Flaming Camels

How good are that Tatar's flaming camels? Are they just a petard re-skin, meme unit, or something entirely new?
0:20 Flaming camel and petard comparison. Stats, cost, upgrades.
1:05 vs buildings
1:36 vs Siege
1:50 vs Cavalry and elephants
2:20 Area damage
TESTING VS SPECIFIC UNITS
3:10 How the test is run
4:00 vs Champions
4:15 vs Halberdiers
4:25 vs Hussars
4:47 vs Cavaliers
5:10 vs Frank paladin
5:20 vs Heavy camels & heavy cavalry archers
5:40 vs Elephants (of all sorts)
6:15 vs ranged units
6:35 Are camels bad vs towers?
6:50 Aggressive or no attack stance?
7:20 My thoughts
Patreon: / spiritofthelaw
Background music from Epidemic Sound: www.epidemicsound.com
Game: Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition, with Forgotten Empires, African Kingdoms, Rise the Rajas, and Last Khans expansions

[@viktorkancler629]

SOTL: You wouldnt want your entire army to be made of nothing but flaming camels Viper, Tatoh and Nili: Ehm...

[@karonteazt3286]

No u dont want evento if u are that team

[@DaemonPrimarch]

@@karonteazt3286 The joke is they did that.

[@karonteazt3286]

@@DaemonPrimarch i kbow they did that thats why i answered thar -.-

[@Nimroc]

What we need to see is a 4v4 where both sides only use flaming camels. lol

[@noyezz3690]

hahhaha

[@Dartaen]

Flaming Camel - sponsored by Big Tobacco.

[@endfite]

Not everyone is going to get it, but damn funny!

[@RainintheBrain]

@@endfite Ah yes those youngins won't know of Joe "Flaming" Camel

[@LordRavensong]

YES

[@J_W_R_I]

Wrong, they are actually sponsored by the WWF

[@e.l.2963]

1!

[@HungTran-nk6bj]

When Timur invaded India, he used flaming camels against elephants so that ‘s why the tech call “Timurid siegecraft” and it has bonus damage against cavalry and elephants

[@tinkywinky1238]

The Chinese used flaming oxen in a siege against the Jurchen it would be funny to see them in a campaign

[@Voldemorts.Nipple]

@@booradley6832 Germans (i think) used bomb vests on dogs and sent them against enemy tanks

[@zxylo786]

​@@booradley6832 Keep seething. I'll just create a couple hundred more flaming camels.

[@apocratos0174]

​@@booradley6832 stop thinking too much...they werent whites, they werent that smart to begin with

[@SvanTowerMan]

@@booradley6832 Oh wow, it's almost like history is ruthless and cutthroat.

[@LordofBroccoli]

It began as an April Fool's joke, then it just stayed as a PETA joke.

[@kvash1039]

PETA(rd) joke

[@yutuvefan4ever]

reminds me of how the Pandarian Brewmaster started as a joke hero in Warcraft 3 before becoming cannon

[@ItsDaKoolaidDude]

and now its a meme-run

[@sanitarycockroach9038]

Isn't PETA the joke?

[@slkjvlkfsvnlsdfhgdght5447]

@@sanitarycockroach9038 it is, but so is this

[@peaceman5783]

*_Spirit Of The Law is Master Degree of Age Of Empires_*

[@Abdullerz]

More like a PHD

[@churchofmagic3733]

@totalbottle have you seen the market video?

[@Kevin-wx7wu]

At this point he is the one handing out the degrees

[@OC225]

totalbottle hey smartass, why dont you fuck off? 😁

[@Ganara426]

@totalbottle dont take it personal, these dumb bricks are probably american, hence the response

[@crimatore]

And then there's the camel mastapiece... Hundreds of camels wasted on rams.

[@jeroen92]

And still winning the game afterwards

[@theotv5522]

Players: *Sets camels to aggressive stance* Flamming camels: "Guess I'll die"

[@blackdragoncyrus]

Flaming

[@gregmay8049]

so the flaming camels sucks then? But, a camel can work all week without drinking.. A man can drink all week without working.

[@SoftBreadSoftware]

If your opponent really likes making cavalry, they're pretty good. But it's very niche and easy to counter

[@Matt-ln7lb]

Nah, with a bit of micro on the camels, you can make 10 flaming camels + 10 Elite Keshiks beat 20 paladins, which is an insanely efficient trade. You do need some really good hits for something like that, but if you're detonating them manually (by targeting specific units or deleting them), it's not that hard to get really good hits against melee cavalry, especially when they're in large numbers. So while they are niche and only good against cavalry/camels/elephants, they do have a place, and are probably better Halbs as a response to enemy cavalry + archer or hand cannon compositions in the late game if you have the gold.

