Deviation Actions
For the finale of the Age of Mythology Tale of the Dragon expansion themed top 10s, I have decided (as you may have read in my previous entry) to make a list of the 10 best Chinese gods, including the minor and major. I will be ranking them based on their backstory and overall usefulness of their god powers, improvements and benefits to the game. This is based mostly around skirmishes and the campaign as I haven’t played online in recent years. Although I have watched videos of people doing it so there will be a little bit of that in this list. Just a reminder that this is my personal opinion; it may not match yours, but feel free to state your personal choices in the comments below (I have yet to see anyone do that though).
10. Fu Xi
I’ve read somewhere that people are tempted to place Fu Xi in the highest tier, along with Oranos and Isis. Although Fu Xi has some strong points, I don’t know if he’s all that powerful. His greatest benefits would be the cheaper unit line upgrades and especially the buildings that cost less wood. This makes it possible to construct buildings sooner, especially gardens, and strengthen your army sooner.
But I am questioning his other bonuses. The Year of the Goat god power, while amusing and good for food shortage, has its flaws. The goats created are at minimum fatness, and it will be a while before they fatten up. By the time you’re out of hunting or existing herdables, you’d probably have already moved onto farms. I supposed the idea is to use it sooner in the game, like the Dwarven Mine power, but I have yet to find the need to use it that way. Then there’s the domestication technology, which makes peasants gather from ducks, berry bushes and chickens faster. Even at its low cost, it’s too difficult to research it early enough to gain that speed bonus, without actually causing major setbacks with the wood shortage. At least it also allows faster food gathering from herdables.
Finally there’s the blessed construction power. While faster construction is appreciated, it sucks that you have to pay resources to allow peasants to build faster. They could have just made the bonus say “peasants build faster”, but I guess they needed to make the bonus show off more. This doesn’t make Fu Xi a bad major god to pick, since there is potential in these bonuses. It’s just that I don’t think they’re enough to make him as powerful as Isis.
09. He Bo
With He Bo, some of his benefits are average, but the good stuff is really good. His technologies Rammed Earth and Lord of the River boost the HP of buildings and fire ships respectively. I can understand Rammer Earth making a forward base stronger but I’m not a big fan of the fire ships. The sacrifices technology however is a big welcome. It’s essentially the favor equivalent of Flood of the Nile, and grants a favor trickle. That means you can make your gardens generate food, wood or gold and still get a favor trickle (although a slow one). The Geyser god power as I talked about previously has its uses, but it is very situational. From what I saw it doesn’t deal that much damage, but it heavily displaces enemy units, make them easier to kill. I saw a player use it perfectly on a group of villagers mining gold outside an enemy town and they were unable to escape a raid. But He Bo’s greatest asset is the amphibious War Salamander, which is my favourite Chinese myth unit. These guys were so powerful that they had to be nerfed. Even now they can stand their ground against even some mythic age myth units. Their ability to travel from land to water is perfect for hit and runs and can greatly assist you in water wars. Plus they sound so cool. He Bo is not my first choice for a Heroic Age god but he will be of great use if the situation requires it.
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08. Shennong
This major god was initially ranked below Fu Xi, until I realised that his benefits are tailor made for how I play with the Chinese. Part of why Shennong is low on the list is because his bonuses, for the most part, do not become relevant until the Heroic Age with the introduction of monks and siege weapons. First of all, his monks heal faster, which I am very grateful for because Fu Xi’s and Nü Wa’s monks heal units fairly slowly. They can also convert myth units, which is a difficult task because those are usually on the move, take a long time to convert and are rarely used by the AI in random maps. But Shennong also provides really cheap wall upgrades, which I can tell will be very useful in many defensive scenarios. But the best part about this major god is the god power Timber Harvest. I used to think it was just a cheap knock off of Isis’ prosperity (it kind of still is), but I only realised recently how important wood is in the Classical Age. Thanks to this huge wood income, it’s easier for me to construct many buildings and train lots of fishing ships and Chu Ko Nu, the Chinese archers. This goes well with the minor goddess Chang’E (which we will cover shortly) who boosts your archers further. Shennong also has the wheelbarrow technology to increase how many resources peasants can carry. Nothing phenomenal but it does help.
