God power

God powers showcased in the Retold demo

God powers are powerful abilities granted by the gods at the start of the game and whenever advancing an Age in Age of Mythology. Most god powers are straightforward, but some have alternate uses. They generally become stronger with each passing Age: while those god powers available in the Archaic Age typically provide a minor economic or military boost, those that come in the Mythic Age are very capable of devastating entire cities or armies, or quickly changing the pace of the match.

In the original game and the Extended Edition, all Greek, Egyptian, and Norse god powers are single-use only. The Atlanteans and Chinese are the only civilizations to have reusable god powers, with a cooldown after every use, and a finite number of uses. In Retold, every god power can be reused an infinite number of times, with each one having its own cooldown time and favor cost to reuse. Subsequent reuses will cost additional favor, though each power has its own rate of increase for each use. Atlantean god powers that were multi-use in The Titans are free on the first reuse.

Bolt being used on a Manticore

Greeks

Age	Power	God	Retold-only			Effect
			Cooldown	Repeat cost	Increase per use
	Bolt	Zeus	90 sec	55	+5	In Retold, Bolt deals 10,000 divine damage to the targeted unit, or 2,500 divine damage if the target unit is a Titan. In the original game, Bolt will instantly kill the target unit, except for Titans, who will only lose 1/3 of their maximum hit points. In the Extended Edition, the power does not kill Sons of Osiris or Nidhoggs, but instead deals 1-2% of their max hit points in damage. This power cannot be targeted on economic units (Villager, Laborer, Gatherer, Dwarf, Citizen, Peasant), transportation units (Transport Ship, Roc, Leviathan), Ox Carts, Qilins from Tale of the Dragon, Regents, or the starting Berserk of Norse players.
	Lure	Poseidon	60 sec	20	+5	Creates a structure which attracts animals. After a set amount of food is attracted, the Lure collapses.
	Sentinel	Hades	90 sec	50	+5	Summons four (original game) or five (Tale of the Dragon and Retold) Sentinels, stationary stone giants armed with bows, around own or allied Town Centers. In Retold, up to 3 sentinels can be created in a row in each location around a single Town Center.
	Ceasefire	Hermes	240 sec	75	+25	For 30 seconds all combat is prohibited, and the construction of Towers, Fortresses, Migdol Strongholds, Hill Forts, Palaces, and Castles are halted. Offensive god powers can still be invoked in the duration, however.
	Restoration	Athena	120 sec	100	+20	Friendly units and buildings in the target area will rapidly recover hit points for 8 seconds. Outside of combat, this power can nearly instantly restore almost any normal unit to full health. The rate of recovery is greatly reduced during combat.
	Pestilence	Ares	120 sec	50	+10	Buildings in the target area will be produce units slower and be prevented from attacking for 60 seconds. This power does not affect Town Centers, however.
	Underworld Passage	Apollo	180 sec	200	+25	Creates two tunnel portals at the target locations. Units entering one portal are instantly transported to the other. The portals can be destroyed by enemy units, and destroying one portal will cause its counterpart to collapse as well.
	Bronze	Dionysus	150 sec	150	+10	Turns all friendly human soldiers, myth units, and ships in the target area to bronze for 45 seconds, greatly increasing their hack and pierce armor for the duration.
	Curse	Aphrodite	150 sec	125	+5	Transforms random enemy units in the target area into pigs, with a maximum cap for the resource cost of units transformed. This power does not affect myth units* or heroes, and has a reduced impact on Villagers.
	Plenty	Hephaestus	180 sec	200	+200	Creates a Vault that generates 4 food, wood, and gold every second. The Vault cannot be destroyed. Instead, it can be captured by enemy units, and will be taken over by whichever player has the most units near the Vault.
	Lightning Storm	Hera	240 sec	350	+5	Creates a violent storm in the target area. Lightning bolts can strike enemy units, dealing heavy damage to them. The more units there are in the area, the more damage is done. This power does not affect own or allied units (before Retold, it also didn't affect flying units), and is less effective against buildings.
	Earthquake	Artemis	240 sec	350	+5	Deals massive amounts of crush damage across a wide range in the target area – with more damage being dealt towards the center of the area of effect, and less towards the edges. This power has no effect on Farms.

