Age of Mythology: Retold

[Iluvcheezcake]

So its gud now?

 

[Lacrymas]

So its gud now?

It's worth it even just for the singleplayer content that they seem committed to. The campaigns are great and challenging on Titan (even if some of the maps are duds in terms of difficulty). Although I think most maps have space for one more difficulty level, but who knows, they might add that later down the line. I haven't played PvP yet, but I'm sure it will be great due to the various changes. I suppose one can check out high level PvP on YouTube and decide that way too.

My initial concerns about auto everything were mostly unsubstantiated, auto economy is strictly worse than manually doing it and military auto-queue is disabled in ranked. The only thing is auto villagers which you have no reason not to turn on because more villagers are always better than fewer. I've seen various arguments for and against this in high level play, so YMMV.

 

[whydoibother]

Is this good for a comp-stomp with a friend? I am not sweaty enough for competative multiplayer, but I'd like to play with a buddy.

 

[Lacrymas]

Is this good for a comp-stomp with a friend? I am not sweaty enough for competative multiplayer, but I'd like to play with a buddy.

There's only skirmishes for co-op atm, but the game mode they are adding in a week has a co-op mode.

 

[Lacrymas]

I just completed All is not lost and oh, man. I had to redo it like 5 times because the enemy throws everything at you constantly. It's the most difficult RTS mission I've ever played hands down. A tip if you are struggling with it - place Thor's mine in the easternmost passage so only a few units can pass at a time. It's the only thing that managed to win the mission for me. The mission *doesn't* end when the timer runs out, the enemy just sends another humongous army (basically 2 full population limits worth of units) you have to defeat. There are so many traps and things you have to do in this mission it's insane. The bottleneck is food, you'll start relying on farms at one point, but they are pretty shit at food generation, so you'll be constantly food starved. You are so food starved that it prevents you getting to the mythic age so you'll have better troops. My recommendation would be to get to the mythic age the moment you can spare the food. Don't be stingy with walls, use quadruple+ walling. Don't neglect your economy. There are no super good god powers, but Permafrost will help you out in a pinch. Just play as best as possible, macro and micro included, lol. Or you can just build max limit villagers and pop Ragnarok ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Lacrymas]

I just finished the Fall of the Trident campaign and I have some thoughts. Mostly positive ones. It's still one of the best RTS campaigns ever made. The variety it offers is only rivaled by WC3. The SpellForce games have longer campaigns, but length isn't all that matters, kids. There are only a few criticisms I can direct at it. The first and biggest one is how it's mostly comprised of mirror matches. There are only a few maps in which you don't play against a mirror and that doesn't prepare you for PvP at all. Narratively, it makes sense, but they could've included a few more dream sequences in which to not only provide non-mirror matches but also expand on the very convenient favoritism shown to Arkantos by Athena and Zeus. I'm not faulting Retold for this, of course, just in general as a campaign.

The second thing is how specifically Retold is balanced around certain godpowers. Although I refrained from cheesing the maps because I wanted to challenge myself, there are ways to circumvent certain maps or make them substantially easier and maybe the devs intended for you to do this. For example, most Norse missions seem to be designed around the Ragnarok god power. If you don't use it, some missions are excruciatingly challenging (All is not lost, the Dwarven Forge). There is no way a normie will finish some of this campaign's missions on the hardest difficulty with no godpower cheese. Hell, I don't think a normie can clear A Long Way from Home period.

The final thing pertains to the difficulty. Like mentioned above, certain maps are some of the toughest missions in any RTS game ever, but others are total duds and they don't need to be. There is room for one more difficulty level for the vast majority of, if not all, missions, but you would need to be a pro player to manage them without cheesing (or if they eliminate the cheese in various ways) in that case. Micro would be especially important.

There are a few more minor gripes I have, mainly to do with the pathfinding due to the map design of some missions and the rock textures in Egypt looking like a skin disease, but that's about it.

Other than that, I'm extremely impressed with this remaster when it comes to gameplay. They managed to turn the relatively mundane gameplay of the original into one of the best RTSes currently available. There is a cornucopia of little and not-so-little things they've changed around and added for it to become quite skill-based, complex and I'd dare argue intelligent. The repeatable godpowers costing favor and the removal of the favor cap was a risky, but ultimately brilliant idea that adds a lot to the game. This is how you implement resources in a game - having to choose what to use them on. Are there some godpowers more powerful than others? Of course. However, the devs can and probably will balance them more to bring them closer to each other. The only godpower I think is a detriment to the game and should be reworked or removed entirely is Ragnarok. Nobody likes to play against it and, if set up correctly, is an automatic I-WIN button in the vast majority of situations, including among pro players. While I know it seems like "if set up correctly" does a lot of heavy lifting here, it's actually not that difficult to set it up by just normally playing the game. You want as many workers as possible and you want to keep up with your upgrades, so it's a rare sight for Ragnarok to not end a game.

The rework to myth units is also successful. Being able to turn off the automatic use of their abilities is a great skill ceiling raiser and I've seen amazing plays from pros with them. The myth units themselves are very powerful, but expensive and vulnerable to heroes, so they are, against all odds, quite balanced. When combined with the tech tree changes, unit and tech additions, major god tweaks and other various alterations, I'd say this remaster is one of the best in the history of remasters, definitely top 3 and I'm having quite a difficult time arguing it isn't top 1. Go play and support it.

 

[Vorark]

What do you think about the inclusion of a fifth age?

 

[Lacrymas]

What do you think about the inclusion of a fifth age?

It's a more fun way to end the game after building a wonder than just waiting 10 minutes while defending it. The resource cost is astronomical, so it's not feasible to get to age V in any 1v1 and perhaps even 2v2, so it doesn't affect "serious" PvP at all. Technically, there was a 5th age in the original too - the Titan Age - but it only had a single small effect.

