Age of Mythology & VooblyIt all started in 2004 when a family friend, Peter, gave me a copied CD with Age of Empires on it. The original one, so it was compatible with my Windows 95 computer. Fun fact is that I still use that same CD until this day. I enjoyed the game a lot and spent a lot of free hours in single player. At first I had no idea how the game actually worked, so I lost most of the time, but I enjoyed it a ton nonetheless and kept playing.
Years later, in 2013, I discovered Age of Mythology and I also discovered that it had a vibrant multiplayer community on Voobly. I started playing there with my favorite Gaia against other players. Since I performed decently in single player with my Age of Empires experience, I thought I would do well, but I soon found out otherwise. I kept playing intermittently until I started to play active in 2016. I became one of the better Gaia TG players in the community in 2017 and even invented my own strategies. I was well-known for my 2TC Fast Heroic Behemoth Rush and 1TC Fast Heroic Dryad Rush. Later in 2017 I started playing Set as well as a secondary god. I played in RTS-League as well that same year, but I pretty much retired as a "professional" player the same year. I quit Age of Mythology altogether at the end of 2017.
When I returned in 2019, I only played casually. Mostly I was just enjoying myself in medium level games. Now I was connecting with medium and lower level players that wanted to learn from me how to play, so I started helping players out by teaching them. There have been multiple success stories and players appreciated my help so I kept helping out. I will post my Atlantis guide and my build orders below for anyone interested.
In 2022 I was hired as VGaming Committee Lead by Voobly to revive the declining Age of Mythology community and to integrate the Age of Mythology community into the broader Voobly community, because Age of Mythology had been its separate island for years in Voobly. I was involved in multiple projects and in the creation of numerous mods, maps and patches. I worked on a compatibility patch for example that allows Age of Mythology Extended Edition players to play with us on Voobly. Additionally, I helped keep the website clean and handled player complaints. Would you like to try Voobly yourself? Please visit https://voobly.com/
A basic guide
for playing AtlantisAbout me and this guide
I'm Miko and I have been a Gaia main since 2013. In the 2017 era I used to play competitively at 17++ level (Voobly), but these days I take a more casual approach to the game and therefore I'm only 165+ (Voobly) now. I'm not the perfect Gaia player, but I can easily hold myself in medium-high level games. On request of a few dear friends, I'm making this Atlantis guide for the community for people that want to learn Atlantis and aren't familiar with it yet. This guide will teach you the essentials of playing Atlantis at at least 16++ level. There is more to Atlantis than the things mentioned in this guide, but the information I selected for you here will help you become a medium level Atlantis player guaranteed. If you have any questions after reading this guide, feel free to contact me at any time. Good luck and enjoy learning Atlantis!
Strengths and weaknesses of Atlantis
Strengths of Atlantis
The Atlanteans have an extremely strong early game economy. Therefore you have the resources to both boom and apply high pressure to your opponents at the same time. Atlantean units aren't as strong as for example Greek units, but they train a lot faster. Along with your strong early game economy, this will mean that you can outspam your opponent military-wise. Your strong early game economy should also result in you having your economic and military upgrades faster and you having faster advance timings.
Weaknesses of Atlantis
The Atlanteans have a relatively weak late game economy compared to the other civilizations. Also Atlantean buildings are very fragile, which makes them extremely vulnerable to siege weapons. Atlantean units are weaker compared to the units of other civilizations. Lastly, Atlantis has no access to long range siege, which can make killing enemy buildings in late game rather difficult.
Atlantis role in different game stages
Archaic Age
There are many viable builds for Atlantis, but far the most common one is the 4:30 advance build order. This one will set you up for classical fighting perfectly. Something to keep in mind is the slow movement speed of your villagers, so be careful when walking to far away secondary food sources. Your town center might go idle if you're not careful. When scouting, you want to discover where your own resources are, but equally as important is to discover were your opponent's resources are, so you will know where to send you raiding armies to in the Classical Age.
Classical Age
In this stage of the game your army exists of 50% Murmillo and 50% Turma, which you will be raiding with. If you are Kronos or Oranos, you will be mixing in some Prometheans as well. When you reach the population number of 60, you temporarily stop making army and take a second town center. After the town center has been clicked to build, you should resume making militairy immediately. After you built your town center, it is also a good idea to get the Medium Infantry upgrade in your barracks. Your main focus will be raiding in the Classical Age, as Atlantis doesn't have great pushing potential at this time. If you really want to do some significant pushing as Atlantis in this stage of the game, Prometheans will be your only way. Important is that you secure your forward position in this age, so you will be well prepared to push forward in the Heroic Age.
