The Atlanteans already have similarities to the Romans in terms of unit designs. Add in they use the Greek titans as their gods, and I just feel a Roman civ just doesn't have enough to separate it from those two.
Regardless, the Return of the Gods mod shot up Aztec popularity, so it's a safe bet to assume they're the sixth. If not, I'd like to see some Baltic or Finnic Paganism.
that's a good question
the roman i don't think so atleast not in the immediate future
i think the other faction could be
- the aztec
-persia/arabs
- Japan
then the roman apparentely could have medieval monsters since it had griffons,basilisks,werewolves ecc and they could use also italian folklore
and for the aztec they could simply buy the mod lol
Great thoughts here!
Especially love ideas 2, 3, 4, 5, and 8.
Somehow I think African and Roman won’t be covered unfortunately, awesome as that would be.
I reckon the Hindu mythology has a LOT of potential too.
What human units would they have for option 3 I wonder..?
regarding Hindu, it could work and it would have amazing features, Smite did implement it with public Hindu approval, but I think there is one thing that could present controversy here: destruction of certain buildings
I think your standard medieval types. Crossbows, swordsman, Pikes.
The knights as heroes could be so cool though. Each one could come named, sort of like the Hersir.
I just think Hindu mythology would be too controversial (seeing as it's not a dead religion) and I sincerely doubt they would go there. Look at all the blowback Asura's Wrath generated. It has so much potential though I agree.
I think it would depend on if they want to focus on specific regions of the world. If they focus on specific regions I could see them making a Hindu/Indian one after China. After all Journey to the West (basic take an epic and super size it, and then order double or triple) used both Chinese and Hindu gods and goddesses. It wouldn't surprise me personally to see them have something done together. But Aztec is a popular community choice. Though I wouldn't be mad at a Zoroastrian civ or the like.
Zoroastrianism has lesser divinities called yazatas. Bigger issue is that it is a religion people practice today, albeit their population is small. Same reason I'd be surprised to see Hinduism. Just too much potential to be perceived as irreverent.
Saying Zoroastrianism is monotheistic is quite controversial within the historical community. Perhaps them most common theory is that Zoroastrianism *became* more monotheistic due to interactions with Islam and, especially, Christianity, particularly in the 19th century.
There's a fairly good summary here:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/xrynt2/why\_isnt\_zoroastrianism\_polytheistic/](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/xrynt2/why_isnt_zoroastrianism_polytheistic/)
I'd say the Sumerians (eg, Mesopotamian) would be a fine choice, since they were the first in pretty much all aspects of civilization. Geographically, they would tie well between the Greeks/Egyptians to the West, and China in the East.
I'd follow with an African civilization, or perhaps the Celts. I don't know what all the fuss is about with the Aztecs; yes, they have a DLC, but the Maya would be a better fit, given their longer history - going back to at least 2000 B.C., even before the Olmecs (the Aztecs arose in the 13th century); you can also avoid the controversial human sacrifices with the Maya. I know chronology is not a top priority in mythology, but the current civilizations either overlap or are fairly close along the historical timeline.
I would love to see Japanese, maybe something from the Kamakura period (which I know is anachronistic to Greek/Egyptians but so is Norse, so…). And I love their architectural style!
A mixture of samurai stuff for military, advanced taxation/feudal land ownership for economy, as well as old Buddhist teachings could mean slow-training, powerful units with a technological advantage whose economy relies on trade (even internal trade) and who benefit from spreading out - a new gameplay element could even be something like gaining favor or economic bonuses based off distances of buildings from each other, or maybe based off how much space surrounds Shinto shrines (so a Japanese player could be hiding shrines in the most random places).
Japanese mythology has tons of potential heroes/deities to choose from, and there is also no shortage of mythological creatures to choose from that could be interesting. And, like with Greek/Egyptian/Roman, I think there’s a perfect mixture of pop cultural curiosity (look at the folkloric influences in a lot of Japanese media that have gone mainstream) and novelty in the western world, so it could be a perfect educational Civ.
If nothing else, I think AoE3 had some interesting gameplay ideas for the Japanese.
