posted 12-05-04 09:43 AM CT (US)
(See it on the University here: http://aok.heavengames.com/university/strategy/random-map/drush/ -DaVe.)
Well...since Quazitory wanted an article on drushing and since I was pretty much jobless, I decided totry to make one. Before reading this article, keep in mind that I am not very good and do not have too much experience drushing. This is as much showing my own strat and asking people to help with it as it is a tutorial on drushing for people worse than me. Quazitory - feel no need to add this if it's not good enough (likely at it's current stage). Now on to the article:
The drush (ordark age rush) is one alternative to the flush that is not very commonly used nowadays. It can be very effective if used properly and involves harrassing your enemy with militia, the scout and optionally villagers to hurt his economy in the dark age and allows you to feudal with a larger, stronger economy.
Drushing is extremely dependant on early economy bonuses, and only a select few civilizations can use it effectively. The meso civs (Mayans and Aztecs) have good early bonuses and hence are ideal for it. Other civs used for drushing are the mongols, the celts and the goths. Civs that are not found used much for drushing but have good bonuses are the Persians or Britons. Over here, I will only talk about drushing for the meso civs.
The early build order for the drush:
Two vils build one house, and the other builds another (For the Mayans, the fourth vil helps scout or chops wood)
Queue up four vils at the TC (If mayans queue up three vils and then quickly hit the loom button - loom will get researched first and the vils will be made immediately after that)
Use the scout and sheep to scout as shown in Stevay's flush thread. Good scouting is essential, as you must find your enemy by 6:00.
First 6 vils on sheep.
7th vil builds a lumbercamp at a forest. The 8th-10th vils chop wood at that forest.
the 11th vil lures the boar (preferably the one closer to your TC). All shepherds move to the boar.
The 12th vil builds a two houses in the estimated direction of your enemy.
The 14th vil goes to the boar.
The 15th vil helps two finish the houses.
Now you must decide whether to place your barracks forward and attack with two vils or to leave it at your base and keep the vils there. If the barracks is forward, the drush becomes more powerful, as militia are added quicker and 2 villagers are available to wall in resources or fight. However it can get walled in easily and the two villagers not working would mean that your economy is weaker. If you choose to forward the barracks, move your villagers towards the enemy and build a barracks and then a house approximately midway between you and the enemy. If not, make them build a barracks and a house at your base and send them to work. Queue up militia at the barracks (force dropping food if you need to). If you are mayans, you can choose to send two villagers to gold at this point of time if you want more militia. However, this would make your feudal later. You could also send one vil to gold(without building a camp) and have him get only 10 gold, allowing you to build an extra militia.
A more generic build order, usable for most civs, by Tony Sillars:
Vils 1-6 on sheep
Vils 7-10 build a LC at the forest
Vil 11 lures boar
Vil 12 - house, rax, 3 houses then join the 3 Militia made from the rax
Vil 13 - gold; no mine. Dump 10 at TC, helps vil 12 with houses, joins militia
Vil 14 - lures boar 2
Dark age economy
One positive point about the drush is you have plenty of options after feudaling. You can castle quickly (at around 20 minutes or earlier) and build archers or eagle wariors. You could also begin to flush normally in feudal (though much much later than a normal flush). What you do in the dark age depends on you plans for the feudal age, and hence is very general. Basically, add to your vils on food first (boars and sheep). Also milling your deer and hunting them can often be a good idea. After a while (after making around 4-5 vils) add a couple of vils to your wood. Make farms when necessary. Feudal when you have enough food, and think you are ready, clicking it at around 10:30 to 12:30. Justs before you feudal, send five villagers to gold if you plan to go castle or plan to make archers in feudal. If you plan to castle, go fairly heavily on berries, while if you plan to flush, build a second lumber camp and move some vils there.
The Actual Drush
You should start with atleast a militia and scout, with perhaps two vils. Add to that force when possible, though generally it's not a good idea to get more than 5 milita. Go to the closest resource first (berries, wood or gold if your enemy is using gold). Berries are probably the most vulnerable. Attack working villagers. They will either attack back or go to the TC. If they go towards the TC, make sure you move away before getting within range of the TC. If the vils attack back, if you are outnumbered, run. If you can kill a vil without a loss, kill the vil and then run. It's a good thing if enemy vils follow you - the more the better. That's vils not working. If you are not followed, or they stop following you, go back. Keep making these hit and run attacks, changing the resource from time to time.
If you enemy abandons a mill or lumbercamp and you have forward vils, quickly use pallisade walls or houses to block up the sides of the camp or mill. If you have the time (I.E your two vils don't have anything better to do) you can also wall of entire sections of your enemies wood or wall off all his berries.
Continue irritating his vils, making hit and run attacks. If your two vils have nothing better to do, try to harm your enemy in any way possible. Wall up gold and stone mines or kill deer. If your enemy walls his resources and it's possible, try to wall in that resource with the villagers there if you can. That's useful because your enemy won't be able to add more vils from that resource or move the vils once its over without wasting time knocking down the wall. If you cannot do this and your militia have no vils to attack, attack the wall. Your enemy will be forced to repair or wall behind this. When he does this, move to a different wall section. This will force him to keep wasting vil seconds.
If your enemy walls up and you have done everything possible with your vils, or if he feudals, it's a good idea to send those vils back home to work. Remember, time is precious when you are drushing - try not to ever keep those militia and vils idle - you have only a few minutes before your enemy feudals and you need to do the most damage by then.
If you think you are going to feudal much later than your enemy, it's a good idea to wall up completely (with pallisades and houses) so that he can't reach your villagers for the moment. If you plan to castle and think that your gold is in danger, build a tower at it. Do this only when you really feel it's in danger, as it would be a waste of stone if done unnecessarily. Gold is essential for meso civs in castle as the units you would be building are the gold heavy eagle warrior and crossbow. You can also make a few spears to defend against scouts. The rest of the game you would play as a normal game on arabia.
