Dark Age (Age of Empires II)

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A civilization in the Dark Age

The Dark Age is the first and typical starting Age in Age of Empires II.

On most maps, every player starts out with three Villagers (except Chinese, who start with six, and Mayans, starting with four Villagers), a Town Center, and a Scout Cavalry. Because they have no access to mounted units, the Aztecs, Mayans, and Incas start with an Eagle Scout (an Eagle Warrior in The Conquerors) instead of a Scout Cavalry.

The Scout Cavalry/Eagle Scout cannot be replaced until the Feudal Age is reached. If the initial Town Center is destroyed, a single new Town Center may be built.

The Dark Age is followed by the Feudal Age.

Available buildings

The Dark Age symbol

Civilian buildings

• House - provides population room
• Mill - gathering point for Villagers carrying food
• Farm - provides food
• Lumber Camp - gathering point for lumberjacks
• Mining Camp - gathering point for miners
• Dock¹ - creates and upgrades ships

1. Once the Feudal Age is reached, the Dock is primarily a military building.

Military buildings

• Barracks - trains and upgrades infantry

Defensive structures

• Outpost - simple Tower, warns of enemy attacks
• Palisade Wall - hinders enemies for a short time
• Palisade Gate - integrated into Palisade Walls, allows allies to pass

Available units

Civilian units

At the Town Center

• Villager - constructs buildings and gathers resources

At the Dock

• Fishing Ship - gathers food from fish
• Transport Ship¹ - transports units

1. In The Age of Kings and The Conquerors, the Transport Ship is first available in the Feudal Age, not in the Dark Age.

Military units

At the Barracks

• File:MilitiaIcon.jpg Militia - basic infantry unit

Available technologies

At the Town Center

• Loom - strengthens Villagers

Strategy

The Dark Age offers very little in terms of technology and diversity among civilizations. Players should generally pursue rapid development of economy since their options for military are extremely limited. Primary resources to gather are wood (for more Houses to support more Villagers and buildings to advance to the Feudal Age) and food (to create more Villagers and advance to the Feudal Age). Gold is only required if the player wants to perform a Dark Age rush, while stone might be collected for a Tower rush. About 16-22 Villagers is a good start for most civilizations. Tasking the Villagers on the resources will depend entirely on the situation of the map, and the civilization used which will also drive the kind of strategy the player will perform. When tasking and creating Villagers, rapidity is advised. The player should try to use the Deer and Wild Boar before starting to build Farms in order to save wood.

If the map includes fishing as a source of food, building a Dock and creating Fishing Ships is feasible since Fishing Ships collect food more quickly than Villagers. Also, it frees Villagers for gathering other resources. In addition, researching Loom right off the bat to strengthen the workforce and avoid the loss of Villagers is advised.

Although the Dark Age leaves all players with little military capability, it is possible to rush players early with Militia and Villagers. Such a tactic can be risky due to the time and resources needed to commit to an army so early on in the game. But, if successful, it can be game-deciding. Laming an opponent can be another good strategy, in which the Scout steals some Boar and takes them back to the player's camp. Attacking the Villagers is another useful laming strategy.

History

“	Following the final collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the fifth century, Western Europe plunged into an extended period of barbarity, lawlessness, and economic retreat that has come to be known as the Dark Age. The infrastructure of the Romans, including public works, courts, law enforcement, education, written records, coinage, and trade, largely disappeared. Germanic invaders from north of the Rhine and Danube Rivers substituted a tribal political structure based on loyalty to local strong warriors. A gradual recovery was fostered by three main influences: exceptional leaders who stabilized large areas, the Christian Church (operating from Rome and Ireland), which preserved and spread a modicum of learning, and revitalized economies based on agriculture (especially the wool and cloth trade).	”
—Age of Empires II manual

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