This is my first write-up on this site, so please excuse me if it isn't top-notch. Like the title says, this is a guide for players who are new to Spain. I hope you enjoy it!
Emperor Kyle's Guide to Spain For Newbies
This guide will cover the following:
-Unique advantages of the Spanish civilization
-Detailed descriptions of the units available to it
-Descriptions of some of the unique, useful cards that Spain can send
-Build orders for a basic Spanish rush and a basic Spanish Fast Fortress
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Unique Advantages
Spain has a few unique qualities that set it apart from other civilizations.
-Faster Shipments : Possibly the most unique feature of the Spanish is that they receive shipments faster than other civilizations. They do not get EXP faster, they simply need less EXP to earn a shipment.
-Three Royal Guard Units : Unlike other civilizations, which only have two royal guard units, Spain has three. This makes their late-game army more powerful.
-Powerful Navy : The Spanish have multiple shipments that give them an edge in naval combat.
-Unique Units : Spain has four unique units that will be covered in the "Units" section: Rodeleros, Lancers, War Dogs, and Missionaries.
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Units
Spain has a variety of units at their disposal, including their four unique units.
Infantry
Most of Spain's units are Infantry, particularly Heavy Infantry. They have two kinds of Hand Infantry units, one ranged Heavy Infantry unit, and two *Ranged Infantry units.
Pikemen
Cost: 40f, 40w
Train time: 27 seconds
Build EXP: 8
Pop space: 1
HP: 120
Hand attack: 8 (5x against Heavy Cavalry, 3.5x against *Light Infantry, 1.5 ROF)
Siege Attack: 32 (3.0 ROF)
Resist: 10% hand
Speed: 5
LOS: 12
Pikemen are classified as Heavy Infantry, Infantry, Hand Infantry, and Archaic Infantry. They are one of Spain's most valuable units. They can be a deadly threat to Heavy Cavalry and buildings, but aren't very useful against anything else. What makes them useful to Spain is the fact that they can be upgraded beyond veteran, unlike other pikemen. They even have royal guard status, becoming Tercio pikemen. The Spanish also have a lot of upgrades for hand Infantry, which makes them even stronger. They are also affected by TEAM Archaic Infantry Training, which lets you produce them at an incredible rate. They are available in the Colonial Age.
Crossbowmen
Cost: 40f, 40w
Train time: 27 second
Build EXP: 8
Pop space: 1
HP: 100
Ranged Attack: 16 (16 range, 2x against Light Cavalry, 2x against eagle runner knights, 1.25x against Heavy Infantry, 0.75x against Heavy Cavalry, 0.75x against *Light Infantry, 3.0 ROF)
Hand Attack: 7 (2x against Light Cavalry, 2x against eagle runner knights, 1.25x against Heavy Infantry, 0.75x against Heavy Cavalry, 0.75x against *Light Infantry, 1.5 ROF)
Siege Attack: 8 (3.0 ROF)
Resist: 20% ranged
Speed: 4
LOS: 20
Crossbowmen are classified as Ranged Infantry, Infantry, Archers, and Archaic Infantry. Crossbowmen are the only *Ranged Infantry available to Spain in the Colonial Age. They do well against Heavy Infantry and Light Cavalry, but they don't do well against Heavy Cavalry. They also have low siege damage and aren't very reliable in melee combat. They complement pikemen because they have the same cost and are Archaic Infantry, which means they also benefit from TEAM Archaic Infantry Training. They cannot be upgraded beyond veteran.
Rodelero
Cost: 65f, 35g
Train time: 30 seconds
Build EXP: 10
Pop space: 1
HP: 135
Hand Attack: 10 (3.5x against Heavy Cavalry, 2.25x against *Light Infantry, 1.5 ROF)
Siege Attack:10 (3.0 ROF)
Resist: 40% hand
Speed: 6
LOS: 12
Rodeleros are classified as Heavy Infantry, Infantry, and Hand Infantry. They are a unit that is unique to Spain. They do well against Heavy Cavalry, and do decently well against other Heavy Infantry because of their high hand resistance. What I find to be the main advantage of rodeleros is their high speed, which lets them engage ranged units in melee combat to gain the upper hand, and it prevents your opponent's *Ranged Infantry from using hit-and-run tactics to kill your rodeleros. You can chase them down and defeat them with your superior hand attack and hand resistance. They can also chase down horses better than other Heavy Infantry. They have royal guard status, becoming Espada rodeleros. They also benefit from Spain's many Hand Infantry cards. They are available in the Colonial Age.
Musketeer
Cost: 75f, 25g
Train time: 30 seconds
Build EXP: 10
Pop space: 1
HP: 150
Ranged Attack: 23 (12 range, 3.0 ROF)
Hand Attack: 13 (3x against Heavy Cavalry, 2.25x against *Light Infantry, 1.5 ROF)
Siege Attack: 20 (3.0 ROF)
Resist: 20% hand
Speed: 4
LOS: 16
Musketeers are classified as Heavy Infantry, Infantry, Ranged Infantry, and Gunpowder Infantry. They have a good ranged attack and good siege damage, and a decent hand attack with a bonus against Heavy Cavalry. They are the only Heavy Infantry unit that Spain can use that has a ranged attack. This makes them more versatile, especially when dealing with Hand Infantry - their high ranged attack gives them an edge. They are available in the Colonial Age.
Skirmisher
Cost: 50f, 65g
Train time: 33 seconds
Build EXP: 12
Pop Space: 1
HP: 120
Ranged Attack: 15 (20 range, 2x against Heavy Infantry, 2x against Light Cavalry, 2x against eagle runner knights, 0.75 x against Heavy Cavalry, 0.75x against *Light Infantry, 3.0 ROF)
Hand Attack: 6 (2x against Heavy Infantry, 2x against Light Cavalry, 2x against eagle runner knights, 0.75 x against Heavy Cavalry, 0.75x against *Light Infantry, 1.5 ROF)
Siege Attack: 12 (3.0 ROF)
Resist: 30% ranged
Speed: 4.5
LOS: 24
Skirmishers are classified as *Ranged Infantry, Infantry, and Gunpowder Infantry. They are more advanced than crossbowmen, and are available in the Fortress Age. They have a good ranged attack with bonuses against Heavy Infantry and Light Cavalry, but they don't do well against Heavy Cavalry or *Light Infantry. Skirmishers have a long range and LOS, which lets them hit-and-run most Heavy Infantry units. They also have ranged resistance, which makes them ideal for fighting at range and soaking up damage. However, they fail badly in melee combat.
