Castle Age (Age of Empires IV)

This article is about the Age in Age of Empires IV. For other uses, see Castle Age.

Castle Age
Age
Availability
Introduced in	Age of Empires IV
Civilization	All civilizations
Age number	3
Preceded by	Feudal Age
Followed by	Imperial Age

The Castle Age is the third Age in Age of Empires IV. It is characterized by stronger defenses, such as Keeps and emplacements, along with the siege engines which can counter them, the increased prevalence of heavy armored infantry and cavalry in armies, and the ability to create and use Monks to gain important economic and military advantages. The Castle Age is followed by the Imperial Age.

Tactics

By the Castle Age, most strategies and build orders will have been enacted, players have engaged each other, and the game shifts to adapting and multi-tasking between managing and growing the economy and attacking and defending against opponents. Capturing Relics and Sacred Sites and building Keeps to gain map control and secure resources become important tasks, especially since initial resources close to the Town Center may have been exhausted. Advancing to the Imperial Age is typically a secondary objective due to the large number of resources it requires and the availability of strong siege and armored units which can easily punish a poorly-timed Age up and destroy defensive buildings.

Available units

Generic

• Man-at-Arms
• Crossbowman
• Knight / Lancer
• Monk / Shaman / Imam
• Springald
• Mangonel
• Counterweight Trebuchet

Unique

Melee infantry

• Varangian Guard - Byzantines
• Palace Guard - Chinese
• Landsknecht - Holy Roman Empire and Order of the Dragon
• Earl's Guard - House of Lancaster
• Heavy Spearman - Knights Templar
• Freeborn Warrior - Malians

Ranged infantry

• Arbalétrier - French and Jeanne d'Arc
• Early Handcannoneer - House of Lancaster (Requires Burgundian Imports)
• Genoese Crossbowman - Knights Templar
• Janissary - Ottomans
• Early Grenadier - Zhu Xi's Legacy

Melee cavalry

• Camel Rider - Abbasid Dynasty
• Camel Lancer - Ayyubids
• Cataphract - Byzantines
• Fire Lancer - Chinese - Yuan Dynasty
• War Elephant - Delhi Sultanate
• Mounted Samurai - Japanese
• Templar Brother - Knights Templar

Ranged cavalry

• Tower Elephant - Delhi Sultanate
• Onna-Musha - Japanese
• Genitour - Knights Templar
• Horse Archer - Rus

Religious units

• Dervish - Ayyubids
• Prelate - Order of the Dragon
• Buddhist Monk / Shinto Priest - Japanese (requires respective landmark)
• Warrior Monk - Rus
• Shaolin Monk - Zhu Xi's Legacy (requires Shaolin Monastery)

Other

• Veteran Mercenaries - Byzantines
• Tower of the Sultan - Ayyubids
• Traction Trebuchet - Mongols
• Nest of Bees - Chinese and Zhu Xi's Legacy
• Galleass - French and Jeanne d'Arc
• Grand Galley - Ottomans

Available buildings

• Siege Workshop
• Monastery / Prayer Tent or Mosque
• Keep
• Pagoda - Chinese and Zhu Xi's Legacy in Yuan Dynasty