Welcome to Return of Rome, a completely new experience within Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition!

Though there will be many overlaps in gameplay between Return of Rome and Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, there are some slight differences which may not be immediately apparent when playing for the first time.

Based on that feedback, we have decided to add Romans to the ranked queue in a future update.

Here, we’re going to run through some of the differences to give you a leg up on getting started and enjoying everything Return of Rome has to offer!



Return of Rome is vastly different to all of the DLC we’ve previously released for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. Each other release has expanded on the content available in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, while Return of Rome is an entirely different beast.

Once you’ve finished downloading the Return of Rome DLC, launch Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. On the main menu screen, you’ll see the symbol for Return of Rome in the top left corner.

Clicking this Symbol will switch your game into Return of Rome, ready for you to enjoy!

To switch back to Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, simply click the Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition symbol in the top left corner.



Just like Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, the objectives during a match in Return of Rome are very similar.

• Explore the map and discover the locations of your opponents and the four resources: Food, Wood, Gold, and Stone
  
• Produce Villagers from the Town Center to collect those resources
  
• Spend resources to construct resource drop-off sites, houses, and other important buildings
  
• Advance to the next Age; offering stronger units, buildings and technologies
  
• Train an army and command your military units in battle against opponents

Generally, gameplay will feel a lot faster and more aggressive compared to Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition – be ready for it!

Unlike Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, you do not begin with a dedicated unit for exploring the map.
When you begin a match:

• Queue some Villagers in the Town Center
  
• Command one of your Villagers to construct a House
  
• Begin exploring the nearby area with your other two Villagers for a nearby source of Food, like gazelles, elephants, or berry bushes

Note: If you’re playing on a water map, you can also try to find the coastline and some nearby fish!



Once a Villager has collected a resource, they’ll need to deposit it into a drop-off site before you can spend it. Certain resources may only be deposited into specific drop-off sites, let’s take a look at how each of them work!

[h5]Town Center[/h5]
Though the Town Center will mainly be used to train additional Villagers. It also acts as a drop-off site for every form of resource.

The Storage Pit will act as your main drop-off site for all resources, with the exception of Food collected from berry bushes and Farms.

Any Food collected from berry bushes and Farms must be dropped off at a Granary or Town Center.

• Your Villagers will not be able to drop-off Food collected from gazelle, elephants or other animals at the Granary

All Fish collected by Fishing Ships or Villagers may be dropped off at the Dock.

• Additionally, Villagers may drop-off fish at a Storage Pit

Compared to Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, where economic upgrades are housed in the relevant drop-off site. Each economic upgrade in Return of Rome is available at the Market, which can be constructed once you reach the Tool Age.
Here you can find Technologies to:

• Increase the amount of certain resources your Villagers can carry
  
• Increase the rate at which your Villagers gather certain resources
  
• Increase the speed of your Villagers and gain access to chariot units and Trade Carts
  
• Increase the amount of Food that can be harvested from Farms before rebuilding

Like Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, upgrading your units along their technology line in the Technology Tree will be available within their creation building.

• A good example is upgrading the Short Swordsman to the Broadswordsman at the Barracks; where the Short Swordsman is trained

However, additional upgrades to a unit’s base statistics are done at the Storage Pit or the Market, instead of a Blacksmith. At the Storage Pit you’ll be able to increase your units Melee Attack, Melee Armor and Missile (Ranged Attack) Armor.


Then at the Market you can increase the damage done by your Missile Units (Ranged Attack) by researching the Wood gathering technologies at the Market, and improve your Slingers by researching the Stone gathering technologies.





To construct Walls, Gates and Towers the Technology must first be researched at the Granary.

Once you’ve completed researching the Small Walls Technology, available from the Tool Age. You will be able to construct Walls and Gates.

Similarly, to construct a Watch Tower, first you will need to research the Watch Tower Technology, available from the Tool Age at the Granary.

• As you advance through the Ages, you’ll unlock Technologies to further improve your Walls, Gates and Watch Towers at the Granary – depending on your civilization’s Technology Tree

Coming from Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, you’re no doubt familiar with each civilization having a number of Bonuses, Unique Units and Unique Technologies.

In Return of Rome, this has been simplified a little. Each civilization still has unique Bonuses, but they do not have any Unique Units or Technologies.

Return of Rome retains Age of Empires' design principles of differentiating civilizations through powerful, impactful bonuses and strategy-shaping differences in the technology tree to preserve the authentic feel of the game that started it all.

