Mongols overview (2024 update)

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1:25 Scouts +2 LOS
2:27 Hunters work 40% faster
3:48 Scout-line and Steppe lancers +20%/+30% HP
5:44 Cavalry archers fire 25% faster
UNIQUE UNIT AND TECHS
7:05 Mangudai (deep dive video: • How good are Mangudai?... )
9:27 Unique techs
TECH TREE
10:33 Archers A-
11:04 Infantry B-
11:31 Cavalry A-
12:05 Siege A
12:36 Navy A-/C+
13:09 Monks C-
13:38 Defenses B-
14:04 Trash units B-
14:30 Strategies and final thoughts
15:51 Sponsor
Original Mongol overview (2016): • Mongols Overview AoE2
___________________________________________________________
Patreon: / spiritofthelaw
Background music from Epidemic Sound: www.epidemicsound.com
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive Edition

[@MakingComputerDoThings]

I'm stuck in the feudal age... oh no, what are you doing, step-lancer?

[@anonnymousperson]

underrated comment

[@kodacv1612]

A true connoisseur behind the keyboard... love it!

[@adamodonovan6947]

This is hands down the best comment I've ever seen on anything. Kudos Sir.

[@spongebabe27]

Appropriately highly rated comment

[@onikoneko]

I had to explain this to a roommate who never plays AoE2 because I was laughing so hard

[@MrShadowThief]

The irony of Mongols being bad on Nomad.

[@tinkywinky1238]

Like Saracens being bad in Arabia.

[@WSGtr12]

Having played Mongols on nomad a lot I really don't think they're bad there.

[@widodoakrom3938]

True

[@kartiksaraf4676]

Beware the Khara Khitai, they are without honor

[@MrShadowThief]

Khitans civ when

[@aayanshbvs8337]

​@@MrShadowThief Khara khitai is a tribe of the mongols

[@aayanshbvs8337]

​@@MrShadowThiefKhara Khitai is a tribe of the Mongols

[@Johnny-Thunder]

But it would be most rude of them to send their guest Kushluk away...

[@fulguratingbean9489]

Tell that to Kushluk

[@bunny_wilder]

I always used to think Mangudai were overpowered, but then I played them a couple times and realized that yeah, they're insane

[@AEGISAOE]

one of the best UU, rams+ SO+ mangudai = GG but mangudai can get easy DELETED by skirms, because you need lots of castles (STONE) to spam mangudai and spamming skirms isn't hard for a good player with solid economy, dropped 10 archery range is nothing compared to dropping even 8 castles

[@nshs1234]

After all their upgrades they are unstoppable except against non paladin civs and goths in late game. But I guess as mongols, you just have to rush these civs before they get to late games

[@nshs1234]

@@AEGISAOE i go imp 25 mins and have a combo of mangudai with hussar for meat shield and those filthy skirms, combined with 2-3 trebs. Some times add onagers depending on the situation. The key is to have the army next to your trebs and have the enemy units come to you. Else they get defenders advantage. Doesn’t work against goths and palladin civs in late game.

[@zayneharring9570]

​@@AEGISAOESkirms get deleted by the fast SO and a bunch of hussars and steppe lancers.

[@AEGISAOE]

@@nshs1234 my point was that I can rebuild my army faster than mongol player can. in most noob games, players dont have the eco no sustain it with endless waves of trash units and in competitive games, viewers don't want to see a never ending trash war, so pro players go for what is best to win the game, But at same time, what is best for their audience to see this is no more voobly times when it lagged, you can proper micro skirms against onagers by not getting too close and you don't go yolo skirms, lol. use your other units depending on what enemy has and what you need to counter but i guess u are more right than me, because, most players have a idle villager here and there while luring the boar, lol, so, having such demands to micro skirms against siege, would be just silly

[@MrZhitbox]

Perhaps they could be "persuaded " to join us.

[@tyranitararmaldo]

Sees the opening: *Throat-sings enthusiastically*

[@atoucangirl]

*the HU starts playing*

[@tyranitararmaldo]

@@atoucangirl Yuve yuve yu...

[@PhatChin]

@1:52 _"It's the diameter that matters more"_ That's what she said.

