March of Empires news & patch notes

Lords & Ladies, update 85 has arrived!

The new update is here, bringing powerful new progression opportunities, exciting rewards, and a glimpse of what's coming next to the realms!

🎁 Update 85 Celebration Gift To celebrate the release of Update 85, we've prepared a free gift for every Lord & Lady! Claim your rewards, when you update and log-in: 20M Commander XP 5 Basic Recruitment Cards 1,000 Gold

✨ New Commanders have been added in the game! The Commander roster continues to grow! Update 85 introduces additional Commanders to recruit, upgrade, and deploy alongside your armies. Make sure to check them out and discover new ways to strengthen your marches and defenses.

💎 Introducing Eternal District Shards For those seeking the ultimate power, a brand-new District Shard rarity has entered the game: Eternal.

This new rarity represents the next step in District progression, allowing dedicated rulers to push their empires even further than before.

📿 15 New Necklaces Added Update 85 also introduces a new collection of powerful necklaces.

⚔️ Necklaces of Power 6 necklaces focused on Melee Unit Attack paired with Ranged Unit Health

🏹 Necklaces of Eminence 6 necklaces focused on Ranged Unit Attack paired with Melee Unit Health

🛡️ Specialized Necklaces 3 unique necklaces focused on Faction Units, PvE, and Traps

These powerful new items are among the rarest rewards available and can be obtained from both Power and Eminence Chests.

🔥 Looking Ahead The battles are only getting bigger. 🏛️ The Challengers will arrive in July, bringing a brand-new PvE challenge for ambitious rulers. | ⚔️ The Rajput will follow in August, introducing another powerful PvE enemy to conquer and new rewards to earn.

🌲Multiple Quality-of-Life Improvements Update 85 also brings a variety of quality-of-life improvements and optimizations across the game, helping to create a smoother and more enjoyable experience for all rulers throughout the realms.

⚡ Auto-Use for Commander Items Commander-related currencies and consumables will now be automatically applied when obtained. Instead of first appearing in your inventory and requiring manual use, these items will be added directly to your available balance and ready to use immediately.

🔧 Major Fixes & Improvements

Update 85 includes a number of fixes and improvements across the game, including:

• Fixed several causes of game crashes, including crashes experienced by some players after being eliminated in Atlantis. • Fixed an issue that could cause the game to crash on certain Huawei devices during launch. • Fixed an issue that could cause the game to become stuck on the loading screen on Android under specific conditions.

⚔️ Commanders • Commanders are now correctly displayed in Bastion Scouting Reports. • Fixed several visual issues in the Commanders interface and Commander information screens. • Fixed issues affecting Commander recruitment information and free recruitment refreshes.

🏰 Gameplay & User Interface • Fixed the PvE drop location menu not displaying rewards correctly. • Fixed Adventurer loss mails to correctly identify the fallen Adventurer. • Fixed repair timers displaying incorrect durations. • Fixed issues when purchasing items after being redirected to the Item Shop. • Item usage sliders now correctly default to the maximum available quantity.

📜 Battle Reports & Combat • Fixed several display issues in Battle Reports. • Fixed duplicated information appearing in Battle Reports in certain situations. • Fixed visual issues when viewing reinforcing armies. • Fixed interface issues when watching Combat Replays.

✨ Additional Improvements • Improved the display of District Enhancement bonuses. • Fixed visual issues affecting Champion Quests and the Almanac. • Fixed several interface and display issues across the game. • General stability improvements and bug fixes.

Update 85 is packed with new progression paths, bug fixes and exciting content, so jump in, explore the changes, and continue building the empire of your dreams!

See you on the battlefield!

