| “ | Challenge the Labyrinth in the all-new Arena of the Gods for single-player and co-op. Collect powerful Blessings, join your friends, and take on new challenges to overcome in the arena where the gods themselves do battle. | ” |
| —Official page[1] | ||
Arena of the Gods cover art
Arena of the Gods is a game mode for Age of Mythology: Retold that was released on November 7, 2024 with update 17.43876.[2] It can be played in both solo player and co-op modes, although both count as multiplayer modes and require an Internet connection and the servers running. 12 achievements can be obtained in this game mode. It has two principal game modes: Story mode and Gauntlet. The Daily Celestial Challenge is a separate but related game mode accessed from the main menu.
Arena of the Gods mode selection menu
In the Story sub-mode, introduced with the game mode, the player commands Kastor through a series of partially-randomized scenarios, called "Gateways", as he battles the forces of Kronos and Loki with the guidance and occasional assistance of Gaia. These scenarios are not static, but change like random map skirmishes with new generations every time and can feature game-changing events called "World Twists". To complete the game mode, the player must complete the two Major Gateways of each chapter, but there is some choice as to which of the other scenarios are played. Completing a Gateway earns rewards called "Blessings" which can be used in any other Gateway, or in the other game modes of Arena of the Gods.
In update 18.9036, the Daily Celestial Challenge mode was added, which features new random map scenarios daily, with World Twists much like in Story mode. The player can receive rewards after completing all daily challenges in a set, with the rewards being new Blessings usable in all Arena of the Gods game modes.
The Heavenly Spear expansion added the Gauntlet sub-mode to Arena of the Gods, which generates a set of random scenarios called "Labyrinths" with varying World Twists and events that occur during a match. The object of the sub-mode is to reach and clear the "boss" scenario before losing a total of three matches. Regardless of whether the Labyrinth was successfully completed, the player will accumulate a "Favor Stash", which can be used to generate favor or to purchase various bonuses in singleplayer skirmish and all Arena of the Gods game modes. A successful run of a Gauntlet will also unlock additional Legends that can be chosen in place of Kastor. Several Badges can also be earned in the Gauntlet.
Since update 18.56738, the Blessing and Chaos Events (which occur by default in Gauntlet mode) can also be enabled in random map lobbies in both singleplayer and multiplayer.
Features[]
Blessings[]
Blessings are rewards, similar to technologies, granted upon completing scenarios or challenges, or assigned at random during games in the Gauntlet game mode. There are some scenarios which grant the player more than one Blessing too. Players can enable up to three Blessings when starting a scenario.
Blessings appear in one of several tiers, with the magnitude of the benefit being better in higher tiers. The tiers are Simple, Fine, Heroic, Mythical, and Divine. In Story mode and Daily Celestial Challenge, most Blessings appear only in their Simple and Fine versions, with a smaller number of Heroic versions being present. The Mythical and Divine tiers only appear in Gauntlet. Some specific Blessings appear only in a separate Eternal form, and have no lower tiers defined; these are always carried over between runs in Gauntlet mode.
An additional two exclusive Blessings became available to players who preordered the PlayStation 5 version of the game before March 4, 2025. Further, players can also unlock additional blessings in the Daily Celestial Challenge mode added in update 18.9036, and in the Gauntlet mode added with Heavenly Spear. In the Story mode and Daily Celestial Challenge, Blessings can only be equipped by the human players.
The blessings and their values for the various tiers are:
Gaia's Lashing Roots: Heroes and Legends (except Citizen Heroes) deal Area of Effect damage. (Area of Effect damage in radius 1/2/3/4/5)
Ra's Nourishing Sun: Workers are cheaper. (-15%/-30%/-45%/-60%/-75% cost; does not affect favor cost for Kuafus)
Freyr's Chosen Few: Houses/Manors cost double (still free for Egyptians), spawns the main worker unit for the player's civilization. (Gatherer for Norse, Peasant for Chinese). This spawning disregards the usual 100 (50 for the Atlanteans, 33 for Kuafus) economic population limit. Originally, Kronos' Manors would spawn a free Citizen upon fully completing a Time Shift, although that has since been patched out.[When?]
Odin's Outlaw Wisdom: Special abilities and god powers recharge faster. (-20%/-30%/-40%/-50%/-60% cooldown)
Poseidon's Rushing Tides: Legends and heroes move faster. (+10%/+20%/+30%/+40%/+50%)
Thor's Crashing Thunder: Human soldiers deal additional damage. (+30%/+50%/+70%/+90%/+110%)
Isis' Divine Retinue: Myth units cost less favor. (-20%/-30%/-40%/-50%/-60%)
Kastor's Elite Guard: Start with a larger bodyguard.