Heroic Age
In this stage of the game your army exists of 40% Destroyers, 20% Murmillo and 40% Arcus. Of course you will have your heroic myth unit on loop in your Temple as well. At this point you will start focusing on pushing on your opponent, rather than focusing on raiding exclusively. When pushing, you will focus your Destroyers (and Behemoths) on the buildings and the rest of your army will take care of your enemy's units. You should realize that Atlantis units, especially from the Heroic Age and up, are weaker than the units of other civilizations. Your edge on the battlefield is the fast training time and the lower cost of your units. Your goal will be to outspam your opponent, so make sure that you make enough military buildings to accomplish that. Since your units aren't as strong as your opponent's, it is important that you get your line upgrades and armory upgrades in time, so you can level the playing field. Instead of engaging in a fight in the Heroic Age, you can also choose to just defend for a short while. This will mean that you hardly lose any army, which provides you with the resources to jump to the Mythic Age very fast. If you choose to go for the Mythic Age jump, you don't have to get your military upgrades in the Heroic Age, unless you could easily afford it of course.
Mythic Age
In this stage of the game your army exists of 20% Destroyers, 20% Fire Siphons, 20% Fanatics and 40% Arcus. You will have your mythic myth unit on loop in your Temple as well. In some situations, it is better to keep making your heroic myth unit for a while. For example: if your opponent is Norse and hasn't got access to Fire Giants yet, a Stymphalian Bird will offer you way more than any mythic myth unit will. The same thing goes for Behemoths as well against Greek and Egypt: if they don't have a counter for Behemoths yet, you should keep making them. In the Mythic Age you have to keep in mind that Atlantean buildings are very fragile. Losing your military buildings will mean that your military production will go down, which conflicts with your goal of trying to outspam your opponent. To remedy this it is first of all very important that you get Masons, Architects and if available, Titan Shield to strengthen your buildings. You will find these upgrades in your town center. On top of that you will spam a lot of military buildings, so you your military production won't be slowed down if you lose a couple of buildings. As said before, your units are weaker and therefore upgrades are extremely important. So in the Mythic Age, you will get all your military upgrades as fast as you can. You will prioritize the line upgrades over the armory upgrades while doing this. When you attack, you focus your Fire Siphons and Destroyers (and Behemoths) on the buildings and the rest of your army will kill your opponent's units. Your siege is the most important part of your army, so the main task of the rest of your army is to kill all enemy units that try to kill your siege. You have to protect your siege at all costs, so you can keep pushing.
Water maps
Playing on water maps as Atlantis is not that different from playing on water as other civilizations. The most important part to realize is that your ships are weaker as well and so it is all about outspamming your opponents with boats with your strong early game economy and your fast training times, just like on land maps. Make sure that you make two and as soon as it is possible, three docks to accomplish this. The universal guidelines of playing water also apply to Atlantis, so if you notice you are going to lose the water, you transition to land immediately by taking a second town center and boom to compensate for your loss of the fishing economy. Make sure that you don't over-commit to the water and transition to land in time, so you won't be run over by your opponent on land.
Common problems
Long range siege
Long range siege weapons can be a really big problem for Atlantis to defend in late game, since Atlantis doesn't really have a good answer unit for them. The problem is amplified, because Atlantean buildings are very fragile. Contarius and Katapelts may do great damage against the siege weapons, but they usually die before even reaching the siege, because the siege stands far away behind a line of enemy units. I found that Destroyers are usually your best option. They may not kill the siege weapons as fast, but usually they will be able to reach the siege weapons behind the enemy line of units without dying. Also they can knock down walls the siege weapons might be hiding behind, very easily. So if you face long range siege, your best option is to spam some extra Destroyers.
Fire Giants and Colossus
Fire Giants and Colossus are units that are hard to kill and can knock down your fragile buildings quiet rapidly. The best option is to make Lampades. You use the special attack on the Fire Giant or Colossus and walk away, so your opponent will have to deal with the unit you just neutralized. Argus are an alternative option as they can remove a unit immediately with their special attack. For the purpose of Colossus they are just as good as Lampades, but against Fire Giants it depends on the amount your opponent has of them. Against a mass of Fire Giants the Argus will often die before it accomplished anything significant really.
