Athenians overview (AoE2)

[@TARDISES]

So an infantry bonus, an archer option, and a naval option... Basically, taking something from all three major gods. *PROSTAGMA*

[@aLukepop]

VULOME!

[@derthevaporeon]

ETIMOS

[@IorekMetal]

MALISTA

[@TheConnoiseurofTheArtofSnort]

METALEX

[@joedalton155]

HISVOLI

[@josephlongbone4255]

If you research "democracy" in the imperial age, every villager gets the right to vote and will start questioning your decisions.

[@nathangamble125]

Help! I researched "democracy", now half of my villagers are saying _it's a republic, not a democracy_ and claiming that Cretans are eating their dogs.

[@alexwild760]

But just the male ones, since women were not allowed to vote in Athens

[@0rphros]

No no that's the Americans not the Athenians.

[@meneldal]

@@nathangamble125 Don't they like cows better in Crete with that all Minotaur thing? Or is it just shagging them not eating?

[@EvilDoresh]

They will form into an anarcho-syndicalist commune and question the authority of the strange mouse pointer in the sky.

[@cob6259]

I just got back from a trip to Greece at the end of September just to find out about this DLC, hype levels are reaching critical mass

[@HolyKhaaaaan]

This DLC must really be peaking your interest, if you traveled all the way to Greece just to find out more about it!

[@cob6259]

@@HolyKhaaaaan You have to go straight to the source

[@ydk1k253]

​@@cob6259 the stars are aligned

[@araulen4820]

Respect the commitment, that's awesome!

[@comrade7324]

could you go to saudi arabia so we can get a rise of Islam DLC when u come back?

[@jotfohm4644]

Hey spirit, Greeks of the Law here.

[@jotfohm4644]

1

[@Pearlharbor-lq5bp]

Hey Law, spirit of the Greek here

[@tau2791]

Hey Greek, law of the Spirits here

[@thefench1]

THIS. IS . SPARTA​@@tau2791

[@franciasii2435]

Lame >:(

[@LetsbeHonestOfficial]

The design of the hoplites. The helmets and shields. I've been yearning for that design since Age of Empires 1.

[@Zepoz]

"Strategos has no bonus dmg to eagles" What a nerf :D

[@TheOhioNews]

Basically unusable. Smh my head

[@stevestrangelove4970]

they didnt see that coming

[@danieltoth9742]

Forgoing bonus damage to a unit they won't encounter for more damage in general seems like a pretty good strategic choice. They live up to their name.

[@Xastor994]

It was my understanding that these civs will still be available against AoE2 civs outside of ranked, so you can mess around with your friends, and there this could factor in

[@dashsocur]

@@Xastor994 Really? That would be awesome. :)

[@JimRFF]

The only reason the Athenians are called an "Infantry/Naval Civ" is because they didn't have enough space to call them an "Infantry/Naval/Archer/Eco Civ" To be fair, "anything except cavalry, just not all at once" is a pretty radical change / cool idea for a mini DLC thing like this

[@NiDe500]

Especially up against the “all in infantry” of the Spartans, which somehow still looks distinct from the Incan flexibility without a clear power unit or the Gothic hordes of disposable troops we’ve seen before.

[@saffron5802]

Honestly looking more forward to the Athenians then the Spartans. They seem to be much more flexible in all areas, whereas the Spartans seem like a one-trick pony (all infantry). We'll have to see how they play out on release, though.

[@lopez.jacinto.6726]

Historically accurate.

[@epicseadragon1692]

Thanks for the video! The concept of choosing a "policy" is a very interesting bonus, and I would love to see a new civ in the AOE2 roster include this. Also, for some reasons, it seems funny to me that Athenians have good archers, as I perceive them as the Greeks from AOE1, who have litterally nothing else than the base archer! 🤣

[@pokefuranku]

LoL you are right 😂

[@civ-fanboy2137]

I like the statue in the Mining Camp

[@SIGNOR-G]

Its like its saying "you mine stone to build this" to the miners to motivate them.

