Age of Empires 4’s new select-all hotkeys are total game changers
Age of Empires 4 has soared into the upper ranks of Steam’s best-seller list thanks to the launch of The Sultans Ascend, its first big expansion pack, and a hefty discount. Adding two fan-favorite civilizations with the Byzantines and the Japanese as well as four Variant Civilizations in the form of Jeanne d’Arc, the Ayyubids, Zhu Xi’s Legacy, and the Order of the Dragon, this DLC is packed to the brim with exciting content.
In addition to the release of the expansion, the Season 6 Update is mixing things up as well – and it’s this patch that just added a series of frequently requested, game-changing hotkey options to Age of Empires 4: You can now assign four new hotkeys that allow you to select all of your ranged infantry, melee infantry, cavalry, siege, and hero units respectively with a single button press.
Age of Empires 4 is back in business.
Microsoft
This is essentially the equivalent of StarCraft 2’s F2 button that selects all army units at once, but offers a little more control thanks to being split up into the different troop types.
Playing a real-time strategy game like Age of Empires 4 in multiplayer can be very stressful and getting an option to quickly get ahold of all of your military units can be a lifesaver in an intense showdown – it’s a fantastic accessibility feature for those without unlimited actions per minute.
However, these hotkeys won’t be assigned by default, so you’ll need to dive into the settings and activate them in the “Unit Selection” tab. Assigning these selection options to the numbered F-keys is a good solution, as these are usually easy to reach and you rarely click the wrong one, since they are well spaced out on most keyboards.
Once you’ve set these hotkeys up, it’ll be easy for you to get your army into one place for your next attack or a defensive action. Of course, you should not use these hotkeys when you have small groups of units in place for counter attacks or ambushes or are fighting on several fronts – so don’t get too reliant on these controls.
Age of Empires 4 is currently off by 50% on Steam and the new expansion, The Sultans Ascend, is available as well.
