Rating the Special Maps

In this video we'll go through the 21 Special Maps in AoE2, and I'll give a brief overview and rating for each.
1:10 Border Stones
2:14 Canyon
3:07 Enemy Archipelago
3:50 Enemy Islands
4:26 Far Out
5:16 Front Line
6:00 Holy Line
6:33 Inner Circle
7:20 Journey South
8:05 Jungle Islands
8:57 Jungle Lanes
9:57 Motherland
10:35 Open Plains
11:10 Ring of Water
12:00 Snake Forest
12:40 Snakepit
13:45 Sprawling Streams
14:20 Swirling River
15:05 The Eye
15:45 Twin Forest
16:20 Yin Yang
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

[@bugfeatures]

"because i respect the insanity in it" - i absolutly agree

[@SilentHotdog28]

such a kool looking map.

[@dimitrikemitsky]

"It's a better version of Snake Pit because it removes the water." - Spirit of the Land

[@xotl2780]

Snake Pit is kind of bad even without water.

[@llSuperSnivyll]

Spirit of the IGN

[@Anonymous-lo9bo]

SOTL delivering the two things we love in videos - lists and ratings

[@SilentHotdog28]

statistics is missing though.

[@StriKe_jk]

I think the first map was designed with the gimmick of having one player doing only eco and boosting the guy who goes in a 1v2, making this a theoretical 2v2 (but with one team going eco / military only for its players). With that in mind the design is pretty genious.

[@SnazBrigade]

if Motherland had the ability to choose who goes in the middle, i imagine that could make some really interesting tournament setups. Think 2 high rank players of about the same skill face off in the middle, than they each have 3 players on the islands who are lower ranked, or vice versa.

[@unimportantcommenter4356]

If we put Low elo Legends in the middle, and pros outside, it will become that meme from the Simpson where two monkeys beat eachother up, and people are cheering around them!

[@salildeshpande7]

Did you just read my mind?

[@mrguysnailz4907]

@@unimportantcommenter4356 I like the way you think

[@berniemac7483]

It works fairly well for FFA diplo, FWIW, sort of a unique take on pilgrims :)

[@guest273]

@@unimportantcommenter4356 This is a genius comment, it needs a heart! xD

[@arthurlouiskarl]

I wish some pro 4v4 games were played on these maps!

[@T-West]

We did have some Enemy Archipelago showmatches a couple of years ago. Players seemed to like that one.

[@hhenne351]

that map seems like one of the BoA maps. I cant remember the name though

[@ComfyDents]

Some pros played forest nothing. So there might be hooe for us. :D

[@bigsmoke4592]

i'm pretty sure that just happnened recently. but don't remember who streamed it

[@shrinivaskhatavkar8412]

6:04 Lithuanians: *heavy breathing*

[@wertin200]

It has a max bonus, but yea it is nice to insure it.

[@qwerasdf-oy6uo]

capped at 4 :9

[@shorebreakers96]

@@wertin200 YEah but it basically mean it's insured as you say. OS pretty scary Leitis incoming :D

[@salildeshpande7]

We need a new best cavalry civ list

[@Angrymonkey2489]

*Aztecs sweating hard*

[@-Raylight]

Map name : Motherland No USSR song *"Impossible. Perhaps the archives are incomplete"*

[@noidontwantthat7237]

Impossible

[@ApocalipsisEnSabah]

Grabs his beard with visible confusion

[@Gnurklesquimp]

Having drastically different roles for members of the same team holds so much potential for many more custom maps

[@UnDeaDCyBorg]

"It's a lot to research on your own time, so that's why I've done it for you." Phew, I'm glad I don't have to play myself. :D

[@the_changerang]

Front Line is one of my favorites just because of the funny scenario that happened when I played one time. Long story short, me, my dad and my cousin got overwhelmed before we were ready and all 3 of us ended up tunneling into the forests on the sides with onagers. We attempted to storm the middle THREE times, all of us with max population and full armies only for us to be thrown back. It only worked on the fourth try and whole thing took us 3hrs 😂

[@organicspectroscopy7242]

Oh.. I would have loved to see T90official cast that one!

[@SilentHotdog28]

@@organicspectroscopy7242 T90 and Dave, insanity ensues.

