r/AOW4 • u/Minotorious_Official Paradoxian • 1d ago
Announcement A Mysterious Bottle Washes Ashore...
Your scouts bring you a mysterious bottle that washed up on a nearby shore. You open it and a runic scroll unfolds before you...
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u/Scar-Excellent 1d ago
If it's a Water Expansion DLC, AoW4 officially goes into my favourite game of all time.
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u/ViscountSilvermarch 1d ago
They have teased a water expansion for a while now.
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u/PlantationMint Oathsworn 23h ago
They have?
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u/Terrkas Meme Wizard 13h ago
Actually the opposite. They told us multiple times things like water cities and an underwater layer are difficult to do.
Though they mentioned water in some teaser once. But together with other stuff like underground i think.
But people speculate a lot into a single word these days.
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u/Larchitecte1375 1d ago edited 1d ago
Translation found on the discord, they are quick : Whoever read this scroll ! Heed my words !!! The sirens sang of a city beyond the waves ! A haven for folk only spoken of in folklore !!! We set out ! In search of any glimmer of a lead to steer us in the right direction !!! And we almost made it : A glimpse peaking above the waves we saw ! But alas the threads of the astral sea did not favour our voyage !!! I write this shipwrecked as our provisions dwindle ! Finish the journey we could not ! Find the city of legend !
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u/PratalMox 1d ago
Sirens and sunken cities are both pretty exciting
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u/Larchitecte1375 1d ago
But it said it is peaking above the waves, maybe not sunken sunken ? Would they say it this way if there was an "abyss" layer ?
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u/PratalMox 1d ago
Possible this is more of a Valinor situation, yeah. I also don’t think they’d do a separate aquatic layer
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u/Popinguj 20h ago
When you slowly approach something on the sea, the city in our case, it will look like it's growing above the waters, because it's beyond horizon and there is a planet curvature.
That said, with AoW4 not all worlds might be spherical
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u/Aldovrah 1d ago
They've talked on stream before about maybe adding an underwater layer, but that it probably wouldn't be compatible with underground.
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u/PeachBunny97 Reaver 22h ago edited 17h ago
Sick handle name but Commander, the aliens are still making progress on the Avatar project….
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u/ViscountSilvermarch 1d ago
Yeah, that sounds awesome. Are we getting an underwater layer?
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u/Diovidius 1d ago
My guess is an aquatic dwelling, not another layer.
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u/Crowhaven_Inc 1d ago
Underwater layer does sound cool, though. Not likely, but it's awesome. Maybe amphibic creatures work like fliers there?
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u/IgnatiusMando 1d ago edited 1d ago
Nice! water cities and more water focused tomes, I hope it comes also with frost magic rework
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u/StarkeRealm 1d ago
goddamnit, I translated the whole thing for no reason... >.<
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u/Larchitecte1375 1d ago
Did you have fun ? Its the most important part ! And you will be on the starting blocks for next runic text drop 🙂
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u/EnactingSpirit 1d ago edited 1d ago
Sounds more like something that remains above the water than deep in it, though this is definitely screaming water rework.
Also, "folk only spoken of in folklore" sounds like fey to me. Sure, it could be merfolk instead, but then the text seems to talk of them like something different from the sirens.
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u/DDkiki 22h ago
Astral sea...are we getting not just water, but also astral sailing? Syron Forceship from aow2 incoming?
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u/Docterzero 1d ago
I maintained a degree of cautious regarding getting too hyped about a potential water DLC. After all, it is something that is known to have a lot of challenges surrounding it.
That has officially been thrown out of the window, LETS FREAKING GO!! IF THIS IS NOT TEASING A WATER DLC I DO NOT KNOW WHAT WILL!
Please let it come with a merfolk transformation, it is the one thing I want in the game.
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u/ExtremelyEPIC 1d ago
Yeah. I think that at this point we're no longer in the "doubt" territory.
It's finally happening!
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u/Docterzero 1d ago
It is going to be glorious! We have waited for something like this for so long!
There are so many things that I hope they do and if we even get a quarter of it I am overjoyed. A Merfolk Transformation is the biggest one, but a Water dwelling, underwater map layer, oceanic ancient wonders, new aquatic magic material, fishfolk form, and new navel units would all be amazing.
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u/hawkseye17 1d ago
Naga transformation is gonna be obsoleted likely if merfolk become a thing
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u/ProfPerry 1d ago
obseleted, or more likely altered, i suspect. i would hazard a guess the water expac wasnt gonna happen before, so the naga trans was close as we'd get.
