Hello Age of Mythology fans! We’re hosting another opportunity to play Age of Mythology: Retold, this time you’re going to be putting the servers to the test!

The Stress Test will run between July 26th through the 28th for limited 3-hour time slots each day. This will be Multiplayer only and only available through Steam. Grab a friend or two, hop in, and have some fun of mythic proportions! The best part? You do not have to own Age of Mythology: Retold to play!

When to Play

The Age of Mythology: Retold Stress Test will be available to pre-download 6 hours beforehand and will be running through the following times:

• Friday, July 26 – 5:30 am PT (8:30 am ET / 12:30 UTC) to 8:30 am PT (11:30 am ET / 15:30 UTC)
• Saturday, July 27 – 5:30 am PT (8:30 am ET / 12:30 UTC) to 8:30 am PT (11:30 am ET / 15:30 UTC)
• Sunday, July 28 – 5:30 am PT (8:30 am ET / 12:30 UTC) to 8:30 am PT (11:30 am ET / 15:30 UTC)

Please note: You’ll be able to download the stress test early, starting on Thursday, July 25th 11:30 pm PT (2:30 am ET / 06:30 UTC on July 26th) but unable to play until the start of the stress test.

Players can only participate during the above time windows. Once the stress test is over, you will no longer be able to access the game.

How to Play

Anybody on the Steam platform can participate! The first Stress Test is due to commence on Friday, July 26 at 5:30 am PT (8:30 am ET / 12:30 UTC).

1. Simply navigate to the Age of Mythology: Retold Steam Store Page to sign up.
2. Click on the green “Request Access” button.
3. You will receive a pop-up message within Steam to confirm your access to the stress test.
4. You will also receive an email from Steam when you get added to a Playtest. You will also see your status on the store page for the base game.
5. Then keep an eye out for an email notification from Steam when we are ready to accept more participants!

An Update on Pathfinding

During the Age of Mythology: Retold Closed Beta, we closely followed and monitored your feedback. The teams are hard at work analyzing areas of concern you’ve raised, and Pathfinding remains an area we continue to improve and iterate upon.

While many of your reports were in line with our Known Issues, we’d appreciate if you continue supplying your Bug Reports and Recorded Game Files on the official Age of Empires Forums during the Stress Test. The more information and cases we have to study, the more efficiently our teams can continue to diagnose and work towards resolving them. Please keep those reports coming!

How to Report Bugs/Issues

• Visit the official Age of Empires Forums or the Steam Forums to report any bugs or give any feedback.

FAQ

• What are the dates of this Stress Test?
  • Friday, July 26 – 5:30 am PT (8:30 am ET / 12:30 UTC) to 8:30 am PT (11:30 am ET / 15:30 UTC)
  • Saturday, July 27 – 5:30 am PT (8:30 am ET / 12:30 UTC) to 8:30 am PT (11:30 am ET / 15:30 UTC)
  • Sunday, July 28 – 5:30 am PT (8:30 am ET / 12:30 UTC) to 8:30 am PT (11:30 am ET / 15:30 UTC)
• Which Platforms is this Stress Test available on?
  • Steam only
• If I haven’t purchased Age of Mythology: Retold yet, can I still participate in the Stress Test?
  • Yes! Everyone on Steam can access the Stress Test from the Age of Mythology: Retold Steam Page, regardless of whether you have purchased the game or not.
• How do I install the Age of Mythology: Retold Stress Test?
  • Navigate to the Age of Mythology: Retold Steam Store Page and sign up there.
• How will players be notified when they have been granted access to the Playtest?
  • Players receive an email from Steam when they are added to a Playtest. They will also see their status on the store page for the base game.
• I am experiencing a bug or issue, where can I report it?
  • Please visit the Steam Forums or the official Age of Empires Forums to report any bugs or give any feedback.
• What happens if I try to play a game while the servers are disabled?
  • When users try to click the Multiplayer button, you’ll receive an in-game pop-up that reads “You have lost network connectivity. Please check your Internet connection and restart the game.” This indicates that the Stress Test is disabled until the next session. Please see above for the Stress Test times/schedule.

For additional any additional questions, please visit our Support Site: https://aoe.ms/Myth-Retold-Support

Known Issues

General

• Not all localization is present for supported game languages.
• Brightness options are not yet available in the Settings options.
• Win Rates for both Ranked and Customs games are currently tracked together.
• Voice Chat is currently disabled.
• Desyncs may still occur, including on Steam Deck.
• Steam Deck Users will be unable to join multiplayer matches hosted by non-Steam Deck users.
• Some Spectating functions are still underway, including the timeline slider, restart button, and player colors.
• Games may freeze when viewing in Spectator Mode.
• Players attempting to Spectate a late game may experience a blocking pop-up.

