This is NOT an attempt to bash 4. Geez, screw all those "haha AoE 4 bad" ppl + screw the other extreme side as well. You can enjoy more than one game. Can we all live in happiness and peace? Thanks. <3

I also want to apologize in advance in case the wording sounds biased which was definitely NOT the intention.

Also: This guide is aimed towards people who already have experience within AoE 4, so do not expect certain aspects - e.g. Blacksmith upgrades - to be explained in detail.

Just like Age of Empires 4, AoE 2 takes place in the Middle Ages. Generally speaking, the years 500 - 1500 are covered here.

The names of the ages in AoE 2 and 4 are identical: Dark Age, Feudal Age, Castle Age, Imperial Age.

Age of Empires 4 officially has one game mode (excluding Sandbox which is the "No Condition" mode as well as Nomad) with 3 win conditions, of which one must be achieved:

• Destroy landmarks
  
• Capture a sacred site
  
• Build a Wonder

This game mode comes the closest to "Random Map" in Age of Empires 2. It is usually played (in ranked mode) with the victory condition "Conquest", which is roughly comparable to the landmark victory in AoE 4 as you don't have special buildings to destroy in AoE 2, allowing for comeback plays.

The standard victory condition in AoE 2 consists of accomplishing one of the following objectives:

• Defeat all enemies
  
• Hold all relics
  
• Build and hold a wonder

There are other game modes including:

• Empire Wars - the game starts in the Feudal Age with an already running economy. Mode used for Red Bull's Wololo tournament.
  
• Regicide - like the Royal Rumble mod in AoE 4
  
• Deathmatch - Start with a very large amount of resources in the Post-Imperial Age, meaning that all technologies are researched and units are pumped out as soon as the game starts.
  
• King of the Hill - Fight for a monument in the middle of the map.
  
• Sudden Death - Only one town center allowed, the game is lost as soon as the town center is destroyed

AoE 2 features three ranked ladders: Random Map, Empire Wars and Deathmatch. The latter is hosted within custom lobbies whereas the first two are made via Matchmaking.
(Note: with the Return of Rome DLC, there is a 4th ranked ladder which allows you to play AoE 1 ranked in AoE 2.)

As with AoE 4, mods add new game modes and custom scenarios, e.g. Dodgeball or CBA.

With the latest DLC (The Mountain Royals), AoE 2 has 45 civilisations from all kinds of cultures and eras - from the early to the late Middle Ages to choose from. For the most part, the civilisations can be played similarly and therefore allow for flexible handling, however, due to civs being able to miss out on certain upgrades/units or getting buffs in other areas, you do expect a certain behaviour when you are matched against certain civs, e.g. a Fast Castle into Knight rush as Franks, a Huskarl deathball in late game as Goths or Monk Rush as Aztecs.

Among the most exotic civilisations in game are the North and Central American ones, namely the Aztecs, Mayans and Incas. Due to historical reasons, they do not have access to mounted units, with the exception of the Xolotl warrior when converting a stable. Therefore, they don't start with the regular scout cavalry as the other civs but instead with the Eagle Scout which itself kind of replaces the Scout and Knight-line for these civs.

Overall, you can sort civs into categories which makes learning them easier. There is Infantry, Cavalry, Archer, Naval, Gunpowder and Monk. Some civs even fit into two categories, such as Bohemians (Gunpowder and Monk)

The most beginner-friendly civs are cavalry ones like the Franks, Magyars or Lithuanians. For a new player, however, it is generally advised to learn the game with a "generic" civ like the Byzantines that have a very open tech tree and no significant bonusses that learn bad habits from the start.

Civs that are radically different to play, such as the Delhi Sultanate from AoE 4, whose technologies are free but take a long time to research, are not present in AoE 2 - with the exception of the newer civs, that somehow still are more equal but still have something which makes them unique, such as Gurjaras with the ability to garrison livestock to generate food at a low rate or Burgundians with the Flemish Revoltution which transforms all villagers into Flemish militia.

The most "extreme" things AoE 2 has to offer are the Huns, who don't need houses (like AoE 4's Mongols), the Chinese, who start with 6 villagers but -200 food, so no food with a standard resource start or the two civs that came with the Mountain Royals DLC (Armenians & Georgians) that have a mule cart (= a mobile drop off point for Wood, Gold, Stone and meat from hunted animals, so much like the Ox Cart for the Norse in AoM).

