The expansion adds a fourth civilization to the game, the Atlanteans, and 3 new major gods, plus many new units, buildings and god-powers. It also included many new features, such as auto-queueing (allows training of units indefinitely as long as there are sufficient resources), and the ability to summon a Titan, a powerful, gargantuan, godlike being that forms the game's focal point.
The newly added civilization of Atlantis is much different from the others, because of the focus on mythological and magical powers, including:
Lack of specific hero units.
Ability to have an arbitrary number of heroes by converting any human unit to a hero (depending on the resources available) (see Heroes).
Citizens not needing special drop-off points for resources.
Ability to build Oracles, which are scout units and effective only while standing still (their field of view slowly grows as they idle)
Ability to build town centers in the first (archaic) age of the game
Kronos has the ability to time-shift buildings, i.e. move buildings from one place to another
Oranos has the ability to build sky passages, which let instant transportation of people to various places of the map.
Gaia's magical powers grow lush from buildings, preventing enemies from building anything on the lush. The growing lush also slowly heals Gaia's buildings.
Ability to use certain (inferior) god powers several times during a game.
Atlantean citizens are much more effective in work than their Greek, Norse or Egyptian counterparts and do not require drop-off points for resources (they use pack donkeys), but cost 3 population units each. They are also much slower to train, and much more expensive. Atlanteans gain favor through town centers. The more town centers they control, the faster the rate of favor gain.
New random map types: Marsh, Highland, Tundra, Islands, Megalopolis, Land Unknown
New AI personalities for random map games: Standard, Random, Attacker, Conqueror, Builder, Protector, Defender
New upgrades for existing civilizations (Greek, Egyptian, and Norse):
Beast Slayer: Greek gods' unique units (Myrmidon, Hetairoi, and Gastraphetes) do bonus damage against Myth units.
Hand of the Pharaoh: Egyptian priests can pick up Relics like the Pharaoh, Range of attack is also increased by two.
Axe of Muspell: Norse Throwing Axemen does bonus damage against flying units.
Heroic Fleet: All civilizations' ships do bonus damage against myth units.
Titans: Huge units possessing large amounts of hitpoints and armor while having high attack - almost a new victory condition since they are so destructive.
All civilizations may build Town Centres in the Classical Age (as opposed to Heroic in the original).
Campaign: The New Atlantis
The campaign is only a third of the length of the one in the original Age of Mythology, and this time focuses mostly on the Atlantean civilization and its leader, Arkantos' son, Kastor. Arkantos, who is now a god, also makes a few minor appearances here. The story is set ten years after the events of the Age of Mythology storyline.
The story begins with Kronos, who was still trapped in Tartarus, watching the Atlanteans. He sends his unnamed servant (nicknamed "Kronny" by fans of the game and as seen as his name in the game's editor) to possess the body of the Theocrat Krios, the Atlantean leader.
It then cuts to the Norselands, where the suffering Atlanteans, led by Kastor and Krios, are trying to rebuild their civilization after it was destroyed ten years ago. Then Theocrat says he saw a temple in his dream. The Atlanteans leave the Norselands by using Sky Passages, and they come to a place called New Atlantis. Krios says it was the imprisoned Titans who helped them, and convinces his people, including Kastor, to worship them.
The Greeks are angered with the Atlanteans' new choice of gods, and attack them. The Atlanteans retaliate by destroying the entire Greek colony from which some of the attacks came. However, some of the Greek ships escape and go to General Melagius, ruler of that colony and other lands. He is angered by the destruction of his colony and prepares for an attack. The Atlanteans, however, still manage to invade Melagius's city and slay him. Just as the Atlanteans finish off the city, Egyptian and Norse allies of Melagius come to aid him. Kastor decides they are too powerful and flees. However, he does not go back to New Atlantis but instead heads up to the Norselands. His plan is that the Norse will not be expecting an attack. He destroys Norse temples and replaces them with Atlantean temples, to show his superiority. He also destroys the Tower of Odin, Odin's only stronghold on Earth, by using a god power from Kronos. He and his army then sail to Egypt. The scene cuts to Egypt where Amanra, a comrade of Arkantos when he was still a human, is conversing with her troops. Arkantos suddenly appears before Amanra and tells her that the Atlanteans are coming to steal relics from the Egyptans. Amanra fortifies the protections around the relics, but the Atlanteans still manage to steal them. Just as the Atlantean army closes around Amanra and her few troops, lightning bolts kill all the Atlantean soldiers. Arkantos appears and tells Amanra that the Atlanteans are being led by Kastor. Amanra questions this, and Arkantos tells Amanra that Kastor is being tricked. He tells her to find Kastor and to help him. It then cuts to a new scene, where Krios congratulates Kastor on his work and shows him a Sky Passage that he has found. Krios tells Kastor that the Sky Passage will take him to the Greek lands. Kastor enters it with his troop and finds himself not in the Greek territories, but on Mount Olympus. Kastor believes that Krios made a mistake about where the Sky Passage went. He and his troops discover they cannot go back the same way they came, so they decide their only choice is to attack Mount Olympus. Using special temples that change his men into different myth units, Kastor sets foot on the peak of Mount Olympus. However, once he does this, the daylight turns a strange color. Kastor senses there is something wrong, and he leaves with his army. He heads to the Greek territories. When he gets there he sees Prometheus wreaking havoc on a Greek city.
