50 Fun Facts About Age of Empires II

Which Age of Empires II cavalry civilization never needs to build houses to support its population?

The Huns start every game with their population room already at the maximum, a bonus designed to make them feel like rampaging nomads. A test build that gave them houses again, even at no cost, was judged a disaster.

Which classic sports car, firing bullets at its targets, appears when a cheat code is typed into Age of Empires II?

The AC Cobra behaves like a very fast-firing gunner on wheels, tough enough to mow down whole armies. Its shots also hurt friendly units that wander into the line of fire, including other cars.

Which Age of Empires II siege weapon is built at the Castle and must be unpacked before it fires?

The Trebuchet has the highest attack of any unit in the game, so its main job is flattening enemy Castles from a safe distance. It is helpless against anything that gets close.

Which French heroine leads an Age of Empires II campaign against the English in the Hundred Years' War?

Joan of Arc is one of only two heroes in the original campaigns whom the player controls as a unit on the map. In the others, orders come from guiding spirits who stand in for the army's commander.

Which film franchise borrowed the Age of Empires II engine for its 2001 strategy game Galactic Battlegrounds?

Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds was made by LucasArts and leaned heavily on the older game's mechanics as well as its engine. Empire Earth and Cossacks: European Wars also drew on its design.

In which age does a standard Age of Empires II random map game begin, with a Town Center and a scout?

The Dark Age comes first, followed by the Feudal, Castle and Imperial Ages, which together span about a thousand years. The first Age of Empires opened in the Stone Age instead.

Which dangerous animal do Age of Empires II players lure to the Town Center as an early source of food?

The Wild Boar fights back, so villagers have to attack it as a group; one villager alone cannot handle it. It carries more food than most huntable animals, which is why luring one home is a standard opening move.

Which Age of Empires II civilization builds the Turtle Ship, a slow armoured warship, and the War Wagon?

The Koreans launch the Turtle Ship from the Dock, where it fires cannonballs and shrugs off most damage. The War Wagon, a heavily armoured cavalry archer, comes from the Castle; both arrived with the first expansion.

Which Wallachian prince, who fought off Ottoman invasions, got his own Age of Empires II campaign in 2013?

Vlad the Impaler, whose other name Bram Stoker borrowed for his vampire count, defends Wallachia across five scenarios. An old veteran of his wars tells the story to travellers sheltering in Poenari Castle.

Which objects do Monks carry to the Monastery in Age of Empires II to earn a steady trickle of gold?

Relics start scattered around the map, and each one generates gold for as long as it sits in a Monastery. Holding every one of them for long enough can even win a standard game.

Which Scottish rebel gives his name to the tutorial campaign that teaches new Age of Empires II players the basics?

William Wallace fronts the learning campaign, set in the Wars of Scottish Independence against Edward I Longshanks. It is rated the easiest of the five campaigns that shipped with the original game.

Which sultan's campaign in the original Age of Empires II has players defend the Holy Land against Crusader armies?

Saladin commands the Saracens against the Crusaders, and his campaign is rated one of the two most challenging of the original five.

Which ruler's campaign in the original Age of Empires II sweeps across Eurasia and ends with an invasion of Hungary?

Genghis Khan's six scenarios are narrated by the anonymous author of The Secret History of the Mongols. The campaign's icon is a black horse-tail war banner; white-tailed ones were flown in peacetime.

Which Holy Roman Emperor, drowned on the Third Crusade, is the subject of the Teutons' Age of Empires II campaign?

Barbarossa only appears in his own campaign after death: his body, preserved in vinegar, rides in a barrel on a Trade Cart. The story is told by a tavern patron who turns out to be his rival Henry the Lion.

Which Castilian knight, exiled by his own king, got an Age of Empires II campaign in the game's first expansion?

El Cid is sent into exile partway through his six scenarios, so the player ends up fighting alongside the Moors he once opposed. The Saracens stand in for those new allies.

Which studio, shut down in 2009 just after finishing Halo Wars, developed the original Age of Empires II?

Ensemble Studios had signed for a sequel before the first Age of Empires was even finished. The follow-up overran by a year, so the team shipped The Rise of Rome in 1998 to fill the gap.

Which 2000 expansion pack first gave every Age of Empires II civilization its own unique technology?

