Beginner guide to the first 15 villagers [AoE2]

[@andybrinegar8861]

I'm watching beginner tutorials for a game I played religiously in the early 2000's. What a time to be alive.

[@caroswolf286]

I missed the Age of empires 2 dawn, now i'm here, finally learning, 20 years later

[@akoden2667]

Andy Brinegar You’re not the only one. Hundreds and hundreds of other people also lol

[@akoden2667]

I’m just happy I have a many new campaigns and civilizations to try out

[@raphaelphenix9809]

Never stop learning.

[@blairw1695]

Honestly same. I played this game so much as a young child, and now I’m like what is a villager?

[@AnthonyPadilla]

thank you for this! picking up this game for the first time in about 15 years and have forgotten everything i used to know. it's not exactly like riding a bike.

[@xfi6658]

wtf

[@LectornAnigame]

former smosh gameinge

[@Ryan-Diez]

This is the weirdest crossover i've ever seen

[@Daplin1]

What's your steam handle we can play

[@azrielackerman4659]

Was not expecting this then

[@colesy4971]

watching this video has made me fully accept that i'll never be even remotely competitive and that i'm totally ok being a filthy casual playing vs bots

[@darkpaladin18]

colesy and bots fuck you up

[@dendiepie1547]

Yeah, i played it like sim city lmao. I like to make my civilization look good.

[@Blackrockmore]

I always play regicide 😶🤷‍♂️

[@williamchang2947]

With cheats on

[@johncena-of3lj]

@@dendiepie1547 lol I stooped cheats it's too easy with them doesn't give you the same feeling when u build things on your own and your dominanting

[@grayrock3964]

Me, after 5 minutes into the game: Ok, seems it's the time to build the third house and a mill. AI and its 30 militia entering my camp: the age of men is over, now it's our time to rule these lands.

[@VivekGawande1]

Hahaha so true

[@drago939393]

Is that the AI cheating?

[@zekeiwa5837]

@@drago939393 only on AoK. Fuckers literally use cheat codes

[@AkashJobanputra5]

That's a death match, you already have lots of resources, so you don't need to invest in economics first as shown in this video.

[@lukecassidy6108]

right why do i suck so much

[@radix4400]

So just to clarify: Build 2 houses right away and queue villagers First 6 on Sheep Next 4 on Wood 11th goes Boar Hunting and joins on the boars 12th builds House and then Mill 13-15 help berries Boar villagers build farms after running out of meat. Adjust from there based on situation. Does that cover it?

[@mlchaelz2134]

yes is sure does thank you very much sir

[@Bhatonia_Jaat]

Wow this is actually beginners guide What a shame on video man

[@Dopeher]

Queue first then build

[@spinyslasher6586]

@@Bhatonia_Jaat wdym shame SOTL explains these steps using maths. These steps mean nothing without justification to back them up.

[@Bhatonia_Jaat]

@@spinyslasher6586this definitely not the best way to make beginners understand They seek for straight forward and simple steps to get started with game Just my opinion

[@OnePlancheMan]

"We don't want to stop making them until we have more than 100." Me with my 30 villagers thinking I'm overpopulated lmao

[@kiramay2192]

ArcaneNoodles fuck I FELT that lmfao

[@tunnelvision5851]

Me with my eight lmao

[@StarryxNight5]

Me with 4 on each resource and if i need extra 5

[@StefyRomania]

my father only playing on 25 population:

[@oswaldbojangles5247]

Maybe the PC version differs, but on PS2, the population is capped at 75

[@MidwestBoom]

"If you're new to the game some idle time is going to happen" yeah sure new to the game....

[@MastersX99]

been playing since about 2006, started with the original version of age of kings on ps2.. still have idle time XD

[@sunny_senpai]

@@MastersX99 Been playing since 1997 here. Still noob.

[@IrishRepoMan]

@@MastersX99 PS2? Didn't know they had this for PS2. I played this when it came out in '99.

[@MastersX99]

@@IrishRepoMan yep age of kings was on ps2 :D

[@leoSaunders]

xD

[@BubblewrapHighway]

Remember to keep straggler trees around because they make your base pretty.

[@zakunick1]

At 15 villagers is where my game starts to fall off.

[@45641560456405640563]

Same. I'm pretty solid up until there.

[@150booyadragon]

Me too

[@framherjabow5330]

Well... There are 2 hugely common strategies: 1. Make them up to 22 pop. Mostly sent to food, 1 or 2 to wood. Age up at 22 pop, then rush. If u r going to archer rush -- then u'll need some vils on gold. 2. Fast-castle strategy. It may seem weird, but to hit castles faster u need to make MORE vils in the dark age. Usually, when i'm aiming to FC, i age up to feudal at 28 pop. Usually all the boars and deer and sheep put together provide just enough food. Useful hint: don't be afraid to take vilagers off your food and send them to wood, when u need to make farms and your wood is at zero. Ah, the most important: don't stop producing them. I usually go into castle age with 32-35 vils, and into imperial with almost 100.

