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Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition News

Public Update Preview Program – October Update

Hello Explorers!

Looking to see what's ahead for our next big update? Then look no further as we have just enabled the Public Update Preview Program for our October update. Jump in to get an early look at the upcoming changes, see which bugs have been addressed, and help make our release even better by helping us find any last minute issues and lending your voice to our forums.

More information on October's Public Update Preview Program can be found here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/933110/discussions/5/2956041222212934416/

Details on how to participate in the Public Update Preview Program can be found here: https://steamcommunity.com/games/933110/announcements/detail/3061863764824320236
Please join us in strengthening the quality of Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition by sharing your voice on the official 🛠 Public Update Preview forums. (Note that you must own the game and login to Steam to access the PUP forum.) We’re definitely listening, and looking for every opportunity to make this the game you love to play! :)

- The World's Edge Team

Watch Age of Empires III DE - MIGW Steam Celebration Broadcast



Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition is a featured game in the Melbourne International Games Week Steam event!
In this broadcast, Tantalus Media will be showcasing some of the current features being worked on at the Melbourne-based studio.

African Royals Event Started!



Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition is celebrating the months of September through October with The African Royals Event!

[h3]The African Royals Event: September 14 through October 11[/h3]

While this event is active, everyone will be able to play in two parts. Our normal 6 event challenges are for all players, and then another 18 challenges exclusively for owners of The African Royals. We’re including a fun group of challenges specific to the civs alongside some super cool rewards:
  • Alternate Explorer skins for Ethiopia & Hausa!
  • Enjoy some very unique profile icons!
  • Unlock the Honey Badger cheat unit!!
🡒 NEW REWARDS! Now through October 11th, complete the in-game tasks within the time limit to unlock exclusive rewards! The Event will be have two parts – 6 event challenges for all players, and then another 18 challenges for owners of The African Royals.

🎯 Sign into Xbox Live.
🏆 Unlocks an Xbox themed version of the Gatling Camel. Green attire with logo on camel’s saddle.
💾 *Required* if you want to save any rewards unlocked during the event!

🔒 Train 50 Cavalry in a Skirmish or Multiplayer Game.
🏆 Javelin Rider Profile Icon

🔒 Ally with all available Native Civilizations on the map in a Skirmish or Multiplayer Game.
🏆 Fulani Archer Profile Icon

🔒 Deal 1000 damage with Native Warriors in a single Skirmish or Multiplayer Game.
🏆 Dahomey Amazon Profile Icon

🔒 Build 2 Forts as Portuguese, French or Swedish in a single Skirmish or Multiplayer Game.
🏆 Askari Profile Icon

🔒 Defeat 15 Treasure Guardians.
🏆 Unlock the Honey Badger cheat unit.




[h4]Part Two Challenges for Owners of The African Royals[/h4]

🔒 Gain 1500 Coin or Wood from selling Herdables in a single Skirmish or Multiplayer Match.
🧱HINT: You can sell cattle without even selecting a Livestock Market, by simply ctrl-clicking the Wood or Coin Icons in the global UI.
🏆 [Reward] Zebu Cattle Profile Icon

🔒 Earn 500 Influence from Trading Posts placed on Trade Routes.
🧱HINT: Trading Posts can be toggled to produce Influence, even before the Stagecoach upgrade.

🔒 Cause a Treasure Guardian to defeat another using the Emir's Chaos Ability in a Skirmish or Multiplayer Game.
🧱HINT: Chaos affects stronger Guardians for a longer duration.
🏆 [Reward] Emir Profile Icon

🔒 Switch your University to trickle Experience instead of Influence.
🧱HINT: Experience is more important in the early game, but the Hausa also need to secure a steady income of Influence in the mid and late game to produce Cannons, Natives, Mercenaries, and more.

🔒 Create a maximum trickle University, by placing it near a Town Center, Palace and Trading Post.
🧱HINT: For maximum Influence income, each University must have its own Town Center, Trade Post and Palace.

