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About AoE2Meta

AoE2Meta is an independent statistics platform for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. We parse ranked match replays to provide real-time civilization win rates, opening strategy breakdowns, map analysis, and player leaderboards.

Our Mission

The AoE2 community deserves accessible, transparent, and up-to-date statistics. We aim to help players make informed decisions — whether picking a civilization for a ranked game, choosing an opening strategy on a specific map, or understanding the current meta. Every number on this site is backed by real match data, and we are committed to showing exactly how that data is collected and processed.

Data Pipeline

1. Data Collection
We continuously monitor the official AoE2 ranked leaderboard and collect match replays from active players across all skill levels — from beginners to professional competitors.
2. Replay Parsing
Every replay is automatically analyzed to extract key match data: civilizations picked, map played, player ratings, match outcome, and the opening build order (classified into strategies like Scout Rush, Archer Rush, FC Boom, and more).
3. Aggregation
Match data is aggregated into multi-dimensional statistics: win rates and pick rates broken down by civilization, map, opening strategy, and ELO bracket — always reflecting the current patch meta.
4. Update Frequency
Statistics are refreshed twice daily. Leaderboard rankings are updated in real-time from the official API. Our dataset grows continuously as new replays are processed — currently covering tens of thousands of ranked matches per month.

ELO Bracket Methodology

We use the match average ELOsystem for bracket assignment — the industry standard approach also used by aoestats.io. For each match, we compute the average ELO of both players, and assign both players' records to the corresponding bracket.

BracketAvg ELO RangeDescription
800–1000Avg(ELO) 800–999Beginners learning core mechanics
1000–1200Avg(ELO) 1000–1199Developing fundamentals and build orders
1200–1400Avg(ELO) 1200–1399Intermediate players with consistent strategies
1400–1600Avg(ELO) 1400–1599Advanced players with strong macro and micro
1600–2200Avg(ELO) 1600–2199Expert-level competitive players
2200+Avg(ELO) ≥ 2200Professional / top-tier players

Why match average? When two players of different ELOs are matched, assigning each player to their own bracket creates statistical bias — the higher-rated player wins more often, inflating win rates in higher brackets. By using the average ELO of both players, each bracket maintains a natural ~50% overall win rate while still revealing meaningful differences between civilizations and strategies.

Data Sources

  • 1.
    Ranked Match Replays — Our primary source. We collect and analyze replays from ranked matches to extract civilization picks, build orders, map data, and outcomes.
  • 2.
    Official Leaderboard — Real-time player rankings, ratings, win/loss records, and match history from the official Age of Empires II API.
  • 3.
    Community Data — Supplementary player profiles and match history from trusted community sources.
  • 4.
    Cross-Validation — We benchmark our statistics against established community platforms to ensure accuracy and reliability.

Accuracy & Limitations

We take data accuracy seriously and continuously validate our statistics against established sources. However, every statistics platform has inherent limitations:

  • Sample size variance — Less popular civilizations and niche maps may have fewer data points, leading to higher variance in win rates. We display game counts alongside all statistics so users can judge reliability.
  • Replay availability — Not all ranked matches produce downloadable replays. Our dataset represents a significant sample of the player base but not 100% of all matches played.
  • Opening classification — Build order detection is automated. Edge cases (hybrid openings, unusual timings) may be classified differently than a human analyst would.
  • Patch lag — After a balance patch, it takes a short period for the new meta to fully reflect in our statistics.

Privacy & Cookies

AoE2Meta is committed to user privacy. Here is what we collect and why:

Analytics

We use Microsoft Clarity to understand how visitors interact with the site — page views, clicks, and scroll depth. This helps us improve the experience. Clarity uses anonymous session cookies and no personally identifiable information is collected.

CDN & Security

We use Cloudflare for performance and security. Cloudflare may set a cookie for bot protection — this is a strictly necessary cookie that does not track users.

No Advertising

AoE2Meta does not serve ads, does not sell user data, and does not use tracking cookies for advertising purposes.

Player Data

Player profiles, rankings, and match histories displayed on this site are sourced from public APIs. This data is publicly accessible through the official AoE2 leaderboard and match history systems.

Get in Touch

Have questions, feedback, or found a data issue? Reach out on X (Twitter) or join our Discord server.

AoE2Meta is an independent fan project and is not affiliated with Microsoft Corporation or Xbox Game Studios.