DLC REVIEW: ‘Age of Wonders 4: Dragon Dawn’ Is a Worthy First Content Pack (PC)

Paradox Interactive is ready for the time of dragons by releasing its first content pack, Dragon Dawn, for its recent release, Age of Wonders 4. The Dragon Dawn expansion is the first DLC as part of the Age of Wonders 4 Expansion Pass. This new DLC introduces a distinct new leader type, the Dragon Rulers, a new physical appearance in the lizardfolk (reptilian beings), a whole new realm called The Ashen War, and a couple of other bells and whistles. Those include two new tomes, new units, new spells, and general new features.

To get things started, The Age of Wonders 4: Dragon Dawn content pack contains the new realm option: The Ashen War. The Ashen War realm has six mighty elder dragons that are locked in conflict and players must either defeat or form an alliance with all of them to achieve victory in the realm. Choosing allies or foes, as one might expect can be tricky as the six dragons start in two different alliances, The Reshapers and The Dawnwardens. Each Dragon has its own unique powerful ability and aesthetic based on their Affinity. The Ashen War is a Tier IV realm, so in addition to dealing with the Dragon Rulers, there are some obstacles for players pending on the player’s choices. Visually, the default of the realms is the look of a ruined forming realm with volcanic eruptions.

And to fit those volcanoes, you get the major element of the Age of Wonders 4: Dragon Dawn DLC, which are new Dragon Rulers. This new leader type is fully customizable like all the other factions in Age of Wonders 4. Players can design everything from their snout to their tail and everything in between. They can also have their dragons look like any Affinity ranging fire and ice to nature and shadow. The designs on the different dragon styles are very well done and show a clear distinction in the Affinity phenotype options in unique ways that make each one more than just a palette swap. With new Rulers come new abilities such as various different Dragon Breath skills and Dragon Scales and, of course, the new non-hero units the lizardfolk. These reptilian minions also have their own unique set of adaptations and customizations available.

Outside of the unique new skills, the thing that sets the Dragon Rulers apart from the other Rulers is that they can’t equip any armor or mounts, which makes sense when you think about it. So this adds a little bit of a different dimension for players to consider as hero items can be very helpful in Age of Wonders 4 especially as players move towards the end of the game. Players can still equip a ring and three miscellaneous items to their Dragon Rulers.

Of course, you can’t all have these new Rulers and factions without new tomes of magic and unique new spells. There are two new tomes in Age of Wonders 4: Dragon Dawn, The Tome of Evolution, and the Tome of Dragons. The Tome of Evolution is draconic magic that gives players new units to do transformations with, evolving them over time. These new units of this tome evolve as they level, and the spells help these evolving units. This is actually really cool, as it gives you new reasons to level potentially lower-tier units instead of using them as just fodder or setting and forgetting them. These new units consist of a Wyvern Fledgling and a Slither Hatchling.

Next, the Tome of Dragons is more straightforward in that players can summon dragons, wield the power of dragons, and become dragons via a Major Race Transformation. The really cool thing about the Tome of Dragons is the dragon that players summon is actually based on their good or bad character alignment.

Overall, Age of Wonders 4: Dragon Dawn can seem to be little light on overall content, but it still adds plenty of new elements to an already existing great game. If you enjoy dragons and reptilians (like I do), then this DLC can be a real treat. If you love playing Age of Wonders 4 and are looking to try a new way to forge empires, or you just really like dragons, then the Dragon Dawn content pack is worth it.

Age of Wonders 4: Dragon Dawn is available on PC on June 20th and is available on the Age of Wonders 4 Expansion Pass.