Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition News

Editor's Note: We are aware that the Map Preference System currently does not reset votes on rotated-out maps during map rotation. For now, you can click on the "reset" button to regain all votes back to down-vote new maps.

Welcome to our first minor patch of Season Three, Patch 5.1.148! In this patch, we’re making some balance changes to Forest Ponds, Hideout, and Waterholes according to your feedback from our Season Three Public Update Preview, you’ll see some new UI improvements, and you’ll also see better general stability and performance of the game! Thia time, we’re mixing up the Season Three Map Pool, we’re giving some visual updates to the unit healthbar settings, as well as more balance work on the Malian and Ottoman Civilizations.

In addition to all of the above, we’re also taking some time to address some of the feedback we’ve heard from you. Special thanks as well to those of you who filled out our Season Three Survey – your feedback is incredibly helpful to us, so please keep sharing your thoughts!

💬 DISCUSS: Official Forum
💬 DISCUSS: Steam Forum
🗣 JOIN: Official Discord

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

This is just a small taste of what is coming in the latest update. For a more complete list, please visit our site and check out our blog. Happy Gaming!

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          ◆ PATCH 5.1.148 ◆

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[h2]In-Game Languages[/h2]

• Fixed an issue where the Microsoft Store version of the game would not launch in Hindi and instead launched in English.

[h2]Healthbar Update[/h2]
We’ve been making an on-going effort to improve the visibility of unit selections. Since the Season Three PUP, we introduced fully-opaque white outlines around healthbars when you select your units, and this worked well to boost visibility in general. However, we’ve also heard your feedback that this change can be visually distracting in certain scenarios, so we are now iterating on this design. In Patch 5.1.148, healthbars will have a better balance with a 50% opacity outline and a black inner border for improved contrast.

• When you toggle the Healthbars Setting to “Always on”.
  
  • All unit healthbars (owned, allied, enemy units) stay visible in 90% opacity, regardless if units are damaged.
    
  • Healthbars opacity will increase to 100% when hovered or selected.
    
  • All selected units will now have a white glow with 50% opacity around their healthbars as opposed to 100%. (same as command card unit cycling effects)
• When you toggle the Healthbars Setting to “Smart”.
  
  • All unit healthbars (owned, allied, enemy units) stay hidden until damaged or selected.

[h2]Ranked Map Pool Rotation[/h2]
You’ve shared with us your thoughts on the Season Three Map pool, so we’re freshening up the Ranked map pools! We’ll be swapping out some maps that have been in the pool for multiple seasons with some of the brand-new maps that we introduced in the Anniversary Update. We wanted to hit the goal of providing you a good variety of map styles, while diversifying the maps between 1v1 and Team Game queues. As for voting, you’ll still have three votes in the map preference system to prioritize your favorite maps from the map selection.

[h4]1v1 Ranked Pool[/h4]

• Dry Arabia
  
• French Pass
  
• King of the Hill
  
• Lipany
  
• Mediterranean
  
• Mongolian Heights
  
• Prairie
  
• The Pit
  
• Wetlands

[h4]Team Ranked Pool[/h4]

• Altai
  
• Black Forest
  
• Boulder Bay
  
• Dry Arabia
  
• Forest Ponds
  
• Hideout
  
• Hill and Dale
  
• The Pit
  
• Wetlands

[h2]Caster Mode[/h2]

• Resolved a Hotkey conflict between Observer Mode’s “Toggle fog of war” and the global command “Cycle through Villagers gathering Food”. All Cycle villager commands will now be using “Ctrl+Shift+Key” format, and reserving “Ctrl+F” for fog of war only.

This is just a small taste of what is coming in the latest update. For a more complete list, please visit our site and check out our blog. Happy Gaming!

[h3]:alertalert: DISCLAIMER[/h3]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.

WHAT: Server Maintenance (Matchmaking Servers)
WHEN: Wednesday, November 23 @ 2:00p PT / 5:00p ET / 22:00 UTC (Countdown)
EST. DOWNTIME: 1-2 HOURS

[h3]GAMES & PLATFORMS IMPACTED[/h3]

• Age of Empires: Definitive Edition (Steam / Microsoft Store)
  
• Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition (Steam / Microsoft Store)
  
• Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition (Steam / Microsoft Store)
  
• Age of Empires IV (Steam / Microsoft Store)
  

[h3]OBJECTIVES[/h3]

• Routine server updates and maintenance.

