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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.

While there are plenty of notable fixes and features to look forward to in today’s build, 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


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

 

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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 43871

If you are unable to launch the game after downloading the update, make sure you add (or re-add) the Age of Empires III: 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 43871

That’s it; you’re ready to play!

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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

New Cards

Hausa: 10 NEW Cards!

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

Ethiopians: 10 NEW Cards!

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 & 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

Ethiopians: Some Existing Cards are now TEAM Cards!

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

Random Maps: 4 NEW African Regions!

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

Revolutions: Updated Barbary States and Egypt!

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)

The African Royals Event

September 14 – October 11


Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition is celebrating the months of September through October and The African Royals with a unique event!

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 11th, complete the in-game tasks within the time limit to unlock exclusive rewards!

Challenge #1 🔒 Sign in to Xbox Live.
🧱 [Reward] An Xbox themed version of the Gatling Camel. Green attire with logo on camel’s saddle.
Challenge #2 🔒 Train 50 Cavalry in a Skirmish or Multiplayer Game.
🧱 [Reward] Javelin Rider Profile Icon
Challenge #3 🔒 Ally with all available Native Civilizations on the map in a Skirmish or Multiplayer Game.
🧱 [Reward] Fulani Archer Profile Icon
Challenge #4 🔒 Deal 1000 damage with Native Warriors in a single Skirmish or Multiplayer Game.
🧱 [Reward] Dahomey Amazon Profile Icon
Challenge #5 🔒 Build 2 Forts as Portuguese, French or Swedish in a single Skirmish or Multiplayer Game.
🧱 [Reward] Askari Profile Icon
Challenge #6 🔒 Defeat 15 Treasure Guardians.
🧱 [Reward] 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!

—The Age of Empires Team

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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 for the first 6 challenges. Please note: After completing the first 6 challenges, players who own The African Royals may complete 3 per day for the other 18 challenges.

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

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

The African Royals Event concludes October 11th.

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

  • Fixed a possible crash when the game boots.
  • Fixed a crash when Desert Warriors attack while in Defend or Stand Ground stance.
  • Fixed an issue where the game may get stuck on a black screen or in a frozen opening cutscene (softlock) if the “Show Game Menu” hotkey is
    pressed at a certain time when starting a scenario.

Graphics

  • Fix for units with foliage not correctly showing friend/foe outlines for accessibility setting.
  • Fixing an issue where the fishing nets would be out of sync with the ship animations (if they have them)
  • Hippos no longer clip into each other when fighting one another.
  • Zebras no longer clip into the ground during their idle animation.

Audio

  • The Yabusame unit now uses the correct Yabusame sounds instead of the Yamabushi sounds.
  • Sounds made by artillery firing (and other sounds, but most noticeable with artillery) now have their volume reduced when off-screen.
  • Explorers now provide auditive feedback when using their special abilities.
  • Rescued Villagers from treasures now have voice lines for Hausa and Ethiopians.

UI

  • The maximum velocity displayed in the unit stat panel UI for a unit when it is in a group now shows the maximum velocity of the group the unit is in, rather than the maximum velocity of the unit on its own.
  • When playing as Lakota: Gunslingers, Cowboys and Owlhoots now use the correct icon after sending the “Hire Gunslingers”, “Hire Cowboys” or “Hire Owlhoots” Home City cards.
  • Fixing an issue where XP floating text would sometimes not show correctly.
  • Fixed incorrect use of image for Canceling queue button on Command panel.
  • Fixed incorrect id reference for some Native units in the Compendium.
  • Adding Age up tech Federal State for USA tech tree
  • Fixed Hausa, Eth and USA age up techs starting on Age 1 – moved to Age 2
  • Fixed some incorrect entries for some techs in Ethiopian and Hausa techtrees (Gold Purification, Abun and Griot
  • Added new information tooltips to the Mods menus.
  • Fixed crash happening in the loading screen as when players attempt to scroll.
  • Fixed incorrect names and icon entry for Mosque and Imam in Ottomans techtree.
  • Fixed Fields building tech in Ethiopian and Hausa techtree, moved from Age 1 to Age 2
  • Fixed inconsistencies with word “Game Type” and “Game Mode” – Game Mode is the correct terminology.
  • The button to spawn a Brigade in the command panel for the Consulate has been moved to the second row to be consistent with the other buttons.
  • Prefixing a chat with “*” to send a message to everyone, no longer permanently sends your chat messages to everyone.
  • History Compendium: Ethiopian Emir now shows the correct information in the Compendium.
  • Whales now show the correct amount of current gatherers when gathered by multiple players at the same time.

