Age of Empires 4 Ottomans Guide: Viziers, Military School and Strategy
The Ottomans were added to Age of Empires 4 for free with the Anniversary Edition update in 2022. The civilization's time span starts in 990 with the birth of Tughril Beg, founder of the Seljuk state, and ends in 1566 with the death of Suleiman the Magnificent. Like the Turks in AoE II, they rely on cavalry and gunpowder, and they reach gunpowder units one age earlier than other civilizations.
Two systems set the Ottomans apart: the Imperial Council, unlocked with vizier points, and the Military School, which trains free units. They have no special economy bonus; their strength comes entirely from military production.
Civilization bonuses
- Imperial Council: Training units and advancing through the ages earns vizier XP, which in turn earns vizier points.
- Cheaper military buildings: Military buildings and technology buildings cost 40% less.
- Blacksmith and University influence: Military buildings within their influence produce 20% faster in the Feudal Age, 30% in the Castle Age and 40% in the Imperial Age.
- Sea lanes: Fishing, trade and transport ships are 10% faster.
- You start with an extra 50 wood and 50 stone.
- You can't hunt boar.
Military School: free units
The Military School is the Ottomans' unique building. It costs 150 wood and 100 stone, can be built from the Dark Age, and you can build one more in each age. You pick a unit for the school and it trains that unit continuously without spending any resources. The price is time: 4.75 times the normal training time.
It can train Spearmen, Archers, Sipahi, Mehter, Men-at-Arms and Crossbowmen. Vizier technologies add the Akinji, the Lancer and the Janissary. Building the school within the influence of a Blacksmith or University speeds up its production.
Think of the Military School as an economic investment: the earlier you build it, the more free units you get, but it delays your age-up and your first army. If your opponent can apply very early pressure, for example the English with their longbowmen, it's safer to delay the first school and open with a Stable. In terms of resource value, the most efficient unit to train from the school is the Mehter: it produces about 21% more value than the others.
The Imperial Council and vizier technologies
Vizier XP fills up as you train units and advance through the ages: roughly every 40 resources' worth of production gives 1 XP, while building a Wonder gives 600 XP in one go. By default you can hold at most 5 vizier points; the Istanbul Imperial Palace both doubles the XP you earn and raises that cap.
You spend the points in a four-tier technology tree. To move up a tier, you need to have picked at least one technology from the tier below.
| Tier and technology | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1: Field Work | Two imams appear at your capital and heal nearby units. |
| 1: Mehter Drums | Two Mehter appear at your capital. Units in formation with a Mehter move 15% faster. |
| 1: Akinji System | Makes the Akinji trainable at the Archery Range and the Military School, and gives you one Akinji. |
| 2: Military Campus | Increases the number of Military Schools you can build by one. |
| 2: Extensive Fortifications | Defensive buildings and Town Centers cost 20% less, and units inside them fire crossbow bolts. |
| 2: Anatolian Hills | Gives 12 sheep and increases villager mining speed by 15%. |
| 3: Advanced Academy | Military production 25% faster, and in the Castle Age the Military School gains the Lancer and the Janissary. |
| 3: Janissary Company | Gives two Janissaries, plus two more for each Military School. |
| 3: Pax Ottomana | Villagers are produced 75% faster for four minutes. |
| 4: Siege Crews | You can load infantry into siege weapons, and their attack and setup speeds increase by 25%. |
| 4: Great Bombard Vizier | Gives a Great Bombard. If you take it before the Imperial Age it arrives weak, but it grows stronger automatically when you age up. |
| 4: Trade Bags | Increases the gold brought in by traders and the Sultanhani Trade Network by 40%. |
Which technology you pick depends on your plan. In a game built around the Military School, Military Campus and Advanced Academy feed each other. If you're going to earn gold through trade, aim for Trade Bags.
Unique units
| Unit | What it does |
|---|---|
| Sipahi | Light cavalry trained at the Stable that deals bonus damage against archers and siege weapons. Its Fortitude ability raises its damage against archers but makes it take more damage in melee. |
| Mehter | A mounted drummer that can't attack. It gives nearby units one of three effects: +15% attack speed, +2 melee armor or ranged armor. Only one effect is active at a time, and you can switch between them. |
| Janissary | Gunpowder infantry trained at the Archery Range in the Castle Age. It deals bonus damage against cavalry and can repair siege weapons. 60 food, 100 gold. |
| Akinji | Ranged cavalry that fires two arrows in a row. Only unlocked with the Akinji System vizier technology. |
| Great Bombard | The biggest gunpowder siege weapon in the game: long range and area damage. It knocks down walls and keeps easily, but it's an easy target if left unprotected. |
| Grand Galley | A large war galley that can turn into a floating Military School. |
The Akinji was added to the game with the Season Nine update. Until then, the Ottomans were the only Turkic civilization in the series without ranged cavalry.
Landmarks
| Age-up and landmark | Effect |
|---|---|
| Dark → Feudal: Twin Minaret Medrese | Works as a Mill and spawns four regrowing berry bushes around it; villagers gather from them 50% faster. |
| Dark → Feudal: Sultanhani Trade Network | Works as a Market. You can garrison traders inside, and garrisoned traders generate gold. It starts with three traders. |
| Feudal → Castle: Istanbul Imperial Palace | Doubles vizier XP and raises the vizier point cap. |
| Feudal → Castle: Mehmed Imperial Armory | Produces siege weapons like a Military School: free but slow. |
| Castle → Imperial: Istanbul Observatory | Works as a University with a large influence area and significantly boosts the production bonus from Blacksmiths and Universities. |
| Castle → Imperial: Sea Gate Castle | Works as a Keep and increases the damage of defensive structures. Traders move faster and are tougher near Keeps. |
Strengths and weaknesses
The Ottomans' strength is army size. While the Military Schools train free units, the production bonus from Blacksmiths and Universities speeds up regular buildings too, so with the same economy you can field a bigger army than other civilizations. The Mehter gives that army attack speed or armor, and the Great Bombard knocks down walls and keeps with ease.
Their weakness is the economy: they have no special economy bonus and can't hunt boar. An early investment in the Military School also delays your age-up and can leave you exposed to early pressure. The Great Bombard is an expensive unit, and losing it unprotected hurts.
For their Age of Empires 2 counterpart, see our Age of Empires 2 Turks guide; for the game's cheat codes, see our Age of Empires 4 cheat codes page.
Source: https://ageofempires.fandom.com/wiki/Ottomans_(Age_of_Empires_IV)
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