The six currently playable civilizations, plus the 7th civ that is presently in development. (From top clockwise: Greeks, Egyptians, Babylonians, Norse, Celts, Persians. With the Romans in the center.
Civilizations (commonly abbrieviated as Civs) are playable factions in Age of Empires Online. There are currently six available civilizations, three that start at level 20 (formerly purchased) without their own dedicated story quests, and three that start at level 1 (or 3) with dedicated story quests for level 1 to 20 (formerly Free-to-Play).
Types
There are two classes of civilization: Basic (formerly Free-to-Play) and Pro (formerly requiring a purchase to play -- or "Premium").
The Free-to-Play civs had certain technologies locked until purchase (the "Star Tech"s), but had a story that guided the player through the gameplay mechanics of AOE games, as well as had their own dedicated stories revolving around the civs in question.
The Premium civilizations; Starting at level twenty they lack a unique main campaign, however, due to being level 20 they start with access to the Argos, Northern Hold, and Fertile Crescent quest lines.
Civilization Summary
(As described in this article [1])
- Greek - Archer Focused
- Quests - Less exotic quests, primarily "Build and destroy"
- Egyptian - Cavalry focused. Multiple different types of Priests.
- Quests - More exotic quests, but mostly "build and destroy"
- Celtic - Infantry Focused. Extremely strong late-game if Macro is high.
- Quests - Mostly exotic quests, some "build and destroy"
- Persian - Ranged Focused (Archers + Siege)
- Babylonian - Turtle/Steamroll Focused, economy focused
- Norse - Rush Focused: Strong Infantry. Flexible harass units, strong expendable units.
- Roman -
(never finished)Currently in development by the Project Celeste Team- A guide for each civ that pertains to the current version of the game can be found Here
Release Dates
The Celtic and Persian civilizations were officially announced on July 20th, 2011[2]. The Celts already existed in the game files by the end of the beta testing phase.[3]
The Babylonian civilization was officially announced on August 10th, 2012 through Euro.
The Norse civilization was officially announced on October 23rd, 2012 through Euro.
The Roman civilization was hinted and was in creation from the start of 2011, but was not finished by the 2014 shutdown. The Project Celeste team has a tentative release date of "When it's done".
The Neanderthals was announced on April's Fools as a joke.