Marsh in the Random Map menu
Marsh icon in Retold
| โ | Grassy plains surround this dangerous swamp, whose center is full of animals and relics. | โ |
| —Map description | ||
| โ | A dangerous swamp surrounded by grassy hills. The center is full of huntable animals and relics. | โ |
| —Map description | ||
Marsh is an offense-oriented random map in Age of Mythology. It represents both a swampland and a peat bog.
There are many potential locations for this map, but it contains fauna native to both Eurasia and Africa, making it difficult to pinpoint the location.
Overview[]
| โ | Grassy plains surround this dangerous swamp, whose center is full of animals and relics. Seek the resources in no manโs land at your own peril. | โ |
| —Loading screen | ||
As a map, the Marsh is fairly open, having lower-than-average trees and almost no elevation, but also plentiful wildlife. It is an excellent map for offensive major gods, thanks to these open spaces. Rushing is highly recommended on this map, but still, turtling can be practiced on some parts of the map, thanks to the water ponds and small creeks that appear around the map. These technically replace hills for this map, as a more navigable obstacle, especially as they lack fish.
The wetlands of the map are rich in huntables and Gold Mines, and also feature a great deal of Settlements.
Environment[]
The outskirts of this map feature mixed Oak, Pine, and Cypress forests, with some Deer and stray Pigs. As the player approaches the wetlands, especially towards the center, the map features swamp cypresses (known in-game as Marsh Trees, described as beeches since Retold) and occasionally, fog rising through the ground.
While humid and rich in wildlife, there are not many trees, compared to other lush maps, such as Alfheim.
Most of the ground is muddy and wet, and many European animals live to these lands, including Aurochs, Boars, and Pigs. Also, a great deal of African fauna wander around, including Water Buffaloes, Crowned Cranes, and Crocodiles.
There is also a very rare chance for Hippopotami to appear on this map, found either in duos or alone.
Similar Maps[]
Marsh is highly similar to other open maps, such as Arabia , but the closest map possible is the Cenotes, from Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten. Both represent open, wetland maps, feature small bodies of water and are excellent for rushers. Of course, they have certain differences, such as wildlife, with the Cenotes having Shore Fish and Central American fauna, whereas Marsh lacks Fish, and features Eurasian and African fauna.
Location[]
The environment of this map is one of a kind, and combines highly unusual fauna and flora.
Trees[]
- While the pre-Retold help section describes the Marsh Trees as cypresses, in reality they resemble willows more than Mediterranean cypresses. The trees' species may indeed be a type of cypress, of the genus Taxodium. They are not native to Europe anymore, but to North America. The trees could also represent Chinese swamp cypresses, known as Glyptostrobus pensilis.
- Since Retold, the map also contains Mediterranean cypresses, while the Marsh Trees are described in the in-game help section as beeches, giving the forests an overall more European or Mediterranean flavor.
Animals[]
- The combination of animals native to the Marsh is extremely unusual, as Aurochs did not live in Africa, while Crowned Cranes live exclusively in Africa. The Crowned Crane might be used to represent the common crane in order to avoid creating a new set of assets, rather using the Crowned Crane as a stand-in. If so, it would suggest that Marsh is set in northeastern Europe or Scandinavia.
- Crowned Cranes and Aurochs also appear in various Atlantean campaign maps. This would also mean that Marsh is possibly set in either Old or New Atlantis.
- Another possible location is somewhere in subtropical China, with Water Buffaloes representing Asian species, whereas Crowned Cranes might represent red-crowned cranes (who are native to much of East Asia), whereas Crocodiles may represent chinese alligators. Aurochs were also native to China, as are Boars and Pigs.
- Also, there is a rare chance for Hippoptami to appear, which further complicates this.
Possible locations[]
- Mediterranean
- North America
- Central America
- Old or New Atlantis
- Southern China
Trivia[]
- According to the original version1.0 Marsh.xs file, Marsh was intended to have swarms of bugs (represented via the Pestilence SFX object), and hostile Carnivora appear near Relics.
- Carnivora were most likely cut due to how Age of Mythology's Random Maps handle object spawning.
Gallery[]
