Full vassalage takes more time to build up relations towards, as there are multiple relation stages, but phases in between bring their overlord economic benefits. Free cities also make a return, with diplomatic options vastly expanded. This allows for more varied communications between players. Finally, city sieges have been introduced as a gameplay mechanic.ĭiplomacy has seen a slight improvement as well, with different and more meaningful proclamations added, some options even being brought from Planetfall covert operations. Heroes no longer join the player randomly, but only when their hero limit is raised, most commonly by building/claiming a new city. Settler units have been scrapped in standard gameplay, as cities can only be claimed from others or evolved from outposts built by hero/ruler units. This also means that cities now have two production queues, one for buildings and the other for units. A major change is seen in the city production aspect, as unit recruitment is handled by the new auto-generated resource called Draft instead of sharing Production with city buildings. These regions are automatically claimed with a specialization building from the assigned city's screen.

Randomly generated worlds now have 8 slots for custom options, which handle basic features like map layout and neutral army strength to modifiers for the gameplay itself.Įach player now has a limit on the number of cities they can claim, but each city can annex a considerably larger amount of regions (which are also smaller in size than in Planetfall). For the first time in the series, units can also be visually customized, albeit to a lesser degree than rulers. This will also unlock points and new cosmetic customization options. Upon a match's end, rulers can ascend to a pantheon, from which they can be reused with their acquired skills in future matches. When starting a new game, players have to choose a template for the race (humans, elves, orcs, goblins, animalkin, etc.) and then select various faction focus types, followed by customizing the traits and visuals of the ruler unit. The most obvious change is the absence of conventional races. Despite this, it combines gameplay elements from both Age of Wonders III and Age of Wonders: Planetfall with numerous changes and additions. Age of Wonders 4 is a 4X turn-based strategy which returns the franchise to its original fantasy setting.

Age of wonders 4 release date