The new Dynasties of India expansion for Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition is now available

What you need to know

• The new Dynasties of India expansion for Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition has launched.
• This third expansion includes three brand new civilizations, three new campaigns, and 23 new achievements.
• Alongside the expansion comes Update 61321 containing a huge amount of bug fixes and a new Dynasties of India event.
• You can buy the DLC now for $10 at Steam and at Microsoft.

Age of Empires 2 has been around for decades, but its remastered version only arrive late-2019. In my Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition review, I noted that the game is an absolute joy to play and truly captures everything I loved about the original version. The development group including Forgotten Empires, Tantalus Media, and Wicked Witch didn't stop there, pumping out the Lords of the West and Dawn of the Dukes expansions.

A third expansion has now launched. Dynasties of India focuses understandably on India, complete with three new civilizations and three new campaigns. Each new civ has its own set of unique units and techs, and each campaign tells a separate story within the theme. Notably, the previous Indian civilization has been renamed to Hindustanis to make room for the broader approach to the Indian people. The three new civilizations include Bengalis, Dravidians, and Gurjaras.

Bengalis focus on naval warfare and elephant-led land battles, with regenerating ships and reduced damage to elephant units. Their unique units include the Ratha (a chariot with range and melee attacks) and the Armored Elephant. Unique techs include Paiks (Rathas and elephants attack faster) and Mahayana, which allows for villager to take up less pop-cap space. As a team bonus, you get 10% food on top of the gold when trading.

Dravidians focus on naval and infantry warfare. They have strong fishing ships and fishermen, Barracks tech costs half of the normal resource price, and Skirmishers and Elephant Archers attack faster. They also receive 200 wood whenever they advance to the next Age.

There are three unique Dravidian units. The Urumi Swordsman can charge up its attack, the Armored Elephant can ruin quickly most buildings, and the Thirisadai is a unique warship with strong attack. As for unique tech, Medical Corps allows elephants to regenerate health and Wootz Steel allows for infantry and cavalry to ignore enemy armor. For a team bonus, docks add five population space.

Gurjaras are a civ that focuses heavily on cavalry and camels. They start each match with two extra bushes for foraging, they can garrison domesticated animals inside mills for a steady stream of food, and their mounted units deal a whopping 50% extra damage. Their fishing ships can also be garrisoned inside of docks.

Gurjaras has four unique units to work with. Chakram Thrower offers ranged melee attacks, Shrivamsha Rider is a light cavalry unit that dodges projectiles, Camel Scout is strong against other mounted cavalry, and Armored Elephant can be used as siege.

Their unique techs include Kshatriyas and Frontier Guards. The former takes 25% of the cost off all military units, while the latter gives Camel Riders and Elephant Archers an extra four melee armor. As a team bonus, camel and elephant units across the board are created 25% faster.

With these new civilizations comes three new fully voice-acted campaigns: Babur, Rajendra, and Devapala. If that's not enough incentive to play, there are also 23 new achievements to grab via Xbox or Steam. You can check out the full launch notes with more information at the official Age of Empires blog.

Update 61321 was launch April 27, a day before the expansion's release. It set up nicely for the Dynasties of India event starting today, April 28 and running until May 12. Each day has a new set of specific tasks that must be completed in order. There are a number of profile icons and graphical mods to unlock, so be sure to participate before the event ends.

With Update 61321 comes an absolute package of bug fixes and game tweaks. The full list is too long to include here, but you can check out all the patch 61321 notes at the Age of Empires blog. This update is available to all players whether or not they're purchased any expansions. If you do want to expand your Age of Empires 2: DE experience, the expansion packs — including Dynasties of India — are available for $10 each at Microsoft and at Steam.