[ AOE2 MAP ]
Hideout
The semi-closed compromise — pre-built stone walls protect the TC but gold and stone spawn outside, forcing methodical Feudal and explosive Castle Age plays.
[ MAP IDENTITY ]
Hideout is the hybrid of the ranked pool. Each base spawns with pre-built stone walls forming a U-shape around the Town Center — the front and flanks are enclosed by real stone walls (not a tree ring), with one or two gates pre-placed for egress. Starting resources (sheep, boar, berries, forest) are all inside the walled area, but the main gold and main stone piles spawn OUTSIDE the walls, typically on cliff edges or near the flanks. This creates a fundamentally different rhythm from Arabia or Arena: Dark Age aggression is nearly impossible (stone walls block scouts, so no scout-meet, no drush, no lamethrower), but Castle Age is explosive because both players must leave their walls to secure gold — and that's where the fights happen. Knight rushes, Crossbow pushes, monk+siege plays, and forward castle drops near gold piles define the map. Civs with strong Castle Age timings (Turks, Ethiopians, Incas, Italians, Aztecs, Mayans) over-index; civs whose bonuses live in Feudal aggression (Mongols, Huns, Cumans, Magyars) are severely weakened because there's no Dark/Feudal target to hit.
Strategic thesis
"The player who secures outer gold first AND transitions cleanly into Castle Age wins more often than either the better raider or the better boomer. Timing trumps aggression on Hideout."
🎯 Strategic pillars
Castle Age timing is the #1 variable
Hideout rewards whoever reaches Castle Age first with a meaningful military composition. The civ that can produce 4-6 knights or xbows by minute 18 wins the outer-gold contest.
action: Target Castle Age at 16:00-17:30. Do NOT delay for excessive Feudal infrastructure. Minimal market, minimal blacksmith in Feudal unless civ-specific. The tempo win comes from being first.
Outer gold is a contested resource, not a safe resource
Both players' main gold is OUTSIDE the walls. Whoever controls/denies outer gold first has a permanent eco edge.
action: Scout opponent's outer gold location by minute 10-12. By minute 15, have a plan: either mass for a gold-raid push, or fortify your own gold with stone-wall extension + watchtower/castle.
Extend stone walls in Castle Age
You START with stone and the pre-built walls are stone — extending them is the native and most efficient Castle-Age walling move. 30-50 stone converts an exposed gold pile into a walled resource.
action: By minute 18-20, extend your stone wall around the main gold pile. 4-6 wall segments + 1 watchtower reduces denial risk from 55% to ~15%.
Close the back before Castle Age
The U-wall's open back is a flank raid path for opponent knights. Leaving it open invites a back-raid loss.
action: By minute 10-12, a single villager palisades the back opening. Takes ~60-90s. Non-negotiable.
⚔️ Civilization tier list on Hideout
🚀 Dominant openings
Fast Castle Knights (flex rush)
Fast Castle at ~16:00-17:30, immediate Stable + Knight production. 4-6 knights pushed out by minute 18-19 to harass opponent's outer gold. Transition to full Castle-Age composition by minute 22.
Fast Castle Crossbow
Fast Castle into Archery Range + Crossbow production. 5-8 crossbows by minute 19 for outer gold defense or opponent-gold harass. Fletching + Bodkin priority. Works especially well on civs with archer bonuses.
Fast Imperial Gunpowder (Turks signature)
Fast Castle → skip mass Castle-Age army → beeline Imperial at minute 24-26 → Bombard Cannons and Hand Cannoneers to crack opponent's walls. Turks' free Chemistry = fastest BBC on the map. Requires defensive army (castles + a few knights/xbows) to survive the imp research window.
Scorpion Mass
Fast Castle → Siege Workshop → 4-6 scorpions pushed to opponent's outer gold / wall. Scorpions chain-shot through knight clumps and chip walls. Works particularly well on Hideout's tight lane geometry where scorpions hit multiple targets per shot.
❌ Common mistakes on Hideout
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▸
Breaking your own stone walls (for 'convenience')
Some low-ELO players delete the pre-built stone wall to 'make it easier to path.' This gives up the map's core defensive gift.
fix:Never delete the pre-built stone walls. Use the gates. If you need extra egress, build ADDITIONAL gates into the existing wall.
▸Trying to scout-rush or drush in Feudal
The walls block Dark Age contact. Any Feudal aggression on Hideout is a negative-EV play; you fall behind in eco.
fix:Go Fast Castle by default. Trust the map; Feudal is a transit phase here, not a fighting phase.
▸Ignoring the back opening
The U-wall's open back is a flank raid path. Opponent knights can walk around and kill villagers from the back.
fix:Close the back with palisade by minute 10-12. 1 villager, ~60-90s. Cheap insurance.
▸Not mining outer gold until Castle Age
If you wait for Castle Age to start outer gold mining, you're 60-90s behind the timing. Feudal miners (3-5 vils) build the gold bank you need for Castle Age tech.
fix:Start outer-gold mining by minute 14-15 in Feudal. Escort with 1-2 scouts or early militia.
Which ones did YOU make in your last match on this map?
🧱 Amurallado de base
Tiempo: ~60-90s of 1-vil labor to close the back opening with palisade; stone-wall extensions are ~2-3min of 2-vil labor in Castle Age
0 front gaps (pre-built walls); 1 large back opening; occasionally 1 flank gap
💰 Gold positions
Main gold is on the opponent-facing flank. Very raideable once Castle Age starts.
Main gold on a side flank — moderate exposure, walling is practical
Gold near the back of your base — safer but still needs a back-wall
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