Rise of Nations - Beginners Guide Version 0.80
For The PC
Written By - Dauragon C Mikado88
DarkChaosPrince@hotmail.com
June 27, 2003
UPDATES:
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June 27, 2003 Version 0.25
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Started this FAQ, got Buildings Section is done. Other Sections will be made
in the next day or so.
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June 28, 2003 Version 0.80
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Units, Ages and Resources completely done. Expect the entire FAQ completed
and version 1.0 very soon. From there it will just be minor
updates however I will still touch up the FAQ a lot and be constantly
adding more. I understand the Table of Contents is bare too,
expect a overhaul in the next version as well.
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I. Table of Contents
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1. Introduction to Guide
2. Introduction to Rise of Nations
3. Beginners Guide for Building
4. Beginners Guide for Units
5. Beginners Guide for Ages
6. Beginners Guide for Resources
7. Basic Strategies
8. Frequently Asked Questions
9. Contact
10. Copyright
KEY:
--------- - Main Section
********* - Sub Section to the Main Section
========= - Sub Section to Sub Section
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1. Introduction to Guide
-------------------------
Rise of Nations is a newly released game by Big Huge Games and Microsoft Games
This RTS game is indeed challenging and requires a divirse strategy in order
to overwhelm your opponent or suffer defeat by early invasions by your enemy.
This game started off challenging for me and I frequently was in last from all
the computers, however in time after game after game and watching recorded
games. Then I slowly got better and better and was the leader in tech races,
and miltary. In this guide I hope to help you become a pro in Rise of Nations,
and future Real-Time Stategy (RTS) games.
-------------------------
2. Introduction to Rise of Nations
-------------------------
Rise of Nations was developed by Big Huge Games and published by Microsoft.
The game is quite a large leap from known RTS games such as Age of Empires
and is much different from WarCraft III. The game is a bit more stategic
than all three! You start at the Ancient Age, where your civilization is
very small, your boarders are very small, and resources are extremely low.
As you progress through the ages, you'll notice your income rate for all
resources will dramatically increase and making units and buildings don't
even seem to dent your overall resource income. You can advance all the way
to the Informative Age (today) where you can create units that you see in
today's world, and even build weapons of Mass Destruction to destroy your
enemy, but not without economic consequences and the risk of Armadgeddon
(everyone dies) if you use to much nukes. This game overall in detail and
effects was excellent and Big Huge Games has made a definate RTS success.
---------------------------
3. Beginners Guide for Buildings
---------------------------
In this section of the Guide, I will list every single building in the
entire game and tell how you should work each building to your advantage.
********************
Towns/Cities
********************
This is your most important building in the entire game besides from maybe
the library. This is where your civilians are made which is an absolute
need to establish your nation. Your Capital City is without a doubt the
most important building in the game overall. Since if your enemy takes it,
you are screwed! Your main objective should be to make as many Towns as you
can throughout the game to expand your nations boundry's, build more farms
for more food (since it is 5 farms per city). Many buildings are also limited
to only one city such as Wonders, Universites, Lumber Mills, Granaries...and the
list goes on. The bottom line is build as many towns as possible! Construct
many civilians to help build the towns and collect resources! These are the
#1 aspects of getting yourself ahead!
********************
Library
********************
The Library is single-handly the most important building in the game aside
from the Town Centers. The Library is your gateway to researching new
technologies such as Miltary, Civics, Commerce and Science. It is also
needed to advance throughout the ages. I will break up the types to research
in sections.
MILTARY: Be ahead in the Miltary field when you want to build up your
population limit, and upgrade your armies to more powerful units.
CIVICS: Civics is a very important technology to research. Civics is what
determines how many towns you can build, and without a very far research
in Civics, you cannot build new towns, which leads to not collecting too
much resources! It's also important to research this for taxation, religon
and attition techs.
COMMERCE: Commerce is important when you want your civilization to prosper
in your resource/wealth causes. So naturally you would want to research this.
However it's the most expensive technology to research. Commerce upgrades
determine how many Caravans you are enabled to have. Which collect money by
trading with other towns and peaceful or allied nations. It is also important
so you can collect the full amount of income from all your resources. For
examples. Lets say your Commerce max is currently +100. If you build to many
farms and extend your Commerce max of 100, you will no longer be able to go
past that limit until your Commerce level is updated. So it's important to
update this frequently to keep your resource income to it's max, and increase
production overall.