[@TechnicolorMammoth]

I think you just said that to say that quote.

[@Septimus_ii]

Overall they seem to be a bit underpowered for a unique unit, but with Hussars to tank for them and against the right units, there is some place for them. Plus they look really cool

[@victoriancu5661]

Hussar/ Flaming Camel is basicly Zergling/ Baneling in starcraft 2 except much much weaker. I really think they either need to be cheaper or stronger.

[@jacobwkc]

@@victoriancu5661 I am hoping they take the cheaper choice

[@BenjaVeraV]

You mean they look hot

[@MetalKing1417]

@@victoriancu5661 And probably buff the Petard while they are at it.

[@NeonLine]

making them stronger would be absurd - I mean come on, camels on fire? that should only serve memes or distraction

[@jasonl6130]

There is some historical context; Timur used flaming camels during his war against the Delhi Sultanate. He used them to send the Dehli war elephants into a panic. You can see this play out during the Tamerlane campaign.

[@LokirofRoriksted]

If they were available at castle age without requiring a unique tech, then I may think about using them. They should at least be able to kill a hussar since you're literally blowing gold against a trash unit

[@HandsomeGamerGuy]

Its surprising that those Guys can survive an explosion.

[@StefyRomania]

Hey Spirit, your videos convinced me to buy Definitive Edition. Your videos are very good, and well edited. Keep up the good work!

[@PabloEscobar-vh6jq]

Yeah for real he is a top guy

[@jollygrapefruit786]

Imo DE was always worth it simply for the fact its far more responsive that HD.

[@JonatasAdoM]

Now we need the incendiary pigs.

[@Jallorn]

Petards? You compared them to petards? But everyone knows camels are boats, obviously making demo ships the natural comparison.

[@kvash1039]

How many is a boatload of camels

[@terner1234]

@@kvash1039 five I think, depends on your civ and upgrades

[@adwans1491]

True

[@kylemackinnon6230]

Thanks you made me snort my drink lmao

[@IllusionistsBane]

The "Send forth the flaming camels!" Line always gets me.

[@darkdill]

Good old Tricky Vik with that line.

[@ad0d]

Meanwhile cavalary archers are thinking, why developers hates them. I think everything counter them now.

[@lich109]

Good.

[@FortuneTellher]

They're op anyways once someone can afford to make enough, upgrade them, keep them alive, and micro them properly.

[@ScudForEver]

@@FortuneTellher Every range unit is almost OP when meele units pathfinding sucks and you can stack 40 archers in 4 damn tiles. Remember how broken Steppe lancers were because you could stack many of these and obligerate anything in one hit.

[@lagg1e]

Is unit stacking a mechanic unique to DE? I never had anything similar in HD edition.

[@manupainkiller]

Aren't cavalry archers, a raiding unit ? (for killing peasants)

[@kelvingarcia5399]

Tatars be like: I usted the camels to destroy the camels.

[@Aldissimo90]

"slightly more expensive than petards". Once you would have said "that's 50% more gold". That makes me think you are biased and you love your flaming camels ❤️❤️

[@BZRKIR]

"A camel is a horse designed by committee." "Okay, but what if we set the camel on fire?"

[@pendantblade6361]

Yeah okay but are houses worth it to build?

[@SpiritOfTheLaw]

I feel I'd need at least 24 minutes to properly address that

[@robertdemka4110]

@@SpiritOfTheLaw Legend

[@gabrielmelnik6796]

@@SpiritOfTheLaw can you do another video more in depth about the topic? I want math about the defensive power of a house, walling and how much is 25 in game seconds of Vil time is worth.

[@MosoKaiser]

@@SpiritOfTheLaw * Laughs in Hun *

[@gerriejordaan8385]

@@SpiritOfTheLaw Thanks for the heads up. I played the scenario from the Timberline campaign and nearly had no idea what to do. Waited for this video and hoping you might clear it up whether the unit might be good for Random Map games. Always loved your videos fro the last few years as i have become a better player, so thank you very much. Been playing Age of Empires as my very 1st strategy game, followed by Age of Empires and Mythology and Titans bought in the shops and then Rise of Rome from a cd found in a cereal box for the last 22 years since i was 11yrs old in 1999. Bought my 1st ever laptop for university where i loaded up (thankfully) all of the previously mentioned games with no play issues in 2011. All other releases are unable to play on any of my computers. Played Age Empires 2 Definite Edition currently on my second personal university laptop since 2015.

