Age of Empires 4 - The Byzantines Are Coming

⬇️ Exclusive coaching content is available on Patreon ⬇️
🔥 / aussie_drongo 🔥
Age of Empires 4 guides, AoE4 casts and gameplay are here for all civilzations, including the Byzantines, Japanese, English, Chinese, Zhu Xi's Legacy, HRE, Order of the Dragon, Mongols, Delhi Sultanate, Rus, French, Jean d'Arc, Abbasid, Ayyubids, Ottomans & Malians.
🔥 Pre-order AoE4: The Sultans Ascend here ➤ store.steampowered.com/app/19... 🔥
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
🔴Twitch ➤ / aussie_drongo
💬 Discord ➤ / discord
🐤 Twitter ➤ / aussie_drongo
📸 Instagram ➤ / aussie_drongo
🌎 Facebook ➤ / aussiedrongo
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
#ageofempires #ageofempires4 #aoe4

[@FatherRabbitt]

All I’m going to be doing is training 200 cataphracts and doing Rohirrim charges with that trample damage 😅

[@Pyromaniac77777]

Gilded Spearmen: *salivates*

[@brandman7410]

Exactly what I was thinking. Good old days if BFME 1 and 2

[@Shadewalkin]

as a greek.. im happy to have byzantines come to this game. not only are they aesthetically pleasing. but we get olive oil and greek fire.....my god am i looking forward to this expansion.

[@sagittariusa9012]

The Byzantines called the greek fire, roman fire.

[@BYZANTINE_GR]

@@sagittariusa9012 but the Greeks call also them self romans Romei in Greek and the ottomans called Greeks rum fillet

[@Spiror]

Yep and some times even ourselves we call us romioi….cause of the medieval era and during ottoman rule continuation the name remain same….ethnicity we are greeks but as a state area of the eastern roman empire we remain romioi and also due to the name call us as such the turks , basic every orthodox Christian called like that….due to eastern roman empire of their religion…..

[@splork8016]

As an Italian I'm also hyped for the Byzantines. Mediterranean Greco/Roman faction finally.

[@fredosinsemilla3896]

As a Swede I am happy to bring our väringagarde/viking warriors to Greece :D On a sidenote referencing the thread, we now have three different Roman empires in the game. The Germans, the Greeks and the Turks.

[@xdeser2949]

man the devs really went crazy for the Byzantines and I'm absolutely here for it this rules

[@MadameRouzgar]

I hope the transport ship building mechanic is used (hopefully to build a longship that both fights and transports) in the future for a viking civilization since varangian guards were usually nordic

[@Gillette17]

in drongo terms: "the civ your girlfriend tells you not to worry about"

[@thegorn]

"gulp!"

[@blaskon1035]

im like not much but jealous a bit, as a turk who's naturally familiar with the byzantines however it aint more than they deserve for sure. from hippodrome to olive oil groves (greeks even did establish olive oil factories so its a great detail they put on the game) not need to mention the walls, and the army is thoroughly well done. i mean if they bring an ability where you set a massive chain thats floating in the water and blocking enemy ships would make this game a real time documentary. lmfao

[@blaskon1035]

by "not much" i mean, i would be jealous if ottoman weren't in this game since long ago XD

[@Randy7777]

Thanks for 6 civs videos!!! So productive!

[@Nilso2]

I was learning Mali, gut I guess I'm a Byzantine main now

[@jpteknoman]

That "Akritoi defense" is a badly named ability. A more appropriate name for it would be "Akritai defenders". Akritoi means those who dont think, Akritai (the AI at the end is pronounced the same as agAIn) means those who live at the borders. In Byzantine folklore, Akritai and especially some of the feudal lords of the regions had legendary status with feats comparable to ancient heroes like Hercules.

[@renzuki5830]

Now is a villager that punches the incoming 5 french knights one who doesnt think or a hero like hercules ? :P

[@JoseLeybaDiaz]

we dgaf boy...

[@danlegend8486]

We knew when he was gone for a week we were gonna get blasted on and here we are!

