Which campaign should I play as a new player?

[Mountainhaze64]

I'm relatively new to the game and decided to play the El Cid campaign after the tutorial campaign. I don't understand how you're supposed to win without any building which you can get more worker and research from.
Are there any campaigns you guys would recommend for a total newbie to RTS?

[steven1mac]

Joan of Arc is a pretty good campaign. Every campaign takes a while to figure out the map and objectives, so don't feel bad if you have to restart the map.

[RaptorX]

There are a lot of "no build" missions, just move around slowly and explore, try to keep your units alive, some missions give you workers/bases after you do something.
Read the hints/scouts before you start.
El Cid and Joan of arc are pretty good for new players, the 1 sword symbol next to the name means they are easier than the ones with 2 or 3

[Bob of Mage]

There are two main types of missions. Those where you get to a base and those where you have limited forces. Many missions have a mix of the two, where early on you have to do something with a smaller strikeforce, and then get some workers, or a base.

For a brand new player the first El Cid mission might be a bit hard since you have to destroy a castle inside a walled in base. Genghis Khan, and Joan of Arc start much more simply. Tariq ibn Ziyad, while easy, throw a lot at you all at once, and isn't that good for a new player. Barbarossa starts off with a full tech tree, so it can be a bit confusing at first, but is otherwise easy to wrap your head around. Tamerlane, is an newbie unfriendly easy campaign. You start with lots of stuff, and lots of things are happening all at once. Attila the Hun is not bad, but the first mission can be complex if you don't know to rush and free the prisoners, including the prince (the Romans are set to neutral, so they wouldn't attack the workers, all you need to do is rush in destroy two sections of wall then retreat). Montezuma isn't too bad, but you will need to learn how to deal with no horse units in your tech tree.

[mmmcheesywaffles]

The method I recommend is to take up the Campaign either in chronological order [There is a Guide listing them] or to work your way up through all the 2 sword campaigns to the meatier ones. The number of swords shown on the menu represents the difficulty of that scenario.

Playing the Campaigns in an order takes you through a lot of well honed scenarios that teach you different methods of playing. All good stuff for training.

EDIT: Adding the link to the Guide for chronological order
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1912787520

[theworld]

Try Bari, Ivaylo or Bayinnaung.

[Crossil]

Did you perhaps miss the extra units you get in the first El Cid mission? There's a location around the middle of the map, where you will get an army and a town center with villagers to start up your production, after the initial section where you become the King's champion.

As far as other campaigns go, I think Joan of Arc is an ok one.

[FloosWorld]

Originally posted by Crossil:

Did you perhaps miss the extra units you get in the first El Cid mission? There's a location around the middle of the map, where you will get an army and a town center with villagers to start up your production, after the initial section where you become the King's champion.

I remember that one as well. Generally, there are a couple scenarios in El Cid where you initially start without a settlement.

[Crossil]

Originally posted by theworld:

Try Bari, Ivaylo or Bayinnaung.

Only Bayinnaung feels beginner friendly. Ivaylo 3 was very difficult for me on standard, despite me being an RTS veteran. And Bari is a grind.

[Crossil]

Also, OP, when you start a mission, you get a pop-up with some tips, scout info and objectives. You could read through it, if you get confused about the scenario. You can always open it again with a button in the top right.

[mmmcheesywaffles]

Personally I would start with the Europe tab and the William Wallace campaign. Learn as you play those easier scenarios and only go for the harder ones once you are comfortable. Remember, you are meant to enjoy this game. There is a reason it is one of the biggest sellers.

When you get stuck - as you will. Look on YouTube for the specific scenario and watch a few examples of others playing it on Hard setting. But play on Standard while you learn. You can always go back and score a Gold pin on Hard later.

An example search could be "AoE2DE William Wallace 1" for that first campaign scenario.

[theworld]

Originally posted by Crossil:

Only Bayinnaung feels beginner friendly. Ivaylo 3 was very difficult for me on standard, despite me being an RTS veteran. And Bari is a grind.

/r/whoosh

[Krosis Priest]

As said above, Joan of Arc and El Cid are actually good starting campaigns. They have some harder moments (Siege of Paris especially can be painful), but they are some of the most accessible.

Some others:
- Saladin is also a good one, I think the 2-sword rating is a bit much. The last two missions can be tough though, but the campaign builds up really smoothly.
- If you have the new DLCs, Devapala is a lot of fun, and Algirdas and Kestutis is also fun and quite straightforward.
- Genghis Khan and Barbarossa are also accessible-ish, but I really do not recommend them as the very first ones, as they get pretty hectic at times.
- Same for Edward Longshanks from the DLC, not the very easiest but also pretty accessible.

Ones to absolutely avoid for now (that I'm aware of): Ivaylo, Francisco de Almeida, Ivaylo, Jan Zizka*, Ivaylo, and also Ivaylo (I have no idea why it's rated only 2 swords). Tariq ibn Ziyad is also misleading and definitely harder than 1 sword.

(* Jan Zizka is actually an excellent campaign I highly recommend later, but it is brutal)

Originally posted by theworld:

Originally posted by Crossil:

Only Bayinnaung feels beginner friendly. Ivaylo 3 was very difficult for me on standard, despite me being an RTS veteran. And Bari is a grind.

/r/whoosh

Trolling an actual beginner isn't cool or funny, you're just a d!ck.

[Bob of Mage]

Originally posted by Krosis:

As said above, Joan of Arc and El Cid are actually good starting campaigns. They have some harder moments (Siege of Paris especially can be painful), but they are some of the most accessible.

Some others:
- Saladin is also a good one, I think the 2-sword rating is a bit much. The last two missions can be tough though, but the campaign builds up really smoothly.
- If you have the new DLCs, Devapala is a lot of fun, and Algirdas and Kestutis is also fun and quite straightforward.
- Genghis Khan and Barbarossa are also accessible-ish, but I really do not recommend them as the very first ones, as they get pretty hectic at times.
- Same for Edward Longshanks from the DLC, not the very easiest but also pretty accessible.

Ones to absolutely avoid for now (that I'm aware of): Ivaylo, Francisco de Almeida, Ivaylo, Jan Zizka*, Ivaylo, and also Ivaylo (I have no idea why it's rated only 2 swords). Tariq ibn Ziyad is also misleading and definitely harder than 1 sword.

(* Jan Zizka is actually an excellent campaign I highly recommend later, but it is brutal)

Originally posted by theworld:

/r/whoosh

Trolling an actual beginner isn't cool or funny, you're just a d!ck.

The Saladin is very easy to get overwhelmed from the second mission on. You have an exposed base very few sources of stone or gold nearby (there are quite a few of them around, but you need to find them, and that isn't easy as a beginner), and an enemy camp very nearby. It is very easy to get in a fight with units near the entrance and have the AI treat it like a full scale attack, and rally most of their forces to counterattack.

[theworld]

Originally posted by Bob of Mage:

You have an exposed base very few sources of stone or gold nearby

If only you had a building which could exchange wood and food for gold and stone, and if only you played a civ with a massive bonus for that very building...

[Mountainhaze64]

Originally posted by Crossil:

Originally posted by theworld:

Try Bari, Ivaylo or Bayinnaung.

Only Bayinnaung feels beginner friendly. Ivaylo 3 was very difficult for me on standard, despite me being an RTS veteran. And Bari is a grind.

I'll give Bayinnaung a try next if it isn't dlc