A Guide To Clean Games | Think Like A Pro
Table of contents
- To achieve clean victories in strategy games, focus on understanding matchups and timing—seize the tempo before it slips away into chaos.
- Master the art of probing your opponent's strategy to disrupt their economy and gain the upper hand in the game.
- In strategy, pressure creates opportunity; keep your opponent on edge to gain the upper hand.
- Pressure your opponent to gain the upper hand; it's all about making them anxious and forcing their hand.
- Master the art of unit positioning and patience in strategy games to turn the tide in your favor.
- In messy games, resilience and adaptability are your best allies; when the fight gets tough, focus on rebuilding and strategizing for the long haul.
- In slow-paced strategy games, controlling the siege units is the key to victory; without them, the game becomes one-sided.
To achieve clean victories in strategy games, focus on understanding matchups and timing—seize the tempo before it slips away into chaos.
Hello and welcome to another video! Today, I'm going to be talking about clean and messy games, specifically what you can do to have more clean games. I will share some tips and tricks on how to get out of the messy games, and how to finish the games that are really tough to finish, especially when you're in a stalemate.
The first game we're going to take a look at is against Nadon, a top player, where we are playing as Yubits versus Byzantines. For me, when I play this game, I have to understand the matchup to have a clean game. If I want to have a clean game, I need to understand the timings for the matchups—when they are slow, when they are fast, and when they have units that can deal with my units. This understanding is crucial as I try to execute a fast Castle, which is my goal in this game.
I'm playing as Diubits, which is one of the best strategies to pursue because you have so many bonuses working in your favor. Something that happens with many Castle H Civs is that they are rewarded for playing fast Castle. For example, the HRE gathers resources quickly, allowing them to achieve a nice timing. Similarly, with Sves like the Ottomans, they have free sheep, which provides them with survivability and more units in the Castle Age. This allows them to avoid going on pocket resources for longer, enabling them to regain map control later.
Now, regarding timings for the Iits, we often see them going for a Caman Ara composition with good upgrades coming in at a reasonable time. They might even utilize a Field Manganel, allowing them to finish games much quicker instead of having to go for a second Town Center and then into farms. This strategy can lead to quick games that end before the 20-minute mark, which is what we're aiming for with this build.
In this game, I'm playing the very standard build that I uploaded about a little less than two weeks ago, which is the Iubit fast Castle. I won't delve too much into the early part of the build order; instead, I will focus on scouting patterns and the matchup. The matchup is IIs versus Byzantines, where the Byzantines are typically a little slower early on but have a massive power spike in the Castle Age. If you're familiar with playing as Byzantines, you know they set up farms, play very defensively, and then execute a Varangian Guard Longbow or Javelin push to take you out before the 20-minute mark.
That's a typical Byzantine build order: they win quickly after taking a good fight. For us, we also need to look for that good fight, as it signifies tempo, which is crucial when aiming for clean games. You want to look for a fight that gives you the timing you need to finish the game. If you give up on that timing and allow your opponent to regain tempo by not doing anything, the game can become long and messy.
Other things can go wrong as well, but it's important to try to execute a build while ensuring you're scouting your opponent to understand their actions. Knowing that I'm playing against Byzantines, I recognize they will be a bit slower and need setup time. Therefore, I don't need to see what he does around the 3-minute mark; I can afford to wait a little longer.
Now, I'm going to come out with Desert Raiders and build an early tower because he could be doing harassment. This is just a standard part of the build order. With the Desert Raiders, we are looking for idle time; it's important to idle our opponent. We don't necessarily need to kill villagers—though it's nice if we do—but simply idling them or pushing them around is also effective.
So, here's what we're going to do: we will take our scout and look at what they are actually doing. We see the Merk Camp, which signifies either javelins or longbows that will be out soon. However, there could be slower berry collection for faster farms, which could delay these units. My goal now is to interrupt that farm setup because if he doesn't have enough farms, his units will come out slower.
He has made a defensive wall to protect his berries from the Desert Raiders, and there is a large natural wall that I cannot surpass. Therefore, I will come in from the woodline.
Master the art of probing your opponent's strategy to disrupt their economy and gain the upper hand in the game.
In this strategy discussion, we begin by examining our Scout's observations. We note the presence of the Merk Camp, which signifies either javelins or longbows that are expected to be deployed shortly. However, there may be delays in Berry collection due to the need for faster Farms, which could slow down the overall setup. My objective now is to interrupt the farm setup; if my opponent lacks sufficient Farms, their unit production will be hindered.