- Simple: 2
Murmillones, +5 population per Town Center - Fine: 2
Murmillones, 2
Murmillones (Hero), +15 population per Town Center - Heroic: 2
Murmillones, 2
Murmillones (Hero), 2
Automatons, +30 population per Town Center - Mythical: 2
Murmillones, 2
Murmillones (Hero), 4
Automatons, +45 population per Town Center - Divine: 2
Murmillones, 2
Murmillones (Hero), 4
Automatons, 1
Caladria, +65 population per Town Center
- Simple: 2
Set's Boundless Greed: Human soldiers regenerate hit points when they attack enemy units. (Regenerate by 5%/10%/15%/+20%/+25% of damage dealt). Another variant of this Blessing benefits only infantry.
Hel's Last Promise: Dying myth units explode, damaging nearby enemy units. (Area of Effect dealing 30/50/60/70/80
hack in an radius of 7 (5 for Heroic version), 0.1× vs. heroes)
Hades' Watchful Wiles: Myth units have more hit points. (+25%/+40%/+55%/+70%/+85%)
Zeus' Martial Drills: Human soldiers train faster. (-20%/-30%/-40%/-50%/-60% training time)
Oranos' Primordial Power: God powers are cheaper to recast. (-30%/-40%/-50%/-60%/-70% cost)
Ptah's Secret Tools: Workers gather resources faster. (+5%/+10%/+15%/+20%/+25%)
Kronos' Drowsy Dance: Slows down enemy unit speed near your Legend. (80% movement speed reduction in a radius of 10; does not affect myth units or ships)
Gaia's Last Resort: Spawns 10 Dryads for a cost of 100 wood, 10 favor, 15 seconds, which lose 7 hit points per second, lasting 40 seconds maximum
Loki's Serpentine Wrath: A free Nidhogg spawns at your Temple when you advance to the Mythic Age.
The following Blessings are available from update 18.9036 onwards to be unlocked in the Daily Celestial Challenge event:
Thor's Little Helpers: Dwarves spawn whenever you advance to the next Age. (1/2/3/4/5)
Hephaestus' Wheel Grease: Siege units move faster. (+10%/+20%/+30%/+40%/+50%)
Hermes' Swift Stallions: Cavalry moves faster. (+5%/+10%/+15%/+20%/+25%)
Bast's Crescent Fertility: Town Centers cost less and are built faster. (-10%/-20%/-30%/-40%/-50% cost and build time)
Ullr's Progression Feast: Players get Favor on advancing Age. (+10/+15/+25 / +15/+20/+30 / +20/+25/+40 / +25/+30/+45 / +30/+35/+50)
Set's Sacrificial Food: Dying workers provide food. (3/6/10/15/21 food per worker)
Odin's Swarm Tactics: Barracks, Longhouse, Military Academy, Military Barracks, Military Camp, and Dojo work much faster. (×1.5/×2/×2.5/×3.5/×5 work rate)
Apollo's Rapid-Fire: Ranged units (only
archer unit type) shoot faster. (-10%/-20%/-30%/-40%/-50% reload time)
Sobek's Healing Waters: Units near Temples regain health. (Heals up to 5 targets in range 15 with heal rate increasing across Ages (×0.5 for non-idle targets): +0.15/+0.25/+0.5/+1 / +0.25/+0.5/+1/+2.5 / +0.5/+1/+2.5/+5 / +2.5/+5/+8/+10 / +8/+10/+12/+15)
Athena's Minotaur Muscle: Gain Minotaurs on every Age-up. (1/2/3/4/5 for each Age-up)
Horus' Falcon Sentinels: Town Centers gain massive Line of Sight. (+30/+40/+50/+60/+70 Line of Sight)
Osiris' Chunky Beasts: Herdables fatten faster and can fatten to a higher limit. (Herdable fatten rate: ×2/×2.5/×3/×3.5/×4, maximum food: +200/+250/+300/+350/+400)
Hera's Righteous Wrath: Infantry inflict area damage. (+1.0/+2.0/+3.0/+4.0/+5.0 Area of Effect)
Vidar's Fearsome Villagers: Villagers slow down enemy human units nearby. (-10%/-15%/-20%/-25%/-30% speed)
Ra's Gold Goods: Trade units generate more gold. (+10%/+30%/+60%/+100%/+150% gold from Caravans and Pixius)
Theia's Healthy Horses: Cavalry have more hit points. (+25%/+40%/+55%/+70%/+85%)
Unbreakable Bricks: Buildings have more hit points. (+40%/+65%/+90%/+115%/+140%)
Tyr's Sturdy Torsion Springs: Siege weapons have more hit points. (+25%/+50%/+75%/+100%/+125%)
Bast's Generous Myth Units: Myth units cost less gold. (-20%/-40%/-60%/-80%/-100%)
Osiris' Camelry Concessions: Cavalry cost less gold. (-20%/-40%/-60%/-80%/-100%)
Kronos' Time Savings: Buildings are constructed faster. (-20%/-30%/-40%/-50%/-60%)
Bifröst's Watchtowers: Towers are cheaper. (-20%/-30%/-40%/-50%/-60%)
Thracian Hunger: Cavalry regenerate hit points when they attack enemy units. (5%/10%/15%/20%/25% Lifesteal)
Crimson Myth Units: Myth units regenerate hit points when they attack enemy units. (5%/10%/15%/20%/25% Lifesteal)
Prometheus' Standardization: Infantry buildings train units and research upgrades faster. (×2/×2.5/×3.5/×5/×7.5 work rate for Military Academies, Barracks, Longhouses, Military Barracks, Military Camps, and Dojos)
Aphrodite's Potion of Strength: Villagers have more hit points and inflict more damage. (+25%/+50%/+75%/+100%/+125% attack and hit points)
Njord's Rune of Myth Vigor: Myth units are bigger and stronger, but also cost slightly more.
