Patrol your monk for faster healing! You can select monks with military units then use patrol. A patrolling monk will switch healing targets instantly rather idling for a moment after healing a unit to full.
My favourite Survivalist Video! Monks are just fascinating. I hope that when they eventually get nerfed it will still be a viable option to mass them and beat your opponent in a "pacifist" way.
Thank you for the content. It really shows all the hours put in research, writing the script and shooting clips. This will make community better. I never made the calculation on how good is converting a knight. In fact I almost never use monk to defend. I was toying with the idea of box formation in which situation can be useful. I think bohemians are the best suited. I think of pikes xbows or hand cannoneers plus monk. I think it can be very good to defend important locations or to siege. What do you think about it?
I was watching some live streaming (Daut vs Hera I think) and something that surprised me (and Daut too) was that Hera garrisoned a monk CARRYING a relic into his TC to save him from a raid coming.
aww you didnt mention the most funni unit in the game only accessible to inca or aztecs once they converted a stable my beloved, the xolotl warrior. Always a sidequest to get one stable converted when i play aztecs just to see that unit, its so cool :D
good video, did not know the insta-conversions. Actually did not know many things and was always, unkowningly, bad with monks apparently. I love to play aztecs actually and i do now realise i need to practice with what you have shown. Thanks for the tips :)
You make the most informative, well researched, and comprehensive contents, and you deliver them with thoughtful footage and such magnetic voice. We are so lucky to have you Surv!
@@SurvivalistAoE Thank you, I have been wanting to play Spanish with Donks. This confirms it can be done to a high level. A quick question, when you played Spanish against Berbers about a month ago, why did you not use supremacy and sappers to destroy his buildings and force him to fight. Halb/villagers for the win.
@@mikelivingood7797 I play like 500 games per month so I don't remember that one. If I was in a losing position, then I probably didn't want to use villagers to fight as they needed to bring in resources. Supremacy + sappers is really expensive unless I'm in a good spot already.
Great video, thank you. Two questions: 1. Which is better - theocracy and shift queueing a group of monks to target enemy units sequentially, or fiddly micro trying to target individual monks against individual enemy units? 2. "Charging conversions" I struggled to follow this section. What does a monk retaining its charge mean after converting a unit mean? That it never has to wait for the minimum conversion time ever again unless it moves?
1. Depends on the situation. Shift queueing is faster to set up, single target is slower but more effective. 2. When you have a monk start a conversion, it starts counting the monk seconds until it will get a conversion. If you target another unit or building, this timer will not reset so that monk's progress towards a conversion is retained. If you shift queue with theocracy, the monk seconds are reset after each conversion so you don't get a bunch of insta-conversions.
Thanks Survivalist. Ah so re. 2, you only have to begin converting for it to work. I wonder if all pro players are aware of this? I often hear them complaining about instant conversions but maybe their opponent is simply using this trick...
It's legitimately good on arena with some civs like Aztecs. Actually I just uploaded a really fun Aztecs vs Franks game on my second channel where I went monks as the core of my army th-cam.com/video/v0g1isKDpxw/w-d-xo.html&lc=UgwvVhPkAFOzPLc_NvZ4AaABAg&ab_channel=SurvivalistGameplay
@@SurvivalistAoE What an honor to have a personnal reply from the mighty Survivalist :-). I'm delighted to go check this video, it's gonna be a fun alternative to my arena "full Frank castle" usual strat.
I'm not a fan of the monk control grouping since I already have stuff like production buildings, archers, cavalry in my control group and I don't really wanna go beyond 5 or 6 control groups, so it doesn't make much sense to have them unless monks are basically the centerpiece to my army. I much prefer the idle military technique.
Dear Survivalist: When you talk about the Lithuanians...the relic's attack bonus only applies to heavy cavalry and leitis...if I heard correctly, I think you mentioned light cavalry as well. awesome your video! Thanks a lot.
great video! I think though that monks should have a % of success for conversions. Something like 50-50 or 60-40. This would add more careful usage and planning for their usage.
