Age Of Empires 2 Game Modes

Age of Empires 2 is strangely still going strong after all these years. For many, it’s a huge source of nostalgia, a history lesson and a fun game to boot.

This is mid elo CO-OP! Teams of 2, controlling a single player each! What could go wrong. Fans of Age of Empires II, one of the most popular real-time strategy games, should check out these mods and add-ons that give the game some surprising new gameplay twists. By T Baker on December.

For others, Age of Empires 2 is a significant competitive game that should be taken seriously. Regardless of why you play, knowing the best and most fun maps is mandatory.

These maps are the best due to multiple reasons but overall, for the general player, they should be playing them the most.

Here’s the top 10 best maps in Age of Empires 2!

10. Highland

This map is great because the only water source is slap bang in the middle of the map with the players on either side. This river is a natural defense with just a single river path connecting the two sides. Players must find this path and fortify it before their opponent can use it. Control of the water is also important as the fish provided is a great source of food.

9. Mediterranean

A large ocean surrounded by land, this map provides awesome land and naval warfare. As players fight for control of the water, they must also look out for flanks and land invasions. It’s quite easy for a player to fortify both flanks with walls and towers, even more so for a team. This map provides a good all-round balance of the different types of strategic warfare.

8. Oasis

Players start this map surrounded by the usual resources, there’s a few brackets of wood surrounding the Town Centers but the main sources are towards the center. There is a small river at the center of the map which is surrounded by large forests. You get plenty of time and resources to build your base at the start but you need to look towards the middle once your local resources run dry. This map provides a different kind of playstyle as you need to defend both your base and your forward base at the center.

Age

7. MegaRandom

Once a community created mod, the MegaRandom map is now part of the Forgotten Empires DLC. It is how its name implies, it generates a completely random map that does not fit a particular ‘theme’. The brilliance of this is incredible as you’ll never truly know what’s coming, giving a surprise to all players and this makes MegaRandom really fun to play.

6. Arena

Perfect for newer players, Arena has open land in the middle which is surrounded by large forests. Players are given a Stone Wall around their base to start off, allowing for new players to build their base without getting destroyed and some great seiging action later on in the game. The forests surrounding the bases provide the players with a ton of resources which, again, is perfect for new players. It’s a great map whether you’re an expert or newbie.

5. Nomad

This map is generated as a desert island with plenty of resources littering the place. The fun lies with the special rules as players start with just 3 villagers that are dotted in random locations. They must find a suitable location to build their base, it’s a race for time as the players quickly try to find the best place to drop their Town Center. This map is not recommended for new players but it’s highly popular with established players.

4. Islands

It’s as simple as it sounds, each player (or team) is given their own island which they must build their base upon and protect from invaders. Mostly focusing on naval warfare, water control is absolutely crucial because if you lose the water, the enemies have free reign over when and how they can land their armies on your shores. The player must build suitable docks and protect them effectively to have a chance. This high level of macro play is popular among all players as it’s great for learning but really fun for those who already know the basics.

3. Arabia

Mostly seen in pro play, Arabia is arguably the most well-balanced map in the entire game. Resources are modest but you still need to manage your economy properly. There is no water so it’s all about the boots-on-the-ground warfare. Wood especially is difficult to manage as there are no big forests, just small brackets here and there. It’s one of the best tactical maps to play and awesome to watch pro players duke it out.

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2. Fortress

Similar to Arena, Fortress provides the players with Stone Walls, a Barracks and even 4 Watchtowers from the get-go. Early aggression is definitely not advised, you need to build your base faster than the enemy can build their base, then attack when the time is right. There isn’t much resources in the starting base which means players have to go out into the wilderness to get what they need, this makes raiding a viable tactic. You can also just turtle up and laugh as you repel attack after attack. This is a very fun map to play.

1. Black Forest

Couldn’t really be anything else, could it. Black Forest is legendary among all Age of Empires 2 players for being the best, most fun map to play.

Game

You are given great natural defenses as almost the entire map is covered in trees, this provides a huge amount of resources, way more than you can actually use unless the game lasts for many hours.

This map is spot on for new players as they learn to build, fortify and attack. Experienced players also love this too as the paths connecting the bases provide a fun and unique experience that you can’t get on any other map.

Related Posts

This page is for the 2019 Definitive Edition. For the original game, see Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings. For the 2013 HD Edition, see Age of Empires II (2013).

