Campaign-only civilization (Age of Empires IV)

This article is about the campaign-only civilizations in Age of Empires IV. For the same in other games of the series, see Campaign-only civilization.

Campaign-only civilizations in Age of Empires IV are civilizations which do not appear in standard gameplay, but only in campaigns, making them inaccessible in skirmish or multiplayer. In Age of Empires IV campaigns, the term 'civilization' is somewhat ambiguous, since player names, the polity that they represent, and their tech tree or entity data sets are all independent. Only the player names are explicitly given in-game, and the polity names are derived from the flag shown in the UI and the names used in the game files or editor. Similarly, no explicit names for the different campaign civilization datasets are given in the game; they only exist in the editor.

Generally, the the campaign-only civilizations can be divided into those that use a unique tech tree and dataset, and those that copy a standard civilization's dataset. Those that use a unique dataset are still based on one or more of the standard civilizations in the game but with several modifications. These include the "Campaign Ayyubids" and the Crusaders, which encompass most of the civilizations in the The Sultans Ascend campaign, as well as the Normans, used in the eponymous The Normans campaign. Before The Sultans Ascend, all campaign-only civilizations were European civilizations.

Ayyubids

Identified in the game files as 'Campaign Ayyubids', this civilization data set is used by the player in each of the scenarios in The Sultans Ascend as well as several allied and enemy players. Despite their name, they are based primarily on the Abbasid Dynasty, sharing their Golden Age bonuses and Age-up mechanic, along with most of their units and unique technologies. Key differences include the Camel Archer being replaced by the Turkic Horse Archer, and the technologies Food Reserves, Berry Cultivation, Ancient Relics, and Construction Drills replacing Fertile Crescent, Agriculture, Proselytization (now Public Libraries), and Camel Support respectively. At the Mosque, they have access to both the Imam and the Dervish. They also have access to a unique technology: Any Port In A Storm in the Raiders of the Red Sea scenario, and their Ghulam is renamed to Man-at-Arms. The player will have additional unit or technology restrictions depending on each scenario. They do not have access to gunpowder units until The Invasion of Cyprus for example.

This tech tree is used by the following civilizations:

Fatimid Caliphate

The Fatimid Caliphate is the civilizations represented by several non-playable allies and opponents in the The Defense of Tyre scenario of the "Invasion" chapter and the Into Egypt scenario of the "Saladin" chapter.

Mamluk Sultanate

The Mamluk Sultanate is the player's civilizations in all of the scenarios in the "From Slaves to Sultans" chapter: The Battle of Mansurah, The Battle of Ayn Jalut, and The Siege of Acre, as well as the The Invasion of Cyprus scenario of the "Pirates of the Mediterranean" chapter.

Saladin

Saladin is the player's civilization in the scenarios Raiders of the Red Sea and The Horns of Hattin of the "Saladin" chapter. The flag can also represent the Ayyubid Sultanate.

Seljuk Empire

The Seljuk Empire is the player's civilizations in the The Defense of Tyre scenario of the "Invasion" chapter and the Into Egypt scenario of the Saladin chapter.

Crusaders

The Crusaders civilization is represented by enemy players in all of the scenarios in The Sultans Ascend. The Crusaders are mostly based on the French combined with some aspects of the English. Their buildings, landmarks, and most of their standard units are based on the French equivalents, and their Knight line, including the Early Knight, are actually reskins of the Royal Knight. However, they also have access to the English Man-at-Arms line starting in the Dark Age and their Archer uses the Longbowman unit model. In addition to having access to all of the French unique technologies, they also have access to Armor Clad (two different versions which can be researched concurrently) and Admiralty. They also theoretically have access to Two-Handed Weapons, Heavy Maces, and Arrow Volley but these technologies do not seem to ever be used in the campaigns. Additionally, Crusaders have access to Knights of the Holy Orders, which are covered separately below.

The Crusader tech tree is used by the following polities:

Principality of Antioch

The crusading Franks are of the Principality of Antioch civilization in the Raiders of the Red Sea and The Horns of Hattin scenarios of the "Saladin" chapter.

Kingdom of Cyprus

Cyprus is the civilization exclusive to the enemy players in The Invasion of Cyprus scenario of the "Pirates of the Mediterranean" chapter.

Kingdom of Jerusalem

The Kingdom of Jerusalem is exclusive to the enemy Franks in the The Defense of Tyre scenario of the "Invasion" chapter, the Into Egypt scenario of the "Saladin" chapter, and the The Battle of Mansurah and The Siege of Acre scenarios of the "From Slaves to Sultans" chapter.

