How to Use Relics
In Age of Empires IV, relics are valuable items that offer bonuses when placed within religious buildings. If you’re interested in how relics work, this guide will walk you through collecting and using them effectively.
How to Collect Relics
To collect a relic, send a religious unit to pick it up. However, avoid sending a religious unit out alone, as it may encounter wolves or enemy troops, putting it in danger. For protection, it’s best to send a few combat units along.
Since relics are religious items, only religious units can carry or move them. Each civilization has a unique term for their religious unit:
- England, China, France: Monk
- Holy Roman Empire: Prelate
- Mongols: Shaman
- Rus: Warrior Monk
- Delhi Sultanate: Scholar
- Abbasid Dynasty: Imam
Most civilizations can train religious units starting in the third age, while the Holy Roman Empire can produce Prelates from the first age without requiring a monastery. The Delhi Sultanate can also train Scholars in the first age once the Dome of Faith is constructed. Before the third age, relics are inaccessible, so civilizations that train religious units earlier won’t gain a significant advantage.
First, scout the map with military units to locate relics, which will then appear on your mini-map. Then, have a religious unit bring the relic back to a religious building.
The Role of Relics
Placing a relic in a monastery (or equivalent religious building) provides 100 gold per minute, automatically generated without any further action. This income can be especially useful if resources are low or you need an immediate boost.
Aside from gold, upgrading the monastery can yield small rewards in food, wood, or stone. While relics alone may not turn the tide of a game, they provide substantial support toward victory.
For certain civilizations, relics are particularly powerful. For example, the Holy Roman Empire can place relics in many buildings, each offering unique bonuses.
The Delhi Sultanate, on the other hand, benefits less from relics and might find it more effective to use religious units to capture Sacred Sites instead.
Relics also grant an “attack” ability. When carrying a relic, a religious unit gains the power to convert enemy units, taking control of them instantly. Due to the slow movement and high cost of religious units, this skill is less commonly used. However, Rus civilization’s Warrior Monks, with their faster speed, armor, and damage boosts, excel in conversion tactics. Using them to convert enemy units can be a viable strategy when playing as Rus.
