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AoM Survival Tactics - The Eight Commandments of Great Play

Published 6/30/03, AoM v1.06

By Tom Barak

Introduction
 

There is no denying that improving your game involves practice, playing as many on-line games as possible, watching recorded games and studying the AOM craft through reading the many excellent articles and posts that people have taken the time to write. That's a lot of work just to have some fun so I will try to spare you the hours of analyzing games and articles by offering eight golden rules that will immediately improve your game. These rules have been culled from analyzing the play of top ranked players, as well as through game play on the authors' part. By following these rules you can be assured your game will improve. Of course AOM is a very complex game, and many factors play on success, however, remembering some generalities can and will boost your play ability.



1. He/she who has more, wins.

Analyze any post game statistics of ranked matches and the winner almost always out produces the loser in every respect- more villagers, resources, buildings, military units, etc. Oddly enough most game winners usually have more military losses as well, however, the ample resource income means they can afford it. Most victorious players simply out produce and overwhelm their opponents. The top ranked players, irrespective of the intensity of the battle, and even when victory seems imminent, never stop producing villagers and assigning them to gather more resources. A steady stream of villagers means a steady supply of resources to continue the fight. Also if you get raided you can easily make up the losses through your queue of new peons. In ranked matches most players' populations are comprised of 30 - 45% villagers so this should tell you something. Expert players build loads of military buildings, for example four or five military producing buildings in a forward position is not uncommon, and ending a game with twenty plus is also routine. With five barracks/academies/longhouses, by assigning them to hot keys, two keystrokes can create five soldiers in the time it takes one military building to create one. This is extremely important in an intense battle, and the player who can continuous replenish their losses almost always goes on to win the game. Alternatively the player who runs out of resources usually resigns.


2. Thou shall not have battle fixation.

F or top ranked players battle engagements are only a small part of the action. It is easy to become focused on the battles as the graphics and animation are really funky- not to mention the stress of battle normally entrances beginners. Watch any top ranked player and you will see their focus constantly shifting from the battle to their economy. The experts never, never neglect their economy or routine of expansion and advancing their civilization closer and closer to the enemy' base. Villagers = resources = military is the rule so never remain focused on the battles while neglecting your economy. Get into a routine of spot-checking your army's progress while maintaining your main focus on your economy. This rule is really hard to follow and ignoring the warning horn is counter instinctive. Overcoming battle fixation will pay huge dividends and is one of the true qualifying factors of an expert player.


3. Know thy hot keys.

W hen you watch an expert player you'll immediately notice their point of view constantly zinging around in an almost dizzying fashion. This can only be practically accomplished by using hotkeys and by effective mouse clicking on the mini map. Pumping up your mouse scroll speed is one effective technique as is knowing how to interpret the mini map. Don't be shy about customizing the hotkeys to your personal liking and taking the time to think about the best layout. For example you may assign the find keys to the Q, W, E, R, T to find the towncentre(s), granary(ies), lumber camp(s), mining camp(s) and temple respectively. The layout is ergonomic and logical as this is normally the build order. The layout is also easily accessible by your left hand (south paws may have to adjust this layout). Further, you may assign the next row down, the A, S, D, F, and G keys to build the towncentre(s), granary(ies), lumber camp(s), mining camp(s) and temple respectively. Just remember that when customizing your hot keys that the find and select keys must be unique across the keyboard where all others must be unique within their group. Try this layout and you too will find yourself zinging around the map just like the experts. It takes some practice but the time investment will pay huge dividends.


4. Thou shall be aggressive.

L ike the player who produces more, the player who is aggressive almost always wins. Want to consistently beat the AI on hard level? When playing Greek- other civilizations work just as well- take your lumberjacks to the middle of the map, near to but out of the LOS of your opponent's base and set up your lumber operation. The ideal situation is to build the lumber camp near a settlement. Immediately on reaching classical build at least two academies and two stables and group each with hot keys. Immediately start producing hoplites and Hippikons. Once you have perhaps four of both start attacking the enemy. By attacking and retreating and replenishing your soldiers as they fall, before long his forces will be spent and the game will soon shift in your favour. It consistently works to the point where one has to play the Titan level just to get an interesting match. When playing live opponents the same rule applies. Always forward build lots of military buildings. Don't be scared about leaving your primary settlement as in AOM the military units move pretty fast and you can always move your military back to your base should you have to repel a raid. Of course always produce a few military units to guard your forward base. Building towers, fortresses, town centres and siege workshops at your forward base follows next. You'll soon have a forward base that your opponent attacks to their peril. The top players, when they conquer new territory and move forward always build new forward bases as they go. As new territory is won- especially in the case of gold mines, great players will assign their vills to gather from these sites, even if battlefields are nearby. This approach interdicts the resources and has considerable physiological effect on the opponent as well. Focusing on wall building and hunkering down for a boom and late Mythic attack just doesn't cut it if you want to consistently win. If you have lots of vills, resources and military buildings there is simply no way an opponent can destroy them all.

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