- Simple: +10% hit points, +10% attack, +10% size, +5% movement speed, +10% cost
- Fine: +20% hit points, +20% attack, +10% size, +5% movement speed, +15% cost
- Heroic: +30% hit points, +30% attack, +10% size, +5% movement speed, +20% cost
- Mythical: +40% hit points, +40% attack, +10% size, +5% movement speed, +25% cost
- Divine: +50% hit points, +50% attack, +10% size, +5% movement speed, +30% cost
Loki's Skillful Scions: Melee cavalry inflict area damage. (+0.5/+1.0/+1.5/+2.0/+2.5 Area of Effect)
Thoth's Rich Knowledge: Each researched technology provides Gold. (20/30/40/50/60 gold per technology)
Baldr's Wooden Pyre: Norse Dwarves also generate favor while gathering wood. (0.025/0.05/0.075/0.1/0.125 favor per second)
Horus' Vengeance: Myth units inflict more damage the higher their favor cost is. (20%/30%/40%/50%/60% favor cost as extra damage for all attack types)
Hyperion's Heroes: Infantry deal bonus damage to myth units. (+0.2×/+0.4×/+0.6×/+0.8×/+1× attack multiplier vs.
myth units)
Hermes' Horse Hydromel: Cavalry charge up energy when idle, for a temporary movement speed burst. (+1.5%/+3%/+5%/+7.5%/+10% per second for a maximum of 10 seconds of being idle, decays while non-idle at 2.5% per second)
Demeter's Berry Cultivation: Workers gather from Berry Bushes faster. Every Granary, Ox Cart, Manor, Silo, and Watermill spawns a Berry Bush when built. (+5%/+10%/+15%/+20%/+25% Berry Bush gather rate)
Hel's Myth Rampage: Myth units move faster as they lose hit points. (+0.2%/+0.3%/+0.4%/+0.5%/+0.6% speed for every 1% hit points lost)
Pan's Entourage: Start each match with some Goats. (Start with +4/6/8/10/12 Goats near the Town Center)
Athena's Aegis Infantry: Infantry have more hit points. (+25%/+40%/+55%/+70%/+85%)- Blessing rewards since October 2025 have not been recorded.
The following two Heroic-tier Blessings were granted only to PlayStation 5 players who purchased the Premium Edition:
Heimdall's Stronghold Abundance: Fortress-type buildings are cheaper. (-40% cost)
Ares' Myth Sacrifice: Dying myth units refund part of their favor cost. (40% favor cost returned)
The following Eternal-tier Blessings are unlockable in the Gauntlet mode:
In the Gauntlet game mode, Blessing Events can apply to both human players and the AI enemies; the timers for the next Player Blessing Event and Enemy Blessing Event are shown in the bottom right of the screen, above the Chaos Event timer. The following Simple-tier Blessings can only be granted to a player via a Blessing Event during a game in Gauntlet mode:
World Twists[]
World Twists are predetermined settings or events which are displayed before starting the game. They can change the rules of the game and affect every player in the scenario, including in Story mode and Daily Celestial Challenge:
Gaia's Remnants of Atlantis (Celestial Remnants of Atlantis): Gaia spawns reinforcements across the map. Complete objectives to unfreeze them from Kronos' grasp.
- Objectives can vary per scenario, selecting from the following:
- The frozen units can consist of the following:
- Once an objective has been fulfilled, the player must send their Legend (any hero unit in the case of Celestial Remnants of Atlantis) over to the frozen units to unfreeze them. They will benefit from most general technologies and/or god bonuses that apply to their unit types (e.g. Argi costing -1 population space under Zeus).
Thoth's Divine Wisdom: Thoth doubles the effect of all god technologies.
Freyja's Second Ride: Freyja makes infantry units spawn when cavalry falls in battle, but makes them more expensive to train.
- Cavalry (includes mounted archers but excludes Tiger Cavalry) +50% all resource cost
- Greek cavalry death →
Hoplite - Migdol Stronghold unit death →
Axeman
Mercenary Cavalry death →
Mercenary
Jarl death →
Huskarl
Raiding Cavalry death →
Berserk
Turma death →
Murmillo
Turma (Hero) death →
Murmillo (Hero)
Contarius death →
Katapeltes
Contarius (Hero) death →
Katapeltes (Hero)
White Horse Cavalry death →
Ge Halberdier
Naginata Rider and
Yumi Horse Archer death →
Yari Spearman
Daimyo death → two
Yari Spearmen
Shogun death →
Onna-musha- The untrainable
Kataskopos does not spawn any unit upon death.
