Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition News

Ranked Map Rotation – January 12

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, January 12 to Tuesday, January 26

👤 1v1 MAP POOL

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

ARABIA

ARENA

HIDEOUT

NOMAD

STEPPE

TEAM ISLANDS

VALLEY

👥 TEAM GAME MAP POOL

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

ARABIA

ARENA

BLACK FOREST

GOLD RUSH

LAND NOMAD

LOMBARDIA

PACIFIC ISLANDS

SCANDINAVIA

SOCOTRA

👤 1v1 DEATHMATCH POOL

ACROPOLIS

ARABIA

FOUR LAKES

GHOST LAKE

GOLDEN PIT

GOLDEN SWAMP

KILIMANJARO

SERENGETI

VALLEY

👥 TEAM DEATHMATCH POOL

ARABIA

CENOTES

GHOST LAKE

GOLDEN PIT

GOLDEN SWAMP

KILIMANJARO

LOMBARDIA

OASIS

VALLEY

How to play Age Of Empires 2 as a hivemind, and why it's incredible

Probably the most common woe, for all but the most unnaturally gifted players of real-time strategy games, is the feeling of being overwhelmed. Particularly in games from the genre’s “golden age” in the late 90s, there’s a relentless need to focus on several things at once, and endlessly jump back and forth between combat and economy. Age Of Empires 2, beautiful beast though it is, is certainly no exception, even with the concessions to modernity introduced in its Definitive Edition last year.

However. What if I was to tell you there was a way to play the game, totally unmodded, in a way that eliminates this concern entirely? Well, as the bloke off of Pirates Of The Carribean once memorably said, “you’d best start believing in posts about weird, gestalt-consciousness Age Of Empires sessions; ye’re in one.”

(more…)

Server Maintenance - Tuesday, January 12

WHAT: Server Maintenance (Matchmaking Servers)
WHEN: Tuesday, January 12 @ 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)

[h3]OBJECTIVES[/h3]

Routine server updates and maintenance.

[h3]DETAILS[/h3]This coming Tuesday, January 12th, the platform team will be taking the multiplayer servers down for regular maintenance. This will unfortunately disrupt any matches in progress and prevent the creation of new matches during the down time, so we recommend wrapping up any games at least 10 minutes before the maintenance window.

[h3]:alertalert: DURING THIS TIME, YOU CAN STILL LAUNCH THE GAME, BUT WILL NOT BE ABLE TO MATCHMAKE OR ACCESS ANY ONLINE FEATURES.[/h3]

The downtime is expected to last between 1 and 2 hours. We will update 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!

VOTE! Your Ranked Map Rotation starting January 12!

It’s that time again! Visit the official Age of Empires forum to vote for your Ranked map pool for the next two weeks.

This Week's Dev Picks

[h3]1v1 Random Maps[/h3]
✔ ARABIA
✔ ARENA
✔ STEPPE
✔ TEAM ISLANDS

[h3]Team Games[/h3]
✔ ARABIA
✔ ARENA
✔ BLACK FOREST
✔ LAND NOMAD
✔ PACIFIC ISLANDS
✔ SCANDINAVIA

Cast Your Vote Now!

To participate in the community ranked map pool vote, you will need to login to the official Age forum using your free Microsoft account. Then, click the images below to jump to this week’s polls.

:alertalert: Polls are open until NOON Pacific on Sunday, January 10 (or 3:00p Eastern / 19:00 UTC), so be sure to cast your vote and check back to see which maps emerge victorious!

CaptureAge—Age of Empires' most advanced spectator tool—is now Available!

CaptureAge is the ultimate tool for casting, watching, and improving your skills in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition! With helpful insights, moment-to-moment stats, deep-dive analytics, and detailed information about each player on the battlefield, the tool empowers you to analyze and improve your odds on the battlefield.

CaptureAge is free to download and available to everyone that owns Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition!

AGE-UP YOUR STRATEGY

[hr][/hr]The CaptureAge team, in partnership with World’s Edge and Microsoft, is excited to bring you these fabulous features to improve the spectator and game replay experience in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition! Originally created in 2019, the team has been updating and iterating on the tool ever since its debut. Now, it's finally here for all—casual and competitive—to enjoy and enhance their competitive edge!

[h3]Deep Game Mechanics[/h3]
In Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, a lot happens in every minute of competitive play. CaptureAge helps you absorb this information with an enhanced overview of the "tiny-but-critical" details that make the difference between victory and defeat.

[h3]Detailed Live Statistics[/h3]
CaptureAge offers a quick and easy summary of the competition at the top of the UI. This information can help you predict who the battle favors and the advantages of different tactics being employed.

Looking for a deeper, more insightful look at the match? The bottom of the UI provides a detailed breakdown that captures everything happening in real-time—a useful guide to develop your own, unique winning strategies!

[h3]And More![/h3]
The CaptureAge team is working hard on other fantastic features to enhance your game! With the enhanced zoom and camera feature coming soon, focus on the heat of battle or zoom out for an all-encompassing view of the battlefield; CaptureAge offers a smooth and powerful camera to catch every important moment.

DOWNLOAD NOW!

[hr][/hr]Download CaptureAge now to experience everything it has to offer to Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. You can also follow the team on Twitter, Discord and Twitch to stay updated with all the future updates and iterations to the tool!

[h3]:arrowsright: Download CaptureAge[/h3]