Age of Empires 4 was released with several combos players can utilize. This opens a lot of strategies they can use to destroy other Civilizations, dominating the battlefield. For example, the meta French's Heavy Cavalry is a powerful unit that can wreak havoc wherever they go. Of course, there's no perfect army in the game. Even these powerful Horsemen can be countered easily by Abbasids Camels.
Other than horses and camels, another famed animal for battle is also available in Age of Empires 4. They're no other than War Elephants. These large creatures are also considered Heavy Cavalry, yet they’re powerful against everything, even Camels. However, they’re not easy to produce and only some units can handle them with ease. So if gamers are planning to spam War Elephants, then they should keep a lookout for these counter units.
Handcannoneer
Handcannoneers are available in all Civilizations but Rus. Instead, they have unique units that are similar to Handcannoneer called The Streltsy. Both units are strong against military troops (although weak versus buildings). But, The Streltsy has better melee capabilities and costs less to recruit.
When facing War Elephants, players should keep in mind that one Handcannoneer can’t make the difference. Their strengths come from combining them in big numbers. Once a group is deployed, they will one-shot an Elephant or more per reload. Of course, they must not engage in melee combat with the Elephants, so the best approaches gamers can take are hit and run tactics. Melee troops can also shield the Handcannoneer, interrupting opposing enemies.
Spearman
Spearmen are strong against all cavalries. However, they are weak against the archers riding War Elephants. Therefore, the largest land mammal will likely win against Spearmen. However, this animal costs a lot of time and resources to train, while Spearmen are cheap and quick to produce. Using the melee unit to counter the giant will greatly halt the War Elephant's progress.
To successfully use this strategy, players should support their Spearmen with archers or Handcannoneers behind them to deal damage while they're out of the enemy's range. It helps defeat the War Elephants faster with fewer casualties.
Siege
War Elephants are unlocked in the Castle Age, so Sieges are a viable counter. Mangonels or Nest of Bees (for the Chinese) are the best early option. Their AOE attack would target troops scattered around the Elephants, especially healing units.
In the Imperial Age, Gunpowder Siege units have the best DPS. However, just like the War Elephants, this army costs a lot of resources. So players should only use this strategy if they can protect their Siege units.
Age of Empires 4 was released on October 28, 2021, and is currently available on PC.