Age of Empires IV hotkeys revealed
Go to your town center, queue up for a quick chat with your squad, and find that damn inactive villager who just came out to take up space. Today, we're excited to get a first look at some of the hotkeys you'll have in your arsenal to help you build your village, manage your army on the battlefield, and help you become a better player in Age of Empires IV.
See the full list below and a detailed image above for quick reference. Save them to memory, keep this guide open in your web browser, or print them and stick them on the wall for easy reference. Also know that you can remap many of these hotkeys and create multiple profiles to experiment with your optimal setup.
| Default hotkey | Secondary hotkey | Hotkey Action Description |
|---|---|---|
| Left click on a drive | N / A | Select unit |
| Left double click on a drive | Control and [Left Click] a drive | Select all visible units of the same type |
| Shift and [left click] a unit | N / A | Add / Remove Units from Selection |
| Left-click the mouse on the ground and drag the mouse | N / A | Bandbox selects groups of units |
| Left click on the ground | N / A | Confirm the placement of the building or skill |
| Shift and [left click] terrain | N / A | Creation of queues or positioning of skills |
| Right-click on the terrain or unit with the selected units | N / A | Issue a contextual order to the selected units (eg Move, Attack, etc.) |
| Right-click and drag the mouse with the selected drives | N / A | Move order problem |
| ESC | N / A | Cancel / deselect units / game menu / skip NIS. Not remappable by the user. |
| Controls | ||
| CTRL + A | Ctrl + K | "Select all drives on screen" |
| Ctrl + Shift + A | Ctrl + Shift + K | “[Shift]: Select All Drives” - Appears as a shift message on the Ctrl-A association |
| Y with a selected unit | Ctrl + Y | Log in to the secondary UI panel |
| Camera | ||
| ALT and move the mouse | Caps Lock | "Rotate camera (hold)" |
| [[ | Numero 6 | "Rotate the camera 45 degrees counterclockwise" |
| ] | Numero 4 | "Rotate the camera 45 degrees clockwise" |
| Backspace | Numero 0 | “Reset camera” - The first press restores the rotation of the camera, the second press restores the zoom |
| F5 | N / A | "Focus on the selected units" |
| Home | N / A | "Follow the selected unit" |
| < | The ALT + | “Pan camera left” - Default association remapped on non-English keyboards to the key in that position |
| > | ALT + D | "Pan right camera" - Default association remapped on non-English keyboards to the key in that position |
| / (up arrow) | ALT + W | “Pan camera up” - Default association remapped on non-English keyboards to the key in that position |
| / (Down arrow) | ALT + S | “Pan camera down” - Default association remapped on non-English keyboards to the key in that position |
| Unit management | ||
| tab | Right arrow | "Scroll the selected units (forward)" "Scroll through the selected unit types (next)" Make sure multiple drive types are selected and the tab with drives is selected |
| Ctrl + Tab | Left arrow | "Scroll the selected units (back)" Scroll through the selected unit types (back) Make sure multiple unit types are selected and Control + Tab with the units selected NB: I cannot shift-tab because it is the steam overlay; ( |
| 0-9 | number [x1] | "Select control group X" 1x select group, 2x select and center camera on group (or follow depending on user setting "Focus on selected units") |
| Control and 0-9 [range above] | Number X [x1] | "Set Control Group X to Selected Units" Assign group to selected units Note: Setting a control group when no units are selected effectively removes that control group |
| Shift and 0-9 [range above] | N / A | "[Shift]: Add group to selection" Changing it to "[Shift]: Add selected units to group" Add the selected units to the group It appears as a shift message on binding 0-9 |
| F1 | m | "Select all military production buildings" choose the most central building of the selection using the FindAndCyclePickType setting for the selection type (since Mongolian buildings can move, so following actually has meaning) |
| F2 | K | "Select all economic buildings" as above |
| F3 | oh | "Select all research buildings" as above |
| F4 | P | "Select all the monuments, wonders and centers of the capitals" |
| F5 | J | Focus on the selected units |
| h | l | "By bicycle through the historic centers" |
| Control + H | CTRL + L | "Focus on the center of the capital" Select and center the camera on Capital Town Center |
| '(Apostrophe) | ] | "Go through the individual units of monks" (FindECyclePickType) Remapped default binding on non-English keyboards to the key in that position |
| / | [[ | "Scroll through the individual Scout units" (FindECyclePickType) Remapped default binding on non-English keyboards to the key in that position |
| . (Period) | n | "Cycle through the inactive economy" (the inactive economy includes villagers, commercial wagons, fishing vessels and commercial vessels, officials (Chinese civ)) (IdleVillagerPickType) Remapped default binding on non-English keyboards to the key in that position |
| Control +. (Period) | CTRL + Up arrow | "Select all inactive villagers" Choose all inactive villagers (IdleVillagerPickType) Remapped default binding on non-English keyboards to the key in that position (if all inactive villagers are selected and made non-inactive, Ctrl-. will not change the current selection, as expected) |
