Age of Mythology
Age of Mythology (sometimes abbreviated AoM) is a real-time strategy computer game by Ensemble Studios. It was first published in November 2002 by Microsoft Game Studios. Unlike its predecessors, the Age of Empires series, Age of Mythology has less of a focus on historical accuracy. Instead, the game centers on the myths and legends of the Ancient Greeks, the Ancient Egyptians, and the Norse, allowing players to not only control the historical aspects of these three great civilizations (such as Hoplites, Pharaohs, and Longboats, respectively) but also mythological creatures such as Minotaurs, Centaurs, Phoenixes, and Valkyries in order to crush opponents.
Age of Mythology is different from other Ensemble Studios games, because it contains one large, fictional story which encompasses all the civilizations and scenarios, and which follows the exploits of a band of heroes, rather than the historical progress of various nations or cultures. There is a Zboard available for this game.
Campaign
The story starts off with the Atlantean hero, Arkantos, discussing with the Theocrat how they are losing Poseidon's favor. Pirates then start attacking Atlantis, whom Arkantos successfully drives off. However, as the pirates were fleeing Kamos the minotaur, who was the leader of the pirates, stole the trident from a Poseidon statue. Arkantos follows Kamos, gets the trident back, and unsuccessfully tries to kill Kamos, who flees on a Leviathan. He then proceeds to Greece where he fights in the Trojan War alongside the Greek heroes Ajax, Odysseus, and Agamemnon. Arkantos first destroys the ports of Troy, allowing Agamemnon's army to land. He then destroys the Trojan Gate and waits for Ajax's army to arrive and finish off the city. He learns from a messenger that Ajax is surrounded by Trojans; Arkantos goes to help him. After Arkantos rescues Ajax he destroys Troy's forward military base. Finding that Troy's gates are repaired again, Odysseus thinks of the Trojan Horse to help win the war. He has his villagers construct it (making sure no Trojan scouts find out about it) and then he, Ajax, and Arkantos enter it to sneak into Troy. They destroy the Trojan Gate from the inside, which allows Agamemnon’s army to enter. Together they obliterate the city.
After winning the war, Arkantos and Ajax sail to Ioklos to mend their ships, but end up rescuing the centaur Chiron from bandits who had taken over the city. Chiron tells them that the bandits had invaded Ioklos and taken all the men with them to their stronghold, which the three heroes raid. There they discover the Cyclops Gargarensis, who is the story's main antagonist, using the men to dig a passage into the Underworld. Gargarensis enters into the passage, and the heroes follow him. They later prevent him from opening a strange gate in Tartarus.
In anger, Gargarensis traps the heroes in Tartarus. However, the heroes soon escape the underworld with the help of shades (living dead inhabitants of the Underworld) and Zeus, only to surface in Egypt. There, they help the Nubian warrior-woman Amanra dig up an ancient sword that is said to bring a statue, that serves the person who brings the sword to it, to life. The heroes bring the sword to the statue, which becomes animated. The statue, named the Guardian, destroys the rampaging army of Kemsyt, a common enemy and ally of Gargarensis who was in charge of the Ioklos bandits.
The protagonists then begin to assemble the pieces of the body of the Egyptian god Osiris, in order to bring him back to life and prevent Gargarensis from opening a similar underworld gate in Egypt. Amanra captures a piece of Osiris from Kemsyt, who flees on a Roc. Chiron gets the head of Osiris from a huge tamarisk tree. Arkantos and Ajax get a piece of Osiris from Kamos, whom Arkantos kills. Athena visits Arkantos in a dream to inform him that behind the gates is the imprisoned Titan Kronos, who has promised Gargarensis immortality in exchange for setting him free to conquer the world. According to her, the adamantine doors that seal Kronos in Tartarus can only be opened by a mortal. For this reason, Kronos uses Gargarensis to try to destroy the doors. In his dream, Arkantos destroys a "strangely familiar city," which turns out to be Atlantis. After this, Arkantos wakes up. The heroes bring all the pieces of Osiris in front of a pyramid dedicated to Osiris. Osiris is reborn and he crushes Gargarensis' forces before they open the Gate, forcing Gargarensis to the Norselands to open another gate there.
