Hi guys! I wanted to blog about this since a very long time. But I never got time. Finally it is here! “Age 2 Power Strike”.

It all started when I was a beginner and used to play vs computer. I still remember games vs tougher/toughest AI. It always used to out-boom me. So me and my friends started powerful age 2-3 attacks. Before it could out-boom us, we used to kill it by age 3. Gradually after a lot of experience in the game, I came across a full-proof age 2-3 attack which I’m sharing with you.

What is “Age 2 Power Strike” ?

Attacking in age 2-3 before your opponent builds up a subsequent economy. There are two main variations in this attack. They are listed below :-

– Attack opponent’s capital in age 2-3 and hold it till the timer ends.

– Attack opponent’s 2nd/3rd city and hold it.

What should be the “Army Composition” ?

Well, it depends on your opponents nation as well as yours. But the basic army composition is as follows :-

– 5/6 Heavy Infantries

– 2 Horses (Light Cavalry/Heavy Cavalry)

– 1 Horse Archer [Optional]

– Archer (Light Infantry) [Optional]

Please note that a senate and a scout is must while executing this attack.

Age-2-Power-Strike
How is it done ?

– First, start off normally with 100 food and 100 wood economy. You should hit age 2 before 4 mins. Approximately in 3:45 mins. I always aged in 3:30 mins for a smoother execution of this attack.
– Now, you should research military level 2 and start building a stable.
– Create 1 Horse Archer or 1-2 Heavy Cavalries and send it to raid. This is mainly to distract your opponent. Preferably send 1 HA and 1 HC to raid. Don’t create 2 HA’s else you will get delayed in creating a barracks.
– At the same time, you should get villagers on mine and build up a senate. You should go despot in order to have cheaper troops.
– Now create a barracks. Keep heavy infantry creation on infinite queue. At the same time create 2-3 horses (Mostly light cavalries in order to save wealth).
– Create an university and 1 scholar whenever its possible. But first of all, you should research despot (senate) and then only create a scholar. Just a tip for wise utilization of wealth.
– I usually try to put a merchant on a rare which gives knowledge. So when I reach age 2, I have knowledge accumulating.
– Next you have to research commerce level 2. This is mainly to allow you buy and sell resources via market and also to increase your commerce limit.
– By now you must have created 5-6 heavy infantries. Stop creating them. Focus on booming a little. Mainly create scholars and villagers. Create one more university if required. Try getting your economy to 150 food and 150 wood.
– At the same time, unite all your armies i.e 5-6 HI’s, 2-3 LC’s, 1 LI (Optional), senate and a scout. Ambush your troops and find a path to your opponents capital.
Note: If your opponents capital is fortified or very far to attack, you should attack the closest city while you continue booming.
– Start attacking the city. Control your troops very well. I would suggest attack the city with HI’s and control horses. This depends on the situation.
– The moment you see that the city is 20-30% left, start researching Age 3.
– Now you have got the capital. The moment your aging completes, the small city turns into a big city (Because your opponent must have made 5 types of buildings on that city). See to it that you don’t raze anything after getting it else it might not become big.
– At this point you might have two options. Either to hold it till the timer ends or can start booming. I usually end up getting doubled while holding. So I prefer to balance out by booming a little while making efforts to hold it.

Ideal time of execution : 6-8 mins (Depends on the game conditions)

Other Variation – Attacking the second city:

– The moment you take your opponents 2nd city, your plan should be to hold it.
– You might be wondering that how are you damaging your opponent ? When you take his city, your opponent loses economy and most importantly his wealth level drops. Eventually you out-boom.

Which are the favorable nations for perform this attack?

– Americans
– Aztecs
– Germans
– Iroquois
– Japanese (Most Favorable)
– Romans
– Spanish
– Turks

It can be performed with any nation except Persians since the Persian heavy infantries are weaker and slower than usual ones. So it becomes a little risky.

Against which nations is this attack risky?

– British
– Iroquois (Wondering why ? Reason is hidden armies. They can be risky. Especially when your opponent kills your scout.)
– Koreans
– Turks (If attack fails and your opponent counters back. You will surely lose.)
– Maya, Romans, Russians (Mainly requires nice army control to execute it against them).

Against which nations does this attack fails?

– Chinese : Because of large city.
– Greeks : Your opponent might research age 3 and the city will become big.

Rares supporting this attack?

– All Army rares (Click here to know more)

Important Tips:

– Creating university and booming a little is must. Secures you from being out-boomed after a failed attack.
– Your aging should complete only after getting the city.
– You can have 4 heavy infantries when you are Japanese. When you are Turks, build 1 siege workshop and reduce the number of heavy infantries to 3.
– Evaluate all the factors – your nation, opponent’s nation, will I be doubled?, rares around, etc before attacking your opponent.
– Your attack might fail if you don’t have a proper execution of plan. Plan Well !!! Especially your path of attack. Decide the variation of the attack. This has to be quick. Or else by the time you decide your opponent has fortified his cities.
– This attack is mainly about timing. The moment you feel your attack might fail, you should raid with that army. A big army raid can kill your opponents economy. I usually keep 2 heavy infantries attacking the city while the other units kill the villagers around. So, my opponent gets an impression that I’m attacking his capital. But I’m damaging his economy.

Recorded Game : (CLICK HERE to download)
I didn’t get time to find more games. I’ve uploaded only one game here.

I have won a lot of games with this strategy. I’m pretty known for this attack.So many players say that I always play the same. They call it “RUSH”. But, they never understood when/why I do it. I guess after reading this article they can predict whether I’ll be striking or not.