What is this AOE structure that already starts on the map?

Age of Empires: DE Ask for Help
1

Hey there, folks - title.

Pretty much never played AOE 1 before, so I’ve been watching quite a few replays to get a hang of the game given that DE will be a Day 1 purchase for me.

So, can anybody please tell me what these structures are and what purpose they serve in-game?

I don’t think I have seen a player ever clicking on those things, so I take it they have absolutely no relevance when it comes to competitive AOE.

Also, anyone knows whether these structures will be making a comeback in DE?

Cheers!

2

Hey! These are known as Ruins. If you (or your team) grabs control of all of them, and manages to hold them for 5 minutes, you win the game. It’s an alternate form of winning, but rarely seen (at least I’ve never seen it).

3

I think it’s 25 minutes in game-speed time, i.e. 2000 years. So at 2.0 speed it would be 12.5 minutes. Guarding ruins is hard because they are fixed, and it only takes capturing one to cancel the countdown.

4

Alright, folks - thanks for the answers!

Any idea whether they’ll be coming to DE?

5

They’ll be in the DE as all units from old AoE will be included. They are used in campaigns as objectives too.

6

On single player they are used to design or to make some victory condition.

On multiplayer some times there are ruins some times not. If the victory condition (host can select one in multiplayer setting before the game starts) is standard you can make a regular win as well as win by collecting all ruins, all artefacts or building a wonder and holding them for 2.000 years (around 25 mins in game time).

Usually in competitive games victory condition is conquest, you only win if you defeat your enemy or if your enemy resign.

7

Aight, thanks again, folks!

Cheers and see you on DE!

8

Woah, I love 6 to 8-player skirmishes with both ruins and artifacts (little wagon carts with some kind of replica of the Arc of the Covenant). It gives two alternative victory conditions, and that’s really exciting.

9

Yep I think having more “Standard” competitive would be interesting. I guess sometimes the ruins could be in bad places though.