Spirit Of The LawIn this video we'll look at an academic study which used Age of Empires 2 to simulate battles between ants and explore Lanchester's Square Law.
The Study (published in PNAS): pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2217973120 Written by Dr. Samuel Lymbery, Dr. Bruce Webber, and Dr. Raphael Didham. Edited by Dr. Douglas Emlen.
More informal explanation of the study written by one of the authors (Dr. Webber): https://www.csiro.au/en/news/All/Articles/2023/August/Ant-warfare
Check out more cool stuff at Australia National Science Agency's Youtube channel: youtube.com/@csiro/videos
Photo credit of the ants taken during the study: Dr. Bruce Webber.
How AoE2 is helping scienceSpirit Of The Law2023-09-13 | In this video we'll look at an academic study which used Age of Empires 2 to simulate battles between ants and explore Lanchester's Square Law.
The Study (published in PNAS): pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2217973120 Written by Dr. Samuel Lymbery, Dr. Bruce Webber, and Dr. Raphael Didham. Edited by Dr. Douglas Emlen.
More informal explanation of the study written by one of the authors (Dr. Webber): https://www.csiro.au/en/news/All/Articles/2023/August/Ant-warfare
Check out more cool stuff at Australia National Science Agency's Youtube channel: youtube.com/@csiro/videos
Photo credit of the ants taken during the study: Dr. Bruce Webber.
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionNo one expects this Spanish strategy!Spirit Of The Law2022-12-06 | I spectated a game looking for some Gurjara domination, and ended up watching something I did not expect...
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionBest Nomad civilizations in AoE2Spirit Of The Law2022-12-03 | What are the best civilizations on the map "Nomad"?
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionBest water civilizations in AoE2Spirit Of The Law2022-11-27 | The Top 5 Water map civilizations in Age of Empires 2. First, though, we need to agree on what a water map is...
0:30 Source of the list 2:15 Full water maps (eg. Islands) 8:40 Swamp maps (eg. Bog Islands) 9:50 Lake maps (eg. Four Lakes) 11:15 Weighted list
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionWhy cannon galleons do +4 vs mamelukesSpirit Of The Law2022-11-20 | Why do cannon galleons have a random looking +4 bonus damage against mamelukes? It turns out the answer is pretty simple.
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionAoE2s weirdest attack bonusesSpirit Of The Law2022-11-17 | Inspired by a patreon request and reddit post, here's a look at some of the strange and quirky attack bonuses in Age of Empires 2.
0:55 Elite Mameluke +1 3:20 Sheep 5:50 The mysterious attack 33 6:32 Quirks of towers, camels, and ships 8:55 Gunpowder and infantry 9:53 Siege 11:30 My favourite secret bonus
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionHindustanis overview (AoE2)Spirit Of The Law2022-11-10 | Overview of the Hindustanis (previously: Indians) in Age of Empires 2.
1:15 Team bonus: camel and light cavalry +2 vs buildings 2:41 Villagers cost -10%/-15%/-20%/-25% HP 3:45 Camels attack 25% faster 4:55 Gunpowder units +1/+1 armor 5:33 Can build caravanserai
UNIQUE UNIT AND TECHS 7:05 The Ghulam 9:00 Imperial Camel Rider 10:30 Grand Trunk Road (+10% gold income) 11:14 Shatagni (+2 HC range)
TECH TREE 12:15 Archers B+ 13:05 Infantry B 13:35 Cavalry A- 14:10 Siege B+ 14:40 Navy C+ 15:02 Monks B 15:31 Defenses B+ 15:56 Trash B
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionReturn of Rome DLC speculation - what is it?Spirit Of The Law2022-11-02 | Speculation and thoughts on the Return of Rome DLC - is it just AOE1 again or a true AoE2 DLC?
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionCaravanserai (AoE2 unique building)Spirit Of The Law2022-10-29 | A deep dive into the Hindustani's unique building.
0:30 Cost and stats 1:05 Range and distance between 1:32 Healing 2:10 Faster movement 2:50 How much more gold does it generate? 4:31 One caravanserai on a 2v2 map 5:52 Covering a 2v2 map route 6:43 What about large (4v4) maps? 8:10 Concluding throughts
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionWhat a day! AoE2 Rome DLC, Age of Mythology, and more!Spirit Of The Law2022-10-26 | Big news for AoE2, AoE4, Age of Mythology, AoE3, and (sort of) AoE1. The 25th anniversary of Age of Empires had a lot of exciting news, regardless of which entry of the franchise you follow. ___________________________________________________________
Background music from Epidemic Sound: http://www.epidemicsound.comRanking the trebuchet bonuses/techs (Aoe2)Spirit Of The Law2022-10-21 | Ranking of the various trebuchet bonuses/techs in terms of their usefulness in treb wars as well as against buildings.
