Launching on November 14th (15th in Australia) The Sultans Ascend expansion comes just over two years after the initial release of Age of Empires IV in October 2021 and a year since the Anniversary update, a free update that brought in two new civilizations.

The Age of Sultans update will be the biggest expansion to the base game, bringing in the following;

  • 2 highly requested civilizations – the Byzantines and the Japanese
  • 4 variant civilizations – Ayyubidds, Jeanne d’Arc, Order of the Dragon, Zhu Xi’s Legacy.
  • The Sultan’s Ascend, a new 8-mission campaign
  • 10 new maps
  • 2 new biomes

Both of the new civilisations are fully featured and, like the rest of the civilisations in AOE IV, are aiming to play in a unique fashion due to new mechanics, unique bonuses and, of course, unique units, buildings and technology. In my review of the original game back in 2021, I complimented how unique all of the civilizations felt, and it looks like this has remained at the forefront of the design philosophy for the ongoing development of the Age of Empire IV.

The Japanese will have a unique Daimyo system, which gives the player an upgrade path for the Town Centre, eventually becoming a Shogunate Castle, a powerful defensive structure that also bolsters your food production. The Japanese will, of course, have a unique unit in the Samurai (and Mounted Samurai), but their unique units and buildings also feature the Shinobi, a scout that can disguise as an enemy villager, and the Farmhouse, a building crossed between a Mill and a house. One of the two new Biomes is Japanese Spring, meaning there will be a lot of Japanese flare to this expansion.

The Byzantines, on the other hand, get their uniqueness from having access to a 5th resource – Olive Oil! Olive Oil will be harvested from Olive Groves, which will be the Byzantine replacement for the standard Farm, and oil will be used to buy unique units from other civilisations. Byzantines will also have several units that use Greek Fire, which engulfs an area and flames for damage over time.

The expansion also brings in something new to Age of Empires IV – ‘Variant Civilizations.’ The goal of these civilizations is to offer alternate and unique ways for 4 of the original eight civilisations to be played. For example, the ‘Order of the Dragon,’ the Variant of the Holy Roman Empire, is designed to be quality over quantity, boasting expensive but strong units with twice the normal health pool, putting the emphasis of play on having a small but devastating army.

The first new Campaign for Age of Empires IV will also be a huge new addition to the game, and these campaigns were one of the absolute standouts for the base game. The Sultans Ascend Campaign takes place in the Middle East during the European Crusades. The player will take on the role of Muslim Resistance and follow the story of a number of Muslim Leaders as they struggle with the European Crusades.

Play

If this has you hooked and wanting to know more, A Content Creator embargo recently lifted, and there is plenty of content that can be found here.

I am looking forward to jumping back into Age of Empires IV for the first time in a while. Let me know if you will be joining me and if you will be trying the campaign or the new civilisations first!