# Problems with South American Maps **URL:** \ **Category:** III - Discussion\ **Created:** [August 10, 2026, 9:57pm UTC](https://forums.ageofempires.com/t/problems-with-south-american-maps/288719 "2026-08-10T21:57:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Neon1002](https://forums.ageofempires.com/user_avatar/forums.ageofempires.com/neon1002/32/213824_2.png) [@Neon1002](https://forums.ageofempires.com/u/Neon1002)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 1:02am UTC](https://forums.ageofempires.com/t/problems-with-south-american-maps/288719/21 "2026-08-12T01:02:16Z")
> [@OperaticShip743](#): > > There are also treasures and outlaws with an Old West theme I never minded the Old West Guardians, since revolvers and lever-action weapons were pretty popular in South America. However, adding Guardian versions of the Revolution’s flagship units (Húsar de la Muerte, Legionario Peruano, etc.) and of the Incas for the largest treasures would be great. Speaking of treasures, I would love to see an Aguará Guazú pet that can be obtained from a treasure on the Pampas map, but that it’s too much to ask.It’s always nice to give endangered species some visibility. [Maned wolf - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maned_wolf) ---
**Author:** ![RatcicleFan](https://forums.ageofempires.com/user_avatar/forums.ageofempires.com/ratciclefan/32/115119_2.png) [@RatcicleFan](https://forums.ageofempires.com/u/RatcicleFan)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 1:22am UTC](https://forums.ageofempires.com/t/problems-with-south-american-maps/288719/22 "2026-08-12T01:22:03Z")
> [@CrabierAlloy51](#): > > Didn’t mean to ignore Brazil, I just sadly don’t know enough about native Brazilian groups. I also don’t know that many tbh > [@CrabierAlloy51](#): > > I hope the addition of the Sami (a native style Minor) to European maps (which traditionally had Royal Houses) opens up the door for minor civ styles to be mixed in Asia, Africa and the Americas as well. Particularly, I’d love to see TAR-style kingdoms in Asia. I think it’d be a great way to represent minor, but organized polities eg Sumatran sultanates, or even Korea (though I get that that is a controversial opinion lol) Holy Sites already appear in all regions except North/Central America. Jesuits and Sufis show up in Africa, Jesuits also appear in two South American maps, and Tengris show up on a few Eurasian maps together with royal houses. Otherwise I hope you’re right. ---
**Author:** ![BaphometSLM](https://forums.ageofempires.com/user_avatar/forums.ageofempires.com/baphometslm/32/148191_2.png) [@BaphometSLM](https://forums.ageofempires.com/u/BaphometSLM)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 3:14am UTC](https://forums.ageofempires.com/t/problems-with-south-american-maps/288719/23 "2026-08-12T03:14:57Z")
> [@CrabierAlloy51](#): > > I hope the addition of the Sami (a native style Minor) to European maps (which traditionally had Royal Houses) opens up the door for minor civ styles to be mixed in Asia, Africa and the Americas as well. Particularly, I’d love to see TAR-style kingdoms in Asia. I think it’d be a great way to represent minor, but organized polities eg Sumatran sultanates, or even Korea (though I get that that is a controversial opinion lol) I agree with you. We need more variety. However, I think it’s rather strange that they decided to give the Sámi only 3 technologies instead of 4 technologies + a big button power like the royal houses. It makes them look like they were introduced back in 2005. I wish older natives could receive one or two new techs in order to be on par with the new ones. ---
