All changes in Age of Mythology Retold

The original Age of Mythology hit shelves over 20 years ago, on October 31, 2002. Now with the release of its remaster, Age of Mythology: Retold, on September 4, 2024, fans might be curious about what’s different. Here's a look at all the changes so you're not caught off guard when you jump back in.

The differences between Age of Mythology and Age of Mythology: Retold

This remaster brings some exciting changes that fans will want to know about. Understanding these updates will help you get right into the action as soon as the game is downloaded, provided you already know about the different Pantheons in the game.

From revamped attack commands to an expanded roster of ships, Age of Mythology: Retold has a bunch of of improvements and new features. You’ll find changes in how you manage your Units, how naval battles play out, and even how your buildings look and function. Let’s break down these changes so you’re ready to experience the game’s new and enhanced features.

#1 A more reactive attack command

You no longer have to manually right-click on each of your enemies to fight them. Simply direct your army towards one target, and they'll keep fighting until every member of the opposition in that area has been felled.

If you want to split up your army so that you don't have ranged fighters getting too close, simply click and drag over your ranged fighters and send them in as a separate group.

It can look a little chaotic, but

#2 More ships for seafaring folk

Back in the original Age of Mythology, arrow ships were the only ones available in the Classical Age. In Age of Mythology: Retold, players can enjoy having all three types of attack ships.

Docks are far too time-consuming for foot soldiers to try and take out. Where possible, try to use ships to attack your enemy's docks and ships.

Naval Myth Units are no longer tied to minor Gods. As you advance your town through the Ages, you'll get the appropriate Myth Units.

Naval units can travel in shallow water in Age of Mythology: Retold, which is something they couldn't do in the OG game.

#3 Using God Powers

In Age of Mythology: Retold, you're welcome to use your God Powers multiple times, provided that you have the Favor needed to reuse it.

There is a countdown, which helps keep the game balanced, but you should be able to shoot off a couple of different God Powers while fighting your enemies if you have enough villagers worshipping at a Temple to power them.

#4 Auto Scout feature

Auto Scout lets the AI take control of a Unit so that they can automatically explore the map for the player.

In Age of Mythology: Retold, all scout units have an auto-scout ability. Each civilization has its own scouts:

• Atlanteans: Oracle, Oracle (Hero).
• Egyptians: Priest, Baboon of Set.
• Greeks: Kataskopos, Pegasus, Hippocampus.
• Norse: Berserk, Raven.

When auto-scouting, Oracles will pause at key spots to maximize their Line of Sight before moving on.

#5 Visual effects for buildings

Buildings now have visual effects based on the terrain they're placed on:

• Burnt terrain - Buildings look charred and weathered.
• Marsh dirt terrain - Structures appear coated in mud.
• Marshy terrain - Structures appear grungy, and are covered in mold and moss.
• Sandy terrain - Buildings get dusted with a light layer of sand.
• Snowy/icy terrain - A thin layer of snow covers the buildings.

#6 New Campaign Relics

13 new Relics have been added to Age of Mythology: Retold that didn't exist in the original game. These campaign Relics are:

• Crown of Hera - One use of the Lightning Storm God Power.
• Cup of Dionysus - One use of the Bronze God Power.
• Fafnir's Golden Mailcoat - Reduces the pierce vulnerability of human soldiers and heroes by 5%.
• Glaucus' Book of Prophecies - Increases fish gather rate by 30%.
• Golden Camel Statue - Increases Osiris Piece Cart movement speed by one.
• Prow of the Argo - Increases warship hit points by 20%.
• Relic of Ancestors - One use of the Ancestors God Power.
• Relic of Bronze - One use of the Bronze God Power.
• Relic of Earthquake - One use of the Earthquake God Power.
• Relic of Prosperity - One use of the Prosperity God Power.
• Relic of Tornado - One use of the Tornado God Power.
• Shield of Athena - One use of the Restoration God Power.
• Zeus' Thunderbolts - Put this into Zeus' Temple to vanquish your foes.

#7 Villager Priority feature

Villager Priority in Age of Mythology: Retold helps distribute workers across resources like food, wood, and gold without needing to assign them individually. While it’s not as efficient as following a perfected build order, it offers a quick way to manage villagers.

