Socotra is a random map in Age of Empires II HD: The African Kingdoms and Age of Empires IV - Season Eight.
Age of Empires II[]
Socotra selection
| “ | "Close quarters and nowhere to run, fight to the death on the mystical island of Socotra." | ” |
| —Map description | ||
This map features the island of Socotra, located to the south of Yemen and to the east of the Horn of Africa. The island is very small, and completely surrounded by cliffs, while beyond these cliffs lies the Indian Ocean.
The map has a very chaotic start. Resources spawn very close to the player, and the tree lines are small.
This map is meant to exist for the purpose of playing quick matches, and especially Deathmatches, as players are extremely close to each other, and resources are scarce.
Environment[]
Apart from some African fauna, namely Elephants, some Zebras and Ostriches (as well as some Goat herdables), this map features some flora endemic to Socotra, namely Dragon Trees, some of them quite similar to the Dragon Blood Trees.
Starting resources[]
- Sheep: x4
- Boar: x1
- Deer (patch): x1 (M)
- Berries (patch): x1 (S)
- Gold (pile): x2 (S)
- Stone (pile): x2 (S)
- Trees: Less
Trivia[]
- It is the only Random Map set in Africa that introduces Dragon Trees rather than acacias and/or Baobabs.
Age of Empires IV[]
| “ | Chaos emerges as different civilizations crowd together on a small island and face a struggle to expand for what little space they can get. | ” |
| —Age of Empires IV description | ||
Socotra in Age of Empires IV is a tiny island surrounded by water with no Fish. It was introduced in Season Eight and encourages aggressive, chaotic gameplay.
Features[]
With such a small land area, there is little room for additional map features. Trade Posts are completely forgone, and Socotra only has four Relics, regardless of team size. The Relics always spawn as the corners of a rectangle in the center of the island. On larger team games, this can be quite inconsistent and several of the Relics may not spawn. The map also has two Sacred Sites along the center axis of the island in between the teams.
Resources[]
The number of resources is quite limited on the map. The water surrounding the island exists only as a second front from which to attack an opponent's base, and has no fish. Stone, gold, food, and wood are all in shorter supply than usual, with no Large Gold Mines or Large Stone Outcroppings, minimal Deer Packs, and only a single Boar in the center of the map flanked by the only two large circular woodlines on the map, regardless of team size. Only Berry Bushes appear in greater quantity than usual, with one more large patch than usual per player. The ample Stealth Forest may also provide additional wood beyond the two smaller starting woodlines. One notable aspect of the map is that the starting gold mine will always be along the coast, allowing strategic options for an opponent to deny early gold from the sea.
Gallery[]
