The nostalgia for the RTS fans returns after 16 years, as Age of Empires 4 is finally released on Steam and Xbox Game Pass. For those who are unfamiliar with the Age of Empires franchise, the games allow players to delve into the intricacies of historical empire building and raising an army to defeat their foes. Players can adopt different strategies, train special units and forge a legacy worth remembering in the game.

The campaign aspect of the game offers several civilizations to explore and take players to a specific timeline to experience the exhilaration of taking on different conquests. While the single player campaigns are fun to play, most of the players like to play the multiplayer part of the game which presents the player with unprecedented challenges. 

One of the first things that players will notice while getting into a multiplayer match is the ability to choose their civilization. There are eight civilizations at the launch of the gamе: the Rus, English, Chinese, Delhi Sultanate, French, Mongols, Abbasid Dynasty, and Holy Roman Empire. In this beginner’s guide, we will be taking a look at all the civilizations and that should help players find their ideal civilization to take on enemy players.

The English

• Simple to master
• Great defense
• Cheap farms
• Great early game

The English Civilization is one of the simplest civilizations to master in Age of Empires 4. They are excellent in defense and they have cheaper farms than other civilizations. As a result, they don’t have to focus on hunting/fishing to boost their food economy. Contrary to other melee villagers in Age of Empires 4, the English villagers carry a bow with them to repel early invaders and make hunting very easy and safe. The Landmarks for this civilization aid in the defense and taking them down is definitely one of the hardest feats to achieve. Adding to their defensive strength, they have a special alarm in place via Castles, Towers, and Keeps. The special network of castles provides a small buff to buildings and units, allowing them to fire faster than the usual speed to further maintain a stronghold and discourage early raiders.

While their primary strength lies in defending, their early game unit production is also impressive. The English Keeps allow players to train all units, therefore the player can set up Keeps as a forward base and quickly train an army to take the enemy by surprise. The English also have access to the Longbowmen, which are the civilization exclusive unit: they are the best archers with their long range and make for great early raids on the enemy coupled with the increased training speed for the Age 2 Landmark: Council Hall.

The Chinese

• Strong start due to more villagers
• Great economy
• Landmarks focus
• Powerful late-game offense

The Chinese are all about their Dynasties. The civilization has more villagers at the start of the match which allows them to get a headstart in their economy building. The unique way of micro-managing buildings and units is one of the critical aspects of mastering this civilization. They get access to the civilization's unique unit called the Imperial Official which is expensive to produce but provide a constant supply of gold from the nearby buildings.

Talking about the Chinese Dynasties, players are presented with the option of building both the landmarks from a single age, unlike other civilizations. Therefore, the player can progress to a dynasty and available exclusive benefits and they bring to the table. There are dynasties like Tang, Song, Yuan, and Ming which provide different boons in fields of military, economy, population etc. Landmarks like Imperial Palace help players get intel on their enemies which is a great way to keep a tab on your enemy’s movements. Civilization-exclusive gunfire units, Fire Lancer, and siege units like Nest of Bees also make for a dangerous attack force in the late game. 

Abbasid Dynasty

• A singlura Landmark that upgrades through ages
• Good anti-cavalry (Camel Archers)
• Good combat healers (Iman)
• Golden Age mechanic to spur economic growth

The Abbasid civilization from the deserts is inspired by the Abbasid Caliphate and the Mamlik Sultanate. Unlike other civilizations, there aren’t many Landmarks for this civilization, but they have one Landmark which upgrades as players move through different ages. The House of Wisdom has different wings which can be researched and allow significant bonuses to boost player’s economy, military services, technological advantages, and more depending on their playstyle. 

The civilization also gains special units like Camel Archers which are very good against Cavalry. They also have a unique mechanic called the Golden Age which incentivizes players to build more near the House of Wisdom as it provides efficient economic growth for the villagers, faster research speeds, and more. They also have Mosques as they are an Islamic civilization and have access to Iman — religious civilization monks for healing their army and more.

The French

• Powerful cavalry
• Great early game economy
• Traders mitigate short-term resource loss
• Faster army training

The French are known for their ferocious armored cavalry which can be accessed in their early Age 2. They have a great economic foundation as their Town Center makes units faster with every age. Their Age 1 technologies, Mill and Goldmine, cost way less which helps further in strengthening their economy. Moreover, the famous French traders have the distinct advantage to bring any resource that they want at a particular time. Thus, they can mitigate any short-term resource loss easily by relying on the Market.