He wonders at this, and Krios tells him that he is a Titan. Krios tells Kastor that he allowed him and some lesser Titans to be free. Kastor realizes he has been tricked by Krios, who takes the form of Kronny and escapes. Kastor is then attacked by other Atlanteans who are under Krios's control. Meanwhile, Amanra meets Ajax, another companion of Arkantos. Apparently, Ajax was also looking for Kastor. Amanra tells Ajax that Kastor has been tricked, and that they must find him. All this time Kastor is being repeatedly attacked by Atlanteans. Amanra and Ajax rescue him with Rocs. Arkantos appears, and Kastor tells his father that he did not realize he was being tricked. Arkantos forgives him, and tells the heroes that two lesser Titans have been freed in the Norselands and in Egypt. Amanra decides that they will go to Egypt first, as that is her homeland.
The Titan in Egypt is Cerberus, and the heroes decide to awaken the Guardian statue, an immensely powerful living statue that also helped the heroes in Age of Mythology. The Guardian manages to destroy Cerberus. They then travel to the Norse lands, and they meet King Folstag, a powerful Frost Giant whose lands are being destroyed by the Titan, Ymir. WIth the help of Folstag, the heroes defeat the Titan and restore peace in the Norse lands.
The heroes then travel to Greece to find the peaceful green countryside destroyed and in flames--evidence of Prometheus's work. They spread the green lush of the benevolent earth Titan Gaia across the burnt land, both healing it and weakening Prometheus. They manage to overcome him in his weakened state. The heroes then venture back to New Atlantis, where they rescue citizens from Automatons. Kastor, Ajax, and Amanra enter a Sky Passage which takes them to Old Atlantis, where Kronos, king of the Titans, breaks out of Tartarus. To stop him, Kastor and his allies summon Gaia using special trees. She defeats Kronos and imprisons him once more. Kastor notices Kronny trying to escape in all the excitement. He jumps on top of Kronny and plunges a sword into his chest, thus killing him. Arkantos appears and tells Kastor that the Atlanteans need a leader, and that he will always be by his son's side. The Staff of Atlantis appears before Kastor, and he becomes the new leader of the Atlantean empire.
Characters
Kastor
Son of Arkantos and a soldier of Atlantis who helps defend the remaining, godless Atlanteans
Krios
Theocrat of Atlantis, he is possessed by a Servant of Kronos at the start of the campaign
Ajax
Greek hero and former companion of Arkantos who helps Kastor deal with the consequences of the Titans' release
Amanra
Queen of Nubia who assists Kastor in the aftermath of the Titans' release
King Folstag
Norse Frost Giant who summons the dragon, Nidhogg, to defeat Norse titan Ymir
Promethean: Fairly strong melee unit, with the ability of dividing into two smaller versions when badly injured, which then fight to death.
Caladria: Flying unit, with the ability to heal friendly units. Has no attack and can only be damaged by ranged weapons.
Servant of Oceanus: Naval unit composed of water, with the ability to heal friendly units.
Automaton: Melee mechanic unit, with the ability to repair other automatons, even recently killed ones.
Heroic Age
Satyr: Slow ranged unit with spears, capable of throwing multiple spears at once. Good as support unit.
Nereids: Naval unit riding a shark. Shark has bite as special ability. Good against human ships and naval myth units.
Stymphalian birds: Flying unit with ranged attack. Good for quick attacks.
Behemoth: An armadillo/dinosaur-like siege unit that regenerates health. Good against buildings.
Dryad: Melee fighter created from Hesperides tree (created by Theia's god power). You can only have 5 at one time, but they are quick and cheap to create (unlike other myth units, they cost no favor).
