Age of Empires II - Game Analysis

Team Rosters

Team 3 (WINNERS)

• C-3PO (Japanese, Elo unknown)
• Lord Shinysoul (Burmese, Elo 1098)
• MarshalOfNewZealand (Khmer, Elo 983)
• [OTM]thebearjew (Vikings, Elo unknown)

Team 2 (LOSERS)

• Canderous Ordo (Ethiopians, Elo 1223)
• fuzzzy83 (Magyars, Elo 946)
• LanaAio (Romans, Elo 998)
• Arrille (Tupi, Elo 1046)

Analysis

Team Balance

With known Elo values, Team 2 averaged ~1053 vs. Team 3's ~1040 — essentially a coin-flip matchup. However, two of Team 3's Elo ratings are hidden, making true balance difficult to assess. At face value, this was a fair game, with Canderous Ordo as the clear highest-rated individual player on the map.

Clan Detection

[OTM]thebearjew carries the [OTM] clan tag. More critically, C-3PO explicitly stated in chat that they and Lord Shinysoul were premade ("we are premade"), and requested to be placed on the same side — which they were. This duo queue gave Team 3 a communication advantage that raw Elo doesn't capture.

Strategy Overview

A classic Black Forest game at 79 minutes. Both teams played standard boom-into-siege strategies typical of closed maps.

Age-up efficiency favored Team 3:
- [OTM]thebearjew reached Imperial fastest at 29:35 — nearly two minutes ahead of anyone on Team 2.
- C-3PO and Lord Shinysoul both hit Castle around 15:22–16:52, comparable to or faster than their counterparts.
- Canderous Ordo had the slowest Feudal time (13:11) and a delayed Castle (19:29), likely due to the Ethiopian fast Castle bonus not being fully leveraged.

Team 3's faster Imperial access on a siege-heavy map is a meaningful timing advantage.

Key Moments

• Pre-game coordination: C-3PO and Lord Shinysoul locked in their positions early, while Team 2's chat showed fragmented planning (LanaAio asked about siege infantry, fuzzzy83 mentioned hussar-scorpion, but no unified plan emerged).
• Mass resignation window: All four Team 2 players resigned within a 24-second window (4740–4764 seconds / ~79:00–79:24), suggesting a simultaneous collapse rather than a prolonged bleed-out. This typically indicates a decisive wall break or economy destruction.

Unit Composition

Team 2 — Reactive and Spearmen-heavy:
| Player | Core Units | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Canderous Ordo | 226 Spearman, 42 Bombard Cannon, 33 Mangonel | Anti-cav siege, but over-committed to Spears |
| LanaAio | 158 Spearman, 142 Militia, 85 Mangonel, 51 Scorpion | Infantry-siege push, reasonable for Romans |
| Arrille | 110 Spearman, 90 Blackwood Archer | Tupi ranged + anti-cav support |
| fuzzzy83 | 127 Scout Cavalry, 50 Cavalry Archer | The only mobile element;Magyar identity underutilized |

Team 2 produced ~494 Spearmen total — an enormous over-investment against a team that fielded almost no Knights.

Team 3 — Synergistic and map-appropriate:
| Player | Core Units | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lord Shinysoul | 138 Scout Cavalry, 42 Battle Elephant, 19 Bombard Cannon | Elephant + cav + siege; ideal Black Forest breaker |
| MarshalOfNewZealand | 59 Scout Cavalry, 35 Battle Elephant, 30 Ballista Elephant | Khmer elephant core with unique siege elephants |
| [OTM]thebearjew | 268 Archer, 216 Berserk, 167 Spearman | Massive Viking infantry-archer ball; elite UU spam |
| C-3PO | 170 Skirmisher, 30 Trebuchet, 16 Samurai | Anti-archer specialist + siege; Japanese identity on point |

The Burmese-Khmer elephant core (77 Battle Elephants + 30 Ballista Elephants) is devastating on Black Forest, where Elephants can't be kited in narrow corridors. Team 2 had zero pikemen upgrades or Halberdier-focused counters until very late.

Tech Progression

• Siege Engineers is the critical Black Forest tech. Team 3 had better timing: C-3PO at 33:55, Lord Shinysoul at 42:13, [OTM]thebearjew at 48:45. Canderous Ordo got it at 31:38 (strong), but LanaAio didn't get it until 65:19 — far too late.
• Lord Shinysoul researched Howdah (elephant pierce armor) at 40:50 — essential for elephant viability into late game.
• MarshalOfNewZealand grabbed Tusk Swords and Double Crossbow, maximizing Khmer elephant effectiveness.
• [OTM]thebearjew had a remarkably complete tech tree: Blast Furnace, Bracer, Siege Engineers, and Champion — his Berserks were fully upgraded.
• Team 2's LanaAio was missing key offensive techs (no Iron Casting until 60:56, no Chemistry until 60:15), weakening his Roman infantry push significantly.

EAPM Analysis

No strong EAPM-outcome correlation. The highest EAPM player lost; the lowest EAPM player on the winning team (Lord Shinysoul at 25) still contributed enormously through unit choice alone. fuzzzy83 at 22 EAPM is alarmingly low for a nearly 80-minute game and likely severely underperformed.

Chat Dynamics

• Friendly pre-game: Canderous Ordo tried to organize Discord, C-3PO coordinated with their premade, LanaAio proposed strategy in English for the team.
• Notable that Team 2's strategic chat was disjointed — three different players mentioned three different approaches (hussar-scorp, siege infantry, "stoempen"). Team 3's premade pair had implicit coordination.
• Clean end-game with universal "gg" exchanges.

Overall Verdict

Civ synergy and pre-made coordination decided this game, not Elo.

Team 3's Burmese + Khmer elephant combination is one of the strongest duo compositions on Black Forest, where narrow chokes neutralize the Elephant's speed weakness. Combined with Japanese anti-archer cover (C-3PO's 170 Skirmishers) and a massive Viking Berserk-archer ball ([OTM]thebearjew), Team 3 had a comp that was difficult to counter without dedicated anti-elephant investment.

Team 2's failure was strategic, not mechanical: building ~494 Spearmen against an opponent with minimal Knights, lack of early Halberdiers, and fragmented planning. Canderous Ordo played well individually (highest EAPM, good tech progression), but couldn't compensate for the team's poor collective unit choices and the premade coordination on the other side.

Key lesson: On closed maps, civ synergy around siege and tanky units (Elephants, Berserks) outperforms reactive anti-cav builds. Team 2 countered an army that Team 3 never built.