What counters Zhu Xi's Legacy in AoE4?

Cavalry, Men-at-Arms, Hobelars, Mangonels. Kill the Officials, they are the top target

Is Zhu Xi's Legacy a good civ in AoE4 right now?

Zhu Xi's Legacy wins 52.5% of ranked 1v1 games across all ranks (about 52,165 games), which puts it in tier A on our tier list.

What are the unique units of Zhu Xi's Legacy?

Imperial Official, City Guard, Palace Guard, Provincial Levy, Zhuge Nu, Grenadier, Nest of Bees, Ranged Specialists, Shaolin Monk, Imperial Guard, Imperial Retinue, Yuan Raider. Imperial Official: Use the Supervise ability to boost the production speed of research and military buildings by +150% - supervising economic buildings increases the amount of resources dropped off by Villagers by +20%. Zhuge Nu: Archer replacement. Light ranged infantry with a rapid burst attack effective vs. light units. Palace Guard: Man-at-Arms replacement. Heavy melee infantry that exchanges

When is Zhu Xi's Legacy strongest?

5:30 — First Zhuge Nu wave with supervision (5:30-6:00)

Zhu Xi's Legacy guide: strengths, counters and build orders

Chinese variant with Officials and taxes, fast Feudal with Jiangnan and lots of Zhuge Nu

Tier A · 52.5% win rate Imperial Official City Guard Palace Guard Provincial Levy Zhuge Nu Grenadier Nest of Bees Ranged Specialists Shaolin Monk Imperial Guard Imperial Retinue Yuan Raider

Strengths

Zhuge Nu are cheap and shred light units
Villagers build very fast
TC and Outposts fire Handcannons from the Dark Age
Gold from taxes without much mining
Cheap Palace Guard from Feudal

Weaknesses

Officials are fragile (75 HP) and expensive
Zhuge Nu struggle against ranged armor
Clumped units are weak against Mangonels
Dynasties are expensive and can leave him without an army

How to counter Zhu Xi's Legacy

Kill the Officials, they are the top target
Cavalry and Men-at-Arms with ranged armor against Zhuge Nu
Mangonels on Zhuge Nu clumps
Don't attack near the TC and Outposts early
Jiangnan means Zhuge Nu are coming at 5:40

Units that work well: Cavalry · Men-at-Arms · Hobelars · Mangonels

Layla's in-game tip: Kill the Officials, and bring cavalry and Men-at-Arms against Zhuge Nu

Power spikes and timings

5:30First Zhuge Nu wave with supervision (5:30-6:00)

Strongest armies per age (simulator)

Open-field fights in Layla's battle simulator against standard armies of the same cost. Score = resources needed per enemy resource (lower is better; 1.0 is an even trade).

Feudal Age

Early Palace Guard0.81
Early Palace Guard + Hardened Spearman0.85
Early Palace Guard + Zhuge Nu0.85

Castle Age

Veteran Spearman + Veteran Zhuge Nu0.91
Palace Guard + Veteran Zhuge Nu0.94
Veteran Spearman0.96

Imperial Age

Elite Zhuge Nu + Elite Spearman0.56
Elite Zhuge Nu + Elite Palace Guard0.6
Elite Zhuge Nu0.64

Civilization bonuses

Begin in the Tang Dynasty - Landmark costs are reduced by -15% and the Village is unlocked.
Enter a new Dynasty by building both Landmarks from an Age to unlock special bonuses and buildings.
Units trained, technologies researched, and resources dropped off generate tax (Gold) that can be collected by Imperial Officials.
Unique technologies massively upgrade Imperial Officials, unlock new units and boost military units.
Early Palace Guards are available in the Feudal Age.
Access the Zhuge Nu and Grenadier without entering Dynasties.
Villagers construct defenses +50% faster and all other buildings +100% faster.
Chemistry technology granted for free in the Dark Age - Town Centers, Keeps, and Outposts use Handcannon Slits instead of Defensive Arrowslits.
Docks work +10% faster.