The Conquerors also added five civilizations, among them two New World peoples who cannot train cavalry. It let infantry garrison inside battering rams as well, which makes the rams faster and stronger.

Which 2019 remaster of Age of Empires II added 4K graphics and bundled every earlier expansion?

Definitive Edition marked the game's 20th anniversary and added four civilizations from Central Asia and Eastern Europe. When its new computer opponent was tested against the old one, the newcomer won easily.

Which energy drink brand lent its name to the Wololo tournament that brought Age of Empires II to a Spanish castle?

Red Bull Wololo: El Reinado was held at the Castle of Almodóvar in 2024 with eight top players. Its audience peaked at 85,800 concurrent viewers.

What does typing 11 in Age of Empires II chat signal, a habit that grew out of the game's numbered taunts?

Laughter is what the game plays whenever someone types 11, one of its numbered chat taunts. Players now use the number the way others would type lol.

Which Age of Empires II civilization trains the Longbowman and gives its foot archers extra range?

The Britons add range to their foot archers as the game goes on, then stretch it again with a technology called Yeomen. Their shepherds also work faster, which speeds up the opening minutes.

Which Age of Empires II civilization trains the Berserk, a heavy infantryman who slowly heals his own wounds?

The Vikings also get Wheelbarrow and Hand Cart for free, an economy so strong that tournaments have often banned them. Their whole team pays less for Docks as well.

Which Age of Empires II civilization swamps opponents with cheap infantry and the arrow-resistant Huskarl?

The Goths pay less for every infantry unit, and their Perfusion technology doubles the speed of their Barracks. Anarchy even lets them train the Huskarl there instead of only at the Castle.

Which Age of Empires II civilization starts with three extra villagers and trains the rapid-firing Chu Ko Nu?

The Chinese pay for those extra villagers with less starting food and wood, which makes their opening trickier to play. Their Town Centers also support more population than other civilizations'.

Which Age of Empires II civilization trains the Gbeto, a fast female infantry unit that attacks by hurling knives?

The Malians' Gbeto was only the second trainable female unit in the game, after the female villager. Historically its fighters belonged to the Fon people of Dahomey, not to the Mali Empire.

Which Age of Empires II civilization can build the Feitoria, which generates resources without any villagers working?

The Portuguese pay for that free income in space: each Feitoria takes up 20 population slots. In return it trickles in food, wood, gold and stone all at once.

Which Age of Empires II civilization lets its whole team train the Condottiero, infantry built to hunt gunpowder units?

The Italians' team bonus puts the Condottiero in every ally's Barracks. At home they also train the Genoese Crossbowman, a foot archer with a bonus against cavalry.

Which Southeast Asian civilization in Age of Empires II lets farmers bank food without walking to a drop-off?

The Khmer, whose Wonder is the central shrine of Angkor Wat, can also advance through the ages without first constructing the usual prerequisite buildings. Their villagers can even hide inside ordinary houses.

Which Age of Empires II civilization can research Flemish Revolution, turning every villager into a soldier at once?

The Burgundians' gamble swaps their entire workforce for Flemish Militia, infantry with a bonus against cavalry. The technology is researched at the Castle, late in the game.

Which Age of Empires II civilization can build a second Town Center as early as the Feudal Age?

The Cumans can also roll out Battering Rams an age earlier than usual, so they threaten a boom and a rush at once. Their Kipchak is a horse archer that looses several arrows per volley.

Which Mongol unique unit in Age of Empires II is a mounted archer with an attack bonus against siege weapons?

The Mangudai also enjoys the Mongol bonus that makes every cavalry archer fire faster. The Keshik, another steppe horseman, belongs to the Tatars instead.

Which Turkish unique unit in Age of Empires II is a gunpowder soldier trainable an age before the Hand Cannoneer?

The Janissary fights from the Castle Age, and its Elite upgrade outranges and outhits the ordinary Hand Cannoneer. The Turks also get the Chemistry technology for free, which speeds them towards gunpowder.

Which Byzantine unique unit in Age of Empires II is heavy cavalry that resists anti-cavalry attacks?

The Cataphract turns the usual counter on its head, because the units that normally punish cavalry do far less damage to it. The Logistica technology then adds trample damage to every swing.

