Order of the Dragon

Civilization

Technology tree

Civilization

Technology tree

Order of the Dragon
Civilization
Civilization information
Introduced in	Age of Empires IV: The Sultans Ascend
Based on	Holy Roman Empire
Continent	Europe
In-game theme
Difficulty	1/3
Timeframe	1408-1437 CE
Features/Characteristics
Focus	Quality, infantry, defense
Unique units	Gilded units
Unique technologies	10

“	The Order of the Dragon is a variant of Age of Empires IV's Holy Roman Empire civilization and available with The Sultans Ascend Expansion. The Order of the Dragon boasts quality over quantity. With extensively trained and lavishly outfitted nobles bolstering their ranks, the Order of the Dragon excels at raising an elite army unlike any other. The Order of the Dragon is inspired by the chivalric order founded by Sigismund of Luxembourg in 1408, who later became the Holy Roman Emperor from 1433-1437.	”
—

Order of the Dragon are a variant civilization of Age of Empires IV's Holy Roman Empire and available with The Sultans Ascend. They are based on the chivalric order founded in 1408 by Sigismund of Luxembourg, who was then King of Hungary and Croatia (r. 1387–1437) and later became Holy Roman Emperor (r. 1433–1437).

Civilization overview

“	Although more expensive than other civilizations, the soldiers of the Order of the Dragon stand without equal. Playing the Order of the Dragon means commanding a small, elite force that is not to be underestimated. Equipped with superior armor, weaponry, and training, the Order of the Dragon's military lives longer, hits harder, and attacks from greater range than their counterparts. Each unit has specific traits that enhance its capabilities, allowing players to employ a variety of powerful military compositions and counters to thwart their enemies. A focus on quality carries over into the Order of the Dragon's economy. Villagers are more expensive, but are hardier, gather faster, and construct buildings more quickly.	”
—

Civilization bonuses

• Efficient Villagers:
  • Gilded Villagers gather 28% quicker, construct and repair buildings 20% faster, but cost 20% more food to produce.
  • Start out with 5 Gilded Villagers.
• Religious Zeal:
  • Prelates can place Relics in Outposts, Keeps, and Stone Wall Towers to improve their armor, damage, range, and Line of Sight by 25%.*
  • Relics placed in Docks increase ship attack speed by +5% per Relic (Max +25%).
  • Relics in these buildings generate gold at the normal rate as if they were placed in a Monastery.
• Emplacement Architecture:
  • Emplacements are 20% cheaper.
  • Outpost Line of Sight increased by 25%.
• Pushcarts: Gilded Villagers carry 40% more resources than other civilizations.
• Influence: Town Centers grant the Emergency Repairs ability to buildings under its influence.
• Gilded Units: All Order of the Dragon units have improved stats compared to their standard counterparts, with compensating penalties in cost, population space, and/or training time. The Gilded Man-at-Arms is available in the Feudal Age.

Starting resources

200 food, 200 wood, 100 gold

Unique units

• Prelate: The Prelate for the Order of the Dragon is basically a Monk which costs -33% resources and time to train. Unlike the Holy Roman Empire's Prelate, it cannot inspire Villagers. However, it can still inspire military units after Inspired Warriors is researched.
• Gilded Landsknecht - Light melee infantry with a large two-handed sword capable of doing significant area damage.

Gilded units

The Order of the Dragon can train "premium" versions of regular infantry and cavalry units available to the Holy Roman Empire called gilded units. They cost more resources and population space, but have much better stats in compensation. The idea behind such units is to have the player control fewer units. These units have a gilded black armor and a different icon to separate them from their base counterparts. The Scout also does not have a gilded version.

All gilded units have the following common differences:

• They cost 2x the amount of each resource (e.g. a Knight costs 140 food, 100 gold, whereas a Gilded Knight costs 280 food, 200 gold)
• They take 20% longer to train (e.g. a Knight takes 35 seconds, whereas a Gilded Knight takes 42 seconds)
• They take up 2 population slots
• All melee gilded units have increased torch attack

In addition, the Villager has a premium version, called the Gilded Villager, which does not cost extra population. It has the same icon as the European Villager. Similar to the Holy Roman Empires Villager, it can carry +40% resources, but it can also gather resources, build, and repair faster than standard Villagers, at an extra cost to produce.

For each gilded unit, a comparison to its standard version is shown below. Hit points, range, and Rate of Fire are shown as percentage increases.

