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Ancient map
0. Introduction
This is one of the most successful custom maps made up to this time, created by Avatar with the collaboration from Killingforfun. It even created a player base which became very known at its peak of popularity. At the time, you could see at least one Ancient game for many hours on a road. Players such as me, Zone, Ferlucci, Salva, ZXStyle, Dizabo, Twisted, Mr. Army, alexb, Eisenherz75, Devil, Gatolious, Phooka, etc. could be seen in those epic Ancient games and we grew by playing them.
Having the map introduced, this guide is aimed to help people notice it and maybe even boosting its current player level. I'm aware most people might not care about other maps besides the standard one, but this map has developed its own competitive scene in the past - including CWs (3vs3) and duels. It would be a shame to lose this diversity in competitive gameplay and we need to encourage a wider variability of choices. Taking advantage of the current Ancient tourney recently started, let's gather all knowledge available!
For this review, I'll focus on KT's west ancient since the whole map is somewhat big and this is the most common zone picked to fight. There's a chance I could extend the guide to India and China in the future since both bring more diversity and fun to the table.
1. Units
Since we're talking of an ancient map, units will belong to an ancient period of time. This map incorporates units from the time of the Roman Empire, the Greek autonomous cities, the Persian Empire, ancient Egypt, Carthage, etc. Therefore, units depend on the region we're conquering, which makes initial picks especially relevant when it comes to determining our success rate. Besides these special units, the main difference is the increase in the unit's range, including militias.
- Land units.
Ground main units are composed of militia, infantry, heavy peltasts (stealth) and cavalry, accompanied by other special units, each one specific for certain areas on the map.
- Special units are considerably strong, as one can see from the images above. This makes certain picks much better militarily speaking than others.
Macedonian phalanxes and Spartan hoplites can be considered the strongest units in the game, followed by Greek hoplites, Roman legionaries, Carthaginian elephants and Syrian elephants (armoured war elephants). Note how all these units are situated around the Mediterranean Sea.
- Additionally, we can find a common special unit called archers, which gains +8 defence against infantries and special units. This makes it a quite versatile and interesting unit to consider in certain circumstances that often feels underestimated by its lack of usage.
- Militias are one of the most fundamental units in this game. They are both useful for offence and defence due to their low cost and definitely not bad range. Exclusively considering the cost per unit of defence or attack, militias are the most cost effective unit. Players usually base their strategy around this unit due to these factors and their competent range.
- Infantry and cavalry are the main defensive and offensive units, same as in the standard map but both with 8 range, better than the standard one.
- Carriages are a ground unit capable of transporting units, somewhat the equivalent of air transport. It can transport up to 10 units and costs 350 gold (considerably less than an AT), but can only travel through land and has 10 range, three less than AT does.
- Similarly to marines, heavy peltasts are the only stealth unit available in this map. They possess the exact same stats as marines, including their range.
- Spies are the equivalent to the standard sentry plane but exclusively on ground and equally useless in most situations.
- Naval
In this map there are no air units, since this is meant to be an ancient map, but there are naval units, a transport unit and a battle ship. These two are equal to those from the standard map but with a range buff.
2. Layout of the map and countries
Ancient map covers all Europe, Middle East, India, China and part of the northern Himalayas or the southern lands of Russia. But for this review I will be focusing on the European and Middle Eastern zone only, since it's the most played part of this custom map and most of the ancient gameplay has been developed in this area.
General shot:
In turn, we can divide it into different sections:
- Carthage and Spain:
Carthage is one of the most valuable areas of the ancient map, both due to the high income of the zone and the strength of its special unit, the elephants.
On the other hand, Spain is relatively weak because of its limited expansion, reinforcements and income, although it has its own special unit, the bull warriors.
- Italy and Greece:
A really powerful area when combined, a fearful fight when opposed. Italy has a considerable income, concentrated mostly on the city of Rome, a relatively nice amount of reinforcements and their own Roman legionaries.
