Info about Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Lords of the West:

Official game description:
Welcome to Lords of the West, the first new official expansion to Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. Challenge friends with two additional civilizations as well as new units and technologies. Battle your way across Western Europe and the Mediterranean with three new campaigns, subjugating your opponents by means of sheer military might and diplomatic prowess or through overwhelming economic and cultural power!  
2 New Civilizations  
Burgundians - Rise from a mere duchy to the marvel of Western Europe through economic might, cultural achievement, and the use of advanced military technology and tactics. The Burgundian unique unit is the Coustillier, a cavalry unit that utilizes a powerful shock attack when charging into battle.  
Sicilians - Experience the diverse cultures and martial spirit of the Mediterranean's crossroads as you build one of the most coveted kingdoms of medieval Europe. The Sicilian unique unit is the Serjeant, a hardy infantry unit that can construct the formidable Donjon.  
3 New, Fully Voiced Campaigns  
Edward Longshanks - A bitter hostage of rebel barons, Edward Longshanks vows to reclaim his birthright and lead a shattered England to unprecedented heights of prestige and fortitude. A shrewd commander and cunning politician, his merciless methods are effective yet amoral. Follow him as his thirst for power and glory takes him throughout England, Wales, Scotland, and even on Crusade! In this campaign, you will play as the Britons.  
The Grand Dukes of the West - For decades, the dukes of Burgundy have been embroiled in a bloody struggle over control of the mad French king using their cunning, military prowess, and immense wealth. However, as the blood that they spill is paid for with blood of their own, their focus turns increasingly northwards as they aim to create a kingdom of their own. In this campaign, you will play as the Burgundians.  
The Hautevilles - Robert de Hauteville left Normandy in 1047 CE with a small robber band. Within a century, members of his family became dukes in Italy, princes in the Holy Land, and even kings of Sicily. Join these intrepid Norman adventurers as they fuse three cultures into Europe’s most tolerant and sophisticated kingdom. In this campaign, you will play as the Sicilians.

Release date: Jan 26, 2021

Categories: Real-time Strategy, Historical Strategy, Single-player Campaigns, Multiplayer, Medieval Setting, Base Building, Resource Management

Feature scans:
- MTX: score 15; verdict: Traditional DLC pricing concerns, no predatory monetization; summary: User feedback focuses on DLC pricing, perceived value, and fairness toward previous buyers. All complaints revolve around traditional paid expansions (DLC), not in-game microtransactions, pay-to-win mechanics, or predatory monetization systems. No evidence of real-money gacha, loot boxes, currency obfuscation, or play-to-win design was found.
- Steam Deck: score 90; verdict: Broken; summary: The game suffers from severe stability issues with frequent crashes across all game modes. Users report that updates exacerbate problems, leading to lost progress and frustration. The experience is broken and unplayable for extended periods.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $30.00 - $40.00
  - Reasoning: The evidence suggests the community views the base game as very cheap for its content, indicating the current price of $34.99 is fair or even low. The fair price range is likely around this price point, reflecting its perceived value.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: N/A
  - Story completion: 18.0h
  - Session length: 2.0h
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The clearest metric is story/campaign completion: one reviewer explicitly states it took 18 hours to finish all three campaigns on standard difficulty. Session length is approximated from two separate claims: a Chinese review mentions a single campaign session lasting 2 hours before crashing, and an English review notes scenarios taking nearly 3 hours; combined with a Turkish review indicating 2-3 hours for full tasks, 2 hours is a reasonable typical session estimate. No evidence exists for game completion (e.g., 100% achievements or multiplayer milestones) or endgame content duration, so those fields are set to null.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: The DLC's fun profile is split: single-player campaigns offer solid content but feel like a tutorial, while multiplayer suffers from immediate balance problems that cause early negative ratings.
  - Stance: Fun then drops
  - Anchor: N/A
  - Time to anchor: N/A
  - Friction: Multiplayer balance is broken: new civilizations are too powerful; Players without DLC lose in multiplayer; Campaigns feel like tutorials, reducing depth
  - Unlock drivers: Focus on single-player campaigns; Balancing patches for multiplayer
  - Conditions: Playing single-player provides immediate fun; Multiplayer fun requires balance fixes
- Player Archetypes:
  - Campaign Story Enthusiast (sale)
    - Motivation: Enjoying narrative-driven historical campaigns and completing achievements.
    - Playstyle: Slow-paced, methodical single-player play, taking time to explore historical missions and enjoy narrative.
    - Experience: mixed
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: single player RTS enjoyer; campaign player; history enthusiast
    - Reference games: Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition; Age of Empires II campaigns; Age of Empires III
  - Multiplayer Meta Competitor (no buy)
    - Motivation: Climbing ranked ladder and fair competition.
    - Playstyle: Competitive, tactical, optimizing strategies and adapting to meta changes.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: no buy
    - Labels: competitive player; ranked player; multiplayer enthusiast
    - Reference games: Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition multiplayer; Age of Empires II competitive meta; Age of Empires II: HD Edition
  - Veteran History Purist (deep sale)
    - Motivation: Historical accuracy and nostalgia, expecting fresh yet faithful content.
    - Playstyle: Enjoys both campaigns and multiplayer, but cares deeply about historical authenticity and design originality.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: deep sale
    - Labels: old series player; history fan; hardcore fan
    - Reference games: Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings; Age of Mythology; Age of Empires III


