All 11 Cultures and What Each One Does in Age of Wonders 4

Age of Wonders 4 is a fantasy strategy game where you build an empire and lead it with a faction. The first big choice you make when you create a faction is its culture, and that choice shapes a lot about how the faction plays. The game's cultures are split between the base game cultures and the add-on cultures, and each one brings its own style of play.

Feudal Culture

Strengthens formations and makes unit advancement central to its army.

Content Pack

Base Game

Starting Affinity

Monarchy: Order 1 + Materium 1; Aristocracy: Order 1 + Nature 1.

Subculture Choices

Monarchy; Aristocracy.

Playstyle

Uses formation bonuses and advancing troops; choose ruler-led Monarchy or city-led Aristocracy.

High Culture

Pairs stable, knowledge-rich cities with units that can be Awakened.

Content Pack

Base Game

Starting Affinity

Order 2.

Subculture Choices

None.

Playstyle

Builds city stability and knowledge, and uses Awakened to reveal extra abilities on units.

Barbarian Culture

Supports fast, aggressive armies with critical-hit damage, food, and draft.

Content Pack

Base Game

Starting Affinity

Chaos 1 + Nature 1.

Subculture Choices

None.

Playstyle

Favors aggressive attacks, critical-hit damage, and higher Food and Draft income.

Industrious Culture

Turns strong defenses, production, and scout prospecting into its main advantages.

Content Pack

Base Game

Starting Affinity

Materium 2.

Subculture Choices

None.

Playstyle

Leans on defensive units, production, and scouts that prospect nearby terrain.

Dark Culture

Weakens foes and builds power through either tyranny or death.

Content Pack

Base Game

Starting Affinity

Cult of Tyranny: Shadow 2; Cult of Death: Shadow 1 + Nature 1.

Subculture Choices

Cult of Tyranny; Cult of Death.

Playstyle

Weakens enemies and uses captured heroes or battlefield deaths to grow power, depending on the cult.

Mystic Culture

Connects spellcasting with mana and a specialized Astral school.

Content Pack

Base Game

Starting Affinity

Attunement: Astral 2; Potential: Astral 1 + Shadow 1; Summoning: Astral 2.

Subculture Choices

School of Attunement; School of Potential; School of Summoning.

Playstyle

Builds around mana and spellcasting; each school changes how spells, Astral Echoes, or magic-origin units work.

Reaver Culture

Brings high-damage ranged weapons to either conquest or vassal-led play.

Content Pack

Empires & Ashes

Starting Affinity

Imperial: Chaos 1 + Materium 1; Federate: Order 1 + Materium 1.

Subculture Choices

Imperial Reavers; Federate Reavers.

Playstyle

Uses powerful ranged units; Imperial favors conquest, while Federate builds around alliances and vassals.

Primal Culture

Lets an animal totem shape terrain, income, and combat effects.

Content Pack

Primal Fury

Starting Affinity

Nature 1 base, plus 1 from the totem: Mire Crocodile or Tunneling Spider (Nature), Storm Crow (Astral), Glacial Mammoth (Shadow), Ash Sabertooth (Chaos), Dune Serpent (Materium), or Sylvan Wolf (Order).

Subculture Choices

Choose one totem: Mire Crocodile; Storm Crow; Glacial Mammoth; Ash Sabertooth; Dune Serpent; Tunneling Spider; Sylvan Wolf.

Playstyle

A chosen animal totem shapes preferred terrain, city yields, and combat effects.

Oathsworn Culture

Rewards devotion to a chosen oath through diplomatic or combat bonuses.

Content Pack

Ways of War

Starting Affinity

Order 1 base, plus Nature for Harmony, Order for Righteousness, or Chaos for Strife.

Subculture Choices

Oath of Harmony; Oath of Righteousness; Oath of Strife.

Playstyle

Devotion to an oath guides combat and diplomacy; each oath rewards a different code of conduct.

Architect Culture

Builds affinity monuments to grow its economy and empower its units.