[@LordRavensong]

It's a good thing there's a cap on how high the Lithuanian relic bonus goes or they would be unstoppable on Holy Line

[@ikiry0830]

Still, means they're pretty much certain to get max bonus. Which is hardly a small effect when many games they might be sitting on +2 or less.

[@rubz1390]

Time for a crusade.

[@Alche_mist]

My first thinking after seeing the Holy Line: Okay, who's more absurdly busted here? Lithuanians or Aztecs?

[@Angrymonkey2489]

Aztec monk rush

[@LordRavensong]

Aztec monks don't get benefits from relics though. That's just going to help pump more out. Lithuanians will definitely be going cavalry though. Perhaps with a Teuton ally?

[@Norovo]

A lot of these maps seem like they would be a lot of fun for casual play, except for the fact they so often drop two Dark Age players right next to each other, necessitating a really good grip of early warfare. Feels like a lot of players who would otherwise enjoy these maps will struggle with that, which is a shame.

[@Hamanuna]

1:56 Love at first sight

[@16semiquavers]

* Fatslob has entered the chat *

[@sushantsardeshpande9484]

Far out reminds me of Yucatan from AOE3 and Motherland seems similar to Ceylon. It would be nice to see more maps with player objective differences. It would also be nice if AOE2 DE can add maps with random variants similar to the Silk Road or Great Lakes from AOE3.

[@jimmymarrs1556]

Bruh you’re like the Gordon Ramsey of aoe2 maps.

[@wintrparkgrl]

no doubt a master of the art but terrible taste?

[@stylesrj]

"The resource distribution is fucking raw!" "Where's the lamb source?"

[@PepeCaseres]

Finally some good ducking maps?

[@MrBruno122]

stylesrj i ohhh a man of culture

[@Lex_B1488]

Highly ambitious Star Wars prequel meme-SOTL crossover.

[@thegimlichannel]

Appreciate the effort in making this and compiling the info - and I miss the musical intro sequence, especially for a longer video like this =).

[@grimdarksoul3175]

Wow, I actually didn't know these special maps existed, think this is the video I've learned the most from so far, thanks Spirit!

[@tkzsfen]

wow. if you add regicide or wonder race, these maps can become insane team games!

[@settingsun3470]

Yin yang is like a combination migration/team islands/forest nothing

[@mingelcoac]

Forest prison maybe. Forest nothing is not a place where gold and stone are just given to you.

[@tasse0599]

It's genious!

[@PressA2Die]

"You don't have to download them, you already have them... In fact, they're behind you" 0_0

[@aaronnubaum1020]

on "Journey South" players start without a scout

[@jefffinkbonner9551]

That’s just poetic

[@jefffinkbonner9551]

STORM LORD It rhymes

[@dontspikemydrink9382]

@@jefffinkbonner9551 you don't know how rhyming works

[@ghaznavid]

A similar video on the different nothing maps would be fun.

[@cable3366]

Good job SOTL keep comming with them video's always enjoy it.

[@alejandrochoy1270]

Love you your vids Spirit!

[@planescaped]

I really like the idea/looks of the Front Line map personally.

[@EhurtAfy]

This actually helps a lot. A review of the most popular map mod packs would be 👌.

[@16semiquavers]

Maybe Ring of Water would be even better with some relics in the middle, to make the center island a bit more important. Or: a diplomacy Ring of Water (or 2v2v2v2) with a monument in the middle could be fun

[@TisTheWay]

I did not realize there are more hidden maps! Thx!

[@mattius459]

Had no idea these even existed. They seem really fun.

[@jkflame4842]

You should have videos of you playing matches and commentating on each of these different maps so we can see how they are played out!

[@prathamingale7436]

Wow I was just wondering about these maps along with the real life ones

[@mafiousbj]

I would love to see an analysis like this from you about the Battle of África or other upcoming tournaments maps (even if BoA2 already has its own showcase videos)

[@StarshadowMelody]

"Just because I respect the insanity of it" OKAY that was a good reason.

[@jimd9053]

Hey Spirit, just wondering if you can do some civ overviews again? I’m getting into multiplayer and you have been helpful

[@2010Failbrids]

The only civs he hasn’t done are Tatars and cumans

[@sturmgewehr4471]

They are changing the civ bonuses every single month, I think it will pretty pointless to review them as of now

[@devagr]

With the rate at which the civ balance is being changed, civ overviews made right now will become outdated in 2-3 months.