Prometheus' Secret Knowledge: Prometheus grants early access to a slowly constructing titan gate, but villagers are much less effective. (Auto-built at a rate of 3, builders take 4 times as long as normally. In Deathmatch, the god power being available at the start of the game overrides its pre-use cooldown that occurs once the Mythic Age is reached)
Kronos' Time Vortex: Kronos' allies from the past rally and attack any gods and their followers trying to stop his plans.
Athena's Vanguard Heroism: Athena removes favor cost from heroes and makes them inspire allies upon death. (when a hero dies, nearby human soldiers, heroes, and non-Titan myth units in a radius of 7 have doubled attack for 10 seconds)
Aphrodite's Rite of Flourishing: Aphrodite slows down villager train time and increases cost, but multiplies all villagers after a while. (Doubled train time, +50% cost including favor for Kuafus, villagers doubled after 10 minutes since game start, train time and cost both return to normal after doubling occurs)
Horus' Ancestral Protection: Horus resurrects all units once from death after a while, but they have reduced hit points. (-50% hit points, respawn 30 seconds after death. Animals, herdables, and revivable heroes are also affected by the hit point reduction, but do not make use of the respawning mechanic)
Hel's Mythic Frenzy: Hel gives all myth units double hit points and removes favor cost, but they are trained at half speed. (Myth units have +100% hit points and -100% favor cost, but +100% training time. The latter does not apply to Japanese myth units)
Freyr's Harsh Weather: Freyr's influence over the seasons as the weather gets harsher and harsher. (Spring has faster human unit production (-50% training time for villagers and human soldiers), summer has Forest Fires, autumn has faster villager resource gathering (food collected twice as fast), winter randomly freezes units)
Loki's Harsh Weather: Loki has taken over Freyr's seasons. It is getting darker and colder for longer. (Adds dark winter - human units -30% speed, myth units +30% speed)- Loki/Freyr's Harsh Weather: After scenario 15, the weather change adds two new winters: Snowy winter, which adds a favor trickle; and Mighty winter, which spawns hostile-to-all Fimbulwinter Wolves near all players' Town Centers. The frequency of the three new winters appearing is also increased.
Legends[]
Legends are special heroes that the player starts with in the Story and Gauntlet modes of Arena of the Gods. They are revivable, like campaign heroes, and can pick up Relics from the start of the game, without requiring a Temple to be built first. In Story mode, the only available Legend initially is Kastor, who by default is accompanied by a retinue of three Murmilliones; other Legends likewise spawn with units thematic for their civilization. Players can unlock additional Legends by completing Labyrinths in Gauntlet mode, which can be equipped before each scenario, similar to Blessings. They can also be used in Story mode and Daily Celestial Challenge, though equipping one will take the place of a Blessing. All Legends also increase the population cap by +5 and allow advancing to the Classical Age quickly and for free.
Selecting a Legend in the Gauntlet
Equipping three Legends at once in Daily Celestial Challenge
The obtainable Legends and their starting bodyguard units are:
Amanra (3 Axemen)
Chiyou (3 Dao Swordsmen)
Circe (3 Hoplites)
King Folstag (3 Berserks)
Gargarensis (3 Hoplites)
King Halogi (2 Berserks)
Kamos (3 Hoplites)
Nüchou (3 Dao Swordsmen and 2 Peasants)
Reginleif (3 Berserks)
Setna (3 Axemen)
Theris (3 Axemen)
Yan Feifeng (3 Dao Swordsmen)
Story mode[]
The Story mode (referred to simply as Arena of the Gods before Heavenly Spear) follows Kastor as he battles against the forces of Kronos and Loki, with the guidance and occaisional assistance of Gaia.
The scenarios are not static, but change like random map skirmishes with new generations every time and can feature World Twists. Blessings earned in a Gateway (scenario) can be used in any other Gateway, or the same one if replaying.
After the tutorial Gateways (first 5 scenarios, playable only as Gaia), the game mode becomes mostly non-linear. For example, after Gateway 5, the player gets the option to play as a non-Gaia major god and choose among two different Gateways. Completing one Gateway unlocks two more; completing both offers the choice of a total of three more scenarios. So, while the game mode has 35 scenarios in total, they are all numbered between one and twenty.
