The Anniversary Edition is Age of Empires IV one year on from its October 2021 launch, adding the Ottomans and the Malians to the original eight civilisations for a roster of ten. Every civilisation ages up by building Landmarks rather than clicking a generic button, so the choice between two Landmarks per age is a real strategic fork instead of a formality. Matches run to a 200 population cap across four ages, and you win by Landmark destruction, by holding Sacred Sites, or by finishing a Wonder and surviving the countdown.
These tips go beyond the basics. They're the strategies experienced players use to play more efficiently, the hidden mechanics most people miss, and the optimizations that compound over a full playthrough. If you're just starting, check our beginner's guide first.
Essential Tips
1. Send your scout on a loop the moment the game starts and keep it moving
Send your scout on a loop the moment the game starts and keep it moving. Sheep found in the first two minutes go straight under the Town Center and save your villagers from walking, which is worth more than any Dark Age upgrade.
2. The Town Center should never sit idle in the first ten minutes
The Town Center should never sit idle in the first ten minutes. A single missed villager compounds through the whole game, and the difference between a good and a bad opening is usually five or six villagers, not army composition.
3. Choose Landmarks for what you plan to do, not for what looks strongest
Choose Landmarks for what you plan to do, not for what looks strongest. The English Council Hall only pays off if you actually mass Longbowmen, and the French School of Cavalry is wasted if you never leave your base.
4. Bring springalds to any fight where the enemy has mangonels or bombards
Bring springalds to any fight where the enemy has mangonels or bombards. Melee units die to siege before they close the distance, and an army with no anti siege answer loses to a smaller one that has it.
5. Collect Relics early with a religious unit and garrison them for gold
Collect Relics early with a religious unit and garrison them for gold. That trickle funds gold hungry units like Knights and Janissaries without adding a single villager to the gold seam.
6. Against Mongols, remember they cannot build stone walls
Against Mongols, remember they cannot build stone walls. That means their base is always crackable, and a mid game push into their production is punishing even when they are ahead on map control.
7. Malian Pit Mines do not deplete the gold vein, so building several early creates income that outlasts every other civilisation's gold seams
Malian Pit Mines do not deplete the gold vein, so building several early creates income that outlasts every other civilisation's gold seams. Plan the mid game around out spending the opponent rather than out fighting them.
8. Ottoman Military Schools produce units for free but slowly, so building three or four of them early converts into a real army by Castle Age
Ottoman Military Schools produce units for free but slowly, so building three or four of them early converts into a real army by Castle Age. That army costs nothing, which frees your resources for siege and upgrades.
9. Wall the chokes on closed maps such as Black Forest, but do not wall on Dry Arabia unless you have already lost map control
Wall the chokes on closed maps such as Black Forest, but do not wall on Dry Arabia unless you have already lost map control. Stone walls cost time and stone that would otherwise be Landmarks and army.
10. Watch the Sacred Site timer as carefully as your army
Watch the Sacred Site timer as carefully as your army. A quiet capture of two Sacred Sites while both players trade armies elsewhere can end the game before anyone has built an Imperial Age Landmark.
Advanced Strategies
Build Optimization
The difference between an average build and an optimized one is massive. See our builds guide for full breakdowns.
For English (A-Tier):
- Focus on Landmark ageing up combinations for maximum output.
- Core gear: Longbowman
- Stat priority: Offensive stats first
For French (A-Tier):
- Versatile approach that handles any situation.
- Core gear: Royal Knight
- Stat priority: Balanced stats
Mechanic Interactions
Understanding how Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition's systems interact is where the real optimization lives. Our combat guide covers this in detail.
Landmark ageing up + Relics and Sacred Sites: Advancing an age means choosing and constructing one of two Landmarks, each with a different bonus. Combined with Relics and Sacred Sites, religious units collect relics from ruins and garrison them in a monastery, mosque or prayer tent for a steady gold trickle.