Content Pack

Archon Prophecy

Starting Affinity

Gain 2 starting points in one chosen affinity: Astral, Chaos, Materium, Nature, Order, or Shadow.

Subculture Choices

Choose an affinity: Astral; Chaos; Materium; Nature; Order; Shadow.

Playstyle

Collects Wonderstone to build affinity monuments that improve the economy and strengthen affinity-aligned units.

Nomad Culture

Packs up its cities and moves on to the next place to conquer or scavenge.

Content Pack

Rise from Ruin

Starting Affinity

Chaos 1 base, plus Chaos for Conquerors or Materium for Scavengers.

Subculture Choices

Conquerors; Scavengers.

Playstyle

Moves cities around the realm; Conquerors raid, while Scavengers harvest essences and collect combat loot.

What a culture does in Age of Wonders 4

A culture is the background your faction is built on. It ties your faction to certain affinities, the magical forces such as Order, Nature, Chaos, Shadow and Astral that shape your empire. It also decides which special buildings your cities can build, which units you can recruit, and which mechanics your faction can use.

The rest of your setup builds on that base. Your society traits and starting tome add more bonuses, and a tome is a bundle of spells, units and upgrades tied to one affinity. Still, the culture sets the core of how your faction grows and fights, so it's worth thinking about first.

Base game cultures in Age of Wonders 4

The base game cultures each lean toward a different way of building an empire. Feudal is built around strong formations and advancing units. When you set it up, you choose between a Monarchy led by your ruler and an Aristocracy that spreads power across your cities. High builds stable, knowledge-rich cities, and its units can be Awakened, which lets their physical attacks deal Spirit damage.

Barbarian favors aggressive attacks and critical hits, and its strength comes from food and draft. Industrious leans on defensive units and production. Its armies trade speed for durability, so they work best when the enemy has to come to them. Scouts can prospect the land for resources, though the haul depends heavily on the map.

Dark weakens enemies, and its units hit harder against foes already hit by negative status effects. You also choose between a Cult of Tyranny and a Cult of Death. Mystic builds around mana and spellcasting through a school you choose, and its cities produce the mana that fuels its spells.

All of these come with the base game, so you can try any of them without buying an add-on.

Expansion cultures in Age of Wonders 4

The add-on cultures each bring a new idea rather than a twist on the base game cultures. Reaver build their industry on raids and conquest, and they bring heavy ranged firepower to the fight. When you set them up, you pick Imperial, which leans toward conquest, or Federate, which leans toward alliances and vassals.

Nomads are built for mobility. They seek out places of value, drain them quickly, and move on, so the culture plays more like a traveling scavenger than a settled empire. Architects raise huge monuments in their cities, each tied to an affinity that strengthens the economy.

Oathsworn follow one of several oaths, and the one you choose steers how the culture plays. Harmony avoids war and builds a diverse empire. Righteousness gathers good alignment and destroys evil. Strife seeks out battles with stronger armies for bonuses.

Primal ties its empire to an animal totem, and the animal sets the terrain the culture favors and the damage type its units deal. Its abilities run on Fury, a resource you channel in battle for powerful buffs.

Each add-on culture comes with its own expansion, so you need that add-on to choose the culture. Reaver come with Empires & Ashes, Primal with Primal Fury, Oathsworn with Ways of War, Architects with Archon Prophecy and Nomads with Rise from Ruin.

Which Age of Wonders 4 culture should you pick?

There's no single best culture, because the right one depends on how you like to win. If you want strong formations and units that improve through advancement, Feudal is built for that. If you prefer fighting early and often, Barbarian, Dark, Reaver and Nomads suit that style, while Mystic rewards players who love spells. Players who want a steady economy might look at High, Industrious or Architects.

Balance changes with each patch, so treat any ranking as a snapshot rather than a final answer. If you're new to the game, starting with one of the base game cultures keeps things simple. You can try an add-on culture once you know the basics.

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