Civilization (Age of Mythology)

This article is about the civilizations in Age of Mythology. For the civilizations in the other games of the series, see Civilization.

Age of Mythology features three distinct civilizations (also officially termed as cultures or pantheons^{[note 1]} to avoid confusion with the major gods): Greeks, Egyptians, and Norse. The Atlanteans are added with The Titans. The Chinese were added to the Extended Edition with Tale of the Dragon.

Retold scraps the Tale of the Dragon Chinese at release, and reworks them later with Immortal Pillars. In addition, one as of yet unknown pantheon will be added in a second expansion pack.

Each civilization in the game has a unique gameplay style, as well as distinct buildings, units, sounds, and models. Each civilization also has a host of unique myth units, myth technologies, and god powers that they receive from their chosen gods.

Greeks[]

Main article: Greeks (Age of Mythology)

The Greeks are the starting faction in the Age of Mythology campaign and are the easiest to get used to using as they are most similar to the factions of other Age of Empires games. They have very powerful and unique heroes from their myths which are strong and immune to several Myth unit special attacks. A Greek player can only have four heroes present on the map at a time.

Economy[]

The basic Villager builds and gathers resources as well as worshiping at a Temple to gain the favor of the gods.

Military[]

Greek soldiers are stronger but more expensive than those of other civilizations, with more limited options for healing. The different unit types all have their own military building and each major god gets a unique unit, trained from the Fortress.

Society[]

Society is led by heroes, unique named figures of myth who have greater power to make up for their lesser numbers. In the campaigns, generals like Arkantos, Agamemnon, and Melagius, and even sorcerers like Circe, lead Greek cities and armies.

Worship[]

Gain favor by assigning Villagers to worship at a constructed Temple.

Egyptians[]

Main article: Egyptians (Age of Mythology)

The Egyptians are played in the second phase of the campaign. Egyptians have the advantage of mobile, non-god-specific healing through their Priests and Pharaohs.

Economy[]

Basic Villager unit builds and gathers resources. Their drop-off point buildings, as well as other non-military buildings, are free. Buildings that are not free cost gold instead of wood.

Military[]

Two types of non-siege military units, trained from Barracks and Migdol Strongholds. Barracks units are cheap but weak and are purely counter units, while Migdol Stronghold units are more expensive but a lot more effective. They make use of exotic animals such as Camels and Elephants as well as Chariots.

Society[]

The Pharaoh is the ruler of Egypt. He can heal, attack myth units from a distance, and visit buildings to empower them, increasing their work and firing rate. Priests are spiritual leaders who can perform some of the Pharaoh's duties, but weaker, while being effective against myth units and weak in combat against human soldiers.

Worship[]

They gain favor as a trickle by building Monuments. The Egyptians can build five Monuments, each more expensive than the previous one.

Norse[]

Main article: Norse

The Norse are very distinct from other Age of Mythology civilizations and can take some getting used to. Their emphasis on mobility and offense is truly in the Viking spirit.

Economy[]

The Norse have two kinds of villagers: Gatherers and Dwarves. Dwarves are very good at mining but not as good as Gatherers at other tasks. Ox Carts serve as portable drop points for resources. Buildings (except for Farms and Houses) are built by foot soldiers instead of villagers.

Military[]

Norse units are strong offensively, but weak on defense. Because foot soldiers construct buildings, Norse can quickly build a forward base or occupy enemy territory without bringing vulnerable civilians into dangerous places.

Society[]

The Norse are led by Hersirs, Godis, Thanes, and Jarls. Hersirs and Godis are heroes while Jarls are powerful cavalry. Thanes are not featured as units, but are referenced in the Hall of Thanes myth technology.

Worship[]

Gain favor by killing enemies and animals, with heroes earning more favor than regular units. This makes favor gain somewhat unreliable, so it must be used wisely. Hersirs and Godis generate favor passively too, so it is advised to have a good amount of them.

Atlanteans[]

Main article: Atlanteans

The Atlanteans are technologically advanced. Their units, both military and civilian, are powerful but expensive.

Economy[]

Atlantean villagers, Citizens, do not need to return to a building to drop off resources and are far more effective at gathering. However, each unit is more expensive.

