Age of Darkness: Final Stand is a true challenge for anyone looking to sharpen their defensive real-time strategy (RTS) skills. With limited resources from scattered villages, you’ll need to fend off relentless waves of Nightmares. Even seasoned strategists may find it tough, so mastering essential gameplay techniques is crucial for success.
If you’re new to defending Erodar, these strategies will ensure your torches stay lit and your walls remain intact. Ultimately, your choices will determine your survival when the night descends and the enemy swarm approaches.
Start with the Campaign
While Survival mode is the main focus of Age of Darkness, it’s advisable to complete at least the first two acts of the Campaign first. Although the pace might feel slow, it serves as an excellent introduction to gameplay mechanics and strategy, helping you understand the strengths and weaknesses of your units.
The peak of Act 2 requires you to defend Norfolk against the first true Nightmare Swarm. Successfully completing this mission means you’re probably prepared for Survival mode.
Utilize Hotkeys
Effective use of hotkeys can make a significant difference in any RTS game, and Age of Darkness is no exception; hotkeys can save lives. Hotkeys allow you to command your troops and construct buildings much faster than relying solely on mouse clicks, saving crucial time during gameplay.
Make sure to assign numbers to the units at each defense point for quick access and press B to access the build menu instead of clicking on your Keep. Mastering these two techniques can enhance your chances of winning.
Position Ranged Units Wisely
Often, you’ll need to send melee units to confront the enemy before they breach your walls, but ranged units like Archers and Hunters should remain behind. They can attack over the walls, allowing them to inflict damage without putting themselves at risk.
Ideally, your ranged units will operate from Towers, granting them a bonus to Armor Shred and additional protection. However, be aware that there might not be enough space to accommodate all of them.
Maintain Steady Unit Production
Expect heavy losses when the Nightmares strike, so it’s essential to have a continuous flow of reinforcements, typically from multiple Training Halls. Even if you think you have sufficient troops, always queue up additional units to prepare for casualties, as training individual soldiers takes time and each Training Hall can only handle one at a time.
It’s also important for each strategic point to have its own Training Hall. If an outpost is under threat, it can’t wait for reinforcements to arrive from other areas unless local guards can hold the line.
Illuminate Roads Between Outposts
One challenge that can catch new players off guard is the Death Fog, which envelops the map during significant Nightmare attacks. Any unlit areas will be covered in this lethal green mist, quickly eliminating any troops caught within.
It’s vital to prepare for the Death Fog in advance by constructing and safeguarding light sources along roads. Otherwise, you may find it impossible to maneuver troops across the map, leading to isolated outposts that fall one by one.
Spread Out Your Defenses
While it might seem appealing to amass a large army and overly fortify your Keep, doing so can cripple your economy as surrounding villages succumb to Nightmares. Instead, focus on defending critical points on the map that must not fall, ensuring they are adequately fortified.
This aspect of the game poses one of its main challenges, requiring you to make difficult choices—deciding whether to withdraw your Sentinels for experience points or sacrifice them for additional resources. Remember, it’s much harder to reclaim an uncared-for area than to keep repairing and defending it.
Enhance Troop Experience
From the beginning of your journey, whether in Survival or Campaign mode, you should be actively seeking out enemies for your troops to combat before the swarms arrive. Heroes and basic soldiers level up significantly after engaging in battles, so training a strong defense squad for your villages will greatly benefit you.
Keep in mind that while wandering Nightmares become stronger at night, they offer more experience points when defeated. Scouting the map for choke points, resources, and useful strategic advantages for your defense will also pay off.
Keep Villagers Ready for Emergencies
In a world overrun by Nightmares, the instinct might be to assign every Villager to a task—be it resource gathering, research, or combat. Yet, it can be advantageous to have a few idle Villagers at your disposal.
Idle Villagers can be deployed instantly, eliminating delays in building new structures such as Ballista Towers or forming new troops in a pinch. While creating dwellings doesn’t take much time, when your Villager count is crucial, the waiting time can feel unbearably long.
By adopting these strategies, you’ll increase your chances of survival in Age of Darkness: Final Stand, fighting back against the Nightmares with confidence and insight.