Beginners in Age of Wonders 4 may find it challenging to navigate the abundance of information the game presents. To assist with this, we have compiled some general tips and race setup suggestions to help new players get started. This guide is designed to provide a solid foundation for those who are new to this type of game.
Beginner’s Guide and Tips
It’s recommended to play the realms in order of difficulty to ensure a smooth learning curve.
Don’t hesitate to start with the easy mode and gradually increase the difficulty level as you become more comfortable with the game.
Pay attention to several aspects of gameplay, including:
- It’s possible to queue build orders, but it’s generally better not to do so. This way, your gold isn’t reserved, and you have a better overview of your resources.
- Level up your hero by taking on easier NPC enemies for early levels and loot, similar to how you would in a MOBA.
- Properly heal your troops and hero by letting them rest in your friendly domain.
- Focus on a particular playstyle as a beginner, such as spellcasting, strong units, summoning, or undead, while enjoying creating your race.
- Overwhelm your enemy with numbers rather than a 1:1 army. Consider placing multiple armies next to each other and attacking strong enemies or picking on weak ones.
- Manual combat often produces better results in difficult terrain where auto mode may fail. You can also learn a lot by watching the PCs replay.
- Being a “good do-er” can make some scenarios easier by having NPCs on your side instead of fighting through everyone.
As a beginner, you may find it helpful to choose a specific race setup with certain gameplay traits that can be changed as needed. The race you choose is purely cosmetic, so pick any “race skin” you like and pay attention to the following gameplay traits:
- Body: Keen-Sighted (+20% Accuracy for ranged physical attacks)
- Mind: Overwhelm Tactics (+20% Critical Hit when units standing next to each other)
- Feudal origin: great synergy of Standing Together (+20% Damage when units standing next to each other) with Overwhelm Tactics. This is the easiest as you can pair archers/rangers and defenders/shield bearers well for straightforward combat.
- Ritual Cannibals: free healing during battle by eating corpses
- Gifted Casters: a great pick for beginners as spells are very strong during battle and can change the tide.
- Alternative choice for Ritual Cannibals (if you dislike the evil alignment): Adapt Settlers
For beginners, it’s recommended to start with the following tomes:
- Tome of Roots (all-rounder)
- Tome of Enchantment (good unit focus)
- Cryomancy and Pyromance – strong, but depending on enemies.
Avoid Tome of Horde as it requires a specific playstyle. The Tome of Roots, Enchantment, and the elemental ones are great for unit enhancements while offering powerful offensive magic. You may be surprised by how strong a weapon with poison, fire, or freeze damage can be.
As for your hero’s weapon, it’s best to use sword and shield, spirit orb, or bow. Avoid crossbows and other weapons as a beginner. These weapons have multihits, making them more accurate overall, especially as a beginner when you need to get used to the different weapon types and how they work.
Whether you choose Champion or Wizard King is of little importance at first. Champion is more beginner-friendly, but both are quite strong, with Wizard King being much more powerful in the offense. Remember to recruit more heroes or change your weapon if you want to have more fun.
The final tip is to take the time to read and learn. The game provides a comfortable pace to explain everything if you follow the progression path and read the information provided. It is essential to familiarize yourself with the game mechanics, and you may recognize some tips from other strategy games, like Civilization. Remember that practice makes perfect, and the more you play, the better you will become.