Jump to your Town Center, queue up a quick chat with your team, and find that dang Idle Villager who’s just been hanging out taking up space. Today we’re excited to give an early look at some of the hotkeys you’ll have in your arsenal to help build up your village, manage your army on the battlefield, and help you become a better player in Age of Empires IV.
See the complete list below as well as a detailed image above for quick referencing. Commit these to memory, keep this guide open in your web browser, or print out and stick on your wall for easy referencing. Also know that you can remap many of these hotkeys and create multiple profiles to experiment with your optimal set up.
| Hotkey Default | Secondary Hotkey | Hotkey Action Description |
|---|---|---|
| Left Click a unit | N/A | Select unit |
| Double Left Click a unit | Control and [ Left Click ] a unit | Select all visible units of same type |
| Shift and [ left click ] a unit | N/A | Add/Remove unit from selection |
| Left Click ground and drag mouse | N/A | Bandbox select groups of units |
| Left Click ground | N/A | Confirm building or ability placement |
| Shift and [ left click ] ground | N/A | Queue building or ability placement |
| Right Click ground or unit with unit(s) selected | N/A | Issue contextual order to selected unit(s) (ie. Move, Attack, etc) |
| Right Click ground and drag mouse with unit(s) selected | N/A | Issue facing move order |
| ESC | N/A | Cancel / deselect unit / game menu / skip NIS. Not user remappable. |
| Controls | ||
| Control + A | Ctrl + K | “Select all units on screen” |
| Control + Shift + A | Ctrl + Shift + K | “[Shift]: Select all units” – Appears as shift message on Control-A binding |
| Y with a unit selected | Ctrl + Y | Access secondary UI panel |
| Camera | ||
| ALT and move mouse | Caps lock | “Rotate camera (hold)” |
| [ | Num 6 | “Rotate camera 45 degrees counter-clockwise” |
| ] | Num 4 | “Rotate camera 45 degrees clockwise” |
| Backspace | Num 0 | “Reset camera” – 1st press resets camera rotation, 2nd press resets zoom |
| F5 | N/A | “Focus on selected unit(s)” |
| Home | N/A | “Follow Selected Unit” |
| < | ALT+A | “Pan camera left” – Default binding remapped on non-English keyboards to the key at that location |
| > | ALT+D | “Pan camera right” – Default binding remapped on non-English keyboards to the key at that location |
| /\ (up arrow) | ALT+W | “Pan camera up” – Default binding remapped on non-English keyboards to the key at that location |
| \/ (down arrow) | ALT+S | “Pan camera down” – Default binding remapped on non-English keyboards to the key at that location |
| Unit Management | ||
| Tab | Right arrow | “Cycle through selected units (forward)” “Cycle through selected unit types (forward)” Ensure multiple types of units are selected and Tab with units selected |
| Control + Tab | Left arrow | “Cycle through selected units (reverse)” Cycle through selected unit types (reverse) Ensure multiple types of units are selected and Control + Tab with units selected NB: can’t do shift-tab because it’s the steam overlay ;( |
| 0-9 | Num [x1] | “Select Control Group X” 1x selects group, 2x selects and centers camera on group (or follow depending on user setting “Focus on selected unit(s)”) |
| Control and 0-9 [ range above ] | Num X [x1] | “Set Control Group X to selected unit(s)” 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 this to “[Shift]: Add Selected Units to Group” Add selected units to group Appears as shift message on 0-9 binding |
| F1 | M | “Select all Military Production Buildings” pick center-most building of selection using setting FindAndCyclePickType for pick-type (since mongol buildings can move, so follow actually has meaning) |
| F2 | K | “Select all Economy Buildings” as above |
| F3 | O | “Select all Research Buildings” as above |
| F4 | P | “Select all Landmarks, Wonders, and Capital Town Centers” |
| F5 | J | Focus on Selected Unit(s) |
| H | L | “Cycle through Town Centers” |
| Control + H | CTRL + L | “Focus on Capital Town Center” Select and center camera on Capital Town Center |
| ‘ (Apostrophe) | ] | “Cycle through individual Monk units” (FindAndCyclePickType) Default binding remapped on non-English keyboards to the key at that location |
| / | [ | “Cycle through individual Scout units” (FindAndCyclePickType) Default binding remapped on non-English keyboards to the key at that location |
| . (Period) | N | “Cycle through Idle Economy” (idle economy include villagers, trade carts, fishing ships, and trade ships, officials (chinese civ)) (IdleVillagerPickType) Default binding remapped on non-English keyboards to the key at that location |