SCIENCE: It's always important to research Science when you want to make
production on things faster and more efficent. With high science you can
make Graneries which increase your output for Farms, Lumber Mills which
increase your Lumber output, Smelters for your Metal output, and so on.
As you upgrade in Science you can also upgrade your University output
which is extremely important when you reach the Classical Age and above
since new technology relies heavily on your knowledge income.
AGES: As you research all these new techs in the library, don't forget
to update your Age period to further advance your nation to the lastest
technologies. As you advance in Age, you can build more advanced buildings
such as Castles, Stables, Seige Units, and more importantly in the Modern
Ages: Airbases and Nuclear Centers. Also when you upgrade ages buildings
may upgrade to bigger and better looking buildings.
******************
Market
******************
A Market yet again is another important buildings for you to construct
as soon as your finish your first Commerce research. Markets are used
to buy/sell resources, create Caravans for trading, and create Merchants
to collect special resources. Special Resources are a special type of
Resource that only a Merchant can access and will give a constant bonus
to a certain ability. Such as faster building production, faster miltary
production, faster stable production, faster civilian production, and the
list goes on and on. Be sure to send a Merchant out to any special resource
you discover, provided it's in friendly terrority. Be sure to always keep up
with your commerce research so you can build as many Caravans as possible.
Caravans are wagons (eventually trucks) that collect wealth by trading with
your cities within your nation, and eventually other nations that you are at
peace/alliance with. The further the trade route, the more wealth you will
collect by venturing there. The more Caravans you create, the more overall
wealth you will get. However there is a Caravan limit, which depends on how
high your overall commerce level is, so again, be sure to research commerce
whenever you can.
******************
Temple
******************
Temples are also useful buildings to construct when you wish to gain extra
wealth. Be sure to research religion which is useful at expanding your overall
vision for buildings and units, and also expanding your nation's boarders a
little bit. This also connections with researching taxation. Taxation is bonus
profit that you collect which is dependent on how much land your nation covers.
The more land you own, the higher your taxation wealth income will be. So always
be sure to research Civics to build more towns and expand your boarders to have
more wealth income from taxation.
******************
University
******************
When you reach the Classical Age, Universites are an absolute must for advancing
your civilization through all the ages and technologies. Each University can hold
7 scholars, which each generate a small amount of knowledge. You are only allowed
1 University per city, and just 1 University doesn't provide much knowledge, so it's
reccommended you have a University in the majority of your cities. It's also important
to research in the science field to upgrade how fast your scholars increase in their
knowledge output. If you have a lot of scholars spread out in your cities, when you
upgrade you'll make a huge increase in your overall knowledge as long as you keep
upgrading when the time comes, and you will be ahead in researching new technolgies
as they demand more and more on knowledge as the ages progress, so it's a good idea
to have a lot of Univerties and Scholars whenever possible. Having a lot of knowledge
not only pays off in the beginning when researching new technologies, it pays off in
the long run when building nuclear weapons and missiles all require a significant
amount of knowledge to be created.
******************
Farms
******************
Building Farms is the main resource for getting your food income. However you are
limited to having only 5 Farms per city, so be sure to always expand your towns
and build farms whenever a new city is created. Also be sure to research commerce
frequently so you aren't wasting any resources if you go over the max commerce
income. Building Granaries are also very important in increasing your food outcome
see the Granary below for more info.
******************
Woodcutters Camp
******************
Constructing a Woodcutters Camp is also is like your Farms, your main income of
Lumber in your nation. Always be sure to try to construct Woodcutter's Camps in
areas which have a lot of trees, the more trees you build a Woodcutters Camp by,
the more citizens that can work there. You can build Woodcutter Camps outside your
nations boarders, but only in unexplored land or allied nations. Be sure to construct
Woodcutter Camps whenever you spot a group of trees before your ally or enemy gets it
first! Be sure to build Lumber Mills as well to increase your Lumber output. See
Lumber Mills for more details.
