Age of Wonders 4, the new 4X strategy from Triumph Studios, allows players to design their own fantasy Faction and set them loose in a Realm full of magic and adventure. Instead of a traditional technology tree,Age of Wonders 4players will unlock new Tomes of Magic as they progress through the game, divided into 6 Affinities.
The Tomes of Magicfor the Nature Affinity are all about blight damage, rejuvenation, and animal units. They provide a strong set of buffs for the player’s armies and Cities. Each Tome contains up to six options that can then be researched using Knowledge, as well as a couple of initial bonuses.
Tier 1 Nature Tomes
Tome of Beasts
The Tome of Beasts focuses on animal and cavalry units, and immediately unlocks the Food-producingWildlife Sanctuaryand thePack LeaderHero Skill. TheSummon Wild Animalspell andWildspeakerunit allow players to quickly fill their armies withhordes of cheap animal units, which can then be buffed withCall of the Wild.
Meanwhile, theAnimal Kinshipminor race transformation andMark as Preydebuff spell mean that non-animal or cavalry units in the player’s armies can still gain a benefit from the Tome of Beasts.
Tome of Roots
The Tome of Roots focuses on blight damage and controlling the battlefield, and immediately unlocks the Food and Mana-producingHerbalistand thePoison WeaponsHero Skill.Poison Blades and Poison Arrowscombine to allow all theplayer’s non-magical unitsto deal extra blight damage with their attacks, with a small chance to Poison. Meanwhile, the cheapEntwined Thrallsummon is a solid Skirmisher that is immune to opportunity attacks and can Poison from a distance.
On the battlefield,Vine Prisonallows players to potentially lock down large portions of the enemy army, making them vulnerable to ranged attacks. Finally,Healing Rootsis a cheap and powerful heal for a single friendly target.
Tier 2 Nature Tomes
Tome of Fertility
The Tome of Fertility focuses on growth and regeneration, and immediately unlocks the Food-producingBountiful Fieldsand theRevitalize HeroSkill. On the battlefield,Blossom of Lifeis apowerful healing spellthat can restore HP to an entire army.Animate Florais cheap for its strength, but incentivizes players to fight in terrain that has Flora Obstacles to transform. Meanwhile, theNymphis a powerful Support unit that can heal, damage, and even mind-control enemy units.
On the Realm map,Restore the Landallows players to create grasslands, making more room for Farms to trigger the adjacency bonus of Bountiful Fields. Finally,Temple of Fertility’sboost to Food and Draft allows players to raise their Population even faster.
Tome of Glades
The Tome of Glades focuses on forest terrain and tough units, and immediately unlocks the Food-producingSacred Meadowand theForest WardenHero Skill.
TheEntwined Protectorunit summon is one of thetoughest Shield unitsof its tier, and can be made even more durable using theAspect of the Rootunit enchantment spell. On the attack, theGlade Runnercan mark enemies to lower their defenses before dealing serious damage with its long-range arrows.
Players can use theLeafskinminor race transformation to improve a race’s speed and visibility on forest terrain, boosting their viability in heavily-forested areas of the map. Finally, players can useCreate Forestto spread forests across the world, creating new areas for a Leafskin race to exploit.
Tier 3 Nature Tomes
Both of the Tier 3 Nature Affinity Tomes unlock theSeed of Astral Special Province Improvement,thefirst step toAge of Wonders 4’s Magic Victory.
Tome of Cycles
The Tome of Cycles focuses on spells which balance both positive and negative effects, and immediately unlocks theWithering DecayHero Skill. Additionally,Diffuse Health and Parting Giftsallow players to turn death and destruction into healing for their own units, and are particularly strong with melee-heavy armies fromAge of Wonders 4’s Faction creator. This is complemented by theDruid of the Cycleunit, which can both resurrect allies and instantly-kill wounded enemies.
When it comes to long-ranged fighting,Projectiles of Decayupgrades all ranged units with extra blight damage and the chance to Decay enemies, blocking their healing. Finally,Cycle of Seasonsadds a series of automatic buffs and debuffs which will occur in any battle which takes place in the target City’s Domain.
Tome of Vigor
The Tome of Vigor is the natural successor to the Tome of Beasts, and focuses heavily on animal and cavalry units. Unlocking the Tome immediately grants theAnimal HandlerHero Skill.
Summon Greater Animalis a huge upgrade to its low-Tier equivalent, allowing players to summon some of the strongest animal units in the game. Combined with the permanent enchantment Empowered Beasts and the Unleash the Beast buff spell, players can build unstoppable animal armies.
To prevent leaving the player’s other units behind their animals, theminor race transformationSupergrowthwill increase the strength and survivability of the rest of the player’s forces. Finally,Totem of the Wildis a great static summon that can quickly fill the field with animal units if not targeted.
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Tier 4 Nature Tomes
Both of the Tier 4 Nature Affinity Tomes unlock theRoot of AstralSpecial Province Improvement, the second step toAge of Wonders 4’s Magic Victory.
Tome of Nature’s Wrath
The Tome of Nature’s Wrath focuses on expensive but devastating spells, and immediately unlocks theNature’s AvengerHero Skill. The spellsAwaken the ForestandDestructive Regrowthform a cycle where players can destroy forests to create an instant army, and then regrow forests to deal damage to all units in the Province. These armies can then be strengthened with the powerfulHorned Godsummon, a Mythic unit with a lot of spell-like abilities.
On the battlefield,Devolveis a great debuff spell with a high chance of turning a non-Hero unit into a random Tier 1 animal for the entire combat. Finally,Awaken Instinctscan give the player’s units an entire extra turn, but sends them into an uncontrollable Berserk rage for 2 turns.
Tome of Paradise
The Tome of Paradise focuses on defenses and economy. It immediately unlocks the Stability, Food, and Mana-producingGarden of Blissand theInspiring IconHero Skill.
Blessing of Paradise, Enchanted Bloom,andFortress of Vinescan combine to make the player’s Cities more productive and better protected, as well as givingthem excellent Stability. Enchanted Bloom is particularly useful on custom Realms inAge of Wonders 4that have a lot of desolate or desert terrain, allowing players to overcome these natural disadvantages.
Meanwhile, the major race transformationGaia’s Chosenand theNature’s Bountyarmy spellcombine to make the player’s units both physically tougher and protected from status effects. With physical health covered,Exhilarating Pollenprotects units from Morale penalties and has a chance to make enemy units Distracted.
Tier 5 Nature Tomes
Tome of the Goddess of Nature
The final Nature Affinity Tome inAge of Wonders 4is the Tome of the Goddess of Nature, which focuses on healing, cavalry, and animal units. It also unlocks theHeart of Nature,the final stage ofAge of Wonders 4’s Magic Victory, as well as theAvatar of NatureHero Skill.
Mass Rejuvenationis one of thestrongest healing spells inAge of Wonders 4, and can instantly restore a defeated animal or plant-based army on the battlefield. Alongside the combat buffs fromForce of Nature,this should make the player’s armies significantly harder to defeat, especially if they’ve focused heavily on animals and plants.
On the world map,Forest Awarenessis a sustained spell that causes all forest terrain tiles across the map to grant vision to the player. On certain Realm types, this can result in near perfect vision across the map, allowing the player to always be aware of what their enemies are doing.
Age Of Wonders 4is available now on PS4, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows.
