Important Notes

Important Notes for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition

This section covers critical warnings, avoidable mistakes, and lesser-known facts that can save you frustration and enhance your experience. Read these notes before diving deep.

1. Common Pitfalls and Warnings

• Ignoring Hotkeys: Playing AoE2:DE with only mouse clicks is a massive handicap. Spend 30 minutes learning basic hotkeys (e.g., `H` for Town Center, `Q` for queue, `Ctrl+1-9` for control groups). The game includes a hotkey trainer under "Help" → "Hotkey Trainer".


• Over-reliance on Auto-Scouts: The auto-scout feature (enabled by default) stops after a few seconds or when the scout is attacked. Manually control your scout to reveal the map efficiently, especially near your base to locate sheep and boars.


• Neglecting the Market: The market is a double-edged sword. Selling excess resources for gold can speed up your economy, but over-trading depletes your stockpile and shifts the market price unfavorably. Use it sparingly and only when you have a large surplus.


• Building Too Many Farms Early: Farms cost 60 wood each, which is expensive in the Dark Age. Build only enough farms to sustain constant villager production (usually 4-6 farms per Town Center). Prioritize gathering from bushes, berries, and hunting instead.


• Losing Villagers to Boars: Luring a boar to your Town Center is efficient food, but one mistake can kill several villagers. Use a single villager to hit the boar once, run back to the TC, and garrison villagers as soon as the boar gets close. Practice this to avoid game-ending losses.




2. Irreversible Choices and Missable Content




• Campaign Choices: Several campaigns offer branching paths or optional objectives that affect achievements or story outcomes. For example:

- Saladin campaign: The mission "The Horns of Hattin" has a secret achievement for killing a specific hero named "He who shall not be named". You must do it during the mission.
- Bari campaign: The first mission lets you decide to ally with the Byzantines or the Saracens; this changes later missions.
- Le Loi campaign: The second mission gives you a choice to help either the Chinese or the Chams—each leads to different subsequent missions and achievements.
- Alaric campaign: Skipping optional secondary objectives may lock you out of the "Complete All Optional Objectives" achievement.

• Tech Tree Irreversibility: Once you research a technology in a game, it cannot be undone. While this doesn't affect overall progress, in single-player scenarios some techs are useless (e.g., researching cavalry upgrades when you have no stable). Check the scenario map or enemy composition before spending resources.


• Missable Units/Relics: In many campaign missions, unique units or relics appear only if you meet specific conditions early. For example, in Attila the Hun mission 1, you can capture the Roman general if you defeat him with a specific unit. Relics that are not collected by the end of a mission do not carry over.


• Achievements with Strict Timelines: Some achievements must be earned within a certain in-game time. Example: "Age of Empires" requires reaching the Imperial Age before 25 minutes in a standard game (on Hard difficulty). Miss the timing and you'll have to restart.




3. Difficulty Spikes




• High-Difficulty Campaigns: Some expansions are notoriously harder than others:

- Battles of the Forgotten: The "Dos Pilas" and "Bapheus" scenarios are brutal even on Moderate.
- The Last Khans: The "Tamerlane" campaign has massive enemy armies that attack from multiple directions.
- Lords of the West: The "Edward Longshanks" campaign features an early rush that can overwhelm unprepared players.

• Standard Game Difficulty Jump: The difference between Moderate and Hard is huge. Hard AI builds faster, attacks earlier, and micro-manages better. If you are new, start on Easy and gradually move up.


• Multiplayer Ranked Ladder: Expect to lose your first several placement matches. The matchmaking system places you after 5 games, but the player base is highly skilled. Watch replays of your losses to learn.




4. Grinding Traps and Time Sinks




• Achievement Grinding: Some achievements require many hours of repetitive gameplay (e.g., "The Wonder of the World" – build 100 Wonders). Do not chase these for the sake of completion; you'll burn out. Instead, treat them as long-term goals.


• Mastering All Civilizations: There are 42 civilizations. Trying to learn every build order for every civ is inefficient. Focus on 3-4 civilizations first (e.g., Franks, Britons, Byzantines, Huns) and expand later.


• Campaign Completion on All Difficulties: You do not need to complete every campaign on Hard to unlock achievements. Many achievements only require completing on Standard or Moderate. Check the achievement requirements before replaying.