07. Zhong Kui
Now things are getting interesting. In my opinion, Zhong Kui has the most interesting back story of all the gods. He was a mortal who did well on the Imperial Examinations but was denied a place because of his ugliness. He commits suicide by throwing himself against the palace doors over and over. Following this, he should have been sent to hell but because of his high scores, he was tasked with looking over ghosts and demons. Moving on, let’s talk about his god power Uproot. I used to criticize it for being an ineffective god power because the roots can easily be killed and can damage your own buildings if they’re built too close. But if your opponent is too busy concentrating on your army attacking him, this power does have potential. My best result was casting the roots onto houses that the AI foolishly built in a single area. Within seconds, all of the houses were destroyed and he couldn’t create enough units to counter attack. His benefits are decent. Unbridled Anger boosts the attack of your infantry. This at first seems flawed because the Chinese only have one infantry unit, the Halberdier. But if you’re going heavy on monks, they can also convert infantry units who sadly don’t benefit from many of the Chinese exclusive upgrades. But Unbridled Anger slightly remedies this by giving converted Ulfsarks or Hoplites a slight boost in strength. Demon Slayer is a better improvement as it causes your Immortals to quickly dispose of enemy myth units. The best part about Zhong Kui is his myth unit: the Jiangshi. A zombie with stiff limbs is already an interesting idea, but this guy is surprisingly powerful. Like the Norse Troll, Jiangshi actually heal HP with every strike they inflinct. But their special ability allows them to steal enormous chunks of health from their enemies. This is increased further by the Life Drain technology. The Jiangshi is also remarkably fast and affordable as it costs wood and favor, so massing them is quite easy and worth it.
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06. Chang’e
The goddess Chang’e has the second most interesting backstory of the Chinese gods, right after Zhong Kui. She was initially banished to Earth to live as mortals along with her husband Houyi. The latter obtained the Elixir of Immortality from Xi Wangmu out of pity who would either make a person immortal if they drank half or ascend to the heavens as a god if they drank the whole thing. Chang’e accidently drank it all when she found the vial while Houyi was away and was ascended to the moon. Houyi would only ascend to the sun after being murdered by his apprentice, allowing the couple to see one another from time to time.
That was the last story I will tell, promise. Anywho, I personally think Chang’e’s technologies are superior to Zhong Kui’s even if she is available in the Classical Age. The best one is certainly Elixir of Immortality, which allows Immortals to regenerate rather fast. This makes them more durable and less reliant on Monks. Jade Rabbit allows your heroes and all human units to move slightly faster (+0.4 on average). It’s not a big change but it does add up in the long run and affects a variety of units. And then there’s my favourite, Houyi’s bow, which boosts your Chu Ko Nu’s attack. I usually go heavy on archers in early Chinese games so this is one is especially useful.
It’s a shame that Chang’e’s myth unit, the Qilin, is not as practical in battle. I actually use it more as a scout as it has greater line of sight than the Chinese Scout Cavalry and is immune to many powers such as Bolt, Traitor and Spy, making it safe for scouting. It does decent in battle but its ability to heal allied units with its blood is only of use when it dies, something I don’t like to see happening to my myth units. As for the Barrage god power, for some reason just does not appeal to me. It is fairly useful early in the game, as the arrows can easily kill weak unimproved units, and it is fitting to the Chang’e mythos. But like Meteor its accuracy is laughable, one time I witnessed it hitting enemy units once, and every other time killing individual boars. Oh and it does not affect flying units, what a shame.
05. Chongli
Of all mythic age gods, Chongli’s technologies are likely the most useful for the Chinese. His Heavenly Fire technology removes the Food and Wood cost of your armory technologies, something that really stands out. That can save your huge amounts of resources that can be used to train more units. Just make sure to have lots of peasants on those remaining gold mines, or even lots of yak caravans. Ancient Destroyer already has a cool name and icon (it’s a whale, I love whales)! Faster ships mean a more manoeuvrable marine armada that can evade projectiles or ambush docks more quickly. I believe it also affects transport ships, so attacks can come more quickly. And then there’s Stirrup who is a lot more practical than other improvements like Unbridled Anger. That’s because it boosts cavalry HP, and the Chinese may only have one infantry unit but they have five cavalry units (Scout Cavalry, Mounted Archer, Cataphract, General and War Chariot (a little much I say)). The Inferno god power has proven itself to be quite effective. I have seen many units and buildings lose considerable HP to the flames. It’s a shame that it’s not a very original concept, but then again Chongli looks fairly generic for a god. And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for, the infamous Vermilion Bird. They have also been nerfed but have shown me how powerful they still are. Not only can they only be hit by ranged units, but their firestorm attacks deal considerable amounts of damage at a rather high speed. This is most notable when lots of buildings or units are cluttered together. Have a handful of birds at your disposal and you are sure to level an enemy town.