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Available on Steam starting May 16!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2141580/Age_of_Empires_II_Definitive_Edition__Return_of_Rome/

Roman fortifications have been sighted on the battlefield in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition!
Lay waste to the enemies of Rome with the Return of Rome DLC, coming May 16th!

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Available starting May 16!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2141580/Age_of_Empires_II_Definitive_Edition__Return_of_Rome/

Replacing the Two-Handed Swordsman and Champion at the Barracks. The Romans can upgrade their Long Swordsman to one of their new Unique Units, the mighty Legionary!

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Defeat your opponents as the Romans with the Return of Rome DLC, coming May 16th!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2141580/Age_of_Empires_II_Definitive_Edition__Return_of_Rome/

Increase Movement and Attack Speed of nearby Militia-line Units with the Romans' new Unique Unit, the Centurion!

Conqueror your enemies as the Romans, with the Return of Rome DLC. Coming May 16th.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2141580/Age_of_Empires_II_Definitive_Edition__Return_of_Rome/

What to expect with the newest Return of Rome DLC for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition.

Return of Rome is a completely new type of expansion, which brings classic Age of Empires gameplay, style and key experiences as a brand new self-contained experience.

When launching Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, to access Return of Rome, you will need to select the Return of Rome icon on the Main Menu to transition your game.


You will be taken into Return of Rome, where you’ll be able to access favorite and new content, including the Age of Empires classic civilizations, brand new campaigns, and a new competitive D3 game mode.

Purchasing Return of Rome will also grant you access to the bonus Romans civilization while playing in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition mode.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2141580/Age_of_Empires_II_Definitive_Edition__Return_of_Rome/

The Lac Viet are an additional civilization playable alongside the 16 classic civilizations in Return of Rome.

Civilization Bonuses

• Foragers work 20% faster
  
• Military units created 25% faster
  
• Archery Range units +2 armor

Team Bonus

• Houses and Farms built 50% faster

Technology Tree



The Romans were intended as a bonus for you to enjoy in Singleplayer and Unranked Lobbies as an extra, on top of the content within Return of Rome.

However, we’ve been listening to your feedback and desire to see Romans as a ranked civilization. Based on that feedback, we have decided to add Romans to the ranked queue in a future update. We love seeing the passion of Age of Empires fans, and feedback like this helps us continue to create as many happy players as we can.

This will help us ensure the Romans are balanced, and ready for competitive play on introduction to ranked gameplay.

With the newest release of Return of Rome for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, players will have an opportunity to battle it out as the Romans against other beloved civilizations in AoE II: DE. These Romans are joining a full roster, but are very different from the Ancient Romans featured in the original Age of Empires: Definitive Edition.

In game, the Romans date back to about 395 C.E., making them contemporaries with the Goths, Celts, Britons, Franks, Persians, etc. By this period in Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages – Rome was a crumbling shadow of its former glory. Plagued by an inability to pay its soldiers, lack of manpower, and its older fortifications in disrepair, they could not face the invasions of their former provinces or fend off attacks closer to home.

By the time of Attila, Rome simply couldn’t field any large armies of note, and relied on Germanic tribes to guard their frontiers, but those tribes often went rogue and became enemies instead. The old Roman-controlled area was inundated with an influx of different peoples who settled the land, bringing their own culture and customs, annihilating the old Roman ways.

By the end, Rome could not overcome a collapsing economy, loss of manpower, an inability to pay troops, plus bad leadership. When the “official” end in 476 came with the ousting of the last Roman emperor by a Germanic king, the Roman Empire had already silently melted away.

The Return of Rome civilizations and Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition civilizations are isolated to their respective Return of Rome or Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. As such, they will not be able to interact with each other.

Return of Rome will include three new campaigns, Pyrrhus of Epirus, Sargon of Akkad and Trajan. Each featuring full voice acting, improved AI, and the historically driven narrative and gameplay that makes Age of Empires special.

[h4]Pyrrhus of Epirus[/h4]


As the Wars of the Diadochi saw Alexander the Great’s successors throw the Greek world into chaos, Pyrrhus of Epirus began as a small player among titans. Will he become worthy of the legendary Hannibal Barca’s judgment of him – the greatest general of the age, second only to Alexander – or will his constant uphill struggle prove insurmountable? In this campaign, you will play as the Macedonians.

[h4]Sargon of Akkad[/h4]


An unlikely man rises to power in the city-states of Mesopotamia: Sargon is a simple cupbearer to the king, but everything changes when the war goddess Ishtar appears in his dreams. Under her guidance, Sargon leads the quarrelling Sumerians into a new age, but the seductive nature of power forces him to choose between his divine destiny and his personal ambition. In this campaign, you will play as the Sumerians.

