Age of Wonders 4 - Three KEY MECHANICS You MUST UNDERSTAND!

[@seasand6705]

Really well done. very focused on significant gameplay features and how they work. with a well structured format and a final conclusion, this is one of the most well produced tips videos i've come across as far as I can recall.

[@Dirt1061]

your tips videos have got to be the best around. I love the final conclusion/overview, super helpful to combine everything from the video!

[@seasand6705]

Love the conclusion.

[@peterknutsen3070]

Based on other videos, non-temporary Healing seems very valuable. Can you make a video about that? How it works, ways to speed it up?

[@iBringTheRain24]

I agree, I'd like an in-depth video on it. The only thing I've seen so far that helps is nature affinity skill tree. It's like the 2nd or 3rd that gives +15hp per turn when in friendly domain. And there's a chaos affinity skill that heals units +20hp when pillaging a province.

[@DeonGaming]

@@iBringTheRain24 There's also an artifact, "horn of plenty", there's a regen ring for heroes, the wonder from this video, and one of liquid magic resources.

[@BlueSapphyre]

@@iBringTheRain24 tome of faith has army heal. World map spell that heals 20 hp.

[@zentonil]

@@iBringTheRain24 The Feudal Culture title Lord of War also gives +5hp and a movement buff following combat.

[@drkmgic]

There's also a spell on the order book. Makes me want me dip into it all the. Time because of that

[@jimberry7385]

I can’t recall a video that does a nice recap at the end of what we have learned. A nice touch!

[@waffleswafflson3076]

**Little things i've learned after 40 hours of playtime:** - Scouts are all unique, Barb scouts can build outposts, Dark scouts have baked in stealth - The mount racial changes some units into mounted units - Most AI will agree to vassalge if you siege down their capital - Killing a multitude of tier 1 units all in one round will break enemy morale and instantly win a fight - Most wonder fights will come up as hard or impossible, but they are balanced to be done at your level and you should /try/ them before just walking away - You can build build teleporters on outpost, allowing you to instantly invade a nation on the other side of the map from your home base if you want

[@hellagrant]

Thank you, this was helpful

[@mitchellkrever421]

Certain special buildings give bonuses if you have adjacent farms/foresters/quarrying etc. Find out what your special buildings are so you can plan accordingly.

[@audiogarden21]

Solid tip.

[@Smithers322]

@@audiogarden21 Those special buildings also let you put, say, a conduit, where normally you couldn't. Which means you now have access to the buildings that require those tile improvements. Case in point: the Dark Culture can build Dark Forge (which counts as a mine) on any tile, which then allows the construction of a mint. So no Dark Culture is going to miss out on a mint, regardless of local tiles.

[@alazkoGaming]

Great video with great tips and that quick tip of how to disband your troops… you have no idea how much time I lost searching in-game for that 😂

[@ardbug9577]

Quick note about your videos, they are great :)

[@Gabriel-px8cv]

just finished my first game, i won by magic victory in the beginner realm and it took a little under 12 hours, this game is like fucking crack lol.

[@romankiraly9061]

Hello, it is my first strategy game ever played, i really like fantasy characters elves and setting in which game is displayed. I am still in the first beggining scenario, 8 hours into game and really addicted. IT IS somehow special and intriguing for me. I have to learn new mechanics and Discover new genre of videogames

[@Ascasc1980]

Wait, one game takes 12 hours? I've looked at quite a few videos, and plan to buy it soon (dont have time to play it atm). But a single game takes 12 hours? I thought it was quite a fast game, as I've seen there is a maximum of like 150 turns or something

[@imblackmagic1209]

@@Ascasc1980 no man, you can play it a lot faster, about 4hrs for me on a magic victory, it all depends on your pace and what you want to do, but if you don't use the auto resolve at all, then you probably can rack up those hours pretty quickly, the auto resolver is a huge time saver in that regard, now, the combat is a great source of fun in this game as well

[@cdavis7529]

@@Ascasc1980 thats actually similar to my playthrough of the beginner map. I like to take my time and take over large parts of the map and generally move slowly. The game allows for that type of play along going as quickly and optimally as possible.

[@Smithers322]

@@Ascasc1980 It can take that long if you're slow going and don't auto resolve combats as others mentioned. I realized I could just finish the training map quickly by making an ally of one AI and then building 3 good stacks of armies and bum rushing the other AI, which i could have done way earlier had I realized.

