Four Lakes

Four Lakes is a large team game map with four distinct lake clusters, each holding rich gold, stone, and fish deposits. Players start on land near a lake — controlling your lake and denying the opponent theirs is the primary objective. Games have two phases: Feudal Age Galley skirmishes for dock control, and Castle Age land wars decided by who accumulated more water-economy resources.

Opening

Two viable openers: Water opener (build a Dock, produce Fishing Ships for economy + War Galleys for lake control) and Land rush (ignore water, fast Feudal or Castle Age, raid opponent's shore economy). In 4v4, typically one flank opens water while the other secures land. Pocket positions should Fast Castle for economic boom.

Mid game

Whichever team controls 3 of the 4 lakes controls the majority of the map's gold. Castle Age is decided by land military — Knights, Crossbow, and Siege. Pocket positions push toward the center; flanks push toward enemy flank lakes. Water units can become less relevant in late Castle Age as siege pushes dominate.

Watch out for

• Losing your Dock — if the opponent destroys your Dock in Feudal and builds their own on your lake, you lose access to that gold permanently.
• Over-committing to water — a heavy naval open in 4v4 can be countered by a land push directly on your shore villagers.
• Failure to coordinate — the best teams have one player opening water and one opening land per pair of flanks simultaneously.