Guide

Introduction

Shennong is the Chinese turtle god — a defensive powerhouse built around strong walls, towers, cheap farms, and devastating Fire Lance pushes from Heroic age onward. Shennong rewards patience: survive the early game, tech up safely, and then unleash one of the most powerful timing attacks in the game.

Note: Shennong was introduced in the Tale of the Dragon expansion and reworked in Age of Mythology: Retold.

Shennong Bonuses

• Farms are cheaper and auto-upgraded — Shennong's farm eco scales for free
• Walls and towers are cheaper and stronger
• Myth units auto-heal in Favored Land
• Peach of Immortality: Myth units in Favored Land gain bonus HP
• Blessed Construction — same as other Chinese (20% build speed boost)
• Favored Land — buildings inside generate benefits

Key Mechanics

Gardens

Gardens generate favor for Chinese civilizations. Build them early:

• Build your first Garden early in Archaic — you need favor for Temple techs and advancing
• Place Gardens inside Favored Land for maximum benefit
• More Gardens = faster favor = more myth units

Fire Lances

Fire Lances are Shennong's signature unit, available from the Castle (Baolei) in Heroic age:

• Extremely powerful ranged siege/anti-building units
• They are the reason you play Shennong — everything before Heroic is about getting to this point
• Mass 10-15 Fire Lances with a front line and push

Turtling

Shennong has the cheapest, strongest walls and towers of any Chinese god. Use this:

• Wall up key approaches early
• Tower your resources
• Small wall segments around towers for anti-rush defense (classic Chinese play)
• Don't over-commit to defense — you still need to advance and attack eventually

Minor Gods

Age	Recommended	Notes
Classical	Houtu (safe) / Chang'e (standard FH)	Houtu for walls and eco; Chang'e for flexible tech path
Heroic	Nüba (myth + ranged) / Rushou (infantry front)	Nüba for myth support behind Fire Lances; Rushou for melee front line
Mythic	Zhurong (myth focus) / Huangdi (human focus)	Zhurong for myth aura + farming; Huangdi for infantry buffs

Build Orders

Standard Fast Heroic Build (Land, 1 TC)

The core Shennong strategy — fast Classical into fast Heroic for Fire Lances.

Archaic Age

1. Queue villagers nonstop
2. 5 starting villagers to food (hunt)
3. Research Hunting Dogs at 50 wood
4. Next 2 villagers to wood (build Storehouse on forest)
5. Next 2 villagers to gold (build Mining Camp)
6. All new villagers to food at second hunt until 12 on food total
7. 6th food villager: build 1 House → 1 Garden → back to food
8. After 12 food: get to 5 on wood, then 6 on gold
9. Use wood villagers to build Temple when resources allow
10. Advance with Chang'e — research Pickaxe while aging
11. Target Classical time: ~4:30-5:00

Classical Age

1. With 5 wood villagers: build Armory + Barracks/Stable (or upgrade towers, depending on matchup)
2. Keep villagers producing constantly
3. Target eco: ~12-14 food, 6-8 wood, 6-8 gold
4. Use 1 gold villager to build small wall segments around towers (anti-rush)
5. Click Heroic at about 6:00 game time
6. Make minimal military — just enough to defend

Heroic Age

1. Keep ~7 wood, ~6 gold, rest on food
2. Build Castle (Baolei) immediately — this is your win condition
3. Spam Fire Lances from Castle
4. Build 1 Stable for Mounted Archers (vs melee) or Cataphracts (vs anti-cav)
5. Add Immortals if opponent uses strong myth units
6. Push with 10-15 Fire Lances + front line + heroes
7. Focus on TCs, military buildings, and gold mines

Strategies

Fast Heroic Fire Lance Push (Primary Strategy)

This is the bread and butter. Everything about Shennong's kit — cheap walls, strong towers, farm bonuses — exists to buy time for the Fire Lance timing.

• Defend in Archaic and Classical with walls, towers, and minimal military
• Rush to Heroic as fast as safely possible (~6:00 click, ~7:00-7:30 arrival)
• Drop Castle, mass Fire Lances, and push with the first wave
• If the push doesn't end the game, you have farming eco to sustain continued production

2-TC Boom (Safer Variant)

• Same opening but grab a 2nd TC before clicking Heroic
• Slower timing (~8:00-9:00 Heroic) but much stronger economy
• Good on maps where rushing is unlikely
• Your farm eco scales better with more villagers, so double TC Shennong is very strong late

Defensive Turtle into Titan

• On closed maps or vs passive opponents, you can wall up and go straight for Mythic
• Myth units heal in Favored Land — park them inside and they regenerate between fights
• Peach of Immortality gives myth units bonus HP inside your territory
• Eventually drop a Titan Gate behind walls and walls and walls

Unit Composition

Heroic Push Army

Unit	Role	Priority
Fire Lances	Core DPS + building destruction	Highest — spam from Castle
Halberdiers / Daoswordsmen	Front line / meat shield	Medium — protect Fire Lances
Mounted Archers	Anti-melee, raiding	Medium — vs infantry-heavy opponents
Cataphracts	Anti-spearmen	Situational — vs anti-cav opponents
Immortals	Anti-myth	Situational — vs myth-heavy opponents

Late Game Army

• Fire Lances remain core throughout
• Add myth units for variety — they heal in Favored Land between fights
• Catapults for ranged siege supplementing Fire Lances
• Heroes for anti-myth duty

Matchup Tips

vs Early Rushes (Norse/Atlantean/Loki)

Shennong's walls and towers are your first line of defense. Wall up approaches, tower your resources, build small wall segments around towers. Make minimal military (enough to garrison and fight under tower fire). Survive to Heroic and you win. Don't overcommit to defense — you still need to be advancing.

vs Boom Civs (Egyptian/Greek)

Race to Heroic. Your Fire Lance timing often hits before they're ready. Push hard with the first wave. If they survive, your farm eco lets you sustain pressure while they try to catch up economically.

vs Chinese (Mirror)

Whoever reaches Fire Lances first usually wins. Focus on hitting Heroic fast and getting that Castle up. Wall to prevent early Yazi raids. Immortals are critical for dealing with enemy myth units.

Counter-Play Awareness

Know what counters Shennong so you can play around it:

• Chinese units have poor pierce armor — mass archers counter your army hard. Answer with cavalry dives or Chu Ko Nu.
• Early aggression before Fire Lances — your Classical army is weak. Wall and tower to buy time.
• Hero-heavy compositions — heroes kill your myth units efficiently. Rely more on human soldiers if opponent spams heroes.

General Tips

• Fire Lances are the win condition. Everything before Heroic age is setup. Don't get distracted by Classical fights you don't need to win.
• Walls are free tempo. Shennong's cheap walls buy you minutes of safety that translate directly into faster tech advancement.
• Farm eco scales for free. Shennong's auto-upgraded farms mean your food income gets better without spending resources on techs.
• Keep myth units in Favored Land. Auto-healing + bonus HP means your myth units are always at full strength for the next fight.
• Don't be greedy. If you FH and don't push, you'll fall behind civs that are better at booming. Fire Lances exist to be used — build them and attack.
• Garden early. Favor income determines how fast you get myth units and key techs. Don't forget your first Garden.