Welcome to a new update for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition! This update focuses on stability, gameplay fixes, and fine tuning across both core systems and recent content.
Here are some of the notable highlights coming with this month’s update:
- Fixed some crashes and out of sync issues.
- Fixed an issue with garrisoned units getting killed when building is destroyed.
- Fixed some exploits and gameplay related bugs.
- Fixed an issue with large group of units slowing down around obstructions.
Be sure to dig down into the post below to get all of the smaller details before hopping in-game and checking them out firsthand.
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
Remember that you’ll need to update your game in the Microsoft Store:
- Open the Microsoft Store.
- Click the [∙ ∙ ∙ ] symbol next to your profile picture.
- Select Downloads and updates.
- Press the Get updates button to automatically detect, download, and install the latest changes to your game!
- Open the game. The title screen should show you on Build 188329.
If you are unable to launch the game after downloading the update, make sure you add (or re-add) the Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition client or folder as an exception to your firewall and antivirus program.
That’s it; you’re ready to play!
Remember that you’ll need to update your game in Steam:
- Open Steam.
- Click on Library to see your games list.
- Click Downloads at the bottom of the Library window.
- [If the new build does not download automatically,] click the Download Now button to manually download the new update.
- Open the game. The title screen should show you on Build 188329.
That’s it; you’re ready to play!
Remember that you’ll need to update your game in the Xbox App for Windows.
- Open the Xbox app.
- Games that are installed show up on the left side of the app.
- Hover over the game or click it, and then select Update.
- [If the new build does not download automatically,] hover over the game, select More Options (…), choose Manage. Under the Files tab, choose the option to Check for Updates.
- Open the game. The title screen should show you on Build 188329.
That’s it; you’re ready to play!
- Under the games tab from the PlayStation Home Screen Locate the game and hover over it. Make sure not to select it!
- While hovering over the game press the Pause button (☰) on your controller.
- In the new pop up menu select the Check for Update option.
- If there is a new update available, this will automatically start the download. If your game is on the most recent version, selecting this option will confirm that information for you.
That’s it; you’re ready to play!
Please note that custom mods may not be compatible with the latest game update. If you are experiencing issues launching or playing the game after downloading the new build, try disabling your installed mods before trying again.
Still having trouble? Visit our support site!
Game
Stability & Performance
- Fixed an out of sync issue related to box formation.
- Fixed an out of sync issue occurring when watching replays with Reveal Map set to “Explored” or “All Visible”.
- Fixed an issue where the game would be unresponsive for a few seconds after fully loading the map and just before starting the game (more obvious with larger maps and more players).
- Fixed a crash occurring when loading into Stranded map.
- Fixed a crash occurring in scenarios when using the Lock Civ option with civilization set to Random.
- Fixed some rare crashes with custom content (mods, scenarios).
UI
- Fixed an issue with the fonts in the game appearing lower quality, more visible in higher resolutions.
- Bonus attack from Hamask technology is now displayed in the UI even when the unit is not attacking.
- Fixed an issue where “0” was inserted before Text to Speech chat messages.
- Added the missing mute button to mute your own audio in Multiplayer lobbies.
Hotkeys
- Hulks and Transport Ships no longer have the same default hotkey in Classic Hotkeys profile.
Multiplayer
- Fixed an issue where lobbies could not be found when searching by Game ID.
- Fixed an issue where a Matchmaking Error would appear when attempting to queue with a full party.
Steam
- All achievements are now grouped per each DLC they pertain to, allowing their unlock progress to be counted individually.
PlayStation
- Fixed an issue where Playstation 5 players were not able to restore a saved multiplayer game.
Gameplay
Fixes
- Fixed an issue where garrisoned units would be deleted if the building containing them is destroyed while having no space to ungarrison.
- Fixed an issue where converted units with blast radius (like Mangonels) would inflict zero damage when killed with their projectile already in the air.
- Fixed an issue where Varangian Guards with the Gothikon Upgrade were able to generate gold by fake-attacking (attacking and immediately canceling the attack) with their ranged attack.
