Today’s a huge day for Age of Empires IV! Not only are we starting a new Ranked Season, chock-full of exciting battles and seasonal events, but we’re also officially welcoming brand new players to the Age IV community with the start of our Early Access period on PlayStation 5. This update enables crossplay across all platforms, including those joining in for Early Access, and also brings with it AI improvements, a rework to the House of Lancaster’s Manors, plus additional updates made to our seasonal events approach, balance changes, and more.
In the meantime, make sure you have your calendars marked for November 4, when players will first be able to test their mettle in The Crucible and lead four new formidable armies in Dynasties of the East.
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This is just a small taste of what is coming in the latest update. For a more complete list, please visit our site and check out our blog. Happy Gaming!
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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
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Please Note: As part of updating to this latest build, any saved games and observable matches made on previous builds will be unable to be loaded or replayed.
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Season Twelve
Ranked Season and Events Update
As we mentioned way back at the start of Season Eleven, we’re aware that our seasonal approach means you’ve had limited access to exciting game modes, maps and biomes, and events. With that in mind, starting with Season Twelve, we’ll be adjusting our approach to seasons. Moving forward you’ll see:
- Seasonal content – such as game modes, maps and biomes – unlocked and made permanently available. We started this in Season Eleven with by making Map Monsters and Enchanted Grove permanently available, and we’re excited to share that with Season Twelve, you’ll be able to play as much of the Map Monsters, Full Moon and Season’s Feast game modes as you’d like in custom matches. Game modes will now come with a pre-selected biome for best experience. However, this can still be tweaked in the map options.
- Rotating through events! In the past, events and the rewards that came with them were time-exclusive. Moving forward, we’ll be rotating through these fun and familiar events to ensure you’re able to collect the items you may have missed out on.
During Season Twelve, we’ll be bringing back a few classics meant to celebrate the season (both spooky and delightful) with Hallow’s Hearth, Season’s Feast and Something in the Water.
Hallow’s Hearth – Event 1
The wolves are howling, and a chill wind can be heard whispering through the trees. Get ready for a spooktacular second edition of Hallow’s Hearth with terrifying treats and monstrously fun challenges!
Login between October 30th at 10:00AM PT (17:00 UTC) and December 4th to stake your claim.
In addition, we have made several improvements to the Full Moon mode:
- Added a new night atmosphere to the Full Moon game mode, to be transitioned to during the Moon Surge event. The atmosphere should transition back to the biome’s initial one after the event is over.
- Werewolf unit name and description updated to be more accurate.
- New werewolf spawning VFX have been added.
It’s time to face a powerful enemy, the wolves roam the land, they have grown larger and more powerful than before. When the Moon is full, the wolves will attack, build your walls and prepare for their approach.
Season’s Feast – Event 2
This event is full of gifts to celebrate the Season! We have many challenges and rewards to customize your profile to match the season of giving. As well as a brand-new game mode filled with gifts to get you those victories! Keep your eyes on the battlefield and see how many gifts you can find.
Login between December 5th at 10:00am PT (1:00pm ET / 18:00 UTC) and February 5th to share in the season’s festivities!
In addition, we have made several improvements to the Season’s Feast game mode:
- Improved spawn logic for the gift boxes so that they are not spawning in inaccessible locations and to maintain balance.
- Gift boxes can be easily located with the new visual indicator.
Something in the Water – Event 3
The relaxing waves have brought back old friends but with new rewards! They might be monsters, but you’ll be the one sinking your teeth into the challenges while you take on the competition.
Improvements to the Map Monsters mode:
- Improved spawn logic for the monsters preventing them from spawning in inaccessible locations.
- Monster discovery results in the monster despawning with a visual effect.
Ranked Season Twelve Updates
Get ready to dive back into the action! Season Twelve is officially kicking off, and it’s set to be a big celebration.
This season is about honoring the heart of the game, and the upcoming months are packed with beloved game modes & major holiday festivities! But don’t forget about the main event: We’re dropping a massive, brand-new DLC that will change the way you play.
Mark your calendars! The season begins on October 30th and runs all the way through April 2nd! You won’t want to miss a single challenge, reward or event.
Map Pool Rotation
We’re excited to share that new maps coming with the Dynasties of the East expansion are making their debut appearance in Ranked Map Pools, starting October 30th! We’re feeling confident in these maps and can’t wait to hear what you think of them! Test your mettle on this season’s new terrain and unique mechanics.
1v1 Ranked Map Pool
- Altai –> Flankwoods
- Archipelago –> Boulder Bay
- Canal –> Ocean Gateway
- Enlightened Horizon –> Golden Heights
- Rocky River –> Relic River
- Hill and Dale –> Craters
- Carmel –> Cliffside
- African Waters –> Canyon
- Hedgemaze –> Craters
- Nagari –> Ocean Gateway
- Waterholes –> Continental
- Lipany –> Hidden Valley
- Hideout –> Flankwoods
- Enlightened Horizon –> Prairie
New Maps
We’re thrilled to be releasing 8 new maps with the Dynasties of the East expansion on November 4th, but you can get a sneak preview of three of them already as we add them directly into our Season Twelve Map Pool.
 | CratersA meteor shower leaves behind deep craters that scar the surface of the land; some have filled with water and provide limited fishing opportunities while others contain meteorite fragments which can be gathered by daring Villagers. Meteorites can be mined for both Gold and Stone at the same time, but such a precious resource will surely be a catalyst for conflict. | [/tr]
 | CanyonA waterlogged canyon snakes its way through the center of the map, dividing teams equally on either side. Teams can reach each other by ramps that lead down to the base of the canyon and by crossing the shallow water there, perhaps catching the glint of Relics reflecting on the water’s surface. Town Centers perch precariously on the Canyon edge; it’s rumored that if you watch carefully enough, enemy movements can be seen at the edge of the fog of war. | [/tr]
 | Ocean GatewaySurrounded by rugged cliffs, the four gateways provide critical access to the bounty of fish and naval trade available at the map’s edge. However, limited space for docks and wide-open flanks make Ocean Gateway a challenging balancing act between both land and water. | [/tr]
Map Pool Biomes
With this release we have also updated all the available biomes for each map while playing in ranked or unranked, meaning that you’ll see more biome variation than before and the appearance of new biomes in multiplayer matches.
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Matchmaking Improvements
As you may have noticed, earlier this month, we made a change via the server to improve matchmaking. You should notice faster queue times in Quick Match and Ranked!
Manor Rework
House of Lancaster’s gameplay will be changing this season, with a much-requested rework to how Manors generate resources. Manors now generate less resources passively, instead Manors have an aura in which Villagers generate Food and Wood when they are within the Aura. Lancaster players will need to strategically place their Manors to make sure they capture as many Villagers as possible.
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This is just a small taste of what is coming in the latest update. For a more complete list, please visit our site and check out our blog. Happy Gaming!
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:alertalert: DISCLAIMER
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.