1:31 Britons 2:59 Huns 4:10 Celts 4:54 Japanese 5:48 Saracens 6:44 Tatars 7:40 Teutons 8:12 Portuguese 8:27 Other miscellaneous bonuses 9:30 Treb-war civs 10:33 Best vs buildings 12:00 Concluding thoughts
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionGhulam vs Eagle Warrior: Whats the difference?Spirit Of The Law2022-10-14 | Comparison of the Ghulam and Eagle Warrior.
0:55 Stats comparison 1:15 Upgrade costs 1:47 Hidden stats 3:40 Ghulam vs Eagle battle 4:46 vs Champion line 6:00 vs Samurai 6:18 vs Monks 6:40 vs Archers and raiding 8:12 vs Cavalry 10:10 Closings thoughts and takeaways
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionThe AIs best and worst civilizations (updated)Spirit Of The Law2022-10-06 | Which civilizations is the AI worst at playing, and which is it best at? After 2583 1v1 games playing against itself, we may have a good idea. Updated to include the new civilizations on the most recent patch and all the changes to the AI (militia, man-at-arms, and scout rush).
0:35 How do we find out how well it plays civs? 2:40 The AI's worst civilization 3:20 Other poor performing civs 5:50 Byzantines 6:35 Huns 7:27 Bohemians 8:15 Burgundians 8:55 Slavs 9:42 Teutons 10:33 The #1 AI civ (not Franks!)
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionThe Condottiero! (AoE2)Spirit Of The Law2022-09-29 | Breakdown and discussion of the Italian's team unit - the Condottiero! More specifically, we'll see how it compares to the champion in a few different situations, as well as discuss which civilizations benefit the most from an Italian ally.
0:55 Condottiero stats vs Champion 2:05 Hidden attack bonuses 2:38 Gunpowder resistance 3:22 Upgrades 4:40 vs Champion 5:20 vs Trash units 6:03 vs Eagles 6:40 vs Hand Cannons 7:25 vs Janissaries 8:02 vs Arbalesters 8:30 The best condottieros 9:35 Civs with bad champions
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionDefensive Stance, Guard, and Follow: Whats the difference?Spirit Of The Law2022-09-22 | Break down of exactly how defensive stance, guard, and follow work. Guard, especially, has me thinking I should probably use it more often, but not for the reason I expected.
0:52 Unit behaviour on defensive stance 2:20 Changing the units' LOS 2:55 Retreating from archers 3:35 Defensive stance practical examples 4:00 Siege and demo ships 5:20 Guard 8:01 Guard "increases attack speed" 9:30 Self-guarding scouts 11:15 Follow ___________________________________________________________
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionShould AoE2 copy AoE4s new naval changes?Spirit Of The Law2022-09-16 | AoE4 is getting an overhaul on water maps, and in this video we'll look at what those changes are, and whether AoE2 might benefit from a similar approach.
0:40 Popularity of water maps in AoE2 1:55 The even lower popularity of water in AoE4 3:50 Naval system in AoE2 4:42 New naval system in AoE4 7:10 Should AoE2 follow AoE4? ___________________________________________________________
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionVikings - Through the Ages (1999 vs 2022)Spirit Of The Law2022-09-12 | Part six of a mini-series looking back at the changes made to the original civilizations in Age of Kings. The focus this time is on Vikings.
0:15 Vikings in 1998 1:25 Vikings in Age of Kings 3:32 Conquerors Expansion (2000) 5:44 The Forgotten (2013) 6:40 African Kingdoms (2015) 7:50 Rise of the Rajas (2016) 8:20 Definitive Edition (2019) 8:52 Dawn of the Dukes (2021) 10:18 Current statistics (2022)
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionRomans in AOE2! (Rome at War Mod)Spirit Of The Law2022-09-06 | How to download the mod youtu.be/1w8x3CvRj7Q
0:32 The mod (Romae ad Bellum) 1:50 Game mechanic changes from AOE2 4:45 Legionary 5:44 Praetorian Prefect 6:23 Roman Empire Bonuses 8:05 Roman Empire Unique Techs 10:01 Roman game plan
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionAugust patch breakdown (AoE2)Spirit Of The Law2022-08-31 | Analysis and number crunching of the newest AoE2 patch.