Gameplay

• Villagers may get temporarily stuck between other villagers when gathering in narrow spots.
• Villagers may get periodically stuck in the drop-off animation in rare cases.
• Villagers may poorly distribute across trees when tasking a larger group onto a single tree.
• Building Rally Points are not visible.
• Units may rarely get stuck when pathing near corners of buildings.
• Player colors may mismatch on the Spectator mode panels.
• Fishing Ships may get stuck when moving to a rally point after spawning or moving to an occupied fishing spot.

Will You Become Mythic? Pre-Order Now!

Today’s patch is focused exclusively on addressing player reported issues with the Empire Wars maps created for the Red Bull Wololo: El Reinado ladder. For fixes related to anything else, please keep an eye on future updates! 

We’ve been really excited to partner with Red Bull in taking this step and trying to provide new and exciting opportunities for our community to enjoy competitive play, and we want to make sure that players attempting to qualify for the Red Bull Wololo main event have the best experience we can provide. 

It’s been thrilling to see all of the activity on the ladder, and we can’t wait to see the results when the Ranked Ladder Qualifiers end on July 28th! Wololo!

Thanks again to our amazing community members, all of whom have helped to make Age of Empires what it is today!

—The Age of Empires Team

Please note that custom mods may not be compatible with the latest game update. If you are experiencing issues launching or playing the game after downloading the new build, try disabling your installed mods before trying again.

Still having trouble? Visit our support site!

Random Maps

Map Fixes

Cliffbound

• Fixed villagers sometimes not generating in the appropriate number.

Dunesprings

• Decreased the chance of villagers generating trapped inside forests.

Golden Stream

• Decreased the chance of villagers generating trapped inside forests.

Hollow Woodlands

• Fixed villagers sometimes not generating in the appropriate number.

Isthmus

• Fixed resources sometimes failing to generate or generating imbalanced between the players.

Karsts

• Decreased the chance of villagers generating trapped inside forests.

Mountain Dunes

• Decreased the chance of villagers generating trapped inside forests.

The Passage

• When playing on a tiny map with two players, two narrow passages now generate between the landmasses, allowing players to access each other’s islands without using transport ships.
• Fixed forests sometimes failing to generate for one player.
• The patches of shallows in the water now can generate closer to the shoreline to better accommodate Relics.
• The monk has been replaced by a regular scout unit.

River Divide

• Fixed resources sometimes failing to generate or generating imbalanced between the players.

Sandrift

• Fixed forests sometimes failing to generate for one player.

Shrubland

• Fixed player’s gold and stone deposits sometimes generating in an inaccessible part of the map.
• Decreased the chance of villagers generating trapped inside forests.

Ongoing…

Investigation

As always, we are continuing to track issues reported by the community for future updates.

For other known issues, please visit this page to see what’s being tracked!

DISCLAIMER

Please note that this list is subject to change and should not be considered a comprehensive list of all the known issues we’re tracking. The above is to inform you of the team’s current priorities, which will change as other issues arise or take precedence.

For the latest updates and announcements, please visit our social channels.

The major update for Season Eight, is LIVE! In today’s update we’re celebrating warm weather and good friends, as well as preparing for the return of our Map Monsters, the Wild Man and Dragon Turtle. Plus, we’ll be starting Ranked Season Eight with a new map pool, a brand-new mini Summer Sights Event, balance changes, big fixes, and more!

Season Eight

It’s time to release the Summer Festivities with many new rewards to enjoy! Before we can head to the beach and relax with our new summer look, we need to roll up our sleeves and get to work, these rewards won’t earn themselves.

Login July 18th at 10am PT (17:00 UTC) through August 12th at 10am PT (17:00 UTC) to stake your claim.

New! Summer Sights Event

Challenge	How to Unlock Reward
Ready for Summer	🔒 Log in during the Summer Sights Event. 🏆 Profile Icon- [Kraken at Sunset]
I’ve Earned This	🔒 Earn 1000 gold in a single match. 🧱 Coat of Arms Banner Sigil- Tentacle Chest
Everyone’s Invited	🔒 Reach a population of 200 in a single skirmish or multiplayer match. 🧱 Coat of Arms Banner Sigil- Sunglasses
Fields of Plenty	🔒 Complete all armor upgrades at the blacksmith in a Skirmish or Multiplayer match.  🧱 Coat of Arms Banner Sigil Frame – Sunflower
Summer Harvest	🔒 Build 10 Mining Camps in Skirmish or Multiplayer matches.  🧱 Coat of Arms Banner Pattern – Animal Footprints

Ranked Season Eight Updates

Time to soak up the sun, Ranked Season Eight is going to be a scorcher! Following the end of Season Seven, Season Eight will kick off close behind and bringing with it a host of rewards for every rank and a little something extra for the highest rank you achieve this season in any ranked mode! Season Eight runs from July 18th at 11:00am PT (18:00 UTC) until October 17th at 10:00am PT (17:00 UTC).