******************
Granary
******************
If you want an increased food production without building more farms, then a Granary
is the building for you! You are limited to only 1 per city, but not like you would
need more than 1 per city to begin with. Why? Because a Granary increases your food
output by 20% of your farms in the city it was build in ONLY. If you want even more
food output, build a Granary in every city that has farms. Also be sure to research
science to research higher food production which increases your farm output percent
even more! They also contain Herbal Lores and upgradeable Medicines which increase
your overall foot unit production!
*******************
Lumber Mill
*******************
Lumber Mills are exactly the same as Granaries except they affect your lumber outcome.
For more info just read the Granary section above. HOWEVER, they contain building
construction upgrades which are useful for constucting buildings at a faster pace.
*******************
Smelter
*******************
Smelters are exactly the same as Granaries/Lumber Mills except they affact your Metal
outcome. For more info just read the Granary section above. HOWEVER, they have the
forgey ability which allows you to construct ships and such at a faster rate.
*******************
Oil Well
*******************
Oil Wells don't become avalible until the Industrial Age, late in the game. These are
your main collection for Oil in your nation. Oil areas have black splotchs on land, and
darkened areas in the ocean if there is oil there. Be sure to build Oil Wells as soon as
possible, because your enemy or ally will quickly build Oil Wells on all Oil resources
as soon as they find them, so don't delay on these, they are also the #1 needed resource
to build the futuristic weapons such as Airplanes, Tanks and Missiles.
*******************
Oil Refinery
*******************
Like Oil Wells, these don't become buildable until later in the game. When you establish
your Oil Wells, be sure to build Oil Refineries which increase your Oil output in ALL
cities by 33%, however you are limited to 1 per city so be sure to build one in every
city to super charge your oil income rate.
*******************
Barracks
*******************
This is your most important building for military you will have in the early ages,
and frankly, important for the future ages for taking cities and raids. When
you decide to build this is up to your style. If you are a rush type person,
then build this as soon as you get your first miltary technology researched.
If you are a 'Boom' type person who likes to have a strong economy first, then
you might want to start a Barracks in the Classical or Medievil age. Either way,
foot units can be established here which each have their strengths and weaknesses
in combat. See the Unit section below for more detail on units.
******************
Stables
******************
Like the Barracks, Stables produce Horseman. Eventually updated to the Auto Plant
in future ages which Tanks are developed, Horseman are good again most infantry
units but are slayed by Pikeman quickly. See the Unit info section for more details.
******************
Siege Factory
******************
A Siege Factory is usually built to quickly demolish buildings. Be sure to make
these buildings when you are ready to raid a city, and always be sure to
produce a Supply Wagon so you can avoid Attition from enemy terrority, which
is damage caused by entering an enemy terrority. Later in the game, more seige
units become open, some in which are excellent in destroying aircrafts and of
course, buildings. Siege is easily destroyed by infantry or Horses/Tanks. Be sure
to always defend your Siege unit.
******************
Tower
******************
Towers are very useful in the beginning times of the game, and most importantly,
important in researching attition, which is damage to any enemy that enters your
land to attack. Towers also automatically shoot an arrow at any enemies that enter
it's sight range. So it's smart to build these towers around your cities and
lookout points to help kill enemy units, especially people who like to Rush kill.
******************
Forts/Castles
******************
Castles are a strong requirement for building a tactical and powerful army.
Generals should always lead an army in battle, for not only does he provide
an extra 2 Defense (even more for every general in your army), but he also
provides special moves that effect your army in his 'Craft' ability range.
Spies can also eventually be made at the Castles. Spies are useful for
finding out information on your enemy such as seeing what your enemy
is producing in their buildings, and it's most used feature is Bribe,
which you give some wealth to an enemy unit, which automatically
converts it to your nation. Generals and Spies both need 'Craft'
to issue out their special commands. Without this, they are quite
useless. However once they use a ability, it takes about a minute or two
to regain the craft for another use. Castle's, like towers, also provide
protection against enemies in their age, as you progress through the ages,
they shoot cannons, which is more affective at killing units than the
protection the tower gives.
*******************
Dock
*******************
Docks can only be build when there is some sort of water in the area.
There is a large range of ships that can be build at the docks. One
is the Fisherman, a Fisherman can seek out finish which can increase
your food outcome and wealth outcome. Also look for Whales, which can
can give your ships a speed boost! However be on lookout for enemy ships,
which will usually destroy your fishing ship if left unguarded. For more
ship building info, see Units below.
