The original Age of Mythology came out in 2002. That's a lifetime ago in gaming years. Yet, here we are in the mid-2020s, and the community is buzzing more than it did during the Titans expansion. World's Edge and Forgotten Empires didn't just slap a fresh coat of paint on a classic with the Retold edition; they fundamentally rewired how the game plays. But the real test—the thing that determines if this revival has legs—is the first major expansion: Age of Mythology: Retold — Immortal Pillars. It’s the Chinese pantheon done right this time. Honestly, after the "Tale of the Dragon" debacle in the Extended Edition, the bar was pretty low, but this new content clears it by a mile.
What Age of Mythology: Retold — Immortal Pillars Changes for the Better
Most players remember the Chinese civ from the 2016 expansion as a bit of a mess. It felt like a mod. The assets were clunky, the balance was nonexistent, and it just didn't "feel" like Age of Mythology. Age of Mythology: Retold — Immortal Pillars fixes that by rebuilding the faction from the ground up. We aren't just getting recycled units. We're getting a deep dive into Chinese mythology that feels as prestigious as the Greeks or Egyptians.
The expansion focuses on the majesty of the heavens and the raw power of the earth. You've got 12 new gods. That is a massive injection of variety. Think about how the meta shifts when you add just one new god to a civilization. Now multiply that by an entire pantheon. It’s chaotic in the best way possible.
You're looking at major gods like Nüwa, the creator goddess, Fuxi, the first of the Three Sovereigns, and Shennong, the Emperor of the Five Grains. Each brings a completely different flavor to the early game. If you’re playing Nüwa, you’re likely focusing on a booming economy and human units. Fuxi? He’s your go-to for rapid tech advancement. It’s not just about clicking buttons; it's about how these gods interact with the new favor mechanics in Retold.
The favor system in the original game was static. In Retold, it's dynamic. For the Chinese in Age of Mythology: Retold — Immortal Pillars, generating favor involves the Garden. It’s a unique building that lets you toggle between different resources. You can generate food, wood, gold, or favor. This flexibility is a godsend when you're stuck in a stalemate and need that one last God Power to break the enemy's walls.
Myth Units That Actually Feel Legendary
Let's talk about the units. If you’re playing this game, you’re here for the monsters. The Qilin is a standout. It’s not just a horse with a horn; it’s a celestial guardian that brings a level of mystical "oomph" to the battlefield. Then you have the Bingma, the Terracotta Warriors. These aren't just slow-moving tanks. They have unique death mechanics that make them a nightmare to clear out of a chokepoint.
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The Yinglong, a mighty winged dragon, finally gives the Chinese pantheon the high-tier aerial dominance they were missing. It’s terrifying. Seeing one of these swoop over your Town Center usually means you've got about ten seconds to find some archers or lose your entire economy.
A Campaign That Actually Matters
One of the biggest gripes with modern RTS expansions is the "skirmish-only" mentality. Thankfully, Age of Mythology: Retold — Immortal Pillars includes a full-fledged narrative campaign. It’s not a throwaway set of missions. It’s an epic that mirrors the quality of the original Fall of the Trident.
You aren't just moving units from point A to point B. The mission design utilizes the updated Bang engine to its full potential. Expect massive set pieces. Expect God Powers being thrown around by the AI in ways that actually force you to adapt. The story explores the internal conflicts of the gods and the rise of heroes who have to save the mortal realm from crumbling. It feels earned. It feels like it belongs in the same universe as Arkantos and Amanra.
The Technical Leap
The "Retold" part of the title isn't just marketing fluff. The engine upgrades mean that the Chinese pantheon benefits from ray-traced shadows and high-fidelity textures that the 2016 version could only dream of. When you call down a Great Flood or a volcanic eruption, the particle effects are dense. They're heavy. You feel the impact.
Ray tracing might sound like overkill for an RTS, but in Age of Mythology: Retold — Immortal Pillars, it adds a layer of readability. The way the light bounces off the glazed tiles of a Chinese Temple helps you distinguish buildings in the heat of a 4v4 battle. It’s functional beauty.
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- New Gods: 12 total, including 3 Major Gods.
- New Myth Units: Ranging from the nimble Qilin to the massive Yinglong.
- New Mechanic: The Garden system for resource flexibility.