**Author:** ![M00Z1LLA](https://forums.ageofempires.com/user_avatar/forums.ageofempires.com/m00z1lla/32/104042_2.png) [@M00Z1LLA](https://forums.ageofempires.com/u/M00Z1LLA)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 4:33am UTC](https://forums.ageofempires.com/t/problems-with-south-american-maps/288719/24 "2026-08-12T04:33:39Z")
> [@CrabierAlloy51](#): > > opens up the door for minor civ styles to be mixed In my opinion they’re getting way too loosey-goosey with where they’re putting minor civs. In the new maps they’ve got Royal houses in the Caribbean and West Africa which is weird. If the only justification is that it was a colony of a royal house then basically everywhere on earth should have royal house minor civs. Outside Europe I think there should only be royal houses present if a monarch actually resided in the country. For example Maximilian I of Mexico or the Braganzas in Brazil if the ever became a royal house. ---
**Author:** ![zeppelino24](https://forums.ageofempires.com/user_avatar/forums.ageofempires.com/zeppelino24/32/148882_2.png) [@zeppelino24](https://forums.ageofempires.com/u/zeppelino24)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 5:58am UTC](https://forums.ageofempires.com/t/problems-with-south-american-maps/288719/25 "2026-08-12T05:58:55Z")
I agree with this request; there have long been calls for Native American tribes to receive the same treatment as European Royal Houses, which are better adapted and better represented than the older, minor tribes. Technologies should be added for native factions that have fewer than four technologies at their trading posts, and the “Big Button” ability should be included, just as it is for the Royal Houses. ---
**Author:** ![zeppelino24](https://forums.ageofempires.com/user_avatar/forums.ageofempires.com/zeppelino24/32/148882_2.png) [@zeppelino24](https://forums.ageofempires.com/u/zeppelino24)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 6:08am UTC](https://forums.ageofempires.com/t/problems-with-south-american-maps/288719/26 "2026-08-12T06:08:16Z")
Indeed, new native factions need to be added to the South American maps, and existing native tribes—such as the Mapuche, Tupi, and Quechua—should be reworked by adding new units, technologies, and the “Big Button” ability. Europe is well represented, but what about Central and South America? They feel quite empty and feature very few native factions. I hope the developers consider reworking the maps and native content for South America. I recall the _Wars of Liberty_ mod featuring excellent South American maps with dynamic weather—rain, sunsets, and nightfall—and impressive wildlife; it truly felt like being in that part of the world. And the music—I loved the _Wars of Liberty_ soundtrack; it really immersed you in the 19th-century setting. Hopefully, the developers can replicate something like that in the future. ---
**Author:** ![untitledjuan](https://forums.ageofempires.com/user_avatar/forums.ageofempires.com/untitledjuan/32/204944_2.png) [@untitledjuan](https://forums.ageofempires.com/u/untitledjuan)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 3:44pm UTC](https://forums.ageofempires.com/t/problems-with-south-american-maps/288719/27 "2026-08-12T15:44:30Z")
> [@Neon1002](#): > > **3. There are few local natives:** We only have the Mapuche, Quechua, Tupi, I guess the Carib are fine… and then there’s the Zapotecs??? Why are the Zapotecs even present in South America? Their historical territory is roughly 2,000 km (or 1,500 miles) away from the Andes map. It’s like having a Habsburg royal house on the Niger River map. Using the maps we currently have for South America, I think the following minor South American Natives could be included in the game, showing new ones in **bold** : - Amazonia: Carib, Quechua, Tupi, Jesuits, **Arawak, Tikuna, Yanomamo** - Caribbean: Carib, Jesuits, **Arawak, Miskito, Guna** - Pampas: Quechua, Mapuche, **Diaguita** - Patagonia: Mapuche, **Diaguita** - Andes: Quechua, Mapuche, **Arawak, Aymara, Caranqui** - Araucanía: Quechua, Mapuche, **Aymara, Diaguita** - Orinoco: Carib, Jesuits, **Arawak, Tikuna, Yanomamo** - Upper Andes: Carib, Quechua, **Arawak** , **Muisca, Guna, Emberá, Caranqui** - Bahía: Tupi, Jesuits, **Tikuna, Yanomamo, Jê** - Gran Chaco: Tupi, Jesuits, **Guaraní, Jê** - Guianas: Carib, Tupi, **Arawak, Tikuna, Yanomamo** - Minas Gerais: Tupi, Jesuits, **Arawak, Tikuna, Jê** - Pampas Sierras: Quechua, Mapuche, **Arawak, Aymara, Guaraní** - Panamá: **Miskito, Guna, Emberá** ---