[h3]DETAILS[/h3]This coming Wednesday, November 23rd, the platform team will be taking the multiplayer servers down for regular maintenance. Please note:

• Ranked matchmaking will disabled exactly one hour before the maintenance window to prevent disruption to newly-formed matches.
  
  
• Any matches still in progress at the start of the maintenance window will be disrupted when it begins.
  
  
• DURING THE MAINTENANCE WINDOW, YOU WILL STILL BE ABLE TO LAUNCH THE GAME, BUT WILL NOT BE ABLE TO MATCHMAKE OR ACCESS ANY ONLINE FEATURES.

To prevent any interruptions, we recommend wrapping up any games at least 10 minutes before the maintenance window. The downtime is expected to last between 1 and 2 hours. You can watch this thread with any changes to the schedule as they arise, as well as the all-clear when the maintenance is complete.

Thank you for your patience!

We were so excited to celebrate Age franchise’s 25th Anniversary and the subsequent release of the Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition with you and have enjoyed seeing you all take part in Season Three, which brought new civilizations and maps, the addition of taunts and cheats, a naval balance rework, and more. As we continue the festivities through Season Three, we know you’re curious about what the after-party looks like! Starting in February 2023, we’ll have new content, requested features and some enchanting environmental surprises to bring your way with Season Four: Enchanted Grove.

Before we head there, we’d like to give a quick shout-out to our Ranked Season Two participants. Your achievements will be immortalized on our Season Two Leaderboard! Be sure as well to tell a friend and secure your place on the Season Three Team Ranked Leaderboard while there’s still time!



Additionally, we’d like to thank those of you who tuned in to the Red Bull: WOLOLO Legacy tournament! If you missed it, you can check out the VODs for the event over at Red Bull Gaming’s Youtube Channel.

[h2]A Look Ahead Into Season Four[/h2]
Season Three continues with new events still on the horizon, but as always, we’re eager to give you a sneak peek of what’s to come in Season Four, which shakes things up with a new seasonal experience and brings a pointed vision and focus on releasing new content for our community to enjoy (maps and a game mode!). Season Four doesn’t just bring new content: we’ll have some exciting balance changes and will also be continuing the work to further decrease chat delay based on your feedback. Here’s just a quick look at some of what to expect next February:

• Inspired by the popular Age of Empires II, we’re bringing Nomad mode to Age of Empires IV! With Nomad mode selected, you’ll start with a few scattered villagers instead of a Town Center. Without a Town Center, you’ll need to take care of your slower start to be tactical and adapt to the unpredictable! Nomad mode will be selectable via the Game Setup screen for custom and skirmish matches.
  

• You’ve expressed to us which Landmarks you like and dislike, so we’re also providing Landmark Improvements in Season Four! Not only will we have balance improvements on Landmarks, we’re also looking to make enhancements to some of the Landmark selections that haven’t quite made the mark with you. You can’t change the Landmark you’ve chosen during a game, which means you’re committed to that option – and we know that this is a pretty important choice once you Age up. Therefore, you can look forward to more strategic gameplay changes with Landmarks, so the less-used Landmarks will now be present more viable strategies or have unique features to stand out as a compelling choice. Keep an eye out for our updates on which Landmarks are changing and how!
  
• Based on your feedback, we’ve taken a look at what we could do to make mod navigation clearer and easier. The Improved Mod UI means that you’ll be able to find and download mods much easier than you did before!
  
• You’ve mentioned you’ve wanted to see a faster time between the messages you send in-game, and we know how important communication is — especially in Team games — so in Season Four, we’re making some fixes for Improvements to the Chat Delay!
  
• In addition to New Maps, we’re introducing a new Special Seasonal Biome! You can look forward to an enchanted place with some interesting sights to look at. We’ll also be exploring how we can tie seasonal elements into our approach to Events. Stay tuned to learn more!
  
