Chinese Overview AoE2

Overview of the Chinese bonuses, unique unit, and tech tree from Age of Empires 2.
1:00 Farms have +45 food (team bonus)
2:28 Start with +3 villagers
5:25 Technologies cheaper
6:10 Town centers support 10 population
6:33 Demolition ships +50% HP
Video on demo ships in general: • Demolition Ships in AoE2
7:35 Chu Ko Nu stats and attack (Unique unit)
8:40 Elite Chu Ko Nu upgrade
9:38 Chu Ko Nu vs Crossbow hidden stuff
10:30 Chu Ko Nu and Crossbow effectiveness vs a variety of units
12:05 Chu Ko Nu vs buildings
12:30 Saracen team bonus hype
12:47 Rocketry (unique tech)
13:28 Rocketry vs Elite Chu Ko Nu upgrade
13:55 Scorpions with rocketry
15:00 HD Expansion changes
TECH TREE
16:45 Archers A-
17:06 Infantry B+
17:27 Cavalry B
17:52 Siege B
18:30 Navy B (B- early, B+ late)
19:05 Monks A-
19:27 Defences B+ (A- in expansions)
19:53 Economy B-
20:40 My final thoughts
Facebook:
pages/Spirit...
Patreon: www.patreon.com/SpiritoftheLaw
Full intro song: • Spirit of the Law Chan...
Background music from Epidemic Sound: www.epidemicsound.com
Game: Age of Empires 2 HD with Forgotten Empires and African Kingdom expansions
Thanks go to Chtyl Dubreux for the subtitles.

[@ttomasarias3719]

15:56 -Constantinople fell because someone left a gate opened Probably it was a trade cart or a halberdier on aggressive standing by the gate

[@pabloduarte1722]

Hate that

[@_antares031]

"Anti Anti-Archer Archer" +1

[@korbikjedwabnik8776]

Berber Camel Archers are "Anti-Cavalry Archer Camel/Cavarly Archers"

[@monkeyorful]

what about cataphracts?

[@korbikjedwabnik8776]

Anti Melee and Anti-Cavalry Cavalry

[@indignation01]

I find many unique units are like though. Huskarls/Woad Raiders are the anti anti-infantry infantry, nullifying benefits of range. Likewise with axemen, allowing focus-fire and less pathfinding. Longbows' tiny extended range makes it stand up to more things than arbs. Janissaries remove many weaknesses of hand cannoneers, etc.

[@kiljazink989]

Huskarls are anti-archer infantry, Woad raiders are fast infantry, Longbows are just archers with a very high range. Jaguar warriors are anti-infantry infantry. I kinda like Samurai, though. Anti-special unit infantry.

[@VidShoe13]

Good job once again Saracens. Your bonus benefits everyone but you. 👍

[@YoungSavage]

well, i mean, it's a TEAM bonus so it makes sense that it would help other civs, lol.

[@VidShoe13]

Young Savage Yeah I guess :D

[@kaiderscheid4353]

do we hate the Saracens?

[@1Korlash]

Kai Derscheid No. We just hate their team bonus.

[@Kevin-wx7wu]

1Korlash provided that you're the sarracens, if you're Chinese you like them

[@misteral9045]

"The Chinese are a thinking civilization." Confucius approves of this statement.

[@littlehorseyhorsey]

Jay Blodget hahahah

[@littlehorseyhorsey]

My God, you have it down wrong. After the Qin dynasty which was "oppressive" or otherwise draconian in governance, the Han predicated their rule on being the opposite of the Qin, Confucian thought was the answer to Qin's Legalism.

[@littlehorseyhorsey]

Ao Chen You do realize, though very educational and informative and for that I am grateful, it doesn't mean Confucian thought "prohibits free thinking". During Confucius's lifetime because of the wars and lack of morality, he formulated his thoughts and it was compiled into the teaching as during the Han dynasty and subsequent dynasties. I personally do not view the Qin dynasty as oppressive but my ancestors gave way to the Han and propagated what they did. It's not in my place to criticize them for it.

[@Benjamino-lt8dh]

John Reese Didn’t you guys already have this conversation?

[@scintillam_dei]

"Ze Germans are a sinking Civilinazion."

[@unfig3034]

I'm so proud of you, Saracens ;-;

[@AdamMitchell1121]

*salutes*

[@CarlosRios1]

Faris Firdaws DEUS VULT

[@conquerdaworld7374]

Faris Firdaws exactly....SARACENS THE KING OF MIDDLE-EAST... but...when Crusader wars!!

[@fenistereinc.5797]

Ssundee Molly Sarracens historically won too.

[@EcclesiastesLiker-py5ts]

The happy Saracens is so cute!

[@HECKproductions]

fuck to the yeah nothing beats going onto youtube and finding a new video from spirit of the law

[@dmaxpr]

Amen to those words, I was about to write the same!!!

[@dmaxpr]

+HECKproductions too late bruh...

[@judebox1185]

yes!

[@franzluggin398]

Quick, file a copyright claim!

