Age of Empires 4 is another addition to the classic RTS franchise. Fans who started playing will immediately notice some key differences in the game. For example, the variety of playable Civilizations.
Some Civilizations in Age of Empires 4 are brilliant in defense, while some others naturally excel in offense. Mostly, the key to great offense comes from powerful Cavalries that can be recruited in the early game.
French
Having access to the Royal Knights at the start of the Feudal Age has proved to be decisive in the early game. These Heavy Cavalry are bulky yet deadly. Their charged attack can break the enemy lines and scatter them around the battlefield.
Advancing through the Ages serves the French perfectly. The more they advance, the better their military becomes. They have three military Landmarks when moving from the Dark Age to the Imperial Age. The three Landmarks are:
- School of Cavalry provides the ability to recruit the Royal Knights 25% faster.
- Royal Institute allows the French to research all their unique technologies without any Age restriction, especially Royal Bloodlines, which increases all French Cavalries’ HP by 35%.
- College of Artillery grants the French access to the best siege unit in the game, Cannons, and further boosts its damage by 20%.
Mongols
Instead of sending a Villager to build next to enemies, Mongols can just relocate their whole base there. The highly mobile Civilization can be aggressive from the start of the match. Having access to light Cavalry from the Dark Age, Mongols can push enemies to raid their buildings and plunder Gold and Food.
If that’s not offensive enough, Mongols can recruit Mangudai in the Feudal Age. The light-ranged Cavalry can melt down armies without being touched, as it can shoot arrows while moving. It can be even stronger when paired with the Khan, a unit that can lead the Cavalries and provide field buffs.
The Mongols also have access to three Military Landmarks up until the Imperial Age:
- Deer Stones provide the Yam Speed Aura buff when a unit enters the Landmark's and Outposts' area of influence. The effect lingers for 20 seconds after leaving.
- Kurultai allows the Khan to heal and buff all the Mongols units by 20% for 30 seconds. It’s tricky to use Kurultai offensively, but it can be very beneficial.
- Khaganate grants the Mongols a free army of Cavalry every 90 seconds.
Chinese
The Chinese are not the best offensive Civilization at the start of the match. However, when they survive to the Imperial Age, they can be the deadliest Civilization out there. With many buffs to their Gunpowder units and having access to some unique end-game units, the Chinese can destroy any army. Their most important Landmark is the Spirit Way. It allows the Chinese to recruit all previously-achieved Dynasty troops without restrictions. That gives players access to:
- Fire Lancer: Requires Yuan Dynasty.
- Zhuge Nu: Requires Song Dynasty.
- Grenadier: Requires Ming Dynasty.
Age of Empires 4 is currently available on PC.