While the heroes are traveling to the Norselands in pursuit of Gargarensis, they see Odysseus' ship, which is now a wreck on the shore of an island. The protagonists land on the shore and see strangely-acting pigs. While the heroes look on, the sorceress Circe turns Arkantos and Ajax into boars. Arkantos and Ajax, now boars, bring the pigs and themselves to a temple of Zeus, where they get changed back into humans. Odysseus, who was alive, thanks them and the heroes continue their journey to the Norselands, arrive, and get caught in an avalanche, which was a trap Gargarensis set for them. They fight their way out of the pass they are caught in and help two dwarves, Eitri and Brokk, reclaim their forge that was captured by giants. The heroes then journey to Midgard, where they meet Skult, who says his flag can unite the warring Norse tribes. He offers to help them if they can get him safely through the giant lands. They accept the offer, and at one point, their path is blocked by a boulder wall. The heroes manage to break through just before giants close in on them. The heroes escape and hardly any distance later, their path is blocked again, this time by an impassable forest. They are only saved when Odin sets the forest on fire, causing the trees to fall and allowing them to flee. To the heroes' confusion the tribes start attacking them when they see Skult's flag. They discover Skult, who disappears, was a servant of Loki and Gargarensis. With the help of the valkyrie Reginleif they unite the Norse tribes by undertaking a series of quests for them. For the first chieftain, they rescue some dwarves that were captured by trolls. For the second chieftain, they help defend his town from giants. For the last chieftain, they rescue his daughter, Greta Forkbeard, from giants. They fight their way to the Well of Urd (under Gargarensis' control), which is a passage to the Underworld. They find he is trying to open the Underworld Gate again. However, they are beaten away from the Gate by powerful fire giants, and are only saved because Chiron gave his life causing a rock fall between the giants and themselves. The disheartened heroes however manage to save the day by helping Eitri and Brokk, who they meet again, reforge Thor's hammer Mjolnir, which is used to shut the Gate just in time. The area around the gate explodes, and the heroes get blasted out of the underworld.
After the heroes awake from their unconsciousness, they learn Gargarensis is furious and is sending an army to get them. The heroes withstand his rage and capture Gargarensis in a last mighty battle with the help of the Norse heroes and Odysseus, who arrives with an army, and decapitate him. Arkantos, Ajax, Amanra, and Odysseus then sail back to Atlantis, only to discover that it is under Gargarensis' control. Apparently the heroes were tricked into believing they had killed him when in fact they had killed Kemsyt, who used his magic to make himself look like Gargarensis. They then discover that the last gate to Tartarus is right under the great temple of Atlantis, and Gargarensis was attempting to open it.
Arkantos fights his way to the gate, evacuates the people, and, with the help of Zeus, who grants him demigod-like powers, defeats the powerful living statue of Poseidon that was guarding it. Gargarensis is killed as the crumbling statue's trident falls on him. Atlantis is torn to shreds by earthquakes, storms and meteor showers due to Posidon's anger. The final scene of the story shows Athena making Arkantos a god for his momentous deeds.
Gods
Players can choose from one of three gods of a civilization as they begin, and two Minor Gods each time they advance in age. Each Minor God provides you with new God Powers, Myth Units and technologies.
Greek
- Archaic Age
- Classical Age
- Heroic Age
- Mythic Age
Egyptian
- Archaic Age
- Classical Age
- Heroic Age
- Mythic Age
Norse
- Archaic Age
- Classical Age
- Heroic Age
- Mythic Age
Myth Units
Myth units are a new addition in the AoM series. They are units that often have special abilities that normal human soldiers do not possess (such as flight, petrification etc.). They cost, in addition to the normal resources, favor to be summoned by the gods. They are deadly against human soldiers but can be easily countered by Heroes. Also, the Heroes are the only units normally unaffected by the myth units' special ability. Here is a list of Myth Units:
Greek
- Archaic Age
- Pegasus: A flying scout that can only be attacked by ranged weapons. Has no attack.
- Hippocampus (Poseidon only): A half-fish, half-horse naval myth unit. Helps scout the sea and has no attack. Is reborn if killed.
- Shade (Hades only): A robed living dead inhabitant of the Underworld that resembles a ghost. Sometimes created at the temple when a Hades human unit dies.
- Classical Age
- Cyclops: Melee unit with club. Can pick up a human soldier and throw him against the ground to instantly kill the thrown unit. Considered one of the most deadly myth creatures of its age.
