Playing the Danes: MAA, archers and siege

Guide under review: the plans below are not build orders validated in real games.

To get started with the Danes on Arabia, you can go MAA (Men-at-Arms) into archers. The idea: put on pressure in Feudal, keep your archers alive and add siege once you hit Castle Age. This isn’t a fixed build: if you have to defend, adapt your production to what’s coming at you.

In Feudal, go MAA into archers

Scout your opponent’s wood and gold before sending in your Militia. If the base is still open, look for exposed villagers or stop the palisades from being finished. If everything is walled, don’t stand there hitting a wall while your opponent gets his archers ready.

Add an Archery Range to keep the pressure going. When his archers show up, pull your MAA back: no point giving them away if you can’t reach his villagers anymore. To defend, a few Skirmishers can be enough; no need to go all in on two production lines at once. And while you’re microing, keep your Town Center (TC) producing. Three villagers killed don’t necessarily make up for all the TC idle time you took back home.

The Danes drop off 5% more food. Their Barracks and Siege Workshop technologies also cost 66% less gold: it’s the research that gets cheaper, not the units. These bonuses help your eco without forcing you to open infantry every game. (Official overview)

Hera shows this opening before shifting his production to ranged units; it isn’t a mandatory build order for the civ. (Hera, 3:01)

In Castle Age, protect your first Mangonel

If you kept your archers, upgrade them to Crossbowmen and get your Blacksmith upgrades before going back on the attack. Add a Siege Workshop if your opponent’s archer mass stops you from moving forward or camps in front of your gold. Keep your Mangonel behind your army; don’t leave it alone while you chase a villager with everything else.

You can also play Knights. The Danes have Bloodlines and Husbandry, but not Cavalier: Knights are still an option in Castle Age, even if you’ll need to plan another army comp for later. The missing Imperial upgrade doesn’t stop you from using them to defend or take back the map.

The Castle lets you train Jomsvikings, whose torches attack buildings. Ideally place it to cover a gold pile or a chokepoint, then use these units alongside your siege. Avoid sending them to chase archers that can kite back while shooting. (Unit overview)

Prepare your Imperial push without stopping production

Against cavalry, add Pikemen then Halberdiers to protect your siege. To take down a Castle, get Trebuchets or Rams. The Danes have no Bombard Cannons: you need to keep these units alive and be able to replace them.

The gold discount helps a lot for Onager and Siege Onager. It doesn’t reduce the Ram or Heavy Scorpion upgrades, which already cost no gold. Don’t click every big tech at once if it empties your Siege Workshops. (Ornlu, 21:54)

Hamask increases the attack of wounded infantry, but doesn’t protect it from arrows. Likewise, the loot isn’t worth losing your army to destroy a farm. Retreat if the fight goes badly. (Hamask tests; loot)

On Arena, scout before you attack

On Arena, forget the MAA opening and go for a FC instead. Keep vision in front of his gates before you commit: against a monk rush, a castle drop or a boom, you won’t make the same units.

Against Bombard Cannons, Monks with Redemption and Block Printing are an option, as long as you can control and protect them. Watch out for enemy Monks: the Danes don’t have Atonement. In your replay, look mainly at your first lost Mangonel: could it have pulled back, and which units were protecting it?

Practicing the build order

The Roman Men-at-Arms tutorial · Sitaux (FR) helps you practice this kind of build order. It covers the Romans, not the Danes: take the execution principles, not the timings tied to Roman bonuses.

Sources and limitations

Patch 185872, Danes tech tree, Hera and Ornlu guides cited above; tech tree cross-checked against local data. Partly untested draft. The first-look videos cover a pre-release build, against AI or in mechanics tests, and were reviewed through automatic transcripts.