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Unique Burgundian mechanics (weight 0.31): Burgundians feature charging cavalry that deals heavy damage, a unique unit (Coustillier), early Cavalier upgrade, Flemish Militia, and strong economic boom. These mechanics are seen as powerful and interesting.
- Sicilian unique mechanics enjoyed (weight 0.26): Sicilians feature unique Donjon and Sergeant mechanics that allow easy unit production and offer new gameplay ideas. The Sicilian campaign also has unique mechanics.
- Excellent voice acting (weight 0.24): The voice acting and soundtrack are highlighted as excellent, with spot-on performances that enhance the campaigns.

Common complaints:
- Many bugs and stability issues (weight 0.9): The DLC and its updates introduced many bugs, crashes, freezes, and stability problems. Players report frequent crashes within minutes of launching, game-breaking bugs, and the game becoming unstable after updates.
- Campaigns have quality issues (weight 0.64): The new campaigns are criticized for poor storytelling, historical inaccuracies, and frustrating mission design. Problems include overly easy or difficult missions, boring objectives, and poor narrative choices.
- New civilizations are overpowered (weight 0.63): The new Burgundian and Sicilian civilizations are considered too powerful and unbalanced. Their unique units, technologies, and bonuses give them unfair advantages in multiplayer matches, making them seem deliberately overtuned.
- DLC is overpriced for content (weight 0.59): Multiple players complain that the DLC costs too much for what it offers. The DLC is only 25% cheaper than the base game but includes only two civilizations and three campaigns, while previous DLCs included three civilizations. Many consider it not worth the full price.
- Only two new civilizations feels lacking (weight 0.51): Previous DLCs included three civilizations, so receiving only two in this DLC feels insufficient for the price. This pattern is seen as a negative trend in content delivery.
- Poor localization and translation (weight 0.5): The game suffers from poor translation and localization, making text and tech trees incomprehensible. This includes incorrect character names, blurry fonts, and incomplete translations, harming the user experience.
- Bugs introduced with every major update (weight 0.45): Players note that every new update brings a wave of new bugs and instability. This pattern of regression after patches makes the game feel poorly maintained.
- New civs are one-trick ponies (weight 0.44): Players feel the new civilizations rely too heavily on a single gimmick or strategy, making them predictable and one-dimensional. Their unique mechanics are seen as a 'parlor trick' that limits strategic depth.
- Ranked multiplayer is unplayable (weight 0.35): Ranked matches are plagued by bugs and exploits, such as the Lithuanian relic bug, wall deletion exploit, and crashes. These issues make competitive play unreliable and frustrating.
- Sicilians are weak or misunderstood (weight 0.31): Sicilians are described as either too weak (military, architecture) or too reliant on a Donjon Rush strategy. Their identity is considered confusing, and their unique techs lack impact.
- Feeling cheated by free DLCs (weight 0.3): Players who paid for earlier DLCs that later became free feel cheated and unfair that they received no compensation. This creates distrust, especially when new paid DLCs are released.
- Historical inaccuracies in DLC (weight 0.29): The DLC contains multiple historical inaccuracies, including misrepresented figures, events, and civilizations. These inaccuracies upset history-minded players and detract from the game's immersion.
- Pathfinding AI is broken (weight 0.28): The game's pathfinding is severely broken. Units frequently get stuck on gates, bridges, and corners, and fail to navigate around obstacles, leading to frustrating gameplay and loss of control.
- New civilizations feel out of place (weight 0.27): Some players feel the new Burgundians and Sicilians do not fit the Age of Empires 2 design. They are considered redundant (as they could be part of Franks/Italians) and conceptually out of place.
- Previous DLCs became free (weight 0.24): Lords of the West, Dawn of the Dukes, and Dynasties of India DLCs are now free, leaving early buyers feeling cheated. This perception of unfair pricing affects the decision to buy new DLCs.
- UI is cluttered and exhausting (weight 0.23): The main menu and tech tree are considered messy and exhausting to navigate. Unnecessary UI additions, like a separate W. Europe campaign tab, add to the clutter.
- Burgundians are overpowered in early game (weight 0.21): The Burgundian civilization has a powerful early game advantage, accessing fully upgraded units in Castle Age. This creates a significant balance gap against opponents.
- Burgundian unique unit has charged attack (weight 0.2): The Burgundian unique unit (Coustillier) has a charged attack that deals +400% damage, which is seen as unbalanced and promotes spamming rather than strategic play.
- Developers prioritize visual updates (weight 0.19): Players are unhappy that developers focus on map additions and cosmetic events instead of fixing persistent bugs and stability issues. This neglect undermines trust in the development team.
- Save system is unreliable (weight 0.11): The game's save system is broken, with progress being lost after crashes. Players report losing hours of campaign progress, making the game unplayable for some.

