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Do You Have to Build Extra Town Centers? ft. Hera

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 ส.ค. 2024
  • It's pretty standard advice for people to make 2 extra town centers when they hit castle age, but I thought I'd look into the math behind the less common strategy of staying on one TC and going 100% for military instead.
    Hera is a top 10 expert player who uses this strategy is about a 1/5 of his games, so I've included an interview to get his thoughts on the strategy, as well.
    1:00 Collection rates
    1:30 Resources during castle age advance with 28 villagers
    2:00 Explanation of table
    3:26 Initial cost of 2 TCs and equivalent in military units
    3:52 Why 3 TCs continues to fall behind for several minutes
    4:45 Extending the table to 10 minutes
    5:10 What happens after 10 minutes
    5:50 What about 35 and 42 villagers in Feudal?
    6:05 Special factors
    7:15 Interview with Hera
    Hera's Voobly page: www.voobly.com...
    Hera's TH-cam: / @heraageofempires2
    Hera's Twitch: / hera_aoc
    Patreon: / spiritofthelaw
    Full intro song: • Spirit of the Law Chan...
    Background music from Epidemic Sound: www.epidemicsou...
    Game: Age of Empires 2 HD with Forgotten Empires, African Kingdoms, and Rise the Rajas expansions

ความคิดเห็น • 406

  • @HeraAgeofEmpires2
    @HeraAgeofEmpires2 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1300

    Was truly a pleasure helping out for this video! I hope I was able to shed some light on one of the more complex topics in aoe2

    • @roxyc7455
      @roxyc7455 5 ปีที่แล้ว +29

      omg hera ima big fan thanks for helping us noobs in this game

    • @vytas5584
      @vytas5584 5 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      Great analysis and explanation man. I think I can apply this knowledge straight away and improve.

    • @ivanweissbein5253
      @ivanweissbein5253 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Nice to know you have the channel!! Will subscribe

    • @Robert-vk7je
      @Robert-vk7je 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      I fall into the "builds only one extra tc in castle age" category. I'll try to stop this behaviour and commit to an actual strategy. Thank you! :)

    • @TheChimples
      @TheChimples 5 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      2 Canadians dropping the knowledge on the AoE2 scene!!

  • @corsairmechanic4129
    @corsairmechanic4129 5 ปีที่แล้ว +440

    Interviewing pro players for this type of video is a nice touch.
    Edit: Case in point, trapping a whole scout rush in his wood line at 13:33.

    •  3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      I noticed that too! Looked in the comments to see if anyone else spotted it, was not disappointed.

    • @Ratciclefan
      @Ratciclefan 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Oh nice

    • @justincronkright5025
      @justincronkright5025 ปีที่แล้ว

      I hated seeing that 1 scout alive for a while. OCD brain... well OCD towards 'Killing' I guess!

  • @HallyVee
    @HallyVee 4 ปีที่แล้ว +147

    "Hm. Yes, interesting." *plays at 14 APM building pretty villages*

    • @m33a
      @m33a 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Lol..typical aoe newcomer

    • @HallyVee
      @HallyVee 3 ปีที่แล้ว +57

      @@m33a Ha! Wrong! I played the first game quite near release! ... at 14 APM, building pretty villages.

    • @juanpablotavacchi5799
      @juanpablotavacchi5799 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Best thing about AI games is the town building aspect.

    • @aurawolf664
      @aurawolf664 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      u r not alone in that lol!

    • @hannibalburgers477
      @hannibalburgers477 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@m33a lol typical smoothbrain tryhard degenerate that should be flailed, and immolated for the good of mankind.
      I BUILD THE BEST VILLAGES DONT TALK SHT ABOUT CUTE VILLAGES!

  • @iwersonsch5131
    @iwersonsch5131 5 ปีที่แล้ว +424

    "full knights with any civ with bloodlines"
    _suggests Franks_
    This is why AI can't replace us

    • @TheStrangeBloke
      @TheStrangeBloke 5 ปีที่แล้ว +17

      Because Franks have such a weak knight push lol.

    • @dantegomezbasualdo5507
      @dantegomezbasualdo5507 5 ปีที่แล้ว +101

      They have bloodlines without even researching them, and better.

    • @chrisdaley2852
      @chrisdaley2852 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      I'd say they know that.

    • @mrkirby8622
      @mrkirby8622 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@dantegomezbasualdo5507 Not in feudal 😄

    • @dantegomezbasualdo5507
      @dantegomezbasualdo5507 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@mrkirby8622 so best scouts un terms of hp doesnt count?

  • @demoncard1180
    @demoncard1180 5 ปีที่แล้ว +307

    Three TCS or one, we won't be any closer to learning how villagers procreate.

    • @chrisbandicoot9552
      @chrisbandicoot9552 5 ปีที่แล้ว +90

      Villagers don't procreate. All town centers are equipped with cloning vats. Each clone requires 50 food.
      That's why you can produce villagers even when you don't have any.