@@SurvivalistAoE I am not sure to be honest. I cannot use monks in big numbers, I am just a casual player :D, I understand your argument though. I just hate it when suddenly all your army accounts to nothing because the other player is going superman monks. You can escape arrows , but there is no escaping a monk :D
Hey Survivalist, you say you can only train searjants from a converted donjon if you are also sicilians, but sicilians don't get redemption! Also, does the bonus damage reduction from Sicilians apply to monks? Also, if you garrison a monk and a low hp unit inside a building does the unit gain the hp regen as if the monk were healing it in there? Would be cool if it worked like that.
In full tech tree games you'd have it redemption on Sicilians. Pretty niche case though... Sicilian monks take full damage from light cav. Monk does not heal other units inside buildings.
They must've changed it then as I tested a few different things in the editor. If there was no land on the map (full water map), the relics would just teleport back to where I spawned the transport ship initially. Maybe it's just really bugged 11
Ah, I can't believe I forgot to talk about monk techs in this section. Redemption is like ballistics in that it doesn't apply to units. Converted units will be able to use this tech if you have it researched, regardless of if the opponent had it researched. The techs that apply to the monk's stats remain when the unit is converted (sanctity, fervor, block printing, illumination). I did briefly mention that heresy also isn't attached to the unit (or building). If you convert an enemy unit and then they convert it back, it will die if you have heresy and they don't.
I think it's random how the relic falls. Siege tower ungarrison also works this way and I haven't been able to figure out a way of doing it consistently.
you forgot one trivia though: A side effect of studying Aztec theology was growing boobs for men. Devs accurately represented this on the monk reskin of meso civs in the game.
I think the "why not make your entire army out of monks" has 3 other answers: 1) Need redemption or else they are useless vs siege 2) Suck vs villagers and also cheap units like xbows 3) scout line and eagle line will dominate
It would be a prettlong video if I looked all the siege units with this level of detail. I'll definitely go through them in my unit review series eventually.
@@SurvivalistAoE I wish we could somehow test it to find out for sure. It would definitely be a massive change to the game, but so was auto-farming, which no one would argue against having now. You might be correct, but we’ll never know for sure, and I’m wondering if it wouldn’t make Monks OP, but instead a more viable and fun option. I can’t tell you how many times my monks have been slaughtered like sheep because they don’t defend themselves against attacking enemies. I love monks, but they are a frustrating unit requiring insane micro and constant babysitting.
@@sewersideproductions2606 Monks are already borderline OP at higher levels so it wouldn't be a fun change in my opinion without some major nerfs to conversion speed.
christ 44 minutes. I just want to know why it keeps saying I need upgrades to convert this and that when my mobestary is fully upgraded already. there are no remaining upgrades to click upon
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![Simplifying Responses: Making more Decisions with Less Effort [Age of Empires 2]](/img/tr.png)
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Patrol your monk for faster healing! You can select monks with military units then use patrol. A patrolling monk will switch healing targets instantly rather idling for a moment after healing a unit to full.
Thanks for the Illumination on monks.
Good faith comment
@@SurvivalistAoE you'll get no Atonement for such puns
@@talkingbtr-82a76 but you can't knock his Fervor on the topic.
You are gonna need some Herbal Medicine for that Burn.
@@da_ghoul9432 you’re gonna need to seek some redemption for that pun
Never really liked using monks. But, this video makes me want to give monks a chance at redemption. Great content!
Insane, you bring so much value to the community with all the content you produce ! And the fact that you experiment non common things !
beautiful monk explanation
My favourite Survivalist Video! Monks are just fascinating. I hope that when they eventually get nerfed it will still be a viable option to mass them and beat your opponent in a "pacifist" way.
Great video. Not only theoretical explanations, but actual, helpful strategies and tactics to make use of them.
