Sudden Death is a map in Age of Mythology, and a game mode in Age of Empires II HD: The African Kingdoms. In Age of Mythology: Retold, it is a game mode instead of a map.
Age of Empires II[]
| “ | Players are eliminated when they have no town centers left, so protect your town center while destroying your enemy's. You cannot build any town centers. In nomad mode, players can build one town center. | ” |
| —In-game description | ||
The Sudden Death game mode was introduced in The African Kingdoms, and revolves itself around one goal: To not lose the own Town Center while trying to destroy the enemies'. As players cannot lose their base and rebuild elsewhere, turtling strategies are especially prominent in Sudden Death matches. In Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, Sudden Death is also a Game Setting that can be set independently of game mode.
Ideal civilizations include ones with bonuses for their Villagers (such as the Inca), good turtling potential (such as the Koreans) and ones with great Dark/Feudal Age rush potential (such as the Aztecs). Due to the inability to create multiple Town Centers, bonuses like the Vikings' free Wheelbarrow are also very helpful. The Persians' 2x Town Center hit points is very strong in this mode as well.
Also, civilizations that boast unique ranged or "rapid response" (such as Shotel Warriors) units are a great choice for offensive Castle drops in Sudden Death (see below).
For Sudden Death mode on the Nomad map, the Cumans can build a second Town Center from the Feudal Age onwards, bypassing the restriction on additional Town Centers.
Age of Mythology[]
| “ | Everyone starts with a Citadel and no free Settlements exist. If your Citadel is lost, you will lose the game. | ” |
| —Map description | ||
A Sudden Death map in Age of Mythology
In the original release of Age of Mythology, the Sudden Death map contains no additional Settlements and each player starts with a Citadel instead of a Town Center, as well as four Tents, that provide 10 population each, so players start with 65 population (70 for Isis players). The timing for turtling and rushing tactics is important, since the player is more likely to lose upon losing the Citadel Center.
When a player has no Town Center, the player will not immediately lose the game (as opposed to the in-game description); however, it will initiate a 2-minute countdown to give the player a chance to reclaim or claim a new Settlement. If the player fails to claim a Settlement within the given allowance, they will lose the game.
Goats live around the map and huntables include Deer, Elk, and Chickens. When players are each on their own, the map is landlocked, mostly flat, and symmetrical. On the other hand, when the players are in teams, the map becomes mostly landlocked, save for two stripes of water running horizontally from the west and east, where Salmon can be fished.
Following major gods are especially suitable for Sudden Death:
- Poseidon (Militia spawn from destroyed buildings, ideal for countering cavalry rushes)
- Hades (Sentinel, tough buildings, great ranged units)
- Isis (Monuments negate god powers, powerful economy bonuses)
- Loki (Spy, ideal for countering myth and human unit rushes)
- Kronos (Deconstruction, ideal for rushes, cheaper siege weapons)
- Gaia (excellent economic and defensive bonuses, Lush terrain negates tower rushes and Castle drops)
- Chinese (Tale of the Dragon)
- Nü Wa (Recreation and Acupuncture, reliable economy bonuses, ideal for rushes with human units)
- Shennong (Wall upgrades are cheaper, siege weapons do more damage, reliable economy bonuses)
In Age of Mythology: Retold, the Sudden Death map has been removed and the mode is now available as a victory condition for any map.
Trivia[]
- Sudden Death was originally designed to be a game mode in the original release of Age of Mythology. This was finally realized in Retold.
- If the player manages to claim a Settlement after the countdown has been initiated, it will require about 2 seconds for the system to recognize that the player has done so, before the countdown disappears. Therefore, if the player has claimed the Settlement, and there is only about a second or two remaining, they will lose the game.
Tips[]
Due to having only one Citadel or Town Center available in Sudden Death, Villager production is slow-paced and as such, even a single Villager loss can mean a lot, especially in the early game. For that reason, the following rules should be followed:
- Be highly careful when expanding to distant resource pools, as early game raids might cause many Villager casualties.
- Make good use of Castle drops; it is highly advised to keep the pressure on enemies, by drawing attention away from a player's base and by harassing an enemy's economy. Particularly good factions for such a Castle Drop are ones with potent ranged units (such as Gastraphetoros for Hades, or Longbowmen for the Britons).
- Rush as quickly as possible; this will force enemies to the defensive and save time needed to advance through Ages. The type of rush will depend on each major god's/ civilization's strength, and includes, among others, tower rushes, which play similarly to Castle drops.
- Wall the Citadel / Town Center (preferably with Palisades in Age of Empires II) well enough so that less melee units can engage the Town Center, yet also modestly enough so that less resources are spent.
Gallery[]
| Game modes in the series | |
|---|---|
| Popular | Campaign (II) · Multiplayer · Random map · Deathmatch · Regicide · Nomad · Co-op (Arena of the Gods) · D3 · Free-for-all |
| Battle Royale · Capture the Relic · Defend the Wonder · Dominion · Empire Wars · Historical map · King of the Hill · Sudden Death · Treaty · Turbo Random Map · Tycoon · Wonder Race | |
| Limited time | Chart a Course · Full Moon · Map Monsters · Season's Feast |