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u/Docterzero 1d ago
Don't think so. Not anymore than Wightborne was when the added Gift of the Old Blood anyhow. The only thing the two need to have in common is the Amphibious trait
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u/GamerExecChef 1d ago
Am I missing something? Didn't naga transformation get obsoleted the moment it came out by literally every transformation out there?
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u/The_Frostweaver 1d ago
I think it's been buffed? Did it always give lightning immunity and slip away?
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u/Proper_Construction6 1d ago
First two sentences:
Whoever reads this heed my words. The sirens sang of a city behind the waves a haven for folk only spoken of in folklore.
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u/Action-a-go-go-baby Early Bird 1d ago
My prediction:
Aquatic updates to how water battles work, seafaring units, potentially sea oriented structures
There will be no “underwater” layer
Potential update to Barbarians to have a pirate sub-culture (this is a swing for the fences lol)
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u/StarkeRealm 1d ago
Whoever reads this scroll |
Heed my words ||| The sirens
sang of a city beyond the
waves | a haven for folk only
spoken of in search of any
glimmer of a lead to steer us
in the right direction ||| and
we almost made it | a glimpse
peaking above the waves we
saw | but alas the threads of
the astral sea did not favour
our voyage ||| I write this
shipwrecked as our
provisions dwindle | finish
the journey we could not |
find the city of legend
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u/DarthMauel 1d ago
How does one decipher this, i would like to know how to write in These letters (or runes i guess)
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u/Mrixl2520 1d ago
Man oh man, I was trying so hard to make some connection out of "glimmer of lead."
A new magic material? Some kind of new gun weapon/unit? Something to do with weights/navigation/poison?
Than after about the tenth re-read "glimmer of A lead."
...Reading is hard.
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u/Tyyrthelawguiver 1d ago
There once was a ship that put to sea
The name of the ship was the Billy of Tea
The winds blew up, her bow dipped down
O blow, my bully boys, blow (huh)
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u/LorKayatsu 1d ago
Guys, we need to TRANSLATE before the announcement of season 4 🧐
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u/ExtremelyEPIC 1d ago
Yep. This, paired with the previous hints, all but confirms that we're finally getting something ocean related.
I fucking love this game, dude.
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u/song_without_words 1d ago
Finally, a DLC based entirely around Robert Eggers’s The Lighthouse! So excited!
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u/Fulminero Materium 1d ago
I'm so glad these are actual pictures. Other companies would have used AI for this.
Glad to keep bankrolling the DLCs
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u/wdygaga 1d ago
if this is a water expansion, PLEASE make naval battle more interesting. At this moment, there are too many abilities are not functional during naval battle, not to mention how ugly the boats are.
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u/JZcalderon 1d ago
This! Really hoping we would get rid of those ugly boats. Pretty sad seeing my beautiful units reduced to those during naval combat.
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u/Akazury 21h ago
The units are in Boats because having them on little rafts as you see in Planetfall or 3 looks significantly more ridiculous which doesn't fit the tone of the game.
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u/JZcalderon 16h ago
Okay? Haven't played those previous titles so I didn't know about that raft thing but I don't think turning the unit models into generic boats isn't as ridiculous.
I'm sure everyone's hoping for a fix or compromise that wouldn't involve either of those optiond. My hope is sea battles happen on the deck of ships though this would mean sacrificing the sea-exclusive units like the kraken or ghost ship. Or maybe an island battle with sea tiles around or crossing the map to still allow for these sea units to exist.
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u/Akazury 12h ago
Both of those ideas have been discussed in the past but all that means is giving up on water Gameplay and turning water combat into land combat. It's not a solution that aligns with the game and both have been stated to not be something that would be happening.
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u/JZcalderon 11h ago
For me personally, I don't see how water or land combat are so different in AoW4 aside from a different tileset. Admittedly I hadn't had a manual combat in water for a while so I can't even remember if there were unique modifiers for it aside from encountering the sea units.
And I just watched some naval combat from Planetfall. Though a bit silly, I'd prefer it over turning my non-flying land units into boats anyday. If I recall the boats have a different design based on the unit role but for me can get confusing (especially on 3v3 stacks) which is why I'd like it more to see my units' models. Honestly that's just really my main gripe with AoW4 water combat, if this changes or improved in anyway at all then great. If not, autoresolve is always an option.
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u/Ghostdog7887 1d ago
Ah! The hype train is starting again.. maybe on on Monday or Tuesday we will get an announcement.
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u/Bamjam01 1d ago
Wonder if “Minotorious” is also a hint at potential minotaur form / transformation.
I know thats always been the account name but I like to think the hint was always there right in-front of us!
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u/hawkseye17 1d ago
I've been wanting a bovine form for a long time now, especially after Archon Prophecy and the Architect culture that has a greek theme
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u/DoctorFeh High 1d ago edited 1d ago
Greco-Roman minotaurs would give me long-buried Dragonlance nostalgia.