Map Pool Rotation

We have some updated maps hitting the pool with the start of Ranked Season Eight! Dive in and prepare for victory! See you on the ladder!

1v1 Ranked Map Pool 

• Arabia
• Cliffside
• Rocky River
• Himeyama
• Gorge
• Hill and Dale
• Canal
• The Pit
• Baltic

Team Ranked Map Pool

• Arabia 
• Cliffside 
• Rocky River 
• Canal 
• Gorge 
• Migration
• Hideout
• Forts
• Waterholes

The much-anticipated moment is here: the Closed Beta for Age of Mythology: Retold is officially LIVE! Anyone who pre-ordered Age of Mythology: Retold Premium Edition can go play right now! Experience the newest iteration of Age of Mythology and let us hear any feedback you might have, and details on how below! Don’t wait too long – the beta ends on Sunday, July 14th at 11:59 pm PT (2:59 am ET / 06:59 UTC).

Can’t join us for the closed beta this weekend? Keep an eye out for more news on a future Stress Test that will be accessible to all Steam players for a limited time, without the need for a pre-order.

Please note the beta will not be the final version of Age of Mythology: Retold.

Will You Become Mythic? Pre-Order Now!

How to Play

The beta will be available to anyone who has pre-ordered the Premium Edition of Age of Mythology: Retold on Steam, Microsoft Store, and Xbox Series X/S.

• Age Insider membership will not be required for participation.
• The beta will not be under NDA, so feel free to capture, stream, and record your gameplay.
• The beta is available for players who decide to pre-order the Premium Edition even after the beta has started.

Provided you have pre-ordered the Age of Mythology: Retold Premium Edition, you can follow the link below for the platform of your pre-order to gain access. Please ensure you are logged in!

• Age of Mythology: Retold Closed Beta on Xbox
• Age of Mythology: Retold Closed Beta on the Microsoft Store
• To access the Age of Mythology: Retold Closed Beta on Steam, please ensure you have opt-in to product betas, then restart your Steam application. You will then see a new game in your Steam library titled Age of Mythology: Retold (Beta) which you will be able to install and play.

New Features in Beta

• Rechargeable God Powers and Castable Myth Attacks
• The Brand New Wonder Age
• Myriads of design & balance changes to all Cultures and their Gods.
• All God Powers, abilities and Unique Technologies now offer vastly more impactful strategical choices.
• Overhauled AI with new difficulty levels.
• Significantly increased population.
• Significant changes to projectiles, Walls and Settlements (Including new freely placeable Village Centers).
• The Villager Priority System on both PC and Console
• A Brand New Tutorial Mission

Campaign

• Brand New Tutorial
• The First 5 Missions of Fall of the Trident: Follow the story of Arkantos, the Atlantean hero!

Cultures & Gods

• Greeks: Zeus, Hades, Poseidon
• Egyptians: Ra, Isis, Set
• Norse: Thor, Odin, Loki

Multiplayer

Standard Maps

• Randomly selects from a tailored pool of maps that welcome strategic diversity and civilization variety.
• Maps: Alfheim, Anatolia, Blue Lagoon, Elysium, Giza, Highland, Marsh, Mediterranean, Nile Shallows, Oasis, Savannah, Watering Hole

How to Report Bugs/Issues

• Visit the official Age of Empires Forums or the Steam Forums to report any bugs or give any feedback.

FAQ

• What are the dates of this Beta?
  • Friday, July 12  at 10:00 AM PDT – Sunday, July 14 at 11:59 PM PDT
• Which Platforms is this Beta available on?
  • Steam, Microsoft Store, Xbox Series X/S
• How do I install the Age of Mythology: Retold Closed Beta?
  • Age of Mythology: Retold (Beta) will be granted to your library, where you can begin game installation.
• If I pre-order the Premium Edition now, will I get access?
  •  If you pre-order the Premium Edition, you’ll be eligible to join the Closed Beta Weekend – even if it has already started!
• I am experiencing a bug or issue, where can I report it?
  • Please visit the Steam Forums or the official Age of Empires Forums to report any bugs or give any feedback.

