Transformations are powerful spells inAge Of Wonders 4that can completely change the way your build works. From turning your armies into tiny, powerful units, to transforming your hordes of soldiers into undead warriors, transformations are unlocked via the Tomes as you progress through the game.
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This guide covers every available transformation spell in the game, as well as their pros and cons. Choosing the right Tomes Of Magic alongside a transformation can be very important in pulling off a winning strategy in AoW 4.
How To Transform Your Race
You can transform your race via the Tomes Of Magic. Transformations are divided into two categories:Minor Transformationswhich are available towards the start of the game, andMajor Transformationsthat are available later in the game. You can stack Transformations, but you do need to take the necessary Tome Of Magic to do so, and some Transformations are incompatible with each other.
Every Transformation In The Game
These Minor Transformations are available in the first1-4 Magic Tomesdepending on the affinity. Here are all the transformations as divided by affinity alignment.Major Transformationsare available in tier 4+ Tomes.
Astral Affinity Transformations
Astral Affinity is focused oncasting spells in battles and on the world map, as well as building mana income to support larger mana-dependent armies.
Tome Of Warding, Tier 1
Ideal for anearly magic build, with the extra World Map casting points great for summoning units and casting spells to damage enemy armies.
Tome Of Amplification, Tier 2
A great magic build transformation to aim for if you’ve going down anastral/mage build.
Tome Of Astral Convergence, Tier 4
Pass Through is an excellent combat ability, allowing toflank and otherwise ignore obstacles. Extra Mana and Knowledge improves the rate of research andhow many troops you can maintain.
Chaos Affinity Transformations
Chaos Affinity is all about gathering very cheap, very strong armies.
Tome Of The Horde, Tier 1
Spawnkin is one of the best early-game transformations in Age Of Wonders 4 - granting your basic tier 1 units +20% damage ishuge.
Tome Of Revelry, Tier 2
A horde of soldiers that never lose morale, despite losing (probably) more troops? Reveler’s Heart isessential for a swarm buildso your armies don’t start to crumble.
Tome Of Pandemonium, Tier 3
The aim of horde builds is to increase the damage of tier 1 units, and this transformation can add up to30% more damage if you’re using status-debuffs- we’re looking at the Sunderer’s Javelin, or battle spells.
Tome Of Chaos Channeling, Tier 4
This is a wickedly powerful transformation that turns your horde of tier 1 units into literal fireballs. Excellent for dealing with melee-centric opponents.
Tome Of The Demon Gate, Tier 4
Doesn’t pair well with the Scion Of Flame transformation, butyour units get cool demon wingsand turn intomulti-scalingunits that can deal massive damage.
Materium Affinity Transformations
Materium is all about resistance and defense. Unlike the other affinities, there is noMajor Transformationfor Materium.
Tome Of Rock, Tier 1
Pretty standard transformation here without a massive buff involved, but +1 defense is strong at the beginning of the game.
Tome Of Transmutation, Tier 3
This is a situation transformation that can literally be the game-changer, depending on who you’re fighting. Enemy player with a lot of poison-based units?Steel Skin is super effective.
Goldtouched(Minor)
+2 Resistance +1 Gold per population in your cities
Expand your economy with this easy way of granting extra gold across the board.Also good for dealing with magic-based enemiesthanks to that resistance.
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Nature Affinity Transformations
The Nature Affinity transformations are pretty combat-based, allowing unit buffs, damage buffs, and crit buffs.
When units areadjacent to cavalry or animals, they get:
Excellent for anearly nature rush,summoning animalsand using cavalry to get the buffs.
Tome Of Glades, Tier 2
Movement bonuses over forest are great for rapid expansion, moving your leader quickly across the world map, and for moving armies.
Tome Of Vigor, Tier 3
This is a very powerful transformation, especially if you pair it withunit enchantments.
Tome Of Paradise, Tier 4
Goes really well with Supergrowth and essentially turns your units intosteadfast tanksthat can eat a lot of damage and resist special attacks.
Order Affinity Transformations
Order Affinitytransformations are all about creating powerful units with heavy spirit resistance.
Tome Of Sanctuary, Tier 3
Very specifically counters spirit damage & provides massive resistance against status debuffs. Situational transformation thatcan be very strong if used correctly.
Tome Of Exaltation, Tier 4
In the right campaign, this is a very powerful transformation.Flying units are great for terrain traversaland flanking, and -10% unit upkeep across the board is great forscaling late-game powerful armies.
Tome Of The Doomherald, Tier 2
A great early to mid-game transformation that can cripple enemy armies, especially formulti-hit units.
Tome Of The Cold Dark, Tier 3
Ideal for a playthrough on a frozen map/when attacking enemies in cold lands.
Tome Of The Great Transformation, Tier 4
An incredibly powerful unit transformation if used correctly - can be countered by spirit damage buffs, butlife stealandmorale boostsmake this one of the best in the game.