******************
Airbase
******************
You cannot build Airbases until you get to atleast the Industrial Age,
and even then, he models of Airplanes are very dull and limited until
you reach the modern and informative ages. During those ages, the
Airplane will become your best friend. Bomber type airplanes can level
a city in seconds and no ground units can touch them, unless they have
Airplane Defense Guns or special Seige Units. Bombers are perfect for
'Hit and Run' attacks and you can quickly sack the city with infantry.
For more plane details, see the Unit section below.
******************
Missile Solo
******************
These cannot be built until the Modern Age. Like the Airbase, Missile Solos
become your best friend in the later ages. Missile Solos can produce V2 Rockets
which can be upgraded to the Cruise Missiles, and the well known 'Nuke'.
The V2/Cruise Missiles are a bit of a disapointment and rarely used by the
computer since they are very inaccurate and have bad overall damage rate. Nukes
always seem to be the most favored missile for they can decimate anything in it's
way and level buildings instantly that are in it's attack radius. For more info
on Cruise Missiles and Nukes see the Unit section below.
*****************
Lookouts/Airplane Defense Guns
*****************
Lookouts is what you have throughout most of the ages, and eventually upgrade
to the useful Air Defense Guns. Lookouts are simple towers which simply allow
you to view a bit further than the tower, but provide absolutely no defense
to enemy attacks. However the Air Defense Gun it upgrades to is very useful
with defending against incoming Bombers or Helicopters and is recommended
for the later proportion of the game.
------------------------------
4. Beginners Guide for Units
------------------------------
Units is obviously what you will use to attack your opponent and rage war
when the time comes. Certain civilizations have certain 'special units'
that only they have, the only main difference between them and regular
units is they may be a bit more powerful and/or faster.
*****************
Barrack Units
*****************
Barrack Units is what is going to be your main line of attack when you
enter war with your opponent. Always be sure to create as many barracks
as you can, and make them all close to each other so your units aren't
very spread apart, you can even select all your barracks at once if they
are close enough by holding your mouse button down and making a box over
the Barracks, and you can create units for every Barracks, super charging
production! Be sure to always differ the types of unit you produce, this
is especially important against human players. Every unit has their strength
against one unit, and weakness against another, if your opponent finds you make
one unit often, they will create the unit that it is weak against. Lets take a
look at Barrack Units and see their strengths and weaknesses.
==================
Light Infantry
==================
Light Infantry usually start out as Slingers who throw err..rope, then they
upgrade to spearmen who can throw spears at the enemy. As you upgrade to the
gunpowder age, these become the very first unit to be able to use gunpowder.
These units are powerful against Archers and most Footmen, so if you are
against most foot units, so be sure to create these guys to make sort work
against them. However they are weak against Cavalry, so it's best not to
produce these guys if you are up against a horde. These Units upgrade to
more advanced units of Light Infantry.
===================
Heavy Infantry
===================
Also known as Hoplites or Pikemen in the later ages, and eventually to
Anti-Tank Missiles, these units specialize when battling against Cavalry,
and eventually tanks when the time comes. However these units are weak
against Archers, and Machine Gunners when the Archers upgrade. These units
upgrade to Anti-Tank Missiles in later ages, which excel at destroying Tanks.
===================
Ranged Infantry (Archers)
===================
These units are the very first units that you will create that will have
the best ranged attack until the Gunpowder age. Archers are great when
battling Heavy Infantry. They are weak against Heavy Calavry and most
Infantry, mainly Archers stay in the back behind the main attack force,
since most units can kill them off quickly. These Units upgrade to
Machine Gunners in later ages.
====================
Scouts
====================
It's not until the later ages when the Scout truely serves it's greatest
purpose. When you first start with Scouts, their only purpose is to explore
the map for you. When you get to ages such as the Modern and Informative ages,
these units upgrade to Elite Special Forces where they have many little
tricks for outdoing the enemy. Some of these include Sniping, which is a
Craft ability which can kill a unit off instantly. Also a Explosive type
move in which the Scout can instantly kill off a Tank or some sort of
ground machinary. It's important to have at least 1 or 2 scouts in your
group because the Computer seems to like using Spies a lot which can bribe
your units and worst of all, is an invisible unit. Scouts have the ability
to see spies in their range, and makes them visible and enabled to be killed
by your units. So it's always important to have a Scout somewhere lurking in
your battle group.
