10 ADVANCED TIPS & TRICKS - Combat Guide AGE OF WONDERS 4

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00:00 - Intro
00:29 - Use Pinning & Control Zones As Much As Possible
02:38 - Temporary HP Fun
04:06 - Playing Around Your Offensive Units
05:42 - Roster Setup Offensive vs Defensive Units
06:46 - Disable Are Massive
08:04 - Elemental Variety Helps
10:07 - Spells And How To Get The Most Out Of Them
11:44 - Summons Are Cheesy And Powerful
14:02 - Positioning Tips
15:56 - Heroes Are Joker Units
This is a Tips & Tricks Compilation for Age Of Wonders 4. It features various Gameplay and mechanical advices, helping Beginners and Veterans. This Video Focuses on Advanced Battle & Combat.
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[@pykpitt]

A few more tips: 1) pre-cast your spells, so that they are ready for combat when you need them 2) steal other ruler quest objectives (mobs with a quest icon in place of the skull. Not very noticeable) 3) If some units in your stacked army move faster than others, have them around your main army grabbing drops and picking fights, while your slower army move in a more straight line. Don't be afraid to separate and re-merge them, till they are in range they will always fight together. Edit: tip 3 also gives you more fow visibility

[@igimat123]

For battle AI it makes perfect sense to not ignore summons, it shouldn't care what happens after battle, and it usualy focus on killing units to lower morale

[@neetfreek9921]

I think this game’s true potential lies in pvp unlike a lot of other 4x games. The tome system allows for so much strategical diversion that the ai’s more linear play style won’t be able to challenge it. Hopefully it manages to take off.

[@dennissvitak148]

A shield unit with stun is rapidly becoming my most favorite unit. Stun one, focus fire the second, and you're Gucci.

[@anomanomom239]

Mental mark spell + flash stun that mystic shield units have is a match made in heaven in that regard. 60 percent stun chance may seem low, but mental mark pretty much solves that issue. A pair of spell shield units, three watchers with watcher's gaze and a few enchantments and a hero with frost evocation can beat stacks with 2-3 max tier units just by chain stunning poor sods.

[@victorrexach3183]

I haven't learned more from other 1-2 hrs. blah-videos than what I learned in this short 20min. one. Great work! Very useful information and to the point. Make more!

[@Ic0nGaming]

On it good sir and thanks for your kind words =)

[@FreyCloud]

great videos bro, thanks for making these. I love this game, so addicting so far

[@MrSimonsime]

Great content, love this game :)

[@lunaskye4272]

very helpful!! thank you

[@DthScythe01]

Been watching all of these videos. They are super helpful. AOW4 is pretty amazing.

[@ericgalvan2203]

In a nutshell 😅

[@Ic0nGaming]

I might have had a nut too much in my cereal today xD

[@Majber]

It's rly usefull

[@nepocrates]

In tip 9 you mention leaving spaces in your army that is good in many cases. However there are skills/talanets where a unit gains benefits from standing adjacent to a friendly unit such as shield wall or warding/ So although it is good to not clump sometimes if your unit perform better you should clump. Thanks for the video I enjoyed it.

[@Ic0nGaming]

Thanks for your comment, you are absolutely right about that! I tried to explain it in the video already to keep always 2 units together and not more, cause most of these "buddy system" skills need only one guy. Probably didn't formulate it out well enough there. My ideal distribution would be lots of 2 man teams with gaps inbetween to make AoE effects as unefficient as possible.

[@TheRealMrWolf]

Your videos are fantastic, as is the game. One thing I would like to add (again) is to REALLY read the unit's abilities (yours, as well as enemies), and use them, because at least at the start of the game, you really depend on them to win difficult battles. Your hero is a monster in whatever they do, but also for example Industrial Anvil Guard has an amazing Taunt ability, which functions as a stun, as well as turns the enemy unit towards them, which can then be utilized for your flanks. Feudal Bannerman can buff all the units around them, as well as heal them, so doing that at the start of the combat and putting your whole army around them can basically bring them from the verge of death and make them useful for the battle, or buff them up apx. one tier. And archers, let's say the High Dusk Hunter for example, have "low damage," but that's just because they shoot 3 arrows, so positioning them well at the start of the combat can mean you basically have a cannon that deletes 1/2 of a unit's health every turn (especially if you "Awaken" them, then they get +40% damage with every missile), while high level Industrial Arbalest can basically be your main ranged unit for the whole game, since their Overdraw Crossbow shot, while hard to use, can easily destroy HP, remove Defensive Mode (a mode on every unit which increases their defense through various means), and even more importantly - remove Retaliation from RANGE. So yeah - I'd say that this is one of the most important factors in AoW4 battles, it teaches you how to play the game and your faction: Learn your units' abilities!

