The Ultimate Guide to Mastering the Malay in Age of Empires 2: Unique Strategies and Build Orders
How to play this unique and often overlooked Civ
Introduction to the Malay Civilization
The Malay are a Southeast Asian civilization introduced in the "Rise of the Rajas" expansion. Known for their exceptional naval strength and unique elephant units, they offer a versatile approach to gameplay. However, it's their economic bonuses that set the stage for an aggressive early game and a booming economy.
Key Malay Advantages
Faster Age Advancement: Malay advance to the next age 66% faster, allowing for swift progression, less villager idle time, and early pressure or economic advantage.
Free Infantry Armor Upgrades: This can help support feudal aggression and improve Man at Arms rush.
Cheap Battle Elephants: Battle elephants cost 30% less resources in Castle age and 40% cheaper in Imperial age, leading to a population and resource efficient army in the late game.
Unique Unit - Karambit Warrior: A cost-effective and quickly produced infantry unit that can swarm enemies and only takes up 1/2 a population space.
Cheap Fish Traps: Fish traps provide 3X more food and cost 33% less supporting a strong and sustainable economy, especially in water and hybrid maps.
Docks fire arrows: Malay docks fire arrows which help protect fish traps from enemy ships.
Team Bonus: The Malay and their allies docks have 2X line of sight, giving better vision of nearby fish and enemy ships.
Malay Strategies & Build Orders
Malay Archer Rush Build Order
Embarking on a successful Archer Rush with the Malay in Age of Empires 2 requires precision, timing, and strategy. Below is a detailed build order designed to optimize your early game, allowing you to apply pressure on your opponent with a well-timed Archer Rush.
Credit to Morley Games for coming up with this Build order, here’s a Video where he runs through the strategy in a real game:
Here’s a summary of the strategy:
Dark age build order (24 population + Loom in Dark Age)
First 6 villagers to sheep: Standard start, with building two houses and sending your first 6 villagers to sheep.
4 Wood: Next, send villagers 7-10 to build a lumber camp and chop wood.
1 Boar: Use your 11th villager to lure your first boar to the town center.
1 House + Berries: Send villager 12 to build a house, then a Mill to begin taking berries.
3 Berries (Lure 2nd Boar): Send villagers 13-15 to berries while luring your second boar to the town center for additional food.
3 Boar: Send villagers 16-18 to gather food from the boar, maximizing your food intake.
3 Wood: Send villagers 19-21 to wood.
1 Gold: Send a villager 22 to build a mining camp and start mining gold, crucial for archer production.
1 Barracks + House: Send villager 23 to Construct a Barracks to begin military unit production and another house to continue expanding your population.
Research loom at the town center.
Click up to Feudal
Transition to Feudal Age: Preparing for the Archer Rush
On the way to Feudal:
Move two villagers from sheep to gold.
Move three villagers from sheep to wood.
Build another house.
Feudal Age Build Order
Make 2 Ranges: Immediately construct two Archery Ranges and start producing archers immediately.
Research Double Bit Axe: Enhance your woodcutting efficiency by researching Double Bit Axe.
4 New Villagers to Gold: Send villagers 24-27 to gold, bolstering your gold reserves for continuous archer production.
1 Builder to Gold: When the archery rangers are done, send the builder to gold, further increasing your gold mining rate.
Start Adding Farms: Begin transitioning villagers to farm around the Town Center, securing a sustainable food source.
Build Blacksmith: Build a Blacksmith to access important military upgrades.
Research Fletching: Upgrade your archers with Fletching, improving their range and attack.
New Villagers to Farms: Continue to expand your economy by assigning new villagers to farms, ensuring a balanced economy.
Optimal Maps for the Malay in Age of Empires 2: Strategy Insights
Understanding the maps where the Malay civilization excels or faces challenges is crucial for players looking to master their gameplay in Age of Empires 2. This section delves into the Malay's strengths and weaknesses across various map types, providing strategic insights to leverage their unique advantages effectively.
