I wish "only random" will be disabled by default

Age of Empires II: DE II - Discussion
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I think that this is a very unpopular opinion, and many people here will probably treat me badly for this.

A lot of people consider that the only way to play this game is to play random (which means being able to play with every civ basically). On the other side, a large proportion of players will pick only 1 or 2 civ for each map because they are convinced that these civs are the best suited to help them achieving victory. For exemple, italian or viking on team islands. They are watching a lot of top players video, and want to be the best they can be at this game, ever if this means simply aping what the top players are doing.

Since the release of DE, the first group of people got very frustated that their way of playing (the voobly way) was made difficult by players who pick civs because they were at a disadvantage. Soon, it will be possible to only play with an opponent that does not pick a civ (pure random). I think it is usefull for some players that want to play like that, but I don’t like newer player thinking it’s the normal way to play.

Indeed, I think that most people play this game on a semi-casually fashion, picking civ they like and learning to play with it. Probably they don’t have time to master every civilizations the game has to offer. And it’s okay, there are a lot of civilization/maps and strategies. For exemple, I myself only play with celts whatever the map. I am a low to intermediate player (1280 1vs1 ranking) and I don’t have time in my life to learn how to play with every civilization. And it’s okay, I like celts for their history and play-style, I don’t feel the need to play another civ.

I would like that the “only random” option for competitive match be disabled by default. I don’t want casual player like me to feel forced to play the game this way. If this option have to be disabled by the player, it means that people like me will only play with people that map-pick their civ. I am okay the voobly elites of this game want to play like that, but I don’t want it to be the norm. (and don’t tell me competitive player is not for casual gamer, it’s the only way to get fair match). Most of the civs are balanced according to the civ percentage win (in fact the game has never been more balanced, according to many).Playing random should be a choice made by people, not the norm.

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That’s actually not true. This option has no impact on who you get matched with.

The only thing it does is that if all players that get matched together have it checked, the game starts with random civ.

So for you, who will never have this option checked, this doesn’t change anything : in every game you will be part of, everyone will have the option to choose (or not) their civ, just like currently. Absolutely no difference compared to the current system.

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No one forced you into playing random. The upcoming system will works as follow:

If all players in the match select random civ, then you play random civ.
If at least one player dont select random civ, then you play pick civ.

So pick civ will be the default option. Only if everyone agrees, then you play random civ.

You know this is pretty good?! This is arount the top 15% of all players. 85% of all players are worse then you. Do you really call this low to intermediate? I think you are much better then you thought.

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@TriRem @WoodsierCorn696

Thanks for clearing that up, seems like I didn’t understand exactly how it was going to work.

@WoodsierCorn696
Most people play this game casually, and never actually learn a simple build order. I have the same game plan every time, 21 pop maa rush followed by archer rush or defensive play lancer/skirmisher, and I boom and defend with pikeman/scorps/monk until woad raider/halb/scorp/siege ram push. I could call myself an intermediate player if I was able to play other civs, and do other things.

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