Age of Empires II beginner economy: villagers, food and scouting
Build a reliable Age of Kings opening with working villagers, population room and scouting.
Edition covered
The 1999 Age of Kings core game and its thirteen original civilizations. Pictures are publisher media from the later HD Edition and can include The Conquerors content. Definitive Edition balancing, civilizations and DLC campaigns are outside this guide.
Keep villagers and population moving
Queue villagers when food allows and build houses before reaching the limit. Idle Town Center time delays later targets. Check idle villagers after construction finishes.
| Resource | Early use | Main source |
|---|---|---|
| Food | Villagers and advancement | Sheep, hunting, berries and farms |
| Wood | Houses, production and farms | Trees |
| Gold | Advanced military and later ages | Gold mines |
| Stone | Castles and defenses | Stone mines |
Shorten gathering trips
Lumber Camps, Mining Camps and Mills reduce carrying distance. Add a nearer camp when workers spend too long walking. A large worker group is not automatically efficient.
| Problem | Likely cause | Response |
|---|---|---|
| Villager queue stops | Food shortage | Use a safe food source |
| Cannot train units | Population limit | Build houses in advance |
| Slow wood income | Long walking distance | Add a nearer Lumber Camp |
| Unexpected enemy attack | Poor scouting | Reveal approaches and production |
| Unused stockpile | Insufficient production | Queue useful units or construct production |
Scout your own resources
Locate food, wood, gold, stone and safe expansion space. The scout also finds sheep and reveals approaches. Avoid losing it to an enemy Town Center.
Adapt the opening to the map
Civilization bonuses and terrain alter the economy. Use the shortage table to move villagers deliberately. A familiar land opening is not a complete water-map plan.
Civilization bonuses and terrain alter the economy. Use the shortage table to move villagers deliberately. A familiar land opening is not a complete water-map plan.
References
| Reference | Website |
|---|---|
| Age of Empires II publisher listing | store.steampowered.com |
| Microsoft Age of Kings manual, archived copy | manuals.plus |