Mastering the Scout Rush in Age of Empires 2: A Complete Guide

One of the most effective ways to improve at AOE2

In Age of Empires II the Scout Rush is one of the most effective tactics to gain an early advantage. If you are a lower ranked player, mastering the scout rush is an excellent way to get your ELO up over 1,000.

This guide delves into the nuanced execution of the Scout Rush, helping you disrupt your opponent’s economy early in the game to maintain a strategic upper hand.

What is a Scout Rush?

The Scout Rush, or "Scrush," is a tactic where players quickly advance to the Feudal Age to produce Scout Cavalry units. These units are then used to harass and attack the opponent’s villagers, stalling their economy while you expand yours. The agility and strength of Scout Cavalry in the early game make this strategy particularly effective.

Detailed Build order for an 18-population Scout Rush

Optimizing villager tasks is crucial for executing a successful Scout Rush with 18 population, allowing you to advance to the Feudal Age before your opponent—which is the first step to a successful scout rush.

Here's an 18-pop scout rush builder order I found from Morley Games:

• Villagers 1-3: Build two houses, then send them to harvest sheep.

• Villagers 4-6: To sheep directly under the Town Center.

• Villager 7: Lures the first boar.

• Villagers 8-9: To wood, building your first lumber camp.

• Villager 10: Builds a house, then lures the second boar.

• Villagers 11-12: To boar under the Town Center.

• Villager 13: To berries, constructs a mill next to the berry bushes.

• Villagers 14-15: Continue gathering berries.

• Villagers 16-17: Join boar collection under the Town Center.

• Villager 18: To wood, working at the lumber camp.

• Research Loom

• Research Feudal Age: As soon as you hit 500 food, click up.

On the way to Feudal age:

• Take one villager off sheep and build a barracks and a house.

• Move two villagers off sheep and onto straggler trees (the single trees near your town center).

• Move 5 villagers off sheep and onto wood.

Upon reaching the Feudal Age:

• Construct a Stable

• Start producing Scout Cavalry continuously and prepare for raiding.

Here’s what to do with your new villagers as you are raiding your enemy with your scouts:

• Villages 18-21 to berries

• Research double bit axe

• Send two villagers from straggler trees to sheep

• New villagers start building farms (keep building farms until you have at least 15 farms)

• If you can afford it pick up horse collar along the way

Here’s the video if you want to watch it performed live:

How to Follow Up a Scout Rush

How many scouts should you make during a feudal age scout rush?

Four is an optimal number.

The primary goal of a scout rush is to keep the pressure on your opponent by harassing their villagers (which hurts their economy) and forcing them to make counter units like spearmen rather than offensive units like archer or scouts of their own.

While scout rushing, be sure to wall up your base at home to defend against counter attacks.

Remember the goal is to get to 15 farms as soon as possible—and never keep your town center idle. Always be making villagers.

Once you have 15-farms down, you need to get to castle age as soon as possible which means either sending a few villagers to gold or building a market and trading your 200 stone for enough gold to click up to Castle Age.

Remember, the goal of the scout rush is to slow down your opponent so you can get to castle age first. If you can take out some enemy villagers that is a bonus, but your main goal is to keep your scouts alive and constantly harassing enemy villagers.

Once you hit Castle Age, you can either opt for an economy boom or transition into a more powerful Castle Age unit like Knights or archers.

Top 5 Scout Rush Civilizations in Age of Empires 2

Each civilization has different economy and military bonuses. Some of these bonuses lend themselves to make an even more deadly scout rush.

According to Hera, the top pro-player in the world (the Lebron James of AOE2), here are the top 5 scout rush civilizations in age of empires 2:

1. Chinese

   • Advantages: Start with extra villagers, although with fewer resources, which can lead to a faster economy growth if managed well.

   • Unique Strengths: Cheaper technologies make every upgrade slightly more economical, including key techs like bloodlines and forging.

   • Overall Strategy: While not the fastest to reach Feudal due to initial resource reduction, their economic advantage from extra villagers becomes significant as the game progresses, making their Scout Rush sustainable and potent against any civilization.