On the other side of the Adriatic Sea, Greece is considered by many people as one of the strongest areas in Europe, the strategic centre of Europe. It doesn't give as much income as other zones but its military potential is quite hair-rising. It presents both of the strongest units in the European zone, Macedonian phalanxes and Spartan hoplites, it has a nice amount of reinforcements in addition to really powerful ports which communicate with the rest of Europe.
- Britain, France, Germany and Scandinavia:
They exhibit nearly the same characteristics as Spain: a lack of economic power, suboptimal strategic positioning and weaker special units. Britain has Druids, France has Gaul chosen swordsmen and Germany has Berserkers, which all share the same stats with bull warriors. On the other hand, the Viking tribes present a special unit called Vikings which is slightly better than the mentioned ones above.
- Eastern Europe and Russia:
It's a rather irrelevant zone since it has no economic power and dispersed cities. However, it presents some high reinforcement countries and a special unit called horse archer, whose best stat is their range. These features actually make this zone perfect as an offensive reinforcement base for other rich zones.
- Egypt, Arabia and the Middle East:
It comprises the high reinforcement and rich Egypt and the powerful and rich lands of Syria, Babylonia, Mesopotamia and Arabia. This land is famous for its potent defensive armoured war elephants, the strong offensive cataphracts and Egyptian chariot archers. This land is quite rich in general, has nice reinforcement numbers and a nice chance to fight whatever opponent they encounter, especially in late game.
3. Picks
This map is quite varied according to the different areas; there are many powerful countries to choose between. For the most part, the most powerful countries to pick are around the Mediterranean due to their military, economic and strategic value:
- Macedonia: considered by many (inexpert) players as the holy grail, it comprises the strongest special unit, 12 reinforcements distributed in two cities, one of them being a port, and an inexpensive acquiring cost. Nonetheless, it doesn't provide with much income nor is in a wealthy area. Such characteristics turn Macedonia into a possible equivalent of Ukraine, a powerful early and - under certain circumstances - late-game country, with certain weaknesses during the mid-game owing to the dependency on its expansion and lack of early income. As mentioned, Macedonia relies heavily upon its expansion and has plenty possibilities due to the possession of a port, but its expansion will mark its possibilities:
- Macedonia has a strong early-game and so it can decide to rush his opponent, thus it will expand totally aggressively in his opponent's zone. A fail in such expansion will cost him greatly as he will struggle to find a way back into the game due to his limited income. On the other hand, this early advantage can also be used by overexpanding greatly in order to find more income sources, which usually leaves him vulnerable to a t3/ t4 rush.
- Macedonia, in case he has expanded consistently through high income areas, has a good chance of winning the late game due to raw force of its special units and strategic positioning. If Macedonia hasn't gotten enough economic power by then, it might get overwhelmed by other powers.
- Sparta: located near Macedonia, also owns the strongest special unit available, it is a great strategic port, has a similar income to Macedonia, 8 reinforcements and an enormous versatility. This country hasn't got the strongest early-game ever, but certainly has a great amount of possibilities for the mid and late-game, all enabled by its expansion path. There are several possibilities:
- Expanding into Italy.
- Expanding into Carthague.
- Expanding around Turkey. (Suboptimal, lack of special units)
- Expanding around North Africa. (Suboptimal, lack of special units, more difficulty to expand)
- Expanding aggressively in Greece. (Usually unexpected, high risk - high reward)
- Syria: its high initial reinforcement number, relatively strong special unit, the capital port and high income turns Syria into one of the strongest possible picks in the map. Even if its early-game is not exactly the strongest, if played accordingly it can enable a truly unstoppable late-game. To put things into perspective, this country can be somewhat related to Turkey, high initial cost and reinforcement numbers however it is surrounded by one of the richest areas of the map. These traits turn Syria into quite a terrible ticking threat. Depending on the game plan, Syria has two main options:
- Aggressive early expansion into Turkey - Greece and North Africa, going for aggressive strategic positions.
- More passive slowroll by taking over Middle East, Turkey and close North Africa, in search of income and stability.
