Age of Mythology: The Titans

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Age of Mythology: The Titans
Developer(s) Ensemble Studios
Publisher(s) Microsoft Game Studios
Release date(s) September 30, 2003
Genre(s) Real-time strategy
Mode(s) Single player, Multiplayer
Rating(s) ESRB: Teen (T)
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows
Media CD-ROM
System requirements Windows: 98/2000/XP

Processor: 450MHz

RAM: 128MB

Video card: 16MB

Hard drive space: 450MB
Input Keyboard, mouse

Age of Mythology: The Titans is a real-time strategy computer game expansion pack of Age of Mythology. It was developed by Ensemble Studios and released in September 2003.

The expansion adds a fourth civilization to the game, the Atlanteans, and 3 new major gods, plus many new units, buildings and god-powers. It also included many new features, such as auto-queueing (allows training of units indefinitely as long as there are sufficient resources), and the ability to summon a Titan, a powerful, gargantuan, godlike being that forms the game's focal point.

Contents

[edit] New features

  • Atlanteans

The newly added civilization of Atlantis is much different from the others, because of the focus on mythological and magical powers, including:

    • Lack of specific hero units.
    • Ability to have an arbitrary number of heroes by converting any human unit to a hero (depending on the resources available).
    • Citizens not needing special drop-off points for resources.
    • Ability to build Oracles, which are scout units and effective only while standing still (their field of view slowly grows as they idle)
    • Ability to build town centers at the early ages of the game
    • Kronos has the ability to time-shift buildings, i.e. move buildings from one place to another
    • Oranos has the ability to build sky passages, which let instant transportation of people to various places of the map.
    • Gaia's magical powers grow lush from buildings, preventing enemies from building anything on the lush. The growing lush also slowly heals Gaia's buildings.
    • Ability to use certain god powers several times during a game.

Atlantean citizens are much more effective in work than their Greek, Norse or Egyptian counterparts and do not require drop-off points for resources, but cost 3 population units each. They are also much slower to train. Atlanteans gain favor through town centers. The more town centers they control, the faster the rate of favor gain.

  • New random map types: Marsh, Highland, Tundra, Islands, Megalopolis, Land Unknown
  • New AI personalities for random map games: Standard, Random, Attacker, Conqueror, Builder, Protector, Defender
  • New upgrades for existing civilizations (Greek, Egyptian, and Norse):
    • Beast Slayer: Greek gods' unique units (Myrmidon, Hetairoi, and Gastraphetes) do bonus damage against Myth units.
    • Hand of the Pharaoh: Egyptian priests can pick up Relics like the Pharaoh, Range of attack is also increased by two.
    • Axe of Muspell: Norse Throwing Axemen does bonus damage against flying units.
    • Heroic Fleet: All civilizations' ships do bonus damage against myth units.

[edit] Campaign: The New Atlantis

The campaign is only a third of the length of the one in the original Age of Mythology, and this time focuses mostly on the Atlantean civilization and its leader, Arkantos' son, Kastor. Arkantos, who is now a god, also makes a few minor appearances here. The story is set ten years after the events of the Age of Mythology storyline.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The story begins with Kronos, who was still trapped in Tartarus, watching the Atlanteans. He sends his unnamed servant (nicknamed "Kronny" by fans of the game) to possess the body of the Theocrat Krios, the Atlantean leader.

It then cuts to the Norselands, where the suffering Atlanteans, led by Kastor and Krios, are trying to rebuild their civilization after it was destroyed ten years ago. The Theocrat says he saw a temple in his dream. The Atlanteans leave the Norselands by using Sky Passages, and they come to a place called New Atlantis. Krios says it was the imprisoned Titans who helped them, and convinces his people, including Kastor, to worship them.