***********************
Stable Units (Upgrades to Auto Plant)
***********************
Stables become enabled during the Classical Age, and all of it's units
become usable during the Medievil age. Stables are upgraded to Auto Plants
during the Industrial Age and in exchange, Cavalry units instead become
Tank like units.
======================
Light Cavalry
======================
Light Cavalry are simple Horse units that are strong when up against Archer
units and Light Infantry. They are weak when up against Heavy Infantry, such
as Pikemen, and they are also very bad at damaging buildings. These eventually
upgrade to Tank units. However they still maintain the same weakness.
======================
Heavy Cavalry
======================
Also known as Knights, these units are great against Archers and the first
Gunpowder units. They are quickly killed off by Heavy Infantry such as Pikemen.
They are eventually upgraded to Tank units during the Industrial Ages.
=====================
Ranged Cavalry (Horse Archers)
=====================
Horse Archers like like Foot Archers and feature close simularities on
strengths and defensives. They are strong when up against Heavy Infantry,
which is useful since the other two Horse units have the opposite effect.
They are also the best unit to use for town raiding, since they are the
best unit at killing civilians. They are weak against Light Cavalry and
Foot Archers. Like all others, these upgrade to Tank units.
***********************
Siege Units
***********************
Siege Units will be your most important weapon when you are going after to
capture a city. Siege Units specialize against buildings and can quickly
level a building in numbers.
================
Catapults
================
Catapults for awhile will be your main type of attack against buildings for
many ages. These units upgrade by every ages to Trebuches, to Cannons to
Artilery in later ages. Whenever you plan a raid or attack on a city, be sure
to bring a legion of these building demolishers to make short work on a city,
while your units deal with any incoming enemy defensives. Be sure to guard
Catapults with those units as well, since they are easily subdued by attacking
units.
================
Rocket Artilery
================
The more advanced units of Siege Factories are the Rocket Artilery, these as
well are exceptional at destroying buildings in numbers, but they also
specialize if your opponent attempts to stop your invasion by using Fighter
Jets and Heliocopters. So bring sure to bring these units to help stop
Aerial defensives in your attack.
================
Supply Wagon
================
This is an absolute must for any invasion to an enemy city. The damage you may
have noticed your troops get when entering enemy terrority is called Attriton.
You will notice your units lose life slowly and have a pulsinating red aura
near their feet. With a Supply Wagon units within it's large range is protected
from all attrition that your units may recieve. Be sure to always guard your Supply
Wagon with your units, if your enemy destroys it, your units will slowly die off.
So be sure to bring Supply Wagons in numbers.
****************
Airbase
****************
During the later ages, Airbases will be your best friend against other Aerial
invasions, and taking down enemy cities quickly. Bombers are the best unit for
attacking buildings, especially in numbers, they can demolish cities and buildings
in seconds, and no ground units can touch them except Rocket Artilery, Fighter Jets
and Air Defense Guns, and the AI usually does not create much of them from what
I have seen.
================
Fighter Jets
================
The main purpose of Fighter Jets is to quickly shoot down any incoming bombing
attacks on your nation. Fighter Jets are very useful units and can quickly take
down any aircraft in a few seconds. They can also be used to simply protrol over
your city for the most protection. It's best to make a legion of Fighter Jets
to have air missions right over your capital so it will be difficult for your
enemy to take it over.
================
Bombers
================
Bombers should be your #1 basis for city or building attacks. They move across
the map at amazing speeds and unleash a Aresnal of bombs down a building or city
which can level it to the ground in only a few trips. In numbers, especially in
packs of 10, these aircrafts are unstoppable and any building in it's way is
completely demolished. However those don't become avalible until the Modern Age,
which is nearly the end of the Age research.
===============
Helicopters
===============
The main purpose of this aircraft is like the Fighter Jet, it protrols
automatically around the map and doesn't require much orders. It specializes
in attacking ships and ground units. These units are exceptional to make if
you are being invaded by a lot of ground forces and need some extra support to
help pick them off.