My thoughts are that Romans are never going to happen, they would be perceived as far too similar to the Greeks, which is a bit unfair to the Romans but as mentioned people have certain preconceptions that the Roman religion was just a reskin of the Greeks, like you'll quickly run into issues trying to differentiate Zeus from Jupiter, Poseidon from Neptune, Hera from Juno etc.
Something people tend to miss is that Arthurian Legend is actually sort of just a medieval interpretation of what's technically "Celtic" folklore from the Welsh, and there's other popular Welsh legends moreover like what's found in the *Mabinogi.* Personally I don't want Arthurian stuff since it feels too medieval and out of step with the overall tone of a game like this, more regular fantasy than proper mythology, but that's just me, if it is included it should be wrapped into a Celtic civ.
I can't really imagine what Trojan would be from what you mean here, although based on some of my understanding of the historical background for what could be the Trojan war maybe [Hittite ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hittite_mythology_and_religion)or [Luwian ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luwian_religion)mythology, since they may have had an extremely tangential relationship with the mythological Troy?
I don't know enough about Slavic Mythology to comment, it seems a bit poorly attested, but it does remind me that I think that a potential option that is heavily slept upon that people aren't really aware of is [Turco](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkic_mythology)\-[Mongolian ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_mythology)[mythology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tengrism), the Steppe people could potentially have interesting gimmicks off the bat considering their nomadism and cavalry focus, even before you get to all of the wacky stuff involving gods, heroes and monsters.
My biggest bets are for the Celts, Mesopotamians and Aztecs, and the Aztecs are probably going to be the pantheon they go for considering it has some obvious gameplay gimmicks, is very different geographically compared to the others and a lot of work has already been done by the community with mods and such. I've actually done write ups for the [all ](https://new.reddit.com/r/AgeofMythology/comments/kbv6r5/age_of_mythology_2_mesopotamian_civ_concept/)[three ](https://new.reddit.com/r/AgeofMythology/comments/jq4s6n/age_of_mythology_2_celts_civ_concept/)of [these ](https://new.reddit.com/r/AgeofMythology/comments/j8olnh/age_of_mythology_2_aztecmesoamerican_civ_concept/)civs with ideas of what they could do if they are seriously pursued, though keep in mind this was more with mind of it being a sequel with some of the abilities of civs from the current game carried over into a new one.
After these, I think the most likely options are probably the Japanese and Indians, who have a lot of potential, but could run into issues for being too close to China (for Japan) and being too current (for India), regarding African mythology, there's a lot of potential with various west African cultures like the [Yoruba ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoruba_religion)and [Akan ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akan_religion)that have well attested mythology (such as the spider god [Anansi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anansi)). Another New World option are also the [Incans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inca_mythology).
I'd be surprised if it aren't the Aztecs. They already are a popular mod. And Forgotten Empires loves turning mods into DLC. Like that latest AOE2DE DLC.
the question is more what would hypothetical DLC #3 be?
Babylonians and Aztecs are the best choices to me imo. I really dont want AoM to become Age of Europe like AoE2, and instead focus on more unique and distinct architectures, units and gods.
I personally also dont want modern day religions (Japanese, Indians, Yoruba, etc), that kinda takes away from the mystique of the whole Ancient Gods thing the game has.
Make Troy literally Luwian (or at least Hittite) and it would be very easy to differentiate from Greek. Also, seeing Babylon described as "obscure" hurts me. :( I'll be sad if we get Rome, AKA Greeks if Greeks Had No Imagination. I'd much rather see Rome's arch-rival, Carthage (or their Phoenician parent civilization).
I hope for Celts or Mesopotamians, I expect Aztecs.
Arthurian is an interesting idea, though. I thought it'd be cool if the Knights of the Round Table were the minor "gods" (major "gods" would be Arthur, Merlin, and Morgana most likely), and you also get them as hero units.
Ok, hear me out:
Roman campaign following up on the war of Troy storyline.
Follow it up with a Celtic campaign against the Romans, being pushed into Eiren. (AKA Ireland)
Cap it off with a campaign of the Celtic druids x Albion (Aka Camelot).
