This AOE 2 Definitive Edition Tier list is based on update 36202 (most recent patch)
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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.
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. Default to blaming the civilizations strength or a units powerfulness instead of thinking outside the box and forming new tactics to reach your objective. After all, this is a strategy game;). The only archer civs that onagers wont work well against are Britons and Mongols since Britons out range. Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition celebrates the 20th anniversary of one of the most popular strategy games ever with stunning 4K Ultra HD graphics, a new and fully remastered soundtrack, and a brand-new expansion, “The Last Khans” with 3 new campaigns and 4 new civilizations.
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.
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.
Conclusion
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.
Good luck in your games!
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition
Age Of Empires Ii Definitive Edition
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition celebrates the 20th anniversary of one of the most popular strategy games ever with stunning 4K Ultra HD graphics, a new and fully remastered soundtrack, and brand-new content, “The Last Khans” with 3 new campaigns and 4 new civilizations.
Explore all the original campaigns like never before as well as the best-selling expansions, spanning over 200 hours of gameplay and 1,000 years of human history. Head online to challenge other players with 35 different civilizations in your quest for world domination throughout the ages.
Age Of Empires 2 Definitive Edition Best Civs
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