The campaign continues with Part Two: six new stages, from Nightfall to The Heart of the Night, which open once you win The Last Age

A season after the Six were freed, night falls on every age at once, and the Ageless sends out three commanders it bound long before them

Every Part Two stage has a rule of its own for both sides: war parties that march sooner, kills that pay double, no turrets, training in half the time, champions from the start, or stronger bases

The Barrow Fields has a Mother Lode in the middle, worth fighting over

The campaign tab has a tab for each part, and The story so far carries on into Part Two, with a new epilogue once the last stage falls

Three new commanders to free, held at The Hunting Grounds, The Rail Yards and The Heart of the Night

The Ranger's shooters hit 15% harder and reach 10% further, and Hunter's Mark makes every enemy on the field take 30% more damage for 8 seconds

The Quartermaster's units cost 12% less, train 20% faster and your army can be 3 bigger, and Muster sends your whole training queue out at once, with anything you train in the next 6 seconds ready instantly

The Revenant's units are tougher and its champion returns sooner, and Rise Again brings your last 3 fallen units back to fight again

All nine commanders are open in versus, and the daily challenge can hand out any of them

In versus, a War Council sits at 2:00 and every 2:30 after that and lays out three edicts

Whoever is behind picks first, then the other player, and the third edict is left on the table

Nine edicts to fight over, from a free mercenary band and a war chest to a battle hymn, gold fever, saboteurs and a tribute taken from your opponent's gold

The versus bots sit on the council too

Wounded veterans carry their wounds into the next battle: a win mends some of it, and a supply camp mends it all

Veterans from the rank of Veteran up inspire the units near them to hit harder, shown by a gold ring at their feet

Three new Warpath spoils for your warband: Muster Call recruits a veteran, Drill Yard trains them all, and Field Surgeon heals their wounds

Two new deeds: Starlit for campaign stars and Oathbreaker for freeing commanders

The Codex has a Mark all seen button to clear every new entry at once

In the Warpath, your units still standing after a victory who made a kill join your warband as named veterans, up to six

Veterans hold your gate at the start of every battle: press G, or the new button beside your specials, to sound the charge, and again to fall back and mend

Veterans earn valor and rise from Recruit to Legend, and at Veteran and Hero you choose one of three gifts for them, from Heavy Hand to Last Stand

A veteran who falls is gone for good, and an Elite earns a title from their first gift

The Hall of Legends remembers every veteran who reached Elite, and you can recall one to march with you from the first battle of your next run

Every battle earns renown, win or lose: for time fought, enemies defeated, victories, stars, Endless waves, daily runs, beating the Warlord and your first win of the day

Renown raises your War Rank from Recruit to Grand Marshal and on to Legend of the Ages, each title with its own insignia

Every rank brings a relic, and every fifth rank two more

Saves from before this update get back pay for the battles they have already fought and won

The main menu shows your rank, today's orders and your medals

Three new orders every day, such as winning 2 battles, building 4 turrets or winning inside 10 minutes, each worth renown

Finish all three for a bonus and a relic, and keep a daily streak going for more; you can swap one order a day

32 deeds in five groups, each with bronze, silver and gold medals that pay renown, and a relic for gold

A new Deeds tab in the War Room shows your rank, the titles ahead, today's orders, your service record and every deed

The results card shows the renown each battle earned, line by line, with your rank filling up and today's orders

Kill several enemies in quick succession for a rout, called out on the battlefield from 4 kills

After a defeat, the results card says how close you came and which of your units counters the enemy that hurt you most

War drums sound when an enemy war party marches on you

Special attacks whoosh in before they strike, catapults whoosh as they throw, and arrows whoosh as they fly

Mortar and howitzer shells, rockets, grenades and explosive specials now burst with a real explosion, and so do bases when they fall

Each age's skies have fliers crossing them, from birds and a pterosaur to airships, a witch on her broomstick, jets and drones

Undug mine seams show things buried in each era's rock, from fossils to power cells

The Relic Tree is drawn as a tree with links between relics, and a reliquary below lists every bonus your relics give

The Endless Siege tab shows the enemy's march through the ages and an illustration of the siege

The results card has a victory banner with confetti, or smoke and a torn banner after a defeat

The tutorial now teaches age upgrades, mine traps and guards, and raiding the enemy's mines; if you finished it before, you see just the new steps once

Lead every battle with one of six commanders, each with a lasting perk and an ability you use with R or their button on the top bar

The Conqueror marches faster and hits harder, and War Cry makes your army hit 35% harder for 8 seconds

The Warden toughens your base and your units, and Hold the Line makes your army take 35% less damage for 8 seconds