- Minotaur: Melee unit with axe. Has a gore attack that sends a human soldier flying.
- Centaur: A fast cavalry archer with the special ability of firing an arrow that cannot miss.
- Heroic Age
- Nemean Lion: A lion that is good against buildings. Has the special ability to roar which will damage all nearby enemy units.
- Manticore: A ranged unit that fires a volley of spikes from its tail. Good against other ranged units.
- Hydra: A fearsome melee unit. Has only one head when created, but new heads will grow (to a total of 5) as it kills enemy units. Each additional head will multiply the original attack of the Hydra, thus multiplying enemy casualties.
- Scylla: An aquatic version of the Hydra. Can grow a total of 6 heads.
- Mythic Age
- Medusa: A capable archer, though its petrification ability is not to be underestimated. It will turn any units into stone (except heroes and siege weapons), killing them instantly.
- Carcinos: A melee naval unit that is good against ships. Explodes when killed.
- Colossus: A titanic melee unit with huge amounts of hit points, attack and defense, which will make it almost impervious but to the strongest attacks. It will practically trample anything that gets in its way and can also eat trees and gold mines to regain health. Considered the strongest myth unit of the game, and to counter the Colossus, take advantage of its slow attack and bad mobility.
- Chimera: A powerful melee unit that has the ability to breathe fire into the midst of enemy formations. Otherwise, it will tear apart enemy units with its jaw.
Egyptian
- Classical Age
- Sphinx: Effective against buildings and enemy units alike. It has the ability to turn into a sand tornado, rendering it invulnerable to attacks and damaging all adjacent enemy units.
- Wadjet: A ranged serpent that spits venom. Highly effective against enemy human soldier formations.
- Anubite: A fast melee unit with the ability to hop into enemies (such as archers) barricaded behind soldiers and even walls, quickly closing in on vulnerable units.
- Heroic Age
- Petsuchos: A mythical crocodile that fires a sun ray with immense range and damage. Unlike most ranged units, its attacks never misses.
- Roc: A flying transport unit that carries 15 land units. Has no attack and can only be attacked by ranged weapons.
- Leviathan: A live naval transport that carries 15 land units. Can also eat and sink enemy ships.
- Scorpion man: A melee unit that can poison the enemy with its stinger. Poison will do minor damage over time.
- Scarab: A living siege weapon that can tear the most fortified buildings in a matter of seconds. When it dies, its acid blood will spray onto nearby enemies and damage them.
- Mythic Age
- Phoenix: A flying fire bird that spits fire and transforms into an egg when killed. Can only be attacked by ranged weapons. A new phoenix can instantly be reborn from the egg if the owner pays the price of a phoenix, unless it is destroyed.
- War Turtle: A large naval unit that will rampage at ships, sending them flying nearby. It has a lot of hit points and is hard to kill.
- Avenger: Considered one of the deadliest melee fighters, it has a spin attack that will damage or even kill all adjacent enemy human soldiers.
- Mummy: Though not the toughest nor strongest ranged myth unit around, the mummy's special ability is very useful: It will kill and transform any human soldiers into a minion (smaller version of the mummy with a melee attack). As this ability can even kill the mighty War Elephants in one blow, careful tactical planning and use of this unit can rapidly turn the tide of battle.
Norse
- Archaic Age
- Raven (Odin only): Two Ravens are summoned at the temple for scouting, and has no attack.
- Classical Age
- Valkyrie: A sword cavalry unit that is mainly used for healing other units.
- Einherjar: A melee unit with two axes, good against buildings. Can use its horn to boost allied units' morale and slightly damage the enemy units.
- Troll: A ranged unit with a boulder, good against infantry. Can regenerate its health whenever it damages enemy units.
- Heroic Age
- Battle Boar: A metallic construction that will go berserk, kicking and sending aloft all adjacent enemy human soldiers.
- Frost Giant: A melee giant that freezes an enemy unit with its frost-like breath, rendering them incapable of attacking or moving.
- Kraken: A fast naval unit with the ability to sink an enemy ship instantly or pick up a nearby human unit with its tentacles and fling it.
- Mountain Giant: A giant with a club that can quickly reduce buildings to rubbles.
