Age of Empires IV: Diplomacy Guide

Image Credit: Xbox Game Studios, Age of Empires IV (AoE 4)

Diplomacy in Age of Empires IV (AoE 4) is about as straightforward as a trebuchet to the face. Unlike Age of Empires II where alliances could shift mid-game, or Age of Empires III where politics had a few more moving parts, diplomacy in AoE4 is kept clean, simple, and slightly rigid—on purpose.

Here’s what you need to know about how diplomacy works in AoE 4.

Read More: The Best Units in AoE 4

No Mid-Game Team Swapping

Let’s get this out of the way early:
You cannot change teams during a match.

No backstabbing, no switching sides, no alliances of convenience. Whatever teams are selected before the game begins are final. If you picked your best friend, you’re stuck with them. If you picked Random—good luck.

Teams and Line of Sight

• Shared Vision: Teammates share full Line of Sight. If they see it, you see it.

• Allied Victory: Always enabled. When one of you wins, you all win. No betrayals allowed.

• Team Limits: Up to eight teams can be assigned before the match starts.

• No Team: Players can also be assigned to no team at all—everyone’s out for themselves.

Resource Tribute Rules

• You can only send resources to teammates.

• No diplomacy menu. No negotiations. If you want to help an ally, you just tribute resources.

• If you’re not on the same team, you’re not getting their gold. Sorry.

Victory Condition Impact

Your team setup directly affects how victory conditions work:

• Landmarks Victory:
  All players on a team must lose all their landmarks before anyone on that team is eliminated. So, technically, you can lose your base and still survive if your teammate’s landmarks are still standing.

• Dominion Mode:
  In this mode, each player has a Monarch unit, and if it dies, you’re out—regardless of your teammates' status. No landmark safety net here. Just keep your monarch alive or get deleted.

Neutral Units and Structures

• When a player is eliminated, their buildings and units become Neutral.

  • Neutral units/buildings won’t be attacked automatically.

  • You’ll have to manually target them.

  • They can still block pathing or soak up attacks if you're not paying attention.

• Campaign Scenarios sometimes include players in Neutral stance from the beginning.

  • Neutral players won’t attack civilian units or buildings unless directly provoked.

  • They will defend if their territory is invaded.

  • This is more for flavor and specific mission behavior than standard gameplay.

• Trade Posts are always Neutral in standard games.

  • You can’t attack them.

  • You can only trade through them.

Relic Conversion Surprise

Here’s a weird one:

• If a Relic-carrying religious unit is doing a conversion, and it dies right at the end of the countdown, all enemy units in the conversion radius become Neutral.

No, you can’t plan for it. Yes, it’s a strange mechanic. Think of it as a divine glitch in the system.

Final Blurb

Diplomacy in Age of Empires IV revolves entirely around who you were partnered with as the game began. It’s simple, clean, and brutal—just the way medieval politics probably weren’t.

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