Don't be afraid of ranked, once your ELO is balanced you'll have a blast at any skill level. If you want to improve Hera's videos are AWESOME for us noobs figuring out the game! If you enjoy a mathy breakdown of game mechanics def check out spirit of the law. For casting check out T90 official. Super wholesome community, have fun out there!
@@juicejones102 people been playing for 20 years. you will need to lose a lot to get a low elo where its fair for you. But then the game will begin my friend goodluck
This video was meant to show me how to counter a 1 TC push, but all it did was convince me that 1 TC pushes are really strong and that I should do them more often.
One thing that usually works at lower ELO is to just do a weak counter attack. By weak I mean literally just send 1-2 knights onto their gold or woodline. Usually they over commit to get rid of those knights and that gives you time to build up defences or get units out to defend
Heck it even works at pro level when there is a lot to micro at two fronts. An intense fight in the front can make you lose focus on your base for a few seconds, enough for two-three sneaky knights to kill 5-10 vills if you find a weak spot.
This is how I end most of my games that made it to imp. Before opening some spam fronts I just send a solid 10-20 hussars into their base, and at my elo nobody really defends that properly, not even myself
This is my specialty. A fast castle into early gg isn't quite as powerful feeling as the triumph of still smacking your opponent without scouting them @krystofcisar469
Is the meta so strongly separated between 1 TC and 3 TC, so that a 2 TC build would lose to both of them at high level? I like to pull 2 TC plays (basically delaying my third TC for a while in favor of a bit more military and/or defenses), and it often works, but I'm not that far on the ladder for it to be a single game-deciding difference. I guess as I go higher I'll have to abandon it. Or are there some good 2 TC strategies at the professional level?
I watch pro play quite a bit and I see 2 TC strategies all of the time. I am not the one to speak of why they do it, but it seems to me that it's if you want to boom, but you are scared of 1 TC push. So you go 2 TC and some defensive army then go to stone, build a def castle, then go to 4-5 TC or fast imp. It's only a theory tho, I'm quite the noob myself.
I think the 1 tc fast arb push has morphed into a slower arb push with 2 TCS because arbs cost more to upgrade now so 1 tc is too low eco. It can be good I also find it good if you go something like spanish conq push and you want to make a bit of eco but you don't have enough eco to make conqs (food gold) and 3 tc eco and you also want a fast imp time to treb his defensive castle the only thing that conqs and mangonels can't beat in castle age
The 2 TC approach is actualy quite good because u can get the best of 2 worlds, a strong eco like a 3 TC boom would offer, and a good amount of resources to make military (similar to what 1 TC would provide). To make the best usage of 2 TCs, make sure to have a market before u reach castle age. This way u can easily rebalance your eco and adapt to anything your opponent may use.
I would also have added "counter-attacking", because usually your opponent has all his army forward, maybe some buildings like SW and monastery, and he'll have his base wide open focusing all on his push. Also the damage you do is more impactful because he has less villagers from going all-in
Great Tipps! I have two questions/ video ideas: 1. In which cases should one continue making units that are countered? E.g. continuing making knights vs halbs or camels. Saw some pros do it in tournaments. 2. How to hold or counter a castle drop on arena? Always go for stone and be ready for a defensive castle (which pros don't seem to do)? Walls and monk?
Thank you! Great advice! I've done some of this by instinct, but having the logic behind it and actual strat is gonna help me get it right by more than luck
Hera you forgot to mention the counter attack. It 2 kts in his base while is pushing you can instantly finish the game. Or often he hast to go back with his army and u cann easily kill his siege/ monkas. To many people focus just on to defending and get tunnel visioned. I lost so many games just because i didn`t counter attack.
Not sure if you actually saw my recommendation on making a video on defense strategies but I’m glad you made it, you’re literally my most reliable source for getting better at this game Lmao, thanks bro
I was watching this video and then I realized the gameplay in the background was a game I played yesterday! So random but cool to see. Great video nonetheless
One thing I am missing in the video is how to know the opponent is 1 TC all in. For a 1100 ELO like myself this can be hard to tell. Once the pressure hits it gets hard to scout. I have found myself resigning games and only after seeing the review did I get that I could have played on.
@@Humanoidable that are two different things, really. You might be bad at handling the pressure but still only resign when the game is over. Vice versa you can be rather good at handling pressure but still misjudge the situation and resign prematurely.
last game the enemy was goths, and he kept comming at me really hard he had a forward barracks (eventually 3) and he started to wall my outside golds + building towers there. i couldnt win against this.