    • @glitch3141
      @glitch3141 5 ปีที่แล้ว +67

      Immigration. The food cost is the price to feed them and get them to join your side.

    • @tuxedomollusk
      @tuxedomollusk 5 ปีที่แล้ว +47

      Every TC has a Dr. Frankenstein under contract to stitch new villagers together from an assortment of animal corpses, berries, and crops. The "Town Center" label is simply a convenient cover for his abattoir/lab.
      This also explains how the villagers get so swole, considering the monster had a superior physique in the Mary Shelley novel.
      Yeah, turns out AOE is actually a horror game. Who knew.

    • @RedB3aronch
      @RedB3aronch 5 ปีที่แล้ว +36

      It s about feeding the enormous queen, like an hive.

    • @Bloodlyshiva
      @Bloodlyshiva 5 ปีที่แล้ว +24

      At least they HAVE females this time. Poor AOE1 is mono-gender.

  • @zi8gzag
    @zi8gzag 5 ปีที่แล้ว +140

    this guy answers the questions very well

    • @TheStrangeBloke
      @TheStrangeBloke 5 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      Hera is a good teacher. He basically casts while playing on his twitch stream and you can learn a lot there. He's also IMO the best looking AOE2 pro, so there's that. ;)

    • @FirstNameLastName-tx6td
      @FirstNameLastName-tx6td 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@TheStrangeBloke MBL for sure man

    • @200mccsa
      @200mccsa 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@TheStrangeBloke Edie and Jordan are easy on the eye too

  • @mightybatillo
    @mightybatillo 4 ปีที่แล้ว +46

    Im so glad DE came out, last time I played AOE was 10 years ago and we had to use Hamachi to play between friends...

    • @scritoph3368
      @scritoph3368 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Never played AoE back then, but I did use hamachi for minecraft and let me tell you, I'm glad it's gone. Fuck hamachi.

    • @animangovideo7375
      @animangovideo7375 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      There is voobly for that. Once you set up port forwarding and use an ethernet cable instead of wifi it actually works pretty well.

    • @ihmpall
      @ihmpall 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@animangovideo7375 thanks for telling him what he should have done 10 years ago

  • @AM-bo2ns
    @AM-bo2ns 5 ปีที่แล้ว +18

    i'm regularly impressed by how helpful and friendly a lot of the AOE2 community members are. it's really refreshing compared to the poisonous atmosphere of rude, egotistical people who congregate around other games. love the video.

  • @lukefreeman828
    @lukefreeman828 5 ปีที่แล้ว +260

    I've never really bothered with extra TCs... mostly because I suck at the game! Feel like doing a starters guide soon? Maybe for when Definitive Edition drops?

    • @Rushi486
      @Rushi486 5 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      Same here. I never realy saw a reason to make them (since for farms i can just use mill i thought), unless my initial got destroyed.

    • @PartialViewmusic
      @PartialViewmusic 5 ปีที่แล้ว +18

      There are a ton of those. Resonance22 is a great watch to learn the very basics of the game.
      While I agree that Spirit Of The Law does great videos I really don't think he himself is good enough to teach new players. He hasn't even managed to reach 1800 HD rating so 11
      No disrespect whatsoever against SOTL though. I love his videos.

    • @NetherPrime
      @NetherPrime 5 ปีที่แล้ว +48

      @@PartialViewmusic You do know that being 1800 does not qualify you to teach others, right? you could be 2.5k and still not qualify. Teaching and playing are 2 different things.

    • @RimaNari
      @RimaNari 5 ปีที่แล้ว +22

      @@PartialViewmusic I think SOTL is entirely qualified to teach the basics. He knows the basics, so why shouldn't he teach them?
      However I agree thinking that his potential is better placed in the content he does normally, not beginners guides. Except of course if he reallz has fun doing them.

    • @jcpkill1175
      @jcpkill1175 5 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      Sotl is quite qualified to teach as its technically what his channel is mainly about, which is teaching aoe2 indirectly (ie no build order guides etc) If he does make a beginners guide it should be something new and around his style of videos, instead of a build order guide which is probably the norm why not take a look at basic build orders and walk through why everything is done. Instead of people learning they comprehend it and progress further with a general understanding and ability to mold it much better than a normal build order would.

  • @EdanZy
    @EdanZy 5 ปีที่แล้ว +39

    Spirit of The Law with the content I need ♥️

  • @CharlesJ3
    @CharlesJ3 5 ปีที่แล้ว +40

    Love your videos man. Your use of math to be objective is awesome. You are my AoE2 Yoda.