[@crispx19]

Yeah! ;:^D idkn why but his videos are soo satisfyng to watch

[@PharmacyCzar]

Beware the Chinese-Saracen-Industrial complex

[@WOEEW]

lol

[@robdaconquerer4125]

And teutons with cheaper farms

[@Weldedhodag]

@@robdaconquerer4125 cheaper farms and helping the chinese with that monk resistance, since chinese don't get heresy

[@Calimbandil87]

Isn't that just the silk road?

[@PharmacyCzar]

@@Calimbandil87 I think the silk road would be the Chinese-Saracen-Indian-Industrial Complex

[@filiuscanis2413]

The reason why most of the ranged units don't require food to produce is because they use their bow, crossbow or javelin to hunt.

[@charielity6071]

Feenix814 or they buy food with gold.

[@lamegamer4607]

That actually makes sense:O

[@astrid2432]

or the build there own farms

[@MaryamMaqdisi]

I don’t know if you were joking but in AoE you have plenty of archers that cost you food, not to mention many military units could theoretically use their weapons to hunt too

[@astron800]

Yeah, why do we give food to the scout cavalry if they can hunt some their own, they can catch up to sheep and even deer.

[@djfarmer6391]

I think it's pretty awesome that Spirit's Subscriber to Views ratio is really close, so almost all of his subs regularly watch his videos.

[@4xelchess905]

close to what?

[@djavanalderromero]

Not anymore sadly

[@dragatus]

Actually the +5 HP on the elite Chu Ko Nu is pretty useful against Paladins, who after all upgrades are doing 15 damage per hit. They can kill a regular Chu ko Nu with 3 hits, but an elite one survives that with 5 HP and needs to be hit one additional time. So against Paladins they effectively last 33% longer.

[@aliencatcrew3336]

5 hits is 20% longer not 33%

[@xj-vn4eo]

Angelic Alien333 Originally 3 hits, now 4 hits, that’s (4-3)/3, about 33%.

[@aliencatcrew3336]

@@xj-vn4eo 4 hits. 25% lol

[@pancapana0190]

@@aliencatcrew3336 4/3 = 133%

[@aliencatcrew3336]

anonymous boookie balls

[@greysquirrel404]

13:26 Reloads start after the last projectile is fired. The chu ko nu has a 3 frame delay for each arrow, so the elite chu ko nu has to wait an extra 6 frames before its reload starts. Most archers only have to wait around 3 frames before their reload starts so this means chu ko nu's benefit less from reload time reductions. To balance this thumb ring actually reduces the reload time of the chu ko nu by 20%, rather than 15% like all other archer units.

[@ROFLBOB24]

I feel like the Chinese true purpose is to be a fairly well-rounded civ with a devastating end game. I don't know about anyone else, but massed Chu Ko Nus make me cry.

[@anirudhviswanathan3986]

Massed Chu Ko Nu has absolutely ZERO counterplay, since they strike so hard and so fast. They can easily fight off each and every traditional method to counter archers, ie, siege and cavalry, and for Goths, Huskarls.

[@MrJumpingson]

siege onager

[@yizhenji5564]

norman in Not exactly,while the Siege Onager is reloading for fire it is destroyed before a 2nd fire round(except with Celts)

[@olefredrikskjegstad5972]

JPence14 The Chu Ko Nu is exactly what made me interested in the Chinese when I first got the game, it's just such a fun unit to use

[@jasonsudana5320]

I played the Le Loi campaign, and it is hard af facing Chu Ko Nus, my fav UU.

[@unifieddynasty]

I get more and more appreciation of AOE the more I learn about history. I've only recently figured out that Chu Ko Nu = Zhuge Nu = Zhuge Liang's Repeating Crossbow. What amazing history has been gifted to us since the 1990s from this franchise!

[@YuenHsiaoTieng]

They need some kung fu inspired combat bonus for their monks, possibly a large defensive bonus against infantry.

[@josericardoxavier_]

11

[@josericardoxavier_]

Great idea lol

[@xlamcx]

bump

[@phamthaihoangtung]

But infantry study MMA. :v

[@ansettwise0005]

Civ bonus: When failed a conversion, Chinese monk will use kung fu to knock out the target who refuse to be converted.

[@JK-gy2bc]

"I'll try to keep this short" *Sees video is 21 minutes long* Well, at least you tried.

[@ALFversusDONGATO]

12:32 "Now I know what you're thinking: is this the moment for the useless Saracen Team Bonus to shine?" My favorite comment in SoTL's career

[@DaddyMouse]

"Let's use a generic civilization" *picks Japanese*

[@_comrade9163]

what are you do over here? shouldn't you be doing paladins skin reviews?

[@tiraflecha2318]

Great video, my friend. Also, the info. on the fall of the Byzantine Empire was so funny! LOL! Chinese and Saracens, Best Buddies 4 ever xD. Also, thanks for not forgetting the joke from the Franks' Overview xD. Well, I hope the next civ to be "scanned" is the Malians... or the Portuguese if you like them better. Keep up the good work!

