The Malay are a Southeast Asian civilization introduced in Age of Empires II HD: Rise of the Rajas. They focus on infantry and navy.
The Malay are based on various kingdoms on the Malay Archipelago before the introduction of Islam and European conquest, mainly Srivijaya and Majapahit during the reign of Hayam Wuruk.
The kingdoms of the Malay Archipelago were able to field large number of troops because of the archipelago's large population. To reflect this, the Malay have a cheap and rapidly-deployed unique unit that allows higher population than usual and a unique technology that enables the Malay to train and thus also easily field Militia-line units without spending gold. Because the Malay Archipelago is strategically located between India and China, it was often visited by people from both regions who introduced new cultures and technologies to the locals. Therefore, the Malay advance to the next Ages much faster than other civilizations.
Coastal defense is essential for kingdoms located in the region. Thus, Malay Docks and their allies have much longer Line of Sight. Furthermore, the Malay have access to Thalassocracy that gives their Docks the ability to defend themselves. The vast sea provided huge amount of fish which the people skillfully fished. Therefore, the Malay Fish Traps are cheaper and provide unlimited food. The Sumatran and Java forest had large number of wild elephants and they were often tamed by local people to do various tasks. This is reflected by the Malay's ability to train cheaper Battle Elephants.
Campaign appearances
The Malay have a campaign devoted to their civilization: Gajah Mada.
Overview
The Malay are primarily a naval civilization. Consequently, their naval technology tree is flawless apart from the missing Heavy Demolition Ship. Their true strength lies in naval economy, however. Their Fish Traps are cheaper and provide unlimited food meaning a lot of wood can be saved which can make all the difference especially in longer games. Additionally, they can upgrade their Docks to Harbors which comes in handy when defending Fishing Ships on the shore. As far as their land units are concerned the Malay go for quantity rather than quality and lack really powerful units. A lot of final tier upgrades are missing (e.g. Champion, Hussar, Siege Ram), but they get cost reductions on their Two-Handed Swordsmen and Battle Elephants which makes massing them more easy. Generally speaking, their cavalry is downright terrible without even Chain Barding Armor. The infantry is fair, the archers are as well, at least the foot soldiers. The siege weapons are rather underwhelming as well, but they do get Siege Engineers and Bombard Cannons. Their Monks are average. Their defensive structures are lacking, but their economy is overall strong.
Characteristics
Unique unit
Karambit Warrior: Cheap infantry that only takes up half a population space
Unique technologies
- Thalassocracy: Upgrades Docks to Harbors.
- Forced Levy: Removes the gold cost from the Militia line.
Civilization bonuses
- Advancing in Age is +80% faster.
- Fish Traps are 33% cheaper.
- Fish Traps provide unlimited food.
- Battle Elephants are 30% cheaper.
Team bonus
- Docks have double Line of Sight.
Changelog
Rise of the Rajas
- Initially, advancing in Age is +100% faster. With patch 5.3, that was reduced to +80%.
- Initially, Fishing Ships are 33% cheaper. With patch 5.3, that bonus was taken away.
- Initially, Battle Elephants are 20% cheaper. With patch 5.3, that was increased to 25%. With patch 5.7 that was further increased to 30%.
- Initially, Harbors have a Rate of Fire of 2.5 and 2,200 HP. With patch 5.3, that was decreased to 3 and 2,000, respectively.
- Initially, Elite Karambit Warriors have 2 pierce armor. With patch 5.3, that was reduced to 1.
- Non-Elite Karambit Warriors initially have 5 base attack. With patch 5.5, they now have an attack of 6.
- Elite Karambit Warriors initially have 8 base attack. With patch 5.7, they now have an attack of 7.
- Karambit Warriors initially cost 25 food and 10 gold. With patch 5.8, they now cost 30 food and 15 gold.
In-game dialogue language
In-game, Malay units speak Old Malay, with some Sanskrit words.
- Villagers
- Siap. - Ready.
- Iya. - Yes.
- Swasti. - Prosper.
- Aku mengerti. - I understand.
- Aku mengumpulkan. - I'm gathering.
- Aku menggali tambang. - I'm digging mine.
- Aku membangun gedung. - I'm the builder.
- Aku panumbang kayu. - I'm the lumberjack.
- Aku memanen. - I'm harvesting.
- Aku pamarbaik. - I'm the repairer.
- Monks
- Iya. - Yes.
- Titah baginda? - Order, your majesty?
- Om maheshwaraya. - God is the greatest lord.
- Benar. - Right.
- Military
- Iya? - Yes?
- Iya, baginda. - Yes, your majesty.
- Aku pangarti. - I understand.
- Angkat sanjata! - Raise the weapon!
- Maju! - Onward!
- Tabik! - Salute!