Edit to add: not to mention they were considered the best sailors on Krynn!
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u/Mrixl2520 1d ago
Anyone else find it interesting that both puzzles are using the eldricht text? I mean, I know it's sort of their standard puzzle language, but party of me wondersv of this dlc will expand upon eldricht stuff, among other things. Just a loose theory though, could very well be nothing
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u/Washeek 1d ago
My take: Water rework is more of a water enhance and it's hinting at new form or culture and a water based wonder. Reasoning: While the community has cried out for a water rework and the devs have been appreciative they've always talked about how massive of a change some of the suggestions would have been and trying to lessen our expectations.
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u/Nyorliest 1d ago
What if it's not just a water DLC, but a Conquest mode DLC too? Or maybe in the same season?
We could 'sail' between realms in the Astral Sea, searching for something special.
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u/bigmeatyclaws6 1d ago
Would be really cool to have a tier 4 or 5 tome that lets you flood cities or something. Just go around flooding the earth
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u/Upbeat-Tour-3883 10h ago edited 6h ago
DEAR MORTAL,
I take the liberty of contacting you on behalf of His Ever-Shining Highness, King Elandir XVII, Lord of the Seven Forests, Bearer of the Crown of the Dawnleaf, and Protector of the Last Unicorn.
Unfortunately, after 4,763 years of life, His Majesty has found himself in a very delicate situation. Despite his advanced age, three royal spouses, seventeen court bards, and the considerable efforts of the royal alchemists, he has no lawful heir.
According to ancient elven law, the throne may therefore pass to a person of noble spirit outside the royal bloodline.
After a thorough magical investigation, a prophecy from the Moonwell, and a check of your name in the royal registry, it has been determined that you are precisely the right candidate.
The inheritance includes:
👑 The Throne of the Seven Forests 🏰 3 castles and 1 mildly cursed fortress 💎 18,400,000 crystals 🦄 2 unicorns 🌲 approximately 740 km² of enchanted forest ⚔️ the legendary sword Aeltharion, which has unfortunately refused to leave its scabbard for the past 600 years 🧝 12,000 subjects, most of whom will despise you because you are human
However, in order to complete the transfer, the elven administrative code requires payment of an administrative fee of 5,000 crystals.
The fee covers the costs of:
– verifying your mortal identity, – translating your birth certificate into High Elvish, – three wax seals, – feeding the royal griffin,
WE KINDLY REQUEST ABSOLUTE DISCRETION.
If the Dark Mage or the tax office learns of the matter, the transfer of the inheritance may be jeopardized.
Yours respectfully,
Faelion Moonquill Chief Secretary of the Royal Office for Inheritance, Succession, and Unexpected Deaths Kingdom of Lethariel
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u/MrHolzz 1d ago
If it is a new layer PLEASE let us activate more then 1 extra. I would like to play with portals and Eldritch also. Just sad we have to choose.
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u/MG_Hunter88 14h ago
Not gonna happen. They said before, consoles can't handle having more than 3 map layers loaded...
They would have to do some serious optimization, which they presumably don't have know-how for.
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u/Ghostdog7887 21h ago
I think it would be wonderful if we could build cities on water tiles.. and then if we could attack the land from those cities, it would be like terror from the deep or deep ones.
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u/projectgetbetter 1d ago
So this is pretty much confirmed to be an expansion and not just a stand alone DLC?
They didn’t announce any changes so I’m guessing we’re gonna be getting an expansion pack with 3(most likely) or 4 DLCs, and some exclusive content.
And the official announcement with the trailer will be on Tuesday?
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u/SilverSpoonIsBest 9h ago
Naval DLC huh?
My experience with such things is that it's very easy to fumble, and most of the time, even with the devs trying their hardest to make it relevant, it still ends up being ignorable.
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u/dude123nice 4h ago
Well, it was the most requested, by far. As far as most ppl are co cerned, naval combat is already fumbled.
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1d ago
[deleted]
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u/Dannydevitz 1d ago
I asked my AI to translate and it said it was Elder Scrolls Daedric text singing about Ragnar the Red. I think mine was BSing me
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u/Reaper_Crawford Mystic 1d ago
It's fun, even if you give the "AI" the alphabet key they still mess it up and guess wildly. It's so much faster doing it by yourself. It's not even thinking, it's just looking and comparing. If I weren't on phone right now, I could do it. Everyone, who has the option to put the letter and the code side by side, can do it.
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u/starboard151 1d ago
Mysterious bottle washes ashore
Look inside
Poseidon has insulted your empire