  • @periculum69
    @periculum69 5 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    This video inspired me to look a little deeper at extra TC's and some less conventional strategies. Building two TC's does exactly what you think and splits the difference. I don't know why, but I was surprised to realize that it takes just as long for it to pay off it's investment though. You still don't surpass the one TC build until more than 9 minutes have passed, which is the same time it takes a 3 TC build to surpass either a one TC build or a two TC build. But the difference either way is only going be half what it otherwise would have been, so nobody is going to have as great of an army advantage during those ~10 minutes. Or after. So could be a good way to hedge your bets if you're not sure what your opponent may do, but it'd also be harder to leverage an advantage over your opponent once you find out what they're doing. You'll have less of an initial economy lead to disrupt them if they went for more TC's, and you're not going to have that much stronger of an economy than them after 10 minutes if they went for fewer TC's.
    Then for fun I looked at Indian players with their cheaper villagers specifically. Trying to replicate your math, I calculated that an Indian villager only costs 138.1 vill seconds to create. Thanks to this, the Indian player on three TC's will surpass the value of a Generic one TC build a full minute faster than other civs, at a bit over 8 minutes. A significantly shorter window. Another interesting option I looked at but haven't tried in game yet is an Indian player doing a four TC build. Since four vills for them costs nearly the same as 3 for a generic civ.
    The four TC build has the obvious and quite substantial drawback of a more expensive initial investment, basically bankrupting you at the beginning of castle age. However, it is never more than that initial investment behind a generic three TC build. Unlike the other comparisons, you're not falling further behind while making extra vills against a generic three TC build, so they will never have more than a 1237 vill second economy lead over you. AND that disappears surprisingly quickly after around 6:30 minutes. From that point forward, you're ahead.

    • @LeaderOfTheRedNinjas
      @LeaderOfTheRedNinjas 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      On a practical note, 2 tc has the advantage of being much easier to execute and balance for newer players. I'm using it as a way into getting used to using more than one TC in open games and would reccomend it for other lower level players too

  • @GvF11
    @GvF11 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    We definitely need more of this, keep up the good work

  • @bdonaghu
    @bdonaghu 5 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    Came for the insane archer micro in the clips, stayed for the analysis.

  • @tommikoski7910
    @tommikoski7910 5 ปีที่แล้ว +42

    Good timing with this video - In a recent tournament game Hera went like +6TC and upto 170 vills :) _lost the game though, but won the series_

    • @rickychardzz
      @rickychardzz 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      In what tournament was it ??

    • @nategarrett8058
      @nategarrett8058 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@rickychardzz mangrove shallows cup, probably

    • @rickychardzz
      @rickychardzz 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Nate Garrett 777777...... thought the maps where to weird so i didn’t check it

    • @nategarrett8058
      @nategarrett8058 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@rickychardzz you missed out on some excellent games. I don't care for membs style of casting, but even with the weird maps and less than ideal casting, the viper/daut series was an instant classic, and Hera/Tatoh and Daut/MrYo in the semifinals have the potential for excellence

    • @rickychardzz
      @rickychardzz 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Nate Garrett damn daut beat vipa is insane ill probably check it out

  • @Emil-yd1ge
    @Emil-yd1ge 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I'm impressed how well Hera can explain!

  • @sweetestperfection90
    @sweetestperfection90 5 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    Please remake with an interview with Hoang, an expert in this field!

    • @segmentsAndCurves
      @segmentsAndCurves 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      He would raid your economy before you even reach Castle.

  • @EngPheniks
    @EngPheniks 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    just like the Goths technology allowing Barracks to train Huskarls other than from the castle, there ought to be a technology research allowing houses to train villagers other than from the Town Center

    • @aurawolf664
      @aurawolf664 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      a tech called what, exactly? "Sex" ??

    • @redwastaken3363
      @redwastaken3363 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@aurawolf664 Yes.

  • @BoxiesAU
    @BoxiesAU 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Great video SotL as always - Loved the interview with Hera

  • @bilythebest
    @bilythebest 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    i'm so happy when i see a new video of yours :) a big thank you from Algeria

  • @ssb201
    @ssb201 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I like your videos. Found them recently and they made me want to go back and play the campaigns again.

  • @erickcenteno7731
    @erickcenteno7731 5 ปีที่แล้ว +48

    5, for maximum Supremacy effect!!!!

    • @RealLifeW0rld
      @RealLifeW0rld 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      With Britons that's a very good idea!

  • @zackwhite5959
    @zackwhite5959 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I always knew Hera was a beast in-game, but this shows that he also is a pretty eloquent speaker and good at explaining things. A+ to you both.

  • @alexandergrace5350
    @alexandergrace5350 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I learned so much from Hera. Thanks SoTL!

  • @thisrocks
    @thisrocks 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Awesome video SOTL. Thank you for all your efforts!

  • @kairos4486
    @kairos4486 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I always prioritise a second town centre as soon as I hit castle age. It's a simple strategy, but effective.

  • @felipemonasterio6397
    @felipemonasterio6397 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    This video will fill some gaps on 1 tc attacks. What an amazing piecr of information. Cheers SOTL.

  • @MsKepher
    @MsKepher 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Pretty interesting video and very dinamyc interview. Congrats!