[@Alkhalim]

Appreciating these civ reviews! :)

[@jcpkill1175]

I like that they are viewing aoe2 more as a game engine with this than a single game. Can easily overhaul this game completley in many manners. I'd like to see them try their hand at something more drastic like automatic teching & ageing up with set timepoints and making other gamemodes. Having region-based civilization conflicts would allow for a complete review of how balancing works if only a few are in hand at one time as another gamemode idea.

[@m-o-d-o]

Would be neat if, should this DLC do well they make another DLC focusing on Alexander the Great's wars. I'm thinking they could add Macedonians, Egyptians and Illyrians/Thracians/Gatae (or all three but that might be too much). Eventually it would be cool if after a few of these DLCs they'd open up a ranked multiplayer just for the antiquity civs.

[@arcomegis9999]

I commented on the Spartans video. It's not too much I assure you. They haven't considered adding the Korinthians or the Thebans, even the Greek overseas colonies like the Massalians, Syracusans and the Tarentines. Arguably there's the Thessalians which could possibly influence most of its neighbors to invest in cavalry. I also would like to see what their choices are regarding the Diadochi ( multiple wars with different cast ). I also mentioned the Thracians before, they indirectly taught the Athenians to form the skirmisher division known as peltasts, in which their neighbor eventually learn to as well. The Illyrians and Dacians would be harder to expand on and they would be limited much more to the conflict with the Romans. I'm also concerned about how they will implement Gauls, Celts and Germanic tribes, particularly how the civ split work. The Gauls did migrate from their heartland all the way towards Anatolia, forming the Galatians.

[@MrRPGTHEBEST]

I agree with the Macedonians (obviously for an Alexander DLC) and the Thracians (maybe Illyrians as well), not so much for the Egyptians (since there was really no battle in the conquest of Egypt), at least the Phoenicians would make some sense (due to the siege of Tyre).

[@RicardoAlmeidatm]

Sprinkle some Strategoi on your hoplite salad and you are golden

[@magtag6879]

Hi Spirit, love you and all the work and good you do for the community!!!! Been watching you since about 2016 during Algebra II in high school.

[@Untrimednes]

That Hoplite tech seems really bad, you need to research the tech and then train 75 more Hoplites just to break even on the gold and you will still be 1350 in the hole with food. To cover that you would still need another 50 or so Hoplites if you were using the gold you save to buy at bottomed out market. If the campaign comes with a very extensive scenario where you end up throwing more than 150 Hoplites to the grinder (after you get to imp and get this tech) it could work but even then the effect doesn't seem very good. Maybe if you combine that with the gold on kills policy in a very long scenario? I just don't see how that would happen to be honest. The archer tech seems bit overpriced too but at least it could have a use in kiting.

[@thewyandotte]

That was my first thought as well. It seems very expensive for the amount of savings you get for it. And it is an infantry unit too, which historically AoE2 hasn't treated the best and are underpowered vs ranged or siege. Except in rare cases.

[@konradpyszniak976]

i would just reduce the price of tech by half. Poles Szlachta Privligies costs around 500food 300 gold and its flat cost reduction where here its just a swap. When i look at the Athenians and Spartans they dont seem as a gold heavy civs. There should be plenty left in late game. Thats technicly bad as gold heavy civs usually have advantage then. All that infantry cost more food than gold means that they are harder to mass in early/mid game. In regular rank game that would mean you have to again play mostly archers or cav and then keep barracks as a late game option. I would understand if hoplite price would be more similar to the eagle and that would also diffirence the barrack units a bit more as different unit would require a different resource distribution. Again it;s single player DLC so its not big deal but i assume they plan to expend that ancient universe and in future maybe add rank for ancient civs so then that topic should adjusted by devs.

[@christopherkitras8650]

As an Athenian, I am super stoked to play this DLC. Also low-key impressed you used the correct plural for strategos in the video (strategoi)

[@apostolidispeter2499]

Στρατεγκόι!

[@voiceofreason2674]

Im so pumped to see that grand campaign map , i think it could be the most innovative thing theyve done in a long long time

[@maledikt]

I can't wait! It's so pretty!

