Age of Empires 4: Order of the Dragon Variant Civilization details revealed

You get gilded, you get gilded, everyone gets gilded

Almost all Age of Empires 4: The Sultans Ascend factions have been revealed and we now have all the juicy details about the final missing Variant Civilization coming with the expansion: Order of the Dragon. Branching off from the Holy Roman Empire, this chivalric order favors quality over quantity and packs an army of elite troops that won’t be easy to deal with for any opponent.

This approach isn’t only extended to the faction’s military: Even Order of the Dragon villagers are stronger and faster than their counterparts from other civilizations. Of course, this all comes with drawbacks such as Order of the Dragon units being more expensive across the board.

The Order of the Dragon was founded by Sigismund of Luxembourg in 1408, who later became Holy Roman Emperor / Microsoft

Fittingly for a knightly order, its unique unit variations come with lots of bling: Gilded Archers, Gilded Landsknechts, and Gilded Knights are all decorated with various gilded armor parts. Gilded Villagers are an exception, despite their name.

Gilded Spearmen, which become available in Age 2, can gain access to an area-of-effect attack that damages buildings once you research a unique technology only the Order of the Dragon has access to. The gilded variants of crossbowmen and archers come with higher range and more powerful damage bonuses than their counterparts. Gilded Knights can be upgraded with Gilded War Horses to gain additional damage resistance during their charges.

Look at those Gilded Knights on their Gilded War Horses with their Gilded Lances! / Microsoft

Honestly, the naming scheme is a little bit lazy, but it is what it is. The developers have stated that the Order of the Dragon is designed as a faction for new players and those who want a simpler experience, so putting the focus on how super cool and gilded everything is fits the brand.

However, that also makes them the most boring civilization revealed so far from the upcoming expansion. It looks like the Order of the Dragon won’t differ all too much from the Holy Roman Empire aside from everything being more expensive but also much more powerful, leading to players having to control less units and building less villagers to keep up with their opponents. It’ll be interesting to see how the developers want to balance an overtly noob-friendly civilization like this going forward, since the Order sounds absolutely devastating in competent hands.

Check out all the other Age of Empires 4: The Sultans Ascend faction reveals as well:

• Jeanne d’Arc
• Ayyubids
• Zhu Xi’s Legacy
• Byzantines

With the Order of the Dragon now revealed, only the Japanese remain. Age of Empires 4: The Sultans Ascend will be released on November 14, 2023, for PC and Xbox Series X|S.

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