Three Years Later... How Good is Age of Empires 4 Now?

[@excelution7040]

I don't play RTS games, but I love watching your SC2 videos. This was a really fun video and I'd love to see more AoE4 as well!

[@hanshansen2925]

Quite enjoyable to see you play AoE 4 - wouldn't mind more of that :-)

[@Recklessjoe747]

I love your StarCraft content, but it's also really cool to see you transfer those skills to another RTS 👍

[@GoodContent]

btw, I know a bunch of people only click on SC2 videos, but wanna say I LOVE when you make videos on other RTS games so just showing support for these kind of videos

[@noslumber9611]

yes, i agree!!

[@magicturtle1313]

(Joan of Arc steps onto the battlefield in her Phase 1 villager form) “ahh what is that thing?!” 😂

[@danielvonahnen5342]

Love u playing AoE4. Its my favorite Game right now and also i play Mongols a lot. BTW the mongol Towers have the same Speed Buff Aura like the Deer Stones, but the Deer Stones grant u a improved Version directly what would normaly accessabel at Castle Age (Tier 3). The normal Aura only Speed Buffs Caverlarie and Traders. The improved Version everything. Thats why u should add some Towers to ur Tradeline to have even more ressources. Also there is a trade buff if u have more traders. If u have 10 u get also 10% in wood and at 15 its also 10% in Food (so if 1 Traders brings 50 Gold it will also bring 5 Food and 5 Wood). I really hope to see more :)

[@xavierdelalande1242]

Arbalétrier in french means "man with a crossbow" dear Mark, so it was crossbow in the end :)

[@brasshouse-fireball]

I love the French people, I love French food, I love what y’all have done for egalitarianism. But I’m not sure if I can ever forgive y’all for your language. Why are all the words so fucked up?

[@le1897]

@@brasshouse-fireball So you have funny thing to say when you come talk to one of us !

[@attastealth]

Love all your content @uthermal! I found myself getting too stressed out playing MOBAS, so your calm and fun demeanor has actually helped me get back to SC2! Slowly improving my gameplay and trying to spread positivity when playing by complimenting good plays. Keep on rocking!

[@SylvesterInk]

I stopped playing RTSs for MOBAs a while back, but recently got back into them. The nice thing about RTSs is that in 1v1, if you're losing you have nobody to blame but yourself, so if you approach the game with less ego, you come away from a loss with a better attitude and a desire to improve. This is something I see uThermal do in his games, which is certainly inspiring.

[@ChristianAdvokat]

I love that you are looking into AoE4. More of that :) (Men at Arms are heavy, so are countered by crossbows. However, they destroy spearmen, horsemen and archers.)

[@fanofsporks]

I love the alternative game videos. I know you said they dont do as well for views before, but I appreciate your fun first approach to content creation.

[@alanjones9464]

ngl, i enjoyed this a lot more than i expected. i was out of all of your SC videos and decided to give this one a shot (havent been a fan of the other RTS games you have tried out) but this was very fun to watch. I would def enjoy some more of these and see you get better/play the diff races over time! (but my heart still belongs to your SC2 2v2 and 4v4 games ) Thanks for all the content, i watch them every day when i workout. The positive vibes and your energy do a lot for my daily quality of life

[@Schnitzel2368]

I love aoe 4. coming from sc2, feels like a chilly new home.

[@TypeOfan941]

Would also like to see more AOE4, love watching your SC videos, but personally, I am moving over to AOE4

[@specific_protagonist]

Oh you got me excited, glad to see you playing some AoE4 again!

[@KERAAK35]

Hey Marc! :) It was quite entertaining & fun to watch I must admit, especially Round 2. If you enjoying it, then keep it up, always interesting to see, what SC2 tactics can do in this kind of game as well! :) Thank you so much, may your day light up with a smile. BR AN.

[@orisitsteven]

I played SC2 for years, but AOE4 has surpassed it as my favorite RTS of all time. I appreciate the slightly slower pace of play, and how the meta is constantly evolving with new patches. There are also a really nice variety of strategies, which vary by civ.

