Age of Empires 3 Tutorial

Knowing Your Civilizations

• First, players will have to decide which dynasty you want to control in your quest for world domination. Each civilization will have groups, armies and infrastructure unique to them. According to the game's official website, there are eight civilizations to choose from. Notable among them include:

  The Spanish clearly see their military as their main strength, which includes both mobile infantry and cavalry. Early shipments from the home city give players who choose the Spanish the option to attack early.

  Even though players of France will find that the economy starts slower than other civilizations, the villagers have strong fighting skills. This means opposing players will find that attacking the French too early results in heavy losses. The French also have the strongest cavalry unit in the game. And if you paid attention in history class, you'll know the French are great at allying themselves with the Native Americans.

  The British have quicker access to settlers than other civilizations, giving them one of the most reliable economies in the game. London is also one of the few home cities in the game to emphasize the naval aspect of warfare.

  The Russians start the game with more resources but fewer settlers when compared with other civilizations. Russian infantry is also one of the few in the game to be trained in blocks, providing players the ability to overwhelm an opposing player.

Basic Controls and Early Tutorial Tips

• To totally dominate the world you will need to know some of the basic commands:

  Spacebar -- Center screen on selected unit
  ALT -- Display details about selected unit
  H -- Home screen
  / -- Cycle all your explorers
  . -- Cycle all your idle Villagers
  , -- Cycle all your military units
  ; -- Cycle all your wagons (covered, fort, outpost and factory wagon)

  To win in this game, players will need to build many, many settlers. Settlers in the game are the only way to get resources, food, wood and coin (money). Build Settlers early and often and you'll never go dry on anything.

  Using your mouse is very helpful in the game. Left-click individual units to select them and move them around. Drag your mouse around several units to combine select them. Double-click a unit to select all of that same type of unit.

  To easily assign a unit, or a group of units to a number, select the desired units and press Ctrl + Whatever number you want. It will help you later in the heat of battle.