Egyptians

Age	Power	God	Retold-only			Effect
			Cooldown	Repeat cost	Increase per use
	Rain	Ra	90 sec	30	+15	For 45 seconds, only the invoking player will experience a 150% increase in Farm gathering rates.
	Prosperity	Isis	120 sec	60	+10	For 50 seconds, Laborers will gather gold 80% faster. In Retold, the gold gather rate of Caravans will also increase by 20% for the duration of the effect.
	Vision	Set	240 sec	40	+5	Reveals the target area, and dispels the Fog of War for the player and their allies for 20 seconds.
	Eclipse	Bast	150 sec	90	+25	For 66 seconds, an eclipse will visually occur on the map which increases the damage, movement speed, and armor of all myth units while also quickening their ability recharge. Before Retold, no other god powers can be invoked by any player while Eclipse is in effect.
	Shifting Sands	Ptah	180 sec	50	+20	Instantly transports a group of friendly units from one target location on the map to another. Before Retold, this could be used to move both friendly and enemy units; however, the enemy units to be transported were selected at random, with a greatly decreased chance to transport them compared to allied units.
	Plague of Serpents	Anubis	180 sec	60	+10	Summons friendly Serpents to guard the target location. The player has no control over the serpents, but shares their Line of Sight. If this power is invoked on water, Sea Snakes will be summoned instead.
	Locust Swarm	Hathor/ Sobek	150 sec	75	+10	Summons a swarm of locusts to attack the indicated direction. The swarm will damage all units and buildings, while greatly harming Villagers and Fishing Ships, and will very quickly destroy Farms, Berry Bushes, and animals. Before Retold, it does no damage to other units or buildings, but it is very effective in devastating the opponent's economy. It affected a single area and moved about randomly. In Retold, the power uses a directional target, and the swarm will travel in a straight line.
	Ancestors	Nephthys	180 sec	100	+5	Raises the dead for 60 seconds at the target location. On land Minions will be summoned, while on water Lost Ships will appear instead. The Ancestors are raised gradually, and will be dismissed together when the effect expires.
	Citadel	Sekhmet	120 sec	100	+50	Transforms the targeted friendly Town Center into a Citadel Center, a durable structure with greatly increased attack, hit points, armor, as well as work rate. The Citadel also supports additional population. In Retold, each civilization uses its own unique architecture for the Citadel, instead of always appearing in the Egyptian design with the only difference being the major god statue.
	Son of Osiris	Osiris	240 sec	350	+50	Transforms the targeted Pharaoh into a Son of Osiris, a unit with greatly increased attack and hit points, and higher empower magnitude, who uses a chain lightning attack which can hit up to four units at once. A Son of Osiris cannot be healed, and when he dies, a regular Pharaoh will replace him. In Retold, it is possible to cast this power again to have multiple Sons of Osiris at once.
	Meteor	Thoth	240 sec	350	+5	For 20 seconds, meteors will rain down on the target area. The first strike will be in the center of the target location, with subsequent strikes randomly spreading around. Meteor strikes do massive amounts of damage to buildings, and knock units into the air, dealing moderate damage to them. Meteors can damage allied units and buildings, though not to the same extent as enemies.
	Tornado	Horus	240 sec	350	+5	Creates a vicious tornado for 20 seconds at the the target location that will travel outwards in a spiral path, dealing a large amount of damage to units and buildings. The tornado will deal damage to both enemies and allied units.

