Dark Age (Age of Empires II)

This article is about the Age in Age of Empires II. For the Age in Age of Empires IV, see Dark Age (Age of Empires IV).

Dark Age
Availability
Introduced in	Age of Empires II
Age number	1
Followed by	Feudal Age

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 instead of a Scout Cavalry. In addition to those civilizations, the Gurjaras start with a Camel Scout instead of a Scout Cavalry.

Typical activities during this Age include exploring and scouting the surrounding area, finding and herding Sheep, and hunting animals including such as Wild Boars or Elephants and sometimes Deer. Several Houses usually have to be built during this time.

Note that in the case that the Scout Cavalry/Eagle Scout is lost it cannot immediately 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.

Strategy

The Dark Age offers very little in terms of technology and diversity among civilizations. Players should generally pursue rapid economic development, since their military options 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 or a fast archer rush, while stone might be collected for a future tower rush. About 19-21 Villagers is a good start for most civilizations, though some strategies can even stretch the Villager count to 16. 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 Berry Bushes, Deer, and Wild Boar before starting to build Farms to save wood and collect food faster.

If the map includes fishing as a source of food, building a Dock and creating Fishing Ships is recommended since Fishing Ships collect food more quickly than Villagers, while also adding an extra production building to build an economy and freeing Villagers for gathering other resources.

Although the Dark Age leaves all players with little military capability, it is possible to rush players early with Militia. Such a tactic is not intended to kill Villagers, but to disrupt and delay the opponent's economy. Laming an opponent can be another good strategy, in which the Scout steals some Boars and/or Sheep and takes them back to the player's camp.

Available buildings

The Dark Age symbol

Civilian buildings

• House - provides +5 population room
• Mill - gathering point for food
• Folwark - gathering point for food which also provides +5 population room and gathers 10% food from nearby Farms (replace the Mill for Poles only)
• Farm - provides food (175 initially)
• Lumber Camp - gathering point for wood
• Mining Camp - gathering point for stone and gold
• Dock¹ - gathering point for food from fishermen and Fishing Ships, creates and upgrades ships
• Mule Cart - mobile gathering point for wood, gold, stone (replace the Lumber Camp and Mining Camp for Armenians and Georgians only)

1. Since the Feudal Age, the Dock is primarily used as a military building.

Military buildings

• Barracks - trains and upgrades infantry

Defensive structures

• Outpost - simple Tower; does not attack, but provides visibility in a large area
• Palisade Wall - hinders enemies for a short time
• Palisade Gate - integrated into Walls, allows allies to pass (since The Forgotten)

Available units

Civilian units

At the Town Center:

• Villager - constructs buildings and gathers resources

At the Dock:

• Fishing Ship - gathers food from fish and Fish Traps
• 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:

• Militia - basic weak infantry unit
• Spearman - anti-cavalry unit (Armenians only)

Spawned near the Town Center:

• Camel Scout (Gurjaras only)
• Eagle Scout (Aztecs, Mayans, and Incas only)
• Scout Cavalry (all others)

Available technologies

At the Town Center:

• Loom - Villagers receive +15 HP and +1/+2 armor
• Wheelbarrow - makes Villagers more effective (Burgundians only)

At the Mill:

• Horse Collar - gives Farms +75 food (Burgundians only)

At the Lumber Camp:

• Double-Bit Axe - increases wood-chopping speed by 20% (Burgundians only)

At the Mining Camp:

• Stone Mining - increases stone-mining speed by 15% (Burgundians only)
• Gold Mining - increases gold-mining speed by 15% (Burgundians only)

Civilization bonuses

• Aztecs: Start with +50 gold.
• Burgundians: Double-Bit Axe, Horse Collar, Gold Mining, Stone Mining, and Wheelbarrow are available in the Dark Age.
• Chinese: Start with +3 Villagers and -200 food, -50 wood.
• Georgians: Start with a Mule Cart.
• Huns: Start with full population room, -100 wood and inability to build Houses.
• Mayans: Start with +1 Villager and with -50 food.
• Lithuanians: Start with +100 food (after the Town Center is constructed on nomad type maps).
• Persians: Start with +50 food, +50 wood, Town Centers and Docks work 5% faster.
• Poles: The Mill is upgraded to the Folwark, which in addition also provides +5 population room and gathers 10% food from nearby Farms.
• Sicilians: Start with +100 stone.

History

“	Following the fall of Rome, western Europe entered what has been called the Dark Ages. This name was applied partially because so much of the Roman civilization was destroyed and replaced by a more barbaric culture. The name was used also because so little written history survived from the period that shed light on the events that took place.	”
—In-game section

“	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