• Excessive Multiplayer Grind for Elo: Climbing the ranked ladder is rewarding but can become an obsession. Set limits (e.g., play 3 ranked games per day) to avoid tilt and fatigue.




5. Online Etiquette and Anti-Cheat Notes




• Respect the Rules: In ranked multiplayer, resigning early (before the 1-minute mark) is considered unsportsmanlike. If the game goes poorly, type "gg" before resigning.


• No Cheating: AoE2:DE has anti-cheat measures (Xbox Live and EAC). Using third-party tools or mods that alter gameplay in ranked is bannable. Avoid map hacks, speed hacks, or automation.


• Reporting Toxic Players: You can report players for abusive chat, griefing, or intentional resigning through the Score Screen (F1) → Report Player. Use this sparingly.


• Lobby Etiquette: In unranked lobbies, clearly state if you are playing a custom scenario. Avoid picking civilizations that are too strong for a fair game unless both sides agree.


• Mods Are Allowed in Single-Player: Mods from the in-game mod browser are safe for unranked play. Some mods are visual only (e.g., small trees) and widely used even in pro play in custom lobbies. However, mods that provide an advantage (like showing enemy unit vision) will get you banned from ranked.




6. Save Management Advice




• Use Multiple Save Slots: The game auto-saves only one slot per campaign mission. If the auto-save corrupts (rare but possible), you lose progress. Manually save before and after important events (e.g., a big battle, capturing a relic).


• Cloud Save Conflicts: If you play on multiple devices (PC, laptop), cloud saves can conflict and overwrite each other. Save manually to the local folder: `C:\Users\[YourName]\Games\Age of Empires 2 DE\[SteamID]\savegame`. Copy important saves as backup.


• Campaign Save Corruption: Avoid saving during an enemy attack or on the same frame as a game action (like a building being built). Wait for combat to pause or use the menu pause (F9).


• Multiplayer Replays: Game replays (.aoe2record) are saved automatically. Replay folder location on PC: `C:\Users\[Name]\Games\Age of Empires 2 DE\[SteamID]\savegame\replays`. These are invaluable for improving. Delete old replays to save space.




7. Things Players Commonly Regret Not Knowing Earlier




• The "Go To" Hotkeys: Pressing `H` once selects Town Center. Pressing `H` twice cycles through all Town Centers. This is critical for macro management.


• Control Group for Villagers: Assign all villagers to a control group (e.g., Ctrl+0) after selecting all with `Ctrl+Shift+V`. This lets you instantly jump to idle villagers.


• Market Interaction with Allies: In team games, you can trade with allies at the market. The exchange rates are more favorable than with neutral markets. Coordinate with teammates to exchange resources.


• Unit Attack Move: Use the "Stand Ground" stance (default `Ctrl+F`) or patrol (`P`) to avoid villagers running into enemy fire. Patrol is excellent for sending units forward while engaging.


• The Universal Drop Site: Build drop-off buildings (lumber camp, mining camp, mill) as close to the resource as possible. Villagers gather slower if they have to walk far. A common noob mistake is sprawling the Town Center too far from woodlines.


• Garrison Trick for Defense: You can garrison villagers inside Town Centers and then manually ungarrison them by clicking outside. This instantly teleports them away from danger. Use it during raids.


• Paladin Isn't Always Best: The Paladin upgrade is extremely expensive (1300 food, 750 gold). In many situations, cheaper units like Champions, Arbalesters, or Cavalry Archers are more cost-effective. Don't blindly tech into Paladins.


• The In-Game Tech Tree: Hit `Ctrl+T` at any time to open the full tech tree for all civilizations. Use this to plan your research and learn enemy strengths/weaknesses.


• Pause in Single-Player: You can pause the game (default `F9`) to issue orders without time pressure. This is especially useful in tough campaign missions. It does not stop game timers for achievements, so be careful.


• Campaign Restart Option: You can restart a campaign mission from the menu without losing your entire save file; the game resets the scenario state. This is helpful if you realize a mistake early.

Remember, AoE2:DE is a deep game that rewards continuous learning. Don't be afraid to experiment, watch replays, and consult community guides on sites like aoe2guide.com or YouTube channels like "Hera" or "TheViper". Good luck, commander!