Nyreason

A strong economy is the backbone of any successful Age of Empires IV strategy. Whether you’re aiming for a Fast Castle, a booming economy, or leveraging the market for maximum efficiency, mastering resource management is essential for both casual and competitive play. This guide will break down key economic mechanics, optimal build orders, civilization advantages, and pro-level strategies to help you dominate the game.

1. Essential Economic Mechanics

Before diving into advanced strategies, mastering resource efficiency is critical. Here’s what you need to know:

Villager Efficiency & Resource Prioritization

• Food: Essential for villager production and aging up. Prioritize sheep early, transition to farms or hunting.
• Wood: Vital for buildings and units like archers and siege. Balance with demand.
• Gold: Key for tech advancements and military. Prioritize mining if going Fast Castle.
• Stone: Only needed for defenses, landmarks, and keeps—prioritize in booming strategies.

Pro Tip: Always keep your Town Center (TC) producing villagers. Idle TC time is lost economy!

2. Optimal Build Orders for Economic Growth

Fast Castle (Booming Economy for Late Game Power)

Best Civilizations: English, French, Holy Roman Empire
Why It Works: By minimizing early military commitment, you hit Age III (Castle Age) faster for powerful units.

Build Order:

1. 4 villagers to sheep, next 2 to house + lumber camp (wood).
2. Send 2-3 more to food, 2-3 to gold, maintain villager production.
3. At 6-8 food, 3-4 wood, 3-4 gold, transition toward Feudal Age (400 food, 200 gold).
4. Upon reaching Feudal, build a Market (for emergency resource balancing).
5. Focus all resources on quickly reaching Castle Age and unlocking stronger military units or eco upgrades.

Pro Tip: Use the Market to sell excess wood or food and buy gold if needed to speed up Castle Age.

Booming Economy Build (TC & Villager Heavy Playstyle)

Best Civilizations: Chinese, Abbasid Dynasty, Holy Roman Empire
Why It Works: A booming strategy focuses on multiple Town Centers (TCs) for villager mass production.

Build Order:

1. 6 on food, 4 on wood, 2 on gold.
2. Build a second TC ASAP (usually by 5-7 minutes, depends on civilization bonuses).
3. Constant villager production from multiple TCs, maximizing economy.
4. Prioritize eco techs from Blacksmith & University to boost villager efficiency.
5. Transition into military once you reach a critical villager count (~80+).

Pro Tip: Chinese and Abbasid civilizations have powerful eco bonuses for this strategy (Song Dynasty & cheaper TCs).

Market Manipulation & Resource Control

Best Civilizations: Abbasid Dynasty, Mongols, Delhi Sultanate
Why It Works: The Market is a powerful tool for adjusting resource imbalances and delaying enemy power spikes.

Strategies:

• Gold Economy: If playing Abbasid or Delhi, use Traders for passive gold income.
• Wood Dumping: Selling surplus wood during Feudal Age can boost your economy significantly.
• Enemy Denial: By monitoring market price trends, you can manipulate resources to force inefficiencies in your opponent’s strategy.

Pro Tip: Sell food or wood at peak value, buy gold at lower rates—pro players often use Market to sustain unit production or fast age-ups.

3. Best Civilizations for Economic Dominance

S-Tier:

• Holy Roman Empire – Prelates boost villagers, Aachen Chapel provides insane eco buffs.
• Chinese – Dynasty bonuses give faster villager production, making booming even stronger.
• Abbasid Dynasty – Cheap Town Centers + Traders enable incredible economic expansion.

A-Tier:

• English – Farm bonuses make their food economy unstoppable in late game.
• French – Free economic upgrades and faster resource gathering help strong economy transitions.

4. Pro-Level Tips for Economy Domination

Use the “Shift-Queue” Trick – Assign villagers multiple tasks ahead of time for efficient multitasking.

Hotkey Economy Buildings – Quickly select your Market, Blacksmith, or TCs to optimize resource balancing.

Villager Safety – Always build Outposts near key resource clusters to avoid raids from Mongols or French knights.

Scout Your Opponent – If they are booming, consider early aggression to punish greedy economic builds.

Control Sacred Sites (Delhi & Abbasid Strategy) – Generates passive gold income without needing villagers on gold.

Final Thoughts: The Key to Economic Victory

Whether you’re rushing to Castle Age, booming with multiple Town Centers, or playing the Market like a pro, mastering economy is crucial to winning games at all levels. Top Age of Empires IV players consistently optimize villager allocation, resource balancing, and civilization-specific advantages to stay ahead of the competition.

Want to dominate AoE IV ranked play? Start by perfecting your economy strategy—because a strong economy means a stronger army, faster age-ups, and a path to victory.