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If you’ve been following my Age of Empires IV journey for any amount of time, you know I’m not here to pretend I’m a pro. I’m a Gold II player who’s grinding through the ranked ladder one match at a time — making mistakes, learning from them, and occasionally pulling off something that makes me go, “Wait… did I actually just do that?”
That’s exactly the energy I’m bringing into this breakdown.
In this post, I’m going to walk you through a recent 1v1 ranked match I played — Abbasid Dynasty vs English — against a Gold III opponent. One rank above me. And honestly? Playing Abbasid in this one felt… natural. Like, suspiciously natural. Which got me thinking — maybe Abbasid is my spirit animal.
Let me explain.
What Is the Abbasid Dynasty in Age of Empires IV?
Before I get into the match breakdown, let me give a quick rundown for anyone newer to AoE4.
The Abbasid Dynasty is one of the most unique civilizations in Age of Empires IV. Instead of advancing through the traditional Age system, they build around a central House of Wisdom structure that unlocks four “wings” — Economy, Military, Trade, and Culture. Each wing offers powerful upgrades and passive bonuses that shape your entire game plan.
What makes Abbasid stand out:
- No Dark Age — you advance to Feudal Age almost instantly, giving you an early tempo advantage
- Camel units — powerful cavalry that counter enemy cavalry and apply debuffs
- House of Wisdom wings — flexible tech tree that lets you adapt your strategy to what your opponent is doing
- Strong eco scaling — when played right, Abbasid can snowball hard into the mid-game
For a player like me who is still learning the ropes, Abbasid is both a gift and a curse. The flexibility is great — but it also means you need to actually know what you’re doing. If you’re disorganized, all that flexibility just turns into confusion.
The Match Setup — Gold II Abbasid vs Gold III English
Here’s the context going into this game:
- My rank: Gold II
- Opponent’s rank: Gold III
- My civilization: Abbasid Dynasty
- Opponent’s civilization: English
Playing against English is always a bit of a wildcard. English is one of the most beginner-friendly and consistently strong civs in AoE4. Their longbowmen are iconic, their farming economy is one of the best in the game, and their network of castles and defensive structures makes them a nightmare to rush.
So when I queued into a Gold III English player, I knew this wasn’t going to be a walk in the park.
What I Did Well
Let’s start with the positives — because I’m trying to build good habits here, and that means acknowledging what’s actually working.
1. Early Tempo with the House of Wisdom
One of the things I’m getting more comfortable with as Abbasid is using the no Dark Age mechanic to my advantage. Getting to Feudal Age quickly lets me start applying pressure or getting economic upgrades ahead of my opponent’s timeline. In this match, I managed to get my House of Wisdom up and started working toward my first wing without too much chaos.
2. Unit Composition Awareness
I didn’t just spam one unit type and hope for the best. I was actually thinking about what I was building and why — which, trust me, is growth for me. Against English longbowmen, I knew I needed to be careful about just charging in. I tried to use my mobile units to harass and pick off villagers rather than going head-to-head with a longbow line.
3. Map Awareness (Sorta)
I checked the minimap more than I usually do. That’s a win. I’m not going to oversell it — I still got caught off guard a couple of times — but I’m making progress on actually looking at what’s happening around the map rather than tunnel-visioning my base.
Where I Went Wrong
Okay. Here’s the real stuff. The stuff that makes me pause the replay and put my head in my hands.
1. Build Order Inconsistency
My build order is still not tight enough. I know roughly what I want to do, but I’m not executing it cleanly every game. There were moments in this match where my villager production slipped, I wasn’t assigning workers efficiently, and I fell behind on resources at key moments. Against a Gold III player who knows what they’re doing, those inefficiencies get punished.
2. Reacting Instead of Proacting
English players love to turtle. They build defensively, get their economy rolling, and then hit you with a massive army in Castle or Imperial Age. I knew this going in, but I still found myself reacting to what my opponent was doing rather than forcing them to react to me. I need to be more aggressive with my tempo when I have the Feudal Age head start.
3. Losing Track of My Army
This is a chronic issue for me, and I’ll be honest about it. Mid-fight, I sometimes lose track of where my units are, forget to micro-manage them properly, or send them into a bad position. There were a couple of skirmishes in this game where I just… walked into a bad engagement. Against longbowmen with defensive positioning, that’s basically a death sentence for your army.
4. Not Fully Utilizing Camel Units
Abbasid camels are genuinely powerful, and I didn’t use them as well as I should have. They’re great for raiding and countering cavalry — but I wasn’t positioning them smartly. I need to do more research into camel micro and how to integrate them properly into my army composition.
Key Takeaways and What I’m Working On
Every match is a lesson. Here’s what this game is telling me to focus on:
Tighten the build order. I need to drill my Abbasid opening until it’s muscle memory. I’ll be watching pro replays and practicing the first 10 minutes in skirmish mode.
Be the aggressor. Abbasid has the tools to apply early pressure. I need to use that tempo advantage instead of giving English time to set up their defensive fortress.
Army control. I’m going to start practicing better control group habits. Splitting my army into proper groups so I can micro them without losing track of everyone mid-fight.
Learn the camel. Camels are one of Abbasid’s signature units. I owe it to the civ to learn how to use them properly.
Final Thoughts — Is Abbasid Actually My Spirit Animal?
Here’s the thing. Despite the mistakes (and there were plenty), this match felt right in a way that’s hard to explain. Abbasid’s playstyle — the flexibility, the tempo, the need to think a few steps ahead — it clicks with how I naturally want to approach the game. Even when I’m playing it imperfectly, it doesn’t feel like I’m fighting the civ’s identity.
And honestly? That matters. In AoE4, playing a civ that resonates with your instincts makes it easier to improve, because you actually want to figure it out.
So yeah. I think Abbasid might actually be my spirit animal. I just need to be worthy of it.
That’s probably one of the most useful lessons ranked can teach you.
Overview
Timeline
Total Score
Military
Economy
Technology
Society
Age of Empires IV is a real-time strategy video game developed by Relic Entertainment in partnership with World’s Edge and published by Xbox Game Studios.
It is the fourth installment of the Age of Empires series, and the first installment not developed by Ensemble Studios. The game was released on October 28, 2021 for Windows, and on August 22, 2023 for Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.
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If you’re also grinding the AoE4 ranked ladder and trying to improve — drop a comment below. What civ are you maining? What rank are you at? Let’s talk strategy.
