It is that time of the year, my fellow Wizard Kings. If you thought Age of Wonders 4 was going to be quiet in 2026, think again, because Rise from Ruin is its first expansion, and it’s right around the corner. That’s right. This latest installment in the Age of Wonders series is about to launch a new DLC, featuring a brand-new culture, a major form, three tomes, and many more things that will draw us back into these realms for one more campaign, or a dozen more probably.
Age of Wonders 4: Rise from Ruin Launches on March 9
The next chapter in Age of Wonders 4, called “Rise from Ruin,” will land on March 9, 2026. As you can see in the trailer, it will focus on the new Nomad culture. Instead of staying in one spot, Nomads will be able to take their cities with them, truly embracing the nomadic style. Yet moving around isn’t a pretty process: this culture drains the land, leaving it barren before moving on to the next spot. With a new culture comes a new form, which is the Harefolk, focusing on survival while being cunning.
Of course, we’ll also get three new tomes: Tome of the Warband, which focuses on building your ranks quickly, Tome of the Sand Stalkers, which spreads sands and blinds enemies, and Tome of the Warlord, which produces infernal allies to conquer the realm. Players will be able to try all of these things out in the Astral Barrens, a new terrain full of corrupted magic. This might be the toughest scenario in the game, as players will lose mana in it and won’t enjoy regeneration as they do in other maps.
Furthermore, we can expect a plethora of customization options, such as two new mounts, five new realm traits, new units, and many more things that we will discover once Age of Wonders 4: Rise from Ruin launches.
For those not getting the DLC at launch, don’t worry, as the “Scorpion” update will also arrive, bringing many QoL updates and unit movement and combat balances, among many other things. So, if you haven’t started a campaign this year yet, now’s the perfect time to do so, as we prepare for one of the most challenging scenarios in the game. And if you’ve been visiting these realms constantly, well, you know what they say, “there’s always time for one more campaign.”