• We’re also making some UI-specific improvements to both the Minimap and Garrison interfaces. Starting in Season Four, you’ll will have the ability to resize your minimap to one of the following options: 100% (default), 125% and 150%. As well, we’re bringing a new Garrison UI that allows you to see the building info panel while units are garrisoned, an item we’ve seen much-requested by the community!
  

We’ll have more to share as we lead into the release of Season Four, including balance changes, new Seasonal Event and Ranked rewards and bug fixes!

[h2]What’s Still to Come[/h2]

Additionally, Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition will be on sale on Steam from November 22nd through 29th.

Season Four is just the start of things for us in 2023! Keep an eye out as we continue to plan new ways play, new maps and biomes, and new ways to get rewarded; not only that, but we’re excited to continuing building upon Seasons and Events with you by our side! We’re also continuing to expand our map pool, and will keep improving both multiplayer and single-player modes, along with overall game balance. In other words, you can look forward to:

• Age of Empires IV on Xbox devices!
  
• More Seasons and Events!
  
• More Maps, Biomes and Game Modes!
  
• Improvements to Caster Mode!
  
• Ongoing investigations for tweaks to the map pool!
  
• Ongoing balancing and bug fixing!
  
• And more!
  

[h2]Tell Us How We’re Doing[/h2]
We’ve come a long way since we initially launched the game last year in October 2021. We’ve been hearing all the positivity from you, and we’re not stopping our pace any time soon! We’re always looking out for your feedback, so here’s how you can continue to help us shape our direction:

• Share your thoughts in our official Age forums!
  
• Join the official Discord to meet other players!
  
• We’re looking ahead to our Season Four Public Update Preview (PUP), so be sure to become an Age Insider to stay up-to-date on the next PUP and get first hands on with Season Four features, content and improvements!
  

Didn’t get enough anniversary celebrations? Well, here you go! Part II of the Anniversary Event is here! Starting now, November 10 to November 28, jump into the challenge and earn profile icons, coat of arms for your banner, monuments, and more! Don’t miss out on your chance to unlock exclusive rewards and celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Age of Empires!

Didn’t see Part I? You can still earn those through November 28 too!

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We hope you enjoy the second part of the Anniversary Event and are looking forward to the rest of the Season!

Don’t forget to keep sharing your feedback on Seasons with us in the forums – we’d love to hear your feedback!

The Age of Empires 25th Anniversary Sale is here! Come join the party with us and pick up your copy today, bring a friend (or two!) and enjoy some fun in-game anniversary events too. Grab your sheep, capybaras, or villagers – it’s time to celebrate Age style! This is only for a limited anniversary time, so don’t miss out – sale ends October 30!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/813780/Age_of_Empires_II_Definitive_Edition/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1389240/Age_of_Empires_II_Definitive_Edition__Lords_of_the_West/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1557210/Age_of_Empires_II_Definitive_Edition__Dawn_of_the_Dukes/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1869820/Age_of_Empires_II_Definitive_Edition__Dynasties_of_India/

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https://store.steampowered.com/app/933110/Age_of_Empires_III_Definitive_Edition/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1581450/Age_of_Empires_III_Definitive_Edition__United_States_Civilization/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1581451/Age_of_Empires_III_DE__The_African_Royals/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1817370/Age_of_Empires_III_Definitive_Edition__Mexico_Civilization/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1817361/Age_of_Empires_III_Definitive_Edition__Knights_of_the_Mediterranean/

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https://store.steampowered.com/app/1017900/Age_of_Empires_Definitive_Edition/

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[h2]Haven’t picked up Age of Empires IV yet? It’s time to make history your story![/h2]

Plus, yesterday we released Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition. This new version of the game includes everything from our monster Anniversary Update and is at a new price of $39.99! There’s never been a better time to jump in and begin your empire. And if you want even MORE Age of Empires IV, Age of Empires IV: Digital Deluxe Edition also has a new lower price of $59.99. Including the soundtrack, Unit Counters Chart, art compilation from digital painter Craig Mullins, and exclusive in-game content including a Coat of Arms, Player Profile portrait, and Monument.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1466860/Age_of_Empires_IV/