The difficulty levels in the Arena of the Gods campaign are not the same as in standard campaigns:
Scenarios[]
| # | Map | Player civ. | Co-op with AI | Team 2 | Team 3 | Team 4 | World Twist 1 | World Twist 2 | Reward | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Highland | Yes - |
||||||||
| 2 | Watering Hole | Yes - |
||||||||
| 3 | Kerlaugar | Yes - |
||||||||
| 4 | Alfheim | Yes - |
||||||||
| 5 | Acropolis | No | ||||||||
| 6 | A | Black Sea | Any | No | ||||||
| B | Blue Lagoon | Any | No | |||||||
| 7 | A | Ironwood | Any | No | ||||||
| B | Mirkwood | Any | No | |||||||
| C | Marsh | Any | No | |||||||
| 8 | A | Gold Rush | Any | No | ||||||
| B | Gold Rush | Any | No | |||||||
| 9 | A | Elysium | Any | No | ||||||
| B | Mount Olympus | Any | No | |||||||
| C | Mount Olympus | Any | Yes - |
|||||||
| 10 | Arena | No | ||||||||
| 11 | Anatolia | Yes - |
||||||||
| 12 | A | Mirkwood | Any | No | ||||||
| B | Mirkwood | Any | No | |||||||
| 13 | A | Ironwood | Any | No | ||||||
| B | Marsh | Any | No | |||||||
| C | Tundra | Any | No | |||||||
| 14 | A | Muspellheim | Any | No | ||||||
| B | Anatolia | Any | No | |||||||
| 15 | Tundra | Yes - |
||||||||
| 16 | A | Kerlaugar | Any | No | ||||||
| B | Kerlaugar | Any | Yes - |
|||||||
| C | Kerlaugar | Any | No | |||||||
| 17 | A | Midgard | Any | No | ||||||
| B | Midgard | Any | No | |||||||
| 18 | A | Jotunheim | Any | No | ||||||
| B | Jotunheim | Any | No | |||||||
| 19 | A | Ghost Lake | Any | No | ||||||
| B | Ghost Lake | Any | No | |||||||
| 20 | Midgard | Yes - |
||||||||
- Notes
- Scenarios which do not have alternatives (A/B/C), that is, which are mandatory:
- The major god cannot be changed.
- They start with a cutscene and use dialogues, just like in campaigns.
- They may start in an Age later than the Archaic Age.
- Scenarios which have alternatives (A/B/C):
- Any major god can be chosen.
- They do not have any cutscenes or dialogues.
- They play out like skirmish games with variations.
- The Classical Age upgrade is free and researched much more quickly.
- However, due to a bug, if the player selected Freyr as their major god, advancing to the Classical Age through Ullr would still cost 400 food and be researched at a normal speed. This was fixed in update 17.64528.
- Players starts with Kastor (Legend) and some Murmillo bodyguards.
- Completing scenarios in both Story mode and Gauntlet can unlock additional Legends and bodyguard units at the start of the game.
- Players can benefit from World Twists as well as the Blessings they earned previously.
- All scenarios can be played in co-op mode. However, if the player does not get a human teammate, the scenario offers an AI teammate to help. The AI's civilization cannot be changed. In co-op mode, the first player's color is blue while the second's is green.
- If played in co-op, an extra enemy will also appear (e.g. Loki in 19A and 19B).
- Scenarios cannot be saved to be reloaded later. Each scenario must be completed in one go.
- The scenarios of Arena of the Gods are considered multiplayer matches, so cheat codes are disabled, there is a limited number of pauses (15) available in each scenario, and the player will be returned to the main menu if their Internet connection is disrupted. In update 17.64528, the limitation of pauses was removed, so players can pause and unpause any number of times at will when playing it as single-player.
- If the player does not own New Gods Pack: Freyr, the major god may be changed to Zeus.
- Scenario 9A uses the Deathmatch settings rather than the standard Supremacy settings.
- Scenario 10 features a Sudden Death-like fail condition: the player must not lose their starting Town Center or the scenario will be failed. Likewise, no extra Town Centers spawn on the map other than the one belonging to one of the enemy players.
Gauntlet[]
Cover art of the Gauntlet
A run of the Gauntlet
The Gauntlet game mode was introduced alongside the Heavenly Spear expansion. Players run through a series of increasingly difficult skirmish games or "nodes", called a "Labyrinth", with randomized game modes, victory settings, World Twists, and rewards. Players can choose the difficulty setting at the start (which cannot be changed during the run), as well as one starter Blessing earned in Story mode or Daily Celestial Challenge. The difficulty setting cannot be changed during the run. The player can also enable the options to reduce the number of Deathmatch and Lightning nodes relative to Standard ones. The player has three "lives" during the run, which are depleted each time a game is lost or quit; losing all three lives will end the run, resetting all nodes and forcing the player to start over. Unlike Story mode, each node can only be completed once and alternate nodes are locked out, forcing players to plan ahead to determine their route. The "boss" node is visible from the start, showing the map settings and final reward, which is another Legend to be unlocked. In each run, the player passes through 9 nodes, picking up appropriate Blessings for their playstyle along the way to finally beat the final boss at the 10th node, which is usually a 1v3 or 1v4 match. The latter is even more likely to occur on higher difficulty settings.
In addition to the starter Blessing, the player earns additional Blessings after each game in a run. These Blessings are reset with every run of the Gauntlet, with the exception of special Eternal Blessings won after defeating the boss of each run and those that were earned in Story mode, which are always added to the player's Blessing inventory even after a reset. In addition to Blessings, the player can choose between different Legends (heroes) before starting each game, with only Kastor unlocked at the start, and new Legends unlocked after each Labyrinth completed.
