Ra is considered as the Father of the gods.His cult centre is Heliopolis but there were somebody who saw him throughout Egypt.
From very early times Ra was a sun god. He took on many of the attributes and even the names of other gods as Egyptian myths evolved. A good example of this is the god Ra and Amun merging to become Amun-Ra or Ra and Horus combining to become Ra-Harakhte. Since Ra was a god of great antiquity, there are far to many stories connected with him to relate them all.
One legend states that each day, Ra was born and began a journey across the sky. Ra was believed to travel in the Manjet-boat. or the 'Barque of Millions of Years'. He was joined on this daily journey by a crew of many gods . The Manjet-boat would sail through the twelve provinces, representing the twelve hours of daylight. At the end of each day Ra was thought to die and embarked on his night voyage. For this journey he was called Auf, which means 'corpse'. Ra sailed in a boat called the Mesektet-boat or night-barque on his journey through the twelve hours of darkness.
It was not always smooth sailing on these ships. During the day Ra had to defeat his chief enemy, a serpent or snake named Apep. A great battle was faught between Ra and Apep, and Ra was usually victorious, however on stormy days or during an eclipse the Egyptians believed that Apep had been victorious and swallowed the sun.
Because no wind blows in the Underworld, Auf (Ra) had to rely on various unfriendly spirits and demons to help tow his barque along the river in the underworld. Auf's main job in the Underworld was to bring light to the souls of the dead as he passed through their realm. After his departure these souls fell back into a lonely darkness. The Underworld of these early solar myths was a very different place then the fields of peace that we find in the Osiris cults of the later periods.
He is often pictured as a hawk or as a hawk headed man with a solar disk encircled by a uraeus on his head. He is often pictured wearing the double crown of upper and lower Egypt.He was considered as the father of the first divine couple, Shu and Tefnut and grandfather of Geb and Nut, whose children were Osiris and Isis, Seth and Nephthys.
In AOM, Ra is focused in Migdol Stronghold and his priest-pharaohs:
-Pharaoh empowering brings 20% more resource instead of 25
-Ra's priests can also empower bur in reduced percentages (
10% instead of 20%)
-Migdol Stronghld Units have 10% more hitpoints and speed
-Monuments are 25% cheaper and have more hitpoints
God Power: Rain
Farms and fishing boats work 300% faster, allies and enemy's farms/fishing boats work 200% faster.
Using Of Rain:Because Rain affects enemies, you have incentive to set up farming earlier than normal when playing as Ra - but don't think Rain makes farms a good investment early on - free food is often better until your economy can take the strain of setting up expensive farms. (Unless you are attempting Ra's unique fast heroic, though that is not very popular after the 1.03 patch.) Hence the best time to get ready to use Rain is in mid Classical Age. (This pays even greater divedends for Ra, since the food helps him advance to the Heroic age and take advantage of his Chariot and Camel upgrades.) Before using Rain, make sure you have not only Plow (the first farming upgrade) but also Husbandry. Your villagers will gather super fast once rain is invoked, but without Husbandry to double their carry capacity, they lose lots of potential gathering time walking to the Town Center to drop off their food! Also be sure to have your Pharaoh empowering the Town Center to get the maximum resources from Rain.
Also because Rain affects both allies and enemies, you want to co-ordinate with allies when to use it. (While still trying to set up farming earlier than your enemies.) One particularly effective way of denying your enemy of the additional farming speed from Rain is to advance to the Heroic Age under Hathor, and use the Locust Swarm god power to take out enemy farms prior to using Rain. Alternately, time a raid to hit an enemy town at the time you cast Rain. His villagers will be hiding in the Town Center instead of farming.
Myth Thechnology: Skin of Rhino
Villagers have 30% more hack/pierce armor, 10% more attack.(This thech can be useful for early rush+raids. Also you can havea chance against Set Animals because of 10% more attack)
God Choises:
-Classical Choises (Ptah & Bast)-
--Ptah:Ptah represents the sun at the time when it begins to rise above the horizon and or right after it has risen. As early as the Second Dynasty, he is regarded as a creator god.He is god of wisdom, understandin and creating.