[@Arcodus]

I am keen on playing as the Byzantines as I like my opposition chargrilled!

[@mandyjuarezful]

First time i saw drongo make a video. Damn good sht

[@Kameeho]

Byzantines: look at me. I am the New mongol now!

[@JoseLeybaDiaz]

nice video thanks

[@mazhiwezakizo3513]

I've been saying for so long how we need "Mangonel" emplacements on towers or even Keeps, though i would like to see Nest of Bees emplacements too.

[@JoseLeybaDiaz]

china has that with great wall.. Its too strong, thats why its not available.

[@mazhiwezakizo3513]

@@JoseLeybaDiaz yeah, and it was pretty awsome

[@daudsheikh5001]

modern rts be like you can get 3 contracts with 4 units each or 6 contracts with 4 quadrants every 5 minutes which can combine to make a love triangle which can be fired at your opponent

[@arkloppiola]

love the mangonel emplacement

[@Cythil]

Seems like the cataphracts will have a similar mechanic to how mounted units worked in Battle for middle earth. They could trample down enemy units, which was devastating. Hard countered spearmen and that kind, however. But it was fun. So if it works similarly, I will be all for playing the Byzantines.

[@lucaxtshotting2378]

reforged confirmed

[@zenologic7786]

I loved that aspect of the game. Felt like it made sense having cavalry squads be able to trample infantry. I mainly played BFME 2 and the Witchking expansion. I hope the game gets a remaster so I can play it again. It doesn't work on my new computer

[@Cythil]

@@zenologic7786 Yes. I would love that. The game had a lot of nice features. And BFME 2 was the one I played the most too. With the Witch king expansion, of course. I wonder if I have not ask for it on GoG. GoG stuff tend not to be remasters, but they find every little piece of the original game and make it work on modern hardware at least. Which sometimes is even better than the official remaster. ;)

[@madalinbuzdugan176]

@@zenologic7786 Try Age of the Ring mod for BFME2, its like a whole new game from every aspect.. its the best out there.

[@eristaviserbia]

Leading the Byzantines into battle will be such an enjoyable experience. Their versatile military, strong economy and formidable defences will provided a lot of different strategies to push the enemy back and defeat him through superior tactics and leadership.

[@LivinExtreme]

I just whish the mango tower would actually have a visible mangonel on top of the tower

[@thatwaveychannel4783]

Seems very op

[@MrHodoAstartes]

Nono. When they build a ship and sail off to foreign lands, they don't do Varangian Guard things. That's when they do Viking things.

[@user-gk5sn1jp5j]

Oh MY !!!

[@fr0stlegend712]

lets go!

[@kylesenior]

I have a feeling that Drongo has heard Turisas.

[@mrmirza123456]

Can't wait to play a 4v4 with all 8 being Byzantines or Japanese😂

[@Medic3000]

shieldwall + pilgrim's flask will be insane

[@abhijeetdey]

I didn't understand what did he mean by "spam the outposts without worrying about your population?"

[@Manwu5]

Hardest Civ so far....TierS+ however for those who can unleash it's full potentional!

[@ravhirani2660]

How are the new maps??

[@gabrielfernandes-or3lo]

Mango on outpost is insane... I already see people just use outpost to win the game

[@mirko7587]

Where are the ships and other landmarks

[@Villalbacon]

Do byzantine fire rams affect stone walls? I would understand that in game terms but it doesn't make any sense in reality, doesn't it? 😅

[@jarlwilliam9932]

Stone when heated up can break and bust, one of the ways medieval sappers would deal with stone walls is to tunnel under them, herd pigs into a pit under them and set the pigs aflame because pig fat burns hotter than oil. This weakens the wooden support of the wall and can cause the stone itself to collapse under its own weight.

[@Enternalsin]

Didn't expect to learn here, cheers William!

[@jarlwilliam9932]

@@Enternalsin You’re welcome.

