The Abbasid Dynasty is a highly adaptive civilization because it forgoes the traditional gameplay aspect of building landmarks. Instead, the Abbasid Dynasty prioritizes research and development through their House of Wisdom. These attributes make the Abbasid Dynasty wholly unique in Age of Empires 4.
The Abbasid Dynasty revolves around a unique building they can construct called the House of Wisdom. Here they can discover new technologies to keep their civilization on top. Furthermore, you can purchase upgraded wings for the House of Wisdom, each of which will bring you into the next Age.
Civilization Bonuses For The Abbasid Dynasty
- Gathers from Berry Bushes 25 percent faster but cannot gather from Boar.
- Infantry units can construct Rams and Siege Towers without researching Siege Engineering.
- Advance in Ages by building wings from the House of Wisdom. Nearby buildings gain plus five fire armor.
- Enter a Golden age to speed up resource gather rate, research times, and production speed.
- Docks are 50 percent cheaper.
The civilization bonuses for the Abbasid Dynasty are tricky to master because of their heavy focus on technological research. The key to using these bonuses to your advantage is to constantly have your House of Wisdom and resource collection buildings doing research. There are a couple of aspects that you need to prioritize to support a significant amount of research. First, you need to have lots of gold coming in from mining and trading. Second, you must also have a solid supply chain for food, wood, and stone.
Establishing trade routes is the best way to build a strong resource economy. If you play a water map, you should make trade ships as quickly as possible because docks are incredibly cheap for the Abbasid Dynasty. The only problem with this hyper-focus on research and wealth is that opponents will make you a prime target. To cope with the onslaught of enemies, make sure you build robust fortifications to protect your villagers and traders.
Unique Units For The Abbasid Dynasty
- Camel Archer: Ranged unit that rides on camels.
- Camel Rider: Melee unit that rides on camels.
The two units that will give you the upper hand on the enemy will be the Abbasid Dynasty’s Camel Archers and Riders. These Camel units move fast and offer lots of support to your infantry. Of course, you will need a lot more than a few Camel Archers and Riders to stop enemy attacks, but these two units are uniquely powerful. If you use their enhanced mobility to launch a flank attack or use them to lure enemies into traps, then you will be an unstoppable force.
What To Do Throughout The Ages As The Abbasid Dynasty
These should be your priorities throughout the different ages.
Age One
The first thing you want to do is make more Villagers. Meanwhile, have your starter villagers harvest lamb and wood. Then, you'll want to build the House of Wisdom as soon as possible, perhaps shortly after you construct a couple of houses. Next, begin making infantry units to protect your villagers.
You must continue to build up your resources and fortifications early. As soon as you have enough resources to add a wing to the House of Wisdom, use them to build the Economic Wing. Most of the time, the economic wing is the best wing to add first. That is because the technologies that this wing unlocks will increase the value of your resources by upping your yields. Additionally, Villagers will be 50 percent cheaper after you research Fresh Foodstuffs. These technologies are a massive boost to your productivity and having them earlier in the game only means that this investment will pay off more.
Age Two
For the second Age, you will want to build the culture wing. The advantage to building the culture wing now is for the Preservation of Knowledge technology. What this technology unlocks is a 30 percent reduction in all technology research costs.
In the long run, this technology saves you loads of resources. While this guide focuses heavily on the research aspect of the Abbasid Dynasty, you must continue to build out your military and defences. By now, you should consider building markets and traders to secure even more gold income.
Age Three
For the third Age, you can either build the Trade wing or the Military Wing. The Trade wing is best on water maps, but it can also give you a significant gold boost if you plan on having loads of traders. On the other hand, The Military Wing gives a serious boost to your military units and the Camel units.
Your decision here depends on the current state of your military or trade routes. For instance, if it looks like your opponent is building up a military to destroy you, you should start to focus on doing the same. If you think you can afford more time to research trade technologies, then absolutely go for the Trade Wing.
Age Four
This final Age is heavily dependant on how your investments in the early game have paid off. Build whatever wing you have left, and do not forget to continue doing more research.
If you have an incredible amount of resources, now would be the time to build a wonder. Conversely, if you have a strong foothold on a Sacred Site or even feel powerful enough to destroy your enemy’s landmarks, then you can pursue those options. The Abbasid Dynasty’s victory is heavily dependant on what you have researched, so be conscious of that for when you decide to make your final move.