Fast Castle · Kremlin — Rus AoE4
Two cabins, then the Kremlin (0:00–4:05)
Start the Kremlin at 2:20 with 5 villagers on deer and reach Age II at 4:05 with 18 villagers, 8 of them on wood.
- 0:00 — The 6 starting villagers on sheep; rally on food.
- 0:30 — 2 villagers each build a Hunting Cabin, the third builds a House. The areas of the two cabins must not overlap.
- 0:45 — A second Scout from the Hunting Cabin if needed; look for deer to place the Kremlin.
- 2:20 — Age up with the Kremlin: 5 villagers build it, placed on deer or a boar.
- — Every food villager except 4 goes to chop the 3 straggler trees; rally on wood until 8 on wood.
Stable, gold and Early Knights (4:05–8:50)
Get gold going, harass with 0 to 4 Early Knights, then start the Abbey of the Trinity at 7:45 with 10 villagers to reach the Castle Age at 8:50.
- 4:05 — Age II: rally new villagers on the Town Center sheep. The 5 builders put up a Stable, then go to the deer; push the deer toward the Kremlin with the Scout.
- 5:00 — Once the 3 straggler trees are chopped, every wood villager goes to gold, with a Mining Camp, except one: it builds a Lumber Camp inside the Kremlin area.
- 5:30 — 1 to 4 Early Knights depending on the opponent, and Survival Techniques as soon as you can.
- — Harass the opponent with these Early Knights while the Castle Age is being prepared.
- 7:45 — Age up to Castle with the Abbey of the Trinity: 8 to 12 food villagers build it, depending on how fast you want relics.
- — 5 food villagers move to wood; the rally point stays on wood for the rest of the game.
- — Double Broadax and Wheelbarrow; set the Abbey of the Trinity rally point on the relics.
Relics, archers and militia (8:50)
Grab the relics and hold the sacred sites with Warrior Monks, build a ranged army that fits the opponent, then call all the Kremlin militia for a timing attack at 15:50.
- 8:50 — Warrior Monks right away, rallied on the relics; more Early Knights if needed.
- — A Blacksmith, then 3 Archery Ranges.
- — 8 wood villagers move to food, on a new source (deer) protected by a Wooden Fortress.
- — Archers against Spearmen, Crossbowmen against Early Knights and Men-at-Arms, Horse Archers for mobility if you can micro them. Always at least 5 Warrior Monks.
- — Every economy, Blacksmith and Abbey of the Trinity upgrade (both blessings). Above 300 spare wood, move wood villagers to food: 10 to 15 on wood is enough.
- 15:00 — All relics taken and sacred sites held: the gold villagers move to food or wood. Build plenty of extra Houses so you can call all the Kremlin militia.
- 15:50 — Call all the Kremlin militia (Militia Halberdiers) and go for a timing attack.
Tips
- 0 to 2 Early Knights if the opponent is calm, 2 to 4 if there are exposed targets (two groups of two): every extra Knight delays the Castle Age.
- Place the Kremlin on deer or a boar and herd the deer to it with the Scout: it protects the hunters and their drop-off.
- Hunting Cabins bring in gold from the trees in their area: place them on two different tree lines, with no overlap, to pay for the age-up.
- Keep 5 Warrior Monks at all times for the blessings and the sacred sites; micro your Horse Archers, they are only worth it blessed and well used.
- Variant: another player aims for the Castle Age around 8:30-8:40 and crushes the opponent with the Kremlin militia, blessed by the Warrior Monks.
Source: AoE4 Guides