[@pichuyang3865]

"Improvise. Adapt. Overcome." XD 11:27

[@007999999999999999]

@@framherjabow5330 I always forget to build TCs once I reach castle because I am busy with some fighting and then I win a small fight but lose the game because my opponent has 1/3rd more pop.

[@_antares031]

Next Video: Beginner guide to the first 100 villagers in Black Forest

[@Angrymonkey2489]

Beginner's guide to Regicide. Start with too many villagers.

[@mcihay246]

Is it normal that your comment was posted 6 hours ago, yet the video was posted in less than 17 minutes?

[@Kevin-wx7wu]

@@mcihay246 yeah what's up with that?

[@Kevin-wx7wu]

All on wood and you sell at the market to get everything else. Ah wait. That's another map

[@T-West]

@@mcihay246 SotL Patreons get early access to some videos.

[@mfpuma_]

I'm having the time of my life learning how to play this game right, i even convinced my friends to watch your videos (and ZeroEmpires videos too) and now we've established AoE2 fridays as a thing. Thank you so much for what you're doing to this community.

[@willsmith5758]

I just started playing AoE2 for the first time as well. It's my first RTS and I love the historical style of it all. I, too, am having a blast learning it and beating my last best game.

[@codiserville593]

Aoe2 Fridays sounds fun

[@MrDaiohAzu]

wait.... you have fun "learning" the game ? I can understand it's fun once you master it but bruh, i started it right now, learning, it's painful as fuck

[@gabeperras3711]

The phases of every AoE2 player. Phase1: the blob of random units doing whatever Phase2: learn to form your random blob into random control groups Phase3: learning meta tactics from spirit of the law

[@darkotaku5799]

spirit of the law: with standard settings we dont want to stop making them until we have more than a hundred. aoe2 campaign: 75. take it or leave it.

[@jomnix]

In the Definitive Edition the population limit in those campaigns is 125 :-D

[@charlsman18]

@@jomnix In all campaigns?

[@meh____1992]

@@charlsman18 ,no, saladin for example is 75/100 depending on the chapter

[@iLuvHinata360]

fuck the campaigns for having a 75 hard cap ;_; edit: grammar

[@Carpatouille]

@@jomnix Not in William Wallace's campaign

[@thnydn]

SpiritOfTheLaw, Thanks very much for this video, as an amateur-ish player, this explained a lot of things that I wondered about before when watching streams from pro gamers or your videos. It would be amazing if you could do similar videos on: 1) the main objectives of each Age (like what I should aim to accomplish before advancing) 2) Walling / Walling with buildings.. I see that a lot; using buildings for walls, but I always kinda wondered why that’s done 3) best army compositions 4) other common pro player strategies. Like I keep hearing “scout rush”, “tower rush” etc, but explaining them would be great! Thanks a lot! (Pls upvote so he can see)

[@TheMrFarmerJoe9]

Well walling is done with buildings because it makes it harder for your opponent to attack you if they have to destroy some buildings first. You have to make those buildings and place them somewhere anyway so you might as well put them in a place that will make it more annoying to deal with for enemy players. A ‘rush’ is exactly what it sounds. Making lots of scouts really early to harass an enemies villagers before they’ve made many defences. Same thing with towers except instead of building scouts you build towers near where your opponent’s villagers are working to deny them using that resource until the tower is destroyed.

[@sebastianschmidt7268]

1) Cant be answered easily because it depends on your strategy and what you opponent does. If you want to reach Castle Age quickly, you advance to Feudal at 27 population. When you reached Feudal you queue up 2 villagers, build Market + Blacksmith and click up Castle right away. If your enemy goes for early aggression what you must scout first, you have to adapt. Make units to counter your enemy or go on stone to tower up your base and protect your resources. Just make sure if you want to attack your enemy getting important blacksmith upgrades first is the key to succeed. Like armor for the knights or damage + range for your archers etc. Meelee units need armor first by the way. 2) Walling with buildings is very important. You have to build them anyway and they got a lot of hp so wall up the smaller gaps with palisades and houses, while building barracks for example infront of your berries if they're exposed. Use treelines or cliffs to wall because you save a lot of wood. If you accidently walled out resources like an extra gold or stone pile dont hesitate to open your walls a bit so that villagers can go out later. Dont make your base too small and stick with that because you lose total map controll and the enemy could build foreward military stuff and you don't see it. It is common once you go for Imperial Age to start build outposts around your base and further out to see the enemy coming miles away what gives you much time to react. 3) Best army compositions are individual to every civ and their current matchups. This is very advanced knowledge and not easy to write that down in a few sentences. 4) When you rush your enemy early you optimise your eco from the start to produce 1 unit and rush your enemy with it to make him react, waste resources and losing time. Noobs often are kinda dead after a simple rush because they have no clue how to react on that. How they're played? I recommend you T90 Officials videos on KZbin. You will find them I am sure.