🔒 Deal 1500 damage with Maigadi.
🧱HINT: Maigadi are slow, but powerful Heavy Infantry, especially when engaging in melee.
🏆 [Reward] Maigadi (as it appears in the Command Panel HUD) Profile Icon

Challenge #7 🔒 Research 6 unique technologies at your Mountain Monastery or University.
🧱HINT: Age up technologies can be researched for Influence, in the University for Hausa and in the Monastery for Ethiopia.

🔒 Train 20 Mercenaries from the Palace.
🧱HINT: Saloon/Tavern Mercenaries appear in the Palace for African Civilizations.

🔒 Build 3 Watch Towers in a single Skirmish or Multiplayer Game.
🧱HINT: African Civilizations hire Outlaws at the Tower.
🏆 [Reward] Desert Raider Portrait Icon (as it appears in the Command Panel HUD holding a torch) Profile Icon

🔒 Build 10 Granaries in a single Skirmish or Multiplayer match.
🧱HINT: Granaries are free, but take a while to construct.

🔒 Inspire a Building with a Griot from your University.
🧱HINT: Griots can increase train and research speed of buildings, heal allies, and slow the attack speed of enemies, even artillery.

🔒 Have 20 fully fattened Herdables at the same time.
🧱HINT: Fully fattened Cows trickle influence fast, but selling some at a good market price can be even better.
🏆 [Reward] Big Benny profile picture (Hero Sanga cattle) Profile Icon

🔒 Gather 2000 Food from Huntables, Herdables, Fields, or Berries with Villagers buffed by a Granary.
🧱HINT: Granaries boost all food income for nearby Villagers.

🔒 Eat a second cow before clicking up to the Commerce Age.
🧱HINT: Livestock allows the African Civilizations to be very versatile, sell a cow to build your first House or University, age up quickly by eating them early, or sell one to train several more as an investment for later.

🔒 Hit 5 targets with a single shot from the Sebastopol Mortar in a Skirmish or Multiplayer Game.
🧱HINT: The Sebastopol Mortar can be switched to explosive shot to deal less damage in a wider radius.
🏆 [Reward] Sebastopol Mortar Portrait Icon (Firing or reloading) Profile Icon

🔒 Earn 1000 Influence from Mountain Monasteries.
🧱HINT: Mountain Monasteries can gather Coin faster and the ratio at which Villagers and Abuns gather Influence and Coin from them can be toggled to fit your strategy.

🔒 Use Abuns to gather 1000 Coin from a Mountain Monastery.
🧱HINT: Abuns and Mountain Monasteries can also heal nearby units, even during battle.

🔒 Train 10 Gatling Camels from the Palace in a Skirmish or Multiplayer Game.
🧱HINT: Gatling Camels can only be trained after aging up with the Arabs Alliance.
🏆 [Reward] Unlocks new Explorer skins for Ethiopia & Hausa

[h4]🡒 KEEP IT FOREVER!![/h4]
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!

—The Age of Empires Team

[hr][/hr]
Event Wallpapers


[h3]:savedisk:  1920x1080 || 1920x1200 || 2560x1440[/h3]

Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition — Update 43871


Hello, adventurers! Another exciting day for Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition!

There are lots of exciting changes, improvements, new maps, and even some fun new cheat codes coming with today’s patch.

[h4]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! [/h4]

READ MORE HERE!

Here are some of the big highlights coming with this month’s update:
  • Even more crash fixes & stability improvements
  • Major The African Royals Event
  • Everyone can unlock a new Honey Badger cheat
  • Owners of The African Royals can unlock a skin for their Hausa & Ethiopian Explorer
  • Indian and Japanese Home Cities upgraded to have customization
  • 4 new maps!
  • 10 new Hausa Cards
  • 10 new Ethiopian Cards
  • Long list of AI improvements
  • Ludicrous zoom out option
  • Reconnect MP games that went out of sync
💬 DISCUSS: Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition Forum
🗣 JOIN: The Age of Empires Official Discord


Thank you for sharing in yet another major milestone for Age of Empires with us! We hope you enjoy all the changes and look forward to sharing in all the adventures yet to come!