[@Flem100DK]

00:54 "They can get you early and they can get you "laid""

[@mubashirulmoula1798]

Using pre-DE Genghis Khan intro sound and Mongol civ theme really made me nostalgic.

[@SvanTowerMan]

Fun fact: The original Mongol jingle (the one in this video's opening) is actually a stock sound clip. It can also be heard in the 1930s Soviet documentary about Ushguli, Georgia, called Salt for Svanetia, or at least the 1950s redone soundtrack. The version I watched is uploaded for free on KZbin.

[@totalmadnesman]

I think it is a buddhism prayer?

[@goldenshark7546]

@@totalmadnesman Yep, that is most common buddhist pray Om mani padme hum, not really soviet stuff (not good fun fact, lol)

[@totalmadnesman]

@@goldenshark7546 What does it say, or mean?

[@komicsreviewer8505]

I pray to Sasha Gray.

[@totalmadnesman]

@@komicsreviewer8505 nah mate this aint it xD

[@inductivegrunt94]

Cav Archers or Mangudai, Mongol arrows will blot out the sun

[@bogdanlipan6917]

Goth Huskarl: then we will fight in the shade😌

[@HideyoshiKinoshita84]

​​​@@bogdanlipan6917Mongols roll up with Onagers and Scorpions outfitted with a brand new "horsepower engines". The future is now old man.

[@caimtheabyssbringer3136]

then we shall fight in the shade

[@RoastOfEmpires]

Spanish cannon galleons: not if I shade the sun first

[@kishoyo3904]

I appreciate the inclusion of a sort of starter build order for people trying to get into the civ, it makes it much more likely they'll give the civ, and thus the game, a shot. Good stuff!

[@danielmunsaka2051]

Nothing like a SOTL video just clocking out of your 9-5 on the way home

[@micahbush5397]

Even with Mongols, the Siege Tower can't win: Drill allows them transport infantry faster than cavalry, but the Mongol infantry is so weak, it rarely gets used.

[@perrypougins379]

Weak? They lack only halberdier, Champions are good.

[@__---__----__---__]

Easy - you transport allied goth infantry instead. Gl with the micro 😂.

[@micahbush5397]

@@perrypougins379 But they don't have Supplies, making them more expensive.

[@BayWa4eva]

transport condottieri

[@bartelvandervelden9894]

​@@micahbush5397and no gambesons

[@jotfohm4644]

“Hussars ara a *staple* of the late game.” - Spirit of the Law, 2024.

[@JJBeauregard1]

Ohm Maah Yeeh Maah! Our prayers have been heard

[@lycanthewerewolf6801]

Woo! The intro music is back!

[@chingamfong]

You can't have both a good early game and a good late game unless you are, wait for it, the Mongols.

[@doomdimensiondweller5627]

I find Mongols are a great counter to Byzantines, Byzantines suck so I guess a lot of civs are a good counter to them but I have never seen anyone mention mongol vs byzantine.

[@Joakico]

@@doomdimensiondweller5627 Mongols lack good anti archer units. They don't have paladin and miss the last cavalry and archer armor upgrades. Although hussars have more HP they end surviving less arrows. And bizantines are an excellent archer civ with all proper upgrades. Also they have discounted halberdiers to manage cavalry and FU discounted skirmishers to deal with Cavalry archers. Is their slow start that drags them down although discounted spearmen and 20% extra HP in feudal might help a bit. Also in water maps Bizantines are dominant, with all dock techs plus 25% fire rate of fire galleys and +1 range with the Unique tech.

[@carthagosenatus2245]

Dah duh duh DUHHHHHH

[@marcorquin4690]

I am a simple man, I hear the old intro and I press the like button.

[@jjforcebreaker]

*Throat singing intensifies*

[@elduquecaradura1468]

Mongolian throat singing and heavy metal is a match made in heaven

[@Irfanhill]

Another gem of a video! Mongols are kind of OP honestly. Having recently moved from HD to DE, I discovered the steppe lancer with sheer horror and had no idea how to deal with them alongside cav archer.

[@robincray116]

They where actually nerf fairly quickly after release. What you dealt with is the watered down version of what they where.