- Mythic Age
- Fire Giant: The most deadly giant and ranged myth unit, a true machine of destruction. Its main attack is throwing large fireballs that can level fortresses and enemy formation with ease. Its special ability will throw 3 fireballs simultaneously onto an enemy formation.
- Fenriswolf Brood: Though not an extraordinary myth unit by it self, it will gain attack and speed the more Fenris that are together, with a top attack of around 40-43. A large group of Fenris can rapidly overrun enemy positions.
- Jormund Elver: A fast naval unit that spits steam.
- Nidhogg: A flying dragon, capable of breathing fire. Created with the Nidhogg God Power. Cannot be healed.
Special
Pharaohs of Set can summon the following animals for combat or hunting purposes. Many players use them for cheap and quick attacks, and their stats have been toned down in later patches.
Heroes
A few "heroes" can be bought at the Town Center or Fortress (such as Achilles or Bellerophon).
They are mostly Greek but a few heroes are Egyptian or Norse. They are very powerful against Myth Units and reasonable against all other units.
These heroes include:
- Zeus
- Jason: Infantry with sword. Retriever of the Golden Fleece.
- Odysseus: Archer. Credited with the idea of The Trojan Horse.
- Heracles: Infantry with club. The completer of Twelve Tasks.
- Bellerophon: Spear-wielder on a Pegasus. Slayer of the Chimera. Can leap into battle.
- Poseidon
- Theseus: Infantry with sword. Slayer of the Minotaur.
- Hippolyta: Archer. Killed by Heracles in his rush to escape the Amazons.
- Atalanta: Infantry with spear. Arguably the greatest female hero in Greek mythology. Can run very fast.
- Polyphemus: Cyclops with club. Blinded by Odysseus and his men with a great log. Can send human units flying with his club.
- The Argo: Arrow ship of the Argonauts. (See also Jason). Also, the only naval hero.
- Hades
- Ajax: Infantry with spear. The second greatest Greek hero at Troy, second only to Achilles (see below).
- Chiron: Centaur archer. The wisest Centaur ever.
- Achilles: Cavalry with sword. The greatest hero at Troy.
- Perseus: Infantry with sword and Medusa's head. Slayer of the gorgon Medusa. Can turn units to stone on first hit like the Medusa.
Here are the very few Egyptian and Norse heroes:
- Egyptian
- Priest: Any number of these are allowed. Different Gods give them different powers, but all priests can create obelisks. Ra Priests can empower like the Pharaoh, Isis priests can create Obelisks quicker than the other two, and Set priests can summon and convert wild animals.
- Pharaoh: The Pharaoh is very important to the Egyptians. They can empower buildings, making them work faster, or fight in battle. Only have one Pharaoh at once, unless you take an Osiris upgrade, allowing you to have two.
- Son of Osiris: Obtained via the Son of Osiris god power, which upgrades the Pharaoh to become super powered lightning attack. Cannot be healed.
- Norse
- Hersir: Heavy infantry with war hammer. Only Norse hero unit. Starts off weak in attack but strengthens as the game goes on. Like priests, you can train as many as you like. The Hersirs of Loki randomly summon myth units in the middle of combat.
- Hero of Ragnarok: Heavy infantry with battleaxe. Can only be obtained with the Ragnarok god power. They are more powerful than the Hersir, and cannot be obtained after they die.
Human Units
The bulk of each civilization’s forces are made of ordinary human soldiers. Military units are classified as infantry, archers, cavalry, siege weapons, or ships.
Economic
- Greek
- Villager: Standard resource gatherer, can build and repair buildings.
- Caravan: Trade gold between friendly markets.
- Fishing boat: Naval unit. Gathers food from fish.
- Transport ship: Naval unit. Carries land units over water.
- Egyptian
- Laborer: Standard resource gatherer, can build and repair buildings.
- Caravan: Trade gold between friendly markets.
- Fishing boat: Naval unit. Gathers food from fish.
- Transport ship: Naval unit. Carries land units over water.
- Norse
- Gatherer: Standard resource gatherer, can only repair buildings.
- Dwarf: Like the gatherer, but better at mining gold.
- Caravan: Trade gold between friendly markets.
- Ox-Cart: Mobile drop off site for resources. Upgrades can be purchased here.
- Fishing boat: Naval unit. Gathers food from fish.
- Transport ship: Naval unit. Carries land units over water.