[@alfredong6850]

It would be nice to create a video series similar to Art of War

[@OkabexKurisu]

@@alfredong6850 there is a lot of content to build in youtube..one only has to find it

[@farblood69]

RT

[@vladimations7961]

Before watching your tutorials I could barely ever beat the AI on Moderate. So I combined what I've learned on your channel with a bit of online playing. Yes I lost every time but I learned and improved A LOT after each game. I now completely decimate the AI on Moderate and I'm going on to play against a more aggressive AI. Still a lot to learn but always look on the map at what the pro players have been building after you loose a game and apply that to your next game. You will be surprised

[@trevormurphy1026]

I started doing that on my own as well and then you realize which strategies work the best. It really helps to analyze other people's bases

[@Chilanglik]

I'm still dealing with "moderate" problems. Haha. Thanks for the inspiration. :D

[@krisholznagel9982]

I've been playing this game since 2006 and I'm still watching these beginner guides

[@RV-rv9nv]

Hahaha me 2

[@brokentombot]

I watch this every week and I still forget when I'm actually playing. AoE is fun but stressful lol

[@sakib6563]

Me since 2000 in grade 1. Now I finished engineering two years ago. I still play :P

[@kristofkopasz5912]

4:58 Eagle be like: "Shit i forgot my wallet"

[@musicforDRUMIES]

AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[@cristianlazaroaie3254]

11

[@Tom-pk4gl]

111111111

[@dariusstan1357]

=))) made my day !

[@theboraxbandit9563]

Wholesome.

[@thesadweez]

This video was the one I was looking for. I'm a huge AoE2 fan, but just recently decided to really learn basics, and while copying playstyles from top players, there's no real learning when you do not understand the reasons behind them.

[@ersinculdur4401]

In DE there is a complex tutorial.. you should want to take a look...

[@thesadweez]

@@ersinculdur4401 I don't own it yet, so can't check it now, but will definitely do as soon as I buy the game

[@DoctorProfessorPablo]

Make the playlist public please, I'm I'n the same boat!

[@joeyburgess9396]

3 years after seeing this video, i still send this to my new friends who i get into this game. You are the Rosetta stone of AOE2 and my appreciation knows no bounds for you.

[@Dreams-f6j]

its the same for me :)

[@ravenwolfkittyface1802]

I’m a certified noob, so I thought I would give this a try. I thought it would make playing feel formulaic and boring, but it actually made things much more fun to have a solid idea of how to start! I didn’t have to worry about resources quite so much. Thanks for this.

[@perryschnabel]

As child I played hours on the same map just trying to build a cool village / castle. Playing the game is way makes it a completely different game :D

[@shubhamghosh1923]

I did the same. Still do that sometimes.. Always remember it takes a real king to build a civilization worth living in.

[@TonyRedgrave]

"This is not ideal." That looks like my base at the start of every game. Ouch.

[@warriorlax3502]

Right 🤣 been playing for probably 13 years, just now deciding to try and play strategically

[@Carpatouille]

@@warriorlax3502 To be fair OG AoE2 had next to no tips or anything on the internet to help you improve and you had to rely on 144p videos on early youtube (which was not that known at the time), shitty forums with people who were nice but gave very bad advice and tips sometimes, and internet itself was harder to get, and it was not nearly as good as today. So it was pretty common for AoE2 players to play against bots or the campaign and be trash at the game, relying on cheats to see the story or thousands of trial and error and still be bad. There's no more of that in 2020, even for games that are not nearly as big and popular as AoE2 in comparison.

[@xotl2780]

I actually like the way it looked way f better.

[@CapitanCataracta]

look like my first 20 minutes in game...

[@karney6583]

It's worth noting that straggler trees can be built over as soon as they are knocked down, whereas a tree inside the forest has to be completely harvested before you can build on top of it. Just something I've noticed while playing, and it might matter in a tight game somehow

[@AtticusKarpenter]

interesting! Very handy so it works that way and not block buildings ever though its not collected yet

[@gerardvdpl4409]

I remember 16 or 17 years ago when I played this, learning the game more by downloading recorded games and watching them. Then copying the first 15 or so minutes of the game from them, and practice it 5 times against the computer to perfect it. This video pretty much sums it up. From there you can make small deviations to adjust for different strategies. For instance the tower rush with Koreans, or fast castle.

[@justxavier9999]

8:39 “lumberjills” Altho I know that word existed before, but it’s just brilliant

[@AtticusKarpenter]

It sounds very cute

[@JordanIsNowOnTheTube]

It's been 20years and I'm just now learning this game

[@GregoryCrimson]

Me after 15 minutes in the game: “okay, time to build an army”

[@hanshintermann1551]

I mean, it CAN be a viable strategy.