To counter this, my opponent has constructed a defensive wall to protect their berries from potential raids by my units. Additionally, there is a large natural wall that I cannot surpass. Therefore, I will approach from the Woodline to initiate a raid. Each time I push their villagers, it results in idle time, which consequently slows their economy. I plan to maintain this pressure until I reach the Castle Age.
As I continue my raid, I look for opportunities to inflict more damage. Even a few arrows can force my opponent to relocate their villagers, creating further disruption. Eventually, they preemptively move their villagers, and I will follow up by attacking from the opposite side. This back-and-forth movement is a part of probing; I aim to discern my opponent's patterns and manipulate their behavior.
Currently, we are aging up and progressing towards growth wi. According to my build order, it is essential to have an expansion ready. When playing, it is crucial to map out strategies for both the map and the matchup. While matchups can be predictable, unexpected strategies may arise. In this instance, we are engaged in a standard game where my opponent is establishing Farms and preparing javelins while I continue to harass them as I advance to the Castle Age.
I have identified food sources on the left side of the map, and I understand that there is minimal food on the right side. This knowledge, combined with our God Vision, informs my decision to send villagers to the left side. Consequently, I need to wall this area to protect against my opponent's advancing units. As I push their villagers further, the first Spearman will soon emerge, followed by the javelins.
Although I may lose some units, the value gained from my initial harassment has been significant. I will continue to harass while setting up walls and collecting resources for unit production. It is important to note that opting for Gams is not advisable in this situation, as they do not scale well compared to Camel Lancers. Instead, I will focus on Camel Lancers and Archers, ensuring I acquire all necessary upgrades for optimal performance.
As the game progresses, we find ourselves under some harassment. To avoid the back-and-forth playstyle, we retreat to our sheep, although we have limited sheep available. Therefore, walling is critical to secure our food sources on the left side. We have now established a stable and will begin producing Camel Lancers. Following this, I will construct a mosque, a second stable, Archery Ranges, and a blacksmith as part of a standard build.
Despite losing a few villagers, we have gained a tempo advantage with our additional units. My opponent is now establishing Farms, which provide strong resource output. They may attempt to burn down my walls, but thanks to my prior preparations, we are well-positioned to defend effectively.
In strategy, pressure creates opportunity; keep your opponent on edge to gain the upper hand.
Unfortunately, we didn't get that many sheep, and so Walling here is crucial because we need the food sources. On the left side, we have now preset the stable, and now we're going to be producing camel lancers. We're going to go into a mosque, and then we're going to go into a second stable, Archer ranges, and a blacksmith, which is playing the standard build. We are getting the camel lancers out, and although we lose a couple of villagers here, that's okay; we just got eight, so technically we have six more. This gives us a little bit of a Tempo Advantage.
Granted, he does have farms coming up, and the farms are incredibly strong when it comes to resource output. He is now going to be burning this area, but we have done our walling, and now we can defend a little bit while we build up our camel lancers. If you have watched the video "Rating Under Pressure," this is what we're going to be employing now—this tactic. Through our camel lancers and our desert raiders, we will now be looking for him to go back to his base.
There are two things that I can do to get him out of my base. Here, he will keep on going around my base, and the way that I get him away is by letting him know I'm going to go for relics. This will prompt him to bring his units out to defend those relics, or I can pressure his base enough for him to pull his units back. You can manipulate your opponent this way by having small amounts of units. In this situation, we only have three to sixteen, and so we cannot take a fight; that's not the goal here. We're going to be attacking his base and going for the relics instead.
Here, this desert raider is a free unit, but every little point of damage is value for me. That idle villager there was value. This camel lancer is going to go to the gold; we are not going to lose villagers on our own gold. Now, we are going to take some relics. The camel lancers go on the gold, and we are going to find a little bit of villager damage here. This is already really good value because now it means he has to play more defensively. New units will come out to defend the gold, which he needs for Castle Age.
So, the idle time here, while he is not gathering gold, is massive for me because it means it takes him longer to get upgrades, and that extends that timing we were talking about before. The timing is incredibly important, with the timing being upgrade advantage and maybe a unit mass advantage. We are now taking the relic, and we are moving down south again with the camel lancers, looking for a little bit more damage.
We take a little bit of an unfortunate engagement here; I was trying to move around the spearmen, but there were a bunch of javelin throwers as well. Here, we can see he has a bunch of javelins on the relics, so he has been splitting his units pretty well. I get one villager kill here, and I save one of the camel lancers; unfortunately, the other one goes down. I leave a desert raider here on the relic, and now you might notice a pattern. We are pressuring him ever so slightly, trying not to get unit losses, and we are trying to bring in relics.