In-game tutorial screen for the Favor Stash
Players also contribute favor to their Favor Stash upon completing a game, which can be claimed in blocks of 50 or 500 at a time in both standard games and Arena of the Gods by clicking the
Favor Stash! icon at the Market, for up to 1,000 favor. Favor that is claimed but not spent is lost when the match ends. The Favor Stash can also be used to buy enhancements, called "Favor Items", that last the duration of the game, with more enhancements being unlocked by increasing the player's level. Higher difficulty levels grant additional XP for winning a game, allowing for faster level-ups. A maximum of 10,000 favor favor can be stored in the stash, which is increased by 500 favor for every five levels attained by the player.
The following difficulty settings grant multipliers to XP gained upon winning a game:
Favor Stash leveling up
- Standard: ×1
- Moderate: ×1.5
- Hard: ×2
- Titan: ×[What?]
- Extreme: ×[What?]
- Legendary: ×8
Unlike the other game modes for Arena of the Gods, enemies can also benefit from Blessings, these being randomly assigned at set intervals during the game. Likewise, the player and their allies will also be randomly assigned additional Blessings at set intervals. Finally, in addition to World Twists, the nodes also feature "Chaos Events" spawned by Mother Nature that impact all players, such as devastating god powers which target their bases (e.g. Thunder Burst, Earthquake), or "Enemy Incursions" of hostile myth units from all pantheons. A timer for each of these events is shown in the HUD to the left of the mini map. Playing on higher difficulty settings can result in enemies receiving stronger Blessings and "Chaos Events" spawning more destructive god powers or myth units, including Titans.
Favor Items[]
The following Favor Items can be purchased at the Market in exchange for favor from the player's Favor Stash (not from the player's in-game favor stockpile):
| Favor Item | Cost | Description | Unlock requirement | Available since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rapid Repair | For the next 45 seconds your economic units will repair much faster and appear larger. Worker units repair ×3 faster for 45 seconds; they also increase in size by 50% |
Level 5 | Release | |
| All Mine | Spawn a small number of additional gold mines randomly around the map. | Level 10 | Release | |
| Advanced Scouting | Reveal enemy Town Centers for a short time. | Level 15 | Release | |
| Anti-Chaos Fortification | Double building hitpoints for 30 seconds. | Level 20 | Release | |
| Hire a Buddy | Summon a random buddy to help you in the fight. Summons a random myth unit, which can be one of any pantheon. |
Level 25 | Release | |
| Rapid Prayer | Immediately activate your next blessing or resource gift from the gods. Note: This Favor Item can only be redeemed and used during a Gauntlet game. |
Level 35 | Release | |
| Hire a Titan | Summon a Titan to help you in the fight. Summons a random Titan, which can be one of any pantheon. |
Level 45 | Release | |
| Exchange Scout Program | Summon a random scout unit. Summons a random scout unit, which can be one of any pantheon. |
Level 50 | Update 18.52475 | |
| Fortified Perimeter | Spawns Fortified Sentinels at all your controlled Town Centers. | Level 55 | Update 18.52475 | |
| Mythic Rejuvenation | For a short time your units are healed and buildings are repaired near each of your Town Centers. | Level 60 | Update 18.52475 | |
| Bountiful Trickle | Gain a small quantity of all resource types over time. | Level 65 | Update 18.52475 | |
| Glutton for Chaos | Trigger the next Chaos Event. | Level 70 | Update 18.52475 | |
| More Spice Please | Triggers the next Enemy Blessing Event; can only be used during a Gauntlet game. | Level 75 | Update 18.56738 | |
| House Renovation | Increase the player's population cap for each House, Manor, Settlement, and Citadel Center they control. Each of these buildings also gains additional hit points. | Level 80 | Update 18.56738 |
Chaos Events[]
The following Chaos Events occur randomly at preset intervals in the game (shown in the Gauntlet Event UI):
- Enemy Incursion: Spawns land and flying myth units hostile to all around the map.
- Classical Age myth units have twice the chance to appear as other units.
- Classical Age myth units spawn in groups of 1 to 3.
- Heroic Age myth units spawn in groups of 1 to 2.
- Mythic Age myth units always spawn as single units.
- Titans of any pantheon can spawn on Legendary difficulty.
- Caladriae do not number among the possible myth unit spawns.
- Rage of Zeus: Invokes a modified version of
Lightning Storm over all players' Town Centers, dealing 16
divine damage per hit. - Fault Line: Invokes a modified version of
Earthquake on all players' Town Centers. - Winds of Fate: Invokes a modified version of
Tornado on all players' Town Centers. - Meteor Storm: Invokes a modified version of
Meteor on all players' Town Centers. - Beats of Thunder: Invokes a modified version of
Thunder Burst on all players' Town Centers. - Children of Nidhogg: Spawns Children of Nidhogg, weaker versions of the Nidhogg that are hostile to all.
The following Chaos Events were added to Gauntlet mode with update 18.52475:
- Insect Invasion: Invokes a modified version of
Pestilence at every Town Center on the map for 25 seconds. - Dank Chaos: Invokes a modified version of
Swampland in multiple large areas around the map. - Conscription of the Peasants: All players gain one or more additional worker units at each of their Town Centers.
