Q&A for How to Win in Age of Empires II

They are very effective against infantry like swordsmen or pikemen.

It has the wonderful Viking longboat, which you can find in the dock and has berserks(castle) that are marvelous fighters. They cannot be defeated easily.

Pikemen/spearmen are their weakness, so guard them with swordsmen and more pikemen as well as archers.

Be sure that you have built two castle age buildings (these are monastery, university, castle or a siege workshop).

It all depends on your fighting style. The Teutons build up defenses and have better farms, so they require booming, unless you want to rush with Teutonic knights in the castle age (castle and tower rush included). The Mongols are an incredible faction by the time they reach castle, and even better when they get all of their upgrades in imperial (by a lot). Mongols are best played by experienced players, as they require many kinds of units and well-planned raids to be effective. They also have a faster collection rate for hunting, starting from the dark age.

For best, either the Persian elite war elephant or the Goth elite huskarl. Both can end armies single-handedly, and both have only a small amount of weaknesses. For worst, the elite Teutonic knight from the Teutons - poor speed and many weaknesses. Any faction can beat a Teutonic knight army by the use of archery, massed scorpions, bombards or catapults. Beyond that, the elite Tarkan from the Huns, as although cheaper than a paladin, can only really attack buildings. They suck in combat against most everything.

In the Imperial Age, there's an upgrade that allows units to be made faster. As you progress through each age, you also get better collection rates by getting collection upgrades for materials. From personal experience, when I hit the upgrade to reach Feudal, I make as many houses as I can. Try to have 2 lumber camps before Feudal so you have enough wood along with your food by using this method.

It depends on how good you are at advancing to the next age quickly. It also depends on the map, as black forest only requires you to build palisade in the dark age around tight entrances separating each faction. It also depends on what defenses (if any) your civilization specializes in. Check the tech tree for your civilization in the top right corner at the start of the match when you can.

You can get it online from Steam (I recommend buying during summer/winter/black Friday sales, which happen around late June, the week of and after Christmas, and late November). I've also seen it at Target in the PC games section. I recommend buying the HD edition from Steam, it includes online multiplayer, better graphics, and many new civilizations and campaigns.

Before you click "Start Game" in the menu, make sure to open up the "Starting Age" option (which is on the right with all the other game conditions), and click either Imperial Age or Post-Imperial Age. Post-Imperial is exactly the same as Imperial, but everything is already researched.

You need lots of villagers. I can't provide a specific number, as it depends on what age of mass cavalry you're talking about. For feudal scout rush, I recommend focusing the majority of your villagers on food. If that requires both fishing and farming when berries/sheep/wild animals die out, then make sure to also collect a steady supply of wood. Ignore collecting stone for the time being, though be sure to make use of it in castle age. For castle knight rush, make plenty of farms around mills and/or town centers, though be sure you have a stable wood collection rate. Also be sure to collect plenty of gold, and make sure your eco is functioning during raids. Build outposts around the enemy base and your base.

Press the period button. If a different villager shows up, then you'll know.