Infantry
Infantry are powerful against cavalry and weak against archers. The Norse infantry can build buildings as Norse gatherers and dwarves cannot.
- Greek
- Hoplite: Standard infantry with shield and spear. Good against cavalry.
- Hypaspists: Light infantry with short sword. Good against other infantry.
- Myrmidons: Zeus' heavy infantry with sword and shield. Good against all non-Greek units.
- Militia: Special, light infantry with spear. Created whenever a building of Poseidon is destroyed.
- Egyptian
- Norse
- Ulfsark: Standard infantry with axe. Good against Cavalry.
- Throwing Axeman: Light infantry that throws axes. Good against other infantry.
- Huskarl: Heavy infantry with sword. Good against archers.
Archers
Archers are powerful against infantry, but weak against cavalry.
- Greek
- Toxotes: Medium ranged standard archer. Good against infantry.
- Peltast: Long ranged spear-thrower. Good against other archers.
- Gastraphetes: Hades' long range archer with crossbow. Good against buildings.
- Egyptian
- Chariot Archer: Long ranged cavalry archer. Good against cavalry.
- Slinger: Medium ranged. Good against counter-infantry and other archers.
- Norse: The Norse lack in archers, so their best use is for the Throwing Axeman to come in as an archer when needed.
Cavalry
Cavalry are strong against archers and weak against infantry.
- Greek
- Kataskopos: Scout cavalry with weak attack. Cannot be reproduced.
- Hippikon: Standard cavalry with sword. Good against archers.
- Prodromos: Light cavalry with spear. Good against other cavalry.
- Hetairoi: Poseidon's heavy cavalry with sword. Good against buildings.
- Egyptian
- Camelry: Light camel cavalry. Good against other cavalry.
- War elephant: Heavy elephant cavalry. Good against archers and buildings.
- Mercenary Cavalry: Special cavalry with spear. Created instantly with gold, and takes no population caps. Dies after 40 seconds.
- Norse
- Raiding Cavalry (Raiders): Standard cavalry with sword. Good against archers.
- Jarl: Heavy cavalry with sword. Good against archers and myth units.
Ships
Naval warfare is not that prominent in Age of Mythology as it is in Age of Empires. Each civilization has three basic types of ships.
- Greek
- Trireme: Standard arrow ship. Good against ramming ships.
- Pentekonter: Has a ram to destroy other ships. Good against siege ships.
- Juggernaut: Shoots ballista bolts. Good against arrow ships and buildings.
- Egyptian
- Kebenit: Standard arrow ship. Good against ramming ships.
- Ramming Galley: Has a ram to destroy other ships. Good against siege ships.
- War Barge: Shoots ballista bolts. Good against arrow ships and buildings.
- Norse
- Longboat: Standard arrow ship. Good against ramming ships.
- Drakkar: Has a ram to destroy other ships. Good against siege ships.
- Dragon Ship: Shoots ballista bolts. Good against arrow ships and buildings.
Siege weapons
Siege weapons are used in Age of Mythology to destroy buildings. They are also effective against ships. However they are fairly slow and are weak against human units, especially cavalry.
- Greek
- Petrobolos: A catapult that flings several rocks. Does area effective damage.
- Helopolis: A large moving tower that shoots ballista bolts and can transport units.
- Egyptian
- Siege tower: A large moving tower that has a battering ram, and can shoot arrows and transport units.
- Catapult: A catapult that flings a giant boulder. Does area effective damage.
- Norse
- Portable Ram: Two men carrying a battering ram. Resistant to arrows.
- Ballista: A large crossbow-like device that flings ballista bolts. Good against human units.
Buildings
Buildings in Age of Mythology are used for a variety of purposes. They are used to train units, can be used to garrison units, or can be used to drop off resources.
Greek
- Town Center: Greek Town Centers are the main building in one's empire. They can shoot arrows, garrison units inside them, train villagers and heroes, resources can be dropped off at them, 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.
- House: Houses provide 10 population. A maximum of 10 houses can be built.
- Storehouse: Storehouses are drop off sites for wood and gold. Upgrades can be purchased here.
- Granary: Granaries are drop off sites for food. Upgrades can be purchased here.
- Dock: Greek docks can train fishing ships, transport ships, triremes, pentekonters, juggernauts, and naval myth units.
