Age of Empires II HD: Rise of the Rajas launched

12/19/2016

Age of Empires II HD: The Rise of the Rajas is the third official expansion for the Age of Empires II universe in over 17 years

[added 12/19/2016 ]

Age of Empires II HD: The Rise of the Rajas is the third official expansion for the Age of Empires II universe in over 17 years

With much excitement, I am proud to announce Age of Empires II HD: Rise of the Rajas.

Rise of the Rajas brings the series to new territories in the dense Jungles and azure seas of Southeast Asia. The results of this team’s efforts have been stunning, and include new environments, animals, and an architecture set unlike anything seen before in Age of Empires. The DLC introduced four brand new civilizations: the Burmese, the Khmer, the Malay, and the Vietnamese.

The team also added four new campaigns, each rooted in the history and culture of one of the new civilizations. It has been an awesome and humbling experience for me to learn these amazing stories from these four distinct civilizations, and that may be what excites me most of all to share with you. To quote Bert Beekman, lead designer from Forgotten Empires: “The campaigns are what tie everything together in the end. Months’ worth of work come together: the storylines, the new terrains, the new units, the impressive architecture sets, the exotic voices. When you dive into those campaigns, they all feel familiar, yet new and refreshing. As somebody who grew up with the game, it feels great to recreate your childhood like that.”

Overall, we are looking at over 20 hours of new content in the single-player campaigns alone. When you add in the new random maps, special maps and real world maps for multiplayer, there is a lot of fun to be had by those who chose to explore all that Age of Empires II HD: Rise of the Rajas has to offer.

It has been an honor to work on new content for this classic title. The Age of Empires franchise has a very large and rabid fan base, who always enjoy the new content that our team has the privilege of creating. The team here at Microsoft, Forgotten Empires, and Skybox Labs all believe that this latest entry will only further enhance the fun that millions of people are already having with Age of Empires II HD.

I hope to see you all online soon for a multiplayer match!

Welcome to Age of Empires II HD: The Rise of the Rajas; the third new official expansion for the Age of Empires II universe in over 17 years. Challenge friends with four additional civilizations, new units, technologies, and build your empire on both water and land. Guide history’s greatest heroes in Southeast Asia through four additional campaigns and conquer your foes with mighty hordes of elephants under your command!

4 New Civilizations
- Burmese – Assemble the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia through a legion of Battle Elephants that can demolish the most powerful of defenses. The Burmese unique unit is the Arambai, a ranged cavalry unit with a deadly but low accuracy attack.
- Khmer – Construct the largest religious monument in the world and amass an immortal army of devastating siege weapons. The Khmer unique unit is the Ballista Elephant, a mounted scorpion that can be upgraded to fire two bolts simultaneously.
- Malay – Conquer Southeast Asia with the vast island empire of Malay and upgrade your docks to harbours which can shoot arrows. The Malay unique unit is the Karambit Warrior, an extremely cheap infantry unit that can quickly overwhelm its foes.
- Vietnamese – Lead your people to independence and wage guerilla warfare with an extremely powerful arsenal of ranged units. The Vietnamese unique unit is the Rattan Archer, a heavily-armored ranged unit that is effectively impervious to enemy archer attacks.
4 New, Fully Voiced Campaigns
- Gajah Mada: On the island of Java, a new power is rising. Gajah Mada, prime minister of Majapahit, conspires to build an empire to rule the waves and islands of the Archipelago. Will he be able to balance his unquestioned loyalty to the king with his growing ambitions?
- Suryavarman I: It is the early 11th century and the Khmer Empire is in turmoil, torn apart by competing factions and surrounded by hostile neighbors. Only one prince, Suryavarman, has the courage and cunning to defeat his rivals and restore the Khmer to their former glory. Seizing the throne, however, is just the first of many tasks. Will Suryavarman muster the strength to expand his domain, overcome adversity, and create a timeless legacy as the king who attained Nirvana?
- Bayinnaung: A warrior king seeks to unite a divided land. But when he is betrayed, only his devoted servant can continue his legacy. Can a mere commoner ascend the Burmese throne and build the largest empire in Southeast Asian history?
- Lê Lợi: When a civil war plunged Dai Viet into chaos, the Ming Emperor intervened and seized control. Now, the only hope for freedom from oppression lies with one man: a minor noble named Le Loi. Will he be able to unite feuding factions, defeat the Chinese, and regain Vietnamese independence?
New Generic Units
- Battle Elephant: Created at the stable and available to each of the new civilizations, the Battle Elephant is a slow and powerful cavalry unit that is devastating in melee combat. Each new civilization has its own unique bonuses to set their Elephant regiments apart.
- Imperial Skirmisher: The long-awaited upgrade to the iconic Elite Skirmisher unit, the upgrade is available to the Vietnamese and all of its teammates.
New Environments
- Land meets the sea in The Rise of the Rajas! Alongside massive rainforests, treacherous beaches, the new mangrove forests and shallows provide a whole new playstyle. The new amphibious terrain can be built on and both land units and ships can pass through it. This new terrain type is featured on each of the five new random maps.
Improved AI
5 New Random Maps
5 New Special Maps
5 New Real World Maps
13 New Terrains
New Scenario Editor Objects
Spectator Mode

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