| “ | A river is nestled among gently rolling hills. | ” |
| —Age of Empires IV description | ||
Danube River is a hybrid random map in Age of Empires IV. A river loops around the map enclosing an area rich in Stealth Forests and resources.
Features[]
Teams on Danube River spawn on opposite sides of a U-shaped river which always enters and exits the map on the northeast edge of the map (hence players spawn on the northwest and southeast edges of the map). The river encloses a piece of land that typically contains a large amount of Stealth Forest and resources, and always has one of the two Sacred Sites closer to the map edge. The river always has two shallow crossings to this land on the long portions, and a destructible Wooden Bridge on the short portion, dividing it in two. The southwest edge of the map contains an elevated section directly across from the short section of the river, separated by a cliffside with an opening in the center. The second Sacred Site is always on this elevated section. Relic spawns can vary considerably on this map, likely due to the Stealth Forest on the enclosed area blocking spawns. 1 vs 1 will reliably spawn 5 Relics, appearing almost anywhere on the map except in close proximity to the players, but in 2 vs 2, there can be anywhere from 5 to 7 Relics, with 3 Relics spawning regularly along the southwest edge relatively evenly placed, and the rest spawning on the enclosed island. In 3 vs 3 and 4 vs 4, Relic spawns can be more clustered, and a maximum of 9 and 11 will spawn respectively, but as in 2 vs 2, there will often be fewer. Trade Posts will always spawn in the south and east corner.
Resources[]
Danube River has a somewhat above average resource generation which can also vary due to the large amount of Stealth Forest. Shore Fish are relatively safe to gather by boat from the river, with the bridge blocking off enemy naval units. Like Altai, one large Deer pack per player will spawn within reach of the starting Town Centers, but there may be fewer large Deer packs than the typical two per player. Sheep spawns are standard, but Berry Bushes are more variable than on almost all other maps. Two medium patches are guaranteed per player and a large patch will often spawn towards the elevated area on each team's side. But any number of patches of all sizes can spawn in the enclosed land. It is even possible for Stealth Forest to only partially block off a patch so it has an atypical number of bushes, like 4 or 5. The standard number of Boars will spawn, and they are usually clustered very closely together on the enclosed area. There is no shortage of wood on this map, with two large circular woodlines spawning close to each player's base, and many more small (and sometimes large) patches dotting the map, in addition to the large amount of Stealth Forest. Gold and stone are prevalent in the center of the map and along the southwest edge, with the amount of large mines and outcroppings changing regularly from generation to generation, but in the range of three to four of each in 1 vs 1, five to six of each in 2 vs 2, eight gold and four stone in 3 vs 3, and ten of each in 4 vs 4. Small mines and outcroppings will also vary in the range of 8/13/16/26 of each per team size.
Wooden Bridge[]
| “ | Wooden Bridges can be damaged, catch fire, and be destroyed. Use Attack Move or Attack Ground and target the bridge to attack it. Villagers can repair a damaged or destroyed Wooden Bridge. All units on a bridge that is destroyed are killed | ” |
| —Age of Empires IV description | ||
The Wooden Bridge on the short bend of the river can be destroyed by using the Attack Ground ability of various siege engines, or by detonating an incendiary ship next to it. Once destroyed, units can no longer cross, but it still also continues to block the passage of ships along the river. All units on top of the bridge when it is destroyed are instantly killed. The bridge can be repaired with Villagers at no cost.
Changelog[]
- Originally, Danube River had a significantly different layout, with a single river coming from one edge of the map that forked into two before reaching the adjacent edge, creating an island. With update 8324, it was reworked into its current design.
- Originally, the the river crossing in the center of the map was a shallow water crossing. With the Season One Update, it was replaced with a Stone Bridge. With update 13.0.4178, the Stone Bridge was replaced with a destructible Wooden Bridge.
- Originally, Danube River had a Trade Post on the center island. With patch 14681, this was removed and the two corner Trade Posts were added instead. Boar spawns were adjusted as well so that at least two would spawn on the center island. A path down the cliff was added from the southwest Sacred Site towards the bridge.
Trivia[]
- Danube River was originally known as Rolling Rivers and is referred to in the files in this way. This outdated name continued to appear in the game in the UI description for certain preset skirmish scenarios for some time before eventually being fixed.
Gallery[]