[h4]Trajan[/h4]


Marcus Ulpius Trajanus climbed the ranks of the legions while the Emperor Domitian’s tyrannical rule tarnished the Roman Empire’s glory. When circumstance elevates him to the throne as Emperor Trajan, he inherits a realm on the brink of disaster. Will resourcefulness, virtue, and military might be enough to save Rome and lead it to its historical zenith, or will the Roman Empire collapse four centuries before its time? In this campaign, you will play as the Romans.

Our intention with Return of Rome is to ensure that if you already own Age of Empires: Definitive Edition, you will still find plenty of new content to enjoy.

This includes three new exclusive campaigns. A new and exclusive civilization; the Lac Viet. Plus the bonus Romans civilization for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition for you to enjoy. All of this alongside numerous quality of life upgrades and features.

• 3 new campaigns: Pyrrhus of Epirus, Sargon of Akkad and Trajan
  
• The introduction of the Lac Viet civilization for Return of Rome
  
• The introduction of the Romans civilization for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition
  
• The introduction of the D3 competitive game mode, popularized by the Vietnamese competitive scene

[h4]🢂 Plus All 16 Civilizations from the Original Age of Empires[/h4]
[expand type=details]

• Assyrians
  
• Babylonians
  
• Carthaginians
  
• Choson
  
• Egyptians
  
• Greeks
  
• Hittites
  
• Macedonians
  
• Minoans
  
• Palmyrans
  
• Persians
  
• Phoenicians
  
• Romans
  
• Shang
  
• Sumerians
  
• Yamato

[/expand]
[h4]Quality of Life Upgrades and Features:[/h4]

• Gates
  
• Formations
  
• Spectator mode
  
• A much-improved AI for computer opponents
  
• New maps

[h4]🢂 New Game Modes[/h4]
[expand type=details]

• D3
  
• Empire Wars
  
• King of the Hill
  
• Sudden Death
  
• Defend the Wonder
  
• Wonder Race

[/expand]

During the pre-order announcement, there was an error on the Steam page. This has since been corrected to 3GB of required available space.

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Return of Rome is available to pre-order now, including an additional 15% off!

This innovative DLC is available as a standalone purchase, or as a bundle with Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. Rome needs a leader!

Pre-order the Return of Rome today and be ready to conquer your opponents and forge a new Roman Empire on May 16, 2023!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2141580/Age_of_Empires_II_Definitive_Edition__Return_of_Rome/

Starting TODAY, some of your favorite content creators are ready to show YOU an exclusive preview of the upcoming DLC for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition – Return of Rome.

Want to know more about the upcoming addition of the 16 Age of Empires civilizations, the brand-new Lac-Viet, or the new Romans to Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition? Well, we have fantastic news for you: some of your favorite content creators have been granted early access to the Return of Rome DLC, and you’ll be getting a sneak preview of the exclusive units, civilization bonuses, and other new additions ahead of release!

Take a peek at the brand-new content, ask questions, and support your fellow Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition streamers and content creators below:

The Return of Rome Content Creator Preview will provide you with plenty of information and excitement on the lead up to its launch on May 16, 2023! Return of Rome is available to pre-order now, including an additional 15% off!

This innovative DLC is available as a standalone purchase, or as a bundle with Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. Pre-order the Return of Rome today and be ready to conquer your opponents and forge a new Roman Empire on May 16, 2023!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2141580/Age_of_Empires_II_Definitive_Edition__Return_of_Rome/

Did you spy the tribute to the original Age of Empires hidden within the Monastery of Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition?

The Artifact will be back with the Return of Rome DLC, available May 16th!

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https://store.steampowered.com/app/2141580/Age_of_Empires_II_Definitive_Edition__Return_of_Rome/

Today’s hotfix is aimed at addressing stability and performance issues, along with some balance fixes.

Be sure to dig down into the post below to get all of the smaller details before hopping in-game and checking them out firsthand.

💬 DISCUSS: Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition Forum
🗣 JOIN: The Age of Empires Official Discord

Thanks again to our amazing community members, all of whom have helped to make Age of Empires what it is today!

—The Age of Empires Team

Game

Stability & Performance

• Game no longer crashes upon closing the title after exiting a Multiplayer match while a monk holds a relic.

Hotkeys

• Fixed an issue where command group selection wasn’t firing unless shift group appending was enabled.
  