- Tower: Towers provide a good line of sight. Upgraded versions can shoot arrows. Units can be garrisoned inside them. Upgrades can be purchased here.
- Temple: Temples can train myth units, and relics can be dropped off here. Upgrades can be purchased here.
- Academy: Academies can train Hoplites and Hypaspists. Upgrades can be purchased here.
- Archery Range: Archery Ranges can train Toxotes and Peltasts. Upgrades can be purchased here.
- Stable: Stables train Hippikons and Prodromi. Upgrades can be purchased here.
- Farm: Villagers can gather food from a farm.
- 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.
- Fortress: Greek Fortresses train heroes and siege weapons. Units can be garrisoned inside them. Fortresses can shoot arrows. Upgrades can be purchased here.
- Market: Greek Markets can train donkey 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.
Egyptian
- Town Center/Citadel: Egyptian Town Centers are the main building in one's empire. They can shoot arrows, garrison units inside them, train laborers, priests, mercenaries, and mercenary cavalry, resources can be dropped off at the Town Centers, 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, and can be upgraded via the Citadel God Power.
- House: Houses provide 10 population. A maximum of 10 houses can be built.
- Lumber Camp: Lumber Camps are drop off sites for wood. Upgrades can be purchased here.
- Mining Camp: Mining Camps are drop off sites for gold. Upgrades can be purchased here.
- Granary: Granaries are drop off sites for food. Upgrades can be purchased here.
- Dock: Egyptian docks can train fishing ships, transport ships, kebenits, ramming galleys, war barges, and naval myth units.
- Tower: Towers provide a good line of sight. Upgraded versions can shoot arrows. Units can be garrisoned inside them. Upgrades can be purchased here.
- Obelisk: Obelisks provide a good line of sight. Upgrades can be purchased here.
- Monument: Monuments generate continuous favor. Comes in five different sizes.
- Temple: Temples can train myth units, and relics can be dropped off here. Upgrades can be purchased here.
- Barracks: Barracks train Spearmen, Axemen, and Slingers. Upgrades can be purchased here.
- Farm: Laborers can gather food from a farm.
- 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.
- Siege Works: Builds siege weapons.
- Migdol Stronghold: Egyptian Migdol Strongholds train chariot archers, camelry, and war elephants. Units can be garrisoned inside them. Migdol Strongholds can shoot arrows. Upgrades can be purchased here.
- Market: Egyptian Markets can train camel caravans. Upgrades can be purchased here.
- Lighthouse: Lighthouses provide a gigantic line of sight, but they have no attack.
- 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.
Norse
- Town Center: Norse Town Centers are the main building in one's empire. They can shoot arrows, garrison units inside them, train gatherers, dwarves, ulfsarks, and ox carts, resources can be dropped off at the Town Centers, 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.
- House: Houses provide 10 population. A maximum of 10 houses can be built.
- Dock: Norse docks can train fishing ships, transport ships, longboats, drakkars, dragon ships, and naval myth units.
- Tower: Towers provide a good line of sight. Upgraded versions can shoot arrows. Units can be garrisoned inside them. Upgrades can be purchased here.
- Temple: Temples can train myth units, and relics can be dropped off here. Upgrades can be purchased here.
- Long house: Longhouses train Ulfsarks, Throwing Axemen, Hersirs, and Raiding Cavalry. Upgrades can be purchased here.
- Farm: Gatherers and dwarves can gather food from a farm.
- Dwarven Armory: Dwarven Armories are special armories that can be built in the Archaic Age only if you worship Thor. All improvements are available in the Archaic Age, but former improvements need to be purchased. For example, one can purchase the upgrade "bronze weapons" in the Archaic Age, but still needs to purchase the "copper weapons" improvements.
- 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.
- Hill fort: Norse Hill Forts train huskarls, jarls, and portable rams. Units can be garrisoned inside them. Hill Forts can shoot arrows. Upgrades can be purchased here.
- Market: Norse Markets can train ox 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.
