Atacama is a random map in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Lords of the West and Age of Empires IV. It is based on the Atacama desert in South America.
Age of Empires II[]
| “ | This barren desert is unlikely to quench anyone's thirst, but with its occupants' unrelenting search, its aridity soon gives way to lush trees the deeper one goes. | ” |
Description[]
Atacama is an open desert-like map with an unusual distribution of resources. In the central circle area, there are medium-sized forests and few other resources. Outside the central circle, there are plentiful resources, except for trees, which only generate in small groups. Similarly to Gold Rush, controlling and denying the opponents access to the valuable resources in the center can create a significant advantage.
With the woodlines outside of the center being so small, players can try to find two or more that are close enough together to justify building a Lumber Camp on them, and building Lumber Camps on the larger woodlines in the center of the map. Taking the central woodlines requires walking too far away from the Town Center to receive reliable protection from raids.
Available resources[]
Starting resources[]
| Resource | Quantity per unit | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 8 Sheep OR 6 Cows | 100 food OR 150 food | 800 food OR 900 food |
| 2 Boars OR 2 Rhinos/Elephants | 340 food OR 400 food | 680 food OR 800 food |
| 6 Forage Bushes | 125 food | 750 food |
| 4 Deer | 140 food | 560 food |
| 1 7-tile Gold Mine | 800 gold | 5,600 gold |
| 2 4-tile Gold Mines | 800 gold | 6,400 gold |
| 1 5-tile Stone Mine | 350 stone | 1,750 stone |
| 1 4-tile Stone Mine | 350 stone | 1,400 stone |
Additional resources on 2-player maps[]
| Resource | Location |
|---|---|
| 3-tile Gold Mines | 1 pile at a distance from each player |
| 2-tile Stone | 1 pile at a distance from each player |
Similar maps[]
Age of Empires IV[]
| “ | Even the strongest warlords will be tested by the harsh and exposed conditions of the Atacama Desert. | ” |
Atacama is a random map in Age of Empires IV: The Sultans Ascend introduced in Season Nine. It is an open land map with sparse woodlines around a large central forest.
Features[]
On Atacama, players start in the basic ring arrangement around the large central forest. The map is otherwise fairly generic and open in terms of features, with no elevation features and only a few cosmetic ponds around the edge of the map. The two Sacred Sites spawn between teams and can be at any distance from the forest, while the two Trade Posts always spawn along the southwest and northeast map edges, typically closer to the center. Relics spawn along the outside of the map, and can be either between teams or behind them.
Resources[]
Outside of the central forest, wood is extremely sparse and players start next to only a couple small woodlines. In addition to the standard starting stone, gold, and berries, players also start with a medium Deer pack within their Capital Town Center range, and the large Deer pack and Boar are not far away. Second gold and stones and can be a bit farther away than on other maps, at similar distances to each player's large Berry Bush patch. From here, the rest of the contested resources are spread evenly around the map. Gold and stone are more limited due to the lack of large nodes, and the ponds do not feature any fish.
Trivia[]
Gallery[]
![Real world location of the Atacama Desert[2]](/wiki/File:Atacama_map.png "Atacama map.png (194 KB)")
References[]
- ↑ "Inspired by Atacama originally made by Mr ED" — Comment in the map's .rms file.
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atacama_Desert