Gameplay feedback:
- Burgundian cavalry and economy bonuses (weight 0.65): Burgundians get discounted stable techs, early Cavalier upgrade, and can research economic technologies one age early, enabling fast Castle Age strategies.
- Sicilian Donjon and Serjeant mechanics (weight 0.65): Sicilians have a unique Serjeant unit available in Feudal Age that can build Donjons, which serve as defensive structures and produce more Serjeants.
- Burgundian versatile fast castle strategies (weight 0.53): Burgundians can execute a fast castle boom or knight rush due to their early economic upgrades and discounted cavalry techs.
- Campaigns with villain perspective (weight 0.49): The DLC includes three campaigns where players play as historical figures often portrayed as villains, such as Edward Longshanks and others, offering a fresh narrative angle.
- Unique units: Coustillier and Serjeant (weight 0.36): Both civilizations have distinctive unique units: the Burgundian Coustillier has a charge attack and cooldown ability, and the Sicilian Serjeant builds Donjons.
- Sicilian defensive and infantry focus (weight 0.3): Sicilians specialize in infantry and defense, with units that can build defensive structures and bonuses like faster castle and town center construction.
- Cavalry upgrade one age early (weight 0.3): Burgundians can upgrade to Cavalier and Paladin one age earlier than other civilizations, giving them a timing advantage.
- Vineyards converts food to gold (weight 0.27): The Burgundian unique technology Vineyards allows farmers to slowly produce gold from food, providing a late-game economic conversion.
- Campaign choice-based replayability (weight 0.22): The campaigns feature choices that affect gameplay and story, allowing for different outcomes and replay value.
- Flemish Revolution converts villagers (weight 0.21): Burgundians have the Flemish Revolution technology that turns all villagers into powerful Flemish Militia, a unit combining champion and halberdier stats.
- New mechanics and architecture (weight 0.19): Both civilizations feature unique building architecture, and the DLC adds new trigger mechanisms allowing mid-game changes to player/civ names and architecture.
- Sicilian Donjon replaces towers (weight 0.19): The Donjon serves as a replacement for towers and can house archers, functioning as a fast-built half-castle.
- Campaign historical context and humor (weight 0.19): Campaigns depict historical political context realistically while also including humorous twists on historical characters.
- Burgundian unorthodox playstyle (weight 0.15): Burgundians are described as unorthodox and interesting, with a unique combination of Byzantine economy and Frankish heavy cavalry.
- Burgundian Coustillier ignores spearmen (weight 0.11): The Burgundian unique unit Coustillier has a charge attack and can ignore spearmen, making it effective against counter units.
- Sicilian Exemption Tax team bonus (weight 0.06): Sicilians have a technology called Exemption Tax that provides gold to the team, enhancing their support role.
- Sicilian First Crusade tech (weight 0.06): Sicilians have the First Crusade technology that spawns Serjeants at town centers, providing a sudden infantry boost.
- Sicilian building speed bonus (weight 0.06): Sicilians have a bonus that makes castles and town centers build twice as fast, aiding rapid defense.
- Sicilian Serjeant weaker than champion (weight 0.06): The Sicilian Serjeant unit is noted to be weaker than the standard champion, but its Donjon-building ability compensates.
- No house building mechanic (weight 0.05): The DLC introduces a campaign mechanic without house building, focusing more on military and defense.

