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Age of Empires II: The Conquerors (often abbreviated to AoC, although the official shorthand is Age2x) is the first expansion pack to the 1999 real-time strategy game Age of Empires II, released on August 24, 2000. It is the fourth installment of the Age of Empires series developed by Ensemble Studios.

The Conquerors features five new civilizations (the Aztecs, Mayans, Spanish, Huns, and Koreans), four new campaigns, 11 new units, 26 new technologies, new gameplay modes, new maps and a few minor changes to the gameplay mechanics.

Gameplay[]

The Conquerors has new gameplay features and changes such as the game modes Defend the Wonder, King of the Hill, and Wonder Race. New maps were also included which are based on real life geographic locations and new winter and tropical terrain. Also, infantry are able to garrison in rams, increasing their attack and speed, while ships are able to form formations in order to fight more effectively.

Micromanagement is made easier by an improved scripted artificial intelligence of Villagers and siege weapons. Villagers will now automatically start gathering resources if they build resource gathering sites, while siege weapons will not fire if their attack is likely to harm friendly units (though it may not seem like it). Additionally, an in-game option has been added to allow the game to automatically replenish Farms after they are exhausted. Chat commands are introduced in order to communicate more effectively with allied computer players.

The Conquerors adds four additional single player campaigns. These are based on Attila the Hun's rise to power, Montezuma's defense against HernƔn CortƩs, and the adventures of El Cid. The fourth campaign, Battles of the Conquerors, is actually a group of unrelated single scenarios, each based on a significant historical battle. These include the Battle of Agincourt, the saga of Erik the Red, and the Battle of Hastings, among others.

Multiplayer[]

As of June 2006, the MSN Gaming Zone CD-ROM section was shut down for Age of Empires players, as well as those of many other CD-ROM games. GameSpy was selected by Microsoft as the official replacement for online play, although alternatives are available such as Voobly. There are several other Age of Empires II: The Conquerors servers worldwide. For example, due to technical reasons, most Chinese players play in CGA, which usually has over 6000 online players at a time.

A clan is a community of players within a particular game, and in this case, many players in The Conquerors belong to a clan; to get into a clan, it usually involves being "recruited". A high-ranked member of a particular clan will invite members to join; joining has its benefits such as giving players a reputation, as well as a virtual gaming "home" in which a user can get downloads and be filled in on the latest news. Many Clans use a tag system in which a user must reflect the clan's "tag". Clans are held together by the players themselves; voobly.com has a clan based profile integrated into their website where the leader of a clan can accept, deny, promote, and demote members of their clan.

Civilizations[]

Five additional playable civilizations come with The Conquerors, including the Aztec and Mayans, who share a newly created American architectural style:

Architectural set Civilizations
Western European CivIcon-Spanish Spanish
Central European CivIcon-Huns Huns
Eastern Asian CivIcon-Koreans Koreans
Native American (new) CivIcon-Aztecs Aztecs
CivIcon-Mayans Mayans

The Aztecs and Mayans completely lack the ability to train cavalry units and gunpowder units by design. This is partially balanced by the fact that they start with an Eagle Scout (Eagle Warrior before The Forgotten), which has many advantages that light cavalry has, and Arbalesters with Bracer and Siege Ram to offset missing gunpowder units. The civilizations also have a different appearance for their Monks as well as the Trade Carts where a villager pulls them without a horse.

There are additional maps where things can be changed or replaced, Jaguars for Wolves, Javelina for Wild Boars, Turkeys for Sheep, Macaws for Hawks, and the Deer remain the same. The Huns are also unique in that they do not build Houses to support their population, allowing them to ignore the maximum production limit of units, and focus on building up their economy and military instead. The Goths also get a population bonus of +10 over the population limit.

Units[]

The Conquerors introduces twelve units.

Castle unique units[]

Secondary unique units[]

  • TurtleShipIcon-DE Turtle Ship (Standard and Elite) - heavily armored, short-range cannon ships, unique to Koreans, available at the Dock
  • MissionaryIcon-DE Missionary - swift mounted monks that cannot carry Relics, unique to Spanish, available at the Monastery

Common units[]

Heroes[]

Admiral Yi Sun-Shin, Attila the Hun, Bleda the Hun, Charles Martel, El Cid Campeador, Scythian Wild Woman, Pope Leo I, Imam, Nobunaga, King Sancho, Erik the Red, Harald Hardraade, William the Conqueror, Henry V, and King Alfonso.