—The Age of Empires Team

[hr][/hr]
◆ UPDATE 43871 ◆
[hr][/hr]
BUILD SPOTLIGHT

[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]The African Royals Event[/h3]
[h3]🤍 September 14 through October 11[/h3]

While this event is active, everyone will be able to play in two parts. Our normal 6 event challenges are for all players, and then another 18 challenges exclusively for owners of The African Royals. We’re including a fun group of challenges specific to the civs alongside some super cool rewards:
  • Alternate Explorer skins for Ethiopia & Hausa!
  • Enjoy some very unique profile icons!
  • Unlock the Honey Badger cheat unit!!
🡒 NEW REWARDS! Starting TODAY through October 11, complete in-game tasks to unlock event-themed goodies:
🎯 Sign into Xbox Live.
🏆 Unlocks an Xbox themed version of the Gatling Camel. Green attire with logo on camel’s saddle.
💾 *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 50 Cavalry in a Skirmish or Multiplayer Game.
🏆 Javelin Rider Profile Icon

🔒 Ally with all available Native Civilizations on the map in a Skirmish or Multiplayer Game.
🏆 Fulani Archer Profile Icon

🔒 Deal 1000 damage with Native Warriors in a single Skirmish or Multiplayer Game.
🏆 Dahomey Amazon Profile Icon

🔒 Build 2 Forts as Portuguese, French or Swedish in a single Skirmish or Multiplayer Game.
🏆 Askari Profile Icon

🔒 Defeat 15 Treasure Guardians.
🏆 Unlock the Honey Badger cheat unit.
🡒 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!


[h3]New Cards[/h3]
[h4]Hausa: 10 NEW Cards![/h4]
Kilishi Jerky (I)

“Increases the maximum food total Herdables can fatten to.”

  • Cattle and Llamas gain +100 maximum food total
  • Sheep and Goats gain +60 maximum food total

TEAM Indigo Dyeworks (I)

“Villagers gather Coin faster from Fields, Estates and Rice Paddies.”

  • Workrate +15%
  • Benefit granted to your entire team

Tsetse Sabotage (II)

“Unlocks a new ability for your Emir. Tsetse Sabotage: may be used to sabotage an enemy Military Building, considerably slowing down its production and research rates.”

  • Ability can target 1 Military Building to slow its workrate by -75% for 40 seconds
  • Cooldown: 160 seconds (Global)
  • Emir must be nearby the targeted building to use the ability

TEAM Marabout Network (II)

“Ships 2 Griots. Reveals the location of all Trading Posts, Treasures, and enemy fortifications on the map.”

  • Enemy fortifications are buildings with the “Frontier Fortification” type, as well as Walls and Town Centers
  • All benefits granted to your entire team

Rano Indigo Production (III)

“Villagers gather Coin faster from Fields.”

  • Workrate +25%

Hadejia Emirate (III, 750i)

“Ships a number of Raiders and Lifidi Knights and makes their upgrades cheaper and research faster.”

  • Costs 1000 Influence
  • Ships 4 Raiders and 3 Lifidi Knights
  • War Camp Hand Cavalry upgrades research time and cost reduced:

    • Elite Upgrade: -100% (becomes free and immediate!)
    • Champion Upgrade: -50%
    • Legendary Upgrade: -20%



INF Tokens of 1,000 Influence (IV)

“Ships Tokens of 1000 Influence.”

  • Can be sent infinite times
  • Note: Should be highly useful in the Treaty Gamemode

Red Fulani Cattle (IV)

“Ships a Prize Bull and a number of semi-fattened Cattle."

