Set/Strategy

Unlike the other Archaic Egyptian Gods, Set's bonuses are mostly military, focusing on ranged units.

Strengths
In the Classical Age Set's Slingers are trained faster, have more hit points and take less melee damage, making them more useful offensive units overall. In the Heroic Age, Chariot Archers are also trained faster, allowing them to be massed very quickly. Additionally, Migdol Strongholds are cheaper than normal, enabling them to be built more quickly, leading to even faster Chariot Archer production.

Set's most distinctive bonuses are all to do with animals. Set's Priests can convert wild animals to the player's side, though note that the time taken to convert varies greatly with different animals. The Pharaoh can summon animals, costing Favor, and each time a player advances an Age, some animals are automatically summoned at the Temple. These animals can be used to kill enemy Villagers early on, slowing their development. They can also help defend against an early ambush, or be used as food, which enables Set's Laborers to continue hunting deep into the game. Alternatively, Set's animals can scout; in the Archaic Age, this vastly improves on one of Egypt's main weaknesses.

Weaknesses
Players must remember that the animals of Set do use up population space. If an insufficient number of Houses or Town Centers have been built, the animals that spawn free upon aging up can use the last of the player's population, potentially stopping the production of Laborers or military units at a crucial moment. The speed at which Priests convert animals can be especially slow for the stronger beasts on a map. A Priest who is standing in the same spot for a long period of time can be discovered by raiding units and have his work interrupted by an attack. Converting animals also comes with a penalty as a converted huntable animal yields less Food than a wild one. Converting too many animals close to home can result in Food shortage but converting those in enemy territory leaves the Priest vulnerable. On maps where there are few animals to hunt such as Islands, this bonus becomes less useful.

Although Set's Slingers are overall better in combat, they are still counter archers. If the enemy does not produce archers of their own, or worse, produces mostly cavalry, the buff granted to Slingers becomes irrelevant. Against defensive gods such as Hades or Isis, Slingers and Chariots become even less practical as they lack the means to bypass defensive structures. Players will need to invest in melee soldiers or siege units to win.