Rus

This article is about the civilization in Age of Empires IV. For the civilization in Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten, see Slavs. For the civilization in Age of Empires III, see Russians.

Civilization

Technology tree

Mastery

Civilization

Technology tree

Mastery

Rus
Civilization
Civilization information
Introduced in	Age of Empires IV
Continent	Europe
In-game theme
Difficulty	2/3
Timeframe	882 - 1547 CE
Features/Characteristics
Focus	Expansion, Cavalry and Hunting
Unique units	Streltsy Horse Archer Warrior Monk Militia Lodya ships
Unique technologies	13
Unique buildings	Hunting Cabin Wooden Fortress Fortified Palisade Gate Fortified Palisade Wall

The Rus are a playable European civilization in Age of Empires IV.

They feature in Age of Empires II as the Slavs, and as the Russians in Age of Empires III.

Civilization overview

“	The Rus are highly skilled hunters, adept in the wild. Supported by their battle-ready cavalry, the Rus grow more powerful as they expand to new frontiers through the Ages. In Age of Empires IV, the Rus civilization tells the story of a fledgling empire caught between powerful opponents over the years 882-1552 CE. Hardened by devastating invasions, political instability, and bitter winters, the Rus were built for survival. Masters of hunting, trade, and wooden construction, they would rebuild their realm as their leaders fought to birth a new empire under Moscow. Age of Empires IV allows you to experience the Rus civilization through four Ages portraying distinct moments in history: in Age I, traditional Slavic with Norman and Norse influences; in Age II, the Rus' Golden Age with Byzantine influence; in Age III, the fall of Mongol influence; and in Age IV, the rise of the Muscovy Duchy.	”
—

Strengths

“	As skilled hunters, playing the Rus means the wilderness is yours to command. They reap key benefits from their surroundings, particularly in gathering resources to build up a strong economy quickly. Enemies facing the Rus will find it difficult to disrupt their growth. They gain steady incomes of Gold from the Hunting Cabin, which acts as a standard mill, and the unique Bounty score when killing Gaia animals. With the Bounty system, players earn Gold when killing any animal on the map. This contributes to the player's Bounty total – as it increases, food harvest and Hunting Cabins' gold rate also increase. The Rus' powerful early game defense capabilities make them a commendable foe in early Ages. They have stronger Palisades in place of early access Walls, access to Knights starting in Age II, and Wooden Fortresses — improved Outposts — with unique technologies. Their unique Influence provides them with more Wood when Lumber Camps are built near Wooden Fortresses. Battle-wise, the Rus are known for their mounted Warrior Monk that can buff surrounding units; and the Streltsy, a powerful gunpowder unit. The Rus civilization's unique attributes provide a lively challenge to those eager to leverage its advantages.	”
—

Civilization bonuses

• Woodland Federation: Outposts and Palisade Walls are replaced by the sturdier Wooden Fortresses and Fortified Palisade Walls.
• Hunter Princes: Mills are replaced by Hunting Cabins, which can train Scouts, see into Stealth Forests, and generate Gold based on the number of surrounding trees
• Druzhina Retinue: Early Knight available in the Feudal Age (II).

• 

  Bounty icon

  Bounty Rewards: Villagers drop off 1 bonus gold for every 10 food gathered from Sheep, Deer, and Boar. This bonus gold contributes to the total collected bounty. Certain thresholds of total bounty provides economic bonuses to Villagers and Hunting Cabins.
  • 100 Bounty: +5% food gather rate. Hunting Cabins generate +10% gold.
  • 400 Bounty: +10% food gather rate. Hunting Cabins generate +25% gold.
  • 1,000 Bounty: +15% food gather rate. Hunting Cabins generate +40% gold. Global income caps out at 420 gold/min for all Hunting Cabins.
• Lodya Reconstitution:
  • Rus Lodya ships can convert into any other type of ship for a cost
  • Lodya Fishing Boats don't have to return to a dock to drop off Food.
• Influence: The Wooden Fortress comes with an influence aura, which can be extended by Lumber Camps and Town Centers. Villagers drop off +20% wood to Lumber Camps and Town Centers within the influence aura.

Starting resources

200 food, 200 wood, 100 gold

Unique units

• Warrior Monk: Religious light cavalry unit that inspires nearby units when in combat, providing +1 armor and +2 damage.
• Horse Archer: Light ranged cavalry with high mobility and damage.
• Streltsy: Handcannoneer which gets stronger when stationary and has a high damage melee attack.
• Militia: Light melee infantry which can be summoned from the Kremlin and loses hit points over time.
• Lodya ships: Can be converted into any type of ship for a cost given some time.