- Lower Egypt: a high income and high initial reinforcement number pick at the expense of a high initial cost. Just like with Syria, you're in a high income surrounding but with a more limited amount of money early game which is barely enough to build any special unit. This makes its early game rather fragile and needs to consider his early moves in depth: either rushing or slowrolling. If the rush fails, he's pretty much out of the game. If he slowrolls, a mistake can cost enormously since it needs quick money or else it drowns. So, its biggest weaknesses are its fragile early game, the lack of initial money and its port, considerably relevant economically and strategically wise.
- Thapsus: substitute to Carthague capital, it is the best pick in that area and can also be quite a versatile pick since it reaches Greece and Italy in the first turn. It's a great port, has a great economic power, strong special units and certain flexibility which can be turned into unexpected expansions.
- Campania: as the example above, Campania is the substitute to picking Rome. It is a great port, reaches both North Africa and Greece in the first turn, is a great economic power, strong special units and certain flexibility. In short, it's Thapsus' counterpart in Italy.
There's also a list for secondary picks that can be of consideration under certain circumstances or against certain countries with a certain degree of confidence:
- Rhodes: this island's main aim is to bother anyone's expansion. Its Greek hoplites are strong enough to contest any other neighbour country and can become a huge nuisance. Its inexpensive prize, 8 reinforcements units, strategic positioning and versatile port turns it into quite a considerable threat and allows it certain variability of strategy, depending on your game plan. These characteristics turn it into a high risk pick. Since it doesn't usually have a safe and strong zone to expand to, it relies heavily on its first couple turns.
- Pontus: it's Rhodes' counterpart in land, just a couple countries away and with 2 more reinforcements. It possesses a port inside the Black Sea, 10 reinforcement units, inexpensive initial cost, Greek hoplites and can reach both Syria and Greece within the first turn. A good initial expansion can turn this seemingly harmless country into quite a powerhouse, which can opt either into rushing or slowrolling. Its biggest weakness is its reliance on a good expansion that can offer him good elites to keep expanding while maintaining a good income.
- Mesopotamia: a questionable pick due to its unique lack of port early in the game, but its strong offensive special unit, strategic position in Middle East and rich surroundings make it a powerful counterpick to any Syria, attacking it from behind and distracting it from the main fight. Therefore, it can be considered a way to take Syria out of the main fight in case we have ensured our superiority in the western side of Europe and we can't afford to let Syria interfere nor get to the later stages of the game untouched.
- Ma'in (Arabia): an uncommon pick due to its relative distance from the main fight taking place in Europe, but easily solved with an aggressive expansion. It has two cities, one of which is a port, 10 total reinforcements, low initial cost, strong offensive special unit for fast expansion and rich neighbours. With the proper team composition and an intelligent expansion, it may be able to overexpand without any fear of getting attacked from behind. Such gameplay enables this pick to become a mid and late-game powerhouse.
There are other possible countries as well if everything else is picked and you need a place to start. These are highly dependent on the circumstances and don't usually have an outstanding powerful special unit nor brilliant possibilities. In a 1vs1 or 3vs3 situation, you should most likely focus on the above mentioned picks but there's no reason as to not pick these as long as you have a trustworthy game plan or simply are looking for something different.
- Babylonia: it has armoured war elephants, two cities, a port, high income, 11 reinforcement units and is in the middle of a wealthy area with certain facility for a fast expansion. As a drawback, it's too expensive compared to other countries surrounding it and its port only connects with the Persian Gulf, so you will need to be careful with early aggression due to a lack of money and due to being cornered.
- Phoenician: maybe a risky pick and not really conventional basically due to its lack of initial special units, but its high reinforcement number, strong port and extreme proximity can become quite a headache for certain picks like Syria.
- Arabia: it's inconveniently far away, with no ports nor special expansion capability outside the need of buying a carriage and a bit expensive to acquire. However, being far away may turn that disadvantage into a certainly safe pick and allows you to grow patiently.
- Numidia: due to Thapsus being the strongest Carthaginian country which can control most of North Africa territory on its own, Numidia has sometimes been tried as a direct adversary to it. Even if it has no special unit, it has 9 reinforcements, plenty of starting spare money, 2 port cities and enough expansion possibilities to become a headache in that certain area.