Norse

Age	Power	God	Retold-only			Effect
			Cooldown	Repeat cost	Increase per use
	Dwarven Mine	Thor	120 sec	50	+50	Creates a mystical Gold Mine in the target location. The amount of gold in the mine depends on the age in which this power is used.
	Great Hunt	Odin	90 sec	25	+5	Causes animals in the target area to multiply. Its power increases in each age. If there are no animals, some Elk are spawned.
	Spy	Loki	30 sec	60	+5	The power can be used on a targeted enemy unit to reveal their Line of Sight until they are killed. The power cannot be used on a Titan (who reveal Line of Sight to all players anyway). Unlike other god powers, the game does not display a notification when a player invokes this power.
	Gullinbursti	Freyr	180 sec	300	+50	Can be targeted on own or allied Town Center to summon Gullinbursti for a set duration, a powerful hero unit whose power and attributes increase in each age.
	Forest Fire	Freyja	180 sec	125	+50	Sets trees on fire in the target location, spreading to other trees in a limited radius before they collapse. Enemy units and buildings near the flames take damage, while own and allied units and buildings are immune.
	Undermine	Heimdall	150 sec	50	+10	Creates a shockwave dealing damage to walls, towers, Town Centers and Fortresses. Undermine is powerful enough to destroy walls and towers instantly, but only deals limited damage to Town Centers and Fortresses. In Retold, the power uses a directional target.
	Healing Spring	Forseti	150 sec	100	+150	Creates a healing spring which heals idle own and allied units within range at a rate of 2.5 hit points per second, slower for non-idle units. The spring cannot be destroyed. Instead, it can be captured by enemy units, and will be taken over by whichever player has the most units near the spring.
	Asgardian Bastion	Ullr	180 sec	100	0	Places an Asgardian Hill Fort at the target location, which will begin constructing itself from 50%. Buildings can be tasked on the building to construct it faster.
	Walking Woods	Njord	180 sec	100	+50	Animates random trees in the target area. Walking Woods will attack enemy units and buildings. Prior to patch 2.7, they could not be controlled by the player.
	Frost	Skadi	240 sec	200	+15	For 50 seconds, all enemy units in the target area will be frozen solid in place but have 99% armor, making them almost invulnerable to any attacks for the duration.
	Flaming Weapons	Bragi	210 sec	250	+50	When invoked, all of the the player's human units, ships, and heroes on the map will have 60% increased attack for 50 seconds.
	Tempest	Aegir	150 sec	200	+5	Summons a blizzard that causes icicles to rain down, damaging units, slowing their movement speed, and increasing their reload time.
	Ragnarok	Baldr	300 sec	350	+50	Instantly converts all Gatherers and Dwarves on the map into Heroes of Ragnarok, melee infantry units with a huge bonus against myth units, but unable to gather resources or build Farms. This power essentially sacrifices the player's economy for an instant army.
	Fimbulwinter	Tyr	240 sec	350	+55	For 36 seconds, several packs of Fimbulwinter Wolves will appear next to enemy Town Centers, Village Centers, or unclaimed Settlements. The player has no control over the wolves, and they are dismissed when the effect expires. In the original game, no other god powers can be invoked by any player while Fimbulwinter is in effect.
	Nidhogg	Hel	240 sec	350	+50	Summons the powerful dragon Nidhogg to serve the player. Nidhogg is particularly tough and quite effective against buildings, and does splash damage against groups of enemy units. He is particularly vulnerable to ranged attacks from heroes, towers, and Fortress-type buildings, and cannot be healed by any means.
	Inferno	Vidar	180 sec	350	+5	Summons Fenrir, who will charge in the indicated direction. Fenrir will incinerate everything in his path by dealing hack damage to all that he touches, set trees on fire, and disappear in a large and powerful explosion.

Atlanteans

In The Titans and Extended Edition, most Atlantean god powers can be used more than once. Glowing dots above each god power button indicate how many uses remain. In Retold, these are changed to use cooldowns and favor costs, though Atlantean god powers are generally cheaper than those of other civilizations, and several are free on the first recast.