Cavalry
Spain has a few cavalry units to choose from. They have 2 kinds of Heavy Cavalry and one Light Cavalry unit.
Hussar
Cost: 120f, 80g
Train time: 40 seconds
Build EXP: 20
Pop space: 2
HP: 320
Hand Attack: 30 (1.5 ROF)
Siege Attack: 20 (3.0 ROF)
Resist: 20% hand
Speed: 6.8
LOS: 15
Hussars are classified as Heavy Cavalry, Cavalry, and Hand Cavalry. They are the only Cavalry unit available to Spain in the Colonial Age. They do not have any bonuses, but they are good at killing *Ranged Infantry and Artillery. They do not do as well against Heavy Infantry, but they are fast enough to run away to avoid trouble. They can also be effective raiders. They are the most basic Cavalry unit in the game.
Lancer
Cost: 110f, 90g
Train time: 40 seconds
Build EXP: 20
Pop space: 2
HP: 320
Hand Attack: 20 (3x against Infantry, 1.5 ROF)
Siege Attack: 20 (3.0 ROF)
Resist: 20% hand
Speed: 6.5
LOS: 15
Lancers are classified as Heavy Cavalry, Cavalry, and Hand Cavalry. They are a unit that is unique to the Spanish. They are available in the Fortress Age. Lancers excel against Infantry units, and can deal a devastating blow against an unprotected army of *Ranged Infantry. They also fare decently well against Heavy Infantry units, but I don't advise you to send them headlong into a group of Hand Infantry unless you are dealing with units that aren't upgraded as much as your lancers. It isn't a suicide mission to fight Heavy Infantry with them, but they are most effective against *Ranged Infantry units. They also do well against Artillery. However, because of their low base damage, they are defeated by other Heavy Cavalry. This also makes them less effective for raiding. They are even more useful when upgraded to royal guard status, becoming Garrochista lancers. Once you reach the Fortress Age, you should use these guys instead of hussars, as they are more useful.
Dragoon
Cost: 90f, 90g
Train time: 38 seconds
Build EXP: 18
Pop space: 2
HP: 200
Ranged Attack: 22 (12 range, 3x against Heavy Cavalry, 2.75x against *Light Infantry, 2x against Artillery, 0.5x against Settlers, 3.0 ROF)
Siege Attack: 9 (3.0 ROF)
Resist: 30% ranged
Speed: 7.3
LOS: 15
Dragoons are classified as Ranged Cavalry, Cavalry, and Gunpowder Cavalry. They are the on Light Cavalry unit available to Spain, and become available in the Fortress Age. Dragoons are fast and have a ranged attack with a bonus against Heavy Cavalry, making them ideal for hit-and-run tactics against them. They also have a bonus against Artillery. However, their siege damage is terrible, and they aren't good for raiding because of their penalty against Settlers.
Other Units
Spain has two other units that I will discuss.
War Dog
Cost: 75f
Build limit: 5
Train time: 10 seconds
Build EXP: 8
Pop space: 0
HP: 85
Hand Attack: 15 (1.2x against Guardians, 0.25 x against Settlers, 1.5 ROF)
Resist: 10% hand
Speed: 5
LOS: 10
War dogs are a unit that is unique to the Spanish. They are Pets that are trainable by your explorer. While they are limited to 5, they do not cost any pop space. War dogs make good companions for your explorer when he gathers treasure, especially because of their small bonus against Guardians. While they have low HP, they have a decent hand attack. Both of those stats increase with every age. Here is a table provided by Ericus_Magnus that compares war dogs to rodeleros. Thank you, Ericus!
HP = Hitpoints
HA = Hand Attack
---------------I------II-----III------IV----V
Dogs--HP---85---123----191---225---361
-------HA---15-----18-----22-----28----37
Rods--HP---------135----162---216---283
--------HA----------10-----12----16-----21
You start the game with a war dog.
Missionaries
Cost: 100w, 100g
Build limit: 10
Train time: 40 seconds
Build EXP: 20
Pop space: 1
HP: 300
Hand Attack: 5 (1.5 ROF)
Heal rate: 10
Resist: 10% ranged
Speed: 7
LOS: 12
Missionaries are classified as Healers. They are a unit that is unique to the Spanish. Unlike normal monks, missionaries ride on donkeys to move faster. They can be used to heal your injured units. There is also a card called Unction that is unique to the Spanish that gives missionaries the ability to increase the attack of nearby units, which makes them worthwhile to use.
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Unique Cards
The Spanish has a few unique cards that are worthy of mention.
-TEAM Archaic Infantry Training
This is a very useful card for Spain, especially in team games. It reduces the training time of pikemen and crossbowmen by 50% for the entire team. Combined with the Fencing School card and the Mass Infantry tech, this allows you and your team to train Archaic Infantry in an instant. You need a level 10 home city to get it, and it is available in the Discovery Age.
-Unction
This card enables your missionaries to increase the attack of nearby units. Most players don't use Healers, but this card is a good reason to start! Position your missionaries near your army (max of ten missionaries) to give it a huge advantage. Each missionary provides a 5% increase. In team games, the aura affects every unit on your team. You need a level 40 home city to get it, and it is available in the Colonial Age.
-Caballeros
This card increases the bonus your lancers have against Infantry. Instead of a 3x bonus, they will have a 4x bonus, increasing the damage they do to Infantry by 33%. You need a level 10 home city to get it, and it can be sent in the Fortress Age.
