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There are tons of ways to playAge of Mythology: Retold, and these ways are very often dictated by the pantheons and gods you choose. Ra, of the Egyptian pantheon, is a wonderful god who focuses on building up a very strong economy quickly and then leveraging it to pump out incredibly strong units with which to decimate his opponents.
Many of Ra’s optimal strategies hinge on getting the perfect conditions in terms of gold and how aggressive his enemies are, but when they work, they work really well. Here’s our beginner guide to Ra and understanding how he ticks.
Ra Overview
Ra has some very specialised bonuses that focus on the units available from the Midgol Stronghold, and also some neat changes to the Egyptians' Priest unit.
Camel Riders, Chariot Archers, and War Elephants have 15% more hitpoints
This will severely improve your late-game armies and especially works well in games where you candominate economicallyand field massive armies.
Priests can also empower buildings like a Pharaoh
This allows you to field multiple Priests andempower all of your important resource/military buildings.
It may be more efficient, however, tofield two Laborers instead, as Priests take up 2 population units while Laborers only take up 1.
Pharaoh’s empowerment also affects nearby buildings at 60% efficiency when targeted at a Monument
As long as youbuild the relevant buildings close to a Monument, this makes the Pharaoh’s empowerment an incredible option.
When placing a Monument, you’ll see the radius at which buildings must be placed within to be affected by this bonus.
Ra’s god power is Rain, which is a fantasticbonus to your farming(once you reach that stage in your resource gathering). Being able to cast this multiple times makes setting up more Monuments quickly a very good idea.
Minor God Choices
Most of the decisionmaking that comes with a Ra game will be based not only on your access to Gold, but how much you want to align your strategy with his bonus to Midgol Stronghold units.
Bast
Bast has some situational but very effective things going for her.Upgraded Sphinxescan be really fantastic when used as the bulk of your army, and Ra’s fondness forearly Monument spambenefits this greatly. The bonuses toFood and Wood gatheringare also nice, especially for strategies that focus on very expensive armies, which Ra, with his very powerful Midgold Stronghold units, likes a lot. If playing with Titans and purposefully aiming for one,Eclipsewill turn a Titan into a total powerhouse, making Bast the most pickable.
Ptah
Ptah is a fantastic god for Ra, and this is mostly down toShaduf, which reduces the cost of farms. With Rain and the ability to empower your gatherers very easily (whether with a Pharaoh or Priest),your food economy is untouchable.Wadjetis also a pretty fantastic Myth Unit when fielded behind large armies of Barracks units, which Ptah also benefits from.
Sobek
Sobek is a pretty great god that synergises well with Ra’s bonuses.Locust Swarmis a pretty great god power that can be used todeny an enemy the bonus that Rainwould normally give them, if the two powers are timed well. The Roc is a very versatile transport unit that can be key to many late-game strategies. These are great alone, but add the outstandingPetsuchosMyth Unit and bonuses to building costs and camel units, and you have a very good companion for Ra. The main drawback to Sobek is that he’s quite agold-intensive god, and this can be problematic on certain maps.
Sekhmet
Sekhmet is a good god, but also a bit situational. She does enable somemid-game win goals by letting you get Catapults a whole age early, and if you’re heavy on theSlingers(for example, you’re playing against an archery-heavy foe), her boost can be clutch.Citadelis less useful than many other god powers, but can be very effective against a particularly aggressive enemy who makes lunges into your base often.
Osiris
Osiris is a fantastic god for Ra. MakingCamel Riderseven better withDesert Windcan be the lynchpin of an entire army composition strategy, andSon of Osirisis a fantastic way to boost your power instantly.Mummiesare also very good Myth Units, thoughcostly in Wood, which Egyptians tend not to focus on. His technologies are costly in gold, though, so it’s a decision you’ll have to make while taking your economy into account.
Horus
Horus makes a great alternative to Osiris onmaps where gold is limited- Avengers and his technologiesmainly cost Food and Wood, with only a single 150 Gold technology that is more than worth its weight in the stuff. The Technologies do focus onBarracks unitsrather than the more synergistic Midgol Stronghold units, but again, this will be of great benefit in games where gold is more limited.
General Tips
When To Use Rain
Something to keep in mind with theRain power is that it will affecteveryFarm on the map, including your enemy Farms. While you will get the largest bonus from the power, it’s a good idea touse Rain early (and often, if you’re able to spare the Favor), before enemies are likely to have large farming operations.
A good strategy with Ra is to, once you’ve reached the Classical Age and acquired theShadufpower (if pickingPtah, which you probably should), pivot your Food gathering strategy to Farming, with a large number of Laborers becoming farmers.
Using Rain now will likely only benefit you, giving you a huge boost to your Food intake and hopefully enabling a very early transition to Heroic.
Race For Heroic Age
While racing through the ages is the name of the game for pretty much any god in Age of Mythology, it’s crucial for Ra. You’ll want toget your Midgol Stronghold up as soon as possible, as it’s where you’ll find your most important units.
Chariot Archers and Camel Riders, especially after Sobek and Osiris upgrades, are easily your best units as Ra. Being able to field a decent army of them before your foes can find their feet in the Heroic Age is a great way to put pressure on them and secure an early win.
Don’t Ignore The Barracks
While the Barracks canonly produce counter-units(which can sometimes pale in comparison to general units), there are some great picks for Ra.Spearmenare cheap and easy to spam thanks to Ra’s incredible food economy, and picking Sekhmet will give you a tech that will turn yourSlingersinto a more generalist unit.
This is especially important when facing a foe who likes to raid, as otherwise, you’lllack significant military powerfor a great deal of the game and be susceptible to attacks.