Thank you for the content. It really shows all the hours put in research, writing the script and shooting clips. This will make community better.
I never made the calculation on how good is converting a knight. In fact I almost never use monk to defend.
I was toying with the idea of box formation in which situation can be useful. I think bohemians are the best suited.
I think of pikes xbows or hand cannoneers plus monk. I think it can be very good to defend important locations or to siege. What do you think about it?
Monks pair with most units really well.
I was watching some live streaming (Daut vs Hera I think) and something that surprised me (and Daut too) was that Hera garrisoned a monk CARRYING a relic into his TC to save him from a raid coming.
aww you didnt mention the most funni unit in the game only accessible to inca or aztecs once they converted a stable
my beloved, the xolotl warrior. Always a sidequest to get one stable converted when i play aztecs just to see that unit, its so cool :D
Ah yeah true. I probably should've at least given it a mention.
I know this was a lot of work. Thanks for doing that for us!
Awesome video!! Would love to see more like this. Great production value, I can tell you put a lot of effort into this :)
23:34 Now we just need a 10-hour loop of infinite karambits swarming into cataphracts with futility 11
good video, did not know the insta-conversions. Actually did not know many things and was always, unkowningly, bad with monks apparently. I love to play aztecs actually and i do now realise i need to practice with what you have shown. Thanks for the tips :)
You make the most informative, well researched, and comprehensive contents, and you deliver them with thoughtful footage and such magnetic voice. We are so lucky to have you Surv!
Niice, redemption is now my favorite tech :D it really gives u the edge in later castle age, especially if oponent has forward buildings.
Really informative/interesting video, giving Spirit of the Law a run for his money 😉
This is so good!! Thanks so much for making this Surv
I didn't know about some of the insta conversion tricks, that's scary stuff! Can't wait to try it out
@@DeJake Not the most intuitive mechanic, but super useful once you understand it!
@@SurvivalistAoE Thank you, I have been wanting to play Spanish with Donks. This confirms it can be done to a high level. A quick question, when you played Spanish against Berbers about a month ago, why did you not use supremacy and sappers to destroy his buildings and force him to fight. Halb/villagers for the win.
@@mikelivingood7797 I play like 500 games per month so I don't remember that one. If I was in a losing position, then I probably didn't want to use villagers to fight as they needed to bring in resources. Supremacy + sappers is really expensive unless I'm in a good spot already.
Great video Survi. BTW whats the name of the song intro? Couldnt find it on the composers socials
That's a tune that he made specifically for me, so it's not uploaded anywhere else.
Strap yourselves in boys we gonna be here a while.
Thanks for the awesome Content Surv! Really appreciate. Gotta love watching the Conq and Donk
Thank Survivalist. You are a wonderful teacher!
Insane how much one can know about monks... :D Thx for compiling this vast trove of knowledge!
I wish I was better to utilize the monk more effectively. Such a fun unit, but so hard to use properly.
Excited to try these techniques!
Great video, thank you. Two questions:
1. Which is better - theocracy and shift queueing a group of monks to target enemy units sequentially, or fiddly micro trying to target individual monks against individual enemy units?
2. "Charging conversions" I struggled to follow this section. What does a monk retaining its charge mean after converting a unit mean? That it never has to wait for the minimum conversion time ever again unless it moves?
1. Depends on the situation. Shift queueing is faster to set up, single target is slower but more effective.
2. When you have a monk start a conversion, it starts counting the monk seconds until it will get a conversion. If you target another unit or building, this timer will not reset so that monk's progress towards a conversion is retained. If you shift queue with theocracy, the monk seconds are reset after each conversion so you don't get a bunch of insta-conversions.
Thanks Survivalist. Ah so re. 2, you only have to begin converting for it to work. I wonder if all pro players are aware of this? I often hear them complaining about instant conversions but maybe their opponent is simply using this trick...
@@richardthorn I'd wager that some of them don't know about it.
thanks for ur content!
