Navarone's guide to the "People's Army"
Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2008 2:34 am
Well, I finally decided to throw together a guide to China. I've been playing them recently in 1v1 and have been kicking some serious ass. My 1v1 ELO has jumped over 100 points and that's only after 10 games, all of which I've won. Case in point: China = pwn. I've even beaten a level 39 Ottoman brigadier (on a TC map) with them.
Anyway, here's the rundown.
Generally I do a basic disciple FF most of the time except when I'm against a heavy infantry rushing civ, meaning the Ottomans, Japanese, Indians, or Spanish. If you are matched up against one of those civs, I'd suggest fighting them in colonial with the old han army. CKN are great in colonial and have the damage of a skirmisher for 2/3 of the cost. All in all a GREAT unit. The qiang pike does the job against cavalry, has great siege, and is dirt cheap and a great meatshield with 110 hp for 60 wood.
Necessary cards:
Age 1:
5 disciples
Age 2:
7 steppe riders
8 chu ko nu
9 qiang pikes
700 gold
Age 3:
10 arquebusiers
11 changdao
4 iron flails
7 hand mortars
Age 4: None
Recommended cards:
Age 1:
300 food
holy refuge
Age 2:
700 food
700 wood
8 chu ko nu and 1 flamethrower for 500 food
Age 3:
5 meteor hammers
13 chu ko nu
14 qiang pikes
territorial army combat
Repelling volley
Age 4:
Walk the rice paper
Old Han reforms
+8% hp/attack for all units
The rundown on the strategy:
If you're not against an uber heavy infantry civ, I'd suggest doing a standard disciple FF.
DISCIPLE FF
Age 1: Standard age 1, blah blah blah, keep your disciple with your monk and gather treasures like mad. If the map is completely devoid of treasures, send 300 food to speed your age up. Otherwise, send 5 disciples and kick some treasure guardian ass. Put your starting goat on the village and eat it in age 2 when it's almost fully fattened. Age to colonial with 4 vils on the 400 food/resource trickle wonder (Put it behind your base) and switch a few vils to gold depending on how much gold you have so that you have have 300.
Age 2: Keep gathering treasures and send 700 gold ASAP, gather the 400 food, set the wonder to food. Once you get the shipment of gold and have enough resources to age, age with the disciple wonder. If he rushes with heavy infantry in age 2, send 8 CKN who, if microed well, can easily destroy a rush if aided by irregulars/sentries and TC fire. Meanwhile build the wonder behind your base.
Age 3: Send 10 arquebusiers ASAP and go on the offense with your 18 disciples, monk, and 10 arquebusiers. Switch the wonder to wood. 10 arquebusiers is enough to 1 shot a vil and they have 20 range, so take advantage of that. The disciples are more for tanking and they can shred anything but heavy infantry. That's what your arque are for. Anyway, keep sending age 3 shipments depending on the situation and build up a blob of guys. Build a consulate and go Brits or Germans, throw down a rax, and make villages to support your massive army. Once you build up a sizable anti-cav force, send 7 hand mortars and start sieging his base. If they get killed, make a castle and start making more. That should be enough to finish him off.
Age 4: If it somehow gets to this you're in trouble. Send another monk for a super meatshield and send old han reforms so your CKN and qiang pikes are invincible and charge for the kill. The longer the game goes on, the worse of a position you're in.
COLONIAL FIGHTING
Same age 1 as the FF. The wonder, however, depends. You may want the banner army wonder or the flying crow wonder. It depends on the situation.
Age 2: Send 8 CKN first thing, throw down a rax and some villages, set your vils maybe 60% wood, 40% food, and change that depending on what you're doing. Make the old han army and try to overwhelm him or at least last to age 3 in which case you can trash him with your superior age 3 army.
Ages 3 and 4 are up to you.
Tips:
Keep your disciples the hell away from his TC! In ages 1 and 2, one town center shot is enough to kill a disciple and they're far too valuable to lose that way.
Send holy refuge later on when you have nothing better to send. It gives you a monestary rickshaw and makes all monestary improvements cost half as much. That gives you three good upgrades. Monk aura for +20% hp/attack for all nearby disciples for 100 resources, +20% hp/attack for disciples for 200 resources, and +21 attack for the monk for 350 resources. It also allows you to train mercs which are good in age 3.