Campaign Heroes
There are some heroes that are only in the campaign, and there are some that are in the single-player mode but have special abilities.
| Name | Good or Evil | Special Ability |
|---|---|---|
| Arkantos | Good | Temporarily raises troop attack power. |
| Demi-God Arkantos | Good | Causes all adjacent units to fly away and take damage. |
| Ajax | Good | Sends enemy infantry flying with his shield. |
| Odysseus | Good | None. |
| Agamemnon | Good | None. |
| Chiron | Good | Fires three arrows on his first shot. |
| Amanra | Good | Leaps into battle like an Anubite. |
| Setna | Good | Can heal allied units. |
| Reginleif | Good | Can heal allied units. |
| Eitri | Good | Can gather resources. |
| Brokk | Good | Can gather resources. |
| Gargarensis | Evil | Throws enemy units. |
| Kamos | Evil | Gores enemy units to send them flying. |
| Kemsyt | Evil | None. |
| Circe | Evil | Shoots lightning. |
| Theris | Evil | Jumps into battle. |
God powers
God powers are special effects that benefit your empire in some way. They can help you gather resources or aid you in battle. They can only be used once. Here is a list of them:
Greek
- Archaic Age
- Classical Age
- Heroic Age
- Bronze: Turns friendly human units turn into bronze for 1.5 minutes, increasing their defense. (Dionysus)
- Underworld passage: Creates two portals between any locations on the map. Units will be instantly transported to the other passage by entering it. (Apollo)
- Curse: Turns enemy human units into a group of pigs, depending on their type. (Aphrodite)
- Mythic Age
- Lightning storm: Rains lightning from the skies, doing significant amounts of damage to enemy units within a certain area. (Hera)
- Plenty: Creates an indestructible vault that gives 15 of every resource every 5 seconds to whoever controls the area. (Hephaestus)
- Earthquake: Creates an earthquake that does a considerable amount of damage to units and buildings in a certain area. (Artemis)
Egyptian
- Archaic Age
- Classical Age
- Shifting sands: Transports a group of units, friendly or enemy, to another location. (Ptah)
- Eclipse: Darkens the sky for a minute, increasing the attack and speed of myth units. (Bast)
- Plague of Serpents: Summons friendly, uncontrollable cobras to guard the targeted area. If used over water it creates sea snakes. (Anubis)
- Heroic Age
- Locust swarm: Creates locust swarms that attack enemy farms and damages nearby units for 20 seconds. (Hathor)
- Ancestors: Summons mummy-like minions to serve the player for a minute. If used over water it creates lost ships. (Nephthys)
- Citadel: Turns a friendly town center into a citadel, which is stronger, has more attack, and supports more population. (Sekhmet)
- Mythic Age
- Son of Osiris: Turns the Pharaoh into a lightning-wielding Son of Osiris, a Myth Unit which is stronger and has much more HP, but cannot be healed. (Osiris)
- Tornado: Summons a tornado that does a considerable amount of damage to both units and buildings it travels past. (Horus)
- Meteor: Rains down meteors randomly from the sky within the target area. It does mostly crush damage and sends units flying. (Thoth)
Norse
- Archaic Age
- Great hunt: Causes an amount of animals in a certain area to multiply, depending on the type selected. (Odin)
- Dwarven mine: Creates a gold mine which can be placed at the specified land location. It has more gold if used in the later ages. (Thor)
- Spy: Place it on an enemy unit to see whatever it sees until it is killed. The enemy does not get notified it has been used. (Loki)
- Classical Age
- Forest fire: Causes a group of trees to catch fire, which spreads to other trees and damages nearby buildings and units. (Freya)
- Healing spring: Creates an indestructible spring that heals nearby friendly units, controlled by whomever controls the area. (Forseti)
- Undermine: Creates damage to the targeted walls, towers, fortresses, and town centers. (Heimdall)
- Heroic Age
- Frost: Freezes all enemy units solid within a certain radius for a minute, but gives them 99% defense. (Skadi)
- Walking woods: Animates a small group of uncontrollable trees, which will attack enemy units or buildings nearby. (Njord)
- Flaming weapons: Sets the weapons of friendly units within a certain radius on fire for a minute, increasing their attack. (Bragi)
- Mythic Age
- Fimbulwinter: Summons packs of uncontrollable Fimbulwinter Wolves to attack all enemy towns for 20 seconds. (Tyr)
- Nidhogg: Summons a flying Nidhogg dragon to serve the player until it is killed. The Nidhogg does splash damage and is effective against buildings, but can't be healed. (Hel)
- Ragnarok: Turns all your gatherers/dwarves into powerful Heroes of Ragnarok. They can construct buildings and carry relics. (Balder)
Relics
As in the Age of Empires games, Age of Mythology has relics which are scattered throughout the land. They can also help players in some small way. Relics can be picked up by heroes and brought back to their temple. Here is a list of them:
- A Pair of Golden Lions: Summons 2 controllable golden lions, which will appear at the temple if killed.
