GUIDE · GAME CONTROLS
Formation rework
Recent Definitive Edition movement changes improve how units take formation slots. Groups are less likely to move away from a commanded destination while assembling, ranged units hold formation more consistently when targeting distant enemies, and formations shuffle less when moving toward their center.
Overview
Recent Definitive Edition movement changes improve how units take formation slots. Groups are less likely to move away from a commanded destination while assembling, ranged units hold formation more consistently when targeting distant enemies, and formations shuffle less when moving toward their center.
How this system affects decisions
Combat results depend on more than the printed attack number. Compare the attacker’s damage with the target’s armor and armor class, then account for range, reload, accuracy, and any class-specific bonus; a counter bonus is separate from a unit’s ordinary attack. This is why the same unit can trade well into one target and poorly into another.
How to use this reference
Recent Definitive Edition movement changes improve how units take formation slots. Groups are less likely to move away from a commanded destination while assembling, ranged units hold formation more consistently when targeting distant enemies, and formations shuffle less when moving toward their center. Range, vision, and explored terrain answer different questions: attack range determines what a unit can hit, line of sight reveals nearby tiles, and fog rules determine what information remains visible to the player.
- Focus
- Game controls
- Signature / category
- How it works
- Release / context
- Age of Empires II system
- Region
- Game controls
- Classification
- Game systems