• Toggle Idle Pointer hotkey now works properly.

Xbox

• Fixed an issue where trees were invisible and un-targetable on Xbox when the Small Trees option was enabled in the settings.

Gameplay

General

• Bombard Towers now have 100% accuracy instead of 92% accuracy when Greek Fire is researched, as intended.

Fixes

• Fixed an issue where units may not be added back to a formation after killing a target or going idle.
  
• Fixed an issue where walls always had lower selection priority than nearby objects.
  
• Fixed an issue to prevent Villagers blocking themselves when building palisade walls or stone walls, leaving gaps and sometimes staying idle.
  
• Units no longer stop attacking enemy foundations once the building is complete.
  
• Villagers no longer continue walking to Town Centers and garrison when the town bell has been activated again.
  
• New sheep no longer get unintentionally killed by Villagers when ungarrisoning from the Town Center.
  
• Collide & Correct has been disabled to prevent units from accidentally scattering.

Civilization Balance

Portuguese

Organ Guns

• Fixed an issue where Organ Guns would largely ignore hill bonuses/penalties
  
• Fixed an issue where converted Elite Organ Guns would deal the damage of unupgraded Organ Guns unless the player had researched the Elite upgrade themselves
  
• Fixed an issue where Organ Guns missed shots would only deal half damage instead of the intended full damage
  
• Fixed an issue that prevented Organ Gun projectiles from dispersing properly
  
• Fixed an issue that caused Organ Guns projectiles to pass between units without hitting them
  
• Increased projectile dispersion from 0.25 to 0.6
  
• Reduced the number of projectiles from 6 to 5 (7 to 6 for Elite)
  
• (Elite) Organ Gun gain +1 damage against Skirmishers

AI

Scripting

• Up-path-distance 0 now returns the correct value instead of always returning 65535.

:alertalert: DISCLAIMER

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.

Where were you in 1998? Perhaps listening to Cher’s Believe, watching Titanic, playing with your Tamagotchi and relaxing on your inflatable couch? Or were you playing the Age of Empires DLC The Rise of Rome? This beloved evolution of the first Age of Empires game has taken on a new form and joined the Definitive Edition era in the Return of Rome DLC for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition.

Yes, you read that correctly, Age of Empires content available in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. Bringing the civilizations and action of ancient worlds to AoE II: DE. Purchasers will be able to switch to Return of Rome in the game’s main screen and take on fresh challenges.

• 3 new campaigns created specifically for Return of Rome. Sargon of Akkad (Sumerians), Pyrrhus of Epirus (Macedonians) and Trajan (Romans). With new missions to tackle and stories told through the familiar AoE II: DE style, you’ll be able to live more moments from history.
  
• All 16 original Age of Empires civilizations from the Assyrians to the Yamato. Get to grips with the civilizations that started the Age of Empires journey.
  
• One new civilization, the Lac Viet. In honor and recognition of Rise of Rome’s phenomenal popularity in Vietnam, we’ve added a new civilization with Return of Rome. Adding something new for established and beginner players.
  
• New D3 Game Mode. D3 is an homage to a fan favorite rule set that is now fully integrated into the game.  This rule set reduces rush tactics and allows players to start their early game more robustly, only allowing fighting with a single unit until entering the Bronze Age, ensuring players reach later Ages for equal battles.  This rule set also bans walls and towers, making for exciting match ups later in the game.
  
• The Roman civilization will be playable in the main AoE II: DE title. If you’ve ever wondered how the Romans might fare against the Aztecs, now’s your opportunity to find out.

Catch a glimpse of what Return of Rome has to offer in our teaser trailer:

Return of Rome is available to pre-order now on Steam! This innovative DLC is available to prepurchase, or as a bundle with Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. Rome is calling. It’s time to return.

Pre-order the Return of Rome today and be ready to conquer your opponents and forge a new Roman Empire on May 16, 2023!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2141580/Age_of_Empires_II_Definitive_Edition__Return_of_Rome/

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/31630/Age_of_Empires_II_Definitive_Edition__Return_of_Rome_Bundle/

Heat getting to you already? 🌶️ 🔥 The Spicy Expeditions event is rollin' out and away forever on April 25th, so don't forget to grab your rewards before then!  

Remember: if you sign in to Xbox Live during the event, you’ll get to keep all of the mods and profile icons you’ve achieved! Sign in, earn your rewards, and have fun!

We hope you enjoy the Spicy Expeditions Event!

—The Age of Empires Team