Fast Imperial · No Daimyo — Japanese AoE4
Berries, gold and a one-villager Kura (0:00–5:45)
Reach Age II around 5:45 (Kura Storehouse started at 2:30 by a single villager) with 3 villagers on gold and the rest on berries, and no villagers on stone.
- 0:00 — 2 villagers build the Farmhouse on the berries, the others gather; Tawara. The first 3 new villagers go to gold, then the next ones to sheep. Once Tawara is done, all food moves to the berries.
- 2:30 — Age up with a single sheep villager: he builds the Kura Storehouse against the treeline.
- 2:40 — 1 sheep villager to gold, 3 to wood (up to 150 wood, then back to sheep).
Floating Gate at 6:30 (5:45–7:40)
Start the Floating Gate at 6:30 with 8 sheep villagers, 6 others on wood, and reach Age III around 7:40 with 29 villagers.
- 6:30 — Age up: 8 sheep villagers build the Floating Gate; 6 other sheep villagers go to wood.
Mounted Samurai, then economy (7:40–13:30)
Mounted Samurai non-stop from 7:40, gold and food upgrades at the Kura Storehouse, then the Imperial Age at 12:00 with 5 villagers on the Tanegashima Gunsmith.
- 7:40 — Adjust the split; build a Stable, then Mounted Samurai non-stop.
- 7:45 — At the Kura Storehouse, the gold upgrade: Specialized Pick.
- 8:30 — The next villagers go to food and gold. The second Shinto Priest goes to the Forge; at the Kura Storehouse, the food upgrade.
- 9:00 — At the Kura Storehouse, the second gold upgrade: Shaft Mining.
- 10:00 — At the Kura Storehouse, the second food upgrade: Takezaiku.
- 11:00 — Save up resources for the Imperial Age.
- 12:00 — Fastest Imperial Age: 5 food villagers build the Tanegashima Gunsmith; a second Stable.
Cavalry upgrades (13:30)
Be in the Imperial Age by 13:30 at the latest, with 2 Forges running in parallel and every Mounted Samurai upgrade.
- 13:30 — An army upgrade at the Stable and a second Forge.
- 14:00 — At the Forge: Kobuse-gitae, and Wedge Rivets for armor.
- 14:30 — At the Stable: Do-maru Armor.
- 15:30 — At the Forge: Yaki-ire for damage, and Biology for horse health.
Tips
- This build skips the Daimyo Manor and the Daimyo Palace: no farm aura before the push; there are no villagers on stone, the gold from the Forge is enough for Outposts.
- Every Mounted Samurai upgrade is taken in the Imperial Age, with 2 Forges working in parallel.
- The goal is the Imperial Age before 13:30: from 11:00 to 12:00, you save up resources.
- This build was written for season 12: a starting point to test, not a proven reference for the current patch.
Source: AoE4 Guides