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Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition News

A Message on Age IV Season Nine Game Balance


Hello, wonderful Age of Empires IV community! We hope you are enjoying Season Nine so far! First, we want to thank you for your feedback regarding changes introduced in this season. Based on what we’ve heard from you, we have some news to share regarding some of the gameplay changes we have arriving in an upcoming patch as well as some of the areas we’re continuing to observe for additional tuning in the future.


Our philosophy is that the game should grow and evolve alongside our player base, and siege and late gameplay are two areas where we saw a lot of opportunity to bring refreshing changes after three years of growth and play.

While we’re excited to tune the meta in this way, we also prize good balance – and we know you do as well. The process of balancing this much change will require iteration and incremental improvement, guided by your responses and the strategies we see you develop over time. Based on your initial feedback following the Season Nine release, we’ve already made some small changes introduced on October 31st and we have some other early adjustments coming to specific areas, such as cavalry being too strong in team games and balance around both infantry and siege.

To address these areas, we will be adjusting the following and more; Biology, siege damage against buildings, springald power level, and bombard cannon damage against elephants. Furthermore, adjustments to the strongest ranked civilizations in team games, such as the Abbasid Dynasty, will also be included in this patch. We hope you enjoy these changes when they release, and we’d ask that you please keep posting your feedback in the Official Forums as it is immensely helpful for us to see and digest your thoughts as we continue our planning for an early 2025 patch.

[h3]Official Age of Empires Forums[/h3]
Signing Up for the Official Forums is quick and easy, and we love to read your feedback!



As we continue onward with Season Nine and approach the incredible milestone that is our tenth season, we want to look ahead as a community of developers and players towards the future of the game and the path we are set on together. We’ve already shared that 2025 is an exciting year for Age of Empires IV with DLC on the way, and we truly believe that fine-tuning and refreshing some of the gameplay experience along the way lends itself well to some of the excitement to come.

Thank you, good luck, and have fun!

[h3]Community-Reported Issues:[/h3]
Your reports continue being crucial to our prioritization and implementation of fixes and features in the game. Keep them coming!

For other known issues, please visit this page to see what’s being tracked!

Age of Empires IV – Patch 12.0.2246


While we’re still planning for a slightly larger patch before the end of the year, we wanted to roll out a few pointed fixes earlier based on your feedback. Today’s minor patch is focused on stability, Multiplayer Pause adjustments, and some additional early balance tuning in response to player input regarding the changes to Siege.

Keep an eye out for our next patch, and in the meantime, be careful when there’s a Full Moon!

💬 DISCUSS: Official Forum
💬 DISCUSS: Steam Forum
🗣 JOIN: Official Discord

Thanks again to our amazing community members, all of whom have helped to make Age of Empires what it is today!

—The Age of Empires Team

Please Note: As part of updating to this latest build, any saved games and observable matches made on previous builds will be unable to be loaded or replayed.


[hr][/hr]
        ◆Patch 12.0.2246◆
[hr][/hr]
[h3]Multiplayer Pause Changes[/h3]
  • Based on your feedback, we’ve brought the period of required pause time for a player’s first pause back down from 60 to 30 seconds. We’ve also limited each player to only 3 pauses instead of 5. Let us know how we can continue to tune these values to ensure a fair but effective match!
  • Fixed an issue that caused players to become stuck in the Multiplayer Pause menu after the match completed.

[h3]General Changes and Fixes[/h3]
  • Fixed two crashes related to Full Moon mode, including one that could occur when werewolves spawn in Team games.
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when using projectiles.

[h3]Balance Changes[/h3]
  • Silk Bowstrings range improvement for Archers reduced from 2 to 1.5.
  • Silk Bowstrings range improvement for Mounted Archers reduced from 1 to .75.
  • Mangonel bonus damage vs ranged increased from 8 to 10.
  • Increase Mangonel and Nest of Bees range armor increased from 80 to 85%.
  • Ribauldequin health reduced from 225 to 215.
  • Ribauldequin Melee armor reduced from 15 to 10.
[h3]:alertalert: DISCLAIMER[/h3]This list is subject to change and should not be considered a comprehensive list of all the known issues we’re tracking. The above is to inform you of the team’s current priorities, which will change as other issues arise or take precedence.