Is a counterattack a good idea? I'm mean, while we are pressured the opponent have more an easier game, so maybe attacking its economy can pressure him and give a harder match... but that also mean we'll have less defenses. So... I dunno. 🤔🤔
Great Video about the strategic perspective of Defending 1 TC Push. I am also curios about the concrete side of it. How can you anticipade a 1TC Push, Effective Walling, How to Defend against Mangonals on your TC, What to do when your get pushed of Gold. I am curious how you would approach it
Defending a 1 tc push / foward castle with the 3 tc approach is still extremely hard for me ....but these days I find it the one of the most mentally satisfying ways to win a game .
i would not say it is the same. knights needs less upgrades and are faster and gold is gained faster than wood because it is still close and trees are depleted and next are farther. also you have 2 stables to produce sometimes 3, but enemy will not build 2-3 barracks unless he know he needs them to def kts. so in early times you have more numbers 1v1 kts win 10v10 also and you can let them chase you and kill wills and you can go back and escape in case numbers are bad for you. in later times enemy has more TC castles and is more walled and more amount of units so it is harder to manuever with kts and also they are finally spammed from more barracks so faster and cheaper than you. and even in bad numbers fight for him he can go back under his def buildings to cover or can add monks. but in super open maps i would say that in post imp with large open eco hussars and mobility gets again its advantage back against halb because they again can threath to do eco dmg and dictate where to fight and also are cheap. and more protected against arrows. so early kts>pike later pike>kts latest on open hussars > halbs. Just depending on size and structure of your base.
Big thanks for this advise. Maybe i would send 1-3 kts in his eko in case you can micro it while def at home because he will be probably unwalled and all in attacking people like hoang sometimes totally shit on their defence.
A 1 TC push refers to the tactic of not adding additional town centers in castle age, and instead putting all of the resources into military and aggression. 2 or 3 TCs relatively early is pretty common as a castle age strategy, with the main alternative to that being the 1 TC push. It's sometimes called a 1 TC all-in because if you don't do enough damage with it you can fall severely behind in economy, and not be able to defend a counter-attack.
if the oponnent is not adding tc's and plays very aggressive, he's 1tc pushing. He probably even is idling his tc at some point and puts all his ressources into military.
Just means you just have your starting TC producing vills at home. You're not using resources on building more TCs as you hit castle age, you're not using resources on the villagers you would have queued in additional TCs, you might even sell your starting stone (unless you want to use that for forward castle). Every drop of resource (except what you need for 1 TC vill production and maybe a stray eco upgrade) goes into castle age army.
@@Adrian230 Like Hera mentioned in the intro to the video, it's a fairly straight forward approach requiring less multi tasking.There's nothing wrong with that initially/occasionally, but you definitely want to widen your repertoire of strategies to also include more eco heavy approaches where you invest that starting stone into more TCs and faster villager pop growth. Over time that approach will probably get you more wins 1v1, and it is definitely something you need for team games, where you can rarely finish off the other team in time to win without a strong eco to work with into the late game. If you want to focus on eco builds specifically you can practice in a controlled environment vs AI or unranked vs a training partner (
Mangonels and monks behind walls does wonders. Also wall your base for the noobs out there. There's a reason it was the meta for a long while. Also reinforce palisade walls with house walls preemptively sometimes on obvious areas they're going to attack or areas where vils aren't close to quick wall behind
I’m new to AOE so I’m getting destroyed Out here… thanks for the defensive tips… I was literally on UA-cam looking for this
Stay strong. Learn some basic build orders and be aggresive as well.
U will have some epic games
@@abrahamthomas4275 I’m trying
Don't be afraid of ranked, once your ELO is balanced you'll have a blast at any skill level. If you want to improve Hera's videos are AWESOME for us noobs figuring out the game! If you enjoy a mathy breakdown of game mechanics def check out spirit of the law. For casting check out T90 official. Super wholesome community, have fun out there!
@@aetius132 Ive mostly been on quick game called I’ve lost all 3 of my ranked
@@juicejones102 people been playing for 20 years. you will need to lose a lot to get a low elo where its fair for you. But then the game will begin my friend goodluck
This video was meant to show me how to counter a 1 TC push, but all it did was convince me that 1 TC pushes are really strong and that I should do them more often.
yes its strong and way easier to do proficiently. Altho good players will punish u, and u dont learn the entire game doing that
One thing that usually works at lower ELO is to just do a weak counter attack. By weak I mean literally just send 1-2 knights onto their gold or woodline. Usually they over commit to get rid of those knights and that gives you time to build up defences or get units out to defend
Heck it even works at pro level when there is a lot to micro at two fronts. An intense fight in the front can make you lose focus on your base for a few seconds, enough for two-three sneaky knights to kill 5-10 vills if you find a weak spot.
This is how I end most of my games that made it to imp. Before opening some spam fronts I just send a solid 10-20 hussars into their base, and at my elo nobody really defends that properly, not even myself
Step 0:
Fikcing scout the enemy before booming.
