Overview
Hunting boars? Why not deer? And why not both?
Why eat boars?
First of all, let’s check the stats of the boar:
A whopping 340 food is available for free! Additionally, hunting is the fastest way to gather food on land. All you have to do now is slay the beast.
How to eat boars?
Unlike other animals, boars fight back, so taking one of those guys down is a matter of teamwork. The trick is to use one villager to lure the boar to your town center. Then have all the villagers who are working underneath your town center (gathering sheep for example) kill the boar once it’s in range.
1| Send a villager to the boar
2| Shoot the boar twice
3| Run back to the Town Center
4| Kill the boar with the villagers awaiting your return.
Note: Sometimes the boar is obstructed by other objects. You’ll have to shoot your boar again so it keeps on following your villager.
For more information, you can check this video from ZeroEmpires:
Luring with a scout or eagle warrior
Scouts are much harder to use as lurers but can save you villager time on closed maps or to steal your enemy’s boars! The start is the same: you hit a boar twice with a scout and then run. But if you run in a straight line, the boar will eventually stop chasing you and run back. So you must zig zag so the boar stays close enough. You can also use the stop button to keep the boar close enough but that needs a bit more micro and is harder to pull off with the traditional multiplayer lag.
How to eat deer?
Deer are a lot easier to hunt down than boars, all you need to do is shoot them twice with a villager and you’re ready to harvest their meat. You can build a mill next to them or just take a few without a mill. Or if you’re really good, you can lure them with your scout to save precious villager time.
a| The traditional method, building a mill on a deer spot.
b| The expert method: pushing your deer with a scout or eagle warrior all the way back to your Town Center.
This method can save you 100 wood from a mill and precious villager time (as villagers don’t need to walk over to the deer, instead the deer come to them.) Naturally, this method is optimal on maps where you don’t need your scout too much in the Dark Age (maps such as Islands, Arena, etc…)
What’s the difference between Wild Boars, Javelinas and Elephants?
Almost nothing! Javelinas are just wild boars with a different name and can be found on jungle styled maps. Elephants are not used in any of the standard maps but can be found in some custom maps and scenarios. They’re a little different as they contain 400 food instead of 340.
Elephants are not stronger than boars, they’re just a bit meatier.