Extreme bonuses are partly available in AoE 2, e.g. increased damage for Lithuanian cavalry per quartered relic or units that ignore armor completely such as the Leitis (Lithuanians), Urumi Swordman (Dravidians) or Dravidian Infantry + Cavalry once researching their Wootz Steel technology. In addition, the Poles's Obuch reduces the armor of its opponents with every hit.

As with AoE 4, maps are randomly generated in AoE 2 and can be divided into several categories:

• Open - maps like Arabia that rely on early aggression
  
• Closed - maps like Black Forest or Arena, which provide protection given to their setting and focus on late-game battles
  
• Water - As the name suggests, maps that consist mainly of water, such as Islands
  
• Hybrid - maps like Four Lakes, which are a mixture of land and water
  
• Nomad - Maps that start without a town center

In addition, AoE 2 has "Real World Maps" that resemble locations such as Italy, Australia or even Texas (because AoE 2's original developer is Texas-based).

In AoE 2, Bioms don't exist. Instead, the look of the map is scripted into the .rms (random map script) file. This leads to several maps looking similar such as Atacama which will always spawn as a sand desert or Scandinavia which will always be snowy.

It is often assumed that a game in Age of Empires 2 takes an eternity, as at the end of a game, the in-game timer can show hour or more. AoE 2's Dark Age also feels like it's lasting forever with clicking up after ~8 minutes, whereas in AoE 4, the Dark Age lasts no longer than 3 to 5 minutes in-game.

But in fact, the game speed in AoE 2 is more similar to that of AoE 4 than you might think. The game is played at 1.7 speed. For reference: a perfectly executed 21 Villager Dark Age takes about 5 Minutes real time.

Deathmatch is played at 2.0 speed.

Custom speed settings are available with 1.0 and 1.5 speed.

As both games are set in the Middle Ages, the counters also behave very similarly. This means:

Spearmen (+ upgrades) → Cavalry
Cavalry → Archers
Archers (+ upgrades) → Militia line + upgrades (Man-at-Arms, Swordman)
Swordsmen → Light Infantry

This is - of course - vague as some counters depend on quantity. While lone Archers quickly die to Scout Cavalry, a massed and upgraded army can turn the page, especially with proper micro management. Equally, it's a bad idea to fight with an unupgraded Spearman against a knight.

In contrast to Age of Empires 4, archers and crossbowmen are not separate units + the Skirmisher exists as a direct counter to the Archer line. The Skirmisher also counters the Spearman-line but in order to fire, the Skirmisher needs to have a minimum range to the target.

Siege weapons are usually countered by Melee units or other Siege Weapons. With the ram, there is also a unit that inflicts area damage, which helps in the fight against trebuchets apart from being used as an arrow sponge in pushes.

Unlike in AoE 4, Rams and Siege Towers are not created in the field, but in the Siege Workshop in the Castle Age (exception: Cumans who can build Rams in the Feudal Age). The trebuchet is available in the Imperial Age and only in the Castle.
While not being the exact same unit, the Scorpion fires a bolt like the Springald. The Scorpion, however, is mainly an anti Infantry weapon instead of the anti Siege nature of the Springald and fires its bolt through up to 8 units. The Mangonel is upgradeable to the Onager and Siege Onager. Onagers can also cut down trees, which is important on maps like Black Forest, Amazon Tunnel, Michi or Forest Nothing.

From foot solider to siege weapon, every unit in AoE 2 takes up one population space, the only exceptions being the Karambit Warrior with only 1/2 space and Bengali villagers after researching Mahayana (0.9 instead of 1).

To get access to gunpowder units, Chemistry must first be researched in the University. After being researched, some powerful units such as the Hand Cannon, which is a strong counter against infantry units (dealing +10 damage against infantry), becomes available.
Since additional stats such as bonus damage isn't shown in AoE 2's regular UI, it's a good idea to consult the Fan Wiki for further stats[ageofempires.fandom.com].

With few exceptions, the unique unit of the particular civ is created in the castle. They don't replace regular unit lines such as e.g. the Longbow does for the English in AoE 4. Also, the Longbow is not a "trash unit" as it costs both Wood and Gold.

With the Gurjaras's Charkram Thrower, Sacarcens's Mameluke and the Franks's Axe Thrower, there are three ranged units that deal melee damage. Another special unit is the Shrivamsha Rider (Gurjaras) who can dodge arrows, simulated by the ability to absorb them for a short amount of time. Burgundians's Coustillier has a charge attack.

