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Age of Empires III Heaven » Forums » Strategy Central » The Russian SPEW
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Topic Subject: The Russian SPEW
Jacks0n
Skirmisher
posted 10-26-05 12:23 PM EDT (US)   
The Russian SPEW

The SPEW stands for

  • Spread: the heart of the strategy - spread across the map quickly
  • Pursue: hunt down villagers who stray out of sight of their towers and TC
  • Engage: Engage villagers and delay their work, or force a town bell call
  • Wreck: Wreck your enemy by the end of the game

    The SPEW is a semi-rush, semi-boom. Unlike a rush, time isn't overly critical, although you don't want to be rushed. Delaying a bit may allow enemy villagers to get outside of TC range and allow easy harrassment. Unlike a boom, the entire economy isn't focused on villagers or techs. Your economy should be strong because of the resources available, and the inability of the enemy to effectively damage large sections of it (wood mining operations or crowded mines). You want to SPEW across the map and strangle the enemy.

    The SPEW works best under the following conditions:

  • 1v1 or 2v2 is preferrable, larger than that and the other team can roll up all your blockhouses one at a time
  • Open maps are better than closed maps (great plains or yucatan are ideal)
  • Try not to use this against the French
  • This does not work on Islands maps

    Here's the basic game plan: spread everything you have as wide as you can. This means you'll be spreading your villagers, military, and buildings. Spreading the military limits enemy economy, spreading buildings makes it difficult to fragment production capabilities, spreading the economy makes it difficult to fragment it with a single army or raiding party.

    Why does this work so well with the Russians?

  • Cheap, mass produced infantry
    This is the heart of the strategy. With enough military units, you can effectively harrass and delay villagers across the entire map
  • Barracks with an attack
    This is what maintains control of the land, and gives your strelets support; it also provides solid protection for goldmines
  • Mass produced villagers
    Slightly cheaper villagers allow you to maintain solid economic strength while building a military
  • Good low level city cards enhancing these traits
    You can jump right into this strategy using just the cards provided in the initial 17
  • Able to build blockhouses in discovery
    Again, this allows you to quickly go for map control

    Cards you need to have:

  • Anything with Strelets
  • 4 Oprichniks in Age II
  • Team Barracks and Blockhouses have more hitpoints
  • Extra Settlers in Age I


    Rough Build order

  • First villagers get food from crates
  • Slowly peel these away and task them on food
  • Once you have 100 wood, build a house and put that villie on wood
  • Next 3 to 5 villies to food, task a few on wood
  • I usually build 12 villagers before aging up; you want a powerful economy
  • At the point of aging up, 3-4 on wood and the rest on food
  • After clicking to age up, take 2 more off food and put them on wood, and another one on gold. (Total of roughly 10 on food, 6 on wood and 2 on gold). This is an extremely wood and food heavy strategy, so very little gold is necessary
  • Send a villie roughly 2/3 to 3/4 across the map, enough to be out of sight but not too far from the enemy base. Once you have enough wood, immediately build a blockhouse (you can do this in Discovery).
  • Continue to build houses with your extra wood. This is important, as Russians are heavily population dependent.
  • Save a shipment until you advance. When you hit Age II, send Oprichniks. As soon as possible, build 10 strelets as well. Your next shipment will be 13 strelets.

    Age II Military

  • Use your forward villie to build barracks in a wide ring around his base, near gold deposits and large animal herds
  • Use your oprichniks to find and harrass food villies
  • Split your first 10 strelets into groups of 5, and send them all around the enemy base looking for weaknesses. You want to hem him in, but at this point stay away from towers and the TC if possible
  • Subsequent strelets may also be split. You want to form a loose ring with special attention to gold, large sections of forest, and other natural resources.
  • Be daring with your Oprichniks. They can stand a moderate dose of tower and even TC fire. Strelets should harrass any villagers who stray outside the TC zone.
  • Once you have 50 or so strelets, you cna be more daring and attack in range of towers or even enemy soldiers. But remember that the first goal is to harrass villies, and you can sacrifice a few soldiers to do so.
  • If you look at the map and see dead animals in the fog of war, you know that's where he is. Target those regions as soon as you have a decent amount of strelets to kill off a lot of villies, they're easy targets.

    Age II Economy

    Spread your villagers around the map. Keep them roughly on your side of the map, but completely across it laterally. An enemy can punch through your line fairly easily; you want him to find only a few villagers at a time, while you hunt his army down. Continue to pump out villagers. always defer to villager production if there is a resource conflict with strelet production. Roughly 4/8 go onto food, 3/8 go onto wood, and 1/8 goes onto gold. Use your forward villie to build barracks in a wide ring around his base, near gold deposits and large animal herds. Once you have a healthy and roughly continuous production of strelets going (at least one set under construction at one barracks minimum), put extra villagers onto gold to push for Age III.