For the latest updates and announcements, please visit our social channels.

New Age of Empires 4 DLC is actually happening, launch window confirmed

Age of Empires 2 will always have my heart. Alongside Command and Conquer, it's one of the first RTS games that I ever played, and served as a gateway to the wider world of 4X and strategy that I remain enamored with today. Cities Skylines 2 has been my game of choice this year. I imagine Civilization 7 will capture a lot of my time in the next 12 months. But three years since it first launched, Age of Empires 4 is still a serious contender for the best medieval melee and management sims on PC. Now, Relic Entertainment confirms that new AoE 4 DLC is happening, and hints at when it will be released. The first fresh release since 2023's The Sultans Ascend, seems like we can expect the Age of Empires 4 DLC relatively soon.


Read the rest of the story...


RELATED LINKS:

Best RTS games on PC 2024

All Age of Empires 4 cheats

Age of Empires 4 Season 7 update adds PC-console cross-play

Age of Empires IV – Update Preview 12.0.1974 LIVE!

Ranked Season Nine and the Hallow's Hearth Event should now be up and running as normal!


The major update for Season NINE, is LIVE! In todays update, our seasonal biome Hallow’s Hearth makes a return, and with it comes a fun (or frightening) twist on the wolf unit with the Full Moon game mode. We’re also officially launching Multiplayer Pause, along with a bundle of balance changes, there’s also two new maps arriving with this update.

You can read all the details in the update below, including a summary of changes we’ve made based on your feedback during last month’s Public Update Preview.



💬 DISCUSS: Official Forum
💬 DISCUSS: Steam Forum
🗣 JOIN: Official Discord

Thanks again to our amazing community members, all of whom have helped to make Age of Empires what it is today!

—The Age of Empires Team
Please Note: As part of updating to this latest build, any saved games and observable matches made on previous builds will be unable to be loaded or replayed.
[h2]Season Nine[/h2]
The wolves are howling, and a chill wind can be heard whispering through the trees. Get ready for a spooktacular second edition of Hallow’s Hearth with terrifying treats and monstrously fun challenges!

Login between October 22nd at 10:00AM PT (17:00 UTC) and November 19th to stake your claim.
[h3]Hallow’s Hearth Event Returns![/h3]

[h3]New Game Mode: Full Moon![/h3]
As our map monsters depart, a new threat emerges under the full moon. Werewolves, with their hungry fangs and claws, will prey on your soldiers and villagers! Raise your defenses to protect against these beasts and secure victory.

The Full Moon game mode is available in the game mode selection menu for skirmish and multiplayer.
[h3]Ranked Season Nine Updates[/h3]
The leaves are falling, and the competition is heating up with a spectacle of contenders hitting the leaderboards! We welcome the start of Season 9 with a selection of rewards for both solo and team ranked. Can you rake in the wins? Season Nine begins October 22nd at 10:00am PT (17:00 UTC).


[h4]Map Pool Rotation[/h4]
We have some updated maps hitting the pool with the start of Ranked Season Nine! Dive in and prepare for victory!

1v1 Ranked Map Pool
  • Golden Pit → Marshland
  • Mongolian Heights –> Nagari
  • Rocky River → Wetlands
  • Socotra → Haywire
New Team Ranked Map Pool
  • Ancient Spires → Hideout
  • Archipelago → Mongolian Heights
  • Marshland → Socotra
  • Forest Ponds → Danube River
[h3]For all the details about everything in Age of Empires IV - Season Nine Update, follow the link below![/h3]

Age of Empires IV – Update Preview 12.0.1974


October brings both tricks and treats to Age of Empires IV with the upcoming Season Nine Update – coming October 22nd! Our seasonal biome Hallow’s Hearth makes a return, and with it comes a fun (or frightening) twist on the wolf unit with the Full Moon game mode. Not only that, but we’re officially launching Multiplayer Pause, along with a bundle of balance changes, there’s also two new maps arriving with this update. Read on for more details, as well as a summary of changes we’ve made based on your feedback during last month’s Public Update Preview.

