[ AOE2 MAP ]

Continental

Large landmass dotted with 3-6 scattered medium lakes that force a supplementary water economy onto otherwise land-dominant play.

Hybrid Ranked pool land-dominant with water flavor; scouting around lakes

[ MAP IDENTITY ]

Continental is a land-dominant hybrid. The map surface is one large continuous landmass punctuated by 3-6 medium lakes (typically 20-40 tiles across each), scattered semi-randomly between and around player spawns. Each player usually has a lake within 15-20 tiles of their TC, with additional lakes interrupting the overland path between players. Unlike Mediterranean (single dominant inland sea) or Islands (pure water), Continental's water is a supplementary resource channel: each lake supports maybe 3-5 fishing ships and a small defensive galley fleet. Full water dominance is impossible because lakes are disconnected — you'd need to transport galleys between lakes, which is prohibitively slow. Continental forces a hybrid tech spread: even "land" civs benefit from a dock + 2-3 fishing ships to supplement food. Games feel like Arabia with extra resource complexity and reshaped scouting paths.

Strategic thesis

"Supplementary water eco gives a ~100 food/minute boost and unlocks lake-adjacent resources. Skipping dock entirely concedes the eco edge; over-committing to navy wastes tempo because lakes are too small to support a real fleet."

🎯 Strategic pillars

Pillar #1

Build the supplementary dock — always

3-5 fishing ships on the home lake = ~100 food/minute. Skipping dock forfeits this for the entire game. Even land civs benefit.

action: Minute 8-10: dock on home lake. Produce 3-5 fishing ships. Let dock idle or repurpose to galleys after initial 3-5 ships.

Pillar #2

Scout both sides of your home lake in Dark Age

Lakes block scout paths. Opponent might be on the opposite side of your home lake — scouting only one direction misses them for 2+ extra minutes.

action: Dark Age: send scout one way around lake; if no opponent by minute 5, detour the other way. Find opponent by minute 7-8.

Pillar #3

Play land-dominant, water-supplementary

Lakes are too small for real navy fleets. Over-committing to navy (7+ galleys, 10+ fishing ships) wastes tempo because the map can't sustain it.

action: Cap fishing ships at 3-5 per lake. Skip Castle Age galley mass unless your civ is Vikings/Portuguese and you're pushing Longboats/Caravels specifically.

Pillar #4

Mid-map lakes = relic transport routes

1-2 relics on mid-map lake islands require transport boats. Civs with monk bonuses over-index.

action: Castle Age: if opponent isn't pressuring, build a transport and 2-3 monks. Pick up island relics for ~60-100 gold/minute/relic.

⚔️ Civilization tier list on Continental

S
Vikingos Vikingos Japoneses Japoneses Italianos Italianos Francos Francos Mayas Mayas
A
Britanos Britanos Persas Persas Chinos Chinos Etíopes Etíopes Incas Incas Malayos Malayos Bizantinos Bizantinos Portugueses Portugueses Españoles Españoles Coreanos Coreanos Celtas Celtas
B
Romanos Romanos Búlgaros Búlgaros Bereberes Bereberes Teutones Teutones Lituanos Lituanos Eslavos Eslavos Vietnamitas Vietnamitas
C
Mongoles Mongoles Hunos Hunos Magiares Magiares Tártaros Tártaros
D
Godos Godos Cumanos Cumanos Turcos Turcos

🚀 Dominant openings

Arabia-Style Scout/Archer Rush + Supplementary Dock

Primarily Arabia-style opener — scout or archer rush at minute 10-13 — with a small dock built at minute 9-10 for 3-4 fishing ships in the background. Fish eco is supplementary, not primary. Best for land-dominant civs.

franks mayans britons mongols chinese ethiopians

Fast Castle + 2 TC + Fishing Supplementary

Standard Fast Castle at ~16 min with a dock built at minute 8 for 4-5 fishing ships in parallel. Castle Age brings 2 TC + Knight/Xbow production. Fish eco funds the 2nd TC stone + food.

persians chinese mayans italians japanese

Dock-Heavy Hybrid (Water-Civ)

Dock at minute 7-8 with 5-7 fishing ships, 2-3 Feudal galleys for home-lake defense, transition to Castle Age with strong fish eco. Still commits wood to land military but prioritizes water-eco first.

vikings japanese italians malay portuguese

Pure Land (Skip Dock)

Skip dock entirely. Play Continental like Arabia. Works for land-focused civs at lower ELO; caps out in effectiveness against hybrid-tech opponents.

goths franks_pure_land teutons_land_focus

❌ Common mistakes on Continental

  • ▸

    Not building a dock at all

    ~100 food/minute of fish eco is free vs land-only play. Skipping it loses 10+ minutes of effective eco over a 25-minute game.

    fix:Minute 8-10: dock on home lake. 3-5 fishing ships.

    ▸

    Over-building fishing ships (10+)

    Small lakes run dry of shore fish around 5-6 ships. Extra fishing ships idle or sail to mid-map for contested deep fish.

    fix:Cap at 3-5 fishing ships per home lake. More = wasted wood.

    ▸

    Sending scout only one direction around lake

    Scout misses opponent for 2+ extra minutes. Denies information needed for Feudal plan.

    fix:Dark Age: detour scout both directions around lake. Confirm opponent location by minute 7.

Which ones did YOU make in your last match on this map?

🧱 Amurallado de base

Dificultad: medium (similar to Arabia)

Tiempo: 3-4 minutes of 2-vil labor

10-18 wall segments; lakes provide some natural walling (lake shore adjacent to base)

💰 Gold positions

INLAND_SAFE

Gold is inland and safe. Standard Arabia-style play.

LAKE_SIDE

Gold blocks direct dock path. Not a raid concern but an eco-inefficiency concern.

OVERLAND_EXPOSED

Gold is on opponent's raid path. Standard Arabia-style front gold.

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