-Tercio Tactics
This card transforms all of your pikemen into rodeleros. This can be useful if you have a food/wood economy and feel like you need rodeleros instead of pikes. You need a level 40 home city to get it, and you can send it in the Fortress Age.
-TEAM Inquisition
This card increases the LOS of all your units (and your teams' units) by 10. It lets your units see a lot farther, which is good for scouting and spotting your enemies. You need a level 10 home city to get it, and it can be sent in the Discovery Age.
-Royal Decree
This is the unique church card for the Spanish. When you send it, you can get three new techs at your church:
1.Corselet
Age: Colonial
Cost: Free
This tech increases the HP of your Heavy Infantry by 25%, but decreases their speed by 15%. While it lets them last longer in a fight, it allows *Ranged Infantry to use hit-and-run tactics on them more easily, and they cannot chase down Cavalry as easily.
2.Quatrefage
Age: Fortress
Cost: 1000w
This tech sends 13 guard halberdiers to your home city gather point. 13 halberdiers for 1000w is an excellent trade, and they have guard status even if you use this tech in the Fortress Age. An excellent tech.
3.Wild Geese
Age: Fortress
Cost: 2000w
This tech sends 10 hackapell mercenaries to your home city gather point. Each hackapell costs 200w compared to the 300g you have to pay to train them at your saloon, so it is a good idea. However, there are plenty of other things you can do with 2000w that would be better.
-Colonial Estancias
This card increases the amount of population your town centers can support by 70, bringing the total to 80. This means that if you have all 3 town centers, you don't need any houses to reach your max population. While there are better cards to send, if can definitely help out if you need some extra pop space but don't have enough wood to spend on houses. You need a level 25 home city to get it, and you can send it in the Fortress Age.
-Armada
This card increases the HP of your warships by 30%. That's a significant amount, and it will definitely give your warships a nice boost. You need a level 10 home city to get it, and you can send it in the Fortress Age.
-Spanish Gold
This card increased the HP of your galleons by 50% and enables them to train buccaneers (pirates with +50% health). It also increases the HP of your saloon by 100%, making it much tougher, and enables it to train buccaneers as well. You need a level 40 home city to get it, and you can send it in the Industrial Age.
-Spanish Galleons
This card increases the HP and attack of your galleons by 50%. That's a huge boost, and you can send it as early as the Colonial Age. Coupled with Armada and Spanish Gold, your galleons will be strong enough to take on any ships without much trouble. You need a level 10 home city to get it, and you can send it in the Colonial Age.
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Basic Strategies
I won't explain every Spanish strategy in the history of AOE in detail, but I will give basic build orders for the two most common Spanish strategies: the Spanish rush and the Spanish FF. You don't have to follow the strategies exactly; you can adapt them to fit to your own playing style. After all, they'rebasic strategies.
The Basic Spanish Musketeer Rush
Most people think of the Spanish as a civilization that excels at Fast Fortress strategies. While thatis true, they can pull off a strong rush as well. Earning shipments faster is great because it lets you set up for your rush quickly by sending more resource shipments and unit shipments to fuel it. The goal of this rush is to attack your opponent's town at about 7 minutes with 30-35 musketeers and 8 pikemen, with plenty more coming. This strategy works with a home city of any level, but I suggest that you have at least a level 40 home city. Depending on personal preference, you might find it useful to have a level 60 home city.
Useful Cards
Some cards that you will need to pull off this strategy as effectively as possible are:
Discovery Age
-3 Settlers
Colonial Age
-700 Wood
-700 Gold
-8 Pikemen
Other optional (but very useful) cards to include are:
Discovery Age
-Economic Theory
-Land Grab
-Unction
Colonial Age
-5 Settlers
-700 Food
-TEAM Archaic Infantry Training
-Fencing School
-Riding School
-Advanced Arsenal
Fortress Age
-1000w
-Caballeros
-Hand Infantry Combat
-Cavalry Combat
Industrial Age
-Factory
-Industrial Revolution
And now, on to the build order:
Discovery Age
First, send a villager behind the nearest huntables and herd them toward your town center. Task each remaining villager to their own crate to prevent them from bumping into each other. You want to queue a villager as soon as possible. When your crates are done, send all of your villagers to hunt, except for one that will build a house. Keep your town center's gather point on huntables so that all of your new villagers go there. Also, send your explorer and his dog to find treasures. Food treasures are the most useful because they shave a few seconds off of your age time, but XP treasures are useful too because they let you get your first shipment faster.
When your first shipment arrives, send 3 villagers. Meanwhile, you should have found your opponent's town by now with your explorer. If not, try to do that now. When your shipment arrives, the villagers will go to huntables with your other vils. Age with 14 villagers using the politician that sends 200 gold and an outpost wagon. If your home city level is 60+, you can use the 500 food politician instead, but I like to use the former.
Transition to the Colonial Age
Send 2 of your hunters to the middle of the map to chop wood and build a forward base later. Send 3 of your other hunters to chop wood as well. When you have almost 200 wood, move those 3 choppers to the nearest mine. Scout with your explorer to check if they have sent villagers forward to build a base of their own. During the transition, you should receive your second shipment. Save it for later. Don't forget to queue up a villager or two.
Colonial Age
If all goes well, you should reach the Colonial Age a little past 4:00. Immediately start building a barracks, and send one of your miners to collect the 200 gold. You can position your outpost in one of three places, depending on what you feel is necessary:
1. Near your forward base. This will help to defend it from a possible attack.
2. Near your secondary batch of huntables. This will protect your villagers from raids when your first group of huntables runs out. This is my personal preference.
3. Near your town. This will defend your town from raids and attacks.
Use your shipment to send 700 wood. This will help you make houses to support your army, and possibly a second barracks if you want one.
Don't forget to have constant villager production. Your first new villager will go to hunt, as well as your second. Your third will go to mine. After that, you can send them to either hunt or mine depending on what you need.
