Age of Empires: Definitive Edition is a remaster of Age of Empires. It features significantly improved visuals, multiple quality of life improvements, and incorporates The Rise of Rome expansion. First announced on June 12, 201712 and set to be released on October 19, 2017 as a Windows 10 store-exclusive title for the original game's 20th anniversary,3 it was delayed until February 20, 2018. Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. So far, the fix seems to have already improved the quality of ranked matches. That said, if you continue to see issues. What's up everyone? Now this is what I call an unexpected win, great support from yellow who was vikings, nice handling the situation, even though we had noo. Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. All Discussions Screenshots Artwork Broadcasts Videos News Guides Reviews. So far, the fix seems to have already improved the quality of ranked matches. That said, if you continue to see issues, please do let us know! =) Showing 1-15 of 105 comments. The playable civilizations in Age of Empires II are based on prominent civilizations of the post-classical period, from the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century to the start of renaissance era during the 15th century. There are 35 civilizations in total. 1 The Age of Kings 1.1 Britons 1.2 Byzantines 1.3 Celts 1.4 Chinese 1.5 Franks 1.6 Goths 1.7 Japanese 1.8 Mongols 1.9 Persians.

Few franchises in the history of gaming have been as long-standing as Age of Empires, Ensemble Studios’ classic historical RTS.

And very few games have been played for such a long time as Age of Empires II, arguably the most beloved installment in the series.

It’s been going strong since 1999 and with the release of the HD Edition in 2013 and the arrival of the Definitive Edition in November 2019, it doesn’t look like that’s going to end anytime soon.

With the HD version came several new civilizations to control and develop into bustling empires, complicating the ever-controversial question of which civilization is the best.

Some may do better on certain maps, some benefit from 1v1 settings or are good in team games, and the list of variables goes on making it hard to make a simple ranking.

To simplify this I’ve turned to aoestats.io, an independent project that monitors the game’s competitive scene and provides easy to understand data such as win rate, overall usage, and average game score for each civilization.

So without further ado, here are the best civilizations with the highest win-rate in AoEII: HD Edition.

10. Britons

The first entry in our list happens to be the Britons, a classic civilization with a focus on archery for their military strategies.

Their archery ranges produce units considerably faster than the average civilization, and their archers in general have a longer range.

Their unique unit is the Longbowman which can out-range virtually every other unit in the game as well as towers and castles once fully upgraded.

Their villagers gather food faster from sheep, and their Town Centers are cheaper than usual, which helps their economy and gives them the possibility of expanding in the mid-game much faster.

9. Berbers

A big part of many strategies for winning a game depend on progressing through the ages faster.

And the Berbers have the fastest Feudal Age times in the list.

They’re focused on cavalry which they can produce for cheaper costs once they hit Castle Age.

Their Camel Archer unit is among the best ranged mounted units as well, with excellent strength and accuracy, and it benefits from the Maghrabi Camels tech which grants Berber camel units a regenerative ability.

A good choice if you want to move fast and grow even faster.

8. Mayans

The Mayans not only win a lot of games, they’re also simply present in most of them.

They’re a fan favorite and the second most picked civilization in the list, right under the Huns.

Their early game is excellent thanks to their superior scout, the Eagle Warrior, and they can get to work faster thanks to an extra starting villager.

They win most of their games in the early mid-game when they can fully benefit from their longer lasting resources and amazingly cost-efficient Plumed Archer unique unit.

7. Indians

This is one of the first new civilizations added to the game with the release of the HD Edition.

The Indians focus on camels and gunpowder units, among which their Hand Cannoneers excel after getting the +1 Range upgrade from the Shatagni tech.

Their Imperial Camel, which replaces the Knight, is also notably useful.

While somewhat weaker than its European counterpart, the Imperial Camel also costs much less.

Their economy can become much more profitable than the average civilization too thanks to their Sultans tech which increases all gold income by 10%.

6. Aztecs

The Aztecs are another great early game civilization that generally wins its games in the blink of an eye.