- Ankh of Ra: Provides a steady trickle of favor.
- Anvil of Hephaestus: Armory technologies cost 10% less.
- Armor of Achilles: Infantry's hack armor increases by 5%.
- Arrows of the Alfar: Arrow-shooting buildings have 20% more attack.
- Black Lotus: Villagers gather food 10% faster from farms.
- Blanket of Empress Zoë: Buildings' crush armor increases by 20%.
- Boots of Kick Everything: Heroes' speed increases by 20%.
- Bow of Artemis: Archers cost 15% less, Trolls and Centaurs cost 20% less wood.
- Bridle of Pegasus: Summons a controllable Pegasus, which will appear at the temple if killed.
- Buhen Flagstone: Walls cost 25% less.
- Canopic Jar of Imsety: Infantry train 15% faster.
- Catoblepas' Scales: Myth units' crush armor increases by 20%.
- Dwarven Calipers: Siege weapons cost 20% less.
- Eye of Horus: Town Centers support 2 more population than normal.
- Eye of Ornlu: Hypaspists, Axemen, and Throwing Axemen have 5% more attack.
- Fetters of Fenrir: Villagers can kill animals in a shot.
- Girdle of Hippolyta: Toxotes, Chariot Archers, and Throwing Axemen have 5% more HP.
- Harmonia's Necklace: Villagers gather gold 10% faster.
- Harter's Folly: Scouts have 2 more line of sight.
- Head of Orpheus: Buildings have 8 more line of sight.
- Hera's Thundercloud Shawl: Human soldiers' pierce armor increases by 5%.
- Khopesh of Horus: Hero damage against myth units increases by 1.
- Kithara of Apollo: Villagers move 20% faster.
- Mithril Horseshoes: Cavalry move 10% faster.
- Monkey's Head: Summons 3 controllable monkeys, which will appear at the temple if killed.
- Nose of the Sphinx: Buildings' HP increases by 15%.
- Odin's Spear: Hoplites, Spearmen, and Ulfsarks attack increase by 5%.
- Oseburg Wagon: Caravans cost 25% less and move 15% faster.
- Pandora's Box: Myth units train 25% faster.
- Pelt of Argus: All units have 6 more line of sight.
- Pygmalion's Statue: Villagers have 40% more HP.
- Reed of Nekhbet: Naval myth units have double attack.
- Ring of the Nibelung: Provides a steady trickle of gold.
- Scarab Pendant: Siege units and Scarab damage against myth units increases by 1.
- Shard of Blue Crystal: Villagers gather wood and gold 5% faster.
- Shingles of Steel: Houses have triple HP.
- Ship of Fingernails: Provides a steady trickle of food.
- Sistrum of Bast: Villagers cost 10% less.
- Staff of Dionysus: Villagers carry 20 more food.
- Tail of the Cerberus: Myth units' special attack takes 25% shorter to recharge.
- Toothed Arrows: Archers and Ballistae causes 5% more damage.
- Tower of Sestus: Towers do 30% more damage to units at range and 10% to units attacking their base.
- Trios Bow: Archers have 2 more line of sight and range.
- Trojan Gate Hinge: Walls have 20% more HP.
- Tusk of the Iron Boar: Cavalry and Chariot Archers have 10% more HP.
- Wand of Gambantein: Temple technologies cost 20% less.
- Wedjat Eye: Myth units cost 10% less food, wood, and gold.
Expansion pack
In November 2003 Age of Mythology: The Titans, an expansion pack for Age of Mythology was released. The Titans also has an all-encompassing story, although it is only a third of the length of the original, 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. The player must fight Titans, who have allied with the Atlantis.
Board game
A board game based on Age of Mythology was made in 2003. It was desinged by Glenn Drover and published by Eagle Games and Edge Entertainment.
External links
- Official sites
- Fansites and custom scenario design sites
- Reviews
- The Age of Mythology Board game
- Cheats
- God powers