[@relagob8380]

Me: If he doesn't put the quote in the video, he can stick the Camels up his Castle. SOTL: 'Send forth the Flaming Camels!' Me: Likes the video Also me: "For the war effort!"

[@donmchawi2194]

Can you help me - where does this quote come from? If i google it i find only news about the camels in aoe

[@relagob8380]

@@donmchawi2194 The quote comes from the Tamerlane campaign, where you have to fight the Indians. I don't remember which mission is was precisely.

[@donmchawi2194]

@@relagob8380 thanks a lot!

[@16semiquavers]

@@donmchawi2194 Fourth scenario in the campaign!

[@andreibalgradean3406]

Ah yes, the banelings of Age of Empires, lovely

[@justinkong9954]

more like Nerfed banelings

[@pougetguillaume4632]

@@justinkong9954 yeah banelings are extra spicy

[@ompskatelitty5356]

you sound exactly like spiffing brit

[@L3monsta]

@@justinkong9954 Should buff them by swapping the fire with acid

[@ObviusRetard]

I think you're thinking of the saboteur

[@felixjakob4929]

The music in the backround stuck in my head for days - love it

[@Pichufan172]

I just wanna say this is my first age of empire video and content I've seen

[@rnbKick]

Good work once again !

[@Progeusz]

Well done SotL. Reasonable, properly explained assumption and fair judgement.

[@Novous]

You put so much work into something so silly. You have my upvote sir.

[@rahuldsouza1985]

Cannot wait for your Tatar civ overview

[@KamleshMallick]

“Send forth the flaming camels” 🐪 🔥 That line is from Tamerlane Campaign when they are about to sack Delhi. One of fun campaigns in aoe2

[@teendrinking]

as always, very educational :) thank you good sir.

[@paulb6338]

The video we needed!

[@ninilac]

5:04 ah yes, my favourite civ, the Chines

[@Ofasia777]

5:37 ...so therapeutic. Also: "You wouldn't want your entire army to me made out of flaming camels."? You don't know me!

[@silvereaglexi3888]

Spirit Of The Law: "Wouldn't want your entire army to be made of flaming camels" T90: "Hold my beer"

[@Suzumiyaa100]

Love it !

[@jonavuka]

the ultimate BM, beating a meso civ with just flaming camels

[@user-ig9dr8bm1l]

The only question that remains now, although it`s highly situational: how they deal with ships? Is it worth it to catch ships on marsh?

[@hepsbok171]

For a split second there at the start I didn't know that was a quote so I thought it was Spirit in am uncharacteristic fit of penned-up rage 😅

[@PauxloE]

The style points are the most important ones here.

[@brayden9908]

One thing that I feel like should be take into consideration is the fact that you can use them to end a battle instantly. If for example you are trying to fight another player, and you get engaged by two players at once, you can end one battle fairly quickly, allowing you to focus on just the one player. Just a thought.

[@spectrallogic]

The best thing about flaming camels is how they synergize well with the rest of the tatar army. One of the worst things about tatars is that they get almost hard countered by camels, so having a unit like the flaming camels to deal with them is helpful. Not sure why noone is talking about this. Edit: Thanks for the likes :)

[@ahbraveconscript997]

the real question is how well do they trade agaist the petards head to head.

[@krasudreal3948]

The answer to the question is... Yes

[@NightBlado]

Schrödinger's army

[@TheJBerg]

@@NightBlado ROFL!!! 🤣🤣🤣

[@bskorupk]

"...Yes?"

[@srujan9427]

Hey Spirit,how does the Cataphract anti-cavalry damage hold up in this scenario?

[@papermaniac]

you mean bonus armor as cavalry, yes it does, that armor substracts part of their bonus attack.

[@beserkerrage1316]

When I've used them, I always think of them as a defensive unit. Like if paladins or elephants are trying to take out your tc to spam a couple to help out

[@gibranhenriquedesouza2843]

Please, a video talking about the history of these flaming camels.

[@inocybe8748]

Thanks for the video. If I may, I would like to suggest an idea for a further video. With the introduction of supplies, producing champion with a strong farm eco has never been easier. On the other hands, infantery unique units (woad raider, samurai, berserkers) kept the same food cost. Maybe it could be intresting to compare the new prices, and the values those civilization are getting with their most expansive infantery unique unit.