- Fixed an issue where Castle foundations with more HP could be destroyed with one hit by units dealing area damage (Rams, Elephants, etc).
- Fixed an issue occurring when stealing boar type animals from an ai player at the same time as the ai player tries to lure them – your villager could automatically start walking towards the enemy Town Center.
- Chicken/rabbit type animals can no longer be tricked by the player into walking large distances (funneling).
- Fixed an instance where Dane bonus resources from destroyed buildings were not granted if the owner of the building deleted it after it came under attack.
- Fixed an issue where walls and gates didn’t count as destroyed buildings for the Danes civilization bonus.
- Fixed an issue where different types of food could be mixed to trigger the Varangian and Portuguese food bonuses. For example, gathering 9 food from berries and then 1 food from sheep with the same villager would give you 1 gold for Varangians.
- Fixed an issue where map areas revealed by Circumnavigation would automatically update to show depleted resources (thus revealing player information).
- Fixed an issue where Tupi units would not return any of their cost when killed.
- Fixed an issue where Follow command could result in a slightly angled approach of the following unit towards the followed unit.
- Fixed a rare issue where Stop command could be triggered in buildings, cancelling units/technologies queued there.
- Very minor adjustment to the Saxon infantry discount for the internal values to better fit the described numbers.
Campaign
- Fixed an issue where Decisions tab would appear empty when moving between the 3 campaigns within “The Viking Sagas”.
- The Exiled Prince 3: “Fires of the Whale-Road”: Fixed an issue where you could win with relic victory.
- The Exiled Prince 3: “Fires of the Whale-Road”: Fixed a rare issue where Zoe could spawn in double.
- The Exiled Prince 4: “Death’s Handmaid”: Fixed an issue where the treasure bonus from Ulfberht Sword (10% faster attacking for infantry units) didn’t apply to some unique infantry units in the next missions and the following two campaigns.
- The Exiled Prince 5: “The Bulgar-Burner”: Fixed an issue where a Dyrrhachium player’s monk could heal Bulgar units if they get close to the walls.
- The Exiled Prince 6: “The Warrior Who Fed the Wolves”: The Objective to bring Harald to the red Monastery now changes appropriately when using Color Blind Modes.
- The Hard Ruler 3: “The Wayward Men of Norway”: Fixed an issue with line of sight in the left corner of the map.
- The Last Viking 1-4: Fixed the treasure bonus for hero health regeneration from The Hard Ruler 1: “Kings and Cowards” not applying to Tostig in The Last Viking campaign.
- The Last Viking 1-4: Fixed an issue where Tostig would receive a treasure bonus intended for Stable units from The Hard Ruler 5: “The Battle of Nisa”.
- The Last Viking 1: “Westward, the Carrion’s Call”: Fixed an issue where the decision panel in the campaign UI was showing the wrong decision.
- The Last Viking 1: “Westward, the Carrion’s Call”: Fixed an issue where Hearth Troops would not receive the treasure bonus for unique units from The Hard Ruler 5: “The Battle of Nisa”.
- The Last Viking 1: “Westward, the Carrion’s Call”: Some ai fixes and ai adjustments were applied to the computer players in the scenario.
- The Last Viking 2: “The Storm-Driver of the North”: Fixed the Castle received from the Scots not being able to garrison any units inside.
- The Last Viking 4: “The Battle of Stamford Bridge”: Fixed an issue where the decision panel in the campaign UI was showing the wrong decision.
- Victors and Vanquished: “Vortigern”: Fixed an issue where player’s Hearth Troops would not get converted to enemy Saxons when the Saxons betray you.
- Historical Battles – “Hastings”: Fixed an issue for users that don’t own “The Viking Sagas” DLC where enemy players would start with random civilizations.
Balance Changes
General
- Champi Scout bonus damage vs. Scout Cavalry-line and Camel Scout increased from +1 -> +2 (Champi Runner unchanged).