Performance notes:
- Frequent crashes overall (weight 0.26): Many players report that the game crashes frequently, both in multiplayer and campaign modes. This is a widespread issue affecting core gameplay stability.
- Crashes with specific civilizations (weight 0.16): Selecting or using new civilizations causes desktop crashes or freezes on the selection screen. This is a targeted crash scenario affecting specific content.
- Multiplayer stability issues (weight 0.13): Crashes occur in multiplayer when opening the tech tree or entering game sessions. Multiplayer disconnections and crashes increased after updates.
- Crashes on loading screen (weight 0.12): Some players cannot get past the loading screen, with the game freezing or bricking entirely. This prevents game access for affected users.
- Unplayable for months (weight 0.12): The game was unplayable for several months for some players, with stability fixes taking nearly half a year to implement.
- Launch update instability (weight 0.07): The launch update introduced many bugs and crashes that required a hotfix to resolve, indicating poor initial quality control.
- Repeated desktop crashes (weight 0.07): Some players experience repeated desktop crashes, occurring at least 10 times, making gameplay unreliable.
- Performance and framerate drops (weight 0.06): Occasional framerate drops and performance issues detract from the experience, though not as severe as full crashes.
- Replay loading delayed (weight 0.05): Replay loading is delayed, indicating minor performance issues in specific game features.

Recommendations:
- Recommended for AoE2 fans (weight 0.4): Many reviews recommend this DLC specifically for fans of Age of Empires II. It's considered a valuable addition for those already invested in the game.
- Recommended for campaign lovers (weight 0.24): The DLC is especially recommended for players who enjoy single-player campaigns, a key draw of the expansion.
- Not recommended at full price (weight 0.19): Some reviews caution against buying at full price and suggest a discount of 50% or more for a fair value.
- Better on sale (weight 0.16): Multiple reviews recommend waiting for a sale before purchasing, as the full price may not be justified.
- Worthy purchase to support devs (weight 0.15): Some players bought the DLC specifically to support the developers and encourage more content, viewing it as a worthy investment.
- Launch problems hurt recommendation (weight 0.15): Some reviews report launch problems and ongoing issues, leading to negative recommendations until fixes are applied.
- Game-breaking crashes (weight 0.12): A few reviews report serious crashes that make the game unplayable, leading to negative recommendations. They would recommend if the bugs were fixed.
- Best DLC released yet (weight 0.12): Some players rate this as the best DLC for the game, giving it high praise and strong recommendations.
- General positive recommendation (weight 0.11): A number of reviews simply state that they recommend the DLC without much additional detail, indicating broad approval.
- Good for RTS and single-player fans (weight 0.11): Reviews suggest the DLC is a good buy for RTS enthusiasts and especially for single-player RTS fans, particularly when on sale.
- Adds depth to enemy factions (weight 0.06): The DLC enriches the game by providing more depth to enemy factions and offering historical insights about Sicily and the Netherlands.
- Good for multiplayer civs (weight 0.06): The DLC is recommended for players who want new civilizations to use in multiplayer modes.
- Not a must-buy but enjoyable (weight 0.06): Some feedback indicates the DLC is not essential but still provides enjoyable content for players.
- Poorly designed civilizations (weight 0.06): A negative review cites poorly designed civilizations as a reason not to recommend the DLC.
- Great for Western European theme fans (weight 0.05): One review highlights that the DLC is particularly good for those interested in Western European historical themes.
- Praise for voice acting (weight 0.05): The voice lines are noted as a standout feature, making the DLC worth getting for that aspect alone.
- Difficulty recommendation for veterans (weight 0.05): One review advises that veteran players should play on Hard or at least Medium difficulty to fully enjoy the content.
- Alternative DLC recommended instead (weight 0.05): One reviewer advises against buying this DLC and instead recommends purchasing the other DLC 'Duke's Rise'.
- Base game's quality carries it (weight 0.05): One review notes that the base game is already amazing, implying the DLC may not be necessary.

Other player notes:
- Want Age of Mythology remaster (weight 0.06): Players express hope for a remaster of Age of Mythology with similar quality to the current title.
- Free via Xbox Game Pass (weight 0.06): Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers can play the game for free on both Xbox and PC.