For additional any additional questions, please visit our Support Site: https://aoe.ms/Myth-Retold-Support

Beta Known Issues

• Not all localization is present for supported game languages.
• Cross-network play between Microsoft Store and Steam may or may not function fully.
• Microsoft Store / Xbox out of game invites may be grayed out, but the in-game invite system should still function in that case.
• The Voice Over is missing in the Tutorial on Xbox Series X/S.
• Navigation issues noticed while in a Multiplayer In-Game Pause Menu when using a controller on Xbox Series S.
• Certain unit actions icons are missing on Controller UI.
• Brightness options are not yet available in the Settings options.
• It has been observed that the player is unable to access the “Villager Priority” menu during a skirmish or campaign match after exiting the tutorial.
• The game may fail to launch when using an account with Child Account privileges on Microsoft Store or Xbox Series X/S.
• Villagers may get temporarily stuck between other villagers when gathering in narrow spots.
• Villagers may get periodically stuck in the dropoff animation in rare cases.
• Villagers may poorly distribute across trees when tasking a larger group onto a single tree.
• Building Rally Points are not visible.
• Units may rarely get stuck when pathing near corners of buildings.
• Player colors may mismatch on the Spectator mode panels.
• It has been observed that the player is unable to access the “Villager Priority” menu during a skirmish or campaign match after exiting the tutorial.

Pantheon Overview

The Greek Pantheon

The Greeks have one of the most versatile pantheons in Age of Mythology: Retold and can find success across a wide range of different playstyles. Age of Empires II fans will feel immediately at home with the Greek Pantheon and will be familiar with their methods of resource gathering, unit roster, and general gameplay. 

Though slightly more expensive, the Greeks boast a well-rounded roster of basic soldiers which are stronger than other pantheons and more readily available. They also have access to one of the most powerful rosters of Myth Units, perfectly complemented by their ability to easily generate Favor by allocating Villagers to pray at a Temple.

Major Gods

Zeus 

King of the Olympian gods. 
Focus: Infantry and Heroes 
God Power: Bolt – A bolt of lightning from the sky strikes down any single military unit. 

• Starts with 10 Favor. 
• Gains Favor 20% faster. 
• Myth units cost 1 less population. 
• Hoplites move 15% faster. 
• Infantry do +50% damage to buildings. 

Hades

God of the Underworld.
Focus: Ranged Soldiers and Buildings. 
God Power – Sentinel: Target your or an ally’s Town Center, Village Center, or Fortress to protect it with stone guardians. 

• 20% chance for fallen humans to return as Shades. 
• Myth units +20% hitpoints. 
• Ranged fortifications +2 range. 
• Ranged soldiers and heroes +1 range. 
• Ballistics and Burning Pitch are researched instantly for free in their respective ages.

Poseidon

God of the Sea.
Focus: Cavalry and Economy. 
God Power: Lure – Target a location to erect a special stone which draws animals to it and spawns chickens. The Lure summons more food in later ages, and eventually crumbles afterwards. 

• Militia spawn from razed buildings. 
• Caravans, cavalry, and myth units +0.4 speed. 
• A free Hippocampus respawns at the first Dock. 
• 15% better Market exchange rates. 
• Market costs -50%. 

The Egyptian Pantheon

The Egyptian pantheon excels at a defensive playstyle, reinforced by a free Tower upgrade in the Classical Age and access to cheap, effective foot soldiers specialized in countering early aggression. However, once the Egyptians reach the later Ages, they dominate the battlefield with their elite troops, devastating siege weaponry, and specialized Myth Units. 

Whilst many Egyptian buildings can be constructed for free, others cost Gold, including Farms – making securing access to this resource a top priority. Though Egyptian Laborers gather and construct buildings at a slower rate than other pantheons, this is partially offset by constructing monuments to passively generate favor and negotiating wise use of the Pharaoh, who empowers buildings. 

Major Gods

Ra

God of the sun. 
Focus: Migdol Stronghold units. 
God Power – Rain: Target anywhere to make all Villagers on the map gather from Farms faster. 

• Priests can empower (75% strength of Pharaohs for resource drop-off; 50% for all other aspects). 
• +20% Camel Rider, Chariot Archer, and War Elephant damage. 
• Monuments cost -25%, and have 20% more hitpoints. 
• Pharaoh-empowered Monuments empower nearby buildings (20 range). 

Isis 

Goddess of magic and healing. 
Focus: Technology. 
God Power – Prosperity: Target anywhere to make all of your Villagers and Trade Caravans gather Gold faster. 