Mythic Age
Heka Gigantes: Strong, multi-armed melee unit. Can pound the ground to cause small quakes.
Man o' War: A jellyfish-like naval unit. Shoots lightning that targets multiple enemies at once.
Lampades: Ranged unit. Has the ability to cast Chaos into enemy units, making them neutral and attack the closest unit.
Argus: A shapeless blob that fights with tentacles. Has special ability to spit acid, killing instantly.
Titan Age
Titan: Available to all civilizations, the Titan is created via the Titan Gate. It has massive amounts of HP and attack, but cannot be healed or transported across water. The Titan has the special ability to pound the ground, sending nearby units flying. Only one Titan may be created, and the best way to fight them is with another Titan. Heroes also do plenty of damage to them, and indeed take relatively little damage from Titans (they take several hits to kill, instead of just one or two). A Titan can be hit by the "Bolt" god power, but it will not die, and only loses 1250 HP. An Atlantean player who selects Hekate as the Mythic-age goddess can research a technology allowing all myth units, including Titans, to heal themselves; this is the only way to heal a hurt Titan. There are four Titans, one per civilization. The Atlanteans have a giant lava humanoid Titan (Typhon, aka Chthonian). The Greek have a giant man with the head of three dogs, Cerberus. The Egyptians have a giant Titan with the head and legs of a hawk, Horus. The Norse Titan is a giant troll wielding an ice hammer, Ymir .File:Titans right side image 02-1-.jpgThe Titan for the Atlanteans.
Atlantean Heroes
Most Atlantean human units can be transformed into heroes (including citizens). Myth Units, Naval Units, Siege Units, Titans, and Cheroballista are the exceptions. As well as being strong against Myth Units, Atlantean heroes retain their own strengths and weaknesses, so Murmillo heroes are still weak against archers and strong against cavalry.
Atlantian units
Civilians
Citizen: Standard resource gatherer, can build and repair buildings.
Oracle: Scout unit, with no attack, although hero oracles do have an attack. The oracle initially has a very small line of sight, but when he is stationary it expands to equal that of a tower. When an oracle's line of sight is maxed, the player receives an audio and visual notification to indicate that it is time to move the oracle to another place.
Transport ship: Naval unit. Carries land units over water.
Fish are infinite in supply.
Infantry
Murmillo: Standard infantry with sword. Good against cavalry and infantry, but not as powerful as the katapeltes or fanatic. Can be trained at the Barracks.
Katapeltes: Counter-infantry, equipped with a mace. very good against cavalry, but weak against other infantry and archers. Can be trained at the Counter Barracks.
Fanatic: Lightly-armoured infantry with two swords. Good against all other non-archer units. Weak against archers and counter-infantry. Can be trained at the Palace.
Destroyer: Heavy infantry with trident. Strong against buildings and okay against archers. Weak against other infantry. Can be trained at the Palace. Destroyers of Kronos are 10% cheaper, even though this bonus is stated to apply only to myth units and siege weapons. Hence, Destroyers can be considered siege weapons as well as infantry. In all other respects, they are infantry (they do not benefit from siege weapon upgrades, they can be upgraded to Heroes etc.)
Archers
Arcus: Standard archer. Strong against infantry. Weak against cavalry. Can be trained at the Barracks.
Turma: Cavalry archer that throws spears. Strong against other archers. Weak against other cavalry. Can be trained at the Counter Barracks. Although it appears to be a cavalry archer, Turmae are considered by the game to be merely archers with a high movement ie. counter-cavalry do not gain any particular advantage over them, they benefit from archer upgrades, not cavalry upgrades etc.
Cavalry
Contarius: Standard cavalry with a great sword. Strong against archers. Weak against infantry. Can be trained at the Barracks.
Ships
Bireme: Standard arrow ship. Good against hammer ships.
Fire ship: Spits fire. Strong against other ships. Good against siege ships. Takes the place of the hammer ship and is weak against arrow ship
Siege Bireme: Shoots ballista bolts (logs that are used as missiles). Good against arrow ships and buildings.
Siege weapons
Cheiroballista: Crossbow device that shoots arrows. Strong against infantry and ships, but is not particularly strong against buildings, making it the only siege weapon not designed for destroying buildings. Despite this, it can still be used against buildings, due to its long range, and can even be quite effective as siege units if the enemy counters with infantry.Built at the counter-barracks.
Fire siphon: Spits fire. Strong against buildings. Built at the palace.
