I don't agree with you and i have my reasons why.
1st-I have been playing Ra since They Nerfed Ra in AOM Patch 1.03...i know Ra like the back of my hand..i know him very "Intricatly" and it is i repeat VERY HARD to win with Ra..it's is harder to win with Ra then it is any other Civ
Reasons it's so hard to win with Ra is he is the "Weakest" of all Gods in Classical Age..his bonus don't kick in until Herioc Age..in Classical you are at your opponents Mercy..
Also Ra gets no "Bona Fide" Offensive God Power like a Bronze, Frost, Walking Woods, Flaming Weapons, Ancestors...The Closest Thing Ra gets to 1 of these is Tornado and that don't come untill the Mythic Age...Ra is "Very Vulnerable" to all the above meantioned GP's
If you Think your just gonna decide to play Ra 1 day and be "GREAT" you in for a Harsh Let down...
Ra has "BAD" Scouting...and has a very "defensive" play style...With Ra it's Basically FH or DIE..sure u might See EliteX go for a more "Slow" type of Fast Herioc at around 9 Minutes...but you give up "Alot" of Map control doing this...and Elitex is just a God...that's the only reason he can come back...your Average 1700 Player will LOSE trying to do what Elitex does..simply because you will have given up so much of the map that the other player WILL NOT allow you to get that 2nd goldpile and it's game over
Not to Mention that the Kronos Rush and the Loki Rush will really mess up the Ra FH...you wanan counter the Ra Fh just play Loki..member how Loki used to Crush the Ra Fh prior to Patch 1.03...just simply use Loki or Kronos against it
As for the Ville rush...i have seen some Recordings of Russian doing it..it's definitly a good strat if opponent is unprepared for it...but i don't necessarily think it's the "best" way to play Ra...more or less to win with Ra your gonna have to do a "Brisk" Herioc with 3 Barracks AND an Army and Rain around 10 minutes...you need to "Secure" a 2nd goldpile and a 2nd Town Center in Classical before you jump to Herioc...otherwise you will lose with Ra....a poped out Barracks Army Combined with Rain should beable to get you to secure that 2nd Town Center and Goldmine...but there is nothing Ra can't do that the so called "nerfed Isis" can't do...
Im just Warning you guys so your not so dissapointed...it's takes alot of "Skill" to effecttivly Micro Ra's Econ, with the Prests and Pharoah and do you think you can find enough resources with Ra's not so great Scouting can be a Challenge
I think Hades will be the "civ" to beat...His Shades got boosted...and some Greek myth units got a boost...and Hops do bonus to Turma's now means the Greeks should "Steamroll"
and Atlantean player..especially Hades
But if you "Really" wanna know how to play Ra...if the "Fast Herioc" Appeals to you then try it...i seem to have 50/50 Sucess with it
On a Land Map Scout with the "Preist" Not with the Pharoah...you will have a "Much" better econ Scouting with the Preist..don't worry i never do much scouting in the 1st age with Ra...it's not necessary...just do a Quick little look with the Preist then bring him back to Empower gold Pit
My Build goes
1st 5 to Food with Phraoh Empowering
1 to Straggler tree next to TC
next 4 to gold
next ville builds houses around tower closests to gold
when you got 120 Research Pickaxe
Then Bring Pharoah over to Empower Goldpit
And Preist to Granary
Then begin laying Farms
Lay a Total of 8 Farms
You can build your Temple in between Somehwhere if you want since you got PickAxe..or you can wait till you got your 8 farms and use Pharoah to empower Construction of Temple this is up to you
When you got 100 wood which your should bye the time all your Farms are done Research Husbandry
When Husbandry is done Have Phraoah Empower TC and Preist Empower Gold Pit and Cast Rain
When you have 400 food Click up for Classical Choose BAST(I will give reasons for Picking Bast over Ptah in a minute)
During Transition to Classical Build Monument to Villagers
Soon as Gong Hits For Classical Have 2 Food Villes Build 2 Barracks
Have 3 Other Food Villes(Not Farmers) Build Armory with Pharoah Empowering Construction...TC Way Point should be Set to either Wood or Gold...i Prefer Wood so i have some for Chariots in a Minute
Also Research Plow At this time
alo Send your Free Sphinx to multiple Way points to scout the Map(This is 1 of the reasons BAST is important for Scouting..the Sphinxi is much better then Wadjet for Scouting)
You should have hit Classical with over 1,000 Food..Advance to Herioc Pick Hathor(If Against Isis Pick Sekhemut)
During Transition...Switch Preist to Empower Tc and Pharoah to empower Gold
Optional(Build Monument To Soldiers) if you plan on making lots of Petsuchos
You Should Hit Herioc anywhere between 8 min-to 8:30...If you are being Raided Heavily Don't be Afraid to Reseach Crenellations...also You layed those 2 Barracks for that very Reason don't be Afraid to pump a Few Spears to Defend and to ensure your Migdol goes up