**Author:** ![RatcicleFan](https://forums.ageofempires.com/user_avatar/forums.ageofempires.com/ratciclefan/32/115119_2.png) [@RatcicleFan](https://forums.ageofempires.com/u/RatcicleFan)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 4:09pm UTC](https://forums.ageofempires.com/t/problems-with-south-american-maps/288719/28 "2026-08-12T16:09:48Z")
> [@untitledjuan](#): > > - Amazonia: Carib, Quechua, Tupi, Jesuits, **Arawak, Tikuna, Yanomamo** Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure Quechua didn’t live even in the westernmost parts of Amazonia. Arawak, from what I know about them, also don’t belong anywhere in modern Brazil. ---
**Author:** ![HoopThrower](https://forums.ageofempires.com/user_avatar/forums.ageofempires.com/hoopthrower/32/56873_2.png) [@HoopThrower](https://forums.ageofempires.com/u/HoopThrower)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 4:33pm UTC](https://forums.ageofempires.com/t/problems-with-south-american-maps/288719/29 "2026-08-12T16:33:36Z")
Carib make little sense in Amazonia, same with Arawak. OK, I guess there are Arawak and Carib people who lived in the Amazon, like ethnically, but having an umbrella native site that represents both the ones that lived in the actual Caribbean and then the mostly unrelated ones that just happen to speak a similar language in the Amazon may be casting too wide a net. Diaguita have absolutely nothing to do with Patagonia lmao (also Patagonia is designed as a map without native sites anyway) Ain’t Caranqui too much of a deep cut for a native site? Like they are more of a Precolombine thing, we don’t even know what their real name was. Neither Aymara nor Diaguita have anything to do with Araucania. ---
**Author:** ![untitledjuan](https://forums.ageofempires.com/user_avatar/forums.ageofempires.com/untitledjuan/32/204944_2.png) [@untitledjuan](https://forums.ageofempires.com/u/untitledjuan)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 5:28pm UTC](https://forums.ageofempires.com/t/problems-with-south-american-maps/288719/30 "2026-08-12T17:28:29Z")
Assuming that by the Arawak we mean all Arawakan speaking peoples (such as Taíno, Wayuu, Lokono, Baniwa, etc.), then there actually were Arawakan groups in what is modern-day Brazil, with groups such as the Manao (the namesake of the Brazilian city of Manaus), Aroaqi and the Kariaí in the Brazilian Amazon. There were also Arawakan groups in other areas of Brazil, such as the Paresí or the Waurá peoples in Mato Grosso. I included the Quechua in the Amazonia map to represent the Quechua speakers that settled in the Amazon region after the Inca conquered Ecuador and Southern Colombia. Sure, they were not native to the Amazon, but they settled there and developed a particular culture and distinct Quechua language variety (known as _Kichwa_) that still survives to the present-day. They refer to themselves as the _Inga_ people and have been living along the Putumayo river in the Amazon for centuries now. ---
**Author:** ![RatcicleFan](https://forums.ageofempires.com/user_avatar/forums.ageofempires.com/ratciclefan/32/115119_2.png) [@RatcicleFan](https://forums.ageofempires.com/u/RatcicleFan)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 5:30pm UTC](https://forums.ageofempires.com/t/problems-with-south-american-maps/288719/31 "2026-08-12T17:30:12Z")
> [@untitledjuan](#): > > Arawakan Nah I had mixed them up for Aymara ---
