Season One Update – Abbasid Dynasty
The first major update of 2022 brings Ranked Seasons, the Content Editor beta (and Mods!), Seasonal Events, Major Balance changes, as well as a ton of quality-of-life changes to Age of Empires IV.
Core Units
Field construction time increased from 30 to 80 seconds
Field construction time increased from 40 to 80 seconds
Economy
Hunting bow reload time reduced from 2 to 1 second
Melee weapon cool down reduced from 4 to 2 seconds
Melee weapon damage reduced from 4 to 2
Developer note
"We found scout attack times to feel too long and unresponsive. This is especially noticeable in the early stages of the game when unit counts are lower."
Villager hunted meat carry capacity increased from 10 to 25
Hunted meat harvest rate increased from 10% to 15%
Research time reduced from 75 to 45 seconds
Hunted meat carry capacity bonus removed
Developer note
"We’re aim to encourage earlier game deer play to reward players for being out on the map."
Delhi and Abbasid Orchard Bonus (building a mill nearby Berry Bushes) reduced from +250 to +100 food
Developer note
"We like that the berry gathering speed makes this a prime resource for Abbasid, but it gives a boon for too long. We want them to have to move out on the map to more risky positions sooner."
Naval
Arrow ships can no longer fire while moving
Improved the responsiveness of small and medium ships
Updated the selection area for all fishing deposits to match the visual. This also resolves issues where deep fish became harder to select as the resource was depleted.
Galley, Dhow and Junk help text updated to specifically indicate they benefit from ranged damage Blacksmith technology
Developer note
"Engaging in naval battles was very swingy as once a player started losing it was difficult to retreat against fire while moving boats. We’re also hoping to see more tactical poke and retreat style feigns and harassment."
Research time reduced from 75 to 45 seconds
Research time reduced from 75 to 45 seconds
Developer note
"Between making more fishing boats and researching, the dock had to choose between these economic techs that took so long. It was generally better just to make more fishing boats. Reducing the research time makes these techs enticing earlier in the match."
Can no longer fire while moving
Springald weapon damage increased from 50 to 70
Ranged armor reduced by 1
Attack speed reduced from 3.25 to 3.75 seconds
Developer note
"Helps Baghlah’s ability to take out enemy structures. This is also a net increase to Baghlah DPS to account for the lack of Swivel Ballista technology."
Warship formation spacing reduced from 4.5 to 3 tiles
Rams can no longer target naval units
Developer note
"While this was a bug fix, we received player feedback about how it added a fun dynamic to the game. We’ll look into readjusting in the future."
Core Buildings & Upgrades
Buildings under construction receive 50% more damage
Developer note
"Players were dropping buildings in the middle of battles and there wasn’t any way to stop it. We’ve added this damage penalty to in progress buildings to add more risk and counterplay to these strategies to even out how powerful they are."
Stone Wall Tower build time increased from 60 to 90 seconds
Stone Wall Tower cost increased from 200 to 300 stone
Developer note
"These changes together are specifically targeted at weakening feudal age stone wall tower rushes as it’s difficult to get enough army together in time to prevent them."
Keep build time increased from 120 to 140 seconds
Cost increased from 250 Gold, 100 Stone to 500 Gold, 200 Stone
Research time increased from 60 to 90 seconds
Developer note
"One of the most powerful castle age upgrades. This was frequently grabbed as soon as a keep was completed. Increasing the cost adds more strategic contemplation to when it’s researched. Still well worth the investment!"
Movement speed bonus reduced from 20% to 15%
Moved from the University to the Siege Workshop
Cost reduced from 300 Wood, 700 Gold to 100 Wood, 225 Gold
Research time reduced from 90 to 45 seconds
Developer note
"As geometry only affects 2 units that only damage buildings, we found the steep cost wasn’t justified and limited the intended scaling of late game rams."
Moved from the Siege Workshop to the University
Cost increased from 150 Wood, 350 Gold to 300 Wood, 700 Gold
Research time increased from 60 to 90 seconds
Developer note
"As university holds powerful technologies that affect entire classes of units, it was a much better fit for this technology."
Can now research Geometry (instead of University)
Can no longer research Siege Works (use University instead)
Now correctly provides 30 stone per minute instead of 15
Other bug fixes
Repair ability now shows the correct requirements when attempting to use it on an enemy player
Attempting to observe a modded game when you do not have the same mods enables should no longer result in a crash
Improvements made to sheep to allow for easier selection
Selection tool should now prioritize siege unit selection over building selection when the unit overlaps with a building
Abbassid Dynasty
Move speed increased from 6.5 to 6.75
Age II damage increased from 10 to 12
Age III damage increased from 12 to 14
Age IV damage increased from 14 to 15
Bonus damage vs. Spearman reduced from 3x to 2x
Camel Barding no longer affects the Camel Archer
Camel Archer bow is no longer invisible after upgrading Incendiary Arrows
Age III damage increased from 9 to 14
Age IV damage increased from 10 to 16
Age III bonus damage vs. Cavalry reduced from 18 to 14
Age IV bonus damage vs. Cavalry reduced from 20 to 16
Developer note
"For both camel units we wanted them to be a bit more useful overall instead of just niche counter units. As Camel archers are ranged, fast, and high damage we’ll be scrutinizing them for upcoming balance patches."
Moved from the Blacksmith to the Stables
Cost reduced from 300 Food, 700 Gold to 100 Food, 225 Gold
research time reduced from 90 to 45 seconds
Camel Barding now only affects Camel Riders, no longer affects the Camel Archer
Developer note
"Camel archers already get to benefit from Biology and Incendiary Arrows, this helps combat some of the upgrade stacking issues."
Economy Wing Changes
Cost reduced from 200 Wood, 500 Gold to 75 Wood, 200 Gold
Research time reduced from 90 to 45 seconds
Developer note
"Previously, the strongest wing bonuses weren’t available until reaching Imperial Age. This meant that choosing a wing wasn’t exciting as the payoff was very far in the future. We’ve resolved this by adding more enticing options starting off in the Feudal age!"
Trade Wing Changes
Moved from the Imperial Age to the Feudal Age
Cost reduced from 300 Food, 700 Gold to 50 Food, 125 Gold
Research time reduced from 90 to 60 seconds
Moved from the Feudal Age to the Imperial Age
Cost increased from 100 Wood, 250 Gold to 300 Wood, 700 Gold
Military Wing Changes
Moved from Imperial Age to Feudal Age
Cost reduced from 300 Food, 700 Gold to 50 Food, 125 Gold
Research time decreased from 90 to 60 seconds
Cost reduced from 300 Food, 700 Gold to 250 Gold, 100 Food
Research time reduced from 90 to 60 seconds
Armor bonus increased from 1 to 2
Moved from Feudal Age to Imperial Age
Cost increased from 50 Food, 125 Gold to 300 Food, 700 Gold
Research time increased from 60 to 90 seconds
Bug fixes
Converted Abbasid villagers will correctly have their build menu updated to match their new allegiance
The Abbasid Golden Age production speed bonus now properly applies to all production buildings, and not only military production buildings
Can no longer be used to convert Naval units, as originally intended
In-game tooltip now correctly displays 33% attack speed increase instead of 25%
Drop-off bonus now also applies to Town Centers
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