English

This article is about the civilization in Age of Empires IV. For other uses, see British (disambiguation).

Civilization

Technology tree

Mastery

English
Civilization
Civilization information
Introduced in	Age of Empires IV
Continent	Europe
In-game theme
Difficulty	1/3
Timeframe	850-1555 CE
Features/Characteristics
Focus	Defense, Longbows and Farming
Unique units	Longbowman King Wynguard Ranger Wynguard Footman
Unique technologies	6

The English are a playable European civilization in Age of Empires IV. They also appear in Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings as the Britons and in Age of Empires III as the British.

Their variant civilization is the House of Lancaster

Civilization overview

“	The English are a defensive powerhouse in Age of Empires IV. Their strength is unparalleled, reinforced by the power of their archery units, a firm control over castles and defensive buildings, and a highly dependable food economy that sustains them through the Ages. Age of Empires IV introduces the English civilization during the Anglo-Saxon era in Great Britain spanning from 850-1555 CE. As you progress from the Middle Ages to the Late Renaissance in the 16th century, you bear witness to the story of a civilization that survived the fall of empires, conquerors, and plagues. Age of Empires IV has you build up the English civilization across four eras: the Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Norman, English Gothic, and Tudor eras. Each Age has its distinct style from architecture to armor, with populations speaking Old English in the Dark Age and evolving to Early Modern English by the Imperial Age.	”
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Strengths

“	Playing as the English in Age IV opens the door to several key advantages, creating an exciting battlefield for resources and victory. The English have access to cheaper farms compared to other civilizations, giving them a highly dependable source of food to greatly expand upgrades and armies throughout matches. The English specialize in their network of castles: Town Centers, Outposts, Towers, and Keeps trigger an alarm when an enemy approaches—prompting nearby units and defensive structures to fire faster for a short period. Their Keeps can produce all units, allowing for the English defense to reign supreme in a match. The Longbowman is a special English unit and a civ-specific improvement of the Archer in other civilizations. The Longbowman has longer range, thus an advantage in ranged combat, with access to significant upgrades.	”
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Civilization bonuses

• Island of Agriculture: Farms cost -50%.
• Call to Arms: Vanguard Man-at-Arms available in the Dark Age (I). Men-at-Arms are produced 50% faster.
• Setup Camp: Scouts have the Setup Camp ability to build campfires.
• Defensive Byrig:
  • Villagers wield short bows when attacking enemy units.
  • The Capital Town Center fires an extra arrow with its base attack.
• Network of Castles: Town Centers, Outposts, Towers, and Keeps provide the Network of Castles bonus, increasing attack speed of nearby units by +20% when enemies are in range.
• Shipwrights: Ships cost -10%.
• Keep Production: Keeps can produce all land military units.
• Influence: Farms within the influence of Mills gather (15%/20%/25%/30%) faster per Age.

Starting resources

200 food, 200 wood, 100 gold

Unique units

• Longbowman: Archer with +2 range and +1 damage that comes with the Defensive Paling ability to stun and damage enemy cavalry.
• Wynguard Footman: A better version of the Man-at-Arms, produced in batches.
• Wynguard Ranger: A better version of the Longbowman, produced in batches.

“	The English Villager is the humble unit of the civilization and the key to starting a powerful economy. They have light fighting abilities with a ranged bow attack. The Longbowman is an unrivaled Archer unit, making it a powerful foe on the battlefield with their long range and powerful upgrades. The English Man-at-Arms is a sturdy infantry unit, available earlier than other civilizations and has an extra armor upgrade.	”
—

Landmarks

Dark Age

• Abbey of Kings: Heals out-of-combat friendly units within a 7.5 tile radius at a rate of 6 hit points per second. Can also crown a King, a cavalry unit with a lesser version of the Abbey's aura.
• Council Hall: Acts as an Archery Range with a +100% production speed bonus.

Feudal Age

• King's Palace: Acts as a Town Center with increased hit points and garrison space.
• The White Tower: Acts as a Keep with increased garrison space and a +75% production speed bonus.

Castle Age

• Berkshire Palace: Acts as an improved Keep with much greater range and a stronger incendiary arrow attack.
• Wynguard Palace: Trains a variety of units in batches at a reduced cost, including the unique Wynguard Rangers and Wynguard Footmen.

Unique technologies

• Armor Clad (Barracks)
• Network of Citadels (Keep)
• Admiralty (Dock)
• Enclosures (Mill)
• Arrow Volley (Archery Range)
• Shattering Projectiles (Siege Workshop)

Changelog

• As of the Season One Update, English Men-at-Arms are trained 50% faster. Before this, they had no production speed bonus.
• As of the Season One Update, English starting wood was increased from 150 to 200.
• Originally, Military ships received an attack range bonus of one tile and the unique technology Shipwrights provided a 10% discount to ships. With Season Two Update 17718, the roles were reversed: the 10% discount was turned into a civilization bonus, and the range boost was locked behind a new technology called Admiralty.

In-game dialogue

English units speak a variant of Middle English whose pronunciation varies widely from unit to unit, sometimes being rather Chaucerian and at other times being more like Modern English in the Imperial Age.

Trivia

• The flag of the English is the Flag of England featuring Saint George's Cross.
• The time span of the civilization begins in 850, with the victories over the Vikings by Æthelwulf, King of Wessex, and ends in 1555, with the execution of protestants by Mary I, also known as "Bloody Mary".

Gallery

An English city

Imperial Age English City

Cathedral of St. Thomas

Concept art for English Houses

Concept art for the English Barracks

Concept art for the English Town Center

Concept art for the English Monastery

Concept art for the English University

Concept art for the English Wonder