Age of Empires IV received its latest major balance update, Patch 15.3.8338, on February 4, 2026. This patch focuses on refining civilization-specific strengths and weaknesses, adjusting economic and military upgrades, and fine-tuning unit combat effectiveness. The changes span 13 civilizations, including the Abbasid Dynasty, Golden Horde, Holy Roman Empire, House of Lancaster, Japanese, Knights Templar, Macedonian Dynasty, Mongols, Ottomans, Sengoku Daimyo, Tughlaq Dynasty, and Zhu Xi’s Legacy. The patch also includes bug fixes for The Crucible game mode and quality of life improvements. While the patch itself is not tied to a specific seasonal event, it arrives just before the “Something in the Water” event launching February 6th, and the developers have confirmed two DLCs are planned for 2026.

What changed

The patch introduces a mix of buffs, nerfs, and utility adjustments across 13 civilizations. Key changes include:

Abbasid Dynasty: Age up research time reduced from 105 seconds to 100 seconds for all ages, accelerating their transition to stronger late-game units and technologies. This 5-second reduction may seem minor, but in high-level play where timing attacks are measured in seconds, it allows Abbasid players to reach their power spikes slightly earlier.

Golden Horde:

  • Fixed an issue where the Beachhead Ram was not gaining additional arrows from garrisoned units when the ability is activated.
  • Relics can no longer be duplicated via multiple Shamans with Relic Ovoo, closing an exploit that allowed infinite relic copying.
  • Ovoo health increased from 1500 to 1750, making this key structure more resilient to raids.
  • Keshik health increased across ages (Feudal: 145→150, Castle: 175→180, Imperial: 210→215), improving their survivability in skirmishes.
  • Beachhead cost reduced from 500 Stone to 400 Stone, making this powerful siegesiege. A timed, large-scale attack on a settlement — attackers try to destroy it, defenders try to hold it. unit more accessible.
  • Barracks, Stable, and Archery Range reinforcements upgrades cost increased from 950 Stone to 1100 Stone, delaying their late-game infantry spam.
  • Padded Armor upgrade armor reduced from +2 to +1, slightly weakening early defensive capabilities.
  • Debuff Arrow duration reduced from 15 seconds to 10 seconds, giving opponents more time to recover.

Holy Roman Empire:

  • Inspiration duration increased from 35 to 38 seconds.
  • Aachen Chapel aura range increased from 6.5 to 7 tiles.

House of Lancaster:

  • White Tower no longer researches technologies more quickly than other Keeps.
  • Muster the Nobles tooltip corrected to state it spawns four Demilancers (not five).
  • Lord of Lancaster health reduced across ages (Feudal: 200→170, Castle: 225→200, Imperial: 250→235).
  • Hobelar cost increased from 70 Food 20 Gold to 75 Food 20 Gold.

Japanese: Uma Bannerman damage aura reduced from +15% to +10%.

Knights Templar:

  • Genoese Crossbowman cost reduced from 100 Gold to 90 Gold.
  • Safe Passage upgrade cost reduced from 100 Food 200 Wood to 50 Food 200 Wood.
  • Sanctuary upgrade cost reduced from 200 Food 250 Wood to 150 Food 250 Wood, with research time reduced from 20 to 15 seconds.

Macedonian Dynasty:

  • Early Varangian Guard damage reduced from 12 to 11; Berserk damage reduced from 6 to 5 (unchanged in Caste and Imperial Age).
  • Riddari damage reduced from 26 to 24; Elite damage reduced from 31 to 29.
  • Butted Chainmail (Ranged), Lamellar Armor (Melee Infantry), and Scale Barding (Cavalry) upgrade costs increased: Tier 2 from 500 Silver to 550 Silver; Tier 3 from 1000 Silver to 1100 Silver.
  • Runestones requirements increased from 5 defeated enemies to 10 defeated enemies.
  • Imperial Hippodrome: Champion Scout damage reduced from 7 to 5; Champion Scout torch damage aura reduced from +35% to +25%; Champion Riddari infantry movement speed aura reduced from +15% to +10%.

Mongols:

  • Khan now properly shoots an arrow into the air when using signal arrow abilities in Imperial Age, a visual fix that improves ability recognition.
  • Fixed an issue which prevented the Khan from granting nearby units +2 armor with the Defense Arrow ability, restoring intended functionality.
  • Queued Monastery units and upgrades are no longer lost when Monastic Shrines is researched, preventing resource loss.
  • Keshik health increased across ages (Feudal: 145→150, Castle: 175→180, Imperial: 210→215), matching the Golden Horde changes.
  • Ovoo health increased from 1500 to 1750.
  • Stone generation rate increased: Castle Age from 120 to 130; Imperial Age from 150 to 160, boosting their economic advantage.
  • Early Horseman health increased from 110 to 115, improving early game survivability.
  • Mongols now produce Horsemen +25% faster, enabling quicker raids and map pressure.
  • Mangudai: After moving for 1 second, attack speed begins to slow down from 0.88 to 1.97 seconds per attack (returns to normal when unit stops moving), punishing constant micro-intensive hit-and-run tactics.

Ottomans:

  • Sipahi health reduced across ages (Feudal: 155→145, Castle: 185→175, Imperial: 220→210).

