posted 02-02-09 08:02 PM EDT (US)
Note: I was going to wait a bit to post this guide, considering that I’ve used it only a few times and still want to test its viability. But I’d much rather post it now with the empty promise to all of you that I’ll actually complete it.
The Ottoman Schooner Semi-Fast Fortress (SSFF)
By DuolcKrad
Part I: Table of Contents
I: Table of Contents
II: Overview
III: Recommended Cards
IV: Basic Outline
V: Disclaimer
VI: Variations
VII: Recordings
Part II: Overview
Ottoman Schooner Booms are very powerful. High starting wood, Silk Road-boosted resource crates and Trading Posts, and the ability to start the boom in Discovery easily offset the slow spawning of Ottoman villagers. Because of this, Schooner Booms combined with TPs in an IOR can be popular on water maps.
Schooner Booms are used less often in FFs, as it takes some time to get a Schooner Boom going, and getting to Fortress is a priority. Booming once a player is in Fortress makes much more sense. Still, I’ve decided to create a strategy that has an Ottoman player hitting Fortress early while Schooner-Booming the entire way.
You can find yourself entering Fortress a mere minute later, but with a much stronger economic foundation. Or, you can do the same with an economy nearly as large, but a few soldiers short. Those, however, are variations. In the standard version, we will be entering Fortress with twice the economic strength, twice the military strength, twice the production strength, and still only two minutes later.
Because of the difficulty of managing a naked-FF against a rush, the SSFF is designed to fight a rush and hit Fortress fairly early.
Part III: Recommended Cards
Required:
Schooners
700 Gold
700 Wood
2 Falconets
1000 Wood
Strongly Recommended:
Advanced Aresenal
5 Spahi
5 Mamelukes or 9 Manchu Archers
5 Janissaries
Janissary Combat
Factories
Fortress
Rendering Plant (+30% gathering rates for all fish)
2 Galleys
Useful:
4 Villagers
8 Janissaries
5 Abus Guns
3 Spahi
Refrigeration
Exotic Hardwoods
Silk Road
1 Frigate
Part IV: Basic Outline
Discovery:
1) Gather all food and wood crates and send three villagers to hunt. Gold crates can be ignored for now.
2) Have your explorer gather treasures, with food as the priority. If you can, locate a nearby body of water with fish. You want the largest one possible, and, in the case of two that are nearly the same size, the closest.
IMPORTANT: If there is no body of water with fish on the map, you're doing it wrong
3) Once crate gathering is done, send two villagers to food and the remaining villager to the body of water.
4) All new villagers are going to food. The first one that spawns should build a house aligned with the Town Center. Said house must be build on one of the TC’s sides that are not facing directly towards or away from your opponent’s base.
5) Build a Dock, but do not build any fishing boats. Once the Dock is built, send that villager to gather food.
6) Your first card isSchooners.
7) Age up ASAP withThe Quartermaster (400 Wood).
Transition:
8) As soon as Schooners arrives, queue up at least two fishing boats (you will always be able to queue at least two without cutting wood) and send three villagers to chop wood. All of the other villagers should mine gold, with one or two finishing the gathering of hunts or herding new ones. New villagers should go to gold as well.
9) Send new fishing boats to food. I also like to hotkey my dock for easy access throughout the game, especially during parts where you’ll need to micro well.
10) Explore the map and gather treasures. Now, food and gold are equally important. Figure out what your opponent’s doing if you can.
11) Make sure that fishing boat production is constant.
Colonial
12) Once you hit Colonial, gather your wood crates (and any gold crates you may have not gathered yet and build an Artillery Foundry. Try to keep this Foundry hidden, but, if you don’t mind it being noticed, place it next to your house or TC in a way similar to your house placement.
13) Your first card in Colonial is700 Gold
14) Use the remaining 100 wood to build a house, and have a few more villagers gather wood to get a second house up (or, during transition, put 5 villagers on wood and get a house up then. Keep building your houses in a line so that your TC and houses form a wall. If you started with 500 wood, you can skip this part.
15) Once the Foundry goes up, queue as many Abus Guns as possible. Keep queuing them until you have 10.
16) Gather your newly-arrived gold crates, which will help with Abus Gun production. Your third card will be700 Wood.
17) If your 700 wood arrives before the Abus Guns are complete, housing should not be a problem.
