The summary of ‘What Civilisation to play in 2023? (Beginner Guide) – Age of Empires 4’

00:00:00

In this part of the video, the speaker discusses which civilizations (civs) new players should consider playing in Age of Empires 4 in 2023. He provides an overview of three key civs—English, French, and Holy Roman Empire.

– The **English civ** is described as very defensive with strong bonuses around buildings, increased attack speed, and early farming capabilities, making them less reliant on map control for food.
– The **French civ** contrasts with the English by focusing on aggressive map control, rapid knight production for harassment, and strong economic upgrades.
– The **Holy Roman Empire** is presented as a civ with a strong economic setup through farming and religious units, excellent defensive buildings, and a focus on securing relics in the castle age.

Each civ is recommended based on its simplicity and playstyle, catering to players’ preferences for defense, aggression, or economic management.

00:05:00

In this part of the video, the discussion focuses on two civilizations in a strategy game: the Holy Roman Empire and the Rus. The Holy Roman Empire has a strong economy, powerful men-at-arms, and can quickly reach the Imperial Age. They also benefit from relics that can empower their buildings and have villagers carrying more resources early on.

For the Rus, they are compared to a budget version of the French as they can also field knights early on but don’t have cheaper upgrades. They excel in defenses with stronger walls and wooden fortresses that boost wood income. Rus gameplay involves a versatile strategy that includes early aggression with knights, rushing to castle to collect relics, and an efficient fishing economy. A unique mechanic for the Rus is the bounty system which increases food gathering rates and gold income by killing animals. Rus can take multiple strategies including economic expansion with multiple town centers and leveraging their unique units in the late game.

00:10:00

In this part of the video, the discussion focuses on the Abbasid and Ottoman civilizations in “Age of Empires 4.” For Abbasid, the key point is their economic focus, starting with the Economic Wing, allowing workers to be cheaper (25 food). This enables early expansion with multiple Town Centers, giving an economic advantage over opponents. Their strategy involves defending initially, then attacking with a larger economy-backed force. Abbasid also benefits from unique City Planning bonuses and camel units, which are effective against Cavalry-heavy strategies.

For the Ottomans, their play style revolves around Imperial Schools (or Military Schools) and the Imperial Council system. Units produced gain experience to allocate into bonuses, enhancing various aspects of gameplay. Military Schools produce free units slowly, scaling as the game progresses, making Ottomans formidable in prolonged matches by overwhelming opponents with sheer numbers once fully developed. The Ottomans begin slow but become unstoppable in production compared to other civilizations.

00:15:00

In this part of the video, the speaker discusses the unique aspects and strengths of different civilizations in a strategy game, focusing on the Ottomans and Malians. The Ottomans are highlighted for their powerful unique units like the Great Bombard, Janissaries, and Sipahi Horsemen, as well as their effective strategy of overwhelming opponents with military might. They are described as easier to play early in the game due to lower food dependency.

The Malians, on the other hand, are noted for their economy-focused gameplay, utilizing unique mechanics like cattle for passive food generation and pit mines for passive gold generation. All Malian units, except archers, are unique, necessitating learning multiple new unit types. They have a significant focus on accumulating gold, allowing them to produce units exclusively with it in the late game, thus enabling a heavy gold-based strategy to overwhelm opponents. The Malians also possess stealth abilities which provide tactical flexibility in ambushing and harassing enemies.

00:20:00

In this part of the video, the speaker discusses the Mongol civilization in a strategy game. The key points include the Mongols starting without a traditional Town Center (TC) and having movable buildings, except for the “ooVoo” which is placed on stone and generates resources. They cannot gather stone directly or build walls and keeps. The Mongols are characterized as highly aggressive, with the ability to produce units and construct military buildings like Barracks or Stables right from the Dark Age. They also have a scout-like unit called the Khan, which has abilities and a ranged attack. Mongols benefit from a unique plunder mechanic that grants resources when they destroy buildings. They can double produce units using stone and focus on maintaining pressure on opponents, with strategies like tower rushing and constant raiding. The speaker then mentions another civilization, the Delhi Sultanate, indicating its unique ability to get free upgrades, comparing it to the Ottomans.

00:25:00

In this part of the video, the speaker discusses the advantages and unique characteristics of the Delhi civilization, including their ability to upgrade for free, though upgrades take longer unless scholars are used to reduce research time. Delhi’s strategic approach involves healing units with scholars and capturing sacred sites in the Feudal Age for bonus gold and potential early victories. The playstyle for Delhi is slower initially but gains strength with their upgrades and map control.

The video then transitions to the Chinese civilization, noting their faster production and construction, and their unique Imperial Officials who collect gold, supervise buildings for faster production, and boost resource gathering efficiency. Chinese gameplay requires significant macro management due to the need to constantly reposition Imperial Officials for maximum resource output. Additionally, the Chinese have a unique “dynasty” system with four dynasties (Tang, Song, Ming, and Yuan), each offering different bonuses and playstyles.

00:30:00

In this segment of the video, the discussion focuses on the different dynasties in a specific civilization within Age of Empires 4, notably, the Chinese civilization. Each dynasty offers unique bonuses: the Tang Dynasty increases scout line of sight, the Song Dynasty speeds up villager production, the Yuan Dynasty boosts unit movement speed, and the Ming Dynasty increases military unit health. Players can achieve new dynasties by building both landmarks when advancing to a new age, though they can only benefit from one dynasty’s bonuses at a time. The Chinese also possess powerful siege units called “nest of bees,” making them strong in late-game stages. The civilization is designed for economic expansion, requiring a macro-intensive playstyle, and is versatile enough to support various strategies, from aggressive early attacks to a booming economy or strong imperial defense. The video advises new players to try different civilizations to identify their preferred playstyle.

00:35:00

In this segment, the speaker reassures players not to worry too much about balance in Age of Empires 4, as different civilizations (sieves) can vary in strength over time. The speaker aims to inform new or curious players about sieves to help them choose the right one to start with. They also wish a happy New Year to YouTube viewers and encourage Twitch viewers to continue gaming.