You can access Villager Priority through a button near the god powers UI. It doesn’t include Favor collection for the Greeks and won't construct new resource drop sites, but enabling "Allow Farm Construction" lets villagers build Farms to improve food gathering.

#8 Standard victory conditions

Only specific buildings and units count for survival: Town Centers, Temples, Fortress-type structures, and all units except Caravans.

If a player loses all of these, they are defeated, even if other buildings like Archery Ranges or Markets remain.

#9 Ranged Unit accuracy changes

Ranged Units, such as archers, now have lower accuracy against moving targets, similar to Age of Empires II. To improve accuracy when firing at moving units, players need to research the Ballistics technology at the Armory.

Town Centers, Village Centers, and Citadels automatically come with the Ballistics effect, so they don't need the upgrade.

#10 The Wonder Age

Although the Titan Age has been removed, the Wonder Age has taken its place.

This stage is reached when a Wonder is built and lost if the Wonder is destroyed. During Wonder Age, rechargeable god powers cost 75% less favor, and their cooldowns are reduced by 75%.

In this stage, Myth Units and Titans receive significant enhancements: they gain 100% more hit points, 100% increased damage (including damage over time), and a 20% boost to movement speed. Additionally, they become larger in appearance.

The Titan Gate can now be rebuilt during Wonder Age. A new Titan Gate can be constructed every 10 in-game minutes. The first new gate costs 400 favor, with the cost increasing by 400 favor for each subsequent gate.

#11 Other general changes

• A Divine damage type has been added. Several Units have divine attack by default (such as the Myrmidon) while others may gain it from specific myth upgrades.
• Huntable animals no longer automatically attack the player's Units unless attacked first.
• Some minor objects and Units from the original game, including the Golden Fleece and the Giant Duck-Billed Platypus, have been taken out.
• The Favor cap has been removed.
• The population limit has been raised to 1000.
• When you place a resource drop site, a nearby idle Villager will automatically start building it.

#12 All map changes

New maps:

• Arena
• Aïr
• Giza
• Elysium
• Gold Rush
• Ironwood
• Kerlaugar
• Mirage
• Mirkwood
• Mount Olympus
• Muspellheim
• Nile Shallows
• Tiny

King of the Hill, Regicide, and Sudden Death maps have been removed. These are now available as Skirmish game modes for any map.

Changes to existing maps:

• Alfheim has gained autumn oak trees and natural lighting in place of pine trees and eerie golden light. Greek-style columns have been swapped for Nordic ones, and the Ruins object has been removed.
• Anatolia has grassy terrain with snow instead of sand and snow.
• Archipelago generates mountains both on land and in the sea.
• Black Sea has grassy terrain with snow instead of sand and snow.
• Erebus now generates small lava pits rather than long rivers. The rare River Styx water variant has been removed, and statues of Hades now appear near Relics instead of Columns and Ruins.
• Highland now has a mix of grass and dirt terrain instead of lush grass, with slightly wider rivers.
• Megalopolis features desert sand terrain with patches of green grass under berry bushes, and palm forests instead of the original mix of palm, oak, and acacia trees.
• Marsh has mostly muddy grass around the wetlands, replacing the lush grass.
• Nomad now generates as a complete island, similar to its Age of Empires versions, with a new Greek biome variant in addition to the Egyptian biome.
• River Nile has grassy riverbanks.
• Sea of Worms features autumn oak trees instead of pine, tundra terrain instead of snow and sand, and players no longer start with a Fortress, Migdol Stronghold, Hill Fort, or Palace instead of Sentry Towers.
• Team Migration has starting islands covered in sand instead of grass.
• Tundra has more permafrost terrain and no longer features falling snow.
• Valley of Kings no longer has Bandit Migdols guarding gold; shrines near relics, now purely decorative, replace them.
• Vinlandsaga no longer includes Skraelings, as they have been removed from the game.

There were hundreds of tiny changes made to Age of Mythology: Retold that made it a game that has received such positive feedback from its players. If you'd like to read the rest of the many minor changes, you can find them over on the Age of Empires Wiki under Update 17.18697.

Want to read more about Age of Mythology: Retold at Pro Game Guides? Check out our beginner-friendly Age of Mythology Retold Tier List – All Gods Ranked.