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Age of Wonders 4, the new 4X fantasy strategy from Triumph Studios, does a lot of things differently from other big names in the genre. One of the biggest changes is the complete lack of a technology tree, and insteadAge of Wonders 4players use their Affinities and Tomes of Magic to increase the capabilities of their empire.
The Chaos AffinityTomes in Age of Wonders 4are all about fire, destruction, and madness, combining devastating combat spells with insidious world map debuffs. Chaos is the most Evil-aligned Affinity in the game, and players who dedicate themselves to these Tomes should have little mercy for their enemies.
Tier 1 Chaos Affinity Tomes
Tome of the Horde
The Tome of the Horde focuses onlarge armies of Tier 1 units, and immediately unlocks the Draft-producing Mob Camp and the Battle Seeker Training Hero Skill.
The Fury of the Horde increases the strength ofall Tier 1 units, while Summon Irregulars allows players to quickly fill their horde armies, and the Houndmaster further boosts the numbers with its free summon. These growing forces can then lead to massive damage with Blaze of the Horde.
Finally, the impactful Spawnkin Minor Race Transformation will increase the number of entities of that race in each unit, as well as granting them a permanent +20% damage buff.
Tome of Pyromancy
The Tome of Pyromancy focuses entirely on fire damage, and immediately unlocks the Mana-producing Ritual Pyre and Searing Weapons Hero Skill.
The Searing Blades and Fiery Arrows unit enchantments, as well as the Pyromancer unlock, will allow players to ensure that every unit intheir custom Factionis dealing some amount of Fire damage. It will also allow the player’s units to regularly inflict the Burning condition.
This reliable fire damage and Burning can then combo with the Immolate and Ignite direct damage spells, as well as the Lesser Magma Spirit unit summon spell.
Tier 2 Chaos Affinity Tomes
Tome of Mayhem
The Tome of Mayhem is a rare defense-focused Chaos Tome, and immediately unlocks the Mark of Misfortune Hero Skill.
The Tome of Mayhem is all about stacking the Misfortune status effect, which increases the chance for enemyunits and Heroesto fumble their attacks and deal less damage. The effect can be inflicted using Mark of Misfortune, Curse of Misfortune, and Sow Confusion.
Players can further disrupt their enemies using the tricksy Gremlin unit summon, as well as the Infectious Insanity spell, which can cause enemy units to attack each other and potentially spread the Insanity.
Tome of Revelry
The Tome of Revelryis all about manipulating Morale, both positively and negatively, and immediately unlocks the Food and Draft-producing Carnival of Flesh and the Reveler’s Triumph Hero Skill.
The Reveler’s HeartMinor Race Transformationboosts Morale increases for the entire race, allowing them to benefit hugely from the other Tome of Revelry spells. In particular, Bloodfury Weapons, Revels of Blood, and the Skald unit will all regularly increase friendly Morale.
Finally, the Revels of Carnage world map spell grants +30% Experience gain for the target army for 3 turns. This can allow armies to quickly gain ranks and improve their effectiveness.
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Tier 3 Chaos Affinity Tomes
Both of the Tier 3 Chaos Affinity Tomes unlock the Seed of Chaos Province Improvement, thefirst stage inAge of Wonders 4’s Magic Victory.
Tome of Devastation
The Tome of Devastation represents the most destructive nature of Chaos, focusing on siege battles and overwhelming attacks. It immediately unlocks the Flameburst Weapons Hero Skill.
Focus of Devastation and Flameburst Weapons are unit enchantment spells that allow the player’s melee and magic units to break through defenses and devastate closely-packed formations.
Construct Devastator Spheres and Unleash the War Hounds are Siege Projects that can break through even the toughestCity or Outpost. This is especially true when combined with the Warbreed unit, which has special traits that boost its effectiveness in Siege battles.
Tome of Pandemonium
The Tome of Pandemonium is focused on negative status effects and immediately unlocks the Havoc Magic Hero Skill.
Havoc Magic and Mass Hysteria allow players to quickly stack negative effects on their enemies, weakening them and setting them up for the second half of the Tome of Pandemonium combo. Once enemies are burdened with status effects, Vessels of Chaos and the Chaos Eater unit can take advantage for massively boosted damage andlife-steal healing.
Finally, Incite Revolution is a world map spell that can cause a real headache for enemy players. Destroying a border province is bad enough, but spawning a Brigand Camp Infestation will force them to move armies to defend themselves or risk theStability of their Cities.
Tier 4 Chaos Affinity Tomes
Both of the Tier 4 Chaos Affinity Tomes unlock the Root of Chaos Special Province Improvement, the second stage ofAge of Wonders 4’s Magic Victory.
Tome of Chaos Channeling
The Tome of Chaos Channeling focuses on hordes of low Tier units, making it a great late-game pick to take after the Tome of the Horde. Unlocking the Tome immediately grants the Chaotic Rebuke Hero Skill.
Gremlin Ambushers and Golden Horde allow players to flood the battlefield with units, maximizing the bonuses from Tome of the Horde as well as boosting Support and Battle Mage units with Demonic Focus.
Meanwhile, theScion of Flame Transformation spelland Fan the Inferno overlap to cover the arena in the fire while simultaneously making the player’s race immune to burning.
Tome of the Demon Gate
The Tome of the Demon Gate allows players to establish fiend-heavy armies, with appropriate bonuses on Desolate terrain on theRealm and Underground map. Unlocking the Tome immediately grants the Demon Gate alternate Teleporter, which opens up the recruitment of fiend units, and the Demonic Anthem Hero Skill.
Fight for Power and Demonic Summoning allow players to quickly fill their armies with high Tier fiend units, while Sacrificial Slaughter can be used to sacrifice doomed units to cause massive fire damage.
Off the battlefield, the Demonkin major race transformation grants the useful Flying and Frenzy traits, while Abyssal Flames allows players to damage enemy armies and transform evenan annexed Provinceinto Desolate terrain.
Tier 5 Chaos Affinity Tomes
Tome of the Chaos Lord
The final Chaos Affinity Tome contains 4 powerful abilities focused on overwhelming force in combat. Unlocking the Tome immediately grants the Heart of Chaos Special Province improvement, the last step of Age of Wonders 4’s Magic Victory, as well as the Demonic Slaughter Hero Skill.
On the battlefield, Call Forth Avatar of Chaos and Demonic Onslaught represent a huge combat buff to the players' armies, allowing their super-poweredAge ofWonders 4Rulerto be in any battle and causing their units to gain strength and speed with each kill.
On the Realm map, Incite Rebellion is one of the strongest Siege Projects in Age of Wonders 4, and the Summon Balor ability spawns the most powerful mythic fiend unit in the game.
Age Of Wonders 4is available now on PS4, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows.
