How to choose the Best Difficulty in Age of Mythology: Retold

Choosing the best difficulty in Age of Mythology: Retold can be quite tricky. Since its original release in 2002, Age of Mythology has had one of the best difficulty options players could choose.

These options ranged from Standard to Titan, with the first being the easiest and the latter a literal nightmare (I’m not joking; I tried it and sometimes struggled to survive battles; winning them was rare).

Age of Mythology: Retold keeps the same initial four difficulty options: Standard, Moderate, Hard, and Titan, but also adds two more, the Extreme and Legendary options.

There are 6 difficulty options in the game, and while each is fun to play, the harder ones (starting with Hard) will make you scream at your screen, but they can also prepare you for handling multiplayer matches.

You have to remember one thing: the harder the difficulty, the smarter the AI is. If the AI was pretty smart in the original Age of Mythology (and if you want to experiment with those difficulties, you can still purchase the original game), it will most likely finish you up in the first 10 minutes of a match in Age of Mythology: Retold.

Here’s a breakdown of each:

• Standard: This is the easiest difficulty since AI has no advantage over you.
• Moderate: The AI is smarter and a little bit more aggressive, but by no means fatal.
• Hard: This is where things get hard (pun intended), as the AI is quite aggressive and will attack you more often.
• Titan: The AI knows what it’s doing and will attack you frequently and intelligently, switching up strategies like a natural.
• Extreme: The AI keeps the wits of its Titan counterpart, but it has a 25% resource advantage and can harvest them faster than you.
• Legendary: The same Titan AI, but with a 50% resource advantage and can built much faster than you.

Choosing the best difficulty in Age of Mythology: Retold is essential, but doing so requires you to answer the following question: what do you want to do in the game?

How to choose the best difficulty in Age of Mythology: Retold

Depending on what you want to do, choosing the best difficulty in the Age of Mythology: Retold shouldn’t be hard. Here’s what you need to consider.

Have you never played Age of Mythology: Retold? Answer: Standard

If you are a beginner in Age of Mythology: Retold and haven’t played the original either, then it’s best to start your AoM journey with this difficulty. You’ll learn the basics of each Pantheon and experiment with Major Gods and different God Powers while keeping it relatively very safe.

Do you want some challenge that doesn’t turn into frustration? Answer: Moderate

You’ve won your Standard battles and learned a thing or two about Sentinels and Plenty Vaults, and you might have even killed a Titan.

In that case, you’ll need some more challenge, but keep it fun enough to not turn into frustration. The best difficulty in Age of Mythology: Retold for this goal is Moderate. The AI will attack you, and it will do so at key times to even make it seem like you’re playing against humans.

Here, you’ll experiment with resource management, learn how to implement efficient build orders and use the new Village Priority capability.

Do you want to get your first taste of a multiplayer match? Answer: Hard

The AI will frequently attack you and be more aggressive than the Moderate one. Plus, it’s also more capable of running things properly, from upgrading its units to advancing to better Ages quickly.

This difficulty is the best if you want to get a taste of an Age of Mythology: Retold multiplayer match. You’ll most likely lose on your first attempt, but it will be quite a fun challenge, requiring you to think, strategize, and use the resources, space, and units far more calculated.

Do you want to take your first steps into becoming a pro player? Answer: Titan

You’re resistant to frustration, and the thrill of winning the Hard matches has stirred the hunger for more in you. Then go for Titan, and try your best to survive your first attempts. The AI will relentlessly attack you and stay true to its intelligent nature by devising smart strategies to take you down.

You’ll need to use everything, from the best Build orders to the best Major Gods. You’ll need to summon Titans, if you get there, and you’ll need to strategize. But if you’re winning even one Titan match against an AI, you can consider yourself an Age of Mythology: Retold Pro player.

Hint: I have only won one of these so far, so don’t beat yourself up if you can’t manage right from your first tries. But the challenge and the thrill of the Titan difficulty mode make this one of the best difficulty options you can go for in Age of Mythology: Retold.

Have you thought about battling against other players? Answer: Extreme/Legendary

If you’ve mastered the Titan difficulty on Skirmish battles in Age of Mythology: Retold, the Extreme, and Legendary difficulties keep the same Titan AI, but it gives it more economic advantages.

So, while the strategies might be similar, expect extremely frequent attacks on all sides, everywhere.

The Extreme/Legendary difficulty modes are also the best in Age of Mythology: Retold to train yourself for battling against other human players, and they’re generally the last step before putting yourself out there (Age of Mythology even has a Leaderboard, if you want to see how good you are compared to others).

The AI here is wickedly smart, and it will be an avalanche of challenges to beat it. Still, you’ll become a master at Build Orders, obtaining excellent times on your first Temple or Town Centre and strategizing your buildings and units.

Ultimately, it’s all up to your goals. Suppose you’re considering competing in official tournaments, such as the Red Bull Wololo – which has just announced its first Age of Mythology: Retold champion. In that case, you’ll need to learn your ways in Extreme/Legendary difficulties and win such battles frequently.

If you’re relatively new to the game, try the Hard through Extreme/Legendary difficulties in Campaigns. Some of them will be a real challenge to complete.

Conversely, if you want to have fun but still have a challenge, the Moderate and Hard difficulties in the Age of Mythology: Retold are the best for this goal.

In the end, it’s all up to you. The best thing is that Age of Mythology: Retold has many difficulty options to choose from.