Lords & Ladies, a brand-new era is about to begin in March of Empires. With Update 84, we will officially welcome the legendary world of Vikings into the game, but that is only the beginning. We are adding 4 characters from the Viking saga to the game. Ragnar and Lagertha as Champions & Rollo and Floki as Commanders. The biggest addition arriving with this update is an entirely new system that will reshape how you build and command your armies: Commanders. COMMANDERS ARE HERE 🔥 Starting with Update 84, players will be able to recruit and strengthen powerful Commanders that can be assigned directly to your troops and defense squads. Each Commander comes with unique bonuses, abilities, and progression paths that will allow you to customize your army like never before. At launch, there will be 7 Commanders in total: • 5 Rare Commanders • 2 Legendary Commanders inspired by the Vikings - Rollo and Floki! Each Commander specializes in a specific unit type: ⚔️ Swordsmen 🛡️ Spearmen 🏹 Ranged 🐎 Cavalry 💥 Siege You will be able to recruit a Commander using just 1 Tome and continue upgrading them through a deep progression system featuring: • 90 total levels • 6 ranks • 6 stars per rank • Unique abilities and powerful stat boosts 📚 Three new resources are also arriving with the update: • Tomes → used to recruit and rank up Commanders • Wisdom → used to level-up your Commanders • Virtues → used to upgrade Commander skills and specializations These resources can be obtained through multiple gameplay spaces such as event shops, alliance shops, and in-game offers. ✨ A brand-new Virtue system will allow you to shape your Commander through different paths: • Warfare • Utility • Special Commanders will strengthen your squads directly by increasing attributes such as Attack, Health, Offence, and Defence. Some will even feature completely unique effects and combat mechanics. You can deploy up to 3 Commanders in a march and in your castle defense squad, opening the door for entirely new strategies and combinations. Battle Reports will now also display the Commanders involved and the abilities activated during combat. ⚡We are also introducing new equipment attributes: • Stackable Army Offence - Gain +% Army Offense for 30 minutes after defeating another player at any location with your Champions leading the army. This effect stacks up to 5 times. • Stackable Army Defense - Gain +% Army Defense for 30 minutes after defeating another player at any location with your Champions leading the army. This effect stacks up to 5 times. • Deadly Strike - Gain +% Army Offense on the next attack. Cannot occur again for 10 minutes. • Gem Bonus - Increases the bonus of any gemstone socketed into this item by +%.

Update 83.5 is Live!

Update 83.5 Patch Notes

Greetings, Lords and Ladies! This update focuses on new sets, PvE rotations, improving stability, fixing gameplay issues, and polishing multiple systems across the game.

Below is a full overview of the most important additions:

New Content

This update introduces brand-new equipment to strengthen your armies across both PvP and PvE encounters.

New Siege Set – Daemon’s Stride

A powerful new Siege-focused equipment set has arrived. Daemon’s Stride is built for commanders who rely on heavy assaults and destructive force, offering strong bonuses to improve your effectiveness in Siege combat.

Upcoming PvE Content Rotation

In the upcoming months, new PvE challenges will arrive, bringing fresh enemies and rewards for those who manage to overcome them.

May - The Gladiators Starting in May, players will face the arrival of fearsome Gladiator camps. Defeating these PvE encounters will allow you to progress and farm the powerful The Last Survivor set, focused on strengthening your core army performance.

The Last Survivor -Increases Swordsmen Attack & Health

• Boosts Army Attack & Health

• Adds bonus Army Offense

June - The Cabals In June, a new threat emerges in the form of mysterious Cabals. These PvE camps will reward players with chest drops for the Veiled Acolyte set, designed to empower ranged-focused strategies.

Veiled Acolyte

• Increases Ranged Units Attack & Health

• Provides bonuses to Attack & Health vs PvE encounters

FIXES

Gameplay & Battles

• Fixed multiple issues where Paragon Abilities were not applied correctly in specific scenarios (Gladiator Arena, Narratives, Poacher Camps, Treasury reinforcements, etc.)