  • @glenrobinson9963
    @glenrobinson9963 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Absolutely love your vids. I ise TCs offensively a lot, so their value is hugely more important. Dropping a TC on an enemies resources is definitely worth the price of admission.

  • @Raven305bal
    @Raven305bal 5 ปีที่แล้ว +71

    Great video! shouldnt you emperically consider the cost of building more lumber camps or mine camps, which players with only one TC have to do? Because when I build an extra TC I put it in a place i would a build a lumber camp and a mine camp. Just a suggestion!

    • @Bart_Happel
      @Bart_Happel 5 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      Fair point, but you should also consider the extra farms you need for villager production and your lumbercamps and mining camps get saturated faster with the higher villager production so you also need more of them faster. You are investing in your eco three times as much as you would do for one tc and your eco is therefor also growing three times as fast.

    • @carbon1255
      @carbon1255 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      I think bart is right, you have more farms and mills to build, and more micro to do - all at a time where a one tc player is really pushing you.
      So i don't think it is an economy. I think it really comes down to attacking in AoE2 being quite challenging and risky - otherwise single tc would win every time (as they used to in the old meta)

  • @shivdmanwii
    @shivdmanwii 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Really like the pro player feedback. I would realy love if you could get that after you did your tests so you could potentially discuss some of the results and see if that changes their mind on otherwise add to the conversation.
    E.g. in this case it would have been nice to have the 9ish min mark be discussed to see how that held up to real scenarios as well as the whole converting of resources into villager seconds. I think a pro player could really use that sort of information since they would have better knowledge of how long techs take to research and could potentially give further insight with the resources represented that way.

  • @jnb894
    @jnb894 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    So complete, so perfect video, so Spirit of the Law!

  • @TomJerry12933
    @TomJerry12933 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I'm glad you got Hera to join you.
    do similar for future vids!

  • @The_Room_2_Doggys_Revenge
    @The_Room_2_Doggys_Revenge 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Seeing the Conquistadors near the end of the video reminded me : for next video, top 5-10 unique unit!

  • @Harley002
    @Harley002 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I typically go a little heavy on stone in the feudal age and place a castle soon after going castle age, then place only a second town center immediately after i have enough stone. I never go more than two tcs in my main town as i already have a hard time keeping up with tasking the vils coming out, without idling them too long anyway.

  • @mostwanted2390
    @mostwanted2390 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    My favourite 2 AoE 2 players in 1 video!!

  • @autopsipath
    @autopsipath 5 ปีที่แล้ว

    Very insightful and helpful video, Hera done a good job of thoroughly addressing the questions, I went and subbed his TH-cam immediately.

  • @Ribs351
    @Ribs351 5 ปีที่แล้ว

    I'm a Vietnamese, that means whenever you upload a video it's usually pretty darn late.
    Which is nice because you have a very calming voice and it helps me get over the trouble of not being able to sleep at night.
    Not trying to say that your videos bore me to sleep or anything, they actually interesting. But for some reasons, after watching a few videos of yours in a row, I'll always end up falling asleep.
    Blergh, enough about me blabbering about, great videos, keep doing what you're doing!

    • @carbon1255
      @carbon1255 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      I struggle to sleep too a good portion of the time and I likewise listen to youtubers like spirit of the law for this. He also has a consistent tone and melody that is not disruptive or alerting so you don't get woken up by them if you put them on.

    • @xTheLemon
      @xTheLemon 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I love Spirit of the Law. Honestly I can't stand TH-camrs or streamers who scream and overreact all the time at times it's not even necessary. What I love about his videos is the way of bringing very amazing information with all the formulas such and just staying who he is. I always like to watch his videos when I'm drinking coffee or taking a break from my homework.

    • @perropipa900
      @perropipa900 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      I'm in Sa Pa, north of Vietnam right now! Greetings friend

  • @coreylewis1355
    @coreylewis1355 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    A beginner guide would be spectacular my good sir!!!!

  • @obesechicken13
    @obesechicken13 5 ปีที่แล้ว

    Love the content. I think I've done math for this too already but nice to see it again.
    13:20 I think often that extra resources goes into farms otherwise people would do 4 tc booms. In fact on arena people often do 4 tc with the 4th one after the first 3.

  • @dariodimarziasalvatore971
    @dariodimarziasalvatore971 5 ปีที่แล้ว +33

    I wish you did the math for my every life choice :D

  • @FizzleFX
    @FizzleFX ปีที่แล้ว

    "Is it worth it"
    Spirit *takes deep breath for several minutes*

  • @Eye_Exist
    @Eye_Exist 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    it's fascinating that probably the game was never originally designed to be played like this and with this specific consideration and tactic in mind - this type of evolution of knowledge and understanding has only came from the competitive playing, which naturally forces people to actually study the game and its mechanics to rank higher.

  • @AaronJustice
    @AaronJustice ปีที่แล้ว

    Just saw this video, 3 years in 😆. AOE2 hit game pass and this video was very instructional. Thanks.

