Rush build orders
A rush attacks in the Feudal Age to damage the opponent's economy before it can defend. IdleTC has 14 rush build orders for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, each a step-by-step table.
Archer Rush into Crossbow
Fast Feudal into 2 Archery Ranges for sustained Archer pressure. Transition into Crossbows in Castle Age for a powerful timing attack. Britons get +1 range for foot archers starting in Castle Age, making this one of the strongest civs for the strategy.
Burgundians on Arabia
Burgundians get economic upgrades an age early at a 50% food discount, and this build cashes that in immediately: Double-Bit Axe goes down in the Dark Age, which is why you go up on 21 pop instead of the usual 20. Safe, wall-heavy, with a very strong Cavalier Castle Age. Finish in early Imperial with Paladins — Burgundians are not a great post-Imperial civ, so the damage has to be done before then. Capoch streams on Twitch and Kick (kick.com/capoch).
Danes 19 Pop Man-at-Arms Rush
Man-at-Arms opening built on three Danes bonuses. The extra food on drop-off makes an easy fast Feudal Age, the cheaper Man-at-Arms upgrade lets you go to gold later than usual, and every enemy building you destroy gives you back a quarter of its cost. The whole build is about attacking nonstop and destroying buildings. Hit villagers when you can reach them; when they run, hit lumber camps, houses and above all farms. Every farm you kill gives you 15 wood, while your opponent loses the 60 wood it cost. That wood is what keeps your army and your economy going, so never stop raiding. This is a first impression from Hera's pre-release video against the AI, so treat the follow-ups as a starting point, not settled meta.
Franks 19 Pop Scouts Opening
A fast 19 pop Feudal (click at 7:05, arrive 9:15) into Scouts. Best on open or hard-to-wall maps like Acropolis, Land Madness or Four Lakes. Franks are the strongest civ for it thanks to cheap knights and free farm upgrades, but it also works with Magyars, Lithuanians, Mongols, Huns or Persians. Capoch streams on Twitch and Kick (kick.com/capoch).
Man at Arms into Archers/Skirms
Militia break walls that archers cannot, and they also scout for you: what the men-at-arms see decides whether you follow up with archers or skirmishers. Works on hybrid maps too, and pairs well with an aggressive tower denying a resource or a key position. Capoch streams on Twitch and Kick (kick.com/capoch).
Scouts Opening
The classic Feudal scout opening. It has lost ground lately because people wall earlier than they used to, so by the time the scouts are out the opponent is often already closed off. Still strong on genuinely open maps like Acropolis or Land Madness, and on hybrid maps that are awkward to wall such as Four Lakes. Best on Franks, Magyars, Lithuanians, Mongols, Huns or Persians. Capoch streams on Twitch and Kick (kick.com/capoch).
Fast Archer Opening
A 21 pop Feudal (click 7:30, arrive 9:40) straight into archers. Strong on generated land maps you can wall, and punishing when the opponent does not fully wall. Best with archer civs: Britons, Ethiopians, Mayans, Malay, Saracens, Vietnamese or Vikings. Capoch streams on Twitch and Kick (kick.com/capoch).
Hybrid Maps (Water and Land)
The most common hybrid-map plan: wall the land and go for a fire galley rush from 2 docks with a 7:55 Feudal click. On small bodies of water fire galleys beat galleys because there is no room to micro. Civs with mixed water and land bonuses like Malay, Japanese or Persians are favoured. Capoch streams on Twitch and Kick (kick.com/capoch).
Goths Forward
Goths have no economy bonus, so they need to win Dark Age instead: send your first villager forward, steal a boar, wall off the enemy berries and drush from a forward Barracks. Villagers deal extra damage to boar and Loom is instant, which makes this messy anti-meta style the best way to play the civ. If the lame or the idle time lands, you buy enough time to reach a safe Castle Age boom into Huskarls. Capoch streams on Twitch and Kick (kick.com/capoch).
Mongols on Water Maps
Mongols have no water bonus at all, but their hunters gather 40% faster, and that is enough. The hunt takes you to Feudal Age at around 5:50 — early enough to kill enemy fishing ships and own the water before the opponent has even arrived. Strong on Baltic, Mediterranean, Bog Islands and similar, and excellent on MegaRandom where hunt and water are both common. Capoch streams on Twitch and Kick (kick.com/capoch).
Persian Douche
Persian Town Centres have double the hit points, so a Persian TC built next to the enemy TC will always win the TC battle. Send 10 villagers forward in Dark Age, delete your own TC as they arrive, and rebuild it next to the opponent's. An all-in surprise strategy that commits half your villagers — hard to stop if the enemy doesn't react correctly.
Saxons 19 Pop Archers with Tower
A safe archer opening that uses the Saxons' defensive bonuses. Every mill, lumber camp and mining camp you build gives you extra food and 10 stone, so you reach Feudal Age with enough stone for a tower without a single villager mining stone. Saxon towers shoot double arrows from Castle Age, which makes that tower even stronger later. The plan: two lumber camps for a smooth economy, archers to pressure, a tower on your gold and a full wall at home. In Castle Age go up to 3 Town Centers quickly: every Town Center or Castle makes your foot soldiers 5% cheaper, up to 20%. Then follow up with Varangian Guards and skirmishers, or Hearth Troops. This is a first impression from Hera's pre-release video against the AI, so treat the follow-ups as a starting point, not settled meta.
Varangians 19 Pop Scouts into Bloodlines
A standard 19 pop scout opening that uses the Varangians' best early bonus: 10% of the food from herding and hunting is also gold. That trickle pays for Bloodlines without a mining camp, so your Feudal scouts have 75 HP and win nearly every early fight. The plan: go up at 19 pop without Loom, make 3 scouts, get Bloodlines right away and harass while you build farms and wall. Around 35 villagers, build the mining camp and click Castle Age. In Castle Age keep playing cavalry: light cavalry with relic control, a monastery, more Town Centers, then knights or Jarls. This is a first impression from Hera's pre-release video against the AI, so treat the Castle Age follow-ups as a starting point, not settled meta.
Vikings on Water Maps
A Viking galley rush for full water maps. Vikings are top tier here thanks to cheaper galleys and a strong economy from free Wheelbarrow and Handcart. Click Feudal at 7:55, produce galleys from 3-4 docks, then take Castle Age around 20-21 min with War Galley, Bodkin, Bow Saw and Longboats. Capoch streams on Twitch and Kick (kick.com/capoch).