Unit	Hit points	Attack	Attack bonus	Melee armor	Ranged armor	Range	Rate of Fire
Gilded Spearman	+100%	+3 (10)	+17 (34) vs cavalry	+1 (1)	0	0	0
Hardened Gilded Spearman		+4 (12)	+20 (40) vs cavalry
Veteran Gilded Spearman		+5 (14)	+23 (46) vs cavalry
Elite Gilded Spearman		+7 (18)	+28 (56) vs cavalry
Gilded Archer	+78.5% (125)	+1 (6)	+1 (6) vs light melee infantry	0	0	+10% (5.5)	+62.5% (1)
Veteran Gilded Archer	+81.25% (145)	+1 (8)	+1 (8) light melee infantry
Elite Gilded Archer	+68.4% (160)	+2 (10)	+2 (10) light melee infantry
Gilded Horseman	+100%	+6 (15)	+6 (15) vs ranged units	0	0	0	0
Veteran Gilded Horseman		+7 (18)	+7 (18) vs ranged units
Elite Gilded Horseman		+7 (20)	+7 (20) vs ranged units
Early Gilded Man-at-Arms	+91.67% (230)	+4 (14)	0	0	0	0	+22.2% (1.125)
Gilded Man-at-Arms	+87.1% (290)	+5 (17)
Elite Gilded Man-at-Arms	+88.89% (340)	+7 (21)
Gilded Crossbowman	+75% (140)	+4 (15)	+8 (19) vs heavy units	0	0	+20% (6)	+21.43% (1.75)
Elite Gilded Crossbowman	+78.95% (170)	+4 (18)	+8 (21) vs heavy units
Gilded Landsknecht	+111%	+4 (21)	0	0	0	0	0
Elite Gilded Landsknecht		+5 (25)
Gilded Knight	+73.91% (400)	+12 (36)	0	+1 (5)	0	0	+20% (1.25)
Elite Gilded Knight	+70.37% (460)	+13 (42)		+2 (7)	+1 (6)
Gilded Handcannoneer	+92.31% (250)	+3 (41)	0	0	0	+12.5% (4.5)	+88.89% (1.125)

Landmarks

Dark Age

• Aachen Chapel - Serves as a drop-off location for all resources, and provides a +15% gather rate bonus to Villagers within a 7.5 tile radius.
• Meinwerk Palace - Acts as a Blacksmith. Technologies researched at the Landmark cost 50% less and research 50% faster. Also contains several technologies unique to the Palace.

Feudal Age

• Burgrave Palace - Acts as a Barracks. Produces units 35% faster and with a 35% discount. Also researches technologies 35% faster.
• Regnitz Cathedral - Acts as a Monastery. Relics garrisoned in buildings generate 100% more gold.

Castle Age

• Elzbach Palace - Acts as an improved Keep with 50% more hit points. All friendly buildings within its influence take 33% less damage.
• Palace of Swabia - Acts as a Town Center. Produces Villagers 200% faster and with a 66% discount. The cost to build this Landmark is reduced by 10%.

Unique technologies

Order of the Dragon exclusives

• War Horses (Stable)
• Heavy Torches (Barracks)
• Scale Armor (Archery Range)
• Golden Cuirass (Meinwerk Palace)
• Zornhau (Meinwerk Palace)
• Bodkin Bolts (Meinwerk Palace)

Shared with the Holy Roman Empire

• Inspired Warriors (Monastery)
• Slate and Stone Construction (Keep)
• Reinforced Defenses (Keep)
• Fire Stations (Dock)

In-game dialogue

As a variant of the Holy Roman Empire, the Order of the Dragon Units share voice lines with them.

Changelog

• Originally, the Order started out with 150 wood. In patch 9.1.370, this was increased to 200 wood.
• Originally, Order of the Dragon Outposts had +25% Line of Sight, and Relics garrisoned inside defensive buildings additionally increased Line of Sight by 25% With patch 11.1.1201, both these bonuses were reduced to 20%.
• Originally, Relics garrisoned inside defensive buildings increased building armor by 50% and attack by 35%, and emplacements were 25% cheaper. With update 12.0.1974, the Relic bonuses were reduced to 25% and emplacements are only 20% cheaper.
• With update 12.0.1974, the Order of the Dragon lost access to the Bombard, which was replaced in its role by the Culverin.

Trivia

• The emblem on the civilization flag is based on insignia described by the edict of 1408.
  • The same emblem can be seen in the icon of the Vlad Dracula campaign in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, which also features the Order in a few scenarios. Dracula's name had its origin in the sobriquet of his father, Vlad Dracul ("Vlad the Dragon" in medieval Romanian), who received it after he became a member of the Order of the Dragon.
• The time span of the civilization begins in 1408, the founding of the Order by Sigismund I, and ends in 1437 with his death. This date wasn't the end of the Order, but it diminished in importance.

Gallery

Gilded Villagers

Gilded Spearmen

Gilded Crossbowmen

Gilded Knights

Another set of Gilded Knights

Gilded Landsknechts

Gilded Archers

An Order of the Dragon base in the Imperial Age