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  • Author: Salient
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Guide

Introduction

This guide is divided into two parts. Part 1 (by Salient) gives basic strategies and model build orders useful for players working from 1700 to 1800. Part 2 (by Despair) focuses on advanced tactics and techniques to help win close games and hard matchups, most useful for 1750+ players pushing for 1800.

Part One — by Salient

Loki on Mediterranean (Water)

Good news — Loki is one of the best civs on water. This build is fairly defensive and works best vs Greeks, but can work in most matchups.

Build Order

  1. Ulfsark builds dock and house
  2. Cart + 4 villagers to wood
  3. 1 villager to sheep
  4. Cart + 2 Dwarves to gold
  5. 2 villagers to sheep
  6. Dwarf to gold
  7. Villager to sheep
  8. Dwarf to gold
  9. Villager to sheep — continue alternating

Make Dwarves to save food and advance faster. Build your temple at home. Click advance when you can. Switch all food villagers to wood. You should have about 5 Dwarves on gold. Turn off auto-queue on your dock. Build a second dock and a house. Get Hand Axe and Pick Axe.

Upon reaching Classical: Auto-queue Longboats and raid his fishing. Auto-queue villagers to wood. Make 1-2 Hersirs for defense and houses/docks, but put almost all resources into winning sea. This usually means a big sea fight with a 10-12 minute Njord Heroic.

Loki vs Greeks and Egypt on Land

This can be a hard matchup. Greek troops are powerful and yours are not. Egypt has Axemen + ranged heroes which will maul you. The key rule: don't rush unless their gold or critical resources are very exposed. Greek god powers and strong units are good against a rush. Egypt has free towers and walls (which give no favor when destroyed).

A semi-rush with map control is probably the most sound Loki strategy overall, but here's the easiest strategy that works well vs most 1800-and-lower players:

Hersir Raiding

Aim for a 4:30-5:00 Classical advance:

  1. Hunting Dogs
  2. 5 villagers to food
  3. Cart + 2 villagers to gold
  4. Cart + 1 villager to wood
  5. Dwarf to gold
  6. Villager to wood
  7. Dwarf to gold
  8. Villager to food
  9. Dwarf to gold
  10. Build temple at home
  11. Villager to food
  12. Dwarf to gold

Advance with Forseti. Move one gold villager to wood so you have 7 food, 4 gold, 3 wood. Build a house and second Temple while advancing. Auto-queue Hersirs from both Temples.

Execution: Raid with groups of Hersirs. Keep your Ulfsark home making houses + 1 Barracks. Research Hall of Thanes, then make RC from the Barracks. The key is keeping your enemy on the defensive and reacting to your raids while you collect favor. Don't lose Hersirs — bring wounded ones home to heal at your Healing Spring. Turn off auto-queue when ready for Heroic.

Economy: Add 1-2 villagers on wood, then auto-queue Dwarves on gold until ~14-15. Then put lots of villagers on food (probably sheep). Control your eco so you go Heroic when you want to. Grab a TC while advancing for 130 pop, then build a Hill Fort for Jarl/Ram support.

Loki vs Greeks/Egypt on Semi-Water

These are your best maps — lots of defendable fishing to feed your 80-food Hersirs or enable fast age advancing. On these maps, the Loki Fast Mythic (FM) works well:

Build Order

  1. Make 2nd Ulfsark ASAP — build two docks
  2. Starting villagers collect 50 food then go to wood (total 4 on wood)
  3. Next 2 villagers to food
  4. Dwarf to gold (double cart with wood if possible)
  5. Villager to food
  6. Dwarf to gold
  7. Food, wood — alternate with Dwarves to gold

Temple at home. Aim for 6:00 Forseti Classical. Secure your fishing with extra docks if threatened.

Upon Classical: Build armory immediately. Send 1-2 Hersirs past his base to whack at a tower (so he won't suspect FM). Create Dwarves to gold. Advance through Njord ASAP (~7:xx). Make a few Hersirs from your Temple.