Landmarks

Granary (built in Age 1; 150W · 35s) Villagers can drop off Food at this building. Improves the Farm gather rate of nearby Villagers by +10% (stacks with other Granaries). Generates tax each time…
Jiangnan Tower (built in Age 1; 400F 200G · 190s) Acts as a tax drop-off for Imperial Officials. Military Buildings and Military Units produced within influence award progress towards free armies. Each free…
Meditation Gardens (built in Age 1; 400F 200G · 190s) Increases the resource value of nearby gold veins, stone outcroppings, and berry bushes by +5% every 30 seconds up to a maximum of +60%. Trees are increased…
Pagoda (built in Age 1; 150W · 40s) Religious units can pick up Relics and place them in the Pagoda to generate +100 Gold, +62 Food, +62 Wood, and +25 Stone every 60 seconds. A maximum of 3…
Village (built in Age 1; 100W · 30s) Increases maximum Population by 40. A maximum of 3 Villages can be constructed.
Mount Lu Academy (built in Age 2; 1200F 600G · 220s) Imperial Officials collect tax twice as often and also collect 20% of taxes as Food. Contains unique upgrades that greatly improve the Imperial Official unit.
Shaolin Monastery (built in Age 2; 1200F 600G · 220s) Unique Monastery capable of producing Shaolin Monks. From the Yuan Dynasty onwards, Shaolin Monks can also be produced from Pagodas.
Temple of the Sun (built in Age 3; 2400F 1200G · 250s) Activate powerful abilities that improve speed, damage, range, or regeneration of specific units.
Zhu Xi's Library (built in Age 3; 2400F 1200G · 250s) Hosts a range of highly unique upgrades. Can unlock Yuan Raiders and Imperial Guards. Only 2 technologies can be researched.
Enclave of the Emperor (built in Age 4; 5000F 5000W 5000G 5000S · 600s) Build and defend a Wonder to secure victory. Rival civilizations will be aware of its construction and seek to destroy it.

Zhu Xi's Legacy build orders

Feudal Jiangnan and Zhuge NuaggressiveFeudal 3:50

How Layla reads build orders out live

Zhu Xi's Legacy matchups

Best matchups

Hardest matchups

All matchups

vs Ottomans60.2% · 5,087
vs Delhi Sultanate60.1% · 2,270
vs Abbasid Dynasty59.7% · 2,823
vs Malians59.6% · 3,559
vs Byzantines57.9% · 3,599
vs Knights Templar56.5% · 10,966
vs Ayyubids56.3% · 2,433
vs Chinese56.3% · 4,192
vs Sengoku Daimyo55.3% · 1,423
vs Mongols54.3% · 4,116
vs Jeanne d'Arc53.3% · 1,729
vs Rus51.7% · 4,368
vs Holy Roman Empire51.3% · 4,775
vs English51.2% · 12,670
vs Golden Horde50.1% · 3,632
vs French49.9% · 13,071
vs Order of the Dragon49.4% · 6,057
vs Japanese48.5% · 5,773
vs Tughlaq Dynasty48.1% · 1,485
vs Macedonian Dynasty45.7% · 4,973
vs House of Lancaster44.7% · 3,196
vs Jin Dynasty44.4% · 2,132

FAQ

What counters Zhu Xi's Legacy in AoE4?: Cavalry, Men-at-Arms, Hobelars, Mangonels. Kill the Officials, they are the top target
Is Zhu Xi's Legacy a good civ in AoE4 right now?: Zhu Xi's Legacy wins 52.5% of ranked 1v1 games across all ranks (about 52,165 games), which puts it in tier A on our tier list.
What are the unique units of Zhu Xi's Legacy?: Imperial Official, City Guard, Palace Guard, Provincial Levy, Zhuge Nu, Grenadier, Nest of Bees, Ranged Specialists, Shaolin Monk, Imperial Guard, Imperial Retinue, Yuan Raider. Imperial Official: Use the Supervise ability to boost the production speed of research and military buildings by +150% - supervising economic buildings increases the amount of resources dropped off by Villagers by +20%. Zhuge Nu: Archer replacement. Light ranged infantry with a rapid burst attack effective vs. light units. Palace Guard: Man-at-Arms replacement. Heavy melee infantry that exchanges
When is Zhu Xi's Legacy strongest?: 5:30 — First Zhuge Nu wave with supervision (5:30-6:00)

Data from the open game data (aoe4world/data), patch 16.2.10884, public ranked statistics, and Layla Coach's battle simulator. Layla Coach is an independent tool, not affiliated with Microsoft, Relic Entertainment or World's Edge.