the Wonder. Build a Granary with the _builder_ and make your walls
Fortifications, or whichever is the best for your civilization. You then have
to make a Town Center next to the Wonder. When you finish the Town Center you
have to make a bunch of walls to protect your Wonder. Build the walls about 10
squares away from your Wonder. Then stop making villagers with your Town
Centers, and make sure your _builder_ is outside of these walls. Then you
should build a secondary wall with someone inside the Wonder Wall. Make this
as close as you can to the Wonder with the Town Center in it. Next make Towers
inside of the secondary walls. With your _builder_ make the building that your
civilization has enhancements to (I.E. Yamato would be Stable, Greek would be
Academy, and Assyrian would be Archery Range/Siege Workshop) Make sure that
you only build helepoli or the catapults may kill your own troops. If you
start training your troops when your building is done, then you should be on
the road to victory. Also, build the troops that are strong against the ones
the main troops are weak to (If you build Centurions, build Calvary too, so
you can fend off Archers) When the 2000 years are up, you should be a happy
trooper.

----------ARTIFACTS----------

This way to win is very successful and takes a shorter time than the Wonder
way. If you start a match with Standard Victory. If there's Artifacts then
you're in luck. I suggest you use either Assyrian or Yamato for this strategy
since their villagers are 30% more quicker. When you start the game, run after
the artifacts (The white dots on the smaller map) and when you get one, bring
it along with you. I suggest you use more than one villager to catch artifacts
since there are lions and they'll be hungry. After you get all the artifacts
(A tough job) then bring them to a corner of the map (one you know isn't
populated) and with your villagers, build the strongest troops for your tribe.
If you build walls around your artifacts, then you know you done it good.
Build an Archery Range if you can have Elephant Archers, and get 1 or 2 of
them. Get a Stable too, so you can use Calvary to destroy Missile Weapons (but
they must be outside of the walls) and you can take out Ballistas, Helepoli,
or Catapults. The reason we use Elephant Archers are because they have 600 HP
and enemies can't take your artifact(s) when there is one or more person alive
next to it, and they can shoot arrows, past the walls so you can kill almost
any troops except Missle Weapons.

----------RUINS----------

Probably the hardest way to win is by Ruins, since you can't move them. You do
pretty much the same strategy as with Artifacts but you must do it with each
Ruin.

----------GUERRILA WARFARE----------
                                        
No, you don't get Gorillas after your enemies to win. This isn't a strategy
that could win the game immedialty but it will work when your city is being
destroyed. Once your city is being attacked, with your town centers pump out
as many villagers as you can and make them run in the opposite direction the
person is attacking you from. Then you should split them up into four groups.
Each group, I'll give a name. Group number 1 is Wood, select everyone from
Wood and press Ctrl+1. Group 2 is Food, select everyone from Food and press
Ctrl+2. Group 3 is Gold, select everyone from Gold and press Ctrl+3. Group 4
is Stone, select everyone from Stone and press Ctrl+4 (Ah, no more groups)
When this is done, press 1 then go to a place with Trees. Then build a Storage
Pit, then build walls around you, the trees, and the Storage Pit, then, build
towers inside the walls. Then start cutting down trees. Then, press 2, and
find a place where you can harvest food. If the place is fishing or hunting,
build Storage Pit next to it. If it's Berries or Farms (You build them) then
build a Granary. Then build walls around you, the trees, and the Storage Pit,
then, build towers inside the walls, and start Harvesting. Then press 3, find
a place where you can mine for Gold, then go to it and build a Storage Pit.
Then build walls around you, the trees, and the Storage Pit, then, build
towers inside the walls, then start mining. Then press 4, find a place where
you can mine for Stone, then go to it and build a Storage Pit. Then build
walls around you, the trees, and the Storage Pit, then, build towers inside
the walls, then start mining. After you got a lot of resources, build a Town
Center somewhere. Then re-build your town. It will save you from death.

----------RECON----------

The word Recon is short for Reconnaissance. It means to search somewhere for
information. In this case, that somewhere is your enemy town. A good "Recon
Man" searches with Scout(s) every 5 minutes or so to see what your enemy is up
to. You also Recon to see what troops he's making. If you see Archers, then
make an army of Calvary. If he makes Calvary, make Hoplites. If he's making
Hoplites, make Archers. If he's making Swordsmen, build any, I suggest you
make Hoplites, since they are the best hand to hand attackers. You should also
place Scouts halfway between your city and theirs to find out if they're
attacking. When you see an army coming, then get an army together in time for
the attack.

----------CREDITS----------

This FAQ was written by Blue Eye.
E-mail "BlueEye006@aol.com"
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, mail me
Thanks for taking the time to read my first FAQ.

cBLUE EYE 1999

Tactics And Strategies
By The AOE Trial Central
http://trialcentral.aoe2.net/aoe/index.html

######################
# Battle Preparation #
######################

Building An Army

Before you go to war you'll need to raise yourself an army. Now
while it's easy to go for the "purist" strategy of simply pumping
out massive amounts of one unit type (i.e. All cavalry or all
composites), the ideal army consists of a variety of units suitable
to respond in all types of situations. That means consisting of
squads of infantry, cavalry (including chariots) and bowmen
(including chariot archers), with support units such as stone
throwers, priests, and if located close to shores, warships.
However, the drawback to this approach is the extra amount of
micromanagement involved. Nevertheless, with experience you'll
be able to manage your large armies effortlessly.

The general method to managing your armies is to assign them to
smaller groups and assign them group numbers. Cavalry, for example,
should be grouped together; if however, there is too many cavalry,
consider splitting them into two groups, and if there's few cavalry,
consider grouping them with chariots if you use them (both units
have the same speed). The group numbers you assign should correspond
to the order your individual groups should march out and attack.
See the section on combat order.


Battle Formations

I'm sure you've seen the massive armies that faced each other
before battle in perfect formation on the numerous Age of Empires
screen shots, and boy, are they pretty. But we all know it's
useless to plan out these elaborate formations simply because
a.) units don't tend to stay that way when attacking and most
importantly, b.) it takes *way* too much precious time. However,
that's not to say you shouldn't use basic formations in battle.
Knowing where to position your units before and even during
battle will help you coordinate your attacks.

Naturally, infantry should be your first line, and be sure to
use Hoplites if at all possible. These guys can take the initial
hits and will prevent any enemy mobile units (i.e. cavalry) from
ripping through your army. Before your infantry you should place
a scout or two. They will give your warnings to any enemy advancements.

All archery units (including chariot archers, though this is more
of a preference) should be positioned behind your infantry and spaced
between the spaces of your infantry (allow easy forward and backward
movement) and are spread out (not TOO far though). Remember: archery
units can generally maintain their formation, especially if they go
in a straight line. That is, if you have them spread out on one line
and have them all go forward, they will maintain their spacing and
placement among each other. Why is this important? Well when units
get bunched up together it becomes much harder to move and easier
for your enemy to kill (the first time your cluster of archers get
hit by a stone thrower you'll know why).

Behind your bowmen comes your support units. That includes stone
throwers, priests, their escorts (always make sure they have escorts,
i.e. hoplits) and any reserve units.

So where does calvary come in? Well cavalry (chariots and cavalry) is
1.) the fastest units in your army and 2.) they do NOT maintain their
formation when attacking. That is, they tend to bunch up together when
moving. Based on these two points, you should realize the errors in
placing them along with your main army. They will have a hard time
weeding through your huge army since they tend to cluster, ultimately
hampering their speed and effectiveness. Thus, you should always place
your cavalry to your sides where they won't be obstructed by any of
your units. This also helps in attacking your enemy's flanks which
would be weaker than his front line.

###################
# Combat Sequence #
###################

Outlined below is a general combat sequence. Naturally, every battle
varies and will always produce unpredictable outcomes, but the
following will help you in knowing when to use your units. BTW, when
I refer to infantry, I'm talking about hoppers. These are the ONLY
infantry units you should use. The barrack infantry units are useless.

1.) While your infantry may be your first line in formation, these
guys should NOT be your first group to attack. Unless you are very
close to your enemy your hoppers will simply take too long to reach
your enemy. See the archers you've placed behind your infantry (you
did place them there right?), have them all move up in front of
your infantry a considerable amount of steps but not too far, you'll
want them to have enough time to retreat behind your infantry. And
if you've placed your archers between the spaces of your infantry,
they should all move in unison. Have them fire at your enemy.

2.) The following are some of the possible responses from your enemy:

a.) He will unleash his cavalry on your archers. This is why you
don't want to have your hoppers right behind your archers for your
enemy will surely notice this and will go for an alternative route.
Anycase, if he does send cavalry, have your infantry move up to
protect your archers and have your archers move back behind your
infantry. Your hoppers will make short work of the cavalry units,
especially since they're backed by your archers. If your enemy's
cavalry are breaking through your infantry, have your flanking
cavalry route them.

b.) He will use stone throwers. Wait until the stoners have targeted
your archers, then have your archers retreat a safe distance while
unleashing your cavalry on the stoners from the sides.

c.) A combination of stone throwers and cavalry. In this case, your
own response should be a combination of the two from above (retreat
your archers, move up your infantry, unleash your flank cavalry).

d.) With infantry. If he uses barrack infantry, use cavalry and try
not to let his infantry get too close to your archers (use your
hoppers if they do). If he's dumb enough to use hoplites, have your
archers concentrate on taking out individual hoppers one by one.
This is also the time to use your support units (i.e. stone
throwers and especially priests). Priests will have a field day
if your enemy sends his hoplites.

e.) With his mother...hmm, in this case, tuck tail and run like
the wind. Never mess with a guy's mother...

