Ethiopian 20-Pop Archer Rush
Morley GamesCreator guideMorley chose 20 population after testing Sitaux’s 18-pop version. The extra villagers make the opening far less dependent on perfect sheep, deer and woodlines while keeping a very early two-range timing.
Ethiopians receive 100 food and 100 gold on reaching Feudal Age. That bank supports Double-Bit Axe, continuous Villager production and the first Archers without a heavy Dark Age gold economy.
The first Archers may leave before Fletching completes. Preserve the mass, use the Ethiopian faster firing rate and let the growing farm economy pay for Fletching and optional Skirmishers behind the pressure.
Build timeline
The first row shows new villagers, transfers and task assignments; the figures below are the totals after the step.
Dark Age
1Send the 6 starting villagers to sheep
6
06
0
0
2Send villagers 7 through 9 to wood and build a Lumber Camp
93600
3Villager 10 lures the first boar; move the original 6 sheep villagers onto it
103700
4Send villagers 11 through 13 to sheep; use one wood villager to build the next house, then return to wood
13310005Send villagers 14 through 16 to boar and lure the second boar with an existing food villager
1631300
6Send villager 17 to gold and build a Mining Camp
1731310
7Send villagers 18 and 19 to sheep, research Loom, then click Feudal Age at 20 population
1931510
8During the transition, move 6 food villagers to the main woodline
199910
9Move 5 more food villagers to straggler trees; one remaining food villager builds a house and then a Barracks
Task1191431010When the final sheep are exhausted, send those 3 villagers to stragglers as well
1917010
11Just before Feudal Age, send 4 straggler villagers to berries and 1 to build the Mill; send another straggler villager to join the Barracks builder
Task11912410Feudal Age12On reaching Feudal Age, use the 2 Barracks builders to make 2 Archery Ranges and research Double-Bit Axe immediately
1912410
13Send the next 5 villagers to gold; after the ranges finish, send 1 range builder to gold for 7 on gold total
2412470
14The other range builder makes houses, small walls and a Blacksmith; begin continuous Archer and Villager production as each range completes
15Turn 2 straggler villagers into farmers, then send every new villager after the seventh gold miner to farms
2410670
16Move out with the first Archer mass even if Fletching is not finished; preserve the Archers and keep both ranges producing behind the attack
17Research Fletching as the farm economy comes online; add a few Skirmishers only when the opposing Archer or Skirmisher mass requires them
18Keep adding farms and houses. Around 16 minutes, consider Wheelbarrow, then rebalance toward the Castle Age click without sacrificing the surviving Archer mass
Castle Age19AoE Buddy follow-up: on reaching Castle Age, use the new 100 food and 100 gold to accelerate Crossbowman and Bodkin Arrow; surviving Spearmen also upgrade to Pikemen for free