Farm transition
Farms are 200 wood a piece for Atlantis, which is really expensive. If you are out of hunt and herdables and you don't have enough wood stockpiled for farms, you may not have a proper food income for quiet a while, which will have enormous consequences. To guarantee a smooth farm transition you need to think ahead. When you start eating your last patch of killable food, usually this is your herdables, you will need to start stockpiling a lot of wood. It isn't abnormal to have like five or six citizens on wood temporarily at this time, so you will be able to afford farms as soon as your last killable food source runs out.
Resource overflow
If you play Atlantis correctly, it may occur that the resources are coming in faster than you can spend them. You have all your upgrades queued up and you still have hundreds or even thousands idly sitting in your bank. There are two solutions for this. Your first option is to build a second armory, so you can get your armory upgrades faster. This option will both get rid of your idle resources and give you an edge on the battlefield. Your second option is to tribute part of your resources to your allies, if you're playing a team game of course. Aside from tributing to your allies in this situation, I would really recommend you to do this as soon as you have got all of your necessary upgrades.
Time clock
As mentioned multiple times in this article, Atlantis has weaker units and buildings compared to the other civilizations. Atlantis also has no access to any long range siege. Because of these facts, Atlantis will struggle in late game. Atlantis is all about using your early advantages, like being able to outspam your opponent military-wise and getting your upgrades and advance times faster. Egypt has stronger units and buildings than Atlantis for example and eventually they will have all their upgrades as well, as are they able to spam units just like you can. When this point is reached, you will lose the game as an Atlantean. You could say that you're playing on a time clock. This means that you need to be proactive in your game play. You will either have to gain a significant advantage, like a population advantage, before the Egyptian reaches his strength or you will need to have killed your opponent completely before this time. For Atlantis the only solution for it's time clock is to play proactively and to exploit it's strong early game economy as much as possible.
Build ordersGaia build orders
Note: when I say for example “2 Food”, it means that you should have a total of two citizens on food. I don't mean send the next two citizens to food. The build orders are most easily followed with the villager counter mod. The asterisks are what you should do during the advance (1 minute).
4:30 Hunting Dogs - Standard Classical Fight
Economic Guild -> Hunting Dogs -> 1 Food
2 Food
1 Wood
Manor -> 1 Gold
3 Food
1 Gold -> Temple -> 1 Gold
4 Food
2 Gold
Classical Age
*Split: 3 Food, 2 Wood, 2 Gold
*Upgrade Handaxe
*Upgrade Pickaxe
2 Wood -> Military Barracks (1 Villager) -> 2 Wood
Loop Murmillo
2 Gold -> Counter Barracks (1 Villager) -> 2 Gold
Loop Turma
4 Food
Unloop Military at 60 Population and make a 2nd Town Center
Reloop Military
4:00 Hunting Dogs - Faster Classical Fight
Economic Guild -> Hunting Dogs -> 1 Wood (Gather up to 235 Wood) -> 1 Gold
2 Food
Manor -> 3 Food
1 Gold -> Temple -> 1 Gold
5 Food
Classical Age
*Split: 2 Food, 2 Wood, 2 Gold
2 Gold -> Barracks (1 Villager) -> 2 Gold
Loop Murmillo
2 Wood -> Counter Barracks (1 Villager) -> 2 Wood
Loop Turma
3 Food
5:05/6:40 Hunting Dogs - 1 Town Center Fast Heroic
Economic Guild -> Hunting Dogs -> Handaxe -> 1 Food
2 Food
1 Wood
Upgrade Pickaxe
1 Gold (Gather up to 25 Gold) -> Manor -> 1 Gold
3 Food
1 Gold -> Temple -> 1 Gold
4 Food
2 Gold
When gathered 175 Wood split: 5 Food, 0 Wood, 2 Gold
6 Food
Classical Age
6 Food -> Armory (3 Villagers) -> Split: 3 Food, 3 Wood, 2 Gold
3 Gold
Heroic Age
