Chilly’s AOEIV Civilization Concept - The Amazigh

Age of Empires IV IV - Discussion
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amazighconcept
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What makes this faction stand out?

“Desert Ambush” mechanic rewards darting in/out of sight. Which makes this the first true hit-and-run faction archetype in the game.

Notes on the concept:

  • Alternative names for this faction are “The Moors”, “The Berbers”, “The Moroccans”. I think most of the western world would find these names more recognizable. “Moor/Berber” however, are historically derogative names given to the people of North Africa by outsiders, mostly Europeans. “Morocco” as a name can work, but it just sounds a little anachronistic. “Amazigh” is what the people call themselves, so I’ll use that term for now.
  • The Umayyad, Almoravid, Almohad, Maranid, and Saadian dynasties that dominated this Morocco/Andalusia region is the core historical basis for this faction. Though there were other Emirates/Berber polities that were influential as well. This region was at-times subjects of powers from the East (such as the Abbasids and the Ottomans), but most of the time ran their own states, and had their own unique cultural developments. Ahmad al-Mansur of the Saadian dynasty is a famous leader in this region, you might remember him from Civ 5.
  • The core vibe of this faction is “hit and run”, inspired by the preferred fighting style of North African warriors - fast, light, skirmishing cavalry. This was a fighting style that was copied by the Spanish and Portuguese during the Reconquista (“Jinete” is a term that evolved from “Zenata”, a powerful Berber tribe), and arguably laid the foundations of what would become cowboy/ranchero culture in the Americas later on!
  • “Desert Ambushers” passive means Amazigh warriors deal 100% bonus damage on their next attack when they haven’t been seen by an enemy (kind of similar to Khazix from League of Legends). This gives a lot of incentive for the player to dart their units in and out of stealth cover, and is especially useful for their “Zenata” unit, as they throw high-damage javelins from afar, and move fast enough to disengage enemies that chase them.
  • Zenata, like Mangudai, would not be very cost effective in a pitched battle. They need to take advantage of their mobility to harass and kite. The “Funduq” (aka a Caravanserai) Age II Landmark is a healing station. So I’m imagining players harassing with their Zenatas, and then retreating them back to the Funduq to heal.
  • I see this faction as very micro-intensive in the early game. You need to be very efficient with how you harass your opponent, as your “mainline” military and economy are just average.
  • Trade is obviously a big part of this faction’s identity, with the Berbers being some of the largest players in Trans-Saharan trade. The Camel Caravan reflects that history, and uniquely grows stronger over time. This means Amazigh trade takes a bit longer to have return on investment compared to other civs, but has much higher upside once fully developed. This weakness is meant to compensate for their early game military power spike, but it allows them to transition into late game if they are able to effectively protect their trade.
  • As a rule, I avoid adding any naval components to my concepts. But I imagine for this faction there’s a lot of opportunity to explore a “Barbary Corsairs” angle. The Algeria/Tunisia region was famous for harboring some of the most famed pirates of the Mediterranean, and their prowess extended back to the 1100s, well within the time period of AOE4. (Fun fact - Captain Jack Sparrow is based on a Barbary Corsair, Yusuf Reis)
  • I think a lot of people reading this might wonder, “we already have the Abbasids/Ottomans/Malians, what’s the point of another Muslim faction?” My goal with this faction concept is to highlight the unique culture of the Maghreb region, and show that there’s a lot of potential here for faction diversity, with a unique/fun play style, in spite of a history of closely shared cultural exchange.

References

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3

Pretty awesome concept!
I love the research into this civilization!

4

This guy does really good civs atleast devs can take some inspiriation

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5

You know what? This is simply… AMAZIGH! badum tch

I’m a father of 2 kids. I feel it to be justified.

But yes, the North-western saharan civilization are rarely spoke of, but have been a massive impact on world history.
From well causing a succession crisis on Portugal during its imperical height.
To becoming the infamous “barbary states”, pirates that roamed the mediterranean to such a degree that eventually, USA had to intervene, and this was before OIL was even a thing! (because it disrupted so much of the trade USA was dependant on, while the “old big empires” had enough money to just bribe the Barbary states to leave them alone)
Great that you made a concept of these guys!

still. No Navy :x

Tbh i got bamboozled by announcement from Age of Wonders 4 is releasing a DLC in november with a complete naval rework and I mistook it for being Age of Empires 4 and got super hyped. lol

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