AI player names
When playing a random map game against the computer, the player may encounter any of the following Malay AI characters:
- Balaputra: A maharaja of Srivijaya in the 9th century CE as well as the former head of the Sailendra dynasty. Before rising as maharaja of Srivijaya though, he was the heir to the Ancient Mataram Kingdom, a Hindu-Buddha kingdom in Java back then, but was eventually forced to leave Java by the forces of Rakai Pikatan, a member of the rival Sanjaya Dynasty, who later founded the Medang Kingdom.
- Dharmasetu: An 8th century maharaja of Srivijaya. Under his reign, he successfully incorporated Pan Pan, a kingdom located in the north of the Malay Peninsula into Srivijayan sphere of influence before 775 AD.
- Gajah Mada: Commander of Majapahit elite guard, the Bhayangkara. Then the Prime Minister of Majapahit, replacing Arya Tadah. He was well known for his Palapa Oath and expanding Majapahit territories across the Malay Archipelago. He was dismissed after the Bubat Tragedy.
- Hayam Wuruk: A Javanese King from the Rajasa Dynasty and the fourth monarch of the Majapahit Empire. Together with his prime minister Gajah Mada, he reigned the empire at the time of its greatest power.
- Jayanegara: Prince of Kediri in 1295 reigned from 1309 to 1328, was a Javanese King and the second monarch of Majapahit Empire.
- Parameswara: The last King of Singapura. According to the Malay annals, he ruled Singapura from 1389 to 1398. The king fled the island kingdom after a Majapahit naval invasion in 1398 and founded his new stronghold on the mouth of Bertam river in 1402.
- Raden Wijaya: A Javanese king, the founder and the first monarch of Majapahit Empire and the son-in-law of the last Singhasari monarch, Kertanegara.
- Samaratungga: The head of the Sailendra dynasty who ruled Central Java and Srivijaya in the 8th and the 9th century.
- Sang Nila Utama: A Srivijayan prince from Palembang said to have founded the Kingdom of Singapura in 1299.
- Sultan Mansur Shah: The sixth Sultan of Malacca. He ruled Malacca from 1459 to 1477. He ascended the throne after the death of his father, Muzaffar Shah.
- Sultan Muzaffar Shah: The fifth Sultan of Malacca. He ruled from 1445 to 1459.
Trivia
- If a player picks the Malay civilization, the bottom left and center of the navigation bar will show a ship image and a spherical symbol respectively. The ship image is based on a carving at the Borobudur Temple wall, while the spherical symbol is based on Surya Majapahit (Sun of Majapahit), a symbol commonly found in the ruins of Majapahit era.
- The ship presented at the history section and campaign menu is a vessel with outtrigger like those depicted at the Borobudur temple. However, recent studies showed that this kind of ship was not used by Majapahit Empire. Majapahit's main type of naval ship was the jong.
- The Malay are the only civilization that can train cavalry but have no access to Chain Barding Armor.
- Despite the Malay being loosely based on the inhabitants of Malay Archipelago, some of the civilization's traits are primarily borrowed from the Javanese that would later become part of modern Indonesia. Their campaign focuses on Gajah Mada, the chief minister of the Majapahit Empire based on the island of Java, who is considered a significant figure in Indonesian history. Their Wonder is the Kalasan Temple, which is located in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
- The Karambit however, while a popular weapon with the peasants of Java, is actually said to originate from Sumatra (from where the Srivijaya Empire originated), and more specifically from the Minangkabau people, based in West Sumatra (Sumatera Barat) and known today as the largest matrilineal society in the world.
- The Malay are also the second civilization in the game to receive a unique building, after the Portuguese.
- According to Majapahit era literature, the Majapahit Empire controlled parts of the island of New Guinea, which geographically belongs to Australasia. This technically means that with the inclusion of the Malay, Age of Empires II now represents parts from all continents except Antarctica.
- If a Malay player starts fishing from a Fish Trap that was initially built by another civilization, it will still provide unlimited food. If a non-Malay player fishes from a Fish Trap that is built by the Malay, the Fish Trap will only provide 715 food.
- The Malay are the only civilization in the game that has access to Bombard Towers, but not Fortified Walls.
- Malay have access to Bombard Towers and Cannon Galleons. This may be because in history, the Cetbang was an invention from the Majapahit.
- The Malay are the only civilization in the game that has access to elephants and Heresy.
- One of the in-game dialogues of the Monk (Om Maheshwaraya) is one of the praising forms associated to the Hindu god Shiva.
- Majapahit was a thalassocracy only during the reign of King Hayam Wuruk. However, the quality of the navy as well as all of its military declined after his death due to continuous civil wars and purposed neglect by the monarchs. Thus, when the empire was defeated and taken over by Demak, it only ruled the eastern part of Java.
Gallery
Video overview
