Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Dawn of the Dukes

Did you just remove mega-random from both sp and mp? Ok, gonna review bomb for this.

Jan Zizka campaign is the best one imo, but they're all pretty good. Not particularly varied civilisations but still interesting to play

[h1]Age of Empires II - Dawn of the Dukes[/h1] [h3]Great Expansion for Amazing European Civilizations[/h3] [h3]Really worth getting as part of a discounted bundle![/h3] Dawn of the Dukes was the second expansion released for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. This DLC features three new campaigns where the main antagonists are the knights of the Teutonic Order. These campaigns are primarily focused on sieges and large-scale battles, featuring many creative mechanics such as constructing temples and shrines to secure alliances, basic RPG elements for hero units, the ability to loot buildings for resources and upgrades, and some city defense missions similar to those in the original campaigns. An interesting and well worked aspect of this DLC is the interconnection between its campaigns, civilizations, and historical figures. However, many of the scenarios share similar objectives and ultimately consist of simply destroying castles to progress, except for Jadwiga's campaign, which instead offers a greater variety of missions and game mechanics. Overall, It is a large and enjoyable expansion that offers many hours of gameplay and plenty of nice scenarios that match or even surpass the ones of the first expansion. [h3]Jadwiga[/h3] Among the three campaigns, it is honestly the one with the best gameplay, storytelling, and level design. This campaign maintains a strong sense of variety throughout its scenarios, unique objectives and game mechanics that keep the experience enjoyable. On hard difficulty, the campaign is a considerable challenge that depends largely on player skill, although a certain amount of RNG. The storytelling is beautifully crafted, adopting a descriptive and highly detailed narrative style that gradually turns the campaign into something resembling a personal testament to the love shared between the Queen Jadwiga and the Prince Jogaila rather than a traditional historical narrative. [h3]Algirdas and Kestutis[/h3] This campaign is arguably the most challenging in terms of overall gameplay complexity, featuring a fairly intricate and convoluted narrative that may be difficult to follow for people unfamiliar with the historical context. It is also the most RNG-dependent campaign in the expansion, while simultaneously being one of the most demanding in terms of multitasking, resource management, and strategic planning. [h3]Jan Zizka[/h3] Jan Zizka's campaign is arguably the hardest of the three to connect with, largely due to its unusual protagonist, whose selfish and ambitious personality makes him less relatable than the other historical figures featured in the expansion. This impression is further reinforced by the repetitive design of many of its scenarios and their excessive length. From a narrative perspective, it is an interesting story, but its briefly introduced characters, isolated historical events, and sudden story developments make it difficult to follow at times.