The Greeks are angered with the Atlanteans' new choice of gods, and attack them. The Atlanteans retaliate by destroying the entire Greek colony from which some of the attacks came. However, some of the Greek ships escape and go to General Melagius, ruler of that colony and other lands. He is angered by the destruction of his colony and prepares for an attack. The Atlanteans, however, still manange to invade Melagius's city and slay him. Just as the Atlanteans finish off the city, Egyptian and Norse allies of Melagius come to aid him. Kastor decides they are too powerful and flees. However, he does not go back to New Atlantis but instead heads up to the Norselands. His plan is that the Norse will not be expecting an attack. He destroys Norse temples and replaces them with Atlantean temples, to show his superiority. He also destroys the Tower of Odin, Odin's only stronghold on Earth, by using a god power from Kronos. He and his army then sail to Egypt. The scene cuts to Egypt where Amanra, a comrade of Arkantos when he was still a human, is conversing with her troops. Arkantos suddenly appears before Amanra and tells her that the Atlanteans are coming to steal relics from the Egyptans. Amanra fortifies the protections around the relics, but the Atlanteans still manage to steal them. Just as the Atlantean army closes around Amanra and her few troops, lightning bolts kill all the Atlantean soldiers. Arkantos appears and tells Amanra that the Atlanteans are being led by Kastor. Amanra questions this, and Arkantos tells Amanra that Kastor is being tricked. He tells her to find Kastor and to help him. It then cuts to a new scene, where Krios congratulates Kastor on his work and shows him a Sky Passage that he has found. Krios tells Kastor that the Sky Passage will take him to the Greek lands. Kastor enters it with his troop and finds himself not in the Greek territories, but on Mount Olympus. Kastor believes that Krios made a mistake about where the Sky Passage went. He and his troops discover they cannot go back the same way they came, so they decide their only choice is to attack Mount Olympus. Using special temples that change his men into different myth units, Kastor sets foot on the peak of Mount Olympus. However, once he does this, the daylight turns a strange color. Kastor senses there is something wrong, and he leaves with his army. He heads to the Greek territories. When he gets there he sees Prometheus wreaking havoc on a Greek city. He wonders at this, and Krios tells him that he is a Titan. Krios tells Kastor that he allowed him and some lesser Titans to be free. Kastor realizes he has been tricked by Krios, who takes the form of Kronny and escapes. Kastor is then attacked by other Atlanteans who are under Krios's control. Meanwhile, Amanra meets Ajax, another companion of Arkantos. Apparently, Ajax was also looking for Kastor. Amanra tells Ajax that Kastor has been tricked, and that they must find him. All this time Kastor is being repeatedly attacked by Atlanteans. Amanra and Ajax rescue him with Rocs. Arkantos appears, and Kastor tells his father that he did not realize he was being tricked. Arkantos forgives him, and tells the heroes that two lesser Titans have been freed in the Norselands and in Egypt. Amanra decides that they will go to Egypt first, as that is her homeland.

The Titan in Egypt is Cerberus, and the heroes decide to awaken the Guardian statue, an immensely powerful living statue that also helped the heroes in Age of Mythology. The Guardian manages to destroy Cerberus. They then travel to the Norselands, and they meet King Folstag, a powerful Frost Giant whose lands are being destroyed by the Titan, Ymir. The heroes decide to work with Folstag to kill Ymir. They summon a Nidhogg which they use to destroy Ymir.

The heroes then travel to Greece to find the peaceful green countryside destroyed and in flames--evidence of Prometheus's work. They spread the green lush of the benevolent earth Titan Gaia across the burnt land, both healing it and weakening Prometheus. They manage to overcome him in his weakened state. The heroes then venture back to New Atlantis, where they rescue citizens from Automatons. Kastor, Ajax, and Amanra enter a Sky Passage which takes them to Old Atlantis, where Kronos, king of the Titans, breaks out of Tartarus. To stop him, Kastor and his allies summon Gaia using special trees. She defeats Kronos and imprisons him once more. Kastor notices Kronny trying to escape in all the excitement. He jumps on top of Kronny and plunges a sword into his chest, thus killing him. Arkantos appears and tells Kastor that the Atlanteans need a leader, and that he will always be by his son's side. The Staff of Atlantis appears before Kastor, and he becomes the new leader of the Atlantean empire.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Gods

The three major Atlantean gods are:

Minor gods include:

