How to Win in Age of Wonders 4 – Victory Conditions Guide

The Astral Sea’s Realms are yours to conquer in any way you see fit, whether that is through peaceful, diplomatic means, or through brute force. Which path will you choose? The choice is yours in Age of Wonders 4, as there are many ways to win the game. Our how to win in Age of Wonders 4 victory conditions guide will go over everything you need to know.

How to achieve all victory conditions in Age of Wonders 4

One of the first things you do upon starting a new Realm in Age of Wonders 4 is deciding on a Victory path. There are four different Victory paths your Empire can walk, and they are:

• The Military Victory, which centers around defeating all opposing Empires at war.
• The Expansion Victory, which focuses on controlling as many Provinces as possible, in attempt to unite the land peacefully.
• The Magic Victory, which focuses on City improvement, as you must build three magical Relics in three different Cities.
• The Score Victory, which is about simply having the most amount of points once the turn limit is hit.

Although you are not hard-locked to a Victory path once chosen, you only need to achieve one of these goals in order to win the game. Which path you walk is entirely up to you, and to help you win a game of Age of Wonders 4, we will explain each victory condition in-depth.

Related | Best Tomes in Age of Wonders 4

Winning by Military Victory

To achieve the Military Victory, you must defeat all other Empires in the game that are not a part of your Alliance. Though this sounds relatively straightforward, there are a few nuances that you should know about.

Firstly, it is not enough simply defeating an Empire’s Ruler. Whenever a Ruler is slain in battle, their soul returns to the Astral Void, and are reborn after a certain amount of turns has passed.

In order to prevent a Ruler’s rebirth, you must capture their Throne City, which is the City they started the game with. This means you will not only need to take down their powerful Ruler, you also must fight your way through their heavily-guarded Throne City.

You require a massive army in order to win by Military Victory, fittingly. Take down the Empire’s Ruler, then capture the Throne City. With the Throne City under your control, the Ruler cannot be revived, and they are out of the game for good. Do this to all opposing Empires in the game to win by Military victory!

Winning by Expansion Victory

To achieve the Expansion Victory, you must control a large number of Provinces to start the Beacons of Unity event. Successfully completing the event wins the game for you by Expansion Victory.

You can see the exact number of Provinces you need by tracking the Expansion Victory path, as it varies depending on your map. Once you have occupied the required amount of Provinces, you need to build at least three Cities.

Once your Cities are built, you can now build a Beacon of Unity. Only one Beacon can be built in a City, and you require three of them to start the event, so you must build one in each of your Cities. Before you move on, train up your units and prepare for a fight.

Whenever you are ready, light all three Beacons of Unity to start the event. Hostile armies appear near your Cities with the Beacons in them, and they will attempt to destroy the Beacons. You must successfully defend all three Beacons for 15 turns to win by Expansion Victory.

Winning by Magic Victory

To achieve the Magic Victory, you must build all three Affinity Province Improvements in three different Cities to start the Age of Order event. Successfully completing the event wins the game for you by Magic Victory.

The Magic Victory path is very similar to the Expansion Victory. Your Empire must advance to the point where you can choose additional Tomes. When selecting a Tier III Tome, you unlock the Seed Improvement. Picking a Tier IV Tome unlocks the Root Improvement. Finally, selecting a Tier V Tome unlocks the Heart Improvement.

The Seed, Root, and Heart Affinity Province Improvements can be built in Cities, and they replace existing Province Improvements. Only one can fit in a City, so you will need at least three Cities to win this way.

Once you build all three Improvements, you can cast the Age of Order spell. The spell takes 15 turns to charge up, during which hostile armies appear near your Cities. You must successfully defend all three Cities for 15 turns to win by Magic Victory.

Winning by Score Victory

To achieve the Score Victory, you simply have to be the Empire with the most points once the turn limit is reached. You usually do not see this kind of Victory too often, but it can happen.

By default, each game in Age of Wonders 4 lasts for 150 turns, which is more than enough time for Empires to finish working towards any of the previous three Victories.

We are not entirely sure what nets you points, but you seem to gain them from simply playing the game and advancing your Empire. You probably gain lots of points for big events, like founding a new City or taking out an opposing Empire.