Introducing the AoE2 Hotkey Trainer

I started playing Age of Empires II in 1999, when it first came out. I was a kid back then. I played it a few times, but I was not good at it. I just enjoyed building things and watching the villagers run around. I lost most of the games I played. It did not matter to me.

Then school happened. Work happened. Many years passed. I almost forgot about the game.

In 2020, Covid lockdown started. I was bored at home for many days. One evening I was talking to my business partner. He is also my enemy. We wanted to do something fun together. We decided to start playing AoE2 again.

That was six years ago. Since then I have played around 2500 hours. This does not include the time I played in 1999. I do not want to count that.

You may ask: after six years and 2500 hours, are you good at the game now?

The answer is no.

I am still bad at it. I know the basics. I know the units. I can do a decent build order. But after 25 minutes my opponent always comes with knights, and I always forget to garrison my villagers in time. Every game. Same mistake.

I love the game. I am addicted to it. But I also feel anxious sometimes when I play. Especially when my friend brings his trebuchet to my base and I have nothing left to stop it.

This is why I built the trainer. I think one of my biggest problems is that I forget the hotkeys. To learn the hotkeys you have to practice them. So I made a small tool for practice.

The AoE2 Hotkey Trainer is a simple browser tool. It has a few modes — flashcards, sequences, the visual grid, and the building panel. You can pick whichever one you like.

It will not make you a good player. It did not make me a good player. But maybe it will help you garrison your villagers a few seconds earlier than before.

Try it out →