AOE Build Orders

When it comes to the ever-expanding universe of video games, the strategy genre is something that is on the top and is loved by the majority of gamers in the community. Strategy video games are not that much different from real-life strategy games as they both require plans, resource management, and especially critical thinking to achieve a specific goal. The strategy video game genre is the mother-genre to many sub-genres like Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA), Real-time strategy (RTS), Turn-based strategy (TBS), etc and it is safe to say that strategy genre is one of the biggest genres in the industry.

When it comes to this genre of video games, the very first game that comes to most minds is the classic, Age of Empires II. Age of Empires II is a real-time strategy (RTS) video game that came out in 1999 to Microsoft Windows and Macintosh platforms. The players were presented with playable civilizations to choose and the basic goal of the game was to defeat your opponents (AI or player) by collecting and managing resources, building weaponry and army, and upgrading your civilization. The 21-year-old game has also gotten refined remasters and remakes in recent years and is still played by thousands of players around the world. The core concept of the game looks simple on paper but it takes a bit of deeper understanding about resource management and strategies to actually outsmart your opponents. Here is a simple guide on AOE2 Build Orders and resource management to get you started on winning more often.

What are Build Orders?

The technical definition of “build orders” is linear patterns of production, research, and resource management aimed at achieving specific and specialized goals. To put this in a better perspective, in a chess game or any other strategy game, the player has a plan in his mind regarding what steps and paths they will take to defeat the enemy. This is what a build order’s simple definition is and build orders can vary according to the enemies they face and their abilities and skills too. And there are such strategies used commonly within players and they are generalized and known in various unique names, as build orders. A name usually reflects the ultimate goal of the strategy and the overview of the process involved with it. Some examples for well-known build orders in the strategy game genre are the 1-3-1 in League of Legends, Six-Pool Rush in StarCraft, Riflestall in Company of Heroes, and the list goes on.

Similarly, Age of Empires II is also a real-time strategy game that has many build orders to follow for better resource management, for offense and defense. These build orders, or in other words, strategies, could help you change your whole playstyle for the good and help you improve in the game. These build orders often differ with what civilization you choose to go with and there are some common ones too. Some famous common AOE2 Build Orders are;

• Men at arms into archers
• Men at arms into Towers
• Scout Rush
• Fast castle
• Full water

Fundamentals

Most build orders can get a bit complex and confusing at first. But when you get the hold of the game and the strategies, these build orders become easier to understand and also make more sense. If you are new to the game, you should know the fundamentals of the game and how to progress first. Always remember to;

• Make houses (have 2 houses built at the start)
• Explore and scout your map. For some build orders, you need to find resources.
• Always utilize every building and villager to achieve specific targets faster. This includes upgrading buildings and having more villagers for efficiency.
• Always create military troops. This is a vital thing to do as there are some build orders based on the military. Also, you never know when you will need them so always have your barracks full.
• Upgrade your military troops as well.
• In water maps, always send your fishing boats for deeper fish, not the shore ones. This small practice will come handy in specific build orders.

Apart from that, always work on being more efficient with your village and this will automatically win you games.

Common Build Orders

Now that you know the basics of the game and the overview of build orders, let’s get into some very common build orders the community has generalized.

01. Men-at-arms into archers (or towers)

This is a very basic tactic that messes with your opponent to get you in lead. Man-at-Arms is a melee infantry unit that can be trained in the barracks. They are normally stronger when paired with other support troops and can be used to bring your opponent’s economy down. So with this build order, you will be aggressive with your enemies and the main goal is to disrupt your opponent’s economy. The classic 3 Men-at-arms alongside archers never fails and will be really effective in the early stages of your town (Feudal age). However, it is recommended that new players try the basic full archer build first till you get used to the game. Here is how to allocate your villagers in the build;

02. Scout Rush

Scout Rush is another offensive strategy used to take your enemies by surprise. Scout troops are fasters and you can use their mobility advantage to harass your enemies and doing some serious damage to their economies. This tactic will bring you a very early lead in the game and it will be much easier to carry out with the advantage you get from this. Here is the build to the Scout Rush strategy;

03. Fast Castle

Fast Castle is another common easy-to-follow strategy used in Age of Empires II. This strategy is aimed at getting your civilization to the Castle Age in less than 17 minutes. Even though this strat is not very reliable in every game, it can help in certain games and is very easy to follow too. Fast Castle build orders come in some variations and are usually used in closed maps like arena or black forest. It is also a good strat to go with in a team game. It can also be used in open maps but is riskier and might need to wall off your entire village to avoid sieges. Here’s the build order to Fast Castle strats using knights and crossbows;

04. Full Water

Full Water strat can be used in maps with more water bodies and deep fish. This strat is efficient in defense and resource management too. However, do not try to implement this on small water bodies as it requires deep fish to make it work. This strat can also be followed with archers and you need to utilize resources on 2nd and 3rd ranges instead of docks. Here’s the build order for the basic full water build;

Once you get a hang on these basic build orders, you can advance on to more complex ones and maybe come up with ones on your own. These basics lay the best foundation for you to get better at the game.