10 habits of the great AoT players
1. They treat farming like a bad seed.
Poor pun withstanding, hunting is still the fastest food source. Most people know it, but are you easily put into "farm panic mode"? This occurs when, after eating some deer or sheep, you scan your area of the map and think that the only way you will ever have food is if you start farming exclusively. This is very expensive at this early stage in the game. At the very least, you should keep a hunting party of 6-8 villagers hunting and gathering while you begin farming around your TC. Preferably they are getting deer or elephants, but monkeys, berries, and chickens are still a better investment than farming. Even when it’s a long walk, I still recommend keeping a fairly large group of villagers hunting. Once hunting is exhausted, go for your chickens/berries/sheep that are near your TC. Farming should be a gradual transition. Of all the things I check with a quick glance at my teammates base, how many farms they have at that certain intangible point in the early game is the best way I predict how good they are.
2. They know the hotkeys that are important to their game play.
Learn this way: look up one hotkey that you don’t know but you would use often, like your barracks. Play a 1v1 vs. an easy computer and tell yourself the only way you will select your barracks this game will be to use the hotkey. Repeat as necessary. Something everybody should know: H = town center and V = build villager. If you click on the villager icon even once in a game, your keyboard better be broken.
3. They control group buildings.
This is especially important for your main military-producing facilities. I like my 3-5 barracks on hotkey "9," and I know a lot of players that start from "9" going left with their buildings so their units can go from 1-5. While you’re at it, you might as well learn the hotkey for your favorite unit. In combination, these will allow for quick unit construction.
4. Constantly trying to improve their mouse speed.
The great players know that speed often wins games, and they are doing everything possible to stay as fast as possible. In the options for the game, you can increase the sensitivity of the mouse movement. Try increasing it and seeing if you can adapt to the faster speed. I've seen some people I know scrolling the entire way from their base to see their army in the opponents base. You simply have to learn that clicking the mini map is unbelievably faster.
5. They are extremely busy all game long.
Hitting the period takes you to idle villagers, and giving them something to do at all times is economic law. Watching a good player play should look like they are controlling the Normandy invasion. Good players constantly move villagers around from resources they have abundances in to ones they need. An abundance of resources means that you need more military buildings so you can do something with those resources. The market is used on occasion, but it is certainly not very efficient.
6. They battle over the "in question" settlements.
Clearly it is very important to build on the settlements in your immediate vicinity, but those should not be where your greed ends. Battles over the central settlements that don't belong to anyone in particular are often very fierce. After building a town center there, good players will often lay down military buildings and defensive structures like towers to dissuade invasion. It's fairly easy to use the higher population to your advantage, as your armies should consistently be larger than your opponents as long as you control more town centers.
7. They don't talk needlessly during multiplayer.
If a player types something within the first 7 minutes of game play, he simply doesn't understand how important each and every second is this early in the game. Basic communication is necessary to good teamwork, but good players never overdo it. They use simple phrases like "rushing purple", or "help", or even "going slingers." If they scouted an enemy near me, they may type in something like "watch greens toxotes" or maybe "yellow is weak."
8. They understand the rush.
There just isn't any way to get around it. Offense wins. Offense dictates the game. The good players go for a quick, early strike to cripple the enemy. This has been made a little more difficult with 4 automatic towers for Egypt, a tough Town Center, and stronger villagers. There are a few good defensive god powers too, so the first group of attackers rarely destroys the entire base. If you remember that the goal is simply to disrupt and cripple, then it's fairly easy to see why the rush has so many supporters. Good players know how to survive a rush, they know how to rush, and they anticipate which one they'll have to do.
9. They fully understand the rock-paper-scissors relationships.
People always say that you should have multiple unit types in your armies, but a good strategist knows how to exploit the unit balance in real war. Given equal resources, an army of all 3 units will lose to an army of just one unit. How can this be, you ask? Let's say I show up with an army of just "rock" while my opponent has equal numbers of rock/paper/scissors. Given equal resources, my army will be better upgraded than his due to only having one unit line to upgrade. I will only have needed 1 building type to make my army, saving even more resources. Let’s evaluate the 3 possible unit vs. unit scenarios:
My rock vs. his rock: Even, with a slight advantage for me due to my rock being better upgraded.
My rock vs. his scissors: Heavy advantage for me. Even if he does the smart thing to avoid this battle, he'd still have wasted 1/3 of his resources.
My rock vs. his paper: Heavy loss for me, however it is not as heavy as my advantage vs. the scissors above, due again to my units being more upgraded.
Oddly, this battle is remarkably in favor of the 1 unit army. Is the opponent likely to begin producing the counter to your 1 unit army? Yes. Does that give you a fantastic idea of what to build to counter his army? Yes. Should you have extra resources to invest in another 1 unit army that could end up countering his entire army? Yes again.
10. They know how to destroy buildings and which ones are critical.
And this isn't just a plug for siege equipment. Most infantry and myth units do very well in this department. When a great player gains the advantage, they are ready to level the town before reinforcements arrive. This is very important in multiplayer, where backup can arrive and save a player before any key buildings are razed. It is also important from a population standpoint, where town centers are vital to army size and therefore strength. Great players know when their god powers will level 4 buildings instead of 1, and take action accordingly. When great players get into your town, you never recover.
