Welcome trailblazers to a much-anticipated update for Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition!
AoE III: DE is excited to present the newest DLC – Knights of the Mediterranean! This includes two new civs, new maps, new historical battles, and so many more new things! Don’t miss out on all the excitement and get ready to explore the Mediterranean!
Here are a few notable features to look out for in today’s update:
- 2 New Civilizations
- Italy
- Malta
- 2 New Game Modes:
- Tycoon Mode
- Diplomacy Mode
- 31 State challenges for Italy & Malta event
- 23 new Profiles Icons
- 8 new Explorer skins
- 25 Achievements
- 30 new European Maps
- 9 new Royal Houses, each with unique units & technologies
- 8 new Historical Maps
Thank you for sharing in yet another major milestone for Age of Empires with us! We hope you enjoy all the changes and look forward to sharing in all the adventures yet to come!
—The Age of Empires Team
Please note that custom mods may not be compatible with the latest game update. If you are experiencing issues launching or playing the game after downloading the new build, try disabling your installed mods before trying again.
Still having trouble? Visit our support site!
Build Spotlight
Knights of the Mediterranean Event
💥May 26th – June 27th💥
Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition is celebrating the coming of 2 new civilizations and a new game mode PLUS a Knights of the Mediterranean Event. This event will be a little different with 31 State challenges for Italy and Malta!
New Rewards!
Starting May 26th through June 27th, complete daily in-game tasks within the time limit to unlock exclusive rewards!
Each of the following challenges must be unlocked in order and on separate days. This is just a small sample of all 31 challenges.
| Day 5 | 🔒 Play a single Skirmish or Multiplayer match as the French, Germans, or Italians. 🏆 Profile Icon Unlock – Architect. |
| Day 10 | 🔒 Train 20 Spies in a single Skirmish or Multiplayer match. 🏆 Profile Icon Unlock – Filiki Eteria. |
| Day 15 | 🔒 Deal 2,000 Hand Damage (Melee) with Infantry in a single Skirmish or Multiplayer match. 🏆 Profile Icon Unlock – Papal Guard. 🏆 Profile Icon Unlock – Male Explorer. |
| Day 20 | 🔒 Research 30 Technologies in any amount of Skirmish or Multiplayer matches. 🏆 Profile Icon Unlock – Northern Musketeer. |
| Day 25 | 🔒 Build 20 Outposts, Asian Castles or African Towers in any amount of Skirmish or Multiplayer matches. 🏆 Profile Icon Unlock – Papal Lancer. |
| Day 30 | 🔒 Play a Historical Map and survive for at least 10 minutes. 🏆 Profile Icon Unlock – Gondolas. |
Keep it Forever!
Remember: if you sign in to Xbox Live at any point during the event, you get to keep all the mods and profile icons you unlock! Sign in, earn your rewards, and enjoy!
—The Age of Empires Team
Event F.A.Q.
Game
Stability & Performance
- Fixed a rare crash when a player would open a menu after losing their internet connection and reconnecting.
- Fixed a rare crash where players could crash when adjusting their graphic settings during certain Story Mode missions.
- Fixed a crash that could occur during large multiplayer games after a player temporarily lost connection, then reconnected.
- Fixed a crash that could occur during a skirmish or multiplayer game on a naval map involving AI players.
- Fixed a crash that could occur in the Deck Builder for some Home Cities when the language was set to German.
Achievements
- “See My Vest” Achievement can now be completed correctly by all civilizations.
Graphics
- Fishing Boat: The European and Native American Fishing Boats are now operated by a crew of Villagers (visual update).
- Trade Ships: Fixed an issue where a trade ship on naval trade routes would not use its proper visuals.
UI
- Fixed Event Challenge Tracker overlapping with the home city info card.
Gameplay
Fixes
- Multiple Communication Pings can now be sent after making a selection.
- Ctrl + Right-click to open the Communication Wheel.
- Make a selection with Left-click.
- Hold Alt + Left-click to send the same flare type multiple times.
- Releasing Alt will reset the flare to the default (Danger).
- Spectators can no longer open the Ping/Flare Communication Wheel.
- Fix for text notifications not sending to allies when using Communication Pings.
Civilization Balance
General
UNITS & BUILDINGS
- Sudanese Dervish: Ranged resistance reduced to 0.2 (from 0.3); now inflicts 0.75x to Skirmisher-type units (down from 1x)
- Red Sea Wagon: Fixed an issue where Red Sea Wagon could construct Haciendas for non-Mexican civilisations under certain circumstances
TECHNOLOGIES
- Imperial Age: All Units now train +10% faster upon reaching the Imperial Age (previously a feature of the Immigrants technology).
- Mediterranean Mercenary Army: Now grants 1 Li’l Bombard, 3 Elmetti and 4 Zouaves (previously shipped 3 Mamelukes, 6 Barbary Corsairs and 4 Stradiots).
- Warrior (Community Plaza): Hitpoint decay rate doubled whilst nearby an enemy Town Center.
- Mission Fervor: Cost reduced to 125f 125w (from 200f 200w).