 

[Lacrymas]

The new PvE mode is out -

Welcome heroes – the gods have summoned you! Arena of the Gods, the latest mythic journey in
Age of Mythology: Retold, is available to play now!


Step into the shoes of a legendary hero and forge your destiny! In this new game mode, engage in 35 exhilarating skirmish missions across mythical landscapes where divine challenges await. Whether you battle solo or team up with a friend**, the arena is fraught with World Twists that bring the chaos of shifting weather and ancient powers to the forefront! It’s time to challenge the deities themselves – jump into the latest update for Age of Mytholgy: Retoldand enter the Arena of the Gods!
In a world where the gods reign supreme, Arena of the Gods beckons you to answer their call. This all-new mode invites you to embody a legendary hero through 35 skirmish missions filled with mythological wonder and peril. 

Playing as Kastor, embark on missions which will take you across fabled landscapes, pitting you against mythical enemies and – should you be victorious – reward you with Blessings from the gods themselves.

Available with Arena of the Gods:

• 35 Epic Skirmishes:
  Battle through diverse mythological landscapes with selectable difficulty.
• Solo or Co-Op:
  Play as a hero alone or team up with another friend for cooperative fun.**
• Earn Blessings:
  Gain powerful abilities like Poseidon’s
  Rushing Tides
  and Thor’s
  Crashing Thunder
  .
• Dynamic World Twists:
  Enjoy ever-changing conditions that keep battles fresh and exciting.

As you navigate these legendary landscapes—facing the icy embrace of the Tundra or the treacherous shores of the Black Sea—every battle brings fresh challenges and unique gameplay. The gods watch your every move, and their divine will shapes your destiny.

Choose How You Play

Enhance Your Strategy with Blessings

Choose your path to glory, with new and powerful Blessings unlocked with each victory. Will you race your way to the final encounter, or strategically defeat every opponent across all fronts to fully customize your strategy? The choice is yours. Use your Blessings to forge and master your unique strategy for each encounter!

Earn the favor of the gods and get Blessings for each victory. Below are just a few of the many enhancements to your strategy!

• Freyr’s Chosen Few (Unique):
  Houses/Manors are more expensive but spawn a Villager upon building.
• Gaia’s Lashing Roots:
  Heroes and Legends deal area of effect damage.
• Odin’s Outlaw Wisdom:
  Special Abilities and God Powers recharge faster.

Experience World Twists

But be careful, the mythical landscape is full of World Twists! The ever-changing twists add a new level of fun challenges that will constantly redefine the battlefield. Will you be able to harness the power of World Twists, or break beneath them as the other would-be heroes who came before you?

Forge your destiny despite the challenges ahead. Below are just a few of the many interesting World Twists!

• Gaia’s Remnants of Atlantis:
  Clusters of units are spawned across the map for the player(s) to collect once they accomplish certain objectives.
• Thoth’s World Twist:
  Double effect for all God technologies.
• Freyja’s World Twist:
  Cavalry is more expensive to train but transforms into infantry upon death.

Your journey is one of mythic proportions, where every victory brings you closer to becoming a legend worthy of divine favor.
Enter the Arena of the Gods—embrace your role as the hero, face mythic trials, earn Blessings, and claim your destiny in this epic adventure. Only the challenge of the gods awaits!

 

[PlayerEmers]

I will never get used to this fucking grootfied Gaia

 

[Dr1f7]

game should have an option for old graphics

 

[Lacrymas]

game should have an option for old graphics

Too many things have changed for this to be feasible and there are units that don't exist in the original. They also wouldn't be able to add new content without making models for the old graphics as well, which is not reasonable.

 

[TalesfromtheCrypt]

Yeah, it is a remake not a remaster, like AoE2 DE.

By the way I read that the AI in the new game mode is ultra passive to the point of being broken. Overall, that arena mode seems to be a bit of rushjob.

 

[Lacrymas]

I haven't finished the Atlantis campaign yet, so I haven't engaged with the new mode. The Golden Gift campaign is still 50/50, the first 2 missions are as undercooked as they originally were, but the second 2 are ok.

 

[BING XI LAO]

Game went from a 10/10 on art to what, 6/10? Unironically unplayable for me.

 

[Dr1f7]

Game went from a 10/10 on art to what, 6/10? Unironically unplayable for me.

same
frustrating that devs, particularly strategy devs, keep moving backwards in terms of art direction

 

[Lacrymas]

I just finished the Atlantean campaign as well and it's not even a fraction as difficult as the base one. Too many missions have gimmicks or are no-builds. This campaign has you fighting almost exclusively myth units, but the Atlanteans have easy access to massive hordes of heroes, so it's a tank and spank. Only the second mission is in any way hard because it's a standard one. Most missions would need a complete overhaul for them to offer a modicum of challenge, so there's not much to be done. I'll check out the new single player mode next and then dive into PvP.

 

[gooseman]

I'm looking for some rts before modern era. Fantasy, ancient, medieval, doesn't really matter. Is this a good pick? Is it better than extended edition? How is it on micro? I remember aoe2 being extremely retarded with pointless busywork, like having to manually reseed every single farm or you have no economy. Does this game also make you do that shit? Can you add ai in multiplayer?

 

[Lacrymas]

I'm looking for some rts before modern era. Fantasy, ancient, medieval, doesn't really matter. Is this a good pick? Is it better than extended edition? How is it on micro? I remember aoe2 being extremely retarded with pointless busywork, like having to manually reseed every single farm or you have no economy. Does this game also make you do that shit? Can you add ai in multiplayer?

It's worth it. Micro is great and there isn't any macro busywork. You can add AI in multiplayer, but the AI isn't as good as the one in AoE2.