Myth Technologies:
-Scalloped Axe:Axemen have +10% attack.
-Leather Frame Shield:Spearmen have -10% pierce vulnerability.(This can be useful because it makes spearmen hard to counter.)
-Electrum Bullets:Slingers have +10% attack
-Shaduf:Farms cost 33% less, are built twice as fast(Can be helpful for the usage pf Rain)
Myth Unit(s):
-Wadjet:Essentially a tough archer unit, the Wadjet is good against infantry and poor against fast tough units like cavalry. Wadjets regenerate HP.(Not so useful!)
God Power: Shifting Sands
Shifting Sands transports any units - belonging to you or an enemy - to any point on the map you have line of sight to. It will transport all friendly units, or a limited number of enemies - but not both.(A useful god power for suprising enemies and early takeovers.)
--Bast:As a sun goddess she represents the warm, life giving power of the sun. Her cult appears as early as the Second Dynasty. Like a cat, she was admired for her agility and strength. Bast defended Ra against the serpent Apep.Bast was one of the avenger gods - those designated by Ra to seek out and destroy the enemies of Egypt. She was associated with the fierce desert cats and lions of Egypt, and was said to possess their ruthlessness and ferocity.
Myth Technologies:
-Sacred Cats:Villagers farm 10% faster.(Can be great with Rain.)
-Adze of Wepwawet:Villagers knock down trees in one hit, gather wood 10% faster(Not so useful!)
-Criosphinx:Sphinx has +50 HP, +20% hack/+50% crush damage.
-Hieracosphinx:Sphinx has +20% move rate, +20% hack/+50% crush damage.
Myth Unit(s):
-Sphinx:The Sphinx is good against buildings. Its special attack is a whirlwind of sand that damages nearby units.
God Power: Eclipse
Increases Myth unit attack by 50% and speed by 20% for one minute's time. Eclipse prevents other GP's from being used while it is in effect.(Can be great while you have 2-3 sphinxs ad rax units to takeover enemies TC.)
---The Choise: I prefer Ptah 80% of my times because of his great techs and powerful GP.
-Heroic Choises (Sekhmeth & Hathor)-
--Sekhmeth:A sun goddess. She represents the scorching, burning, destructive heat of the sun. She was a fierce goddess of war, the destroyer of the enemies of Ra and Osiris. Her temper was uncontrollable. In the legend of Ra and Hathor, Sekhmet's anger became so great, she would have destroyed all of mankind if Ra had not taken pity on us and made her drunk.She is the wife of Ptah.Sekhmet was the god of vengeance and war. As goddess of war, she would accompany the Pharaoh into battle, and guide Egyptians arrows to their marks. Some tales say Sekhmet was the malevolent side of Hathor.
Myth Technologies:
-Bone Bow:Chariot Archer has +4 range
-Slings of the Sun:Slingers do an additional 30% damage to Infantry and Throwing Axemen(Can be good!)
-Ram of the West Wind:Siege Tower +20% HP and attack
-Stones of Red Linen:Catapult, War Barge +20% attack
Myth Unit(s):
-Scarab:A mythical siege unit with a melee attack, the Scarab is not very good against anything but buildings. When killed, the Scarab damages nearby units with its acidic blood.It is considered as the building eater.
God Power: Citadel
Transforms a friendly town center into a mighty citadel, with more HP, attack and range. Citadels also supports +5 population.(Can be good if you need extra units or more deffence an your TC)
--Hathor:Because her worship stretches back to pre-dynastic times, we find Hathor identified with many local goddesses, and it can be said that all the goddesses were forms of Hathor. At times we find her playing the role of a sky-goddess, a sun-goddess, a moon-goddess, a goddess of the east, a goddess of the west, a goddess of moisture, a goddess of fertility, an agricultural goddess, and a goddess of the underworld.Hathor was goddess of the sky, and whose domain stretched as far as the limits of Egypt and lands beyond went. She was protector of the queen of Egypt. Many stories say Hathor was the benevolent side of Sekhmet, the destructive goddess of war and pestilence.