    If:

  • He breaks through your line: produce whatever counters his units, send them after him, send your strelets into his base from the flanks. (His base should be vulnerable, whereas yours is not because it's so spread out) Go first for villagers, second for houses, third for unit production. If you notice that he only has one or two barracks, take them out. Without a means of producing a steady army, base defense is almost impossible, regardless of economic strength. Ignore towers and the TC unless you have sufficient force to take down the TC.

  • He turtles: good! This is the goal. Continue to build your ring of blockhouses. Ideally they should start scattered two radii away and when the construction is built, should have a covering range of fire. Build a castle near chokepoints or where gameplay dictates. Strelets should continue to be produced, but try to diversify, as he'll have a military that will probably counter strelets. Move your villagers as far forward as you think you can get away with - you'll be stripmining his land.

  • He booms: he shouldn't be able to! If you do your work right, he'll only have one or two goldmines, and very few huntables. It's difficult to boom using only mills and livestock. Your economy should be at least as healthy, and since you're spread out, more stable. Generally he'll have to concentrate his military at one point, and you should try to ignore it - send in groups of 10 strelets and harrass his villagers. If you can make him ring the town bell for a full mill (10 villies) with your 10 strelets, and you kill one or two, you've won that battle:
    1. 375 food 100 wood vs 200 food for the killed villies
    2. TC production time is lost for the villies
    3. Lost gathering time
    4. Not to mention, with frequent raiding it becomes difficult to retask villies evenly and remain calm

    =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=
    Tried this out? Think of some counters? Did I not get details right? Please let me know.

    [This message has been edited by Jacks0n (edited 10-26-2005 @ 12:25 PM).]

    • Author
    Replies:
    HgEuAaVrEdN
    Skirmisher
    posted 10-27-05 02:24 AM EDT (US)     1 / 8  
    how early is this strat supposed to be? around 6-7 mins?

    because if you let him get to age 2 he'll probly get cavl to counter the strels. cant be used against french (wich you mentioned) and i think you have to get many more villies to get that many strels that early. because bouilding blockhouses cost 250 wood and houses 100 strels cost wood also so im guessing about 20 needed to get that many wood

    havent tried it yet btw.

    check my stats

    Proud creator of the FIRST King Of The Hill Map for AoE3

    My blog <<---- updated daily

    Hustin10
    Skirmisher
    posted 11-12-05 06:48 PM EDT (US)     2 / 8  
    great strat, the only trouble im having is with the ottoman rush. every time with there abus guns, they just tear my strelets apart in age 2, any sugestions?
    ImpaledNazarene
    Skirmisher
    posted 11-12-05 07:04 PM EDT (US)     3 / 8  
    Oprichnik is a fortress age unit.

    Quote:

    Use your forward villie to build barracks in a wide ring around his base, near gold deposits and large animal herds

    Not only will this take forever with one vill, how will you get enough wood for that? What's to stop him from killing your vill? Not many people are not going to notice you forward building blockhouses around their base.

    Actually, if you're just splitting up your army in an attempt to harass villagers with strelets, what's to stop him from destroying your eco and killing all your units?

    Quote:

    He breaks through your line: produce whatever counters his units, send them after him, send your strelets into his base from the flanks. (His base should be vulnerable, whereas yours is not because it's so spread out) Go first for villagers, second for houses, third for unit production. If you notice that he only has one or two barracks, take them out. Without a means of producing a steady army, base defense is almost impossible, regardless of economic strength. Ignore towers and the TC unless you have sufficient force to take down the TC.

    Not only do I fail to see what line he or she will be breaking through, how will strelets destroy someone's town? They have what, 4 siege attack?

    Spreading out all your forces will make them less effective, and you can be easily rushed and destroyed, especially if all your units are wandering around spread out looking for villies and all your rax are near his base. You can try to attack him if he goes into your town, but strelets won't do shit to buildings.

    allstarhunk69
    Skirmisher
    posted 11-12-05 07:46 PM EDT (US)     4 / 8  
    Lawl @ this strat
    1. Formulas do not win games because the slightest disruption messes up your whole gameplan while you try to figure out what to do
    2. Strelets are garbage ESPECIALLY if not backed up (Minuteman, especially if you can send twice just eat them for dinner)
    3. WHY DONT YOU MENTION GRENADIERS? Grenadiers are like...THE key to a Russian attack...they are amazing and sooo effective its not even funny. The fact Strelets dont take gold should help you out there (although they do take 120 food but again that should not be a problem I would take 3x Grenadiers over another batch of Strelets anyday.

    As for his mention of Oprichneks, I think he simply meant Cossacks, especially since he mentioned 4 and that a card in age 2.