Some myth units, like the Behemoth is also used as siege weapons.
Buildings
Town Center: Atlantean Town Centers are the main buildings in one's empire. They can shoot arrows, garrison units inside them, train citizens and oracles, and provide 15 population. Upgrades can be purchased here, and one can choose to go to the next age. Town Centers can be built on free Settlements.
Manor: Manors replace houses for the Atlanteans. They provide 20 population, but only 5 manors maximum can be built. Up to 5 units can garrison inside them.
Economic Guild: Economic upgrades can be purchased here.
Dock: Atlantean docks can train fishing ships, transport ships, biremes, fire ships, siege biremes, and naval myth units.
Sentry Tower: Sentry Towers provide a good line of sight. Upgraded versions can shoot arrows. Units can be garrisoned inside them, and upgrades can be purchased here. Limit:21
Mirror Tower: A special tower that shoots out focused beams of sunlight. Slow but deadly to individual units. (Helios Only) Limit:10
Sky Passage: Units can be garrisoned inside one Sky Passage, and may exit from another. Can be upgraded for defensive capabilities. (Oranos only)
Temple: Temples can train myth units, and relics can be dropped off here. Upgrades can be purchased here.
Farm: Citizens can gather food from a farm. They cost 4 times as much as in other civilizations.
Barracks: Barracks train Murmillo, Arcus, and Contarius. Upgrades can be purchased here.
Counter-Barracks: Academies can train Katapeltes, Turma, and Cheiroballista. Upgrades can be purchased here.
Armory: Upgrades can be purchased here to increase units' attack and defence.
Wall/Gate: Walls and gates provide some defence. They can be upgraded to make them stronger.
Palace: Atlantean Palaces train fanatics, destroyers, and fire siphons. Units can be garrisoned inside them. Palaces can shoot arrows. Upgrades can be purchased here. Limit:10
Market: Atlantean Markets can train llama caravans. Upgrades can be purchased here.
Wonder: A Wonder is a large building that has much health and takes a long time to build. In the single-player mode, once a player builds a wonder, a countdown starts. After the countdown ends, the player wins. Limit:1
God powers
Archaic Age
Deconstruction (Kronos) (2 uses): Slowly destroys an enemy building, but building costs will be returned to the enemy. Poseidon militia do not appear.
Shockwave (Oranos) (3 uses): Knocks back and temporarily stuns a group of enemies, causing them to be unable to fight back.
Gaia's Forest (Gaia) (4 uses): Creates a group of trees in the specified area. Units gather wood faster from these trees than regular trees. They can be used as a wall.
Classical Age
Valor (Prometheus) (3 uses): Turns a group of normal units into Heroes, only affecting Atlantean units
Carnivora (Oceanus) (3 uses): Creates a carnivorous plant that will attack enemies passing by. It can eat non-hero human soldiers and sink ships in a single blow (the ability must recharge).
Spider Lair (Leto) (3 uses): Creates 4 spiders webs in the target area. The spiders are vulnerable for a short time, but then sink into the ground and become invisible to enemy players. When an enemy unit passes over a spider's nest, the spider leaps out and devours it. Myth units and heroes are not affected. Each spider nest disappears after it kills a unit.
Heroic Age
Chaos (Hyperion) (2 uses): Causes a group of enemies to turn neutral, and will attack anyone in sight, except for other units that have been affected and animals.
Hesperides Tree (Theia) (2 uses): Creates an indestructible tree, which produces Dryads for the player controlling it. The tree can be captured by enemies. Enemies can not cast god powers near the tree.
Traitor (Rheia) (2 uses): Changes the allegiance of an enemy unit to your side. This does not work on certain units (including titans).
Mythic Age
Vortex (Helios) (3 uses): Teleports all of the player's military units into the specified ___location.
Tartarian Gate (Hekate) (1 use): Creates a hole which spawns infinite Tartarian Spawns until the hole is destroyed. They cannot be controlled and will attack anyone on sight. The rate at which the gate spawns decreases with time.
Implode (Atlas) (1 use): Summons a sphere which drags away all surrounding units and buildings. The more buildings and units are near the sphere, the longer it lasts and the bigger it grows. When all surrounding units have been sucked in, its explodes, doing large amounts of damage to all units and buildings nearby and killing most human units sucked in. Myth units that are sucked in take moderate damage.
Titan Age
Titan Gate (1 use): Available for all civilizations, the Titan Gate power places a dig site at the specified ___location, waiting for construction by villagers. Once completed, it will summon forth a Titan.
