[Akukuhaboro]

Neither, wait for AoM retold

[solrac3589]

Age 2 has more fanbase and this fanbase is much more stable (aoe2 has like 20 years against 18 months for aoe4).

[Sivy17]

You say that the graphic section is important to you, but honestly I think AoE2 looks so much better.

There’s a weird lack of contrast in AoE4 and everything is foggy.

In terms of raw playtime, AoE2 has AoE4 beat by a long shot.

Huge amount of campaigns for single player, loads of multiplayer maps, large variety of civilizations to pick, a map editor.

etc

[csgonemes1s]

well you are asking on r/aoe2

[saitanmono]

Aoe2 DE is better to invest your time in if you want to get really good and enjoy the ladder, I have a feeling aoe4 won’t be played in about 5/6 years time

[CamRoth]

Both are great, I’ve played them both since they came out and I’ve played every other AoE game.

These two are the best.

I play both pretty much every week and would say I am pretty unbiased.

AoE2 has WAY more single player content if that’s your thing.

It is easier to mod and there are tons of nice UI mods and custom game modes, AoE4 doesn’t have UI modding yet and there aren’t as many custom scenarios so far.

AoE2 also has a few quality of life things that AoE4 still lacks, although it has caught up a lot.

AoE2 also has coop campaigns now.

AoE2 has more players, but both have sufficient players so that doesn’t matter much.

Also the multiplayer player counts are actually not that different.

Yeah AoE2 has more civs, but they are much less diverse than in AoE4.

AoE4 civ designs frankly are much more interesting.

They are just different types of games in that regard.

Both have their pros and cons.

I like that AoE4 asymmetry is somewhere between something like Starcraft and AoE2.

Graphics are very subjective.

AoE2 is 2d sprites, AoE4 is 3d and the style is a bit like a painting.

I like both, but will say that in AoE2 things are slightly more readable due to being 2d.

Also AoE2 building destruction animations look much nicer (much easier to do with 2d than 3d models).

DE has really improved the look of AoE2 while maintaining the same feel as the original.

At this point I prefer the gameplay of AoE4.

It’s more streamlined, it’s much better at encouraging diverse unit compositions, and it has interesting mechanics that 2 doesn’t.

Balance is also generally better.

Sound design in AoE4 is a thousand times better if you care about that.

I’ll never stop playing AoE2 though.

Also, ignore anyone who is straight up bad mouthing either game.

[TheTowerDefender]

TLDR: I think both are on gamepass.

so get that for a month and try them both.

afterwards buy the one you prefer on steam

i think you’ll get quite biased opinions in the aoe2 subreddit..

so here is mine:

if you want to play singleplayer aoe2 is the clear favourite.

it has way more content, and the content is higher quality
if you want to play multiplayer aoe2 is also the clear favuorite.

the competitive scene is bigger, with more players, better map and civ variety.

I can’t speak for balance in aoe4, but the balance in aoe2 is pretty good.

Also aoe2 has one the nicest, most helpful and least toxic online communities I’ve ever encountered
graphics are a matter of opinion

quite frankly i dont see much reason to play aoe4.

assuming they are both still on game pass, I recommend getting it and trying them both and forming your own opinion

[Executioneer]

AoE4 is kind of like a mix of 2 and 3.

The problem is what 4 took from 2, 2 does better, and what 4 took from 3, 3 does better.

Imo, currently both 2 and 3 are better than 4.

The earlier games had 20+ years of polish, content, balance, and updates. 4 is still missing a LOT before it can compete with 2 and 3.

[VelcomeToCinder]

Well this is reddit dedicated to AoE2 so it isn’t exactly a mystery which game will get overwhelming support.

I know nothing about AoE4 except that I don’t like visuals and that it would fry my potato computer so obviously I am AoE2 aligned.

[RKU69]

Definitely AoE2 DE, probably biased but I think the general consensus now is that AoE2 remains leagues beyond what AoE4 was designed to be.

More dynamic and fun gameplay, more interesting civilization types, better control of units, better graphics (oddly enough).

[bbsuccess]

I like both…

BUT…

The ONE THING that keeps turning me off AOE4 is how zoomed in the camera is.

I just can’t get used to it.

It’s way to close and I just scream at the screen wanting it to be more zoomed out like AOE2.

If they fix that then it could be great.

[Ok_Egg4018]

I feel like I am pretty unbiased.

I am more driven by the community than the game itself and I switched back to aoe2 when Viper, T90(well T90 never left) Hera and Daut did.

Pro/Con:

Some people think aoe4 graphics are cartoonish but I think they have rose colored nostalgia glasses for the 2d aoe2.

Graphics on aoe4 are orders of magnitude better.

Sound design is orders of magnitude better in aoe4

Microing units feels way cleaner in aoe2 than aoe4

Aoe4 has more asymmetric civs, and thus I think the potential for strategic depth is higher

Aoe4 has a more complex, more historically realistic counter system with heavy and light units.

Aoe4 had some major balance growing pains when I played it, for a while it seemed like every game ended with a ram push.

Aoe2 DE is in my opinion the best bang for your buck entertainment on planet earth—I don’t know why it is so cheap.

Aoe2 has a 20 year old loyal following and it appears that devs are devoted to the game now because of it.

I think it is safe to say aoe2 is more likely to ‘last the ages’

[MarcusAurelius68]

I bought aoe4 when it was released, and have played it maybe twice.

I have over 1500 hours on aoe2 DE in single player against the AI.

I play on a 42” OLED and it looks great to me.

[Hairy-Wear-2064]

For now aoe 2 offers more bang for your buck, aoe4 looks and sounds orers of magnitude better though & it’s nore historically accurate

[TealJinjo]

If you’re interested in playing competitively you might wanna watch maybe a tournament final of each game to get a feel of what the game can look like.

I can send you some videos if you want

[Author]

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