When your barracks is up, queue a musketeer. Your third shipment should arrive by now. Use it to send 8 pikemen.
When your 700 wood arrives, build at last 5 houses. You can use the 200 remaining wood to make a second barracks, make more houses, build a market, or make a batch of pikemen.
Your fourth shipment should arrive sometime before 6 minutes. When it does, send 700 gold. It should arrive at about the time that you are ready to attack. If you had kept a steady stream of musketeers coming from your barracks (without neglecting villager production), you should have about 30 or 35 musketeers, as well as the 8 pikemen you shipped. Don't forget to keep queuing more units to replace the ones you might lose.
When you attack your opponent's town, there is a priority system that you have to use when choosing what to attack. I use this system:
Units > Military buildings > Outposts > Market > Town Center > Houses
You have to kill their units first to make sure that you can attack their town without being attacked yourself. After that, you want to attack their barracks and stables to prevent them from making more units to defend against your attack. After that, knock down their outposts if they have any so that your units aren't fired upon. If your opponent has a market, tear that down next to prevent them from trading resources. Finally, you can finish the job by taking down their town center. You don't need to worry about their houses because you've already destroyed their military buildings, so they cannot make new military units as it is.
Unless your opponent is a mental patient, they should resign by now.
However, things may go wrong. If your opponent has an overwhelming amount of *Ranged Infantry, your musketeers might lose. Try to save as many as possible by retreating to your forward base. If you had sent your outpost there, it will help if they try to chase you.
If youdo fail to destroy their town, do not panic. Instead, try to let your economy recover. Then, you can either attack again or advance to the Fortress Age to gain the upper hand and train lancers to kill those pesky *Ranged Infantry units.
Also note that it can be a good idea to mix some rodeleros into the fray, because they can force your opponent's *Ranged Infantry into melee to prevent your army from taking excessive casualties.
Well, that's the rush. It's not the best thing on Earth, but it is helped by quickly-earned shipments. It will also fool a player who expects you to FF.
The Basic Spanish FF
The Spanish Fast Fortress if truly fearsome. It grants you access to useful units like lancers, skirmishers, dragoons, and artillery. It also lets you send more useful cards, buy more useful techs, and upgrade your units to veteran. This strategy is a basic Spanish FF that gives you all of those advantages. It can be done with any Spanish home city that is at least level 40. It works best with when you have at least one gold crate at the beginning of the game.
Note: It is a good idea to make sure your opponent will not rush you before you reach the Fortress Age. if you are playing against a civilization that can rush hard with strong siege, do not attempt this strategy.
Useful Cards
Some cards that you will need to pull off this strategy as effectively as possible are:
Discovery Age
-3 Settlers
Colonial Age
-700 Gold
Other optional (but very useful) cards are:
Discovery Age
-Economic Theory
-Land Grab
-Unction
Colonial Age
-5 Settlers
-700 wood
-6 Rodeleros
-TEAM Archaic Infantry Training
-Fencing School
-Riding School
-Advanced Arsenal
Fortress Age
-1000w
-4 Lancers
-2 Falconets
-Caballeros
-Hand Infantry Combat
-Cavalry Combat
Industrial Age
-Factory
-Industrial Revolution
And now, on to the build order:
Discovery Age
First, send a villager behind the nearest huntables and herd them toward your town center. Task each remaining villager to their own crate to prevent them from bumping into each other. You want to queue a villager as soon as possible. When your crates are done, send all of your villagers to hunt, except for one that will build a house. Keep your town center's gather point on huntables so that all of your new villagers go there. Also, send your explorer and his dog to find treasures. Food treasures are the most useful because they shave a few seconds off of your age time, but XP treasures are useful too because they let you get your first shipment faster.
When your first shipment arrives, send 3 villagers. Meanwhile, you should have found your opponent's town by now with your explorer. If not, try to do that now. When your shipment arrives, the villagers will go to huntables with your other vils. Age with 14 villagers using the politician that sends 200 gold and an outpost wagon.
Transition to the Colonial Age
While you are aging to Colonial, send about 4 villagers to chop wood until you have 250, at which point they will be sent back to your second shipment should arrive. Save it for later. Also, try to find your opponent's town if you haven't already done that. You should look for villagers that they have sent forward to make a forward base, if they have any. Remember to queue a couple villagers.
Colonial Age
If all goes well, you should reach the Colonial Age a little past 4:00. Send a villager to collect the 200 gold, and send 700 gold as your second shipment. Send your outpost wagon to build an outpost in one of two places:
1. Near your town. This will help to protect your town in case your opponent rushes you. I prefer to place it here because doing a Fast Fortress strategy leaves you open for a rush.
2. Near your secondary huntables. This will protect your villagers from a raid once your first group of huntables runs off.
Use the 250 wood you gathered to build a trade post to help you get your shipments even faster. You should receive your third shipment by now. Save it for later when you reach the Fortress Age. When your 700 gold arrives, send a few villagers to gather it.
That 700 gold, combined with the 200 gold you got when you aged the 100 gold you started with, is enough to advance to the Fortress age. Because all of your villagers were hunting, you should also have enough food within a short time.
Age up with the 4 hussar politician.
Transition to the Fortress Age
You should have about 17 villagers at this point. Send 7 to gather gold, leaving you with 10 on food. Your fourth shipment should arrive during the transition. Save it as well. Don't forget to queue a couple villagers!
If you get attacked, don't panic. If it is a small attack that your town center, outpost and minutemen can handle, good for you. If you think you'll need a bit of help, you should also ship rodeleros with one of your unused shipments, and make war dogs from your explorer.
If you don't get attacked, then things are going as planned. Use your other unused shipment to send 700 wood for a barracks and houses.
Fortress Age
When you reach the Fortress age, use one of your shipments. Your first shipment should be a military shipment. I prefer to send 4 lancers first.
Use your hussars to scout the map for any sign of a rush, and to see what your opponent is doing.
