Skip to main content

Economy & Build Orders Guide

A strong economy supports large military armies. Mastering standard build orders gives you the exact resource balance needed to hit key power spikes before your opponent can react.

Standard 21-Pop Feudal Build Order​

This standard build order works for almost every civilization. It sets up a 21-population Feudal Age transition suitable for Archer, Scout, or Skirmisher openings.

Villagers 1-3  ──> Build 2 Houses, then gather Sheep under Town Center
Villager 4     ──> Gather Sheep
Villager 5     ──> Gather Sheep
Villager 6     ──> Gather Sheep (6 total on Food)
Villagers 7-10 ──> Build Lumber Camp, gather Wood on main forest (4 total on Wood)
Villager 11    ──> Lure 1st Boar to Town Center
Villagers 12-14──> Harvest Boar & Sheep (9 total under TC)
Villager 15    ──> Build House, then lure 2nd Boar to TC
Villagers 16-18──> Build Mill on Berries (4 total on Berries)
Villager 19    ──> Gather Wood at Lumber Camp (5 total on Wood)
Villager 20    ──> Build Mining Camp on Gold (1 total on Gold)
Click Feudal   ──> Research Feudal Age at Town Center (20 Villagers + 1 Scout)

During the Feudal transition, reallocate Villagers based on your chosen military path:

  • For Scout Rush: Shift three Villagers from under the Town Center to Wood, build a second Lumber Camp, and start seeding Farms.
  • For Archer Rush: Send three additional Villagers to Gold (four total on Gold), and leave five Villagers on Wood.
  • Deer Pushing Alternative: Pushing three deer under your Town Center with your Scout Cavalry accelerates food collection, allowing civilizations to advance at 20-pop or transition with only three woodcutters.

Mastering Boar Lures and Deer Pushing​

Wild animals provide faster food collection rates than forage bushes or farms. Harvesting them efficiently accelerates your early economy.

Step 1: Attacker Villager shoots Boar twice
   │
   ▼
Step 2: Villager runs straight back to Town Center
   │
   ▼
Step 3: TC Villagers strike Boar right as it arrives
   │
   ▼
Step 4: 8-10 Villagers harvest Boar under TC umbrella

Boar Lure Steps​

  1. Select one Villager from under your Town Center when your current sheep is around 100 food remaining.
  2. Direct the worker to attack the wild boar once.
  3. Wait for the boar to turn and strike, then shoot a second time if needed. Wild boars move at 0.8 speed, matching a standard worker, and deal +3 bonus damage to mounted units.
  4. Immediately order the Villager to move straight underneath your Town Center using a single clean right-click. Avoid issuing stuttered pathing commands or turning mid-retreat, as any pathing delay causes the boar AI to drop target aggro and walk back to its spawn.
  5. As the boar follows under the Town Center center point, select all TC sheep gatherers and attack the boar together.
  6. Drop off food at the Town Center as soon as the boar collapses.

Deer Pushing Steps​

Use your Scout Cavalry to push wild deer toward your Town Center during moments when scouting is clear.

  1. Position your Scout directly behind a deer, facing toward your base.
  2. Tap the ground right behind the deer to make it startle and hop forward.
  3. Follow closely behind the deer to force consecutive hops until it lands right under your Town Center.
  4. Shoot the deer with your TC Villagers for fast, zero-wood food.

Farm Placement and Wheelbarrow Timing​

Farms cost 60 Wood each and exhaust their food supply after fixed yields. Placing them poorly wastes worker walk time.

┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
│  [Farm]  │  [Farm]  │  [Farm]        │
├──────────┼──────────┼────────────────┤
│  [Farm]  │  [ TC ]  │  [Farm]        │
├──────────┼──────────┼────────────────┤
│  [Farm]  │  [Farm]  │  [Farm]        │
└──────────────────────────────────────┘
  • Ring-One Layout: Surround your Town Center directly with eight farms. Each farm should touch a side or corner of the TC structure.
  • Mill Clusters: Once the TC perimeter is full, build a Mill and construct a second ring of eight farms touching that Mill.
  • Wheelbarrow Timing: Research Wheelbarrow at your Town Center when you reach 14 to 16 active farms (typically early Castle Age around 35 to 40 Villagers). Wheelbarrow takes 75 seconds to research (equal to three Villagers of production time) and boosts worker movement speed by 10% with a 26.95% carrying capacity multiplier (rounded to 13 units). At 14 to 16 active farms, the increased gathering efficiency outweighs the cost of delaying three Villagers.
  • Hand Cart Timing: Research Hand Cart in middle Castle Age around 60 to 70 Villagers. It boosts movement speed by an additional 10% and carrying capacity by a +50% multiplier (rounded to 20 units).

Market Trading and Resource Balancing​

The Market allows you to sell excess stock or purchase missing resources during critical tech transitions.

Selling Surplus ──> Market takes tax ──> Receive Gold ──> Buy needed resource
Market OperationBase ConversionUsage Scenario
Sell Wood / Food100 Resource = 70 GoldClear excess stock to fund Castle Age advancement
Buy Food130 Gold = 100 FoodSecure final food needed for Imperial Age
Buy Gold130 Wood/Food = 100 GoldEmergency funds for Knight or Trebuchet production
Buy Stone130 Gold = 100 StoneComplete a defensive Castle when short on quarries
Guilds TechReduces Market tax from 30% to 15%Essential research for end-game trade routes

Note: Saracens possess an innate 5% Market tax and cannot research Guilds. Hindustanis possess an innate 10% Market tax via their Grand Trunk Road technology and lost access to Guilds in update 87863.

Use trade carts in team games to establish gold trade routes between your Market and an ally's furthest Market. Longer distance trade routes return significantly higher gold yields per trip.