[@cedrikullrich4298]

I think he said he'd been going to do all of the Age of Kings and forgotten civilizations (so only Aztecs left) and then redo the older ones. Not sure though

[@chrisc3825]

I second a lot of this, especially the gates comment. Props and thanks for putting in that extra cherry on top info. The tests you run are so thorough and well thought out and interpreted, it's easy to underestimate the amount of time required to make these videos and the script you write for it. Thanks as always and phenomenal job. I don't even really play this game anymore, but I watch every video.

[@michaelpothoven1041]

I think Aztecs would be a better choice, since they're a bit divided: best monks and infantry on one hand, and worst navy and no cavalry on the other... Agree withat everything else though!

[@cedrikullrich4298]

Michael Pothoven Bitch please! Aztecs don't have the best infantry!

[@michaelpothoven1041]

Personally, I think that Aztecs would make a better choice, since they're basically the opposite of the Chinese, being very specialized rather than generalist. They have the best infantry and monks, but the worst navy and no cavalry. Agree with everything else you said though!

[@BarlytheDwarf]

6:33 suddenly Spirit's accent changed, for one word, to something a Louisiana cotton farmer might say. Dank shit right there.

[@marredcheese]

lmao

[@emaa_m]

China : *invents gunpowder* E.S.: no gunpowder for china

[@jabloko992]

although the chinese did invent gunpowder, they were far behind in the *firearm* race compared to Europeans. They didn't weaponise it anywhere near as effectively as others did. I actually agree with them not having hand canoneers. Bear in mind that AOE2 is set the middle ages and China wasn't doing a whole lot of shooting around then. (they did try some innovative stuff like rockets, but ultimately, it was Europe that made the gun work).

[@jabloko992]

@Jakub Bończak I don't claim the game is perfect, I just said I could justify why the Chinese don't have this particular unit. I think the reason the Japanese have hand canoneers and the Chinese don't is because of the Sengoku Jidai. The Japanese importing guns is a well known thing, whereas the Ming dynasty (the only possible candidate for 'China' in this game) was a pacifist turtle by comparison that had no reason to figure out how to most effectively weaponise it's own creation. (Who the hell would attack a stable, prosperous China, right?) Meanwhile, the Japanese are importing guns like crazy. I think that's why, but I don't claim it to be a perfect line of reasoning.

[@ShaneyElderberry]

Different daimyo clans adopted 16th century matchlocks and cannons (since the 1540s), then made copies of them (supposedly 300,000 + manufactured in a decade, & prevalent in battle during the 1560s). Famous cavalry vs firearms battles occured between the Takeda and Oda. Even the naginata-wielding sohei had them in numbers sufficient to defend Osaka castle from a three-year samurai siege.

[@darkuser9992]

i agree that the idea wasn't so much they didn't have it but that they neither weaponised it fully nor used it significantly in warfare...the main firearm in aoe2 was the arquebus which of course saw wide usage first among the Turkish Jannisaries..This wasn't the weapon the Chinese had and in fact was brought back to China in an ironic turn of events that was recognised by Chinese themselves...AoE2 did give the Chinese chemistry, bombard cannons, as well as the rocketry bonus...so it sat well with me!

[@azn3000]

@jabloko992 >" I actually agree with them not having hand canoneers" The Chinese actually had hand cannons a century before any European state did. Arguing about the effectiveness of one side over the other is moot considering how hand cannons were essentially inaccurate shotguns. And even in later centuries, the Chinese continued to develop their firearm technology by adopting arquebuses and muskets from foreign countries; adapting them to suit their needs. European firearm technology would finally outpace all others with the coming of the Industrial Revolution. > "whereas the Ming dynasty... was a pacifist turtle by comparison that had no reason to figure out how to most effectively weaponise it's own creation" Where do you get this idea that the Ming were pacifist? They held campaigns in the north against the Mongols and Jurchen and in the south they expanded into Yunnan and occupied Vietnam. They also went to war against Japan to defend their vassal state of Korea in the late 1500s. The Ming were far from pacifist; by their nature as an empire, they were imperialist. Also as I stated above, they willingly adopted foreign firearms they saw as superior. An early 17th century Ming military manual called "Wubei Zhi" is proof of this, showing drawings of and evaluations of foreign firearms from the Portuguese, Vietnamese, and Ottomans. In addition, there are multiple illustrations of indigenous innovations existing firearm designs. The idea that Europeans were the only ones that made the gun "work" is just ignoring the histories of other non-European states that utilized gunpowder. Yes, European states did eventually dominate the world with their firearm technology but that only occurred with the Industrial Revolution.

[@2ipwiw]

伐伐伐伐伐伐伐伐伐伐木工

[@spicydan1582]

哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈准备就绪😂

[@MegaRange]

伐伐伐伐伐伐伐建筑伐伐伐伐伐矿矿矿粮草征收员

[@ADCFproductions]

@098765 Craper builden build- bu bu bububu bububu bububbububububububu builden!

[@scintillam_dei]

Realistic Far East map for Age of Empires 2 kzbin.info/www/bejne/eZ7Qp3eOqahmkLc

[@Ratciclefan]

Fafafafafafafamugong

[@Imperiused]

I kinda think that one of the Chinese "bonuses" should be that they just get every tech available. Although they are pretty close to that already.