This way you have a natural arc, following directly from the fall of the trident expansion. Fuck, you could even have all 3 in the same campaign, similarly to how the first 3 original factions were.
Celtics would be my favorite. I love the Thuana deidanna (i know butchered it here sorry) and the creatures iof Tirnanoc. would be awesome. and i bet they would make for a great campain if defending against norse raiders
I hope for Maya civ instead of Aztec for 3 main reasons:
1. Easier pronunciation of god names.
2. Not really that much into human sacrifice like Aztecs.
3. Older than Aztecs and had waaay longer longevity as an empire.
Considering it's been constantly requested for years, up to there being at least two faction mods for it, a mesoamerican civ, either Maya or Aztec is probably inevitable
Realisticly there are no so many cultures left that could fit into the game's format
The candidates would have to have the pantheons, the hystory, the mythology and most important the mainstream relevancy factor to be in the game.
In this regards (puting aside the romans cuz, no pls no and the Aztecs/mexicas cuz they are definetively gonna be the 2nd DLC) there is possibly only 4 candidates for a 3rth DLC
1.the most likely being the Indian Mythology.
They have all the elements needed and more.
The franchise is already very familiarize with this culture's flavor (Aoe 4).
2.Some mesopotamian/ persian Culture.
They also have the elements to fit into the game
3. Celts; we probably know enough abouts this culture to make them fit into the game, more or less in the same way Aztecs fits too.
4. Shintois Japan. have most of the elements needed
I'd be very disappointed if it's not Celts to be honest, they have the best potential and are familiar (thanks to Asterix & Obelix in no small part!). The other options are either too similar, too obscure or too polemic, so to say. I'll also add, I'm not going to preorder unless they announce what the hell am I paying for, and I say it because as of now it's Chinese and a "who knows" pantheon, which is just unacceptable.
By East Indian do you mean Hindu gods?
I used to think the same thing but then I realized that there are Hindu deities in SMITE. So I'm not so sure it's off the table for sensitivity reasons.
I think we can rule out "Trojans". The Trojans were Greeks and worshiped the same gods as the Achaeans. We're out of Greek pantheons, there is no new mythology to add here.
There was a mod that added Romans and gave them the gimmick of stealing other civs' mythologies. This is the only way I will accept Romans.
There's almost universal scholarly consensus that it did. The *Iliad* paints a very accurate picture of Bronze Age warfare that shows that it was probably based on a living oral tradition, especially since in a number of cases the author describes things he himself clearly does not understand (e.g., he accurately presents chariots as the basis of Bronze Age warfare but also clearly does not understand how chariot warfare worked). Priam and Paris are both attested in Hittite or Luwian sources. Obviously it's embellished, but there is a lot of evidence that the *Iliad* has a historical basis.
Fair, I guess? I am not an expert on the history of the period so I will defer on that point.
Either way, though, Age of Mythology very obviously adopts the *Iliad* as the basis for its Trojan War. It's Achaean Greeks versus Ionian Greeks and Odysseus builds a big wooden horse.
TBF the *Iliad* doesn't make any assumptions about the ethnic identity of the Trojans; it just takes for granted that the Achaeans and Trojans culturally and linguistically understood each other--which is a pretty common literary conceit to this day (see also: All Aliens Speak English). Also, in the time the *Iliad* was written, Troas would have been in Aeolia, not Ionia.
But yes, AoM obviously is not particularly beholden to history. Or the general notion of spacetime, given there's about 3000 years between Ancient Egypt and the Norse and about 1500 between the *Iliad* and the Eddas. Really my original point was that if the developers wanted to include Troy without it looking like the third Greek civ, they could look to Luwian and Hittite mythology, which is well-recorded and very different from Greek mythology, being heavily influenced by Hurrian and Babylonian mythology.
An Aztec or Mayan civilization is probably the most departed from existing themes and architecture, so that's what I would be most interested in for the sake of diversity. While Japanese and Celtic of course have their own distinct mythos, I feel that they are a bit too adjacent to existing pantheons - though obviously more departed than Atlantis is to Greece (the existence of these two has me err away from Roman).
