The latest update brought several changes and among them a change in the most played map in AOE2DE: Arabia. Although this already happened in the past – with more open or more closed map generations, more or less forests, – this time the change is a bit more drastic. Arabia is now completely open at the front, with two or three forests at the back. In addition to being less closed, in the front there are often several hills that allow very aggressive movements by the opponent. A priori we can say that these modifications affect, without disabling, of course, archer openings, as we know that for them it is normal to take advantage of closed maps and attack unilaterally.

Also the strategy of going Fast Castle also becomes a little more complex but not impossible. Despite being more open, the fact that the woods are in the back means that they could protect themselves from possible towers, but the priority will be the location of the gold and the distance from the TC to the end of the map.

Scout openings were seen less and less and with these changes maybe we will see them a little more often again. The same may happen with Man-at-Arms and Towers openings, which were very doable in old Arabias but will now be much stronger. Even civilizations like the Poles seem very adapted to this new arabia, being able to think very aggressive strategies in Feudal and prepare for cavalry in the Age of Castles. Personally, it seems interesting to make modifications of this type to change the gameplay a bit, to test the players’ adaptability and not to crystallize such a strong meta game that makes the games a bit predictable. Of course it is a great challenge for the most conservative players, but very entertaining for risky players.

What do you think about it?