3.) After the initial attacks, and assuming you are not losing
like hell, you should press forward with your infantry and all
your support units (ahem...stone throwers). If your flanking
cavalry still haven't made their show yet, consider unleashing
them on your enemy as soon as the two armies make contact.
However, you do not want your cavalry to engage your enemy's
main army, but rather, his support units such as stone throwers,
priests, and also archers first.

4.) At this stage, you've either send your enemy scrambling or
got your ass whopped. If the former, and if you're ruthless, you
can have your calvary chase down any retreating units (though
make sure it's not some sort of trap). If the latter, get those
peons to work. You've got another army to raise for enemy target
practice.

###########################
# War Compaign Strategies #
###########################

Escort/Protect Missions (i.e. Artifact capture/escorts)

The most important advice in these types of missions is to go small.
That is, don't send in your whole army guarding your artifact or
person. Your enemy will easily be alerted to your presence with
such a big army. The idea is to covertly escort your prized
item/person while doing everything to avoid your enemy. Howevever,
your big army is great for distracting your enemy while you escort
your artifact/person.
                                        
A typical escort group would consist of something like:

One Scout: Believe it or not, this guy is the most important
one in the group. Your scout should be scouting ahead of your
group at all times to keep an eye for the enemy. The early
warning your scout provides you should give you plenty of time
as you divert your group away from the enemy without being spotted.

Two or Three Cavalry Units: These are the bulk of your
guards. However, you never want to make a stand with your
escort group unless you're absolutely sure you can win.
Otherwise, these guys can be used to lure your enemy away
from your group. If your enemy is small in numbers, these
guys must take down your enemy fast (too long and you'll
give your enemy plenty of time to send reinforcements, as
well as know exactly where you are).

Two Hoplites: Basically your last line of defense. If you are
escorting slow units (i.e. a priest or artifact) in which
case, these guys must be on your "escortee" like shadow,
never leaving them. If you are escorting infantry-speed units
or mobile units, you will want to get 2 cavs or one cav and
one chariot archer instead. You do NOT want your "escortee"
to have to wait up for his guards.

One Chariot Archer: This is your backup scout (second longest
vision) and also your distractor unit. If you spot a huge
army and there's almost no way to avoid them, you can try to
lure your enemy away with a hit and run tactic.

If you are escorting an artifact or person back to your camp,
you might consider posting additional guards along the route
your escort group will be taking. These sentries will ensure
maximum protection and can backup your escort group in case
of an attack on your way back.


Infiltration by Water (The Coast Haven Strategy)

In any map with water, having a powerful fleet is crucial.
Tribes like the Hittites and Yamato are especially deadly
in sea (Hittites' fleet *especially*, in the trial). Control
the sea at all costs, period.

The following strategy assumes your enemy is for the most
part reachable by water. The assault consists of the following steps.

1.) Locate your enemy's dock(s). At this time, you should
have a large fleet with your army ready to depart in
transports. It is your task to control the seas. Have
your fleet take out all enemy ships and docks. Once done,
spread your fleet around and position them relatively far
from his shorline, but close enough so that you can *see*
all of his shorline. Have them on the stand ground command
and prevent any of his villagers from building another dock.
Next, chose a strategic position on his land, relatively
away from his main structions, and perferrably on a high
terrain, then have the majority of your fleet (at least 4
or 5 ship strong) approach it as close as possible and guard
this coast. This coast will be the only safety base for your
units on enemy land. This is Coast Haven.

2.) Wait some time for the enemy to recover from the attack.
Why? Because he will be *expecting* an attack after his loss
of docks and ships. Give him some time to calm down, making
him think that was just a skirmish or that you're simply
content with ruling the seas for now. But don't wait too long
for him to build up a humongous army. Next transport your units
to Coast Haven. Your first load should consist of your scout
and four other *mobile* units such as calvary or chariots.
Have one transport near this coast. In case the enemy spots
you and attacks, have your five units bail out on the transport
and withdraw from the coast. Then pick another spot and repeat
from step one. Do NOT stay and hope to fight off the attack.
Doing so will alert your opponent of your exact position on
his land and he will, most likely, do everything to eliminate
your presence. Better to make him think you're retreating.

If the initial load is successful, begin to land the rest of
your troops. In one of the loads, make sure you transport at
least two priests and a villager or two. Have the villagers
set up a couple of guard towers near the coast and military
structures if preferred. Have ab couple of mobile units,
preferrably cavalry, guard your priests, who should be near
the shorline and protected also by your ships. They also act
as a small reserve force.

3.) This step, though small, is very important. Remember
those ships you positioned to watch his shores (not the one
guarding Coast Haven)? They will serve as a distraction before
your big assault. Have all of them move in as close to the
shores as possible without actually touching (so won't be
attacked by infantry units) and have them attack any enemy
structures or units. Do not worry about the unit or structure
you're attacking, as long as it's *a* structure or unit. You
are basically trying to attract the enemy's attention. Make
sure there is a relatively large distance between Coast Haven
and these ships, as you don't want to draw attention to Coast.
Naturally, your enemy will try to send reinforcements and
villagers to defend the shores being attacked. If you want
to be even sneakier, land a few troops on his coast. This
will no doubt draw his troops towards your decoy force. As
soon as you see reinforcements coming near the shores, begin
phase 4.

4.) Have your army march out from Coast Haven and begin you
assault. Your enemy might be so busy trying to defend his shores
that he might not even realize his town is being attacked until
it's too late. At this time, if you've landed the decoy forces,
you can load them back into a transport and have it take them to
Coast Haven to act as reserve forces, or you can have them
continue to distract the enemy.

5.) In the event that you are losing (hmm...), do not panic. This
is why you have Coast Haven. Withdraw all your units towards
Coast; infantry, stone throwers, priests, and any slow moving
units *first* as your mobile units cover their retreat, then
withdraw all your mobile units except the last one (preferrably
one who is about to die). Have this last unit take a different
turn and try to lead your enemy away from Coast Haven. In the
end, you will most likely have to sacrifice this unit. But if
he's succesful, your enemy will not find Coast Haven. And even
if he goes back to search again, it'd be too late.

If your distractor unit fails and your enemy somehow manages
to follow you to Coast Haven, your fleet, your guard towers,
your priests, your reserve calvary units, and what's left of
your original army at the coast should be more than enough to
force your enemy to turn back, at least temporarily.

As soon as your withdrawn armies arrive at Coast, have your
priests go immediately to work on all your wounded units.
Your scout (he is alive right?) should be the farthest away
from the shore watching for any enemy counter-advances
toward the coast.

At this time, your military production structures, both in
your own town and any ones set up on the coast, should have
been pumping out units for another attack. Land them on Coast
if they are in your own town. Do all this as fast as possible.

The enemy, thinking you have retreated, will spend much of
his time rebuilding. This will give you the element of
surprise as you begin another assault immediately after
the first one.

Your first asssault should have already pinpointed his
structures. Note the important buildings (houses, towers,
farms, and military structures) and destroy them in this
next assault. Pay attention to any villager trying to repair
or build structures on this assault. If you spot any, kill them.

Also on this second assault, you can bring along your priests
and any reserve units to support your army. This assault
should be your last and final one.

Good luck Admiral.

################################
# General Tips for the Emperor #
################################

Know where your enemy is. This is repeated again, and again.
You do not want to send a force to try to blindly locate your
opponent and hope you've hit his main spot. If you have an ally,
get writing so you can share explorations and coordinate attacks.

You should produce a scout as soon as you have a stable and,
using waypoints, send him to all four corners of the map and
work his way inwards until he has explored the whole map.
Once you have located your enemy, have a scout (use the same
one if you no longer require his service) and position him
near the enemy. His sole mission is to spy on the enemy. Do
not have him engage in combat; hide him from the enemy as
best as you can. If he is discovered, have him run through
your enemy's town and kill off as much villagers as you can,
or if you can't afford to lose him, have him run away. Whatever
you do, do *not* order him back to your town if the enemy has
mobile units following him. If you do, you've just painted a
bright bullseye on your town.

Strategies/Tips
http://home.thezone.net/~adamz/aoe/index.htm

Here are some strategies you can learn from AOE:

#####################
# Basic Strategies: #
#####################

Small islands

Always select a civilization with strong naval capacities (Phoenician,
Greek or Yamato) The key to success is controlling the seas. A strong
navy and Ballista Towers will also protect your island and will enable
you to expand to other islands for additional resources. Small islands
are the easiest to defend. In a game with Standard win condition,
watch out for an enemy moving for a quick win by building a Wonder.
You can win quick this way, also.
Trial Version Game Note: Hittite is the strongest Bronze Age water
civilization.

