| โ | A sacred valley cuts its way between two large mountains. Hidden far behind the tree lines are secrets and treasures for those who dare to search for them. | โ |
| —In-game description | ||
Hidden Valley is a semi-open map in Age of Empires IV: The Sultans Ascend, distinguished by its central valley enclosed by cliffs and dense forest that create a natural barrier.
Features[]
Two depressions along the northwest and southeast edges of the map are connected by a narrow valley lined by cliffs that separate it from the adjacent elevated areas. Both valley entrances are blocked by forest. Players start on opposite sides of this valley in each depression, and in team games, team members spawn relatively close to each other lined up along the map edge. Player will slowly gain access to the valley as they chop through the forested entrance, revealing a Sacred Site and potentially a Relic. The other two Sacred Sites are directly adjacent to the one in the valley on opposite cliff edges. All other Relics are distributed around the elevated center section on the map (but not necessarily evenly on both sides of the valley) and two Trade Posts can be found close to the center of the northeast and southwest edges. This map overall has a similar layout as The Pit, with the central cliffs facilitating walling and enabling players to defend one side while focusing efforts on the other. However, because the valley is narrower, and there are no woodlines along the edges, this requires a greater investment. The gameplay is also less likely to focus around the corners, with no significant resources there and with the Trade Posts located in the center on this map.
Resources[]
Most of the resources are found on the elevated portion of the map, with the valley and depressions relatively bare other than the starting resources, one circular woodline in each corner, and potentially some Small Gold Mines, Stone Outcroppings, or Berry Bushes. The starting woodline is much smaller than normal, so players will likely be encouraged to begin chopping through to the valley or move out onto the more contested center where some larger woodlines exist and small woodlines are plentiful. The unique Sheep distribution also contributes to the lack of resources in the starting area, with the four Sheep that normally spawn near each player's Capital Town Center removed. In 1 vs 1 games, this is compensated with extra contested Sheep spawning individually across the map, but in team games, they are standard in number, leaving fewer Sheep overall on the map. Each player also starts out with one nearby large Deer pack, while the rest of the packs are spread around the center along with the Boars. The Large Gold Mines and Large Stone Outcroppings are always evenly placed along two lines just in front of and parallel to the depressions in which the players start, always alternating between one another. There will always be an equal number of combined large gold and stone deposits on each side of the valley. On 1 vs 1 maps, one side will have both Gold Mines and the other will have both Stone Outcroppings.
Gallery[]