Oh i love when my opponents loses scout and just blindly 3tc booms :D
This is my specialty. A fast castle into early gg isn't quite as powerful feeling as the triumph of still smacking your opponent without scouting them @krystofcisar469
Is the meta so strongly separated between 1 TC and 3 TC, so that a 2 TC build would lose to both of them at high level? I like to pull 2 TC plays (basically delaying my third TC for a while in favor of a bit more military and/or defenses), and it often works, but I'm not that far on the ladder for it to be a single game-deciding difference. I guess as I go higher I'll have to abandon it. Or are there some good 2 TC strategies at the professional level?
Yes. Cumans (of course) and fast-imps on arena
I watch pro play quite a bit and I see 2 TC strategies all of the time. I am not the one to speak of why they do it, but it seems to me that it's if you want to boom, but you are scared of 1 TC push. So you go 2 TC and some defensive army then go to stone, build a def castle, then go to 4-5 TC or fast imp. It's only a theory tho, I'm quite the noob myself.
Upvoting in the hopes that Hera sees this. I have the same question about the viability of 2 TCs.
I think the 1 tc fast arb push has morphed into a slower arb push with 2 TCS because arbs cost more to upgrade now so 1 tc is too low eco. It can be good
I also find it good if you go something like spanish conq push and you want to make a bit of eco but you don't have enough eco to make conqs (food gold) and 3 tc eco and you also want a fast imp time to treb his defensive castle the only thing that conqs and mangonels can't beat in castle age
The 2 TC approach is actualy quite good because u can get the best of 2 worlds, a strong eco like a 3 TC boom would offer, and a good amount of resources to make military (similar to what 1 TC would provide). To make the best usage of 2 TCs, make sure to have a market before u reach castle age. This way u can easily rebalance your eco and adapt to anything your opponent may use.
I would also have added "counter-attacking", because usually your opponent has all his army forward, maybe some buildings like SW and monastery, and he'll have his base wide open focusing all on his push. Also the damage you do is more impactful because he has less villagers from going all-in
Great Tipps!
I have two questions/ video ideas:
1. In which cases should one continue making units that are countered? E.g. continuing making knights vs halbs or camels. Saw some pros do it in tournaments.
2. How to hold or counter a castle drop on arena? Always go for stone and be ready for a defensive castle (which pros don't seem to do)? Walls and monk?
Nobody:
Hera: Aight, let's tear apart 30% of the playerbase's gameplan
Now I want a video around, how to do a 1 tc push!
Defending is arguable the hardest thing to do in AOE2, it takes practice!
Yeah I am a noob I just tend to fold once they overwhelm me. Hera has some amazing defence and comebacks
That suprise was a surprising error, indeed!
Is there a follow-up or preceding video which goes into the details on how to execute a 1 TC push and how to react to the defenses shown here?
Nice vid Hera. Since you're almost close now: If you ever come to South of Brazil let me buy you some coffee. Wish you the best
Mom, I can't take out the trash, I'm learning a very difficult topic!
Hera - How To Defend 1 TC Push.
Me not realizing my opponent is doing 1 TC push.
Thank you! Great advice! I've done some of this by instinct, but having the logic behind it and actual strat is gonna help me get it right by more than luck
Hera you forgot to mention the counter attack. It 2 kts in his base while is pushing you can instantly finish the game. Or often he hast to go back with his army and u cann easily kill his siege/ monkas. To many people focus just on to defending and get tunnel visioned. I lost so many games just because i didn`t counter attack.
6:42 Nili enters the chat 11
Not sure if you actually saw my recommendation on making a video on defense strategies but I’m glad you made it, you’re literally my most reliable source for getting better at this game Lmao, thanks bro
Brilliant video, mind of a pro. Great to learn from.
I was watching this video and then I realized the gameplay in the background was a game I played yesterday! So random but cool to see. Great video nonetheless
“Another benefit if you have a good unique unit” - next scene shows Karambit spam
One thing I am missing in the video is how to know the opponent is 1 TC all in. For a 1100 ELO like myself this can be hard to tell. Once the pressure hits it gets hard to scout. I have found myself resigning games and only after seeing the review did I get that I could have played on.
At this elo I really don't like people who resign too soon. You guys just can't handle the pressure
@@Humanoidable that are two different things, really. You might be bad at handling the pressure but still only resign when the game is over. Vice versa you can be rather good at handling pressure but still misjudge the situation and resign prematurely.
Pure Terror anti strat , alright this guy has been wrecking havoc with the malians in low elo.
how he managed to say nothing in 12 minutes, i love it
Hera. Do you recomend 3 or 4 TC in team games?
Next: defending from castle drop?
