ECONOMY + UPGRADES // 0 A.D.

DOCTRINE Three Laws of Economy READ FIRST

LAW 01 — Economy is FLOW, not STOCKPILE. A bank of 2000 wood is a frozen economy. Income → spending → income → spending. Don't hoard.

LAW 02 — Every upgrade is profit. Most pay back in 60-90 seconds. Not researching them = leaving free resources on the table every minute.

LAW 03 — Upgrades only matter if you have units to benefit. Buy bodies before you buy boosts. 3 units with a buff < 6 units without.

REF.01 The Four Resources EACH HAS A JOB

Resources aren't interchangeable. Each does a specific job. Knowing which you need shapes what you build.

FOOD

/ GROWTH

Villagers, basic infantry, farms. Your growth resource. Constantly draining.

WOOD

/ INFRASTRUCTURE

Buildings, ranged units, ships, outposts. Your infrastructure resource.

STONE

/ DEFENSE

Walls, towers, mining camps. Your defense resource. Underused by beginners.

METAL

/ TECH + ELITE

Champions, upgrades, advanced units, siege. Your tech resource. Phase III drinks this.

CURVES The Resource Curves GENERIC + PTOLEMIES

// Generic Distribution

PHASE I (0-6 MIN)

FOOD 50%

WOOD 40%

STONE 10%

PHASE II (6-12 MIN)

FOOD 35%

WOOD 30%

STONE 15%

METAL 20%

PHASE III (12+ MIN)

FOOD 30%

WOOD 25%

STONE 10%

METAL 35%

// Ptolemies-Specific (your civ)

Why different: Ptolemies have cheaper farms, cheaper pikes, mercenary camps (less wood needed for forward production), and metal-hungry champions + elephants in Phase III.

PHASE I — PTOLEMIES

FOOD 55%

WOOD 35%

STONE 10%

PHASE II — PTOLEMIES

FOOD 40%

WOOD 25%

STONE 10%

METAL 25%

PHASE III — PTOLEMIES

FOOD 30%

WOOD 20%

5%

METAL 45%

Ptolemies key insight: you can run lower wood than most civs because mercenary camps replace the need for multiple forward barracks. That wood becomes food and metal.

TRIPWIRES Your Hoarding Cure SPEND THE MOMENT YOU CROSS

Set these as mental tripwires. The instant any number crosses, do the listed action. Repeat forever. Resources don't earn interest. Move them.

FOOD

> 500

→ queue more villagers in CC + train units

WOOD

> 400

→ farm, barracks, tower, outpost

STONE

> 200

→ drop a tower or wall section

METAL

> 200

→ research an upgrade or champion

UNLOCKS When to Unlock Bigger Troops PHASE TIMINGS

I

VILLAGE

// Eco-only phase

Citizen soldiers only. Basic spearmen, archers, slingers, scout cav. Don't try to fight wars here. Build economy.

0 → 6 MIN

II

TOWN

// Real military

Unlocks pikemen, swordsmen, basic cav variants, towers, second CC, blacksmith (start upgrading!), mercenary camp (Ptolemies bonus).

6 → 12 MIN
at 25 villagers

III

CITY

// The elite phase

Unlocks champions, war elephants, siege, Wonders, advanced upgrades, embassy mercenaries. First champion ≈ min 16-18, first elephant ≈ min 18-20.

12 → 18 MIN
at 50-60 vil

The trap: Don't rush Phase III. Phase III at minute 12 with 30 villagers = you can BUILD elephants but can't AFFORD them. Phase III at minute 18 with 60 villagers = you actually USE it.

// Champions are not bulk units

Build 5-10 champions, never 40. They're force multipliers — your hammer. Citizens are your anvil.

ROI The Upgrade Priority Ladder RESEARCH IN ORDER

Most upgrades pay themselves back in 60-90 seconds. After that = pure profit. Skipping them is leaving free resources on the table.

This is the order to research. Top = highest ROI.

01

Phase-ups — Phase II at ~min 6, Phase III at ~min 15. Unlocks everything.

ALWAYS
02

Resource gathering rate — wood/stone/metal +X% from storage/farmstead. ROI in <90s.