When you've made your first house, queue up more villagers and send 2 falconets as your next shipment. You can also begin to make those units from your barracks.
From there, you have many choices. Whichever one you choose is up to you:
1.Devastate your opponent with your more-advanced army. While your opponent fiddles around with Colonial Age units, you'll have lancers and cannons, along with any units you made at your barracks. With a continuous stream of units coming from your barracks and more shipments on the way, you'll have a huge advantage. This is the best choice because you could lose the advantage you have if you wait too long.
2.Take advantage of Fortress Age cards and techs to have a superior economy. In the Fortress Age, you can send new cards and buy new techs that weren't available to you before. You can also build more town centers now to speed up villager production. Your opponent won't be able to keep up!
3.Wait for their attack. Most likely, your opponent will try to attack you because you've spent a lot of resources to age. You have your town center, outposts, and hussars to defend against an immediate attack, as well as minutemen and queued musketeers. When your 4 lancers arrive, you should be able to repel the attack if you haven't already.
Then, you can either turn the tables and attack your opponent's town, or you can build up your economy and leave your opponent to recover feebly.
Sometimes, the attack will be too strong, and you will be defeated. This is probably because a Fast Fortress wasn't quite the strategy you should have used. Strong rush civilizations can ruin your plans without much trouble if your opponent uses units with high siege damage such as pikes.
Remember, if you see your opponent making an excessive amount of such units,do not attempt a Fast Fortress.
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I hope that this guide is useful to the players that read it. It's not intended to perfect your skills with Spain; it's a guide to new players who need help using this fun, unique civilization. But your options aren't limited to what's in this guide; you can try other strategies like the Crossbow+Pike Rush and the Pike+Rod Rush and stick to what works best for you. Thanks for reading!
-Emperor Kyle
ESO2: Kyle_The_Brave
Clan: Proud Officer of Trỉρℓε ΣņτễηţϠ, [TΣ]
"Why make your own inspirational quotes when you can just read the side of O_Man's Ssips juices?" - A wise prophet
"The best way to die is to spontaneously combust during a drum solo battle with Lars Ulrich" - The Blair
This guide will cover the following:
-Unique advantages of the Spanish civilization
-Detailed descriptions of the units available to it
-Descriptions of some of the unique, useful cards that Spain can send
-Build orders for a basic Spanish rush and a basic Spanish Fast Fortress
Spain has a few unique qualities that set it apart from other civilizations.
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Spain has a variety of units at their disposal, including their four unique units.
Most of Spain's units are Infantry, particularly Heavy Infantry. They have two kinds of Hand Infantry units, one ranged Heavy Infantry unit, and two *Ranged Infantry units.
Cost: 40f, 40w
Train time: 27 seconds
Build EXP: 8
Pop space: 1
HP: 120
Hand attack: 8 (5x against Heavy Cavalry, 3.5x against *Light Infantry, 1.5 ROF)
Siege Attack: 32 (3.0 ROF)
Resist: 10% hand
Speed: 5
LOS: 12
Pikemen are classified as Heavy Infantry, Infantry, Hand Infantry, and Archaic Infantry. They are one of Spain's most valuable units. They can be a deadly threat to Heavy Cavalry and buildings, but aren't very useful against anything else. What makes them useful to Spain is the fact that they can be upgraded beyond veteran, unlike other pikemen. They even have royal guard status, becoming Tercio pikemen. The Spanish also have a lot of upgrades for hand Infantry, which makes them even stronger. They are also affected by TEAM Archaic Infantry Training, which lets you produce them at an incredible rate. They are available in the Colonial Age.
Cost: 40f, 40w
Train time: 27 second
Build EXP: 8
Pop space: 1
HP: 100
Ranged Attack: 16 (16 range, 2x against Light Cavalry, 2x against eagle runner knights, 1.25x against Heavy Infantry, 0.75x against Heavy Cavalry, 0.75x against *Light Infantry, 3.0 ROF)
Hand Attack: 7 (2x against Light Cavalry, 2x against eagle runner knights, 1.25x against Heavy Infantry, 0.75x against Heavy Cavalry, 0.75x against *Light Infantry, 1.5 ROF)
Siege Attack: 8 (3.0 ROF)
Resist: 20% ranged
Speed: 4
LOS: 20
Crossbowmen are classified as Ranged Infantry, Infantry, Archers, and Archaic Infantry. Crossbowmen are the only *Ranged Infantry available to Spain in the Colonial Age. They do well against Heavy Infantry and Light Cavalry, but they don't do well against Heavy Cavalry. They also have low siege damage and aren't very reliable in melee combat. They complement pikemen because they have the same cost and are Archaic Infantry, which means they also benefit from TEAM Archaic Infantry Training. They cannot be upgraded beyond veteran.
Cost: 65f, 35g
Train time: 30 seconds
Build EXP: 10
Pop space: 1
HP: 135
Hand Attack: 10 (3.5x against Heavy Cavalry, 2.25x against *Light Infantry, 1.5 ROF)
Siege Attack:10 (3.0 ROF)
Resist: 40% hand
Speed: 6
LOS: 12
Rodeleros are classified as Heavy Infantry, Infantry, and Hand Infantry. They are a unit that is unique to Spain. They do well against Heavy Cavalry, and do decently well against other Heavy Infantry because of their high hand resistance. What I find to be the main advantage of rodeleros is their high speed, which lets them engage ranged units in melee combat to gain the upper hand, and it prevents your opponent's *Ranged Infantry from using hit-and-run tactics to kill your rodeleros. You can chase them down and defeat them with your superior hand attack and hand resistance. They can also chase down horses better than other Heavy Infantry. They have royal guard status, becoming Espada rodeleros. They also benefit from Spain's many Hand Infantry cards. They are available in the Colonial Age.