| Ctrl + Shift + V | Up arrow | "Select all the villagers" Choose all villagers (FindAndCyclePickType) |
| Ctrl + Shift + R | Page up | "Get all the villagers back to work (from Seek Shelter)" |
| , (comma) | Down arrow | "Scroll through inactive military units" Remapped default binding on non-English keyboards to the key in that position |
| Ctrl +, (comma) | CTRL + Down arrow | "Select all inactive military units" Remapped default binding on non-English keyboards to the key in that position |
| Ctrl + Shift + C | CTRL + M | "Select all military units" |
| Ctrl + Do | CTRL + DRAW | "Walk the villagers gathering food" Ride among groups of villagers who collect food |
| Ctrl + W | CTRL+B | "Walk the villagers who collect wood" Pass through groups of villagers who collect Wood |
| Ctrl + G | CTRL+J | "Walk the villagers collecting gold" Pass through groups of villagers who collect gold |
| Ctrl + S | CTRL + K | "Walk among the villagers who collect stones" Pass through groups of villagers who collect Stones |
| Shift and [unit production hotkey] or click the button | N / A | Queued production of 5 units of that type |
| Delete (hold) with drive selected | Ctrl+= | Delete unit or building |
| To insert | CTRL + - | "Change team-based or unique player colors" |
| Communication | ||
| Shift + Enter | "[All] Global Chat" | |
| enter | / | [Team] Team chat |
| Log in with chat open | N / A | Send a chat message |
| Card with open chat | N / A | Swap between [All] Global and [Team] Team Chat |
| Page up | Shift +> | "Scroll through chat messages (older)" |
| Page down | Shift + | "Scroll chat messages (most recent)" |
| F6 | Ctrl + F | "Activate / deactivate the Players and Tributes panel" |
| space bar | Num Enter | "Focus on the last event" Center the camera on the latest notification |
| Ctrl + E then left click | Ctrl + P | "Ping notification" |
| Ctrl + R then left click | "Attack Ping" | |
| Ctrl + T then left click | Ctrl + D | "Defend Ping" |
| Game | ||
| F10 | ` | "Game menu" |
| F11 | Ctrl + T | "Toggle game time display" |
| Single player | ||
| ESC | ` | Pause the game |
| Pause | N / A | "Pause the simulation" |
| F8 | CTRL+Q | "Quick save" |
| F9 | Ctrl + I | "Fast loading" |
Observer / Playback HUD hotkeys
| Hot key | Secondary hotkey | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Ctrl + U | tu | "Toggle cinematic mode" |
| Ctrl + C | P | "Enable / disable free camera" |
| Ctrl + Do | l | "Toggle fog of war on / off" |
| - | number- | "Slower" |
| = | Num + | "Faster" |
| Ctrl +] | Ctrl +. | "View next player" |
| Ctrl + [[ | Ctrl +, | "View previous player" |
With innovative new ways to expand your empire across vast landscapes in stunning 4K, Age of Empires IV is set to bring real-time strategy to a new generation of PC gamers. We hope you will join us on October 28, when a new era begins with the release of Age of Empires IV on Windows PC, available for purchase from the Microsoft Store and Steam, and included with Xbox Game Pass for PC and Ultimate.
Reservation of Age of Empires IV
Xbox Game Studios
Pre-order Age of Empires IV now and get the Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition "Dawn of the Dukes" expansion as a free bonus in August 2021 *.
One of the most beloved real-time strategy games returns to glory with Age of Empires IV, placing you at the center of epic historical battles that have shaped the world. Featuring familiar and innovative new ways to expand your empire across vast landscapes with stunning 4K visual fidelity, Age of Empires IV takes evolved real-time strategy game to a new generation.
Back to History - The past is a prologue as you are immersed in a rich historical setting of 8 different civilizations around the world, from the British to the Chinese to the Delhi Sultanate, in your quest for victory. Build cities, manage resources and lead your troops into battle by land and sea in 4 distinct campaigns with 35 missions spanning 500 years of history, from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance.
Choose your path to greatness with historical characters - Experience the adventures of Joan of Arc in her quest to defeat the British, or command powerful Mongolian troops like Genghis Khan in her conquest across Asia. The choice is yours and every decision you make will determine the outcome of the story.
Customize your game with mods: Available early 2022, play the way you want with user-generated content tools for custom games.
Challenge the World: Jump online to compete, cooperate or witness up to 7 friends in PVP and PVE multiplayer modes.
An era for all players - Age of Empires IV is an inviting experience for new players with a tutorial system that teaches the essence of real-time strategy and a Campaign Story mode designed for novice players to help to achieve easy setup and success, but it's challenging enough for veteran players with new gameplay mechanics, evolved strategies, and combat techniques.
* Expansion bonus requires Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition game, sold separately. Valid for pre-orders via Steam, Microsoft Store, and participating resellers. The content requires broadband Internet to download. Consult your dealer for details.
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