  • @Kevin-wx7wu
    @Kevin-wx7wu 5 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    My two cents for intermediate level players is that you may only want to do the one tc push when you're confident you're a better player(through scouting, score) and that way you get good at it and finish the game fast, otherwise is safer to stick to the usual boom strats

    • @carbon1255
      @carbon1255 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      I think that is a terrible strategy. If you are up against someone of roughly equal skill based on elo and their score is lower, it is likely they had a bad start or they are fatslob, in which case they will play super defensively and might 1TC too, meaning you will lose a game you would otherwise win.
      I think you use this technique at the intermediate level on BETTER players, because it gives you a reasonable chance at success if your opponent has the lead even. All or nothing kind of shot. Viper if anything teaches the riskier strategies are usually better as they are less predictable - only in the lead do you play it safe.

    • @Kevin-wx7wu
      @Kevin-wx7wu 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@carbon1255 different people different experiences, all in all, the best thing to do is go out there and see what works best

  • @Gnordlan
    @Gnordlan 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I'd be interested to hear how this stacks up against heavy fishing as your primary source of food, and whether fishing boats reduces or alleviates the need for the extra villagers/TCs.

  • @BigBruh47
    @BigBruh47 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I stopped playing aoe 2 10 years ago but i still dont mind watching your videos.

    • @elchicounsl
      @elchicounsl 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      you should definitely come back and try the new HD editions. And a new AOE2 is also coming. I also stop playing it a lot time ago, just to come back and realized it is still the best RTS nowadays.

  • @leow193
    @leow193 5 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    Short answer : Yes.

  • @T3AMKILL
    @T3AMKILL 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Keep up the vids!!! Awesome stuff ❤️

  • @hbarudi
    @hbarudi 5 ปีที่แล้ว

    I wish they would change the game to allow a max 2 town centers in feudal age but the game simply unlocks unlimited town centers in castle age. Also if you have a sweet spot with mining, food, and wood available, building a town center saves a house or 2 worth of wood and provide a mill, lumber camp, and mining camp worth of drop off point for resources and can make villagers and support population. That is a lot of benefits that come from building additional town centers. You don't have to have every town center always making villagers if you can't keep up with the food, make a villager, keep the town center providing its other benefits such as drop off, population support, and the ability to use the town bell if the enemy player bring their soldiers to kill your villagers.

  • @antelal
    @antelal 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Great video! Would have liked to seen the 2 TC stats besides the others :)

  • @imnotgivingmynametou
    @imnotgivingmynametou 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    The main advantage is that you can continue to build villagers during the Imperial Age advance. I usually build 5 villagers and put down another TC during the Castle Age. After that I use the villagers to build farms or chop wood and you get the return on cost back fairly quickly.
    I also play Britons normally and their TCs are pretty cheap as it’s only the 100 stone cost that matters. I prefer only to have 2 TCs personally as the stone is better spent quickly walling off the enemy and building castles. Stone is normally the rarest resource and is vital for defence.

  • @Sevillanso
    @Sevillanso 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    your videos are top class, thanks

  • @MrGuamedo
    @MrGuamedo 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    This channel, and also this video are gold!

  • @Helpful_Corn
    @Helpful_Corn 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I know I'm very late on this, but I think you forgot to factor in the lost resources that those 8 villagers missed out on collecting while constructing the TC's. By my math 8 villagers working for 75 seconds adds up to a not insignificant 600 extra lost seconds. But maybe it's not worth factoring that in because players will be constructing things anyway.

  • @HazmanFTW
    @HazmanFTW 5 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    When there's no intro music and it makes you feel sad.

  • @GraveUypo
    @GraveUypo 5 ปีที่แล้ว

    more town centers makes you more resilient to villager raids (as in you'll have more villagers to begin with and will be able to replace lost ones faster) AND works as an extra layer of defense. i think it's worth it.

  • @nostalgicdouchebag1912
    @nostalgicdouchebag1912 5 ปีที่แล้ว +74

    You got Hera, pls get Dave, another Canadian for a video pls 11...

    • @randomfluffypup9608
      @randomfluffypup9608 5 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      Dave could teach how to stack gates 11

    • @Lampredi4
      @Lampredi4 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Slam and Heart: am I joke to you?

    • @CornBredCrusader
      @CornBredCrusader 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@randomfluffypup9608 here ya go th-cam.com/video/tbqvXp5WRdE/w-d-xo.html

    • @TriRemo
      @TriRemo 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@Lampredi4 hearttt ? 11 he's Peruvian

    • @YoungSavage
      @YoungSavage 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      he needs to get chris 11

  • @jadearrowgamer1762
    @jadearrowgamer1762 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Hey Spirit, you have civ overviews, why not do player overviews where you take a look at top well known players' micro, macro, consistency, map control, late gameplay, and give them grade rankings for each just like your civ overviews? Or maybe a top 5 (or 10) aoe 2 players similar to your top 5 gunpowder, infantry etc. lists? I'd love that

  • @raycearcher5794
    @raycearcher5794 5 ปีที่แล้ว

    I don't usually build TCs just to get more villagers. I kind of think of them in terms of what they let me do on their own: research broad econ techs while growing pop, defend areas, and gain population space. In that sense, I'm more likely to build TCs if I have a glut of villagers and I don't have the economic research to benefit from them, or if I'm building far from my starting area, particularly if there's some barrier to streaming villagers to a remote area quickly, like water. Of course a few civs can also use the TC in place of a castle for drop strategies, in particular the Britons and Malians.

