| โ | A deep ocean inlet divides the map into two, with a single narrow pass. | โ |
| —Age of Empires IV description | ||
Boulder Bay is a hybrid random map in Age of Empires IV. It consists of an narrow body of water dividing two regions into a pass.
Features[]
The eponymous bay from which the map gets its name is a medium sized body of water that juts out from any one of the corners of the map, tapering sharply at the start and extending to approximately the center of the map. Teams will start on opposite sides of this bay, although it seems worryingly common in 3 vs 3 games for one team member to spawn on the wrong side, surrounded by enemies. Individual player positions are randomized to a degree, with team members able to spawn in a line or arc, or more clumped together in a group. Within the bay on the corner itself is always an island with one Sacred Site and one Coastal Trade Post, and across from the bay is a raised plateau with a Trade Post in the corner and additional resources. The land Trade Post allows for a long, but contestable trade route. A second Sacred Site is positioned somewhere between the tip of the bay and the raised plateau, usually closer to the water. The 'choke point' designation of this map is somewhat outdated, as it comes from a previous version where the bay extended all the way to the plateau - nearly 3/4 of the map - making it much easier to block off the land area of the map with walls. The usual number of Relics spawn on this map, with it being possible for one to spawn on the island in the bay. The bay may also contain Stealth Kelp Forest.
Resources[]
Outside of the standard copious amount of Deep Water Fish and Shoreline Fish that come with most large bodies of water, this map features only two large Berry Bush patches and two fewer nearby neutral Sheep per player, but makes up for it by spawning a larger than usual number of Boars. Deer spawns are standard. Players start out with either one or two large circular woodlines, and only small circular woodlines dot the rest of the map, along with patches of Stealth Forest. In addition to their starting Small Stone Outcropping, each player can also find a large outcropping and a second small stone nearby. A small number of additional contested small outcroppings round out the stone on the map. The number of Gold Mine spawns per map size is somewhat strange, with a greater number of large mines in 2 vs 2 compared than 3 vs 3, but on each map size, players start with a Large Gold just outside the range of their Capital Town Center (alongside their standard starting small gold). The rest of the mines spawn fairly evenly distributed across the map, and any mineral node, as well as a Boar, may spawn on the island in the bay.
Changelog[]
- Originally, the bay extended from the corner much further along the edge of the map, leaving only a small land segment with which to reach the other side. With update 24916, the bay size was shrunk to its current size.
Gallery[]
