There is a wealth of keyboard shortcuts, hotkeys, controls, and keybinds available to use in Age of Empires 4. Getting to know them and using them throughout gameplay will improve reaction times and increase a players actions-per-minute in the real-time strategy game. Ultimately, efficient use of your keys and micromanagement skills will help you to secure success.
Without further ado, this guide explains all the keyboard shortcuts, hotkeys, rebinds, and controls available to use in Age of Empires 4.
Read More: Age of Empires 4: Which Civilisation Should You Pick
Table of Contents
The tables below describe the primary hotkey, secondary hotkey and an explanation of what they do. Where '-' is shown on its own, this means there is no secondary hotkey applicable to that action.
Gameplay
F10 | ' | Game Menu |
|---|---|---|
F11 | Ctrl + T | Toggle game time display |
ESC | ' | Pause Game |
Pause | - | Pause Simulation |
F8 | Ctrl + Q | Quick Save |
F9 | Ctrl + I | Quick Load |
Controls
Left Click a unit | - | Select unit |
|---|---|---|
Double Left Click a unit | Ctrl + Left Click a unit | Select all visible units of the same type |
Shift + Left Click a unit | - | Add/Remove unit from selection |
Left Click ground and drag | - | Band a select group of units together |
Left Click ground | - | Confirm placement of building or ability |
Shift + Left Click ground | - | Queue placement of building or ability |
Right Click ground with units selected | - | Issue a contextual order to selected units (Move, Attack, etc) |
Right Click ground and drag selected units | - | Issue facing move order |
Esc | - | Cancel action/deselect unit/game menu/skip cutscene |
Ctrl + A | Ctrl + K | Select all visible units |
Ctrl + Shift + A | Ctrl + Shift + K | Select all units |
Camera
Alt and move mouse | Caps Lock | Rotate camera (hold) |
|---|---|---|
[ | 6 | Rotate camera 45 degrees counter-clockwise |
] | 4 | Rotate camera 45 degrees clockwise |
Backspace | 0 | Reset camera - 1st press resets rotation, 2nd press resets zoom |
F5 | - | Focus on selected units |
Home | - | Follow selected unit |
< | Alt + A | Pan camera left |
> | Alt + D | Pan camera right |
Up arrow | Alt + W | Pan camera up |
Down arrow | Alt + S | Pan camera down |
Unit Management
Tab | Right arrow | Forward cycle through selected units |
|---|---|---|
Ctrl + Tab | Left arrow | Reverse cycle through selected units |
0-9 | Num (x1) | Select control group X |
Ctrl + 0-9 | Num X (x1) | Set control group X to selected units |
Shift + 0-9 | - | Add group to selection |
F1 | M | Select all military production buiildings |
F2 | K | Select all economy buildings |
F3 | O | Select all research buildings |
F4 | P | Select all landmarks, wonders, and capital town centers |
F5 | J | Focus on selected units |
H | L | Cycle through town centers |
Communications
Shift + Enter | \ | All global chat |
|---|---|---|
Enter | / | Team chat |
Enter with chat already open | - | Send chat message |
Tab with chat already open | - | Swap between global and team chat |
Page up | Shift + > | Scroll older chat messages |
Page down | Shift + < | Scroll newer chat messages |
F6 | Ctrl + F | Toggle players and tribute panel |
Spacebar | Num Enter | Focus on last event |
Ctrl + E then Left Click | Ctrl + P | Notify Ping |
Ctrl + R then Left Click | - | Attack Ping |
Ctrl + T then Left Click | Ctrl + D | Defend Ping |
Observer and Replay
Ctrl + U | U | Toggle cinematic mode |
|---|---|---|
Ctrl + C | P | Toggle free camera |
Ctrl + F | L | Toggle fog of war |
- (Dash) | Num- | Slower |
= | Num+ | Faster |
Ctrl + ] | Ctrl + . | View next player |
Ctrl + [ | Ctrl + . | View previous player |
There we have it. Players can now try to get the most out of their gameplay by utilising the above hotkeys! Please note, however, that these shortcuts sadly aren't customisable. For those who are new to the game, we have a useful guide of beginners tips here, and some guidance on how to tackle the first portion of the campaign, The Normans.
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