Freyr

Freyr is a Norse major god in Age of Mythology: Retold - New Gods Pack: Freyr who focuses on defenses and technology.

Attributes

God Power

Name	Description
Gullinbursti	Temporarily summons Freyr's magical giant golden hero boar to defend a friendly Town Center.

Technology

Name	Description
Frey's Gift	All units gain +10% hit points.

Bonuses

Technologies cost -50% food, wood, and gold, but take 150% longer to research. Also applies to the upgrade of Gatherers and Dwarves into Berserks.
Hill Fort and Hill Fort units +10% damage.
Repairing buildings is free.
Gatherers and Dwarves can also repair any building. They repair walls 50% faster than normal builders.

Minor Gods

Classical Age
Name	Focus
Freyja	Cavalry
Ullr	Longhouse units and defenses

Heroic Age
Name	Focus
Aegir	Siege and heroes
Bragi	Berserks

Heroic Age
Name	Focus
Vidar	Heroes and human soldiers
Hel	Myth Units

Gameplay

Freyr is a defensive god, which distinguishes him significantly from the other Norse major gods, as they generally prefer attacking fast and hard. When playing as Freyr, the slower upgrades also delay how early the player can attack. That said, Freyr can still have some strong aggressive moves, such as erecting Asgardian Hill Forts (available through Ullr) near enemy positions or resources.

The 50% discount on technologies also applies to upgrading Gatherers and Dwarves to Berserks, with no corresponding increase in duration, as the upgrade is instantaneous.

Freyr's defensive playstyle is helped by his god power, Gullinbursti, who can keep the enemy's Classical Age myth unit raids at bay, and even repel raids by a small number of human units. The player should be discerning when to use the god power, as successive uses are prohibitively expensive.

Combining Freyr's Gift with other hit-point-boosting technologies can lead to very strong units. The options in this case are Twilight of the Gods for all units (granted by Vidar), Granite Blood for giants (granted by Hel), Thundering Hooves for cavalry (granted by Freyja), and Call of Valhalla for Berserks (granted by Bragi).

As repairing buildings is free, Freyr players can construct buildings like Hill Forts and Asgardian Hill Forts with more impunity.

Mythology

"Freyr was the son of Njord, the Vanir god of the sea, and the brother of Freyja, the goddess of magic, love, and warfare. He was most famous for being a fertility god. Snorri Sturluson tells us: "[Freyr] is ruler of rain and sunshine and thus of the produce of the earth, and it is good to pray to him for prosperity and peace. He also rules over the wealth of men"
Freyr was one of the most worshiped Norse gods, especially amongst the common folk, and was most popular in Sweden - so much so that he was said to be the progenitor of a line of Swedish kings, the Yngling dynasty. He lived at Alfheim, which was given to him by the gods when he got his first tooth as a child. Despite primarily being a fertility god, Freyr's battle prowess was still highlighted throughout mythology: Tyr claimed in Lokasenna that "Freyr is the best of all the bold riders / in the courts of the Aesir".
Freyr possessed a ship named Skidbladnir, which was large enough to hold all the gods but could also be folded up into a pouch. He also had a beautiful golden boar named Gullinbursti that the dwarves crafted for him. His most precious possession was a magic sword that could fight by itself; however, he gave the sword to his servant Skirnir as a reward for helping him marry the jotuness Gerdr. This proved a costly decision: because he did not have his sword at the battle of Ragnarok, Freyr was killed by the giant Surtr."
In-game compendium

Trivia

In the artwork and in-game statues of Freyr, he holds a stag's antler. This likely references the antler he used to fight in the battle of Ragnarok, due to having given his sword to his servant as described in the mythology section above.
In the artwork, Gullinbursti with its golden bristles can be seen behind Freyr.