Infos about Malta?

No Flag hidden_blaze
Musketeer
Posts: 58
Joined: Apr 7, 2020

Infos about Malta?

Post by hidden_blaze »

I've been looking into Malta and find it very hard to find any kind of information about how to play them (mainly in 1v1). There's nothing on the strategy wall, no up to date yt videos and I didn't find any streamer who plays them either. So I'd really appreciate any bit of information anyone can give or refer to, be it BOs, card orders, MU theory or just general input about the strengths and weaknesses of the civ. :smile:
User avatar
Italy Garja
Retired Contributor
Donator 02
Posts: 9729
Joined: Feb 11, 2015
ESO: Garja

Re: Infos about Malta?

  • Quote

Post by Garja »

Image Image Image
No Flag hidden_blaze
Musketeer
Posts: 58
Joined: Apr 7, 2020

Re: Infos about Malta?

Post by hidden_blaze »

Any serious information?
User avatar
Italy Garja
Retired Contributor
Donator 02
Posts: 9729
Joined: Feb 11, 2015
ESO: Garja

Re: Infos about Malta?

Post by Garja »

Will maybe write down a basic strat for Malta in the near future.
Image Image Image
Rainbow Land callentournies
Howdah
Posts: 1676
Joined: May 6, 2021
ESO: esuck

Re: Infos about Malta?

  • Quote

Post by callentournies »

twitch.tv/gimmick_aoe mains malta but doesn't save VODs

I play some Malta, I played some yesterday. Here's a video of me playing Malta yesterday against Soldier: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1672800805

Malta can fixed gun lame really well. That's how Gimmick plays, where you ship a fixed gun first in age 3 usually. I don't like doing that. I liked outposts and forts, then the game made it too easy.

I play Malta like I play brit. I boom and stay age 2 long enough to thwart my opponent's first fortress push, then age up (if the trade was good enough) or stay age 2 (if the trade was even). Malta cannot fast age, like brit. If they never come to me I go to them or age up. To do this I ship spice trade and silversmith. My units (musks and huss) are already upgraded in stats & don't have age 2 upgrade cards, I can afford to send these cards. I have AA in deck and sometimes ship it (age 2 sentinels have 200+ hp, 28 attack, and 4.4 speed w/AA ups)

That said, Malta is best in age 3. They're an age 3 civ where they can abuse steel bolts, xbow combat, musk combat, shadow tech'd better huss, fixed guns, and 15 dop shipment. Proper play should be trying to punish malta before they get age 3 which I think is almost impossible if blayers are good enough, but no one good plays aoe3 let alone Malta. Malta also has a great 9-10 min timing imho if you send crates instead of spice trade and silversmith. Opponents should punish, delay, or interrupt 3 tc/wignacourt booming and follow up. Malta playing to Malta's strengths can't punish either of these. Subsist (until you're better): the mantra of macro civs. Italy will FI and tear you to shreds.

Here's a general guide:
1. START
- either TP and house, OR
- market, TP, house, hunting dogs
- send 3v
- age w/400w

With good treasures just TP and house start can age a vill earlier. I've become a convert to market start though.

2. TRANSITION
- always german tongue, send all vills to wood ASAP after hitting 800f
... gimmick sometimes doesn't german tongue. IMO there's no reason not to 3 tc boom at 4 mins from an outpost that also makes cav and teleports like Christian Bale in The Prestige

3. AGE 2
- wignacourt (3x eco theory), OR 700w
... if you're getting hard rushed you 700w and rax off 400w and make 5 bow/pike units at a time while 3 TC booming with german tongue until you max 6 settler wagons. the macro is tricky but doable, and you'll hold. Ship another crate if necessary, or units if absolutely necessary. Wignacourt after and add huss from your cav-post-center-The Prestige Teleportation Device and do a big mass.
... you wigna court all other times, even if getting pressured early (but not all in rushed) because shipping eco theory 3x in a row instantly is a good thing to do after youve 3 TC boomed
- no cyap my most common BO is 3v, german tongue, wigna court, 700w, spice trade, silversmith. then ship 8 bows for a timing or just age or 600w for even more pop space for massive mass while 3x eco theory, steel traps, amalgamation, spice trade, silversmith eco does its thing. It's really strong to have +20% yield in addition to gather rate for villager walking purposes and having res last longer under buildings that grant 3x eco theory in a radius.
... malta musk/huss have better stats but cost more. so if you have a big eco, you have lots of strong units

with my eco it's sometimes hard to make enough units to not stack res to age. aging is good for aforementioned reasons, i just get stubborn in age 2

malta has royal guard culvs which is busted for a turtle civ. also the +2% hp bonus for each card means their culvs can survive an extra shot in age 3 I think, at some point.

