30 Tips and Tricks to Improve at Age of Empires 2

Hey everyone! If you’re looking to take your Age of Empires 2 skills to the next level, you’ve come to the right place. In this post, I’ll share a collection of tips and tricks, provided by TheViper, that can help players of all skill levels improve their gameplay. Whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned veteran, there’s something here for you. Let’s dive in!

Resource Management

Managing resources effectively is key to success in Age of Empires 2. Here are some tips to help you make the most of your resources:

• Dropping Off Resources: If your villager is carrying any resource, you can drop it off by constructing an economic building. For instance, if you’re carrying gold, you can add it to your stockpile by finishing the construction of a mill. This technique works for every resource with a mill, mining camp, lumber camp, town center, and even a farm.

  

• Idle Villager Hotkey: One of the most useful hotkeys is the idle villager keybind. Keeping your economy running is crucial, so make sure you have this as an efficient hotkey.
  

Control Groups and Unit Management

Efficient unit management can make a significant difference in your gameplay. Here are some handy tips:

• Creating Control Groups: You can create control groups by selecting a unit, holding Ctrl, and clicking a number. This allows you to jump to and take control of your units without having to select them with your mouse.

  

• Trade for Gold: As you enter the later stages of the game, natural gold will eventually run out. You can generate gold with trade cards from a market or trade cogs from the dock. Make sure to send the unit to an ally market or allied dock; the longer the distance, the more gold is generated. Research the caravan for extra speed on the trade card.

  

Trading and Economic Upgrades

Understanding when and how to trade can boost your economy significantly. Here’s what you need to know:

• When to Start Trading: There is never a right or wrong time to start trading, but I generally recommend you to start trading early in the Imperial Age.

  

• Priority of Economic Upgrades: Economic upgrades are very important. The priority order of economy upgrades is usually wood, food, gold, and stone. In booming scenarios, even the second wood upgrade is often done before any of the gold and stone upgrades.

  

• Wheelbarrow and Hand Cart: Wheelbarrow and handcart are crucial technologies that provide significant boosts in farming efficiency. You want to have a lot of farms running before investing in these technologies.

  

Game Mechanics and Shortcuts

Understanding game mechanics can give you a competitive edge. Here are some shortcuts and features you might not know:

• Displaying the In-Game Clock: If you don’t see a timer during the game, hit F11 to display it. The in-game time is about 1.7 times faster than actual time.

  

• Chat Shortcuts: If you’re playing a team game, adding a star at the beginning of your message will make it visible to everyone. A hashtag will only be seen by enemies, while a semicolon will only show it to your allies.
  

Combat Strategies

Combat is a crucial aspect of Age of Empires 2. Here are some combat-related tips:

• Targeting Units: If you have military units selected and hold Alt while right-clicking, you will ignore enemy buildings. This makes it easier to target the unit you’re after, especially if it’s hidden behind or close to a structure.

  

• Luring Deer: The same technique works for Gaia units. Holding Alt will prevent your military unit from attacking, making it easier to lure a deer.

  

Feudal Age Insights

Advancing through the ages unlocks new opportunities. Here’s what you should focus on when entering the Feudal Age:

• Scout Cavalry Bonuses: Upon advancing to the Feudal Age, scout cavalry will receive two additional line of sight, extra attack, and increased movement speed.

  

• Eagle Scout Training Time: Upon reaching the Castle Age, the training time of eagle scouts reduces from 60 to 35 seconds. They also gain increased attack and bonus damage against cavalry and camels.

  

Team Bonuses and Monk Mechanics

Understanding team bonuses and monk mechanics can enhance your gameplay:

• Team Bonuses: Team bonuses apply to yourself, meaning your team bonus can still be very helpful in team games.

  

• Monk Conversion Time: The time it takes for a monk to convert a unit can vary from 5 to 14 in-game seconds without any resistance bonuses. Some units have extra resistance to conversions.

  

• Switching Targets: Monks can switch targets while converting without resetting the conversion timer.

  

Farm and Fishing Traps

Utilizing farms and fishing traps effectively is essential for maintaining a steady food supply:

• Healing Farms and Fish Traps: Monks can heal farms and fish traps, providing a way to maintain food sources longer.

  

• Stealing Enemy Farms: Villagers can steal enemy farms and fishing traps. The food resets upon the completion of the steal, which is done by tasking your villager to the enemy farm or fishing ship.

  

Efficient Hotkeys and Repairs

Efficient hotkeys can significantly speed up your gameplay:

• Global Queue: If you have the global queue activated, you can cancel units or research by holding control and left-clicking the icon in the global queue.

  

• Repairing Buildings: Repairing a building requires half the original cost of the building to repair from one HP to full HP. Town centers require twice their wood cost to repair.

  

Unique Units and Garrisoning

Understanding unique units and garrisoning mechanics can enhance your strategy:

• Organ Gun and Unique Units: The organ gun is the only unique unit that requires redemption to be converted. Ballista elephants count as siege but do not require redemption.

  

• Garrisoning Infantry: Infantry can garrison inside rams, increasing their speed and attack against buildings. Garrisoning in siege towers also increases movement speed.

  

Market and Allied Vision

Utilizing the market effectively can provide strategic advantages:

• Market Vision: Upon building a market, you will gain vision of all your allies. Previously, there was a research called cartography for allied vision.

  

• War Galley Technology: The war galley technology upgrades not just galleys but also fire galleys and demolition rafts. Unique ships are located on the second page of the dock.

  

Conclusion

That wraps up these 30 quick tips and tricks about Age of Empires 2. Hopefully, you learned something that can be applied to your gameplay. Remember to practice these techniques and share them with friends who might benefit from them. Stay tuned for more tips and happy gaming!