- Cluck-Cluck-BOOM!: Spawns large numbers of exploding Methane Chickens across the map.
The following were added with update 18.56738:
- That's No Moon…: An Eclipse changes the sky while some ancient weapon wielders run amok. (Invokes a modified version of
Eclipse and spawns Shinobi Wan Kenobi across the map.) - Hades' Monkeys: Flaming monkeys have been sent by Hades to cause some chaos. (Spawns Flaming Monkeys hostile to all around the map.)
- Rebellious Humans: Mother Nature has gained human soldiers to aid her. (Spawns human soldiers around the map that are hostile to all. The human soldiers spawned can be from any pantheon.)
- Calm Before the Storm: Suspends hostilities for a short time before throwing in some new chaos. (Invokes a modified version of
Ceasefire for 15 seconds. After that duration, a random Chaos Event immediately occurs.)
Strategy[]
Each node in the Gauntlet has one of three types of starting conditions (Standard, Lightning, and Deathmatch) and one of four types of victory conditions (Conquest/Settlement, Regicide, King of the Hill, and Sudden Death), and is also affected by various World Twists. The maps can also differ significantly in layout and player position. Depending on these factors, players should choose the right combination of major god, Legend, Blessings, and play style.
Typically, it is a powerful strategy to rush the enemy with the Legend and starting units, kill their workers, and prevent them from being a threat if not outright destroying them. This is even more vital in Lightning matches. In Deathmatch, the enemy will be able to have an army out and replenish losses quickly, so the player should also get a powerful army out before trying to take on the enemy. In Standard, the player can choose to rush if playing a 1v3 or 1v4 match, to reduce the number of fully-boomed opponents later, or boom themselves and overwhelm the enemy.
In King of the Hill nodes on higher difficulties, the Plenty Vault is guarded by weaker Titans and some Shades belonging to Mother Nature. Players can try to rush the enemy bases first as the enemies themselves will try to secure the Plenty Vault. The Vault can be captured by luring the Titan away with other units, which the AI may also manage to do inadvertently. The player must keep the timer in mind and make sure to break AI control of the Vault periodically until they can entrench themselves at the Vault and defend it for the whole countdown.
Not all Legends are equal, with the general community consensus elevating Halogi as the best available Legend due to his attributes allowing him to take on enemy bases at the start all by himself. If choosing to focus on the Legend, the choice of major and minor gods can have a great impact, but will be secondary to powerful Legend-focused Blessings like Gaia's Lashing Roots and Kronos' Drowsy Dance. Major gods like Freyr and Fuxi and their minor gods have myth technologies which improve all heroes, while Egyptian major gods have no myth technologies for heroes generally, and only buffs for Pharaohs and Priests specifically.
World Twists like Thoth's Divine Wisdom benefit myth technologies, which can power up the Legend and heroes even further. As Legend benefits are often shared with heroes, going for powerful hero major gods is a good choice in most cases, such as Loki, Freyr, Fuxi, etc. A very powerful combination is a strong Legend rush combined with Amaterasu's Solar Shield, rendering the Legend nearly unkillable. If the player has the Odin's Outlaw Wisdom Blessing, the god power can be used successively (as long as the player has favor) to elevate the Legend to actual invulnerability, while also allowing them to use their charged ability more often. Susanoo benefits most strongly from the Odin's Outlaw Wisdom and Oranos' Primordial Power Blessings thanks to his bonuses that reduce unit ability recharge time and allow invocation of a god power to make other god powers cheaper to recast, as well as access to the minor god Raijin, whose Den Den Drums technology further reduces god power reuse costs.
When playing with the Hel's Mythic Frenzy World Twist, the player's myth units gain a large boost to their hit points and can be trained without spending any favor, but they will take twice as long to train. As such, when training a lot of myth units, it is viable to activate Blessings that focus on improving myth units, such as Hades' Watchful Wiles and Odin's Outlaw Wisdom, the former boosting myth unit hit points and the latter reducing recharge time for all units' abilities. Major gods that focus on myth units, such as Shennong, Susanoo, and Loki, are viable, as are minor gods whose improvements benefit myth units, namely Zhurong, Fūjin, and Hel. These can be combined with the Thoth's Divine Wisdom World Twist to further improve myth units.
If the World Twist is Aphrodite's Rite of Flourishing, Egyptians can achieve a powerful boom by spawning Laborers for free with the Freyr's Chosen Few Blessing. The construction time of the Houses can be reduced by choosing Ra as the major god, building and empowering a Monument, then building Houses in the Monument's aura. This is helped further by choosing a Norse-themed Legend which provides three Berserks to build the Houses quickly.
