Each of the civilizations in Age of Empires IV has its own competitive edge, and these largely dictate the playstyle for which they work best. The bonuses that different civilizations get can allow them to lean into their strengths and become extraordinarily difficult to deal with later in the game. Often, multiplayer PvP matches in Age of Empires 4 can come down to which player uses their chosen civilization the best.
The Mongol Empire is an exceptionally particular civilization in Age of Empires 4, and its strengths and weaknesses don't just tend toward a certain playstyle; they require one. The Mongols must be played as a mobile raider civilization in order to be successful, and less experienced players who don't use this strategy may struggle to meet a victory condition. As a result, this civilization is best for experienced players who are looking to challenge themselves with a hyper-specific playstyle.
The most important starting bonus for the Mongol civilization in Age of Empires 4 is beginning the game with max population, which is vital for survival since they can't build farms and their villagers can't mine stone. They have to forage and raid for food and build their unique Ovoo building over a stone deposit to gather stone. Finding stone and building an Ovoo over it should be the first priority for Mongol Empire players.
Build an Economy and Structures with the Mongols in Age of Empires 4
To develop an economy while preparing to enter stage two, Mongol Civilization players in Age of Empires 4 should immediately put together a military and perform hit-and-fade attacks on enemy civilizations. These attacks will ignite enemy buildings, and each building ignited gives 50 food and gold. This is a great way to make up for the lack of farms and other traditional buildings players may be used to. As Ovoos deplete stone reserves, Mongol players can actually pack up their buildings and move them to locations containing more stone. This pattern will continue throughout most of the game.
Once they reach Age Two, the Mongol civilization can build Pastures, which are a more direct replacement for Farms. This allows the military to focus more on doing maximum damage to enemy civilizations before escaping, as they are less in need of a settlement's resources. Age Three is the power spike that the Mongols should leverage to win, and they should press their military advantage with their Khan units early in the Age to ensure that other civilizations aren't allowed the time to build strong anti-cavalry units. If players take full advantage of this power spike, they should have a clear path to a satisfying victory in Age of Empires 4.
Age of Empires IV is available on PC.