Deer · Riddari — Macedonian Dynasty AoE4
Deer above all (0:00–4:40)
Hunt the deer from the Dark Age with a Mill and Survival Techniques, start the Imperial Hippodrome at 2:45 with 14 villagers, and reach Age II at 4:40 with 20 villagers.
- 0:00 — All villagers on sheep; one of them builds a Varangian Warcamp. Rally on gold for the next 3 (only 2 if you are not going to the deer).
- 0:30 — As soon as the Scout finds a pack of deer, 5 sheep villagers build a Mill there, then Survival Techniques.
- 1:00 — Rally on sheep until the age-up: 6 on food (deer and sheep) and 3 on gold.
- 2:45 — Age up with the Imperial Hippodrome: 4 sheep villagers build it, the other sheep villagers go to wood. Rally on wood until 8 on wood.
Horsemen, then a gold reserve (4:40–11:25)
Pressure with the Hippodrome Horsemen, build a Varangian Stronghold then a Varangian Arsenal, and age up around 10:45 with a gold reserve: 36 villagers at 10:00, split 2 to 1 between food and gold.
- 4:40 — Age II. At 8 villagers on wood, the rally point goes back to sheep. Hippodrome Horsemen, then units that counter the opponent’s.
- 5:00 — Wheelbarrow and Double Broadax as soon as possible. A Varangian Stronghold as soon as possible, built by 1 deer villager.
- 5:40 — A Varangian Arsenal built by 1 miner: it brings in passive silver.
- 10:00 — Pull every villager off wood: split food and gold 2 to 1 to gather the age-up gold (the food villagers who produce villagers do not count in the split).
- 10:45 — Age up: 12 villagers build the Age III landmark (the author does not name it).
Wood, Monastery, Riddari (11:25)
Go back to wood for the Monastery and a second Varangian Stronghold, then produce Riddari without stopping.
- 11:25 — Age III: back to wood to build the Monastery and a second Varangian Stronghold, then Riddari non-stop.
Tips
- The goal: put pressure on from Age II, then reach Age III with a good gold reserve to chain Riddari.
- Against the Mongols or the Japanese, going out too early is not ideal; against a very passive civilization like the Malians, a spear rush is possible.
- A Mill on the deer with Survival Techniques lifts the food before Age II; if the opponent harasses the deer, go back to the sheep.
- Bigs’ variant (“Padrão”): same deer opening, but the age-up starts at 3:00 with only 3 builders, to reach Age II at 4:30.
- The Varangian Arsenal gives passive silver: a single miner is enough to build it.
Source: AoE4 Guides