Age	Power	God	Original	Retold-only			Effect
			Usage	Cooldown	Repeat cost	Increase per use
	Deconstruction	Kronos	2	180 sec	10	+10	Immediately begins a process of reverting construction of a target enemy building. The owner will reclaim the resource cost of the deconstructed building. This power cannot be used on Town Centers, Wonders, Titan Gates, and buildings that are summoned with god powers.
	Shockwave	Oranos	3	150 sec	15	+15	Generates a shock wave which deals minor damage and scatters enemy units in a relatively small radius. Scattered units are stunned for several seconds as well.
	Gaia Forest	Gaia	4	120 sec	0	+10	Grows a forest of aspen trees, which contain more wood than other trees. Citizens gather wood from these trees at an increased rate. The trees can also be placed strategically to create a barrier that is difficult for other players to pass.
	Spider Lair	Leto	3	90 sec	0	+3	Places spider eggs in the target area which will eventually hatch and burrow into the ground. Enemy human units will be killed by the spiders when they cross through the area. Eggs can be killed by enemies before they hatch. In Retold, this power uses a directional target.
	Valor	Prometheus	3	30 sec	1	+1	This power instantly transforms Atlantean units into heroes. In the original game, a group of units can be converted. In Retold, this power only affects a single unit, but instantly restores them to full health.
	Carnivora	Oceanus	3	180 sec	20	+5	Summons an amphibious carnivorous plant in the target location (land or water). The plant is stationary, but can eat soldiers (and sink ships before Retold) who come within range.
	Traitor	Rheia	2	180 sec	15	+15	Instantly gives the player control of a selected enemy unit. Cannot be used on economic units, Titans, heroes, and certain others like transport units. In the original game, units converted by Traitor will immediately have 85% of their maximum hit points regardless of their hit points before conversion. In Retold, units converted by Traitor will no longer take damage upon being converted.
	Chaos	Hyperion	2	180 sec	60	+20	In the original game, this power immediately converts a group of enemy units in the target area to Mother Nature, making them hostile to all players. In Retold, it instead confers a status effect that causes affected units to attack each other. The duration depends on the number of units affected; the more units affected, the shorter the god power lasts.
	Hesperides	Theia	2	60 sec	0	+125	Immediately constructs a Hesperides Tree where up to 5 Dryads (per tree) can be created. In the original game, the tree also protects against god powers within range, but this effect is removed in Retold, and replaced by an ability to heal nearby myth units and spawn 2 free Dryads when invoked. The tree cannot be destroyed. Instead, it can be captured by enemy or allied units, and will be taken over by whichever player has the most units near the tree.
	Implode	Atlas	1	180 sec	350	+5	Creates a spherical 'black hole', which sucks in and damages nearby units (except flying units) and then explodes, causing damage to all nearby units and substantial damage to buildings. The damage of the final explosion increases as more units are sucked in.
	Vortex	Helios	3	120 sec	0	+25	Instantly teleports all own military units from all across the map to the targeted location.
	Tartarian Gate	Hekate	1	240 sec	350	+5	Instantly raises a gate to the underworld at the target location, which spawns neutral creatures that are hostile to all players. The gate will also instantly destroy any buildings it is cast on, except for Town Centers, Wonders, and Titan Gates.

Chinese (Immortal Pillars)

Age	Power	God	Retold-only			Effect
			Cooldown	Repeat cost	Increase per use
	The Peach Blossom Spring	Fuxi	180 sec	100	+150	Spawns a Peach Blossom Spring on the area it is invoked. It automatically builds up its resource stockpile over time and can be switched between gathering food, wood, or gold. However, its stockpile stops increasing once a villager gathers from it.
	Creation	Nüwa	180 sec	75	+5	Spawns a variable number of Clay Peasants who function like ordinary Peasants, but eventually decay after a short time. 2/4/8/12/30 are spawned in the Archaic/Classical/Heroic/Mythic/Wonder Ages, respectively.
	Prosperous Seeds	Shennong	60 sec	10	+5	Transforms two Farms into Shennong's Farms, with triple the hit points, 40% faster food gather rate than regular Farms, a healing effect for nearby villagers, and the ability to make friendly units standing on them invisible.
	Vanish	Xuannü	150 sec	60	+5	Turns all friendly units in an area radius of 20 invisible for 30 seconds. The invisibility lasts until either the god power ends or the invisible units attack any enemy.
	Lightning Weapons	Chiyou	240 sec	60	+5	Grants all of the player's human soldiers and ships a chance to stun enemy units for a duration of 20 seconds.
	Earth Wall	Houtu	120 sec	75	+15	When invoked on a friendly building, a durable circular earthen wall rises from the ground in a radius of 40 to trap enemies within or keep them out. The erected walls start at 50% health and slowly build up, and pass through obstructions like trees or other buildings.
	Forest Protection	Goumang	180 sec	100	+25	When invoked on a friendly building, plants sprout out of the ground nearby in a radius of 30, healing friendly units and momentarily immobilizing and damaging nearby enemy units.
	Drought	Nüba	240 sec	125	+5	Reduces the hit points of enemy buildings in a radius of 30 by 10% and makes them even more vulnerable to damage. Constructions and repairs in the target area are also disabled.
	Fei Beasts	Rushou	240 sec	150	+25	Spawns seven Feis to attack enemy units and infect them with disease.
	Great Flood	Gonggong	240 sec	350	+5	Creates a fast-moving wave that sweeps away enemy units and devastates enemy buildings in its path.
	Yinglong's Wrath	Huangdi	240 sec	350	+50	Summons Yinglong, the legendary winged rain dragon, to serve the player. Yinglong is particularly tough and quite effective against both units and buildings, inflicts divine damage with his lightning strikes, and has an aura effect that boosts allied Farms and slows down enemy units underneath him. He is particularly vulnerable to ranged attacks from heroes, towers, and Fortress-type buildings, and cannot be healed by any means.
	Blazing Prairie	Zhurong	300 sec	350	+5	Darkens the sky and causes flaming rocks to bombard the target area, damaging everything in an area of 25.