[@Villalbacon]

​@@jarlwilliam9932 I knew about introducing wood in holes previously digged in the wall in order to make them spand with water and make the wall collapse but the pig fat burning method is new to me. I mean, the imagination... picture the local butcher with a pig in his hands, looking to a stone wall and telling the king "Don't worry, I got this" Can we have byzantine rams shooting burning pigs? Tax me double, I will pay

[@jarlwilliam9932]

@@Villalbacon Lol I am pretty sure they herded the pigs in while they where alive, closed the tunnel off and used oil to set the pigs on fire. Imagine the squealing and smell. Humans can be monstrous sometimes. I just imagine the ram operator throwing pigs on the walls and igniting them on fire.

[@SirButtfuck]

Sounds OP af! Huge nerf coming 2 weeks after release! 😂

[@key7817]

I honestly hoped more civs had mechanics like that, always seemed like they didnt want to pull throug with this Stuff. Super inconsintent also, like longbowman have 2 activs wich were in an early trailer and and the rest have little to none.

[@RealShaun]

Akritoi defense? More like feudal 100 vils all in

[@nikolasm.1297]

so what are their weaknesses?

[@jpteknoman]

everything costs more

[@Im_Anthonyy]

You have to spend stone building ur aqueducts and i doubt u can make keeps to defend urself or go double TC boom, also u have to manage a lot more things

[@raulpetrascu2696]

Ottoman great bombard, historically..

[@svendewee9441]

This video is way better edited and structured then your other 5 video's about the new civs. It feels like you rushed the other ones. I hope you will still release the other video's in this format

[@LookAtTheBacon]

Disagree. Japanese one was way better and way more detailed. We haven't even seen all landmarks here. Also, mostly demo footage...

[@theodoreroosevelt3143]

I... i just feel like all of these civs are a bit over the top. Like fr, i would be happy if they were simpler. Make them English/French easy with some unique units and tech, cool landmarks and that's it. It kinda feels... weird

[@minimcune]

the last thing the game needs is more braindead civs like english and french.

[@madalinbuzdugan176]

so basically AoE 2 with better graphics? like this is what makes AoE4 greatest.. the uniqueness of each civ, both from units, building and upgrades aesthetics and mechanics

[@ChrisEzio]

Trying AOE4 but its bad like 2.5 like a step back. AOE3DE is still the best in my opinion

[@JamesJohnson-kl1eu]

two things about byzantine that doesn't make sense. Cataphracts can tramp in a path while they charge, yet elephants can't. They can buy hua hua poa and the mongols can only get them randomly.

[@profile1565]

It’s a damn game.

[@Spiror]

They also have northmen berserkers with great axes haha 😂 basic have all if you have money lol 😅😅

[@GoblinxChild]

@@Spiror The Varangian Guard were real mercenaries that the Byzantines hired as elite warriors, so it makes perfect sense to see them here.

[@ceppatore7483]

I have seen a game byzantines built more keshiks and paupaus than mongols.....more elephants than Delhi....i love byz but this is age of byzantines or aoe

[@algore92]

they seem busted

[@kingfisher1638]

Many of these mechanics feel like they should be base features that everyone gets.

[@partydean17]

Which ones specifically?

[@kingfisher1638]

The cavalry charge mechanic for one. Stances for infantry (shield wall) and other civs should probably get the mangonel emplacements.

[@partydean17]

@kingfisher1638 hmm I think if abilities and stance dancing is part of the base games expectations you've really changed the skill floor. The game right now is obviously super high in skill ceiling but arguably attack move is a great way of playing. It doesn't involve toggling through a diverse army to activate abilities and switch stances especially berserk and shield wall with such downsides to them. I think a lot of people would look at the spearmen shield wall and think "I'd rather he just be in the middle, boost the defenses a little and reduce the damage and speed a little so I don't have to switch between the two extremes in the 4 seconds it takes for them to close the distance" Unless the charge thing you want to be more passive. Either way i agree with the mango towers thing that's really strong and seems more desirable for most people.