Upgrades are researched in the Blacksmith, just as in AoE 4, but in AoE 2 they are subdivided a little further. There are:

• the offensive upgrade for infantry + cavalry
  
• the offensive + range upgrade for ranged units
  
• the defensive upgrade for infantry
  
• the defensive upgrade for cavalry
  
• the defensive upgrade for ranged units

Logically speaking, ranged units that do melee damage (Throwing Axeman e.g.) are affected by melee upgrades. Castles and Towers are affected by the Fletching/Bodkin Arrow and Bracers upgrade.

The Military Academy upgrade from AoE 4, which lets you create units faster, is similarly present in AoE 2 - namely as " Conscription" in the castle in Imperial Age.

Arrows in Age of Empires 4 are homing, i.e. they follow their target until they hit it. In Age of Empires 2, on the other hand, they behave physically "correctly" and fly in a straight line.
In combat, this still gives you the chance to dodge the projectiles. The ballistics upgrade in the University in the Castle Age makes arrows more accurate, as units now "aim ahead" but there's still a small chance that you can dodge them (this requires heavy micro work of course). The Archer-line can be upgraded further with the Thumb Ring upgrade that increases both Accuracy and firing rate.



Projectiles of the mangonel or onager are unguided in AoE 4 just as in 2, but they fly slower. In addition, their projectiles do friendly fire, so be careful when using them.

An important part of battles within AoE 2 is the usage of unit stances and formations



There are four stances available:

• Aggresive: When engaging enemies, units will follow enemy units at all cost until they leave their Line of Sight
  
• Defensive: Similar to the aggresive stance, units will follow other units in engagements but at a much smaller radius. When those units leave the radius, your units will return to their original position.
  
• Stand Ground: Units will stand where they are and attack enemy units and buildings within attack range. Useful for ranged units.
  
• No Attack: Units will not engage enemy units and will not fight back when attacked. Useful for units that do friendly fire.

There are four formations:

• Line: Units march and fight in a close line.
  
• Box: Units march and fight in a boxed formation, weaker units will place themselves in the middle.
  
• Staggered: Units march and fight in a wider formation. Useful against Scorpions.
  
• Flank: Units split into two formations. Useful to dodge Mangonel/Onager shots.

When a stance/formation is selected, the corresponding icon is green.

Units that are on higher ground in AoE 4 benefit from increased sight and range, but have no further bonuses.

In Age of Empires 2, units on higher ground deal 25% more damage and receive 25% less damage in return. This applies to all units, from foot soldiers to siege weapons. The same applies to buildings such as towers or the castle. This is a toned down version of the same bonus in AoE 1, where units walking down have a slight speed bonus as well.

When sheep are found by a scout in Age of Empires 4, they follow the scout until they are dropped off at a building. If they move without a scout, they are about as fast as turtles.

In Age of Empires 2, sheep stay where they are found and have to be moved manually to the Town Center, but they are faster than their counterparts in 4. This is used by some players to explore the area with them in the Dark Age, commonly refered to as "sheep scouting".

Sheep in Age of Empires 2 can also be "stolen", which is also known as "laming" among players.

Boars in AoE 2 are significantly tamer than those in AoE 4, as they deal less damage and their health also does not regenerate. In addition, they are essential for the start of the game, as they bring in most of the food in the Dark Age. As a major difference to AoE 4, muslim civs such as the Saracens can hunt and gather food from boar.
To lure boars, a villager is sent out to fire 1-2 arrows in the direction of the boar and then immediately runs back to the Town Center. The remaining villagers, who are still working on other food, join in attacking the boar.
In order to permanently guarantee 50 food for further villagers, you should make use of the "force drop off", i.e. quickly store the food and continue working on the animals by right-clicking.

Deer in Age of Empires 2 also appear in groups, but can break these up if you make use of a technique called "deer pushing". This involves moving the animal into a certain direction with the help of scouts or other units. Deer can take two shots and are a quick source of food and useful in case you missed out on one of your boars.

Depending on the map, other animals may appear, such as elephants instead of boars, goats instead of deer or turkeys instead of sheep. The main difference, apart from the skin, are faster attack rates.

If animals are killed by military units, they lose all their food. Dead animals decay over time, which is simulated by the fact that they permanently lose 1 food per second if there are no villagers working on them.

Fish is collected as in AoE 4 either with fishing boats or villagers on the coast. In addition, fishing boats can build fish traps which work like farms on water.

Like AoE 4, Age of Empires 2 also has hostile animals such as wolves. When a villager is attacked by one, they automatically fight back. Depending on the map, other animals such as lions can spawn in stead of wolves.