Relics are great; they give you that Tempo, that gold you need to get the upgrades and the expensive camel lancer units. It is really important that we do get the relics. If our opponent gets the relics and they have a safe base, it gets incredibly difficult to win the game because then we are playing a long, messy game. The not-so-messy game, the more clean game, involves that the strategy we have in mind plays out. The strategy is to get to Castle Age, get relics, and then look for that Lancer Archer composition, possibly with a manique timing.
The way that we buy ourselves time to get there, as I've been explaining before, is through the pressure on their economy. A little bit more here: we have killed four villagers so far, and we force his units to go into the back, now just with one camel lancer. Remember, these camel lancers can be healed up again by the dervish. We have now forced him to make a bunch of walls; he would not make these walls if we were just sitting in our base. In fact, he would be the one harassing us.
So, all these small attacks here do make sense because they put your opponent on edge. They are getting more anxious, and it's a way of having them decide where they should move. Right now, I know that he will come around here, and then he'll go and try to push these lancers, or at least I suspect that this will happen.
Pressure your opponent to gain the upper hand; it's all about making them anxious and forcing their hand.
In this strategic discussion, we focus on the pressure on their economy, which has been intensified by our actions. So far, we have killed four villagers, effectively forcing our opponent's units to retreat. We achieved this with just one camel lancer, and it's important to remember that these camel lancers can be healed up again by the dervish.
By applying consistent pressure, we have compelled our opponent to construct a bunch of walls—something he likely would not have done if we were merely sitting in our base. In fact, he would have been the one harassing us. These small attacks make sense as they keep the opponent on edge, making them more anxious and forcing them to decide where to move. Currently, I suspect he will attempt to push against our lancers, possibly trying to kill them if I break through.
At this point, we have successfully secured the left side, gathering resources such as deer and berries without needing to engage in direct combat. This serves as a valuable lesson in raiding under pressure, a tactic worth learning for new players.
Now, we are focusing on grabbing all the upgrades we can. I always suggest that if you're going for a Night Archer composition, such as the camel lancers and archers, you should prioritize the ranged armor upgrades first—both of them, ideally plus two plus two. For us, we also need to transition into sulton's mams. The ranged armor is incredibly valuable; if our opponent lacks it, our archers can deal significantly more damage. This isn't just an extra damage point; it's a large percentage increase, so it's crucial to secure those upgrades quickly.
As we engage in combat, our small group of chancers has found a few javelins, which provides good value. We can start taking the fights we've been looking for—not against the large army but rather against smaller groups. We know that if we retreat to our base, he will follow, but we can also invade his base if he stays put, using our mobility to keep raiding him.
We are currently building up our archers and more camel lancers, and we have secured three relics so far, which is satisfactory for this game. However, we cannot allow the game to extend too long; if it does and he establishes his farms, it could become problematic. Therefore, we must continue to pressure him.
If we have the upgrade advantage, as we do here with plus two plus two versus his plus one plus one, we should consider taking a fight. It's important to look for opportunities to take potshots at a few spears. When we decide to engage, we must ensure that if there are many ranged units, we consider building a manganel. If constructing a manganel isn't feasible but we can still take the fight, we should do so while we have the upgrade advantage.
We can build the manganel quickly and easily since we are playing as the Iits, which allows us to get it without needing a workshop. Now, I will explain a bit of micro-management because this is the decisive fight we are looking for. This engagement will determine the outcome of the game; if I lose this fight, I lose the game, but if I win, I have a chance to secure victory.
In this fight, I will use my camel lancers to move forward and force his spears to engage. This will allow my archers to deal bonus damage to the spears, which is advantageous. The lancers will then retreat, and I will position the archers to act as the front line. Since camel lancers take bonus damage from spears, they will stay behind the archers to avoid damage.
We will utilize a manganel along with javelins and melee units, ensuring we do not lose our camels, which will deliver the main damage output. As we execute this strategy, observe how the manganel shot lands. If we slow this down, we can see that while the camel takes damage from the spears, it is the archers who are actually losing health. This distinction is crucial for our success in the battle.
Master the art of unit positioning and patience in strategy games to turn the tide in your favor.
In this strategic discussion, we begin with the spears that are used to force forward, while the archers will do bonus damage to the spears, which is advantageous. The lancers move back, and I plan to use the archers as the front line. This is because the camel lancers take bonus damage from the spears, so they will stand behind the archers to avoid damage.