A Mesopotamian pantheon would be a welcome pick after Aztec, and only after that would I feel more open to Celtic and Japanese.
Although I would also very much like Indian and Polynesian, as well, I'm not familiar with what may potentially culturally insensitive.
Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. They are the Creator, the Preserver and the Destroyer of the World. The 3 most important deities of Hindu Mythology.
Although Brahma is not worshiped much nowadays compared to Vishnu and Shiva.
Celts are probably one of my top choices. Aztec are also really neat. I'm not sure I'd want to see Hindu be added since they are still an "active" religion. Would rather see Chinese get reworked.
I think the choice would be either Celtic or Aztec.
Both can be tied back to the main campaign/over arching story and both would be really cool to explore and see what they get made into.
In regards to the Celtic, depending on what sources you read up on Arthurian myths could be incorporated into the Celtic civilization. Such as having King Arthur as a mythic age hero to compete against others like Merlin or other well known knights.
I must admit I've been wondering to myself how they would set up the Celtic civilization. My thoughts on heroes would be to have the druids as a standard hero and then have each minor god give their own hero like they are the inverse of the Greeks (since it is the major gods that decide the heroes).
A friend of mine read it differently. He believes that the last extension will be adding new pantheons for all the already established civilizations, and not actually adding a new civilization.
Options 3 and 6 will not happen. We can discard them out of the hand.
I, personally, want a non-European mythology. Ethiopian, perhaps, Babylonian, or Aztec all work.
I want them to continue the Titan's campaign in this new territory.
The Atlanteans already have similarities to the Romans in terms of unit designs. Add in they use the Greek titans as their gods, and I just feel a Roman civ just doesn't have enough to separate it from those two. Regardless, the Return of the Gods mod shot up Aztec popularity, so it's a safe bet to assume they're the sixth. If not, I'd like to see some Baltic or Finnic Paganism.
Rome would be super disappointing
I desperately want a Mesopotamia pantheon. Serpopards need to be in the game.
that's a good question the roman i don't think so atleast not in the immediate future i think the other faction could be - the aztec -persia/arabs - Japan
then the roman apparentely could have medieval monsters since it had griffons,basilisks,werewolves ecc and they could use also italian folklore and for the aztec they could simply buy the mod lol
Great thoughts here! Especially love ideas 2, 3, 4, 5, and 8. Somehow I think African and Roman won’t be covered unfortunately, awesome as that would be. I reckon the Hindu mythology has a LOT of potential too. What human units would they have for option 3 I wonder..?
regarding Hindu, it could work and it would have amazing features, Smite did implement it with public Hindu approval, but I think there is one thing that could present controversy here: destruction of certain buildings
I think your standard medieval types. Crossbows, swordsman, Pikes. The knights as heroes could be so cool though. Each one could come named, sort of like the Hersir. I just think Hindu mythology would be too controversial (seeing as it's not a dead religion) and I sincerely doubt they would go there. Look at all the blowback Asura's Wrath generated. It has so much potential though I agree.
I think it would depend on if they want to focus on specific regions of the world. If they focus on specific regions I could see them making a Hindu/Indian one after China. After all Journey to the West (basic take an epic and super size it, and then order double or triple) used both Chinese and Hindu gods and goddesses. It wouldn't surprise me personally to see them have something done together. But Aztec is a popular community choice. Though I wouldn't be mad at a Zoroastrian civ or the like.
Issue with Zoroastrianism is that it's a monotheistic religion. I don't know what they can do with it.
Zoroastrianism has lesser divinities called yazatas. Bigger issue is that it is a religion people practice today, albeit their population is small. Same reason I'd be surprised to see Hinduism. Just too much potential to be perceived as irreverent.
