Watering Hole

Watering Hole is a random map in Age of Mythology.

Overview
Like Savannah, Watering Hole provides many wild animals to hunt so the Hunting Dogs technology will be of great use for most players. What sets it apart are the long creeks that curve from the perimeter of the map to near its center as well as a few ponds. These provide both narrow choke points and dead ends that encourage turtling rather than rushing. A player’s territory can be walled off quickly and cheaply as most of it will already be naturally cut off from attacks. The dead ends hide additional settlements, gold mines, huntables and relics. Also, they are important safe zones for worker units and markets as enemies would need to first get passed any constructs blocking the choke points and then walk a long distance around the water’s edge.

However, good players will make the most of these waters to catch their enemies by surprise. Any enemy that can make it into these dead ends will cut off the escape route of any worker units and caravans found there, leading to terrible losses for the player. It is worth noting that many settlements are located very close to the water. Although the latter does not support fish, players can still build docks in the Heroic Age to train siege ships who in turn can easily level a Town Center while keeping out of range of melee attackers. Ideal gods for this map include defensive gods such as Isis, Gaia and Shennong or those who can take advantage of the wildlife such as Set or Poseidon.

Environment
There are small forests of acacias and palms throughout the map but these are stretched out into organic walls, which further encourages a defensive strategy. Pigs are the available herdable on this map though their numbers are lower than that of other random maps. Wild animals on the other hand are much more abundant and consists of African fauna. Safe huntables include gazelles and zebras, as well as crowned cranes found closer to the water. More aggressive animals consist of lions, hippopotami and water buffaloes, as well as elephants that are usually found in pairs.

Similar Maps

 * Savannah
 * Highland