Cost: 75f, 25g
Train time: 30 seconds
Build EXP: 10
Pop space: 1
HP: 150
Ranged Attack: 23 (12 range, 3.0 ROF)
Hand Attack: 13 (3x against Heavy Cavalry, 2.25x against *Light Infantry, 1.5 ROF)
Siege Attack: 20 (3.0 ROF)
Resist: 20% hand
Speed: 4
LOS: 16
Musketeers are classified as Heavy Infantry, Infantry, Ranged Infantry, and Gunpowder Infantry. They have a good ranged attack and good siege damage, and a decent hand attack with a bonus against Heavy Cavalry. They are the only Heavy Infantry unit that Spain can use that has a ranged attack. This makes them more versatile, especially when dealing with Hand Infantry - their high ranged attack gives them an edge. They are available in the Colonial Age.
Cost: 50f, 65g
Train time: 33 seconds
Build EXP: 12
Pop Space: 1
HP: 120
Ranged Attack: 15 (20 range, 2x against Heavy Infantry, 2x against Light Cavalry, 2x against eagle runner knights, 0.75 x against Heavy Cavalry, 0.75x against *Light Infantry, 3.0 ROF)
Hand Attack: 6 (2x against Heavy Infantry, 2x against Light Cavalry, 2x against eagle runner knights, 0.75 x against Heavy Cavalry, 0.75x against *Light Infantry, 1.5 ROF)
Siege Attack: 12 (3.0 ROF)
Resist: 30% ranged
Speed: 4.5
LOS: 24
Skirmishers are classified as *Ranged Infantry, Infantry, and Gunpowder Infantry. They are more advanced than crossbowmen, and are available in the Fortress Age. They have a good ranged attack with bonuses against Heavy Infantry and Light Cavalry, but they don't do well against Heavy Cavalry or *Light Infantry. Skirmishers have a long range and LOS, which lets them hit-and-run most Heavy Infantry units. They also have ranged resistance, which makes them ideal for fighting at range and soaking up damage. However, they fail badly in melee combat.
Spain has a few cavalry units to choose from. They have 2 kinds of Heavy Cavalry and one Light Cavalry unit.
Cost: 120f, 80g
Train time: 40 seconds
Build EXP: 20
Pop space: 2
HP: 320
Hand Attack: 30 (1.5 ROF)
Siege Attack: 20 (3.0 ROF)
Resist: 20% hand
Speed: 6.8
LOS: 15
Hussars are classified as Heavy Cavalry, Cavalry, and Hand Cavalry. They are the only Cavalry unit available to Spain in the Colonial Age. They do not have any bonuses, but they are good at killing *Ranged Infantry and Artillery. They do not do as well against Heavy Infantry, but they are fast enough to run away to avoid trouble. They can also be effective raiders. They are the most basic Cavalry unit in the game.
Cost: 110f, 90g
Train time: 40 seconds
Build EXP: 20
Pop space: 2
HP: 320
Hand Attack: 20 (3x against Infantry, 1.5 ROF)
Siege Attack: 20 (3.0 ROF)
Resist: 20% hand
Speed: 6.5
LOS: 15
Lancers are classified as Heavy Cavalry, Cavalry, and Hand Cavalry. They are a unit that is unique to the Spanish. They are available in the Fortress Age. Lancers excel against Infantry units, and can deal a devastating blow against an unprotected army of *Ranged Infantry. They also fare decently well against Heavy Infantry units, but I don't advise you to send them headlong into a group of Hand Infantry unless you are dealing with units that aren't upgraded as much as your lancers. It isn't a suicide mission to fight Heavy Infantry with them, but they are most effective against *Ranged Infantry units. They also do well against Artillery. However, because of their low base damage, they are defeated by other Heavy Cavalry. This also makes them less effective for raiding. They are even more useful when upgraded to royal guard status, becoming Garrochista lancers. Once you reach the Fortress Age, you should use these guys instead of hussars, as they are more useful.
Cost: 90f, 90g
Train time: 38 seconds
Build EXP: 18
Pop space: 2
HP: 200
Ranged Attack: 22 (12 range, 3x against Heavy Cavalry, 2.75x against *Light Infantry, 2x against Artillery, 0.5x against Settlers, 3.0 ROF)
Siege Attack: 9 (3.0 ROF)
Resist: 30% ranged
Speed: 7.3
LOS: 15
Dragoons are classified as Ranged Cavalry, Cavalry, and Gunpowder Cavalry. They are the on Light Cavalry unit available to Spain, and become available in the Fortress Age. Dragoons are fast and have a ranged attack with a bonus against Heavy Cavalry, making them ideal for hit-and-run tactics against them. They also have a bonus against Artillery. However, their siege damage is terrible, and they aren't good for raiding because of their penalty against Settlers.
Spain has two other units that I will discuss.
Cost: 75f
Build limit: 5
Train time: 10 seconds
Build EXP: 8
Pop space: 0
HP: 85
Hand Attack: 15 (1.2x against Guardians, 0.25 x against Settlers, 1.5 ROF)
Resist: 10% hand
Speed: 5
LOS: 10
War dogs are a unit that is unique to the Spanish. They are Pets that are trainable by your explorer. While they are limited to 5, they do not cost any pop space. War dogs make good companions for your explorer when he gathers treasure, especially because of their small bonus against Guardians. While they have low HP, they have a decent hand attack. Both of those stats increase with every age. Here is a table provided by Ericus_Magnus that compares war dogs to rodeleros. Thank you, Ericus!
HP = Hitpoints
HA = Hand Attack
---------------I------II-----III------IV----V
Dogs--HP---85---123----191---225---361
-------HA---15-----18-----22-----28----37
Rods--HP---------135----162---216---283
--------HA----------10-----12----16-----21
You start the game with a war dog.
Cost: 100w, 100g
Build limit: 10
Train time: 40 seconds
Build EXP: 20
Pop space: 1
HP: 300
Hand Attack: 5 (1.5 ROF)
Heal rate: 10
Resist: 10% ranged
Speed: 7
LOS: 12
Missionaries are classified as Healers. They are a unit that is unique to the Spanish. Unlike normal monks, missionaries ride on donkeys to move faster. They can be used to heal your injured units. There is also a card called Unction that is unique to the Spanish that gives missionaries the ability to increase the attack of nearby units, which makes them worthwhile to use.
