= Location = (3)

Your friendly guide to the Archipelago map in Age of Empires IV. Learn about its unique island layout, resource distribution, and strategic advantages to dominate your opponents.

Alright, let's talk about the Archipelago map in Age of Empires IV. It's a bit different from your typical land maps, so listen up! Archipelago is a random map that throws you onto a series of islands surrounded by a big ocean. The main thing to know is that resources are more limited here because the islands are smaller than usual landmasses. You'll often start on your own island, but sometimes you might share it with an ally or an enemy. Keep an eye out for those shared islands that might extend to the edge with some wood, gold, stone, berries, and deer. Here's a pro-tip: most of your food will need to come from the water to save your precious wood. Now, about those resource islands – these are super important. Archipelago usually has four smaller, extra islands. Two of them are pretty bare, but the other two are packed with tons of gold, wood, food, and stone. Finding these islands and using them to your advantage should be your top priority. Your starting area will have the usual food sources like sheep or cows, some aggressive and passive huntables, and berry bushes. Since it's an island map, you might even be able to get shore fish early on. Your starting stone and gold mines are standard. Watch out for lone wild predators; they're usually on the outer coasts, not the ones facing the center of the map. The bonus islands in the middle are safe from these predators. The number of Relics you find will vary depending on the map size, which is pretty standard. This map has the in-game tag of 'Water'. ### Viable strategies Early land rushes, like infantry, cavalry, or archer rushes, can sometimes work, depending on whether your starting island connects to an opponent's settlement. Galley rushes and strategies involving landing troops are also very possible. If you can pull off an early rush, you might be able to push an enemy off their island and secure a friendly base, letting you use the resources from their island too. Defending and turtling on Archipelago is also a solid strategy, especially if your civilization has good towers. Booming is doable, but you might need to turtle first and build structures near the shoreline to get vision and prevent surprise landings from enemies. Long games on this map often turn into trash wars. This is because island maps have fewer resources overall (except for food), and they can get depleted faster than on land maps. Controlling the water is key here. Also, whoever controls the central islands gets a big economic advantage. So, finding and taking those islands should be a priority, especially in the mid-game when you can build secondary Town Centers. ### Civilizations Some civilizations really shine on Archipelago: * Good Navy: Vikings, Spanish, Byzantines, Malay, Italians, Portuguese, Persians, Koreans, Japanese, and others. * Good Defense (especially towers and Castles): Koreans, Inca, Teutons, Byzantines, Turks, and others. Be aware that some civilizations might struggle: * Poor Navy: The Aztecs or the Cumans, for example, might find it tougher. ## Age of Mythology Archipelago also appears in Age of Mythology, and it's a water-heavy map there too. You'll be managing your economy and military across various islands, so naval control and island hopping are crucial. Keep an eye on your transports and naval units to secure resources and outmaneuver your opponents.