Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Return of Rome

This article is about the re-release of Age of Empires and the expansion of Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. For the expansion of Age of Empires, see The Rise of Rome.

Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Return of Rome
Game
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General information
Type	Rerelease
Base game	Age of Empires: Definitive Edition in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition client Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition
Release patch	Update 83607
Opening track
Development information
Developers	Forgotten Empires Tantalus Media Wicked Witch
Publishers	Xbox Game Studios
Genre	Real-time strategy
Platform	Windows 10 Steam Xbox
Release date
Windows	May 16, 2023
Xbox	May 16, 2023

Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Return of Rome is mainly a port of Age of Empires content into the Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition client. It was released on May 16th 2023, implemented with update 83607. It adds content in the form of civilizations for both games, serving as a joint expansion. Hence Return of Rome is:

• the second expansion of Age of Empires
• the fourth expansion of Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition
• and the ninth expansion of Age of Empires II

Since this expansion brings Age of Empires into Age of Empires II, and Age of Empires II is already playable on Xbox, this expansion also launches Age of Empires on Xbox.

Information timeline

Toggle information timeline

• It was announced on October 25th 2022, on the 25th Anniversary of Age of Empires.
• Players will be able to switch to Return of Rome in the Age of Empire II's main screen and take on fresh challenges.
• Its release date May 16th 2023 was announced on April 7th 2023.
• Its teaser was released and it was made available for pre-order on April 25th 2023.
• A content creator's preview was announced on May 4th 2023, stated to be live from the same week. It went live on the next day.
• The intention is "to have all the content of Age of Empires and Age of Empires II accessible to players from the same place."
• The expansion will not feature the original campaigns of Age of Empires and its previous expansions, only the three new ones added in Return of Rome.
• It was originally announced that the original campaigns of Age of Empires and its previous expansions would not feature in Return of Rome; however a public poll was put up on May 19th which announced that the Ascent of Egypt, The First Punic War, and two more campaigns as per poll results would be added in the future.
• The Return of Rome section will have its own Ranked lobbies, with its own leaderboards for 1v1 and Team games.
• Information on the expansion and all new content along with a note for existing owners of Age of Empires: Definitive Edition was released on May 5th 2023.
• A guide to familiarize existing and new players on how to switch between game modes, and on Age of Empires mechanics including basics of the early game, as well as new mechanics and maps, was released on May 12th 2023: Link to the guide
• On release of the expansion, the Romans in Age of Empires II mode were playable only in singleplayer and unranked multiplayer games, and not in the ranked ladder.
• After the public poll, it was confirmed on June 6th that the Ascent of Egypt, The First Punic War, Glory of Greece, and Voices of Babylon campaigns would be added in future updates.
• Due to popular appeal, the Romans in Age of Empires II mode were made available on the ranked ladder after rebalancing the civilization in update 87863, released on June 28th, 2023.

Age of Empires

Return of Rome game mode logo

Features

Civilization crests, similar to civilization icons of Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition

• Civilization crests
• Civilization themes
• Balance changes
  • Team bonuses
  • Tool Age counter system revamp: Axemen more effective against cavalry, Scouts more effective against ranged infantry, Bowmen more effective against melee infantry.
  • Requirements for unit upgrades removed (like needing Fanaticism for Legionary, Aristocracy for Centurion).
• Garrisoning
  • Villagers can garrison in Town Centers and towers for protection (but do not add arrows).
  • Military units can garrison in the structure that they are trained from when they are produced. Once ungarrisoned, they can no longer garrison anywhere.
• Alarm Bell and Back to Work buttons
• Trading revamp
  • Sell and buy resources at the Market
  • Age of Empires II land and sea trading system
• New technologies, units, and structures
  • Diagonal walls
  • Army tents, Barricades
  • Age of Empires II buildings (Colosseum, Aqueduct, Hut, Yurt, Granary, Chain, Pyramid, Great Pyramid), animals (including Hunting Wolf and Ornlu the Wolf), cheat units, terrain, and Gaia objects
    • Herdable animals (Scenario Editor only)
• Unit formations
• Enhanced AI for computer opponents
• Improved pathfinding
• UI improvements
• Spectator mode
• 8 game modes, some inspired by/ported from AoE2 game modes
  • New game mode: D3, inspired by a ruleset made popular in Vietnam
  • Other game modes: Empire Wars, King of the Hill, Sudden Death, Defend the Wonder, Wonder Race
• 28 random maps
• Visual upgrades:
  • New golden skins for elite units: Helepolis, Centurion, Legionary, Heavy Catapult, Heavy Horse Archer.
  • Heavy Cavalry gets a silver skin to differentiate it from the Cataphract.
  • Female Villagers added.
  • New cosmetics (including statues, obelisks, broken catapults, lean-to shelters, market stalls, and braziers).
  • Cheat units have been visually updated.
• Unit renaming: Juggernaught to Juggernaut, Phalanx to Phalangite and Legion to Legionary.
• Architecture changes: Hittites use Egyptian architecture, Sumerians use Mesopotamian architecture.
• Armor class system reworked

Technologies

• Conscription
• City Watch
• Urbanization
• Theocracy (replaces Sacrifice)

Units

• Trade Cart

Buildings

• Small Gate - Medium Gate - Fortified Gate

Civilization

• Lac Viet - The ancient and antiquity-era ancestors of the Vietnamese

Campaigns

The expansion features three new campaigns:

• Sargon of Akkad (Sumerians) - An unlikely man rises to power in the city-states of Mesopotamia: Sargon is a simple cupbearer to the king, but everything changes when the war goddess Ishtar appears in his dreams. Under her guidance, Sargon leads the quarreling Sumerians into a new age, but the appealing nature of power forces him to choose between his divine destiny and his personal ambition. In this campaign, you will play as the Sumerians.
• Pyrrhus of Epirus (Macedonians) - As the Wars of the Diadochi saw Alexander the Great's successors throw the Greek world into chaos, Pyrrhus of Epirus began as a small player among titans. Will he become worthy of the legendary Hannibal Barca's judgment of him – a renowned general of the age – or will his constant uphill struggle prove insurmountable? In this campaign, you will play as the Macedonians.
• Trajan (Romans) - Marcus Ulpius Trajanus climbed the ranks of the legions while the Emperor Domitian's tyrannical rule tarnished the Roman Empire's glory. When circumstance elevates him to the throne as Emperor Trajan, he inherits a realm on the brink of disaster. Will resourcefulness, virtue, and military might be enough to save Rome and lead it to its historical zenith, or will the Roman Empire collapse four centuries before its time? In this campaign, you will play as the Romans.

Other

The Age of Empires: Return of Rome dataset was created by modifying the Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition dataset. As such, many features were copied over.

• Some of these, like the Castle and Fortress, were hidden, while others like the Great Pyramid and Yurt were kept unhidden.
• Units and buildings have the armor class for the Leitis' special attack, despite the unit not being present in the game.

Age of Empires II

Civilization

Architecture set	Civilization
Mediterranean	Romans

• Romans: Rise to the throne of an empire dominating the Mediterranean Sea and defend your borders against countless barbarian invasions. The Roman unique units are the Legionary, a sturdy infantry unit, and the Centurion, a heavy cavalry unit that increases the power of nearby Militia-line units.

Units

Unique units

• Centurion: Castle unique unit of the Romans.
• Legionary: Unique upgrade of the Long Swordsman for the Romans in the Imperial Age.

Regional unit

• Dromon: Anti-building ship with long range, regional substitute for the Cannon Galleon, available to the Byzantines, Goths, Huns, and Romans.

Technologies

• Ballistas: Scorpions fire 33% faster. Galley-line +2 attack.
• Comitatenses: Militia-line, Knight-line, and Centurions train 50% faster and receive +5 charge attack over 20 seconds.

Fauna

• Gazelle (huntable)

Trivia

• "Return of Rome" is a reference to The Rise of Rome, the expansion to the very first Age of Empires as well as to Age of Empires II's tag line "Rome has fallen and the World is up for grabs" on the back of The Age of Kings's box. It may also be a reference to Rome Returns, an Age of Empires II mod, which also incorporates content from Age of Empires.
• The Return of Rome cover is similar to the Age of Empires cover, but with a Roman Centurion instead of a Greek Hoplite.
• The newly introduced civilization Lac Viet is the first civilization for Age of Empires that has more than one word in its name, and one of few in the entire franchise. It was preceded by the United States in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition, and by the Abbasid Dynasty, Delhi Sultanate, and Holy Roman Empire in Age of Empires IV.
• Lac Viet was added as a way to honor the continued popularity of Age of Empires, most especially The Rise of Rome, in Vietnam, where the game has had an enduring competitive scene.
• The launch of the expansion is to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the The Rise of Rome expansion (launched in 1998, one year before The Age of Kings).
• Initially, the Romans civilization added to Age of Empires II will not be available in ranked, and only playable in singleplayer modes and unranked lobby games. But they will be made available in ranked in a future update. However, they were made available to content creators in ranked play in the creator preview.
• This is the only expansion to introduce a new civilization to two different Age of Empires games.
• Return of Rome is codenamed Pompeii. However, unlike other releases, the actual name was known prior to the codename which was not known until release.
• This is the first Age of Empires II expansion to not feature a new Age of Empires II campaign.
• The expansion icon is a Galea.

Gallery

Age of Empires II- Definitive Edition - Return of Rome Teaser

Age of Empires II- Definitive Edition - Return of Rome Trailer

Infographic summarising the expansion's content

Roman Legionaries, Centurion, and the unique Castle in Age of Empires II game mode

Official showcase of a Roman city

Switching from Age of Empires II to Return of Rome game mode

Main menu screen of Return of Rome game mode

The civilization selection screen in Return of Rome

Official image of an Egyptian village in Return of Rome

A Roman town

Official showcase of an Egyptian settlement

Official showcase of a Lac Viet settlement

Official showcase of two cities at war

Official showcase of Hannibal besieging a Roman city

Official showcase of the city of Kish, conquered by Sargon in the first scenario of his campaign

Content Creator preview announcement poster

Multiple cheat units with new graphics showcased

The campaign selection screen of the expansion in Return of Rome game mode

The campaign screen of Trajan

The campaign screen of Sargon of Akkad

The campaign screen of Pyrrhus of Epirus

The campaign selection screen of Age of Empires campaigns in Return of Rome

The campaign screen of Ascent of Egypt

The campaign screen of The First Punic War

The campaign screen of Glory of Greece

The same for Voices of Babylon

Sources

• Steam page