[@Doktersocks]

I like their buildings

[@joedalton155]

that TC looks fire

[@civ-fanboy2137]

Now I want to know about the Persians

[@TheBikeOnTheMoon]

ikr, they remove that bonus because people was complaining about it being OP even if it only affected mounted units, yet they add it back but for all units for the new civ.

[@Ghostbellrei]

They can pay some gold to bribe the spartan council,slow down their unit production

[@SidheKnight]

​@@Ghostbellrei They can also bribe Spartan hunchbacked scouts with prostitutes, and their King unit is a half-naked bald guy with heavy make-up and a Darth Vader voice.

[@MrShadowThief]

I kinda want to see a small tourney with these civs just to see how the pros use them.

[@Chris-qb2iu]

Spirit of the law! I lov your videos man! Thank you so much for making them!

[@leqeque7383]

They seem to be perfect in the sense that they have all the techs and the ability to literally counterpick any opposing civ. Truly the main character syndrome

[@arcomegis9999]

One of the things I would argue was that they are if not the most open-minded of all the city states kin. Most of the military renovations were taught by their neighbors and enemies. The Thracians taught them the importance of skirmishers, the Thessalians taught them/inspire them to invest in standard cavalry. The most controversial thing I claim was that the Persians taught them the importance of navy. To top that off, they are master traders and they have numerous colonies, perhaps rival that of Korinth.

[@lopez.jacinto.6726]

I mean, they kinda were from the 5th to the first half of the 4th centuries BC. It was them sending a contingent to aid the Ionian revolt what gave the Persians a pretext to invade the mainland. It was them who drove the Persian army away at Marathon aided by the small city of Plataea . The Greek victory over the Persians in the second invasion, the one with the "300" also belongs to them. They evacuated Athens and defeated the Persian naval force at Salamina. It was their growing power what made the Spartans act out of fear and start the Peloponnesian War. Even after losing the war in 404 they regained their strength and challenged Spartan power again, and later on Macedonian power. It's the city where Plato, Aristotle and Sokrates taught. It's the city where the Greek tragedy reaches its greatest height. It's the city of Solon, Pericles, that even after suffering a devastating plague refused to surrender. I think they were indeed the main character.

[@majiughhcyu]

Haven't played this or any other in RTS game, but I watch like all your videos..

[@IorekMetal]

I love you correctly saying strategoi.

[@GBlockbreaker]

always liked the idea of age up boni or techs specific to certain age ups like in aom, i think implementing that in aoe2 would certainly make the game feel more varied, though maybe not for standard play if they ever do bring a mechanic from one of the later age games into standard aoe2 gameplay i hope it's the mercenaries from aoe3 as they allow for so many unique units and opportunities to represent smaller civilizations, of course the system would have to be a bit more streamlined than in aoe3, maybe make the tavern a team bonus building for the dutch or hre or something and base the mercs off of team members

[@arcomegis9999]

While I thought about a more suitable unique unit to replace the Cataphract, I immediately thought about the mercenaries from the trading post and the embassy. The Byzantines have a habit of buying off enemies and pit them against each other, which fit perfectly for them. The Romans have a version of mercenaries of their own, the auxiliaries. The way I understand was mercenaries being offered citizen perks by the Romans. Should the team managed to add that mechanic in, the mercenaries should be based on either the enemy civs or the locals from the map, to an extent both. The mercs units should always be slightly more costly than the standard units with the non-native ones more expensive than the local ones. The Byzantines and Romans should get different bonuses. The Byzantines can get a cost reduction + merc unit faster refresh time and Romans can get more effective merc stats. Just some proposal.

[@darkranger116]

me, Persian enjoyer, knowing full well our video was going to be last : *clicks video grumbling*

[@H484R]

Hi Greeks, Strategos of the Lacedaemon here.

[@BEanz911]

Love the card system in aoe3 ,,aoe2 is great in its own way but it would be cool to have a mixture of sorts ..sweets vids buddy

[@abelattyjuggler2894]

I am just happy this civs starts with the letter A. So it easy to find so stronger

[@dominusalicorn3684]

Huh, this is actually a really neat way to test out a new civ for balance purposes before releasing it officially

[@stryfe7467]

Not an infantry guy normally, but I'll give the Greek civs a shot.