**Author:** ![untitledjuan](https://forums.ageofempires.com/user_avatar/forums.ageofempires.com/untitledjuan/32/204944_2.png) [@untitledjuan](https://forums.ageofempires.com/u/untitledjuan)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 5:34pm UTC](https://forums.ageofempires.com/t/problems-with-south-american-maps/288719/32 "2026-08-12T17:34:07Z")
Very few Cariban peoples lived on the actual Caribbean Islands per se, they lived mostly on the Caribbean coast of South America, mostly in what’s today the Guianas, Venezuela and Colombia. Some did live all the way down to the Amazon river. For the Diaguita, you’re right, they shouldn’t have been included on the Patagonia map and I included the Aymara and Diaguita on the Araucanía map out of proximity only. Maybe we could have more South American maps than the ones we already have to be able to cover those specificities. About the Caranqui, even though most of the information we have about them comes from archeological findings, their language went extinct during the 18th century, so they did have some colonial contact with their two conquerors, the Inca and the Spanish. ---
**Author:** ![Neon1002](https://forums.ageofempires.com/user_avatar/forums.ageofempires.com/neon1002/32/213824_2.png) [@Neon1002](https://forums.ageofempires.com/u/Neon1002)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 6:22pm UTC](https://forums.ageofempires.com/t/problems-with-south-american-maps/288719/33 "2026-08-12T18:22:14Z")
> [@RatcicleFan](#): > > Don’t forget the Mayas, who also don’t belong in South America. Oh my God, you’re right! They’re in the Orinoco map. Just 2,600 km away from their historical territory! > [@Neon1002](#): > > **The number of maps is tiny** : SA has only **8** It seems I made a mistake when counting the maps. 8 is the original number of South American maps. Right now, there are 13: 1. Amazonia 2. Andes 3. Andes-Upper 4. Araucania 5. Bahia 6. Gran Chaco 7. Guianas 8. Minas Gerais 9. Orinoco 10. Pampas 11. Pampas Sierra 12. Panama 13. Patagonia It’s a decent number of maps, but it’s clearly the lowest number in the game. Sorry for the mistake! ---
**Author:** ![RatcicleFan](https://forums.ageofempires.com/user_avatar/forums.ageofempires.com/ratciclefan/32/115119_2.png) [@RatcicleFan](https://forums.ageofempires.com/u/RatcicleFan)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 6:54pm UTC](https://forums.ageofempires.com/t/problems-with-south-american-maps/288719/34 "2026-08-12T18:54:22Z")
> [@Neon1002](#): > > It’s a decent number of maps, but it’s clearly the lowest number in the game. Sorry for the mistake! Mexico through Panama has only 5: 1. Mexico 2. Baja California 3. Sonora 4. Yucatán 5. Panama Even if you include Caribbean and Hispaniola, that’s only 7. And with the upcoming Virgin Islands that number goes up to only 8. ---
**Author:** ![Neon1002](https://forums.ageofempires.com/user_avatar/forums.ageofempires.com/neon1002/32/213824_2.png) [@Neon1002](https://forums.ageofempires.com/u/Neon1002)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 7:03pm UTC](https://forums.ageofempires.com/t/problems-with-south-american-maps/288719/35 "2026-08-12T19:03:20Z")
Oh, you’re right. I tend to count Central and North America as one in my head for some reason, sorry about that. ---
**Author:** ![HoopThrower](https://forums.ageofempires.com/user_avatar/forums.ageofempires.com/hoopthrower/32/56873_2.png) [@HoopThrower](https://forums.ageofempires.com/u/HoopThrower)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 7:20pm UTC](https://forums.ageofempires.com/t/problems-with-south-american-maps/288719/36 "2026-08-12T19:20:25Z")
I mean yeah I find it kinda goofy in general to suggest new native sites and not new maps. I remember someone posted a really good tentative map of all the possible maps in South America about a month ago or so during the beta test, anyone’s got it? ---
