Civilization

Civilizations (commonly abbrieviated as Civs) are playable factions in Age of Empires Online. There are currently seven available civilizations, three that start at level 20 (formerly purchased) without their own dedicated story quests, and another 4 that start at level 1 (or 3) with dedicated story quests for level 1 to 20 (formerly Free-to-Play).
== Types ==
There are two classes of civilization: Basic (formerly Free-to-Play) and Pro (formerly requiring a purchase to play -- or "Premium").
The Basic civs have a campaign that guided the player through the gameplay mechanics of AOE games, the particularities of the Online ecosystem. These civs have as well their own dedicated stories revolving around the civs in question.
The Premium civilizations; Starting at level 20 they lack a unique main campaign, however, due to being level 20 they start with access to the Argos Campaign, Northern Invasion and Fertile Crescent.
== Civilization Summary ==
(As described in this article http://gamediplomat.com/age-of-empires-online-picking-the-right-civ/)
* Greek - Archer Focused
** Quests - Less exotic quests, primarily "Build and destroy"
* Egyptian - Cavalry focused. Multiple different types of Priests.
** Quests - More exotic quests, but mostly "build and destroy"
* Celtic - Infantry Focused. Extremely strong late-game if Macro is high.
** Quests - Mostly exotic quests, some "build and destroy"
* Roman - Strong Siege starting age 3 & powerful officer units
** Quests - Varied type of quests, some "build and destroy"
* Persian - Well-rounded units with Ranged support 
* Babylonian - Turtle/Steamroll Focused, economy focused
* Norse - Rush Focused: Strong Infantry. Flexible harass units, strong expendable units.
* Indian - Elephant Focused with reliable options of other military type units.
** A guide for each civ that pertains to the current version of the game can be found Here
=== Release Dates ===
The Greek and Egyptian civilizations were released on August 15, 2011
The Celtic and Persian civilizations were officially announced on July 20th, 2011Age Of Empires Online - Sneak Peak, New Civilizations. The Celts already existed in the game files by the end of the beta testing phase but finally launched in March 26, 2012.Game Files from the Build Notes 5233 of Age of Empires Online
The Babylonian civilization was officially announced on August 10th, 2012 through Euro.
The Norse civilization was officially announced on October 23rd, 2012 through Euro.
The Roman civilization was hinted and was in creation from the start of 2011, but was not finished by the 2014 shutdown. The Project Celeste team finalized and released it on March 14th, 2021.
After the development of Romans, the Celeste team announced Indians on May 2, 2021 as the 8th playable civ.
The Neanderthals was announced on April's Fools (April 1st, 2012) as a joke.
== Minor Factions ==
* Followers of Autolycus
* Mycenaeans
* Sea People
* Badari
* Nubians
* Thracians
* Etruscans
== References ==
*
Category:Features
Category:Age of Empires Online