[@imblackmagic1209]

you forgot imperium is also used for unit upkeep on tier 4 and 5

[@natrixnatrix]

Could you maybe do a video on some basic battle mechanics. Most things I guess are explained if you read the tooltips but there are some where you do not have a direct tooltip. What usually catches me off guard is when an ability ends a units turn. Attacking being the obvious one but also some buffs or heals from support units seem to work the same way. It's probably explained somewhere but if it was then at least I have missed it, so others may have also done so. Another thing is when you are allowed to cast spells. I haven't seen anything in the UI, similar to the way it shows casting points, which shows on what turns you are allowed to use them. Again, it was probably explained somewhere but if so I missed it. I'm betting there are other similar things which unlike for example 'flanking' do not have readily accessible tooltips explaining them.

[@kirillp.4630]

I like your pfp

[@brabbelbeest]

Another thing you’ll want to keep an eye on, is the inherent/passive bonus each tome gives. Often these include special hero traits you and your heroes can choose when leveling up.

[@russellcohen640]

Thanks for the disband tip. I had already found it on my own, but it was not super obvious, so I am sure that's going to help some folks. Upkeep costs can be killer and dropping lower level units is a good idea. I'd love to see an analysis of unit experience and its effects. I have found it makes a big difference. So much so that I think the order spell Ascended Warriors which gives every non-Hero unit in an army a permanent +1 experience level to be the most useful spell in the game.

[@imblackmagic1209]

the disband button is hidden too well

[@leoleo1035]

The disband is sooo useful, specially because there are some recruitment events that you can't even say no.... like, no I don't want a frigging DIRE PENGUIN in my T4 army.

[@leoleo1035]

World Map spells like army healing and ascended warriors are just insanely strong. And can be acquired pretty quickly

[@shamneo23]

more AoW4 content! cant get enough!

[@barryevans791]

I was looking for how to disband units! It would be better if they added a system where you could upgrade tier 1 units once you unlock better

[@TcpIpNut]

Thanks for another great video. I'm enjoying the game that I picked up yesterday (I have all of them). This one is gorgeous! I had issues going to bed on time last night...Just one more turn...what's over there??? ;) I have two GPU cards in my PC. This game auto selected the lower end card. I had to subscribe to the Steam beta branch to have the GPU selection enabled which resolved the issue. Quite strange. I play a ton of games and have never had one select the lesser (and secondary - device 1) card. Stability seems fine on Windows 11, recent GPU drivers, and this unusual GPU setup (two physical Nvidia GPUs). I haven't subscribed to any mods yet as I wanted to ensure the game was stable before doing so.

[@ruudvanzanten9119]

Also a note on Imperium gain. some magic materials give Imperium, also the tier 3 order spell "Covenant of the Faith" lets you get Imperium from Vassalized Free cities, 5 Imperium for 6 mana upkeep. bargain :)

[@MrCarlsong]

Disband unit... I found it myself yesterday... I wish I saw that video when I really need that

[@Wombola]

omg thanks for the disband unit tip!

[@Xaxares]

When unlocking tomes, can you go back a tier and unlock more tier 1 or 2 tomes? If so, how?

[@leflyxdvd]

There's a button to show all tomes, then you can pick any unlocked tome on the left side.

[@Smithers322]

no, once you are done with getting 2 of a tier, you cant go back for more. Which I'm hoping Triumph gives us an opportunity to change.

[@TheAradam]

@@Smithers322 You can, there is a show library button that lets you look at all the books and pick more of the lower tiers.

[@Smithers322]

@@TheAradam Thanks for the tip, missed that. Now I can have my Archmage actually learn pyro, terra, cryomancy and evocation.

[@ExceedProduction]

How far should one spread cities out to maximize tile useage? How does one cleverly progress through the unit tiers to keep up with the game? On that note, is there a way to view the unit roster and what is yet to be unlocked?

[@KingQuatto]

Yes

[@iamdopeasfcuk]

you don't want to spread your cities out too far from each other since they'll be harder to defend that way. use outposts for out of the way claims on wonders and stuff. it's hard to know exactly how much your keeping up with the other factions, but in the diplomacy tab, you can hover over relations and look if you have a bigger army, etc than someone. i think the quest tab with the different victory conditions shows your ranking out of all faction too. you can also use a scout to just scout out other factions and see how big they're getting. also, the encyclopedia shows all units in the game. it's the "i" at the top right next to the gear icon

[@NB-yu4lj]

What graphic card and RAM are you using?

[@Spinexus]

Around turn 40-50 i always end up in the red on most resources. Upkeep and upgrade costs killed my eco! xD

[@ExceedProduction]

I made myself an elf race that I wanted to lean into frost and undead magic. Basically, play on a desert world and then mess everything up with frost landscapes. It's not turn 80 and I haven't finished the research for that spell yet. Damn.