From Here...you should be able to Secure some Map...a 2nd TC is a Priorty when you get enough gold and don't forget to raid your Opponent with Ra's Awesome Camels and Chariots
On a Water Map to pull of this same Type of FH you need to build "Alot" of Fishing Ships and atleast 2 docks...you won't need Rain on a water Map till later...but make lots of fishing Ships and be sure to defend them...the Ra Fast Herioc on Water is a good Strat...it's harder to pull of the land version then the Water Verison..the Water Version is easy..3-4 on Wood and pump LOTS of fishing ships....between 12-15 is GREAT...Also have a Preist empower 1 of your Docks for increased Food income
Now on to God Choices
Bast over Ptah-Reason to take Bast over Ptah is your not gonna do much Scouting in Archiac...taking Pharoah off Econ hurts you do the math 15% Empower for Preist to 25% empower for Pharoah and your losing 1 of Ra's Early Bonus which is important...But the Sphinx you get for Free through Bast is a "GREAT" Scout it's fast has huge LOS and can reveal the map quite Quickly not to mention the Free ROC you get through Hathor..so the Pharoah scouting is not important but the "MAIN" Reason your Taking BAST over Ptah is ECON..you need to "Catch up" Economically with your Opponent..overall Bast gives you a "Much Much" better Economy..Adze of Wepawet means you can make more Siege Towers and Chariots... Sacred Cats means MORE food..some say so does Shaduf...but you need "Less" Farms with Sacred Cats+Plow then you do with Shaduf to get the Same output...which means you can stack more villes on Gold which is important...Taking Bast over Ptah you will notice about 11-12 minutes in the game how much better your econ really is and how much more resources you got once you get Sacred Cats and Adze of Wepawet
The Bast+Hathor God Path-But right here is the "Really Good" Reason to take this God Path...This is the Closests thing Ra has to an "Offensive" God Power...but it requires some "Investment" on your part..Ra has Cheaper Monuments...Cheaper Monuments means more Favor, more Favor means lots of Petsuchos...your Goal in Herioc age is to get 3-4 Petsuchos...an army of Camels+chariots,Camel+Axemen orElephant+Chariot, some Siege towers and 3-4 Petsuchos and Cast Eclipse for gods sake!....i'll give you 2 words of what will happen COMPLETE OWNAGE for a "full minute" you will CRUSH ANY ARMY HE HAS regardless...just make sure if it's against another Eggy you make sure to use your Chariots to pick off his Preists...and you should push him back big time...this is alot of times a "Game ender" but you gotta plan it well...and set it up...setting it up is difficult...but if you can set it up...you will OWN
Well i hope i gave some good playing Tips for some imspiring Ra players...give it a Shot...it's not Guranteed to work like i said...with the Ra Fh i seem to be having around 50/50 to 60/40 sucess with it...it's a "strong strat" but not unstopable...and will take some practice and some skill to pull off
Oh and if Against Isis or Gaia or a "booming" Civ...you might not need to lay the 2 Barracks which means that a 7:45 Herioc time is Achiveable...and "How Fast" you get to Herioc age is Important...a "Slow" Fast Herioc ie 9-11 minutes means you have "given up" the advantage..as your oppoent will have a "huge army" and map control...the "Faster" you can get to herioc the better...i wouldn't delay any longer then 8:30..if you can't get to Herioc bye 8:30...then your done..you might as well forget the Fast Herioc and build a Classical Army...the Longer you Delay getting to Herioc...the more your opponent is gonna outnumber you...this is the reason you need an 8 minute herioc time..7:45 is even better...but the 7:45 Verion i would only attempt against Gaia or Isis and maybe Set...any otherwise your gonna have to build your 2 Barracks and get to Herioc at 8:10-8:30 which is fine...any later then that..and your gonna have a "hard time" winning not to meantion that with a 9-11 minute Herioc...your opponent might be reseaching Herioc
You need atleast an 8:30 Herioc time if not your opponent will soon be hitting Herioc...you wanna pressure him with Camels+Chariots while he is still in Classical you got to "Force" him to fight you in Classical...since Camel counters cost food...the longer you delay his Herioc age advance...the better your chances of winning are..thas why "how fast" you get to Herioc age is important..if you go with the 9-11 minute "slow" type of Fast Herioc...you opponent is gonna be really quikc to follow your advance and be on
"equal footing" with you and that';s not what you want...but with a 7:45-8:20 Herioc time...you got time to "force" your opponent to either Turtle and you take map control or he fights your Herioc Age army with His Classical army that you should be able to win once you get poped out..you should be able to gobble Town Centers then...
Happy gaming to you all
[This message has been edited by IAmRa (edited 01-28-2004 @ 02:44 PM).]