[@transfermium3349]

Well, they'd actually have all techs (and some more Unique Techs) and OP bonuses if AoE2 was historically correct... so yeah. Fortunately for us, the devs made the game balanced.

[@cedrikullrich4298]

+Transfermium Ha! Then you haven't tried to play with Franks versus Malians, Mongols, Japanese, Goths... yet

[@sizzle5775]

They should just give them the Villagers and less Food and Wood and replace the other bonuses for all the techs with really shitty castle techs.

[@transfermium3349]

Isn't that what the devs did? (except for the poor castle tech thing, the Great Wall one was OK).

[@polishedpebble4111]

Every bonus available BUT should be slightly more expensive.

[@VidShoe13]

Wow, I was waiting for this Civ overview for so long. Thanks!!!

[@EthanPalmer]

Dude, I seriously look forward to every video you post. As an AOE2 fan, they're so interesting to watch!

[@theaterobscura]

Spirit chose the Japanese as his "generic" test Civ. I'm so surprised.

[@franzluggin398]

YES, Saracen Team Bonus Time! (finally) Immediately thought about that when you said they're good against buildings!

[@Tareltonlives]

Woo! I've been waiting for this one for a while! These civ overviews are my favorite

[@deadlyduck11]

FINALLY!! It has been so long, i love these videos, hope you never stop, Spirit! :D

[@michaelpothoven1041]

3:19 In the new expansion, houses only cost 25 wood, so now Chinese can get away with two houses right off the bat, have 20 population space all at once!

[@elliejohnson2786]

These are legitimate units in AoE2: Anti Anti-Archer Archer (Chu Ko Nu), an Anti Anti-Infantry Infantry (Huskarl) and an Anti Anti-Cavalry Cavalry (Cataphract). Are there any more? Anti Anti-Navy Navy? Anti Anti-Siege Siege?

[@AmmarFarisA]

Korean turtle ship is an Anti Navy Navy unit.

[@derikaem8021]

Huskarl isnt generally anti anti-infantry. that title should rather go to condottieri

[@robdaconquerer4125]

0010 Ammar Faris A. The turtle ship is great against fire ships which are an anti navy navy. The turtle ships are actually an anti anti-ship ship. Also with siege I reckon that Celtic mass onagers is anti everything. Or Korean mass onagers and scorpions with extra range. I can beat the hard AI as of recently but I doubt I can beat the hardest and there SotL beating the extreme.

[@anshula2955]

The ram is technically an anti-siege siege so siege that counters rams are anti anti-siege siege

[@elliejohnson2786]

@@anshula2955 I suppose all ships counter each other in a triangle, so they're all, technically, anti anti-navy navy units.

[@Tigerman55]

You definitely deserve a like for this video from me. Very well thought through and you did a great job organizing it! Always interesting. :)

[@FunnYGW]

So happy that its out haha .... its a bit crazy how often i checked your yt-page :D

[@HeyImLucious]

RIP Constantinople "2nd best Rome ever" 10/10 Metacritic "Sad that they're gone" 11/8 IGN

[@enderneezu3708]

One day I did a 60 full Chu Ko Nu upgraded attack (only chu ko nu) and it's pretty OP. One wall gate was destroyed with 3 or 4 volley's and the houes in 2 and the rest of buildings were destroyed with 2-7 volley's with all units attacking at the same time of course. I was like wow :000

[@yizhenji5564]

Ender Neezu That's Actually due to the historical research of the Chu Ko Nu firing much heavier and more powerful bolts

[@jellyorwhat3343]

Hi Spirit, I just want you to let you know, albeit I don't really play this game more often then maybe once every few month (albeit I played it pretty much my entire childhood), I really really enjoy your videos. They are so relaxing and are the icing on the cake on a sunday! Keep up the good work!

[@darkwingduke1631]

I just stumbled upon your videos here I must say, I had never considered all this information about the various nations before and Ive been playing this game since I was a child I am quite impressed with the amount of information you have collected

[@kevinkerkhoff6670]

Towncenters support +10 Pop is especially important because of the +3 villager at start bonus. That way you don't need to build houses that fast.

[@dietrichaxel9240]

The top 3 most anticipated things of 2016: 3. Christmas 2. Aztec civ overview 1. Civ overview remakes

[@JohnJohnson-xt7zf]

Immediately Thumbs up before even the intro plays. Because this is my favorite AOE2 content these days! *Another home run*

[@danailstojanovski2363]

Awesome video mate i was waiting for this i was checking your channel every day

[@MemoContrerasf]

Chinese is overall a good civ, they can pretty much do any strategy, and as a nomad and arena player they are fucking great. I think is time to review the aztecs, one of the strongest or maybe the strongest civ in the game at least in 1v1. And very strong in TG if played as flank.

