 |
This article is about the technology. For the campaign, see El Dorado (campaign). |
El Dorado is a technology in Age of Empires II: The Conquerors that is unique to the Mayans and can be researched at the Castle once the Imperial Age is reached. Once researched, it increases the hit points of the Eagle Scout line by +40.
Strategy[]
At first glance, it may not seem like a worthy unique technology since the Eagle Warrior is the scout unit for Native American civilizations, but it is actually well worth researching because of the following reasons:
- The Mayans have no access to cavalry and have a relatively poor Swordsman line, so this technology significantly increases their front-line infantry's ability to survive, helping to protect their back-line archers.
- Eagle Warriors, as already implied, are the Mayan equivalent of cavalry, and thus must to some extent fulfill the roles of Light Cavalry and Knights.
- The vast majority of infantry units have an attack bonus against Eagle Warriors, and can defeat them fairly easily if out alone. Also, there is little point in using units that last only as long as it takes to create them, even if they are good at specific things.
Overall, Eagle Warriors are one of the most important Mayan units, but can easily fall prey to certain counter units. El Dorado attempts to rectify this problem and succeeds to a reasonable degree. It also helps a player not fall into the trap of relying on archers too much.
Team bonuses[]
Portuguese: Researching El Dorado is 25% faster.
Changelog[]
The Conquerors[]
- El Dorado takes 50 seconds to research.
Definitive Edition[]
- With update 37650, El Dorado takes 70 seconds to research.
History[]
| “ | War is often the most cruel and terrifying when markedly different cultures collide. The native populations of South and Central America were shaken by the Conquistadors wearing armor, wielding steel weapons, employing war dogs, and using firearms. The blood sacrifices, rituals, and fanaticism of the Americans unsettled the Spanish, in turn. The Mayans proved very tough opponents when whipped into battle frenzy in defense of their hidden wealth. | ” |
| —Age of Empires II: The Conquerors manual | ||
Trivia[]
- In the 16th to 17th centuries, the Spanish colonialists and conquistadors propagated the myth of a golden city called El Dorado (meaning "The Golden"), supposedly located in possible places across South America, mostly the Guatavita lagoon or the Amazon jungle. The wealth of the mythic El Dorado allured many adventurers to explore and map out the Amazon to find it. The Amazon basin is several thousand kilometers away from the nearest edge of the Maya culture, and the myth originates from a time several centuries after the collapse of the Maya empire, and is thus wholly unrelated to the Maya civilization, while also not being related to the in-game technology's effect.
- The manual's history section implies that the technology instead refers to the Mayans' will to defend their gold from invaders, though it also has no relation to the myth of El Dorado.
- With a research time of 70 seconds, El Dorado is the slowest unique technology to research in the game.