• Fixed an issue where Champion’s Favor only applied to the first raid wave

• Fixed missing Gem and Oil resources on Hill tiles

• Improved Battleground experience:

• Fixed domination value visibility

• Resolved popup display issues

• Fixed signup menu not updating properly

Pets & Items

• Fixed duplicate selection issue for Exotic Food

• Improved pet food sorting during leveling

• Fixed incorrect Assign Pet popup behavior

• Fixed shop filtering issues for Pet Licenses

• Restored missing visuals for certain bundles

Champions & Equipment

• Using a Champion Scroll now correctly highlights the selected Champion

• Fixed incorrect button states (e.g. “Unlock” instead of “Select”)

• Resolved UI overlap issues in Champion menus

• Fixed equipment display issues in popups and sets

• Corrected icon for new Paragon Ability in HUD

UI & Visual Improvements

• Fixed multiple UI issues across menus and popups:

• Buttons appearing outside of popups

• Missing or non-functional buttons

• Menus opening behind other menus

• Flickering elements (e.g. Alliance Banner)

• Fixed various text and localization issues:

• Text appearing as code

• Missing or incorrect labels

• Overflowing text in Almanac, reports, and popups

• Improved icon scaling and alignment in several menus

• Improved Narrative quest icon visibility

Mail & Reports

• Fixed corrupted gathering reports

• Fixed extra or unintended text in mail replies

• Improved consistency of Battle Reports

• Fixed placeholder text appearing in certain reports

• Removed unintended bonus titles in Army Reports

Shop & Navigation

• Fixed multiple issues in the in-game Shop:

• Menus opening behind other interfaces

• Incorrect navigation when selecting items

• Missing bundles (including Narrative Buff items)

General Improvements

• Fixed delay when exiting the game

• Fixed inconsistencies between different game versions (UI, progress bars, reports)

We’ll continue monitoring your feedback and making improvements. Thank you for your continued support!

🏆 Rise to Power — Your Season Starts Now!

The world shifts in March of Empires — choose your path, gain powerful rewards, and rise above the competition.

👉 Play now and claim your place in the new Season.

⚔️ Shape Your Destiny

Step into the Season and experience new challenges and opportunities:

• New Alliances – Join forces with powerful allies

• Fresh Rivalries – Battle for dominance and climb the ranks

• Exclusive Rewards – Unlock gear, boosts, and prestige items unique to this Season

🔥 Why You Should Act Now

• Act Fast, Lead the Way – Claim your strategic position before others do.

• Stay Ahead – Every decision now shapes your empire’s future

• Dominate the Leaderboards – Outperform rivals and secure your legacy

⏳ Limited-Time Season

This Season won’t wait — bold leaders who act fast reap the greatest rewards.

👉 Jump into March of Empires now and secure your advantage before it’s too late.

🏆 Grand Tournament Live Now — Earn Rewards Before It Ends

The Grand Tournament is live in March of Empires! Compete in Arena challenges, earn exclusive rewards, and climb the leaderboard—before time runs out.

👉 Play now and enter the Tournament.

⚔️ Choose Your Challenge

Take on fast-paced Arena events and earn points with every victory:

• Jousting – Defeat rivals in head-to-head duels

• Crossbow Precision – Land perfect shots for maximum score

• Horse Racing – Outpace opponents in high-speed races

🔥 Why Join?

• Exclusive Rewards – Event-only rewards, boosts, and much more

• Global Competition – Climb the leaderboard

• Fast Progress – Earn points and grow stronger with every match

⏳ Limited-Time Event

Don’t miss your chance to claim these rewards—the Grand Tournament ends soon.

👉 Jump into March of Empires now and start competing.

Conan the Barbarian Has Arrived — Unlock Him Before He’s Gone

Conan the Barbarian storms into March of Empires as a limited-time Champion. Unleash his raw strength, dominate your enemies, and unlock him before the event ends.

👉 Play now on Steam and recruit Conan to your army.

⚔️ Wield the Power of a Legend

Bring Conan into battle and turn the tide with sheer strength and brutality:

• Devastating Strength – Crush enemies with overwhelming force

• Battle-Hardened Warrior – Excel in the fiercest fights

• Legendary Presence – Lead your army with unmatched power

🔥 Why You Don’t Want to Miss This

• Limited-Time Champion – Conan won’t be available forever

• Boost Your Power – Gain a powerful edge in battle

• Dominate the Battlefield – Overwhelm rivals and rise faster

⏳ Limited-Time Unlock

This is your only chance to claim Conan the Barbarian. Once the event ends, he’s gone.