Always will get hyped when hearing the intro music!
This video is sweeter than relic gold. Great info', well presented, cheers.
Usefull and detailed content. Now I know everything about the OP unit. Thank you.
Really appreciate the video, its all encompassing and just what we needed.
Thanks for that useful video and the great tips. I makes me wanna play full monks only.
It's legitimately good on arena with some civs like Aztecs. Actually I just uploaded a really fun Aztecs vs Franks game on my second channel where I went monks as the core of my army th-cam.com/video/v0g1isKDpxw/w-d-xo.html&lc=UgwvVhPkAFOzPLc_NvZ4AaABAg&ab_channel=SurvivalistGameplay
@@SurvivalistAoE What an honor to have a personnal reply from the mighty Survivalist :-). I'm delighted to go check this video, it's gonna be a fun alternative to my arena "full Frank castle" usual strat.
Survivalist really providing the best educational aoe2 content there currently is out there. It doesn't go unnoticed, good job and thank you!
40:40 -- 40:54 is going on my wall
40:40 omg XD Like the poems in Three Kingdoms!
I'm not a fan of the monk control grouping since I already have stuff like production buildings, archers, cavalry in my control group and I don't really wanna go beyond 5 or 6 control groups, so it doesn't make much sense to have them unless monks are basically the centerpiece to my army. I much prefer the idle military technique.
Dear Survivalist:
When you talk about the Lithuanians...the relic's attack bonus only applies to heavy cavalry and leitis...if I heard correctly, I think you mentioned light cavalry as well.
awesome your video! Thanks a lot.
It just applies to leitis and knights, but it used to apply to light cav!
Having Winged Hussar with that bonus would be beautiful! (and unbalanced)
I love your videos! hugs
Incredible video as always, can't wait for more of these
Stirling work. Well done.
Amazing Video. Thanks for all the Information. I hope my 14k siege pushes will now be succesfull :)
Awesome ! Thanks for these videos, they have a lot of value
Nice video!
Its a shame has so low likes!
I like it!!
great video!
I think though that monks should have a % of success for conversions. Something like 50-50 or 60-40.
This would add more careful usage and planning for their usage.
I think adding more RNG to this unit would make them even more frustrating to use/play against.
@@SurvivalistAoE I am not sure to be honest. I cannot use monks in big numbers, I am just a casual player :D, I understand your argument though.
I just hate it when suddenly all your army accounts to nothing because the other player is going superman monks.
You can escape arrows , but there is no escaping a monk :D
Hey Survivalist, you say you can only train searjants from a converted donjon if you are also sicilians, but sicilians don't get redemption!
Also, does the bonus damage reduction from Sicilians apply to monks?
Also, if you garrison a monk and a low hp unit inside a building does the unit gain the hp regen as if the monk were healing it in there? Would be cool if it worked like that.
In full tech tree games you'd have it redemption on Sicilians. Pretty niche case though...
Sicilian monks take full damage from light cav.
Monk does not heal other units inside buildings.
@@SurvivalistAoE thanks!
Thank you for such great content!
14:18 that poor monk on the left ;_; Converts the BBT, then gets a cannonball to the face from his own tower XD
Great content! Learned a lot
42:04 I tested this about a year ago and the relic goes back to the shoreline that the monk garriaoned the transport on
They must've changed it then as I tested a few different things in the editor. If there was no land on the map (full water map), the relics would just teleport back to where I spawned the transport ship initially.
Maybe it's just really bugged 11
23:18 small correction. Burmese don't get heresy but all else is good
In full tech tree games they do :D But you're right....
Very informative but a question I want to ask is do converted monks keep monastery upgrades, redemption in particular?
Ah, I can't believe I forgot to talk about monk techs in this section.
Redemption is like ballistics in that it doesn't apply to units. Converted units will be able to use this tech if you have it researched, regardless of if the opponent had it researched.
