| Building | Where to place | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Civic Centre | Near a food source (berries, sheep, water). Leave room for farms. | On a map edge or far from food |
| Farms | Clustered tightly around CC. 8-12 farms in a ring touching it. | Scattered far from CC |
| Storehouse | AT the edge of the forest, not 20 tiles away. One per resource cluster. | Far from the woodline (silent eco bleed) |
| Houses | Cluster near CC. Bonus: maze them near tower/choke for defense. | Wasted on perimeter |
| Barracks | Forward, not central. Between CC and the enemy choke. Rally → forward. | Deep in base, reinforcements arrive too late |
| Fortress | At the choke, behind 1-2 towers. Anchor of defense + champion + hero training. | Built late, only used reactively |
| Towers | Cover resource lines, chokes, gaps between CC and forward base. Overlap zones. | Around base perimeter instead of at chokes |
| Walls | ONLY at chokes. Use cliffs/forests/water for the rest. | Trying to wall the whole base (slow + wasteful) |
| Mercenary Camp | Halfway to enemy, near forward outpost. Reinforcements appear at the fight. | Built near home — defeats the purpose |
// Why this layout works
- Cliffs at the back — free walls on two sides. Only one direction to defend.
- Farms ring the CC — minimum walking time for food.
- Storehouse AT the forest — 3 steps from chopping to dropping.
- Barracks forward — between CC and the choke. Reinforcements arrive quickly.
- Fort + 2 towers + wall at the choke — kill box. Every attacker funnels here.
- Merc camp far forward — pizza delivery at the front line.
- Outpost on the safe side — vision for raids that try to come around.
These buildings give massive value but most beginners skip them. Adding them properly is a top-5 way to improve your win rate.
Trains healers who passively heal nearby units. In 0 A.D., wounded units don't auto-heal — they stay damaged forever. Build 1 temple, train 3-5 healers, park them behind your standing army. Your army recovers HP between fights for free.
Build 2 markets — one home, one forward. Trade carts between them generate metal passively. Income equal to ~5-8 villagers, zero maintenance. Ptolemies have a trade bonus — even more efficient. Also lets you barter (food → metal in emergencies).
Massive Phase III building. Two functions: (1) passive civ bonus, (2) Wonder Victory — hold it for ~25 minutes, you auto-win. Use when ahead and want to close out, OR in a stalemate (forces opponent to attack). Only build if you can defend it.
Different from Ptolemies merc camp. Unlocks foreign units — Iberian skirmishers, Italic swordsmen, Celtic cavalry. Use to fill composition gaps. Iberian skirmishers especially are cheap and great. Pick one embassy; don't build all three.
Phase II, EARLY. Research weapon/armor +1 immediately, +2 mid-game, +3 late. Affects EVERY combat unit. Universal ROI. Not optional. (See VOL.05 for upgrade priority order.)
Place near your forward base, not your home. Cav is harass + flank — they should spawn where they fight. Stable-specific upgrades are only worth it if you have 8+ of that cav type.
// Build priority for special buildings
- 01Blacksmith — Phase II, early. Most important.ALWAYS
- 02Temple — Phase II, for healers. Massive sustainment.ALWAYS
- 03Market — Phase II, for trade income. Underused gold mine.ALWAYS
- 04Embassy — Phase II/III, if you need a foreign unit type.CONDITIONAL
- 05Wonder — Phase III, only if you can defend it.CONDITIONAL
| Resource | What it is | How to use |
|---|---|---|
| Treasure Chests | Randomly placed at game start. Give 100-300 of a random resource. | Send scout cav to grab them. Free resources, no work. Don't ignore. |
| Hunt (deer, gazelle) | Free roaming animals. Each gives 50-100 food. | Cav can hunt safely. Faster than berries early game. |
| Boar / Dangerous Hunt | 100-200 food but bites back. Aggressive. | Lure with a tough unit, kill from range. Don't lose villagers to it. |
| Berries | Bushes near your CC. ~250 food per bush. | Your starting food source. Run dry around minute 6 — be on farms by then. |
| Fish (shore) | Schools of fish in water. Slow but bottomless food. | Build a dock, train fishing boats. Sustainable food forever. |
| Ruins / Special features | Map-specific. Some give bonuses when garrisoned. | Worth scouting for. Check each map's quirks. |
// When
Drop your second CC when Phase II completes (≈ minute 8-10). You're ready when you have ~40 villagers and steady gathering.
// The three criteria for the spot
- Resource cluster nearby — stone + metal + some food/wood within 15s walk
- Defensible — a choke, cliff, or natural barrier between it and the enemy
- Inside the middle ring — not so far you can't defend it (the trickle trap!)
// Build order at the new CC
- Drop the CC
- IMMEDIATELY build a tower next to it (within 30s walk)
- Farms around the CC
- Storehouse at the nearest forest
- Barracks if you're going to fight here
New CC with no tower = villagers die to a single cav raid. Tower first. Eco second.
- Storehouse 20+ tiles from the woodline. Silent eco bleed every second.
- Farms scattered around the map. Women walking 15s when they should walk 2s.
- Barracks deep in your base. Reinforcements arrive too late to matter.
- Towers at the base perimeter instead of the choke. Same number of enemies shot, but no crossfire.
- Walling your whole base. Wasteful, slow, and your own units can't get out efficiently.
- Forgetting to build storehouses at all. Gather rate halves as the deposit is depleted nearby.
- No Blacksmith / Temple / Market. All three give huge ROI. Skipping them = playing handicapped.
- Mercenary camp at home base. Defeats the entire purpose. Push it forward.
- Every building has a walking-time cost. Place where it's used.
- Farms ring the CC. Storehouses kiss the forest.
- Barracks forward. Merc camp further forward.
- Walls only at chokes. Use terrain for the rest.
- Towers at chokes, not perimeter. Overlapping fire.
- Build Blacksmith, Temple, Market by Phase II. Every game.
- Grab treasure chests early. Free resources, no excuse.
- Second CC: defensible > rich. Tower before farms.