How to rotate buildings in Age of Empires 4

How to rotate buildings in Age of Empires 4 is one of the biggest questions on the player forums right now. The game doesn’t mention building rotation in the tutorial, so it’s no wonder that many people are searching for the answer while they consider the best Age of Empires 4 build order.

Here’s everything we know about how to rotate buildings in Age of Empires 4. Is it possible, why would you want to use rotation, and are there any workarounds? We've also got some more general Age of Empire 4 tips to help you out with everything else. 

How to rotate buildings in Age of Empires 4

Let’s start with the bad news: it’s currently not possible to rotate your buildings in Age of Empires 4. If you open the settings and scroll through the ‘view and map controls’ page, you’ll only find keys to rotate the camera, but not buildings.

The next question, of course, is whether you can turn a building by rotating your camera. We’ve tried this potential workaround, but unfortunately, your building will still face the same direction. 

How to (somewhat) rotate your house in Age of Empires 4

Although it isn’t the same as a full rotation option, we did notice that you can change the look of your houses a little if you place several next to each other. As demonstrated in the picture, you can choose to move your garden to the other side. If you want to do this, just hover a little to the left or right before placing the house.

Why rotate buildings in Age of Empires 4?

As some of you may be wondering why the lack of rotation options is even a thing, here’s your answer: it’s purely cosmetic. Age of Empires works with a grid pattern, so every building fits within a certain number of squares on the map. You don’t need rotation, but it can appear rather unnatural if all your buildings look exactly the same. 

Is Age of Empire 4 adding a rotate buildings option in a future update?

There aren’t any official statements on adding a building rotation option in a future Age of Empires 4 update. However, as some players are clearly missing the option to turn their buildings, it’s not unlikely that this will be added in a patch later on. The fact that you could rotate buildings in Age of Empires III, strengthens this possibility.

And that sums up everything there is to know about rotating buildings in Age of Empire 4. Keep an eye out for future updates!