There's a video about that already
Play against DauT?
ua-cam.com/video/SNAdkkbm4-M/v-deo.html&feature=shares
I just got back into this game after a 20 yr hiatus… this vid SO helpful
last game the enemy was goths, and he kept comming at me really hard he had a forward barracks (eventually 3) and he started to wall my outside golds + building towers there. i couldnt win against this.
Ahh i wish access to this guy's discord was free
Is a counterattack a good idea? I'm mean, while we are pressured the opponent have more an easier game, so maybe attacking its economy can pressure him and give a harder match... but that also mean we'll have less defenses. So... I dunno. 🤔🤔
1tc all in: we had a good run friend
Love how he says 1000-2000 Elo as if there's nothing below 1000!
I'm 1100 and I love 1 TC push and Hoanging hahaha
And also Unique Unit siege push with 1 tc of course
👍❤❤..Loved this bcs 1tc pushes makes the game so messy that these tips will be very handy.... Personally I don't like very short messy games....
Would love a video on how to 1tc all in
Great Video about the strategic perspective of Defending 1 TC Push. I am also curios about the concrete side of it. How can you anticipade a 1TC Push, Effective Walling, How to Defend against Mangonals on your TC, What to do when your get pushed of Gold.
I am curious how you would approach it
1000-2000 is not the majority of the player base. Good video tho.
Haaaaah, knights counter pikes reference
Defending a 1 tc push / foward castle with the 3 tc approach is still extremely hard for me ....but these days I find it the one of the most mentally satisfying ways to win a game .
👍🏻
So, when you're defending, is it a good thing to counter attck his base with a few units? Or better stay home and keep units close by?
"Knights counter pikes in early Castle age" is a roundabout way of saying "Large armies counter small armies"
i would not say it is the same. knights needs less upgrades and are faster and gold is gained faster than wood because it is still close and trees are depleted and next are farther. also you have 2 stables to produce sometimes 3, but enemy will not build 2-3 barracks unless he know he needs them to def kts. so in early times you have more numbers 1v1 kts win 10v10 also and you can let them chase you and kill wills and you can go back and escape in case numbers are bad for you. in later times enemy has more TC castles and is more walled and more amount of units so it is harder to manuever with kts and also they are finally spammed from more barracks so faster and cheaper than you. and even in bad numbers fight for him he can go back under his def buildings to cover or can add monks. but in super open maps i would say that in post imp with large open eco hussars and mobility gets again its advantage back against halb because they again can threath to do eco dmg and dictate where to fight and also are cheap. and more protected against arrows. so early kts>pike later pike>kts latest on open hussars > halbs. Just depending on size and structure of your base.
Big thanks for this advise. Maybe i would send 1-3 kts in his eko in case you can micro it while def at home because he will be probably unwalled and all in attacking people like hoang sometimes totally shit on their defence.
i think most important would be what to do against 3 tc knights when you have archers and couldnt do any damage in feudal
6:41 literally me 11
Now I know how to defend, but what is a 1 Tc push? I was expecting some sort of Persian douche
A 1 TC push refers to the tactic of not adding additional town centers in castle age, and instead putting all of the resources into military and aggression. 2 or 3 TCs relatively early is pretty common as a castle age strategy, with the main alternative to that being the 1 TC push. It's sometimes called a 1 TC all-in because if you don't do enough damage with it you can fall severely behind in economy, and not be able to defend a counter-attack.
if the oponnent is not adding tc's and plays very aggressive, he's 1tc pushing. He probably even is idling his tc at some point and puts all his ressources into military.
Just means you just have your starting TC producing vills at home. You're not using resources on building more TCs as you hit castle age, you're not using resources on the villagers you would have queued in additional TCs, you might even sell your starting stone (unless you want to use that for forward castle). Every drop of resource (except what you need for 1 TC vill production and maybe a stray eco upgrade) goes into castle age army.
Thank you for all the responses. So technically this is how I as a beginner usually play, because I cannot manage eco and fight at the same time 😉
@@Adrian230 Like Hera mentioned in the intro to the video, it's a fairly straight forward approach requiring less multi tasking.There's nothing wrong with that initially/occasionally, but you definitely want to widen your repertoire of strategies to also include more eco heavy approaches where you invest that starting stone into more TCs and faster villager pop growth. Over time that approach will probably get you more wins 1v1, and it is definitely something you need for team games, where you can rarely finish off the other team in time to win without a strong eco to work with into the late game. If you want to focus on eco builds specifically you can practice in a controlled environment vs AI or unranked vs a training partner (
Hera communist confirmed
Mangonels and monks behind walls does wonders. Also wall your base for the noobs out there. There's a reason it was the meta for a long while. Also reinforce palisade walls with house walls preemptively sometimes on obvious areas they're going to attack or areas where vils aren't close to quick wall behind