Large islands

Large Islands are harder to defend then small, except for the fact that
you can build away from the shore. Land units are more important on
large islands (also Assyrian, Sumerian, Babylonian, Egyptian, Phoenician,
Yamato and Persian). Avoid naval conflicts until the Trireme update.
Trial Version Game Note: Hittite is the strongest Bronze Age water
civilization.

Coastal

Coastal offers the most variable terrain. Continents are connected by
shallows. There should also be one or two large lakes. Treat this
terrain with land tactics, and less sea tactics. A strong naval
civilization can be dangerous for tactics that combine transports
with large land forces.
Trial Version Game Note: Hittite is the strongest Bronze Age water
civilization.

Inland

This terrain has a lot of rivers. Build walls and towers to counter
hit a run of attacks early in the game. Use transports to get around
walls for sneak attacks and to sneak villagers behind enemy lines to
build close to enemy camps.
Game Note: Shore fishing is very productive on inland map.

Highland

This terrain is usually without much water. Highland maps have
hills, which tend to be strategic control points. Build towers
behind walls at the tops of hills and add archers for additional
support. The higher ground makes it extremely difficult to attack.

###################
# Land Strategies #
###################

Tag Team

Gang attack one of the enemy (try to hit the weakest). Defeat one
of the enemies and your team takes the advantage. Use the combined
forces of all team members when possible (You may have a slow or
feeder ally). Attack during the Bronze Age and kill as many, if
not all villagers and houses. Use Chariot Archers combined with
Cavalry for a quick death. DonÒt waste time trying to use Catapults
or Hoplites, they are too slow. This is a popular tactic and wonÒt
work against experienced players. The goal really should be to
destroy as many units as possible, slow the economy and force the
enemy to relocate. This will at least disrupt the opposition's
economy and gain your team access to new resources for expansion.
Counter: If you read the Tips section you will already have
established yourself next to your allies' towns and built walls.
Both sides should be close, as far as technology and military size.
Build 2 Archery Ranges just outside your town and start pumping
out Chariot Archers. Try to train at least 10. When the attack
comes, if you're not walled in and it starts looking bad, evacuate
your town immediately but continue building Chariot Archers. Use
a few of the archers as a distraction. Take the rest of the archers
and get behind the attackers. Then, hit and run all the way back to
the enemy's encampment. Using the battle as a distraction, have 4
villagers (will probably be your allies) build 2 Siege Workshops
and move an attack force just out of view of one of the enemy camps.
Once 2 or 3 Catapults are ready, hit the town with Catapults and
Chariot archers. You should do a lot of damage and save your town.
If the enemy does not retreat form your town they will lose a town
as well.

Hit and Run

Build 3 Archery Ranges and use 20 -30 Chariot Archers (a rush with
Ax men or Bowmen is too slow). Rush past enemy defense towers and
start killing villagers and destroying Farms and Houses. When it
starts getting a little too hot, retreat and go on to the next
town and repeat. This is a great tactic to keep the enemy's economy
in chaos while your allies build up for the Iron Age. Try to keep
the enemy from reaching the Iron Age. Once the enemy does reach the
Iron, retreat and build up for the Iron Age armies.

Be a pain

All players need to continually acquire wood and gold to keep the
economy going. Build walls in strategic points around the enemy's
mines and between resources and buildings. Wall in the Town
Center. Continue the hit and run, but kill resources as well
(elephants and gazelles).

Sling Shot - Boost one teammate quickly.

This is not easy and is hard to communicate, but very effective and
has become a very popular multi-player strategy. 2 allies tribute to
the third for the primary purpose of getting out and attacking with a
large force before the enemy is able to reach Bronze. This can be
quite shocking the first time it happens to you. The usual start
takes place with everyone scrambling to build up their economy. When
Tool Age is reached, the norm takes a bizarre turn. Once the
Marketplace is built, the tributes begin (the feeders must be generous
for this strategy to work). One team member is given the task of
building an attack force and reaching the Bronze Age early, while the
others' efforts are focused on the economy. Depending on the
civilization, the attacker should build 3-4 Stables or 4 Archery
Ranges by the Bronze Age (upgrade Wheel immediately). The attacker
should have also used a couple of Scouts to find the enemy during
the Tool Age. With the allies feeding food and wood, the attacker
needs to keep the House building and Chariot Archer training constant.
Start attacking with a group of 10-14 units. Send the next group
after a different town and keep it up until both are defeated. The
enemy should try to escape to their ally's camp that is not under
attack, so when this happens boost the attacker to the Iron Age.
Build 4 Siege Workshops next to theirTown Center and start training
Heavy Catapults, but continue to hit and run into the enemy camp
destroying the enemy economy. By the time the enemy starts Iron,
your team can hit them with 20 - 30 Catapults. Assyrian, Hittite
and Phoenician civilizations are best as the attacker.

#####################
# Island Strategies #
#####################

In all sea strategies, wood is the most important resource and dont't
forget to use trade ships when gold mines run low.
Ships, Ships and more Ships This is the best water tactic, but donÒt
forget your defenses. Towers and Composite Bowmen will take care of
landing forces while building up your navy. Build 4-5 Docks and lots
of towers or this tactic will not work. Concentrate on taking out
enemy Docks.
Yamato Scout rush Get a few Scouts and a Peon onto a transport and
cross to an opponent's island. Start attacking villagers. Build 2
Stables and train more Scouts or wait until Bronze and train cheap
Cavalry. This tactic takes a lot of wood and only works against an
opponent that does not defend their island.

Assyrian/Shang Archer rush

A popular land tactic that has become a popular island tactic. This
tactic takes even more wood then the Yamato Scout rush and only works
against an opponent that does not defend their island towers.
                                        
Minoan composites land defense

The +2 range bonus will prevent the enemy from landing, but once
the enemy's Iron Age starts, itÒs all over. This tactic is poor
and has no offense. It only works as a feeder tribe for a Sling
Shot strategy.

##############
# DEATHMATCH #
##############

In deathmatch games, the economy and training villagers becomes a
low priority after the start. About 1/4 of the units should be
villagers. There won't be time to babysit the villagers, so put
them to work gathering resources with a few building walls and
towers - concentrate on war units. Sumerian and Hittite are the
best civilizations in deathmatch land games.
Begin by training villagers. Build a Barracks and Storage Pit
immediately and upgrade to Tool Age. While upgrading to Tool Age,
put two villagers on building Farms. As soon as Tool Age hits,
immediately build an Archery Range and Stable and upgrade to
Bronze Age. Have villagers work on mass producing Stables and
Archery Ranges. DonÒt forget to build a Market Place and upgrade
fully.
Once Iron Age starts, mass produce Siege Workshops and upgrade at
the Government Center for full unit upgrades. DonÒt forget to
check all your upgrades again and finish upgrading at Granaries
(full wall and tower upgrades), Temples, Academies, etc.,
upgrading whenever possible. Build at least eight Stables,
eight Siege Workshops, eight Archery Ranges and eight Docks on
water maps. Be sure to keep up on building Houses until it will
support the max population. Now start mass producing a super
army of Heavy Catapults, War Elephants, Centurions, Heavy Horse
Archers and Helos. You have alot of stone so donÒt forget to
build Ballista Towers. Once you have scouted a safe area, build
another base, in case you are overrun. With everything thatÒs
going on in a deathmatch game, be sure you use grouping and
coordinate your attacks carefully with your allies. When you
hit population max, itÒs time to attack!

Civilization Guide
Version 1.0
By Mewtwo150

Sections

[1] Introduction
[2] Version History
[3] Civilizations
[4] Credits

[1] Introduction

Hi and welcome to The Age Of Empires Civilization Guide. Here you will find
everything you need to know about the tribes in Age Of Empires. The tribes
from Rise Of Rome have been left out because I'm writing a FAQ just just for
them. All email regarding this or any other FAQ I've written, can be sent to
mewtwo150@yahoo.com . Enjoy!

[2] Version History

Version 1.0- 02/27/00-First Release

[3] Civilizations

Assyrian
++++++++

+40% Archery Range unit fire rate.
Villagers 30% faster.

 *The extra speed of your villagers with this civ. gives you a huge advantage
over your opponents. You can get yourself set up and
ready to fight 30% more quickly than your opponent!!!*
The big bonus this tribe has is the +40% archery range fire rate and the +30%
is also pretty nice. In the Bronze Age a chariot rush is devastating, send in
a group of 15-20 chariot archers and there's nothing that the enemy can do to
stop you. You must archer rush with this tribe. So what if you don't have a
phalanx or a centurion! Make hoplites to create a front line to slow down the
enemy from getting to your archers.

Babylonian
++++++++++

Double wall and tower hit points. *only really good when your civ. is fully
evolved*

+30% Preist rejuvinations. *OKish*
+30% Stone mining. *No good in deathmatch*

Basically a camping, build-a-wonder-tribe. With the double wall and tower
points plus the +30% stone mining you can fortify your town extremely well.
Babylonians only have hoplites and the cavalry and chariot for stable units.
They suck on the seas because they lack a trireme. If your playing with this
tribe just stay at your empire or rarely attack the enemy, work on building up
you defenses and world wonder.


Choson
++++++

+80% Long swordsman and Legion hit points. *Pretty good*
+2 Tower range.
-30% Preist cost.