2. Mongols

   • Advantages: Exceptionally fast Feudal Age times due to their hunting bonus, allowing for an early Scout production.

   • Unique Strengths: Scouts have increased line of sight, providing better scouting information and raiding capabilities.

   • Overall Strategy: Ideal for aggressive early game strategies; however, their lack of a strong economic bonus in the later stages can lead to challenges in mid to late game transitions.

3. Franks

   • Advantages: Scouts gain extra HP right from Feudal Age start, coupled with an economic bonus from free Horse Collar and faster berry gathering.

   • Unique Strengths: Stronger scouts and efficient food collection make their Scout Rushes very robust.

   • Overall Strategy: Though lacking Bloodlines, the initial extra HP and economic bonuses provide a solid foundation for early aggression.

4. Magyars

   • Advantages: Free forging upgrade for scouts and cheaper scout costs.

   • Unique Strengths: Enhanced scout attack power from the start and cost-effectiveness in producing multiple scouts.

   • Overall Strategy: Best utilized in prolonged Feudal scenarios where the savings from scout cost reduction significantly add up, though they lack direct economic bonuses.

5. Khmer

   • Advantages: No need for a Barracks to advance to the next age or to build a Stable, saving wood and time.

   • Unique Strengths: Farms are more efficient, which synergizes well with the food demands of Scout production.

   • Overall Strategy: Extremely effective in generating a quick and sustainable food economy to support continuous Scout production, though vulnerability to mixed troop engagements (scouts and spears) due to the delayed Barracks can be a drawback.

Here’s a video of Hera breaking each civilization down in more detail:

I’ll throw in an honorable mention which is one of the newest civilizations in Age of Empires 2: The Georgians.

The Georgians have two major bonus that can make for a fast, and prolounged scout rush:

1. They get a free mule cart to start the game—this means they do not need to build a lumber camp in Dark age.

2. Their Calvary units regenerate 15% of their HP per minute. Which means you can raid with scouts, take damage, let them heal and go back in for another attack.

Utilizing the Georgian scout rush is actually how I pushed past the 1,000 ELO rating in ranked play for the first time.

How to counter a scout rush

Here are three tips on how to counter a scout rush.

1. Wall your base early

One of the most reliable defenses against a scout rush is to preemptively wall off at least half of your base. Prioritize protecting critical resource areas such as your wood and gold . This physical barrier limits the mobility and harassment capability of the scouts, forcing the opponent to find alternative ways to engage, which gives you time to prepare your defense.

2. Build spear units

Spears are cost-effective and efficient at countering cavalry units like scouts. Positioning spearmen where your villagers are most vulnerable—in the unwalled portions of your base or at resource gathering sites—can help mitigate the impact of a scout rush. Since scouts are fast, your response needs to be swift and decisive to prevent significant economic damage. Keep your spearmen close to vulnerable spots in patrol formation so they are ready to react to any nearby scouts.

3. Advance to the Castle Age first

Advancing to the Castle Age before your opponent can provide a significant power boost and tactical advantage. This advance allows access to more powerful units and defenses, which can neutralize the effectiveness of early-game scout rushes. If you sense an impending scout rush, focus on banking food and gold while maintaining a minimum defense can be a strategic choice that leads to a stronger mid-game position.

Additional Considerations

• Enemy Civilization: Be particularly wary of civilizations known for their cavalry strength, such as the Mongols, who are notorious for favoring scout rushes.

• Counter-Attacks: If you've successfully walled and defended against the initial scout rush, consider launching a counter-attack. Using a combination of your own scouts and spearmen or archers to pressure your opponent's base can shift the momentum in your favor.

By implementing these strategies—early walling, strategic placement of spearmen, and timely advancement to the Castle Age—you can effectively counter a scout rush and secure a strategic advantage for the remainder of the game.

Conclusion

The Scout Rush is more than just an early aggression tactic; it's a foundational strategy that sets the stage for mid to late-game dominance.

If you want to improve at Age of Empires, perfecting the scout rush is a great place to start.