Advancing to the Next Age

Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition features four Ages to advance through. As you advance through the Ages, you unlock new technologies, units, and buildings to strengthen your empire.

To advance to the next Age, you must meet the advancement requirements. Each Age has a basic resource cost and advancement requires you to construct at least two buildings from the current Age.

Advancing to the next Age can be done at the Town Center. It is costly, but the advantages greatly outweigh the costs. Unlocking powerful units and new technologies can give you the advantage to overwhelm an unprepared opponent.

However, be sure to find a balance between investing in defensive units and buildings before advancing. Lets explore how to advance and the benefits of advancing!

The starting Age that offers limited technology and military options.

The prime time to gather information about your opponent and set your empire up for success.

In the Feudal Age, you can train a variety of new military units and construct new buildings such as the Archery Range, Stable and Blacksmith.

Research multiple technologies with varying bonuses and effects. Construct Watch Towers and Stone Walls.

Train powerful military units such as Knights and Siege Weapons. Diversify your strategies with advanced technologies and construct Castles. Also unlocks access to the powerful Siege Workshop where you can create devastating Siege Weapons!

Train the most advanced military units such as Paladins and dominating siege weapons like the mighty Trebuchet. Access powerful technologies such as ‘Chemistry’, allow training of Hand Cannoneers and Bombard Cannons, and construct your civilization’s Wonder if you’re pursuing a Wonder Victory.

To begin advancing to the next Age you must have the basic resource cost available in your stockpiles. Advancement to each Age costs the following:

• Advancing to the Feudal Age – 500 Food
• Advancing to the Castle Age – 800 Food, 200 Gold
• Advancing to the Imperial Age – 1000 Food, 800 Gold

To advance to the next Age, you must meet the advancement requirements. Alongside the basic resource cost, advancement requires you to construct at least two buildings from the current Age.

• A Lumber Camp and a Mill will allow you to advance from the Dark Age to the Feudal Age.
• A Blacksmith and a Stable will allow you to advance from the Feudal Age to the Castle Age.

If your empire has constructed two buildings from the current Age and has the required resources, you will be able to move forward to the next Age.

Advancing to the Imperial Age is the exception. In the Castle Age, you can either construct two buildings from the Castle Age (such as a Siege Workshop and a University) or construct a single Castle. Both options will allow you to advance to the Imperial Age, provided you have the advancement cost of 1,000 Food and 800 Gold.

To construct farms, you first must have constructed a Mill.

To construct an Archery Range or Stable, you first must have constructed a Barracks.

To construct a Siege Workshop, you first must have constructed a Blacksmith.

Now that you finished learning the basics, it’s a great time to finish the Learn to Play campaign with William Wallace if you haven’t done so yet.

The Learn to Play campaign will ensure you can control and interact with the world within Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, setting you up for success!

In the next section of this guide, we’ll be building a higher-level understanding of how Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition is played and laying the groundwork for you to become an expert!

Once you’ve finished the Learn to Play campaign and are comfortable with the information this guide has presented, let’s move on to the next step!