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Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition – Update 73855

Come jump into another exciting release with some bug fixes and balance changes, plus an awesome new event for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition!

With this small update, we’re also bringing the Frosty Friends from the North Event! It’s Winter again and all units, from Viking Berserks to Bengalis Rathas, are enjoying the snow and fresh air from the North. Grab your coats and scarves – it’s frosty out there!

While there are plenty of notable fixes and features to which to look forward to today, here’s some of the big highlights coming with this month’s update:

  • The Frosty Friends from the North Event!
  • Bug fixes based on your feedback!
  • Balance changes!

Be sure to dig down into the post below to get all of the juicy 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

Download on the Microsoft Store
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 73855.

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!

Download on Steam
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 73855.

That’s it; you’re ready to play!

Download on the Xbox App for Windows 11
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 73855.

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!


Build Spotlight

The Frosty Friends from the North Event

December 7 – January 3

It’s Winter again and all units, from Viking Berserks to Bengalis Rathas, are enjoying the snow and fresh air from the North. The daylight is going to be scanty this month, so make sure all your units wear their scarves while gazing at the aurora borealis.

We wish you the best for this end of the year and see you in 2023 for more Age of Empires!

New Rewards!

TODAY through January 3rd, complete the in-game tasks within the time limit to unlock exclusive rewards!

Day ~ 🎯 Sign in to Xbox Live.
🏆 Unlocks a profile icon of Villagers wearing Finnish traditional clothes.
💾 *Required* to save any rewards unlocked during the event!

Each of the following challenges must be unlocked in order and on separate days:

Day 1 🔒 Research 9 Technologies with fiery icons to keep you warm.
🧱 Unlocks a graphical mod where Gaïa Deers are replaced by Santa Reindeer, with scarf and red nose.
Day 2 🔒 Train 40 wheeled Units.
🏆 Unlocks a profile icon of a Ratha unit with sled dogs instead of horses.
Day 3 🔒 Defeat 50 Units with Scorpions, Ballista Elephant, Caravels, Thirisadai, War Galleys, or Galleons.
🧱 Unlocks a graphical mod where Scorpion projectiles are replaced by Xmas trees.
Day 4 🔒 Train 50 bearded unique units.
🏆 Unlocks a profile icon of a frozen viking berserker in an ice cube.
Day 5 🔒 Train 400 Light Cavalry-line units.
🧱 Unlocks a graphical mod where Light cavalry is riding on a frost maned horse.

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!

—The Age of Empires Team

Event F.A.Q.

Q: Do I have to complete the challenges on consecutive days?

While challenges don’t have to be completed on consecutive days, only one challenge can be completed per day.

Only the Xbox Live challenges can be completed *any* day before the end of the event!

This means that you will need to play at least five different days to complete all of the challenges.

Q: When is the last day I can complete the daily challenges?

The Frosty Friends from the North Event concludes January 3rd.

Q: Do I get to keep all of the event unlocks?

All you need to do is log into your Xbox Live account before the end of the event to keep all of the profile icons and mods you unlock; it’s as easy as that!

Q: What do I do if I accidentally unsubscribe from a special mod?

No problem! All you need to do is click your Profile Icon on the main menu, select Event Mods (under Collection), and then check the unlocked event mod you want to enable!

Q: How do I change my profile icon?

You can update your profile icon in your profile:

  1. On the main menu, click the Profile Icon next to your name.
  2. You should now be in the Profile Icons tab under Collections.
  3. Select your favorite icon, then click the Select Icon button to lock in your choice.
  4. You’re done!

Q: How do I download and enable mods?

For information about how to subscribe to and prioritize your mods, visit this article.


Game

Stability & Performance

  • Various fixes to prevent game crashes.
  • Fixed an issue where some recorded games generated after October #71094 patch were out of sync.

Please note that at this time, recordings can only be properly played on the same build that was used to create them.

UI

  • Icon for “Fortress” in the Map Pool Vote menu is now correct.
  • When a player changes the map in the lobby settings, the map size does not reset to tiny anymore.