[@WiraStudio]

IRL, Mongols did beat China, a divided China. Tbh, a main reason why the mongol horde was invincible was that civs around that era were particularly weak at the time, especially China. Just play the Mongol Campaign, there were at least like four different nomadic regimes in Northern China at that time, notably the Jurchens who controlled areas such as Beijing, and the Chinese Song Dynasty, which was the most advanced civ in the world at that time only controlled Southern China, and were sworn enemies with the north, which was already under nomadic control. The mongols took advantage of this divide and with smart diplomacy, they allied with the Chinese and conquered the entire Northern China. The Song was extremely weak in military terms at that time, with no access to horses (which were only available in then north). The mongols quickly adopted Chinese and arab technologies and recruited soldiers from across the continent. With superior numbers and a wealth of technologies, the mongols finally conquered China in 1279, noted that most of the other civs the mongols encountered were already defeated, making the Chinese the longest lasting civ to stand against the mongol horde, despite of them losing much of their power earlier on due to civil war, mainly thanks to their navy and gunpowder units. Funny though, in the mongol campaign, they actually stole the bombard cannon tech from the Chinese yet neither the Chinese nor mongols receive that technology in game.

[@Emilechen]

finally Inner Mongolia becomes Chinese territory,

[@scintillam_dei]

You described why Alexander the Great was far greater than Chinggis Khan. Chinggis couldn't take down a DIVIDED China. He needed Kublai to finish the job. Alexander, on the other hand, IN A FEW YEARS took down A UNITED PERSIAN EMPIRE, a bigger polity than ANY the Mongols EVER took down, and he always led his men. The greatest European in military history is greater than the greatest Asian in military history.

[@scintillam_dei]

@@Emilechen Use beautiful China to take the rest of Mongolia in my realistic Far East map. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eZ7Qp3eOqahmkLc

[@kalv7444]

@@scintillam_dei Well Alexander never took breaks which inevitably led to his death ALSO he was taught in schools and learned while GENGHIS khan grew up in tribes and had to overcome hardships so he had limits soooo idk who is smarter also sun tzu is smarter than Alexander get your facts right

[@taudvore259]

@@scintillam_dei, While Alexander was a better military leader, both men were setting out to conquer an empire and in that regard Genghis Khan has the definite edge. Alexander made the bigger empire faster, true, but it completely failed to outlive him. Within a few years of his death his empire had crumbled and four much weaker states rose in its place, all of which also fell before very long. The Mongols on the other hand did much better. Not only did the empire survive the death of its founder but it even grew to be bigger than Alexander’s. When it did collapse into smaller states, those states lasted for centuries before they finally fell. Also worth mentioning is that Alexander’s conquest was only possible because his father had laid the groundwork for it by uniting his homeland. Temujin had to unite Mongolia first before he set out on his conquests. He was also just the son of a blacksmith and worked his way up from there, whereas Alexander was born a prince and raised for conquest. If the two were to campaign against each other, Alexander would likely win, but comparing their respective achievements within their context, Genghis Khan was the greater leader. Final note, both men were monsters who lost no sleep over butchering countless innocent people. Their intelligence and skill is to be admired but the men themselves are to be reviled.

[@Guthix744]

Hi Spirit! I have found your channel month ago or something and managed to catch up with all your videos just in time for some demo ships action. Also because of you I'm now really into composing and playing some AoE II again. I had such a flashback when I've been watching your first video, AoE was like 70% of my entire childhood. I'm really looking forward to learning how to PvP and maybe playing some games with you If I won't be very bad at AoE. Keep up the good work and greetings from Poland. :)

[@nathandrake237]

FINALLY!!!! THANKS A LOT MAN!!! :D :D great stuff as always!!! keep up the good work! thumbs up for the Spirit Of The Law!!!

[@cedrikullrich4298]

Great video as always, but please stop being so mean to the Saracens :( I was so happy for them when I heard "Is this the moment for the Saracens' team bonus to shine? Well yes, it is!" at 12:36, but felt so sad when I saw that disappointed Mameluke at 14:36 saying that they did so well at the Chu Ko Nu-part but failed when it came to scorpions, even though you made me laugh at 16:00... but Saracens have to be quite salty. PS: I did a test about something that might seem obvious, but is worth pointing out: Their cheaper tech advantage also helps out at the technology "Spies" and the cost is 160 gold for every villager, not 200, wich adds up, of course. On the other hand, if you play regicide, the 400 gold cost to reveal all enemy kings remains and doesn't change to 320 or something. Have a nice day

[@carbon1255]

Scaracens are a top tier civ. way above average. They are just selfish on the team bonus.

[@tomscorpion6288]

By the way, chu ko nu do melee damage with their arrows, that's why they are so effective against rams and huskarls.

[@rovsea-3761]

This is correct, so a unit with very low melee armor would actually take more damage from a chu-ko-nu

[@michaelpothoven1041]

I never knew that! Love your handle, by the way. So appropriate for this video...

[@tomscorpion6288]

Yeah, I benefit from Chinese unique technology :)

[@Kxoe559]

They still do pierce damage, but units coded to take more melee damage (like rams) take more damage from chu ko nu. The mainreason they are better against units with high pierce armor is because their extra arrows end up doing 1 damage each and total 3 or 5 versus 1 for regular archers.