Technologies[]

The Conquerors introduces nineteen unique technologies, and seven common technologies to Age of Empires II: Age of Kings, in total adding twenty-six new technologies. These technologies can be purchased from various in-game buildings, most notably the Castle (which now being able for the player to research the unique technology or technologies of the civilization), and give the player an additional bonus depending on the technology. These technologies are researched in different buildings in the game.

Common technologies[]

Technology Age Building Cost Effect
CaravanDE Caravan
(requires Cartography aoe2de Cartography)
III Market 200 food, 200 gold Trade Carts and Trade Cogs move 50% faster.
HerbalDE Herbal Medicine III Monastery 350 gold Garrisoned units heal 4x faster.
HeresyDE Heresy III Monastery 1,000 gold Converted units die instead of changing color.
TheocracyDE Theocracy IV Monastery 400 food, 800 gold Only one Monk in a group must rest after a conversion.
ThumbRingDE Thumb Ring III Archery Range 300 food, 250 wood Archers fire faster and with 100% accuracy.
ParthianTacticsDE Parthian Tactics IV Archery Range 200 food, 250 gold Mounted archers have +1/+2 armor.
BloodlinesDE Bloodlines II Stable 150 food, 100 gold Mounted units have +20 HP.

Unique technologies[]

UniqueTechCastle-DE Castle Age[]

UniqueTechImperialDE Imperial Age[]

Campaigns[]

Conquerorscampaigns

The Conquerors introduced four campaigns:

  • CampaignIcon-AttilaDE Attila the Hun (Huns): Barbarian hordes feast on the dying Roman empire. The most dangerous of these invaders are the Huns and their ferocious king, Attila. After pouring out of the Caspian steppes, looting and burning all the while, the Huns become so powerful that the Roman Empire is forced to pay a tribute to Attila. But the king of the Huns is still not satisfied, and he mobilizes his horsemen to invade Gaul and eventually Rome itself! Can nothing stop the brutal Attila?
  • CampaignIcon-ElCidDE El Cid (Spanish/Saracens): Spain is divided between Christian kingdoms to the north and Moorish kingdoms to the south. In the barren borderlands of Castille, Rodrigo DĆ­az, called El Cid, gains notoriety as a brilliant general and heroic crusader. The Cid is so popular among soldiers and peasant alike that the distrustful king of Castille sends him into exile. The Cid must join forces with his former enemies, the Moors, and fight against his beloved Castille. But an even greater threat waits across the sea in Africa, where fanatical Berber horsemen are eager to seize what the Moors could not.
  • CampaignIcon-MontezumaDE Montezuma (Aztecs): After centuries of conquest, the Aztecs now rule the mightiest empire in Central America. But when strangers appear on the shores of the Caribbean Sea, Montezuma, emperor of the Aztecs, is unsure whether they are conquerorsā€¦or gods. Can a vast empire of warriors using obsidian spears and cotton armor hold off mounted invaders armed with metal armor and gunpowder?
  • Battles of the Conquerors Icon Battles of the Conquerors (various): Certain names ring down through history as men and women who shaped the world. Some were forces of chaos, destructive and rapacious. Some were men of honor who fought for the right. Some defended their homelands from invaders, while others used their military might to violently acquire the lands of others. Battles such as Agincourt, Manzikert, and Hastings are remembered as turning points in world history, and names such as Henry V, Yi Sun-shin, and Erik the Red are etched forever as great conquerors. Now relive their tragedies and triumphs.

Changelog[]

This changelog includes changes made only in The Conquerors itself:

  • (Heavy) Cavalry Archers: movement speed decreased from 1.43 to 1.4 tiles per second.
  • (Elite) Mangudai: movement speed increased (1.43 ā†’ 1.45 tiles/sec), accuracy decreased (100% ā†’ 95%), reload time increased (2 ā†’ 2.1 sec; Mongols civilization bonus not included).
  • (Elite) Mameluke: movement speed decreased (1.41 ā†’ 1.4 tiles/sec); infantry armor class replaced with archer armor class; receive camels & ship armor class; +11 armor vs. anti-cavalry attacks.
  • Ranged non-melee damage units, towers, and Castles now deal bonus damage vs. spearmen-line.
  • The Camel and the Heavy Camel move slightly faster (1.4 ā†’ 1.45 tiles/sec).
  • Cataphracts: +12/16 (regular/elite) armor vs. anti-cavalry attacks; attack reload time: 2/2 ā†’ 1.8/1.7; training time reduced (23 ā†’ 20 sec).
  • The Bombard Cannon is significantly improved, being given a +20 bonus vs. siege units. It also has more hitpoints (50 ā†’ 80 HP), has a faster projectile speed (3.5 ā†’ 4 tiles/sec) and no longer requires the Bombard Cannon research (it becomes available immediately after researching Chemistry).
  • (Change identical to patch 2.0a for The Age of Kings) Town Centers no longer gain range, only damage and LOS. (However, the tool tips of the Fletching, Bodkin Arrow and Bracer researches have not been updated as the description for them still mentions an increase to a Town Center's range.) This was done to promote the usage of units to fight, instead of buildings, and to balance aggressive vs. defensive strategies. With long ranged Town Centers, the defensive strategies were very strong. Also, the Teutonic Town Center bonus now only increases the Line of Sight of Town Centers due to multiplayer difficulties. In addition, the cost of Town Centers now require 275 wood, 100 stone while also take longer to construct (100 ā†’ 150 sec).
  • Outposts now require only 25 wood, 10 stone (stone cost: 25 ā†’ 10), while also have increased LOS (+2 LoS, meaning 4 ā†’ 6 LoS in Dark Age).
  • Both Elite and non-elite Janissary attack has been increased (15/18 ā†’ 17/22), but accuracy decreased from 55% to 50% and anti-infantry bonus removed (used to be +4/+8 for regular/elite in The Age of Kings).
  • The Hand Cannoneer receives increased anti-infantry bonus (+8 ā†’ +10) and no longer requires a specific research.
  • Huskarls have improved speed (0.9 ā†’ 1.05 tiles/sec), pierce armor (4/6 ā†’ 6/8 for regular/elite) and anti-archer attack bonus (+3/4 ā†’ +6/10).
  • Spearmen, Pikemen and Halberdiers have their attack bonus against Camels and Mamelukes (camels, ships and saboteurs technically) reduced (15 ā†’ 7 for Spearmen, 22 ā†’ 11 for Pikemen) as Camels have cavalry armor class replaced with ship armor class. Subsequently, Camels now receive bonus damage from Town Centers, towers, Castles, and ships.
  • Mangonel/Onager line units move faster (0.5 ā†’ 0.6 tiles/sec), have increased projectile speed (2.9 ā†’ 3.5 tiles/sec, but not with Chemistry) and have lower projectile arc (0.6 ā†’ 0.4), and possess bonus +12 anti-siege weapons damage. Their AI is also improved so they are less likely to fire if their shots may injure friendly or allied units.
  • Samurai now move faster (0.9 ā†’ 1 tiles/sec), receive +1 pierce armor (0 ā†’ 1), shorter reload time (2 ā†’ 1.9 sec; Japanese civilization bonus not included) and increased anti-unique unit bonus damage (5/6 ā†’ 10/12 for regular/elite).
  • Scorpion line units have increased attack range (5 ā†’ 7), but are no longer affected by Blacksmith upgrades. Attack delay is increased from 0 to 0.21 sec and minimum range increased from 1 to 2.
  • Scout Cavalry, Light Cavalry, and Hussar are given bonus damage against Monks (6 for Scouts and 10 for Light Cavalry) and are now more resistant to conversion (3 ā†’ 8 conversion resistance).
  • Militia, Men-at-Arms, Long Swordsman, Two-Handed Swordsman, Champion, and Berserk receive +1 pierce armor (0 ā†’ 1).
  • Woad Raider receive +1 pierce armor (0 ā†’ 1) and are trained faster (16 ā†’ 10 sec).
  • All infantry (except Militia) now deal bonus damage vs. Eagle Warriors.
  • A new cheat that was not in The Age of Kings appears as "Furious the Monkey Boy".
  • Ships can now be arranged in various formations similar to ground units.
  • Infantry and archers can garrison within a Ram for protection. Garrisoned infantry will also make it move faster (+0.05 tiles/sec for every garrisoned infantry unit) and do more damage (+10 building damage per unit).
  • Villagers now go automatically to work after they build the appropriate buildings (Lumber Camp for wood, Mill for food, Mining Camp for gold and stone), after they build the required building and the resources associated to that building would be in Line of Sight of the villager it will automatically start the gathering.
  • Relics generate more gold.
  • Population Limit can be changed in the Scenario Editor.
  • When being attacked, or sending a message, the color represents the team that is attacking or sending the message.
  • Spoken dialogue from the characters appears in the message section.
  • Heroes cannot be converted at all, automatically heal themselves, have protected formation and have default defensive stance.
  • Wonders that appear at the start that would not be considered as a count down do not mark a [W] next to the team name in the statistics, nor be shown across the map, nor be counted as having been constructed.
  • Palisade Walls are unaffected by the Torpedo Cheat.
  • Some objects have a different design.

External links[]

Age of Empires
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