Age of Empires IV - Minor Patch 16.1 Notes (12th May 2026)
A quick follow-up to Season 13 addresses Jin Dynasty underperformance and Sengoku Daimyo overtuning, with a handful of crash and audio fixes alongside.
The Jin Dynasty was left feeling underpowered after last week's Yue Fei's Legacy and Season 13 release, and the team has moved quickly to address it. Minor Patch 16.1.10056, out today, bumps Mohe Tribesman attack across all tiers and nearly doubles Greatwall Bastion Bedcrossbow damage from 14 to 28. That's a substantial swing for a unit line the community flagged as too weak to compete.
On the other end, the Sengoku Daimyo is getting trimmed back across several systems. Horse Training now costs more and delivers less movement speed, Ryokan healing ticks slower, and the Yatai's base gather rate has been halved from 20 to 10. I think the Yatai change in particular will be felt hard in the early economy, which is probably exactly where the devs want to apply pressure. The team has also disabled Ranked Decay while they work out improvements to how it functions.
Beyond balance, there's a fix for a crash on campaign and skirmish load, a repair to the Caster Mode view button, and some audio distortion work targeting large FFA and 8-player matches. Everything in the update is listed below.
Full Patch Notes
Weâre excited to follow up on last weekâs release of Yue Feiâs Legacy and the Season Thirteen update with a few additional changes! While weâre still planning for a larger patch in a few weeks, we heard your concerns about the Jin Dynasty feeling a bit too weak and the Sengoku Daimyo still feeling too strong and have made some changes to address this feedback. Read on to learn more about the latest balance changes, as well as a handful of fixes weâve made in response to recent reports.
Additionally, as of late last week, weâve disabled Ranked Decay as the team continues to investigate how to improve upon this functionality in the future.
Thanks again to our amazing community members, all of whom have helped to make Age of Empires what it is today!
âThe Age of Empires Team
Remember that youâll need to update your game in the Microsoft Store:
- Open the Microsoft Store.
- Click the [â â â ] symbol next to your profile picture.
- Select Downloads and updates.
- Press the Get updates button to automatically detect, download, and install the latest changes to your game!
- Open the game. The title screen should show you on Build 16.1.10056.
If you are unable to launch the game after downloading the update, make sure you add (or re-add) the Age of Empires IV client or folder as an exception to your firewall and antivirus program. Thatâs it; youâre ready to play!
Remember that youâll need to update your game in Steam:
- Open Steam.
- Click on Library to see your games list.
- Click Downloads at the bottom of the Library window.
- [If the new build does not download automatically,] click the Download Now button to manually download the new update.
- Open the game. The title screen should show you on Build 16.1.10056.
Thatâs it; youâre ready to play!
Remember that youâll need to update your game in the Xbox App for Windows.
- Open the Xbox app.
- Games that are installed show up on the left side of the app.
- Hover over the game or click it, and then select Update.
- [If the new build does not download automatically,] hover over the game, select More Options (â¦), choose Manage. Under the Files tab, choose the option to Check for Updates.
- Open the game. The title screen should show you on Build 16.1.10056.
Thatâs it; youâre ready to play!
- Under the games tab from the PlayStation Home Screen Locate the game and hover over it. Make sure not to select it!
- While hovering over the game press the Pause button (â°) on your controller.
- In the new pop up menu select the Check for Update option.
- If there is a new update available, this will automatically start the download. If your game is on the most recent version, selecting this option will confirm that information for you.
Thatâs it; youâre ready to play!
Still having trouble? Visit our support site!
Please Note: As part of updating to this latest build, any saved games and observable matches made on previous builds will be unable to be loaded or replayed.
Balance & Bugfixes
General Changes & Bugfixes
- Fixed Caster Mode âView Next Playerâ button, which was previously unresponsive.
- Fixed a crash that could occasionally occur when loading into campaign missions or skirmish matches.
- Previously, weâd received reports of distorted audio occurring, most prominently during FFA matches or 8-player matches with the Jin Dynasty. Weâve made some changes that should greatly improve on this issue; however, you may notice more limited ambient noise in some scenarios. The team is investigating ongoing improvements.
Civilization Balance and Bugfixes
                        Jin Dynasty
- Mohe Tribesman
- Base attack increased from 4 â 5.
- Veteran attack increased from 6 â 7.
- Elite attack increased from 7 â 8.
- Greatwall Bastion
- Bedcrossbow weapon projectile hitbox increased slightly (hits more units)
- Bedcrossbow weapon damage increased from 14 â 28.
- Bedcrossbow
- Projectile hitbox increased in size (hits more units).
- Base attack increased from 7 â 8.
- Veteran attack increased from 9 â 10.
- Elite attack increased from 12 â13.
Sengoku Daimyo
- Horse Training upgrade cost reduced from 50 Food 125 Gold â 100 Food 250 Gold.
- Horse Training movement speed reduced from 10% â 5%.
- Ryokan healing reduced from 4 health every 5 seconds â 4 health every 6 seconds.
- Sword Hunt Statue attack speed from 40% -> 35%.
- Mounted Samurai Odachi weapon bonus damage versus infantry reduced from 4 -> 3.
- Yatai
- Base gather rate reduced from 20 â 10.
- Health reduced from 370 â 320.
- Repair rate reduced from 20 â 5 health per second.
- Sake Brewery
- Toko-Koji Mat gather rate reduced from 1.45 â 1.35.
Ongoing…
Known Issues
Please note that we are aware of and reviewing other known issues, which can be found at Age of Empires IV Known Issues & Solutions.
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Written by
Nathan LeesGaming journalist and founder of XP Gained. Covering patch notes, breaking news, and updates across 160+ games.
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