I remember the moment my scout vanished under a cloud of thrown bolas and my stomach did a double take. I watched you—my opponent—smile the way players do when a plan suddenly collapses. That two-second shock told me this DLC will make you reframe every match.
I’ve played ladder games, recorded replays, and chased patch notes for years, and I’ll walk you through what matters: the civilizations, the units, and the moments that will change how you think about Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition.
All new civilizations in Age of Empires 2 The Last Chieftains
On a weekend ladder match I watched a Mapuche Kona split a line of knights and force a rebuild of my army within minutes.
You get three new South American civilizations with The Last Chieftains: the Mapuche, the Muisca, and the Tupi. Each one brings a distinct playstyle and visual language that feels borrowed from history and tuned for competitive play.
- Mapuche: Built around unconventional cavalry counters and hit-and-fade tactics. Their two headline units—the Kona and the Bolas Rider—reward timing and micro. Expect standoffs to become more tactical.
- Muisca: A civ that biases toward economy, faith, and potent ranged options. Their Temple Guard and Guecha Warrior shift late-game compositions and make monastery techs more threatening.
- Tupi: Designed for coastal control and jungle skirmishes. The Blackwood Archer and Ibirapema Warrior let you contest shorelines and dense maps with a different tempo.
Each civilization ships with its own campaign, so you won’t only learn units in multiplayer—you’ll be guided through narrative scenarios that teach the civ’s identity.
What civilizations are added in The Last Chieftains?
The answer is short and practical: Mapuche, Muisca, and Tupi. If you play on Steam or Xbox Game Studios’ store, they appear as the new civ choices after installing the DLC. You’ll see cultural architecture and tech-tree variants tied to those South American roots.
All unique units in Age of Empires 2 The Last Chieftains
During a rematch I watched Blackwood Archers pin a transport fleet to the shore while war dogs and spears closed the net.
The DLC adds eight unique units that change match pacing. They act like surprise tools in your toolkit, each one altering how you value formations, castles, and naval control. Think of the new units as a chessboard reconfigured overnight—old openings suddenly feel fragile.
| Unit name | Civilization | How to Get |
|---|---|---|
| Kona | Mapuche | Strong cavalry produced at the Castle. |
| Bolas Rider | Mapuche | Mounted unit that throws bolas to disable and slow enemies. Trained at the Archery Range in the Castle Age. |
| Guecha Warrior | Muisca | Short-ranged skirmisher available at the Castle. |
| Temple Guard | Muisca | Heavy shock infantry available from the Barracks and Monastery. |
| Blackwood Archer | Tupi | Ranged unit trained in pairs and counting as half population each; produced at the Castle. |
| Ibirapema Warrior | Tupi | Powerful infantry produced at the Barracks. |
| Champi | Inca, Tupi, Mapuche, Muisca | Basic unit available from the Dark Age across several civs. |
| War Dogs | Europeans | Available in campaign scenarios. |
How do I get the new unique units?
Most unique units come from familiar buildings: Castle, Archery Range, Barracks, or Monastery. The Tupi’s Blackwood Archer has a twist—trained in pairs and costing half population per unit—so population management changes. Campaigns and scenario maps may also hand you units like War Dogs directly.
Are there new campaigns with the DLC?
Yes. Each civilization includes a dedicated campaign that teaches its units and themes through missions. If you want structured practice before taking a civ online, that’s where you should start on Steam or Xbox platforms.
The Last Chieftains shifts match dynamics: one moment your build order feels safe, the next it’s under a different tempo thanks to Bolas Riders or Temple Guards that punish predictable pushes. I’ve seen games swing on a single well-timed Kona charge or a pair of Blackwood Archers holding a beachhead while a forward dock gets built.
If you follow Age of Empires communities—Reddit, the official forums, and content creators on YouTube and Twitch—you’ll find immediate discussions and micro-guides for each unit and civ. Platforms matter: Steam offers easy replay sharing, Xbox Game Studios’ store ties into Game Pass libraries, and YouTube/Twitch host the meta-exploration videos you’ll want to watch.
The DLC is not just cosmetic; it reframes tempo, counters, and map control. Are you going to adapt your build orders or let these civs dictate the pace of future matches?