Age of Empires II: Return of Rome Beginner’s Guide – Tips for New Players

by Fernando Diaz / Age of Empires 2, Articles / 19 Jan 2022

Return of Rome revisits the glory days of Rome, the most powerful empire in history. It combines the classic Age of Empires gameplay with Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition’s quality of life improvements, making it an exciting new adventure for both veterans and newcomers. This guide will help you get started with this expansion, featuring 17 ancient civilizations plus a new exclusive one, the Lac Viet.

Choosing your civilization

The first step in any Age of Empires game is choosing your civilization. Each civilization has unique bonuses and unique units, which can greatly affect your strategies. For instance, the Romans have units such as the Legionary, a sturdy infantry unit, and the Centurion, a heavy cavalry unit that buffs nearby Militia-line units. Meanwhile, the Lac Viet are the new exclusive civilization for this expansion, reflecting the ancient civilization of Southeast Asia, their Foragers work 20% faster, and their Military units are created 25% faster, making them a good choice.

Building your base

After choosing your civilization, you’ll start the game with a Town Center, a few villagers, and a scout. Begin by having your villagers collect resources and construct additional houses. This ensures you can continue producing villagers from the Town Center, which is crucial in the early game for resource gathering.

Constructing the Granary early in the game is crucial as it allows you to build defensive walls and towers for your settlement. Upgrades for walls and towers become available with each new Age, and they are quite affordable at the beginning.

Developing your Economy

Your villagers are your main workforce. You should always have them gathering resources (food, wood, gold, stone) or building structures. The Market is a crucial structure that offers upgrades to improve your villagers’ efficiency. For example, woodworking, craftsmanship, and Artisanship increase wood collection rate and carry capacity. Domestication, Plow, and Irrigation technologies at the Market provide flat food bonuses to your farms, critical for maintaining a large population.

Remember, the wheel upgrade from the market speeds up your villagers by a whopping 50%, significantly boosting their efficiency.

Resource Upgrades

It’s crucial to invest in the various technological upgrades available at the Market. Each line of upgrades helps you in different ways. For instance:

The wood upgrades, including woodworking, craftsmanship, and artisanship, increase the wood collection rate by 20%, add two to the wood carry capacity, and provide a +1 range for all your ranged units, including the Scout ship line.

Stone mining upgrades increase the rate by 25%, and +3 carry capacity, and provide +1 attack and range to your Slingers.

Gold mining provides the same bonus as stone mining but with no military implications. The Iron Age upgrade provides the same gathering bonuses, but also allows for free tributes to be given to allies.

Each food upgrade—Domestication, Plow, and Irrigation—provides a flat food bonus of 75, 100, and 125 to your farms, respectively.

Trade Carts

Trade carts, introduced after researching the wheel technology, can provide a steady flow of gold by establishing trade routes with your allies’ markets.

Building your Army

Strategically building your military is just as crucial as managing your economy. Here’s how you can master it.

Know Your Units and Technologies

Each civilization has unique units and technologies. For instance, the Romans have the Legionary and the Centurion as unique units. Understanding these units’ strengths and weaknesses is essential for deciding your military force’s composition.

In addition, research technologies to upgrade your military units. For example, the Government Center has a series of upgrades such as nobility which provides 15% more HP to horse and camel units, or ballistics that improves the accuracy of range units.

Master The Storage Pit

The Storage Pit is a vital building for upgrading your military units. The Armor upgrades enhance the melee armor for specific unit classes. The Tool working line enhances melee damage for Tool working, Metal working, and Metallurgy. Bronze Shield, Iron Shield, and Tower Shield increase Pierce armor for infantry units.

Use Formations

One of the Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition features included in Return of Rome is formations. Utilizing formations strategically can give you an edge in battles, allowing you to exploit the strengths of your units and exploit the weaknesses of enemy units.

Siege Units

Siege units can be a game-changer, especially when dealing with fortified positions. The Engineering technology from the Government Center provides +2 range for Siege units and sea ships.

Defense

Your defense is as important as your offense. Investing in wall and tower upgrades from the Granary will protect your base from enemy attacks. Remember, however, the final Ballista Tower upgrade is expensive and requires Ballistics technology as a prerequisite.

Forming Alliances and Trade

Establishing trade routes and alliances with other players can be beneficial in the long run. Trade Carts, introduced in this expansion, allow you to set up these trade routes, generating a steady stream of resources. Be cautious, though, as these routes can be disrupted by enemy forces.

Tips for Beginners

Always be active: In Return of Rome, idle villagers or military units are wasted resources. Always ensure that your villagers are gathering resources or constructing buildings, and your military is exploring or defending your territory.

Balance your economy: Balancing your resources is crucial. Don’t focus only on one resource; instead, distribute your villagers evenly among different resources.

Scout the map: Use your scout to gain information about your surroundings. Discovering your enemies’ location and resources can help you plan your strategies accordingly.

Adapt your strategies: Age of Empires 2 is a game of strategic depth. Try to learn and adapt your strategies based on your opponents and the map’s layout. For instance, if your enemy relies heavily on Archer units, building units that are strong against Archers might give you an edge.

Leverage the unique strengths of your civilization: Each civilization has its unique units and benefits. Learn these unique attributes and tailor your strategies to leverage them.

Upgrading is key: Despite seeming costly, regular upgrades to your units and technologies can give you a significant advantage in battles and resource gathering.

Defend your resources: Pay special attention to your gold and stone collection sites to ensure they are well-protected. Losing control of these resources can cripple your economy.

Master the hotkeys: Hotkeys can significantly improve your gameplay efficiency, allowing for quicker actions and responses.

Play the Campaigns: The three new fully-voiced campaigns featuring Sargon of Akkad, Pyrrhus of Epirus, and Marcus Ulpius Trajanus are great ways to familiarize yourself with the mechanics of the game while immersing yourself in the historical narrative.

Give the D3 Game Mode a go: Inspired by a popular ruleset in Vietnam, it brings a fresh twist to the classic Age of Empires gameplay. It’s certainly worth a shot.

Watch and Learn: Spectator mode and replays are a fantastic way to learn advanced strategies. Watch matches from more experienced players to gain insights into high-level play.

Age of Empires II – Return of Rome: New Cheat Codes

Fernando Diaz

Fernando is doing what he always did, sharing his honest opinions about games whenever he can. The difference is now he is writing and not talking about it.
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