[@UnDeaDCyBorg]

I've liked these meaningful ingame decisions ever since way back when I played Warrior Kings: Battles. The Athenians seem very interesting in allowing you to cater to your own needs, and it could be interesting to have a future civ in the main game proper leaning into that. After all, flexibility is a boon in its own right, so the effects could be smaller than average.

[@kaarolus4503]

As someone who will not buy the dlc, I love these vids bc thus I know how the civs are designed

[@anyoneattheendoftime4932]

_"In short, I say that as a city we are the school of Hellas; while I doubt if the world can produce a man, who, where he has only himself to depend upon, is equal to so many emergencies, and graced by so happy a versatility as the Athenian."_

[@TheOhioNews]

So weird that I have no intention of playing this any time soon (my backlog of video games is massive- welcome to adulthood), yet I'm enjoying this video so much! 😊

[@noldorwarrior7791]

I hope they get encouraged to bring more in the future. I would love to use Macedon, maybe Pezhetairoi a reskined Kamayuk? In the Rome at War mod, i destroyed nearly anything with the Silver shield pikemen on Stand Ground, except missiles and onagers.

[@elisharobertson5628]

Thanks for the video SOTL!

[@XEROXAYUKI]

First time i have looked forward to an AOE 2 campaign DLC. I never bought any DLCs due to campaign.

[@mitchellclapp1618]

Dawn of the Dukes campaigns 🙌

[@XEROXAYUKI]

@@mitchellclapp1618 it just felt like they put more effort in this DLC. It feels like a new game again.

[@Gilgwathir]

That owl has seen some things ...

[@Geffalrus1984]

Woohoo, Iphikratides representation!!! 🥳

[@Citizen-w-e-a]

Awaiting for the Spirit of the Lab bit.

[@FrostBeam009]

I really do hope all 3 civs comes to ranked at some point..

[@EvilDoresh]

It was probably a safety measure because they didn't have time to balance them with the rest of the civs in mind.

[@khatack]

I'm 3 minutes in and my adblocker has already blocked 88 ads. Man your videos are HEAVILY monetized xD

[@lopez.jacinto.6726]

Nice. I've always liked the Athenians more than the Spartans. They were innovative, brave and had the confidence to try new things, all while being the first full democracy (in their context that meant that women weren't allowed to vote and they had lots of slaves, like 100,000 at one point).

[@EvilDoresh]

Ancient democracies always had the "Oh, and if you're not a real citizen you don't really have many rights" caveat.

[@Spiror]

As a greek and athenian iam proud 🎉🎉😃😃😎😎

[@PotDylan]

As a Greek, Athenians are not a thing anymore. No continuation between ancient Athens and modern Athens. If you look at photos from 100-150 years ago you'll see just the Parthenon and farmers' huts. Modern "Ahenians" are Greeks that migrated here from the rest of the Greek speaking world with most being here for less than 2 generations. Not to be combative just putting some history on the table :)

[@Spiror]

@@PotDylan it doesnt matter , iam in my heart ❤️ hehe

[@augustuswade9781]

Athenian policy is like the US strategic focus from Command and Conquer Generals lmao

[@HistoricalWeapons]

Why no slingers?

[@da_ghoul9432]

Hope they do a follow up DLC with Troy and Macedonia and Alexander the Great.

[@danielprice1992]

Thanks!

[@malikshabazz2065]

great stuff!

[@ΑλευράςΘεοφάνης]

"Strategos" means "general" or else "the commander of an army".

[@amirsalehabadi7243]

I cannot wait for acheminids

[@1234kalmar]

What exactly are the titles for the songs you use as backgorund music? they are soooo chill!

[@moatezmoussi9751]

i always ask myself that

[@renangoncalvesflores]

Spirit of the Republic here

[@Seth9809]

I hope for someday we have Dark Ages content. We have Middle Ages and Classic.

