text: By the time of Warlords III games' releases the real-time strategy game genre was in full-swing, so there was less of a market for turn-based games. The oncoming rush of first-person shooters and first generation MMORPGs also did not help the popularity of the series. The turn-based strategy genre in general would take a hit during this period.
  Warlords IV
  Warlords IV, released in 2003, used pre-rendered 3D sprites for its unit and city graphics and particle graphics for various effects. Despite this, the game had an overall 2D look to it.
  The game flow was dramatically simplified. Diplomacy played virtually no role in the game, and micromanagement of units was scaled-down to a great extent. Rather than having multiple units battling it out at once, combat is one-on-one: the players could choose which units they wished to send into battle, one after another in the stack. The units with ranged attack capabilities get involved in every round in the battle regardless of active unit though.  In warfare, the cities no longer added a fixed amount to the fighting values of the defenders, but rather fired random archery shots between the defenders' strikes.
  Although heroes were still obtainable in the usual way, it was now possible to routinely produce them in the top level castles as well.
  The city upgrades became more important, as the level of city determines the range of units it can produce.