Age of Empires II (AOEII) becomes a more challenging game the minute you go online to take on human opponents. While the game does come with a strong AI, it can't compete with the myriad of playing styles you will encounter on the internet. Don't despair, though, because in spite of this there are some fundamentals of gameplay that if well-executed will keep you, at the very least, competitive until the end of a game.

The first and most important thing you must tend to is your economy. Production is key to victory - superior production will crush an enemy in the long run. It worked for the Allies in World War II and it will work for you in AOE II.

When starting out, immediately put your villagers to work picking berries and chopping wood. Since it is critical that your villagers work as efficiently as possible, have one of your lumberjacks build a lumber camp near a large grove of trees and a gatherer build a mill close to your berry bushes. This will reduce the time they spend carrying resources to your stockpile.

You must also keep your town center busy producing villagers. After a villager is created, immediately put him to work chopping wood or picking berries - don't bother with mining stone or gold until you reach the Feudal Age. When your population comes within two of capacity, direct a villager to build another house and then put her on resource gathering duty immediately.

When you deplete your berry bushes, build farms. When your villagers have cleared the resources near a lumber camp or mine, build a new one closer to other resources. Continue to build villagers, and then build more villagers. Research all technologies that will give your villagers a boost (e.g. wheelbarrow, two-handed saw,...). Gather, gather, gather. Get the idea? You can never have too many resources. You may think you have huge stockpiles, but when things start to get hot during the Castle Age, you'll be surprised how quickly you can burn through them.

Know your enemy »