They have a unique influence system that allows players to produce units from Stables and Archery Ranges near the Keep at a lesser cost than usual. Therefore, they can produce armies faster compared to other civilizations. The French generally focus on their cavalry however, they have unique units like the Arbaletrier and siege units like the Canon which are very efficient in taking down buildings and walls from a safe distance.

The Delhi Sultanate

• War Elephants are durable and destructive
• Scholars in early ages empower early-game armies

The Delhi Sultanate, inspired by the Islamic rulers in India, is the best civilization for players who love to strategize their moves on the battlefield. They have access to Mosques at the very first age which allows them to have Scholars. These unique units are similar to monks and they provide multiple benefits to the empire. The Delhi Sultanate doesn’t take any resources for research, but players need to garrison Scholars to complete the research. Scholars can be trained at a cheap price at Age 2. These resources can be further used to enhance the army and provide great aggressive and defensive capabilities to the nation.

The Delhi Sultanate has really good landmarks as well like the Palace of Sultan which periodically makes a War Elephant which can be sped up by Scholars. The civilization’s unique military units are the War Elephant and Tower War Elephants which have an enormous health pool and form the first line of defense. They also deal a destructive amount of damage and are expensive to produce. But when an army led by elephants is produced they can pierce even the hardest of defenses in Age of Empires 4. 

Holy Roman Empire

• Well-rounded civilization
• Strong early game through the Prelate
• Strong defense by upgrading sturdy buildings and storing relics
• Infantry is their best offense

The Holy Roman Empire is a well-rounded civilization centered around their religious unit Prelate. The Prelate becomes available at the very first age and can be trained from the Town Center itself. They are very useful for various purposes like enhancing the productivity of the villagers, healing armies, and more. Therefore, they have a really strong early game and a solid foundation for building a flourishing economy.

In terms of defensive options, the Holy Roman Empire has enhanced sturdy buildings which can be buffed by doing research. Players can store relics in towers, outposts, and more to enhance their armor and damage to make the Roman Empire as an impenetrable fortress. Players can also build the Elzbach Palace landmark in Age 4 to fortify their keeps, walls, and more. In terms of offensive units, the civilization is heavily focused on infantry like Landsknecht which does heavy damage but has slower movement speed on the battlefield.

The Rus

• Distinct playstyle through early-game gold production
• No stone walls, but access to stronger wooden Palisades
• Very strong archers and Warrior Monks

The Rus have a very distinct playstyle compared to other civilizations as playing their early game strategically is the most crucial part of mastering them. They have access to the exclusive Hunting Cabins which generate gold over time. These are enhanced versions of the normal Mills in the game and they can be enhanced by Scouts. As the Rus are known for hunting prowess, they gain constant gold and villager productivity buffs after killing Bounty Gaia animals in the wild which helps in their economy.

They can also build Wooden Fortress which, when placed near Lumber Camps, produces more wood than usual. The Rus don’t have access to the stone walls but they do have access to stronger wooden Palisade walls which serve as the core of their defense. In terms of the offensive units, the Rus can flourish with units like Horse Archers and Streltsy which are pretty good at killing the enemy and standing their ground against melee units. One more exclusive feature of this civilization are the Warrior Monks. They are the first type of Monk who can travel on horses and they can buff the armies to give Rus an upper edge in the battles. 

Mongols

• Very mobile civilization
• Steep learning curve due to movable buildings
• No access to walls
• Gain resources by burning buildings

The Mongols are a highly mobile and nomadic civilization which is a very interesting addition to this year’s Age of Empires. They have the steepest learning curve from all the civilizations in the game and that is for a very good reason. Almost all the buildings in the civilization can be packed and they could be placed in any place that the player desires. As a result, the players can take advantage of the strategic positioning of their base and take natural cover whenever needed to plan ambushes. 

They don’t have access to any walls as they are so agile. Players need to adapt a very aggressive burn and slash method to get the most out of them. They need to take advantage of their Khan — a special unit that leads the Mongols and grants attack/movement buffs to the army and raids the opponents to take advantage. Once Mongol players burn buildings they get resources, which further helps in making the army strong and dangerous. Units like Mangudai are especially very good at aggressive trading as they can shoot arrows while moving very quickly.

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All of these civilizations are present during the release of the game and the developers might add some more in the future. Till then, players should try out each civilization and master the one in which they have the most fun.