Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition News

Welcome to another release filled with exciting updates, balance changes, and bug fixes for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition!

We’re pretty excited about making today’s build available to you. Here is a quick look at some of the changes coming with today’s update:

• The Age of Empires II: DE Second Anniversary Event is going on now!
  
• 2 new co-op campaigns! Tariq ibn Ziyad & Tamerlane!
  
• Quick Play vs AI matchmaking!
  
• In-game tech tree preview feature!
  
• Player handicap system for custom lobbies!
  
• Regional trade cart skins!
  
• Updated Arabia!
  
• Balance changes focused on infantry units!
  
• New cheat codes!
  

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!

READ MORE HERE!

💬 DISCUSS: Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition Forum
🗣 JOIN: The Age of Empires 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


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         ◆ UPDATE 56005 ◆

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[hr][/hr]While there are plenty of notable fixes and features to which to look forward in today’s build, here are some of the big highlights coming with this month's update:

[h3]Age of Empires II: DE Second Anniversary Event[/h3]

[h3]🤍November 17 through December 1🤍[/h3]

November is here and we are celebrating the second anniversary of Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, and with an entirely new event for the occasion!

This year’s Second Anniversary Event is very special. Each set of challenges will unlock many rewards that you might have missed out on in the past. No More FOMO! So, get ready to unlock everything you never knew you wanted!

🡒 NEW REWARDS! Starting November 17 through December 1 complete the in-game tasks within the time limit to unlock exclusive rewards!

Each of the following challenges must be unlocked in order and on separate days:

🔒 Sign into Xbox Live.
🏆 Unlock all Player Profile Icon event rewards from the first 3 months of 2020.
💾 *Required* if you want to save any rewards unlocked during the event!

Each of the following challenges must be unlocked in order and on separate days:

🔒 Train 20 unique units in any amount of matches.
🧱 Unlock all Mod event rewards from the first 3 months of 2020.

🔒 Construct 5 Monasteries in any amount of matches.
🏆 Unlock all Player Profile Icon event rewards from the second third of 2020.

🔒 Play an Empire Wars match in Skirmish or Multiplayer. 
🧱 Unlock all Mod event rewards from the second third of 2020.

🔒 Raze 20 Buildings.
🏆 Unlock all Player Profile Icon event rewards from the third 4 months of 2020.

🔒 Train 3 Militia or Men-at-arms before 15 minutes of game time.
🧱 Unlock all Mod event rewards from the third 4 months of 2020.

🡒 KEEP IT FOREVER!!
Remember: if you sign in to Xbox Live at any point during the event, you get to keep all the mods and profile icons you unlock! Sign in, earn your rewards, and enjoy!

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!

READ MORE HERE!

[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.

Here is the latest Ranked Map Rotation as determined by the developer picks and community vote. For the next two weeks, you’ll be able to pick from the new set of maps listed below!

Map pools as of: 6p Pacific (9p ET / 20:00 UTC / 22:00 CEST) on Tuesday, November 16 to Tuesday, November 30

This week's 1v1 Community Map Picks are in BOLD.

This week's TG Community Map Picks are in BOLD.

WHAT: Server Maintenance (Matchmaking Servers)
WHEN: Wednesday, November 10, 2021, @ 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 10th, 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 1 to 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!

Here is the latest Ranked Map Rotation as determined by the developers. For the next two weeks, you’ll be able to pick from the new set of maps listed below!

Map pools as of: 6p Pacific (9p ET / 20:00 UTC / 22:00 CEST) on Tuesday, November 02 to Tuesday, November 16

WHAT: Server Maintenance (Matchmaking Servers)
WHEN: Wednesday, November 3 @ 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)
  
• 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 3rd, 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!