[@elduquecaradura1468]

To be fair I never use them, not for lack of appreciation, but I prefer the old Huss+Mangudais, being the saved gold in more mangudais, or camels if the enemy I face use heavy cav wich is annoying to deal with mangudais, and have those humpy boys in between makes everything easier. However go melee against swordsmen makes the Steppe Lancer a not so bad option to get trash regular cavalry to add to light cavalry instead of heavy cav wich is more expensive, but only with highly raned armored infantry like Malian infantry or Huskarls, to give sn example

[@ImSquiggs]

My favourite civ by far. I started loving them as a kid playing the original game because I could do that classic amateur strat of “turtle for 2.5 hours and then destroy everything in the game with a thousand of one unit type”, and nothing worked better than the Mangudai for that, haha. Byzantines were another favourite of mine as a kid - turtle forever and then stomp 7 computer AIs to death with my tramply boys

[@BayWa4eva]

well the old AI was just so bad that you could turtle into win with militia....

[@jasv49]

"A blue wolf took as his spouse a fallow doe. They settled at the head of the Onon River to raise their offspring. And there were born the Mongols." Loved the Mongols both in game and real history thanks to the original AoE2 campaign, always nice to see more videos about them.

[@EresirThe1st]

I read this in the narrators voice lol

[@BlueShellshock]

To this day, Mongols still one of my favorites. You have an early game rush, a mid-game timing push, and a strong late game comp. What more could you ask for? Bonus: Drill Siege is a wild card. Hussar+Mangudai may have counters, but not all of those counters care to face speedy Onagers.

[@bwl2bwl260]

I really appreciate your work spiritofthelaw.

[@grinslayer1232]

*lunch

[@spyrofrost9158]

I remember playing way back with my friends on HD, and had a lot of fun with Mangudai and Mongol Assault Vehicles, you know, their super fast battering rams.

[@sendpepperidge6517]

I cant explain how excited I get over your video drops. Thank you sir

[@RogueSabre]

For scouts it's girth over length

[@theredbaron28]

10 years and we are still here with SOTL. Thanks for the fun videos 😇

[@gravity8120]

My favourite thing about the Drill tech is just how fast a Siege Ram moves with 6 Infantry in it.

[@carl-marvin]

The only thing they need to change about Mongols and Huns is to give their buildings a more nomadic appearance. Tents, huts and stuff instead of houses. That would make them even more fun to play. I would really love to see some more decorative DLC's! We have enough civs.

[@gaetarrow8692]

One of my favourite campaign and civilization! Thanks!! Could you please make the next one on the huns or the tatars ? I don't know what to think about the "hunnic horses" and i'm curious how the keshiks had evolved. Thanks in advance!

[@Reluxthelegend]

3:30 Man I remember when 19 pop was consired a incredibly fast uptime with mongols.

[@jordanhunt2210]

The Mongol campaign literally changed the direction of my life lol

[@ABoyNamedJoe]

Great to hear the old opening theme again! Thanks SOTL.

[@deMoritzn]

Congrats on finding a sponsor!

[@GrimnirLaguz28]

"When scouting, it's the diameter that matters more" You tell 'em SotL!

[@rogue1112002]

Yes more updates! :)

[@filippoconcato712]

Thank you

perfect timing

[@Michalosnup]

Hearing the intro song always makes my day better

[@globalmediagroup6805]

You are amazing spirit of the law

[@eva-238]

please please make a video breaking dowm each scene of the intro, for people new to this channel. lot of them seems very fun or epic, would want to know more details or watch them in full length

[@malikshabazz2065]

great work! :-)

[@DrJacobsMD]

Impeccable advertisement transition

[@Duchess_Van_Hoof]

Oh right, I remember playing Mongols in the Conquerers expansion. Those hussars were so fantastic.

[@danielsanchezgracia6571]

Great videos as usual! Keep the good work!! On a side note: How can you add the speed movement and attack rate to the units? I don´t seem to find out. Tnx

[@bensrandomshows1482]

Fun mongol fact, the Kalmyks of Russia are descended from the original mongol invaders and the only traditionally Buddhist population in Europe

[@jastahl]

For your sandwich shop side hustle at 16:00, “Spirit of the Cole Slaw” was right there…

[@thekingofspoons1027]

15:58 IT WAS RIGHT THERE - SPIRIT OF THE SLAW!

