Variant civilization

“	This expansion introduces the new concept of Variant Civilizations – re-imagined and modified versions of classic civilizations from Age of Empires IV.	”
—

A variant civilization is a type of civilization in Age of Empires IV introduced in The Sultans Ascend.

Each variant civilization offers new unique ways to play one of the classic civilizations while still keeping with that civilization's overall themes and aesthetics. In most cases, a variant civilization uses their parent civilization's architecture, technologies, buildings (including landmarks), units, and audio-design, with a few exceptions where their unique concepts come into play.

Vairant civilizations do not have masteries.

List of variant civilizations

The details of individual variant civilizations related to the gameplay are noted on the regular civilization page, since they play out in the game like regular civilizations.

Expansion	Variant civilization	Base civilization	Official description
The Sultans Ascend	Ayyubids	Abbasid Dynasty	They trade the classic House of Wisdom's unique technologies that the Abbasid Dynasty receives, for a choice between multiple bonuses on each wing and a stronger emphasis on camel units.
	Jeanne d'Arc	French	Jeanne d'Arc takes the French civilization and trades some of its classic civilization bonuses (faster-training Villagers and cheaper resource drop-off buildings) for a powerful hero unit, the nominal Jeanne d'Arc herself.
	Order of the Dragon	Holy Roman Empire	The Order of the Dragon replaces many of the classic Holy Roman Empire units with Gilded versions which outmatch their counterparts on the battlefield but cost more resources, time, and population.
	Zhu Xi's Legacy	Chinese	Zhu Xi's Legacy takes inspiration from the titular philosopher and re-envisions the Chinese classic Dynasty bonuses and Landmarks for a focus on economy and long-term efficiency instead of fast expansion.
Knights of Cross and Rose	Knights Templar	French
	House of Lancaster	English

Comparison

Variant civilization	Base civilization	Common units	Common buildings	Common technologies
Ayyubids	Abbasid Dynasty	Ghulam	House of Wisdom*
Jeanne d'Arc	French	All: Royal Knight Arbalétrier Cannon Galleass	All: Chamber of Commerce School of Cavalry Guild Hall Royal Institute College of Artillery Red Palace
Order of the Dragon	Holy Roman Empire	Prelate Landsknecht	All: Aachen Chapel* Meinwerk Palace Burgrave Palace* Regnitz Cathedral Elzbach Palace Palace of Swabia
Zhu Xi's Legacy	Chinese	Imperial Official Palace Guard Zhuge Nu Grenadier Nest of Bees	Village Granary Pagoda
House of Lancaster	English		Abbey of Kings The White Tower Berkshire Palace Wynguard Palace

Notes

• The Knights Templar share no gameplay feature, other than cosmetics of generic units and voice lines, with the French.
• Landmarks marked with * function differently between civilizations.
• While both Zhu Xi's Legacy and Chinese have Palace Guard, the former has it an Age earlier.
• While both Zhu Xi's Legacy and Chinese have Zhuge Nu and Grenadier, the latter has to unlock them by reaching certain dynasties but the former has it unconditionally, even replacing the regular units Archer and Handcannoneer.

Behind the scenes

“	A Variant Civilization is a modified version of a classic civilization that you already know and love from the core game. They offer new gameplay elements and strategies, while keeping the familiarity and identity of the classic civilization intact. Variant civilizations are not designed to replace the classic civ they are derived from but instead provide an alternative way to play. We start with historical inspiration from some element in the history of the classic civilization and then build gameplay from that theme. These elements can be a single individual (like Jeanne d'Arc), a philosophy (like the neo-Confucianism of Zhu Xi), or a particular historical group within the broader culture (like the Order of the Dragon). Although these seeds are often small moments, we explore the 'what if' of keeping that focus throughout the journey through the four Ages. Historically, Jeanne d'Arc lived at what would be the early part of the Imperial Age (just as France was adopting firearms at large scale), but we feature her across all four Ages in the variant that bears her name. This builds on some of the "historical extensions" of the classic civilizations, such as the Abbasid Dynasty and Delhi Sultanate having full gunpowder units even through those particular groups never adopted gunpowder en masse (or were succeeded by those who did, such as the Ottomans). Not everything changes between classic and variant. Many basic units and buildings remain the same, as do music and historical speech. Each variant has its own list of changes, which might be a new set of landmarks, new units, revised or wholly new technologies or civilization mechanics, and more. The changes are always significant, however, and remake how the civilization plays. Players of a parent and variant civilization will be making very different choices and pursuing different strategies throughout a match.	”
—Emma Bridle, Director of Customer's Voice, World's Edge, September 25, 2023

Trivia

• On first announcement, Zhu Xi's Legacy was named Empire of Jade, and Ayyubids were named The Sultan's Army. On 25 September 2023, it was announced that the names are changed due to community's disapproval of the old names for various reasons.