  • Can be sent twice
  • Ships 1 Prize Bull containing 900 food
  • Ships 12 Sanga Cattle containing 200 food
  • Can’t be sent if it would put you above the Cattle build limit of 20

Kororofa Confederacy (IV)

“Arrives fast! Ships a number of Yoruba Eso Riders.”

  • Takes only 5 seconds to arrive
  • Ships 6 Yoruba Eso Riders

Draft Oxen (II)

“Enables African Cattle to construct Fields and slowly gather resources from them.”

  • African Cattle gather resources at half the speed of a villager
  • Animals do not fatten whilst working
[h4]Ethiopians: 10 NEW Cards![/h4]
Era of Princes (I)

“The Kill XP you earn from fighting slightly reduces the cost of each Age-up Alliance you research. The XP your Rases (Heroes) earn reduces the cost much more than other units.”

  • Illustration:

    • 30 Kill XP earned would reduce the cost of Ageing up by 10 resources (5 food and 5 coin)
    • 30 Kill XP earned by a Ras would reduce the cost of Ageing up by 30 resources (15 food and 15 coin)
    • Since the Exploration Age does not cost any coin, only the food cost reduction can be applied


  • Effects all Alliances for each age, but affect them one at a time (i.e., the cost of the Imperial Age would not decrease until you start researching the Industrial Age)

Tabot (I)

“All your Mountain Monasteries currently present on the map contain additional Coin.”

  • Grants +1000 Coin to each Mountain Monastery

INF 2 Oromo Warriors (III)

"Ships 2 Oromo Warriors.”

  • Can be sent infinite times

Sefari (III, 1000i)

“Ships a number of Gascenya and Shotel Warriors and makes their upgrades cheaper and research faster.”

  • Costs 1000 Influence
  • Ships 5 Gascenya and 5 Shotel Warriors
  • War Camp Infantry upgrades research time and cost reduced:

    • Elite Upgrade: -100% (becomes free and immediate!)
    • Champion Upgrade: -50%
    • Legendary Upgrade: -20%



British Firearms (III, 1000i)

“Ships a battalion of Harquebusier mercenaries and improves the attack damage of all Heavy Ranged Cavalry.”

  • Costs 1000 Influence
  • Ships 6 Harqubusiers
  • Improves Ranged Heavy Cavalry damage by +5%

TEAM 1 Sebastopol (IV, 500i)

“Ships 1 Sebastopol Mortar.”

  • Costs 500 Influence
  • Benefit granted to your entire team

INF 12 Gascenya (IV)

“Ships 12 Gascenya.”

  • Can be sent Infinite times

Gondarine Architecture (IV)

“Improves the hitpoints of all buildings, particularly Palaces, Town Centers, Mountain Monasteries, and Walls.”

  • All Buildings: +25%
  • Town Centers: Additional +25%
  • Palace: Additional +25%
  • Mountain Monastery: Additional +100%
  • Walls: Additional +100%

Italian Firearms (IV, 2500i)

“Ships a battalion of Li'l Bombard mercenaries and improves the area damage of all Artillery.”

  • Ships 3 Li’l Bombards
  • Town Centers: Additional +25%
  • Artillery (except Culverins) gain +25% area damage

Draft Oxen (II)

“Enables African Cattle to construct Fields and slowly gather resources from them.”

  • African Cattle gather resources at half the speed of a villager
  • Animals do not fatten whilst working


[h4]Ethiopians: Some Existing Cards are now TEAM Cards![/h4]
TEAM Trade Empire (II)

“Each member of your team gets a Trading Post Builder, and all your Trading Posts are cheaper and stronger.”

  • Moved to Age 2 (from Age 1)

TEAM Coffee Consumption (IV)

“Is that the smell of Coffee? Your team's ranged infantry move faster.”