18) Gather food and gold until you have the requirements for Fortress. At the same time, use your 10 Abus to fend off rushes. If you see Hussars, fend them off with a combination of Abus Guns and TC fire.
19) If you think that your opponent will make more Cavalry, or you’re running low on soldiers, send5 Janissaries. Otherwise, save this shipment.
19) Once you have the requirements for Fortress, age up withThe Exiled Prince. This may seem unusual, but you already have 10 Abus Guns and want to hit Fortress now.
Transition:
20) Shift a few more villagers to wood to accommodate the large housing needs of Fortress. Build a barracks as well.
21) You probably won’t have the resources to get Spahi right away, so devote food to Jan production. It’s okay, you’ll be sending Falcs instead.
Fortress:
22) Congratulations, you’re in Fortress. It’s around 9:00 right now, and you have 10 Abus instead of 4, a Rax and Foundry instead of just a Rax, and a much stronger economy. Begin spamming Jans. Your fifth card should be2 Falconets.
23) Consider shifting a few more villagers to wood and getting a second Dock up.
24) Keep making Jans and occasionally Abus, with villagers being adjusted to your needs. If you’ve been scouting, know the general outline of what your opponent is making so that you can adapt well.
25) Ship in1000 wood for all of the buildings you may need. After this, ship what you need, while prioritizing Spahi.
26) Do whatever you need to win from here.
Part V: Disclaimer
First, don't try this on a map without water. You'll be very disappointed when you find out that it doesn't work.
This strategy will not work against every other civ and requires adjustments based on your opponents civ.
First, against Germany and Russia, you will need to make major adjustments to avoid defeat. Both of these civs have very large cavalry shipments that Abus Guns cannot handle. Against Germany, it can be necessary to ship 5 Jans earlier, or building a Barracks instead of a Foundry and make 10-15 Jans. Against Russia, get ready to use those Minutemen. Next, there are some economies that will beat yours even when you are booming on the water. At the very least, the water does not have unlimited food. Play aggressively and look to get more villagers at all times.
Also, if you fail to succeed in any game using this strategy, it is not my fault in any way and this strategy’s viability is not endorsed through this strategy.
Part VI: Variations
TAD
I’m not sure if the cost of a dock has been decreased in TAD, but, assuming that it has not, the 100 wood nerf for Ottomans means that you will start fishing later on whenever you start with 300 wood.
The extra 5 cards can be put to very good use. A stronger Colonial defense, a Town Center card in Fortress, or even Industrial cards such as Acemi Olglan School and 6 Spahi are valuable. It might be worthwhile to invest in spies or a gold trickle card for unusual situations.
Against the powerful navies arrow-launchers standing on wooden logs, control of the water can be difficult or even impossible if your opponent really wants it. Still, if you want it badly enough, keep numerous warships shipments and Admiralty at hand for combat. Against Asian civilizations (mainly India), it is very helpful to play defensively. Abus Guns can handle Sepoys, but Janissary shipments to defend against a strong rush should always be in your deck.
Semi-Fast Industrial
Spahi raiding of my previous semi-FI cannot be done because Spahi come so late. If you want to, you can shift villagers to food and still get Spahi out somewhat quickly, but Spahi will come in time eventually.
It is more important to maintain a strong defense while collecting the Industrial resources immediately. If your opponent is aware that you have Abus out and is going with Cavalry, build a Barracks and make a few cycles of Jans and Abus. If he, assuming that Fortress means that you are going to be making Jans and getting out Spahi, ignore the Barracks, make a few more Abus, and get to Industrial.
I find it a good idea to reverse the standard 5 Spahi - 1000 gold shipment by shipping 1000 gold first can getting Abus and Jans out. Then, you can turtle to Industrial, and while your opponent is beginning to realize the futility of Dragoons and HI, get 8 Industrial Spahi in his base and unleash destruction.
Fish run out eventually, and so by the time you hit Industrial, it becomes time to phase out fishing and greet a new Ottoman economic power: 3 TCs. The Ottoman economy maxes surprisingly fast with a mosque and a few TCs. Alternatively, use the massive economy boost of Schooners to a more imperialistic goal and add a second Barracks to Janissary production.