• Monuments shield against enemy God Powers (20 range; 40 when empowered). 
• Empowered Monuments heal nearby units (20 range) and generate Favor 100% faster. 
• Upgrades cost -10%. 
• Obelisks cost -5 Gold, and are built 60% faster. 
• Upgrades provide 0.33% hitpoints to human soldiers. 

Set 

God of storms and trickery. 
Focus: Barracks units. 
God Power – Vision: Target a region of the map to be temporarily revealed. 

• Pharaohs can summon Animals of Set. 
• Priests can convert wild animals, but converted animals lose 25% of their Food. 
• +10% Spearman, Axeman, and Slinger speed. 
• Barracks, Siege Works, and Migdol Strongholds cost -25% Gold. 
• Monuments reduce the cost of soldiers in nearby military buildings (except Temples) by 5%. 

The Norse Pantheon

The Norse are an aggressive pantheon whose soldiers inflict high damage and earn Favor through battle. Mobile dropsites allow them to efficiently migrate to a new area, and their cheap buildings constructed by foot soldiers mean they can quickly set up a camp anywhere, including right on an opponent’s doorstep! 

The Norse rely on Gatherers to collect resources and can recruit Dwarves that are able to mine Gold at an increased rate. However, the Norse have weaker buildings and access to fewer fortification upgrades than other pantheons, relying instead on aggressively pressuring opponents with their burly soldiers and robust Myth Units. 

Major Gods

Thor

God of Thunder, Lightning, and the Skies.
Focus: Dwarves and Armory. 
God Power – Dwarven Mine: Select a location to create a new Gold Mine that has more Gold and is gathered faster if used in later Ages.

• Start with Dwarves instead of Gatherers. 
• Dwarves cost -10 Gold and gather Food and Wood 25% faster. 
• Dwarven Armory can be built and research upgrades in any age. 
• Receive a free Dwarf for each Dwarven Armory upgrade researched. 
• Can research 3 extra Dwarven Armory upgrades. 

Odin 

God of War, Magic, and Power. 
Focus: Great Hall units. 
God Power – Great Hunt: Target a group of wild animals to greatly multiply their numbers. If there are none, Odin will summon a small amount. Gets more powerful each age. 

• Great Hall units have +20% hitpoints and generate +20% Favor. 
• Gatherers and Dwarves gather 10% faster from natural Food sources. 
• 2 Raven scouts spawn once the first Temple is built and respawn after 240 seconds when killed. 
• Human units and heroes regenerate 0.7 hitpoints/second, increasing with 0.1 hitpoints per age advanced. 

Loki

God of Trickery and Shapeshifting. 
Focus: Myth Units. 
God Power – Spy: Target an enemy unit to secretly see what it sees.

• Damaging enemy units can spawn myth units. (Human soldiers contribute 10%; Hersirs 50% of damage dealt.) 
• Human soldiers and heroes inflict +25% bonus damage. 
• Buildings are constructed 25% faster. 
• Transforming Gatherers and Dwarves into Berserks costs -10 Food & -10 Gold.

Please note the beta will not be the final version of Age of Mythology: Retold.

Hop in to the beta at any time, have fun, and prostagma!

Hello, and welcome to Season Eight, where we’re celebrating warm weather and good friends, as well as preparing for the return of our Map Monsters, the Wild Man and Dragon Turtle! This update arriving July 18th brings with it Ranked Season Eight with a new map pool, as well as a new mini event, “Summer Sights.”

Balance changes and bug fixes also arrive with this update, however given our proximity to the exciting Red Bull Wololo: El Reinado qualifiers, we’ve made a slight adjustment to our typical planning and will be rolling out more major changes to the meta mid-season with a patch planned for mid-to-late August. You can read more on this update, as well as future plans for Season Eight and beyond below!

Thanks again to our amazing community members, all of whom have helped to make Age of Empires what it is today!

—The Age of Empires Team

Still having trouble? Visit our support site!

Please Note: As part of updating to this latest build, any saved games and observable matches made on previous builds will be unable to be loaded or replayed.

Season Eight

It’s time to release the Summer Festivities with many new rewards to enjoy! Before we can head to the beach and relax with our new summer look, we need to roll up our sleeves and get to work, these rewards won’t earn themselves.

Login July 18th at 10am PT (17:00 UTC) through August 12th at 10am PT (17:00 UTC) to stake your claim.

