Age of History II – Game Exploits

A list of all known exploits in the game. This list may be used for informational purposes, but more interestingly, players are invited to try and win the game without the use of exploits.

Introduction

Note: Credit goes to Sammer

It does not take very long for the average player to figure out through experience that this game is filled with all kinds of bugs. At the time of writing this, there is currently no indication that the developer will ever fix any of them. To enjoy the game to its fullest, we must accept the bugs for what they are. This guide will go through all currently known exploits in the game.

Primarily, the reader is invited to try and win a game without using any of the exploits listed here. This may or may not be the ‘intended’ way to play the game.

Trade Offers: the Computer AI Always Accepts to Declare War

Make a trade offer with any country: demand that they declare war to any other country of your choice. Do not offer anything in exchange; do not demand anything else.

The recipient will always accept your offer.

You can make all AI countries fight each other at will.

This is major exploit.

Recommended solution:

Never demand a war declaration from any AI country.

Ultimatums: Given Enough Troops, AI Countries Will Always Accept A Player’s Ultimatum With Little To No Consequences

Send an ultimatum to any AI country of your choice: demand that they give you all of their provinces, or else all of your troops will invade. Given enough troops, the recipient will always accept.

The number of troops you need in order for the AI to accept seems to correlate with the country’s population. You need an army the size of at least half their entire population. For example, against a country with a population of 40 thousand, you will need around 20 thousand troops.

(This is not necessarily always true; more research is needed.)

Players who are powerful enough can instantly acquire any small country at any time, with little to no consequences.

This is a major exploit.

Recommended solution:

Never send ultimatums to AI countries.

It is worth noting that ultimatums demanding vassalization and/or military access require even less troops. Players can demand vassalization to smaller AI countries, and once their truce is over, demand to annex their vassals.

Combat: Troops Moving Using The “Move To” Command Ignore Combat Modifiers

Whenever a battle occurs, there is an attacker bonus and a defender bonus. However, if the troops engaged are being moved using the “Move To” command, those modifiers are not applied.

Showcase of combat modifiers:

Outcome of regular battle:

Outcome of battle using “Move To”:

Players can use “Move To” instead of “Move” to significantly improve their efficiency in combat.

This is a minor exploit.

Recommended Solution:

Avoid using the “Move To” command whenever there is a high chance that the troops might engage in combat.

Colonization: It Is Always Possible To Colonize, Even Without A Tech Level Of 0.75

When colonizing, if the player has a technology level lower than 0.75, a line of text is shown on screen reading “Required Technology Level: 0.75”. However, the player is still able to colonize the province.

Players can colonize any province regardless of their technology level.

This is a minor exploit.

Recommended solution:

Do not colonize any province before reaching a technology level of 0.75.

It is worth noting that with a tech level below 0.75, colonization costs are significantly higher (as high as ~65000 gold.) It could be argued that being able to colonize at any tech level is actually an intended mechanic. On the other hand, it can be argued that being able to colonize early can change the gameplay experience drastically (e.g. when playing as a tribe.)