Which Persian unique unit in Age of Empires II is slow and very expensive but among the most durable in the game?

The War Elephant can end up with more than three times the hit points of a Paladin, and its attacks trample everything nearby. Speed is its weakness: anything striking from long range wears it down.

Which Saracen unique unit in Age of Empires II rides a camel and attacks enemy cavalry from a short distance?

The Mameluke throws scimitars, so it deals melee damage at range, and it hits horsemen especially hard. Other camel riders are spared that attack bonus.

Which Aztec unique unit in Age of Empires II is an infantryman that grows stronger as it defeats enemy units?

The Jaguar Warrior is a specialist at killing other infantry, with an attack bonus against foot soldiers. The Aztecs cannot train cavalry at all, so it fights alongside fast Eagle Warriors.

Which Town Center technology, the cheapest in Age of Empires II, makes villagers noticeably harder to kill?

Loom adds hit points and armour to every villager, and it is the only technology that can be researched before a player's first age advance.

Which University technology in Age of Empires II lets archers and towers hit targets that keep moving?

Ballistics makes ranged units aim at where a moving target will be; without it they fire at the spot it occupied when they shot. It sharpens Castles and warships as well as archers.

Which Monastery technology in Age of Empires II lets Monks convert enemy siege weapons and most buildings?

Redemption comes with a catch: buildings and rams can only be converted by a Monk standing right beside them. Most other siege weapons can still be turned from a distance.

Which 2016 expansion took Age of Empires II to Southeast Asia with four new civilizations and voice-acted campaigns?

Rise of the Rajas built each of its campaigns around a regional ruler, among them Gajah Mada and Bayinnaung. It was the third expansion made for the HD Edition.

Which game engine, reused from the first Age of Empires, powers the original Age of Empires II?

The Genie engine was supposed to make the sequel a one-year job. Instead the team rebuilt its much-criticised unit movement system from scratch, and the game took two years to finish.

Which Japanese publisher released the PlayStation 2 port of Age of Empires II in Europe and Japan?

Konami brought the game to PlayStation 2 in Europe in 2001 and in Japan the following year. A much simplified version for Java mobile phones followed in 2005.

Which Age of Empires II designer had earlier created Railroad Tycoon and Civilization alongside Sid Meier?

Bruce Shelley carried ideas from Civilization into the Age of Empires series, whose early titles he led. His first project with Meier, Railroad Tycoon, grew partly out of his work on the board game 1830.

Which temple in Nara, home to a giant bronze Buddha, provides the Japanese Wonder in Age of Empires II?

Tōdai-ji appears in the game as its Great Buddha Hall, which houses the world's largest bronze statue of the Buddha Vairocana. The temple is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Which online service hosted Age of Empires II multiplayer matches from launch until it shut down in 2006?

The MSN Gaming Zone was even built into the 1999 demo, which let players try a random map game online. After it closed, services such as GameRanger kept multiplayer alive.

Which studio began as a fan modding team whose unofficial expansion became HD Edition's first official add-on?

Forgotten Empires approached the publisher after releasing its mod in late 2012 and learned that an HD remaster was already in the works. The team later co-developed the 2019 remaster too.

Which animal is Alfred, a crowned cheat unit in Age of Empires II who flattens enemies with headbutts?

Alfred the Alpaca wears a golden crown, can talk, and is nearly invincible in melee thanks to very high armour and trample damage. Fast ranged units are his one real problem.

Which ruined Sasanian palace, famed for its vast brick arch, is the Persian Wonder in Age of Empires II?

Taq Kasra, also called the Arch of Ctesiphon, stands in present-day Iraq. Its archway, about 37 metres high, is the only visible structure left of the ancient capital Ctesiphon.

Which Iraqi city's Great Mosque, famous for its spiral minaret, is the Saracen Wonder in Age of Empires II?

Samarra built what was for a time the largest mosque in the world. Its minaret, the Malwiya Tower, is a cone 52 metres high, climbed by a ramp that winds around the outside.

Which Umayyad general, after whom Gibraltar is named, leads the Berber campaign in Age of Empires II?

Tariq ibn Ziyad gets five scenarios covering the Umayyad conquest of Hispania, opening with the Battle of Guadalete. Gibraltar's name derives from the Arabic for Tariq's Mountain.