- Campaign: A multi-scenario journey through Chinese myth.
Why the Balance feels different this time
Balance in Age of Mythology has always been a tightrope walk. You have to balance a guy with a spear against a 40-foot-tall Minotaur. In Age of Mythology: Retold — Immortal Pillars, the developers have clearly spent a lot of time in the competitive trenches. They’ve moved away from the "all-or-nothing" God Powers.
In the old days, you used a God Power once, and it was gone. Now, with the cooldown system in Retold, the Chinese pantheon's abilities have been tuned for repeated use. This changes everything. You can't just bait out a power and then go all-in. You have to respect the cooldown. This makes the Chinese civ feel much more active. You’re constantly looking for small openings rather than waiting for one big "win button."
Addressing the Skepticism
Look, I get it. The Tale of the Dragon expansion left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. It was buggy, the voice acting was... questionable, and the balance was a joke. People are naturally skeptical about Age of Mythology: Retold — Immortal Pillars.
But here’s the thing: this isn’t the same team. This isn’t a rushed job. The developers have been transparent about using community feedback from the Retold beta to shape the Chinese civ. They’ve prioritized visual clarity and "mythic feel" over just padding the unit roster. They’ve acknowledged that the Chinese pantheon needs to be a peer to the original three, not a sidecar.
The voice acting has been completely overhauled. No more grating, low-quality lines. The heroes sound like heroes. The gods sound... well, godly. It’s that attention to detail that makes this feel like a premium expansion rather than a DLC cash grab.
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The Nuance of the New Favor System
Most people don't realize how much the Garden system changes the flow of a match. In a standard game, you're always juggling villagers. If you need more gold, you pull them off wood. But with the Chinese in Age of Mythology: Retold — Immortal Pillars, your Gardens act as a secondary, fluid economy.
If you’re being raided and lose your gold mine, you can instantly switch all your Gardens to gold. It buys you time. It gives you a "buffer" that other civilizations don't have. However, the trade-off is that Gardens are expensive and fragile. If an opponent snipes your Gardens, your favor generation grinds to a halt. It’s a high-risk, high-reward system that rewards players who can multitask.
Actionable Strategy for the New Pantheon
If you're jumping into Age of Mythology: Retold — Immortal Pillars for the first time, don't play it like the Greeks. You can't just sit behind walls and wait for the Mythic Age.
- Abuse the Garden Toggles: Don't set them and forget them. If you’re at your population cap, switch your Gardens off favor and onto wood or gold. Favor is useless if you can't spend it.
- Master the Bingma: Use these terracotta soldiers as your front line. They are incredibly cost-effective. Let them soak up the damage while your archers or myth units do the heavy lifting from the back.
- Respect the Cooldowns: Since God Powers are reusable, learn the timings. Using a minor power like "Uproot" early can disrupt an enemy's build order, and it’ll be back up by the time you’re ready for a second push.
- Scout for Monk Synergy: The Chinese Monks have unique conversion and healing properties. They aren't just for relics. In Retold, their ability to influence the battlefield is much more pronounced.
The sheer depth of Age of Mythology: Retold — Immortal Pillars means the meta is going to be in flux for months. That’s the sign of a good expansion. It doesn't just add; it complicates. It makes you rethink strategies you've used for twenty years.
Whether you're a hardcore ranked player or someone who just wants to see a dragon blow up a catapult, this expansion is the definitive way to experience the Chinese mythos in the Age series. It’s a redemption story for a pantheon that deserved better, and it finally gives the Retold edition the scope it needs to surpass the original.
To get the most out of the new content, start by playing through the first three missions of the new campaign. It’s the fastest way to learn the unit counters and get a feel for the Garden resource management without the pressure of a multiplayer ladder. Once you’ve mastered the toggle, take Fuxi into a skirmish and see just how fast you can hit the Mythic Age. The speed might surprise you.
Next Steps for Players:
- Check your build version to ensure the Immortal Pillars assets are fully integrated.
- Rebind your "Select all Gardens" hotkey immediately; you'll be using it more than any other building hotkey.
- Dive into the "Learn" tab in-game to study the specific armor types of the new myth units, as many have unique resistances not found in the base game.
- Watch professional replays specifically focusing on "Garden Toggling" to see the optimal resource shift timings for a fast Heroic age.