*3 Food -> Military Barracks (1 Villager) -> 3 Food
*Loop Murmillo
*3 Wood -> Manor (1 Villager) -> 3 Wood
*3 Food -> Military Barracks (1 Villager) -> 3 Food
Place Hesperides Tree
Loop Dryad
Loop Stymphalian Bird
Loop Arcus
5 Gold
Attack as soon as the 5th Dryad has been made
5:40/7:40 Hunting Dogs - 2 Town Centers Fast Heroic
Economic Guild -> Hunting Dogs -> 1 Food
2 Food
1 Wood
Manor -> 1 Gold
2 Gold
2 Wood
When gathered 260 Gold build the 2nd Town Center with 1 of the Gold Villagers and set him on Wood when finished building
Split the other Villagers: 3 Food, 1 Wood, 1 Gold
5 Food
1 Gold -> Temple -> 1 Gold
2 Gold
Classical Age
*Split: 5 Food, 2 Wood, 2 Gold
*Upgrade Handaxe
*Upgrade Pickaxe
*Loop 2nd Town Center
2 Wood -> Armory (1 Villager) -> 2 Wood
Unloop 2nd Town Center when it made it's 2nd Villager during the Classical Age
8 Food
Heroic Age
*Reloop 2nd Town Center
*2 Wood -> Military Barracks (1 Villager) -> 2 Wood
*Loop Murmillo
*9 Food
*9 Food -> Manor (1 Villager) -> 9 Food
*9 Food -> Military Barracks (1 Villager) -> 9 Food
*10 Food
Loop Behemoth
Loop Arcus
3 Gold
3 Wood
Attack as soon as the 3rd Behemoth has been made
4:30 Water - Standard Water Fight
Dock -> 1 Wood -> Gather a total of 105 Wood -> Manor -> 1 Wood
1 Food
2 Fishing Ship
2 Food
2 Wood
2 Wood -> Temple (1 Villager) -> 2 Wood
3 Food
Loop Fishing Ship
5 Food
Unloop Fishing Ship as soon as the 6th one has been made
Classical Age
*Split: 5 Wood, 2 Gold
*5 Wood -> Dock -> 5 Wood
*2 Gold -> Manor -> 2 Gold
*5 Wood -> Economic Guild -> 5 Wood
Double Loop Bireme
Upgrade Handaxe
Upgrade Pickaxe
3 Gold
4:05 Water - Faster Water Fight
Dock -> 1 Wood -> Gather a total of 105 Wood -> Manor -> 1 Wood
1 Food
2 Fishing Ship
3 Food
3 Food -> Temple (1 Villager) -> 3 Food
5 Food
6 Fishing Ship
Classical Age
*Split: 4 Wood, 2 Gold
*4 Wood -> Dock -> 4 Wood
*2 Gold -> Manor -> 2 Gold
Double Loop Bireme
5 Wood
3 Gold
3:55 Lowhunt - Turma Rush
3 Food
Manor -> Gather 5 Wood -> 4 Food
Temple -> 5 Food
6 Food
Classical Age
*Split: 1 Food, 3 Wood, 2 Gold
3 Wood -> Counter Barracks (1 Villager) -> 3 Wood
2 Gold -> Counter Barracks (1 Villager) -> 2 Gold
Double Loop Turma
2 Food
6:15 Lowhunt - Archaic Town Center
3 Food
Manor -> 1 Wood
2 Gold
When gathered 260 Gold build the 2nd Town Center with 1 of the Gold Villagers and set him on Wood when finished building
5 Food
1 Gold -> Temple -> 1 Gold
6 Food
2 Gold
Classical Age
*Split: 4 Food, 4 Wood, 2 Gold
*2 Gold -> 2 Economic Guild (1 Villager) -> 2 Gold
*Upgrade Handaxe
*Upgrade Pickaxe
*Upgrade Plow
*Upgrade Channels
*Loop 2nd Town Center
3 Gold
All next villagers go to Wood, while transferring Food and Wood Villagers to making Farms. The Food Villagers go first on this
Kronos build orders
Note: when I say for example “2 Food”, it means that you should have a total of two citizens on food. I don't mean send the next two citizens to food. The build orders are most easily followed with the villager counter mod. The asterisks are what you should do during the advance (1 minute).
3:35 Lowhunt - Kronos Krush
3 Food
Manor -> Temple -> 4 Food
5 Food
Classical Age
*Split: 1 Food, 2 Wood, 2 Gold
*Gather Oracle
*Timeshift Temple near enemy
Valor Oracle
Loop Promethean
2 Wood -> Counter Barracks (1 Villager) -> 2 Wood
Timeshift Counter Barracks near ememy
2 Food
Loop Turma
Set build orders
Note: when I say for example “2 Food”, it means that you should have a total of two citizens on food. I don't mean send the next two citizens to food. The build orders are most easily followed with the villager counter mod. The asterisks are what you should do during the advance (1 minute). When I say “Food”, I mean hunt, herdables, chickens or berries. I categorize farms separately. The Hunting Dogs and Lowhunt build orders are the same after the advance to the Classical Age. That's why one of them looks like it's only halfway finished. Also note that my Set is about 1630RR, so I do not guarantee that these build orders are 100% optimal.