The Spanish has a few unique cards that are worthy of mention.
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This is a very useful card for Spain, especially in team games. It reduces the training time of pikemen and crossbowmen by 50% for the entire team. Combined with the Fencing School card and the Mass Infantry tech, this allows you and your team to train Archaic Infantry in an instant. You need a level 10 home city to get it, and it is available in the Discovery Age.
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This card enables your missionaries to increase the attack of nearby units. Most players don't use Healers, but this card is a good reason to start! Position your missionaries near your army (max of ten missionaries) to give it a huge advantage. Each missionary provides a 5% increase. In team games, the aura affects every unit on your team. You need a level 40 home city to get it, and it is available in the Colonial Age.
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This card increases the bonus your lancers have against Infantry. Instead of a 3x bonus, they will have a 4x bonus, increasing the damage they do to Infantry by 33%. You need a level 10 home city to get it, and it can be sent in the Fortress Age.
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This card transforms all of your pikemen into rodeleros. This can be useful if you have a food/wood economy and feel like you need rodeleros instead of pikes. You need a level 40 home city to get it, and you can send it in the Fortress Age.
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This card increases the LOS of all your units (and your teams' units) by 10. It lets your units see a lot farther, which is good for scouting and spotting your enemies. You need a level 10 home city to get it, and it can be sent in the Discovery Age.
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This is the unique church card for the Spanish. When you send it, you can get three new techs at your church:
1.
Age: Colonial
Cost: Free
This tech increases the HP of your Heavy Infantry by 25%, but decreases their speed by 15%. While it lets them last longer in a fight, it allows *Ranged Infantry to use hit-and-run tactics on them more easily, and they cannot chase down Cavalry as easily.
2.
Age: Fortress
Cost: 1000w
This tech sends 13 guard halberdiers to your home city gather point. 13 halberdiers for 1000w is an excellent trade, and they have guard status even if you use this tech in the Fortress Age. An excellent tech.
3.
Age: Fortress
Cost: 2000w
This tech sends 10 hackapell mercenaries to your home city gather point. Each hackapell costs 200w compared to the 300g you have to pay to train them at your saloon, so it is a good idea. However, there are plenty of other things you can do with 2000w that would be better.
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This card increases the amount of population your town centers can support by 70, bringing the total to 80. This means that if you have all 3 town centers, you don't need any houses to reach your max population. While there are better cards to send, if can definitely help out if you need some extra pop space but don't have enough wood to spend on houses. You need a level 25 home city to get it, and you can send it in the Fortress Age.
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This card increases the HP of your warships by 30%. That's a significant amount, and it will definitely give your warships a nice boost. You need a level 10 home city to get it, and you can send it in the Fortress Age.
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This card increased the HP of your galleons by 50% and enables them to train buccaneers (pirates with +50% health). It also increases the HP of your saloon by 100%, making it much tougher, and enables it to train buccaneers as well. You need a level 40 home city to get it, and you can send it in the Industrial Age.
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This card increases the HP and attack of your galleons by 50%. That's a huge boost, and you can send it as early as the Colonial Age. Coupled with Armada and Spanish Gold, your galleons will be strong enough to take on any ships without much trouble. You need a level 10 home city to get it, and you can send it in the Colonial Age.
I won't explain every Spanish strategy in the history of AOE in detail, but I will give basic build orders for the two most common Spanish strategies: the Spanish rush and the Spanish FF. You don't have to follow the strategies exactly; you can adapt them to fit to your own playing style. After all, they're
Most people think of the Spanish as a civilization that excels at Fast Fortress strategies. While that
Some cards that you will need to pull off this strategy as effectively as possible are:
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Other optional (but very useful) cards to include are:
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And now, on to the build order:
First, send a villager behind the nearest huntables and herd them toward your town center. Task each remaining villager to their own crate to prevent them from bumping into each other. You want to queue a villager as soon as possible. When your crates are done, send all of your villagers to hunt, except for one that will build a house. Keep your town center's gather point on huntables so that all of your new villagers go there. Also, send your explorer and his dog to find treasures. Food treasures are the most useful because they shave a few seconds off of your age time, but XP treasures are useful too because they let you get your first shipment faster.
When your first shipment arrives, send 3 villagers. Meanwhile, you should have found your opponent's town by now with your explorer. If not, try to do that now. When your shipment arrives, the villagers will go to huntables with your other vils. Age with 14 villagers using the politician that sends 200 gold and an outpost wagon. If your home city level is 60+, you can use the 500 food politician instead, but I like to use the former.
Send 2 of your hunters to the middle of the map to chop wood and build a forward base later. Send 3 of your other hunters to chop wood as well. When you have almost 200 wood, move those 3 choppers to the nearest mine. Scout with your explorer to check if they have sent villagers forward to build a base of their own. During the transition, you should receive your second shipment. Save it for later. Don't forget to queue up a villager or two.
If all goes well, you should reach the Colonial Age a little past 4:00. Immediately start building a barracks, and send one of your miners to collect the 200 gold. You can position your outpost in one of three places, depending on what you feel is necessary:
1. Near your forward base. This will help to defend it from a possible attack.
2. Near your secondary batch of huntables. This will protect your villagers from raids when your first group of huntables runs out. This is my personal preference.
3. Near your town. This will defend your town from raids and attacks.
Use your shipment to send 700 wood. This will help you make houses to support your army, and possibly a second barracks if you want one.
Don't forget to have constant villager production. Your first new villager will go to hunt, as well as your second. Your third will go to mine. After that, you can send them to either hunt or mine depending on what you need.
When your barracks is up, queue a musketeer. Your third shipment should arrive by now. Use it to send 8 pikemen.
When your 700 wood arrives, build at last 5 houses. You can use the 200 remaining wood to make a second barracks, make more houses, build a market, or make a batch of pikemen.
