posted 06-19-09 01:15 PM EDT (US)
recs: http://s15.zetaboards.com/A414A_clan/topic/6686569/1/?x=0#post8065966
Info and notes:
- all 3 games are against Tomo_tanker, a 1st luitenant so i won all 3, but that's not really relevant. it's only good because now i got the opportunity to use my BOs fully (except maybe the 5 huss semi in which 1 of my stables got raped)
- i left out the best known (or one of the best known) and most used french BO, the dual rax xbow/pike colonial, because it's too standard, allows no improvisation and i don't really like it that much.
1. Sam's BO:
- the name is because i stole it from samwise12, one of the best french players, and it's just so good that i have to include it here, even though i didn't think of it myself.
- best used against cav colonial starts and cav semi-FFs, such as the 5 huss semi or a dutch cav start. also viable against most rushes if you mix in xbows instead of pikes, or send 8 bows. probably the best strat in french mirrors.
- note i chop 171 wood during transition to colonial. this is meant to be 140. 100 for a house (400w from age up go to stable and rax), and 40 wood for the first pike/xbow you will be queueing. fill up the batch with the 700w shipment.
2. 5 or 8 hussar semi:
- it's a pretty standard BO but we're not really talking about the standard BO (kudos for whoever first thought of the cav semi-FF), because this one of the many many variations:
chopping 125 extra wood during transition to colonial for the 2nd hunt upgrade (you should still be able to get 5 huss out), then going slow age up and dual stable in age3. though as you can see in the rec i forgot to build my 2nd stable in time :/. this variation is best used against eco civs and/or FFing civs like spain, ports, etc. it isn't viable in a lot of situations (as you can see in the situation in the rec it wasn't quite viable), but it's still my favourite because of the strong eco you get, and i just love dual stabling.
- if you really want to you can make it 8 hussars in colonial, won't slow down your age3 time (or hardly) but obviously you'll have slightly less resources to spend in age3. only do this if he's rushing you (though you shouldn't be doing this variation if he's rushing you) or if he's also doing a cav semi-FF.
3. huss + bow/pike colonial start:
- i love this BO. works against pretty much everything except very fast HI rushes, and i like it because of the quick 3 unit combo you get and still being able to ship 4 vills first in age2. i can say this is pretty much my favourite BO in aoe3, but maybe that's just because it's one of the first french BOs i made. although i do actually prefer it over a simple dual rax, because i like cav starts, and you get a much better eco. i think this strat also effectively beats a french dual rax. the problem is it doesn't beat sam's BO, so it can hardly be used in mirrors.
note that most games i play with french consist mostly of a colonial improvisation with the cards 4 vills, 700w, 700g and 8 bow. these are just the 3 BOs that mostly come out of it, and which i think are strongest. obviously the situation can always force you to do something else, but i found BOs were a very solid thing to hold on to when you're trying to learn a civ, so they should be useful for that. also useful for giving you a lot more insight in the french build orders and when to send which cards.
Info and notes:
- all 3 games are against Tomo_tanker, a 1st luitenant so i won all 3, but that's not really relevant. it's only good because now i got the opportunity to use my BOs fully (except maybe the 5 huss semi in which 1 of my stables got raped)
- i left out the best known (or one of the best known) and most used french BO, the dual rax xbow/pike colonial, because it's too standard, allows no improvisation and i don't really like it that much.
1. Sam's BO:
- the name is because i stole it from samwise12, one of the best french players, and it's just so good that i have to include it here, even though i didn't think of it myself.
- best used against cav colonial starts and cav semi-FFs, such as the 5 huss semi or a dutch cav start. also viable against most rushes if you mix in xbows instead of pikes, or send 8 bows. probably the best strat in french mirrors.
- note i chop 171 wood during transition to colonial. this is meant to be 140. 100 for a house (400w from age up go to stable and rax), and 40 wood for the first pike/xbow you will be queueing. fill up the batch with the 700w shipment.
2. 5 or 8 hussar semi:
- it's a pretty standard BO but we're not really talking about the standard BO (kudos for whoever first thought of the cav semi-FF), because this one of the many many variations:
chopping 125 extra wood during transition to colonial for the 2nd hunt upgrade (you should still be able to get 5 huss out), then going slow age up and dual stable in age3. though as you can see in the rec i forgot to build my 2nd stable in time :/. this variation is best used against eco civs and/or FFing civs like spain, ports, etc. it isn't viable in a lot of situations (as you can see in the situation in the rec it wasn't quite viable), but it's still my favourite because of the strong eco you get, and i just love dual stabling.
- if you really want to you can make it 8 hussars in colonial, won't slow down your age3 time (or hardly) but obviously you'll have slightly less resources to spend in age3. only do this if he's rushing you (though you shouldn't be doing this variation if he's rushing you) or if he's also doing a cav semi-FF.
3. huss + bow/pike colonial start:
- i love this BO. works against pretty much everything except very fast HI rushes, and i like it because of the quick 3 unit combo you get and still being able to ship 4 vills first in age2. i can say this is pretty much my favourite BO in aoe3, but maybe that's just because it's one of the first french BOs i made. although i do actually prefer it over a simple dual rax, because i like cav starts, and you get a much better eco. i think this strat also effectively beats a french dual rax. the problem is it doesn't beat sam's BO, so it can hardly be used in mirrors.
note that most games i play with french consist mostly of a colonial improvisation with the cards 4 vills, 700w, 700g and 8 bow. these are just the 3 BOs that mostly come out of it, and which i think are strongest. obviously the situation can always force you to do something else, but i found BOs were a very solid thing to hold on to when you're trying to learn a civ, so they should be useful for that. also useful for giving you a lot more insight in the french build orders and when to send which cards.