[@AlexanderGeorge]

@@hanshintermann1551 yep. Fast castle, then spam Knights

[@paulluka2029]

Go for enemies gold and stone it's risky but taking even 10% it's worth it

[@jimalfauraq388]

@@AlexanderGeorge lol... Knight is no good vs pikemen 😂

[@HaploBartow]

@@jimalfauraq388 comes down to numbers and upgrades then. 1:1, especially upgraded, yeah spears/pikes will win, but usually you don't encounter as many spears/pikes as you have knights, because they're only useful for one thing: countering knights, whereas knights are an all-around power unit.

[@CarterElkins]

Perfect timing for some tutorials. As someone coming back to the game after 15 years thanks to DE, I'm basically a new player, and this is exactly what I need. Please keep them coming!

[@BadSkeelz]

07:23 something oddly satisfying in how the lumberjacks' work syncs up to the beat for this segment

[@paulfitzpatrick8288]

Saw it too haha

[@silverwoodlawn4913]

Lol. 😆 I can't un-see it now.

[@derschattenpoet]

I've played AoE2 throughout my childhood a lot, like a realy lot... together with the early ANNO-series. But now I know that I always played it more like a city-builder instead of an RTS game, taking my time to construct a city that's good looking before building a Wonder to win and beeing sad about that I couldn't place streets and decorations. Sometimes I also battled, sure but not prominent. Then, a few weeks ago I found your videos and those of T90 and was like "well... so Thats how people play this game." and watched further, learning things like strategic castle-drops, wich techs to get when, how to make good eco like allways keep your TCs producing, multiple vills at one sheep because it decays, fishing deep sea directly in dark age and later shift to farms, getting loom but don't get supplies unless you make 10 milicia afterwards, how defencive towers and the bell come together, what raiding is, yadda yadda yadda... so I thought "okay, time to boot up the game again and do just that... my plan was fast castle with brits and all archer-updates from blacksmith and university, then attack." ... I was even too scared to lure a boar 'cause it is strong and could kill me a vill and lost soon after that against the standard-AI befor I even got near to build any castle at all. x3 Well... damit! What went wrong? : Even though I wanted fast castle, it took me way too long to get even feudal... my TC was idle a lot... I needed to scout manualy 'cause I didn't know how to set waypoints, I placed buildings manualy and therefore slowly due to not knowing the hotkeys... I got popcaped multiple times, and due to still thinking too hard about going for Longbows even while seeing how slow I actualy progress, my defence at that point was lacking to withstand an attack. It was almost like playing an entire new game from how I used it to be.

[@ivanweissbein5253]

Awesome to see Spirit of the Law himself explaining this with arguments. A lot of people just go through a tutorial for you to repeat by heart. As Spirit said here, now you’re given the foundations of these steps, making you able to change the direction of your build orders to approach certain strategies. Thanks dude!!

[@thescribe509]

The main exceptions to the 4 on wood rule: Huns don't need houses Japanese get 1/2 off collection buildings (so 50 wood for mill, 50 for lumbercamp) so you're pretty much getting the mill for free because Japanese already saved you the wood on the lumbercamp Celts chop faster but you generally use the extra wood for earlier barracks, so you generally won't skimp on them here even if you can. If you aren't going aggressive at all, you can send one less to wood (on the second set) for the fast castle build, still have the wood for the upgrades / buildings, and send it to food to help with earlier castle age upgrades. That goes for the aforementioned, too. Even if you are going for something aggressive, if you don't have it specifically planned out you can find yourself shorting on wood for houses / military buildings which is never good. If you aren't going for something you've practiced and have down to a science, or if you're not going aggressive, 4 on wood is the standard. You'll want it for literally anything besides timed aggression.

[@ambrose1724]

Also, franks can clinch it simply because their farming techs are free, meaning they spend less wood on the farms for more food income overall. If you can handle just a bit of a tight play in the dark age you'll be thankful you not amassed wood for no reason

[@twohandedswordsman852]

Don't forget Malians

[@thescribe509]

@@twohandedswordsman852 What are you doing here? The Malay ordered 80 more of you 30 seconds ago.

[@twohandedswordsman852]

@@thescribe509 Oh damn.

[@UM96lol]

This is incredibly helpful. Would love it becoming a series for different maps and openings.

[@blackblizzard3216]

"the chinese, which strart off with no food" just like the simulations

[@UncleEarl97]

Things change, soon they'll be eating our lunch.

