Age of Empires 2 - Age of Kings: TACTICS FAQ (English)

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***************************THE AGE OF KINGS**************************
*******************TACTICS********************
*******************************GUIDE/FAQ*****************************

BY: Ciar?n Gorman
DATE: 13th of January 2002
VERSION: 1.0
E-MAIL: naraic64@hotmail.com
GAMEFAQ'S USERNAME: irishmillionaire

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This FAQ/Guide is intended for personal use only. If you wish to post
it on your site, please e-mail me. The following sites have my
permission to use it.

Gamefaqs.com
Neoseeker.com
Dlh.net

Copyright Ciar?n Gorman 2002.

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(i) Version History
(ii) Introduction
(iii) Coming soon
(iv) Formations
(v) Civilisations
(vi) Units
(vii) Unique Units
(viii) Tactics
(ix) Credits

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Version 1.0

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This is my 2nd FAQ ever, so please e-mail me with comments/
suggestions and dislikes. I know this game has been out for a good
while, but there seems to be very few good tactic guides for it, and
the ones that are out, are all taken straight from the manual, this
may be helpful for some, but not for me. So I have taken it upon
myself to write a decent FAQ/Guide. I will continuously update this
guide, so please check for updates on a monthly basis. Thanks for
taking the time to read this far.
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Version 1.5

Version 2.0

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? Line – Units are placed in a long line across. This formation is
perfect for archers and swordsmen.
? Box - Units form a square. Weak units, like monks are protected
in the centre.
? Staggered – A wider version of the line formation, if siege
weapons are used, they will not harm your units.
? Flank – Units split into two subgroups, mainly used to surround
the enemy.
? Horde – This lets your units wander on their own.

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Britons:
Unique Unit: Longbowman.
Bonuses : 1. Archery Ranges 20% Faster
2. Town Centres cost 50% less
3. Foot Archers +1 range in castle age
4. Another +1 in Imperial Age (+2 in total)
5. Shepherds work 25% faster
My Notes : This civilisation is best off on maps like, Black
Forest, Continental, Crater Lake (online only),
Fortress
Highland and Mediterranean, these are mostly land based
Maps, which is the best for the brits.
My Rating : 7/10, not bad at all, but is weak at sea.

Byzantines
Unique Unit: Cataphract.
Bonuses : 1. Monks have faster healing power
2. Buildings +10% hp in Dark age
3. Buildings +20% hp in Feudal age
4. Buildings +30% hp in Castle age
5. Buildings +40% hp in Imperial Age
6. Camels 25% less cost
7. Skirmishers 25% less cost
8. Pikeman 25% less cost
9. Fire ships + 20% attack damage
10. Imperial Age 33% less cost
My Notes : This civilisation is best off on maps like, Arabia
Fortress, Gold Rush, Mediterranean, these are mostly
Desert maps, which is best for the Byzantines.
My Rating : 7/10, again not bad, but weak in forests.

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Militia
Created at : Barracks
Strong vs : Skirishers, Camels, Light Cavalry
Weak vs : Archers, Scorpions, Cavalry Archers, Mangonels,
Cataphracts.
Upgrades : Attack: Forging via Blacksmith
Iron Casting via Blacksmith
Blast Furnace via Blacksmith
Armour: Scale Mail Armour via Blacksmith
Chain Mail Armour via Blacksmith
Plate Mail Armour via Blacksmith
Sight: Tracking via Barracks
Speed: Squires via Barracks
Other: Conscription via Castle
Faith via Monastery
Value : Good, these are quick and cheap, great if you are been
Invaded.
Tactics : 1. Create 10 and use them to patrol the shores if you
are playing a largely water/island map.
2. Create 10 and use them to attack an enemy tower,
this is a quick way to earn points at the beginning
of a random map determined by points,this only costs
a few hundred and adds plenty of points to your
score.
3. Create 10 and put in box formation around a monk
when getting relics.

Man-at-Arms
Created at : Barracks
Strong vs : Skirishers, Camels, Light Cavalry
Weak vs : Archers, Scorpions, Cavalry Archers, Mangonels,
Cataphracts.
Upgrades : Attack: Forging via Blacksmith
Iron Casting via Blacksmith
Blast Furnace via Blacksmith
Armor: Scale Mail Armor via Blacksmith
Chain Mail Armor via Blacksmith
Plate Mail Armor via Blacksmith
Sight: Tracking via Barracks
Speed: Squires via Barracks
Other: Conscription via Castle
Faith via Monastery
Value : Good, slightly more than the Militia, but a lot
better.
Tactics : 1. Create 10 and use them to patrol the shores if you
are playing a largely water/island map.
2. Create 10 and use them to attack an enemy tower,
this is a quick way to earn points at the beginning
of a random map determined by points,this only costs
a few hundred and adds plenty of points to your
score.
3. Create 10 and put in box formation around a monk
when getting relics.
4. Create 5 and use them to patrol around lumberjacks
etc, when outside enemy walls.

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Infantry:
Berserk/Elite Berserk:
Created at : Castle
Strong vs : Skirmishers, camels, light cavelry
Weak vs : Archers, Scorpions, Cavalry Archers, Mangonels,
Cataphracts.
Upgrades : Attack: Forging via Blacksmith
Iron Casting via Blacksmith
Blast Furnace via Blacksmith
Armor: Scale Mail Armor via Blacksmith
Chain Mail Armor via Blacksmith
Plate Mail Armor via Blacksmith
Sight: Tracking via Barracks
Speed: Squires via Barracks
Other: Conscription via Castle
Faith via Monastery
Value : Only OK, expensive, but if gold is not a problem then
it is defiantly worthwhile, I still would wait for
the elite version before you create these in large
amounts, as they are far better.
Tactics : 1. Since this is such a powerful unit, head on
Collisions are OK.
2. Create 5-10 and send them right into the center of
the oppositions town (this doesn't work if they
have walls), and they will destroy several
buildings before they are stoped, this will also
disrupt the enemies economy.
3. Again create 5-10 and send them right into the
center of your enemies town, but this time make
sure they attack the enemy farmers, miners, etc
this will slow down the enemies economy big time,
farmers and gold miners are your main aim, as
these resources are critical to building a large
army. Try to destroy the farms and mining camps
as well.
Notes : DON'T use these for patrol, as this is a waste of
resources.

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? When starting, build up an economy first, before you even build a
barracks, your only protection is the Scout Cavalry you start with
and the 2 towers you should build in the feudal age.
? Once in the feudal age build walls around your main town, place
plenty of towers around the walls (in the inside of course) and
when you get cannon towers place one beside every normal tower,
this will ensure that you can cope with every enemy unit.
? When building mining camps outside the town walls place one tower
beside your camp and one cannon tower.
? When building lumber camps, build one tower for every 5 units (use
a combination of cannon and normal towers)
? When building castles, you should build them inside the walls but
very close to the walls, this will allow the castle to attack
enemies before they even attack.
? A combination of archers and infantry is always good when
attacking towers.

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? The websites that host this Guide/FAQ for me.
? Me for writing this FAQ/Guide.
? The makers "Ensemble Studios." (Microsoft only print the disks)