[@Majber]

Thank you for the tips

[@amitor100]

Until now I just sent troops I wanted to dismiss to fight a hopeless battle 😅. Do you know of a way to remove an annexed tile without destroying my entire city?

[@jamesdykes517]

How do you boost morale?

[@elleeVee]

is there any reason not to go for magic victory asap? you can rush towards it SO quickly and it kinda naturally happens every game

[@sultanofswag8901]

On games with less rulers you can get a domination victory very easy because you don't need to kill allies, so ally with all but one faction, kill them, and you win. But for bigger maps yeah magic tends to be the best unless you go for a very wide build where you can get an expansion victory sooner.

[@leflyxdvd]

really depends tho, i find it pretty easy to go for allied victory's or conquest. The magic one can get anoying the moment you need to do the 15 turns of protecting your seed/root etc and alot of other factions will declare war and ofc the invading units that spawn. If you dont have a decent army at that moment you are not gonna win.

[@stefannicic6509]

Depends, expansion might be easier to achieve (depending on what you choose as start class). But both of them spawn invading force and AI tends to take this to it's own advantage, of course if you prepared well, then it's a shortcut to victory, which is why I disable magic and expansion by default and keep only Might and Score.

[@Crumbsworth]

@@leflyxdvd also, for reference, I had a campaign where I had allied with every free city, defeated 2 of 3 enemy rulers, and taken all 3 rulers’ territories. The 3rd ruler was Dark culture, and hid from me with concealment, so I went for an Expansion Victory. Even with no “enemies” left on the map, the game will still spawn in Partisans, so don’t waste time positioning your defenses around the Beacons or Seeds.

[@007whiterussian2]

Some cases u can’t. I realized that with chosen destroyers or mega cities map effect you can’t build the buildings cause u can’t have more then one city so u have to go with another win condition

[@realityweaverRW]

do unit upgrade themeselves? In first playthroughts i've noticed starting with 3 pikemen then suddenly i had 3 shieldmen

[@Nota-Skaven]

Units don't upgrade usually, this isn't Civ where you research directly superior versions of units, the only upgrades are your enchantments and racial transformations, neither of which can completely change a unit class to my knowledge, edit: except the feudal spearmen that one does, apparently a couple others it's listed on the unit effects

[@Alex13501]

Only few units have this ability, usually on their 4th rank, the feudal tier 1 spearman indeed have that, as you observed. Some of the others are spider hatchling or hell puppy.

[@kcw1879]

On my 3rd game now (everything set to Medium/Standard), and I found research goes way too fast for my taste. With just 4 cities, I got to tier 5 pretty quickly. After that, I eventually just ignored researching anything, and not really building anything that does Knowledge. No feeling of accomplishment with Tomes for me. Just a shoulder shrug it happened so easy and fast.

[@2fat4airborne44]

true as long as you dont have to focus on economy that is. On medium you can rush research easy peasy, but on harder maps or witrh harder diffivultiy its not that easy anymore. As you have to spend more ressources more quickly, so not as much room for research. and its not just 4 cities, there is no reason that you need much more, maybe 5 with some builds. Later its cost way to much to raise youre cap and you are so far into the game it takes to long toi get the city to a point that the investment takes shape. So vassals are the way to go anyway - as the build up themselfes and share the benefits. Or just burn down all the others ^^.

[@msturg80]

everyone is upset with all the recent AAA games and this game is sitting here. Game is going to be looked at as a hidden gem in due time.

[@okkomp]

How many spells do you need per tome before you have completed it?

[@DeathBean89]

Every tome completes after 4 research cycles. So expect to get 4 spells per tome

[@lazaron1]

Can someone explain "race transformations" Are they permenant? is it only for units currently on the map? and if not, why dont they appear under active spells?

[@Smithers322]

They are permanent for the particular race you cast them on (note this means any other race on the map will need it cast on them separately). Second answer: its for any units of that race on the map and any made thereafter. They don't appear in active spells because there is no upkeep cost. You've altered the races "genetics", they will carry on the transformations with their own life force, so to speak.

[@lazaron1]

@@Smithers322 Thx, thats kind of what what I assumed. It just seems a bit ilogical that it looks like it can be re-cast, eventhough other spells that will have no effect are "greyed" out. Anyway, again thx for the answer.

[@ddenozor]

also if you don't really like the visual transformations, you can install a small mod from workshop that lets you cast 'no transform' version of those spells if you want. You get the benefit without changing your race into hairy gold skinned walking plants with goat hooves.

