Rush · Knights — French AoE4
School of Cavalry at 2:15 (0:00–3:40)
Click Age II at 2:15 with 13 villagers, 5 of them building the School of Cavalry: Age II at 3:40 with 18 villagers (10 on food, 3 on wood, 5 on gold).
- 0:00 — 6 villagers on sheep. The Scout finds at least 2 sheep and brings them back to the Town Center.
- — The first villager produced goes to the sheep; the next 3 go to gold, the first building a House and then a Mining Camp. Rally on sheep until the age-up.
- 2:15 — Age up: 5 sheep villagers build the School of Cavalry, somewhere a Keep can come later, with 4 production buildings on each side. Rally on sheep until 12 villagers on food; scout the enemy base for exposed villagers.
Harassment, Stable, Archery Range (3:40–13:50)
Harass without a break with Royal Knights, add a Stable and an Archery Range, and aim for about 15 Royal Knights and 10 Archers around 12:00, before clicking Age III at 13:50.
- 3:40 — School of Cavalry done: 2 of its builders go to gold, 3 build a House and then go to wood. Royal Knights nonstop, sent to harass the enemy villagers.
- 4:10 — As soon as the first Royal Knight is out, 8 sheep villagers build a Mill on the deer (a Knight can defend the deer). At 12 villagers on food, rally to wood, and to gold if needed. Survival Techniques, Specialized Pick, Wheelbarrow, then Double Broadax.
- 6:30 — Around 6:30: against many Spearmen, an Archery Range and Archers first; otherwise a Stable, then the Archery Range. Keep making Royal Knights and Archers to attack. Before aging up, all the wood villagers go to food and gold.
- 13:10 — Around 13:10: 12 gold villagers build the Guild Hall or the Royal Institute, then a Blacksmith.
Veterans and a Keep (13:50)
Upgrade the Royal Knights and Archers right away, then put a Keep around the military buildings with 900 stone.
- 13:50 — Upgrade the Royal Knights and Archers to veteran at once. Send about 10 villagers to stone; at 900 stone, they build a Keep around the military buildings.
Tips
- Scout the enemy base for exposed villagers, then send every Royal Knight to harass them as soon as the first one is out.
- Many Spearmen on the other side: Archery Range first, to produce Archers; otherwise Stable first, then the Archery Range.
- Choose the School of Cavalry spot with care: the Keep will come there later, surrounded by 4 production buildings on each side.
- Variant (Dum Dum’s copy): only 5 villagers to the Mill on the deer instead of 8, and an Outpost near the gold if the opponent also plays cavalry.
- The author’s benchmark: at 12:00, about 15 Royal Knights and 10 Archers, with Age III in sight.
Source: AoE4 Guides