“	The Warrior Monk is a military-minded support unit that improves combat capabilities of nearby units after it attacks. They can pick up Relics, convert enemy units, and capture Sacred Sites. The Horse Archer is a unique ranged cavalry unit available in the Castle Age. They are highly mobile and effective against slower melee units. The Streltsy is a high damage, light gunpowder infantry unit with a stronger rate of fire when stationary. They employ a huge axe that is potent against melee attackers!	”
—

Landmarks

Dark Age

• Kremlin - Acts as an improved Wooden Fortress with more hit points, and with Arrowslits, Castle Turret, and Castle Watch emplacements already installed. Produces "Supply Points" every 80 seconds, which can be used to deploy Militia at a cost of 55 food each.
• The Golden Gate - Produces "Supply Points" every 50 seconds, which can be used to trade resources like a Market, but at a fixed rate. Each point spent can sell 100 food/wood/stone for 150 gold, or buy 150 food/wood/stone for 100 gold.

Feudal Age

• Abbey of the Trinity - Acts as a Monastery. Reduces Warrior Monk cost by 50% and contains unique technologies that benefit the Warrior Monk.
• High Trade House - Generates Gold like a Hunting Cabin with the value increased by 400%. Spawns a Deer every 60 seconds. Villagers can drop off Food at this Landmark.

Castle Age

• High Armory - Reduces the cost of siege engines created by Siege Workshops within a 7.5 tile radius by 20%. Also contains several unique technologies that benefit siege units.
• Spasskaya Tower - Acts as an improved Keep with double hit points, and with Springald and Cannon Emplacements already installed. Also unlocks the building of Stone Walls, Gates, and Towers.

Unique buildings

• Hunting Cabin — improved Mills that produce Scouts and generate Gold from nearby forests. Can see into Stealth Forests.
• Wooden Fortress — improved Outposts with additional hit points and garrison slots.
• Fortified Palisade Wall — Palisade Wall with increased hit points.
• Fortified Palisade Gate — Palisade Gate with increased hit points.

Unique technologies

• Adaptable Hulls (Dock)
• Castle Turret (Wooden Fortress)
• Castle Watch (Wooden Fortress)
• Mounted Training (Archery Range)
• Boyar's Fortitude (Blacksmith)
• Knight Poleaxes (Stable)
• Fervor (Abbey of the Trinity)
• Saint's Veneration (Abbey of the Trinity)
• Divine Light (Monastery)
• Wandering Town (High Armory)
• Siege Crew Training (High Armory)
• Fine Tuned Guns (High Armory)
• Banded Arms (High Armory)

In-game dialogue

• Pronunciation - Most units use Modern Russian pronunciation with Akanye, don't pronounce yers, add -n instead of pronouncing nasal vowels. It does not change across ages.
• Grammar - The lines use a lot of archaic forms (e.g. present tense of the copula, lost in modern Russian). In the Imperial Age they use Modern Russian grammar.
• Vocabulary- Use of archaic words from Old Church Slavonic in earlier ages. Some words like цель/tsel' (target) and позиция/pozitsiya (position), which were borrowed from Polish and Russian after the Middle Ages, are also present. There are fewer archaisms in the Imperial Age.

Changelog

• With update 24916, the Town Center influence area was increased by 1 tile so it could connect more easily with the Wooden Fortress influence.
• With update 24916, the Rus no longer gain 5 bounty for killing Sheep.
• With patch 11.1.1201, the Rus bounty system was overhauled. Instead of immediately gaining bounty gold from killing animals, Rus now gain bounty gold by dropping off food from Deer, Boar, and Sheep. The Tier 3 bounty level gold requirement was increased from 500 to 750, and the Hunting Cabin gold generation bonus was decreased from 65% to 40%. With update 13.0.4178, the tier 3 bounty requirement was further increased to 1,000 gold, and the Tier 2 bonus was increased from 250 to 400 gold.

Trivia

• The flag of the Rus is the modern flag of the federal city of Moscow designed in 1995, but "yezdets" (ездец), a horseman (or more specifically Saint George) killing a dragon, has been used in coat of arms of Moscow since Ivan III used it in his seal in the late 15th century.
• The Rus are one of the only two civilizations (the other being Malians) without access to the Warship, and as such, they (both) have access to the Mounted Guns technology.
• The time span of the civilization begins in 882, with the establishment of the Kievan Rus, and ends in 1547, the year that Ivan the Terrible was crowned as the first Tsar of Russia.

Gallery

A Rus city

Imperial Age Rus City

Cathedral of the Tsar

Influence aura of a Wooden Fortress being extended by the Town Center and Lumber Camp