---
title: "Age of Empires III (2007 Complete Collection): Complete Guide"
game: "Age of Empires III (2007)"
game_url: "https://qna.gg/games/age-of-empires-iii-2007"
author: "Qloud"
author_url: "https://qna.gg/players/Qloud"
topics: ["Builds"]
summary: "A strategy guide for the 2007 Age of Empires III Complete Collection (base game, The WarChiefs, and The Asian Dynasties) — with notes on moving to Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition, which is where online play…"
url: "https://qna.gg/g/age-of-empires-iii-2007-complete-collection-complete-guide-40f218fe"
published: "2026-09-27T17:43:20.749Z"
updated: "2026-09-27T17:43:20.749Z"
source: "QnA.GG"
---

# Age of Empires III (2007 Complete Collection): Complete Guide

A strategy guide for the 2007 Age of Empires III Complete Collection (base game, The WarChiefs, and The Asian Dynasties) — with notes on moving to Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition, which is where online play lives now.

*Researched September 2026 — current as of the retired 2007 build (delisted October 10, 2024; online services shut down October 30, 2024). Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition is still supported and received The Baltic Powers expansion in September 2026. Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.*

## Status: What Still Works

| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1 Sep 2021 | Old ESO multiplayer domain lost; Microsoft released a manual "AgeIIIESOPatch_Full" patch to reroute multiplayer |
| 10 Oct 2024 | The 2007 version was removed from sale on Steam |
| 30 Oct 2024 | Online multiplayer for the 2007 version ended permanently |
| Now | If you own it, the **campaign and skirmish** still work offline |

Microsoft's official recommendation for online play is **Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition** (released October 15, 2020), which has a free trial on Steam with rotating civilizations. Everything in the mechanics sections below applies to both versions unless noted.

## Quick Start

1. **Never stop making villagers.** Your Town Center should be producing constantly for the first 15-20 minutes.
2. **Collect your starting crates first.** Food, wood, and coin crates sit next to your Town Center; villagers gather them almost instantly.
3. **Send your Explorer treasure hunting immediately.** Treasures give resources, XP, and sometimes free units. Avoid guarded ones you can't beat.
4. **Use your Home City shipments every time one is ready.** Experience earns shipments; a delayed shipment is lost tempo.
5. **Build a deck before playing.** Your deck (the cards you can ship in a match) is chosen before the game. Include economy cards for the early ages.
6. **Age up when you can afford it** — typically into the Colonial Age for your first army, or Fortress Age for stronger units.
7. **Learn the counter system.** Infantry, cavalry, and artillery each counter something and lose to something else.
8. **Build Trading Posts** on trade routes and at native settlements — XP, resources, and native allies.

## Core Mechanics

### Resources
- **Food:** hunting (fastest early), berry bushes, livestock, then Mills (Europeans) and farms.
- **Wood:** trees; later you may need to expand to new forests.
- **Coin:** mines early, then Plantations or Estates late game; some civs get coin from trade.
- **Experience:** from gathering, building, killing, and treasures. Fills the bar that earns Home City shipments.

Mills and plantations are **infinite** but slower; transition to them once hunts and mines run dry.

### The Five Ages
| Age | What it unlocks |
|---|---|
| Discovery | Economy setup, scouting, treasures |
| Colonial | Core military (musketeers, skirmishers, hussars and equivalents) |
| Fortress | Artillery, forts, stronger units |
| Industrial | Factories (European), stronger economy upgrades, heavy artillery |
| Imperial | Final upgrades, strongest cards |

Europeans age up by choosing a **Politician** each age (for example, one who ships resources, one who ships units, or one who ships livestock). WarChiefs native civs use a **Council** system, and Asian Dynasties civs build a **Wonder** to advance, each Wonder giving a lasting bonus. The Colonial Age costs Europeans 800 food.

### Home City and Decks
Your Home City levels up across matches (in the 2007 version, you unlock more cards as your Home City levels). Each match you choose a deck; shipments come from your deck every time your XP bar fills.

**Deck-building rules of thumb:**
- 2-4 economy cards for the Discovery/Colonial ages (villagers, resource crates, gathering upgrades).
- 2-4 early military cards (unit batches, a fort or outpost wagon if your civ uses one).
- A few Fortress/Industrial power cards (big unit shipments, key upgrades).
- In the 2007 version decks are 20 cards; Definitive Edition expanded decks to 25.

### Military and Counters

| Unit type | Examples | Beats | Loses to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy infantry | Musketeers, Pikemen | Cavalry | Skirmishers, artillery |
| Light infantry | Skirmishers, Crossbowmen | Heavy infantry | Hussars, heavy cavalry |
| Heavy cavalry | Hussars, Cuirassiers | Light infantry, artillery | Musketeers, pikemen |
| Light cavalry | Dragoons | Heavy cavalry | Heavy infantry |
| Artillery | Falconets, Culverins, Mortars | Infantry (Falconet), artillery (Culverin), buildings (Mortar) | Cavalry |

Watch the unit tooltip for its **multipliers** — AoE III's counter system is about multipliers against unit classes.

### Explorers and Treasures
Your Explorer can't die permanently; if knocked out, he revives when a friendly unit comes near or you pay a ransom at the Town Center. He can also build Trading Posts and has a special attack. Guarded treasures are free value if you can beat the guardians.