5:26/9:40 Hunting Dogs - 2 Town Centers Fast Heroic
Granary (2 Villagers) -> Hunting Dogs -> 2 Food
Pharaoh empowers Granary
Priest starts converting animals that you will hunt in your base
5 Food
3 Houses (1 Villager) -> Monument to Villagers -> 7 Houses -> Gold
3 Gold
3 Wood
10 Food
3 Gold -> Temple (3 Villagers) -> 3 Gold
Upgrade Pickaxe
7 Gold
Classical Age
*Split: 6 Food, 4 Wood, 10 Gold
*Pharaoh empowers Mining Camp
*When you have 300 Wood, send the 4 Wood Villagers to the 2nd Town Center that you will build
All new Villagers go to Gold, also those from the 2nd Town Center
Hunt the Gazelles of Set, but keep the Hyena's of Set
Send your Hyna's of Set and your Wadjet to your 2nd Town Center builders
Upgrade Shaduf, Plow and Husbandry
4 Idle Wood -> 2nd Town Center (4 Villagers) -> Armory -> Momument to Soldiers -> Gold
When Shaduf is finished, start and keep making Farms with your Gold Villagers one by one
Pharaoh empowers Farms (1st Town Center)
Usually you can advance when you have about 20 Farms
Heroic Age
*Pharaoh empowers Mining Camp
*Upgrade Handaxe
*When you are about halfway the advance, send 5 Gold Villagers and your Pharaoh forward to a forward Gold Mine or Town Center
*Send your Wadjet and Hyna's of Set along as protection for the Villagers and Pharaoh
Hunt the Giraffes of Set, but keep the Crocodiles of Set
Send your Crocodiles of Set and your Scorpion Man to your Migdol Stronghold builders
5 Idle Gold -> 2 Migdol Strongholds -> Gold
Pharaoh empowers the Migdol Strongholds that are under construction, then goes back to empowering the Farms in your base
9 Wood -> 2 Markets in the corner (1 Villager) -> 9 Wood
Upgrade Irrigation
Upgrade Shaft Mine
Loop 50% War Elephants and 50% Chariot Archers from Migdol Stronghold I
Loop War Elephants from Migdol Stronghold II
Double Loop Camel Caravans
4:50 Water - Faster Water Fight
Dock (1 Villager) -> 2 Houses -> 2nd Dock -> 8 Houses -> Monument to Villagers -> Gold
Pharaoh empowers construction of the 1st Dock, then it empowers the Granary
Granary (1 Villager) -> 1 Food
Priest starts converting animals that you will hunt in your base
5 Food
6 Fishing Ships
Lumber Camp (1 Villager) -> 1 Wood
Pharaoh empowers Lumber Camp
3 Wood
3 Gold
All new Villagers go to Food
When the 6th Fishing Ship is being made, move all Wood villagers to Food
Pharaoh empowers Granary
When you have 100 Gold, build a Temple with 3 Gold Villagers, then they go back to Gold
Force drop off all Fishing Ships and Food Villagers at 3:45 minutes.
Classical Age
*Split: 6 Fish, 9 Wood, 8 Gold
*Pharaoh empowers Lumber Camp
All new Villagers go to Wood
Double Loop Kebenits
Upgrade Handaxe whenever this is possible without Town Center idle time
Build a 3rd Dock and Loop Kebenits from there as well whenever this is possible
5:40/9:40 Lowhunt - 2 Town Centers Fast Heroic
Granary (2 Villagers) -> 2 Food
Pharaoh empowers Granary
Priest starts converting animals that you will hunt in your base
5 Food
3 Houses (1 Villager) -> Monument to Villagers -> 7 Houses -> Gold
7 Food
3 Gold
3 Wood
3 Gold -> Temple (3 Villagers) -> 3 Gold
Upgrade Pickaxe whenever this is possible without Town Center idle time
15 Food
Classical Age
*Split: 6 Food, 4 Wood, 11 Gold
*Pharaoh empowers Mining Camp
*When you have 300 Wood, send the 4 Wood Villagers to the 2nd Town Center that you will build
All new Villagers go to Gold, also those from the 2nd Town Center
Hunt the Gazelles of Set, but keep the Hyena's of Set
Send your Hyna's of Set and your Wadjet to your 2nd Town Center builders
Upgrade Shaduf, Plow and Husbandry
4 Idle Wood -> 2nd Town Center (4 Villagers) -> Armory -> Momument to Soldiers -> Gold
When Shaduf is finished, start and keep making Farms with your Gold Villagers one by one
Pharaoh empowers Farms (1st Town Center)
Copyright / © : Miko M.L. Haanen