[@tomscorpion6288]

Kxoe559 This is obviously not true. I tested that (in HD version, in which rams have exactly 0 melee armor) and a siege ram took 3 damage per arrow from regular chu ko nu.

[@jimisix87]

I really appreciate these videos! Keep them up . :)

[@roachburak]

Again a great video. Keep up to good work man. Greetings and love from Turkey

[@harktischris]

On the Chinese start: it seems like a definite (if a little modest) plus, though I can see why people and Spirit are ambivalent. The +5 LOS in HD definitely helps it out. I think where things go wrong is that most strats online just suggest a standard 6 sheep, then wood as a start order and don't call out the Chinese as an exception. Problem is, 6 sheep is too little to sustain villager production. You gather slightly less than 50 food in 25 seconds, and when you factor in villager walk time to the next sheep, you'll be losing a few seconds at almost every villager until boars/berries, which can squander most of your time advantage. Other civs have a 200 food buffer (150 for Mayans) that lasts them long enough until they're also gathering berries or boar. I'm no expert, but I find putting 7th on sheep, and then either 8 pulling boar or putting 8-9 on berries works well for the Chinese (though your lumberjacks have to spend a lot of time on stragglers with the early-berry route). With the +5 LOS you're basically guaranteed a consistent sheep start (at game load, press comma to select your scout and click on the sheep so you get them asap; your TC is guaranteed to have idle time so you don't have to click that loom button immediately, just in the first 25 seconds) and I find I can start a 7th at ~1m, which puts you at ~15 seconds ahead of other civs' 7th, plus an additional 25 seconds from loom. Importantly, with constant villager production, you're basically ahead of other civs by 1/2 a villager, which I believe works out to mean ~100 add'l resources (assuming ~20 wood/minute and spread out over a ~10 minute dark age). Minus the 20 wood and 50 food you're down, and you're still in a net gain resource-wise, plus you're time-wise ahead of everyone else. Plus, when other civs end up researching loom (which typically may be halfway into dark or at the end of dark), you gain a further edge in net resource gathering since you'l then be a full villager and a half ahead, which will pay dividends over time (assuming constant villager production). Compared to Mayans, the Chinese will still be ahead 1/2 a villager assuming starting a 7th by ~1m (during which Mayans are still producing a 6th), though both civs have to start with loom, so there's no further bump ahead of the Mayans. So the Chinese will still realize a net resource/time advantage over the Mayans, though it's more limited. (But, the Mayans have the 20% [15% in expansions] longer resources, which gives them an arguably strong advantage over the Chinese dark age.) Note that in addition to being good at Nomad, the Chinese start is probably great in regicide. Regicide gives you extra resources, which means the Chinese *can* maintain constant villager production from the get-go, which means they will perpetually be ahead three full villagers against other civs (two against Mayans). The full impact of that is a bit muted, though, because everyone starts with 9 vills, so having +3 is proportionally less than in the standard scenario (where you're doubling your starting villagers).

[@anirudhviswanathan3986]

3 extra villagers is still huge on Regicide, since the value of villagers early game is soo high, and those 3 extra most likely will gain many more resources without as much cost invested into them.

[@lordlard2833]

Love these overviews. Always a great refresher on the game.

[@Joker-yw9hl]

You put a lot of effort into your videos. Actually quite incredible. You deserve every sub and like you get

[@deron2203]

been comparing this vids and your other ones big change love it

[@directrulefromgamerchair3947]

"Don't be picky with food source" That comment aged well

[@falconphoenix5131]

Man this is pun worth remembering

[@TheXanian]

Here's my thoughts for a possible new Southern Chinese civ: Infantry and Gunpowder civ. Start with two extra villagers but minus 100 food. Hand Cannoneers receive +10% speed boost. Petards gain +20 HP and +20 bonus damage against cavalry units. The cost of researching Conscription and Chemistry is reduced by 50%. Unique Units: Zhijia Firelancer, a flamethrowing infantry with a high pierce armor, has the same attack and range as the Fire Ship, good against siege units and buildings. Second Unique Unit: Zhanmadao, a heavy melee infantry wielding the Chinese polearm Zhanmadao, very good against cavalry.

[@eduardomattosalves4940]

This will be overpower, need more negative atributes for balancing!

[@yizhenji5564]

TheXanian It's better the Modao(莫刀),which is a anti-infantry weapon that can cut a man in half and can cause serious injuries to a knight or cavalier

[@manoflowmoralvalue1560]

YES FINALLY!Was waiting for this so long

[@BoxMonkeyPS]

thanks for the info man ive been waiting for another one of these. :D

[@Fiyaaaahh]

What I love most about the chinese is that you can mass 1 type of unit (chu ko nu) and just walk over any army combination that doesn't include onagers.

[@scintillam_dei]

What about a group of conquistadores as numerous as the Chu ko nu?

[@farthead2244]

FUCK YEAH! WE FINALLY GOT IT!

[@callumfry1774]

Coming and rewatching all these civ overviews is just one of those things I do every once in a while

[@maistromann136]

A new 20 min video from SOTL! My day is all set

[@27648281]

CHINESE , no crop rotation, WTF?

