Age of Empires II HD: Rise of the Rajas is the third expansion for Age of Empires II: HD Edition and fourth overall for Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings. It adds two new architecture sets (including one for the Indians), four civilizations, and four campaigns set in the Southeast Asia region. It was launched with patch 5.0.
It was the third expansion developed by Skybox Labs and Forgotten Empires, and was released December 19, 2016.[1]
Civilizations[]
Architectural style | Civilizations |
---|---|
Southeast Asian (new) | Burmese |
Khmer | |
Malay | |
Vietnamese | |
Indian (new) | Indians (existing) |
- Burmese: Ascend to power, quash a treacherous rebellion, and restore the Burmese monarchy to its former glory.
- Khmer: Construct the largest religious monument in the world and amass an immortal army of devastating siege weapons.
- Malay: Rebuild the largest thalassocracy to ever exist. Leave your mark on the region while hopping from island to island and rule the Southeast Asian archipelago.
- Vietnamese: Lead your people to independence and wage guerrilla warfare with an extremely powerful arsenal of ranged units.
Units[]
Unique units[]
- Arambai: Castle unique unit of the Burmese, variation of mounted archer units.
- Ballista Elephant: Castle unique unit of the Khmer, a Scorpion on an elephant.
- Imperial Skirmisher: Archery Range unique upgrade of the Elite Skirmisher for Vietnamese & their allies.
- Karambit Warrior: Castle unique unit of the Malay, cheap and weak infantry unit.
- Rattan Archer: Castle unique unit of the Vietnamese, archer-resistant foot archer unit.
Regional units[]
- Battle Elephant - Elite Battle Elephant: A slow but powerful cavalry unit available at the Stable for the four new civilizations.
Buildings[]
- Harbor: Available only for Malay, an upgrade from the Dock that can shoot arrows.
Campaigns[]
There are four new campaigns in Rise of the Rajas, one for each of the new civilizations.
- Gajah Mada (Malay): On the island of Java, a new power is rising. Gajah Mada, prime minister of Majapahit, conspires to build an empire to rule the waves and islands of the Archipelago. Will he be able to balance his unquestioned loyalty to the king with his growing ambitions?
- Suryavarman I (Khmer): It is the early 11th century and the Khmer Empire is in turmoil, torn apart by competing factions and surrounded by hostile neighbors. Only one prince, Suryavarman, has the courage and cunning to defeat his rivals and restore the Khmer to their former glory. Seizing the throne, however, is just the first of many tasks. Will Suryavarman muster the strength to expand his domain, overcome adversity, and create a timeless legacy as the king who attained Nirvana?
- Bayinnaung (Burmese): A warrior king seeks to unite a divided land. But when he is betrayed, only his devoted servant can continue his legacy. Can a mere commoner ascend the Burmese throne and build the largest empire in Southeast Asian history?
- Le Loi (Vietnamese): When a civil war plunged Dai Viet into chaos, the Ming Emperor intervened and seized control. Now, the only hope for freedom from oppression lies with one man: a minor noble named Le Loi. Will he be able to unite feuding factions, defeat the Chinese, and regain Vietnamese independence?
Maps[]
Rise of the Rajas also features new Scenario Editor objects (for example, statues of the Buddha) and unique Southeast Asian terrains for the new maps (including rainforests and mangrove forests). Among them, a new type of amphibious terrain is featured on the new maps, where structures can be built on and that both land and naval units can traverse, providing a new and unique playstyle as naval and land units can easily clash with each other.
Standard maps[]
Special maps[]
- Jungle Islands
(multiplayer only) - Border Stones
- Holy Line
- Jungle Lanes
- Yin Yang
Real World maps[]
Fauna[]
- Water Buffalo (herdable)
- Rhinoceros (huntable)
- Komodo Dragon
- Tiger
- Box Turtles (Shore Fish)
Features[]
- If a mod contains a dat file and is published to the Steam Workshop, hosts can now select them when creating a game and people that join that game will automatically subscribe to it.
- Campaign menu is now fully data driven and players can make custom mods with their own maps and markers.
New UserPatch Script Support[]
- up-get-fact
- up-get-fact-min
- up-get-fact-max
- up-get-fact-sum
- up-get-focus-fact
- up-get-player-fact
- up-get-target-fact
- up-build
- up-can-build
- up-set-placement-data
- sn-placement-to-center
- sn-placement-fail-delta
- sn-placement-zone-size
- sn-town-center-placement
- User-patch operators now supported: c:*, c:/, c:min, c:max, c:mod, c:neg, c:z/, c:%*, c:%/, g:*, g:/, g:min, g:max, g:max, g:neg, g:z, g:%, g:%.
Promotion[]
Rise of the Rajas was first announced by Forgotten Empires on their official website at December 13, 2016.[2] To celebrate the launch of the new expansion, a mini-tournament called Battle for Angkor was held on December 17–18. The tournament featured eight expert players who used the new civilizations and was broadcast on Twitch.[3]
Trivia[]
- Rise of the Rajas is the first expansion to not include a civilization that would later use Mediterranean architecture.
- Rise of the Rajas is the first expansion in Age of Empires II and second in the series to not have the word "The" as its first word (the first being Age of Mythology: Tale of the Dragon).