Hideout

Hideout is a semi-closed map where players begin inside a palisade wall ring enclosing their base. Unlike Arena's stone walls, these palisades are more vulnerable and can be breached in Feudal Age with a focused archer or Men-at-Arms push. Games trend toward Castle Age Fast Castle strategies, but Feudal aggression remains viable and traps passive opponents. Relic control matters significantly in the late game — all relics spawn outside the starting walls.

Opening

The default strategy is a Fast Castle (23-villager approach), leveraging palisade protection. Higher-level players often apply early pressure instead: a Feudal Age Tower plus Archers push can crack the enemy palisade and force heavy defensive spending. An alternative is Fast Castle into Light Cavalry for a relic dash — send cavalry out the gate immediately on reaching Castle Age to secure relics before the opponent reacts. The scout should identify relic locations during Dark Age. Wood lines are concentrated in the map's center, giving map control significance similar to gold on Arabia.

Mid game

Hideout rewards archers and archer upgrades. The walled nature combined with center-wood concentration favors unit compositions that fight well in chokepoints — archers, crossbows, and skirmishers. Siege — particularly Rams and Onagers — is required to break enemy walls and flood the base. Relic income can become decisive in extended games, making the monk-and-cavalry relic race on Castle Age arrival a high-stakes moment.

Watch out for

• Palisade complacency — a Feudal archer rush with 6–8 archers plus a ram can break the starting wall and raid your economy.
• Not adding an extra wall layer — a single palisade wall is brittle; a second ring just inside the first buys critical extra defense time.
• Losing the relic race — all relics are outside your walls; failing to scout and grab them hands the opponent a sustained gold advantage.
• Neglecting villager production during army micro — late-game multitasking failures compound quickly on this map.
• No Castle before Imperial Age — leaves you without Unique Unit production and without a defensive anchor for wall breach points.