[@jimd9053]

Dev Agrawal that’s a good point

[@jwstaddo]

@@devagr but they will still play somewhat the same no matter the changes. For example goths will always be good at making infintry

[@MikeBrown-ht1ys]

Haven't played Age of Empires 2 in years, but I love the videos!

[@MrMart374]

First comment from me on a vid of yours, I’m starting to appreciate you more and more. Top quality content!

[@netrolancer1061]

They're all fascinating to a degree.

[@dreamsteraoe7596]

Wow! I didn't know these all maps even exist. I think practicing on these cool maps will also improve your gameplay.

[@animemixer1]

I was sad to see Snakepit get one star, since it's one of my favorites. I like using onagers to quickly make more space to build, as well as cut shortcuts to my enemies through the trees and get in a surprise attack.

[@jefffinkbonner9551]

Cliffs looks super fun! Lots of towers and ships. Could be called “Golden death pits” tbh.

[@DamianoAnger]

After this amazing video we want the rating of all other maps! Realistic and standard pls :P

[@PandaInTheFort]

It would be great to see more map overviews, perhaps you could consider showing the starting Res available for each map per player. Give a rating for each resource availability. Nice vid Ty 👍

[@DaMate88]

Watch out dude, you got 4 stars! The cops will start sending swat dudes now

[@firockfinion3326]

I feel like it would be great to watch some AI versus AI matches on some of these maps.

[@winnieelegante6901]

I did one with 4v4 max ai on ring of water when i first bought HD with all xpacs It was madness

[@torinrudeen2954]

Loved the video! Can you make a video talking about all the different variations of MegaRandom?

[@meepXmeept]

now that i've seen those maps i'm just waiting for a friendly tournament between the pros with all special maps

[@JL-ti3us]

I think an awesome update for team games would be when starting you could pick the locations on a minimap before starting. Or otherwise you could lock it to randomize start positions.

[@thevillager6816]

Holy line be my fave, SOTL says not in his top 5 :O

[@samcurtis2394]

Amazing video ! Can you do the real world maps next?

[@Roel93]

Twin forest looks really fun and so does Canyon!

[@rafaelneumann8365]

You know what those maps remind me off? Supreme Commander multiplayer maps. Rarely they are a balanced affair. Seton's Clutch is that game's most famous 4v4 map. In it you have 2 landmasses joined by a thin isthmus. 2 opposing players start at the each end of the isthmus with access to lots of resources alongside it. But to get the resources they have to constant battle each other. Two opposing players start at each corner of the map isolated by both distance and mountains but with access to all the needed resources for steady growth. The rest of the players start at the coast but with few resources at their disposal and have to fight over control of a resource rich island on the water corners of the map. It is an asymmetrical map that gives different roles to each player of the teams, with two large bodies of water to control with navies, a strip of land for direct access to the other team for land battles that are funneled to a small area and a player that has to coordinate the team and provide air support.

[@mister420blazeit2]

why is your voice so soothing bruh

[@blaustein_autor]

Omg, just looking at an AoE map makes me wanna reinstall this and play it for 48h straight...

[@komarac55555]

More vids about maps plz!

[@ElodieHiras]

"Jungle Lanes" I'm gonna grab my LoL buddies for that one.

[@rikosakurauchi7161]

holy line so much fun when you built monastery lot

[@shigerufan1]

Or if you're playing as Lithuanians

[@raulbezerra1929]

More videos about maps pls!

[@mrsimonb3]

"this is for people who don't think regular stone walls go far enough" *Fatslob has entered the chat*

[@popinyourdog4321]

I dont know why, but ill go months without watching spirit of the law then i watch like 10 videos in a row

[@Baconomics101]

now i want to see a tournament with these maps

[@rendiorton499]

How are you doing Spirit of the Law, hope you are doing great

[@danilomiletic6115]

Spirit,maybe a little campaign vs history?Remember my list?!Dracula maybe for a start?

