The Viking Sagas is available now
Released on September 22, 2026, The Viking Sagas adds three civilizations to Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition: the [Danes](/en/resources/civilizations/danes), [Saxons](/en/resources/civilizations/saxons) and [Varangians](/en/resources/civilizations/varangians). Its three linked campaigns follow Harald Hardrada. The accompanying free Update 185872 changes the base game as well.
The free update also revises the game's AI and pathfinding. Those are game-engine changes, not new AoE Coach unit statistics.
New units and technology
The Danes bring the [Jomsviking](/en/resources/units/jomsviking), the Saxons the [Hearth Troop](/en/resources/units/hearth-troop), and the Varangians the [Jarl](/en/resources/units/jarl). The [Varangian Guard](/en/resources/units/varangian-guard) is shared by five civilizations and earns gold while fighting. The [Mounted Crossbowman](/en/resources/units/mounted-crossbowman) replaces the Cavalry Archer for most European civilizations; eligible civilizations can research Cranequins for +1 range and +2 attack against infantry. The Viking Longboat is now named Longship.
What changed for existing civilizations?
The Franks' Throwing Axemen receive longer base range and their Bearded Axe technology is replaced by Ordonnance Companies, cutting Mounted Crossbowman gold cost by 40%. Byzantines gain Varangian Guards, and Logistica now gives trample damage to both Guards and Cataphracts. Vikings also gain Guards and Mounted Crossbowmen. Several European civilizations trade Cavalry Archers for Mounted Crossbowmen.
Other notable changes include more anti-shock-infantry damage for the Man-at-Arms line, a stronger Onager, a higher cost for Flemish Militia, and reduced hit points for Rattan Archers and Turtle Ships. For exact values and the full list, consult the [official Update 185872 notes](https://www.ageofempires.com/news/age-of-empires-ii-definitive-edition-update-185872/).
What to play differently
In his [patch analysis](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwb67mhbNQM), Spirit of the Law reads the stronger Man-at-Arms line as a more deliberate answer to shock infantry, including Varangian Guards. That is a strategic interpretation, not a new universal counter: keep the infantry upgrade, armor and timing in mind before committing.
Do not treat Mounted Crossbowmen as a drop-in Cavalry Archer replacement. They hit harder but move and fire more slowly; scout whether your civilization gets the heavy upgrade and Cranequins before planning an Imperial Age mass. The Frankish and Portuguese gold discounts, and the Sicilian reduction to incoming bonus damage, make the switch interesting, but missing final Blacksmith upgrades can still matter.
The patch makes several Castle Age unique-unit rushes slower or costlier: Organ Guns, Hussite Wagons, Conquistadors, Rathas and War Chariots are examples. Plan the economy and production queues again instead of reusing a pre-patch all-in timing. Portuguese also lose Redemption, so an Organ Gun push can no longer rely on Portuguese Monks converting opposing siege with that technology.
On water, weaker Hulk defenses do not automatically make Fire Ships a winning answer: Spirit of the Law points out that same-tier Fire Ships may still deal only minimal damage through their melee armor. The Fire Galley also loses its building bonus, weakening early Dock pressure. These are matchup-dependent coaching observations, not extra patch-note statistics.
The official pathfinding changes also reduce the attack efficiency and stacking of large groups of melee units. Do not plan a fight around packing a huge melee mass into one tile: use a wider front, keep reinforcements moving, and judge the engagement after the new movement behavior. The developers still consider Stand Ground Patrol one of the best engagement options, just no longer overwhelmingly dominant. This is a tactical consequence of the announced behavior change, not a new unit-stat bonus.
The new Arabian Desert map is described in the official notes as a more open, competitive take on Arabia inspired by King of the Desert. On this new map, scout wallable gaps and exposed resources before committing to a greedy boom; do not assume a standard Arabia walling layout will fit. This is a map-specific coaching inference, not a change to the existing Arabia map or to unit statistics.
Other map-economy changes deserve a fresh scout: Arena no longer spawns small huntable animals and fixes uneven extra starting resources and missing gold deposits; Black Forest ponds are 50% larger and should appear more consistently; Ring Fortress has less gold and stone overall. These are map-generator changes, not civilization bonuses. Check the generated start before copying an old build order.
Our civilization, unit and technology pages use the newly refreshed game data. The official patch notes take precedence if an upstream technology tree lags behind the game.