[@zenkai121]

New drinking game, take a shot each time he says "generally"

[@Delt4_Cr4wfish]

One think i dont like, there no way to stop developing tomes at ter 5. So you play a long game, and you end up unlocking tomes that you dont want for your setup.

[@maxshaian7260]

True, but it is usually because you are supposed to finish the game by this time. But for some reason your haven't. Usually it's because people delay the final battle or don't focus on the victory conditions

[@Delt4_Cr4wfish]

@Max Shaian some people like to play a while and build up. Plus, if you are going for a conquest victory and have max players. It takes a min.

[@maxshaian7260]

@@Delt4_Cr4wfish That's actually a good point. I personally prefer only short playthroughs with 2-4 participants. Of course it's a matter of preference, but I don't feel the game is well designed for long sessions. From my experience, I rarely reached tom 5 and usually it was 1 spell, or summon that I used once at most. That's why I liked it.

[@Delt4_Cr4wfish]

@Max Shaian ya some stuff definitely needs to be taken back to the drawing board for people that play long games. I have a large number of hours playing civ 5 with my friends. We always make it to the last teck.

[@yupnope9598]

What am I missing here... Imperium seems just like cosmite from Plantfall. The Pantheon in AOW4 is VERY similar to Galactic Empire mode in Planetfall. There are many such reskins of Planetfall things in AOW4. Please, someone enlighten me. Thanks.

[@jakee.4030]

hate less. enlightened, yw

[@ryguytrys]

oh no - game in series similar to earlier game from series!

[@yupnope9598]

@@ryguytrys To the point that it's not worth my time to play the new one - been there done that already. Enjoy the repetitious gameplay if you wish.

[@johnhobbes2268]

Does anybody know how your heroes effect your affinity? I could find anything on that.

[@spacequack5470]

You couldn't find anything bc they don't, obviously

[@kuromatsu1539]

Is there any way to start a game with a stronger army but no city? I remember in AoW3 there was an option to start without a city and gain one via city state absorption or conquering. Any idea if it's possible in AoW4?

[@leflyxdvd]

not yet but i feel that it is something that will come, i remember having a "nomadic" start in the older games.

[@kuromatsu1539]

@@leflyxdvd I'd love to have that back. It's a slight challenge and helps building a unique "Story" for your races but that might just be a me thing

[@vandermeerkaine9053]

I still can’t figure out how to build an outpost. Infuriating. I click on my hero, there is a button to show suitable land plots for outposts, literally everything is green, I go to any of them, no button or prompt or anything. I did have it pop up once randomly, I clicked away from it because I wanted to clear a tile first, and gone forever, no more prompt again. Encyclopedia is worthless. What are the rules and how do you reliably build them?

[@emylily8266]

You gotta put your hero on a territory then select the territory itself.

[@user-gy9ih6ym9o]

Cant get my second tire 5 any ideas? 2:35

[@Nota-Skaven]

you can't take multiple tier 5 tomes

[@docrock3234]

Anyone also think the old research system was eons better……times 10?

[@Mebsuta]

The expansion section of the guide is still suboptimal as have your previous ones. You fail to mention, for example, that building a farm on a river tile gives you a +2 food yield that you can't access if you build anything else. You also don't mention that the game is very friendly in this stuff by enlarging the size of the icons of the province improvements that would give you more yields. And again: no mention of the economic map mode for future planning.

[@lcl08]

Can i raze my own city?

[@lcl08]

If yes how?

[@vaettra1589]

What's the point in prioritizing spells that cost a single turn to research if you still need to research all the spells in the tome to get to the next tome?

[@DeathBean89]

You only need 4 spells from a tome to get to the next one

[@cichlidhybridmartel8798]

the game is seriussly HOT

[@deathmarkpejoi]

noice

[@robinandersson862]

First!

[@evanragland4930]

I've only put about 4 hours in on my first playthrough, but I find a lot of the mechanics of the game not very intuitive and it's very frustrating. Not sure this game is going to make it in the long run.

[@spacequack5470]

Pretty clearly a you problem

[@evanragland4930]

@spacequack5470 wtf are you talking about? That comment is over a year old and the game is completely different now.

[@NYBobby75]

Why do you talk like you haven't planned out what you are going to say?

[@Tubalcain422]

Yikes! This guys accent is so strong, it sounds like someone trying to mock his accent.

[@blockachockyt1163]

Yikes, unnecessary yikes.

[@Tryptic2x]

Sounds like a you problem. It's not that strong at all. It's just a standard Kiwi accent.

[@marijuanaforest46414]

Thank you for showing on how to disband unit.