[@fronklinb.ronasavelt3150]

"it takes 25 seconds to make a new villager" not gonna say it

[@tunnelvision5851]

Fronklin B. Ronasavelt sheehoow

[@joerivandeweyer3056]

@@tunnelvision5851 aegis sheesheesheesheesheesheesheesheesheesheesheesheesheesheesheesheesheesheesheesheesheesheesheesheesheesheesheesheesheeshee HOOOOOOOO

[@placeholder1237]

Ever wonder how villages in are are made

[@luke4djojo]

some of these comments are too much gold

[@UncleEarl97]

Twice as fast as a Minute Man... reference to American independence times.

[@stevenhartling4279]

Lol I love how it's "for beginners" yet the guy is talking like it's a speed run and you already know how the game works

[@zaid9026]

i took a break from studying to play aoe2 after watching this video i decided to take a break from aoe2 and continue to study

[@jellyfish0311]

You are in charge of a bunch of illiterate shepherds, old monks and men carrying gunpowder, you have to at least act like you know your stuff

[@bastidino1]

Ikr

[@goodkiller93]

This video is overwhelming as hell. Imma just not 😅

[@dj_koen1265]

YeH when i started playing 3 years ago i just followed the advice for the first 6 villagers and learned the rest through just playing

[@ravenkov8075]

I remembered my highschool days with my friends discussing in a round table about that. 16 years ago 😅

[@Progeusz]

Perfect guide. The best I have seen of this kind and I'm pretty sure I watched most of what is out there 11 Covered everything important with proper explanations. Well done, Spirit of the Law.

[@mashitty1]

I watched this a year ago and it helped so much.. i havent played for a while so im watching it again, this guide has helped me twice now.. so great

[@teomdoaham]

Dude, Microsoft schoud sponsor your channel! I play age since the "Age of Kings" and it wasn't easy to learn without youtube... You make this game rellay easier for new players and some veterans too. Thank you very much for all your awesome content.

[@nanox4]

Yeah. Been playing for 20 years and some people new to the game kick my ass regularly.

[@jarveyjaguar4395]

This was the 2nd Video Game I played in my entire life and by far the best game I will ever play for the rest of my life. I I spent about 7 years of my life playing this game about 2 to 3 days a week and now my addiction came back and I'm still learning new strategies. Thanks a lot man.

[@gryph-3528]

I’ve finally found this game...😭😭😭 I MISSED U AGE OF EMPIRES II IVE BEEN LOOKING FOR U FOR 6 YEARS😭😭😭😭

[@DuyuCoyote]

When you spelled out the seconds needed for advantage in this game in a competitive way it was really daunting to me; and i'm no stranger to competitive games and tournaments. Super impressed you know this stuff! Ty for sharing.

[@erichoffman5215]

I’ve never felt more like a filthy noob than when I watched this

[@jacobj297]

I get that this is how the competitive players have to play, but this can’t be fun. I just want to hang out y’know.

[@BingaBangoBongo]

@@jacobj297A couple of our buddies are little sweatsack meatbots, so I'm gearing up to put an end to their shit

[@sunsetfire1983]

this is the video I've been waiting for. literally was thinking the other day "I wish there was a video breaking down how build orders work. maybe SotL has one?" thank you so much for your great content! :)

[@likeclockwork6473]

cheese steak jimmy's is a faster way to get food

[@daledo8604]

So if I type 60 words/min... that's 3 words/1000 food which = 20k food/min. Yep, the math checks out. Very efficient!

[@threeofakind9933]

@@daledo8604 Isn't it 10000 Food now, I'm pretty sure they changed in the HD Edition.

[@daledo8604]

@@threeofakind9933 I dont know man - haven't used cheat codes since 1999!

[@87PLS]

😂 you know this game actually taught me how to type, back in 1999 (when I was 12 and had just got my first pc), by repeatedly typing out ‘cheese steak jimmy’s’, ‘lumberjack’, ‘Robin Hood’ and ‘rock on’ in the chat. And of course when all else fails and your still getting slaughtered by the ai, ‘how do you turn this on’ (x20 times).

[@sclarsen86]

@@87PLS lol, literally the exact same thing for me. I learned how to type by putting in cheats when I was 12 or 13 with my first PC that I bought.

[@princesszelda1997]

Thank you so much for this video! I used to play AOE2 when I was a kid but I couldn't wrap my head around legit strategies, and now with Definitive Edition out I'd like to go back to it more efficiently. I've watched your other videos but they are on really specific topics and I felt like I didn't know how to apply them, or why you were doing what you were doing. Hope you continue this series!

[@julianrodriguezadami6634]

Lets finish this decade with a little video of you playing the old song, Just your hands and the guitar. Maybe 20 seconds in the last video of the year.