0:12 General changes 4:05 Bengalis 5:40 Burgundians 6:30 Dravidians 7:02 Gurjaras 9:00 Hindustanis 9:35 Koreans 9:52 Sicilians 11:20 New features
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionByzantine Overview AoE2Spirit Of The Law2022-08-26 | Go to squarespace.com/spiritofthelaw to get a free trial and 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.
1:22 Team bonus: monks heal 100% faster 2:15 Buildings +10%/+20%/+30%/+40% HP 3:22 Camels, skirms, pikes cost 25% less 4:10 Fire ships attack 25% faster 5:10 Advance to Imperial Age costs 33% less 5:55 Town watch, town patrol free
UNIQUE UNIT AND TECHS 6:45 The Cataphract 9:40 Greek Fire 9:55 Logistica
TECH TREE 11:00 Archers B+ 11:25 Infantry A- 11:45 Cavalry B+ 12:20 Siege B 12:40 Navy A- 13:05 Monks A- 13:25 Defenses A+ 13:45 Trash A-
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionAoE4s (Free) New Civs! What we know so far...Spirit Of The Law2022-08-24 | Two new civilizations have been announced: Malians and Ottomans. Even more surprising, they're free for all Age of Empires 4 players.
Game: Age of Empires IVHow good are Cataphracts? (AoE2)Spirit Of The Law2022-08-21 | Analysis of the Byzantine Cataphract and how it compares to the knight/paladin.
CASTLE AGE 0:48 Castle age stats 1:09 Hidden bonuses and armor 2:40 Cataphract vs Knight 3:11 vs Spearmen 4:04 vs Pikemen 4:45 vs Camel Riders 5:30 vs Crossbows & raiding 6:08 vs Monks
IMPERIAL AGE 6:45 Elite Cataphract stats/cost 8:10 Elite Catphract vs Paladins 9:05 vs Halberdier 10:10 vs Champion 10:55 vs Heavy Camels 11:10 vs Arbalesters 11:30 Closing thoughts
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionTurks - Through the Ages (1999 vs 2022)Spirit Of The Law2022-08-17 | Part five of a mini-series looking back at the changes made to the original civilizations in Age of Kings. The focus this time is on Turks.
0:28 Turk bonuses in 1999 1:50 Janissary initial design 3:00 Janissary hat controversy 3:55 Japan sea controversy 4:25 Conquerors expansion changes 6:20 AoE2 HD expansions 7:30 Definitive Edition 7:50 Conclusion and stats
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionWhat if we gave historically accurate techs for free?Spirit Of The Law2022-08-11 | Just for fun, how might game balance be affected if civilizations' innovations and inventions were given for free? In other words, if a civilization invented a tech in the game, they get it automatically.
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionGurjara mill buff + some other nerfsSpirit Of The Law2022-08-06 | The August public update preview is out, and Gurjaras are getting some changes, though maybe not the ones we all expected! ___________________________________________________________
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionPersians: Through the Ages (1999 vs 2022)Spirit Of The Law2022-08-02 | Part five of a mini-series looking back at the changes made to the original civilizations in Age of Kings. The focus this time is on Persians.
0:20 Persians in 1999 2:10 Conquerors Expansion (2000) 3:00 Persian TC drop 4:18 The Forgotten (2013) 4:55 African Kingdoms (2015) 5:05 Rise of the Rajas (2016) 5:52 Definitive Edition (2019) 7:22 Lords of the West (2021) 7:35 Current statistics (2022)
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionWhich bonuses and techs help Genitours?Spirit Of The Law2022-07-28 | What kinds of bonuses improve Genitours? Are they skirmishers or are they cavalry archers (or both)? Let's find out!
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionGenitour or Elite Skirmisher?Spirit Of The Law2022-07-23 | If you have access to both the Genitour and Elite Skirmisher, which one should you pick? Well, it's complicated...
1:10 Castle Age comparison 4:11 Elite Skirmisher vs Genitour 4:40 vs crossbows 5:30 vs pikemen 6:00 vs cavalry archers 7:17 vs elephant archers 8:10 vs camel archers
9:20 Imperial Age comparison 10:11 Elite Skirmisher vs Elite Genitour 10:38 vs arbalester 11:15 vs halberdier 11:37 vs heavy cavalry archer 12:20 Elite camel archer vs cav archers 13:05 vs elite elephant archer 14:00 Imperial Skirmisher vs Elite Genitour
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionSlavs Overview (updated for DE)Spirit Of The Law2022-07-19 | Go to Squarespace.com for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch, go to squarespace.com/spiritofthelaw to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.