### Trade Routes and Natives
- **Trading Posts on trade routes** generate XP (or resources after upgrades) whenever a caravan passes.
- **Trading Posts at native villages** unlock native units and native technologies — some of the strongest upgrades in the game.

## Civilizations (2007 Complete Collection)

| Group | Civilizations | Key identity |
|---|---|---|
| European (base game) | British, Dutch, French, Germans, Ottomans, Portuguese, Russians, Spanish | Politicians, Mills/Plantations, balanced armies |
| Native (The WarChiefs) | Aztecs, Iroquois, Sioux | Fire Pit dances for bonuses, Council age-ups, fast infantry and cavalry |
| Asian (The Asian Dynasties) | Chinese, Indians, Japanese | Wonders to age up, Export resource, unique economies |

**Beginner-friendly picks:** British (Manor houses spawn villagers — straightforward boom), Ottomans (free villager production, strong artillery), Germans (Uhlan cavalry bonuses on shipments), and French (strong Coureurs des Bois villagers).

**Definitive Edition notes:** DE renamed the Sioux to **Lakota** and the Iroquois to **Haudenosaunee**, added the **Inca** and **Swedes** at launch, then **United States** (April 2021), **Ethiopians and Hausa** (The African Royals, August 2021), **Mexicans** (December 2021), **Italians and Maltese** (Knights of the Mediterranean, May 2022), and **Danes and Poles** (The Baltic Powers, 10 September 2026, which also added Regicide and Independence modes), per Wikipedia.

## Openings (Build Order Principles)

Exact build orders vary by civ and map, but a standard European opening looks like this:

1. **0:00** — Town Center queues villagers. Starting villagers gather crates. Explorer scouts for treasures and hunts.
2. **After crates** — most villagers on food (hunt near your base), a few on wood for a house (Europeans need houses for population).
3. **First shipment** — usually villagers or a resource crate.
4. **Colonial Age** — when you have enough food, click age up and pick a politician that fits your plan (resources for boom, units for rush).
5. **During age-up** — shift villagers to wood and coin for your first barracks/stable.
6. **Colonial** — ship a unit batch, build your first army, and decide: pressure, defend, or fast Fortress.

**Three common strategies:**
- **Colonial rush:** early army to damage enemy economy; strong for aggressive civs.
- **Fast Fortress:** skip early fighting and age up quickly for stronger units and cards.
- **Boom:** invest in economy (villagers, market upgrades, extra Town Center) and defend with minimal military.

## Campaigns

The base campaign follows the Black family across three acts: **Act I: Blood**, **Act II: Ice**, **Act III: Steel**. The WarChiefs campaign continues the family story with Nathaniel and Chayton Black, and The Asian Dynasties adds separate Japanese, Chinese, and Indian campaigns.

Campaign tips:
- Read objectives — many missions are about escorting, holding, or destroying specific targets.
- Heroes can't be permanently killed but going down can fail objectives.
- Always build economy first unless a mission's timer says otherwise.

## Getting the 2007 Version Running

- Launch through Steam; the ESO patch from 2021 no longer matters for online since online ended in October 2024.
- Use the in-game resolution options for widescreen. If UI elements look odd, try a lower resolution with desktop scaling.
- For multiplayer with friends, the realistic option is Definitive Edition.

## Common Mistakes to Avoid

- **Idle Town Center.** The single biggest beginner mistake.
- **Forgetting shipments.** Check the shipment icon whenever the XP bar fills.
- **Housed.** Europeans hit population cap if they don't build houses.
- **Mass one unit type.** A single-type army gets countered hard.
- **Artillery with no escort.** Cavalry eats unescorted artillery.
- **Ignoring treasures.** Early treasures can snowball your economy.
- **Sitting on resources.** Floating hundreds of resources means you're not spending on villagers or units.
- **Not transitioning to mills/plantations** before hunts and mines run out.

## Advanced Tips

- **Micro your Explorer** — use his special attack and snipe weak enemy villagers early.
- **Hunt herding:** push animals closer to your Town Center to shorten villager walking.
- **Use outposts and walls sparingly;** a tower near your mine can stop cavalry raids.
- **Market upgrades pay off early** — faster gathering compounds all game.
- **Trade route XP** accelerates shipments; take routes near your base.
- **Native techs** can be game-changing — scout native villages early.
- **Build your deck around your civ's strongest ages**; don't put Imperial cards in a rush deck.
- **Keep production buildings queued** during fights; reinforce continuously.

## FAQ

**Can I still play the 2007 version online?**
No. Multiplayer ended October 30, 2024. Campaign and skirmish still work for owners.

**Can I still buy the 2007 version?**
No. It was removed from sale on October 10, 2024. Definitive Edition is the supported version.

**Is Definitive Edition worth switching to?**
If you want online play, updated balance, more civilizations, or Art of War challenges — yes. It has a free trial with rotating civs.

**What's the best civ for beginners?**
British, Ottomans, or Germans are straightforward and strong.

**How many civs are in the 2007 Complete Collection?**
14: eight European, three native, three Asian.

**What happened to the Sioux and Iroquois in DE?**
They were renamed Lakota and Haudenosaunee.

## Sources

- [Age of Empires III — Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Empires_III)
- [Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition — Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Empires_III:_Definitive_Edition)
- [Age of Empires III (2007) Steam news — delisting and multiplayer end](https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/105450)
- [Age of Empires official news](https://www.ageofempires.com/news/)
- [Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition on Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/933110/Age_of_Empires_III_Definitive_Edition/)