ALWAYS
03

Blacksmith Weapon +1/+2/+3 — affects EVERY combat unit. Every game, every tier.

ALWAYS
04

Blacksmith Armor +1/+2/+3 — same as weapon. Stacks with everything.

ALWAYS
05

Barracks pike upgrades — if you have 15+ pikes (you do).

USUALLY
06

Civ-unique bonus techs — Ptolemies has good ones (farming, mercenaries). Look at your bonus tree.

USUALLY
07

Stable-specific cav upgrades — only if you have 8+ of that cav type. Below that, buy bodies instead.

CONDITIONAL
08

Champion-specific upgrades — only after you've actually built champions in numbers.

CONDITIONAL
09

Naval upgrades — only on water maps.

SKIP

The math: Blacksmith +1 weapon on a 40-unit army > stable spear-cav upgrade on 3 cav. The wider your upgrade reaches, the higher the ROI.

MERCS Mercenaries // Pizza Delivery NOT KNIGHTS

// The Reframe

Mercenaries are NOT elite veterans you must protect. They are military teleportation, paid for in metal. They trade food/wood cost → metal cost, and in return give you fast spawning and forward placement.

Mantra: Mercenaries are pizza delivery, not knights. Use them. Lose them. Reorder them.

// Five times to use them

Forward Reinforcements — build a Merc Camp near the fight. Units spawn 10s from the front instead of 60s.
Emergency Defense — attack incoming, drop a camp at the choke, pump units instantly.
Metal-Rich Eco — late game, you have 600 metal and food can't keep up. Mercs spend metal instead.
Filling Composition Gaps — need slingers fast, home barracks full? Merc camp handles it.
Out-of-Position Reinforcement — army fighting far from home, drop a camp halfway across the map.

// When NOT to use

Phase I (no metal yet)
Food overflowing, metal tight
As your main bulk army — citizens are cheaper

// The Ptolemies signature: Forward Merc Camp

Around minute 10-12:

Send 1 villager to a spot halfway to the enemy
Build a Mercenary Camp under cover of your standing army
Now your forward outpost is also a unit factory
Reinforcements for any attack spawn in 10 seconds

This is the Ptolemies signature move. Devastating on Medium AI — the AI doesn't handle forward production well.

EXPAND Second CC // When + Where DOUBLE THE ECO

A second Civic Centre gives you: a second source of villager production, a second food-gathering hub, vision & map control.

// The rule

Drop your second CC when Phase II completes, on the closest unclaimed resource cluster — usually stone or metal.

// One CC is fine for Easy. You NEED two for Medium and up.

Reason: a single CC can only produce villagers at one queue. Medium AI runs two queues. You need to match production or fall behind on workers.

// Don't drop a CC if

You can't defend it (no walls/towers within 30s walk)
It's in the open with no natural choke
You're under attack right now (build a fort first, expand later)

WORKERS Worker Distribution by Phase WHO DOES WHAT

Rule: women → food only. Citizen-soldiers → wood, stone, metal (faster than women at those).

Phase	Total Workers	Food	Wood	Stone	Metal
PHASE I	~25	10 (women)	10 (men)	3 (men)	2 (men)
PHASE II	~40 + 15 army	15 (women)	12 (men)	5 (men)	5 (men)
PHASE III	~65 + 40 army	25 (women)	15 (men)	5 (men)	15 (men)
PUSH	~70 + 50 army	25	15	5	20

Standing army NEVER gathers. Working soldiers are reserves. Pull them only in emergency or for the final push.

ENDPLATE Economy Habits MEMORIZE

Economy is flow. Spend the moment you cross a tripwire.
Women on food. Men on wood/stone/metal. Never mix.
Standing army never gathers. Working soldiers are reserves.
Always queue villagers in the CC. Always. Until you have 70.
Two CCs by minute 12. One queue is not enough.
Phase II at 25 vil. Phase III at 50-60. Not earlier, not later.
Always research Phase-ups, gather techs, blacksmith. Free profit.
Mercenaries are pizza delivery. Use the forward camp.