Gameplay

Fixes

  • Shrivamsha riders cannot block splash damage of nearby units anymore.
  • Chain commands now works properly when commanding multiple monks.
  • Fixed an issue where units garrisoned in allied buildings could not be ungarrisoned.

Civilization Balance

General

  • The Shared LoS setting is now on by default on for all matchmaking modes including lobby games.
  • Parthian Tactics now give the same anti-spearman bonus increase (+2) to Cavalry Archers as to other mounted archer units.
  • Heavy Cavalry Archer anti-spearman attack increased from 2 ▶ 4.
  • Battle Elephant cost reduced from 120 food 70 gold ▶ 110 food 70 gold.
  • Slingers attack 17% faster after researching Thumb Ring.

Burmese

  • Parthian Tactics applies to Arambai.

Byzantines

  • Fixed an issue where Cataphracts with Logistica were dealing less than intended damage to Condottieri.

Gurjaras

  • Mounted unit bonus damage changed from 40% ▶ 20% in Feudal / 30% in Castle / and 40% in Imperial.
  • Chakram and Elite Chakram Damage reduced from 5 ▶ 3 (6 ▶ 4 Elite).
  • Chakram Pass-through damage increased from 50% ▶ 100%.
  • Elite Chakram +1 Bonus damage vs Infantry.

Hindustanis

  • Camel Attack speed bonus reduced from 25% ▶ 20%.

Khmer

  • Fixed an issue where (Elite) Ballista Elephants were not resistant to armor-ignoring damage.

Poles

  • Stone miner bonus reduced from 50% ▶ 33% gold generation.

Portuguese

  • New Team Bonus – Technologies Research 25% faster (excluding Age Up).
  • New Civ Bonus (replaces faster tech civ bonus) – Foragers generate a trickle of wood (33%).

Tatars

  • Fixed an issue where Flaming Camels were not receiving the intended (+40%) anti-building bonus damage increase from Siege Engineers.

Vikings

  • Warship discount bonus no longer affects Transport Ships.

Random Maps

General

  • Fixed an issue were one player might get 1 less buffalo than the other on Golden Swamp.
  • Fixed an issue were one player might get only 1 Ibex instead of 3 on Arena.
  • In Land Nomad, large forests should now stay away from edges a little more consistently on 4v4, to prevent unexpected situation such as villagers being trapped into a wood line.

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!


What's on the Horizon

Coming Up...

2022 has been very, very busy for our team. We’ve spent a good chunk of the year working in secret on the upcoming release of Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition for Xbox consoles, and we can’t wait to put this in everybody’s hands on January 31st, 2023 – hard to believe that’s so soon! Day over day the team is updating builds, fixing bugs, testing and iterating, and it’s genuinely amazing to see a game we love so much suddenly accessible in our living rooms! Playing through the William Wallace campaign on your couch with a controller somehow makes a familiar friend seem new and vibrant, and it’s hard not to get emotional given our collective attachment to this game. We really can’t wait to hear your feedback, and rest assured that we’ll be listening and responding!

Then, right behind that, we’ll be bringing you Return to Rome! We know you’re anxious for more details and we’ll certainly have more to say about it in the coming months, but again… to be revisiting such beloved content and making the effort to keep it vibrant and accessible to all of you has been a labor of love. It’s our privilege to be custodians of such a wonderful game and we’re similarly anxious to deliver this exciting experience and hear what you think!

As we bring a new platform and new content to Age II, we’re folding it into our ongoing development which means that monthly updates will grow to service everything we’re doing, so you’ll see your feedback toward Age II on console and Return to Rome show up in patch notes as bug fixes and changes, just like we’ve been doing for the past few years. Speaking of updates, they’ve been smaller than normal as we’ve been heads down on two big projects, but there’s still sooooo much coming your way – we’ve got some really exciting surprises still in development and we’ll be updating our roadmap in the early part of next year to give some hints!

For now, we’re very thankful for the time you’ve spent with us this year! We hope you enjoy a restful end of the year and we look forward to a very exciting 2023 with you! Wololo!

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.

For the latest updates and announcements, please visit our social channels.


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