Loki

Loki is a Norse major god in Age of Mythology who focuses on myth units.

Attributes

God Power

Name	Description
Spy	Secretly grants the Line of Sight of the targeted enemy unit or animal.

Technology

Name	Description
Eyes in the Forest	Nearby animals and natural objects (trees, mines, Forage Bushes) which are within the Line of Sight of the player's units and buildings reveal the area around them. The effect continues to persist temporarily when the natural objects go out of view.

Bonuses

Damaging enemy units can spawn myth units. (Human soldiers contribute 10%; Hersirs 50% of damage dealt.)
Human soldiers and heroes +25% counter damage.
Buildings (constructed by military units) are constructed 10% faster.
Ox Carts are 50% cheaper.
Transforming Gatherers and Dwarves into Berserks is 50% cheaper.

Minor Gods

Classical Age
Name	Focus
Forseti	Berserks and Hersirs
Heimdall	Towers and navy

Heroic Age
Name	Focus
Bragi	Berserks
Njord	Ships and Hill Forts

Heroic Age
Name	Focus
Hel	Myth Units
Tyr	Infantry

Myth Unit Summoning

Loki's human units and heroes can summon myth units as they fight. The units which can spawn this way are all the Norse myth units which are trainable at the Temple until and including the current age of the player. This includes myth units of other minor gods than the one chosen by the player, including those minor gods not available to Loki.

When the player first advances to the Classical Age, the game randomly chooses a valid myth unit. As the player's human units and heroes deal damage to the hit points of enemy units other than enemy myth units, they generate points which fill up a hidden meter. Hersirs contribute 50% of damage dealt of towards the meter, while other units, including Godis, contribute 10%. When the accumulated points total the resource cost of the unit (with a factor of 10 for the favor cost), the reserved myth unit is spawned next to the unit which filled up the meter. The myth unit is spawned even without any population space left.

P = (F + W + G + 10 x Favor)

Where,

P = Points needed to spawn the randomly selected myth unit
F = Food cost of the myth unit
W = Wood cost of the myth unit
G = Gold cost of the myth unit
Favor = Favor cost of the myth unit
By empirical tests, it seems likely that first an Age until the current Age is randomly chosen with equal odds for each, then a myth unit from that Age is randomly chosen with equal odds.

Strengths

Militarily, Loki focuses on Hersirs and myth units, giving Loki players a distinct advantage when rushing.

Hersirs' faster movement facilitates early rushes if the player uses them instead of Berserks. Moreover, Hersirs can summon random Norse Myth Units in combat. They do this by fighting long enough to generate the amount of Favor that training the Myth Unit would normally require. Made easier by Loki's lower Myth Unit cost, this adds vital support to any combat and means that Loki players have access to Myth Units that would not otherwise be available such as Valkyries. As Hersirs can generate Favor faster than other soldiers, armies comprised primarily of Hersirs and Myth Units is a viable option. However, Longhouse units are trained faster, so a more mixed force isn't out of the question.

Loki also helps with scouting. Eyes in the Forest gives the standard Norse scout, the Ulfsark, better line of sight. Also, the Spy god power is very useful if used on an enemy villager or other economic unit. Finally, Loki allows Ox Carts to be built with fewer resources and makes them faster, giving the Loki player more flexibility in their use.

Weaknesses

Loki's Ox Carts have their hit points reduced, making them more vulnerable in the event of a raid. Aside from the reduction in cost of Ox Carts and Myth Units (and Towers if Heimdall is worshiped), Loki does not have access to any true economical myth technologies, so the effectiveness of his Gatherers and Dwarves are limited to common technologies.

Hersirs are average compared to heroes of other civilizations and not cost effective against regular soldiers. If players cannot engage them in battle long enough, they will not be able to summon Myth Units and may lose their own lives trying. This strategy as a whole will not be as effective against enemies who invest enough in heroes of their own. The Myth Units that the Hersirs summon in combat are limited to those that would normally be accessible in the Age that the player is currently in. Therefore, if the player wants to acquire the more powerful Myth Units, they have to continue advancing. However, Loki relies on rushing strategies which are more likely to succeed earlier in a game, meaning that this bonus' potential is limited.

As with the other Norse gods, rushing and raiding has become more difficult for Loki since The Titans due to players being able to build Town Centers early on whose arrows can easily pierce the thin armor of Norse soldiers.

Mythology

"The son of giants, Loki was the fire god, but also a mischievous trickster and shape-changer who grew bored with the repetitive life of the gods. Many of his exploits caused great damage or hurt, but he was usually quick enough to restore order and prevent complete disaster. In one case, he caused the gods to temporarily lose the source of their immortality. In another situation, he tricked Thor into a threatening situation for his own gain, but later devised the clever plan to recover Thor's stolen hammer. His tricks became increasingly nasty and evil, peaking when he caused the death of Odin's son Baldr. When he tormented and insulted the gods at a great banquet, the gods turned on him and he escaped temporarily by changing into a salmon. He could not escape Odin's all-seeing vision, however, and Loki was bound up in a dark cave. Loki's first marriage to a giant produced three fearsome and evil creatures: Fenrir the wolf, the great serpent Jormungand, and Hel, the partially decomposed goddess of the underworld. He had two sons, Vali and Narvi, by a second marriage. At the time of Loki's imprisonment, Vali was changed into a wolf that killed Narvi. The dead man's intestines were used to bind Loki in the cave beneath the mouth of a giant snake, dripping venom, where he waited for Ragnarok. Loki was destined to lead the army of evil at that final battle with the gods, where he would be killed by Heimdall."
In-game compendium

Trivia

Loki's portrait resembles Arthur Rackham's depiction of Hagen [1], a legendary Burgundian warrior and brother of Gunnarr, and the one who kills Siegfried in Richard Wagner's opera Der Ring des Nibelungen.