How to play guide

Age of Empires IV Beginner's Guide: Villagers, Landmarks and Advancing Ages

A starter guide to Age of Empires IV: the four resources and villager management, advancing ages with Landmarks, the three victory conditions, Mission Zero and Art of War, official hotkeys and common mistakes.

Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition🎮 Game page →

Age of Empires IV is a medieval real-time strategy game from World's Edge and Relic Entertainment. You pick a civilization, gather resources with villagers, build structures, raise an army and try to defeat your opponent. The game launched in October 2021, and the Anniversary Edition is the version sold with the content added since. According to the official Age of Empires site, the free Anniversary update on 25 October 2022 added the Ottomans and Malians.

For newcomers to real-time strategy, the hardest part is juggling several things at once: villager production must never stop, resources need balancing and an army has to be built at the same time. Fortunately, the game's own tutorials cover these basics step by step.

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This guide is for players whose economy falls apart in early matches or who cannot keep up with their opponent's pace. It draws on the official Age of Empires quickstart guide and the official hotkey list published on Xbox Wire.

Goal of the game

As the official quickstart guide puts it, the basics are simple: explore, gather resources, and use them to train military units and build structures. There are four resources: food, wood, gold and stone. Villagers gather them and are produced at the Town Center. They need nearby drop-off buildings for what they collect, and you need houses for population.

As your economy grows you advance to the next Age: the game starts in the Dark Age and continues through the Feudal, Castle and Imperial Ages. To advance, you spend resources to build a Landmark, and each Age unlocks stronger units, buildings and upgrades. According to the official site there are three ways to win: destroy all enemy Landmarks (Landmark Victory), hold sacred sites on the map (Sacred Victory), or build your Wonder and protect it until the timer ends (Wonder Victory).

Controls

Key	Action
`Left click / Left click and drag`	Select a unit / box-select units
`Double left click`	Select all visible units of the same type
`Right click`	Contextual order for selected units (move, gather, attack)
`Shift + left click`	Add or remove from selection; queue building placement
`Ctrl + 0-9 / 0-9`	Assign control group / select group (press twice to centre the camera)
`. (period)`	Cycle through idle economy units
`Ctrl + . (period)`	Select all idle villagers
`, (comma)`	Cycle through idle military units
`H`	Cycle through Town Centers
`F1 / F2 / F3 / F4`	Select all military production / economy / research buildings or Landmarks
`Ctrl + Shift + V`	Select all villagers
`Arrow keys`	Pan the camera
`Alt + mouse / [ ]`	Rotate the camera / rotate 45 degrees
`Backspace`	Reset the camera
`Esc`	Cancel, deselect, game menu

First steps

Start with Mission ZeroAccording to the official site, Mission Zero launches automatically the first time you open the game and teaches gathering, villager production, drop-off points and houses, commanding units and advancing Ages. Finish it; everything else builds on it.
Try the Art of War challengesAccording to the official site there are five Art of War challenges: Early Economy (building a Landmark and reaching the Feudal Age), Late Economy, Basic Combat, Early Siege and Late Siege, each awarding bronze, silver or gold. The first two are ideal for learning economic tempo.
Begin the story with the NormansThe official guide recommends starting the campaigns with the Norman Campaign. Missions are based on historical moments and unlock short Hands on History documentaries, reinforcing both gameplay and knowledge of the civilizations.
Never stop villager productionEvery second your Town Center sits idle, your economy falls behind. Queue a few villagers and make sure the queue never empties. In the opening minutes, a new villager is your best investment.
Build drop-offs next to resourcesVillagers walk to the nearest drop-off to deposit resources. Placing the right drop-off building right next to the woodline, mine or berry bushes cuts walking time and noticeably speeds up gathering.
Build houses ahead of timeWhen you hit the population cap, the Town Center stops producing. Start building houses before you reach it; being housed is one of the most common hidden slowdowns for new players.
Play the AI firstAccording to the official site, the AI has four levels from Easy to Hardest and supports co-op. Before facing real players, practise carrying out an economic plan from start to finish on Easy and Medium.
Specialise in one civilizationEach civilization has its own units, buildings and Landmark options. Sticking with one for your first weeks lets build orders and strengths sink in before you branch out.

Tips and tactics

Find idle villagers with periodAccording to the official hotkey list, period cycles through idle economy units, and Ctrl plus period selects all idle villagers. Make pressing it every few seconds a habit.
Use control groupsPut your army on a group such as Ctrl + 1 and your Town Center on another. According to the official list, pressing a group key twice centres the camera on it, so you can jump around without getting lost.
Keep resources balancedPiling up one resource means waiting on another when it is time to advance. Check what your Landmark needs in advance and spread villagers accordingly.
Do not delay advancingAs the Art of War economy challenges show, advancing unlocks new units and upgrades. Once your economy is stable, build your Landmark without waiting; if your opponent is an Age ahead, your units usually fall short.
Learn the counter systemThe Basic Combat challenge covers unit counters and terrain. Watch what your opponent builds and produce the unit that counters it; massing a single unit type does not work against everyone.
Bring siege for buildingsStone buildings and walls are hard to break with regular troops. The Early and Late Siege challenges teach siege engines, including Trebuchets and Bombards, which are essential if you are going for Landmarks.
Choose your victory path earlyIf your opponent has a strong army, you can still win by holding sacred sites or building a Wonder. Keep an eye on sacred sites and on any enemy Wonder under construction.
Keep your scout busyAccording to the official list, the slash key cycles through Scout units. Keep your scout moving early to explore, find food such as sheep and see what your opponent is doing.
Send villagers back to workIf you sent villagers to take shelter during a raid, the official list says Ctrl + Shift + R returns them all to work. Forgetting this after the danger passes can stall your economy for minutes.
Customise your hotkeysAccording to the official announcement on Xbox Wire, many hotkeys can be remapped and you can create multiple profiles. On non-English keyboards some defaults are remapped by key position, so check them in game.

Common mistakes

Letting Town Center production stop: your economy stops growing and your opponent pulls ahead within minutes.
Placing drop-offs far from resources: villagers spend most of their time walking.
Leaving houses to the last moment: production locks at the population cap, often without you noticing.
Massing one unit type: when the opponent brings the counter, your army melts.
Not checking for idle villagers: a villager that finishes a task waits for orders and costs you resources.

Frequently asked questions

Is Age of Empires IV available in Turkish?

Yes. Turkish is listed on the Steam store page; full Turkish audio is not marked.

Are the Ottomans in the game?

Yes. According to the official Age of Empires site, the Ottomans and Malians were added in the free Anniversary update on 25 October 2022.

Can I play solo?

Yes. Campaigns, Art of War challenges and matches against four AI difficulty levels are all single-player, and co-op against AI is also available.

Which campaign should I start with?

The official quickstart guide recommends the Norman Campaign. The four major campaigns at launch were the Normans, The Hundred Years' War, The Mongol Empire and The Rise of Moscow, with more added through expansions.

How do I win a match?

According to the official site there are three ways: destroy enemy Landmarks, hold sacred sites for a set time, or build a Wonder and protect it until the timer ends.

This guide was written for version: This guide was prepared in September 2026. Hotkeys follow the official default list published on Xbox Wire at launch and may have changed in later updates; check the in-game hotkey settings.