04. Nü Wa
There she is, the third major god. Of all three, Nü Wa’s benefits are the most practical, and unlike Fu Xi, I can easily see her as a tier 1 goddess. The acupuncture technology is especially useful when hunting wild animals like boars, bears and the newly introduced rams, as it allows peasants to regenerate HP (fun fact, Chang’E is available through Nü Wa, that’s two type of units that can regenerate). This is also useful for raids as it allows peasants to recover from attacks. Even if some of them die, Nü Wa can bring up to 3 of them back to life thanks to the God Power Recreation, a surprisingly unique concept. I have yet to determine how long you have until it’s too late to use recreation. What I do know is that the amount of food it saves you from a loss is quite noticeable. Well it’s actually not that big of a deal because Nü Wa makes your human units cheaper, that includes your peasants. This bonus, in combination to Huang Di’s Oracle Bone Script, means you will have insanely cheap war academy units at your disposal.
Overwhelming your opponents at this point is inevitable but that’s not all. Nü Wa’s gardens also provide favor faster and +1 population cap, which makes it easier to have more units available early on, notably peasants, who only take up 1 population. And finally, markets can be built in the classical age, something I wish I would have thought of when making my Roman civilization. The AoE wiki states that Nü Wa is custom made for players who may find themselves struggling at the beginning of a game. I certainly agree with that and highly recommend players to use Nü Wa as a major god.
03. Huang Di
According to what I’ve been reading, Huang Di is actually the most beneficial god available to the Chinese and a must pick. And sadly, I have to agree with them as Huang Di is actually too powerful. As I mentioned earlier, this Oracle Bone Script technology makes War Academy units cheaper. So my Cho Ko Nus don’t become stronger but I save a lot of resources and can train more of them. Alright then, it’s not like they were very weak in the first place. Next is Five Grains, which is kind of a rip off to Ptah’s Shaduf technology, as both decrease the cost of farms. Ptah makes better use of this technology because Egyptian farms cost gold, but an easy transition to farming is a big welcome. Stone Armor causes Terracotta Warriors to deal more damage upon death (an odd choice now that I think about it because a technology with armor in its name should increase their hack or pierce armor). I really wish they wouldn’t make so many improvements that boost the myth unit’s special attack only. Terracotta Warriors thankfully are a very nice myth unit, very fitting for the Chinese mythology. Plus the concept of them giving resources back upon death makes sense because they’re essentially made of clay and stone. Even more, it fits the whole Chinese battle strategy of massing many units and overwhelming enemies.
Huang Di’s best contribution is definitely his god power Call to Arms, which allows you to clone your units. I’ve already talked about how that once saved me for a tight situation by creating an instant army for me. It can also save you lots of resources, especially if you save the god power for the mythic age to clone an Azure Dragon. Even if Huang Di is very useful, using him leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. It almost feels like I’m cheating or taking a cowardly short cut. Plus I don’t like his artwork all that much or his in game profile. Huang Di isn’t exactly a god of fire or warfare or anything, he’s just stated to be god and yellow/jade emperor (which one is the right one I can’t remember). So while he is powerful, he just won’t make the top of the list.
02. Xi Wangmu
Man I love that name. Alright I’ll come right out and say it, the reason Xi Wangmu is so high on the list is because of the Earth Dragon god power. That god power is so much fun to use and just watching that beast breathe fire onto everything around it is an absolute delight. It is also the only Chinese god power that can be used multiple times, so I can use it against multiple enemy bases. There’s also the White Tiger myth unit, which looking back I wish I put higher on the top 10 Chinese myth unit list, at least above the Pixiu. This feline may not be as strong as the Chimera according to some, but it’s still lots of fun to watch it leap onto its victim and it does deal considerable damage. It is also considerably fast but can be made even faster and bulkier thanks to the Tiger Spirit technology. As for the Golden Peaches technology, it increases the HP of Castle units, including the Fire Lances and War Chariots who I enjoy using late in the game. I have yet to test to see how much more HP it grants to the chariots in comparison to Chongli’s Stirrup and if it also affects the mighty Sitting Tigers. There’s also Celestial Palace that increases the HP of castles and makes Castle units train faster, which is ideal for making forward bases and overwhelming enemies with fire lances. If Xi Wangmu is worshipped under Nü Wa, it can be relatively safe to build such forward bases with regenerating peasants. In short, Xi Wangmu maybe isn’t the most powerful choice but it is certainly the most fun, which is what I’d rather have from an Age of Mythology game.