Myth Technologies:
-Medjay:Mercenaries live 30 seconds longer (Ordinary mercenaries live only 45 seconds)
-Sun Dried Mud Brick:Buildings have 10% more HP, cost 15% less(Can be use especially adding more farms in heroic)
-Crocodopolis:Petsuchos has +4 range
Myth Unit(s):
-Petsuchos:A very long ranged unit with a large attack, but slow attack rate. Unlike regular ranged units, the Petsuchos fires with 100% accuracy. Good against melee units and buildings.
-Roc:Cannot attack, but can carry up to 15 units via air between any points on the map.
God Power: Locust Swarm
Destroys enemy farms or fishing boats, transferring food to your stockpile in the process. Can also be used on fishing boats to similar effect. The locust swarm damages units trapped inside.
---The Choise: I would go 98% of my times with Hathor for good tech( Sun dried mud-bricks), one of the most powerful heroic myth unit(Petsuchos),useful myth unit(Roc-Roc dropscan be nightmare of your enemies especially norse) and good god power.
-Mythic Choises: (Osiris & Horus)
--Osiris:god and judge of the dead. The symbol of resurrection and eternal life. Provider of fertility and prosperity to the living.Osiris was the tormented husband of Isis, who was killed by the vengeful Set. Set cut his body into many pieces, and when Isis bound them back together through mummifcation, Osiris returned to life to become god of the underworld.
Myth Technologies:
-Desert Wind:Camelry has +20% speed, attack and HP
-New Kingdom:Gives you two pharoahs instead of one
-Funeral Barge:Kebenits do damage x2 vs arrow ships
-Atef Crown:Mummy has +20% HP, +40% attack. Minions live twice as long
Myth Unit(s):
-Mummy:While not very tough, the Mummy's special attack instantly kills any human enemy unit and turns it into a friendly minion, however minions die after one minute.(Though it ūsn't powerful in melee its special attack makes it useful)
God Power: Son Of Osiris
Gives the Pharaoh more HP and armor, and a devastating chain lightning attack that will hit up to four enemies. The normal Pharaoh regenerates when Son of Osiris is killed.
(Most powerful unit in the game can change the face of the battle especially against your enemies' myth units)
--Horus:The name Horus comes from the Egyptian word Hor, which translates as 'face'. We find him worshipped as Mekhenti-irry which translates as 'He who has on his brow Two Eyes', the sun and moon representing his eyes. On nights when there is no moon we find him worshipped as Mekhenti-en-irty, 'He who on his brow has no eyes', in this form he was considered the god of the blind.Often called the Avenger, tales of Horus concern his to avenge the murder of his father Osiris by his evil uncle Set. The sun and the moon were his eyes, and he could bespy his enemy throughout the land, however on times when the sun or moon were hidden, he was unable to see and would blindly attack other gods.
Myth Technologies:
-Axe of Vengeance:Axemen have damage x3 vs Buildings
-Greatest of Fifty:Spearmen have -10% hack vulnerability, damage multiplier vs cavalry increased by 1 (damage x2.1)
-Spears on the Horizon:Spearmen +10% attack, +30% HP
Myth Unit(s):
-Avenger:The Avenger is a very tough melee unit, good against other melee units. Its special attack is a whirlwhind of spinning blades which hit every adjacent enemy.
God power: Tornado
Creates a wandering tornado that deals massive amounts of damage to enemy buildings and units.
---The Choise: You can choos both of them because they are great. Hours can be good to wipe around in Mythic and if there are still battles(especially in team games). Osiris can be good is your enemy is about to die.
So! By using Ra most of your time you will get used to him and you will say : "I can't figure out why people think he is underpowered!". It's easy to play one time with Ra and be defeated and tellin that he is underpowered instead of your playing is underpowered.Hope I can help you... Good Bye!
[This message has been edited by inner_bliss (edited 08-24-2003 @ 07:18 AM).]