Salt Marsh is a random map in Age of Empires II: The Conquerors.
Description[]
Salt Marsh selection
| “ | Swampy lowlands full of shallows and rivers that can prohibit expansionistic building | ” |
| —In-game decription | ||
Salt Marsh is another part-aquatic and part-land map, that features a marshland with many shallows and navigable water at the same time. It might be considered as the first amphibious map, before the Rise of the Rajas expansion.
This map can be described briefly as "unpredictable" and "asymmetrical". While there are moderate amounts of trees, and much water, that provide some chokepoints, the shallows' placement can seem random at times, and often makes the map very open in a similar vein to Arabia. Sometimes some islands are generated at the center of the map which may contain Gold, Stone or Wood.
Despite the map being amphibious, Fish are scarce. The start-up for every player is the standard one (8 small herdables or 6 Cows, 2 aggressive huntables, herd of 3-4 passive huntables, 6 berry bushes, normal amounts of stone and gold). Relics are present in normal numbers and scattered all around the map, and the same goes for wild predators.
Viable Tactics[]
The shallow terrain on the map is enough to make it very difficult for Turtling strategies to succeed, as this makes the map very open; however, players may instead consider placing towers for defense, and make a navy. Booming strategies are possible, but require the player to place early Docks for making extra Fishing Ships and placing Fish Traps, since Fish is scarce, and a boom can often be disrupted by raids.
Players that prefer an aggressive playstyle may like this map, as it allows for early rushes that, unlike in Arabia, can be supported by a navy; this can be done without needing to create Transport Ships, unlike on Islands. Providing the waters between bases are well connected, Demolition Ships can be devastating against an opponent, as they can ambush careless units that cross the shallows. Trash wars tend to be Common in long games, as natural resources are scarce.
Civilizations with advantages include:
- Naval civilizations, especially civilizations with good Demolition Ships: Malay, Vikings, Italians, Berbers, Portuguese, Chinese, etc.
- Good early, rushing civilizations that can raid from unpredictable positions: Aztecs, Tatars, Huns, Mayans, Magyars, Bulgarians, etc.
Civilizations that may struggle:
- Civilizations with poor navy and poor early game.
Gallery[]
