Age of Empires II: The Conquerors
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| Age of Empires II: The Conquerors Expansion | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | Ensemble Studios |
| Publisher(s) | Microsoft Game Studios |
| Latest version | 1.0c |
| Release date(s) | August 24, 2000 |
| Genre(s) | Real-time strategy expansion pack |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer over IPX, TCP/IP, Modem or Microsoft Zone. |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Teen (T) |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, Apple Macintosh |
| Media | CD (1) |
| System requirements | Pentium 166 MHz CPU, 32 MB RAM, 100 MB HD (plus 200 MB from AoE2) |
| Input | Keyboard, mouse |
Age of Empires II: The Conquerors Expansion (sometimes abbreviated to AoC) is the expansion pack to the 2000 real-time strategy game Age of Empires II. The Conquerors is the fourth installment of the Age of Empires series by Microsoft Game Studios and Ensemble Studios. It features five new civilizations (the Aztecs, Mayans, Spanish, Huns, and Koreans), four new campaigns, eleven new units, twenty-six new technologies, new gameplay modes, new maps and different minor tweaks to the gameplay.
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[edit] New units
The Conquerors Expansion introduces eleven additional unique units to Age of Empires II: Age of Kings.
| Unit | Upgrade | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Jaguar Warrior | Elite Jaguar Warrior | The Aztec unique unit, the Jaguar Warrior is an infantry unit that deals an attack bonus against other infantry units but is vulnerable to archers. |
| Plumed Archer | Elite Plumed Archer | The Mayan unique unit, the Plumed Archer is faster, better armored, stronger, and has a higher rate of fire than all other archers. |
| War Wagon | Elite War Wagon | The first Korean Unique unit, the War Wagon is an armored chariot archer. |
| Turtle Ship | Elite Turtle Ship | The second Korean unique unit, the Turtle Ship is a slow, heavily armored dock unit, effective in taking on other ships at close range. |
| Conquistador | Elite Conquistador | The first Spanish unique unit, a mounted Hand Cannoneer with better attack, speed and hit points. |
| Missionary | None | The second Spanish unique unit, a mounted monk, but with less line of sight and range, and is also unable to pick up relics. |
| Tarkan | Elite Tarkan | The Hun unique unit, a fast moving cavalry unit carrying a torch with attack bonuses against buildings. |
| Eagle Warrior | Elite Eagle Warrior | The Eagle Warrior is the Aztec and Mayan replacement of cavalry. They are fast-moving foot units with much piercing armor and attack bonuses against siege units and monks. |
| Halberdier | None | An infantry unit armed with a Halberd, stronger than the Pikeman, with an attack bonus against cavalry units. He is a continuation of the Spearman/Pikemen line. |
| Hussar | None | An upgraded version of the Light Cavalry unit; strong against archers, siege units, and monks. |
| Petard | None | A slow-moving suicide foot unit that is strong against siege units and buildings, especially walls and gates. Replaces the Saboteur cheat unit of AOE II, now you can actually create them from castle. |
[edit] New Technologies
The Conquerors Expansion introduces in total twenty-six additional unique technologies to Age of Empires II: Age of Kings video game. This technologies can be purchased from various in-game building and give the player an additional bonus depending on the technology. The following is a list of all new technologies that come with The Conquerors Expansion:
| Name | Effect |
|---|---|
| Bloodlines | Increases the hit points of mounted units, which encompasses cavalry units at the stable (Scout Cavalry, Light Cavalry, Hussar, Knight, Cavalier, Paladin, Camel, and Heavy Camel), mounted unique units (War Elephant/Elite War Elephant, Mangudai/Elite Mangudai, Tarkan/Elite Tarkan, Conquistador/Elite Conquistador, War Wagon/Elite War Wagon, and Cataphract/Elite Cataphract; note that the Byzantines and Koreans do not receive Bloodlines unless the game is played with all technologies), the Cavalry Archer/Heavy Cavalry Archer, the Mameluke/Elite Mameluke, the Genitour/Elite Genitour (although these units do not exist in a Random Map game; they are only available in custom scenarios. |
| Caravan | Increases the speed of Trade Carts and Trade Cogs. |
| Herbal Medicine | Increases the healing rate of garrisoned units. |
| Heresy | When converted, units die rather than pass to the opposing side. |
| Parthian Tactics | Increases normal and piercing armor of mounted archers (+1/+2 armor), and, in some versions, adds an extra attack bonus (+4 attack, +2 for Mangudai) against the Spearman-line (Spearman, Pikeman, Halberdier). |
| Theocracy | When a group of Monks or Missionaries convert a unit, only one of them has to regain his faith. |
| Thumb Ring | Increases the rate of fire and accuracy of archers. |
[edit] Unique technologies
The following is a list of new technologies that are exclusivly available to only one civilization:
| Name | Civilization | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Garland Wars | Aztecs | Increases the attack of infantry (+4 attack). |
| Yeomen | Britons | Increases the range of archers and attack of towers (archers +1 range, towers +2 attack). |
| Logistica | Byzantines | Cataphracts cause trample damage. |
| Furor Celtica | Celts | Increases the hitpoints of siege units (+50% hitpoints). |
| Rocketry | Chinese | Increases the attack of the Chu Ko Nu/Elite Chu Ko Nu (+2 attack) and Scorpion/Heavy Scorpion (+4 attack). |
| Bearded Axe | Franks | Increases the range of Throwing Axeman/Elite Throwing Axeman (+1 range). |
| Anarchy | Goths | Allows Huskarls to be trained at Barracks. |
| Perfusion | Goths | Increases the training speed of Barracks units. |
| Atheism | Huns | Relic and Wonder victories take longer, reduces Spies research cost (50%). |
| Kataparuto | Japanese | Trebuchets fire and pack/unpack faster. |
| Shinkichon | Koreans | Increases the range of Mangonels/Onagers/Siege Onagers (+1 range). |
| El Dorado | Mayan | Increases the hit points of Eagle Warriors/Elite Eagle Warriors (+40 hitpoints). |
| Drill | Mongols | Increases the speed of siege units. |
| Mahouts | Persians | Increases the speed of War Elephants/Elite War Elephants.(33%) |
| Zealotry | Saracens | Increases the hit points of Camels/Heavy Camels and Mamelukes/Elite Mamelukes (+30 hitpoints). |
| Supremacy | Spanish | Increases the attack (+6 attack), armor (+2/2 armor), and hitpoints (+40 hitpoints) of Villagers. |
| Crenellations | Teutons | Increases the range of Castles (+3 range), and causes town centers, towers and castles to fire extra arrows when having infantry garrisoned inside. Previously this was only possible with villagers and archers. |
| Artillery | Turks | Increases the range of Bombard Tower Structures, Bombard Cannons, and Cannon Galleons/Elite Cannon Galleons (+2 range). |
| Berserkergang | Vikings | Improves the regeneration rate of Berserks/Elite Berserks. |
[edit] Gameplay changes
The Conquerors Expansion also introduced various new gameplay features and tweaks:
- new game modes: Defend the Wonder, King of the Hill and Wonder Race.
- new additional maps based on real life locations
- an in-game option of allowing the game to automatically replenish farms after they are exhausted
- winter and tropical terrain textures
- ship formation
- garrisoning: units can garrison in Battering, Capped and Siege Rams for protection and to increase rams speed and attack
- improved villagers and siege weapons scripted Artificial Intelligence
- chat commands to order allied computer players to attack, pay tribute, and concentrate either on military or their economy
- multiplayer game support of up to 8 players via the Microsoft Zone server (though this server is no longer functional, but servers such as GameSpy Arcade continue to host AoC
- new cheat codes
- after version 1.0b, players have the option of playing Turbo Random Maps.
[edit] New civilizations
Five additional playable civilizations come with the The Conquerors Expansion:
The Aztecs and Mayans are unique in the fact that they completely lack the ability to train cavalry units. This is partially supplemented by the fact that they start with eagle warrior infantry units that move fast, have high hit points and piercing armor, and have all of the advantages against other units that cavalry had. Both also lack all gunpowder units. The Huns are also unique in that they don't have to build houses to support their population (and couldn't build them even if they wanted to), allowing them to completely forget about unit caps and focus on building up their economy and military.
The Conquerors expansion adds one more architectural style. The following table tabulates the new civilizations in the building sets:
| Group | Western European | North/East European | East Asian | Meso-American |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Civilizations |
[edit] New Campaigns
The Conquerors Expansion also adds additional four single player campaigns:
- Attila the Hun
- El Cid
- Montezuma
- The Conquerors which features a series of famous battles:
- Tours, 732
- Vinlandsaga, ~1000
- Hastings, 1066
- Manzikert, 1071
- Agincourt, 1415
- Lepanto, 1571
- Kyoto, 1582
- Noryang Point, 1598
[edit] Soundtrack
The CD itself is actually 2 audio CD tracks. Track 1 appears as the data track, and track 2 is the soundtrack as a Red Book audio track.
[edit] External links
- Official Microsoft site
- Official Ensemble Studios site
- Collection of Reviews of Age of Empires II:The Conquerors
- Age of Empires II: The Conquerors Expansion at MobyGames
- Strategies and Guides
- Age of Kings Heaven
| Age of Empires series | |
|---|---|
| Age of Empires | Age of Empires | Rise of Rome | Age of Empires II | The Conquerors | Age of Empires III | The War Chiefs |
| Age of Mythology | Age of Mythology | The Titans |
| Similar games | Rise of Nations | Rise of Legends | Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds | Empire Earth | Empire Earth II | Dawn of the Modern World | Act of War: Direct Action | Star Wars: Empire at War | Rise and Fall: Civilizations at War |