💬 DISCUSS: Official Forum
💬 DISCUSS: Steam Forum
🗣 JOIN: Official Discord

Thanks again to our amazing community members, all of whom have helped to make Age of Empires what it is today!

—The Age of Empires Team

Please Note: As part of updating to this latest build, any saved games and observable matches made on previous builds will be unable to be loaded or replayed.
This is just a small taste of what is coming in the latest update. For a more complete list, please visit our site and check out our blog. Happy Gaming!


[hr][/hr]
        ◆Update 12.0.1974◆
[hr][/hr]
[h2]Season Nine[/h2]
The wolves are howling, and a chill wind can be heard whispering through the trees. Get ready for a spooktacular second edition of Hallow’s Hearth with terrifying treats and monstrously fun challenges!

Login between October 22nd at 10:00AM PT (17:00 UTC) and November 19th to stake your claim.
[h3]Hallow’s Hearth Event Returns![/h3]

[h3]New Game Mode: Full Moon![/h3]
As our map monsters depart, a new threat emerges under the full moon. Werewolves, with their hungry fangs and claws, will prey on your soldiers and villagers! Raise your defenses to protect against these beasts and secure victory.

The Full Moon game mode is available in the game mode selection menu for skirmish and multiplayer.
[h3]Ranked Season Nine Updates[/h3]
The leaves are falling, and the competition is heating up with a spectacle of contenders hitting the leaderboards! We welcome the start of Season 9 with a selection of rewards for both solo and team ranked. Can you rake in the wins? Season Nine begins October 22nd at 10:00am PT (17:00 UTC).


[h4]Map Pool Rotation[/h4]
We have some updated maps hitting the pool with the start of Ranked Season Nine! Dive in and prepare for victory!

1v1 Ranked Map Pool
  • Golden Pit → Marshland
  • Mongolian Heights –> Nagari
  • Rocky River → Wetlands
  • Socotra → Haywire
New Team Ranked Map Pool
  • Ancient Spires → Hideout
  • Archipelago → Mongolian Heights
  • Marshland → Socotra
  • Forest Ponds → Danube River

[h3]Updates Since the Public Update Preview[/h3]
Thanks to everyone for the fantastic PUP participation this September! We’ve heard your feedback that some siege weapons weren’t impactful enough and that left ranged units feeling too strong, and many other things. To address these concerns, we’ve made changes to ranged unit counters, siege, and university upgrades. There are too many changes from the PUP to list here, but here are some balance highlights:
  • Horseman-type and Man-at-Arm-type units have increased ranged armor in the Imperial Age.
  • Mangonels and Nest of Bees are now more resistant to ranged damage and Mangonels will retain some projectile tracking.
  • The Silk Bowstrings technology is now more expensive.
  • Elite Army Tactics now also improves bonus damage in addition to base damage.
  • And many more!

[h3]New Feature: Multiplayer Pause[/h3]
It’s now possible to pause the game during a multiplayer match. This option is on by default in Quickmatch and Ranked and can be enabled (or disabled) by the lobby host in custom matches.

Any player may pause at any time, but each player has a limit of five (5) pauses per match. During only the first pause for each player, a minimum duration of 60 seconds must pass before any other players may un-pause. The player who paused the game can un-pause at any time. Subsequent pauses by the same player may be un-paused at any time by any player.

Your remaining pauses will display on the pause screen. While inputs are not available during the pause, it’s still possible to chat.
This is just a small taste of what is coming in the latest update. For a more complete list, please visit our site and check out our blog. Happy Gaming!

[h3]:alertalert: DISCLAIMER[/h3]This list is subject to change and should not be considered a comprehensive list of all the known issues we’re tracking. The above is to inform you of the team’s current priorities, which will change as other issues arise or take precedence.

For the latest updates and announcements, please visit our social channels.