2 TCs · Knights — French AoE4
Stone for the second Town Center (0:00–4:52)
Click Age II at 2:27 with 14 villagers, put 7 villagers on stone and have 400 wood and 300 stone at 4:28: the second Town Center starts at 4:48 with 8 villagers.
- 0:00 — 6 villagers on sheep; rally on sheep.
- 0:19 — Rally on gold, until 4 miners.
- 0:36 — The new villager builds a House and a Mining Camp before mining.
- 0:54 — While the first miner finishes the Mining Camp, the next one can already start mining.
- 1:29 — When 4 villagers are on gold, rally back on sheep, up to 10 villagers or until the age-up.
- 2:04 — With 200 gold gathered, the 4 miners build a Lumber Camp and move to wood.
- 2:27 — Age up: 2 sheep villagers start the School of Cavalry, to be placed forward with the other military buildings so a Keep can be added later.
- 2:33 — 4 more villagers leave the sheep for stone, with a Mining Camp first; rally on wood, up to 7.
- 2:39 — French Town Centers produce villagers faster: with only 4 villagers on sheep, force the food drop-offs to keep the queue full.
- 3:14 — Rally on stone, up to 7.
- 3:53 — Scout: does the opponent show signs of a 2 TC play, and with which age-up? Remember to drop off the extra sheep early enough.
- 4:10 — Rally on sheep, up to 28 villagers, or until Age III, or until Archers are needed.
- 4:28 — Before the age-up finishes, 400 wood and 300 stone banked. The 7 stone villagers and 1 wood villager walk to the spot of the second Town Center: 8 villagers are enough, unless you need to rush.
Gold, Royal Knights and harassment (4:52)
The 8 builders mine gold from 5:45, the Royal Knights start at 6:21 and the harassment begins at 7:30: 41 villagers at 8:06, 28 on food, 5 on wood, 8 on gold.
- 4:52 — Age II: the School of Cavalry builders go back to the sheep.
- 5:26 — A wood villager builds the Stable next to the School of Cavalry, then goes to the sheep. Leave room for a Keep.
- 5:45 — Second Town Center done: the 8 builders mine gold; rally still on sheep. At least 10 villagers on food are needed just to produce villagers.
- 6:21 — Start the Royal Knights.
- 6:51 — A wood villager builds a Blacksmith, to harass with Royal Knights while the opponent goes for a boom into a fast Castle Age.
- 6:56 — Another wood villager builds a House.
- 7:13 — The sheep are almost gone: several villagers build a Mill on the nearby deer. Without map control, count 5 villagers per Outpost. Aim for Survival Techniques.
- 7:30 — Harass with the Royal Knights; aim for Iron Undermesh to limit Town Center damage.
- 8:06 — Rally on gold; stop the Royal Knights and move slowly toward what comes next. Aim for Specialized Pick and Wheelbarrow.
Tips
- Pick it when the opponent also plays 2 TC (English, Order of the Dragon, Abbasid…) and you struggle to punish a boom with aggression, especially in a season 13 meta that favors booming.
- Suits food-rich maps (the author cites Carmel): the French economy can afford greed.
- Thanks to the faster French villager production, this build gives an economic lead, or pushes the opponent into a 3 TC play, which hands the French map control.
- Place the School of Cavalry and the Stable forward, with the other military buildings, leaving room: a Keep will come there later.
- Variant: Glazedbagel places his second Town Center at 300 stone with 8 villagers (7 from stone, 1 from wood) and keeps 10 villagers on food to sustain the production of both Town Centers.
Source: AoE4 Guides