In this guide, we will be showing you a Best Civilizations Tier List for Age of Empires 4 where we will discuss the pros and cons of all the civilizations in the game available at launch to help you decide which one is better suited to your AoE 4 playstyle.
Age of Empires 4 Best Civilizations Tier List
There are 8 different civilizations for you to choose from at the launch of AoE 4, and we will be taking a closer look at all of them to help you better understand which one you should pick.
| Civilization | Tier Ranking |
| The Rus | S-Tier |
| French | A-Tier |
| Abbasid Dynasty | A-Tier |
| The Mongols | B-Tier |
| Holy Roman Empire | B-Tier |
| English | B-Tier |
| Chinese | C-Tier |
| Delhi Sultanate | C-Tier |
Below we have explained these rankings in detail and why each of the civilizations in AOE 4 deserves the spot we have assigned them.
S Tier Civilization
The Rus
The Rus, in our opinion, is the strongest civilization in AOE 4, and that’s because of a couple of reasons:
- The Rus have Agency (It is the ability to exert power).
- They can create Scouts in the First Age, which lets them steal the enemy’s hunt and harass your villagers and camps.
- The Rus forces their opposition to play around them and not against them, which makes them a formidable foe.
- They have a very strong castle age landmark that lets them produce warrior monks early on in the game.
- In the late game, the Rus spring hold gets an upgrade from 10 to 13.5, whereas other civilizations go from 10 to 12.
A Tier Civilizations
The French
The French are an extremely versatile Civilization. They can do anything and everything with perfection, and that’s why they deserve the A Tier. Here are a couple of their highlighting abilities:
- They have an S-Tier Landmark (The School of Cavalry), which gives them 2 bonuses, one early on, which is a Stable, and one in the late game where it takes less time for Cavalry to train.
- They have access to the Royal Knights in the Second Age, which is an excellent raiding unit, allowing them to kill villagers and run away.
- They also have access to a unique crossbow that comes with a deployable shield giving them 2 additional bonuses; +5 Ranged Armor and +5 Melee Armor.
- They have an incredible economic bonus that scales as the game progresses through Ages. (10%, 15%, 20%, 20%)
The Abbasid Dynasty
The Abbasid Dynasty gets a spot in the A Tier because of how useful they are in the early to mid-game conditions. A few benefits of playing as the Abbasid Dynasty include:
- Access to Camel units which is a great counter to the Knights, which the Russ and French have.
- Strong Economic Wing to Age up quickly.
- Fresh Food reduces the cost of villagers down from 50 to 25.
- Ability to produce a lot of Lancer and Camel units that prove to be extremely useful later on in the game.
B Tier Civilizations
The Mongols
The Mongols are tough to play and master, which is why we are putting them in the B Tier. But if you can learn how the match flows when playing as Mongols and capitalize on their trading strengths, then you can become a formidable threat for the enemy.
- Ability to create two cheap traders early on in the game.
- Mongols are very strong on maps where the settlements can be easily walled up.
- One of the strongest economies in any civilization in AoE IV.
Holy Roman Empire
We have put the Holy Roman Empire in B Tier as well, and that is because of the following reasons:
- They are very good on water maps.
- They have good landmarks, especially the Cathedral.
- Getting to Age III and securing 3 relics before your opponents will almost guarantee victory as you’ll have an abundant supply of Gold.
The English
The English civilization will also be sitting in the B Tier. They have access to 2 S-Tier Landmarks (Counsel Hall & The Kings Palace).
- The English civilization has to be played a bit more defensively as pushing further away from your settlement can reduce the fire rate of your longbows which can heavily punish you.
- The English are an ideal pick for new players as they don’t require aggressive tactics and are easy to learn.
C Tier Civilizations
The Chinese
The Chinese civ is very tricky to play and requires some balancing. We think that a few mechanics need to be worked out before more people can approach this civilization which is why we have put them in the C Tier.
- You can build 2 landmarks in each Age but doing so means that your resources will be directed towards that landmark which is not necessarily the best choice.
- The best way to play the Chinese has not yet been nailed down.
- If you want to get to the Grenadiers, it requires a ton of resources and 2 landmarks which is a bit too much and depends on the enemy. You might not even get the chance to do so.
The Delhi Sultanate
The Delhi Sultanate is also in the same boat as the Chinese. They have access to the Scholars, but investing in them blindly will result in you lacking in other departments later on in the match.
- People haven’t worked out a definitive strategy for playing the Delhi Sultanate, which is why it becomes difficult to decide whether you want to invest in Scholars or perhaps another Town Center.
- Scholars require a lot of Gold and wood, which is difficult to fork over in the early game.
