The Vikings are a new civilization available with Raiders of the North Expansion for Age of Empires IV.
This civilization represents the Viking Age, a period that started with a 793 raid on Lindisfarne monastery in northeastern England and continued with people of modern Scandinavia venturing out to trade, raid, and establish colonies across Europe and beyond. The riches from raiding and trading forged the splintered jarldoms into the Kingdoms of Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
In Age of Empires IV, the Vikings civilization lives by the sword, with the Bondi Spearmen forming the shield wall for a Berserker vanguard to break the enemy line. The Longhouse bolsters Villager recruitment and provides flexible economic upgrades, allowing the early recruitment of Vikings infantry to raid an unsuspecting enemy.
Playing the Vikings
The Viking Villagers are not recruited normally, instead they are automatically recruited at no cost until the Villager capacity is reached. Longhouses increase the Villager capacity and can also be upgraded with economic attachments.
Sagas are quests that can be completed at any time to earn powerful economic or military bonuses. Seven Sagas can be completed by raiding enemy buildings, hunting wild animals, trading, and more. Plus, completed Sagas are commemorated by carved pillars near the Capital Town Center.
The Völur is a unique religious unit that can boost the production of Longhouses or can be sacrificed to establish Sacred Groves on Relics. Sacred Groves will periodically produce Berserkers, a fierce dual axe wielding infantry that will enrage at low health, healing and doing more damage for a time. Melee infantry is a particular focus of the Vikings with Bondi spearmen, Berserkers and Hirdman forming the core of the army.
The Vikings at a Glance
The Sagas
The Vikings Through the Ages
Age 1
The Viking Villagers are automatically recruited from Town Centers until the Villager capacity is reached. So building an early Longhouse, that will increase the Villager capacity, insures the recruitment of Villagers is uninterrupted . The Longhouse can also be upgraded with Farmsteads or Bee Skeps, which improve Food and Gold income. Early raids are possible with the strength of the Bondi and Berserkers. Any damage taken during raids can be healed by using Living of the Land on any Food source.
Age 2
From Feudal Age, two additional Longhouse attachments are available, the Pasture & Loom and Smithy. These attachments will slowly research armor and weapon damage technologies, so it is usually good to buy these early. The Völur, a unique religious unit, can move between Longhouses to boost resource production. They can also be sacrificed to establish a Sacred Grove on a Relic, which provides the Hamingja buff to nearby units and slowly recruits Berserkers. Giving the Vikings an expanding base of power if they can defend their Sacred Groves.
Age 3
Advancing to Castle Age by constructing Valdemar Castle will improve all existing and new Palisades to Danevirke walls, which have much higher health and resistance to torch damage. Jylland Knights are unique heavy cavalry that are slightly cheaper to recruit and will refund some of their Gold cost when they fall in battle. The Hagl Brodda technology allows their archers to fire two additional arrows at random, helping to break dense enemy formations and allowing infantry to charge in and clean up.
Age 4
After reaching Imperial Age, the Vikings can increase their maximum population to 210 regardless of which landmark is built, reinforcing the ranks of their Elite melee infantry with more troops. Constructing the Kongens Dør Cathedral allows the technology Folkekirken to be researched, which increases the maximum population even further to 220. The Leikr Training technology in the University, representing physical games and strategic game played by the Vikings, will push the advantage of their melee infantry even more.
