The Aztecs were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in Central Mexico from 1300 to 1521. They comprised of various ethnic groups, particularly those who spoke the Nahuatl language. In Age of Empires II, they have a strong focus on infantery and monks. They have a notable economic bonus, but no particular unit worth booming into. Instead, with faster producing eagle warriors, great monks and good siege weapons, they are well equipped to play aggressively and put early pressure on the enemy. Just like the Aztecs, they also exuded absolute dominance in our beloved game for a while, only to then abruptly disappear from the scene.
In this episode, we’ll be taking a deep look into the history of the Aztecs to understand, where their bonuses come from. They were skilled farmers and subdued themselves to bloodthirsty gods, had gold in abundance and never used horses. Their campaign tells the story of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec empire, however, it’s actually not what happend in reality, but just a tale Hernan Cortez told to fool his king.
Timecodes:
00:00 Overview
04:55 Gold
06:10 Extra food from chinampas
11:20 Human sacrifices and garland wars
19:00 Units created 15% faster
22:25 Religion and monks
29:30 Atlatl
33:40 Eagle and jaguar warriors
40:50 Strategies and army compositions
55:30 Where the Aztecs stand today
01:01:45 Campaign: Moctezuma
Music: Aztecs Intro Music and „Operation Monkey“ of the official AoE II Soundtrack