[@darkdill]

Good old Tricky Vik yelling for flaming camels at the beginning.

[@JalesNaves]

Majestic

[@joshuaread9366]

Definitely see an upgrade in a later version

[@II-kg2ln]

Camelkazee!!!

[@haelww1]

oh you !

[@danielrodriguezangel3995]

I was sceptic but the style points thing convinced me

[@willemverheij3412]

I got pretty excited at the thought of a new unique unit being patched in, but got disappointed when it turned out to be a kamikaze camel. I do hope they'll give more factions a secondary unique unit that don't have that yet, to make them more unique. Or at least they could introduce more unique upgrades to units, like we already have for the Skirmisher and camels. Frankish paladin upgrade for Franks seems obvious since the model is already in the game. Other than that I'd love to see unique upgrades for champions, halberdiers, hussars, arquebusiers, galleons, arbalests, horse archers, trade carts, trade ships and maybe more. And if going more unique, a grand bombard could be pretty cool and might fit the Turks. Or some kind of warrior priest who heals and fights but can't convert.

[@caturviriyananda9586]

and allow castle to train heroes. but only once.

[@hectorvenom7117]

Spirit are you going to do an overview fo the new civs? It would be really helpfull. Thanks for all the great content!

[@Bennnjj]

Dope videos! I was actually wondering if they were some kind of April fool lol. What about covering the amount gold generated by Taratars Castle unit? I would love to see how that compares to trade, reliks, villagers etc

[@santhushmahanama3896]

I was about to click away but when I hear, “SEND IN THE FLAMING CAMELS". This video is meant for me!!

[@OytheGreat]

They are laughably weak. I'm surprised Spirit doesn't point out more clearly how unlikely it is to actually hit a troop of tightly packed camels or cav archers, because any moderately skilled player will just avoid them or use staggered formation.

[@FortuneTellher]

Hey Spirit of the Law. I wanted to ask if you could look into and possibly make a video about the Z axis (height) in Age of Empires 2. Aside from elevation bonuses, two examples where I think something strange is going on which might possibly involve Z axis would be: Bombard Canons sometimes hitting enemy walls directly in front of them instead of properly firing over them, and Mangonel rocks hitting the heads of units and hurting them before the rocks would hit the ground. Thanks for all your wonderfully informative videos, and I look forward to what you discover and share next.

[@abhishekjain3148]

U can station these camel petards near trebs to counter cavalry charges. i also keep petards with me in case of a sudden ram attack on trebs or onagers

[@sabasman]

I've been really addicted to your videos, I do have one complaint tho, I need to turn my volume all the way up to properly hear you, Adding some extra volume/gain to your videos would be a good thing I think

[@cernismirtkamennoeserdce9221]

In the videogame "Rome total war" the romans use the incendiary pigs against carthaginian elephants

[@obesechicken13]

Yeah they break even against cavalry when the opponent micros like a rock! What a great unit.

[@Binarokaro]

God I'm so glad the Flaming Camels are here to stay I think if nothing else it's just really cool to have a bunch of camels on fire charging at your opponents

[@Tei]

I think they're kind of emergency units if you're being raided by cavalry, or to counter cavalry/elephant civs.

[@hbarudi]

Played the Tatar campaign early at launch and might need to reply for those demolition camels have become available...

[@hanktheplank]

for me they can work well to suprise a cavalery archer group like mangudai with their speed when the oponent is busy doing macro or dealing with raids

[@boozebeard9501]

For historical/irl context, flaming animals (not just camels) were used as way to freak out enemy war animals. They didn't explode, nor was the fire really intended to actually cause casualties.

[@jt263]

They still caused casualties indirectly but their realistic effects in battle would be difficult to implement in the game. Of course directly dealing damage doesn't make any sense if you attack with nothing but flaming camels.

[@misteral9045]

I can't wait for Spirit to find historical justification for this unit with the Tartar history.

[@jcpkill1175]

I see these as being a low-number softening unit or surprise unit. Just getting one to hit into the thick of the enemy's cav is enough for me and let the army do the rest.

[@jcpkill1175]

getting too many out or using them in actual pitched battles normally wouldnt give you the best trade & strategically has the least impact.