[@kingfisher1638]

I think the skill ceiling argument isn't as strong anymore since they are pushing all kinds of timing abilities tied to awkward buildings requiring heavy hotkeys for optimal use. That said I am also for autocast abilities so units with shield wall would auto toggle depending on what they are being attacked by. That way ranged units will tend to pin shielded units by forcing shields. The trend seems to be more complex behaviors being introduced to the game I just want them to lean into it fully and give us enough QoL with it that it isn't too clunky/sweaty.

[@Thefrabur91]

Seems Like byzantins will be broken overpowered xD S Tier ez

[@jeffgodoy8676]

The counter to this civ is the Ottomans.

[@canakar1657]

Yes, but they gave Byzantine features that should have been in the Ottoman Empire.

[@mek8568]

This civ needs to have high unit costs for it to be balanced. Nutty otherwise

[@Chames222]

speak after me Drongo: lum-i-tan-i-i (sorry but it makes me furious how u pronounce i, dont want to look like a know it all)

[@nephrendir]

So overpowered how is this being balanced lol

[@Thefrabur91]

1:18 wtf is that? Can we be more historical pls. This is Not age of Mythologie

[@theodoreroosevelt3143]

i gotta change my nick on Steam to "Low Tier God" because there will be no fun playing online as civs this good. can't wait for nerfs with notes like "hey guys, we did 9000 different nerfs for all DLC civs, 2137 for Byzantines, we know that now the civ is weaker and balanced but at least it's way more complicated in comparison with vanilla civs so you will get the same results with more work :)"

[@theodoreroosevelt3143]

more civs so less mirrors? nope, let's say that from 10 civs we have now the number of playable civs will drop to 6...

[@usta6348]

too much, game this complicated is a bit much. I feel like I am playing a new game with each civ and losing familiarity after a week if you don't play.

[@lemontwiss]

They're too convoluted with new mechanics, they make all the other civs look badly designed in comparison. Bad move by the devs IMO. The mechanics are cool, but they should've spread them across other civs instead of throwing them all on a single new civ. Ofc they're doing that because this will be a paid DLC, and anyone serious about the game will want this civ cuz on the top level they will be OP AF.

[@rodolfodiass1456]

Spread it to all civilizations so that other players come complaining about "no new mechanics", no "real new civ". "Everything is the same" and whatever

[@profile1565]

You idiot. It’s called variant civs, we will probably get more for the other civs

[@nathanburnham7839]

Honestly, be over the top like makes the fisrt 8 civs look shit wheres the balance. Was so happy to see these new civs now nothing but disappointed

[@Anonymous07192]

If anything it would be historically accurate. These guys continued the legacy (technologically, civilizationally and culturally) of the Roman Empire while the British, French and Holy Roman Empire were basically backwards savages from Germany.

[@lyricofwise6894]

Updates exist

[@partydean17]

Power creep is an unfortunate part of games like this but remember the Chinese have existed this whole time and i think they would be called out as needlessly bloated from the get go

[@minimcune]

learning new things is hard huh

[@cihadozdemir9124]

why didnt you do it like the other civ you made, downwote from me drango...

[@wurzelbert84wucher5]

Now Civs like the HRE are looking even more bland.

[@Drachenfurie]

So ... the Byzantines have a copy of the Consulate from the Asian civs in Age of Empires 3? Thats another copy of Age of Empires 3. Same as the Ottomans who copy paste the Shipment system from Age of Empires 3. Great! Age of Empires 3 did so many things right. Its really sad that most people were stuck playing Age of Empires 2. And now they think these systems are some kind of innovation while Aoe3 players recognize these mechanics immediately.

[@theodoreroosevelt3143]

AoE2 definitive edition is funny, new civs get the stuff inspired by AoE3 and AoM. They added first unit that shots arrows and switches to melee at close like in AoE3 An they added a civ with ox cart from AoM. It's quite silly. I love playing AoE4 but AoE2 can;t acceop the fact that AoE3 and AoM are the best games and all roads lead to them