The Sultanate of Delhi in Age of Empires 4

While the Delhi Sultanate is the civilization with the slowest start, it more than makes up for it with its power in the late game, especially its use of war elephants. We introduce you to the Sultanate of Delhi in our Age of Empires 4 guide.

Difficulty estimated by the developers : ★ ★ ★

The Delhi Sultanate in Age of Empires 4 covers a period from 879 to 1526 AD. This civilisation immerses you in the heart of the various dynasties mixing Persian and Indian cultures.

Delhi Sultanate bonuses

• Wild boar harvesting is impossible, but berry harvesting is 25% faster,
• Scholars are available from age I,
• All technologies are free, but slower to do,
• Infantry units are able to build defences,
• Fishing boats have archers and can fight.

Specific units and their characteristics

The Delhi Sultanate has several unique units. These are unlocked in order:

From age I - The fishing boat (Category: Worker, ship). This boat is used to recover fish from the coast or the sea bed. It must return to port to make deposits. It is the only ship capable of making repairs and firing arrows, with low damage.

From age I - Thescholar (Category: Religious). It is a very important support unit. From age III onwards, he can capture sacred places, take relics and convert enemies. The scholar has no combat capability, has low health and is only used as a support unit. He can therefore heal allied units. Garrisoned in the mosques and medersas, he has a major role: he accelerates the development time of technologies.

From age III - Thewar elephant (Category: Heavy cavalry in close combat, elephant). It is one of the two flagship units of the Sultanate. Elephants have a very high health and armour. In addition, they are ridden by an advanced lancer. These behemoths inflict colossal damage and are therefore effective against cavalry, siege weapons, walls (even stone ones) and buildings. On the other hand, the unit is extremely slow.

From age III - Thewar elephant with tower (Category: Ranged cavalry, elephant). This is the other unit of choice in the Sultanate. Elephants with a tower have very high health and armour. They are also mounted by two formidable archers, capable of firing even while moving. Like normal elephants, they do considerable damage and are effective against cavalry, siege weapons, walls (even stone ones) and buildings. On the other hand, the unit is extremely slow.

The Sultanate's strategic bases

This civilisation is particularly focused on technological research, free of charge, and on the defence of the city. Your gameplay will take a different turn at the end of the game, compared to the rest of the game.

During the majority of the game, you will consolidate your economy and your defences. Remember that military units are able to build defensive walls (wood, then stones); you can then leave your villagers to collect resources.

Also, you should maximise the number of technology searches, as often as possible and as soon as possible. This will give you the advantage over your opponent. To do this, from age I onwards, provide yourself with mosques and scholars and favour the 'Dome of Faith' at the change of age. The clerics will help you to reduce the time of research.

The ultimate goal is to build up an army, not necessarily large but sufficient, based on elephants and quickly. To increase the speed of military units, place a scholar in garrison. You need to unlock "Efficient Production", which is available through the mosques.

To facilitate the acquisition of elephants, build the 'Sultan's Palace' during the last age change. When you have enough behemoths in your army, you can simply attack your opponent's base.

An effective but predictable strategy

This civilization is very interesting but requires a good grip to master all the operations in order to obtain the elephants. It is suitable for someone who wants to play on the defence as well as on the attack at the end of the game.