Update log
Full Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition update
The complete published notes, normalized for clean reading and source attribution.
Extracted changes
- Gameplay
- Maps
- Balance
- UI and audio
Set sail for a new naval adventure in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition!
Naval prowess was a cornerstone of empire building in the Middle Ages. From Viking raids, to Italian trade and Portuguese exploration, many civilizations leveraged the seas and rivers to establish their dominance. To do this history justice, the next update will bring expanded naval gameplay in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, adding 4 new ships, new technologies, map elements, new animations, and more!
The expanded naval warfare will be available to all Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition owners, and will release alongside The Last Chieftains on February 17th for Steam.
The expanded naval warfare will be available to all owners of Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition on Steam. Download the update on February 17th, and conquer the seas!
Two New Ship Lines
Hulk
| Hulk | War Hulk | Carrack |
Hulks are fast ships whose crews hurl short-ranged grappling hooks in close combat. Hulks’ high armor offers excellent resistance against Fire Ship attacks, but their close-quarter focus makes them vulnerable to the missile attacks of longer ranged ships like Galleys.
Hulks upgrade to War Hulks and then Carracks. These ships benefit from melee attack upgrades (Forging, Iron Casting, and Blast Furnace) at the Blacksmith.
Catapult Galleon
| Catapult Galleon |
The Catapult Galleon is a long-range siege ship used by civilizations without access to Cannon Galleons, Dromons, or Lou Chuans.
Several existing ships have also received new animations, including moving sails or oars.
New and Updated Technologies
To complement the new additions, the upgrade system for mainline warships was also revised. The new Medium Warships and Heavy Warships technologies now upgrade Galleys, Fire Ships, and Hulks. However, auxiliary vessels such as Demolition Rafts, Cannon Galleons, and Unique Ships still use separate upgrades.
Fishing Lines is now a Feudal Age precursor to Gillnets, and increases Fishing Ship carry capacity.
Four new technologies are available in the University, offering players more options to strengthen their warships:
Carvel Hull and Clinker Construction to increase Ship movement speed
Siphons and Incendiaries to bolster Fire Ships’ explosive potential
Alongside these technologies, Careening, Dry Dock, and Shipwright have been modified and are now available at the University.
| Steam post image | Steam post image |
| Updated Careening Icon | Updated Dry Dock Icon |
Naval Economy and Production
Fishing Ships can gather gold from Whales in open seas. When threatened, they can garrison inside of Docks for protection.
| Steam post image |
Trade Cogs can be configured to trade for Gold, Wood, or an equal amount of both.
Docks now only use a single user interface page to produce all Ships and research all Technologies. Additionally, Docks shoot arrows when garrisoned by Fishing Ships.
We have reviewed your feedback after the Thalassocracy Cup tournament last year, and have made a number of changes to address several issues. In particular, Hulk damage has been reduced, Demolition Ships explosions are more deadly, and all warships sail a bit slower.
A full changelog will be available with the official patch notes coming mid-February. We’d like to thank everyone for their detailed feedback that has helped guide the balance for the new naval warfare, which we are excited to share with the entire community on February 17th!
Below, you can find a preview of the changes coming to naval warfare with the update on February 17th!
General Changes
Ship statistics have been revamped to no longer rely on arcane calculations of different attack bonuses/armor bonuses, and have been greatly simplified.
Ship combat now only uses either pierce damage (Galleys and ranged Unique Ships) or melee damage (Fire Ship, Demolition Ship, Hulk, Cannon Galleons), and a single case of attack bonus (Long Ranged Ship).
Not all statistics changed are reflected here, as ship relationships between one another are kept broadly unchanged.
New ship-line: Hulk/War Hulk/Carrack
Short ranged ship, attacks with ropes and hooks.
Counters Fire Ships; weak against Galleys.
Benefits from Melee Attack Upgrades.
Upgraded alongside Fire Ships and Galleys.
Demolition Ship
Reduced damage to fit into a more situational role.
Upgraded as a single line.
No longer available to civilizations with a Unique Ship (Vikings, Portuguese, Koreans).
Fishing Ship
Can garrison into Docks.
Queue Fish Traps and Toggle Automatic Fish is set on the Fishing Ships themselves.
Receives Ship Armor class.
Can gather gold from Whales as Whaling Ship.
Trade Cog
Now can select between 3 different options for gold/wood ratio on the Trade Cog UI.
Galley-Line
Receives Long Ranged Ship armor class (60).
Gains bonus against Long Ranged Ship.
Loses bonus against all other ships.
Fire-Line
Gains bonus against Long Ranged Ship.
Loses bonus against all other ships.
Damage type changed to melee.
Cannon Galleon (and Equivalents)
Receives Long Ranged Ship armor class.
Oyster Gatherer
Has been renamed to “ Pearler ”.
Uses the foraging animation (instead of mining) to gather from Oysters.
Technologies
Careening/Dry Dock
Moved to the University.
Dry Dock effect changed from Ships +15% faster → Ships +1 Pierce Armor (Same as Careening).
Careening cost changed from 250f 150g → 100f 200g.
Dry Dock cost changed from 600f 400g → 200f 400g.
Shipwright
Moved to the University.
Gillnets
Effect changed from Gather +15% faster → Gather +10% faster and carry +5.
Cost changed from 150f 200w → 100f 125w.
War Galley/Galleon/Fast Fire Ship
Removed; replaced with Medium Warships and Heavy Warships (see below).
Heavy Demolition Ship
Cost changed from 200w 300g → 250w 350g.
New Technologies
Fishing Lines
Available at the Dock.
Precursor to Gillnets.
50f 100w (II): Fishing Ships Gather +10% faster and carry +5.
Medium Warships/Heavy Warships
Available at the Dock.
Upgrade the Galley-, Fire-, and Hulk-lines together.
150w 100g (III): Upgrades Galleys, Fire Galleys, and Hulks into War Galleys, Fire Ships, and War Hulks.
400w 315g (IV): Upgrades War Galleys, Fire Ships, and War Hulks into Galleons, Fast Fire Ships, and Carracks.
Carvel Hull/Clinker Construction
Available at the University.
150f 100w (III): Ships move +10% faster.
350f 200w (IV): Ships move +10% faster.
Siphons/Incendiaries
Available at the University.
100f 175g (III): Fire Ships gain an explosive charge attack.
200f 325g (IV): Fire Ships detonate when sunk, dealing damage around them.
Demolition Ship
Available at the Dock.
Standalone upgrade to Demolition Rafts.
150w 100g (III).
Civilization Specific Changes
Vikings
Gain access to Fire Galley-line.
Lose access to Demolition Raft-line.
Ship discount bonus changed from 15/15/20% → 10/15/20%.
Japanese
Fishing Ship bonus changed from +100% HP, +2 pierce armor → +100% HP.
Portuguese
Lose access to Demolition Raft-line.
Ship HP bonus changed from +10% → +10/15/20%.
Carrack Unique Technology removed.
New Technology: Circumnavigation (250f 150w): Sets the entire map to explored; Ships train +33% faster.
Gurjaras
Fishing Ship can garrison into Docks bonus → Docks can garrison +5 Fishing Ships.
Italians
University and Dock technologies discount changed from 33% → 25%.
Wu
Careening and Dry Dock cheaper and available one age earlier → Careening and Dry Dock free.
Aztecs, Cumans, Inca, and Maya
Gain access to Catapult Galleon.
The expanded naval warfare will be available to all owners of Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition on Steam. Download the update on February 17th, and conquer the seas!
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