- Socket Bayonet: Cost reduced to 100w 100c (from 200w 200c).
- Gang Saw: Research time improved to 20 seconds (from 30).
To celebrate the release of Knights of the Mediterranean the following European TEAM cards have received new names and icons for royal flavor:
- British TEAM Fast-building Houses ► TEAM House of Tudor
- Dutch TEAM Cheap Market Improvements ► TEAM House of Nassau
- French TEAM Early Skirmishers ► TEAM House of Bonaparte
- German TEAM Teutonic Town Center ► TEAM House of Hohenzollern
- Ottoman TEAM Cheap Trading Posts ► TEAM House of Osman
- Portuguese House of Bragança ► TEAM House of Bragança (now a team card!)
- Russian TEAM Barracks Hitpoints ► TEAM House of Romanov
- Swedish TEAM Heavy Infantry Hitpoints ► TEAM House of Bernadotte
Aztec
TECHNOLOGIES & CARDS
- TEAM Texcoco Fishing Boats: Now also properly affects African Fishing Canoes.
British
TECHNOLOGIES & CARDS
- Terraced Houses: The card previously known as Estates has been renamed to avoid confusion with the Estate building. The card icon has also been updated
Ethiopians
TECHNOLOGIES & CARDS
- Prize Bull (II): Big Benny is now worth 700 food, but can fatten to 900.
Inca
UNITS AND BUILDINGS:
- Stronghold & Kallanka: Units attempting to garrison must now wait 3 seconds before being able to do so.
Ottomans
TECHNOLOGIES & CARDS:
- Ottoman Mercenary Army: The card previously called Mediterranean Mercenary Army shipping 3 Mamelukes, 6 Barbary Corsairs and 4 Stradiots is now exclusive to the Ottomans as Ottoman Mercenary Army.
Portuguese
TECHNOLOGIES & CARDS:
- House of Bragança: This is now a team card called TEAM House of Bragança. The card icon has also been updated.
Spanish
UNITS AND BUILDINGS:
- Lancer: Train time corrected to 40 seconds (fixed a bug where they took 66 seconds).
CARDS:
- Spanish Gold (III):Fixed an issue where some cards did not deliver the correct amount of Coin. The card icon has also been updated.
United States
UNITS:
- Steamer: Can now train Gatling Guns instead of Hussars.
Mexico
REVOLUTIONS:
- Mayans: Added Food Silos, Native Warriors and Sustainable Agriculture to Mayan Deck.
Random Maps
Map Updates
- Standard Maps Set:
- Added Anatolia
- Added Balkans
- Added Bohemia
- Added Courland
- Added Dnieper Basin
- Added Finland
- Added France
- Added Hungarian Plains
- Added Pripet Marshes
- Added Pyrenees
- Added Saxony
- Added Scandinavia
- Added Vistula Basin
- Added Wallachia
- Removed Bahia
- Removed Gold Coast
- Removed Gran Chaco
- Removed Highlands
- Removed Ivory Coast
- Removed Lake Victoria
- Removed Niger Delta
- Removed Siberia
- Removed Tripolitania
- Team Maps Set:
- Added Anatolia
- Added Balkans
- Added Bohemia
- Added Courland
- Added Danish Strait
- Added Dnieper Basin
- Added England
- Added Finland
- Added France
- Added Hungarian Plains
- Added Ireland
- Added Low Countries
- Added Pyrenees
- Added Saxony
- Added Scandinavia
- Added Scotland
- Added Spain
- Added Vistula Basin
- Added Wallachia
- Removed Bahia
- Removed Borneo
- Removed Gold Coast
- Removed Ivory Coast
- Removed Lake Victoria
- Removed Ozarks
- Removed Painted Desert
- Removed Punjab
- Removed Rockies
- Treaty Maps Set:
- Added Alps
- Added Balkans
- Atlas:
- Hunts are now permitted to spawn slightly closer to starting towns in the Treaty game mode.
- Darfur:
- Fixed an issue where sometimes a players starting berry bushes failed to spawn.
- Hokkaido:
- Fixed an issue where sometimes a players starting mine would not spawn.
- Ozarks:
- Adjusted the placement of the native settlements for Treaty spawns to ensure both teams have equal opportunity to ally with the local natives during the treaty period.
- Unknown:
- Added some new starting wagons, scouts, and techs – all randomly selected and of course… yours to discover!
- Swahili Coast:
- Fixed an issue preventing the trade ship from spawning along the trade routes.
Map Changes
Ongoing
Investigation
Community-Reported Issues:
- Your reports continue being crucial to our prioritization and implementation of fixes and features in the game. Keep them coming!
For other known issues, please visit this page to see what’s being tracked!
What's on the Horizon?
COMING UP...
- HC customizations for the two Native American civs
- Performance/FPS stability improvements
DISCLAIMER
Please note that this list is subject to change, and should not be considered a comprehensive list of all the known issues we’re tracking. The above is to inform you of the team’s current priorities, which will change as other issues arise or take precedence.
For the latest updates and announcements, please visit our social channels.