1:25 Team bonus: military buildings give +5 pop space 2:20 Slav farmers work 10% faster 3:52 Free supplies 4:35 Siege workshop units 15% cheaper
UNIQUE UNIT AND TECHS 5:40 The Boyar 8:10 Detinets 9:21 Druzhina
TECH TREE 10:30 Archers F 10:55 Infantry A- 11:27 Cavalry A- 12:15 Siege A 12:43 Navy C 13:14 Monks A 13:37 Defenses B+ 14:05 Trash A
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionThe impact of civ choice at 1000 vs 1600+ eloSpirit Of The Law2022-07-12 | In this video we'll look into whether picking a good or bad civilization makes a bigger difference for casual or expert players. There seems to be a good argument both ways, but what do the stats say?
2:30 Are some civilizations better at low elo? 4:25 Is picking a civ more important at high or low elo?
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionAre Turk trash units really that bad?Spirit Of The Law2022-07-05 | Turks are well known for having weak trash units (aside from the hussar, of course). How bad are they really, though, and are they still viable counter units in castle and imperial age?
0:10 Turk trash unit reputation 1:25 How we're testing 2:02 Spearmen in Castle Age 3:35 Spearmen in Imperial Age 6:20 Skirmisher in Castle Age 7:11 Skirmisher in Imperial Age 8:32 Closing thoughts
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionThe AoE2 road map for 2022 & 2023Spirit Of The Law2022-06-29 | Let's look at the new road map for AoE2 in 2022 and 2023.
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionThrough the Ages: Mongols (AoE2)Spirit Of The Law2022-06-27 | Part four of a mini-series looking back at the changes made to the original civilizations in Age of Kings. The focus this time is on Mongols.
0:45 Mongols in 1999 1:13 Age of Kings Mangudai and frame delay 3:15 Cavalry archer underpowered? 4:55 Age of Conquerors (2000) 6:43 Forgotten (2013) 8:10 Definitive Edition (2019) 9:05 Win rates today
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionBohemians Overview (AoE2)Spirit Of The Law2022-06-22 | Go to Squarespace.com for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch, go to squarespace.com/spiritofthelaw to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.
1:10 Markets work 80% faster 2:07 Blacksmiths and Universities cost -100 wood 3:16 Chemistry and Hand Cannoneer available in Castle Age 4:25 Spear units deal +25% bonus damage 5:00 Fervor and Sanctity affect villagers 5:50 Mining camp technologies free
UNIQUE UNIT AND TECHS 6:30 Hussite Wagon 8:40 Houfnice 9:30 Gunpowder units mover 15% faster 9:53 Turn gold cost of Monk and Monastery techs into food
TECH TREE 11:05 Archers A- 11:30 Infantry B+ 11:45 Cavalry C 12:10 Siege A- 12:40 Navy C+ 13:05 Monks A- 13:25 Defenses A 13:40 Trash B
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionBohemians were perfectly nerfed (AoE2)Spirit Of The Law2022-06-14 | Here's a quick look at the recent Bohemian's nerf and why I think it's an example of how to successfully pull of a subtle but very effective rebalance.
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive Edition10 Biggest Changes to AoE4 in 2022 (so far)Spirit Of The Law2022-06-10 | Brief summary of some of the biggest changes in AoE4 during 2022, including the upcoming major update.
Game: Age of Empires IVThrough the Ages: Byzantines and Goths (AoE2)Spirit Of The Law2022-06-05 | Part three of a mini-series looking back at the changes made to the original civilizations in Age of Kings. The focus this time is on Byzantines and Goths.
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionAre the new Indian civs too strong?Spirit Of The Law2022-05-28 | 1 month after Dynasties of India's release, let's dive into the online ranked stats of the Bengalis, Dravidians, Gurjaras, and Hindustanis.
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionComparing Cavalry, Camel, and Eagle scouts (AoE2)Spirit Of The Law2022-05-22 | How do the different scouting unis stack up in their ability to scout and fight?
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionRanking the new Elephant Archer civs (AoE2)Spirit Of The Law2022-05-19 | How do all the different elephant archer civilizations stack up? In this video we'll see how they compare, and hopefully make their bonuses a little easier to remember.