- Viking Tribes: it's extremely far from important territory and lacks a reliable income, but this distance can become an advantage and it certainly has a competitive special unit compared to others from northern Europe which can be useful for early expansion.
- Tribus Slaves: it's also quite far from anything relevant and lacks good income to be able to create as many special units as it can, which is its most relevant strength. But being far away can be taken advantage of in case others forget about you.
- Germania Superior: basically no port, no versatility and little income, but has 8 reinforcement units and certain presence in the middle of Europe.
- Central Gaul: exact same as Germania Superior with the advantage of having close ports.
- Hispania: somewhat of a cornered pick, surrounded by Carthague and France. By its own, Hispania can barely do much and has no port in its first turn for any unexpected expansion.
- Attica: it gets outperformed by Sparta and Macedonia but has similar traits to Sparta.
- Britannia Superior: similar to the Vikings, it is relatively safe due to it being an island but is far away from anywhere relevant and lacks a reliable income.
4. Strategies
As for the strategies to pick there's not that much variety in this map. Firstly, we need to remember this map's geography and its units. Regarding its geography, we can conclude that it's mainly composed of land, however the main countries and relevant areas are all around the Mediterranean Sea, which makes it essential to control the sea. Moreover, units in this map are comprised of the standard ground and naval units, some of them with enhanced range, and some others units, which are considerably strong but are only characteristic of certain countries.
Therefore, we can consider strategies that either empowers our already strong units, strategies that ensure our dominance over the sea or strategies that enhance our already relatively strong militias. Thus, we can mainly consider these next ones:
- Empowering all our units:
- IF: this strategy does wonders with our already range buffed militias and it becomes even more interesting considering how it improves our HP on every single unit. The only drawback, our decrease in range can sometimes hinder our possibilities and can certainly be exploited by more mobile strategies. Its advantage relies on its total reliability and raw power.
- LB: considering how this strategy buffs our critical chance, one might think it's not that big of a deal. But remember how your militias keep their buffed range by just increasing their cost by 10 and how we will now have more critical hits from our special units. Its 10 cost increase is easily compensated with a 10+ roll and keeping its range intact. It is riskier than IF due to the uncertainty of our luck, but it certainly is competent.
- Dominance over the sea:
- NC: overall a very popular strategy and with a clear advantage in sea over any other strategy, this strategy is an early-game power. With a seaside country with enough initial money, any port can be yours without any possible contest. Its weakness arises late-game, once money becomes an issue and spamming battle ships becomes a hard task. Battle ships are its main strength, so once it runs out of money, it needs to switch into militia or infantry spamming to ensure his rival does not take away the advantage it has gained in the early-game. That's where money management and use of naval transports kicks in. In case it's not clear enough, it's worth noticing that your initial pick must have as many naval reinforcements as possible, don't pick anything mainland or else you won't be able to take advantage of your early naval power.
- Enhance militias:
- GW: the most beloved strategy to empower militias in the entire game and a total pain in the ass to confront in later stages of the game. Its main weakness consists of surviving through the early-game, especially in direct rushes from powerful strategies like IF. Planning the most effective and intelligent early expansions could be crucial.
- PD: even out of its standard Eu+ cliché, PD still has a place in ancient due to the inherent strength of militias. Its main advantages are the strength of militias, managing to a good range and the cheapness and spam capabilities.
5. Other knowledge
- Remember how this map doesn't have any air units but still have naval units? This allows sea walls to be made but not easily broken. In order to break those, one must resort to attacking those walls perpendicularly in the exact middle of both units.
There's no other way to break them and only works when both units are far enough from each other, otherwise there's no real way to break them. This is why it is usually agreed upon NOT using sea walls.
- Special units are specific to certain regions or countries in the map, meaning that we need to know these places before picking an initial country and expanding. Sometimes it is wiser to go for countries with special units, either to build them or to avoid them from being built by your opponent, than to randomly select countries to conquer.