Your fourth shipment should arrive sometime before 6 minutes. When it does, send 700 gold. It should arrive at about the time that you are ready to attack. If you had kept a steady stream of musketeers coming from your barracks (without neglecting villager production), you should have about 30 or 35 musketeers, as well as the 8 pikemen you shipped. Don't forget to keep queuing more units to replace the ones you might lose.
When you attack your opponent's town, there is a priority system that you have to use when choosing what to attack. I use this system:
You have to kill their units first to make sure that you can attack their town without being attacked yourself. After that, you want to attack their barracks and stables to prevent them from making more units to defend against your attack. After that, knock down their outposts if they have any so that your units aren't fired upon. If your opponent has a market, tear that down next to prevent them from trading resources. Finally, you can finish the job by taking down their town center. You don't need to worry about their houses because you've already destroyed their military buildings, so they cannot make new military units as it is.
Unless your opponent is a mental patient, they should resign by now.
However, things may go wrong. If your opponent has an overwhelming amount of *Ranged Infantry, your musketeers might lose. Try to save as many as possible by retreating to your forward base. If you had sent your outpost there, it will help if they try to chase you.
If you
Also note that it can be a good idea to mix some rodeleros into the fray, because they can force your opponent's *Ranged Infantry into melee to prevent your army from taking excessive casualties.
Well, that's the rush. It's not the best thing on Earth, but it is helped by quickly-earned shipments. It will also fool a player who expects you to FF.
The Spanish Fast Fortress if truly fearsome. It grants you access to useful units like lancers, skirmishers, dragoons, and artillery. It also lets you send more useful cards, buy more useful techs, and upgrade your units to veteran. This strategy is a basic Spanish FF that gives you all of those advantages. It can be done with any Spanish home city that is at least level 40. It works best with when you have at least one gold crate at the beginning of the game.
Some cards that you will need to pull off this strategy as effectively as possible are:
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Other optional (but very useful) cards are:
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And now, on to the build order:
First, send a villager behind the nearest huntables and herd them toward your town center. Task each remaining villager to their own crate to prevent them from bumping into each other. You want to queue a villager as soon as possible. When your crates are done, send all of your villagers to hunt, except for one that will build a house. Keep your town center's gather point on huntables so that all of your new villagers go there. Also, send your explorer and his dog to find treasures. Food treasures are the most useful because they shave a few seconds off of your age time, but XP treasures are useful too because they let you get your first shipment faster.
When your first shipment arrives, send 3 villagers. Meanwhile, you should have found your opponent's town by now with your explorer. If not, try to do that now. When your shipment arrives, the villagers will go to huntables with your other vils. Age with 14 villagers using the politician that sends 200 gold and an outpost wagon.
While you are aging to Colonial, send about 4 villagers to chop wood until you have 250, at which point they will be sent back to your second shipment should arrive. Save it for later. Also, try to find your opponent's town if you haven't already done that. You should look for villagers that they have sent forward to make a forward base, if they have any. Remember to queue a couple villagers.
If all goes well, you should reach the Colonial Age a little past 4:00. Send a villager to collect the 200 gold, and send 700 gold as your second shipment. Send your outpost wagon to build an outpost in one of two places:
1. Near your town. This will help to protect your town in case your opponent rushes you. I prefer to place it here because doing a Fast Fortress strategy leaves you open for a rush.
2. Near your secondary huntables. This will protect your villagers from a raid once your first group of huntables runs off.
Use the 250 wood you gathered to build a trade post to help you get your shipments even faster. You should receive your third shipment by now. Save it for later when you reach the Fortress Age. When your 700 gold arrives, send a few villagers to gather it.
That 700 gold, combined with the 200 gold you got when you aged the 100 gold you started with, is enough to advance to the Fortress age. Because all of your villagers were hunting, you should also have enough food within a short time.
Age up with the 4 hussar politician.
You should have about 17 villagers at this point. Send 7 to gather gold, leaving you with 10 on food. Your fourth shipment should arrive during the transition. Save it as well. Don't forget to queue a couple villagers!
If you get attacked, don't panic. If it is a small attack that your town center, outpost and minutemen can handle, good for you. If you think you'll need a bit of help, you should also ship rodeleros with one of your unused shipments, and make war dogs from your explorer.
If you don't get attacked, then things are going as planned. Use your other unused shipment to send 700 wood for a barracks and houses.
When you reach the Fortress age, use one of your shipments. Your first shipment should be a military shipment. I prefer to send 4 lancers first.
Use your hussars to scout the map for any sign of a rush, and to see what your opponent is doing.
When you've made your first house, queue up more villagers and send 2 falconets as your next shipment. You can also begin to make those units from your barracks.
From there, you have many choices. Whichever one you choose is up to you:
1.
2.
3.
Then, you can either turn the tables and attack your opponent's town, or you can build up your economy and leave your opponent to recover feebly.
Sometimes, the attack will be too strong, and you will be defeated. This is probably because a Fast Fortress wasn't quite the strategy you should have used. Strong rush civilizations can ruin your plans without much trouble if your opponent uses units with high siege damage such as pikes.
Remember, if you see your opponent making an excessive amount of such units,
I hope that this guide is useful to the players that read it. It's not intended to perfect your skills with Spain; it's a guide to new players who need help using this fun, unique civilization. But your options aren't limited to what's in this guide; you can try other strategies like the Crossbow+Pike Rush and the Pike+Rod Rush and stick to what works best for you. Thanks for reading!
ESO2: Kyle_The_Brave
Clan: Proud Officer of Trỉρℓε ΣņτễηţϠ, [TΣ]
"Why make your own inspirational quotes when you can just read the side of O_Man's Ssips juices?" - A wise prophet
"The best way to die is to spontaneously combust during a drum solo battle with Lars Ulrich" - The Blair
[This message has been edited by Emperor_Kyle (edited 01-15-2009 @ 08:12 PM).]