Maps Where Malay Excel
Water Maps (Islands, Archipelago, Baltic): The Malay are undisputed masters of water maps, thanks to their infinite food supply from Fish Traps and faster advancing to the next age. These bonuses allow Malay players to maintain a strong economy and naval presence, crucial for controlling water maps. On maps like Islands or Baltic, focusing on a robust navy and securing the water early can dictate the pace of the game, enabling you to starve your opponent of resources and landing opportunities.
Closed Maps (Black Forest, Arena): While not as dominant as on water maps, the Malay can perform well on closed maps like Black Forest or Arena due to their ability to advance through the ages quickly. This allows Malay players to reach their unique units and technologies faster, setting up strong defenses or preparing for an early offensive. The key is leveraging their age advancement to secure a technological edge over your opponent.
Maps Where Malay Struggle
Open Maps (Arabia, Serengeti): The Malay may find it challenging to leverage their strengths on very open maps where early aggression is common. Their unique advantages, like infinite Fish Traps, are less impactful when water access is limited or nonexistent. Additionally, the Malay lack powerful early-game military options compared to some other civilizations, making it harder to defend against early rushes.
Strategic Considerations for Malay Players
Adaptation is Key: On maps where the Malay are not naturally strong, adapting your strategy to counter your opponent's strengths is crucial. This might involve focusing on early aggression to offset the Malay's slower start or securing key resources early on.
Leverage Unique Units: Regardless of the map, leveraging the Malay's unique units and technologies can provide a strategic edge. Karambit Warriors can be particularly effective for swarming opponents or defending against rushes.
Economic Management: Effective economic management is vital for the Malay, especially on maps where their natural bonuses are less impactful. Prioritizing resource allocation and ensuring a steady flow of resources can help mitigate some of the challenges faced on unfavorable maps.
By understanding the maps where the Malay excel and those where they face challenges, players can tailor their strategies to maximize their civilization's strengths. Whether dominating the seas on water maps or adapting strategies on open terrains, mastering the Malay requires a blend of strategic foresight, economic management, and adaptability.
How to play Malay: Tips from a professional AOE2 player
Hera, who is the top pro-player in Age of Empires 2 right now, made this 10-minute breakdown video explaining how to play the Malay:
And Here’s my quick summary, which covers a lot of what we have already discussed.
The Malay offer a unique blend of strategic agility and economic efficiency, making them a force to be reckoned with across various maps.
Their standout features include an impressive 66% faster age advancement, cost-effective fish traps that provide an abundant food supply, and heavily discounted battle elephants, despite the lack of certain upgrades.
The Karambit Warrior, a unique unit costing minimal resources while occupying only half a population space, allows for dense army formations and effective swarm tactics.
Additionally, Malay's special technologies, Thalassocracy and Forced Levy, upgrade docks to harbors and convert the militia line's gold cost to food, respectively, bolstering their late-game endurance and flexibility.
Navigating the strengths and weaknesses of the Malay requires a keen understanding of their rapid age progression, which, while enabling early technological advantages, results in advancing with fewer resources. This duality emphasizes the importance of strategic resource management and situational adaptability, especially against archer civilizations where Malay's speed can outpace opponents in upgrades and unit production.
On water maps, their naval prowess shines, making them competitive against other seafaring civs, while on land, their strategy pivots towards leveraging Karambit Warriors against infantry and exploiting their economic bonuses for sustained pressure.
For beginners aiming to excel with the Malay in Age of Empires 2, mastering the balance between aggression and economy, alongside understanding map-specific strategies, is key to dictating the game's pace and securing victory.
Conclusion
Mastering the Malay requires a blend of aggressive early play, economic management, and strategic flexibility. By leveraging their unique bonuses and units, you can dominate the battlefield in ways your opponents might not expect. Whether you’re clashing on land or sea, the Malay civilization offers a rich tapestry of strategic options that, when mastered, can elevate your AoE2 gameplay to new heights.
Remember, practice is key to mastering any civilization in Age of Empires 2. Use this guide as a starting point, but don’t be afraid to experiment with different strategies and build orders to find what works best for you.