8 Steps to become better at Age of Empires 2

🔑 1. Master Build Orders

Build orders are scripted economic plans that set you up for different strategies (like fast Castle, scout rush, drush, etc.).

Essential Build Orders:

• Fast Feudal (21-23 pop): Good for early aggression.

• Scout Rush: Military pressure while maintaining eco.

• Fast Castle (FC): For booming or teching into strong Castle Age units.

• Fast Imperial (FI): Rare but viable on closed maps.

📘 Learn 2-3 build orders by heart. Practice them in single-player with Tech Tree turned off to reinforce timing.

📈 2. Always Prioritize Economy (for beginners)

• Minimize idle TC time. Always be creating villagers.

• Use hotkeys for the Town Center and production buildings.

• Consistent villager distribution: Use your build order to manage food, wood, gold, and stone properly.

• Advance at the right pop (based on strategy).

🎯 Goal: Hit key Age advancements efficiently without idling production.

🎯 3. Improve Map Awareness & Scouting

• Scout early. Find all resources: sheep, boars, berries, woodlines, gold, stone.

• Keep scouting in Feudal/Castle Age to track enemy strategy.

• Identify enemy military buildings and anticipate their moves.

👀 Know your surroundings so you can wall intelligently and prepare for attacks.

⚔️ 4. Learn Micro and Army Control

• Use control groups (Ctrl + 1–9) to manage units and buildings.

• Practice hit-and-run, unit formations, and focus fire.

• Learn unit counters (e.g., knights beat archers, spears beat cavalry).

Tip: Don’t take fights you can’t win—positioning is often more important than numbers.

🧱 5. Wall and Defend Smartly

• Walling early buys you time to boom or defend.

• Palisade walls are cheap and fast.

• Gate strategically so you can move your units through efficiently.

🧠 6. Adapt to the Game State

• Don’t just follow a script—react.

  • If the enemy rushes you, wall up and go defensive.

  • If they boom, pressure them with raids.

• Scout constantly so you’re not caught off guard.

📊 7. Watch Replays and Analyze

• Watch your own replays and ask:

  • Did I idle my TC?

  • Were my villagers efficient?

  • Did I scout properly?

  • Did I take bad fights?

Use the captureAge overlay if you’re using AoE2:DE—it helps visualize mistakes.

🌐 8. Play Ranked and Learn from Losses

• Play on ranked ladder regularly (1v1 or team).

• Focus on one civ at a time and understand its strengths.

• Don’t worry about Elo early on—track consistency and macro improvement.