The Settlers: Rise of an Empire - The Eastern Realm

The Settlers: Rise of an Empire – The Eastern Realm is the first add-on to The Settlers: Rise of an Empire.

The Goddess of the Green Fire doesn't like the old Eastern Empire which is now under your rule. So as any good enemy, she threatens the current state of peace and has to be eliminated. But yours is not the only state in the Eastern Realm that is threatened by the presence of the Goddess so the beautiful Saraya, only child of Praphat, Mogul of Hidun, allies herself with you.

She is the only new hero the add-on adds to the game and her passive abilities lowers not only the building price of trading posts but also makes it cheaper to buy resources there. Her activate ability is to demand tribute from other factions.

Besides the new hero, the most obvious new addition is the climate. Much like in the winter scenarios in the original, not everything can be produced in a desert and the new weather pattern monsoon can make whole areas inaccessible due to floods. Honey, fish and corn are none existent there. To help the player to overcome these handicaps a bit, the add-on brings two new buildings to the game: the fountain and the trading post. While the fountain saves up water during the rain season which can then be used during the dry season, the trading post allows the player to engage in trading with the other factions. There are also a few new decorative objects available including a triumphal arch and a sun-dial.

The last gameplay addition is the return of the geologist, already known from the previous games. But unlike the previous games in which he scouted good places for new mines, this time he can reactivate already dry iron-mines.

Besides the new campaign the add-on also includes new multiplayer- and single player-maps. Three multiplayer-maps and four single player-maps were made by the community during a mapping contest held on the official website of the game.