  • @bobincognito
    @bobincognito 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    But my original tc is mostly idle, so i'll just use that one and safe the ressources right?

  • @kadirsar7637
    @kadirsar7637 5 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    Why you never ask the viper. I know he is very busy and a shy person in general but plezzz man

    • @carbon1255
      @carbon1255 5 ปีที่แล้ว +20

      Hera was the man to ask on this strategy, but it would have been nice to get his take as Viper was the best player back when one TC was the meta, he could explain why 3 tc became dominant and why. He also goes 1tc on occasion.

    • @TheStrangeBloke
      @TheStrangeBloke 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Hera is the guy to ask here, since this is one of his signature strats, and he's much easier to get ahold of since he's a canadian and consequently in a closer time zone.
      You have to see this from the pro point of view.PoVs too. There's little incentive for someone like Viper to weigh in; everyone who watches SotL knows who he is. Hera, meanwhile, is not, properly speaking, a 'pro' because AoE2 isn't his primary source of income, so this Q&A is a great opportunity for him where it'd just kinda be a chore for the Viper.
      In any case, SotL's "ft. pro" segments are a relatively new feature. He's only had this format for like three videos? I'm sure we'll get Viper at some point.

    • @rickychardzz
      @rickychardzz 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      TheStrangeBloke i consider hera pro because he is top 10..... and being top 10 in a game makes you pro

    • @felipemonasterio6397
      @felipemonasterio6397 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@TheStrangeBloke Ive just seen Tatoh and Hera so far, so yeah, i hope we get more pros commentaries. Id also like to point out that SOTL videos have a certain resonance. For example, when he uploaded the 1 tower and a villager vs 2 empty towers Tatoh explained it in detail to his twitch community, which i found great. So yes, i hope we get more of this. Cheers

    • @rickychardzz
      @rickychardzz 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      TheStrangeBloke and being in aM makes you pro if we consider what you say we can count all pros from aoe 2 in one hand..... and t90 would be pro it doesn’t make sense i believe we say someone pro by the skill level they have to bring not the amount of money they make

  • @Cysubtor_8vb
    @Cysubtor_8vb 5 ปีที่แล้ว

    I'm a casual player nowadays that's super busy with work and play on turbo, so I generally stick to one largely because I'm fairly close to the number of villagers I want to have by that point and would now be switching focus to military. Back in the day of the original disk version, I used to make additional town centers, but not immediately upon castle age as I've just always liked to get a couple key techs out the way first ASAP then go about other things.
    I've been thinking about finally developing a proper build order as I do tend to spent too much time in the lower ages laying the groundwork for the later ages, which is another reason I typically stick to one TC as I occasionally rush through the castle age to the imperial, especially since I tend to gravitate towards civs that are the strongest in imperial. May try out aging up quicker (as in closer to typical build order) then catch up on villagers with extra TCs the next time I play.

  • @SamNg311
    @SamNg311 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    My favorite AoE 2 players in 1 video! :D

  • @amauriherrera6022
    @amauriherrera6022 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Everything in AOE2 is about timing. Therefore walling/map control determines this TC question.
    3TC wins the long game, 1TC wins the rush. Black Forest is an example. Fast feudal, fast tower at the wall, fast Castle, fast knight to palisades GG. Low ELOs wouldn't even know what hit them. But if you fail at aggro the boomer will wreck you in Imperial. So it comes down to making your units really count, ergo micro and tactics. Good raiding practices.

  • @Robert-vk7je
    @Robert-vk7je 5 ปีที่แล้ว

    Very insightful. Thank you!

  • @blue-competitivertsgamepla9984
    @blue-competitivertsgamepla9984 5 ปีที่แล้ว +35

    20 min sotl video.
    *reschedule important doctors appointment*

  • @aminj9526
    @aminj9526 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    Great video. Myself I would really view it as whether to castle age rush (1 TC) versus Castle Age boom (at least 3 TCs) - the strategy being the determinating factor while the number of TCs is part of the build order/strategy. There might be rushes that use more than 1 TC and times where you boom and still do some sporadic raiding, but judging from what I saw in the video, 1 TC essentially means omitting to a big castle age rush because a lot of the time the game is over in Castle Age or you may may it to Imperial late and finish it off then which happens with a big castle age rush.
    I am not much of a rusher so I may be wrong about this if there are other builds that favour over 1 TC in castle.