[@bawat]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/onmUnoSVir2FsLs

[@BIKarus]

9:33 yup, that’s where I start to fall apart. Thank you very much for this video, very helpful. I’m just starting out and I haven’t played an RTS before. My brother, on the other hand, has been playing this (against bots) for 20 years, so hopefully I can win a few by compensating my lack of micro skills with these great strats! Very well articulated video, I can’t wait to get better so I can follow the rest of you videos

[@HECKproductions]

"not just memorising but understanding" lteachers: lolno

[@G1ennbeckismyher0]

As a teacher, i smiled

[@PoweroftheP00f]

I've been playing this game for 18 years, and I'm just now learning things from this video I have never learned in my entire life.

[@AntZen85]

Spirit: it’s best to keep straggler trees for later but it’s not a big deal. T90, every LEL game: WHY IS HE CHOPPING STRAGGLERS!!!

[@martijnbouman8874]

To be fair, there is a difference between cutting the straggler trees right next to your Town Center and cutting those further away.

[@ImSquiggs]

This is the best video on how to learn to play AOE2 ever made for someone that only played casually for a lifetime

[@alexturcani3234]

I didn't expect to be learning math instead of the strategies

[@EsquireR]

Thank you for your contribution in AoE community, you are one of the best people, who keep the game alive.

[@Poenix21]

Some tatics in feudal age against rushes would be nice. The Ai rofl-stomps me very time there.

[@radon3292]

agreed

[@zerto111]

1. Place your buildings (especially houses) as a wall groundwork. Finish the wall with palisades. 2. Scout your enemys feudal building. Stable means scouts so you can make a few spears. Although your walls should keep scouts out. Archery range means Archers. Melee units in feudal can not get in without a tower rush which the AI doesn't do. You can build a new house while they attack your wall. Archers prevent new walling but can be fend off with a few of your own skirms. 3. If the enemy manages to rush in with a few scouts then quickwall. Your vils will be between your resource building and the resource. Close the openings with palisades or houses. 4. Don't panic and send solitary units against a group. 3-4 scouts can kill a spearman easily. wait until you created a few more to send them together. Hope this helped a bit. Remember: what I said sounds easy but can be difficult to pull off in panic mode. I'm not that good myself. Practice does it.

[@Crim3onWolf]

One important piece of advice I can give is make sure you're not building your town too far away from your Town Center. Garrisoning your villagers to counter archers/etc is pretty important for ensuring you can keep up your economy with minimal loss. Another is always be sure to utilize your scout cavalry, particularly in Feudal. After you hit Feudal Age your scout moves faster, and can secure more information quicker. Ideally you want to know where your enemy is in Dark Age, but if you know their position in Feudal you should be constantly checking to keep tabs on them, seeing if they're making archery ranges/barracks/etc. If you see that they're making archers for early game aggro, make skirmishers as counters, or additional scout cavalry. If you notice that they have buildings like smith/range/etc, but no units, it means they're probably going for a knight rush or a straight boom.

[@frostbitedodo2243]

@@Crim3onWolf im having trouble beating extreme ai i can take it all the way to imperial, but after that its micro is too fin good think i just have to do alot more damage early so it cannont rebound

[@Crim3onWolf]

@@frostbitedodo2243 Pretty much what I've noticed about it is it's economy is near perfect if it can get to Imperial Age. With it being a program, it makes sense that it isn't going to make the same mistakes as often as a human player, but it'll also continuously bombard you everywhere on the map with a flood of units. My strategy is to make sure it never gets to that point by smashing their economy with early castle aggression, or picking a Civ that can out produce them, like Goths/etc.

[@pbgames_]

I want to thank you for this very straightforward guide. I learned a lot from watching this and having a basic understanding of how to start the game really helped me learn advanced mechanics way easier as well. Overall awesome video!

[@atmyyoutube]

I was looking for a tutorial like this right now

[@Izandaia]

Really hope you continue this series for stuff like fast castle, scout/archer rush, tower rush, fast imperial, etc. Even as I sit here seething that this game isn't available for Mac, this is still fascinating stuff.

[@Twitch_Fox]

Thanks for making this; I just picked up the DE and reinstalled my HD because this game 'was' my early childhood and I wanted to learn the starting strats. I keep scuffing the boar lure. :s

[@zez124696]

You'll get it eventually! shoot em twice and run!

[@sauravtripathi4128]

@@zez124696 in the DE you only need to shoot once. However it happened with me a couple of times I was too quick, and I ran before the arrow hit the boar so I was not in his Line of Sight. Delay for 0.5 seconds I would say.

[@MyTardisGoWhoosh]

Use scout to block boar from damaging villager

[@Trildin]

It's fantastic how deep into detail you get. Some people need that for sure

[@chldndyd21]

This sounds like how koreans tackle life.

[@loowlsshadow8536]

I feel like crying watching this... so many memories... you dont know how you made me feel... thank you

[@AvyScottandFlower]

So basically, I've been a n00b for 20 years Ok..

[@schmid1.079]

Its actually amazing how much this changes the match. Even psychologically, as you enter Feudal way more confident.