6 disciples and 1 monk can eventually kill a vil by hacking at it long enough. If you find a lone vil building his FB, see if you can kill it in time.
Hope this helped!
Anyway, here's the rundown.
Generally I do a basic disciple FF most of the time except when I'm against a heavy infantry rushing civ, meaning the Ottomans, Japanese, Indians, or Spanish. If you are matched up against one of those civs, I'd suggest fighting them in colonial with the old han army. CKN are great in colonial and have the damage of a skirmisher for 2/3 of the cost. All in all a GREAT unit. The qiang pike does the job against cavalry, has great siege, and is dirt cheap and a great meatshield with 110 hp for 60 wood.
Necessary cards:
Age 1:
5 disciples
Age 2:
7 steppe riders
8 chu ko nu
9 qiang pikes
700 gold
Age 3:
10 arquebusiers
11 changdao
4 iron flails
7 hand mortars
Age 4: None
Recommended cards:
Age 1:
300 food
holy refuge
Age 2:
700 food
700 wood
8 chu ko nu and 1 flamethrower for 500 food
Age 3:
5 meteor hammers
13 chu ko nu
14 qiang pikes
territorial army combat
Repelling volley
Age 4:
Walk the rice paper
Old Han reforms
+8% hp/attack for all units
The rundown on the strategy:
If you're not against an uber heavy infantry civ, I'd suggest doing a standard disciple FF.
DISCIPLE FF
Age 1: Standard age 1, blah blah blah, keep your disciple with your monk and gather treasures like mad. If the map is completely devoid of treasures, send 300 food to speed your age up. Otherwise, send 5 disciples and kick some treasure guardian ass. Put your starting goat on the village and eat it in age 2 when it's almost fully fattened. Age to colonial with 4 vils on the 400 food/resource trickle wonder (Put it behind your base) and switch a few vils to gold depending on how much gold you have so that you have have 300.
Age 2: Keep gathering treasures and send 700 gold ASAP, gather the 400 food, set the wonder to food. Once you get the shipment of gold and have enough resources to age, age with the disciple wonder. If he rushes with heavy infantry in age 2, send 8 CKN who, if microed well, can easily destroy a rush if aided by irregulars/sentries and TC fire. Meanwhile build the wonder behind your base.
Age 3: Send 10 arquebusiers ASAP and go on the offense with your 18 disciples, monk, and 10 arquebusiers. Switch the wonder to wood. 10 arquebusiers is enough to 1 shot a vil and they have 20 range, so take advantage of that. The disciples are more for tanking and they can shred anything but heavy infantry. That's what your arque are for. Anyway, keep sending age 3 shipments depending on the situation and build up a blob of guys. Build a consulate and go Brits or Germans, throw down a rax, and make villages to support your massive army. Once you build up a sizable anti-cav force, send 7 hand mortars and start sieging his base. If they get killed, make a castle and start making more. That should be enough to finish him off.
Age 4: If it somehow gets to this you're in trouble. Send another monk for a super meatshield and send old han reforms so your CKN and qiang pikes are invincible and charge for the kill. The longer the game goes on, the worse of a position you're in.
COLONIAL FIGHTING
Same age 1 as the FF. The wonder, however, depends. You may want the banner army wonder or the flying crow wonder. It depends on the situation.
Age 2: Send 8 CKN first thing, throw down a rax and some villages, set your vils maybe 60% wood, 40% food, and change that depending on what you're doing. Make the old han army and try to overwhelm him or at least last to age 3 in which case you can trash him with your superior age 3 army.
Ages 3 and 4 are up to you.
Tips:
Keep your disciples the hell away from his TC! In ages 1 and 2, one town center shot is enough to kill a disciple and they're far too valuable to lose that way.
Send holy refuge later on when you have nothing better to send. It gives you a monestary rickshaw and makes all monestary improvements cost half as much. That gives you three good upgrades. Monk aura for +20% hp/attack for all nearby disciples for 100 resources, +20% hp/attack for disciples for 200 resources, and +21 attack for the monk for 350 resources. It also allows you to train mercs which are good in age 3.
6 disciples and 1 monk can eventually kill a vil by hacking at it long enough. If you find a lone vil building his FB, see if you can kill it in time.
Hope this helped!