Oh...and Tony Sillars has some great recorded games of the drushhere
Well...that's done - hope it helps and I'm not too misguided.
Well...since Quazitory wanted an article on drushing and since I was pretty much jobless, I decided to
The drush (or
Drushing is extremely dependant on early economy bonuses, and only a select few civilizations can use it effectively. The meso civs (Mayans and Aztecs) have good early bonuses and hence are ideal for it. Other civs used for drushing are the mongols, the celts and the goths. Civs that are not found used much for drushing but have good bonuses are the Persians or Britons. Over here, I will only talk about drushing for the meso civs.
Two vils build one house, and the other builds another (For the Mayans, the fourth vil helps scout or chops wood)
Queue up four vils at the TC (If mayans queue up three vils and then quickly hit the loom button - loom will get researched first and the vils will be made immediately after that)
Use the scout and sheep to scout as shown in Stevay's flush thread. Good scouting is essential, as you must find your enemy by 6:00.
First 6 vils on sheep.
7th vil builds a lumbercamp at a forest. The 8th-10th vils chop wood at that forest.
the 11th vil lures the boar (preferably the one closer to your TC). All shepherds move to the boar.
The 12th vil builds a two houses in the estimated direction of your enemy.
The 14th vil goes to the boar.
The 15th vil helps two finish the houses.
Now you must decide whether to place your barracks forward and attack with two vils or to leave it at your base and keep the vils there. If the barracks is forward, the drush becomes more powerful, as militia are added quicker and 2 villagers are available to wall in resources or fight. However it can get walled in easily and the two villagers not working would mean that your economy is weaker. If you choose to forward the barracks, move your villagers towards the enemy and build a barracks and then a house approximately midway between you and the enemy. If not, make them build a barracks and a house at your base and send them to work. Queue up militia at the barracks (force dropping food if you need to). If you are mayans, you can choose to send two villagers to gold at this point of time if you want more militia. However, this would make your feudal later. You could also send one vil to gold(without building a camp) and have him get only 10 gold, allowing you to build an extra militia.
A more generic build order, usable for most civs, by Tony Sillars:
Vils 1-6 on sheep
Vils 7-10 build a LC at the forest
Vil 11 lures boar
Vil 12 - house, rax, 3 houses then join the 3 Militia made from the rax
Vil 13 - gold; no mine. Dump 10 at TC, helps vil 12 with houses, joins militia
Vil 14 - lures boar 2
One positive point about the drush is you have plenty of options after feudaling. You can castle quickly (at around 20 minutes or earlier) and build archers or eagle wariors. You could also begin to flush normally in feudal (though much much later than a normal flush). What you do in the dark age depends on you plans for the feudal age, and hence is very general. Basically, add to your vils on food first (boars and sheep). Also milling your deer and hunting them can often be a good idea. After a while (after making around 4-5 vils) add a couple of vils to your wood. Make farms when necessary. Feudal when you have enough food, and think you are ready, clicking it at around 10:30 to 12:30. Justs before you feudal, send five villagers to gold if you plan to go castle or plan to make archers in feudal. If you plan to castle, go fairly heavily on berries, while if you plan to flush, build a second lumber camp and move some vils there.
You should start with atleast a militia and scout, with perhaps two vils. Add to that force when possible, though generally it's not a good idea to get more than 5 milita. Go to the closest resource first (berries, wood or gold if your enemy is using gold). Berries are probably the most vulnerable. Attack working villagers. They will either attack back or go to the TC. If they go towards the TC, make sure you move away before getting within range of the TC. If the vils attack back, if you are outnumbered, run. If you can kill a vil without a loss, kill the vil and then run. It's a good thing if enemy vils follow you - the more the better. That's vils not working. If you are not followed, or they stop following you, go back. Keep making these hit and run attacks, changing the resource from time to time.
If you enemy abandons a mill or lumbercamp and you have forward vils, quickly use pallisade walls or houses to block up the sides of the camp or mill. If you have the time (I.E your two vils don't have anything better to do) you can also wall of entire sections of your enemies wood or wall off all his berries.
Continue irritating his vils, making hit and run attacks. If your two vils have nothing better to do, try to harm your enemy in any way possible. Wall up gold and stone mines or kill deer. If your enemy walls his resources and it's possible, try to wall in that resource with the villagers there if you can. That's useful because your enemy won't be able to add more vils from that resource or move the vils once its over without wasting time knocking down the wall. If you cannot do this and your militia have no vils to attack, attack the wall. Your enemy will be forced to repair or wall behind this. When he does this, move to a different wall section. This will force him to keep wasting vil seconds.
If your enemy walls up and you have done everything possible with your vils, or if he feudals, it's a good idea to send those vils back home to work. Remember, time is precious when you are drushing - try not to ever keep those militia and vils idle - you have only a few minutes before your enemy feudals and you need to do the most damage by then.
If you think you are going to feudal much later than your enemy, it's a good idea to wall up completely (with pallisades and houses) so that he can't reach your villagers for the moment. If you plan to castle and think that your gold is in danger, build a tower at it. Do this only when you really feel it's in danger, as it would be a waste of stone if done unnecessarily. Gold is essential for meso civs in castle as the units you would be building are the gold heavy eagle warrior and crossbow. You can also make a few spears to defend against scouts. The rest of the game you would play as a normal game on arabia.
Oh...and Tony Sillars has some great recorded games of the drush
Well...that's done - hope it helps and I'm not too misguided.
[This message has been edited by TOAO_DaVe (edited 02-27-2010 @ 09:05 PM).]