[@ElliottNahum-m6j]

Atila the Hun campaign

[@SidheKnight]

@@ElliottNahum-m6j And Alaric.. and Gaiseric.. and Vortigern..

[@MrAsaqe]

The iphicraetan tactics is refering to how by giving lighter but still sturdier weapons mean they can be used more effectively

[@Fedacking]

Athenians seem really strong. A generic +7% to everything is really good.

[@TheOhioNews]

The Hoplite is buffed by every AoE2 nerd's dream- having a friend irl 😅

[@Nameles84]

I only care if they are available in Lobby Matches against other civis :x

[@EMDakka]

feels wierd to cover non MP civs? NAY As a mostly PVE AoE player, keep these coming!

[@EvilDoresh]

They are also MP, just not ranked MP

[@filiusnox5150]

im not sure if you're interested/planning or if theres a market for it, but i'd watch the living crap out of AOM retold content in a similar style you do for AOE.

[@stonetic2515]

The Hoplite bonus should work with Hoplites AND spears. Give them a slow melee deathball that can fight cav and endure archers.

[@the_SolLoser]

I dont like the "customization" aspect for ranked play. Im perfectly ok w/ civs that specialize in nonranked play just for the gimmicks. The other games have these aspects already; we dont need every game to be the same. I mean, of all the games, AoE 1 needs the most help, I think (Just merge AoE 1 and 2 already... or let us play AoE 1 civs AoE 2 style). That being said, Macedonia would be perfect for this policy and multi-choice unique tech build. They were known for everything except archers and navy, and different battles really showcased their different abilities and adaptability; especially Infantry, Cavalry, and Seige.

[@Vanderyn]

Prostagma!

[@oscararturojimenezcelis477]

No new business ventures? I feel bamboozled, that's what I watched this whole thing for

[@tomassmith2088]

Bruh we gonna get the cavemen civilization dropping eventually

[@konradpyszniak976]

i am kinda suprise they didnt come up with replacement for a bombard cannon - something like catapult unit or something. SiegeWorkshop looks quite empty now without SO and BBC.

[@EvilDoresh]

Some kind of ballista might've done the trick. They could even keep the projectile because some ballista did in fact shoot rocks/balls

[@konradpyszniak976]

Isnt ballista a replacement for treb right now? I think if they dont find replecement for siege onager and bombard Cannon they should at least ajust siege tower to bd more viable, like fire arrows while garrison

[@tubbyjuhu]

I just noticed: the scorpions - should they be changed into ballistas?

[@EvilDoresh]

I guess it's okay for them to stay. The main difference appears to be that the Scorpion is a Roman _downsized_ version of the larger ballista

[@VIEUXNEGBS1337]

Hi spirit of the law here today were good noggen spooks😊

[@Crossil]

It is somewhat relevant to cover these civs and showcase just why they would be broken. It also serves to match them up with AoE2 civs if people start asking why not add them, so we can show how unbalanced the civs are.

[@MrAllmightyCornholioz]

Οι Αθηναίοι είναι φοβεροί!

[@bionetik]

I remember thinking the Spartans sounded OP..... What is going on in these Campaigns that the levels aren't a complete pushover?

[@goodmusic4673]

Finally the Devs of Age2 see that age 3 is in many ways so much beter and more creative

[@EvilDoresh]

It _is_ cool, but the steep learning curve and option paralysis is definitely an issue. I feel like AoM was the golden middle in terms of in-game civ customization.

[@DoubleODonut]

Even if they can't be used in ranked, it will be interesting how people will use the new civs in unranked games

[@zarator7429]

I assume these will be usable in skirmish against the AI too, right?

[@FlipityGibett]

I feel like we needed a 3rd Greek faction like Thebes that was more archer focused as Athens wasn’t known for its archers at the time.

[@paulmustermann8398]

Great Video. Could you please do a countering Unique Units for 2024?

[@hadesgodoftheunderworld0181]

Mom, can we have Age of Mythology? No there is Age of Mythology at home. Age of Mythology at home…

[@stefanbacvanin5001]

I hate it when factions, races, special something... are exclusively part of the campaign or special missions. I like to play those factions in singleplayer... It's just not fair

[@shanepower9201]

You will be able to use all of these civs in skirmish mode aswell, If you own the dlc.