Why didn’t Sun Wukong and Dabo Gong make the list?
Sun Wukong does have the Great Journey god power that boosts the speed of all your units, including the Yak Caravans. It’s a great power, but I hold a personal grudge because that was a god power I initially chose for Janus. The Monkey King are also only okay as a myth unit, they are strong and have an interesting special attack but could have been designed with an actual weapon, like the Minotaur. The real problem lies with the technologies. Golden-banded Staff does actually boost an attack stat of a Chinese myth unit, but again, it doesn’t grant the monkey a staff. Pillar of the Ocean makes fishing ships, docks and junks (arrow ships) stronger, but that is only useful on naval maps. Besides, stronger fishing ships don’t impress me as much because even if someone were to attack mine, I’d just hide them in the dock before they’re too low on HP. The Paper Talisman technology does make Halberdiers stronger, but it only affects Halberdiers, a unit I usually stop using later in the game.
Dabo Gong was praised on Forgotten Empires’ comments section for being a big economic help, but I don’t think he’s that big of help in the end. The god power Imperial Examination makes building construction and unit training faster. Somehow even after casting the power I feel like my workers could have built a lot more. By the time I’m in the Heroic Age, I’m mostly building castles, and even with five villagers building under the influence of the god power they take a long time to be constructed. The unit training speed boost can be useful for attacking with a forward base, but the God Power is currently flawed. Any unit that has not finished training the when god power timer runs out, will actually have its % lowered to an amount that would be like if the god power was never used. The Pixiu myth has decent attack, speed and pierce armor, but its attack speed is super slow and its hack armor is rather low so it is very vulnerable to melee combat. At least it generates gold when it attacks, but gardens and markets can already do the job right. “Burials” does speed up the conversion of enemy units, but without Zhong Kui’s improvement, they are not stronger in the heroic age. Landlord Spirit is even worse. Sure it makes peasants train faster but by the heroic age, you should have plenty of peasants already. Dabo Gong’s greatest asset is House Altars, which speeds up the rate at which gardens generate resources. Having more free resources is better.
01. Ao Kuang
When making this list, I originally thought Ao Kuang does not provide the best improvements or god power. Over the hours (this list took hours to write with the many distractions today), not only did I realise that Ao Kuang has some pretty neat improvements, but he is a ton of fun to use. Great Flood is still not the strongest disaster god power since it seems to not deal that much damage. But man is it so much fun to watch those waves travel across the map from one enemy base to another. On the Yellow River random map, I had the waves hit three towns. I didn’t even know a tsunami god power was possible to make, but Forgotten Empires pulled it off. The technologies are also pretty good. Dragon Scales improves the hack armor of your human units, not just halberdiers, not just archers, ALL of them, including the converted ones. This is a great boost to any army. East Sea makes your ships super cheap, making it easier to mass large armadas and take over the sea. I also tested Nezha’s Defeat and confirm it solely improves the Azure Dragons’ special attack, allowing them to kill a War Elephant 5 seconds sooner. Thankfully their special attack hits many units, and I’m sure it can instantly kill some villagers. And that’s the best part about Ao Kuang: the myth units. With the introduction of the Azure Dragon, I can finally mass train dragons for my army, something the Norse couldn’t do. Azure Dragons are amazing, they have great stats and they are amphibious like the War Salamanders. That means they don’t need to occupy space in your transport ships whenever you’re on an island map and attacks are easier. Azure Dragons are seriously uber powerful! They’re in my top 3 myth units for sure. I know some of you have problems with the Dragon Turtle not being just a turtle but you have the Egyptian War Turtle so hush! Dragon Turtles look awesome, they do exist in Chinese mythology and they are fitting for the God of Dragons. Okay so I did some tests and Dragon Turtles aren’t that powerful against other naval Myth Units but they are tough against ships, so they make good support. Also they can shoot a fireball from their mouth before closing in for the attack! Okay I rambled enough, Ao Kuang is my favourite Chinese God.
I am aware that my previous top 10 god list was made prior to the release of the expansion and the new arrivals may have made it on the list. This may also be the case for other list, like the top 10 god powers or top 10 Five Nights at Freddy’s animatronics. Maybe I should remake some of those lists.
