Age of Empires II is one of the most beloved real-time strategy games of all time. Developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft in 1999 as a sequel to the legendary Age of Empires, the game received "universal acclaim" upon release and remains a staple for RTS fans to this day. Since its initial release as Age of Empires II: Age of Kings, four expansions to the game and an HD remake has also been produced - Age of Empires II: The Conquerors (2000), Age of Empires II: HD Edition (2013), Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten (2013) (based on the fan-made Forgotten Empires), Age of Empires II HD: The African Kingdoms (2015) and Age of Empires II HD: Rise of the Rajas (2016). At the heart of the award-winning gameplay of AOE 2 are the civilizations that players are able to choose to play with. In addition to their distinct art and play style, these civilizations have their unique set of advantages and disadvantages which are based fundamentally on a "rock-paper-scissors" architecture. This delicate balance of strengths and weaknesses extends all the way up from the overarching meta-strategy (e.g. economic boom beats defensive gameplay which in turn beats early rush strategy) down to individual units (e.g, infantry are generally powerful against buildings but weak against cavalry, thus the infantry counter units—spearmen and pikemen—have attack bonuses against cavalry). Because of the attention paid towards making each civilization as balanced as possible, any discussion of the relative ranking of these civilizations in terms of overall strength is often hotly contested. Now is the time to put all of that debate to rest - this list contains all the civilizations and their specialties in Age of Empires II and all its expansions. Rank these in the order of best to worst and let's find out what everyone thinks on average. Happy ranking and Wololo! Source(s): Age of Empires Wikia and Wikipedia

A mountain bike or mountain bicycle (abbreviated Mtn Bike or MTB is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain. These typically include a front or full suspension, large knobby tires, more durable wheels, more powerful brakes, and lower gear ratios for climbing steep grades. Mountain bikes are typically ridden on mountain trails, single track, fire roads, and other unpaved surfaces. This type of terrain commonly has rocks, roots, loose dirt, and steep grades. Many trails have additional TTF's (Technical Trail Features) such as log piles, log rides, rock gardens, skinnier, gap jumps, and wall-rides. Mountain bikes are built to handle these types of terrain and features. The heavy-duty construction combined with stronger rims and wider tires has also made this style of bicycle popular with urban riders and couriers who must navigate through potholes and over curbs. Since the development of the sport in the 1970s many new sub types of mountain biking have developed, such as cross-country (XC), all-day endurance, free-ride, downhill, and a variety of track and slalom types. Each of these place different demands on the bike requiring different designs for optimal performance. MTB development has led to an increase in suspension travel, now often up to 8 inches (200 mm), and gearing up to 27 speeds, to facilitate both climbing and rapid descents. Advancements in gearing have also led to a "1x" (pronounced "one-by") trend, simplifying the gearing to one chaining in the front, and a cassette at the rear, typically with 9 - 11 sprockets.