Hotkeys

  • Fixed an issue where “Find Town Center / Capitol” wouldn’t also cycle through a US Capitol building.
  • Fixed an issue where “Find Barracks, etc.” wouldn’t correctly cycle through different kinds of Infantry buildings (e.g. if the player controlled both Barracks and Blockhouses).
  • Fixed an issue where “Find Healer” would not find a Griot.
  • Legacy hotkey for US Explorer’s Inspiring Flag now works correctly.
  • The Hotkey panel no longer has a duplicate entry for “Cannoneer” and “Multiple Cannoneer”

Multiplayer

  • Fixed an issue where players were ejected from a multiplayer lobby when the host set the map type to custom.
  • Restore player handicap setting on rematch.
  • Restore player color setting on rematch.
  • OOS recovery added. When a multiplayer game falls out of sync a new lobby will be created using a save game with the most common state. Players will be taken to the lobby where they can download the save game and ready up to continue playing.

GAMEPLAY

General

  • Heavy Ranged infantry now stand in the front line of formations which feature both heavy and light ranged infantry (e.g. Musketeers and Skirmishers)
  • Fixed an issue where “over-popping” using the Inca Kallanka could result into “ghost population” which could never be restored. Using the Kallanka now always restores population counts correctly.
  • Field foundations no longer remove dead herdables/huntables when placed on top of them.
  • Battle Canoes can no longer speed up massively using the “No Formation” option.
  • Repair cost for Town Centers is now calculated based on the actual cost of the Town Center, instead of the default 600 wood value.
  • Effects of Treasures that increase the hit points of an Explorer’s HP are now properly applied again after loading a saved game.
  • Death Match: players no longer start with the “Immigrants” technology researched.
  • Fixed an issue where units & buildings outside of the view could be selected when double clicking