[@ethribin4188]

I just thought... A cool bonus for Mongols or Huns would be to gain resources from destroying buildings. Would fit their raider thene, and support their agressive playstyle. Maybe Mongols get gold from destroying buildings, while huns get food or wood.

[@robovelcro]

I look forward to your new cold cabbage site, Spirit of the Slaw

[@smugshrug]

I play the Mongols for one reason only - the badass throat-singing intro.

[@Bore241]

Even tought it's implied in what's already in the video, to me it would be nice spend some more words dedicated expressly on what are the best counter to the civ. Thank you for the good work!

[@matipedia_]

IT'S BEEN SO LONG SINCE I HEARD THE INTROOO

[@droger1448]

Intro brought back memories of my childhood

[@thomasw9587]

Hey Law, of the guys spirit here

[@cmlcml415]

Lol still can't forget the insane 0 delay for Elite Mangudai back then 😂😂

[@widodoakrom3938]

True

[@halbarad6924]

Such a classic.

[@SidheKnight]

What's the name of the background music during the sponsor?

[@specificgod3627]

Missed opportunity of calling it Spirit of the Coleslaw

[@matthewgiroux9590]

I want my slaw!

[@duytoannguyen6055]

is the monk at the top left at 13:11 communicating with the forest?

[@notdennisitsdennis7413]

When you hear the outro jinge start and you know the video is about to end :(

[@Navifaerie64]

I can't wait to hear about your foray into dentistry with Spirit of the Maw

[@gj1234567899999]

The mongols ought to be a strong civ. It would make no sense if they were weak considering they conquered China, and most of Asia, the Middle East, Russia, and parts of Europe.

[@Dr.Happy11]

Thankfully, any serious game designer working on a competitive game would not take that into consideration 💀 And that's for the best.

[@The-jy3yq]

​@@Dr.Happy11"competitive game" blud AoE2 came out before some of the modern game designers were _born_ as for the historical accuracy being dropped the second that you get some balancing problems...why don't Goths or Dravidians get Eagle Warriors? Where are the Frank Camels? That "competitiveness" has run innumerous games to the ground and continues to do it to this day _The_ majority of the RTS players are casuals and they don't care one bit about the game's balance nor can they understand it properly and what drives in casuals? Historical oomph factor, major engagements with fatal siege inclusion, building up tension as you build up the base, beautiful soundtrack and designs, all of this should've been squares and circles if it was all competitive

[@widodoakrom3938]

True

[@Dr.Happy11]

@@The-jy3yq A game that is supposed to be played by two or more players that compete against each other is a competitive game. And a competitive game must choose whether it's balanced, or trash. As for the balance, it should be as good as it can get, whilst being asymmetrical. If your idea of balance is "goths inf civ = eagles, franks cav = steppe lancers", then I'm very sorry that you lack imagination. There are infinite ways to balance, yet keeping the soul intact, whilst not falling in the trap of "standardization". Noone has to take the lazy approach, and noone should, in my opinion. Players are drawn to a game due to its "oomph"-ness, as you correctly said. But players only stay because the gameplay is good. In this regard, casual or pro gamers want the exact same thing, and that is a goodass game. I suppose my initial point completely missed you, but I hope you can see what I mean now. To sum up, if you want players for your game , you need to make it interesting and balanced. If you just want buyers to your game, then sure, make it look dope and it'll sell. But it won't ever be a game, but a gacha at best. Aids of empires.

[@lincolnvolk7609]

Spirit of the la hire!!

[@patrickovthegamer]

Yeah it's quite a while since seeing the opening sequence I believe.

[@lukefenton7809]

Missed a golden chance for "Spirt of the Slaw" there with your new side hustle!

[@sam_sanister]

Something you didn't bring up is they lack both 2-Man Saw and Crop Rotation, with no bonus to make up for either. The only other civ that lacks both is Celts, but they have faster woodcutters as a civ bonus.

[@zsoltmautner3250]

I believe Huns have Dromon instead of Cannon Galleon.

[@gloweye]

Nomads tech would be OP on Forest Nothing if you could get it's use in Dark Age.

[@noahsaxon]

Random people: Who would be waiting for a SOTL upload at 10:00 AM? Me: Oh boy 10:00 AM!