    Ill serve your ass like John McEnroe
    jtpinhead
    Skirmisher
    posted 11-17-05 04:20 PM EDT (US)     5 / 8  
    who should you advance with? 2 settler or 500 wood or the other 1. im guessing the 500 wood to get all those strelets blockhouses and houses
    F_A_T_A_L
    Skirmisher
    posted 12-12-05 10:23 PM EDT (US)     6 / 8  
    good principle but, if you stretch yourself over a map like a ruberband its easy to make you snap, you might already have a repair for it but, just checking, and if you did that to me it would be easy to just bottle and wall myself in then press with the majority of my army at one point on the map.

    Edit
    ~~~~~~~~~~
    sorry for murdering your strat lol it looks like you put a lot of time doing the typing and everything for it

    [This message has been edited by F_A_T_A_L (edited 12-12-2005 @ 10:26 PM).]

    DannyBoy17
    Skirmisher
    posted 12-12-05 11:23 PM EDT (US)     7 / 8  
    great strat, the only trouble im having is with the ottoman rush. every time with there abus guns, they just tear my strelets apart in age 2, any sugestions?

    Maybe melee your strelets? I think Otto's just pwn Strelets naturally.

    Insane Sheep
    Skirmisher
    posted 12-12-05 11:53 PM EDT (US)     8 / 8  
    It's better to defensive boom with the 7 Blockhouses in a protective ring around your base and let your enemy have map control. Then get to Fortress and make Opris. Opris are wonderful units because they rape economy and force your opponent to turtle too, simply because if they try and keep map control, they can't protect their villagers and their economy vanishes, if they spread out, their villagers are just easier to pick off; if they protect each batch, their base will be weak, and you can destroy it; if they don't protect each batch, you can kill them and leave before anything can arrive. Then you have map control when it really counts, Fortress age. With the ability to attack from all sides at once you gain the distinct advantage of the Russian Grenadiers/Halbs and Cav Archers and Oprichniks. Combine the two, to attack from one side with your army, and attack from the other with Opris. It is devastating, especially when you switch it around, attack from the back with Opris several times and he will fortify the back, then charge your army at the back (suicidal, but that's okay, you can replace them, he won't), and charge your Opris through the front, if you use 15-20 Opris per attack, you will be able to remove his economy and make a complete turtle impossible. If you're unlucky and he still manages to fortify himself, build Mortars to replace 10 of the 20 Opris, then blow through his defenses, easy enough to do. If possible, try to lure his army out, then rush Opris in.

    If they don't take map control, make sure to remember that it likely means they are booming or turtling. If they are turtling, don't worry about it, boom harder, get more Opris and they will take down defenses. If they are booming, you will need some Cossacks to interrupt them, it is important as Russians not to be outgunned completely, as you are already outgunned enough as is.

    Important cards: Scout Cavalry, I love that card, not just because of +5% HP (every bit counts) but because of the increased LOS, it helps spotting villagers. Otherwise it all goes down to how you play. The 4 Opris card is also very handy, and you need Scout Cav anyways.

    I find Streltsi horrid units, they disgust me. I only use them as meat shields for stronger units (Musks, Cav Archers, Cannons). I don't use them to raid, since they're too useless, it takes the whole batch of them 2 or 3 volleys to kill a single villager with Great Coat, even worse with CdBs, in which time their military arrives and your Streltsi are gone. They suck at rushing.

    Russians are surprisinly resistant to rushes as their Blockhouses double as towers, so not only are units coming, they also get support fire, minus 250 wood (200 for a batch of Streltsi (house + Streltsi), 50 less you need to gather).

    Russian Grenadiers and Oprichniks are probably their hugest assets, use them whenever possible. I <3 Grens, especially Pavlov Grens, *drool*. Their Cav archers are also quite handy and when behind a wall of Streltsi or Musks and can easily take out cavalry.

    Beware of Cannons, Cannons are nightmares. Culverins are very handy. But truly the most effective Russian counter to cannons is the Opri. Why? Cannons are not cheap, Opris rape villagers. No economy = no cannons; no cannons = happy Russians. Opris also handle Factories rather well. Once you get to level 10, Advanced Arsenal is a must. Opris + Pillage = razing fun for one and all, excellent counter to Factories, and can also allow Opris to punch into Turtled economies (192 damage to buildings at Guard level and Pillage, about as cost effective as Mortars, but far more versatile).

    I have yet to play on an islands map as Russian, but realistically, Opris unloaded from a ship have even greater potential to wreak havoc. Of course if you can't control the water, you're screwed anyways.

    "I found no one ripe for many of my thoughts; the case of 'Zarathustra' proves that one can speak with the
    utmost clearness, and yet not be heard by any one." - Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
    "The fearless are merely fearless. People who act in spite of their fear are truly brave."
    Oprichniks are the best units in AoE3. Why? It's elementary, they're Horse-riding Russian Pirates, nothing beats Horse-riding Russian Pirates.

    [This message has been edited by Insane Sheep (edited 12-12-2005 @ 11:59 PM).]

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