Both AoE 2 and 4 have the same four resources: Wood, Food, Gold, Stone.
They are gathered the same way by sending villagers to collect these resources + drop them off at the nearest resource building or Town Center.

Both games have technologies available that increase the gathering rate for specific resources. However, there are minor differences, as apart from the campaigns, where the Gold and Stone upgrade are split, there is only one combined technology available in AoE 4's Mining Camp.

Gold is generally considered the most important resource in both games as you use it to buy and sell resources and afford valuable units. In AoE 4, there are neutral markets that allow for trading thus generating gold. These markets only exist in two maps in AoE 2 (Michi & Marketplace) which increases the possibility to run out of gold in AoE 2.

Farms provide a good source of food throughout the game, however, unlike in AoE 4, they are not infinite and require 60 wood every time they need to be reseeded.

Relics generate gold in both games. In a standard 1v1 game, there are 5 relics on the map.

Some maps in AoE 2 such as Aftermath have Trade Posts available that slowly generate all resources over time. The Portugiese civ has a building available - the Feitora - that also generates all resources but at the cost of 20 population space.

In general, resource gathering rates are lower in AoE 2 which requires more villagers. Experienced players aim for 100 - 120 villagers during the game.

A game in Age of Empires 4 starts with 6 villagers, but in 2 with only 3.
Houses in Age of Empires 2 also only add space for 5 additional population (with the exception of 10 for Inca), but in AoE 4 they add 10. Thus, it is important to build two houses before working on food. So ideally, you immediately queue up villagers as soon as the game starts and then task the starting villagers to build houses.

For resource buildings (Mill, Lumber and Mining Camp) it is important to keep one tile distance (use the grid setting for this), otherwise villagers will get in each other's way while they are working.

Unlike in AoE 4, you do not advance by building a landmark, but by researching the respective technology in the Town Center. Below are the prices + conditions for the respective upgrades:

• Feudal Age - 500 food + 2 buildings from the Dark Age.
  
• Castle Age - 800 food, 200 gold + 2 buildings from Feudal Age
  
• Imperial Age - 1000 food, 800 gold + 2 buildings from the Castle Age or a castle.

Therefore, consider carefully how many villagers you want to have before "clicking up" - usually 21 or 22 (or less if you feel more comfortable) for rushes in the Feudal Age and 27+2 (or even 25+2) for a Fast Castle. Also, keep in mind that the Khmer do not need any buildings to advance to the next age, technically making them the fastest civ to advance throughout the ages.

Town Centers do not fire automatically as soon as enemy units approach, villagers have to be quartered first. There's a button called "Town Bell" that rings a bell once clicked and garrisons all of your villagers into the closest building. While this seems like a save choice for saving them from raids, it actually does more harm as it garrisons all villagers, so it's not advised to click this button.



Whilst in AoE 4 units can walk between buildings, in AoE 2 buildings are solid and impassable. This is why you often see players walling up their base with buildings instead of palisades or stone walls.
[History funfact: Despite a popular misbelief, this is actually historically correct, as castles and towns often incorporated the houses of the lower population into the castle or town wall.]

Be aware that gates can let enemy units through if one of your or an ally unit is standing under it.

In AoE 2, burning buildings visually indicate severe damage. Unlike in AoE 4, however, they do not burn down as soon as only 25% of the original HP is left.

Buildings can be repaired just like in AoE 4, requiring only 50% of the original resources, but twice the time of a newly built building of the same type. The Town Center is an exception as it need twice the amount of the original resources.

Buildings (except for the Town Center) have a minimum range of 1 to attack units. To remove the minimum range, Murder Holes must be researched in the University.



Mass conversions as in AoE 4 do not exist in 2. Instead, monks can target individual units for conversion without the need to hold a relic, like Abbasid Imans after researching Faith in AoE 4.

As in AoE 4, it is recommended to build several military buildings of the same type in order to be able to create as many units as possible at the same time.

During your plays, you will encounter players that wall off their resources to prevent villagers from getting attacked by melee units. This kind of behaviour and technique is also known as "quick walling" and usually executed by placing houses and/or palisades at locations where villagers still can work properly. These quick walls, however, come at the cost of a running eco as it costs resources at first place and idles the eco.

The market works different in AoE 2. While in AoE 4 you can only buy/sell 100 resources at the same time, you can hold the Shift button in AoE 2 to buy/sell 500 resources. Also, market prices do affect all players and are affected by both bought/sold resources. Prices inflate the more resources you buy/sell. A civilization such as Saracens, that only pay a 5% fee for using the market can use that to their advantage.