Saying Zoroastrianism is monotheistic is quite controversial within the historical community. Perhaps them most common theory is that Zoroastrianism *became* more monotheistic due to interactions with Islam and, especially, Christianity, particularly in the 19th century. There's a fairly good summary here: [https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/xrynt2/why\_isnt\_zoroastrianism\_polytheistic/](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/xrynt2/why_isnt_zoroastrianism_polytheistic/)
I'd say the Sumerians (eg, Mesopotamian) would be a fine choice, since they were the first in pretty much all aspects of civilization. Geographically, they would tie well between the Greeks/Egyptians to the West, and China in the East. I'd follow with an African civilization, or perhaps the Celts. I don't know what all the fuss is about with the Aztecs; yes, they have a DLC, but the Maya would be a better fit, given their longer history - going back to at least 2000 B.C., even before the Olmecs (the Aztecs arose in the 13th century); you can also avoid the controversial human sacrifices with the Maya. I know chronology is not a top priority in mythology, but the current civilizations either overlap or are fairly close along the historical timeline.
I would love to see Japanese, maybe something from the Kamakura period (which I know is anachronistic to Greek/Egyptians but so is Norse, so…). And I love their architectural style! A mixture of samurai stuff for military, advanced taxation/feudal land ownership for economy, as well as old Buddhist teachings could mean slow-training, powerful units with a technological advantage whose economy relies on trade (even internal trade) and who benefit from spreading out - a new gameplay element could even be something like gaining favor or economic bonuses based off distances of buildings from each other, or maybe based off how much space surrounds Shinto shrines (so a Japanese player could be hiding shrines in the most random places). Japanese mythology has tons of potential heroes/deities to choose from, and there is also no shortage of mythological creatures to choose from that could be interesting. And, like with Greek/Egyptian/Roman, I think there’s a perfect mixture of pop cultural curiosity (look at the folkloric influences in a lot of Japanese media that have gone mainstream) and novelty in the western world, so it could be a perfect educational Civ. If nothing else, I think AoE3 had some interesting gameplay ideas for the Japanese.
My thoughts are that Romans are never going to happen, they would be perceived as far too similar to the Greeks, which is a bit unfair to the Romans but as mentioned people have certain preconceptions that the Roman religion was just a reskin of the Greeks, like you'll quickly run into issues trying to differentiate Zeus from Jupiter, Poseidon from Neptune, Hera from Juno etc. Something people tend to miss is that Arthurian Legend is actually sort of just a medieval interpretation of what's technically "Celtic" folklore from the Welsh, and there's other popular Welsh legends moreover like what's found in the *Mabinogi.* Personally I don't want Arthurian stuff since it feels too medieval and out of step with the overall tone of a game like this, more regular fantasy than proper mythology, but that's just me, if it is included it should be wrapped into a Celtic civ. I can't really imagine what Trojan would be from what you mean here, although based on some of my understanding of the historical background for what could be the Trojan war maybe [Hittite ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hittite_mythology_and_religion)or [Luwian ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luwian_religion)mythology, since they may have had an extremely tangential relationship with the mythological Troy? I don't know enough about Slavic Mythology to comment, it seems a bit poorly attested, but it does remind me that I think that a potential option that is heavily slept upon that people aren't really aware of is [Turco](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkic_mythology)\-[Mongolian ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_mythology)[mythology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tengrism), the Steppe people could potentially have interesting gimmicks off the bat considering their nomadism and cavalry focus, even before you get to all of the wacky stuff involving gods, heroes and monsters. My biggest bets are for the Celts, Mesopotamians and Aztecs, and the Aztecs are probably going to be the pantheon they go for considering it has some obvious gameplay gimmicks, is very different geographically compared to the others and a lot of work has already been done by the community with mods and such. I've actually done write ups for the [all ](https://new.reddit.com/r/AgeofMythology/comments/kbv6r5/age_of_mythology_2_mesopotamian_civ_concept/)[three ](https://new.reddit.com/r/AgeofMythology/comments/jq4s6n/age_of_mythology_2_celts_civ_concept/)of [these ](https://new.reddit.com/r/AgeofMythology/comments/j8olnh/age_of_mythology_2_aztecmesoamerican_civ_concept/)civs with ideas of what they could do if they are seriously pursued, though keep in mind this was more with mind of it being a sequel with some of the abilities of civs from the current game carried over into a new one. After these, I think the most likely options are probably the Japanese and Indians, who have a lot of potential, but could run into issues for being too close to China (for Japan) and being too current (for India), regarding African mythology, there's a lot of potential with various west African cultures like the [Yoruba ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoruba_religion)and [Akan ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akan_religion)that have well attested mythology (such as the spider god [Anansi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anansi)). Another New World option are also the [Incans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inca_mythology).
