According to the game itself, the Mongols are a three stars difficulty civilization. Their traits are aggression, nomadic, and mobility.
Those traits define the Mongols very well, especially when you consider their aggressive gameplay. Their unique characteristics allow players to move structures and rush military units quite early in the game. In fact, the Mongols Horsemen Rush Build is one of the most challenging strategies to fight against in the Early game of Age of Empires 4.
Mongols are masters of mobility and mounted warfare. They gain many advantages by setting up their camp near Stone Outcroppings and also for attacking structures of enemy civilizations.
If you’re into playing Real-Time Strategy games aggressively, having early military units, and controlling a very mobile faction, this guide is here to help you.
Here’s how to play the Mongols in Age of Empires 4.
Most Important Traits, Building, and Units
The Mongols do not follow the same rules that most civilizations do. They have several unique abilities, structures, and units that make their gameplay stand out as one of the most unique in the Age of Empires franchise.
Great Dominion
The Mongols don’t have to build houses. They already start with their maximum unit count open, so your population is never capped based on a structure.
Great Dominion helps you save time and resources, which contributes to making the Mongols especially dangerous during the early game.
In addition to all that, Great Dominion makes trades provide bonus resources when they are significantly numerous.
Khanate
Thanks to the Khanate, Mongols have access to the Khan. This is a unique Mongol unique that provides powerful bonuses to all nearby military units with Signal Arrows.
In addition, they also have early access to a cavalry that works very well as raiders. All Mongol units gain bonuses for igniting enemy buildings.
Sacred Ovoos
Ovoos are unique Mongol buildings. Mongol villagers cannot gather Stone in Age of Empires 4. When it comes to Rock Resources, the market is not of any help either.
For that, this civilization uses an Ovoo. This structure has to be placed over a stone source on the map.
In addition to collecting Stone on their own, Ovoos have an influence area around them that helps improve unit production and research on buildings in that area.
Ger
The Ger is a building to deposit resources. Villagers can deposit their Gold, Wood, and Food in the Ger. It also has technologies to improve the gathering of resources.
Mangudai
One of the most interesting units in the game, the Mangudai are both archers and cavalry. If that sounds good, it’s because it is. Not only do they have high mobility and ranged attacks, but they can also attack while moving.
This unit makes the Mongols a pain to deal with on the open field.
Civilization Bonuses
In addition to the Mongol specific units and buildings, players who choose this civilization are also granted the following bonuses:
- Plunder +50 Food and Gold by igniting enemy buildings
- All buildings can be packed up and redeployed to a new location
- Start with maximum population limit and no need for houses
- Early Horsemen in the Dark Age (I) and Early Lancers in the Feudal Age (II)
- Double produce units or research advanced versions of technologies using Stone
- Gain +10% Food, Wood, Gold, and Stone from trade routes with more Traders
- Transport ships have +50% health and move +15% faster
Mongol Tactics
If you are already familiar with how to win a game of Age of Empires 4, you should see the potential of the Mongol civilization.
Their mobile buildings and powerful cavalry make it possible to harass and overpower the enemy in the early game as well as to expand and conquer multiple resources at once, including Sacred Sites.
Remember that the Mongols do not have their population capped by houses. Training units will not depend on any structure, and it also means that you do not have to worry in case you want a better unit later. You’re probably going to have room for one more unit anyway.
Also, use your early cavalry to harass your enemy. Even if you don’t rush them, the cavalry should still be useful to attack some enemy buildings and collect a bonus of Gold and Food for doing so.
By playing the Mongol civilization, players have to learn how to relocate not only their armies but also their structures whenever it is advantageous, and it takes time and practice.
The Mongols are mobile, aggressive, and adaptive, but they do not seem to thrive from a stationary game plan like what you’d do when playing the English.
Make sure to take advantage of their unique units and early cavalry, disrupt the enemies, and finish up the game before their technology evolves too much. Once the enemy turtles up with stone walls and towers, it might become a little more troubling for the Mongols to take advantage of their units and usual strategies.