[@elduriangavriel2130]

Yeah, one of the biggest indicators I go for in how a match will go is my opponent's early score and feudal time. And this video is how you get a fast feudal time (or stronger economy if you're going for a strat that has you stay in feudal extra time for more vils or a drush). If someone hits feudal way slower than me and doesn't have a higher score as I'm aging up (Usually people who go for more vils in feudal will take the lead in points as you are aging up) I'll assume their early game is weak and they're a less advanced player.

[@minhtovunhat5389]

After watching this vid I felt like I've missed out on so much. I always go for 4 on wood and the rest on berries, and fail to go feudal before 10 mins everytime. Never thought of hunting boars, guess I'll do more of that now.

[@Uniter42]

still one of the best examples of how to educate a players. Clear and fun.

[@stephenh9483]

I love the HD edition of AoE2, but I have to remark that the graphics on the DE are amazing

[@ucallmeschnitzel]

Really helpful. Last time I played AoE2 was around 2003. As a kid I could never beat the medium AI. Bought the definitive edition because of your videos, bet the medium AI in my second attempt, 3rd game. After like 6 games against the medium AI I went on to beat the hard AI in my second try. Thanks for the help!

[@nelsonmejiaslozada9362]

i have done this for 2 years in a row ¿need i see this? of course, it is a Spirit of the Law video

[@framherjabow5330]

Hello Spirit, great video here. Just one little detail: In definitive edition you need only 1 shot to lure the boar instead of 2 in all the previous versions. It helps to save the villagers.

[@makotoshirogane]

Hey guys, spirit of the law here OHHH YEAAAHH

[@mikkdc]

Giving this a watch in prep for the Xbox edition coming out in 2 days. Probably end up coming back for other refreshers too.

[@god-kx7di]

I know I'm God but I still need theses videos thank you i bless your channel.

[@grumpyoldnoob4403]

Which god are you?

[@himanaggar]

No u r not .. neither any human ...Read the Quran

[@welon17]

I've been struggling with my economy, I put my villagers to start gathering all resources around just about the same. I realized today that I was gathering a lot of stone and gold early game that I'm not using, so I figured: wood and food is where is at. But I still struggled in the management department, this guide taught me something I never considered.

[@Captain-Jinn]

No intro. Is this the second round of nerfing?

[@gilb_4]

:(

[@alejandroromero6464]

The intro was too long, imo. The videos are already long enough because of the rich content. Maybe a quick logo show and/or 5 seconds of intro would be ok, imo.

[@e.featherfire1999]

@@Lou_NZ_ Certainly, the little tidbits of past videos and of the video itself were a treat, and the music was the hook for me. I still remember fondly the gothic game plan, and the villager one-shooting the cobra was the high of the theme.

[@mister420blazeit2]

@@alejandroromero6464 what a fucking heresy comment, the intro is the shit bruh.

[@JudgeEomer]

SotL has said before he doesn't use the intro on videos he hopes or expects will reach a wider audience. This is a very good general guide so better to make it more accessible to non-subscribers.

[@wyrdplae8586]

I'll tell you why you became my number #1 source of info for this game. I'm new so I was looking at a few youtubers trying to decide what one to watch. was trying to work out who knows the most, who is most clear and who explains in a way that works for me. You won out for one reason and one alone. you said something to the affect of "I will tell you what to do and also WHY, so that you understand" This is so under rated amongst educational channels that it sold me the second you said it.

[@berksuduman]

Well as 2k player i still watch that. Why? Cause Sprit of the Law's video.

[@Deoeffect]

same here

[@sauravtripathi4128]

You guys are getting ratings? 😂😂

[@educn6830]

@@Deoeffect please bitch

[@samantha.phalanges]

I appreciate all the work you put into your videos. I started playing casually a year ago but I've really been trying to get better lately. I've learned so much from your channel. I look forward to applying this info tonight!

[@IlyaKokoev]

Good video, it's really confusing sometimes to hear commentators to be like "why did x went to 5 lumberjacks on Arabia! Insane!" and getting no clue why they acсent on that. Also, #FOREST_NOTHING

[@chrisc3825]

This was exponentially more valuable than a build guide. I get what to do with my first 15 or so villagers and can follow a build guide, but it takes a lot of messing around to know what you can and can't do in a pinch (like can't find sheep, etc.). Being shown what is going on in the background helps tremendously so I know where I have wiggle room and where I don't, and what are ultimately bad decisions despite perhaps seeming benign. Anyway, thanks a lot and hope you do more of these! Also, are you a math teacher IRL?

[@estellebright2579]

2:52 best burn of the year. Lol

[@watchzeitgeist2]

SO useful to have it finally explained. Been taking it as accepted wisdom for nearly a year. Keep up the awesome content!

[@allenp920]

Beginners tutorial? I was lost at sheep.