An assignment for this game is currently available. You can read on how to apply for it here.
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition
Developers
Publishers
Release dates
WindowsNovember 14, 2019
  • 1Availability
  • 2Essential improvements
  • 3Game data
  • 6Audio
  • 7Network
  • 8Other information
⤏ Go to series page
Age of Empires1997
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings1999
Age of Mythology2002
Age of Empires III 2005
Age of Empires Online2011
Age of Empires II (2013)2013
Age of Mythology: Extended Edition2014
Age of Empires: Castle Siege2014
Age of Empires: Definitive Edition2018
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition2019
Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition2020
Age of Empires IVTBA

Key points

Includes an in-game benchmark option.
Includes levels editor.
Supports mods.
Supports cross-platform multiplayer.
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings and Age of Empires II (2013) save files do not work with this version.

General information

Official website for the series
Official Discord server for the series
Steam Community Discussions

Availability[edit]

SourceDRMNotesKeysOS
Green Man Gaming
Humble Store
Microsoft StoreXbox Game Pass for PC
Steam
All versions require Arxan Anti-TamperDRM

DLC and expansion packs

NameNotes
Enhanced Graphics Pack Free add-on, increases Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition to ultra-high fidelity resolution.

Essential improvements[edit]

Skip intro videos[edit]

Instructions[1]
  1. Go to <path-to-game>resources_commonmovies
  2. Delete or rename aoeii4K.wmv and aoeiide_titlevideo.wmv

Game data[edit]

Configuration file(s) location[edit]

SystemLocation
Windows %USERPROFILE%GamesAge of Empires 2 DE<user-id>profile
Microsoft Store
Steam Play (Linux)<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/813780/pfx/[Note 1]

Save game data location[edit]

SystemLocation
Windows %USERPROFILE%GamesAge of Empires 2 DE<user-id>saves
Microsoft Store
Steam Play (Linux)<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/813780/pfx/[Note 1]

Save game cloud syncing[edit]

Video[edit]

Graphics Options
Graphics featureStateWSGFNotes
Widescreen resolution
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreenHor+ gameplay & pillarboxedFMVs.[2]
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)You can zoom-in and out by using the mouse wheel.
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowedFullscreen and Desktop Fullscreen modes are both Borderless Windowed.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anti-aliasing (AA)Options to choose are ON & OFF.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS and 120+ FPS
High dynamic range display (HDR)
Color blind modeDeuteranopia, Tritanopia & Protanopia.

Input[edit]

Game Options
Keyboard and mouseStateNotes
Remapping
Mouse accelerationIn Game Options, under Scroll Inertia
Mouse sensitivityIn Game Options, under Scroll Speed
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller supportSee the glossary page for potential workarounds.

Audio[edit]

Audio Options
Audio featureStateNotes
Separate volume controlsMusic, Sound & Voice.
Surround sound
Subtitles
Closed captionsEvery character has a different text color when speaking
Mute on focus lost

Localizations

LanguageUIAudioSubNotes
English
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Brazilian Portuguese
Russian
Latin American Spanish
Spanish
Turkish
Vietnamese

Network[edit]

Multiplayer types

Age Of Empire Pc Game

TypeNativePlayersNotes
Local play
LAN play8 Versus, Co-op
Requires connection to the master server for lobby creation.
Online play8 Versus, Co-op

Connection types

TypeNativeNotes
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Direct IP

Ports

ProtocolPort(s) and/or port range(s)
TCP3074, 8888
UDP88, 500, 3074, 3544, 4500
Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.

Other information[edit]

API[edit]

Technical specsSupportedNotes
Direct3D11

Age Of Empires 2 Game Modes

Middleware[edit]

MiddlewareNotes
AudioWwise
MultiplayerBattleServerUses Xbox Live matchmaking.

System requirements[edit]

Windows
MinimumRecommended
Operating system (OS)Windows 10 (Win 7 SP1* / Win 8.1*)10 (1903) [3]
Processor (CPU)Intel Core 2 Duo
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+
Intel Core i5 2.4 GHz
AMD equivalent
System memory (RAM)4 GB8 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)30 GB
Video card (GPU) Nvidia GeForce GT 420
AMD Radeon HD 6850
Intel HD Graphics 3000
2 GB of VRAM
DirectX 11 compatible
Nvidia GeForce GTX 650
ATI Radeon HD 5850
4 GB of VRAM
DirectX 12 compatible
Other1024×720 minimum screen resolution
A 64-bit system is required.
* Game was made compatible with Windows 7 SP1 and Windows 8.1 by developers but with no further support. Windows 10 is the official supported OS.[4]

Age Of Empires 2 Game Modes Ps4

Notes

  1. 1.01.1File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/813780/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (813780) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

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References

Age Of Empires 2 Game Modes Mod

  1. Verified by User:SojerManLan on 2020-07-02
  2. Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - PC Ultra Quality (3440x1440) - last accessed on 2019-11-15
  3. Microsoft Store requirements - last accessed on 2020-07-02
  4. Windows 7 SP1 and Windows 8.1 support - last accessed on 2019-11-14