Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition News

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Greetings, Age of Empires IV community! We hope you’re staying cool and hydrated this summer. We’re coming at you with a nice, refreshing new patch for the season! We are pretty happy with where gameplay is right now, so we aren’t going to be introducing a ton of new balance changes. That said, we’re always eager to iron out those pesky bugs and issues that pop up! Plus, we’ve got a new event: Winds of Change.

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!

💬 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

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.

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        ◆Patch 14.1.5602◆

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[h2]Winds of Change Event[/h2]

The wilds bloom and wither, kings rise and fall, and time marches on – the Winds of Change spare nothing under the sun. Adapt to the battlefield and outwit the competition in Season Eleven’s newest event, Winds of Change! Push yourself to complete a fresh set of challenges, including several from the newly introduced Chaotic Climate game mode.

The Winds of Change seasonal event will start on July 30th.

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, July 23 @ 2:00p PT / 5:00p ET / 21:00 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 / Xbox / PlayStation 5)
  
• Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition (Steam / Microsoft Store)
  
• Age of Empires IV (Steam / Microsoft Store / Xbox)
  

[h3]OBJECTIVES[/h3]

• Routine server updates and maintenance.

[h3]DETAILS[/h3]This coming Wednesday, July 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!

The Steam Summer Sale is happening now! Complete your Age of Empires collection and grab a couple of DLCs with up to 75% off on all your favorites - it’s time to Age up your Summer!

Don’t wait – sale ends July 10th at 10 AM PT (17:00 UTC).

Hello Age of Empires IV community and welcome to a shiny, new Season Eleven update preview! Coming next week, we’ve got lots of exciting things in store with a new event, updates to enemy AI, a bevy of balance changes and bugfixes, plus a fun new game mode! You can read all the details in the update below.

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!

💬 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

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.

[hr][/hr]

        ◆Update 14.0.4963◆

[hr][/hr]

[h2]Season Eleven[/h2]

Not all battles are taken through sheer might – some are won through keen eyes, smart trades, and meticulous attention to detail…claim your victory as the winds of trade bellow, and never let your enemies know your next move! It’s time to get the upper hand against your enemies with Season Eleven’s first event, Trade Secrets!

Starting today, June 26th, login to complete some fun challenges and prove your worth!

[h3]Trade Secrets Event[/h3]


[h3]New Seasonal Game Mode: Chaotic Climate![/h3]
Introducing New Seasonal Game Mode: Chaotic Climate! Playable in skirmish and multiplayer, this game mode cycles through the four seasons, introducing unique global effects over time. View the current seasonal effect from the Town Center.

Chaotic Climate will be available to play today, June 26th!

[h3]Ranked Season Eleven Updates [/h3]
Things are heating up this summer as the leaderboards are once more ablaze with worthy contenders! We’re kicking off Season Eleven with a series of rewards for both solo and team ranked. Bring things to a boil as you climb your way up the ranks – Season Eleven begins on June 26th.


[h3]Map Pool Rotation[/h3]
We’re back with another map pool rotation to kick off Season Eleven! Prove your skill and best your rivals on this fresh set of battlegrounds.
v1 Ranked Map Pool

• Boulder Bay → Archipelago
  
• Four Lakes → Canal
  
• High View → Altai
  
• Relic River → Rocky River
  
• Lipany → Hill & Dale

Team Ranked Map Pool

• Prairie → Hideout
  
• Continental → African Waters
  
• Mongolian Heights → Hedgemaze
  
• Rugged → Nagari
  
• Waterlanes → Relic River

[h3]Map Monsters Game Mode Returns[/h3]
We've also brought back an old favorite - the Map Monsters game mode!

[h3]AI Updates[/h3]

• AI players will now have increased defense for their or their allies’ wonders.
  
• Hard AI and higher will now retreat in a more efficient manner.
  
• Fixes for AI upgrades research:
  
  • Lettre de Change (Knights Templar)
    
  • Treasure Towers (Knights Templar)
    
  • Templar Brother (Knights Templar)
    
  • Cistercian Abbeys (Holy Roman Empire)
• When playing Nomad mode, AI monarchs will now correctly path towards their corresponding Town Center in early game.
  
• In early Nomad mode, vulnerable AI monarchs will now attempt to flee if attacked.
  
• Holy Roman Empire AI players will now train Black Rider units.

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.