[@EvilDoresh]

@@shanepower9201 It's really just ranked matches where you can't use them, for who knows how they'll mess up the ladder.

[@ProfeSeb]

I can't believe that being the cradle of philosophy they didn't give them any university or research technologies/bonuses.

[@pavelgaming5470]

Cant wait to use 1600's gunpowder units/weapons vs hoplites 😂

[@EvilDoresh]

"Our hand cannons will blanket the entire battlefield in smoke" "Then we will fight in darkness!"

[@ANGST.ARGENTINA]

👍

[@Rika101OfficialYT]

After Leonidas, then Themistocles... who's next, Xerxes?

[@Beliserius1]

Imagine if they fill out the roster with all of AOE1 civs. Finally, AOE1 remade into AOE2!

[@raynightshade8317]

I wish the Hoplites bonus armore worked more like the manaspa rather than just 1/1 if near the same unit

[@Dragons_Armory]

Why the heck did they gave both of the new Greek campaign factions cavalry archers???

[@arcomegis9999]

Agree with your concern. We should petition them to change into cavalry skirmi-wait, that sounds like a genitour reskin.

[@bencokacilim6052]

I dont know if they would be played in multiplayer or would it be only campign but I think new dlc may be confusing for players like me that enters game only time to time to play 1 or 2 games. All the new tech tree and new units would be confusing for opponent of theese new civs too. Devs should start thinking on make your on civs and start a tournement with every players on civs. That would set a fire on every aoe 2 players hearts I think. Thanks for reading. See you next time 😇

[@rupert7565]

I'm not sure the tech to shift the gold cost of Hoplites is ever worth it. You need to make an additional 75 of them just to break even on gold and at that point you also spend an extra 1350 food. Seems to me like most game will be over at that point and you only taxed yourself.

[@juxta4183]

love your vids even tho i dont even play this game lol

[@CallofDutyBlackOps28]

I see what they were going for. I wonder if the three policies (well, naval said it used to be democracy) so my guess the other two was autocracy and theocracy.

[@SidheKnight]

Probably Aristrocracy and Monarchy

[@WWFanatic0]

The Eisphora tech sounds so bad. Even if we assume the food cost is free, that still needs 75 hoplites before you break even on gold spent. If we can get a sixth of the food cost as gold by selling that bumps it up to 85 before the gold amount evens out and we still have to give up ~15 hoplite worth of resources to research it.

[@Marcara081]

I would like a siege tower ability where they block all incoming overhead damage from onagers and take that damages themselves. They need more uses.

[@gherlwinfireson8582]

But, to make this work, siege towers would have to not be countered by onagers.

[@Marcara081]

@@gherlwinfireson8582 I'm okay with that - they shouldn't be.

[@troybernier2968]

The law, covering the birthplace of democracy 👀👀?

[@Pingurator]

can i play this new factions with my friends in multiplayer?

[@EvilDoresh]

Seems so. It's just _ranked_ matches where they won't be available.

[@FulanoIluminado1582]

All those palms must be full of coconuts or dates

[@Haasthefox]

I kinda wish the byzantines and Romans got new architecture

[@06monz]

7:56 I don’t found the tech Eisphora cost effective. You need to train 75 hoplites to save as much gold as you use for the tech. And you have already spend 600 + 75*10 = 1350 more foods in the operation. I don’t have tile to create an excel sheet to calculate this. But my first though is that it might not be interesting unless it’s a veeeeeeery long mission where you need to spam a loy of hoplites. Let’s see if the campaign has a use case for this.

[@dereksando6605]

I feel like the slow attack rate on the gastroenterologist is going to limit the use for me.

[@SidheKnight]

It's supposed to be the Hand Cannoneer equivalent so.. yeah xD

[@jperk6528]

Really hope armor techs can be renamed in the dlc, like the monestary. Chainmail, and plate armor names really don't make sense for the period