In Heroic: Harass with Kraken. Build Market, trade if needed for fast Mythic. Build Hill Fort + Longhouses. Aim for ~10:30 Mythic with about 10 Hall of Thanes Hersirs, a Hill Fort making Jarls, and your free MU. Attack with Walking Woods + army + Nidhogg all at once.

Loki vs Norse on Land

Other Norse players hate playing against good Loki because of the rush. You must advance at 4:30 or earlier (food permitting).

Heimdall Rush Build Order

  1. Hunting Dogs
  2. Make 2nd Ulfsark ASAP to scout the entire map
  3. 4 villagers to food
  4. Cart + 2 villagers to gold
  5. Cart + 1 villager to wood
  6. Dwarf to gold
  7. Villager to wood
  8. 2 villagers to food
  9. Build Temple forward
  10. 1-2 Dwarves to gold, another villager to food
  11. Move 1 to wood → ~7 food, 4 gold, 3 wood for sub-4:30 advance

Tips:

  • Temple should be forward but not too far — Odin/Thor advance faster due to faster hunting
  • Build a bit more than halfway across the map, near a TC or hunting
  • Spy a hunter vs Norse — cutting them from hunting is devastating
  • Start with 1 Temple + 2 Longhouses. Hersir from Temple + 1 Longhouse, Throwing Axemen from the other
  • First few villagers on wood for Axemen cost, then auto-queue Dwarves to gold
  • Once you have favor and gold reserves, switch to full Throwing Axemen + Einherjar — this combo can't be properly countered in Classical
  • Micro Axemen to kill Hersirs

Loki vs Norse on Semi-Water

Aim for 5:00 or faster with a nice dock boom, then go rip them apart with mass Hersir + Throwing Axemen. Temple halfway across the map.

Loki vs Atlanteans on Land

Loki can be very good vs Atlanteans if they let you mass myth units. You can try rushing, Hersir raiding, or defensive booming. Here's the defensive boom approach:

Aim for 4:30 Forseti advance. Use 2 Temples vs Kronos. Harass Oracles (critical). Use your rush build order but build at home. Wall up. Get tower up. Make Hersirs. Don't fight losing battles — raid with Hersirs instead. Avoid big battles until Heroic when you have your god power. Get Hall of Thanes ASAP, tower up around your economy.

Important: On low food maps, don't waste troops fighting his mostly-wood units with your mostly-food units. You'll get stuck in Classical too long. Don't go crazy with Trolls — get a few for defense but save favor for Boars.

Loki vs Atlanteans on Semi-Water

Good maps for Loki. Either rush like vs Norse on semi-water, or play defensive and boom until Heroic. Same build order as vs Norse.

Part Two — Advanced Tactics by Despair

Loki vs Isis

The hardest matchup for Loki. The most important rule: never attempt the same strategy more than once before switching. Isis has a hard-counter for every Loki strategy, so you must keep the Isis player off balance.

Land Strategies

  1. Heimdall Rush: Advance at 4:20, take out their gold tower. Very risky, but effective as a surprise after a slow game. Build RC/Hersir (no TA). Heimdall towers are key. If the rush fails, pull back to map control and get Safeguard.
  2. Hersir Semi-Fast Heroic: Two versions — 100% Hersir FH (works vs pure chariot players) or the modified version where you put more on wood in Classical for an immediate Hill Fort upon reaching Heroic.
  3. Thor-Style RC 2TC FH: If you're struggling with "Loki-ish" strategies, play it like Thor. Much less room for error though.
  4. Fast Mythic: Very risky but can beat good Isis players purely through surprise. Manipulate your eco to reach Mythic around 10-13 minutes. Attack with HoT Hersir + Huskarls + Walking Woods + Nidhogg, then mop up with Fire Giants.

Water Map Strategies

Midgard: Best map for hard rush. Many Isis players advance at 6:00 while your enormous food eco lets you flood RC. Always forward build since you usually have only 1 gold mine. Any strategy works here except FM (sitting in base with 1 gold is too risky).

