Accompanying The Mountain Royals expansion will be an update including a massive rework of the Persian civilization! This update will be available to everyone who owns the base game of Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, whether you have purchased the upcoming The Mountain Royals expansion or not. Prepare to embark on a legendary journey in "The Mountain Royals" DLC for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. Unlock the rich history and untold stories of two remarkable civilizations, the Armenians and Georgians, and immerse yourself in three captivating new campaigns: Tamar, Thoros the Great, and Ismail.

The Persian Civilization Identity
As more civilizations were released through additional expansions, we found the Persian civilization was slowly becoming less unique and their primary identity as a Knight civilization had become less meaningful. We strived for the way the Persians are represented in-game to incorporate additional design, while representing their rich history, creating more unique tools for the Persian civilization's toolbox. We wanted to provide you with more interesting strategic choices, and ways for you to engage your opponents, all while representing them from the early Middle Ages to late empire.In this update, our goal was to make the Persians feel special - the way we want each civilization to feel in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. We believe we've accomplished that by making the Persians a true cavalry civilization with this rework.

With that said, here are some expanded information on a few of our favorite changes!

The Savar - A New Unique Unit
Persia's use of heavily armored cavalry has always been represented in-game, yet having the more European-style Paladin always felt unfaithful to the civilization. With this update, the Persians have received a unique upgrade to the Cavalier; the Savar.Though the Savar looks similar to the Paladin, it is highly specialized in defeating enemy ranged units. Its additional ranged armor makes it more resilient, and their damage bonus stacks with the Persian Team Bonus, making them extremely effective at countering enemy Archers and general ranged units.

However, the increased survivability against ranged units does come at the cost of a lower Hit Point total when compared to the Paladin, making the Savar more susceptible to melee and cavalry counters.

The War Elephant
With the introduction of the Battle Elephant, we found it made the War Elephant feel less unique, and for a unit that already requires a significant investment to field, we want to ensure the War Elephant gets the respect it deserves.

The goal of these changes is to make the War Elephant more prevalent in the Persian unit roster. The Mahouts Unique Technology has been removed, but the base movement speed of the War Elephant has increased 33% by default. No longer will you have to wait as your War Elephants slowly lumber towards the enemy; charge them down!Continuing the additional improvements, the War Elephant has gained a significant boost to its damage bonus against buildings, now highly capable of ripping through your opponent's base, a great way to add additional pressure. We've also reduced the cost for the Elite War Elephant upgrade, making it significantly easier for you to realize the full potential of these behemoth units.

We always want to ensure each unit has their place in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. With these changes, we hope we've given you plenty of reasons to start training more War Elephants!

Parthian Tactics Available in the Castle Age
Having access to Parthian Tactics in the Castle Age adds an entirely new layer to the strategies available to the Persian civilization within Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, making them significantly less predictable while also representing a part of history we're excited to pay homage to.

The Sasanian Persian Empire that continued the Parthian legacy is an important part of how the Persian civilization is represented in-game. The Parthian Shot dates at least back to the Battle of Carrhae, where the Parthians used it to great effect against a Roman army. Sasanian armies employed similar tactics in the following centuries well into the early medieval period.Now that the Persians are able to research Parthian Tactics in the Castle Age, it provides a large spike to the strength of their Cavalry Archers, which has incredible synergy with their new civilization bonus, providing extra gold for each military unit they defeat.

This is perfect to help you dictate the pace of the match with early pressure, providing a new way for you to surprise and engage your opponents.

Full Rework Change List
The above were some of our personal highlights we wanted to provide some additional background on. Please see the full list of changes to the Persian civilization below.

Civilization Bonuses:

• Start the game with +50 food, +50 wood.
• Town Centers and Docks have 2x hit points and work +5%/+10%/+15%/+20% faster in Dark/Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
• Cavalry generate 5 gold when killing enemy military units.
• Parthian Tactics available in Castle Age.
• Can build Caravanserai in Imperial Age.

Unique Units:

• War Elephant (Very Big Elephant, enjoys scenic trips down the river in a transport ship).
• Savar (Unique upgrade to the Cavalier, powerful all-purpose cavalry with attack bonus vs. Archers).

Unique Technologies

• Kamandaran (Archer-line gold cost is replaced by additional wood cost).
• Citadels (Castles receive -25% bonus damage, arrows replaced with bullets which deal +4 attack, +3 attack vs. infantry, and +3 attack vs. rams).

Team Bonus

• Knights +2 attack vs. Archers.

Other Changes:

• (Elite) War Elephant attack bonus vs. standard buildings and stone buildings increased from 7 (10) ▶ 30.
• (Elite) War Elephant base movement speed increased from 0.6 ▶8.
• Elite War Elephant upgrade cost reduced from 1600 food 1200 gold ▶ 1350 food 800 gold.

We understand with this update a lot of changes have been made to the Persian civilization. We look forward to hearing your feedback, and plan to continue to iterate as needed. Start the game already!