[@Ic0nGaming]

Yes, I did emphasize this factor in my Basic Combat Tricks already! I do like your summary about really good things in the details of your troops. Cause most troops in this game are very well thought through. Especially the Cultural Rosters are full of hidden little tricks. I did find some magic origin units rather quirky and situational, but Cultural Roster is amazing for every culture =)

[@TheRealMrWolf]

@@Ic0nGaming Yes, yes, I listened to it. I just meant that to do advanced combat, you should read and try out all of your troops again and again, so you can really learn how to win against those impossible odds. I like how you always emphasize Support units, because having one or two right ones in every army (also, the hero can be a sick support) can improve your army by a few tiers, and basically cheat out a win vs. something you really couldn't win otherwise. The same goes for spells. Also, I can't understand why people rank something like Ice magic so low in their tiers, since stuns (like Ice Coffin) can basically remove the enemy ace unit (especially early when it can 1-shot your low tiers) from the game for one turn, or trap a glass cannon unit, eg. Zephyr Archer, a flanker like Dark Knight, or a healer, so you can easily finish it off. I know you said something about how stuns are VERY strong in one of your guides, so I also sign under that.

[@Ic0nGaming]

@@TheRealMrWolf I am honestly very surprised to hear that anybody doesn't value Ice. I don't find time to watch other peoples videos that much, busy playing and consuming data :D I have a run with Ice Elves (Dark Culture) and they are amazing. If you manage to freeze up enemies in chokepoints you can stall entire armies, it's just hilarious. I've never been a big fan of tier lists myself, but maybe I should do one. I would have expected Ice in a high tier, cause it just gives you dirty cheap access to brutal ranged stuns. It's even a fricken T1 tome :D Well, thanks for sharing this tidbit with me :D

[@TheRealMrWolf]

@@Ic0nGaming Yeah, same. Ice was dope all the time I used it. It also gives arrows with slow and bonus damage, along with ice elemental, which is also really good if you take it to T3. Potatomcwhiskey did a tier list where it was the lowest tier, if I remember correctly. One thing I also find weird is people regarding Materium weak??? 😅 I mean, wat? Cheaper and faster outposts give you free real estate early, free stability when you build improvements smartly, more income, more income on like 5 different affinity talents, 2K gold injection for basically a free developed city or like 2 armies, more def. and res., better regen and less upkeep. Everything is so freaking good. Yeah, you lack a bit of food, but you build more structures anyway, so I find Materium an extremely dependable and adaptable option. And also Shadow is considered weak??? 🫠 Knowledge? Where it's like the most important and hardest to access resource appart of Imperium... Idk, it would seem that I played too much of the previous AoW games and/or I focus too much on the immersion and RPG aspect, instead of optimizing overpowered builds to destroy everyone. And another thing is that most tier lists will focus on cheesing in single player, while for multi-player it can be extremely dependant on circumstances.

[@Jabberwokee]

Haha, first one here! So cool to see more content for this great game

[@Fang1192]

Do combat points for casting spells refresh every battle? Ive never noticed. For example, if i fight 2 different battles on the same world turn would i get 55/55 for each? Or 55 max across both?

[@whymemanwhyl0lp751]

55 each

[@Clippy111]

Combat points are given per battle, but each spell in combat will use up your overall mana resource, so your limited by how much mana you can pump out per turn.

[@valacarno]

13:40 Choices!

[@ToTheNines87368]

The different damage types recommendation is a bit of a flavor fail from the game if it forces one to get all types. Like I created a fire faction and I hated the game almost forced me get other types.

[@MD-yd8lh]

In most cases you will be okay with physics + one type. But sometimes its ouch. But its roleplay afterall😂

[@shadowwolf4223]

Is immobilization really that useful? Imo it seems pretty useless since most of the AI I faced always huddles their army together to buff up their troops with their supports and just steamroll me regardless even if I have a decent formation.

[@Ic0nGaming]

Well it does rip up the enemies formation by leaving some parts behind. This is interesting because it hinders the AI from hitting you with all it got at once. If you can like Immobilize 3 of 11 units for just 2 turns, you'll effectively only have to deal with 8 enemies for a while. At least that's the logic behind it for me.

[@GoodEggGuy]

Immobilizing shock troops so that they can't get their charge off, or stopping a shield unit from plugging a hole in their line... those are best use scenarios. Many animals don't have a ranged attack, so immobilizing them is as good as stunning them. A straight-up stun is better, sure, but often stuns are easier to resist (presumably as part of game balance).

[@MGShadow1989]

I've noticed that with Feudal especially, turtling around their Bannermen and giving things Steadfast - annoying shites... Aside from that though I've lost track of how many units I've effectively taken out of a fight with a well placed melee unit, especially a shield unit - personal favourite is Entwined Protectors as they just refuse to die at times, so I'm quite aggressive with them.

[@seasand6705]

​@@MGShadow1989 love those guys. Tanky af

[@Clippy111]

It can really depend. If you play your cards right, you can immobilize the enemy melee front long, allowing you the chance to either move your melee troops to flank them, or more simply push past to their ranged units and wipe them out early on. Highly depends on what you’re facing. Can also be simply used to give you a chance to pepper or isolate stronger units without risking them getting up close and personal

[@docrock3234]

If I were to think of a paper rock scissors frame work for these units…. Who would you say is the counter for polearm units?…. Who is there kryptonite?

[@Ic0nGaming]

Every form of ranged attack, since it outmaneuvers their strongest side - multiple retaliation attacks.