Military[]

They have several general purpose troops and a greater number of specialized troops who are best used against specific enemy types. They are also backed up with powerful myth units, but not as strong as those of the Greeks or Egyptians. Human soldiers can be upgraded to hero status at a significant cost, making them more powerful and effective against myth units.

Society[]

The Atlantean leader is the theocrat. At the time of the Fall of the Trident campaign, the Atlantean theocrat is Krios and by the end of The New Atlantis campaign, Kastor is granted the role by Arkantos.

Worship[]

Worship the Titans, defeated long ago in the Titanomachy by Zeus and other gods. Their major gods are Kronos, Oranos, and Gaia. Favor is gained by meditating with Oracles since Retold (holding Town Centers before Retold) to spread Atlantean influence.

In the Fall of the Trident campaign, they worshiped the Greek god Poseidon, but after their patron deity turned his back on them, they found themselves abandoned, eventually finding a renewed pantheon in the Titans that they used to worship in the distant past.

Chinese (Immortal Pillars)[]

Main article: Chinese (Immortal Pillars)

Economy[]

Their workers are the Peasants, which are cheap but work poorly, and the Kuafus, giants who excel at everything. They build Silos to drop off all three basic resources.

Military[]

Early Chinese military units consist of foot soldiers in specialized roles, with general purpose and stronger options unlocking only in the third and fourth Ages. Their heroes are fewer but stronger than massable heroes of other civilizations.

Society[]

The Chinese society is led by the Emperor. In Pillars of the Gods, the Yellow Emperor Huangdi led China to a new era of peace and prosperity, for which he ascended from mortality to godhood. The player plays as part of his empire to oppose the warlord Huang Zhaowu.

Worship[]

The Chinese gain favor by expanding their area of influence called Favored Land. The Favored Land expands only when it connects to the influence of other buildings which eventually connect to any Town or Village Center.

Chinese (Tale of the Dragon)[]

Main article: Chinese (Tale of the Dragon)

Economy[]

Chinese Peasants do not have multiple drop sites like their Greek and Egyptian counterparts, they use Storage Pit as a drop site for all resource types.

Military[]

Chinese military units are cheap and quick to mass, but are often specialized, so battalion composition is important. Unlike other civilizations, they have only one infantry unit, the Halberdier. Their most-used archer unit is the Chu Ko Nu, but other archers are also available. Chinese cavalry are all units that specialize in one aspect while being weaker in general. Their heroes are eight Immortals who are skilled in both swordsmanship and archery, and Monks who can persuade enemies to join their side.

Society[]

The Emperor is the leader of the Chinese. Armies are led by Generals.

Worship[]

The Chinese gain favor by building Gardens. They can generate every type of resource including favor but only one kind at a time. Only ten Gardens can be built, with Gardens after the first three becoming more expensive.

Trivia[]

The original game data folders contain the following words that reference some civilizations appearing in the first Age of Empires game, as discovered by the community here.

// disable Xpack civs // Civilization = Babylonians / hide from player // Civilization = Sumerians / hide from player // Civilization = Lorciferans / hide from player // Unlock date = 12OCT2003

This is, however, blatantly a joke created by the developers to fool people who datamine the game, seeing as "lorciferans" are a type of microscopic sea creatures.

Notes[]

↑
In the terminology used in the original game as well as in the game manual:
- The word "Culture" refers to Greeks, Egyptians, Norse, etc.
- The word "Civilization" refers to the tech tree of a culture as well as one of their major gods, e.g. a Greek civilization worshiping Zeus. It is also used in Tale of the Dragon vendor pages to refer to the Chinese culture.
- Before Retold, the word "Pantheon" is used for the set of all the major and minor gods a culture can worship.
- Since the release of Retold, the word pantheon is used to refer to Greeks, Egyptians, Norse, etc. in the in-game compendium and the skirmish lobby settings screen. On the official ageofempires website, in the main pages for the game, in announcement posts, patch notes pages, as well as on Steam, the word pantheon is again used in the same way. The internal files such as cultures.xml.xmb and major_gods.xml.xmb use the tag "culture" for these, and "civ" for the major gods.