New! Summer Sights Event

Challenge	How to Unlock Reward
Ready for Summer	🔒 Log in during the Summer Sights Event. 🏆 Profile Icon- [Kraken at Sunset]
I’ve Earned This	🔒 Earn 1000 gold in a single match. 🧱 Coat of Arms Banner Sigil- Tentacle Chest
Everyone’s Invited	🔒 Reach a population of 200 in a single skirmish or multiplayer match. 🧱 Coat of Arms Banner Sigil- Sunglasses
Fields of Plenty	🔒 Complete all armor upgrades at the blacksmith in a Skirmish or Multiplayer match.  🧱 Coat of Arms Banner Sigil Frame – Sunflower
Summer Harvest	🔒 Build 10 Mining Camps in Skirmish or Multiplayer matches.  🧱 Coat of Arms Banner Pattern – Animal Footprints

Ranked Season Eight Updates

Time to soak up the sun, Ranked Season Eight is going to be a scorcher! Following the end of Season Seven, Season Eight will kick off close behind and bringing with it a host of rewards for every rank and a little something extra for the highest rank you achieve this season in any ranked mode! Season Eight runs from July 18th at 11:00am PT (18:00 UTC) until October 17th at 10:00am PT (17:00 UTC).

Map Pool Rotation

We have some updated maps hitting the pool with the start of Ranked Season Eight! Dive in and prepare for victory! See you on the ladder!

1v1 Ranked Map Pool 

• Arabia
• Cliffside
• Rocky River
• Himeyama
• Gorge
• Hill and Dale
• Canal
• The Pit
• Baltic

Team Ranked Map Pool

• Arabia 
• Cliffside 
• Rocky River 
• Canal 
• Gorge 
• Migration
• Hideout
• Forts
• Waterholes

Build Spotlight

New Map: Socotra

We’re unveiling a new map, Socotra! Read on for more details.

Design Rework: Attack Move

We’ve made an adjustment to the default Attack Move behavior, designed to help prevent accidental mis-clicks. On PC, this can be changed back by setting the Attack Move Behavior setting under Game options to “Legacy.” Check out the full details of this rework below.

Gameplay

General

• Fixed an issue where Scouts can skip their reload animations.

AI Updates

• AI will now attempt to fortify contested islands on naval maps.
• Fixed an issue that sometimes caused the game to crash after loading a save game that contains AI players.
• Fixed some issues with the AI focusing too much on Age Up that were introduced as part of the difficulty re-balancing.

Campaign

• Fixed an issue where skipping a campaign cutscene could result in the map being briefly revealed in the next non-campaign match.

Hotkeys

• Using the hotkey combination to queue build multiple units (shift + Q by default) on the Byzantine Mercenary house works again.
• Dervish and Warrior Monks no longer selected with Military shortcuts. Scouts no longer selected with Military shortcuts.
  • Noted exception Malian Warrior Scout.

UX/UI & Menus (All Platforms)

• Population Capacity Reached will only be shown once, even if multiple units are produced at once.
• Added a Free-for-All map pool and allowed for the map vetoes to be specified in that pool.

Localization

• We have made some additional updates to Japanese localization.
• Fixed an untranslated Finnish string for title of the “Du Bois are back in town” achievement.

Maps

New Map: Socotra

Socotra

Chaos emerges as different civilizations crowd together on the small island of Socotra, struggling to expand on what little space they could get.

General Map Changes

• Sheep now produce 200 Food instead of 250.
• Two additional sheep spawn under each player’s starting Town Center.

Developer Note: The intention of the changes above is to guarantee a safe amount of sheep for each player and reduce the chance of games swinging as a result of one player getting the majority of the sheep on the map. With this change the overall food on a standard map is kept mostly the same (reduced by only 200 per player)

Map-Specific Changes

Baltic

• Fixed an issue where Pit mines and Ovoos could not be built due to trees spawning nearby.

Cliffside

• Neutral Gold and Stone mines no longer spawn on the cliff side in a way that prevents Ovoo/Pit placement.

Himeyama

• Neutral Gold and Stone mines no longer spawn near cliffs or forests in a way that prevents Ovoo/Pit placement.

Warring Islands

• Fixed a crash that could happen when generating a warring islands team game on a small map size.

Balance & Bugfixes

General Changes & Bugfixes

• Fixed an issue that caused performance issues when interacting with the Player Profile.
• Fixed a bug where the game would crash if the player clicked on a unit or upgrade in the global queue during a replay and free camera was turned off.
• Fixed a bug where the game would crash if the player pressed Ctrl + H while observing a match and free camera was turned off.
• Fixed an issue where sometimes a Prayer Tent would not give its influence bonuses after researching Monastic Shrines.
• Destroying a stone wall bastion will now destroy neighboring wall segments to guarantee that large units like rams can move through the resulting hole.
• Addressed issues with information leaks in Fog of War related to construction UI.
• Move or attack move commands issued outside the playable area of the map will now be shifted inside the playable area instead of displaying an error.
• Fixed a crash that could occur while loading into a multiplayer game.
• Defenses now properly show the buildings default weapon range on pre and post construction.