[@tomtezuma]

Right, 23 years that I play this game. Time to master the Dark Age. Not sure I like how randomly you placed the houses, it has to look pretty first of all :D

[@harmonicoutreach]

hey thanks spirit

[@Nialija]

could you maybe do a new 2024 Video regarding the first 20 Vills including some civ specific stuff like mule cart or civs starting with less food? i get that ur guide is the most basic it gets but like a general guide to reach fudal sub 9 Minutes would be realy nice. Love your contend! Keep your excelent work up! Thank you!

[@f.b.i6372]

We need more

[@NorrLab]

Thank you so much for actually *explaining* the logic behind your choices! It's so rare to see a non-dogmatic tutorial.

[@KoiBoiRoi]

11:26 the meme is very fitting. I'm such an AoE scrub lol

[@orrinfreeman5672]

Getting back into the game after a few years, really great to see this channel going strong!

[@go9565]

2:33. better get those upgades. A rare slip up by SOTL ;)

[@Jixxor]

SOTL explaining to me why I do what I did for the last couple months getting back into AOE2. I kinda knew that the numbers are supposed to keep everything running, but I didnt know how tight the calculations were. I am glad some more talented people figured these things out for me to just follow haha.

[@Duckman1616]

This video just intimidated me more, I think I'm going to stick to singleplayer. I can't even get used to using hotkeys, let alone memorizing all the start orders and such.

[@dilutioncreation1317]

Imagine your keys are the buttons you see on the screen in the build section on the bottom left. The top left one is Q and all the others are relative to that one. Tap Q once and you selected the economy buildings to build. The house is the top left button, so tap Q again and now you selected to build a house. Recap: to build a house, click on a villager and tap q twice. Farms are one button lower than houses, the top left one. So you tap A because A is one lower than Q on the keyboard.

[@Duckman1616]

@@dilutioncreation1317 That actually makes it a lot easier to understand.

[@evvec1490]

I guess that the different Casual player and *Good* player Edited* im not trying be That guy.. so.. sorry if i sound rude..

[@souheilallegue2342]

just wright it down and try to follow it, you'll get used to it pretty fast.

[@dingdong131091]

I feel like beginner is being used very modestly here. I'm amazed you know all this stuff!

[@itsdave92]

Watched this for baby Yoda. Was not disappointed.

[@PsychCaptain]

Thank you for the guide. It again reminds me why I like using the new Empire Start, which by passes all this stress.

[@poklours4257]

I know it's not ideal, but I like to go with 7 on sheeps. It just feels better to keep villagers production.

[@Lucas_Jeffrey]

If you only use one sheep at a time, it also maximizes the amount of food you get from your sheep by reducing the amount of total 'rotting time' very slightly. EDIT: It also helps you to get ahead a bit, so you don't need to force drop off once you start gathering from boar. If you force-drop, try to do it with as few villagers as possible, so the rest will naturally reach their carry limit and break the cycle of always requiring another force-drop.

[@mauer1]

@@Lucas_Jeffrey well because the rotting time is a villager collection time, its 1/8 instead of 1/7 thats rotting away. Thats not a big deal.

[@dancingphoenixart]

@@mauer1 Yeah, same thought. More important to focus on only one sheep at a time. Also delaying you lumbercamp means you'll probabaly have to delay your mill. So it'll be like boar > house > lumberjack > mill which might cause some more idle time and is more complicated imo

[@bladactania]

I find adding a 7th villager on sheep for a few minutes, then retasking him to berries when the mill is built makes for an easier time without sacrificing income for long.

[@DBFIU]

Hey spiritofthelaw, I love your videos. They're all great and I am just getting back into AOE2 after a 20 year break. Back in the day I was pretty good, probably around what some would consider a 1650 ELO player today. Not too high, but not a total newb back then. Today, I am back as a total newb. And as much as I love watching your technical videos on mechanics and mathematical solutions to questions asked, it would be so helpful if you made some more beginner videos like these. Out of all of the videos you have, I keep coming back to this one. I am sure a lot of other beginners would love to see some more videos for us newbs. Maybe a few videos on how to optimize your town when you're getting raided, managing it during the first few critical seconds of a defensive move. How to manage your economy and army at the same time. Where do you make sacrifices if you intend to raid others yourself? How far into the map should you build when things seem 'too quiet'? I know a lot of these are situational but these beginner videos you make are gems and I bet people would eat them up. :)

[@kumikostan69]

ngl, this scared me even more than i already was cndjcnfjfndj To be clear i found it to be a really nice video, but i think i'll keep playing (and losing) against the easy bot without worrying about minmaxing for 30 minutes haha (it's way too stressful for me sorry)

[@blackrifle3742]

Just starting out in this game. My buddy who has played this pretty much since original release is a big fan of yours an is having me watch through your noob videos.