****************
Nuclear Solos
****************
Well these don't exactly produce units, but they don't really fit under anything
else so I will explain it here. Nuclear Solos produce Nukes and Missiles obviously!
=================
Nuclear Missiles
=================
Nuclear Missiles fire must be researched to even start using them, you cannot
even build Nuclear Solos until the Modern Age. The first form of Nukes are
indeed deadly, they have a mid-range and if dropped directly in a city, it
is possible for complete reducement in which infantry can take it. The
shockwave from the blast can level certain buildings or make them near
destruction. In the Informative Age, you can research Nuclear ICBM, these
missiles are DEADLY. They can reduce a city in one hit and have a huge
shockwave range which can level buildings instantly even wonders. However
there are ecomonic consequences to using Nukes. Nuclear Embargos cause
no market trade for atleast 3 minutes which can become annoying if you need
to buy a resource. You also cannot use too many nukes without a risk of
Armageddon, which is destruction of the planet -- everyone dies! :P.
About 8 Nukes and it's Gameover! So only use Nukes when you are indeed
need of beating your enemy. Otherwise, stick to Bombers for leveling
cities. I like the strengths and weaknesses of the Nuke..it's strong
against everything, and weak against units that Run Away Fast XD.
===============
V2/Cruise Missiles
===============
These are the alternate missiles you can use that have no Nuclear Embargo's
or the risk of Armadgedgon, the exchange is instead inaccuracy of the missiles,
and not very much damage overall. Especially if you hit nothing, what a waste!
You upgrade to Cruise Missiles in the Informative Age, and they are a bit
better than Nukes, overall, I don't reccommend these missiles very much, if you
need big time destruction, use nukes, if you need to just hit a certain building
and don't want any Nuclear Embargos, use Bombers.
------------------------------
5. Beginners Guide for Ages
------------------------------
Ages is what you most importantly need to advance in your civilization without
advancing your civilization whenever possible, you will be left in the dark
as your computer and human opponents begin to get better weaponry than you.
So be sure to always gain a lot of resources and always research at your library
frequently to advance in age.
******************
Ancient Age
******************
This is the default age that your nation begins at. There is very limited
resources at at first you can build nothing other than farms and Cutters Camps.
You will need to research miltary to build a Barracks, Commerce to build a Market,
Civics to build another city, and Science to build Granary's and Lumber Mills.
Your Resource income will overall be very low so be sure to start on those farms
and Woodcutters Camps during this age.
*****************
Classical Age
*****************
This is the next age after the Ancient Age where you can really begin to advance
your civilization and gain control over most buildings to build. You can now
construct a Stable and a Siege Factory with the new technology and advance
your miltary up a notch. By now your resource income from 2-3 cities should
be starting to really pick up, and now Metal and Knowledge come into play here.
Metal is needed to make most Stable units while Knowledge is another very
important resource for your nation. Knowledge now is going to become needed
for every single thing you research, without enough knowledge income, you
cannot advance in all the 4 Techs, and without that, no age advance. So
be sure to build a lot of cities so you can have a University in nearly
everyone, and try to work on your Wealth output to build Scholars to fill
up all your universities.
*******************
Medieval Age
*******************
This is the age what you see in those fairy tales with the Knights and stuff
well it's kinda like that in Rise of Nations, but without the romance and
happy endings. There is no major changes over the Classical Age except
various unit upgrades and I believe the Castle becomes enabled to be built
here, also note that with every age advancement, a new wonder becomes
avalible, the Terra Cotta Army is an extremely good wonder and the computer
barely builds it, so be sure to build this excellent wonder!
*******************
Gunpowder Age
*******************
This is where the Ages really start to take a shift from the other ages.
Obviously you know what to expect when you hear 'Gunpowder' the first unit
of gunpowder becomes avalible in the Barracks, and you will notice that
spears and swords start to vanish and more and more with the guns. Also
Cannons will start to become availble in the Siege Factories.
******************
Enlightment Age
******************
Not too much change from the Gunpowder Age, I consider this a dry age
compared to what is truely about to take place. Just upgrade your units
and buildings in this age and prepare for the dazzling Industrial Age.