[@deanchu1784]

It’s also important to note that flaming camels be lookin fabulous af

[@Yumao420]

SOTL missed on Tatars hill bonus and if they are affected by other civs techs and bonuses for cav and camels

[@Hughzaa9]

The Viper will be pleased with this mastapiece of a video

[@arielbaus7040]

Would have loved a comparison between them and the halberds, even if they can be cost effective, how do they match up with them in terms of trades and research cost? Given that they're super situational knowing when they can be a better option than halbs could really help

[@mylifeisfunny8911]

thanks

[@cisco977]

If they make them fly in the next update... I can see some use for them :)

[@bomjus1706]

hey SotL can you do an updated video on just the keshik? you went over them in your civ overview but they got a huge buff in resource cost back in December and need some love in their "equal resource" matchups.

[@guillermorobustelli2652]

Thinking about it, Flaming Camels are best used as a squeeze unit rather an offensive unit. This means, you have to grab an army of combat unit and distract the enemy army. While the enemy army is totally distracted with the fight, you move the FC and make them run unto the enemy ranks FROM BEHIND. Once you managed to put them there, you toggle Aggresive stance and let them cause enough damage to soften the enemy ranks, allowing your army to finish off all the remaining units at once.

[@stefanandrejcik571]

I think they are just for fun that they are not serious unit, they are like small additional historical bonus to tatars

[@Fruktfisk]

I mean, no matter if they're useful or not, this unit is without a doubt an excellent meme. SEND FORTH THE FLAMING CAMELS!

[@gastonhitw720]

The only use for them is if both players are playing with cavalry and you make like 3 to "whatever value" so you can do extra damage output overall and maybe thx to that winning an engagement

[@gluteusmaximus8881]

The camels are burning and target enemies without a rider? Damn, that's some serious dedication right here..

[@gersonfilho898]

Hey Spirit.... Can you make a video showing when are the best moment to research the technologies? Blacksmith especially... We always have videos about the best time to jump the ages, but not when is the best time to research technologies... I think this timing is important too Thanks

[@renzoraschioni3886]

I don't know why, but these camel explosions reminds me of Metal Slug

[@eXtreamAngel]

I feel like I would spend these resources on 2-3 halebardiers vs elephants or cavalry units instead of camels. Don't know where they could be efficient in comparision of the same cost of any other units party.

[@ryannguyen7466]

It's a super nerf version of the Baneling. The dev either make it like baneling or make it super good against unit with slightly less HP for balance purpose.

[@srbishkrst]

3:47 does anyone know why in this formula the camel attack - armor is divided by 2? I really don't get it

[@SeisoYabai]

He explains that like a frame later :P Its to account for the explosion not being exactly on top of every unit.

[@somerandomyoutubeuser271]

I think there should be some talks about elephants. They have so many cheap counters, at this point I am not sure are they viable units to use or not.

[@rolfauner4623]

SOTL: You wouldn't want your entire army to be made of Flaming Camels! Me: Heheheheheh! 😈

[@christopherg2347]

That you get them with a +Trebuchet Range Tech, tells us something. It is only there to support trebuchets, not replace them (like Petards would). They are certainly a anti-cavalry unit, for screening siege. You often do those "HP remaining" tests. Maybe you should do those conventionally? Compare how those units perform to bog-standart camels, as those might be a fair and easy comparision. Their suicide mechanic means there is less time for the enemy to micro, as one gametick is enough to deal the full damage. Meanwhile, micro can avoid a lot of the effect in total. So they should be good at drawing enemy attention.

[@charleslathrop9743]

Someone should tell Age of Empires that April Fools happens once on April 1st, it's not for pranks that last all year.

[@l33tpie]

Now, the next logical step is petards on trade-carts type units. Make them pretty much elite petards (demo ships on land) and have the upgrade cost something akin to the SO price.

[@stemer77]

7:39 Viper: Are you sure about that?

[@AmmarFarisA]

Can't wait for the Flaming emu arrivals on aoe 2 de

[@sevret313]

Use them with the 256x tech cheat as your primary army as soon as you unlock them.

[@Kevin-wx7wu]

At first i red farming camel. I was so confused

[@rogeriocardoso8258]

The usage of those flaming camels seemed to be very situational: they are good basically against massed cavalry, camels and elephants. Besides, unlike the the petards, they need to be unlocked in the castle before being used.

[@waimanwu5444]

7:38 who said that I think Viper is going to make a video on it

[@GraveUypo]

so... sorta like banelings for horses

[@Chunky4k]

Flame on

[@tomc.5704]

Then the flaming camels arrived Running towards the palisade Then the flaming camels arrived SOTL their worth described

[@CompletelyZoningOut]

Hilarious unit. Glad its a thing.