Counter unit triangle + Siege engines and walls: Spearmen beat cavalry, cavalry beat archers and ranged units, archers beat infantry, and handcannoneers such as the Ottoman Janissary punch through armour. When paired with Siege engines and walls, stone walls, towers and keeps make direct assaults expensive, so battering rams, mangonels, bombards and the ottoman great bombard exist to break them.
Civilisation specific economies scaling: Economies are genuinely asymmetric. The Malian Pit Mine pulls 35 gold per minute from a gold vein without depleting it, Rus players earn bounty gold from hunting, and Mongols cannot build stone walls at all but can pack up buildings and move them.
Equipment Efficiency
| Equipment | Best Use Case | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Longbowman | Defensive English play where massed archers sit behind a spear screen near a Keep. | The English unique archer, with longer range than a standard archer and the ability to plant palings that stop cavalry charges dead. |
| Royal Knight | Early raids on villagers and punishing an opponent who over invests in archers. | The French unique heavy cavalry, which gains a damage bonus from its charge. |
| Mangudai | Hit and run raiding and pulling enemy armies out of position across large maps. | The Mongol horse archer, which fires while moving. |
| Janissary | Late game Ottoman pushes escorting Great Bombards toward enemy Landmarks. | The Ottoman handcannoneer, which does extra damage to cavalry and can repair siege engines in the field. |
| Musofadi Warrior | Malian raiding, cutting off trade routes and picking off isolated villagers. | The Malian stealth infantry, lower on health and armour but fast and dangerous in ambush. |
Location Efficiency
Dry Arabia (1v1 ranked, all civilisations): The open standard map and the ranked default. Almost no natural chokepoints, so early aggression is always live and the player who scouts first usually decides where the game happens.
Black Forest (Team games and defensive 1v1): Dense forest with narrow lanes between players, which turns the early game into a walling contest. Booming civilisations and heavy siege thrive here while cavalry raids struggle.
Mountain Pass (1v1 and 2v2): High ground and narrow passes split the map into defensible pockets. Control of the passes matters more than raw army size, and siege has an outsized effect on choke fights.
Danube River (1v1 and team games with naval play): A river splits the map, adding naval play and bridge crossings to a standard land game. Fishing boats supplement early food and crossings become the flashpoints.
Lipany (1v1 ranked): An open map with a central hill and clear resource distribution, popular in tournaments because it rewards clean build orders rather than map tricks.
Mistakes Even Veterans Make
- Picking the wrong Landmark for your plan, then playing a strategy the Landmark actively does not support.
- Fighting with a single unit type and losing an entire army to a smaller mixed force that has the counter.
- Letting the Town Center idle while microing an early raid, which quietly costs six or seven villagers of economy.
- Building an army with no springalds or anti siege cover, then losing it to two mangonels at a chokepoint.
- Ignoring Relics and Sacred Sites in a long game, which hands the opponent free gold income and a countdown victory path.
Pro Quick Tips
- Send your scout on a loop the moment the game starts and keep it moving. Sheep found in the first two minutes go straight under the Town Center and save your villagers from walking, which is worth more than any Dark Age upgrade.
- The Town Center should never sit idle in the first ten minutes. A single missed villager compounds through the whole game, and the difference between a good and a bad opening is usually five or six villagers, not army composition.
- Choose Landmarks for what you plan to do, not for what looks strongest. The English Council Hall only pays off if you actually mass Longbowmen, and the French School of Cavalry is wasted if you never leave your base.
- Start with French, switch to English when ready
- Invest in Longbowman above everything else
- Clear areas in order: Dry Arabia → Black Forest → Mountain Pass → Danube River → Lipany. See our maps guide
- Landmark ageing up + Relics and Sacred Sites together are stronger than either alone
More Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition Guides
- Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition Overview
- Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition Best Builds
- Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition Tier List
- Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition Walkthrough
- Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition Beginner's Guide
- Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition Weapons Guide
- Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition Combat Guide
- Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition Boss Guide
- Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition Maps & Locations
- Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition Crafting Guide
- Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition Classes & Characters
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