[edit] Myth units

  • Classical Age
    • Promethean: Fairly strong melee unit, with the ability of dividing into two smaller versions when badly injured, which then fight to death.
    • Caladria: Flying unit, with the ability to heal friendly units. Has no attack and can only be damaged by ranged weapons.
    • Servant of Oceanus: Naval unit composed of water, with the ability to heal friendly units.
    • Automaton: Melee mechanic unit, with the ability to repair other automatons.
  • Heroic Age
    • Satyr: Slow ranged unit with spears. Good as support unit.
    • Nereids: Naval unit riding a shark. Shark has bite as special ability. Good against human ships.
    • Stymphalian birds: Flying unit with ranged attack. Good for quick attacks.
    • Behemoth: An armadillo/dinosaur-like siege unit that regenerates health. Good against buildings.
    • Dryad: Melee fighter created from Dryad tree. You can only have 5 at one time.
  • Mythic Age
    • Heka Gigantes: Strong, multi-armed melee unit. Can pound the ground to cause small quakes.
    • Man o' War: A jellyfish-like naval unit. Shoots lightning that targets multiple enemies at once.
    • Lampades: Ranged unit. Has the ability to cast Chaos into enemy units, making them neutral and attack the closest unit.
    • Argus: A shapeless blob that fights with tentacles. Has special ability to spit acid, killing instantly.
  • Titan Age
    • Titan: Available to all civilizations, the Titan is created via the Titan Gate. It has massive amounts of HP and attack, but cannot be healed or transported across water. The Titan has the special ability to pound the ground, sending nearby units flying. Only one Titan may be created, and the best way to fight them is with another Titan. Heroes also do plenty of damage to them. A Titan can be hit by the "Bolt" god power, but it will not die, and only loses 1250 HP. An Atlantean player who selects Hekate as the Mythic-age goddess can research a technology allowing all myth units, including Titans, to heal themselves; this is the only way to heal a hurt Titan. There are 4 Titans, one per civilization. The Atlanteans have a giant lava humanoid Titan (Typhon, aka Chthonian). The Greek have a giant man with the head of 3 dogs. This is Cerberus. The Egyptians have a giant Titan with the head and legs of a hawk (Horus). The Norse Titan is a giant blue troll wielding an ice hammer (Ymir).

[edit] Heroes

Most Atlantean human units can be transformed into heroes (including citizens). Myth Units, Naval Units, Siege Units, Titans, and Cheroballista are the exceptions. As well as being strong against Myth Units, Atlantean heroes retain their own strengths and weaknesses, so Murmillo heroes are still weak against archers and strong against cavalry.

[edit] Human units

[edit] Economic

    • Citizen: Standard resource gatherer, can build and repair buildings.
    • Oracle: Scout unit, with long line of sight, but no attack.
    • Caravan: Trade gold between friendly markets.
    • Fishing boat: Naval unit. Gathers food from fish.
    • Transport ship: Naval unit. Carries land units over water.
    • Fish are infinite in supply.

[edit] Infantry

  • Murmillo: Standard infantry with sword. Good against cavalry and infantry, but not as powerful as the katapeltes or fanatic. Can be trained at the Barracks.
  • Katapeltes: Medium infantry with mace. Good against cavalry. Weak against other infantry and archers. Can be trained at the Counter Barracks.
  • Fanatic: Light infantry with two swords. Good against other infantry and cavalry. Weak against archers. Can be trained at the Palace.
  • Destroyer: Heavy infantry with trident. Strong against buildings. Weak against other infantry. Can be trained at the Palace.

[edit] Archers

  • Arcus: Standard archer. Strong against infantry. Weak against cavalry. Can be trained at the Barracks.

[edit] Cavalry

  • Contarius: Standard cavalry with a great sword. Strong against archers. Weak against infantry. Can be trained at the Barracks.
  • Turma: Cavalry archer that throws spears. Strong against other archers. Weak against other cavalry. Can be trained at the Counter Barracks.

[edit] Ships

  • Bireme: Standard arrow ship. Good against hammer ships.
  • Fire ship: Spits fire. Strong against other ships. Good against siege ships. Takes the place of the hammer ship and is weak against arrow ship
  • Siege Bireme: Shoots ballista bolts (logs that are used as missiles). Good against arrow ships and buildings.

[edit] Siege weapons

  • Cheiroballista: Crossbow device that shoots arrows. Strong against infantry.
  • Fire siphon: Spits fire. Strong against buildings.