[@yizhenji5564]

Jacky Yau Actually that's kinda accurate since China usually has rice farms and that kind of plantation doesn't need much time unlike the wheat

[@littlehorseyhorsey]

Yizhen OuO Brother, you are forgetting tuntian and that our farmers still need to rotate crops based on the seasons to survive.... Rice isn't a cure all solution for seasonal agriculture supplying ye know. We also did use crop rotation... not as "elaborate" as the more now commonly used 4 rotating method, but the 2 and 3 rotating method sure

[@nonya_bidness]

I _think_ the idea is that they start with crop rotation as their team bonus

[@rayz3445]

???

[@carbon1255]

Actually, crop rotation in AoE2 refers to a specific 4 crop rotation invented by the Belgians. It was vitally important for British progression, odd Britons do not get it. Other earlier crop rotations obviously happened- this was just a magic formula for European crops. It is like block printing refers to the printing press vital for spreading religious texts, ie the bible, which was the real progression over simply the technology.

[@maistromann136]

China: Destroying Huskarls since the Han dynasty

[@ArthurDraco]

Well, technically, the repeating crossbow(aka the Chu-ko-nu) was made in the three kingdoms era, right after the Han dynasty

[@yizhenji5564]

Greatatemi 105 Actually the prototypes appeared at the Zhou Dynasty

[@brainwasher9876]

the idea that the Chu Ko Nu was made in the three kingdoms era is incorrect, with most of the blame being laid on the name. Just because it is one of the names for the repeating crossbow (the other, more common phrase being Lian Nu) doesn't mean it originates in the Three Kingdoms era.

[@cerus897]

Its fun coming back to these vids :)

[@GyraVezDan]

I love Chinese but I never really knew how to learn how to play them right. Thanks this really helped! :D

[@Luuucaa]

Chi Ko Nu doing well against traditional Archer counters is a huge plus in my opinion

[@petersmythe6462]

Just had a 3v3 where my allies resigned in dark age. I thought my Teutonic Knights were doing good against archers until the Chinese player showed up.

[@hanluzhang5803]

I love your overview videos! Fighting!

[@acebolo4693]

Super duper happy to still find good new content on this game :) thank you#

[@bigphil2695]

They also invented my favorite cartoon, Pokey man

[@aniketbedade6997]

*face palm

[@MrTangalin]

hahahahahaha

[@interestedbystander196]

And the Jamaican variant, Pokey Mon.

[@Flowpowdertjuh]

Big fan! Where can I buy my SoTL mug?

[@SpiritOfTheLaw]

I feel like a SotL calculator would be much more appropriate :)

[@GyraVezDan]

+Spirit Of The Law XD

[@SirLaurenceNZ_2]

or a mango the mangonel, rip 2015-2015

[@GyraVezDan]

+SirLaurenceNZ Gaming XD

[@fez8474]

Or a spanish villager t shirt AAAYAHAYAY BOOM

[@Hybridman7]

Thanks for the huge review! :)

[@zipar3132]

Yay a video! Getting my popcorn

[@FellTheSky]

HOLY SHIT SARRACENS WITH CHINESE NEW META PogChamp

[@rovsea-3761]

I find it odd that you had the Missing Hussar as a negative, as the upgrade is rarely worth the gold cost. The fact that the Chinese light cavalry has full upgrades puts it ahead of any cavalry civ that has hussars without full upgrades, including the Mongols.

[@yizhenji5564]

Rovsea - And that tech discount can allow Chinese to pull out some more Light Cavs

[@elite8884]

Great video , can't wait for the next civ, can't understand why some one would dislike it!

[@arvihara]

I watch your every video even tho i dont play AOE. I love math and + you have a soothing voice to fall asleep.

[@Karowo]

Video did not loaded but i already liked

[@nectismanta8080]

"One weird thing I noticed is that the Chinese gates survived longer than the walls, while the opposite was true for the Byzantines" That's not a bug, that's a feature

[@facundoorellano9452]

Tus vídeos son geniales estaría genial que todos estuvieran traducidos, pero algo entiendo asi que gracias por tu trabajo 👍👍👍👍👏👏

[@PoWpOwPoWpOwPoW1]

Chinese are great for coastal maps and maps with water close to spawn such as island, even though they have no great strategy bonus for naval gameplay, the extra villagers mean you can start collecting wood earlier and get a greater boost in fishing ship production.

[@transfermium3349]

Ah yes. Finally, the Chinese: the civ that would be OP if AoE2 was historically correct.

[@cedrikullrich4298]

Yes :( Probably a good thing, but I would love to play a historically correct version of it, just to test it once If AoE2 as historically correct, Spanish would get extra gold every time they kill a meso-american unit

[@transfermium3349]

Well, China would probably be the only top tier civ, Aztecs would be nigh useless, sheep cannot be controlled, and Kings would take ages to move.

[@devofanj9452]

But they were defeated by Mongols and couldn't conquer the Koreans, so they weren't *that* powerful in real life.