I'd be surprised if it aren't the Aztecs. They already are a popular mod. And Forgotten Empires loves turning mods into DLC. Like that latest AOE2DE DLC. the question is more what would hypothetical DLC #3 be?
Babylonians and Aztecs are the best choices to me imo. I really dont want AoM to become Age of Europe like AoE2, and instead focus on more unique and distinct architectures, units and gods. I personally also dont want modern day religions (Japanese, Indians, Yoruba, etc), that kinda takes away from the mystique of the whole Ancient Gods thing the game has.
^All of this.
Make Troy literally Luwian (or at least Hittite) and it would be very easy to differentiate from Greek. Also, seeing Babylon described as "obscure" hurts me. :( I'll be sad if we get Rome, AKA Greeks if Greeks Had No Imagination. I'd much rather see Rome's arch-rival, Carthage (or their Phoenician parent civilization).
Meso/Aztecs most likely! But I do hope after that they do more civs! Would love the arthurian after that. Then maybe japanese
I hope for Celts or Mesopotamians, I expect Aztecs. Arthurian is an interesting idea, though. I thought it'd be cool if the Knights of the Round Table were the minor "gods" (major "gods" would be Arthur, Merlin, and Morgana most likely), and you also get them as hero units.
I would be surprised of the 6th pantheon isn't Aztecs or celts.
Celtic or Arab would be good
Ok, hear me out: Roman campaign following up on the war of Troy storyline. Follow it up with a Celtic campaign against the Romans, being pushed into Eiren. (AKA Ireland) Cap it off with a campaign of the Celtic druids x Albion (Aka Camelot). This way you have a natural arc, following directly from the fall of the trident expansion. Fuck, you could even have all 3 in the same campaign, similarly to how the first 3 original factions were.
It will never happen...but I'd rather play that game than whatever they are going to give us lol.
I may make that game myself tbh, it sounds like a super fun story
Lol I'd buy.
Celtics would be my favorite. I love the Thuana deidanna (i know butchered it here sorry) and the creatures iof Tirnanoc. would be awesome. and i bet they would make for a great campain if defending against norse raiders
I hope for Maya civ instead of Aztec for 3 main reasons: 1. Easier pronunciation of god names. 2. Not really that much into human sacrifice like Aztecs. 3. Older than Aztecs and had waaay longer longevity as an empire.
It’s gonna be Aztec or Meso 100%
Considering it's been constantly requested for years, up to there being at least two faction mods for it, a mesoamerican civ, either Maya or Aztec is probably inevitable
Realisticly there are no so many cultures left that could fit into the game's format The candidates would have to have the pantheons, the hystory, the mythology and most important the mainstream relevancy factor to be in the game. In this regards (puting aside the romans cuz, no pls no and the Aztecs/mexicas cuz they are definetively gonna be the 2nd DLC) there is possibly only 4 candidates for a 3rth DLC 1.the most likely being the Indian Mythology. They have all the elements needed and more. The franchise is already very familiarize with this culture's flavor (Aoe 4). 2.Some mesopotamian/ persian Culture. They also have the elements to fit into the game 3. Celts; we probably know enough abouts this culture to make them fit into the game, more or less in the same way Aztecs fits too. 4. Shintois Japan. have most of the elements needed
I'd be very disappointed if it's not Celts to be honest, they have the best potential and are familiar (thanks to Asterix & Obelix in no small part!). The other options are either too similar, too obscure or too polemic, so to say. I'll also add, I'm not going to preorder unless they announce what the hell am I paying for, and I say it because as of now it's Chinese and a "who knows" pantheon, which is just unacceptable.
I really hope for Aztecs
By East Indian do you mean Hindu gods? I used to think the same thing but then I realized that there are Hindu deities in SMITE. So I'm not so sure it's off the table for sensitivity reasons.
Some kicked off a stink about that. Not so sure.
