Lac Viet

Civilization	Technology tree	Strategy

Lac Viet
Civilization
Civilization information
Introduced in	Age of Empires: Return of Rome
Architecture	East Asian
Continent	Asia
In-game theme
Jingle
Features/Characteristics
Focus	Archers

“	Command mighty armies of elephants & archers into battle as you establish your centennial empire in Southeast Asia.	”
—Description

Lac Viet are a new playable civilization introduced in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Return of Rome for the Age of Empires client. They represent an ancient ethnic group with the same name. They were a part of the Baiyue, which is a name for various ethnic groups who inhabited the regions of Southern China and Northern Vietnam during the 1st millennium BC and 1st millennium AD.

The Lac Viet appear in Age of Empires II as the Vietnamese.

Characteristics

Civilization bonuses

• Foragers work 15% faster.
• Military units are created 25% faster.
• Archery Range units and Ballistae have +2 armor.

Team bonus

Houses and Farms are built 50% faster.

Missing technologies

Aristocracy, Mysticism, Polytheism, Afterlife, Fanaticism, Monotheism, Chain Mail Infantry, Tower Shield, Siegecraft, Engineering, Urbanization

Missing units

Phalangite, Legionary, Camel Rider, Cataphract, Helepolis, Ballista Tower, Fire Galley, Juggernaut

Overview

“	The Lac Viet is a fast-paced archer civilization from ancient Southeast Asia that will be exclusive to Return of Rome.	”
—Return of Rome page on Age of Empires website

Changelog

Return of Rome

• Upon release, foragers work 20% faster. With update 99311, the forager work rate bonus is reduced to +15%.

AI player names

When playing a random map game against the computer, the player may encounter any of the following Lac Viet AI characters.

• Chu Ba (Chu Bá) - Military leader who took part in the Trung sisters' rebellion against the Han Chinese from 40 CE to 43 CE and the only one whose name was officially recorded in Commentary on the Water Classic; he continued resisting the Han Chinese after the Trung sisters' deaths; however, he was defeated, refused to surrender, and was executed.
• Do Durong (Đô Dương) - Military leader who took part in the Trung sisters' rebellion against the Han Chinese from 40 CE to 43 CE and the only one whose name was officially recorded in Book of the Later Han and Complete Annals of Dai Viet; he continued resisting the Han Chinese after the Trung sisters' deaths; however, he and other leaders were defeated, surrendered, and were exiled.
• Le Chan (Lê Chân) - Legendary military leader who took part in the Trung sisters' rebellion against the Han Chinese from 40 CE to 43 CE; she was later titled "princess" by Trung Trac. Lived c. 20 CE - 43 CE.
• Ngoc Lam (Ngọc Lâm) - Did not exist in Vietnam. In fact, Ngoc Lam was a military base of the rebels, not a historic character.
• Thanh Thien (Thánh Thiên) - Legendary military leader who took part in the Trung sisters' rebellion against the Han Chinese from 40 CE to 43 CE. She was later titled "princess" by Trung Trac. Lived c. 10 CE - 43 CE.
• Thi Sach (Thi Sách) - Husband of Trung Trac. Lived ?-? CE. Official histories disagree on his death date: Commentary on the Water Classic states that Thi and Trung Trac were captured in 43 CE; Complete Annals of Dai Viet states that he had been executed by Han administrator Su Ding before 40 CE, prompting Trung Trac to rebel; Book of Later Han mentions nothing about him after Su Ding's attempt to legally restrain both him and Trung Trac and during and after Trung Trac's rebellion and reign.
• Thieu Hoa (Hoàng Thiều Hoa) - Legendary military leader who took part in the Trung sisters' rebellion against the Han Chinese from 40 CE to 41 CE. She was later titled "princess" by Trung Trac. According to legends, she died during a storm in 41 CE, not while fighting Han Chinese or being executed by Han Chinese. Lived 3 CE - 41 CE.
• Trung Nhi (Trưng Nhị) - Military leader. She alongside with her elder sister Trung Trac led the rebellion against the Han Chinese; she became viceroy of the Lac Viet people from 40 CE to 43 CE. Lived c. 14 - 43 CE.
• Trung Trac (Trưng Trắc) - Military leader. She alongside with her younger sister Trung Nhi led the rebellion against the Han Chinese; she became queen regnant of the Lac Viet people from 41 CE to 43 CE. Lived c. 14 - 43 CE.

Trivia

• The civilization's icon is Đông Sơn drum, which is a Bronze drum artifact from Lạc Việt (also known as the Đông Sơn) culture, and such drums were produced from 600 BC to the third century AD.
• The user interface image depicts a Chim Lạc bird, a mythological bird from Vietnamese history often depicted in Đông Sơn drums.
• Lac Viet is the first civilization for Age of Empires that has more than one word for its name, and one of few in the entire franchise. It was preceded by the United States in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition, and by the Abbasid Dynasty, Delhi Sultanate, and Holy Roman Empire in Age of Empires IV.
• The Lac Viet is noted to be the East Asian civilization in Age of Empires to lack the Cataphract upgrade and the first East Asian civilization to have access to Elephant units. They are also the only civilization with a complete Archery Range.
• The Lac Viet share many characteristics with their Age of Empires II counterpart, as they are both archer-focused civilizations with heavy emphasis on the late-game with access to elephant units and strong trash war potential.
• The civilization theme music uses a lithophonic xylophone-like instrument called the Đàn đá.
• Some of the AI players names are based on historical characters who took part in the Trung sisters' rebellion.
• Lac Viet was added as a way to honor the continued popularity of Age of Empires, most especially The Rise of Rome, in Vietnam, where the game has had an enduring competitive scene:

“	One new civilization, the Lac Viet. In honor and recognition of Rise of Rome's phenomenal popularity in Vietnam, we've added a new civilization with Return of Rome. Adding something new for established and beginner players.	”
—The announcement page for Return of Rome on the official website

Gallery

Default player icon

The East Asian Iron Age architecture in the Definitive Edition

Official showcase of a Lac Viet settlement

Actual Lạc Việt (Đông Sơn) architecture reconstructed by historians

The UI artwork of the Lạc Việt

Several Bronze Age Drums with elaborate engraved surfaces, Kings County Museum, Vietnam

A Đông Sơn bronze drum in Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

The Chim Lạc bird embossed on a Đông Sơn drum's surface

A bronze sword of Đông Sơn culture (also known as Lạc Việt culture). Possibly forged about 2500 to 2000 years ago

The East Asian user interface panels that the Lac Viet have in Return of Rome