When you look at it, Choson only have 1 weakness its farthest reaching unit is
still 2 squares short of the farther hitting catapults. THIS IS THE ONLY
DOWNFALL OF CHOSON. They got a great ground attack with huge support for the
already amazing infantry they can get. Think about it a amazingly cheap unit
that works so damn good since they have the 80+ hitpoints for legions and
longswordsmen. Also their priest are only rivaled by Egypt. They have the best
weapon for infantry support the balista. The catapult is stronger but tell me
which would you
say is better on sea a trimmie by itself against a jugg? The trimmie cause it
will always hit and it will only damage the enemy. The helopolista can waste a
elephant before it got to the front lines of the Legions which will handle it
easily anyways. That's if the elephant gets past conversion. I don't play
Choson unless all my opponents are short range civilizations. Any civilization
besides Sumerian and Hittite can be taken easily by Choson army. These 2
civilizations
because they have the catapult advantages. The only civilization that can
really rival the Choson besides Hittite and Sumerians are the Egyptians.


Egyptian
++++++++

+20% Gold mining. *No good in DM*
+33% Chariot and Chariot Archer hit points.
+3 Preist range

Their infantry suck and they only have the stone thrower. The +20% gold mining
and the +33% chariot bonuses make up for the infantry. The key with the
Egyptians is to make A LOT of elephants since they're the Egyptians most
powerful ground unit. The +20% gold mining will really help you pump out
elephants and priests. Another powerful aspect is that the chariots get +33%
hit points, this tribe kicks butt in the Bronze Age. Just rush the enemy town
with your chariot archers and chariots. In the Iron Age you have two pretty
huge advantages on defence and attacking. 1. You have elephants which are
pretty easy to pump out with +20% gold mining for attacking. 2. The +3
conversion range is really helpful in defending your empire. When an enemy
attacks send out your elephants first, have the enemy fight the elephants for
a while. While they are attacking the elephants , send out your priests, KEEP
THEM IN TOWER RANGE or they're toast. Convert every enemy you can, the enemy
will charge your priests but will be converted to your side by the time they
get to your priests because of the +3 conversion range. With 6-8 priests, for
the time it takes the first 1st priest to restore the enemies' faith, you will
have gone the other priests and are ready to convert another enemy with your
1st priest.


Greek
+++++

Hoplite, Phalanx, and Centurion 30% faster.
War ships 30% faster.

Bad on land, awesome on the high seas. On land they only have a bowman! Your
academy unit will get wasted even though they have +30% speed.
Greek stables are okay with a cavalry and heavy cavalry. Their strength is in
their navy. They can make every ship and a +30% speed bonus to warships. Take
two catapult triremes, group them, attack the enemy, dodge incoming fire, and
then fire back.


Hittite
+++++++

Double Stone Thrower, Catapult, Heavy Catapult hit points.
+1 Archery Range unit attack.
+4 war ship range.

Hittites are great on the sea, EXCEPT in the Iron Age, then they get wasted by
triremes. The key to winning with this tribe is to take out the enemies' dock
before the Iron Age. Then build tons of war galley's and surround the enemies'
coast line to make sure that they don't build another dock. On land the
Hittites kick butt! The double hit points the catapults get rules, just send
in a bunch of catapults into an enemy empire and spread the catapults apart so
that if one catapult is getting attacked another one can kill the unit that's
attacking the catapult(you can even leave the catapults unguarded).


Minoan

     -30% ship cost.
     +2 Composite Bowman range.
     +25% Farm production.

More coming soon


Persian
+++++++
+30% hunting.
-30% Farm production.
War Elephant and Elephant Archer 50% faster.
+50% Trireme fire rate.

The elephant tribe. This tribe kicks with its supercharged elephants. They
move +50% faster. Don't worry about making stable units to take out a
catapult, just send in an elephant. The +50% trireme fire rate is really good.
The Persians have -30% farming and no ballista tower.

Phoenician
++++++++++
                                        
-25% War Elephant and Elephant Archer cost.
+65% Catapult Trireme and Juggernaught fire rate.

 The Phoenician are pretty well rounded. The -25% elephant cost is pretty
good, this tribe makes a very good newbie tribe. Lacking the horse archer more
experienced players will not want to use this tribe. This tribe is a pretty
good on the sea with the +65% fire rate for the triremes.


Shang
+++++

-30% Villager cost.
Double wall hit points.

Coming Soon

Sumerian
++++++++

+15 Villager hit points.
+50% Stone Thrower, Catapult, Heavy Catapult fire rate.
Double Farm production.

The Sumerian are a very strong tribe. They suck on the sea so don't even think
about using them on water maps. But on land the Sumerian rule with the   +50%
catapult fire rate. Also the double farm production is really good. When you
charge a city with a group of academy units, war elephants, and catapults
almost nothing will stop you. Take out those towers and pesky archers twice as
fast with your catapults. Also Sumerians can be used to get an
easy and quick win. Since Sumerian villagers are as as strong as clubmen its a
good idea to rush the enemy early with villagers. The way to do this most
effectively is by first finding out were berry bushes are then build a granary
right next to them. Have two villagers gather, build a house, and make a
villager. After you did that put the three villagers on the bushes and make
another villager. With your 5th and 6th villagers, put them on wood for houses
then every villager after builds a house and gather food of hunts.


Yamato

-25% Horse Archers, Scout, Cavalry, Heavy Cavalry, Cataphract cost.
Villagers 30% faster.
+30% ship hit points.

This tribe would rock if they didn't lack one thing, the ballista tower! It
still is a great tribe without the ballista tower because of the -25% cost for
all horse units, and because of the +30% ship hit points. The key to winning
with this tribe is to keep your enemy on defense.

[4] Credits

- Microsoft for a great game
- Me for writing this FAQ

(C) Mewtwo150

Last Time Updated: 01/13/00

                                ,,,
                               (o o)
---------------------------oOOo-(_)-oOOo----------------------------------------
FROM NOW ON, GO TO GAME WINNERS (http://www.gamewinners.com) FOR ALL FUTURE
UPDATES AND ALL FUTURE GUIDES OF MINE.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

___
\_ \      __
  \ \    / /
   \ \/\/ /
    \_/\_/ ell, Armageddon didn't take place.  Anyone want to buy twenty cases
of Spam?  As indicated in the Update History section, I haven't really added a
whole lot.  Any and all "large" updates are being saved for Game Winners.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, this guide is coming in for its last landing,
sort of speak.  I have finished everything that I feel like including...
well, almost...  There is one more section that I want to put in.  What?
Well, if you look at the Table of Contents, you'll notice that there is still
an item that still says that it's being worked on (The Units).  I am currently
involved in like six guides now, and let's just say, I am very busy now.
Then, in October and November, there is supposed to be a bunch of games for
the PC that I would love to play and make guides for, which I should be able
to do, depending how large my wallet is getting.  I'm saving for a new Dell
Pentium III computer and the PlayStation 2.

Any questions, e- mail me at: redphoenix@aol.com

_____  __         _________        _____
__  / / /________ ______  /______ ___  /______
_  / / / ___  __ \_  __  / _  __ `/_  __/_  _ \
/ /_/ /  __  /_/ // /_/ /  / /_/ / / /_  /  __/
\____/   _  .___/ \__,_/   \__,_/  \__/  \___/
         /_/
______  _______         _____
___  / / /___(_)__________  /_______ _____________  __
__  /_/ / __  / __  ___/_  __/_  __ \__  ___/__  / / /
_  __  /  _  /  _(__  ) / /_  / /_/ /_  /    _  /_/ /
/_/ /_/   /_/   /____/  \__/  \____/ /_/     _\__, /
                                             /____/
                                ,,,
                               (o o)
---------------------------oOOo-(_)-oOOo----------------------------------------

Prior to 10/26/99 - Make and updated the guide as often as possible.
  (172K)

10/26/99 - Very minor changes.
  (173K)

10/27/99 - Changed a little of the ASCII art
  (174K)

12/21/99 - Included the little notes and changed the ASCII art.
  (174K)

01/13/00 - Added some ASCII art and changed my name and Email address.
  (176K)

====================================
Table of Contents
====================================

     I. Introduction
    II. Game Modes
   III. The Villagers
    IV. The Resources
     V. The Technologies
    VI. War!
   VII. Creating Your Own Scenarios
  VIII. Assyrians
    IX. Babylonians
     X. Chosens
    XI. Egyptians
   XII. Greeks
  XIII. Hittites
   XIV. Minoans
    XV. Persians
   XVI. Phoenicians
  XVII. Shangs
 XVIII. Sumerians
   XIX. Yamato
    XX. The Buildings
   XXI. The Units    ***** Still Under Construction *****
  XXII. Extra Stuff
 XXIII. Credits
  XXIV. Farewell!

======================================
I. Introduction
======================================

It isn't totally impossible to make a walkthrough for Age of Empires.
First, you would have to list all contingencies within the game.  This,
along with all the other things you'd have to mention, if you were writing
a walkthrough for Silent Hill (PSX), for example, would take a lot of
time.  Perhaps I'll attempt to do it when I get really, really bored.
However, I'm not at that stage, yet.  Anyway, this is a general strategy
guide for a remarkable game for its type.  Any questions or additions,
e- mail me at: redphoenix@aol.com.