  • Speed improved by +5% (down from 10%)
  • Is now a TEAM card


[h4]Random Maps: 4 NEW African Regions![/h4]

Dunes: Open desert where animals are scarce. Though, sand and Mines are plentiful!
  • Description: Shifting sands and rolling dunes cast long shadows across the Sahara. This vast, open landscape is far from barren, though – gold is plentiful, and although food is not too scarce, settlers will quickly find themselves out in the open as they venture away from their towns in search of food. There is no passing trade in the desert, only a Berber village in the middle of the map. Controlling the center will be much more difficult than it may appear.

    • Settlements: Berbers
    • Outlaws: Desert Warrior, Desert Archer



Ivory Coast: A tropical coastal region named for it’s export of ivory.
  • Description: In this tropical, coastal region, players will find mangrove trees and lagoons along the coast which give way to grassy plains, and eventually an elevated plateau which gives way to the semi-arid Sahel. The Ivory Coast is an important hub for trade: the naval trade route connects Africa with Europe and the Americas, while its counterpart on the mainland connects the coast to the Sahel. The land trade route bisects the plateau in the north, so each team has access to easily defensible resources away from the water. Like many of the coastal regions in this part of Africa, including the Pepper Coast and Gold Coast, this region is named for its chief export: ivory. As such, you will find many large herds of elephants in the coastal grasslands.

    • Settlements: Akan, Jesuit
    • Outlaws: Desert Warrior, Desert Archer



Sahel: Players fight over scattered resources in open grasslands.
  • Description: A broad belt of biogeographic transition between the Sahara to the north and the Savanna to the south. This windy semi-arid steppe has a low precipitation rate compounded by constant dry and intense heat - but still boasts fairly continuous grass coverage across the region with areas of woodland and scrub where livestock abound graze; nomadic pastoralism is the main sustainable way to live here. The map also features a long central trade route and several different groups of natives.

    • Settlements: Akan, Berbers, Sudanese, Yoruba
    • Outlaws: Desert Warrior, Desert Archer



Swahili Coast: One player from each team will always begin on the coastal islands.
  • Description: On the east coast of Africa, players will fight for control over lucrative naval trade routes that connect Africa and Asia. In team games, one player from each team will begin on one of the coastal islands. To help with early control of the ocean, each player will begin with a catamaran. As you move inland, key resources including salt mines can be found on the plateau. In free-for-all, players will spawn in the lower grasslands and each will have access to a Somali settlement and a salt mine. You may choose to ally with the Somalis, Jesuits, and/or Sufi to help your settlement prosper.

    • Settlements: Somalis, Jesuit, Sufi
    • Outlaws: Desert Warrior, Desert Archer


[h4]Revolutions: Updated Barbary States and Egypt![/h4]
We have updated the African revolution decks available to the European civilizations with cards from The African Royals expansion:
Barbary States Revolution Cards:
  • [New] Sale Rovers (IV)
  • [New] INF 1 Xebec (IV)
  • [New] 2 Xebecs (IV, 500c)
  • [New] TEAM 4 Zenata Riders (IV, 500c)
  • [New] 15 Berber Camel Riders (IV, 1000c)
  • [New] Aïr Berbers (IV)
  • [Removed] INF 3 Privateers (IV)
Egypt Revolution Cards:
  • [New] 9 Gatling Camels (IV, 2000c)
  • [New] 11 Askaris (IV, 1000c)
  • [New] 5 Sennar Horsemen (IV)
  • [New] 15 Sudanese Dervish (IV)


[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.

Server Maintenance - Friday, September 10, 2021



WHAT: Server Maintenance (Matchmaking Servers)
WHEN: Friday, September 10, 2021, @ 2:00p PT / 5:00p ET / 21:00 UTC (Countdown)
EST. DOWNTIME: 2 HOURS

[h3]GAMES & PLATFORMS IMPACTED[/h3]
[h3]OBJECTIVES[/h3]
  • Routine server updates and maintenance.

[h3]DETAILS[/h3]This coming Friday, September 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 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!