Chromage's DM guide (basic DM theory)

(THIS WAS WRITTEN BY CHROMAGE, NOT ME)

In this guide will be hints, tactics, and strategies I have used a great deal. Hopefully they will help you as much as they have me. Using these things may not make you always win but they will certainly help. I do not claim to be the best at deathmatch and do not claim that this guide will make you a top dmer, but it certainly can't hurt. This is a multiple part guide. I will go by step by step into each phase of the deathmatch: Economy, Raiding, Military, Rules of Engagement, and Unit Grouping. Also I will present a basic start up and strategy for each god, along with hints for that god. I will also add a few team strategies that work effectively. I will also present helpful hints and tips that are vital in helping you reach your potential as a player. Whether a rookie just learning or a seasoned veteran these things will help you. As we look into these things just remember a few things.

1. Deathmatch is more about reactions then strategy. During the heat of battle your reactions and instincts kick in. You do not what you know but what you've done other times through your experience.
2. Don't be afraid to try new things. These strategies for each god I will present are just basic outlines that I know will work from my experience. Patches change the game strategies change as well.
3. Finally something that a good friend of mine once wrote.
“And remember, no one is unbeatable, the map, and more importantly, the decisions that are made on too little information play a crucial role in determining the outcome. The best we can do is to make the decisions most likely to succeed, while remembering that they may not be the right decisions for this specific case. This is what is called playing the odds, and even the best odds players lose sometimes.
My Goal is to hopefully give you the right information to help you make the right decisions giving you the best possible chance at success.



The Deathmatch Start Up
Age of Mythology DM differs from other Age series games in that you do not already start in the final age. You must advance to the Mythic Age by building buildings, picking a god, and advancing.
1. Archaic-Classical Requires Temple
2. Classical-Heroic Requires Armory
3. Heroic-Mythic Requires Market

Most of the time by the time you Mythic you already want to have an army starting to form. You want to be set up in the right place to give you the best opportunity to win. This requires looking at the map, seeing where the town centers are as your not microing your builders in the early stages of the game. There is one exception to this and that is that some Egyptian strategies require advancing to Mythic as fast as possible.

Practice your start up! Get fluid with it, and get it down pat. I cannot stress this enough. Having a good start up that your fluid with helps immensely. Getting each second you can out of your start up helps out later on down the road.

Later on we will look into a start up for each specific god. But right now since you have the basics down lets move on to the DM economy. It is often overlooked, but to me the economy is the most important part of the game.


The Deathmatch Economy
Most people look at the DM style of play and say : Economy why do you need an economy? You start with all those resources. To those people I say this if they ever play DM. You'll lose if you don't get an economy. Plain and Simple.
When do you start getting an economy??? I like to start as soon as I Mythic. As soon as I Mythic I que up villagers in my town center and send them to my closest gold pile. As my other town centers get built I que up villagers in them and get them on food and wood.
Through the game you should have on average 40 villagers and 20 gold caravans. If you have 3 town centers. If you find yourself with more or less adjust accordingly. You need to balance your economy according to your strategy. For example if I am Zeus and going heavy infantry I will need more food then wood. This is how I normally like to balance my economy.

1. 20 gold caravans
2. 10 more villagers on gold just incase my trade dies so I am not left without gold intake
3. Whichever resources I am using more of out of food and wood I put 20 villagers on. IE: going heavy infantry I'll put 20 on food
4. 10 villagers on the other resource, either food or wood, that the 20 villagers aren't already on. I do this just incase I need to switch units to counter my enemy. Since I'll have accumulated a decent amount over the course of a game it will give me some time in which I can make units and switch my villagers over without giving me any down time in production.

Don't rely on market trading for your sole way of gathering gold. Trade caravans are easily raided and if you lose your markets you will find yourself without gold for a while which can really determine a game.
Use your market to your advantage. If you find yourself with extra wood and no gold sell some wood off. If you have extra gold but no food buy some food. Don't be afraid to use your market to maximize your economy. Sometimes trading at a market instead of waiting for the villagers to gather the resource you need can give you that head start on your opponent you need to win a game.
Remember to use your god bonuses to your advantage. For example if you choose Skadi as a minor god you get winter harvest, which increases your farming production. Therefore you should not hunt but should go immediately to farming. This is called knowing your god. If you know your god you know the technologies that come with choosing him/her and can best use your economy.
Keep your villagers at a protected site. This doesn't necessarily mean by your town centers. An enemy will always raid your town centers first. I like to have my villagers close to my army if I can for protection.
Always remember each game is different. Different situations arise which demand different solutions. Adapt your economy accordingly. Some games you won't be able to trade, so build more villagers for gold mining. You must be flexible in your strategy otherwise you will find you opponents adapting to you and you will be the one losing.