[@orisitsteven]

The markets effectively act as additional TCS/ command centers. So Uthermal had 3x the eco production of the Jean player. Mongol trade is really powerful if not disrupted early. Not that dissimilar from zerg droning off of a bunch of hatcheries. The sacred sites are a win condition and also give passive gold if you capture them. 75 per minute if I recall. Jean is a hero unit and can capture sacred sites at age 3 like a monk.

[@EliteGam3r]

would love to see more AoE4, especially if you can find silly aggressive strategies that actually work in this game

[@titos2x]

Really love you playing AoE4, hope to see more. :-)

[@phychmasher]

I enjoy this game. Every 6 months or so I re-install it to play a few campaign games. It's pretty chill. I'm glad it's on Game Pass.

[@levelfivemetapod5666]

Would love to see more AoE4 content, I heard there is a new expansion coming out soon for it aswell!

[@nait5340]

i'm really surprised he never heard of jeanne d'arc. she's maybe not THE most well known french historical figure (that woud likely be napoleon) but still undoubtly top tier. it's kinda like saying you never heard of albert einstein or christoph kolumbus.

[@oldschooloverlord]

Yes, very famous French witch who at the behest of the Devil raised a rebellion against the saintly King of England. Very bad lady.

[@thomaschevrierlaliberte5884]

Of course! Everyone knows! Just like Einstein, Columbus or Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni. Basic knowledge!

[@Venezuela386]

@@thomaschevrierlaliberte5884As a european he should probably know about the first two… most westerners don’t know much about the islamic golden age tho lol, unless they history buffs

[@tFighterPilot]

Maybe I didn't understand correctly, but it seemed like he just didn't it was a faction in the game. (It's not really a faction, it's just the French with a Jean D'arc hero.

[@TristanOnGoogle]

@@thomaschevrierlaliberte5884 yeah all these guys except "Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni" ;)

[@gabrielpowers766]

I hope you do a lot more of this uThermal. I bet team games would be fun too. Probably this is the best RTS for team games. Random 4v4 gets wild sometimes. Love ya brother.

[@gen_angry]

The villager with the crown is Joan of Arc. She was a huge French hero during the 100 years war. It's the French 'hero unit', similar to your Khan.

[@codehunger88]

Loved it! Hopefully you'll play it some more in the near future!

[@danielflynn8226]

Thanks for creating such a fun part of the internet for us all. Such energetic and fun content❤

[@VarvasNukka]

Another fantastic RTS with a fun macro is is Supreme Commander. Real love how you can zoom out the map to the absolute limits in that game. Would highly recommend checking out and if you're interested in playing pvp then check out the Forged Alliance Forever mod where the multiplayer scene is.

[@SylvesterInk]

And FAF also plays very well for team games, which can become pretty epic.

[@kylelochner5686]

@@SylvesterInk Got a line on my screen thought you typed FAP

[@DeityEquinox]

A new Supreme Commander would be so insane with todays CPU & GPU capabilities

[@SylvesterInk]

@ Sanctuary: Shattered Sun. It looks promising, and even Chris Taylor has come out to say that he's excited to see how it turns out.

[@DeityEquinox]

@@SylvesterInk Looked it up & I'm stoked ngl

[@StinkiiChan]

I am personally very excited for the chance to see more of your commentary and gameplay on AOE or any other new RTS games.

[@cashe7536]

I'm ready for the 0 to Master (or w/e the equivalent is) AoE4 run

[@zaftnotameni]

37:00 sacred sites.... if all are capture by a player, a timer begins (which is a win condition), similar to if a player builds a wonder

[@JulianoSchroederArt]

Ahh, do more, for sure! Aoe 4 has a different pace but it is a very good game. Love seeing you trying it out. I want see you play against conquerors

[@randonkbay]

What a treat!! I love Aoe4 and uThermal so this is a great colab for me!!

[@kgeo2686]

Individual micro is VERY popular and important early to mid game.

[@xXNightAngelXx01]

Jeanne d'Arc is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronation of Charles VII of France during the Hundred Years' War. Claiming to be acting under divine guidance, she became a military leader who transcended gender roles and gained recognition as a savior of France. Wikipedia. I played FGO, one of my favorite heroes in the game.