AI Fixes

  • Changed how the AI picks a target to attack on land. Previously it was based on team position and player ID which often resulted in player 1 getting ganged upon. Now the AI will pick at random from enemy players.
  • AI players now have the ability to retreat to their base when they’re launching an attack themselves, while their own base is under attack.
  • AI players no longer try to gather resources far away from their bases when safer, closer options are available.
  • AI players will now avoid gathering natural resources closer to enemy base than their own base.
  • AI players now put their Musketeer type units into melee mode less often and will shoot fleeing cavalry from range, instead of chasing them in melee mode.
  • AI players are now able to fire back at War Ships with their land Artillery.
  • AI players now correctly use fattened llamas (either to eat them, or to task them on the Community Plaza when playing as the Inca)
  • AI players are now less aggressive in the “Easy” mode.
  • AI players now move their Villagers around less between tasks, reducing idle time.
  • AI players will now buy Wood from the market when they run out of wood near their main base.
  • AI players will now build Houses next to the tasked Villagers, reducing walking time.
  • AI players will now use warships with fishing abilities to fish.
  • AI players will try to avoid herding allies’ hunts.
  • AI players can now micro their units when doing treasure hunts.
  • Improved kiting behavior when enemies are very close.
  • Ethiopian & Hausa AI can now use their explorer’s Chaos Ability on treasure guardians.
  • Ethiopian & Hausa AI now correctly gather their starting Cattle.
  • Hausa AI can now use university builders.
  • Ethiopian AI can now use Abun to gather from the Mountain Monastery.
  • United States AI can now correctly use the levy ability.
  • AI players can now train Berber Nomads when allied with Berbers.
  • AI players can now task multiple Villagers to buildings which take longer to build.
  • Fixed an issue where Native American AIs task too many villagers to the Community Plaza.
  • AI players can now use gold prospector wagons.
  • Fixed an issue where the AI would not always respond correctly to tribute requests.
  • Fixed an issue where AI players would sometimes defend too close to the enemy base.
  • During the treaty period the AI will now only pick a target once so it can focus on making counter units for that target (as retargeting during treaty is often pointless).
  • Slowed the target picking down from every 15 seconds to every 60 seconds.
  • AI players will only research the Gill Nets and Long Lines upgrades if they have enough Fishing Boats (7 & 9 respectively).
  • Fixed Heated Shot requirements for the Asian Arsenals to be in line with earlier changes to the regular Arsenal.
  • Improved the conditions for when to research (Advanced)Arsenal upgrades.
  • Fixed needless destruction of Carronade and Armor Plating research plans.
  • Fix for attempting to build structures with converted Villagers after revolting.
  • Fix for building trading posts with invalid units.
  • Fix for not researching economy upgrades made free through HC cards.
  • Avoid staying in forward bases with only military buildings.
  • Allow military units to be dropped from forward bases or daimyos when attacking on higher difficulties.
  • Fix for AI players moving to the next building target before the current one is properly destroyed.
  • Fix for not being able to use broadside attack and chaos ability with “Era of Chaos” upgrade.
  • Adding capability to dodge when against unfavored units.