[@HECKproductions]

remember when african kingdoms came out and *L I T E R A L L Y E V E R Y O N E* played *E X C L U S I V E L Y* snake pit and nothing else?? jeez that was an annoying time

[@zeroyuki92]

I wonder why, serious question here

[@eLykidas]

I like playing these in FFA or Diplo so much!!!!

[@matthewrayermann9265]

Would be cool if you streamed some games on these maps!

[@didierguengudengo2592]

Thanks! But I still miss the guitar intro :'(

[@aoecaviler943]

Played snakepit once on a 4v4 against the AI Loved it, absolute chaos

[@Bill-Piano]

I can see the viper doing his masterpiece on these maps

[@KnaveRain]

Last time I was this early I didn't know what Age of Empires was.

[@heidtb6746]

The wooded in player in Yin Yang is 100% going fast imp...

[@ddewcifer]

i do be lovin yin yang doe

[@ahmetnumanduman8653]

13:43 bouncing cannonball kills the cavalry after halb.

[@geirtristananton9305]

Now, on Journey South, when should you send a villager to the south, so it would get there just after you reach Castle Age and the villager could build a TC on the woodline?

[@SirLamaOFkatania]

18 min of SotL? praise be

[@Ironmaidenportugal]

can you make a video about the team bonus where same civ team if you can have a same double bonus, which bonus are stackable and how it work out?

[@sabatuur8791]

Twin Forest isn't that safe to trade on. On the outside of both forests are shallows where you could sneak in units to raid trade and since they're shallows, you can't really wall it off.

[@fainyance11]

canyon is really cool and reminds me of C&C map design

[@matthew20141]

When did you do the video on the ES maps? I can't find it.

[@hanshanszoon]

Here you go: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l6LMeGyfj8qiqcU

[@stevea1708]

can we get the iconic spirit of the law background music in the game? for real it would be a perfect fit

[@DavidMulderOne]

The Motherland one could be a lot of fun with two pro players with a handicap in the middle and random community players on the islands to help them.

[@fijnman3813]

Had a fun time 1v1 snakepit vs AI in the middle with ships.

[@tomvandalen2212]

"That's a lot of stuff to research on your own, that's why I did it for you." Oh you sly humble bragger

[@generic8891]

Has anyone made a Seton's Clutch map in AoE? All of these large 4v4 maps have got me thinking about it.

[@jimmymarrs1556]

Huh. Interesting.

[@UnfamiliarPlace]

2:10 good luck, Attila. Good luck.

[@junschnee5812]

Could you please do a video about the scenario esitor special units/buildings?

[@ChocolateMilkCultLeader]

4v4 Pro Tourney on these coming?

[@kirk7528]

Some of these maps sound like rollercoaster tycoon default parks

[@sunnyyi9874]

I like Yin Yang, just name as Chinese Bagua (or Pa Kua in Cantonese or Palgoae in Korean), and it seems like Bagua. Mr. Yo's team in BOA name as Yin Yang too. In China, Bagua means a combination of Yin and Yang and those combination is harmony.

[@albertmotbey1128]

*Franks seeing Border Stones* Challenge accepted!!!

[@HolyShitNew]

holy line is a nice name

[@egybekicsivel.2966]

8:21 What are those floating turtles? 😆😆

[@MrFluffytheTurtle]

Enemy islands 4v4 seems like it would shine if you limit population to like 75 and lock to feudal age.

[@xxkazthecatxx1776]

I would like something jungle lanes but spread out spawns and blended beautifuly into like your top 4 real world maps. open water and rivers,squash,cliffs,tree hurdles blended with some woods well, slowing down early rushing but, not too much, enough fairness for all player types except extremely impatient(which, why would you play this game). Like by castle age they can use rivers to stop moving slow in some areas but not all. And maybe big open back yard areas of all spawns that you can only attack by range via cliffs, that way you have open space so people dont cry about space

[@noidontwantthat7237]

Rate the building destruction animation

[@PhoenixAlaris93]

Maybe you could do a video rating the Real World maps at some point?

[@monsG165]

I didnt even knew they existed

[@jayrosado5894]

The intro song to AOE Hd sounds like attack of the killer tomatoes

[@iforgot87872]

He did canyons dirty, a 4/5 at least.

[@dontspikemydrink9382]

and how did he do it dirty?