19 Pop Scouts into Skirmishers

Scouts are a standard build order to learn, but often you find yourself making scouts and being countered by an opponent’s spearman. This transitional build order allows you to make scouts and then tech into skirmishers to counter spearman of an opponent, so your scouts can do real economic damage. This build intends for you to work towards a knight and skirmisher army composition.

This specific build-order was created by Hera, and can be found on his discord channel.

Objective 1 – Advance to Feudal Age at 20 Population

1. As always, build 2 houses, and send your first 6 villagers to sheep.
2. Send your next 3 villagers to build a lumber camp and chop wood.
3. Send your next villager to lure your first boar, and send the next villager to take food from boar, to make 8 on boar.
4. Send your next villager to build a house, and then mill your berries.
5. Send another 2 villagers to berries, to make 3 on berries.
6. Send your next villager to lure the second boar.
7. Send 1 more villager to berries, to make 4 on berries.
8. Send 1 more villager to collect food from boar, to make 10 on boar.
9. Send 2 more villagers to wood, to make 5 on that lumber camp.
10. Send your next villager to build a second lumber camp. This will be villager 20.
11. Research loom, and then Feudal Age.
12. Send 3 villagers that were collecting food underneath your town center to take wood at your second lumber camp.
13. At about 35%, send a villager to build a house, and then to build a barracks.

Objective 2 – Produce Scouts and Skirmishers, and Advance to Castle Age

14. On hitting Feudal Age, make a stable and start producing scouts. Build houses as required.
15. Research Double-Bit Axe and Horse-Collar.
16. Send new villagers to collect wood. On hitting 60 wood, you should create a new farm.
17. At about 14 minutes or when you have about 12 farms, you should create an archery range. Once created, begin producing skirmishers.
18. After that, build a blacksmith, and research fletching.
19. Send your next 6 villagers to gold.
20. Research Wheelbarrow.
21. When your berries run out, send the villagers to make farms.
22. Click Castle Age if affordable. If not, make an additional few villagers to farms or to wood, then research Castle Age.
23. Research gold mining upgrade at your mining camp. Research padded archer armor at your blacksmith.

Objective 3 – Make Knights and Skirmishers, and work your way to a Boom or to a second Stable and Forward Siege Workshop

24. Upon reaching the Castle Age, begin producing knights.
25. Research elite skirmisher, and bodkin arrow.
26. Research Bow Saw.
27. From here, you can either make two additional town centers when affordable or build a second stable, continue producing knights, and eventually build a forward siege workshop for the killing blow.

Provided you have elite skirmishers with fletching protecting your knights from massed pikeman or crossbowman, you should find your current position strong enough to dictate the game. Be careful that although your knights have plenty of mobility, skirmishers are slow and can lag behind. Take fights wisely and you should find your opponent overwhelmed.