Fixes

  • Fixed an issue where units would continue to play their Community Plaza animations after the Community Plaza was destroyed.
  • Fixed an issue where some dialogue could endlessly loop in The Fountain Of Youth mission of the Blood, Ice and Steel campaign.
  • When attacking units see their target die, they now attack move to target’s location instead of simply halting.
  • Fixed an issue where some units’ HP/resource bars would no longer be visible after loading a saved game.
  • Fixed an issue where the ending cinematic of any of the new African Historical battles would not play if the previous mission had been saved and reloaded before it was completed.
  • Building a Manor House now correctly spawns a settler in Act III of Blood, Ice and Steel and in Act II of Fire and Shadow.
  • Using the Find Wagon hotkey in the Default hotkeys layout will now correctly find a single wagon rather than all wagons.
  • Adding new zoom out feature, may cause performance and graphical issues. Accessible through the graphics settings
  • Fixed up some technologies which should be researched when the Starting Age is set to Post-Industrial (Deathmatch) or Post-Imperial
    • British
      • Guard Pikemen (Barracks) researched in Post-Industrial
      • Imperial Pikemen (Barracks) researched in Post-Industrial
    • Swedes
      • Veteran Crossbowmen (Barracks) researched in Post-Industrial
    • Aztec
      • Founder (Community Plaza) researched in Post-Industrial
    • Haudenosaunee
      • Siege Drill (Siege Workshop) researched in Post-Industrial
      • Cooperation (Tribal Marketplace) researched in Post-Industrial
      • Secret Society (Community Plaza) researched in Post-Industrial
      • Lacrosse (War Hut) researched in Post-Industrial
      • Rawhide Covers (Dock) researched in Post-Industrial
      • Horse Secrets (Corral) researched in Post-Industrial
    • Inca
      • Hualcana (War Hut) researched in Post-Industrial
      • Coca Cultivation (Estate) researched in Post-Industrial
    • Lakota
      • Horsemanship (Farm) researched in Post-Industrial
      • Bonepipe Armor (Corral) researched in Post-Industrial
      • Cooperation (Tribal Marketplace) researched in Post-Industrial
      • Gun Trade (Estate) researched in Post-Industrial
      • Battle Anger (Community Plaza) researched in Post-Industrial
      • War Drums (War Hut) researched in Post-Industrial
    • China
      • Revetment (Fort) researched in Post-Industrial
      • Star Fort (Fort) researched in Post-Industrial
      • Cannery (Factory) researched in Post-Industrial
      • Water Power (Factory) researched in Post-Industrial
      • Steam Power (Factory) researched in Post-Industrial
      • Mass Production (Factory) researched in Post-Industrial
      • Imperial Cannon (Factory) researched in Post-Imperial
      • Exalted Fuchuan (Dock) researched in Post-Imperial
    • Japan
      • Flint Lock (Arsenal / Golden Pavilion) researched in Post-Industrial
      • Paper Cartridge (Arsenal / Golden Pavilion) researched in Post-Industrial
      • Pillage (Arsenal / Golden Pavilion) researched in Post-Industrial
      • Professional Gunners (Arsenal / Golden Pavilion) researched in Post-Industrial
      • Infantry Breastplate (Arsenal) researched in Post-Industrial
      • Socket Bayonet (Arsenal) researched in Post-Industrial
      • Cavalry Cuirass (Arsenal) researched in Post-Industrial
      • Gunner’s Quadrant (Arsenal) researched in Post-Industrial
      • Heated Shot (Arsenal) researched in Post-Industrial
      • Town Watch (Church) researched in Post-Industrial
      • Gas Lighting (Church) researched in Post-Industrial
      • Standing Army (Church) researched in Post-Industrial
      • Mass Cavalry (Church) researched in Post-Industrial
    • USA
      • Cadets (Capitol) now researched in Post-Industrial rather than Post-Imperial
      • Bill of Rights (Meeting House) no longer researched in Post-Industrial (available to be researched by the player)
  • Fixed some issues with the behavior of Artillery units:
    • Artillery units no longer restart the transition from Limber to Bombard mode (or vice versa) when pressing the stance button (or hotkey) during the transition or when giving multiple attack commands during the transition
    • Artillery units no longer automatically switch to Limber mode when attacking a unit that is not far out of the attack range
    • Artillery units (Culverins in particular) no longer miss the first shot when selecting a new attack target while transitioning from Limber to Bombard mode
  • Allow garrisoned allied units to be ejected from any of your units – buildings, ships, wagons. – community feedback
  • Enemy/Neutral player’s wall foundations which lay beneath your finished walls no longer block your walls from being transformed into gates. – community feedback
  • Gurkha are now correctly tagged as “Rifle Infantry”. (AbstractRifleman)
  • Griots are now able to debuff Treasure Guardians.
  • Clarified the Griot tooltip that their stances currently provide no gameplay differences.
  • “Transhumance” technology now correctly affects converted livestock/cattle.
  • Ethiopian “Cartridge Currency” Home City card no longer reduces the effects of the Solomonic Dynasty upgrade.
  • “Native Lore” Home City card now correctly removes the gold cost from the new African Native upgrades.
  • “Loyal Warriors” Home City card now correctly decreases the Influence and Coin costs for shipments.
  • “Land Grab” Home City card no longer enables Mills to be placed without building them when combined with the Native Sudanese technology “Hakura System”.
  • Japanese “Peacetime Fishing” Home City card now correctly affects Canoes.
  • United States “Poker” Home City card no longer sends the legacy Hackapell Mercenary, but the newly added Harquebusier instead.
  • “Advanced Trading Post” Home City card now allows Trading Posts to attack on South American maps that have the Inca style trading routes.
  • “Mercenary Loyalty” Home City card description has been updated to clarify that only Mercenary Shipments are cheaper, and not Mercenaries trained at the Saloon.
  • “Theaters” Home City card is now correctly affected by the German Logistician age-up.
  • Russian “Dueling School” Home City card no longer mentions it’s a Team card in the tooltip.
  • Hausa “Zinder Kanuris” Home City card now correctly mentions it ships 9 units instead of 11 (tooltip fix)
  • European explorers no longer have their tactics disappear in the UI after sending the “Castrametation” card from the Home City.
  • Japanese Villagers can no longer collect food from hunt when an ally sends the “Team Furrier” Home City card.
  • Berber Nomads now correctly mine Coin faster than regular Villagers.
  • “Sharia” technology now correctly adjusts the Villager build limit by 10% for French and Dutch (previously both civs had a higher Villager limit)
  • Arsenal upgrade “Breastplate” now correctly affects Fulani Archers.
  • Port foundation no longer self-destructs upon arrival of Hausa Builder on the Nile Valley map.
  • Fixed an issue where Ethiopian Villagers could gather Influence from a Mountain Monastery while gathering from an unrelated, nearby resource.
  • German Settler Wagons controlled by Hausa and Ehtiopian players can now correctly build all African buildings.
  • Sudanese Dervish can now be correctly targeted by the War Chief’s Eagle Eye ability
  • Removed various cards that are objectively worse than other available counterparts:
    • British:
      • Endless 2 Rockets vs 2 Rockets (age 4)
    • China:
      • Endless 2 Flying Crows vs 2 Flying Crows (age 4)
    • Inca:
      • 3 Builder Travois (endless) vs 3 Farming travois (age 3)
    • French:
      • Endless 4 Cuirassier vs 4 Cuirassier (age 4)
    • India:
      • Endless 900 Wood vs endless 800 Wood (age 3)
    • Aztec:
      • Endless 500 Gold vs endless 600 Gold (age 2)
      • Endless 9 Jaguar Prowler vs normal 8 and 9 Jaguar Prowlers (age 4)
    • Haudenosaunee :
      • Endless 1500 Food/Wood/Gold vs 1500 Food/Wood/Gold (age 4)