IOR
Since Silk Road is already in your deck (at least, it’s in my deck), use that 1000 shipped wood to put up a few TPs and begin spamming Janissaries from another Barracks or two.
I suppose that calling this an “IOR” is a misnomer, since you are not rushing at this point. Still, the addition of TPs to your already Schooner-supplemented economy will completely offset the Ottoman economy and surpass a more “standard” economy.
Part VII: Recordings
Were you expecting recordings? No, I’d rather just add this to my list of unfinished things that I really should do and let it sit here for a few months. On a good note, though, I’ve almost completely finished my Semi-FI, after a few helpful changes.
And I’ve completely finished my Dopp rush, which merely meant that I had to remove the recording section and pretend that it never existed.
Recordings coming soon.
Trỉρℓε ΣņτễηţϠ Officer
I: Table of Contents
II: Overview
III: Recommended Cards
IV: Basic Outline
V: Disclaimer
VI: Variations
VII: Recordings
Ottoman Schooner Booms are very powerful. High starting wood, Silk Road-boosted resource crates and Trading Posts, and the ability to start the boom in Discovery easily offset the slow spawning of Ottoman villagers. Because of this, Schooner Booms combined with TPs in an IOR can be popular on water maps.
Schooner Booms are used less often in FFs, as it takes some time to get a Schooner Boom going, and getting to Fortress is a priority. Booming once a player is in Fortress makes much more sense. Still, I’ve decided to create a strategy that has an Ottoman player hitting Fortress early while Schooner-Booming the entire way.
You can find yourself entering Fortress a mere minute later, but with a much stronger economic foundation. Or, you can do the same with an economy nearly as large, but a few soldiers short. Those, however, are variations. In the standard version, we will be entering Fortress with twice the economic strength, twice the military strength, twice the production strength, and still only two minutes later.
Because of the difficulty of managing a naked-FF against a rush, the SSFF is designed to fight a rush and hit Fortress fairly early.
1) Gather all food and wood crates and send three villagers to hunt. Gold crates can be ignored for now.
2) Have your explorer gather treasures, with food as the priority. If you can, locate a nearby body of water with fish. You want the largest one possible, and, in the case of two that are nearly the same size, the closest.
3) Once crate gathering is done, send two villagers to food and the remaining villager to the body of water.
4) All new villagers are going to food. The first one that spawns should build a house aligned with the Town Center. Said house must be build on one of the TC’s sides that are not facing directly towards or away from your opponent’s base.
5) Build a Dock, but do not build any fishing boats. Once the Dock is built, send that villager to gather food.
6) Your first card is
7) Age up ASAP with
8) As soon as Schooners arrives, queue up at least two fishing boats (you will always be able to queue at least two without cutting wood) and send three villagers to chop wood. All of the other villagers should mine gold, with one or two finishing the gathering of hunts or herding new ones. New villagers should go to gold as well.
9) Send new fishing boats to food. I also like to hotkey my dock for easy access throughout the game, especially during parts where you’ll need to micro well.
10) Explore the map and gather treasures. Now, food and gold are equally important. Figure out what your opponent’s doing if you can.
11) Make sure that fishing boat production is constant.
12) Once you hit Colonial, gather your wood crates (and any gold crates you may have not gathered yet and build an Artillery Foundry. Try to keep this Foundry hidden, but, if you don’t mind it being noticed, place it next to your house or TC in a way similar to your house placement.
13) Your first card in Colonial is
14) Use the remaining 100 wood to build a house, and have a few more villagers gather wood to get a second house up (or, during transition, put 5 villagers on wood and get a house up then. Keep building your houses in a line so that your TC and houses form a wall. If you started with 500 wood, you can skip this part.
15) Once the Foundry goes up, queue as many Abus Guns as possible. Keep queuing them until you have 10.
16) Gather your newly-arrived gold crates, which will help with Abus Gun production. Your third card will be
17) If your 700 wood arrives before the Abus Guns are complete, housing should not be a problem.
18) Gather food and gold until you have the requirements for Fortress. At the same time, use your 10 Abus to fend off rushes. If you see Hussars, fend them off with a combination of Abus Guns and TC fire.
19) If you think that your opponent will make more Cavalry, or you’re running low on soldiers, send
19) Once you have the requirements for Fortress, age up with
20) Shift a few more villagers to wood to accommodate the large housing needs of Fortress. Build a barracks as well.