[@transfermium3349]

Koreans were basically their protectorate, and the Mongols hired their own Chinese engineers. Also, the Song dynasty was heavily corrupt and got invaded from the north by the Jin and Xi Xia(aka Tunguts), so thye'd have lost to them anyway. The Mongols just took them out one by one, allying with the Song to fool them into thinking that the Mongols won't invade. It was a brilliant plan. Shame that Genghis died during it though.

[@devofanj9452]

That may be true, my point was that they were not an unbeatable civilization in real life. They were powerful of course, and had good technological advancements for the time, but they still were defeated a few times.

[@redgc899]

0:07 the irony 😂

[@dezeman8062]

Love the videos mate!

[@gregoryeclifford]

Another great video. Thanks!

[@N1ghthavvk]

"I'll try to keep this short" Noooo, we want longer videos, not shorter ones =)

[@TheArklyte]

Do they get double damage to all unarmed civilian units from japanese?

[@darkness4063]

Yay! The Chinese overview is here! ^^

[@tomh4754]

Love those soft Canadian tones, Spirit ;D.

[@HKRazieL]

Jack of all trades, master of none

[@oberstskeptic9919]

Nope, Byzantines have a broader tech tree, get Paladins, Hussars and Gunpowder, so they are still more versatile.

[@rovsea-3761]

Hussar is not a very good tech. To be honest, it's usually not worth it.

[@rovsea-3761]

Hussar is not a very good tech. To be honest, it's usually not worth it.

[@rovsea-3761]

Hussar is not a very good tech. To be honest, it's usually not worth it.

[@olefredrikskjegstad5972]

RazieL Is oftentimes better than a master of one

[@vsmoraes0]

Wow, I'm early, lemme think about a joke... Nah... I have none

[@Emil-yd1ge]

me neither

[@DNBENTHUSIAST]

You might not have a joke, but at least you are one

[@jschmid26]

I tried to make fun of Rihanna, but that would've been an "anti" joke....

[@migueeeelet]

+DNB ENTHUSIAST OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH

[@cedrikullrich4298]

Whats yellow and hurts if it falls into your face? an excavator

[@samuelmills5093]

AAH, it feels like christmas everytime a new civ overview comes out!

[@zyzzbrah7022]

amazing level of depth and complex reflections :)

[@HECKproductions]

this video is over 20 minutes long and released 6 minutes ago so people are liking it before they see it support for the channel is great and all but i think rating someting before knowing what it is kinda makes the whole rating deal pointless

[@tiraflecha2318]

It was better when they had the 1~5 star system.

[@villanelo1987]

Well, considering that the user can NOT see the up / down ratings of a video BEFORE clicking and watching the video, I am pretty sure the liking system is not made to let people know if something is good or not. It is made for Google to know what things are popular, so they can put them higher on their search list. So, with that in mind, it makes perfect sense to rate the video before watching it, since, with your vote, what you are saying is not "this video is good" but "I think more people should know about Spirit". And I already know that more people should know about him, even before watching this video, so liking the video as soon as I open it is only natural for me.

[@zhewaxen3047]

We all already knew that it was worth liking

[@Chenla]

I only give a "Like" after I see the whole video, never do "Dislikes", than I decide if put on the "Like" or not, so me its not the case there :-).

[@yrret1996]

It's a spirit of the law video that's all I needed to know to like

[@Dubster9990]

Saracens + Chinese = Best team ever is what I got from this video.

[@cedrikullrich4298]

Exactly

[@scintillam_dei]

I always put China with Persia in my world map scenarios.

[@Anttown123]

Wow look at that description... man you put to much work into your vids we dont deserve this kind of quality i really admire you thanks for the videos we have and the videos we are about to have god bless you.

[@bendervelosoc.r.f8456]

good job man! nice video!

[@ejnaygfantzcg]

Isn't the team bonus "+45% food" for farms? Sounds pretty overpowered, but that's what it says in my game (German version)

[@SpiritOfTheLaw]

+45% would be an amazing team bonus (borderline OP), but it's definitely just +45. Something seems to have been lost in translation.

[@ejnaygfantzcg]

Alright, thanks. I was a bit confused :D

[@johnnyotten7202]

12:30 What about the clearly overpowered saracen team bonus ? ^^ Could massed up Chu-Ko-Nu with saracen ally actually be effectiv against buildings ?!

[@johnnyotten7202]

Oh my bad should have watched the whole vid before commenting...... Keep up the good work !

[@user-fb9yh3vq8g]

Spirit Of The Law In your first farm chart you accounted crop rotation + the team bonus for the Chinese but they don't get crop rotation :p ( I know I am a little late to the party)

[@akibhasan8627]

Poor Saracens. Every time archer related stats come up, they had to be trolled for their awesome unique team bonus.

[@karlunlaw8532]

I love your beginning

[@Stelphy876]

You made me realise the gate having 4 tiles, still has lower hitpoints per tile compared to a single wall that covers one tile. So it's really good to place 3 single walls behind a gate only letting one tile open to use the gate. That will make that one tile count as a lot more hitpoints through the gate.