======================================
II. Game Modes
======================================

_Campaign_

Basically, it's a series of scenarios which attempt to show the development
of a given culture.  This is a good place to start for a new AoE player.
It allows you to understand and experiment with the basics of the games.

_Scenario_

This is one, single scenario.  Each of the scenarios has a certain set of
instructions has a certain set of instructions.  You must fulfill the
requirements to win the scenario.

_Random Map_

This is just a randomly generated map.  You can change the victory
condition, so there is a specific way you can win.

_Death Match_

Well, you are given a certain amount of resources, and you must fight until
everyone is dead.

_Multiplayer_

It's a random map or scenario, for example.  The whole Multiplayer thing
is explained a little more in depth in the manual.  I just don't feel like
elaborating on it.

======================================
III. The Villagers
======================================

TASKS

_BUILDER_

 This person constructs buildings and farms.

_FARMER_

 This person gathers food from a Farm.  The food from the Farm is
deposited at either the Town Center or at the Granary.  Researching
Domestication, the Plow, and Irrigation increases a Farm's production.

_FISHERMAN_

 This person gathers food from the fishing spots.  The food is deposited
at either the Town Center or at the Storage Pit.

_FORAGER_

 This person gathers food from the Berry Bushes.  The food is
deposited at either the Town Center or at the Granary.

_GOLD MINER_

 This person mines for Gold at the Gold Mines.  The gold is deposited at
either the Town Center or at the Storage Pit. Researching Gold Mining
increases gold mining efficiency, and Coinage increases Gold production.

_HUNTER_

 This person hunts for food from: Alligators, Lions, Gazelle, and
Elephants.  The food is deposited at either the Town Center or at the
Storage Pit.

_REPAIRMAN_

 This person repairs boats and buildings.

_STONE MINER_

 This person miner Stone from Stone Mines.  The stone is deposited at
either the Town Center or at the Storage Pit. Researching Stone Mining and
Siegecraft increases stone mining efficiency.

_VILLAGER_

 This person is either in combat or doing nothing.  Researching Siegecraft
allows Villagers to destroy walls and towers, and Jihad increases their
combat ability.

_WOODCUTTER_

 This person chops down trees for wood.  The wood is deposited at either
the Town Center or at the Storage Pit.  Researching Woodworking,
Artisanship, and Craftsmanship increases woodcutting efficiency.

======================================
IV. The Resources
======================================

_Wood_

This is used to construct boats, buildings, and some military units.

_Food_

This is used to create villagers, train and upgrade military units,
research technologies, and advance to the next age.  In AoE, food
represents Fish, Fruits, Nuts, Roots, Wild Grains, and Berries.

_Gold_

This is used to research technologies in later ages, create some military
units, advance to the Iron Age, and pay tribute to other civilizations.
In AoE, Gold represents Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Copper.

_Stone_

This is used to build and upgrade towers and walls, and research some
technologies.  In AoE, Stone represents both Stone and Clay.

=======================================
V. The Technologies
=======================================

_Storage Pit Technologies_

TOOLWORKING

Age: Tool Age
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center and Storage Pit.
Cost: 100 Food
Benefit: This provides a +2 attack for your hand- to- hand units.
Note: The first metals put to use were those found in a relatively pure
state on the earth's surface, including gold, silver, and copper.  Gold
could be worked in its natural state.  Experimentation with it eventually
suggested electrum (a natural alloy of gold and silver) and copper could
also be hammered into useful shapes.  Learning how to extract copper from
ore and shape it into tools was an important milestone in the rise of
civilization because it opened the door first to making bronze and then
to making iron.  Cast copper tools were an important advance over stone
tools, but were too soft to have a long, useful life.  The discovery of
bronze, made by alloying a small amount of tin with copper, ushered in a
2000- year Bronze Age.  Cast bronze tools dramatically increased the
efficiency of workers.  Bronze weapons were superior to those made of
stone and copper.  Armies equipped with bronze swords, spears, and
arrowheads had a critical advantage over more poorly equipped armies.

METALWORKING

Age: Bronze
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center and Storage Pit, and
researched Toolworking.
Cost: 200 Food, 120 Gold
Benefit: This provides a +2 attack for your hand- to- hand units.
Note: The discovery and use of iron to make tools and weapons was one of
the most important advances in civilization.  Some historians consider the
use of iron to be one of the distinguishing characteristics separating
civilization from barbarism because the new tools were less brittle, could
hold better edges, and held edges for a longer time without resharpening.
Most importantly, iron ore was much easier to locate than copper and tin,
making iron tools cheaper and more readily available.  By 1000 B.C., iron
tools were being made that were as good as the best ones of bronze; by 500
B.C., iron had largely supplanted bronze from Europe and Asia.  The expanse
and scarcity of bronze had restricted its use to the elite and wealthy.
Iron tools and weapons were available to nearly everyone.

METALLURGY

Age: Iron
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center and Storage Pit, and
researched Toolworking and Metalworking.
Cost: 300 Food, 180 Gold
Benefit: This provides a +3 attack for your hand- to- hand units.
Note: You must research Metallurgy before you can upgrade to the
Cataphract.  The use of iron spread throughout the Mediterranean, Middle
East, and Asia during the first millenium B.C., and some areas became
especially adept at the new science.  Certain campgrounds added to the
molten metal increased the strength of the resulting tools.  New forging
techniques also resulted in better tools.  The best iron tool workers made
superior weapons that were an important advantage in battle.

BRONZE SHIELD

Age: Bronze
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center and Storage Pit.
Cost: 150 Food, 180 Gold
Benefit: This provides a +1 armor against the Ballista, Helepolis, and
missile weapons.
Note: The shield was probably the first piece of military equipment
developed to protect a warrior.  The earliest were made of wood or wood
and hide, and were in various shapes.  They were carried in the hand or on
the forearm and used to ward off blows or missiles in battle.  Shield
designs and materials evolved to keep up with advances in weapons.  Wood
and hide shields were easy to smash with bronze weapons, so bronze shields
were developed.  Bronze shields also provided better defense against
missiles.  Arrows, especially with metal points, were prone to lodge in
wooden shields.  This increased the weight of the shield and made it more
unwieldy.  Roman legions threw spears at barbarian formations mainly so
they would pierce and weigh down the enemy's shield just before closing.
Arrows and other missiles deflected off bronze shields without penetration.

IRON SHIELD

Age: Iron
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center and Storage Pit, and
researched the Bronze Shield.
Cost: 200 Food, 320 Gold
Benefit: This provides a +1 armor against the Ballista, Heleoplis, and
missile weapons.
Note: The iron shield replaced the bronze shield when swords and other
weapons of iron became common. Iron shields were not only expensive to
make, but also more effective in stopping all hand- to- hand and missile
weapons.  The basic iron shield remained in use until firearms made
personal shields on the battlefield obsolete.

LEATHER ARMOR FOR ARCHERS

Age: Tool
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center and Storage Pit.
Cost: 100 Food
Benefit: This provides a +2 armor for your Archery Range units.
Note: Soldiers have sought ways to protect themselves in combat since the
beginnings of warfare.  Long before the use of metals, leather was
employed to make helmets and body armor that could stop, or at least
soften, blows from blunt and edged weapons.  Leather was easy to work
with, it was light and not overly restrictive of movement, it could be
fitted to the wearer, and it was usually plentiful and inexpensive.
Leather remained an important material for body armor throughout the
Bronze Age due to the high cost of metal armor.  It wasn't until far into
the Iron Age that metal armor was available for common soldiers.

SCALE ARMOR FOR ARCHERS

Age: Bronze
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center and Storage Pit, and
researched Leather Armor for Archers.
Cost: 125 Food, 50 Gold
Benefit: This provides a +2 armor for your Archery Range units.
Note: The use of metals to make weapons was matched by using metals to
make better armor.  Among the first improvements in widespread use were
breastplates and greaves of bronze.  The breastplate protected the torso
while greaves protected the legs below the knee.  Both of these items
protected only the front of the soldier, saving the weight and cost that
all- around protection would entail.  Breastplates and greaves were worn
by hoplites of the phalanx, for example, during the glory years of
Greece.  When used together with a large shield and bronze helmet, they
left little of the soldier's body exposed to attack.  Bronze armor was an
example of scale armor, or plate armor, in which metal plates provided
protection.

CHAIN MAIL FOR ARCHERS

Age: Iron
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center and Storage Pit, and
researched Leather Armor and Scale Armor for Archers.
Cost: 150 Food, 100 Gold
Benefits: This provides a +2 armor for your Archery Range units.
Note: Chain mail was a type of body armor made of iron circlets woven
together into a cloak.  The interlocking chains of iron protected the body
somewhat from weapons that slashed or pounded.  Chain mail was also
flexible and allowed more freedom of body movement than armor made of
metal plates.  The disadvantages of chain mail were that it required a lot
of care, was heavy, and was expensive to make.  Chain mail was worn only
by wealthy or powerful individuals who could purchase or demand its
manufacture.