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.32): Players are extremely frustrated by numerous game-breaking bugs, including frequent crashes, pathfinding issues where units get stuck, and stability problems that render campaigns unplayable. The high price of the DLC relative to its content, combined with historical inaccuracies and questionable civilization design choices, has significantly exacerbated this frustration.
- Disappointment (weight 0.22): Players are disappointed by the low quality and lack of polish in the DLC, citing game-breaking bugs, poor translation, and a high price for the amount of content. Many feel the new civilizations lack uniqueness and fit poorly within the game's established style, while some campaigns are considered too easy or underwhelming.
- Excitement (weight 0.18): Players are excited about the powerful and unique mechanics of the new civilizations, such as the Burgundian cavalry charge and the Flemish Revolution. The well-crafted campaigns, especially those offering new perspectives on historical events, are also a major source of excitement, along with the potential for future content.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.14): Players express satisfaction with the well-designed and historically rich campaign scenarios, which offer memorable gameplay and versatile mechanics. The unique strategies and effective gameplay of the new civilizations, along with high-quality voice acting and localization, contribute to a feeling of a solid overall add-on.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.09): Players report enjoying the immersive campaigns, particularly the Burgundian and Sicilian ones, which offer alternative historical viewpoints and diverse gameplay. The new civilizations are found to be fun, and the DLC is generally seen as a fairly priced and engaging addition to the game.
- Anger (weight 0.05): Players are angered by the perceived lack of effort and quality control, such as reused maps, missing cutscenes, and game-breaking bugs that cause progress loss. The high price compared to previous DLC and the decision to make paid DLC free later have also generated significant anger, alongside negative story elements.
- Hope (weight 0.04): Players express hope for future DLCs that explore East Asian, African, American, and Indian civilizations with more content and fewer technical issues. There is a desire for specific historical factions like the Savoy, Ghana Empire, and others to be added to the game.
- Amusement (weight 0.03): Players found amusement in the hilarious voice lines and inside jokes associated with the Sicilian monks. Specific in-game scenarios, such as a friend's quirky logic about multiple militia units and the downfall of the character Tarut, also provided moments of levity.
- Appreciation (weight 0.03): Players appreciate the developers' efforts in attempting new historical interpretations within the campaigns, providing Spanish dubbing, and issuing balance patches. Being given DLC content for free and the depth of well-designed game mechanics are also sources of appreciation.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.03): Players feel nostalgia for having played the game years ago and now experiencing the story from the opposite side, particularly in Western Europe. They also recall fond memories of specific historical figures and past strategies with friends that brought a sense of full-circle completion.
- Concern (weight 0.03): Players are concerned that the Burgundian cavalry and other DLC civilizations are too powerful, leading to significant multiplayer balance issues. They worry that this imbalance, where DLC owners have an advantage, threatens the core identity and competitive integrity of the game.
- Admiration (weight 0.03): Players admire the longevity of the game, which continues to receive high-quality content after 20 years, and consider it a masterpiece. The authentic historical portrayal in campaigns and detailed modeling, such as voice preservation for female militia units, are also admired.
- Gratitude (weight 0.03): Players express gratitude for the developers' continued effort and support in expanding and updating this legendary game. The fair pricing of new content and the provision of free updates are highly valued by the community.
- Relief (weight 0.03): Players feel relief that the DLC runs fine on their own system despite widespread reports of crashes and bugs. Finding effective strategies to overcome difficult missions also brought relief after initial skepticism about the DLC.
- Joy (weight 0.02): Players feel joy as the DLC provides personal value by including heroic historical figures from the Crusades. The new stories and units are considered highly engaging, bringing hours of fun to their gaming experience.
- Anticipation (weight 0.02): Players are looking forward to more adventures and future campaigns based on historical events. They are eager to see what new content the developers will release next, spurred on by the quality of the current DLC.
- Skepticism (weight 0.02): Players express skepticism, particularly about the new civilizations being intentionally overpowered to generate hype, which could negatively affect multiplayer balance. There is also initial doubt about the overall quality and value of the DLC.
- Betrayal (weight 0.01): Players feel betrayed by the game's narrative, which forces them to kill cherished heroes they grew up with. This story direction created a sense of emotional conflict and disappointment with the DLC's plot.
- Interest (weight 0.01): Players are interested in the unique perspective of playing as the villain in the game's campaign. The opportunity to experience the opposing side of the Joan of Arc story is a novel and engaging hook for them.
- Sadness (weight 0.01): Players feel sadness over the portrayal of Joan of Arc's inevitable death in the narrative. The emotional weight of this historical event, when presented directly in the game, was a source of genuine sorrow.}