- The main reason IF can be so effective is that the range buffed militias still have enough range to be effective. This combined with the inherent strength that the additional HP gives to such cheap units as militias or infantries and to such strong units as special units makes one not miss the removed ranged from the strategy. However, people are not always conscious of their limited range compared to other strategies and often overestimate their own possibilities. PD will outperform IF in defensive duties and range, LB will outperform IF in range and in big stack fights, GW will outperform IF in late-game and militia power and NC will outperform IF in sea fights involving battle ships and in range.
#. Q&A
Napsáno LukeTan, 08.08.2017 at 23:46
What about hw?
Let's consider it from certain points of view by comparing it to GW:
- Neither of them empowers special units nor helps with sea dominance, but GW does get a slight nerf at their naval units, the most considerable aspect being the cost increase of naval transports.
- Enhancing militias, the key unit in ancient:
- GW militia:
- HW militia:
There's an obvious difference in power. On one hand, HW lacks the defensive capability that GW militias manage to keep. While on the other hand, both GW and HW militias get an increase in their offensive potential. This altogether causes HW militias to lose their versatility; militias are no longer a considerable pick for defensive tasks, only offensive. This brings certain consequences as easily retaking opponent's expansion, exactly equal advantage in their use as to expand and less versatility as how to use that certain and very crucial unit in the ancient map.
Separately from that, their range is considerably better with GW (remember how ancient militias have an initial 4 range) and the critical chance can be certainly beneficial, more specifically when it is used in huge stacks and with your general.
As a definitive point, simply check GW militia's stats with all upgrades, in a general stack (note the +1 to defence inside cities, where militias will spend most of the time):
It's simply too strong for comparison, they are too effective, too cheap and as strong as infantries. Again, remember that you would have to add 2 more range to it.
- Main units. Keeping in mind how HW militias are no longer really effective compared to GW militias, let's compare everything else.
- HW:
Infantries are now the main defensive unit since militias are no longer a reliable defence. However, it is basically useless in your early expansion due to the huge attack nerf. Nevertheless, this could be greatly compensated with the cavalry attack buff. Our peltasts are also quite cheaper and very slightly more effective due to the Attack/Cost ratio.
This brings up many decisions and headaches. Your money management must be impeccable since you'll be subject to the constant decision between raw power (costly cavalry) and cost effectiveness (cheap peltasts). This can eventually lead to severe problems: betting on cavalry can leave you broken and relying on marines can delay your expansion. At the same time, you're exposing yourself to a greater catastrophe. If by any chance, your stack gets turnblocked and killed, you're basically out of the game due to the lack of defensive power from your militias and lack of infantries built in order to keep on expanding.
In short, you basically lack versatility which can lead you to impossible obstacles. You'll basically rely enormously on special units to give your army some balance which will cost you greatly economically.
- GW:
GW is quite simple in this sense. You nerf and render useless your cavalry and infantries. However, this is all compensated with the fact that militias turn into your main versatile unit, both for attacking and defending. At the same time, you add some powder by having GW peltasts with the same cost as HW's but with better stats. All in all, you're left with two very cost effective units. Even if these don't bring the most war power, it can be compensated with some special units early on.
From this reflection we can deduce that HW will have a slight edge early advantage due to the HW cavalry power and a possible faster expansion, easily surpassed in later stages with a higher income and the inherent capability of GW to spam very effective units. So, one of its only chance to beat GW would be through an early rush and really close pressure. Anyway, if GW is able to avoid this early pressure and build some special units to help in an early rush, it will probably overcome HW's possibilities easily. GW can also use its marines for an early invade into HW's territory to retake enemy land or even kill HW's main offensive stack. The lack of versatility from HW's units is the definitive reason it should be considered as an inferior quality GW.
Hope I've made a point and probably even convinced someone as to how GW can actually work in ancient under certain circumstances.
#. Other links
https://es.atwar-game.com/forum/topic.php?topic_id=38823
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I simply made the choice to do a properly in depth guide, with all sorts of reasoning and comparison, in hopes of helping people get interested in other maps and specially making it look cool 