LEATHER ARMOR FOR CAVALRY

Age: Tool
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center and Storage Pit.
Cost: 125 Food
Benefits: This provides a +2 armor for your Stable units.
Note: The same as above.

SCALE ARMOR FOR CAVALRY

Age: Bronze
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center and Storage Pit, and
researched Leather Armor for Cavalry.
Cost: 150 Food, 50 Gold
Benefit: This provides a +2 armor for your Stable units.
Note: The same as above.

CHAIN MAIL FOR CAVALRY

Age: Iron
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center and Storage Pit, and
researched Leather and Scale Armor for Cavalry.
Cost: 175 Food, 100 Gold
Benefits: This provides a +2 armor for your Stable units.
Note: The same as above.

LEATHER ARMOR FOR INFANTRY

Age: Tool
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center and Storage Pit.
Cost: 75 Food
Benefits: This provides a +2 armor for your Barracks and Academy units.
Note: The same as above.

SCALE ARMOR FOR INFANTRY

Age: Bronze
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center and Storage Pit, and
researched Leather Armor for Infantry.
Cost: 100 Food, 50 Gold
Benefits: This provides a +2 armor for your Barracks and Academy units.
Note: The same as above.

CHAIN MAIL FOR INFANTRY

Age: Iron
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center and Storage Pit, and
researched Leather and Scale Armor for Infantry.
Cost: 125 Food, 100 Gold
Benefits: This provides a +2 armor for your Barracks and Academy units.
Note: The same as above.

_Market Technologies_

WHEEL

Age: Bronze
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, and Market.
Cost: 175 Food, 75 Wood
Benefits: Villager speed is increased by 30%.
Note: You must research the Wheel before you can build a Chariot or
Chariot Archer.  The use of the wheel for transport was discovered in
Sumeria sometime after 3400 B.C. and derived from the potter's wheel that
appeared first.  The Sumerians learned that in a small cart, a donkey
could pull a load equal to three times what it could carry on its back.
The wheel revolutionized transport and had an important impact on the
battlefield as well.  By the Bronze Age, chariot archers were dominating
warfare on the open plains.  The wheel was apparently used only for
children's toys in ancient America, probably because of the rough
geography and the lack of an animal like the ox or horse.

WOODWORKING

Age: Tool
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, and Market.
Cost: 120 Food, 75 Wood
Benefits: You receive a +2 woodcutting ability and a +1 range for missile
weapons.
Note: The small stone blades that characterized the New Stone Age
(neolithic period) made possible finer techniques in many areas, including
woodworking.  The larger and more unweildy stone tools of the past were
capable of crude cutting and carving only.  Better woodworking improved
other tools and weapons, making possible the bow and arrow and spear
thrower.

ARTISANSHIP

Age: Bronze
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, and Market,
and researched Woodworking.
Cost: 170 Food, 120 Gold
Benefits: You receive a +2 woodcutting ability and a +1 range for missile
weapons.
Note: The discovery and use of first copper and then the much more useful
bronze tools and weapons was a dramatic leap in technology.  Bronze,
especially, posessed a hardness, strength, and ability to hold an edge
that far surpassed the best stone tools, making it much more useful when
working with stone, wood, hides, meat, and other materials.  Cultures that
used bronze had a decided economic and military advantage over those that
did not.

COINAGE

Age: Iron
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, and Market,
and researched Gold Mining.
Cost: 200 Food, 100 Gold
Benefits: This provides you with free tribute and increases your Gold
Mining productivity by 25%.
Note: The first true coins were minted in ancient Lydia, now part of
modern Turkey.  These first coins were made from electrum, a naturally
ocurring malleable alloy of gold and silver.  Coins, and money in general,
proved an important facilitator of trade and economic progress.  Money
acted as a storehouse of value, a medium of exchange, and a standard of
value, as it continues to do today.  Following the conquest of the Persian
Empire, the concept of coinage or as adopted by the Greeks and spread by
them throughout the Hellenistic world.

CRAFTSMANSHIP

Age: Iron
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, and Market,
and researched Woodworking and Artisanship.
Cost: 240 Food, 200 Wood
Benefits: You receive a +2 woodcutting ability and +1 range for missile
weapons.
Note: You must research Craftsmanship before you can upgrade to the
Helepolis.  The discovery of inexpensive ways to make iron was as great a
technological leap over bronze making as bronze was over stone.  Iron
surpassed bronze in every critical characteristic- hardness, strength, and
the ability to hold an edge before needing to be resharpened- Plus one.
Iron was much easier to acquire than were copper and tin, making it
available to all cultures and for all uses.  Historians consider the
ability to make and use iron ore one of the distinctions between barbaric
and civilized culture.

DOMESTICATION

Age: Tool
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center and Granary, and
researched Market.
Cost: 200 Food, 50 Wood
Benefits: You receive a 75% increase of food production to your farms.
Note: The revolution in agriculture involved both the development of
animals.  The ability to control and manage herds of milk- and meat-
producing animals also served to free humans from the drudging and
desperation of continual hunting and gathering.  Herding did not lead
necessarily to a sedentary village life, however.  The need to find pasture
often meant that herding societies remained nomadic, at least for part of
the year.  Domesticated sheep and goats first appear in the archaelogical
record around 7500 B.C. in the Zagros Mountains to the east of the Tigro
and Euphrates River valleys.  Cattle were domesticated around 600 B.C. in
both the Sahara and Egypt, perhaps near simultaneously.  Domestication of
cattle alone may have been for responsible for a doubling of world human
population in a few generations.

STONE MINING

Age: Tool
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, and Market.
Cost: 100 Food, 50 Stone
Benefits: Your stone mining is increased by +3.
Note: Wood for building was scarce in most places where civilizations
first arose.  Vast forests just did not exist in these predominately arid
regions.  The principle building material for common uses was mud bricks,
sun- dried at first and then fire- baked.  In some areas important
structures such as temples, palaces, tombs, and fortifications were built
of stone when it was available.  Much information about ancient Egypt was
preserved because of the permanence of stone.  Equilalent structures in
Mesopotamia collapsed into mounds of earth after many centuries of neglect
and weathering.  Acquiring non- wood building  materials through brick
making or quarrying was the object of Stone Mining.

GOLD MINING

Age: Tool
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, and Market.
Cost: 120 Food, 100 Wood
Benefits: The gold mining production is increased by +3.
Note: Gold washed down the hills and mountains was probably the 1st metal
with which humans experimented.  It was sufficiently soft and pure to be
fashioned easily into objects of beauty for adornment and trade.  The
value of gold remained high as populations increased because of demand for
it continued to exceed supply.  Because of this value, the trail of gold
was followed back to the source of the alluvial nuggets.  Gold mining was
developed to obtain ore from which the pure metal could be extracted.
Many of the most beautiful objects that survive from antiquity are made of
gold, including hundreds of items from the Egyptian Pharaoh, Tutankhamen's
tomb.

SIEGECRAFT

Age: Iron
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, and Market,
and researched Stone Mining.
Cost: 190 Food, 100 Stone
Benefits: Villagers can destroy walls and towers, and your stone mining
ablity is increased by +3.
Note: You must research Siegecraft before you can upgrade to the Heavy
Catapult.  Despite the written records and depictions of cities and
fortifications being stormed with the aid of siege equipment, starvation
was the only certain and effective way to take strongholds before the
gunpowder age.  The defender of a strong position, with adequate troops,
food, and water, had all the advantages.  Physical assault of strongholds
was a difficult proposition accompanied regularly only by those armies
posessing siegecraft- the necessary equipment, resolve, leadership, elan,
discipline, and skill.  Examples from ancient history were the army of
Alexander the Great that conducted 20 sieges over a ten- year period, most
after the fall of the Persian Empire; the Hittites, the Assyrians, and the
Romans.

PLOW

Age: Bronze
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, and Market,
and researched Domestication.
Cost: 250 Food, 75 Wood
Benefits: You receive a 75% food production increase to your farms.
Note: The first agriculturists planted seeds by hand using digging sticks
to open the ground.  The invention of the plow made it possible to more
easily prepare farmland for planting.  The plow ripped open long rows for
seeding, burying unwanted plants and cutting unwanted roots in the
process.  When pulled behind domesticated animals, such as oxen, food
production per farmer and per acre again increased.  The plow has
continued to evolve since ancient times.  For example, U.S. President
Thomas Jefferson invented an improved version.

IRRIGATION

Age: Iron
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, and Market,
and researched Domestication and the Plow.
Cost: 300 Food, 100 Wood
Benefits: You receive a 75% food production increase to your farms.
Note: One of the key steps in the agricultural revolution was
understanding and managing irrigation.  Observation of the natural world
revealed eventually the relationship between planted seeds, good soils,
sunlight, water, and resultant crops.  Large- scale irrigation in both
Mesopotamia and Egypt turned the rich but arid soils near the rivers into
rich farmlands and made possible the rise of the great civilizations on
earth.  Building the dams and channels to irrigate these lands required
sophistication of government, construction, and engineering not seen
previously in any society.