| Control + . (Period) | CTRL + Up arrow | “Select all idle Villagers” Pick all idle villagers (IdleVillagerPickType) Default binding remapped on non-English keyboards to the key at that location (if all idle villagers are selected and made un-idle, Ctrl-. will not change the current selection – as designed) |
| Control + Shift + V | Up arrow | “Select all Villagers” Pick all Villagers (FindAndCyclePickType) |
| Control + Shift + R | Page up | “Return all Villagers to work (from Seek Shelter)” |
| , (Comma) | Down arrow | “Cycle through idle Military units” Default binding remapped on non-English keyboards to the key at that location |
| Control + , (Comma) | CTRL + Down arrow | “Select all idle Military units” Default binding remapped on non-English keyboards to the key at that location |
| Control + Shift + C | CTRL + M | “Select all Military units” |
| Control + F | CTRL + V | “Cycle through Villagers gathering Food” Cycle through groups of villagers gathering Food |
| Control + W | CTRL + B | “Cycle through Villagers gathering Wood” Cycle through groups of villagers gathering Wood |
| Control + G | CTRL + J | “Cycle through Villagers gathering Gold” Cycle through groups of villagers gathering Gold |
| Control + S | CTRL + K | “Cycle through Villagers gathering Stone” Cycle through groups of villagers gathering Stone |
| Shift and [ unit production hotkey ] or click button | N/A | Queue production of 5 units of that type |
| Delete (hold) with unit selected | CTRL + = | Delete unit or building |
| Insert | CTRL + – | “Toggle Team-based or Unique player colors” |
| Communication | ||
| Shift + Enter | \ | “[All] Global chat” |
| Enter | / | [Team] Team chat |
| Enter with chat open | N/A | Send chat message |
| Tab with chat open | N/A | Swap between [All] Global and [Team] Team chat |
| Page Up | Shift + > | “Scroll chat messages (older)” |
| Page Down | Shift + < | “Scroll chat messages (newer)” |
| F6 | Ctrl + F | “Toggle Players & Tribute panel” |
| Spacebar | Num Enter | “Focus on last event” Center camera on last notification |
| Control + E then Left Click | Ctrl + P | “Notify Ping” |
| Control + R then Left Click | “Attack Ping” | |
| Control + T then Left Click | Ctrl + D | “Defend Ping” |
| Game | ||
| F10 | ` | “Game Menu” |
| F11 | Ctrl + T | “Toggle game time display” |
| Single-player | ||
| ESC | ` | Pause game |
| Pause | N/A | “Pause Simulation” |
| F8 | Ctrl + Q | “Quick Save” |
| F9 | Ctrl + I | “Quick Load” |
Observer/Replay HUD Hotkeys
| Hotkey | Secondary Hotkey | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Control + U | U | “Toggle cinematic mode” |
| Control + C | P | “Toggle free camera” |
| Control + F | L | “Toggle fog of war” |
| – | Num- | “Slower” |
| = | Num+ | “Faster” |
| Control + ] | Ctrl + . | “View next player” |
| Control + [ | 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’ll join us October 28 when a new age dawns 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.
Age of Empires IV Pre-Order
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, putting you at the center of epic historical battles that shaped the world. Featuring both familiar and innovative new ways to expand your empire in vast landscapes with stunning 4K visual fidelity, Age of Empires IV brings an evolved real-time strategy game to a new generation. Return to History – The past is prologue as you are immersed in a rich historical setting of 8 diverse civilizations across the world from the English to the Chinese to the Delhi Sultanate in your quest for victory. Build cities, manage resources, and lead your troops to battle on land and at sea in 4 distinct campaigns with 35 missions that span across 500 years of history from the Dark Ages up to the Renaissance. Choose Your Path to Greatness with Historical Figures – Live the adventures of Joan of Arc in her quest to defeat the English, or command mighty Mongol troops as Genghis Khan in his conquest across Asia. The choice is yours – and every decision you make will determine the outcome of history. Customize Your Game with Mods – Available in Early 2022, play how you want with user generated content tools for custom games. Challenge the World – Jump online to compete, cooperate or spectate with up to 7 of your friends in PVP and PVE multiplayer modes. An Age 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 first time players to help achieve easy setup and success, yet is challenging enough for veteran players with new game 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 retailers. Content requires broadband internet to download. See retailer for details.