Age of Empires 4 Build Orders: Optimal Openings for Every Civilization

Build orders are the backbone of competitive Age of Empires 4. A clean opening that transitions smoothly into Feudal or Castle Age gives you an economic foundation that sloppy play cannot overcome. These optimized build orders cover the major civilizations and their strongest openings.

English Fast Feudal (Longbow Rush)

The English Longbow rush is the most reliable aggressive opening in AoE4. It aims to hit Feudal Age by 4:30 with enough economy to produce Longbowmen continuously.

Start with all six villagers on sheep. Queue two villagers to food. When you hit 7 villagers on food, send the next 3 to gold. At 10 total villagers, research Feudal Age. While aging up, send 2 more villagers to wood. Upon reaching Feudal, build an Archery Range immediately adjacent to the Council Hall landmark (which also produces Longbowmen). You now have two production buildings creating Longbowmen from 4:30 onward.

Send groups of 4-6 Longbowmen to the enemy base. Target villagers gathering exposed resources. The English Longbow outranges all Feudal units and shreds light armor. If the opponent turtles behind a Town Center, switch to raiding their woodlines and gold mines.

French Knight Rush (Feudal Aggression)

The French unique advantage is cheaper cavalry and the School of Cavalry landmark that auto-produces Royal Knights. Build order: 6 on sheep, 4 on gold, age up at 10 villagers. Choose School of Cavalry as your landmark. While aging up, build a stable. Upon reaching Feudal, you immediately produce Knights from both the stable and the landmark.

Send 2-3 Knights to raid. Royal Knights heal when out of combat, making them incredibly sustainable raiders. Target villagers on gold and wood — food villagers under the Town Center are too risky. If the opponent builds spearmen, pull your Knights away and let your economy grow while they waste resources on military that cannot catch you.

Mongol Tower Rush

Mongols can pack and move all buildings, enabling unique aggressive strategies. Build order: 6 on sheep, 2 on wood, age up early. The key trick: your Ovoo near stone lets you double-produce units. Place your Ger (house) and Ovoo aggressively near the enemy base. Build Outpost towers within range of their resources.

The Mongol tower rush forces opponents to react immediately. They must either commit military to destroy your towers (giving you time to boom at home) or abandon their forward resources. Meanwhile, your stone-boosted production creates superior units from fewer resources.

Abbasid Dynasty Boom

The Abbasid Dynasty excels at economic play. The House of Wisdom landmark provides free technologies as you age up, compounding economic advantages. Build order: 6 on sheep, 4 on wood, 3 on gold, age up at 13 villagers. Choose the Economic Wing first for the Fresh Foodstuffs technology (villagers gather 15% faster from all sources).

This build sacrifices military for economy. You should reach Castle Age by 9:00 with superior resource income. Build walls at chokepoints and invest in a few Camel Archers for defense. Your Castle Age power spike with Camel Riders and Handcannoneers overwhelms opponents who invested in Feudal aggression.

HRE (Holy Roman Empire) Fast Castle

The HRE specializes in religious and economic landmarks. Their Prelate unit inspires villagers to gather 40% faster, giving them one of the strongest economies if managed correctly. Build order: create a Prelate immediately. Assign 6 villagers to sheep with the Prelate inspiring them. 4 to gold, 3 to wood, age up at 13 villagers.

Choose the Aachen Chapel landmark in Feudal — it inspires all villagers within its large radius automatically, freeing your Prelate for other duties. Rush to Castle Age by 8:30 for access to Landsknecht (area-of-effect melee infantry that shreds grouped units) and the powerful Regnitz Cathedral landmark that triples Relic gold income.

General Build Order Principles

Regardless of civilization, certain principles hold. Never idle your Town Center — constant villager production is non-negotiable. Transition from food to gold when aging up. Build houses proactively to avoid supply blocks. Scout with your starting unit continuously to find your opponent’s base, neutral resources, and sacred sites.

The transition from build order to mid-game adaptation separates good players from great ones. Your build order gets you to Feudal or Castle Age efficiently. After that, read what your opponent is doing and respond. Heavy cavalry? Build spearmen and walls. Mass archers? Produce cavalry and horsemen. Turtling behind walls? Siege up with rams and trebuchets.

For more strategy content, see our Real-Time vs Turn-Based Strategy and Micro vs Macro in Strategy Games. Competitive players should check Multiplayer Strategy Game Guide.