Land Map:
Advancing on a land map at 4:30 can be good, but I experience that advancing late can be quite good as well . Just make sure you got ALL eco upgrades (except perhaps the 150 food, 5 favor thingy) before advancing (AS SOON AS POSSIBLE) and 11 villies on food, and 6 on gold, and 6 on wood and 1 praying.
This allows you to boom very hard
Which allows you to create many villagers in no time
which allows you to have much wood and gold (food is hard cause of villie-production)
which allows you to have many archers and many barracks (make sure you got over 10 asap). And since you got your wood and gold ups quite soon, you must have got plenty of resources.

It can be difficult without a decent army soon, but the other army can't do to much damage (getting a TC down?) before you have got a good army as well. From there on you will out-eco him.

My standard land-map buildorder
7 food
3 wood
1 gold
1 house and then gold
1 gold (so 3 gold and a house)
SOMEWHERE HERE START TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR RESOURCES: IF YOU HAVE ENOUGH FOR A ECO UPGRADE DO IT!!!
4 food (so you have 11)
3 wood (house?)
1 temple somewhere here and 1 villager praying
3 gold
(if you like a hero)
---UP
On a very low hunting map it could be you haven't researched all eco ups yet, do it now
I always do both Hunting Dogs and Husbandry
and no matter what ALWAYS do the gold and wood upgrade in archaic

Notes:
If being rushed, or you think you're gonna be rushed, get 1 less on food, 1 less on wood and 1 less on gold, take only one of bothhunting dogs and husbandry and dont do that 150-food 2-favor upgrade thingy (damn still can't think of the right name). In extraordinary cases don't take the wood and gold upgrade (however I still always do that.)

Make more horses against Atties: Often there's a turma spam or some cheiroballistae's behind their army.

Hoplite+Toxotes is a good starting combo versus greek, norse and eggy (at the beginning offcourse)

dont keep making villagers with every town center at all ages. I do that often as well but only do it if you got 3 or more Town Centers or you will loose many battles cuz of you have the smallest army ever, no matter how good upgraded you will loose.

Water Map:
Water I don't like with Hades. Without Scyllas it is hard. I got no standard build for it.
You should or get up sooner then normal or go FH.
I want to keep this guide esp to land maps.

God Path:
I will advice you to always go ARES.-->His GP is usefull in attack and useful when being rushed. His upgrades benefit your toxotes, and hoplites and the heroic peltast. And Athena only benefits your hoplites. I don't think that's hard to chose is it...? If you wanted hoplites you should've gone Zeus and not archer-god Hades.

You can chose in heroic for apollo and Aphrodite. When under heavy pressure take aphrodite(curse). If not take Apollo. His benefits are way better than those of aphrodite. And... they benefit your archers ...again.

The last choice is IMO the easiest. Artemis or Hephaestus. Offcourse you go Artemis. She benefits your archers (again)-->Uber archers :lol:
And even if she didn't she would've been the better god(dess). Her GodPower is amazing. Earthquacke is very easy against Titan lamers.

Your standard God-path should be: (Hades-)Ares-Apollo-Artemis

God Powers:
Sentinels: Use them on a forward TC if you boom and on your starting TC if you're being rushed. Also nice to support your teammate in teamgames as well
Pestilence: A very handy GP when good used.
Easy when you attack-->you will get military faster
Easy when being rushed-->give yourself some time to recover, while he can't train troops. Can be better than Ceasefire in some occasions.
Easy on water: Pestilence his docks! If you're going FH you can use the underworld passage to attack his docks with your land units.
Underworld Passage: If you're getting big armies and big bases it is easy to have your troops be able to manouvre quickly around the map. Can also come in ease when attacking (a titan gate?). Or if you're suddenly being attacked at the other side of your base, and really need to get your troups down there immediatly.
This God is even more recommended in teamgames: You can always double your enemy. On a water map with a FH it can be easy to attack his docks with.
Earthquacke:IMO one of the strongest GP's in the game.
Strong against Titan Gates
Kill whole Forward Bases and pestilence the rest.
If your enemy isn't paying attention to his building-upgrades (cant remember how they're named) you can really do some mass destruction. Things like this may happen if your enemy is thinking he is winning. And then you got earthquacke-->the tie turns, bye bye FB B)
(Note: Versus an Isis it may be wise to go hephaestus instead sometimes, because the monuments are filthy annoying blocking your Earthquacke so you cant benefit from your GP.)

I posted a rec of me doing it, I wasn't greast there and I wasn't playing versus the best enemy ever but at least you can see me doing what I'm trying to describe here.

(btw what I do afterwards is a bit of sim city, being imperialistic and playing with the enemy, giving myself an idea of power :devil: , don't look to much at that but more at the game.
---------------------
posted a rec of me doing it, I wasn't greast there and I wasn't playing versus the best enemy ever but at least you can see me doing what I'm trying to describe here.

(btw what I do afterwards is a bit of sim city, being imperialistic and playing with the enemy, giving myself an idea of power , don't look to much at that but more at the game.

Download example

made by: DoO_Joris(/DoO_Adder/DoO_Legend/DoO_Sage/DoO_TeamPlay)

[This message has been edited by Joris (edited 02-07-2005 @ 11:09 AM).]