Ok, one time I pulled up my rating to 1694. I didn't deserve the rating, but who cares? Anyway, I noticed that my opponent was very quick in expanding. In the map Watering Hole, he just spammed Fortresses/Towers in the middle of the map. This left me with two gold mines, which went quickly cause I was Norse. So, I made this topic to know, how can I learn to expand faster as a Norse worshipper? Do certain minor gods help me expand (I play Odin on vanilla, Thor on Titans if it helps).
Also, when should I go to Heroic Age? Usually I get to Heroic Age in about 20 or 25 minutes. How could I improve this time but not have a lousy economy? I usually have about 500 food once I'm finished attacking, but I spend it all on Raiding Cavalry. Is this bad? Should I focus on Heroic more than on Classical Age (i.e. troops, buildings, etc.)? Heroic isn't what it used to be (i.e. that crap thing about building Town Centers in Classical Age), so should I only do Fast Heroic in Vanilla?