by theygamesAge of Empires 2 Definitive Edition continues to plow on over five years on from its launch, still flying the flag for the classic 1999 strategy game. We know that another new DLC is on its way soon, and World’s Edge has just revealed that it’ll introduce five – yes, five – new civilizations. However, before it arrives, there’s a huge new update to come which is billed to be one of the most significant in AoE 2 history. Because of its size and importance, World’s Edge has dropped its “legendarily long” patch notes a month or so early.
Let’s talk about that massive update first, because it is going to affect or enhance pretty much every corner of Age of Empires 2. The balance changes alone touch 23 different civs, there’s a complete visual overhaul for castles and elite units, new random maps have been added, and so much more. It’s touted as “one of the biggest updates” the strategy game has ever received by World’s Edge, and it isn’t over-egging it, I can assure you.
Buried within the thousands of words of patch notes, you’ll also find loads of improvements and fixes for AI unit behavior, terminology for technologies and civ bonuses, poorly balanced campaign scenarios, and so much more. There’s even a section dedicated solely to fixing issues relating to the Battle for Greece expansion that dropped last year.
While this huge new update for Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition doesn’t have an exact release date yet, World’s Edge says you can expect a confirmed date in “mid-April.” The fact it’s releasing this early draft of the patch notes so far in advance is a good thing – you might need all that time to get through them.
Also peppered throughout the patch notes are apparently some small easter eggs and clues as to what may be included in AoE 2’s next DLC. Good luck finding them, it may take a while! Luckily, there is one easily found nugget of info on the new expansion – World’s Edge says that five brand new civilizations will be included, and all of them will be eligible for competitive play.
“The next expansion for [Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition] will include FIVE brand NEW Civs, all playable in Ranked Multiplayer. Yes, you read that correctly. Five! Is that all the DLC includes? Nope. We’ll be following up soon with more details regarding [AoE 2’s PlayStation launch], the next DLC, and news on the availability of this exciting update!”
Now that is a chunky expansion. Coupled with this enormous update to the base game, it sounds like the next few months will be stellar for Age of Empires 2 players. Until we hear more on everything that’s coming up, check out our lists of the best 4X games and best RTS games.
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