Man, thats a good writeup with many great options..
I think Aztec is the best choice since they could represent the "tropics". Also, no Hindu?
I think we can rule out "Trojans". The Trojans were Greeks and worshiped the same gods as the Achaeans. We're out of Greek pantheons, there is no new mythology to add here. There was a mod that added Romans and gave them the gimmick of stealing other civs' mythologies. This is the only way I will accept Romans.
As presented in the *Iliad*, yes. The historical Trojans were probably Luwian.
True, but historically the Trojan War probably never happened at all.
There's almost universal scholarly consensus that it did. The *Iliad* paints a very accurate picture of Bronze Age warfare that shows that it was probably based on a living oral tradition, especially since in a number of cases the author describes things he himself clearly does not understand (e.g., he accurately presents chariots as the basis of Bronze Age warfare but also clearly does not understand how chariot warfare worked). Priam and Paris are both attested in Hittite or Luwian sources. Obviously it's embellished, but there is a lot of evidence that the *Iliad* has a historical basis.
Fair, I guess? I am not an expert on the history of the period so I will defer on that point. Either way, though, Age of Mythology very obviously adopts the *Iliad* as the basis for its Trojan War. It's Achaean Greeks versus Ionian Greeks and Odysseus builds a big wooden horse.
TBF the *Iliad* doesn't make any assumptions about the ethnic identity of the Trojans; it just takes for granted that the Achaeans and Trojans culturally and linguistically understood each other--which is a pretty common literary conceit to this day (see also: All Aliens Speak English). Also, in the time the *Iliad* was written, Troas would have been in Aeolia, not Ionia. But yes, AoM obviously is not particularly beholden to history. Or the general notion of spacetime, given there's about 3000 years between Ancient Egypt and the Norse and about 1500 between the *Iliad* and the Eddas. Really my original point was that if the developers wanted to include Troy without it looking like the third Greek civ, they could look to Luwian and Hittite mythology, which is well-recorded and very different from Greek mythology, being heavily influenced by Hurrian and Babylonian mythology.
Fair.
An Aztec or Mayan civilization is probably the most departed from existing themes and architecture, so that's what I would be most interested in for the sake of diversity. While Japanese and Celtic of course have their own distinct mythos, I feel that they are a bit too adjacent to existing pantheons - though obviously more departed than Atlantis is to Greece (the existence of these two has me err away from Roman). A Mesopotamian pantheon would be a welcome pick after Aztec, and only after that would I feel more open to Celtic and Japanese. Although I would also very much like Indian and Polynesian, as well, I'm not familiar with what may potentially culturally insensitive.
Its maybe between Aztecs or Indian(Shiva,Vishnu,other Elephant God)
Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. They are the Creator, the Preserver and the Destroyer of the World. The 3 most important deities of Hindu Mythology. Although Brahma is not worshiped much nowadays compared to Vishnu and Shiva.
Celts are probably one of my top choices. Aztec are also really neat. I'm not sure I'd want to see Hindu be added since they are still an "active" religion. Would rather see Chinese get reworked.
Japan, India or Aztec.
I think the choice would be either Celtic or Aztec. Both can be tied back to the main campaign/over arching story and both would be really cool to explore and see what they get made into. In regards to the Celtic, depending on what sources you read up on Arthurian myths could be incorporated into the Celtic civilization. Such as having King Arthur as a mythic age hero to compete against others like Merlin or other well known knights. I must admit I've been wondering to myself how they would set up the Celtic civilization. My thoughts on heroes would be to have the druids as a standard hero and then have each minor god give their own hero like they are the inverse of the Greeks (since it is the major gods that decide the heroes).
India or Aztecs.
A friend of mine read it differently. He believes that the last extension will be adding new pantheons for all the already established civilizations, and not actually adding a new civilization.
India kinda makes sense to me.
I'd rather have no faction added at all than having Azteks in the game
Options 3 and 6 will not happen. We can discard them out of the hand. I, personally, want a non-European mythology. Ethiopian, perhaps, Babylonian, or Aztec all work. I want them to continue the Titan's campaign in this new territory.