21) You probably won’t have the resources to get Spahi right away, so devote food to Jan production. It’s okay, you’ll be sending Falcs instead.
22) Congratulations, you’re in Fortress. It’s around 9:00 right now, and you have 10 Abus instead of 4, a Rax and Foundry instead of just a Rax, and a much stronger economy. Begin spamming Jans. Your fifth card should be
23) Consider shifting a few more villagers to wood and getting a second Dock up.
24) Keep making Jans and occasionally Abus, with villagers being adjusted to your needs. If you’ve been scouting, know the general outline of what your opponent is making so that you can adapt well.
25) Ship in
26) Do whatever you need to win from here.
First, don't try this on a map without water. You'll be very disappointed when you find out that it doesn't work.
This strategy will not work against every other civ and requires adjustments based on your opponents civ.
First, against Germany and Russia, you will need to make major adjustments to avoid defeat. Both of these civs have very large cavalry shipments that Abus Guns cannot handle. Against Germany, it can be necessary to ship 5 Jans earlier, or building a Barracks instead of a Foundry and make 10-15 Jans. Against Russia, get ready to use those Minutemen. Next, there are some economies that will beat yours even when you are booming on the water. At the very least, the water does not have unlimited food. Play aggressively and look to get more villagers at all times.
Also, if you fail to succeed in any game using this strategy, it is not my fault in any way and this strategy’s viability is not endorsed through this strategy.
I’m not sure if the cost of a dock has been decreased in TAD, but, assuming that it has not, the 100 wood nerf for Ottomans means that you will start fishing later on whenever you start with 300 wood.
The extra 5 cards can be put to very good use. A stronger Colonial defense, a Town Center card in Fortress, or even Industrial cards such as Acemi Olglan School and 6 Spahi are valuable. It might be worthwhile to invest in spies or a gold trickle card for unusual situations.
Against the powerful navies arrow-launchers standing on wooden logs, control of the water can be difficult or even impossible if your opponent really wants it. Still, if you want it badly enough, keep numerous warships shipments and Admiralty at hand for combat. Against Asian civilizations (mainly India), it is very helpful to play defensively. Abus Guns can handle Sepoys, but Janissary shipments to defend against a strong rush should always be in your deck.
Spahi raiding of my previous semi-FI cannot be done because Spahi come so late. If you want to, you can shift villagers to food and still get Spahi out somewhat quickly, but Spahi will come in time eventually.
It is more important to maintain a strong defense while collecting the Industrial resources immediately. If your opponent is aware that you have Abus out and is going with Cavalry, build a Barracks and make a few cycles of Jans and Abus. If he, assuming that Fortress means that you are going to be making Jans and getting out Spahi, ignore the Barracks, make a few more Abus, and get to Industrial.
I find it a good idea to reverse the standard 5 Spahi - 1000 gold shipment by shipping 1000 gold first can getting Abus and Jans out. Then, you can turtle to Industrial, and while your opponent is beginning to realize the futility of Dragoons and HI, get 8 Industrial Spahi in his base and unleash destruction.
Fish run out eventually, and so by the time you hit Industrial, it becomes time to phase out fishing and greet a new Ottoman economic power: 3 TCs. The Ottoman economy maxes surprisingly fast with a mosque and a few TCs. Alternatively, use the massive economy boost of Schooners to a more imperialistic goal and add a second Barracks to Janissary production.
Since Silk Road is already in your deck (at least, it’s in my deck), use that 1000 shipped wood to put up a few TPs and begin spamming Janissaries from another Barracks or two.
I suppose that calling this an “IOR” is a misnomer, since you are not rushing at this point. Still, the addition of TPs to your already Schooner-supplemented economy will completely offset the Ottoman economy and surpass a more “standard” economy.
Were you expecting recordings? No, I’d rather just add this to my list of unfinished things that I really should do and let it sit here for a few months. On a good note, though, I’ve almost completely finished my Semi-FI, after a few helpful changes.
And I’ve completely finished my Dopp rush, which merely meant that I had to remove the recording section and pretend that it never existed.
Recordings coming soon.
[This message has been edited by DuolcKrad (edited 02-02-2009 @ 08:10 PM).]
.
, much better then those worthless map guides!
