--- A Dutch strategy that uses no banks
This strategy is now updated for Vanilla 1.12, this is a strategy that doesnt involve banks.
The thing with banks is that if you want them you should build them ASAP, the earlier they are built, the more benefit you get out of them, but if you don’t need them immediately, you might as well wait a while until you can easily afford it.
If you can run a wood and food based army, then all the gold you need is 100 every 25 seconds for villagers, it only takes 6 dutch vils on gold to keep that.
Dutch’s own military is still mid-core at the best. Early skirmishers are only good for anti-rush, not so hot for a rush itself. You get about 100 HP and 13 attack for every 100 resource, in contrast Russian strelets get 150 HP and 16 attack out of every 100 resources, and most of which is food.
That brings natives into the picture, they have a lot more grunt in them than the overpriced age2 skirmishers, along with many other advantages.
This is a strategy that will try to take advantage of dutch's excellent early eco and age up speed.
* Gather gold, build a house, make 6 vils, age with 13 to 400wood.
* Send ATP as first card, chop wood ASAP once aging began, and build 1 Native ATP.
* Keep mining going, make sure you have constant vil production.
* Arriving on age2 at 4:07~4:10, collect wood and build another Native ATP and 2 trade route ATP.
* send Native American Treaty, it arrives at 4:50. Start attacking as soon as they arrive.
* split new vils between food and wood, you need 6 vils on gold to keep constant gold production.
* Keep Envoy scouting between his base and the remaining native settlements.
Since your natives are based on wood and food only, and that is all you getting, you should not have much of a problem keep the pressure on with 7~8 vils and another one every 25 seconds.
It should be about 5:30 minute mark that you got 2 trade route ATPs, and you should have received your 3rd shipment, which is 700W. Research stage coach. You may need the rest to build a barrack if your opponent is massing cavalry and you don’t have heavy infantry native.
If you are on Bayou or Carolina, and your opponent has the 3 hussar card, he will likely to send it early, so you should send 8 pikes as your first age2 card. If he didn’t send the 3 hussars, your pikes will tear down his Native TP, forward barrack, or his house. If he is making or sending light infantry, retreat and try to keep the pikes alive.
If you get nothing but melee infantry, such as Yukon with clubman, you will have to make either skirmishers or hussars, you will have to re-adjust your eco setup, maybe set stage coach on gold.
On Bayou, you will have to build banks, I am at a point wondering if ATP is worth it in this map - or should it be 3 vils. I will post my findings later.
Build Market and research chopping and hunting upgrades if he is not retaliating heavily and rushing you back, dont do it too early, at the least not before both wood shipment have been used.
If all goes according plans, you should eventually beat him by crippling his game.
- Dutch has the best balance of fast colonial and villager count, this is partly due to its extra 2 starting crate for building villagers and extra starting villager.
- Port, Otto and French can achieve close level of eco and speed(but still definitely slower and weaker), but they don’t have 8 pike shipment. Jan and Muskt shipments cant do siege as good as pikes nor can they outrun light infantry as well should they be countered.
- Port and French don’t have good light infantry if they don’t get native light infantry.
- Ottoman eco doesn’t match Dutch eventually.
- Natives are simply more powerful than normal troops, their stats speak for themselves. They save you on housing cost and have a 4500 HP barrack with an attack, plus NAT gives you a lot more troops than other wise. if your opponent is equally skilled to yourself and is using moderate civ, and is countering your attack with his normal troops, such as crosbow or muskts, your should have the definite upper hand.
Pampas, Sanora, Carolina, Bayou, New England(if it is cherokee), Yukon, Yucatan(the natives are less useful but trade route makes it worthwhile), Sanguney.
this strategy is hard to do well on Great Plains and is not worthwhile on Hispaniola.
Both Rifleman and Tracker are good alternative to the skinny skirmishers.
Strategy by Ultimitsu
Guns and Biers
British Anti-FF explosion
For TWC only Ottoman FF on non-water non-TP maps
For Vanilla only Dutch Fast Colonial Uber Bank
[This message has been edited by ultimitsu (edited 04-03-2009 @ 08:08 PM).]