AOE3 is a game where I often find that doing one thing differently could have completely changed the match.
One of those things is:Scouting
I played two games yesterday, both with me as British and the opponent a 1900-2000 (around Captain level) French.
Game 1
Game 2
As a British player, I am not expected to rush or FF, which means my opponent (especially since he's French) could either mass up in colonial or FF for cuirassiers.
In the first game (also my first game in 5 months actually), I had used my explorer wisely and found that my opponent was amassing musketeers and xbows - so now that I know what he is doing, I respond with the appropriate force of longbows
In the second game I was up against someone with a slightly higher rank. I expected a lot of cav since his deck contained cav cards and early in colonial I scouted out a stable, but crucially, my explorer died soon afterward. Tension rose while I waited blindly. I tried raiding with a few pikemen, but couldn't find his settlers. Instead, I found out that he was also massing muskets. My economy became a mess and I ended up with an awkward mix of muskets and longbows. Eventually he came in with a large portions of muskets, salted with a lot of hussars and it was villi BBQ time for him as my military completely collapsed!
So I believe scouting is one of those very overlooked things that sets lower tier players apart from higher tiers. Scouting gives you the knowledge of potential raid targets, gaps in their defense and tells you what the enemy is making so you can respond appropriately.
Scouting can be carried out not only by the explorer, but by sending single units with long LOS on a suicide mission into their base You can also have a villi make blocks of wall (which cost very little yet have huge HP) around the map.
Please share your tips.
DeviantArt | Me | Liquid Fire
~ I dream of a day when a chicken can cross the road without someone questioning its motives ~
One of those things is:
I played two games yesterday, both with me as British and the opponent a 1900-2000 (around Captain level) French.
As a British player, I am not expected to rush or FF, which means my opponent (especially since he's French) could either mass up in colonial or FF for cuirassiers.
In the first game (also my first game in 5 months actually), I had used my explorer wisely and found that my opponent was amassing musketeers and xbows - so now that I know what he is doing, I respond with the appropriate force of longbows
In the second game I was up against someone with a slightly higher rank. I expected a lot of cav since his deck contained cav cards and early in colonial I scouted out a stable, but crucially, my explorer died soon afterward. Tension rose while I waited blindly. I tried raiding with a few pikemen, but couldn't find his settlers. Instead, I found out that he was also massing muskets. My economy became a mess and I ended up with an awkward mix of muskets and longbows. Eventually he came in with a large portions of muskets, salted with a lot of hussars and it was villi BBQ time for him as my military completely collapsed!
So I believe scouting is one of those very overlooked things that sets lower tier players apart from higher tiers. Scouting gives you the knowledge of potential raid targets, gaps in their defense and tells you what the enemy is making so you can respond appropriately.
Scouting can be carried out not only by the explorer, but by sending single units with long LOS on a suicide mission into their base
Please share your tips.
DeviantArt | Me | Liquid Fire
~ I dream of a day when a chicken can cross the road without someone questioning its motives ~