This is mostly thanks to economy boosts such as villagers carrying more resources and an extra 50 gold at the start of the game.

They can also profit greatly from relics, which generate 30% more gold for the Aztecs and their teammates.

Although they lack any cavalry whatsoever, their infantry units, including the Eagle Warrior scout, are very strong thanks to a full tech tree and two unique upgrades.

And those units are produced 18% faster along with all other Aztec military units.

5. Vikings

Contrary to what you might expect, the Vikings aren’t only strong at sea. They can also dominate on land as well.

Their Berserk unique infantry unit can regenerate and is therefore much more viable for small harassing incursions.

In regards to their economy, their most notable and very helpful bonus is getting both the Wheelbarrow and Handcart techs for free. Which will make them an absolute powerhouse during the time it takes other civilizations to research them.

4. Huns

The most played civilization in the list is also one of the most unique.

Their most notable characteristic is that they don’t need houses for their population, which saves you a lot of time and resources in the early and mid-game.

It also lets you focus much more on micromanaging military units and outmaneuvering your foes while they worry about social housing projects.

Their unique unit, the Tarkan, excels at razing defensive structures.

It’s a very viable unit thanks to the Marauders technology that allows you to produce them in stables, which are 20% faster for the Huns.

3. Incas

Another Native American civilization makes the list, following the same early game domination strategies as the others.

Like the Huns, they need to worry less about housing as their houses have double the population capacity of normal ones.

And they get a free llama at the start of the game to give you the food boost you need to fill them up faster.

A nice strategy with the Incas is the classic Tower Rush, made easier thanks to their 15% discount when building stone structures, and supported by their extra-durable villagers.

2. Slavs

The Slavs are the silent assassins of the game.

One wouldn’t generally expect them to be so successful!

Their many victories can probably be explained by their amazing economy, carried by villagers who work 15% faster.

Their siege units also come at a discount, helping them build strong high-cost armies faster and more consistently.

However once the game starts getting too long and gold becomes scarce, they start losing ground fast. So it’s best to wrap things up as quickly as possible.

1. Franks

The Franks may feel like an unusual choice for best civilization to some people.

But the numbers don’t lie!

The Franks are not only the most successful civilization in the AoE II competitive scene, they’re also ahead by a large margin.

Their power comes from two main things: a strong economy thanks to faster berry pick-up and free farm upgrades(which lets them advance through the ages much faster) and their bonus 20% cavalry health.

One of the most popular strategies in the game that’s absolutely dominated by the Franks is the early Scout Rush, thanks to their mounted scout units being 20% more resistant in general.

If that fails you’ll still reach Imperial Age faster than most and your mighty Frank paladins can carry you to victory.

Age Of Empires 2 Definitive Edition Ranked System

This AOE 2 Definitive Edition Tier list is based on update 36202 (most recent patch)

If you’ve just gotten into Age of Empires 2 Definitive edition after not having touched the game for years your knowledge might be a little bit rusty. Especially considering the fact that over the years a ton of new civilizations have been added. My knowledge of the game certainly was rusty when I started playing the release of the new DE version. You might be stuck wondering which civilization you should choose and which ones are the best (and the worst) in the game.

I’ve done some research and play testing to conjure up this AOE 2 DE tier list. This tier list is based on the knowledge from 2 of the best AOE 2 players in the world, Hera & TheViper. You can find their tier lists here (hera) and here (theviper).

TheViper’s tier list is based on 1v1 Arabia, while Hera’s tier list is more focused on the game as a whole. In order to make this tier list all encompassing I’ll make 3 parts. The first will be an Age of Empires 2 Definitive edition overall tier list, the second will be a tier list for 1v1 and finally I’ll give a list of civilizations that are good for beginners.

If you’re trying to find your favorite civ on the tier list, press ctrl + f and search for it.

