Highlights
- Age of Mythology is a gem of the RTS genre, with a mix of classic gameplay and fantasy mythology, offering a thoroughly enjoyable experience.
- Each of the 15 gods in the game has a unique playstyle, making it worth trying all of them to find the best fit for a player.
- While there are some clear favorites among the gods, with distinct advantages and disadvantages, any god can be viable and enjoyable to play with time and effort invested.
Age of Mythology is a true gem of the RTS genre, mixing classic Age of Empires RTS gameplay with fantasy-style mythology to create a thoroughly enjoyable strategy game. Importantly, Age of Mythology has an impressive set of gods to choose from, with the Extended Edition and DLC totaling 15 gods representing 5 different civilizations.
Each of these gods has a unique playstyle, meaning that it’s worth trying all of them to see which might suit a player best. Age of Mythology is also remarkably well-balanced, and basically, any of the gods can be viable and enjoyable to play with some time and effort invested. However, there are admittedly some clear favorites, so it’s worth knowing which are the best overall.
Updated November 18, 2023, by Ritwik Mitra: Age of Mythology was a unique spin on the formula established by Age of Empires, adding a touch of fantasy to the beloved RTS series. The game is an absolute blast and lets players go all out in their attempts to try and build the best base possible. Players progress through the ages and must please the gods to form powerful units and structures that can turn the tide against their enemies. There are many major gods that players can choose to change the overall flow of gameplay. However, this can be a double-edged sword if players don't know what they're signing up for.
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13 Thor
Civilization: Norse
- God Power: Dwarven Mine
The Norse civilizations can be a pain to control in Age of Mythology. It can be easy to create structures near enemy bases if the builders can competently defend themselves. But gathering enough resources to form a large army can take a bit too long for most people's liking.
However, pro players can make things look easy as they control the Norse civilization and use its strengths to their fullest. Thor can be useful in his regard. His Dwarven Mine gives players access to gold in a jiffy, and makes armory upgrades a bit cheaper too.
12 Loki
Civilization: Norse
- God Power: Spy
The Trickster God is one of the three Norse deities in Age of Mythology. Players who want to build a powerful force of Hersir will love Loki for the bonuses he brings to this department.
Not only are the powerful Hersir slightly faster, but they have the chance to randomly summon Myth Units after fighting for a long while. This is useful if players employ effective strategies while deploying these troops. In fact, Myth Units themselves are cheaper to produce as well, which is a boon given how expensive these powerful units are.
11 Poseidon
Civilization: Greek
- God Power: Lure
The Greek Civilization is the most similar to a regular Age of Empires playthrough, meaning that beginners in Age of Mythology will find it easier to check out this civilization first because of how approachable they are. The three Greek Gods are also pretty solid, boasting unique units and powers that are fun to use.
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While Poseidon is a competent god in his own right, many people find him to be inferior to the two other Greek gods. His powers are useful, but situational only to cavalry, forcing players to rely on a unit that can be countered pretty easily with the right strategy. However, players can still do a great job here as long as they diversify their units and have a backup plan in case their strongest units bite the dust. His God Power, Lure, is also useful in the early run for players who want a reliable source of food to get a head start.
10 Isis
Civilization: Egypt
- God Power: Prosperity
Isis has a solid late-game, with powerful attacks and especially strong with the minor god Hathor giving players access to powerful units and buffs. Isis also makes technologies 10% cheaper, buffs the population from Town Centers, and protects monuments from god powers. These bonuses combined with technologies and her Prosperity god power that temporarily doubles gold gathering means Isis can potentially develop a strong economy.
However, Isis struggles on many maps and is often an inconsistent pick. It is especially difficult to keep up with other gods in the early game, so Isis remains a somewhat inconsistent and niche option, but still a decent option for those who know how to play her well.
9 Kronos
Civilization: Atlantean
- God Power: Deconstruction
Though often overlooked, Kronos is notable for a particularly exasperating playstyle in the earliest stages of a game, using Oracles and Greek Scout Units, to harass enemy resource production. This can be a strong strategy and may even cripple opponents outright, especially as Kronos has access to unique technology that buffs Oracles.
That being said, this strategy relies largely on opponents making mistakes, so Kronos is slightly inconsistent. However, Kronos is still an enjoyable option because of its unique abilities like being able to timeshift buildings anywhere within line of sight, which allows for more eccentric styles of play.
