Age of Empires 4: How to Play as the English Civilization (Tips, Tricks, & Strategies)

There are a couple of beginner-friendly civilizations in Age of Empires IV. The English definitely fit the bill here, as they are modeled after the way civilizations worked in past Age of Empires games. They offer a straightforward, simple road to victory through sheer military might. While this may seem a little basic, it is an extremely fun way to play the game.

The English technically tend toward a defensive military strategy, due to their unique Longbowman unit and ranged villagers, but they can also be played pretty aggressively in the early game. This is because of the Vanguard Men-at-Arms unit they acquire in the Dark Age. This versatility makes the English a pretty forgiving Age of Empires IV civilization.

The progression through Age of Empires IV is also pretty basic, as each of their age bonuses and landmarks focuses on improving their Keeps and/or Town Centers. They start out with convenient bonuses that allow their villagers to defend themselves more effectively than other civilizations, and make them much more effective at building and operating farms. Additionally, troops that are near one of their Town Centers, Keeps, Outposts, or Towers will get a 25% buff to attack speed, making an expansionist playstyle pretty strong, and making these areas more attractive Rally Point locations in Age of Empires IV.

How to Play the English Civilization in Age of Empires IV

The ideal way to start out as the English in Age of Empires IV is to quickly construct farms to get an early jump on food production, and apply pressure on opponents once the Vanguard units are available. Players of the English can do this with relative impunity, as their villagers are much more capable of defending themselves than most other civilizations. As more landmarks are built, players can focus less on sending out troops, and more on spreading their civilization geographically with Keeps and Towers.

Here are the English Landmarks for each age:

• Council Hall (Age II): Produces Longbowmen at +100% speed, and has Longbowmen upgrades.
• Abbey of Kings (Age II): Heals all nearby friendly units not in combat by +4 HP every 1.5 seconds.
• Kings Palace (Age III): Acts as a Town Center.
• The White Tower (Age III): Acts as a Keep.
• Berkshire Palace (Age IV): Acts as a Keep, with +50% greater range and double the number of arrow slits.
• Wynguard Palace (Age IV): Produces the ‘Wynguard Army’, which is a group of one of the each of the following: Man-at-Arms, Spearman, Longbowman, Knight, and Trebuchet.

Players who want to lean on a defensive playstyle in Age of Empires IV can build these close together, stacking the buffs and making an impenetrable civilization. However, a potentially stronger method is to expand and spread out these landmarks, and use them to create a wide swath of land wherein the English will be stronger than their enemies. Either is viable, it is largely up to the player. The key is to keep troops near defenses, as that is where the English are the strongest.

Age of Empires IV is available on PC.

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