**Author:** ![RatcicleFan](https://forums.ageofempires.com/user_avatar/forums.ageofempires.com/ratciclefan/32/115119_2.png) [@RatcicleFan](https://forums.ageofempires.com/u/RatcicleFan)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 7:37pm UTC](https://forums.ageofempires.com/t/problems-with-south-american-maps/288719/37 "2026-08-12T19:37:12Z")
> [@HoopThrower](#): > > I remember someone posted a really good tentative map of all the possible maps in South America about a month ago or so during the beta test, anyone’s got it? Li’l Thumb made it on discord, so if anyone has it it’s them. Idk if they’re on the forum tho. > [@untitledjuan](#): > > I included the Quechua in the Amazonia map to represent the Quechua speakers that settled in the Amazon region after the Inca conquered Ecuador and Southern Colombia. Sure, they were not native to the Amazon, but they settled there and developed a particular culture and distinct Quechua language variety (known as _Kichwa_) that still survives to the present-day. They refer to themselves as the _Inga_ people and have been living along the Putumayo river in the Amazon for centuries now. I’d rather have Amazonia be split into multiple smaller regions. It’s almost as big as the contiguous US, there’s no good reason for all of that to be represented by a single map. I’d rename the current one to Amazon River or Manaus. > [@HoopThrower](#): > > (also Patagonia is designed as a map without native sites anyway) A lot of maps designed to not have minor civs have at least one by now, so I think this is irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![M00Z1LLA](https://forums.ageofempires.com/user_avatar/forums.ageofempires.com/m00z1lla/32/104042_2.png) [@M00Z1LLA](https://forums.ageofempires.com/u/M00Z1LLA)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2026, 3:16am UTC](https://forums.ageofempires.com/t/problems-with-south-american-maps/288719/38 "2026-08-13T03:16:02Z")
> [@HoopThrower](#): > > Carib make little sense in Amazonia, same with Arawak. OK, I guess there are Arawak and Carib people who lived in the Amazon, like ethnically, but having an umbrella native site that represents both the ones that lived in the actual Caribbean and then the mostly unrelated ones that just happen to speak a similar language in the Amazon may be casting too wide a net. I don’t really see a better alternative to the umbrella approach. The options are basically: A) Go with hyper specificity and have a multitude of different native on only 2-3 maps each. That’s a ton of work, and quickly becomes overwhelming to keep track of. B) Have a multitude of different natives and add a bajillion overlapping and/or tiny maps to make room for them. This is obviously a tremendous amount of work and could easily lead to a quantity over quality issue. C) Pick specific groups and use them even on maps where they didn’t live. Most people aren’t fans of the South American Zapotecs. D) Pick a very broad, vaguely accurate category like Caribs or Cree. You lose some nuance like this but lets you get a ton of milage out of each minor civ. ---
**Author:** ![OperaticShip743](https://forums.ageofempires.com/user_avatar/forums.ageofempires.com/operaticship743/32/104612_2.png) [@OperaticShip743](https://forums.ageofempires.com/u/OperaticShip743)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2026, 3:43am UTC](https://forums.ageofempires.com/t/problems-with-south-american-maps/288719/39 "2026-08-13T03:43:48Z")
The Arawak could be a good minor faction on their own and cover multiple maps in South America ![image](https://forums.ageofempires.com/uploads/default/original/3X/a/4/a44e888e8201deb53837ba74a727490f27239721.png) And I think they are different enough from the Caribs. ---
**Author:** ![HoopThrower](https://forums.ageofempires.com/user_avatar/forums.ageofempires.com/hoopthrower/32/56873_2.png) [@HoopThrower](https://forums.ageofempires.com/u/HoopThrower)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2026, 4:54am UTC](https://forums.ageofempires.com/t/problems-with-south-american-maps/288719/40 "2026-08-13T04:54:05Z")
You really missed the point I made with that post, didn’t you? [Previous page](https://forums.ageofempires.com/t/problems-with-south-american-maps/288719.md?page=1) [Next page](https://forums.ageofempires.com/t/problems-with-south-american-maps/288719.md?page=3)