The techs that apply to the monk's stats remain when the unit is converted (sanctity, fervor, block printing, illumination).
I did briefly mention that heresy also isn't attached to the unit (or building). If you convert an enemy unit and then they convert it back, it will die if you have heresy and they don't.
Nice video but how to drop a relic from a very specific angle? :)
I think it's random how the relic falls. Siege tower ungarrison also works this way and I haven't been able to figure out a way of doing it consistently.
you forgot one trivia though: A side effect of studying Aztec theology was growing boobs for men. Devs accurately represented this on the monk reskin of meso civs in the game.
1111
I think the "why not make your entire army out of monks" has 3 other answers:
1) Need redemption or else they are useless vs siege
2) Suck vs villagers and also cheap units like xbows
3) scout line and eagle line will dominate
Can I make a suggestion? Can you make a “Everything you need to know about siege” tutorial?
New players are pretty scared of siege.
It would be a prettlong video if I looked all the siege units with this level of detail. I'll definitely go through them in my unit review series eventually.
That would be an ecumenical matter.
What sancity is 120 gold? I always thought it 90 or 50 or something
You've been playing too much Burmese.
Did you just Wololo on us with this video?
I thought kreposts could be converted
Epic.
Is your intro music inspierd by the cartoon Tintin?
I don't think so. I commissioned my friend to make it so I dunno what he was influenced by, but he tries to make original pieces
31:32 queue up the mbl clip
bohemians are simply op.
whats the intro piano music name?
There's no name. I got my friend who's a composer to make it for me.
you forgot 30 30 30
i need a monk!
Noooo how could you forget siege towers! (for those who wonder: they can be converted from range)
They're not on the list of things that require the monk to be adjacent to to convert.
momk
Farms and fish traps can be converted, by vils lol
Monks NEED an aggressive stance. Why are they the only (quasi-)military unit in the game with an attack, but can’t automatically attack enemies?
They would be 100% overpowered if they could attack automatically.
@@SurvivalistAoE Well that’s how the AI operates, do you think AI monks are overpowered?
@@sewersideproductions2606 AI has a lot of other problems going for them. I bet a monk-focused AI would destroy human players.
@@SurvivalistAoE I wish we could somehow test it to find out for sure. It would definitely be a massive change to the game, but so was auto-farming, which no one would argue against having now. You might be correct, but we’ll never know for sure, and I’m wondering if it wouldn’t make Monks OP, but instead a more viable and fun option. I can’t tell you how many times my monks have been slaughtered like sheep because they don’t defend themselves against attacking enemies. I love monks, but they are a frustrating unit requiring insane micro and constant babysitting.
@@sewersideproductions2606 Monks are already borderline OP at higher levels so it wouldn't be a fun change in my opinion without some major nerfs to conversion speed.
christ 44 minutes. I just want to know why it keeps saying I need upgrades to convert this and that when my mobestary is fully upgraded already. there are no remaining upgrades to click upon
Some civs don't get redemption. This is probably the tech you're looking for.
U missed that donks heal at half rate
And you missed that this was changed when they released the definitive edition. Missionaries heal at the same rate as monks now.
Huh must have missed that. Good imo, but apparently still useless even when paired with conqs, never seen pros use them since
@@edwardblom2661 Pros just haven't figured out that they're good yet. I predict they will be used more as people pick Spanish on nomad style maps.
topnotch poem
nonono, it's a "magic spell"
Wwaananannooooo!!
"Any unit which can walk" horses can walk too, but not the Rider. Is there a fallacy in the wordings? 😛
11 probably could've worded that one better.
of note burmese dont get heresy so sadly that cant be cheapened. however faith is cheaper if that ever matters
Faith is costs almost as much as Imperial Age, so I'd say its noteworthy.
Farms can be converted, but not by monks.
30
Wololo
44mins!!!!
It’d be heresy not to watch this video in full.
Dudes! This video is so scripted! 😂
Why is the intro 15 minutes long?