[edit] Buildings

  • Town Center: Atlantean Town Centers are the main building in one's empire. They can shoot arrows, garrison units inside them, train citizens and oracles, and provide 15 population. Upgrades can be purchased here, and one can choose to go to the next age. Town Centers can be built on free Settlements.
  • Manor: Manors replace houses for the Atlanteans. They provide 20 population, but only 5 manors maximum can be built. Up to 5 units can garrison inside them.
  • Economic Guild: Economic upgrades can be purchased here.
  • Dock: Atlantean docks can train fishing ships, transport ships, biremes, fire ships, siege biremes, and naval myth units.
  • Sentry Tower: Sentry Towers provide a good line of sight. Upgraded versions can shoot arrows. Units can be garisoned inside them, and upgrades can be purchased here. Limit:21
  • Mirror Tower: A special tower that shoots out focused beams of sunlight. Slow but deadly to individual units. (Helios Only) Limit:10
  • Sky Passage: Units can be garrisoned inside one Sky Passage, and may exit from another. Can be upgraded for defensive capabilities. (Oranos only)
  • Temple: Temples can train myth units, and relics can be dropped off here. Upgrades can be purchased here.
  • Farm: Citizens can gather food from a farm. They cost 4 times as much as in other civilizations.
  • Barracks: Barracks train Murmillo, Arcus, and Contarius. Upgrades can be purchased here.
  • Counter-Barracks: Academies can train Katapeltes, Turma, and Cheiroballista. Upgrades can be purchased here.
  • Armory: Upgrades can be purchased here to increase units' attack and defense.
  • Wall/Gate: Walls and gates provide some defense. They can be upgraded to make them stronger.
  • Palace: Atlantean Palaces train fanatics, destroyers, and fire siphons. Units can be garrisoned inside them. Palaces can shoot arrows. Upgrades can be purchased here. Limit:10
  • Market: Atlantean Markets can train llama caravans. Upgrades can be purchased here.
  • Wonder: A Wonder is a large building that has much health and takes a long time to build. In the single-player mode, once a player builds a wonder, a countdown starts. After the countdown ends, the player wins. Limit:1

[edit] God powers

  • Archaic Age
    • Deconstruction (Kronos) (2 uses): Slowly destroys an enemy building, but building costs will be returned to the enemy. Poseidon militia do not appear.
    • Shockwave (Oranos) (3 uses): Knocks back and temporarily stuns a group of enemies, causing them to be unable to fight back.
    • Gaia's Forest (Gaia) (4 uses): Creates a group of trees in the specified area. Units gather wood faster from these trees than regular trees. They can be used as a wall.
  • Classical Age
    • Valor (Prometheus) (3 uses): Turns a group of normal units into Heroes, only affecting Atlantean units
    • Carnivora (Oceanus) (3 uses): Creates a carnivorous plant that will attack enemies passing by. It can eat non-hero human soldiers and sink ships in a single blow (the ability must recharge).
    • Spider Lair (Leto) (3 uses): Creates 4 spiders webs in the target area. The spiders are vulnerable for a short time, but then sink into the ground and become invisible to enemy players. When an enemy unit passes over a spider's nest, the spider leaps out and devours it. Myth units and heroes are not affected. Each spider nest disappears after it kills a unit.
  • Heroic Age
    • Chaos (Hyperion) (2 uses): Causes a group of enemies to turn neutral, and will attack anyone in sight, including allies.
    • Hesperides Tree (Theia) (2 uses): Creates an indestructible tree, which produces Dryads for the player controlling it. The tree can be captured by enemies. Enemies can not cast god powers near the tree.
    • Traitor (Rheia) (2 uses): Changes the allegiance of an enemy unit to your side. This does not work on certain units (including titans).
  • Mythic Age
    • Vortex (Helios) (3 uses): Teleports all of the player's military units into the specified location.
    • Tartarian Gate (Hekate) (1 use): Creates a hole which spawns infinite Tartarian Spawns until the hole is destroyed. They cannot be controlled and will attack anyone on sight. The rate at which the gate spawns decreases with time.
    • Implode (Atlas) (1 use): Summons a sphere which drags away all surrounding units and buildings. The more buildings and units are near the sphere, the longer it lasts and the bigger it grows. When all surrounding units have been sucked in, its explodes, doing large amounts of damage to all units and buildings nearby and killing most human units sucked in. Myth units that are sucked in take moderate damage.
  • Titan Age
    • Titan Gate (1 use): Available for all civilizations, the Titan Gate power places a dig site at the specified location, waiting for construction by villagers. Once completed, it will summon forth a Titan.

[edit] External links

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 Kings (Nintendo DS)
Age of Mythology Age of Mythology | The Titans
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