Steppe is a nomadic type random map featured in Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten and Age of Mythology: Retold - Immortal Pillars. The map is based off the Eurasian Steppe which runs through Eastern Europe and Siberia.
Age of Empires II[]
| โ | Dare you leave the safe shelter of the trees to hunt the graceful deer roaming the open ground? | โ |
| —Map description | ||
Each player begins with no Town Center in a large alcove connected to the central steppe. Player start the game with three Yurts (each of which provides five population space), six Villagers, and a Horse, which replaces their starting scout. The Horse is unlike the Scout Cavalry or Eagle Scout in that it moves faster, has a more limited Line of Sight, cannot attack enemies, takes up no population space, opponents can see it moving through explored terrain, and it is not targeted automatically by enemy military. Aside from this unusual start, each player is provided with typical starting resources around their initial locations (two Boars, eight small herdable animals (Llamas or Sheep) or six Cows, six Forage Bushes, Gold and Stone Mines).
The central steppe lacks any cliffs or elevation changes. An abundance of huntables can be found all around the center of the map. Depending on the generation, the map may have a cosmetic permafrost effect. Wood is plentiful around the edges of the map, evenly distributed in pockets.
Relics are found near the starting position, with one generating per player. Like with other Nomad maps, aggressive predators like Wolves are completely absent.
Viable tactics[]
The player can decide where to build their Town Center, although most players build their Town Center near the starting point or just at the starting point. It is advisable to place the Town Center near the Berry Bushes, a forest or the Gold and Stone Mines. This way, the player may save some wood and further walking time for Villagers, by skipping building the required dropsites for those resources and use this wood later for making their first Mill on the central steppe in order to get the Deer. The fact that each player starts the game with no Town Center may enable some civilizations (like the Persians) to perform a Town Center rush very early, but at a great economic risk. Since each player starts with 3 Yurts, making Houses early is not necessary.
Collecting Deer will give the player an economic edge, but it may come at greater cost. Since food is plentiful on the map, Scout Cavalry rushes in the Feudal Age are a commonly employed tactic, taking advantage of the open map to target vulnerable Villagers collecting Deer.
Building Castles and Watch Towers over vulnerable Villagers may provide some degree of protection, but unlike other maps, taking control of the central steppe will be very hard and defensive structures will likely be destroyed from constant enemy raids. For a defensive playstyle, it is much better to go and take the forested edges of the map, as in these places walling is much more viable (however, the player's economy may struggle a bit without the extra food from the Deer).
Age of Mythology[]
Steppe icon as seen from map selection menu
| โ | Fertile grasslands surround a barren and open steppe. | โ |
| —Map description | ||
Steppe is a random map introduced in Age of Mythology: Retold - Immortal Pillars. It is an extremely open land map with a vast grassland in the middle.
Overview[]
| โ | The generous grassland perimeter offers ample resources, but true power lies in controlling the central open steppe and its vital settlements. | โ |
| —Loading screen | ||
The map contains only a few lone trees and Gold Mines. It features many types of huntables, including Spotted Deer, regular Deer, Gazelles, Boars, and Brown Bears. Most forests are near the edges of the map. Two Relics and two unclaimed Settlements spawn per player. The map supports rushing due to walling being costly over the vast territory. As such, it favors gods that focus on mobility and rapid development, such as Odin, Loki, Kronos, and Fuxi.
Similar maps[]
Gallery[]
