Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition News

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The legendary career of Alexander the Great is yours to command when the latest chapter of Age of Empires II: DE - Chronicles: Alexander the Great launches next week.

Find out when his saga starts in your area with our time zone map! ⚔️

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https://store.steampowered.com/app/3793540/Age_of_Empires_II_DE__Chronicles_Alexander_the_Great

The release of Chronicles: Alexander the Great is nearly here for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition! If you’ve played Chronicles: Battle for Greece, you already know the incredible ride you’re in for. If you’re entirely new to the Chronicles series, we want to share more about exactly what you can expect, and to get you as excited as we are!

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https://store.steampowered.com/app/3793540/Age_of_Empires_II_DE__Chronicles_Alexander_the_Great
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[h2]Campaign, Skirmish, and Multiplayer: the Full Chronicles Experience! [/h2]
Chronicles: Alexander the Great features a grand campaign of 18 richly-detailed scenarios, with animated cutscenes, new original music, and unlike any previous expansions – Chronicles: Alexander the Great dedicates a full campaign to one extraordinary figure!

But, your Chronicles experience doesn’t end there! Like its predecessor, Alexander the Great features three unique civilizations for you to enjoy in Skirmish against AI opponents, or in multiplayer custom games with your friends. These new civilizations can be played against each other to re-create the battles of the ancient world—or against the other civilizations from Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition!

[h2]Hoplite vs. Samurai – Battle Across Time! [/h2]
A skirmish lobby including civilizations from Chronicles, and the mainline Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition.

The newly introduced Chronicles civilizations can be played against ANY of the Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition civilizations in Skirmish, or in multiplayer custom games. You can even set a match to Antiquity Mode, allowing the expanded Chronicles-style water trade and oysters on water maps, to experiment with how the AoE II:DE civilizations would handle the ancient world!

With this cross-play between Chronicles and mainline AoE II: DE you can create the ultimate battles to discover history’s greatest warriors, and finally answer age-old questions: “Would Spartans defeat Samurai? Could Alexander’s Companions conquer the Mangudai? Would the elephants of Puru stand toe-to-toe against Jaguar Warriors?”, it’s time to find out!

[h2]Immersive Units and Technologies – but Familiar! [/h2]
Comparison of the Spartan, and Celts technology Tree. Pretty similar!

On the surface, Chronicles: Alexander the Great seems like an entirely different game from Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. Macemen, Guardsmen, Lancers, and Laminated Bowmen may seem like new units to learn. Fortunately, these are only ancient versions of the regular base game units, renamed and reskinned to build immersion in the ancient setting of Chronicles.

Their stats, costs, bonuses, and more are exactly the same as their AoE II: DE equivalents—with Macemen sharing the same stat-line as Man-at-Arms, Laminated Bowmen the equivalent of Crossbowmen, and Lancers your ancient version of Knights. While we have introduced other units with fully unique roles, such as the Hoplite and the Phalangite, this core set of units will make Chronicles: Alexander the Great extremely accessible and easy to enjoy!

We also leaned into this theme with Technologies, providing new icons and names to immerse you in the ancient world, but their costs and benefits remain the same. Even your hotkeys will function the same way!

[h2]Twice the Unique Technologies – Replayability and Strategy![/h2]

Unlike their Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition counterparts, Chronicles civilizations have access to four total Unique Technologies. However, like in AoE II:DE, only one technology can be chosen in the third, and fourth Age; while you’ll still end up with the familiar single Unique Technology in each of the final two Ages, you’re able to customize your civilization as you journey through the Technology Tree!

[h2]A Novel Approach to Water – Dive in, the Water’s Warm![/h2]

While general gameplay remains similar in Chronicles, naval gameplay has received an overhaul. Additional ship types have been added to the game, creating a new rock-paper-scissors relationship to master. This changes naval combat in Chronicles to behave more like the land warfare from the mainline Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, creating additional depth and complexity.

The addition of Oysters as a water-based source of Gold, and the ability to use Trade Ships to collect Gold or Wood changes naval strategy in a meaningful way. Although you never have to play water maps in Chronicles: Alexander the Great, if you’re willing to dive right in, we think you’ll find the water in Chronicles quite enjoyable— pun intended!

You can read more about the changes to naval gameplay in our dedicated overview here: Expanding Naval Warfare in Chronicles

[h2]Battle for Greece, Alexander the Great, or Both![/h2]
If Chronicles: Alexander the Great is the first experience you want with the Chronicles series, that’s great! You can start Alexander the Great without owning, or having played Battle for Greece. The two expansions share the same Technology Tree, units, and more—but each is designed to be enjoyable on their own!

If you’re not ready to play the entire Chronicles series, you can start with either Alexander the Great, or Battle for Greece. The other will be there waiting for you, once you’re ready to resume conquering the ancient world!
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https://store.steampowered.com/app/3793540/Age_of_Empires_II_DE__Chronicles_Alexander_the_Great

WHAT: Server Maintenance (Matchmaking Servers)
WHEN: Tuesday, October 7 @ 2:00pm PT / 5:00pm 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 Tuesday, October 7, the platform team will be taking the multiplayer servers down for a backend fix needed after the last 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!

There's a slight chill in the air and leaves are starting to change their colors. What better way to celebrate cooler temperatures than with cooler discounts too? Jump in now and complete your Age of Empires collection with discounts on your favorites, plus pick up a DLC or two! Don't wait, the Steam Autumn Sale ends October 6th!