_Government Center Technologies_

ALCHEMY

Age: Iron
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, Market, and
Government Center.
Cost: 250 Food, 200 Gold
Benefits: You receive a +1 attack ability for your siege and missile
weapons.
Note: The beginnings of chemistry can be traced back to ancient attempts
to make gold and silver out of base metals, to find a universal cure for
disease, and to discover secrets of prolonging life.  The experiments and
secrecy of the alchemists gave them an aura of mystery and magic.
Alchemists were both feared and sought out for help.  In an ancient world
of little scientific understanding, mystery, and magic had power.

ARCHITECTURE

Age: Bronze
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, Market, and
Government Center.
Cost: 150 Food, 175 Wood
Benefits: Building construction is increased by +33% and the hit points of
your buildings and walls are increased by +20%.
Note: The art and science of designing and constructing buildings arose
from the practical need to provide first shelter, then storage for food
reserves, and then defenses for both.  One of the specializations that
appeared in the first towns was the builder whose skills and techniques
continue to evolve today.  Builders and architects worked with the
materials available to construct buildings and fortifications.  Over time
new techniques of architecture improved the efficiency, strength, and
utility of construction.

ARISTOCRACY

Age: Iron
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, Market, and
Government Center.
Cost: 175 Food, 150 Gold
Benefits: The speed of your Academy units is increased by +25%.
Note: The Aristocracy was a privileged class, usually hereditary, that
arose within many cultures.  Aristocrats generally derived their power
from control of farmland and the attendant infrastructure of people,
towns, and manufacturing- supported food production.  They kept power at
the pleasure of the ruler, as long as they acceded to his wishes.
Aristocrats may also have had military responsibility, especially when on
the frontier of the kingdom or empire.  In many cultures the aristocrats
provided the senior officer corps or elite troops of the army.  Commanders
of the armies and navies of Athens, for example, were elected from among
the aristocracy of landowners.

BALLISTICS

Age: Iron
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, Market, and
Government Center.
Cost: 200 Food, 50 Gold
Benefits: It increases the accuracy of missile and siege weapons.
Note: You must research Ballistics before you can upgrade to the Ballista
Tower.  The use of missile weapons for war presented challenges that
hunting with the bow did not.  Hunters stalked game and shot ideally at a
stationary target.  War targets were often armored, partially shielded, or
moving.  Effective use of the bow and other missile weapons required
tactics and training.  Bowmen of low skill were taught to fire in barrages
at an area rather than at specific targets.  Better- trained archers
learned to shoot for specific parts of the target, including the horses of
chariots or cavalry.  Ballistics, the study of projectile flight, was
derived from the name of an ancient missile weapon, the Ballista.

ENGINEERING

Age: Iron
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, Market, and
Government Center.
Cost: 200 Food, 100 Wood
Benefits: The range for your siege weapons is increased by +2.
Note: You must research Engineering before you can upgrade to the
Juggernaught.  Ancient engineers were able to build remarkable structures
even though the raw materials and tools with which they could work were
often limited.  The Egyptian pyramids, for example, were built of multiton
stone blocks using only the fulcrum and lever, wedge, ramp, sledge, and
rollers.  The pyramid builders of 2600 B.C. used tools made only of wood
and copper.  Advances in engineering were slow and based primarily on
practical experience until advances in mathematics, especially from the
Greeks, led to the new experimentation and techniques.
                                        
NOBILITY

Age: Bronze
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, Market, and
Government Center.
Cost: 175 Food, 120 Gold
Benefits: There is a hit point bonus of +15% for Cavalry units, Chariot,
Chariot Archer, Horse Archer, and Heavy Horse Archer.
Note: Within ancient tribal groups an early hierarchical structure
centered around the strongman, who probably took power in a physical
contest, led the group, and enjoyed special privileges.  As populations
increased, the hierarchy expanded.  Layers of nobility, a class of society
privileged due to fighting prowess or wealth, grew between the stronghold,
or king, and common people and slaves.  The nobility served as
administrators and sub- commanders of the army.  Examples of nobility were
the Persian satraps, who ruled provinces of the Persian Empire, and
Alexander the Great's Companion's, who commanded parts of his army and
formed the core of his heavy cavalry squadrons.

WRITING

Age: Bronze
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, Market, and
Government Center.
Cost: 200 Food, 75 Gold
Benefits: You share exploration with allies.
Note: The advance of writing is benchmark technology often used to separate
those cultures that were civilized from those that were barbaric.  The key
importance of writing is that it allowed information to be stored and
passed on easily, thereby accelerating the accumulation and spread of
knowledge.  Writing is believed to have been invented between 4000 and
3000 B.C. in Sumeria.  The first writing was in simple pictures called
pictograms that gradually evolved into symbols representing the picture.
Egyptian hieroglyphics first appeared between 3300 and 3100 B.C., and are
thought to have been inspired by cuneiform, the Sumerian symbolic writing.
Writing appeared in China after 1600 B.C.

_Temple Technologies_

POLYTHEISM

Age: Bronze
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, Market, and
Temple.
Cost: 120 Gold
Benefits: Your priests move +40% faster.
Note: The first religions embraced a multitude of gods, each associated
with one aspect of life.  There might have been a sun god, a moon god, a
god of the forest, a god of the river, and so on.  The multitude of gods
was useful in understanding how the world worked and in directing petition
and prayer for specific help and relief.  The existence of multipple gods
increased the power of priests because each god had special needs and
abilities that needed interpretation.  The ancient Egyptians, for example,
worshipped around 2000 gods.  Many of these were any local deities, but
others were held sacred throughout the country.

MONOTHEISM

Age: Iron
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, Market, and
Temple.
Cost: 350 Gold
Benefits: Your priests can convert enemy priests and buildings (except for
Town Centers and Wonders.)
Note: The belief that there is only one God has evolved from the Persian
religion of Zoroastrianism down through Judaism to many of the more
popular religions of today.  Whether monotheism is an advancement or not
is a subjective question.  The widespread popularity over time and the
fervor of adherents indicates that monotheistic religions have more
successfully met the requirements of a religion than other beliefs that
have fallen aside.

MYSTICISM

Age: Bronze
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, Market, and
Temple.
Cost: 120 Gold
Benefit: Your Priests' hit points are doubled.
Note: Mysticism was a spiritual discipline that sought to achieve contact
with gods or other perceived realities through contemplation, trances, or
meditation.  It was induced or enhanced by drugs in some cases, and it was
part of many ancient beliefs.  For religions seeking to explain the great
unknown, the apparent ability to communicate through media unknown to the
average person was a powerful selling point.  Because peopledream every
night, it was a logical step to believe that a few members of the group
could somehow make sense of dreams or see through the confusion to
communicate with another dimension.

JIHAD

Age: Iron
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, Market, and
Temple.
Cost: 120 Gold
Benefits: It increases the attack, speed, and hit points of villagers, but
decreases their gathering efficiency.
Note: The word jihad can mean a crusade or struggle, and comes from the
holy war of Islam directed against all that defied the word of God as
written in the Koran.  The equivalent of jihad can occur in any society
brought to a peak of emotion by religious fervor or other means.  The
value of the jihad to society is that the people caught up in the emotion
of the enterprise place their best interests, even their lives, second to
the purpose of the crusade.  The jihad was especially effective at a most
desperate time when survival of the group hung in the balance.

FANATICISM

Age: Iron
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, Market, and
Temple.
Cost: 150 Gold
Benefits: Your Priests rejuvenate 50% faster after converting a unit.
Note: You must research Fanaticism before you can upgrade to Legion.
Religion evolved to provide a spiritual foundation and understanding to
life once humans became sufficiently intelligent to ponder the great
terrifying questions of our existence.  A disturbing byproduct of the
spread of religion was fanaticism- the intense, unquestioning devotion to
the ideas and leadership of other humans.  Fanatics were capable of ant
act, even at great risk to their lives, and were especially dangerous
enemies in war.

ASTROLOGY

Age: Bronze
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, Market, and
Temple.
Cost: 150 Gold
Benefits: Your Priests convert enemy units 30% faster.
Note: Ancient observers of the stars and the heavens noted the correlation
between the sun, the seasons, and the success of crops.  The study of
celestial events was an early step in the attempt to understand and
control the uncertainties of life and became an important part of many
early religions.  The sun god, Ra, for example, was the most powerful of
the Egyptian gods.  Priests who could determine the start and end of the
growing seasons, foretell the phases of the moon, and predict terrifying
eclipses greatly enhanced their power in society.  The power of astrologers
increased when their subjects believed that the influence of the stars and
planets on human affairs could be divined from celestial positions and
aspects.

AFTERLIFE

Age: Iron
Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, Market, and
Temple.
Cost: 275 Gold
Benefit: The range of your Priests is increased by +3.
Note: An important question that ancient religions attempted to address
was what happens when people die.  Many religions held that there was an
afterlife, a place or existence that continued once a person's time on
earth ended.  The promise of an attractive afterlife was a powerful
inducement for behavior that conformed to the goals of a particular
religion.  Fervent believers in an afterlife might give up their lives to
serve their gods.  Well- considered religions that offered a good return
for acceptance, including an attractive afterlife, grew more in power and
influence than those that did not.  Christianity, for example, promised
everlasting life to everyone of faith, not just to the rich buried in great
tombs with servants and goods.