[@MrAllmightyCornholioz]

TENGRI BLESS THE MONGOLS

[@ErixTheSwift]

10/10 opener.

[@lloydlejack-official]

Siege Tower mentioned :0

[@carl-marvin]

Out of 800 games I played 500 as mongols. If you'd like to stick with a civ, I can really recommend them. They only really miss monks and cannons.

[@Ironfist85hu1]

Okay, I have a terrible déja vu at 8:24. Haven't we seen the exact same before? O.o

[@calvin8857]

Now I'm all bricked up

[@bensonrabe6728]

Please do a tartar overview!!! I really want to see their upgraded stepp and ca vs the mongal upgraded ca and stepp

[@SvanTowerMan]

He already did one years ago.

[@lucas67898]

Can we please get a SOTL Japanese 2024 update?

[@Mortality90]

I’m curious, does the dreaded auto-scout consider LOS when pathing? Aka, does having a Mongol ally or civ make the auto-scout even worse?

[@JaredKelso123]

I'd like to book a table at Spirit of the Lunch please.

[@user-eh3kg2fx4s]

No intro drawing with spirit of the law for the mongols , how could this be??

[@frankieseward8667]

With how good theur siege is, it makes sense since they conquered quite a bit

[@Dracobyte]

BEHOLD THE HORDE OF GENKHIS KHAN...

[@UltimateSpinDash]

The SquareSpace ads are worth it for the name puns alone.

[@BrownFoxWarrior]

Does Spirit of the Lunch offer 5 gold footlongs?

[@jaredmoore3825]

Civs like Mongols and Huns need more nomadic features like how Georgians/Armenians get mule cart. Mongols should get a Yurt Cart that acts as a mobile house and food drop off point. Maybe even spawns sheep on a 2 minute timer. Nomadic people were herders after all.

[@creed844]

I was hoping to see a 2024 Bob Ross-style intro also 👨🏻‍🎨

[@SuperRazor47]

Aah yes , finally. 🎉

[@Jyrgeeni]

How does mongols do vs CA civs?

[@monstertruck4694]

Totally unrelated, but Spirit; would Lithuanians getting +5 max instead of +4 from their relics make much of a difference?

[@MuzluPattes16]

Detailed Turks civ overview please!

[@comicsansseraphim4934]

They're the exception.

[@blackheart1798]

Ooohmaaaajeeeehmaaaa

[@MP-oh9lt]

Intro!

[@AgamemnonVsSocratesAandS]

Ngl, based on the thumbnail I thought they gave the mongols a unique monastery that looks closer to a Tengri shrine than the current Buddhist temple they have.

[@benyoung8985]

I miss your old ms paint into :(

[@russelldegraaf4272]

Can someone explain how to use the stop micro hotkey he mentioned? I want to get better at archer micro and need all the help I can get!

[@SpiritOfTheLaw]

In the options under the "hotkey" tab, it should automatically have "unit commands" highlighted. scroll down until you find "stop" and assign it to a key you'll remember to use. Stop micro is a great tool with any sort of archer micro and super easy to do.

[@russelldegraaf4272]

@@SpiritOfTheLaw Thanks so much! Just want to say how much I appreciate your videos and watch almost every one. As a fellow Canadian I am just curious what part of Canada you live in? I am in a remote northern Ontario town called Manitouwadge myself.

[@Slashixuz]

Surely top tier civ, both on open and closed maps.. on closed maps definitely thanks to the 50% movespeed bonus on their SIege (Onagers, Scorpions, Rams). Adding Mangudai to that combo, just amazing. They can be also annoying by spamming Hussars with more hp. They lack the Halberdier upgrade in trash wars but it's understandable, they can't have everything (unlike Ethiopians, they do have both brilliant siege and generic halbs in addition to that which is nice, but no OP Cav. Archers ofc, haha).

[@doomdimensiondweller5627]

I find Mongols are a great counter to Byzantines, Byzantines suck so I guess a lot of civs are a good counter to them but I have never seen anyone mention mongol vs byzantine.

[@teddywoods6463]

Wait if line of sight goes up by 2, doesn’t that mean the radius of the circle, unit->fog of war, which means the diameter goes up by 4?