assblasters (malta xbows) are insanely OP mid-late game with 2-4 cards on them. They trade too well given their pence cost. sentinels aren't pop efficient late game but sup never goes late game rly, and they get MOBA ability cards in age IV. Also rocket launchers are OP late game, which are hoop throwers with a card that gives them bazookas.

there's a card that sends 3 hospitaliers (dops) for each commandery you have in age 3. it isn't hard to get 5 commanderies mid game with malta, and you should because they all grant 3x eco theory around them and can teleport units all over the map and the hospitallers are faster around your buildings for some reason so you can pop 15, 5 speed dops on the enemy and that's good and you can build commanderies with settler wagons which build things very fast.

1A. ANTIQUATED STRAT
malta used to just 3v, 700w, 600w, 8 bow 2 rax rush. it's probably bad but situationally OK. follow up is with german tongue and wignacourt. you kind of want your 3 tcs and 3x eco theory to be working from the start tho

Malta is a macro civ, like brit. Unlike Brit, they have 3x eco theory and can protect their vills gathering res all over the map and teleport them and can build fixed guns and have better bow units, more upgradable bow units and everyone says brit is best.

I admit 3 churches is trash. I'm sorry mini
If I were a petal
And plucked, or moth, plucked
From flowers or pollen froth
To wither on a young child’s
Display. Fetch
Me a ribbon, they, all dead
Things scream.
User avatar
United States of America alistairpeter
Dragoon
Posts: 225
Joined: Jun 6, 2017
ESO: alistairpeter
Location: NY

Re: Infos about Malta?

  • Quote

Post by alistairpeter »

This civ will never be nerfed enough until (if and when) an equivalent of esoc patch comes out for DE. The 3 Karni Mata shipment is absurd, but I guess it only stacks up to two Karni's wonders now that they buffed that too, but unlike Karni it covers the whole map and can be rebuilt, shoots back and after only 2 will have 2,000 more hp. I mean this civ probably wouldn't be as obnoxious if they still made maps like Painted Desert. Very frustrating to play against, they use the stall out method to make games take as long as possible to abuse their +2% hp on all units. A comparison could be made to the china shipment of +8% attack and hp% or the team India 5% a/hp which are considered strong enough to be an industrial shipment, Malta will passively get that after 5-8 shipments while having a strong eco. Other civs with comparable eco are much easier to shut down (especially without CM) but Malta always seems to have units and buildings. 100 wood barracks that returns units to full health, can spam in base with low food xbow and chopping, xbow basically become arrow knights in age 3 for 1 pop. Even though Malta players don't make cav this civ will always have a stable (with shadow tech cav), whether you like it or not. They can send shipments to make just about any European composition they want, but why bother when you can just abuse crossbow and buildings. If going Industrial can age up with cheap guard upgrades for xbow pike, and send 24/20 for both xbow pike. The xbow is guard unit and gets extra range in industrial. Can send Sicillian market to further encourage staying in your base and building mills like a noob, extended fortifications is evil enough for just about any type of player who is going to send it, but with Malta it's just toxic. The infinite wood shipment starts off with TWO thousand of the slowest gathering recourse, and then 1,300 which breaks the rules of just about any infinite shipment I can think of, which usually give you a penalty rather than a bonus. Oh, and let's not forget, it can garrison units inside buildings like Inca but they don't need to build a fort or send a card, I guess that's just another thing built into their civ bonus. They have a card that has the potential to be 1,500 rec in age 2 (and industrial shipment). I think the 30% gather rate, especially considering it works on settler wagons as well, should be moved to age 4, or at the very least age 3. Even better would be nerfing it to 15%, considering it is for ALL recources, and not just one like silversmith or spice trade. Guild artisans is a German age 4 card for 35% on a max of 20 settler wagons, and never gets used in sup bc you would have to use it with Germantown farmers. Malta can easily get to 40 vill pop, they start with 6 and end up sending 7 before they even reach colonial. People used to complain about cards like 3SW, Malta has at least 10 cards with that much potential. I would hope this civ has an xp curve like India or Germany considering they get a bonus with their shipments, but they probably don't. Oh and let's not forget they have access to Barbary states, one of the many new revolts that are so fun to deal with. Most tier lists call it b/c tier, but that just goes to show know one knows what they are talking about.
User avatar
Italy Garja
Retired Contributor
Donator 02
Posts: 9729
Joined: Feb 11, 2015
ESO: Garja

Re: Infos about Malta?

