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Many a late night, if you wander through the halls of the Zone group, you'll hear some pretty peculiar sounds: something like "Zootallai!," "Omhummus," or "Chink, chink, chink, ka thud!," followed by shouts of "I can't believe they did that!" or "Hurry, hurry! They're at two o'clock! Get 'em!"
Yep, the folks who've brought you the Zone are also Age
fanatics! And it's really no surprise, right? Who wouldn't enjoy getting into teams and beating up on each other's civilizations? Somehow this game just taps into your "survival of the fittest" instinct. And then of course there's the technique of romping 'n stomping around the map, striking fear into the hearts of other villagers, and destroying everything in their path, until there's nothing left but a thin cloud of destruction! Ahh?there's nothing better than ending a hard day's work on the Zone by playing an Age
game!
Since Age
is the latest craze around the Zone group, we thought it would be way cool to see what their choice civs are. So we crawled, ran, and leaped through the line of Age
fire, just to ask the Zone creators what civs they like best and the strategies they use with them! And we've managed to come back in one piece to bring you this valuable information! So the next time you're on the Zone and see some of these folks, you'll have the edge of knowing their strategies and techniques!
What civilization do you like to play and why?
Bear@Zone
: Assyrian.
Ben@zone
: Assyrian.
Bob@zone
: Assyrian.
Glitch@zone
: My strategy is to race to the Bronze Age as fast as possible and then attack. Assyrian's fast villagers really help with this strategy. Yamato also has fast villagers, but their main attack unit, cavalry, requires gold, which can be in scarce supply. Assyrian's main attack unit, chariot archer, requires wood, which is usually available all over the map.
Gumbo@zone
:I like to play either Assyrian or Yamato. These two civs possess fast villagers, which can collect resources fairly quickly. This makes a great difference when moving through the ages.
MissM@zone
: Assyrian.
Usul@zone
: I've come to enjoy playing the Assyrian. Faster villagers, increased range for their archery units, and if your opponents survive the Bronze rush, you've still got all the necessary upgrades to finish them off once you hit Iron. They're a very well-balanced, very fast civilization.
What types of strategies do you use when you play this civilization?
Bear@zone
: If I have a nearby neighbor, I'll do an archery rush in Tool. Then in Bronze, I go for the chariot archer rush. I first send out a couple of archers in waves to kill as many villagers as possible. Then in the next few waves, I bring in catapults to take down the buildings.
Ben@zone
: Kill quickly!
Bob@zone
: As soon as I get to Bronze, I go for that chariot upgrade as fast as possible. Next, I mine only 50 gold for that second archer armor upgrade. Then I split my woodcutters between two forests, so they don't all get killed in a rush, and I build three archery centers near my opponent's civ.
Glitch@zone
: With the original Age
I raced to Bronze, upgraded to the wheel, and then attacked with chariot archers. Rise of Rome
adds camels to the Assyrians' arsenal, and I've been successful in attacking with a few waves of camels before doing my wheel upgrade. Eventually I'll switch to building chariot archers as my opponent produces heavier units such as hoplites and long swordsmen.
Gumbo@zone
: Using either Assyrian or Yamato, I try to get to Bronze as soon as possible. That's the main focus. I don't use any resources to build military until Bronze. Once in Bronze, I'll crank out a bunch of camels and archers. I'll send the camels first to distract my opponent and then send in the archers for the sweep.
MissM@zone
: As soon as I can, I send out single military units to all corners of the map to find my opponents and stir up trouble. Then, when I've found them, I send over my humongous army, focusing its attention on killing off all the peons.
Usul@zone
: I use the early camel rush once I've gone to Bronze. The camels are quick and seem to require less micromanaging than, say, archers or academy units. They can take out big numbers of peons and take damage well, but their biggest asset is their speed, definitely. Three or four well-positioned, and timed, camel rushes can be the deciding factor in whether you win or lose the match. You want to make sure you've also got chariot archers coming in behind them to help clean up any stragglers.
Zoverlord@zone
: My strategy when playing Assyrian is going to the Bronze Age as fast as I can. If I'm leading, then I won't bother going to Iron. I just keep cranking out a bunch of Bronze military units and throwing them at my opponents. This not only hurts my opponents but also keeps them from upgrading to the next age. The only drawback to this strategy is if my opponents somehow manage to get to Iron, I'll be killed, because I've stayed in the Bronze.
When I play teams, I like to sacrifice myself to slow an opponent down. So maybe I'll sneak a peon into my opponent's backyard, build an archery range, and crank out a couple of archers to slow down my opponent's resource gathering.
Out of the new Rise of Rome Expansion
civilizations (Roman, Carthaginian, Macedonian, and Palmyran), which one do you prefer, and why?
Bear@zone
: In Rise of Rome
, I like both Romans and Palmyrans. Roman buildings cost 15% less, towers 50% less, and with Logistics research you can have twice as many long swordsmen, which also have 33% faster hit rate. Roman long swordsman are powerful units but weak to archers, especially horse archers. However, combined with heavy catapults, they can be an awesome force. Palmyrans are great with their faster camel riders; they get most Iron Age units, double gold when trading.
Ben@zone
: I like the Romans. For infantry, you can't beat them. Just overwhelm them with endless hordes of annoying little swordsmen.
Bob@zone
: Romans, because I like building towers on my opponents' properties -- it's kinda like stirring an ant hive with a stick.
Glitch@zone
: Watching hordes of Roman legions destroy your opponent's base is a lot of fun.
Gumbo@zone
: I really enjoy the Romans. The cheap towers are an added plus. It allows me to build my military units a little farther out from my town center, and place towers around my military buildings. If I can, I'll try to sneak a couple of villagers into my opponent's backyard and build a couple of towers near their gold mine.
MissM@zone
: I haven't had a chance to try any of them yet.
Usul@zone
: Using the same principles as the Assyrians, Palmyrans have armored villagers that are produced faster, albeit cost more. Their camels are quicker, putting them at almost an unfair advantage (if that's possible?), provided you have ample food supply without relying on farming (no plow). They also make a decent Iron Age civ with their heavy cats and heavy horse archers.
Zoverlord@zone
: I like the Palmyrans mainly because their villagers can gather resources a lot faster. They cost a little more (75 food points), but when you manage them correctly, you can get up in the Ages faster and with less villagers. Just be careful -- if you lose a few villagers to lions, it can set you back in resources. Another feature I like about the Rise of Rome
is the Mediterranean map. There's lots of fish available for food and there are excellent choke points where you can lock your opponent in and slowly take them over.
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