If the World Twist Prometheus' Secret Knowledge is active, players should place the Titan Gate foundation a bit away from their Town Center, to avoid it getting damaged by Chaos Event-induced god powers like Meteors and Earthquakes. When Enemy Incursion Chaos Events occur, players should task their heroes, ranged myth units, and buildings to target the wild myth units manually, as units do not automatically attack Mother Nature units without being attacked themselves, which can lead to great losses if the wild units come across the player's workers, distant buildings, and the unbuilt Titan Gate. While Mythic Age myth units spawned this way always appear alone, they should never be underestimated, especially flying ones like the Qinglong and Phoenix. Likewise, the player should also watch out for anti-building myth units like Taowus, Asuras, and Scarabs as they can easily destroy one of their Town Centers if they are not paying attention.
Chinese players can use the Horus' Ancestral Protection World Twist to their advantage by having their Sages charm enemy myth units. Afterwards, the "mirror images" created by the Sages will be revived as if they were regular myth units, thus allowing myth units from other pantheons to fall under control of the Chinese player. Likewise, the Atlanteans can also use this World Twist to their advantage by massing large numbers of Prometheans and Automatons and using the Hel's Last Promise Blessing. Even when the mass-produced Prometheans and Automatons die, they will still do damage to nearby enemies, thinning them out. The dead Prometheans will spawn Promethean Offspring that will continue to fight independently of their originator, while the dead Automatons can be repaired. Just before the World Twist resurrects said units 30 seconds after their first death, the player can continue training more copies of them and end up with an even bigger army after the units are resurrected.
The AI enemies in each node have various personalities. Players can choose to disregard weaker personalities (i.e. Passive) and attack certain dangerous combinations first, such as Greek Overwhelmers or Egyptian Economists, before they develop fully.
Badges[]
Example of badges earned
Players can earn badges by completing Gauntlet nodes or full runs while satisfying certain conditions. Up to three earned badges can be assigned in the user's profile screen accessed from the drop-down menu on the top-right. These badges are visible to others who check the player's profile in multiplayer lobbies and other places.
Daily Celestial Challenge[]
The Daily Celestial Challenge features new random map scenarios daily. The player can receive rewards after completing all daily challenges in a set of five, with the rewards being new Blessings usable in all Arena of the Gods game modes. Likewise, any Blessings unlocked in Story mode or Gauntlet can be used in the Daily Celestial Challenges. However, unlike in Story mode, where the player can choose the AI difficulty setting, Daily Celestial Challenges are locked to Moderate AI difficulty
Challenge rewards[]
In the Daily Celestial Challenge, players can obtain the following Blessings for completing sets of scenarios:
Since update 18.56738, playing daily in the Daily Celestial Challenge will now reward the player a small quantity of Favor Stash currency depending on their performance. The Blessings continue to be awarded every few days for continued participation. The player will now also gain a small bonus when their final rank for the previous day is announced:
| Rank and score requirement | Favor Stash currency reward |
|---|---|
| Ranked at 10 or higher on the daily leaderboard with a score of more than 0 | 600 Favor Stash currency |
| Ranked at 500 or higher on the daily leaderboard with a score of more than 0 | 400 Favor Stash currency |
| Any rank below 500 on the daily leaderboard with a score of more than 0 | 300 Favor Stash currency |
| Score of 0 | 100 Favor Stash currency |
Trivia[]
- There are many Blessings and World Twists defined in the game files that are presently unused in the game mode.
- Prior to update 18.52475, the cavalry to infantry conversion mechanic of the Freyja's Second Ride World Twist did not affect Chinese and Japanese cavalry units, despite the higher cost effect applying to them.
- The term used for a playthrough in this game mode is a Labyrinth, and several badges earned in the Gauntlet mode are themed on the Minotaur, referring to the Minoan labyrinth where the Minotaur was imprisoned.
- Story mode
- The player can complete the story mode by completing just 19 scenarios. This is achieved by completing scenario 7C, after which the player advances to scenario 9C, since there is no equivalent scenario 8C.
- All scenarios that have no alternatives are mandatory. These include all scenarios with god portraits, and scenarios 5 and 11, which have the Acropolis and Anatolia map icons as their portrait, respectively.
- With the exceptions of scenarios 5 and 11, all scenarios which have map icons allow choosing a major god.
- Due to a bug, the scenario select screen lists scenario 5's enemy major god as Odin instead of Kronos.
- The game and achievements uses these terminologies for this game mode: Gateway to refer to a single scenario, Large Gateway to refer to the last scenarios in each screen, and Episode to refer to the whole series of scenarios (with this first release being labeled as "Legends Awaken").
Gallery[]
References[]
| Game modes in the Age of Empires series | |
|---|---|
| Main | Campaign (II) · Multiplayer · Random map · Deathmatch · Lightning · Regicide · Nomad · Co-op (Arena of the Gods) · D3 · Free-for-all · The Crucible |
| Additional | Battle Royale · Capture the Relic · Defend the Wonder · Dominion · Empire Wars · Historical map · King of the Hill · Sudden Death · Treaty · Turbo Random Map · Tycoon · Wonder Race |
| Limited time | Chaotic Climate · Chart a Course · Conqueror’s Cache · Full Moon · Map Monsters · Season's Feast |






















