Post by Garja »

Paragraphs.
But ye some Malta bonuses are a bit over the top. I don't mind the xbow progression tho. Finally a euro civs has a proper ranged inf to oppose to Yumi, Jungle Bowmen, Gurka, Forest prowlers, etc.
Image Image Image
User avatar
Germany KaanHoca
Crossbow
Posts: 49
Joined: Feb 22, 2019
ESO: KaanHoca
Location: Germany
GameRanger ID: 9460097

Re: Infos about Malta?

Post by KaanHoca »

alistairpeter wrote: ↑
09 Dec 2022, 16:42
Oh and let's not forget they have access to Barbary states, one of the many new revolts that are so fun to deal with. Most tier lists call it b/c tier, but that just goes to show know one knows what they are talking about.
barbary state revolutionaries aren't counted as outlaws since last patch so they have 50% less hp/atk with saloon technology.
This revolt should really be now on c tier now, maybe B on water smh :blush:

The skirmisher movement speed and pop got also nerfed.
imgur.com/a/7KPXbBR
User avatar
French Southern Territories kevinitalien
Lancer
Posts: 669
Joined: Oct 31, 2015
ESO: KEVINITALIEN
Clan: PLOP

Re: Infos about Malta?

Post by kevinitalien »

Garja wrote: ↑
09 Dec 2022, 21:09
Paragraphs.
But ye some Malta bonuses are a bit over the top. I don't mind the xbow progression tho. Finally a euro civs has a proper ranged inf to oppose to Yumi, Jungle Bowmen, Gurka, Forest prowlers, etc.
lb ? abus ? italy skirm ? dutch skirm ? even ger with jeager, fre skirm also has 3 card xD
Image
Image
Image Image
User avatar
Italy Garja
Retired Contributor
Donator 02
Posts: 9729
Joined: Feb 11, 2015
ESO: Garja

Re: Infos about Malta?

Post by Garja »

Dutch skirms are overrated, yumi still destroy them. Lbows are the best of the bunch but their animation is akward. Italy skirm is age4 and it's not even that strong. 50% of what makes the unit good is the speed which is useless in skirm wars.
Ger can only get 13 jaegers, I guess swedes can get more. Yumi and jungle bowmen still beat jaegers per cost, especially over the long run when mines run out while trees don't. Fre skirm is nothing special until the royal guard upgrade. And even then it's an hopeless battle anyway vs yumi and jungle bowmen. Fre lategame usually wins thanks to superior eco, 20 extra pop and cuirs to add to the mix.
Abus are good but 2 pop and train significantly slower. Good skirms usually trade well vs them. Maybe with the extra combat card in industrial, now they beat some of those units.
Image Image Image
User avatar
United States of America Squamiger
Howdah
Posts: 1756
Joined: Dec 25, 2018
ESO: Squamiger

Re: Infos about Malta?

Post by Squamiger »

Garja wrote: ↑
09 Dec 2022, 21:09
Paragraphs.
But ye some Malta bonuses are a bit over the top. I don't mind the xbow progression tho. Finally a euro civs has a proper ranged inf to oppose to Yumi, Jungle Bowmen, Gurka, Forest prowlers, etc.
i feel like that deficit is more than compensated for by having 2 falc/2 heavies shipments, and just being able to train falconets/culvs/heavies in general

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest

Which top 10 players do you wish to see listed?

All-time

Active last two weeks

Active last month

Supremacy

Treaty

Official

ESOC Patch

Treaty Patch

1v1 Elo

2v2 Elo

3v3 Elo

Power Rating

Which streams do you wish to see listed?

Twitch

Age of Empires III

Age of Empires IV