Next, we will utilize a manganel and javelins, ensuring that our camels do not take unnecessary damage while they deal the main DPS. As we observe a significant manganel shot, I slow down the action to highlight how the camel dies upon contact with the spears, while the archers are the ones taking the damage. This distinction is crucial; understanding that if you are engaging in a fight like this, you must use the right units to body block.
Units have varying ranges; some have longer and some have shorter. The camel lancers possess sufficient range to avoid being a priority target for the spears, as they are not the front line unit. Consequently, we end up having a favorable fight, much better than it initially appeared, especially since we were outnumbered but had the upgrade advantage with the camel lancers. This situation allows us to maintain a clean game, take control of the sides, move into more siege, and ultimately finish the game.
However, if I were to push all my units in at this moment, I would likely lose. Patience is key here; many players fail at this juncture. It is essential to take a step back and recognize that I have a unique opportunity to win. I need to make the siege necessary to conclude this game. There is no need to fear siege; it is a powerful tool to secure victories, although many players tend to criticize it due to a lack of understanding of its proper use. In this scenario, employing siege is appropriate as we aim to finish the game. While a keep drop could also be a strategy, we currently lack the stone, making siege the best option.
As more units arrive, our opponent is raiding similarly to our previous actions, prompting us to build the necessary siege. I do not expect him to have a springald, but knowing that Numan is a skilled player, he will likely produce a few. I must respond by creating more springalds. By using the fire ability, I can draw his springalds forward, but I lose one manganel in the process.
In my calculations, if he has two springalds, I need three, but he will probably create another one, so four should be a solid number. With four springalds, I can split them, allowing two to fire on one target, effectively one-shotting it. If I only have three springalds, I risk wasting one due to overkill unless I split them effectively, which may still not result in a decisive fight in the siege. Therefore, I aim to use two springalds for every manganel, reiterating this strategy.
Now, with four springalds, we are prepared to engage in the fight we discussed. He has three springalds but loses one, leaving us with three, which is advantageous. We have also reinforced our units slightly, and now we can look for the fight. He will attempt to utilize a choke point, but we have the manganel, so this is not a significant concern. It is important to switch back to kinetic, target the springalds, and then focus on the javelins with the manganel. This strategy will lead us to the end of the game.
This was an example of a very clean game and the strategies that contributed to it. I hope you have enjoyed this analysis. Now, we will transition into discussing what a messy game looks like and how to play more resiliently and adaptively in longer matches. The second game I want to showcase involves a matchup between the Ottomans and Iits. I will jump straight to the point in the game where we both engage in a poor fight.
At this moment, he has a substantial economy and is about to transition to farms, which is similar for us. However, we are losing control of our food source because our opponent is raiding our production, and he has a considerable number of units positioned in the back, forcing us to adapt our strategy.
In messy games, resilience and adaptability are your best allies; when the fight gets tough, focus on rebuilding and strategizing for the long haul.
Now, that was an example of a very clean game and what went into that game. I hope you guys have enjoyed that. Now, we’re going to move into what it looks like with a messy game and how you play more resiliently and adaptably in games that can take a long time.
The second game I want to show you is a more messy one, where we are playing against an opponent, and the matchup is Ottomans versus Iits. I want to jump straight forward to the exact point during this game where we both take a bad fight. What's occurring right now is that he has a bunch of economy and is about to go on farms, and it’s the same for us essentially. We are losing control of our food source because our opponent is raiding our production. He has quite a lot of units in the back, which forced us to go back, but at the same time, we are also pushing his base. This fight, where we both have the necessary upgrades, is a little more difficult to take, and so we end up both losing a lot of military. If we both lose a lot of military, none of us can finish the game, and so this game ends up lasting 10 more minutes.
Right now, we are at the 20-minute mark, and it ends up going to 30 minutes. I will explain what happens after this. I lose my Siege, but he has also lost a ton of units. We had 70 and 60 units, I think it was, which means that now we are back to square one. We have to defend against raids; we’ve lost a couple of villagers, and he has also lost a couple of villagers. In general, it has not been a good fight for either of us. This is where it gets very awkward because now we are playing a longer game that should not have gone long. One of us should have taken a good fight here, and one of us should have lost.
So, we are drawing back and then rebuilding our Siege to regain control of the situation. He is still raiding us, and we are going to use our reinforcements to deal with that. Then we will look to see, okay, can we take a good fight here? Can we rebuild our Siege and build up some crossbows, some Janissaries, and some archers so that we can have that nice ball of Siege that we are looking for? I have also been gathering a bunch of stone because if I want to finish this game, I am going to have to secure a position from where I can Siege down his base.