[@lowqualitymichrophone]

yo chill

[@ja3482]

"Transcended gender roles?!?" She got herself burned at a stake like many other women in history 💅🏻

[@maximk9964]

I played Moscovia campaign when AoE4 came out and it was pretty fun, so I hope you'll play Rus at some point

[@Fleurise003]

Love to see it!! Just picked up the game myself after a hiatus! May we meet on the ladder!! AoE4 is also a great game for 2v2, 3v3 and such!!

[@AlbertHuangTV]

I think this is just the nostalgia talking but this is probably my second favorite RTS of the channel next to, of course, SC2. Loved this video and hope to see more AOE content!

[@Zerohi123]

Would love to see more of aoe4

[@keharacek]

This was super fun, nice change of pace from SC 😏

[@n0nstrum]

Enjoyed this, would love to see you play this from time to time :)

[@nw8233]

So happy you’re playing age again!!!

[@Benetzz]

Nice to see you play AOE! I’m an sc2 watcher but an aoe4 player! So this was a nice surprise

[@Morde9977]

Attractive thumbnail. One of many reasons why I watch all your videos. Good luck!

[@DinoCrys]

Finally AoE! Thank you! Waited for it for so long! I play AoE and BAR more as Starcraft feels way to micro-heavy and very punishing if you don't do it. These games allow more tactics which allows to compensate my poor micro.

[@Falindio]

Looking forward for more AoE4 content, if it's in your calendar.

[@Tuchajbejasyn]

any chance for some more BAR content?

[@StinkiiChan]

Please! 🙏

[@koudyazume6418]

Nice that you play AoE4 now or u give it a second try. personally i am not so competitive in AoE4 but i had many great moments with my best friend vs AI in this game :D If i can ask: Do u ever will play sc2 Arcade Maps and upload it on youtube or will this never be a thing? I know what u play atleast on youtube but it would really funny to see some arcade maps played by u and maybe with the community or friends ^^ (i love sc2 arcade with friends, that's why wanted to ask)

[@Koshak87]

Despite it not getting a lot of views I hope this video gets part 2.

[@brandon8667]

Aoe4 is my ladder game. I LOVE it I returned it on steam when it first came out.

[@whatever1013434]

2. Can you do the hold out challenges again? Those videos were sooo entertaining and you don't even need to offer a prize. People will participate. It was awesome to see that part without any buffs or restrictions as to how long regular players could last

[@QuincyConscience]

Whats that hunter with the crown - Jean D'Arc's enemies throughout history

[@alsto8298]

Peasant with a crown *

[@chasearnold6254]

This is very enjoyable! Variety is the spice of life

[@kgeo2686]

I was literally JUST looking up “AOE 2025” and BOOM… Thermy got me covered ❤

[@Frankotronify]

the deer stones give a speed aura to all you watch towers so you can use them to speed up your traders and get more money if you make a bunch of them along the trade route

[@shadyflames4158]

If you want to boost your traders, you might as well go for silver tree instead, because all deer stones does is it researches the yam network tech automatically, which you can get even without deer stones in castle age. Besides, the speed aura affects all cavalry and traders even without the tech, so you're not really getting anything from that landmark, meanwhile silver tree lets you make traders cheaper and faster.

[@Izik09834]

If you’re going to play a new game please explain some more of the mechanics. I’ve never seen this game before but like watching you. Explain at least what’s going on maybe a few times as we have to learn it all

[@arcadiatf2]

You gotta run a team game

[@ShadHunter7]

Just for information, in AO4 we gathering deer or boar faster than other sources of food. And realy fast with survival techniques upgrad. And if you already know, just i love your stuff :)

[@Pim-Emporix]

they are billions would be nice to see sometimes :) full playthrough plz :D

[@sinak12345]

[@ChristoFerrus]

that sad feeling when no daily Thermal upload

[@volkantumay2271]

nice..good job uthermal

[@_narcosis]

would love to see you do some free for all content with other aoe4 streamers like turin

[@CorvinoDan]

i think you did well with the upgrades. for civs i think in pro play they just get wheelbarrow and you seem to counter units well. Free healing is always nice.

