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Guide to Marsh

Published 7/18/04, AoM: TT v1.02

By tbarak

Marsh - Map Guide

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Enormously popular with most Age players, Marsh remains one of the most food abundant and ambianced of all the Random maps. Flooded backwoods, still water ponds, moss-festooned cypress trees and mysterious pools of low-lying mist give the map an eerie character. Complete with jaw-snapping alligators, the terrain brings to mind the bayous and alluvial mud flats of the Everglades. Echoing the rich biodiversity found in actual swamps, Marsh, the map, is a variable cornucopia of fauna - expect bullet-fast classical times whenever playing it. But in many respects, Marsh is unpredictable; at times playing like Watering hole, and at other times played strictly as a land map. So let's brave the bogs and wade into the duckweeds to discover Marsh!

Generalities - 1 v 1 Maps

A typical Marsh random map is depicted in the two above shots. Notice in our high point of view angle (above left) the two opponents' first Town Centers are indicated with blue and red dots respectively with yellow dots representing settlements. The map peripheries are generally comprised of grass and pine and oak trees with the center reserved for the swamp and boggy terrain. The pools of mist - which are unique to this map - are prominent in the oblique angle shot, and show up as large white circles mid-map.

Taking control of the middle in this map is important as that's where most of the hunting always is. Moreover, that's where the settlements are too: typically there is one settlement at the side of each player's first TC and the rest are mid-map. The image at left gives us a typical Marsh scene. Also notice the amazing hunting around those settlements. When venturing out to build the mid-map settlements, be prepared to fend off crocodile attacks. Never send out lone builders in this map, always make sure that your groups are relatively large in size, both for defense against crocs, but also to deal with the heavy hostiles like water buffalos and hippos. Alternatively, if you have idle military in the vicinity, clearing a safe path around the settlements by killing the crocodiles will provide a clear path for your villagers. While the cache of huntables affords a seemingly endless harvest of food, it is also a raider's paradise. Note also that there tends to be large numbers of straggler trees in the mid-map region which can make erecting military buildings a bit tricky at times. The trees in the center of the map mean that God Powers like Forest Fire and Gaia's Forest take on significance.

Another interesting quirk about this map to keep in mind is that gold piles can sometimes be located right on the edge of the map. It can be frustating when your small gold pile is almost depleted, the opponent has middle map control and you are panicking because you can't find a nearby gold pile. Well, that little black spot - behind your TC and right on the edge of the map - which you haven't explored yet probably holds that hidden pile. Be mindful that gathers working right along the map's edge can literally fall off the face of the map! Be careful when assigning gold miners to piles near the map's edge.

Of interest in this map are the pools of water. Although very prominent in our examples above, the water is sometimes discarded and replaced with dry creek beds. Reading the water can be a bit tricky sometimes and can complicate wall building and maneuvering. For example, look at the shots below:

Although very hard to tell, the left image depicts a wet creek and the right a dry bed. Of course land units cannot pass over the water and walls cannot be built there. Don't waste your time trying to read the water by just looking at the actual terrain, use the expanded mini-map by pressing TAB. Note in the next two mini-map shots how easy it is to tell which creek bed holds water - the blue areas are water and the white are dry creek beds. At times, making this distinction quickly and accurately will improve your wall building and maneuvering when the creeks and beds are prominent.

Although the creeks hold no fish patches; when there is water, the creeks create good natural barriers that, when reinforced with walls, can create relatively safe nooks for markets and remote workers. However, don't ignore navy action since a couple of siege ships with the "Naval oxybeles" upgrade can reach way behind enemy lines and destroy crucial buildings (such as markets). Adding a navy can also add water-based firepower to your land forces where the creeks approach choke points. Because of the abundance of food and gold on this map, don't be surprised if your opponent attempts a Fast Heroic. He may then show up with siege ships on you, leaving some key buildings wide open for attack.

Quantitative Analysis </
Map Gold Huntables Herdables Berries Fish Patches Wood</ td> Town centers Relics
1 54,000 18,500 900 N/A N/A 130,000+ 4 4
2 54,000 22,900 550 N/A N/A 130,000+ 4 4
3 66,000 19,800 800 N/A N/A 130,000+ 4 4
Average 58,000 20,400 750 N/A N/A 130,000+ 4 4
Based on 3 randomly generated 1 v 1 Marsh maps.
Huntables include deer, boars and chickens.
Herdables calculated before fattening.



Notes:

  • Settlements: one near Opening town and two in middle; sometimes near water.
  • Gold: one medium pile within opening town, many large piles scattered around map.
  • Herdables: always Pigs, with groups of 2-3 around the middle. Can be free ranging.
  • Huntables: Cranes near water with Water Buffalo/Boars, or some in middle. Always a group of Deer within opening town or nearby. Huntables can be unfairly distributed.
  • Hostile huntables: always Crocodiles that are near water, with other huntables in middle, or around settlements.
  • Berry bushes: none.

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Expert's Corner - eX_Insanity

Marsh is probably the best hunting map in TT, with most of the hunting being in the center of the map. Always make sure to get Hunting Dogs as soon as you build a granary, no matter what civilization you are. Marsh is usually a tricky map to scout, like watering hole, because water usually cuts off parts of the map. So, make sure to keep an eye on your scout if you use way-points for scouting. This map usually suits raiding so get our opponent off of hunting as soon as possible. But, it is also easy to turtle/boom because there are usually two to three gold piles within your starting tower range, and it is easy to wall off your base because of the water.

As norse, try to get to classical around 5 minutes to start your raiding and push your opponent off of hunting. By this time, your opponent will usually be hunting the boars in the center of the map. Taking the middle of the map is important on Marsh because you will eventually have the settlement advantage since 2 settlements are always in the middle. As greek, try to do the same thing as norse most of the time, but booming is also an option depending on your opponent’s civ. Atlanteans should always try and do their 4:30 classical with hunting dogs. This will usually lead to them keeping their opponent inside of their base, taking the map control pretty easily. As egyptian, a Fast Heroic is usually the best option, since the hunting is so good. Then, either fight with your migdol units or boom to mythic age.

Remember to use the water to your advantage on this map. Many times, the two middle settlements are within the range of upgraded siege ships, so it is easy to gain or lose map control.

Map Guide - Marsh

Editor/Writer: tbarak
Experts Coordinator: Myll_Erik
Quantitative Section: Drednout
Contributing Expert: eX_Insanity
Technical Assistance:
DoV_Crys
DoV_Raistlin
Myll_Slaghter

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