👉 Jump into March of Empires now and unlock him before it’s too late.

UPDATE 83 CHANGELOG

Lords & Ladies, our march to greatness continues with Update 83!

This update marks a special milestone for our Realms as we welcome Conan the Barbarian and Valeria to the battlefield. We’re incredibly proud to bring these legendary heroes and their iconic world into our game, and excited to share this new chapter with our community. Their arrival opens the door to new strategies, new challenges, and epic new ways to play.

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New Champions: Conan the Barbarian & Valeria Two legendary Champions join the battlefield, each equipped with 4 Class Slots. Complete their Almanac Missions to earn powerful rewards.

• 6 new Conan-themed equipment items and 3 new Equipment Sets

• New Conan-themed PvE and PvP boosts

• New Conan-themed Alliance Frame and Seal

• New Conan-themed Avatar Frame

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Paragon Level Cap Increased

• Maximum Paragon level increased to 450

• New Paragon Skill – Champion’s Favor: For the next 20 minutes, all your marches benefit from Champion attributes, even without a Champion assigned

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1. New Realm Age – Age of Excellence (starts on 13 March) The Age of Excellence empowers your Paragon by:

• Reducing Paragon ability cooldowns

• Granting additional Paragon experience

• Unlocking the “Instant Hunt” Paragon ability: allowing your next 3 hunts to be completed instantly

2. World Encounters Theme Rotation (5 March) Ronins invade the Realms! March on their camps and reclaim the treasures they’ve stolen.

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1. Gladiator Arena – Faster Event Flow

• Preparation phase: 300s → 120s

• Combat phase: 60s → 30s

• Reset phase: 240s → 300s

2. Bastion Benefits Rebalance

• Adjusted the values of selected Bastion benefits for improved balance

My Lords & Ladies, Our march to greatness continues with Update 82, bringing powerful new progression, festive celebrations, and important balance improvements across the realms!

FEATURE EXTENSIONS

My Lords & Ladies!

Our march to greatness continues with Update 81.5 — packed with fresh features, spooky treasures, and a glimpse of what’s to come!

!Highlights:

Lords & Ladies,

A legendary hero has arrived and with him comes a wave of thunder, lightning, and brand-new features! Here’s everything included in this epic update:

New Champion: Connor MacLeod

• The immortal Scottish swordsman from the cult classic Highlander joins March of Empires.

• First-ever Champion who can equip 4 Champion Classes at once, making him the strongest Champion to date.

• Fully modeled after actor Christopher Lambert.

• Unlock him to play through his Almanac Missions, revealing his story and rewarding valuable prizes — including 2,000 Paragon Points for completing the final mission.

New Event Shop: Immortal’s Offerings

• Available September 24 – October 7.

• Earn currency by playing time-limited events and spend it in the shop.

• Premium items include:

  • Connor MacLeod Champion Scroll

  • Immortal’s Castle City Skin

  • Ramirez’s Katana Equipment

New Equipment & Set Bonus

• Ramirez’s Katana: introduces a new stat – Chance for Bonus Relic, giving you extra Relics during Relic Hunt events.

• MacLeod’s Longsword: shop-exclusive equipment with a similar bonus, boosting World Encounter events.

• Equip both to unlock the new Surge of the Immortal Set, which reduces time in Story Objects during Historical Missions.

New Customization Items

• Quickening March Aura: +75% March Speed.

• Immortal’s Surge Castle Fire: adds style while burning enemy castles.

• Both included in the upcoming Season Pass (starting September 24).

Alliance Customization

• New Alliance Flag Icon: MacLeod’s Clan Mountains.

New Feature: Master Event

• Earn extra rewards for participating in Alliance Events.

• 3 reward columns:

  • Column 1: free rewards for participation.

  • Column 2: unlocked with the Master Event Pass

  • Column 3: unlocked when Alliance members gift tokens (requires 5 tokens).

New Challenge: Barbarian Horde Level 8

• Stronger, deadlier, and impossible to defeat alone.

• Rally with allies to conquer them and claim massive Gold rewards.

