Age of Wonders 4 is a new 4X strategy game from Triumph Studios that offers classic gameplay in a magical world with plenty of opportunities for players. You need to build up your kingdom and people to become a powerful ruler of an entire empire. To do this, you need to expand your territory, and this guide will help you with that. In this guide, we will discuss how to expand your kingdom in Age of Wonders 4.
At the beginning of the game, you will have a small city that you can upgrade and expand over the course of 20-30 turns. However, you don't have to stop at one settlement; you can add new cities to your kingdom in a variety of ways: through diplomacy, force, or using the founder's skill. You decide which option will be best for your game, and in this guide, we will explore all the ways you can acquire a new city for your kingdom in Age of Wonders 4.
How to Create New Cities
Although some mechanics in Age of Wonders 4 may resemble other 4X strategies like Sid Meier's Civilization 6, Old World, and others, creating new cities will be different. The game does not have colonists that you can hire or create. All units are meant for exploration or combat and cannot be used to create new cities. However, you can found a city using your ruler or hero.
The process of creating a new city in Age of Wonders 4 is relatively simple, but it does take some time. First, you need to find a new province outside of your current territories and establish an outpost there. Of course, before doing that, you should make sure there are no enemy armies or other dangers nearby. Once the outpost is established, you can upgrade it to a full-fledged city for a significant amount of resources. Additionally, you can upgrade it with various buildings and use it as a fort. Eventually, you can turn it into a full-fledged city.
How to acquire new cities through diplomacy
The diplomatic approach is the best way to expand your empire in the game Age of Wonders 4. You can acquire a ready-made city with some upgrades by convincing other factions to part with their cities, but it requires skill in negotiations. Free cities are the best target for diplomatic expansion.
You can earn the loyalty of the people through pacts, deals, and random quests. Once you have enough loyalty to the Free City, you can make it your vassal or absorb it into your empire.
To acquire a city from larger factions, you can try to persuade them to give you one of their cities or make a city exchange. However, this requires establishing strong diplomatic ties with the faction. Start with a Declaration of Friendship and a little trading, and then move on. It's best to do this with factions that have similarities to yours. War will be declared by factions that are significantly different from yours.
How to capture new cities
If you don't want to engage in prolonged city founding or diplomacy, you can always demonstrate the strength of your kingdom. Wars in Age of Wonders 4 happen quite often, and sooner or later, you will need to participate in them. This can be a convenient moment to conquer new cities and expand your territory.
Both free cities and main factions can declare war on you, and you can in turn decide to declare war on them. When you are at war with a faction, you can attack their cities and try to capture them by force.
Capturing cities in Age of Wonders 4 can be quite difficult, especially if the war was not planned in advance. Each city has access to defensive structures, such as walls, palisades, and ballista towers. The more of these buildings a city has, the more difficult it will be to capture and even just hold under siege. You will also have to deal with the city defenders. However, when you start a siege, you can begin various projects that will facilitate the capture of the city. But keep in mind that researching these projects will take some time.