The Engineer's turrets cost less, reach further and hit harder, with an extra turret slot, and Field Repairs patches up your base and your army

The Prospector's mines yield more, cost less and cave in less, and Bonanza makes every mine yield 70% more for 12 seconds

The Tactician gets specials and champions back sooner, and Second Strike recharges your special at once

The Saboteur's tunnellers are cheaper and quicker, defences cost less and kills pay more, and Cut the Lines stops the enemy's training for 10 seconds

Pick your commander in the War Room or in a versus lobby, where both players choose from all six

The daily challenge gives everyone the same commander each day, so the board stays fair

The campaign now tells a story: the Ageless has captured all six commanders and makes them lead its armies against you

Win the stage where a commander is held to free them, and they lead your battles from then on: River Ford, Iron Pass, The Breach, Pressure Line, The Mother Lode and The Last Age

Every stage has a briefing and, once won, an aftermath, and The story so far collects them all, with an epilogue once the last stage falls

Your saved progress carries over: every commander whose stage you have already won is free

Every champion has an ability you can use while it is on the field (key 5): War Stomp, War Horn, Holy Light, Volley!, Overdrive, Dive, Main Gun and Flares

A callout names each ability as it is used, yours and the enemy's

Send a tunneller under the lane from the enemy's workings to sabotage one of their shafts or rob their gold

Defend each shaft with a hidden trap or a guard in plain sight; you hear the digging a few seconds before it breaks in, and T sets a trap there

Catching a tunneller pays you half its price

A new War Room tab lists every unit, turret, special, upgrade, commander and raid piece by age, with what each beats and what beats it

Entries fill in as you meet them in battle, and new ones are marked until you look at them

The Tempest Gunship is the Neon Age's new champion: an attack helicopter on four ducted fans that fires rockets, and only shooters, turrets and specials can hit it

The Drone is a new Neon Age unit on its own button (key 6): a small flier that shoots at air and ground and hits other fliers harder

Melee units walk on beneath fliers, so bring shooters or turrets to meet them

No opponent yet? Seat a bot in your lobby at Easy, Medium or Hard and play it right away

The Options can reset your progress and start you over from the first battle; your settings, keys and online scores are kept

Waiting for the other player to attack first no longer wins versus battles: a rich seam of gold breaks the surface in the middle of the field a minute in

Stand your army over it with no enemy among them to claim it, and while you hold it your miners pour out gold and XP every second

It pays more in later ages and more with every minute it has been open, so the longer a standoff lasts, the richer it makes whoever holds the middle

A dig with a winch and a banner marks it, a meter shows who is winning the ground, and the versus panel shows who holds it and what it pays

Brimstone Ridge: break an enemy dug in along a ridge of Gunpowder Age batteries while rockslides keep coming down

The Mother Lode: a Steam Age battle for a gold seam in the middle of the field, against an enemy that wants it first

The campaign now has twelve stages and 36 stars; Glass Towers and The Last Age are now stages 11 and 12, and every stage you have played stays open

The Fire Catapult's burning pots set the enemies they splash on fire, burning them for 8 damage a second for 3 seconds

A sixth age between Steam and Neon: diesel engines, camouflage and radios, with its own base, mine, top bar and battlefield

Commando: a fast knife fighter with face paint

Rifleman: fires bursts of three rounds from an assault rifle, with a radio on his back

Riot Trooper: a clear riot shield, padded armour and a baton

Gun Truck, the age's unique unit: a light truck with a shielded machine gun on its roof; its bursts slow the attacks of whatever they hit

Battle Tank, the age's champion: tracks, a long gun and shells that burst

Three turrets: a twin Rocket Launcher, a Howitzer that lobs heavy shells and a Machine Gun Nest behind sandbags

The Airstrike: two jets scream over the battlefield while a line of bombs walks across the enemy

Fully animated vehicles: wheels and tracks roll, guns recoil, crews look about and cheer, and a destroyed vehicle blows up or burns out

Recorded sounds for the age's guns: a rifle crack for the riflemen and a heavy machine gun for the Gun Truck and the Machine Gun Nest

The Modern Age in every mode: start versus battles in it, and meet it in the campaign, on the Warpath and in the daily challenge

Melee units have a job now: the front row takes 40% less damage from shots, melee units charge in when enemies are close, and their blows also hit the enemies beside their target

Shooters in the back row deal half damage at point blank, so keep a front line ahead of them

Counters hit harder: a unit deals 50% more to the role it beats and 30% less to the one that beats it

Unit tooltips explain their row's strengths and weaknesses

Soldiers walk past a truck or tank that has stopped to fire, to reach the enemy