=====================================
VI. War!
=====================================

War is something that is bound to happen.  There isn't a whole lot that I
can say in this spot.  For more war, try the hardest game setting, my
favorite.  Everyone has their own tactics they like to use, so that's up
to you.  You shouldn't sacrafice your entire army at once.  Hold some back
as a backup, when the others are getting hammered.  If the other army is
still beating the Hel* out of you, retreat.  Come back to the S.O.B.'s and
take 'em out.  War is something that there isn't really one way to do.
Every group that you'll encounter will have certain weapons that you don't,
unless you cheat, that will give them a distinct advantage.  You must look
at all of your things and come up of something that they don't, and use it
against them.  You must expose their weakness!!

=====================================
VII. Creating Your Own Scenarios
=====================================

What exactly could I say in this section?  Well, be creative.  Try not to
cheat your opponents too badly.  For example, don't build a fortification
surrounding your opponents, so they can't even move.  Try to build some
scenarios which are simple, just like the scenarios already within the
game.  But the point is to be creative!  If you would like to learn more
on this subject, check out the manual.  I don't really feel like writing
too much in this section, since it's pretty self- explainable.

=====================================
VIII. Assyrians
=====================================

(1800 to 600 B.C.)

The only thing that I can say to introduce the Assyrians is the fact that
they were very powerful and fierce.  They have legendary barbarity, as well.

_Location_

Assyria was located in northern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) along the Tigris
River.  It was settled after Sumer to the south but was dominated by the
Sumerians both culturally and politically during its early history.

_Capital_

The capital of Assyria was Ashur for most of its existence, but moved to
other sites when kings built new palaces.  Other important cities and
capitals in the Assyrian homeland were Nineveh, Arbela, Khorsabad, and
Nimrud.

_Rise to Power_

Around 2000 B.C., Assyria was invaded by Semitic barbarians called the
Armorites.  By 1800 B.C. an Armorite king of the Assyrians had established
control over most of northern Mesopotamia.  Their power was short- lived
in this period, however, due first to the rise of Babylonia under Hammurabi
and then the rise of the Mitanni in modern Syria.

The period 1363 to 1000 B.C. was the Middle Assyrian Empire.  Several
strong kings reasserted Assyrian independence and then began encroaching
on neighboring empires.  The Assyrians avoided destruction during the
catastrophe of 1200 B.C., perhaps they were already embracing the new
military tactics and weapons that the older kingdoms were not.  In the
political vacuum of the ancient dark age, the Arryrians prospered.  By
1076 B.C. Tiglathpileser I had reached the Mediterranean to the west.

The New Assyrian Empire, 1000 to 600 B.C. was the peak of their conquests.
Their empire stretched from the head of the Persian Gulf, around the
Fertile Crescent through Damascus, Phoenicia, Palestine, and into Egypt as
far south as Thebes.  Their northwestern border was the Taurus Mountains
of modern Turkey.  Other than the vestiges of what had once been the Minoan
(Crete), Mycenean (Greece), and Hittite (Turkey) cultures, all areas of
pre- catastrophe civilization in the West were ruled by Assyria.

_Economy_

The Assyrian economy was based on agriculture and herding, but the Assyrians
also benefited  by being situated astride some important trade routes.
They are not remembered as traders in their own right, perhaps only tax
collectors on traders went through. During the New Empire period, they
profited from the taxes and tribute they collected from their various
provinces and vassal states, including even Egypt for a few years.

_Religion and Culture_

The Assyrian religion was heavily influenced by that of its Mesopotamian
predecessors, mainly Sumeria.  The chief god of the Assyrians was Ashur,
from whom both their culture and capital take their names.  Their temples
were large zaggurats built of mud bricks, like their neighbors to the south.

The principal activity of the rich was hunting from chariots, appropriate
for such a war- like culture.  Despite their fearsome reputation, the
Assyrians embraced civilization.  They wrote using cuneiform and decorated
their cities leberally with reliefs, painted stonework, and sculpture.

_Government_

The king was the head administrator of government, supported by local
provincial governors.  The palace was the site of government.  Advisors
consulted the omens before important decisions were made.

Provinces and vassal cities were required to pay taxes and tribute in the
form of food, goods, gold, labor, military supplies, and soldiers for the
army.  An extensive network of roads and grain depots were built during
the New Empire to speed communication and armies moving to trouble spots.

_Architecture_

The Assyrians built on a large and lavish scale, using mostly mud bricks,
but also stone that was more readily available than it was further south.
Several New Empire kings built extensive palaces and decorated them with
the booty of war and the tribute of vassal states.  Palaces were also
decorated with painted stone reliefs, extensive gardens, and man0 made
streams.  A common decorative fixture was the LAMASSU- a winged hybrid
creature, part bull and part man.

_Military_

The first Assyrian armies were peasant spearmen.  Following a series of
military reforms around 800 B.C., however, they employed a standing army
of conscripts and professionals.  This army was better armed, armored,
and supplied than most of its enemies, giving it important advantages.
The New Empire armies benefited from cheap iron used for improved swords
and armor.

The Assyrians were among the first to adopt the concept of the integrated
army made up of an infantry core for shock, supported by light missile
troops and a mobile wing of chariots, camelry, and cavalry.  The army was
capable of fighting on the plains where chariots and then cavalry were
critical, as well as in rough terrain where horses and chariots had little
use.  They campaigned regularly to the north and east against barbarians
that posed a threat.  The elite of the army for many years were the
charioteers, followed by the cavalry when chariots bacame obsolete.

The Assyrians were accomplished at the art of capturing walled cities.
Their historical records recount numerous city assaults and the brutality
that followed.  Inhabitants were either killed or sent to another corner
of the empire as slaves.

_Decline and Fall_

The brutal policies of subjugation and exorbitant demands for tribute and
taxes made the Assyrians unpopular masters.  Despite the ferocity of their
reprisals, vassal states contnually revolted given an opportunity.  Weaker
kings were unable to hold the empire together in the face of internal and
external pressure.  In 612 B.C., the capital at Nineveh fell to a
coalition of Babylonians and Medes.  The Babylonians were in revolt
(Babylon had been sacked in 648 B.C.) and the Medes (from modern western
Iran) were seeking retribution for past Assyrian invasions of their lands.

The last Assyrian army was defeated soon thereafter by the same coalition
and the Assyrians as a separate culture disappeared from the world's stage.

_Legacy_

The Assyrians are remembered from their boastful inscriptions and biblical
references as ferocious warriors.  Whether they were significantly more
brutal than was normal for the time is unclear.

For several centuries, however, they were the greatest military power in
the civilized world.  Their armies were innovative, and they appear to
have been among the first to use large bodies of cavalry effectively.
They certainly influenced the Persian armies that followed them.

They are not remembered for any significant advances in technology,
philosophy, the arts, or science.  Their cities have been piles of rubble
for thousands of years now and have not given up fabulous treasures that
can compare with those of Egypt and Greece.

=====================================
IX. Babylonians
=====================================

(1900 to 539 B.C.)

The Mesopotamian city- state of Babylon twice expanded to become an
important world empire before being absorbed by Persia.  Its two great
expansions were sufficiently remarkable to earn it a place in history
beside the two other great Mesopotamian cultures, the Sumerians and
Assyrians.  Between its Old and New Empire periods, Babylonia devolved
back into a small but rich city- state that was captured occasionally by
its neighbors.

The predominate inhabitants of Babylon changed several times over its
existence, although the culture remained relatively constant and distinct.
The Amorites, the Kassites, and the Chaldeans were all Babylonians at
least once.

_Location_

The Babylonians took their name from their capital and only major city,
Babylon, located on the Euphrates River west of Sumeria and south of
Assyria.  It was well- placed on the river for agriculture and for trade,
but had no natural defenses.  A strong leader and strong army were needed
to defend it.  Determined attackers were able to sack the city on numerous
occasions during its history when such a leader or army was not available.

_Rise To Power_

Babylonia was founded as a kingdom around 1900 B.C. by Semitic Amorite
barbarians who overran much of Canaan, Akkad, and Sumer one hundred years
earlier.  In 1792 B.C. the small kingdom was inherited by Hammurabi who
ruled until 1750.  During those 42 years, Hammurabi extended the kingdom
to ecompass all of Sumer to the east and Akkad to the north.  He also
defeated the barbarian Gutians in the Zagros Mountains to the northeast
who had previously sacked Akkad.  He also pushed back the Elamites (east
of Sumer) and the Assyrians (north of Akkad).  This was the first great
Babylonian empire.

Following Hammurabi's death, the empire fell into gradual decline.  In
1595 B.C. Hittites drove down the Euphrates and sacked Babylon, plundering
the city and deposing the Amorite kings.  This ended the first empire.
Within 20 yearsm new invaders called the Kassites had settled around
Babylon, establishing a new dynasty.  The Kassites were neither Semetic
nor Indo- European, and probably came from east of the Zagros Mountains.

The Kassites ruled Babylon for several centuries before being coquered by
the Assyrians in 1158 B.C.  Descendants of the Amorites had restored
control by 1027 B.C.

During the Eighth and Seventh Centuries, the Chaldeans, new Semitic
immigrants to the area, and the Assyrians fought for control of Babylon.
The Assyrians claimed sovereignty