Sengoku Daimyo:

  • Fixed mislabeled upgrades in Remappable Hotkey list.
  • Fixed issue where English villager units were unable to attack the Yatai.
  • Shinobi ambush ability can no longer be cast on walls.
  • Ryokan healing increased from 3 every 6 seconds to 4 every 5 seconds.
  • Villagers gathering from Sake Brewery’s Toko-Koji mats no longer benefit from mining upgrades.
  • Ikko Ikki Monks will now properly attack fleeing enemies after Mountain Top Training.
  • Shinobi can no longer throw grenades without decreasing the grenade counter.

Tughlaq Dynasty:

  • Hisar Academy resource generation per active Governor increased from 50 Food 50 Gold to 70 Food 70 Gold.
  • Tughlaqabad Fort:
    • Shahi Walls cost reduced from 275 Stone to 250 Stone.
    • Red Brick Bastions cost reduced from 100 Gold 300 Stone to 75 Gold 275 Stone.
    • Tughlaqabad Fort Benefactor cost reduced from 100 Gold 350 Stone to 50 Gold 200 Stone.
  • House of Learning:
    • Neza Training cost reduced from 75 Food 250 Gold to 60 Food 150 Gold.
    • Khanda Drills cost reduced from 50 Food 200 Gold to 60 Food 150 Gold.
    • Elephant Caretakers cost reduced from 90 Food 225 Gold to 60 Food 150 Gold.
    • Collateral Damage cost reduced from 90 Food 225 Gold to 60 Food 150 Gold.
  • Ballista Elephant:
    • Population cost increased from 3 to 4.
    • Damage increased from 16 to 18; bonus vs Infantry increased from 12 to 14.
    • Elite damage increased from 17 to 19; bonus vs Infantry increased from 14 to 18.

Zhu Xi’s Legacy: Fixed a bug where cancelling and requeuing the Imperial Red Seals upgrade would spawn extra Imperial Officials once the upgrade was researched.

How it works

All changes are applied server-side and take effect immediately in online matches. Players will notice revised values when selecting units, viewing tooltips, or engaging in combat. The adjustments aim to smooth out outliers and encourage more varied civilization picks in ranked play.

For example, the Golden Horde’s Keshik health increase makes their unique cavalry more durable in raids, while the increased cost of Barracks/Stable/Archery reinforcements delays their late-game infantry spam. This creates a more pronounced early-to-mid game power curve, forcing Golden Horde players to maximize their early advantages before opponents can stabilize.

The Mongols’ faster Horseman production and Mangudai attack speed penalty on the move reward hit-and-run tactics but punish overextension. The Khan bug fix ensures that Defense Arrow now properly grants its +2 armor bonus, making the ability more reliable in team fights. The stone generation increase from Ovoos further strengthens the Mongol economic engine, particularly in longer games.

The Tughlaq Dynasty’s Ballista Elephant now deals more damage but costs more population, shifting it from a spammable unit to a situational siege piece. This change encourages more thoughtful unit composition rather than massing Ballista Elephants as a default strategy.

The Knights Templar’s cheaper Genoese Crossbowman and Sanctuary upgrade enhance their early-game defense and age-up flexibility, making them more competitive in the current meta where early aggression is prevalent.

Build path

To adapt to Patch 15.3.8338, players should review the updated tooltips in the tech tree and unit panels. Begin by testing the revised Golden Horde Keshik in a skirmish against AI to gauge its improved survivability. The health increases make them slightly more durable, but the increased reinforcement costs mean you’ll need to be more selective about when to commit to infantry upgrades.

Experiment with the Mongols’ accelerated Horseman production to execute faster early raids, but remember the Mangudai’s moving attack speed penalty when micro-ing hit-and-run. The +25% production speed is significant for early map control, but the Mangudai nerf requires a more disciplined approach—stop moving before firing to maximize damage output.

Try the Tughlaqabad Ballista Elephant in a siege scenario to feel its increased damage output while managing its higher population cost. The shift from 3 to 4 population means you can field fewer of them, so protect them carefully.

For the House of Lancaster, note the reduced Lord of Lancaster health when committing to aggressive early-game pushes. The White Tower fix also means you can no longer rely on faster technology research.

Finally, practice the Knights Templar’s cheaper Genoese Crossbowman to hold choke points more efficiently. The reduced cost from 100 to 90 Gold allows you to field more of them earlier.

What it means

Patch 15.3.8338 refines the ranked meta by adjusting civilization win rates and promoting strategic diversity. The buffs to the Golden Horde’s Keshik and Mongols’ Horsemen reward aggressive cavalry play, while the nerfs to the House of Lancaster’s Lord of Lancaster and Sengoku Daimyo’s Shinobi ambush curb early-game aggression.

The economic adjustments—such as increased reinforcement costs for the Golden Horde and reduced building costs for the Tughlaq Dynasty—shift the timing of power spikes. Golden Horde players must now be more economical with their stone investments, while Tughlaq players gain more flexibility in their build orders.

The bug fixes, particularly for the Mongol Khan’s Defense Arrow and the Golden Horde’s Beachhead Ram, ensure that abilities work as originally intended.

Looking ahead, the developers have confirmed two DLCs are planned for 2026, alongside quality of life features including random map and biome options, new player colors, and faster end-of-game screen flow. The “Something in the Water” seasonal event launches February 6th, offering login rewards through April 2nd.

Overall, the patch encourages players to explore less-picked civilizations and adapt their build orders to the new unit economics.