Age of Empires 4 Gameplay: How to Defeat the Knights Templar - Try This Mind-Blowing Fortification

Age of Empires 4 Gameplay: How to Defeat the Knights Templar the Knights of Cross and Rose

In this match, I play as Lancaster, and the entire game is focused on one goal: taking down the Knights Templar, also known as the fearsome Knights of Cross and Rose. These are not your average opponents. This civ is a powerhouse — combining brutal offense with near-impenetrable defense. Once they’re established, most players collapse. But not this time.

The Knights of Cross and Rose come in with all their usual threats — elite cavalry, heavy fortifications, and fast sacred site control. Their early pressure is real. Their late game is terrifying. But this match is a blueprint for how to dismantle them step by step — not with brute force, but with calculated Lancaster strategy, surgical aggression, and control over every inch of the map.

I don’t play into their hands. While they prepare for a knight duel, I build layered defenses. I force them into awkward fights. I wall off access routes, isolate their economy, and force their expensive units into bad trades. I hit where it hurts — exposed villagers, split armies, unsupported siege. And every time they try to push forward, they hit steel, fire, and arrow volleys.

What makes this match different is how deliberate the pacing is. Lancaster’s strength is in adapting under pressure — longbowmen behind walls, strong infantry anchors, rapid eco rebuilds — and that’s exactly what I use. The Knights of Cross and Rose expect fear, but I give them control, then take it away piece by piece. The more they invest in their core army, the more I bleed them dry.

Eventually, the cracks show. Their resources start thinning. Their map control slips. One key fight turns the tide — a clash at a central choke point where their entire front collapses under synchronized Lancaster pressure. From there, it’s all momentum. Keeps go down. Villagers scatter. Their final landmark falls behind a wall they never breached.

This isn’t just a victory — it’s a systematic defeat of one of the strongest civs in the game. The Knights of Cross and Rose, once feared, get exposed — and Lancaster stands untouched.