Age of Empires IV can look calm for about thirty seconds. A few villagers chop trees, some sheep wander around, your scout has a pleasant ride through the countryside. Then suddenly an enemy army appears outside your town and you realise your peaceful medieval farming simulator has become a very stressful history exam with flaming arrows.
The good news is that Age of Empires IV rewards understanding more than frantic clicking. Fast reactions help, but smart decisions, planning and knowing why you are doing something matter far more.
This guide covers the essentials every new player should learn before marching into battle.
What Is Age of Empires IV?
Age of Empires IV is a real-time strategy game built around managing a civilisation from a small settlement into a powerful empire.
A typical match involves:
- Gathering resources
- Building an economy
- Advancing through historical ages
- Training armies
- Researching technologies
- Expanding across the map
- Defeating opponents through military or strategic victories
The game blends historical inspiration with competitive strategy. You might command English longbowmen, Mongol horsemen, French knights or Chinese imperial armies, each with different strengths.
Understanding The Four Ages
Progression is divided into four ages. Moving through them unlocks stronger units, buildings and technologies.
| Age | Focus | Beginner Advice |
|---|---|---|
| Dark Age | Survival and economy | Scout, collect sheep and build villagers |
| Feudal Age | Early combat and expansion | Create your first army and defend yourself |
| Castle Age | Stronger units and upgrades | Control resources and pressure enemies |
| Imperial Age | Elite armies and siege warfare | Upgrade everything and manage large battles |
A common beginner mistake is rushing to the next age without enough economy. A shiny castle does not help much when you have three villagers and no food.
Choosing Your First Civilisation
Not every civilisation is equally beginner friendly. Some require unusual mechanics or advanced management.
Good starting choices:
English
The English are one of the easiest civilisations to learn.
Strengths:
- Strong defence
- Excellent longbowmen
- Reliable economy
- Powerful landmarks
They teach the fundamentals without overwhelming new players.
French
The French suit aggressive players.
Strengths:
- Powerful Royal Knights
- Strong cavalry attacks
- Faster villager production
- Simple military strategy
The plan is beautifully medieval: build expensive horses and make them everyone else’s problem.
Holy Roman Empire
A strong economic civilisation focused around religion and powerful infantry.
Strengths:
- Efficient resource gathering
- Strong Men-at-Arms
- Powerful late game
Slightly more complex, but very rewarding.
The Most Important Rule: Never Stop Making Villagers
Villagers are your economy.
A beginner often builds 20 villagers, thinks “that looks like enough people holding axes” and stops.
Experienced players usually aim for much higher numbers.
Why villagers matter:
- More villagers means more resources
- More resources means bigger armies
- Bigger armies means more control
Your Town Centre should constantly produce villagers for most of the game.
Understanding Resources
Age of Empires IV has four main resources.
| Resource | Used For |
| Food | Villagers, soldiers, advancing ages |
| Wood | Buildings, farms, ranged units |
| Gold | Technology, advanced units, upgrades |
| Stone | Defensive structures and extra Town Centres |
A balanced economy is important. Having 4,000 wood is useless if you need cavalry and have no food or gold.
Scouting: The Skill Beginners Ignore
Your scout is one of your most valuable units.
Use scouts to:
- Find sheep
- Discover enemy locations
- Spot incoming attacks
- Locate resources
- Watch expansions
Information wins games. Knowing an enemy army is coming gives you time to prepare. Finding out when it knocks politely on your front gate is less ideal.
Build Orders Explained
A build order is simply a planned opening.
It tells you:
- Which villagers gather which resources
- When to construct buildings
- When to advance ages
- When to create military units
You do not need to memorise professional strategies immediately.
A simple beginner opening:
- Create villagers constantly
- Send early villagers to food
- Send your scout searching for sheep
- Build houses before reaching population limit
- Gather enough food and gold for Feudal Age
- Build military production buildings
- Train defensive units
Master consistency first. Speed comes later.
Understanding Unit Counters
Age of Empires IV uses a counter system. Expensive units are not automatically better.
Basic counters:
| Enemy Unit | Counter With |
| Cavalry | Spearmen |
| Infantry | Crossbows or specialised units |
| Archers | Horsemen |
| Siege weapons | Cavalry attacks or your own siege |
Throwing the wrong army into battle is painful. Medieval commanders learned this lesson too, usually right before someone wrote an unfortunate chronicle about them.
Do Not Ignore Upgrades
Technology upgrades quietly decide battles.
Important upgrades include:
Economy
Research:
- Faster gathering
- Improved farming
- Better resource efficiency
Military
Upgrade:
- Armour
- Damage
- Unit quality
Twenty upgraded soldiers can defeat a much larger outdated army.
Defence Without Hiding Forever
Walls and towers are useful, but they should support your strategy rather than replace it.
Useful defensive habits:
- Place towers near exposed resources
- Wall vulnerable areas
- Keep units near important locations
- Scout instead of guessing
A giant wall around your base feels safe until your opponent owns the entire map.
Expanding Your Economy
Eventually your starting resources run low.
Strong players expand by:
- Creating extra Town Centres
- Taking distant gold deposits
- Building forward bases
- Controlling sacred sites
- Securing trade routes
Map control is one of the biggest differences between beginners and experienced players.
Learning Each Civilisation
Every civilisation has unique mechanics.
Examples:
Mongols
- Mobile buildings
- Strong cavalry raids
- No traditional walls
Chinese
- Dynasties
- Powerful economy
- Flexible technology paths
Abbasid Dynasty
- Unique advancement system
- Strong research options
- Adaptable army choices
Experimenting is part of the fun. Losing spectacularly while learning is basically an Age of Empires tradition.
Beginner Mistakes To Avoid
Forgetting Villagers
A quiet Town Centre is usually a losing Town Centre.
Floating Resources
Spend what you collect. Resources sitting unused do nothing.
Building One Huge Army Type
Balanced armies usually perform better.
Fighting Without Upgrades
Technology matters.
Ignoring The Map
The enemy is not going to politely announce their plan.
Single Player Vs Multiplayer
Campaigns and AI matches are excellent places to practise.
Learn:
- Hotkeys
- Unit control
- Economy balance
- Civilisation mechanics
Multiplayer introduces:
- Faster attacks
- More unpredictable strategies
- Greater pressure
Do not worry about losing early matches. Everyone has experienced the classic “why is there a giant army in my base after eight minutes?” moment.
Best Beginner Settings To Practise
Try:
- Difficulty: Intermediate AI
- Map: Open land maps
- Victory: Standard
- Civilisation: English or French
Focus on improvement rather than winning every game.
How To Get Better At Age Of Empires IV
Age of Empires IV is ultimately about making better decisions. Perfect speed and advanced tricks come later.
Start with the fundamentals:
- Keep producing villagers
- Scout constantly
- Spend resources
- Build balanced armies
- Upgrade units
- Understand counters
Once those habits become natural, the game changes completely. Battles feel less chaotic, strategies become clearer and suddenly you are the player sending knights into someone else’s peaceful farming village.
History, apparently, is much easier when you are the one causing the problem.