Anatolia: Do NOT rush. Go slow Hersir FH with 2-3 TCs pumping villagers. You will always lose water. Forward build and stop the enemy from reaching forward gold. Mix in non-Hersir Hill Fort units more often due to Egypt's massive food eco producing many Axemen.

Mediterranean: Hardest map for Loki vs Isis. You can surprise rush (wall up the opposite side while advancing so they can't escape to a farther gold mine). Best strategy: wall up one or both sides of their base, build some boats to slow their FH, but go FH fast yourself through Njord or Bragi. Always build some Hersirs at home before they hit Heroic — Ancestors will come as soon as they advance.

Highland: Very variable. Need 2-3 Ulfsark start just to get a dock up. Always advance earlier than Isis. Commit heavily to winning one pond. Best bet is Forseti TC grab + relatively early Heroic.

Critical Tips vs Isis

  • Abuse infantry building: Spam walls everywhere — by each gold, by TCs, wall up paths out of their base, wall off hunting/mining villagers and go kill them
  • Always get pierce armor before Heroic fights (Isis always has many chariots)
  • If you see Hathor, immediately build 2 ox carts and split your gold into 3 groups (you can't withstand Locusts on concentrated gold)
  • When Hersir raiding, use partially-built barracks to trap villagers
  • Build walls to spot incoming Sphinx for Ancestors
  • Don't be afraid to modify your strategy mid-game
  • Counter Axemen with Battle Boars — run them in front into the Axemen
  • Go 2 Ulfsark start on land (unless hard rushing) for more sheep, faster scouting, and disruption
  • Resist the temptation to auto-build Dwarves from TC — alternate Dwarf/Villager manually for a stronger eco + army
  • Trap his army between 2 parts of yours before casting Flaming Weapons
  • Battle Boars can steamroll a TC — abuse this

Loki vs Greeks

High Hunt Land

  • Hersir Raid: Build at home. Do NOT fight his army until Heroic. Keep his army spread across the map chasing your Hersirs. Don't commit until you have many Battle Boars or TC advantage.
  • Njord FH: Go 7:00 FH, heavy food and gold, minimal wood (enough for armory). Switch some to wood on the way to Heroic for Hill Fort. Build Huskarl/Jarl/Hersir/Einherjar. Don't cast Walking Woods until you have many Einherjar (WW boosts them). Send 2 Hersirs to attack a tower early to fake a rush while your Ulfsark builds the armory.

Low Hunt

2 Ulfsark start, grab all sheep, abuse Hersir raiding. Keep his army spread out, finish in Heroic. Njord FH also works with mass Huskarls/Jarls.

By Map

MapStrategy
Mediterranean7:00 Njord FH, or 4:50 rush his docks with Hersir + boats (build your dock next to his)
Midgard5:40 advance with enormous eco, outmass with many military buildings spread apart (vs Pestilence). Break 1-2 houses early. If he Restores, run — your eco recovers faster
Anatolia2 Ulfsark vs Zeus, 1 vs others. Wall Ulfsarks in so he can't stop your dock. Take one side of water, grab TCs. Forseti or Heimdall
HighlandUlfsark start vs Zeus. Forseti TC grab + early Heroic. Win at least one pond

Loki vs Kronos

Counter Rush Build (4:00 advance):

  1. 4 villagers to food + Ox Cart + Hunting Dogs
  2. 2 + Ox to gold
  3. 1 villager to wood
  4. 1 Dwarf to gold
  5. 1 villager to food
  6. 1 villager to wood
  7. Build Temple, Ox Cart to wood
  8. Advance with 6 food, 3 gold, 3 wood

Loki vs Norse

  • Land: 4:10 rush (a good Thor or Odin will match your 4:10). Going later means losing.
  • Water: 4:40 rush, abuse garrison.

Loki vs Oranos

  • Land: 4:10 rush, 4:10 defense, or 4:30 Hersir raid
  • Semi-water: Heimdall and outproduce him

Conclusion

Have fun playing Loki. Make lots of myth units, and may your Nidhogg avoid the Bolt.