Exploit Fixes

  • Trade Route Trading Posts can no longer train Native Settlement units when they’re selected alongside Native Settlement Trading Posts.

CIVILIZATION BALANCE

General

Influence: Has been adjusted as follows

  • 1 Influence is now worth 1.25 food (down from 1.3) – therefore when the game calculates the cost of units/technologies available at Native Settlements, those with food costs will be converted to a slightly higher Influence amount for African civs
  • Fixed an issue that sometimes caused Influence costs to be incorrectly rounded up (all costs are now properly rounded up or down to the nearest 5)

Deathmatch: The following starting resource changes have been made

  • Asian civs: Now begin with 15000 food, wood and coin (down from 20000) but now also get 9000 Export
  • African civs: Now begin with 15000 food, wood and coin (down from 20000) but now also get 15000 Influence

UNITS & BUILDINGS

  • Auto-training units: It is now possible to pause the automatic training of units (e.g., Ottoman Villagers, Japanese Dojos, Brazilian Voluntarios da Patria, and so on). This allows players to stay in full control over their population space usage. Auto-training can be paused or resumed by clicking on the queue icon in a production building.
  • Armors:
    • Armor values are now displayed as percentages (‘30%’) rather than floats (‘0.30’).
    • Added new distinctive icons to more clearly communicate the different armor types.
  • Unit types: Updated several unit type icons for improved readability and added icons for some types which previously had none (e.g., Hand Shock Infantry)
  • Area Damage: Fixed an issue preventing floating-point (non-whole number) area damage values from being properly calculated (e.g., After the Italian Firearms tech is sent, Falconets with 3.75 area damage would have the splash radius properly calculated)
  • Ras & Emir: have been adjusted as follows
    • Respawn rate increased to 120 seconds (from 100); and African Heroes may now only be ‘rescued’ upon reaching 100% hitpoints – the hitpoint threshold to rescue other heroes remain unchanged at 25%
    • Now respawn at the military homecity shipment point (previously used the economic one)
    • When using the “Chaos” ability, the African Heroes now must be nearby the targeted area
    • When “Chaos” is used on a location far away from the African Hero, they will now automatically move to that location and use the ability upon arriving – this will make it more convenient to gather treasures in the early game.
  • Akan Tufohen & Berber Sultan: The fealty aura tooltip of these units now correctly states which units they get improved by.
  • Mill: Fixed an issue where after certain upgrades/cards were acquired (which improved Mill construction speed) Villagers ordered to build a Mill could place a fully constructed one anywhere on the map, instead of a foundation.
  • Unit icons: The unit icons of Cavalry Archers, Harquebusiers, Jaegers, Skirmishers, and Uhlans have been updated to further align them with their ingame appearance.
  • Granary: After constructing a Granary, Villagers will now prioritize harvesting dead animals before hunting new ones; if there are no nearby huntables they will instead gather from nearby Berry Bushes or Fields
  • Builders: Builders (Wagons) for Universities, Palaces, Camps, and Mountain Monasteries now transport different cargo to make them visually distinctive.
  • Revolutionary gatherers: Military units available after various Revolutions that can gather resources (e.g., Karelian Jaegers, Cowboys, Jagunços, and so on) are now properly counted as gatherers in the UI.
  • Prize Bull: Big Benny can now be harvested at a rate of 5 food per second (down from 8)
  • Livestock Market: has been adjusted as follows:
    • Coin Exchange Rate: Starting value reduced to 40% (down from 60%) — No change has been made to the starting Wood rate
    • Selective Breeding (Upgrade, I): Cost improved to 75w, 75c (from 100w, 100c)
    • Transhumance (Upgrade, III): No longer locked behind Selective Breeding
    • Cow Loans (Upgrade, IV → III): Cost improved to 300w, 300c (from 500w, 500c) and is no longer locked behind Transhumance
  • Desert Archer: Has been adjusted as follows
    • Cost increased to 30f 75c (from 30f 70c)
    • Long Range Attack: Range increased to 22 (from 20)
    • Short Range Attack: Range increased to 16 (from 12)
  • Desert Warrior: has been adjusted as follows
    • Cost increased to 30f 75c (from 30f 70c)
    • Hitpoints lowered to 140 (from 150)
    • Ranged Attack damage reduced to 14 (from 15)
  • Javelin Rider: has been adjusted as follows
    • Hitpoints reduced to 190 (from 210)
    • Train Time reduced to 35 seconds (from 40)
    • Melee artillery multiplier reduced to 2.5x (from 3x)
  • Sennar Horseman: have been adjusted as follows
    • Hitpoints reduced to 1100 (from 1200)
    • Now available in the Fortress Age from the Saloon/Tavern/Palace/etc (previously Industrial); attack and hitpoint ‘shadow-upgrades’ adjusted accordingly
  • Zenata Rider: have been adjusted as follows
    • Cost increased to 250c (from 220)
    • Ranged resistance improved to 25% (from 20%)
  • Sudanese Dervish: have been adjusted as follows
    • Speed reduced to 4.75 (from 5)
    • Now inflict 0.5x to Artillery (down from 1x)
    • Now inflicts 0.5x to Cavalry (down from 0.75x); Shock Infantry multiplier adjusted accordingly
  • Berber Camel Rider:
    • Ranged resistance flipped to Melee
    • Speed reduced to 7.0 (from 7.25)
  • Yoruba Eso Rider:
    • Hitpoints now decay at 0.75 per second (up from 0.5)
    • Cost increased to 90f and 90c (from 80f and 80c)
    • Resistances improved to 50% (from 40%)
    • Now inflicts 0.25x to Villagers (down from 1x)
    • Siege damage reduced to 15 (from 35)
    • Trainspeed increased to 20 seconds; but the “Yoruba Warrior Societies” upgrade now also improves their trainspeed by 50%
  • Cannoneer (Mercenary, II):
    • Damage reduced to 28 (from 30)
    • Shipment of 9 (II) reduced to 8
    • Shipment of 15 (III) reduced to 14

Ethiopians

CIVILIZATION

  • Starting Resources: Number of Cattle reduced to 4 (from 5)

