Advanced Unit Micro-Management — Age of Mythology: Retold Guide

Advanced Unit Micro-Management

Mastering unit micro-management in Age of Mythology: Retold is crucial for high-level play, allowing you to maximize the effectiveness of your forces and outmaneuver opponents. This section delves into advanced techniques beyond basic unit control, focusing on specific scenarios and unit interactions.

Stutter-Stepping Ranged Units

Stutter-stepping is a fundamental micro-management technique for ranged units, particularly Archers, Slingers, and Toxotes. It allows them to attack, move a short distance, and then attack again, effectively kiting slower melee units while maintaining a high rate of fire. This is especially potent against units like Hoplites or Axemen.

• Execution:
  1. Select your ranged units.
  2. Issue an attack command on an enemy unit (Right-Click).
  3. Immediately after the attack animation begins (or the projectile leaves the unit), issue a move command away from the enemy (Right-Click on terrain).
  4. Repeat steps 2 and 3. The timing is key; you want to cancel the attack's "recovery" animation, not the attack itself.
• Optimal Units:
  • Archers (Greek): Excellent for kiting early-game infantry.
  • Slingers (Egyptian): Particularly effective against other ranged units and light infantry.
  • Toxotes (Greek): Benefit greatly from stutter-stepping due to their high damage output.
  • Chariot Archers (Egyptian): While mounted, they can also benefit from this technique to maintain distance and fire.
• Strategic Application: Use stutter-stepping to whittle down approaching melee armies before they can engage, or to chase down retreating enemy units without taking unnecessary damage.

Focus Firing and Target Prioritization

Directing your units to attack specific targets in a chaotic battle can turn the tide. Rather than letting your units auto-attack, manual focus firing ensures critical threats are neutralized quickly.

• Identifying Key Targets:
  • Siege Units: Onagers, Catapults, and Ballistae pose a significant threat to buildings and clustered units. Prioritize these with fast-moving units like Cavalry or raiding Myth Units.
  • Healers: Priests, Monks, and Egyptian Pharoahs/Priests can sustain enemy armies. Eliminate them to prevent prolonged engagements.
  • High Damage-Per-Second (DPS) Units: Units like Gastraphetes or Norse Ulfsarks with upgrades can deal immense damage. Focus fire them down before they decimate your forces.
  • Myth Units: Powerful Myth Units like Minotaurs, Colossi, or Frost Giants often have unique abilities and high stats. Concentrated fire is usually required to bring them down efficiently.
• Execution:
  1. Select a group of your units.
  2. Hold down the 'Alt' key (default) and Right-Click on the specific enemy unit you want them to attack. This forces all selected units to target that single enemy.
  3. Alternatively, individually select small groups of units and assign them to different high-priority targets for more distributed damage.
• Advanced Tip: Use the 'Attack-Move' command (A + Left-Click) to send units towards an area, but be prepared to quickly switch to focus fire once they engage, as auto-targeting can be inefficient.

Flanking and Encirclement Maneuvers

Positioning your units to attack from multiple angles can grant significant combat bonuses and disrupt enemy formations. This is particularly effective against slow, heavily armored units.

• The Flank Bonus: Units attacking an enemy from the side or rear often receive a damage bonus, especially against infantry and siege units. This bonus varies slightly between civilizations and unit types but is always a worthwhile advantage.
• Executing a Flank:
  1. Divide your army into at least two groups.
  2. Send your main force (e.g., infantry and archers) to engage the enemy head-on.
  3. Simultaneously, use a faster, more mobile force (e.g., Cavalry, raiding Myth Units like Hippocampi or Fenris Wolves) to move around the enemy's main line and attack from the side or rear.
  4. Ensure your flanking force engages the enemy's vulnerable units first, such as ranged units or siege engines.
• Encirclement: For a complete encirclement, you'll need at least three distinct groups. This traps the enemy, preventing retreat and maximizing the flank bonus from all sides. This is best achieved in open terrain where your units have room to maneuver.
• Units for Flanking:
  • Cavalry (all civilizations): Fast and durable, ideal for getting around enemy lines.
  • Raiding Myth Units: Such as the Greek Centaur, Egyptian Scorpion Man, or Norse Valkyrie, which possess speed and often bonus damage against certain unit types.
  • Light Infantry (e.g., Norse Ulfsarks): Can be used for flanking in early game if cavalry is scarce.

Unit Stacking and Formation Abuse

While Age of Mythology: Retold has improved unit pathing, understanding how units occupy space and interact with formations can still be exploited.

• "Blobbing" Units: While generally discouraged for ranged units due to vulnerability to area-of-effect attacks (like from Onagers or Meteor showers), tightly packed melee units can sometimes overwhelm a single target more effectively. However, this also makes them susceptible to being surrounded.
• Controlling Formations:
  • Line Formation: Good for engaging a broad front, but can leave flanks exposed.
  • Phalanx Formation (Greek Hoplites): Provides a defensive bonus, making them resilient to frontal assaults. Use this to hold a line while flanking units maneuver.
  • Wedge Formation (Cavalry): Increases speed and can break through enemy lines, but leaves units vulnerable from the sides.
  • Box Formation: Protects vulnerable units (like Priests or Siege) in the center, but can be slow to move.
• Chokepoint Exploitation: Use narrow passages or terrain features to your advantage. A few strong units in a chokepoint can hold off a much larger force, allowing your ranged units to fire safely from behind. Units like the Greek Colossus or Norse Hersir are excellent for holding chokepoints.

Advanced Retreat and Re-engagement

Knowing when and how to retreat and then re-engage is critical for preserving your army and winning protracted battles.

• Timely Retreat:
  • Low Health Units: Pull back units with critically low health to safety. They can be healed by Priests, Pharoahs, or through God Powers like Restoration. A unit at 1 HP can still deal full damage if it survives.
  • Unfavorable Engagements: If you're outnumbered or facing a counter-unit composition, a tactical retreat can save your army from being wiped out.
• Kiting and Drawing Back: Use faster units to bait enemy units into pursuing them, drawing them away from their main army or into a trap. This is a form of advanced kiting.
• Re-engagement Strategy:
  1. Once units are healed or reinforcements arrive, look for an opportunity to re-engage.
  2. Target the weakest or most vulnerable enemy units first.
  3. Consider using a God Power (e.g., Frost, Shockwave, Restoration) to turn the tide upon re-engagement.
• Hotkeys for Control Groups: Assigning hotkeys (Ctrl + 1-9) to specific unit groups allows for rapid selection and command, essential for complex micro-management during retreats and re-engagements.