Chinese (Tale of the Dragon)

Age	Power	God	Effect
	Year of the Goat	Fu Xi	Spawns a herd of Goats at the target location. The number of Goats that are spawned increases with each age.
	Recreation	Nü Wa	Instantly revives up to four fallen Peasants in the target area.
	Timber Harvest	Shennong	For 50 seconds, wood gather rate is increased by 80%.
	Great Journey	Sun Wukong	For 60 seconds, the speed of the invoker's own units is increased by 40%.
	Call to Arms	Huang Di	Duplicates up to four human units and one myth unit in the target area.
	Barrage	Chang'e	Instantly sends down a volley of arrows that will spread across the target location, dealing damage to enemy units. Villagers have high resistance to damage caused by this god power, and flying units are completely immune.
	Uproot	Zhong Kui	Causes roots to emerge from the earth in the target area that damage enemy buildings for 50 seconds. The roots can be destroyed by enemy units to end the effect early.
	Geyser	He Bo	For 45 seconds, water geysers will emerge from the ground in the target area that will damage enemy units, but will not affect heroes, Titans, and flying units. Own and allied units are also immune to this power.
	Imperial Examination	Dabo Gong	For 30 seconds, unit production and building construction speed is increased by 40%.
	Great Flood	Ao Kuang	Creates a fast-moving deluge of water in the target direction that will sweep away units and cause damage to buildings.
	Inferno	Chongli	Creates wandering flames in the target area that burn enemy buildings and units in its path. Flying units are immune to the flames.
	Earth Dragon	Xi Wangmu	In Tale of the Dragon, this power can be used 3 times. Summons Dilong, the Earth Dragon, a powerful but stationary unit who emerges from the ground to attack enemy units who come into range.

Other god powers

Power	Source	Retold-only			Effect
		Cooldown	Repeat cost	Increase per use
Titan Gate	Secrets of the Titans	600 sec	400	+400	Unlocked after researching Secrets of the Titans at a Town Center, this power creates a Titan Gate at the target location. Villagers can be tasked to the structure to unearth the Gate and unleash a Titan. In Retold, the power can be cast again every 600 seconds, but only in the Wonder Age.
Blessing of Zeus	Campaign	N/A	N/A	N/A	Can be cast on Arkantos to transform him into Arkantos (Blessed) during "A Place in My Dreams".
Deconstruction Wonder	Campaign	N/A	N/A	N/A	Similar to Deconstruction, this power is used on Odin's Tower to dismantle it during "Odin's Tower".
Seed of Gaia	Campaign	N/A	N/A	N/A	This power has 4 uses. Can be used on a Sacred Pool to grow a Summoning Tree during "War of the Titans".
Chicken Storm	Cheat BAWK BAWK BOOM	30 sec	0	0	Similar to Meteor, this power causes chickens to rain down on the target area who will explode, dealing a huge amount of damage, and deform terrain.
Goatunheim	Cheat GOATUNHEIM	5 sec	40	0	Transforms all units on the map into Goats.
Walking Berry Bushes	Cheat FEAR THE FORAGE	30 sec	10	0	Converts up to 10 Berry Bushes in the target area to Walking Berry Bushes.