UNITS & BUILDINGS

  • Gascenya: have been adjusted as follows
    • Cost increased to 70f 30w (from 65f 30w)
    • Melee Attack damage increased to 15 (from 12)
    • Melee Attack multiplier against Cavalry decreased to 3x (from 4); Shock infantry multiplier adjusted accordingly
    • Range reduced to 12 (from 14)
    • Siege damage reduced to 22 (from 28)
  • Sebastopol Mortar: Speed reduced to 2.25 (from 2.5)

TECHNOLOGIES AND CARDS

  • Oromo Migration (Card, I): Adjusted as follows
    • Now delivers an additional villager for each villager lost up to a maximum of 14 (down from 20)
    • Added a food cost of 50f per villager lost
  • Counter Cavalry Tactics (III, Card): No longer have access to this card
  • Prize Red Bull (Card, II): Big Benny can now be harvested at a rate of 5 food per second (down from 8)
  • Era of Chaos (Card, IV): Now unlocks the new “Mayhem” ability which differs from the previous Chaos functionality as follows
    • Enemy units in the targeted area will fight each other (no change)
    • Radius reduced to 3 (from 5)
    • Effect duration set to 5 seconds for all units (previously based on Kill XP)
    • When the ability is used, the Ras now requires vision of area to use the ability, as described earlier
    • Note: Currently, almost all units which inflict splash damage cannot damage friendly targets when under the influence of this ability — this is a known and existing bug that mostly affects Artillery – but also applies to Cuirassiers, Macemen and several other units which inflict splash area damage and is an issue we are aware of.
  • Cartridge Currency (Card, III): Coin Bounty reward improved to 30% (up from 15) but now only affects Infantry and Cavalry units
  • 4 Semi-fattened Zebu (Card, I): Corrected the food total of the Cattle delivered to 200 (from 250)
  • INF 8 Semi-fattened Zebu (Card, III): Corrected the food total of the Cattle delivered to 200 (previously were not fattened at all)

Hausa

CIVILIZATION

  • Starting Resources: Number of Cattle reduced to 4 (from 5)
  • Civilization Bonus: The free Cattle delivered with each shipment now spawn at the Livestock Market – if there is no Livestock Market, they spawn as the economic homecity spawn point instead

UNITS AND BUILDINGS

  • Fulani Archer: Long-Range Attack damage reduced to 13 (from 14)
  • Lifidi Knight: Adjusted as follows
    • Hitpoints reduced to 430 (from 460)
    • Damage increased to 22 (from 21)
  • Heavy Cannons: Available from British Alliance age-up train time improved to 72s (from 90)
  • Griot: Has been adjusted as follows
    • Now has a default area intimidation effect radius of 1 (previously only affected a single target)
    • Can no longer intimidate enemy units during Treaty period

TECHNOLOGIES AND CARDS

  • Champion Cavalry (Upgrade, IV): Cost decreased to 600w, 600c (from 800w, 800c)
  • Imperial Cavalry (Upgrade, IV): Cost decreased to 1500w, 1500c (from 2000w, 2000c)
  • 6 Raiders (Card, II): reduced to 5
  • 10 Desert Warriors (Card, II): reduced to 9
  • 16 Yoruba Allies (Card, IV): No longer have access to this card
  • Durbar Parade (Card, III): Now increases the movement speed of Lifidi Knights by +10% and Raiders by +5% (instead of improving their trainspeed) — this fixes an issue where after certain upgrades/cards were acquired the Hausa could attain instant training cavalry
  • Suya Skewers (Card, III): No also improves Huntable and Herdable yield by 15%
  • Amina Epic (Card, I): Now grants a sum of Influence equal to 3% of the cost of Each Lifidi and Raider trained so far in that match (up from 1%)
  • 4 Sem-fattened Sanga (Card, I): Corrected the food total of the Cattle delivered to 200 (from 250)
  • INF 8 Semi-fattened Sanga (Card, III): Corrected the food total of the Cattle delivered to 200 (previously were not fattened)