8 Odin
Civilization: Norse
- God Power: Great Hunt
Odin is able to put forward a particularly impressive army composition, as he has access to a number of powerful units and buffs focused on improving these units. For example, Huskarls, Ballistae, and Portable Rams have 20% more health, and Jarls have 10% more. Additionally, all human soldiers gradually regenerate their health, meaning that Odin allows players to create a very strong army.
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However, Odin’s god powers are on the weaker side, meaning that even a powerful army can be beaten by gods with destructive powers. Nonetheless, Odin is still a great choice with tough units.
7 Hades
Civilization: Greek
- God Power: Sentinel
Hades is a somewhat niche god, and when playing as Hades players may often be forced onto the defensive, especially on maps where Hades is a weaker option. This is helped by a significant buff to the health and attack of buildings, but it is a struggle to punish opponents for mistakes in the early game.
However, Hades gets much stronger in the late game with access to more powerful buildings for gold production, and the excellent Gastraphetes mythic unit, an archer unit with excellent damage, especially because of the 10% damage buff for archers available to Hades.
6 Nu Wa
Civilization: Chinese
- God Power: Recreation
Nu Wa has a particularly impressive late-game, with strong cavalry, and the powerful White Tiger myth unit. Nu Wa also has buffed Favor generation from Gardens and all human units are also 10% cheaper, making economy management easier.
Admittedly, Nu Wa can struggle on many maps, especially water maps, meaning in many situations she simply isn’t worth picking. However, on the right map, Nu Wa can be a great option and scales well in the late-game, even against the most powerful gods.
5 Ra
Civilization: Egypt
- God Power: Rain
Ra is a reliable option on most maps and comes with significant buffs for priests and laborers. Though certainly not weak in the early-game, Ra can be outclassed in some situations. However, in the late-game, he is close to unmatched, as he gives serious buffs to empowering Pharaohs and monuments are also cheaper.
Because of this, like Hades, Ra becomes extremely powerful in the late game, with a very strong economy. When facing off against gods with a great early game like Fu Xi, much of Ra’s playstyle is about delaying until his full potential can be reached, which can be tricky, but very rewarding when done successfully.
4 Oranos
Civilization: Atlantean
- God Power: Shockwave
Oranos is a fairly easy god to play, and as such is a good option for new players especially. Oranos is very consistent and is strong on every map. His abilities give players a lot of room to work with and make the game fairly forgiving, with fast units, good Favor generation, and better houses.
Oranos also has access to the unique Sky Passages building, an excellent tactical option that allows instant transportation of units wherever they’re built. This means that it is easy to respond to enemy attacks with a decent network of Sky Passages, of which 10 can be built in total.
3 Set
Civilization: Egypt
- God Power: Vision
Though Set can be challenging to play, it’s a great choice with a very high potential to be extremely strong. Set is particularly unique because he is able to convert wild animals into priests, placing them under the control of the player, and also making them surprisingly useful in combat, especially when buffed with the Feral technology.
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Set is probably the strongest god in the game when it comes to scouting and information-gathering, with hyenas and priests being especially useful for this task, combined with his god power, Vision, which reveals a large part of the map for a brief period of time.
2 Zeus
Civilization: Greek
- God Power: Bolt
Zeus is an extremely versatile god and outclasses the other Greek gods because they are much more niche. Zeus gives players a notable Favor buff, doubling the Favor limit and increasing the rate at which villagers generate Favor when worshipping at Temples. Zeus also makes infantry much stronger, doubling their damage to buildings and increasing Hoplite movement speed.
Zeus is dominant on water maps, and there aren’t many other gods that can consistently beat him on them. Zeus’s god power, Bolt, is also a great counter to most enemy heroes.
1 Fu Xi
Civilization: Chinese
- God Power: Year of the Goat
Fu Xi takes the top spot as an excellent all-rounder, with a very strong early game often capable of ending matches before other gods can reach their full potential. Importantly, Fu Xi comes with a number of potent economic buffs, including making buildings cost 20% less wood, unit upgrades notably cheaper, and the unique Domestication technology that increases the gathering rate for various food resources.
Additionally, as a Chinese god not only does Fu Xi have access to the powerful Immortals hero unit, but unlike the other Chinese gods, Fu Xi has the ability to train all 8 immortals from the beginning of the game, rather than being locked to 2 per age. Though in the late game, other gods are likely to catch up and potentially surpass Fu Xi, it’s hard to deny that he is an extremely strong choice and is very difficult to play against.