• High risk, high reward — teamwork required!

New Realm Age: Age of Valor

• Includes new Encounter bonuses.

• Unlocks the new Paragon Ability: Commander Shout, perfect for tackling high-level Barbarian Hordes.

That’s everything in Update 81! Gather your allies, sharpen your swords, and prepare for the storm — because in the end… there can be only one!

Lords and Ladies,

We’re aware that the transition to Unreal Engine 5 has brought unexpected issues, from crashes and stuck loading screens to visual glitches and performance problems on some devices. We want to sincerely thank everyone who took the time to report these problems.

We hear you and we get your frustration. The team is fully focused on delivering a series of hot-fixes to address the most critical bugs, especially those affecting stability and visuals. Our goal is to roll out the first major fixes as soon as possible.

Our team is fully focused right now on resolving the most critical problems, especially:

• Game crashes across all platforms

• Visual bugs and performance issues

Your feedback is helping us prioritize what matters most, and we’re committed to making March of Empires enjoyable again for everyone, on all platforms.

Thank you for your patience, your passion, and for standing with us while we improve this new version together.

🏆 Event Live Now – Join Before It Ends! 🏆

The banners are raised, the crowds are cheering, and the Arena awaits its champions. Will you rise as a tournament hero, or be forgotten in the dust of history?

The drums of competition echo across the realm… the Grand Tournament has begun! In March of Empires, glory isn’t just seized on the battlefield—it’s earned in the Arena. Whether you’re a hardened warlord or a rising champion, this is your moment to shine.

Download March of Empires now on Steam, enter the Grand Tournament, and claim your rightful place in the annals of glory.

Step into the spotlight and prove your might in three epic challenges:

⚔️ Jousting – Sharpen your lance and ride into battle with honor and ferocity. Can you unseat the fiercest knights in the land?

🏹 Crossbow Precision – Test your aim in deadly ranged competitions. Only the steadiest hand will claim victory.

🐎 Horse Racing – Speed, strategy, and stamina collide as you thunder down the track in thrilling head-to-head races.

Why Join the Grand Tournament?

🔥 Time-Limited Rewards – Unlock exclusive event-only gear, boosts, and prestige. Compete for leaderboard dominance and earn your place among the legends.

🔥 Global Competition – Battle rivals from around the world in real-time. Represent your kingdom and rise to the top of the Grand Arena.

🔥 A New Layer of Strategy – The Grand Tournament isn’t just about power—it’s about timing, tactics, and precision. Prepare your empire, train your champions, and outwit your opponents.

Victory Awaits — Enter the Grand Arena Today!

🔍 New Feature: Explorations A powerful new research tab has been added to the Academy! Unlock at Castle Level 15 to begin researching new bonuses for Swordsmen, Spearmen, Cavalry, Ranged, Siege, Faction Units, and Defenses.

· Complete regular and unique Explorations for game-changing buffs like Banding, Faction Strength and Extra Damage.

· Max out certain paths to activate Synergy Bonuses for even more power!

🧠 Champion Max Level Increased to 105 Champions can now reach level 105! Each Talent Tree has 4 new Talents to unlock. *Dev Note: Losing battles against Encounter Camps no longer gives Champion XP. However, maximum base XP from winning battles is now increased to 4,000,000.

🎆 Liberty Festivities (June 30 – July 10)

· Special Lottery – On July 4 enjoy better prizes and chances in the Lottery.

· Calendar Rewards – Daily login gifts throughout the event.

· Festive Event Shop – Earn currency from limited-time events and spend it on top-tier Cloaks, rare Animal Foods, Class Tokens, Mythic/Divine Bars & more! Open for business between 30 June – 10 July

· Pursuit of Liberty – A 5-day solo challenge event ending with a Realm-wide boss battle. The more damage your Realm deals, the better the rewards! Starts on June 30, don’t miss it!

· Freedom’s Stand – A personal story event running on July 2, 4, and 6. Lead your army to liberate the Free Lands for powerful rewards!

🔄 Seasonal Content Rotation

• New Encounter Camps: The Cabal invades! Defeat them to recover stolen treasures.