*****************
Industial Age
*****************
Whoa, now here is a MAJOR change from the other ages. Gunpowder is completely
the majority with all your Barracks units now, and you will notice that your
entire nation becomes a city! Now another major resource comes into play here:
OIL! Oil is needed for most machinary units that will be made in the Industrial
Ages, which is nearly everything, Oil is needed for Tanks, Siege Vehicles, Airplanes
and Nuclear Missiles. Oil however is a race, even between allies. Whoever gets there
first is the one who will most likely harvest the most oil. You can only build
Oil Wells in areas with Oil! Only 1 worker can be assigned to an Oil Well, and
Oil isn't extremely common, so be sure to put Oil Wells when you spot an Oil
spot. Your Stable will now become an Auto-Plant which now all your Stable
units can be upgraded to Light Tank units. The first Airplanes can be made
now too.
*****************
Modern Age
*****************
The Modern Age consists of the times at the end of WWII, and towards the end
of the Gulf War. Bombers can now be made, and the first Nuclear Solo's can
be made along with researching Nuclear Weapons. Most Infantry are upgraded
to machine guns now and Bazookas. The Stable fully becomes a Tank weaponry shop,
and the Siege Factories become completely machinary as well.
*****************
Informative Age
*****************
This is the very last age that you will research. It is more in today's terms
with the Internet, Cell Phones, Televisions, and all those Informative tools.
The Nuclear ICBM can now be researched, today's tanks, Advanced Bombers, and
all that other cool stuff! So whats left now you say? Still got more to go, and
these techs are now the best to research.
Once you are done with all your techs and all the ages, you will now notice
that 4 Icons are in your library, these are the most useful techs in the entire
game, they are the most costly, and require a lot of knowledge to research.
***************
Missile Shield
***************
Think about this one...isn't it obvious? By researching this, you are immune
to the most strongest weapon in the game -- The Nuke! Nukes have no effect
on you at all and cannot even be launched anywhere near your nation. Useful
if you have Nuke-Happy opponents. But it's a pain if your opponent researches
it too. Also, you are not affected by Nuclear Embargos. However you can still
be destroyed by Armageddon.
***************
World Government
***************
This is a very useful tech to research and an excellent way to quickly defeat
your opponents and sack his cities instantly. World Government allows all timers
such as City Takeover, Wonder Victory and Terrority Victory timers to all expire
INSTANTLY! Meaning you can win without any wait!
****************
Global Properity
****************
This allows you to research new types of Aircrafts such as the Stealth Bomber
and Fighter Jets. I cannot remember too much on this, I know it gives you a
boost in resources. I'll check back on this soon...
****************
Artifical Intelligence
****************
This tech is simply awesome. I research this first all the time. AI allows you
to build ANY unit instantly. Yes, ANY, you can build a nuke in a second, build
dozens of troops in seconds as well. This is perfect is your nation is getting
crushed by an attacking team, provided you got a lot of resources to blow, you
can build so many troops and airplanes in a few seconds that easily drives back
your enemy. So be sure to research this tech first or second!
After EVERYTHING is done, thats it, you have researched everything! By now Victory
should be extremely easily with all these amazing techs.
------------------------------
6. Beginners Guide for Resources
------------------------------
Unless you have been sleeping/skimming throughout this entire guide you know
by now that resources are the most needed nessasity to help build your civilization
****************
Food
****************
Every single human unit in your army needs food. Enough said, and you will
constantly be producing human units to help win your battles. Machines are
only half the battle. The main method to harvest food is to build a farm.
Farms give you an extra +20 boost for a farm CREATED, and the Civilian gives
about +10 towards your constant food output. You are limited to only 5 farms per
city, so it's a good idea to research Civics to build new cities so you can
increase food income. Once your food income gets higher than the Commerce
researched allowed, you will notice food will flash red continously, this means
that some of your resources are going to waste! You must then research commerce
to boost up how much food resources you are allowed. Be sure to research science
as well as you can eventually build Food Granaries that allow extra food income,
they also feature another research tech that allows you to build foot units faster!
***************
Lumber
***************
Lumber is mostly used in constructing buildings and in used in some Barracks
units. Lumber is mainly constructed from Woodcutter Camps. It is reccommended
that you find an area with a lot of trees to build one. The more trees you build
your Woodcutters Camp by, the more civilians that can work there. Unlike Farms, you
are not limited to how many you build per city, and you can even build some out of
your nations boarders, but not in enemy's nation. Research science to build
Lumber Mills which can furtherly harvest your lumber, including another research
that allows your civilians to build faster.