1. They treat farming like a bad seed.
Poor pun withstanding, hunting is still the fastest food source. Most people know it, but are you easily put into "farm panic mode"? This occurs when, after eating some deer or sheep, you scan your area of the map and think that the only way you will ever have food is if you start farming exclusively. This is very expensive at this early stage in the game. At the very least, you should keep a hunting party of 6-8 villagers hunting and gathering while you begin farming around your TC. Preferably they are getting deer or elephants, but monkeys, berries, and chickens are still a better investment than farming. Even when it’s a long walk, I still recommend keeping a fairly large group of villagers hunting. Once hunting is exhausted, go for your chickens/berries/sheep that are near your TC. Farming should be a gradual transition. Of all the things I check with a quick glance at my teammates base, how many farms they have at that certain intangible point in the early game is the best way I predict how good they are.
2. They know the hotkeys that are important to their game play.
Learn this way: look up one hotkey that you don’t know but you would use often, like your barracks. Play a 1v1 vs. an easy computer and tell yourself the only way you will select your barracks this game will be to use the hotkey. Repeat as necessary. Something everybody should know: H = town center and V = build villager. If you click on the villager icon even once in a game, your keyboard better be broken.
3. They control group buildings.
This is especially important for your main military-producing facilities. I like my 3-5 barracks on hotkey "9," and I know a lot of players that start from "9" going left with their buildings so their units can go from 1-5. While you’re at it, you might as well learn the hotkey for your favorite unit. In combination, these will allow for quick unit construction.
4. Constantly trying to improve their mouse speed.
The great players know that speed often wins games, and they are doing everything possible to stay as fast as possible. In the options for the game, you can increase the sensitivity of the mouse movement. Try increasing it and seeing if you can adapt to the faster speed. I've seen some people I know scrolling the entire way from their base to see their army in the opponents base. You simply have to learn that clicking the mini map is unbelievably faster.
5. They are extremely busy all game long.
Hitting the period takes you to idle villagers, and giving them something to do at all times is economic law. Watching a good player play should look like they are controlling the Normandy invasion. Good players constantly move villagers around from resources they have abundances in to ones they need. An abundance of resources means that you need more military buildings so you can do something with those resources. The market is used on occasion, but it is certainly not very efficient.
6. They battle over the "in question" settlements.
Clearly it is very important to build on the settlements in your immediate vicinity, but those should not be where your greed ends. Battles over the central settlements that don't belong to anyone in particular are often very fierce. After building a town center there, good players will often lay down military buildings and defensive structures like towers to dissuade invasion. It's fairly easy to use the higher population to your advantage, as your armies should consistently be larger than your opponents as long as you control more town centers.
7. They don't talk needlessly during multiplayer.
If a player types something within the first 7 minutes of game play, he simply doesn't understand how important each and every second is this early in the game. Basic communication is necessary to good teamwork, but good players never overdo it. They use simple phrases like "rushing purple", or "help", or even "going slingers." If they scouted an enemy near me, they may type in something like "watch greens toxotes" or maybe "yellow is weak."
8. They understand the rush.
There just isn't any way to get around it. Offense wins. Offense dictates the game. The good players go for a quick, early strike to cripple the enemy. This has been made a little more difficult with 4 automatic towers for Egypt, a tough Town Center, and stronger villagers. There are a few good defensive god powers too, so the first group of attackers rarely destroys the entire base. If you remember that the goal is simply to disrupt and cripple, then it's fairly easy to see why the rush has so many supporters. Good players know how to survive a rush, they know how to rush, and they anticipate which one they'll have to do.
9. They fully understand the rock-paper-scissors relationships.
People always say that you should have multiple unit types in your armies, but a good strategist knows how to exploit the unit balance in real war. Given equal resources, an army of all 3 units will lose to an army of just one unit. How can this be, you ask? Let's say I show up with an army of just "rock" while my opponent has equal numbers of rock/paper/scissors. Given equal resources, my army will be better upgraded than his due to only having one unit line to upgrade. I will only have needed 1 building type to make my army, saving even more resources. Let’s evaluate the 3 possible unit vs. unit scenarios:
My rock vs. his rock: Even, with a slight advantage for me due to my rock being better upgraded.
My rock vs. his scissors: Heavy advantage for me. Even if he does the smart thing to avoid this battle, he'd still have wasted 1/3 of his resources.
My rock vs. his paper: Heavy loss for me, however it is not as heavy as my advantage vs. the scissors above, due again to my units being more upgraded.
Oddly, this battle is remarkably in favor of the 1 unit army. Is the opponent likely to begin producing the counter to your 1 unit army? Yes. Does that give you a fantastic idea of what to build to counter his army? Yes. Should you have extra resources to invest in another 1 unit army that could end up countering his entire army? Yes again.
10. They know how to destroy buildings and which ones are critical.
And this isn't just a plug for siege equipment. Most infantry and myth units do very well in this department. When a great player gains the advantage, they are ready to level the town before reinforcements arrive. This is very important in multiplayer, where backup can arrive and save a player before any key buildings are razed. It is also important from a population standpoint, where town centers are vital to army size and therefore strength. Great players know when their god powers will level 4 buildings instead of 1, and take action accordingly. When great players get into your town, you never recover.