The Deathmatch Military
Military is the great aspect of deathmatch. You get to build one fairly soon in the game and have a large on throughout the game. It's not always who has the biggest army that wins, but who uses their army the best.
You want to try and always be at your pop limit during the game. This ensures that you have the biggest army you can have. Also keep your army active. An idle army does you no good. Keep it busy and moving, by doing this you'll keep the enemy busy watching your army, so even if you don't attack you take away time he could be doing something else.
Be population efficient. This means that the normal counter for a unit isn't always the BEST counter for a unit. Here’s what I mean say your Greek facing an Egypt opponent. What is the best unit you can use to kill slingers, a Hippokan. But hoplites also do great against slingers and by using 1 less pop slot you can have a lot more of them. Also using spearman to fight cavalry units instead of camels. Spearmen are much cheaper and much more efficient.
Use your unit speed to its fullest. If your fighting a slower unit, like a elephant with chariot archers, just simply keep moving your archers out of the elephants attack range. Attack the elephant and keep running.
Do not fight in your enemies' tower and castle fire. Don't do it unless your 100% sure you will win the battle. Doing this could cause the momentum of the game to go his way if you lose your whole army.
Do and Do not fight losing battles. Here's what I mean. If your fighting on 2 fronts say one in the middle of the map and the other by his town center which will help you more if you won? The fight by his town center, so why does it matter then if you lose the fight in the middle? It doesn't so go ahead and fight it knowing you'll lose. It will keep him busy and his focus off the real battle. BUT if there is only 1 battlefront if you find yourself losing draw back to your tower/castle fire and don't sacrifice your whole army running into his. If you see your outnumbered draw back, remass, and regroup.
Last but not least always make your enemy think you have a bigger army then you really do. If he thinks your stronger then you are he won't attack. This time allows you to build up your army before the next battle.


Rules of Engagement
Always fight with a purpose. Fighting without a purpose is meaningless fighting. Always fight with the purpose that winning or losing the battle will accomplish something you want it to.
Fight in multiple places at the same time. Keep your enemy busy. If you know what your doing and send in armies at 2 different places, he is going to have to adjust to your plans while putting his plans on hold.
Have your army mixed with 2-4 different units. Always have a counter for his counter. Don't just mass units and throw them into the battle. Have a reason why you're making them and then use them for that reason.
Fight where you want to fight not where he wants to fight. Fighting where you want will always help you win the battle. Also always try not to fight in your town, as this will clog your economy and base procedures. Either fight at his base or at your forward base.
Save your god powers. Don't always use them immediately. Save them for the time when they will best help you win the game. For example if you get flaming weapons don't use it right away. Save it till there's a decisive battle that you absolutely have to win.
Use choke points for his melee units (hand to hand). Don't fight in an open field if you're outnumbered. Funnel his units in a choke point making them fight few by few and you greatly increase your chances for victory.

Unit Grouping
Unit grouping is very important. Being able to grab what units you need quickly will drastically help. I usually have my army on numbers 1-3 and then my buildings on numbers 4-6. By doing this I keep a great deal of time I can use for other more important tasks.
Say we're in the middle of a battle and I see my opponent has archers. By having my longhouses on group 4 I can simply hit #4 and make cavalry out of all my longhouses while keeping my eyes on the battle so I can micro my army to its maximum.

Raiding
Raiding is a very important part of the game. Games are won on who raids more. Raiding is the battle behind the battle to take out your opponent's foundations. After all how well can a building stand with no foundations?
Always try and raid with multiple types of units. This way it is harder for him to counter. Lets say you went into his base with just a few rams and he had axe men waiting¦ your rams are dead with very little damage done to him. But lets suppose you have 10 cavalry units with those rams. Since cavalry counters axe men your rams will be free to do their damage.
One thing I like to do is split up my raiding party. I send in 1 group first and run them through to draw his units attention. After their out of the army from chasing my first group I bring in my second group which is the real units that will do damage.
Distraction while raiding is also a good tactic. Raid 2 or 3 places at the same time. By the time he gets to your third group it will already have done significant damage.
When raiding always kill his villagers first. An army with no economy wont be alive very long. Next go after houses or military buildings. Only go after a town center if you're sure you can bring it down. If you just attack it and it isn't destroyed you accomplished nothing but wasting some of your resources.
Finally the goal of raiding is to hurt your opponent or at the very least keep him busy. The best microer isn't the one that always wins. It's whoever can keep his opponent the busiest with your army and the most confused. If he's constantly using his time to deal with what your doing, he will never have the time he needs to do the things he wants, giving you the advantage.


Lastly and most importantly.. Always do something NEW and unexpected each game.. This keeps your opponent on his/her feet and keeps them wondering if your gonna do any thing else out the normal... Being ahead of your opponent mentally is a big edge in a game.. Keep him/her guessing and your on your way to success.