The Abbasid Dynasty in Age of Empires IV is one of the more unique civilizations. They are considered a bit more difficult to get the hang of as their age progression is different than other Age of Empires IV civilizations, and this makes things a bit less straightforward for newer players.
The primary difference of the Abbasid Dynasty is that, instead of building a new landmark to progress through each age, their progression is determined by a single building: the House of Wisdom. Instead of building new landmarks, the Abbasid will add wings to their House of Wisdom in order to progress through the ages. This landmark also gives them access to the technologies that are not available to other Age of Empires IV civilizations.
Each wing represents a different aspect of the game: Military, Economic, Culture, and Trade. These can be chosen in any order, often depending on where players' needs are at any given point in the game. Like the other Age of Empires IV civilizations' landmarks, these wings allow the Abbasid to age up.
How to Play the Abbasid Dynasty Civilization in Age of Empires IV
Here are some of the base bonuses of the Abbasid Dynasty in Age of Empires IV:
- They gather berry bushes 25% faster, but they cannot gain meat from boars
- Infantry units can construct Rams and Siege Towers without researching Siege Engineering
- All buildings within range of the House of Wisdom receive +5 fire armor
- Docks are 50% cheaper
- They can build the Camel Archer and Camel Rider unique units
These bonuses aren't very strong relative to other civilizations in Age of Empires IV. The rams, siege towers, and Camel units can be pretty useful if playing offensively, though, and players can better leverage these benefits by also constructing the Military and Economy Wings of their House of Wisdom. These units are great for harassing enemies, as they are faster than regular cavalry and can be upgraded to buff friendly infantry and nerf enemy cavalry that attempts to pursue them.
The Golden Age passive abilities are a central part of Abbasid Dynasty play as well. These are triggered by building other buildings within the visible the House of Wisdom. The bonuses are as follows:
- Tier 1: 10 structures within the range increases the gathering rate of the villagers by 10% for all resources.
- Tier 2: 30 structures within the range increases the gathering rate of villagers by 15% and research speed by 15%.
- Tier 3: 60 structures within the range increases the gathering rate of villagers by 20%, research speed by 20%, and production speed by 20%.
These make a massive difference in the economy, research, and food production of the Abbasid Dynasty in Age of Empires. By achieving these bonuses, and harassing opponents with unique cavalry units, Abbasid Dynasty players can almost guarantee that they have a stronger, and more stable, civilization than anyone else on the board. Once this has point has been reached, their ability to pump out siege machines before most others can allow them to land powerful finishing blows in the mid-game.
Age of Empires IV is available on PC.