The Definitive Edition of one of real-time strategy’s most beloved games, Age of Empires Two, recently had its first birthday, and to celebrate, the AoE team launched a Birthday Anniversary Event to run from November 14 to December 1, 2020. The Birthday Anniversary Event charged in with Game Update 42848 and includes the addition of ten in-game events, a Battle Royale mode, new Art of War missions, numerous performance and stability improvements, and much more.
According to the official announcement, AoE’s Birthday Anniversary Event features various in-game unlockables, along with specific in-game tasks you can complete to earn a selection of prizes. Unlockables include birthday-themed Profile Icons, a Town Center Birthday Cake Monument, confetti explosions when buildings research upgrades, and “‘1’-shaped Firework Explosions for Petards, Flaming Camels, and Demolition Ships.” In-game tasks for rewards work as challenges, with the first and most important one completed simply by signing into Xbox Live. Completing this task unlocks the Exploding Demolition Ship profile icon, and is “*Required* if you want to save any rewards unlocked during the event!”
Five more tasks are available for prize rewards, and must be completed in order and on separate days, as follows:
- Day One: Complete a Battle Royale game to unlock Town Center Birthday Party Decorations and the Birthday Cake profile icon.
- Day Two: Play an Empire Wars game via Quick Play to unlock the Impenetrable Huskarl profile icon.
- Day Three: Survive for an entire 15 minutes in a Battle Royale match to unlocks the ‘1′ shaped Fireworks Explosions for Petards, Flaming Camels, and Demolition Ships.
- Day Four: Play in a Battle Royale game and place in the Top 4 via Quick Play to unlock the Cuman Party! profile icon.
- Day Five: Play any game in Quick Play and advance to the Imperial Age to have ‘Research Complete” particles replaced with a Confetti Explosion.
The new Battle Royale mode was announced back at the end of October, with its debut streamed live on the AoE website. Sixteen players competed against each other for a $10,000 prize and to be crowned the inaugural AoE Battle Royale Champion. The AoE website posted a list of the sixteen competitors with links to their streaming channels, but sadly, didn’t post the news as to who won. However, there is a handy Battle Royal Debut Tournament intro video that explains how the mode works in-game.
Click over to the official update notes for a complete list of new and improved Age of Empires Two: Definitive Edition items.
Source: Age of Empires