Age of Mythology: Retold Tier List: Current Rankings

Q: How many civilisations does Retold have?

Five. Greek, Egyptian, Norse and Atlantean shipped with the game on 4 September 2024, and the Chinese arrived with the Immortal Pillars expansion on 4 March 2025 alongside Fuxi, Nuwa, Shennong and the nine level Pillars of the Gods campaign.

Q: Are god powers still one use only?

No, and this is the biggest change from the original. The first cast is free, the second costs a fixed base reuse price in favor, and each subsequent cast adds a ramping amount on top, with a cooldown in between. Zeus's Bolt, for example, has a 75 favor reuse cost.

Q: Which civilisation is easiest to start with?

Greek. Villagers praying at a Temple is the most legible favor system, the hero units are named and obvious, and the unit roster maps closely onto standard real time strategy expectations. Norse is the hardest early on, because favor only arrives while you are actively fighting.

Q: How do the Chinese generate favor?

Through Favored Land. Every building projects an aura, and favor accrues faster the more continuous territory those auras cover. It rewards tight, deliberate base layout in a way no other pantheon does, since two clusters of buildings pay less than the same buildings joined into one area.

Q: Is Freyr worth buying?

He is the fourth Norse major god and plays defensively and technologically rather than aggressively, which is unusual for Norse. His god power Gullinbursti summons a giant golden boar to defend a Town Center, and he has three exclusive minor gods in Ullr, Aegir and Vidar.

Age of Mythology: Retold tier list ranking every build and equipment option. Updated rankings with detailed reasoning.

EarlyGuides Editorial Team

Researched and editorially reviewed. Updated August 12, 2026.

This Age of Mythology: Retold tier list ranks every major option by overall effectiveness. Rankings factor in damage output, survivability, versatility, gear requirements, and how well each option scales.

Tier definitions: S = best in class, always a strong pick. A = strong and competitive, minor weaknesses. B = solid but clearly outperformed in most situations. C = viable only for players who enjoy the playstyle.

Builds Rankings

Tier	Build	Rating	Playstyle
A	Greek	8.5/10	Balanced approach
A	Egyptian	8.5/10	Balanced approach
A	Norse	8.5/10	Balanced approach
A	Atlantean	8.5/10	Balanced approach
A	Chinese	8.5/10	Balanced approach

Detailed Builds Analysis

Greek (A-Tier)

Greek is a competitive option in the current meta.

Best with: Minotaur. See our builds guide for full setup. Stat focus: Balanced stats

Egyptian (A-Tier)

Egyptian is a competitive option in the current meta.

Best with: Medusa. See our builds guide for full setup. Stat focus: Balanced stats

Norse (A-Tier)

Norse is a competitive option in the current meta.

Best with: Anubite. See our builds guide for full setup. Stat focus: Balanced stats

Atlantean (A-Tier)

Atlantean is a competitive option in the current meta.

Best with: Frost Giant. See our builds guide for full setup. Stat focus: Balanced stats

Chinese (A-Tier)

Chinese is a competitive option in the current meta.

Best with: Behemoth. See our builds guide for full setup. Stat focus: Balanced stats

Equipment Rankings

Equipment	Best With	Notes
Minotaur	Greek Classical Age pushes against massed infantry before heroes are on the field	Athena's Classical Age myth unit for the Greeks, and one of the earliest heavy myth units available in a game.
Medusa	Greek Mythic Age armies that need to delete high value enemy units instantly	Hera's Mythic Age myth unit, and one of the few units in the game that removes an enemy outright rather than damaging it, by turning it to stone.
Anubite	Egyptian armies that need speed to catch fleeing ranged units and villagers	The Egyptian myth unit granted by Anubis, fast and able to leap onto a target, which makes it a chaser rather than a line unit.
Frost Giant	Norse pushes that need to pin an army in place while Ulfsark and Hersir close in	The Norse myth unit from Skadi, which freezes what it hits and holds it in place.
Behemoth	Atlantean attacks on walls, towers and Town Centers in the Classical and Heroic ages	Gaia's Classical Age myth unit for the Atlanteans, enormous for how early it arrives and extremely good at demolishing buildings.

Check our weapons guide for in-depth stats and comparisons.

Equipment Analysis

Minotaur: Athena's Classical Age myth unit for the Greeks, and one of the earliest heavy myth units available in a game. It throws infantry through the air and tears through a soldier line, which is exactly why the opponent has to buy heroes rather than more spearmen.

Medusa: Hera's Mythic Age myth unit, and one of the few units in the game that removes an enemy outright rather than damaging it, by turning it to stone. That makes her value depend entirely on what she is looking at, and one Medusa in a large battle is worth more than her cost suggests.

Anubite: The Egyptian myth unit granted by Anubis, fast and able to leap onto a target, which makes it a chaser rather than a line unit. Egyptians normally play defensively behind Migdol Strongholds, so Anubites are the piece that lets them punish a retreat.

Frost Giant: The Norse myth unit from Skadi, which freezes what it hits and holds it in place. Since Norse favor comes from dealing damage, a Frost Giant that locks down the enemy front line is also indirectly funding the next god power cast.

Behemoth: Gaia's Classical Age myth unit for the Atlanteans, enormous for how early it arrives and extremely good at demolishing buildings. It is slow, so it works as a siege piece escorted by an army rather than as something you send in alone.

Meta Analysis

The current meta in Age of Mythology: Retold centers on Reusable god powers with ramping favor costs and Five pantheons with separate favor economies. Builds that leverage both systems outperform those that focus on only one. Our combat guide explains these interactions in depth.

What's strong right now:

Greek with Minotaur is the benchmark. Everything else is measured against it.
Minor god picks at every age up builds are gaining ground as players find new combinations.
Norse remains essential for learning hard content. See the boss guide.

What's underrated:

Egyptian is consistently overlooked despite being the most flexible option.
Anubite offers excellent performance for its investment level.

What's overhyped:

Pure Chinese builds. High ceiling but the consistency isn't there for most players.

Quick Picks by Situation

Situation	Best Build	Best Gear	Why
Overall best	Greek	Minotaur	Highest consistent performance
New player	Egyptian	Medusa	Most forgiving, teaches mechanics
Hard content	Norse	Anubite	Survivability when you need it
Group play	Atlantean	Frost Giant	Utility and team support
Experienced player	Chinese	Behemoth	Unique challenge and high ceiling

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