Remember Gilded Spearmen are elite levels of damage even in Castle Age.
Remember, OOTD's Gilded villagers have more health than average, so French Knights can't two-shot and run away as easily.
With enough archers, you can pretty much one-shot those Gilded Spearman. If you're able to one-shot them, you're in a great spot.
French need the Veteran upgrade and Royal Bloodlines to get their Royal Knights to pseudo-Imperial levels just to have a chance against OOTD's Gilded Knights.
As French, you really don't want to spend the 100 wood on an outpost this early, but against OOTD's Dark Age Gilded Spearman, you might have no choice to protect your gold.
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