  • @ryannayr140
    @ryannayr140 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    question: heavy plow before or after 4th tc in full boom? Feels like by the time my horse collar farms run out the wood is worth far less to me.

  • @xthomas7621
    @xthomas7621 5 ปีที่แล้ว

    How many minutes do farms last before expiring? Some factors:
    1. Food on the farm itself. Chinese team bonus, mill techs, maybe Mayans longer lasting resources?
    2. How fast villagers move, how much resources they carry. So wheelbarrow, vikings, aztecs +5 carry bonus
    3. Direct bonus to farm food production like slavs have iirc

  • @JNCressey
    @JNCressey 5 ปีที่แล้ว

    Interesting how there was a difference between him saying the first couple of minutes are okay but you want to be sure to have made a big move by a few minutes after that, and the calculations saying they're most behind at 4 minutes and you have until 10 minutes before they catch up.

  • @jonathanschloemer6846
    @jonathanschloemer6846 5 ปีที่แล้ว

    I used a 1 TC strategy as Franks against a friend who plays Turks. It worked extremely well for me for the very reasons he mentioned it being useful at lower levels of play (I am definitely in the lower levels of play). My friend couldn't adapt to it.

    • @carbon1255
      @carbon1255 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      It used to be the meta for good reason, you hit like a truck.

  • @Undefined14
    @Undefined14 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    If you use a "max villager" number of say 100, you could determine the maximum advantage of Boom (because eventually 1TC gets there too). It would be smaller with a later Castle Age. So later advance means that it might not ever be worth it to boom (max advantage of the long term investment being smaller than the max advantage of aggressive play seems bad). Thoughts?

    • @Carlostaco
      @Carlostaco 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      Yes, Max population is also a factor

  • @khaledabdulkarimful
    @khaledabdulkarimful 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I love getting extra Tcs,the feeling of having that huge trickle of resources .....

  • @prickmike
    @prickmike 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    Thank you SOTL and Hera. Let the AoE family grow. Get viper too someday to give some tips man

  • @kshithijkaran7657
    @kshithijkaran7657 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Hey Spirit! Great video. If possible, could you make a quick video about AOE2 DE? Something like predictions or a wish list. Maybe things you want and don't want to see when it releases. Anything 😂

  • @DeisFortuna
    @DeisFortuna 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    Now that Definitive Edition is out, the Cumans are hilarious for going and Douching your opponent in feudal with your second TC is really fun, even if I've only ever done it against the AI.

  • @TheStrangeBloke
    @TheStrangeBloke 5 ปีที่แล้ว

    Another factor to consider with TCs is that they give you limited amounts of map control. A 1-TC push is bad in part because not only are you expanding more slowly, but your expansion (taking more gold, stone, wood) is going to be less well defended unless you're also building castles.

    • @legion2590
      @legion2590 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I think the person doing the 1 tc push usually has better map control. They got more army roaming around the enemy base keeping the enemy hemmed in. That said, you're right that the 1 tc push is very vulnerable back home (if they don't wall) and sometimes pro players will try to sneak a batch of their smaller army through the enemy lines and into the enemy base for easy vil kills rather than watch their smaller army get wrecked by the larger army of the 1tc push.

  • @StatedOregon5
    @StatedOregon5 5 ปีที่แล้ว

    Man, u certainly must put a lot of effort and time on these videos!! Great job!!
    I wonder how that would apply to aoe3 with the shipment mechanics!!

  • @cloud09gaming
    @cloud09gaming 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    I always just use 1 center. It makes it easier for me to have a central hub instead of spread around. I will however build extra sometimes in like allied territory or as a back up if my main one is in a more dangerous location.

  • @WodkaEclair
    @WodkaEclair 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    So a question unrelated to the video: has anyone noticed any temporary bumps in popularity for civs/units/tactics in multiplayer games in the period after a video SoL or any other major channels?

  • @kimckenzie6161
    @kimckenzie6161 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Been watching you for a while... I thought your accent sounded familiar, but I did not know you were for sure from Canada. Where about's? I'm from Alberta, 30 mins south of Edmonton myself.

  • @autronic9306
    @autronic9306 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Intro music?

  • @nikitsaharan3223
    @nikitsaharan3223 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Spirit can you please make a video on how to download new version of AoE2 please

  • @vytas5584
    @vytas5584 5 ปีที่แล้ว

    Hera is such an intelligent guy. I have watched 100+ pro games on TH-cam, but never got the insight that he and Spirit delivered in this video about distinguishing different strategies from number of TCs. It really simplifies the analysis of the game.

  • @redbasher636
    @redbasher636 5 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Starter guide or such would be nice.
    I'm always scared to pick up this game because I was really bad at it.

    • @OliSmith111
      @OliSmith111 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      There are plenty of tutorials all over TH-cam. Search for "build order" videos. I think res22 did a bunch a couple of years ago and I know zero empires started a full tutorial series but I don't know how much of it he's made.