Design Rework: Attack Move

We’ve made an adjustment to the default attack-move behavior. Previously, when issuing an attack-move to a unit or building, the attack move was converted into a forced attack command (as if you had right-clicked the target instead). This made is particularly difficult to use attack move around areas with a lot of farms, and would often lead to mis-clicks where you accidentally attack move a unit in a group instead of the ground nearby.

The new default attack-move behavior always treats the attack move as a ground click, so that when you issue an attack move to a unit or building your units will attack-move to their location. On PC, this can be changed back by setting the Attack Move Behavior setting under Game options to “Legacy.”

Game Mode: Dominion

• When a King is garrisoned in a Transport Ship it is no longer possible to delete the ship.

Balance & Gameplay Changes (All Civilizations)

• Docks and House of Wisdom now have both an Economic and a Military rally point. When setting a rally with right click, setting the target to a fishing deposit or a trade settlement will default to setting an Economic rally, while anything else will set a military rally. Fishing Ships and Traders will only travel to the Economic rally when they are created, and all other ships will travel to the Military one. 
• Rally Points can now be queued using the hotkey or command card.
• It is now possible to buy/sell resources at the market in batches of 500 by holding SHIFT while pressing the buy/sell button.
• After defeating a forced attack target, buildings will scan for a new target instead of always falling back to their previous target.
• Siege weapons that are too close to their target to fire on them will now attempt to move away from the target to a position where they are able to fire. They will only do this if they are attacking a target that cannot move, such as a building.
• Horseman range increased from 0.29 to 0.38. Ghazi and Sipahi unaffected.
• Secondary Town Centers have had garrison slots increased from 7 to 8.
• Villagers will now deposit carried resources after completing construction of a Farm.

Naval Updates (All Civilizations)

• Dhows and Canoes now fire arrows from the head of the ship instead of the center.
• Heated Shot
  • Archer Ships now switch to incendiary arrow effects after researching Heated Shot. Visual representation of the upgrade only.
• Fishing Boat line of sight reduced by 25%.
• Fishing boat train time increased from 25 to 30 seconds.
• Abbasid Dynasty and the Ayyubids: Docks now only show the range for the healing aura

Civilization-Specific Changes

                        Abbasid Dynasty

• Corrected a bug where Medical Centers would persist on destroyed Landmark/Capital Town Centers.

                             Byzantines

• Olive Grove cost increased from 60 to 70 wood.
• Dromon move speed increased from 1.38 to 1.5
• Dromon Greek Fire base damage increased from 2 to 4.

Developer Note: This value only applies to fishing ships & demos. Damage versus military ships and buildings unchanged.

• Corrected an issue where Pilgrim Flasks would overlap with Shield Wall on Limitanei when playing on Xbox console with keyboard and mouse.  
• Olive oil is properly deposited when a villager carrying it is garrisoned.

                               Chinese

• Increased the radius of the Imperial Palace spy ability from 1.25 tiles to 3 tiles.
• Increased the duration of the Imperial Palace spy ability from 10 to 15 seconds.
• Corrected an issue where the Battering Ram was missing from Zhuge Nu radial menu.

                           Delhi Sultanate

• Upgrades now count towards the Technology Score, based on the upgrade’s base time cost.
• Fishing Ship damage decreased from 7 to 6.
• Garrisoned scholars in docks production speed modifier decreased from 30% to 20%.
• Hisar Academy can now be selected with research shortcuts.  
• Fishing Boat arrows no longer miss their targets.
• Manuscript Trade is now a default bonus for the Civilization.
• Docks garrison capacity increased from 3 to 4.
• Docks now generate influence as Mosques do.
• Docks will now provide a free scholar in its garrison if it was the first Dock constructed before a Mosque.

                                  English

• King train time increased from 35 to 50 seconds.
• White Tower production speed reduced from 100% to 75%.

                              French

• Town Centers work 10/15/20/25% faster per Age changed to 15/15/20/25%.
• Red Palace Landmark influence increased by +1 tile to match normal Keeps. 
• Artillery Shot has been reworked:
  • Targeted ability that increases the range of the cannon by +5 tiles and damage by +30% for one shot.
  • Can only target buildings.
  • Can target and shoot into fog of war.
  • Reveals the shot location through fog for 3 seconds.
  • 200 seconds cooldown.