[@MetalMageful]

Hey Marc I'm only about 10 minutes in the vid but if you're getting your first eco upgrade def grab wheelbarrow first But glad to see you play age 4! :D

[@ImmolationAngel]

The crowned unit is Jeanne D'Arc (Joan of Arc - Patron Saint of the French) XD Think of it kind of like a hero unit from Warcraft III And yes, she is French.

[@matthewsemenuk8953]

I like the sarcastic name. No one should take that name seriously. No idea how this game works, but I think Uthermal explains it well enough as he goes.

[@zackwelll]

Hey , nice to see you in aoe4 , i recomend you take a look at pro scouts openings that are meta now , if not to do them , atleast to know how to counter them

[@Coleslaw1987]

MORE!

[@hjge1012]

The real reason he started playing the Mongols, is because he lives in Maastkantje and he himself is a Mongol.

[@Porumb007]

You haven't heard of Jeanne D'arc? There's also this really short dude called Napoleon that's gonna blow your mind.

[@walkedale1986]

more of these videos please.

[@darkalley8595]

Well played!

[@sgtleska]

I don't play this game but I'm assuming that players outpost their gold for two RTS reasons. The gold is a valuable and rare commodity, and it seems to be always out of range of town centre protection. Love your videos, Sir. *salutes*

[@craftyraf]

I'm a diamond SC2 player (Terran), even though I don't know really know a lot about Zerg and Protoss (I don't know any timings, upgrades, I even don't know 100% what buildings they need to build specific units). I want to get started with AOE4, but I feel like I will be overwhelmed with the amount of different units, races, buildings, upgrades,... Any tips? Thanks a lot for all of your content!!

[@corbeau-_-]

well basically, yes. AoE is baffling. Learn the specific unit counters, 'special' units and have patience. There's no way around that. It helps to just start and learn a bit as you go. Some things are a lot slower than SC, but both macro and micro (you can dodge projectiles) are way more extensive. Between civilisations there's small differences, but there's a lot more than just 3.

[@corbeau-_-]

imagine being unfamiliar with siege tanks, their splash... Or what archons and templars can do, vipers, infestors... You'll need some idea ;)

[@craftyraf]

@@corbeau-_- I know, but somehow I'm diamond league lol... I basically prefer to macro a lot and overwhelm the opponent with a mix of units.

[@Azzurite]

Love the vids on other games :)

[@danielowens3165]

If you want super economy and maybe worser units, malians could be a good choice.

[@IvanVolosyuk]

Those markets are pretty much a macro cheese. It like a 'hidden' expansion in sc2. I switched from sc2 to aoe4 a while ago as I wasn't sure if sc2 will survive. Kinda enjoy the game now, feels more strategic than my repetitive diamond sc2 play was. Keep it up! It's always interesting to watch sc2 players try aoe4. That's what hooked me in: watching DemusliM and BeastyQt.

[@tomrob123]

Would you really say it is more strategic than SC2? I play both games (way more SC2 though) and the strategic part of AoE4 mainly comes down to what strategy/build order to play against a certain civ on a certain map. This means that this part of strategy is not real time strategy but more like round based strategy that you have to figure out prior to a match. When it comes to in game strategy I've found AoE4 to be very dull. Cheeses or rushes in general basically don't exist. Strategies/build orders that don't include an early second TC, fast castle, market or other economical boom are considered all ins while in basically every strategy that is considered an all in you do not even stop the villager production. With that being said the fast majority of players doesn't really theory craft about build orders anyways. Instead they copy those from the pro players. In fact, to me it always looked like AoE4 lacks real time strategic options. If it is so strategic, why do games pretty much never end before the 10 minute and rarely before the 15 minute mark? To me it looks more like a game that tries to push you into late game no matter how strategically superior one player is over the other.