- (Elite) Elephant Archer cost increased from 60 food 80 gold → 70 food 80 gold.
- (Elite) Elephant Archer HP reduced from 230 → 220, Elite 280 → 270.
- Gaia
- Snake attack reduced from 3 → 2.
- Komodo Dragon attack reduced from 3 → 2.
- Elk attack increased from +2 vs. cavalry, +6 vs. camels → +3 vs. cavalry, +8 vs. camels.
- Fixed Walrus stats to use intended values (7 attack, 2.3 attack reload speed, 400 food).
Mapuche
- Bolas Rider movement speed reduced from 1.5 → 1.45 (Elite unchanged).
AI
General
- Fixed an issue where computer players on Hard and Hardest were not gathering their nearby boar type animals.
- Added a new strategic number sn-disable-attack-group-transporting to prevent attack groups from using transports in specific scenarios and conditions.
- Fixed an issue where AI players could place their starting houses outside of the walls on Arena map.
Pathfinding
- Villagers are no longer prioritizing gathering from dead sheep over alive ones when they are too far away.
- Fixed an issue where a large group of units selected together would slow down their movement when passing through obstructions and tighter spaces.
- Fixed a rare issue where some units on Aggressive stance would not auto-attack enemies nearby.
Modding
General
- Fixed an issue where .wav files used in mods would not work properly for sounds defined in data.
- Fixed a minor issue with incorrectly defined sound files in data, only affecting mods.
Scenario Editor
- Fixed an issue with “Varangians”, “Danes” and “Saxons” not showing up as technologies in trigger effects/conditions.
- Fixed an issue with Hulk line not showing up in the list of units in Options.
- Fixed an issue where human player units were not automatically attacking Gaia units with “Convert Never (Gaia Aggressive)” capture flag.
XS Scripting
- Fixed an issue where
xsSetUnitPropertycould crash when setting the garrisoned in unit id. - Added new XS functions to support syncing data across players. A maximum of 256B worth of data can be shared per player, up to a maximum of 4 times per second.
Note: It is highly encouraged to use these functions for unsync data in single-player content as well, as doing so enables proper replay playback.void xsResetNetData()int xsWriteNetInt(int value)int xsWriteNetFloat(float value)int xsWriteNetVector(vector value)int xsWriteNetString(string value)- Note: The above functions return how many bytes were actually written. For strings, truncation can happen when the 256B limit is hit. For other types, the write simply fails, and no truncation occurs.
bool xsSendNetData(string callback)- This pushes the data to all players and then calls the function with the provided name. The written data can then be read using
xsReadNetfunctions below. This runs with a delay in MP depending on latency, and with a delay of two ticks in SP.
- This pushes the data to all players and then calls the function with the provided name. The written data can then be read using
string xsReadNetString()int xsReadNetInt()float xsReadNetFloat()vector xsReadNetVector()bool xsSetWriteNetDataPosition(int position)bool xsSetReadNetDataPosition(int position)int xsGetWriteNetDataPosition()int xsGetReadNetDataPosition()bool xsUnsyncIsSandboxMode()- Returns true in replays and in campaigns where the user chooses sandbox mode
Localization
- Fixed missing localization for the message that appears when starting The Hard Ruler 1 or The Last Viking 1 without completing the last scenario from the previous campaign.
- Fixed missing Korean localization in some places.
- Fixed an issue where Champi Scout and Champi Runner had the same name in Portuguese.
- Fixed some instances where map names were inconsistent with map description in some languages.
- Return of Rome: Fixed an issue where “Zealotry” and “Fanaticism” had the same name in the Technology Tree in some languages.
- Chronicles: Fixed an issue where the “Battle For Greece” text was not translated when viewing Chronicles Grand Campaign in Italian, French and Turkish.
- Other minor localization fixes.
Ongoing…
Investigation
As always, we are continuing to track issues reported by the community for future updates.
For other known issues, please visit this page to see what’s being tracked!
DISCLAIMER
Please note that 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.
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