Normans

The Normans is the player civilization exclusive to the Conquest chapter of the The Normans campaign. The Normans and Anglo-Saxon England merge to form the English civilization in the subsequent chapters of the campaign. The Normans tech tree is almost the same as the English with two key differences:

• They have regular Archers instead of Longbowmen. Consequently, they do not have any unique unit, albeit the Archer is marked as one.
• They have access to the Spearman in the Dark Age, which means that they have both melee infantry lines in the Dark Age.

In addition, the Normans use dialogue files of the French and use mostly French unit models.

Trivia

• They already appeared in Age of Empires II in Hastings using the civilization of the Franks and in the The Hautevilles campaign using the civilization of the Sicilians.

Renamed civilizations

Other polities used in the campaigns are effectively renamed versions of the game's base civilizations (without any of the balance changes since release). They use unique flags and names, allowing for a more historically accurate depiction of nations that were present within the time period of certain scenarios. They may or may not have their own entity datasets, but these show no appreciable changes from the civilization from which they are derived.

Anglo-Saxon England

Anglo-Saxon England is a civilization which appears in the Conquest chapter of the The Normans campaign and the The Norman Invasion scenario of the The Rise of a King campaign. The Normans and Anglo-Saxon England merge to form the English civilization in the following chapters of the campaign. Anglo-Saxon England is identical to the English.

Trivia

• The flag is based on a modern interpretation of the flag of Wessex.

Danes

The Danes are a civilization exclusive to the Conquest scenario North to York of the The Normans campaign. The Danes are identical to the English.

Trivia

• The Danish flag is based on the raven banner, flown by various Viking chieftains and other Scandinavian rulers during the 9th, 10th and 11th centuries.
• The camp of the Danish troops is ruled by Sven II of Denmark, rival Viking king of Harald Hardrada (mentioned in the opening cinematic of the campaign) and William the Conqueror.
• They appear in Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings as Vikings.

Grand Duchy of Lithuania

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania is a civilization exclusive to the State to Empire and Empire to Superpower chapters of the The Rise of Moscow campaign. Although it has its own dataset, it is not used and instead Lithuania is identical to the Holy Roman Empire.

Trivia

• They appear in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - The Last Khans as Lithuanians.

Kingdom of Bohemia

The Kingdom of Bohemia is a civilization exclusive to the Conquest scenario The Battle of Liegnitz of the The Mongol Empire campaign. The Kingdom of Bohemia is identical to the Holy Roman Empire.

Trivia

• They appear in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Dawn of the Dukes as Bohemians.

Kingdom of Hungary

The Kingdom of Hungary is a civilization exclusive to the The Battle of Mohi scenario of the "Conquest" chapter in the The Mongol Empire campaign. The Kingdom of Hungary is identical to the Holy Roman Empire.

Trivia

• They appear in Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten as Magyars.

Kingdom of Poland

The Kingdom of Poland is a civilization exclusive to the The Battle of Liegnitz scenario of the "Conquest" chapter in the The Mongol Empire campaign. The Kingdom of Poland is identical to the Holy Roman Empire.

Trivia

• They appear in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Dawn of the Dukes as Poles.

Novgorod Republic

The Novgorod Republic is a civilization exclusive to the Fall of the Novgorod Republic scenario of the "State to Empires" chapter in the The Rise of Moscow campaign. The Novgorod Republic is almost the same as the Rus.

Ilkhanate

The Ilkhanate is a civilization exclusive to the The Battle of Ayn Jalut scenario of the "From Slaves to Sultans" chapter in the The Sultans Ascend campaign. The Ilkhanate is identical to the Mongols.

Other polities

Salisbury

Salisbury is based on the Normans and is used in the XBox introductory campaign The Rise of a King.

Holy Orders

The Crusader holy orders appear as units for the aforementioned Crusader polities. They do not have their own unique entity or civilization datasets, unlike the above polities, but each of the Holy Orders units uses their own flag which overrides its parent civilization. This includes:

• Knights Hospitaller - used by Knights Hospitaller and Hospitaller Grand Masters

• Knights Templar - used by Knights Templar and Templar Grand Masters

• Teutonic Order - used by Teutonic Knights and Teutonic Grand Masters

Trivia

• Teutonic Knights appear in Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings as the unique units of the Teutons.

Ayyubids (alternate)

An alternate flag appears for the Ayyubids, but does not seem to be used in-game at the moment.