Rush Tactics #8 — Noob November: Picking the right civ
November 1, 2012
New players unite! Josh and Greg lead the community in compiling their best tips for new players jumping into Age of Empires Online. This week, we start with the basics: picking your civilization, setting up your capital city, and starting your first quests.
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Download Rush Tactics #8 — Noob November: Picking the right civ
Video of the quest in action
Setup
- Be a noob
Noob Question #1: What does AOEO change from earlier AOE games?
- EP
- Gear
- Leveling civs individually
These were simpler days, when villagers said Rogan and crows were not spies.
Noob Question #2: What civilization should I play?
Do you like to try before you buy or go all-in?
- Pro (Persians, Babylonians, Norse) — skip early levels, get decent gear
- Premium (Greeks, Egyptians, Celts) — learn units gradually, more story with campaign
What kinds of quests are you looking for?
- Easy — Greek
- Simple — Egyptian
- Complex — Celts
- Out-of-the-box — (go all out!) Pro civ, buy Northern Invasion + Fertile Crescent
Do you want to focus on infantry, archers, priests or horsemen?
- Infantry: Celts, Norse
- Archers: Persia, Greeks
- Priests: Egypt
- Cavalry: Egypt
Do you like to turtle or jump out the gate early?
- Turtle: Babys
- Rush: Norse
Let the rush begiiiiiiiiiiiiiin!
What was your favorite civilization in AOE2?
IF IT WAS…
- Aztecs (infantry + frontline priests)
- Celts (infantry + siege)
…PLAY THE CELTS!
- Byzantines (buildings + counters)
- Chinese (economy, science)
- Teutons (Buildings, economy)
…PLAY THE BABYLONIANS!
- Goths (fast infantry, mobile + empowered Barracks)
- Huns (fast rush and constant harrass, but not cav archers)
- Vikings (infantry + boats, weak cav, decent archers)
…PLAY THE NORSE!
- Japanese (Fishing, Infantry)
- Spanish (Trade, missionaries, versatile)
- Turks (gunpowder, late-game offensive)
- Briton (archers) – Greek?
- Mayans (archer, resources) – Greek/Baby?
…PLAY THE GREEKS!
- Mongols (cavalry)
- Persians (Elephants!)
- Saracens (camels, with strong infantry and archer support, navy)
…PLAY THE EGYPTIANS!
- Franks (ranged infantry, knights, and Castles)
- Koreans (Defense, Siege, Sea)
…PLAY THE PERSIANS!
Some things never change: the best monk is still a dead monk.
How to set up capital city
- Appearance
- Shops
- Crafting
- Customization buildings
Why play AoEO?
- Improvements since launch
- Skirmish Mode is the best part of AOE2
- New civs added 4 times a year
- Holidays
- More campaigns than earlier AOE games
Plus these bad boys are back in action with the Egyptian civ.
Us:
Greg is an entertainer extraordinaire, gondolier and PC Gamer contributor. Josh is a game designer at SOE and former editor for PC Gamer and the Official World of Warcraft Magazine.
Feedback
Email us: RushTactics@outlook.com.
Talk with us on Twitter: @jaugustine and @greghenninger.
Join us in-game: Greg is “Dev117” Josh is “TheGameDiplomat” .
Special thanks to Josiah Pang for making our logo, Jason Shaw for the music, and all the community that helped us improve our strategy on the forums.
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Tags: Age of Empires Online
8 Comments
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I’m especially eager to hear what you guys think of how we paired up the AoE2 civs with AOEO’s. Greg and I discussed those a lot and there’s definitely room for debate.
This is the wrong Rush Tactic, but I wanted to say I love your Dwarf Storm Tactic, and I use it every time I play Babylon. And all of the Rush Tactics have been helpful.
Thanks, bffangman! It’s still one of my favorite tactics too
I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying it as much as I do! What’s your success rate with it?
I just dwarf stormed last night in co-op marion. (It helps having a functional partner.) I love when they pull out giant ram heads from their Captain Caveman beards.
Haha, yesss! That’s awesome
Ram-beards are the weapons of the future!
I caught your comment about the partner……. your right.
Haha, Greg. I don’t think anyone can seriously blame you for getting distracted by the awesomeness that is the dwarf storm tactic. It’s scientifically guaranteed to leave both friend and foe stunned for at least 30 minutes.
I can do the Dwarf Storm and I normally succeed every time. The only problem is when they get caught on a Garden and just stand there. And you’re right, it does look right cooler if you put the barracks at a 90˚ angle to the target.