| “ | Contains four water masses in each corner and a big forest in the middle, so maneuverability is limited | ” |
| —Age of Empires IV description | ||
Forest Ponds is a random map in Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition. It is a hybrid map that features a lake in each corner and a large forest in the middle.
Features[]
The main features on Forest Ponds are the very large patch of forest in the center, similar to Hideout, and the eponymous ponds in each corner. Teams will spawn on opposite sides of the forest, although in 1 vs 1, players may be closer together. Each pond has a Coastal Trade Post, although the ponds are nowhere near big enough to provide any sort of reasonable Trade Ship income. Curiously, the map does not feature the 'naval' tag, although building Docks on the ponds is necessary to access the Deep Water Fish. One Sacred Site will spawn anywhere along each edge of the map between two ponds, adding up to 4 total. This can result in some easily defendable or unbalanced distributions if two of the sites happen to spawn near the same pond behind one player. Relics will spawn in the standard amount, favoring the map edges behind the players (although sometimes Relic spawns can be blocked).
Resources[]
Forest Ponds has a fairly unique overall and starting resource distribution, most obviously the wood and berries. Although the map features the 'extra wood' tag, almost all of it is within the forest in the center, and otherwise only a small circular woodline is guaranteed to spawn within range of a player's starting Town Center. Each player will also start out with 4 small Berry Bush patches surrounding their town center, as well as one large Deer Pack within sight. An additional 2 medium berry patches and 1 large Deer pack per player will be spread around the map. Ponds only contain Deep Water Fish, not Shoreline Fish. with 3 in each pond in 1 vs 1 and 2 vs 2, and 4 and 5 in each pond in 3 vs 3 and 4 vs 4 respectively. Forest Ponds also benefits from additional Boar spawns, with 1 per player. The 'less stone' tag would be appropriate for this map, since besides each player's starting Large Stone Outcropping near their town center, only one additional Small Outcropping will spawn per player. Gold is average, with one Large and three Small Gold Mines per player and the standard start.
Trivia[]
- The map is very similar to Four Lakes from Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, but with a forest in the middle of the map.
Gallery[]
