It is important to note that in all Age of Empires games, the food content of an animal deteriorates over time thus, ideally animals should be collected from by more than one Villager to minimize this food loss.Ī Villager farming in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition.įarms provide a steady amount of food that is easy to gather from because its placement is done by the player so the Farms can be placed at a safe and economically beneficial position (close to a drop-off point). There are animals in the game that cannot be hunted such as birds as well as animals such as Wolves which can be killed but do not provide food. The major downside of animals is that they are non-sustainable and players will do a lot of traveling to get to find them. This can be useful, because with enough patience, the player can use their units to herd them closer to drop-off points. Animals can be found in groups all through the maps, when one is shot, the others will run in the opposite direction. During the early parts of the game, hunting is by far the best way to acquire food for one's settlement as the gather rates are faster than any other source of food. Other than gathering berries, hunting animals and wild game is the first way that a player can go about gathering food. Two Villagers hunting a deer in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition.
Bushes usually do not last very long because they are not very common and do not replenish once they are consumed. The advantages of Forage Bushes over hunting is that they are fixed in one location throughout the game and the food does not decay over time, making gathering food more efficient. They are mostly used early on since they are relatively accessible, allowing a boost for growing civilizations.
If not stated otherwise, these methods are available in all games of the series.īerry picking in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition.īerry Bushes are typically scattered throughout the map in clumps at the start of the game. There are various ways to gather food, all of which are listed here.