Do the matches get more even when you get in the correct elo?
Yes, they do. Depending on how versed you are in the game’s basics, the first couple of games will be also less frustrating.
If you want to win, just attack, attack, attack as soon as you can. Otherwise, youll be defensively on your back foot and lose every time, never recovering from the early hits. And if you don’t know how to attack early to rattle someone and their early econ, then learn and practice how to do this. Everyone you face has been learning the meta, watching the eSporters, and pracricing to be a well-piled offensive machine. Defense will never win in this game. It’s not fast, intense, and exciting enough
Considering the couple of times I lost vs the slower player as he defended well.. I tend to disagree.
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What year was that? Defenses have been heavily nerfed over the years.
Did you roll in with rams or other siege and supporting units? Siege will take down towers and castles AioE3 style now, so I’m not sure how you didn’t overcome defenses, which I assume were a lot of towers, walls, and castles. Unless it was “Wall” you played against, or whatever the person’s name is who is an expert in HD for walling and winning, maybe?
Plus, how often do you, personally, play slow, defensively in Ranked? Sounds like not often or never, maybe? Give It a try and see how many times you win. If it is such a great strat, why don’t you do it, and why have you only encountered someone doing it twice?
I haven’t touched ranked since July.. so 2024+2025.
It was mostly using the APM better and me being too stubborn in one area.
I could be wrong, but I think around that time or shortly after is when I personally saw battering rams and trebs start munching down buildings like Pac-Man in SP skirmish games. I don’t know if that is when they were buffed (and maybe buildings, including castles, towers, etc. nerfed?), or if the AI just got smarter with using them and so I started to notice… but that may be around the time I started seeing my defensive gameplay take a marked turn for being near useless
I can do it now, but I need two or three castles, and a petard or two in each castle waiting for rams to fend off the initial onslaughts in 1 vs 2 AI games… since cavalry became less powerful against rams and more susceptible to counter units, imo
EDIT: Yes, in Aug 2025, I posted about “Moderate AI recently got some changes made to it, imo, to make it more challenging, which is good and bad. A little too predictably tough, imo. And going 1v2 Moderate AI is nearly impossible for me now (until I figure out the secret) whereas 6+ months ago it was fine”
The algorithm has been updated evem since then, as it did get pretty relentless then, but the siege buffs still remain. I’m not really complaining, just observing. I’ve grown to like Pac-Man siege a bit, but I do wish defensive structures were stronger/better. And, wow, bombard towers are near-useless on rams and several other things now