Further statistics

Age bonuses

• Wonder Age: -75% recharge cooldown and recast favor cost

Relic bonuses

• Hekate's Torches: -10% recharge cooldown and recast favor cost.

God power shields

Before Retold, players have a number of options to block other players from casting god powers, colloquially known as god power shields. Many god powers act as temporary god power shields while in effect, notably Rain, Eclipse, Ceasefire, and Fimbulwinter. This can multiply a player's offensive advantage at key points in the game, or else buy a player enough time to prepare for a powerful offensive god power by the enemy.

Permanent, localized god power shields could be obtained by Atlantean worshippers of Theia in the form of the Hesperides Tree, and by Egyptian worshippers of Isis by building Monuments, making these a key part of their defensive strategy.

As of Retold, there are no global god power shields. Monuments of Isis remain as local god power shields. A few god powers also create local god power shields, such that multiple god powers cannot be invoked in the same area while one of them is active. Some such god powers are Meteor, Implode, Lightning Storm, Earthquake, Tornado, etc. In addition, a number of units and buildings are endowed with passive abilities which prevent them from being targeted by certain god powers.

Trivia

• Vision after having researched Clairvoyance and Chicken Storm are the cheapest god powers to recast, as they are always free.
• Gaia Forest, Spider Lair, Hesperides, and Vortex are the joint-cheapest (free) god powers to recast the first time.
• Valor is the second cheapest god power to recast after the first time until the 40th recast.
• Asgardian Bastion after having researched Ring Oath is the second cheapest god power to recast after the 39th recast. This is because it, along with the free ones, is the only god power which does not have a ramping cost.

Gallery

'Invoke God Power' cursor in Retold

God power 'Skill Shot' cursor in Retold

'Invoke God Power' cursor in the original game

Cursor shown when a god power cannot be invoked

Cursor shown when a god power is blocked by a Monument of Isis

Cursor shown when a god power is blocked by a Hesperides Tree

	God powers in Age of Mythology
Greeks Archaic Age Bolt · Lure · Sentinel Classical Age Pestilence · Restoration · Ceasefire Heroic Age Underworld Passage · Curse · Bronze Mythic Age Earthquake · Lightning Storm · Plenty Egyptians Archaic Age Prosperity · Vision · Rain Classical Age Eclipse · Shifting Sands · Plague of Serpents Heroic Age Locust Swarm · Citadel · Ancestors Mythic Age Tornado · Meteor · Son of Osiris Norse Archaic Age Dwarven Mine · Great Hunt · Spy · Gullinbursti Classical Age Healing Spring · Forest Fire · Undermine · Asgardian Bastion Heroic Age Frost · Flaming Weapons · Walking Woods · Tempest Mythic Age Fimbulwinter · Nidhogg · Ragnarok · Inferno Atlanteans Archaic Age Deconstruction · Shockwave · Gaia Forest Classical Age Spider Lair · Valor · Carnivora Heroic Age Chaos · Traitor · Hesperides Mythic Age Tartarian Gate · Vortex · Implode Chinese (Immortal Pillars) Archaic Age The Peach Blossom Spring · Creation · Prosperous Seeds Classical Age Earth Wall · Lightning Weapons · Vanish Heroic Age Drought · Forest Protection · Fei Beasts Mythic Age Blazing Prairie · Great Flood · Yinglong's Wrath Removed in Retold Chinese (Tale of the Dragon) Archaic Age Year of the Goat · Recreation · Timber Harvest Classical Age Barrage · Great Journey · Call to Arms Heroic Age Geyser · Uproot · Imperial Examination Mythic Age Great Flood · Inferno · Earth Dragon Other Mythic Age All civilizations: Titan Gate Campaign Blessing of Zeus · Deconstruction Wonder · Seed of Gaia Cheat Chicken Storm · Goatunheim · Walking Berry Bushes · Pandatopia Cut Bramble · Enrage · Rebellion · Shepherd · Sight · Snowstorm · Volcano