[@IvanVolosyuk]

@@tomrob123 I don't know. Probably depends on your skill level. In sc2 common wisdom is before you hit high diamond you just have to grind your mechanics and don't even think about strategy. There are cheeses in sc2, yes, but majority of ladder players (when I stop playing) were copying builds from tournaments. On my level of play all maps are pretty much the same in sc2 and for zerg I do the same opening, defend reaper or adept, get a third base, defend, etc. In aoe4 I actually have to scout, have to adjust for a different map including way different strats for water maps. For me it is less repetitive and there are meaningful responses for actions of my opponent. There are power spikes which makes the game go back and worth, multiple worker harassment options which are not an auto loss. There is often time to scout, adjust my comp, regroup, no game ending damage if you haven't look for a second at your workers or army. In sc2 often after a battle it is all decided and it is a matter of time before one player gets destroyed. I don't think we have a chance to agree on anything. You play mostly sc2, I play mostly aoe4. And both have their reasons.

[@tomrob123]

@@IvanVolosyuk I am d1 terran and d2 toss. I didn't intend to say that SC2 was super strategical. It clearly has lots of flaws and you have mentioned alot already. My point is that people often come up with saying that AoE4 (or AoE2) are way more strategic than SC2 and I just can't see it. You have mentioned the different maps in AoE4 and I know that depending on the map you have to switch to another strategy or build order. The random map generation surely helps opening making more strategies possible but to me it's more about where to put walls, a second TC and towers at and at high level the gold position also plays a role since a gold mine up front is harder to defend when compared to a gold mine behind your base. Apart from that though, I don't see that strategical complexity people keep talking about. Majority of the strategic depth seems to be what strategy to play with a certain civ against a certain civ on a certain map. And that is not part of real time strategy but more like turn based strategy. Edit: In addition to that I would like to make clear that I originally played lots of Empire Earth from 2001-2007, which is quite similar to AoE2 but has an even higher amount of randomness in map generation, an additional ressource called iron and a pace that is similar yet a bit slower than SC2. So my RTS background actually is a game that is quite similar to the AoE series. I just didn't play any computer games for 15 years and picked up AoE4 in 2021 and SC2 in 2022.

[@StAlexanderNevskyRussianSchool]

​@@tomrob123Nice, I actually played SC2 for those 15 years (kinda topped at D2 random, zerg main) and sc1 before that. I never played any other aoe games. I guess it's a matter of fresh experience then. What is the real-time part of strategy to you? For me it is a balance of focus: macro, micro, scouting. Macro in aoe4 is satisfying - SC2 macro mechanics is repetitive band-aid for something they failed to copy from sc1. Micro is harder in SC2, but that so fast I'm unable to enjoy it fully in the game. It is very entertaining to watch pros doing what I couldn't do myself. There are other things like the ability to change unit composition as battle still happens, doing harassment with any units, not just specialised ones. Anyways, SC2 can be very enjoyable, otherwise I wouldn't spend so many years playing it, it has a very high skill ceiling. It just became too repetitive for me and aoe4 gave me strategic options I lacked, while you saw something in SC2 I used to take for granted. That would be my acceptance of personal bias in my opinion.

[@tomrob123]

@@StAlexanderNevskyRussianSchool When refering to real time strategy I mean decisions that are actually made during a match. Let's say you have a plan your about to follow and want to go for landmark A because you expect your enemy to play standard. Then you scout that your opponents going for an aggressive feudal push so you go for landmark B. Then this would be an in game strategic adaption which is real time strategy to me. On the contrary, going for water on a water map is not part of in game strategic decision making because in most cases you have to go for water on water maps for economic reasons, hence that strategic decision is being made prior to the match. It is similar with other scenarios. Let's say you play with a certain civ against a certain civ on a certain map (no water). You know that there's certain units for your civs that have bonuses, just like the units of your opponents civ. The map has a certain layout which might include choke points or/and certain ressources at certain spots. Both civs have certain economic advantages/disadvantages. All those circumstances lead to very powerful power spikes with certain strategies making most other strategies/build orders obsolete. All those boundary conditions put you into a certain frame your kind of doomed to follow. When it comes to SC2 it is different yet similar at the same time. In SC2 you can play alot more different strategies/build orders in every match up and be successful with it. You can go for reapers only, marines only, marines medivacs, medivacs thors, etc. Just look at uthermal utilizing different unit compositions while staying at very high GM. This is due to the fact that in SC2 unit counters are heavily dependant on how you micro/control those units. A bunch of marines being controlled and split up very well can be highly effective against banelings while marines that aren't controlled at all will just get obliterated by banelings. This also means that switching to different unit types during a match isn't all too promising since it takes lots of time and you can as well just adapt your way of controlling your units to the new situation. As a result, drastically changing a strategy during a match becomes very risky which leads to players mainly picking a certain strategy with a certain unit composition they are good at prior to the match. Again, this results to a very limited amout of in game strategic decision making, just like with AoE4/2. Personally, I would love to see an RTS that combines the best parts of AoE and SC2. Like get random map generation, keep plenty of micro options but also make unit counters harder so that switching units is actually encouraged.