This is a messy game, and it is more stationary now, whereas the previous game was very dynamic. The camels and Asers were all over the place; here, it is a more static game because the Siege has been introduced. Before the win—or should I say before the fight that we win—we lost the fight with our Siege, and it did not go as we wanted. Now we have Siege, and that Siege is slow. If we move too fast, then the Siege is exposed.
So now, what we are doing is pushing his base again. This time, we are going to bring a few villagers and then look to establish a front position from which we can now raid and try to play that long Siege that a lot of people find themselves in. He gets pushed here again, and now we are building the keep. This is a great way to end games if they are a little bit slower-paced. The previous game was fast-paced; this is a slower one, so going for the keep is more ideal here.
Whereas in the other game we were building on momentum, here we are building on just that power ball we have of Siege, Janissaries, and crossbows. It is really great if he runs into our keep where we have our Siege. We want to force him to do that by starting to trap down his Landmark. When I say trapping, I mean using trebuchets to take out the buildings, which is something that you can do behind the keep.
I am building the keep and a tower beside it; the tower gives good vision. Then, I am looking for some damage here. Accidentally, I moved in with my units when I wanted to move in with my Siege. I have five mangonels and four springalds, and I will be building more Siege, of course. You can’t really stop doing it because the Siege is really the key to winning these very, very slow-paced games. If you have Siege and your opponent does not, the game is super one-sided because these are high-value units.
Again, I am focusing on the military production building so he can make not as many units. In the meantime, I am building another Siege workshop, and I will be starting the trebuchet in a moment. So right now, it’s very, very...
In slow-paced strategy games, controlling the siege units is the key to victory; without them, the game becomes one-sided.
In this gameplay analysis, I focus on the importance of vision and damage in a strategic setting. The Tower provides good vision, which is crucial for making informed decisions. I accidentally moved in with my units, but I intended to advance with my Siege units. Currently, I have five mangonels and four springalds, and I plan to build more Siege units. It's essential to keep producing Siege because it is the key to winning these very slow-paced games. If I have Siege and my opponent does not, the game tends to be super one-sided due to the high value of these units.
At this point, I am focusing on the military production building of my opponent to limit their unit production. Meanwhile, I am constructing another Siege workshop and will be starting the Treet shortly. The game is currently very stationary; we are trying to get our Siege units positioned effectively and see if we can snipe some of his Siege with our springalds. Unfortunately, my opponent's movement is quite good, making sniping difficult. I continue to build up my power ball, adding more Treet units, which will force my opponent to react.
I also notice that my opponent is attempting to locate my Big Gold because they are aware that I am gathering resources there. In response, they build a keep, which is a good move for securing map control when positioned in a corner. I cannot move down to that area because I risk repeating the mistakes of the previous game, where my movement was restricted. Instead, I aim to secure my current position and rectify the change in map control by staying put and using some reinforcements to deal with the gold villagers in that area. Additionally, I can build a tower to block access to the gold.
As I scout for my opponent's Siege, I find it unguarded, allowing us to inflict some significant damage. To effectively take out a springald, we need four mangonel shots, and if they are already damaged, it becomes easier. We are eager to engage in battle, but since we are the ones pushing, my opponent can retreat to the safety of their base. Our springalds advance, and we manage to take out two of his units, which is a very good outcome for us. This forces my opponent to stay back for the time being, as they need to rebuild their springalds.
My opponent's strategy involves sniping and moving back, which is clever. They manipulate the battlefield by probing my defenses, and since my control of Siege units is not as strong as theirs, they can effectively snipe my units that I cannot guard perfectly. The attack range of my springalds matches that of theirs, but they can utilize their springalds more effectively when my mangonels are slightly out of range.
As we continue to push for victory, we keep producing Treet units. We are not currently looking to engage with the keep because if we retreat, my opponent could push out and reclaim the front position. The situation is tense, as my opponent has numerous springalds, and we have lost some of our springalds as well. However, we are determined to take out the last of their units.
Ultimately, what wins us the game is not the Siege units, as both sides lose all of their Siege. We take a risky fight but manage to eliminate the last Landmark due to having a larger army. I want to highlight the tower I constructed; I am currently upgrading it, which will be quite annoying for my opponent as they lose access to gold. We continue to chip away at the House of Wisdom, and although our fight could be described as messy, we succeed in taking down the landmark, proving our strategy worthwhile.
I hope you enjoyed this video. If you're interested in coaching, check out the following slider. I look forward to seeing you in the comment section if you have any questions. Have a good day!