This article is about the unit in the PC game. For the unit in the handheld video game, see Shade (Age of Empires: Mythologies). |
Shade is a term used for several similar undead units in Age of Mythology. There are four types of Shade, but only the Hades Shades are normally available to the player, and the other three are Scenario Editor/campaign-exclusive variants. None of them are classified as either human unit, myth unit, or hero unit.
Hades Shade[]
โ | Fallen soldiers of Hades returned from the dead. | โ |
The Hades Shade is an undead unit in Age of Mythology available to worshippers of the Greek major god Hades. Whenever one of Hades' human soldiers dies, there is a 20% chance that it will rise again as a Hades Shade at the earliest built Temple (still standing). A player may have a maximum of 25 Hades Shades.
Like heroes, Hades Shades gain hit points and attack through the Ages and are immune to the special attacks of myth units. However, they are not heroes and do not gain a bonus against myth units and cannot pick up Relics, nor are they myth units, and heroes do not have an attack bonus against them. They are not human units either; it seems they lurk in a shadowy half-existence outside the game's usual unit categories.
Upgrades[]
- Classical Age, Heroic Age, Mythic Age: +10% hit points, +20% attack.
- Copper Weapons, Bronze Weapons, and Iron Weapons +10% attack.
- Copper Mail, Bronze Mail, and Iron Mail: +10% hack armor.
- Copper Shields, Bronze Shields, and Iron Shields: +10% pierce armor.
- Oracle (Apollo): +6 Line of Sight.
Strategy[]
Hades Shades are not specialists and have neither the strengths nor the weaknesses of other units. They do not have any attack bonuses. On the other hand, their immunity to myth units' special attacks and the fact that no unit has a bonus against them counts in their favor.
Hades Shades may be weak, but, like Militia, they only cost one population slot and are strong in numbers. Of course, to amass such numbers, the player will have to have done a lot of fighting and lost a lot of units: on average a player will gain 20 Hades Shades for every 100 human soldiers they lose. This may happen naturally in a defensive situation, but it is generally unwise to deliberately seek out such a strategy.
Changelog[]
- Shades have 90 hit points.
- With patch 1.02, Shades have 100 hit points.
- Shades are now affected by Armory upgrades.
Shade (SPC)[]
โ | Souls returned from the dead. Invisible to enemies. Great against myth units. Cannot attack buildings. | โ |
In the Fall of the Trident campaign, friendly Shades are an important feature of the Strangers scenario and also appear in the Underworld section of the Good Advice scenario. These Shades have a different appearance; they do not have a sickle weapon, lack a lower body and are surrounded by a green fog. They have far more hit points than Hades Shades and are invisible to enemies. They can kill myth units and most human soldiers in a kamikaze fashion where they disappear after attacking an enemy.
Shade of Olympus[]
โ | Souls returned from the dead. Invisible to enemies. Great against myth units. Cannot attack buildings. | โ |
Shades of Olympus appear in the Mount Olympus scenario from the The New Atlantis campaign and the Yin and Yang scenario from Tale of the Dragon. These hostile shades are identical to the ones from the Fall of the Trident scenarios Strangers and Good Advice, except they only instantly kill myth units and are visible to the enemy.
Shade (RM)[]
โ | Angry souls of the dead. | โ |
On the Erebus random map, another type of Shade (confusingly also called a Hades Shade) appears as a neutral unit. These shades are the same as the standard Hades Shade except they do not gain Age Advance bonuses and have only 90 HP. Hades Shades are also present on the King of the Hill random map, guarding the central Plenty Vault, which needs to be captured in order to obtain victory. It is not strictly necessary to kill the Shades in order to capture it, as once a player's unit gets close enough to the Plenty Vault, it will switch to their control, and will not switch back to Mother Nature's control for the rest of the game.
Mythology[]
โ | The dead of Greek mythology became shades, empty ghost-like shadows of their former selves. Hades' land of the dead was not necessarily a horrible place to be, but it was without honor or glory. If anything, shades were pitied more than they were feared. | โ |
Gallery[]
Campaign-exclusive units, characters, buildings, technologies, and god powers in Age of Mythology | |
---|---|
Age of Mythology | |
Protagonists | Agamemnon ยท Ajax ยท Amanra ยท Arkantos ยท Arkantos (uber) ยท Boar (Ajax) ยท Boar (Arkantos) ยท Brokk ยท Chiron ยท Eitri ยท Odysseus ยท Reginleif ยท Setna |
Antagonists | Circe ยท Gargarensis ยท Kamos ยท Kemsyt ยท Living Poseidon Statue ยท Skult ยท Theris |
Supporting characters | Athena ยท Greta Forkbeard ยท Guardian ยท Kastor ยท Niordsir ยท Old Man ยท Osiris ยท Theocrat ยท Zethos |
Other units | Boulder ยท Charon Ferry ยท Folstag Flag Bearer ยท Osiris Piece Cart ยท Pirate Ship ยท Polaris ยท Prisoner ยท Shade ยท Shipwreck ยท Statue of Lightning ยท Sword Bearers ยท Thor's Hammer Haft ยท Thor's Hammer Head ยท Trojan Horse |
Buildings | Boulder Rolling Dead ยท Boulder Wall ยท Columns ยท Dig Pile ยท Dwarven Forge ยท Excavation ยท Fountain ยท Gate of Troy ยท Giant Gate Ram ยท Hades Gate ยท Iron Fence ยท Jail Wall ยท Lion Statue ยท Major God Statue ยท Market Stall ยท Naval Shipyard ยท Obelisk ยท Osiris Pyramid ยท Pharaoh Statue ยท Shrine ยท Sleeping Guardian ยท Statue of Poseidon ยท Stone Fence ยท Temple of the Gods ยท Tent ยท Underworld Passage ยท Wall of Atlantis ยท Wall of Troy ยท Well of Urd ยท Wooden Fence |
Technologies | Giant-slaying Blades ยท Osmium Mail ยท Asbestos Shields |
Embellishment objects | Tamarisk Tree ยท Taproot ยท Osiris Piece Box |
God powers | Blessing of Zeus |
The Titans | |
Protagonists | Ajax ยท Amanra ยท King Folstag ยท Gaia ยท Kastor ยท Son of Osiris |
Antagonists | General Melagius ยท Kronos ยท Prometheus ยท Servant of Kronos |
Supporting characters | Arkantos ยท Atlantean Commander ยท Krios ยท Zeno |
Buildings | Automaton Statue ยท Chimera statue ยท Cyclops statue ยท Gaia Pool ยท Hydra statue ยท Manticore statue ยท Nemean Lion statue ยท Overgrown Temple ยท Statue of Melagius ยท Temple of Kronos ยท Tower of Odin ยท Valkyrie statue |
Embellishment objects | Summoning Tree |
God powers | Deconstruction Wonder ยท Seed of Gaia |
Tale of the Dragon | |
Protagonists | Jiao-Long ยท Shun ยท Zhi |
Antagonists | Danzhu ยท Yama |
Supporting characters | Ao Kuang ยท Dilong ยท Emperor Yao ยท Pangu ยท Vermilion Bird |
Other units | Griffon |
Buildings | Dam ยท Roc Tent |
Cut content | |
Misenus ยท Mnevis |