Age of Empires 2 DE overall tier list

S Tier:

• Aztecs
• Chinese
• Persians

A Tier:

• Britons
• Huns
• Khmer
• Mayans
• Mongols
• Vikings

B Tier:

• Celts
• Cumans
• Franks
• Inca
• Indians
• Italians
• Japanese
• Malay
• Malians
• Slavs
• Tatars
• Vietnamese

C Tier:

• Berbers
• Byzantines
• Ethiopians
• Koreans
• Lithuanians
• Magyars
• Saracens
• Spanish
• Portuguese

D Tier:

• Bulgarians
• Burmese
• Turks

F Tier:

• Goths
• Teutons

1v1 Tier List

This is the tier list for 1v1. It’s based on 1v1 Arabia but will not differ too much for 1v1 on any map.

S Tier:

• Chinese
• Aztecs
• Persians
• Britons
• Mayans

A Tier:

• Celts
• Vikings
• Franks
• Huns
• Japanese
• Khmer
• Malay
• Malians
• Slavs

B Tier:

• Byzantines
• Berbers
• Bulgarians
• Burmese
• Cumans
• Ethiopians
• Inca
• Indians
• Italians
• Magyars
• Mongols
• Spanish
• Tatars
• Vietnamese

C Tier:

• Koreans
• Lithuanians
• Portuguese
• Saracens
• Teutons

D Tier:

• Goths
• Turks

Good civilizations for beginners

If you’re new to Age of Empires 2 Definitive edition then the tier list above might not be right for you. For instance, a lot of the civs on the tier list get their ranking based on how well they can scout or archer rush. If you’re new to the game you’re most likely not going for scout or archer rushes anyway. New players often play more defensively. With that being said, here are some good civs to try out when you’re just getting started.

Byzantines

As I’ve mentioned, most beginners tend to play defensively. The Byzantines complement this play style very well. They are a good defensive civ because their buildings have more HP and they have great late game trash units.

Their unique unit, the cataphract is also a ton of fun to play with and can be very strong once they’re fully upgraded. In higher level games you often don’t have the luxury of massing them, but since in lower level games players tend to be more passive you often do have this opportunity, making them very strong.

Teutons

The Teutons are famous for their Teutonic Knights. These tanky melee units destroy anything in their path as long as the enemy doesn’t micro their troops. Since in lower level games micro is almost non-existent, Teutonic knights are a good bet to go for.

Age Of Empires 2 Definitive Edition Ranked 2

On top of that they have cheaper farms and their building have more garrison space.

Britons

The Britons excel in archers. Their unique unit, the elite longbowman has an insane range of 6, which becomes 12 when they’re fully upgraded. This is the longest range archery unit in the game, and they can even outrange castles!

For new players, a mass of upgraded elite longbowmen is often hard to stop, since they will obliterate anything from a safe distance away. For this reason they’re a good civ to start out with. On top of that, they’re fairly highly rated in more high level games as well. This means that you can start playing them when you first pick up the game, and as you get better you won’t have to switch to a civilization that’s higher rated in the tier list.

Franks

If you like cavalry, the Franks are for you. Their paladins are one of the best in the game and the Franks boast one of the highest winrates in low level competitive play.

A huge mass of Frank paladins is very hard to stop, especially if you manage to get them into the opponents economy. Nevertheless, halberdiers do counter them. If you notice that the enemies has halberdiers just mix in some of the Franks unique unit, the throwing axeman. The throwing axeman is a ranged infantry unit that does melee damage from range. They’re extremely good in taking out enemy infantry, including halberdiers.

Age Of Empires 2 Definitive Edition Ranked Settings

Conclusion

Age Of Empires 2 Definitive Edition Ranked Queue Time

That’s our Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition tier list. We hope you found it useful, and a huge shout out to TheViper and Hera. If you want to see more on why the civs are in their respective tier, I highly recommend you to check out their videos (links are in the beginning of the post). They explain it way better than I ever could.

Age Of Empires 2 Definitive Edition Ranked Maps

Good luck in your games!