                    Holy Roman Empire

• Marching Drills move speed bonus decreased to 5% in the Dark Age and 10% from the Feudal Age onward.  

                              Japanese

• Shinobi blink cast time reduced from 0.85 to 0.4
• Shinobi sabotage cast time reduced from 2 to 1.25.
• Atakebune cost reduced from 170 Food 220 Wood 220 Gold to 100 Food 220 Wood 220 Gold
• Atakebune rocket damage increased from 30 to 40.
• Yumi Ashigaru Feudal health increased from 60 to 65.
• Tatara cost reduced from 75 Gold 25 Stone to 50 Gold 25 Stone.
• Koka Township now benefits from Military Academy.
• Japanese Corrected the selection on some Japanese buildings where the selection bounds extended beyond its footprint.

                           Mongols

• Removed Rally Point command from Mongol Ger since they do not produce units.
• Destroyed Mongol landmarks that haven’t unpacked can now be attacked while under repair.
• Fixed a bug where technology queued at a Prayer Tent would be removed from the queue upon completion of Monastic Shrines.
• Mongol Pasture sheep production time reduced from 140 seconds to 116 seconds.

Developer Note: This is in concert with the changes to Sheep food.

• Mangudai
  • Cost reduced from 120 Food 40 Gold to 90 Food 60 Gold. Double production cost reduced from 160 Stone to 150 Stone.
  • Train time improved from 30 seconds to 28 seconds.
• Secondary Town Center
  • Town Center cost reduced from 900 Wood to 850 Wood.
  • Early Horseman ranged armor increased from 1 to 2.

                               Malians

• Fishing Boats drop off 10% of their Food as Gold.

                              Ottomans

• Military School train time multiplier reduced from 5x to 4.75x.
• The Istanbul Observatory is working as intended when landmark is destroyed and being rebuilt.
• Grand Galleys scale production speed per Age like their influence does.
• Istanbul Imperial Observatory landmark now applies to Grand Galleys.

                                Rus

• Lodya fishing boat train time increased to 46 seconds.

Variant Civilization Changes

The following changes apply only to the Variant versions of the Classic civilizations. Variant civilizations share in many of the changes made to their parent civilization listed above. 

                            Ayyubids

• Corrected an issue where Ayyubid Villagers could not force construct Stone Wall Bastion segments.
• Military Wing- Reinforcement (Feudal Age):
  • It now takes 15 seconds for the first Desert Raider to spawn.
• Economic Wing – Growth (Castle Age): 
  • Reduce number of villagers from 8 to 7.
• Trade Wing – Advisors:
  • Feudal Age Atabegs increased from 2 to 3.
  • Castle Age Atabegs increased from 4 to 5.

                            Jeanne d’Arc

• Artillery Shot has been reworked:
  • Targeted ability that increases the range of the cannon by +5 tiles and damage by +30% for one shot.
  • Can only target buildings.
  • Can target and shoot into fog of war.
  • Reveals the shot location through fog for 3 seconds.
  • 200 seconds cooldown.

                      Zhu Xi's Legacy

• Corrected an issue with Temple of the Sun where the building had 7500 health instead of 5000 health.

What's on the Horizon

Coming Up…

That wraps everything we have in store for you in this update. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for our follow-up patch, which we’re targeting to release a few weeks after the Red Bull Wololo: El Reinado qualifiers have completed. We have lots more changes coming that we are excited to get into your hands. Here’s a sneak peek at what we have in store for our next patch:

• A full rework of Rus’ bounty system.
• The Deer Stones will grant access to a new unit ‘Khan’s Hunters’.
• The House of Learning will receive some new and compelling technologies.
• A mid-season map pool refresh.
• Many more balance tweaks.

This patch will also see the return of our seasonal event: Map Monsters! You can expect to close out the summer (if you’re in the Northern hemisphere) with the return of some familiar and friendly monsters on land and sea, though we’ll be shaking things up a bit to make it easier to enjoy the fun.

We’re incredibly excited to share Season Eight with you, and we can’t wait to hear what you think. The team is eagerly buttoning up our next patch, but we’re always keeping an eye on your feedback. We’re also turning our attention to what’s next as we plan for our Season Nine release later this year, and even more exciting offerings in Spring 2025.

DISCLAIMER

Please note that this list is subject to change and should not be considered a comprehensive list of all the known issues we’re tracking. The above is to inform you of the team’s current priorities, which will change as other issues arise or take precedence.

For the latest updates and announcements, please visit our social channels.