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Stronghold 4 offers several ways to play beyond its story campaign. Together they cover guided challenges, open warfare against the computer, and pure creative building.
Skirmish
In skirmish, players test themselves against the game's artificial lords, with up to eight computer opponents to face. A curated trail of set scenarios offers a series of designed challenges, while custom skirmish lets players set up their own battles on their own terms.
Free build
For players who would rather create than fight, a free build mode strips away the pressure and provides the tools to design and decorate a castle at leisure, drawing on the full construction toolset.
Free build also supports invasions on the player's own terms, set to arrive on a timer or launched by hand, so a finished castle can be pitted against attackers whenever the builder chooses.
Across free build, skirmish, and multiplayer, players can choose a starting rank. Setting it to the highest rank unlocks every building and unit from the outset, rather than climbing the honour ranks first.
Modes at a glance
Mode | Availability | Description |
|---|---|---|
Campaign | Early access | 22-mission cinematic, fully voice-acted prequel story |
Skirmish | Early access | Battle up to eight CPU lords on custom or curated maps |
Skirmish Trail | Early access | A curated series of bespoke skirmish scenarios |
Custom Skirmish | Early access | Set up your own skirmish on your own terms |
Free Build | Early access | Pressure-free sandbox for designing and decorating castles |
Online Multiplayer | After early access | Competitive online play planned for the full release |
Co-op Skirmish Trail | After early access | A cooperative version of the skirmish trail |
Economic Campaign | After early access | A campaign focused on management rather than war |
After early access
Stronghold 4 launches first in early access, and FireFly has outlined features planned for the full release that follows. These include online multiplayer, a cooperative version of the skirmish trail, and a dedicated economic campaign focused on management rather than war. Press coverage of the reveal put the planned online multiplayer at up to eight players, a separate figure from the eight CPU lords faced in single-player skirmish.