***************
Wealth
***************
Wealth is what keeps your nation going. As you progress through the nations,
you will find that wealth becomes the key factor for nearly everything, but
Wealth is probably the most difficultly gained resource. There is no 'Money Trees'
or Gold Mines, so you must rely on trade and special resources for merchants to
get money. The Temple is also a good building to build because you can research
Taxation, which is money gained from your nation depending on the size overall.
The main way to get Wealth is by creating caravans. Caravans are trade wagons that
travel from your cities in your nation collecting wealth. The greater the distance
the Caravan must travel, the more wealth you get from the trade route. It is not
until Level 3 Commerce is researched when you can trade with other nations. You
can trade with nations you are a peace with or an allied nation. You cannot trade
with nations you are at war with.
**************
Metal
**************
Metal doesn't become a resource needed until the Classical Age. To collect metal
you must build a mine shaft near a mountain. The bigger the mountain, the more
people that can work at the mine. Like Woodcutter Camps, these can be placed
outside your national boards, however not in enemy terrority. Smelters can be
built to help improve your metal output, as well as help to lessen attition damage
and build ships faster. Metal is mainly used on cavalry and some research advancements.
**************
Knowledge
**************
Knowledge is the most important resource in terms of upgrading your age and techs.
You are only allowed 1 University per city, and 7 Scholars per universe, who
generate about +5 to your knowledge income. Be sure to build atleast one University
to per city, and frequently research science so you can research skills in the
University that help Scholars generate knowledge faster. Knowledge is also
important in building nuclear weapons, and a lot is needed for the special techs
such as AI, World Government...etc, so have a lot by the end of the ages.
*************
Oil
*************
Oil is the very last resource that will open, and will be opened when you
reach the industrial age. Oil is used on building an type of machinary or any
non-human unit that you may build. Oil is used in constructing tank are your
Auto-Plant, building the advanced Siege Units and making missiles. Oil however
is not the most easiest resource to gather, and in the real world, control over
Oil is a race. When Oil is in your area, you will notice black splotches on
the ground, you can then order a SINGLE Civilian to harvest this oil. Oil
can also be found in water, they appear as darkened areas, check the Mini-Map
for most Oil locations, which look like black square symbols. The good factor
about gathering oil is Oil Refineries. These are buildings that like Granaries
and Lumber Mills, increase your Oil output, however instead of increasing Oil
just in your city, Oil Refineries increase your oil income by %33 in your
ENTIRE nation, so that is a life saver. You can only build one Oil Refinery
per city, so it's a must to build one per city. Oil is a resource that
must be harvested in order to make the future weapons, so steal as many
Oil Wells as you can from your enemy, so it makes it hard for him to
produce Oil.
------------------------------
7. Basic Strategies
------------------------------
This will contain combos and methods you can use to defeat your enemy.
COMING SOON
------------------------------
8. Frequently Asked Questions
------------------------------
This will have some questions I feel people would ask and I will answer
them.
COMING SOON
------------------------------
9. Contact
------------------------------
If you have any questions about Rise of Nations that falls along the guidelines
of this FAQ, then please feel free to contact me. If it is a gameplay question
that you may need help on, you might consider trying a FAQ, the Rise of Nations
message board on GameFAQs, a website, or if none of the above, you can contact
me for that too, but try all those suggestions first.
EMAIL: DarkChaosPrince@hotmail.com
I check my Email nearly everyday, so if you have a question, please refer to my
email before any other contact first.
AIM: Neo9843
Don't expect to hear from me on AIM, if you have a Rise of Nations question, then
send a message saying 'I Have a Rise of Nations Question' anything else and I will
assume you are a spammer and will block you. I get way to much AIM annoyance now
a days.
-------------------------------
10. Copyright
-------------------------------
As of now, this FAQ is only located on GameFAQs, if you want to use this FAQ on your
website, just please drop me an email and we can talk about putting the FAQ elsewhere.
DO NOT put this FAQ on your website without permission of me first. **DO NOT**. This
is your first warning.
COPYRIGHT 2003 - Dauragon C Mikado88 (Travis Rappa)