[@TheDakotaFrazier]

This game doesn’t look too bad tbh. The graphics and the realism is very cool for getting immersed in it but I wish there was more depth to it. If they wanted to I think they could make this game great. Needs many tweaks but is definitely possible if they wanted

[@Konfii69]

Great games! AoE4 is fun to watch!❤

[@Bane974]

Play some aoe 2 please ! Would love a Hera or Viper collab too

[@AS-qn9yg]

My man, idk if you have, but at some point would love to see you give Ceaser 3 a try, one of the OG rts games from way back.

[@RossHallenbeck]

Crazy. I was JUST thinking that Marc should do a video on aoe4

[@fergusonja8]

I’ve been playing beyond all reason and it’s super fun

[@SergiuHellDragoonHQ]

Very good I guess! :D

[@chappyperspiration5520]

please play more of this! that was awesome

[@zarinth]

Ohhhh yeah baby Age of Empires IV.

[@murilobelow7571]

Gathering rate on deer is higher than sheeps, that is why people rush deer sometimes Town center can target fire down units Unit with the crown is a hero unit Jean D'ark Sacred wite gives 100 gold per min and is all sacred sites are captured for 10 minutes you win Very impressive micro, normally a take defensive fight with worker in town center, but you were able to just out micro the opponent

[@zaftnotameni]

the market strat tends to be absolutely brutal until people learn how to deal with it properly (which doesn't really happen below the top tier leagues), it was extremely overpowered for a while in all levels, took a lot of patches to make it fair

[@sinner5452]

I will use left part of thumbnail pic in private conversations for meme purposes. Thank you. :D

[@uThermal]

Lmao my friend liked it too when I showed him

[@lomelyo]

20:56 noooo salt farming is my favorite part of the channel haha. Honestly I personally hate smurfing. Like dunking on newer players. It's why my favorite games are always against high grandmasters. But this time what can you do lol

[@howto...9414]

"St. Joan of Arc is a national heroine of France. She was a peasant girl who, believing that she was acting under divine guidance, led the French army in a momentous victory at Orléans in 1429"

[@silvera1109]

Thoroughly enjoyed watching this. Was a big fan of AOE2 in the day, it's fun to watch an "RTS noob" like yourself playing AOE 😅

[@DaedricGamingHD]

HUGE TIP put your vils on food at the start n 1 on wood so u can produce more vils faster

[@DaedricGamingHD]

you are correct about trade cart *distance = Gold

[@Bconklin]

More of “this” in the future plz

[@TommySaucierPlourde0]

Love the game! Keep them coming @uThermal

[@-TBH-]

I hate how muted the colors and shadows are, like there's a layer of bloom over everything.

[@andrewjones198]

Ive wanted to try this one.

[@aaronarmstrong406]

Marc, you beautiful man, I would watch whatever game you want to post videos of. Love your content. :)

[@Stikkelsbær]

I love Marc, but not knowing who Joan of Arc is seems to confirm my suspicion that pro gamers don't read books, lol. Especially since he is Dutch and ostensibly grew up in western Europe. It's like not knowing who Robin Hood is. Now I want to play this game. It would be nice if it was not just all Mongols and Rus, which is indeed all I ever saw in competitive streams when this game first came out. It made me lose interest.

[@SirVilder]

I want to see Thermy #1 on ladder.