Aztec

UNITS & BUILDINGS

  • Puma Spearman: Adjusted as follow to make the unit more cost-effective against Town Center Fire
    • Cost improved to 45f 45c (from 50f 50c)
    • Hitpoints reduced to 125 (from 135)
    • Siege damage reduced to 41 (from 42)

British

UNITS & BUILDINGS

  • Longbowman: LOS increased to 26 (from 24)

United States

TECHNOLOGIES AND CARDS:

  • TEAM Louisiana Purchase (Card, III): Now spawns 3 Bison at each Town Center (down from 6); cost increased to 1000c (from 750c)

Maps

Map Sets Added

General

African Maps Set:

      • Added Sahel
      • Added Dunes
      • Added Ivory Coast
      • Added Sahel
      • Added Swahili Coast

Standard Maps Set:

      • Added Sahel
      • Added Dunes
      • Added Ivory Coast
      • Added Sahel

Team Maps Set:

      • Added Sahel
      • Added Dunes
      • Added Ivory Coast
      • Added Sahel

Treaty Maps Set:

    • Added Darfur
    • Added Savanna

Map Fixes

Treasures:

  • Fixed an issue causing some treasures to spawn on the incorrect maps.

Treaty:

  • We’re excited to introduce a new random map script command so maps can be hybridized to be suitable for both supremacy and treaty game modes! In this update, we’re introducing our first hybrid maps to the treaty map set, Darfur and Savanna! Detailed changes listed below.

Amazonia:

  • Fixed an issue that sometimes caused the native settlements to be unbuildable.
  • Improved how forests spawn in larger games.

Andes-Upper:

  • Altered player positions in team games so that resources are more evenly distributed and each teammate has adequate access to natural resources.
  • Patches of trees within the treaty build radius are now thicker and there are more forest patches all over the map.

Atlas:

  • Significant balance changes for both the supremacy and treaty game modes, including:
    • More trees have been added to the map (treaty only).
    • Better resource spawn consistency.
    • Slightly larger passes between the cliffs in team games.
    • The smaller cliffs have been removed (treaty only).

Dakota:

  • Improved the spawn consistency of the small ponds in team games.

Darfur:

  • Now hybridized to be more suitable for the treaty game mode without changing the map for supremacy, these changes include:
    • More trees have been added to the map (treaty only).
    • Altered player positions so that players can more easily “close-off” their base (treaty only).
    • Altered the position of the Native Settlements and the Trade Route to ensure adequate access throughout the entire game (treaty only).
    • Enlarged the map slightly (treaty only).

Florida:

  • Fixed a spawn issue that could prevent the starting Market from spawning for some players in imbalanced teams (i.e. 2 vs 3).

Gold Coast:

  • Starting resources have been adjusted so that players consistently start with a second Gazelle herd rather than elephants.
  • Fixed an issue that sometimes resulted in players spawning without a Naval Homecity Spawnpoint Flag.

Great Lakes:

  • Reduced the number of Sheep that spawn in team games, and they now spawn as singularly, rather than pairs.
  • Reduced the central island resources slightly.
  • New KotH spawn to reduce the power of camping with Artillery on the island to secure the Fort.

Great Plains:

  • Fixed an issue sometimes causing the fort not to spawn in KOTH.

Highlands:

  • Now spawns a second hunt and more in-base trees for each player, as intended.

Horn:

  • The Japanese civilization now correctly spawns with a single Cherry Orchard Rickshaw and in-base berry bushes, as intended.

What's On the Horizon

Coming Up!

  • Empire Wars game mode!
  • Home City customizations for the civs that don’t already have them
  • More Unique Explorer Skins as Event Rewards (limited time only)
  • A new, never before seen game mode for Age of Empires III: Definitive Editon
  • New Civilization
  • New Historical Battles featuring Co-Op mode for the very first time

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.