Tips and Tricks for Newbies
TIPS AND TRICKS for BEGINNERS
​
1.) If you’re just starting out, it's a great time to dig further into game strategy -especially after you've done all there is to do on those first few days. Don’t think the game will always be like that! Within a few weeks, you’ll be spending more time than you imagined as you start to implement your favorite strategies and growing your budding empire!
​
You could also start up another city on another world. No two worlds ever come out the same! If you have another e-mail address, you could sign-up as another player and help yourself complete quests by self-trading/motivating/tavern sitting, etc… (just make sure you don't try to enter contests with both accounts or you'll get banned!)
​
At some point during the Iron Age, you'll unlock the ability to completely rearrange your city without having to sell anything or use the "Store Building" prizes. It's game-changer as buildings can not be rotated (and Inno says that will never be a feature).
​
DON'T rush through the research tree opening new ages too soon. You'll soon be at the mercy of those who take their time and build a strong foundation in each age (your neighbors are rotated bi-weekly, and always in your current age when the change happens).
​
2.) DON’T recklessly spend your diamonds unless you’re planning on paying to play. This game can be played completely free to max levels if you have patience. Otherwise, plan on pulling out your wallet a few times or so a month.
​
​
​3.) Don’t build for AESTHETICS -build for utility- and avoid the decorations as much as possible! When someone just uses the ‘Aid’ button (PC/Laptop) or star symbol (Mobile) connected to your avatar), The Inno AI system/algorithm looks in your city for decorations first-->then stuff to polish-->then stuff to motivate. YOU ALWAYS WANT MOTIVATE! Most motivated production buildings can’t be plundered!
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
So, decorations = bad! Without them, you increase your chance of everything being motivated their maximum once every 24 hrs. Then you just have to make sure to always set your collections for 1- or 2-day cycles and check in every day at that time to collect (or, if time allows, any of the other production cycles -just make sure you collect on time). If someone successfully attacks your city and then tries to plunder you, it will discourage them from trying again of there's nothing of value to plunder
​
Having said all that, DO USE decorations when necessary to keep your residents enthusiastic (120% above happy) –so that smiley face is smiling wide, not just grinning (the wide smile means extra coin and supplies from everything that you collect from). Also, if you just want a decorated city and aren't worried about efficiency.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
SIDE NOTE: Targeting specific-age buildings for Polish/Motivate (P/M, a. k. a. “Polivate”) can earn you BluePrints (BPs) for the same-age Great Buildings (GBs). So P/M a Bronze-age building, possibly get a Bronze-age GB (Statue of Zeus, Tower of Babel) BP. Adding Forge Points (FPs ) to a specific GB can help you earn BPs of that particular GB (see further below).
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
24 Hrs.
Looks nice, but these will all get polished before your productions start to get motivated when friends and guild-mates click the 'Aid' button. Keep decorations to a minimum!!
4.) Again, don't rush through the research tree to get to the next age. Spend some time in your current age gathering goods, saving up Forge Points (FPs), and leveling up your Great Buildings (GBs). It will give you a leg up on the competition in the next age and make it easier to progress through. Patience is key if you don't want to run out of diamonds too quickly (or buy them) and/or be easy pickings for those who like to attack and plunder. (You won’t move up to the next age until you complete a research box in that age. You can safely set yourself up from the previous age by putting all the FP on each research box of the 1st tier in the new age -just remember NOT to "Unlock Now".
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​5.) Join a guild and play the Guild Expedition (GE or GEx)! The first 3 encounters are super-easy whether you fight or negotiate, and the 4th one is only slightly harder. This will help build up the Guild power and some of the rewards deeper in the GE can be really helpful to you (diamonds, blueprints for GBs, better fighters, etc...) Once you get a Temple of Relics (ToR) GB, you become eligible for "relics" to pop up every time you successfully complete a negotiation/attack. You can win many good things from relics, including 100 FPs, Renovation Kits, 10x military units, and more!
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Swap Thread Basics: Upon joining a guild, you'll most likely see that they have Swap Threads (Messages). These are an easy way to power-level your GBs! Here's how they work:
1.) Look at the title, it will usually indicate the number of FPs required to participate (i.e. 5FP Swap)
A 5 FP Swap means you must have:
a.) a GB that you want to level up and
b.) at least 5 FPs to spend
2.) Attach your GB's picture to the thread (use the paper clip icon, then choose the GB you want to start leveling; if 2 people do it at the same time, the game's system will sort out who was first, so pay attention when your building gets added)
3.) Immediately add 5 FPs to the GB listed before yours
4.) Now the next person will follow suit and add 5 FPs to your GB in doing so
5.) And so on, and so on, etc.
Remember -ALWAYS check the title for the FP amount and make sure you have enough to partake!
​6.) Starting out, polish/motivate EVERYBODY: Friends, Guildies & Neighbors (especially before opening PvP in the Iron Age). It's the quickest way to get the blueprints for the GBs. If you're looking for a particular building's blueprints -like say the Statue of Zeus, you can try putting FPs* on someone else's Zeus. If you put on the most, 2nd most, 3rd most, 4th most or 5th most, you'll get a blueprint and other rewards (usually FPs and/or medals) once they level it.
(check the payouts to make sure -lower levels may only give BPs for 1st, whereas higher levels will give out BPs for all 5 positions)
* - You have to unlock "Architecture" in the Iron Age before you can contribute FPs to other players' GBs
SIDE NOTE: ‘Polivating’ everyone can help reduce your chances of being plundered as the majority of players won’t attack someone who helps them. Many players scroll through their ‘Event Log’ and reciprocate anyone in the list that sat in their tavern* and/or did the P/M thing (Event Log: News Window from your Town Hall).
​
* - Make sure you put a tablecloth on the table in your Friends Tavern ASAP or you might lose friends to other players that have one –it gives visitors a chance to win a Forge Point (FP)
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​7.) NEVER put the last FP of a level on someone else's GB unless they say that it's OK. When you level your GB, you can sometimes double-dip. Basically you wait for the rewards for your GB to become available, collect them, then add the few FPs needed to jump your GB to the next level ("leveling" it) and pick-up the new rewards. You just double-dipped on your GB -but if someone leveled it before you could add the FPs yourself, you miss out on the rewards from the previous level and only get the rewards from the new level.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​8.) Try to keep a 4x4 spot in your city filled up with 4 extra blacksmiths, even in much higher ages. They don't produce a lot, but they have the smallest footprint of any production building. You will sometimes get quests requiring that you complete 10 or more 4 or 8-hour (or more) productions, and those BS buildings can be life-savers when that happens! AS an Iron Age or EMA player, you can also later use those spots for either the Lighthouse of Alexandria or the Tower of Babel, both of which will be among the first GBs you get a full set of blueprints for, and they both have a 4x4 footprint.
​
​9.) Respect the Medals! They can be used to purchase land expansions and extra turns in GE.
​
10.) Have fun (and keep the drama out of it)! If something happens that rubs you the wrong way, try to brush it off. Remember that the majority of interactions in this game are text-based or via recorded on-screen actions (plundering, attacking, etc…) that don’t include facial expressions, body language, etc... and not everyone is great at grammar/spelling.
Some folks use strategies that we don’t understand, but it seems to work for them. So be it, remember that as much as you think of this as ‘your’ game –so do they. :)
And one more thing: many people have limited time and therefore may not actually interact much. A little acceptance and understanding usually make for a smoother ride. :)
​
Come join our guild (CaveBalls) on Z world (Zorskog) and we'll give you even more tips and tricks!
​
HAPPY GAMING and ENJOY the JOURNEY to an EMPIRE!