• New Path to Glory: New missions and rewards await.

• Necklaces, much like Scepters, can be crafted by combining 3 parts: Clasp, Chain, Pendant
• Necklace crafting parts can also be equipped in the new Champion Equipment Slot

• All Districts have a new additional Universal Enhancement Slot
• Each District has 2 or 3 new District Enhancement items with new bonuses

• Make your Champion stronger than ever with the new highest equipment rarity: Divine
• Crafting Divine items requires up to six Mythic items, Mythic Bars and Divine Bars
• Divine Bars can be acquired by participating in events, completing milestones and winning leaderboard rewards

• Each Champion’s Almanac has been extended with a new Chapter, additional bonuses and more rewards

• March Speed 25% / 50% / 75% / 100% / 125% / 150%
• Reduce Enemy Player Attack 50% / 75% / 100% / 125% / 150% / 250%
• Reduce Enemy Player Health 50% / 75% / 100% / 125% / 150% / 250%
• March Size Boost 150%
• Attack boost 500%
• Health Boost 500%
• “Unit Type” Strength 250%

• Fixed an issue where players between levels 20 and 29 could not send a march inside a Keep during the Imperial Ambitions Game
• Fixed an issue where players between levels 20 and 29 could not send a march into their Gladiator Arena Encampment
• Fixed an issue where the Fast Attack button didn't work on the Imperial Ambitions Keeps
• Fixed an issue where the Squad Size as an Invader bonus didn't work on the Atlantis Realm
• Fixed an issue where units that were not yet researched would appear inside the Raise Tier menu causing the upgrade to fail if they are selected
• The Combined Arms Talent is now visually reflected in the Army Offense and Army Defense in Battle Reports
• Fixed an issue where Fast Attack was not working for the Emperor if another player had their Reset Timer on and there were no Units inside the throne
• Fixed an issue where the War Cry Tactic's effect was stronger than intended

• New Champion Equipment Slot – introducing Scepters, the newest type of equipment items that can make your Army Units stronger than ever

• Improved visibility of the Class Level XP
• Bundles Shop has been completely reworked and polished to provide better visibility, faster loading times and more special offers
• Hunting Tiles pop-up menu polished

• World Encounters Theme Rotation - The Cabals have invaded the Realms! March against their Camps and defeat them to retrieve the treasures they have stolen
• New Path to Glory

• Festive Event Shop: 3 July – 10 July
• Festive Calendar Rewards: 1 July – 7 July
• Pursuit of Liberty Multi-stage Holiday Event: 3 July – 7 July
• Freedom’s Stand Personal Story Mission: 3 July and 7 July
• 4th of July Tournament event and Gladiator Arena event rewards boost

• New Animal Companion – Recon Falcon – this new PVE March Trait Animal Companion will be of great service to you when you march against the World Encounter Camps. Its abilities allow you to save Encounter Reward Points, gain additional Attack, more Guardian Points or even extra guaranteed chests when defeating an Encounter Camp.
• All 12 existing Cloak equipment items have been reworked with better stats and new bonuses
• 5 new Cloak equipment items have been added

• Warpath flow and Stamina improvements – Stamina deficiency caused players to repeat unnecessary steps when setting up their Army Formation before a Warpath battle. This has been fixed by reworking the flow of the Warpath menu. You can also now stack Warpath Stamina over the limit by claiming Stamina items.
• Guardian Pass and Guardian Swiftness timer has been added – allowing you to see how much time you have left without entering the Bonuses and Effects menu
• Champion XP gained has been added to the Battle Reports
• Clock added to the side menu – allowing you to easily check on the server time and plan your play sessions accordingly
• Claim All Achievements button has been added

• World Encounters Theme rotation – the Rajput Encounter Camps are making a comeback this season. March against them and defeat their camps to retrieve the treasures they have stolen.
• New Path to Glory Chapter

• Update 65 Gift Pack – as part of the celebration, we’ll be sending a special Gift Pack to everyone soon after the release of Update 65
• Event Shop: 12 June – 20 June