0:35 The role of elephant archers 1:34 Bengalis 3:40 Dravidians 4:53 Gurjaras 6:45 Castle Age comparison vs common units 8:30 Imperial Age 10:30 Final thoughts
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionThrough the Ages: Teutons and Japanese (AoE2)Spirit Of The Law2022-05-14 | Part two of a mini-series looking back at the changes made to the original civilizations in Age of Kings. The focus this time is on Teutons and Japanese.
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionThrough the Ages: Franks, Saracens, and Celts (AoE2)Spirit Of The Law2022-05-08 | Part one of hopefully a mini-series, where I want to dive into a changelog summary of the original Age of Kings civilizations. I focused this time on Franks and Saracens given their radical changes, as well as the Celts for being incredibly consistent over the years. I hope it's interesting for both newcomers to the series as well as a bit of nostalgia for the veterans.
1:10 Quick history lesson of Age of Kings 1:35 Franks 5:45 Saracens 10:46 Celts
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionBest Camels in AoE2 (updated for 2022)Spirit Of The Law2022-05-05 | How do all the different camel civilizations stack up?
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionMamelukes just got much better (AoE2 patch)Spirit Of The Law2022-05-02 | Quick overview of the recent changes to the Saracens' camels and mamelukes.
0:20 Saracen changes 0:55 Castle age camels with zealotry 3:20 Changes to the Mameluke 5:05 Wrap up
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionThirisadai (DLC unique unit quicktake)Spirit Of The Law2022-04-30 | Quick overview of the Dravidian's new naval unit - the Thirisadai.
0:10 Dravidian's naval bonuses and tech tree 1:15 Stats vs other ships 1:52 How its attack works 3:00 Equal resources against other ships 5:15 Final thoughts ___________________________________________________________
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive Edition10 changes to Elephant Archers (AoE2 DLC patch)Spirit Of The Law2022-04-28 | With the release of Dynasties of India today, we're also seeing a lot of tweaks to different units/civs. The Elephant Archer received particular attention.
0:25 Buffs: Creation time, cost, and movement speed 1:30 Nerfs: HP, armor, accuracy, bonuses vs walls
The full list of changes (ageofempires.com/news/age-of-empires-ii-definitive-edition-update-61321/): Elite Elephant Archer upgrade time increased from 60 ▶ 80 seconds. Elephant Archers are now trainable in the Archery Range, can no longer be trained in a Castle. Elephant Archer train time increased from 25 seconds ▶ 34 seconds. Elephant Archer hitpoints decreased from 280 ▶ 230, Elite version hitpoints decreased from 330 ▶ 280. Elephant Archer pierce armor decreased from 3 ▶ 2. Elephant Archer Cavalry Archer Armor decreased from -2 ▶ -7, resulting in additional damage received by units with an attack bonus versus the Cavalry Archer Armor class. Elephant Archer attack bonus vs Buildings and Stone Walls removed Elephant Archer accuracy reduced from 100 ▶ 70, Elite version accuracy reduced from 100 ▶ 85. Elephant Archer cost decreased from 100 food 70 gold ▶ 90 food 70 gold. Elephant Archer movement speed increased from 0.8 ▶ 0.9.
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionUrumi Swordsman (DLC unique unit quicktake)Spirit Of The Law2022-04-27 | Early look at the Urumi Swordsman for the Dravidians. Have we found the new best infantry unit in the game?
0:50 Castle age 2:48 Upgrades 3:55 Post-imperial tests
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionGhulam (DLC unique unit quicktake)Spirit Of The Law2022-04-26 | Quick look at the Hindustani's new unique unit - the Ghulam. This is definitely a first for spear units.
0:40 Stats vs other infantry 2:00 Unique ability (vs Kamayuk) 3:05 Bonus damage 3:45 Role in the Hindustani army
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionChakram Thrower (DLC unique unit quicktake)Spirit Of The Law2022-04-25 | A quick look at the new Chakram Thrower - unique unit for the Gurjaras.
0:25 Chakram Thrower vs Gbeto and Throwing Axeman stats and cost 1:54 How they fare against different types of units 3:40 Caveats about cost/creation time
Game: Age of Empires II Definitive EditionThe Ratha (DLC unique unit quicktake)Spirit Of The Law2022-04-23 | This is the first AoE2 unit that can be both melee and ranged! Sounds overpowered, but there's a few major drawbacks. We'll see how it performs in each mode, and investigate some questions about its UI and controls.
0:22 Cost and stats in castle age 1:10 Upgrades 2:20 Fully upgraded stats 2:40 Speed 3:05 Bonus damage 3:44 Switching between ranged and melee 4:35 My thoughts ___________________________________________________________