    • @TheStrangeBloke
      @TheStrangeBloke 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@OliSmith111 He has the basics. Boar luring, finding sheep etc. But TBH I feel like just playing the game is the only way to get good. I trained against the hardest AI until I could beat it every time, but that didn't really teach me how to play against someone who knows how to manage an archer rush.

  • @keeganbedell3327
    @keeganbedell3327 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I’ve found that for Black Forest maps where you wall up a lot, 4 or 5 tc’s is best

  • @TheFormHater
    @TheFormHater 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    average villager time for resources is marxian economic value
    very progressive of sotl to calculate it that way and also proof that value theory of labor is universal since sotl came to it organically

  • @anythingyouwant4485
    @anythingyouwant4485 5 ปีที่แล้ว

    Keep working bro best aoe 2 Channel ever

  • @sanal.abraham
    @sanal.abraham 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    what if there is a population limit of 75...still go with more than 1 TC?

    • @mdmishfaqahmed8356
      @mdmishfaqahmed8356 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      yeah u make 75 villagers and make towers everywhere

    • @sanal.abraham
      @sanal.abraham 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@mdmishfaqahmed8356 good luck with that

  • @sethkritarth
    @sethkritarth 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    Love the video, but shouldn't you also consider the savings of 3-4 buildings that a TC is now doing the work of? (as a collection point for all types of resources).
    Eg. at 5:54 you now don't require 1 mill, 2 mining camps and 1 lumber camp. This means that TC= 375 resources + 150 sec and these 4 buildings = 400 resources and 140 sec.
    Additionally, there is an advantage of less villager walking time to resources (right after creation) and to safety (in case of an attack).
    I know the placement of TC at 5:54 one is pretty much ideal, but at the very least a TC does the job of 2 buildings.
    I would say that it pays off much earlier than you think here, but yes, depending upon the placement. I usually play with 2 TC strategy, but only drop the 2nd TC when I find the ideal location. If I ever build a 3rd TC, its usually in my allies' base.

  • @XyntXII
    @XyntXII 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    One of your assumptions is mostly wrong: bow saw will be delayed only in very few games.
    Maybe it is a good idea to run your assumptions by a pro, that is working with you if there should happen to be one.

  • @thearianrobben
    @thearianrobben 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    For DE, now we need to know when cuman's extra feudal tc become worthwhile

  • @M3Marcoux
    @M3Marcoux 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    @SotL could you do mass kamayuk vs mass jag video?

  • @nilab499
    @nilab499 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    So assuming that, you have 4 villagers building the 2 additional town centers each, you would have 8 villagers missing out of farming resources. so if you pass to the castle age with 28 villagers, you would have 20 villagers remaining in the mean time making resources, whereas in the other case, you would have 28 villagers making resources. so the resource gap should increase until the TCs are done, but in your table it stays constant. this should also shift the time for making up the resource gap further. am I missing something?

  • @aliencatcrew3336
    @aliencatcrew3336 5 ปีที่แล้ว

    I dont usually play against real life players so what i say is bunk for online play, but i usually build another TC when i have conquered 1 civ and when i move in, if their are different types of r3sources smooshed into 1 spot. Like a gold mine, berries around a forrest. Usually plopping a TC with 7 villagers, causes them to gather all 3 different types of rousources or to do all one by one.

    • @Ayakinim
      @Ayakinim 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      11

    • @aliencatcrew3336
      @aliencatcrew3336 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@Ayakinim i usually add more but i normally start with 7.

  • @julzyboy8960
    @julzyboy8960 5 ปีที่แล้ว

    Spirit Of The Law, what do you think about making a video about how to learn to make mods for this game? Like how to make data mods to change/add things in the game? You don't have to explain everything yourself, I'd assume you wouldn't know that much, very few people know it all, but I just mean where to go or who to go to to learn as much as possible.
    I love this game, but only for it's unique aesthetic style, map editor and modding, unfortunately I seem to be the 1%

  • @fo0l913
    @fo0l913 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Somewhat related to this video, I think it would be really cool to look at the economic impact of Persians’ TC work rate bonus. Have always wondered how strong that bonus really is.

  • @JackKenton
    @JackKenton 5 ปีที่แล้ว

    It's good to see at least one high ranking Canadian in top 10

  • @emiskilrimusicproductions
    @emiskilrimusicproductions 5 ปีที่แล้ว

    I play post-imperial age if I'm not in the mood for a challenge, but every time i start out, even in the dark age, I can literally never catch up. I take forever to build, only because I build last. I always end up winning with the most resources collected, etc etc. Even playing on "hardest" with either the Koreans, Aztecs or Teutons, I still manage to win, even with the weird bonuses and whatever. Overall, I'm a slow player. I save my games and quit when I'm bored. I used to play 400,000,000- (not really) games in one day and I- [sigh], I now play 5 minutes and I'm done