Category: Games

Tips to Advance Through the First Era of Ara: History Untold

Mike Nelson, Xbox Wire Editor

Summary

Getting a foothold early in Ara: History Untold is a key to successful transition out of the First Era as quickly as possible; here’s how to make that happen.
Utilizing a mix of Crafting, Expansion, and specific Technology research has helped us — and it can help you!
Ara: History Untold is launching September 24, 2024, for Windows PC, Steam, and day one with PC Game Pass.

There’s a tremendous number of gameplay systems to learn in Ara: History Untold, from Crafting to Research to Prestige, that it will take time to get fully acclimated to its wonderous take on the grand strategy genre. And like many grand strategy games, the more time you spend with it, the more you’ll become acclimated to its gameplay loop, and everything will begin to fall into place — before you know it, the hours will fly by as you become engrossed in your quest to become the greatest ruler ever known.

In my time with Ara: History Untold, I’ve found that one of the keys to success is laying down firm groundwork and getting out of the First Era in 50 Turns or less, while shoring up the necessary Research to help you in the latter phases of the game. The following strategies may not line up perfectly for everyone — depending on which Leader you choose some of these Quality of Life boosts may be more significant — but I’ve consistently found that these strategies have helped me get my footing in the early going and could help set you on the right path as well.

Automate Your Scout

One of the first moves you should make is to set your Scout to ‘Auto-Explore’ the map – you can find this in the lower-left corner of your screen from the circular icon. You can always come back and give them some solid direction later, but for now let them go off and reveal more of the ‘fog of war’ around your starting zone. They’re also great at coming across and collecting various resource Caches on the map, giving you small boosts to Crafting components or resources.

Start Workshopping

Your opening build queue is going to be critical to trying to get out of the First Era as quickly as possible. When given the option to pick your first Improvement, go with Workshop. It will be necessary for you to craft essential supplies that can then be used to help boost yields on your other Improvements, and the Workshop is the place where a lot of this magic happens. This also starts to shore up some trade goods that may come in handy later as you meet other civilizations.

Attaching Amenities

Attaching Amenities to your City, like Jewelry, Feasts, or even Craftable items like Baskets, can help give you a boost to your Quality of Life scale. One of the biggest keys to success in Ara: History Untold is finding every possible way to improve the lives of your people, and utilizing your Amenity boost can help increase traits like Happiness, Prosperity, and others which will feed into not only faster city growth, but helping you accelerate progress to kick off a Golden Age (more on that in a bit).

Research What You Really Need

The Technology tree is full of options – take the time to hover your mouse over these items and read “the fine print.” You’ll see that many of these Technologies also unlock new items to craft at your Workshop, but also unlock critical Improvements that you’ll want to take advantage of as soon as possible (and not pass up when you move out of the First Era).

For example, Ropemaking unlocks Logging Camps – that’s a critical Improvement that’s needed to collect Timber. Others like Grain Storage unlocks the Granary which boosts Farm production all-up, and Pottery unlocks the Ceramic shop which unlocks even more options for Crafting. So, read the fine print and choose a Technology that can help you with boosting your Improvements in this early phase.

Pay for a Rush Pass

If your Projects are not completing as quickly as you’d like, you can always drop some Wealth to reduce the number of remaining Turns it will take for them to complete. You can’t tap this too many times in the early phase of the game; you start with some Wealth, but not that much to throw around just yet. But if you find that you need to get your foundation established and you’re several Turns in already, consider paying for the boost to keep the line moving.

Expand!

By around Turn 11 – 15, you should be coming across your first Claim Generation. Play to the map that you’re given and consider what’s in front of you. Do any of them contain unique Materials (e.g. Horses) to Claim? Do any of them offer a higher production yield to certain Resources? Because this early part of the game is all about getting a foothold, make sure you’re not neglecting a critical need. For example, one time I was several Turns in and discovered I was short of Timber — I had neglected taking that into consideration when choosing which Claims to select. Don’t be me! Have a balanced approach when selecting a Claim.

Settler By Turn 30 (At the Latest)

By around Turn 25 you should be close to maxing out some of your Improvement zone opportunities – time for expansion! Not only so you can continue establishing a foothold in your region, but also ensuring your second City can complement any resources or strategic options that your starting zone may not have (e.g. if you’re not near the sea, make sure your second city is). Get the Settler started in your queue no later than Turn 30 and set them off to Settle a new city – just avoid any hostile Tribes along the way. And tigers. Oh, and lions too.

Enter a Golden Age

Feed your Golden Age bar by increasing various Quality of Life stats for your Citizens like Happiness, Health, Knowledge, Prosperity, and Security — you can find this in the lower-left corner of your screen. All your various Improvements tap into one of these stats in some form or another and the Golden Age bar is keeping tabs on all of these, adding up how much bonus attributes you’re bringing it.

This is also where Crafting comes back to play a central role, like when I talked about Amenities earlier. Being able to attach Crafted items like Jewelry (which boosts Prosperity and Happiness), Feasts (boosts Food and Happiness), and Baskets (increases Prosperity), all help to fill up the Golden Age bar. Once kicked off, you’ll get a Prestige bonus from all sources of Prestige (like Archery and Animal Husbandry) for 25 turns – which is going to be helpful several Eras from now as you’re faced with advancing out of Act 1 against your other opponents.

Baca Juga

Try for a Triumph

Speaking of finding ways to boost your Quality of Life bar, if you can manage it, try and pour some Crafted resources into developing a Triumph. For example, Stonehenge can give a significant Knowledge boost, which then feeds into your Golden Age bar, which then helps your placement amongst other Leaders.

Be a Good Neighbor… For Now

It probably goes without saying but try not to pick any fights. Or at least don’t until you’re certain you can win. Or better yet try and be friends with everyone that you meet in the early going. I’ll repeat it again: You should be focusing on establishing your foothold in the region with resource growth, Improvements, and Claim generation, not having to deal with skirmishes. That being said: It wouldn’t hurt to have Archery as your second or third technology researched so you can ward off any unwanted raids on your city and to clear out any hostile creatures.

Why Not Go for Six?

As you’re nearing Turn 50, you should be close to finishing up your fifth Technology research – thus kicking off the choice to advance to the Next Era (Bronze). If you’re in a good position among the other Leaders, try for clearing off all the remaining starting Research options because they will be beneficial for you long-term, allowing for a greater number of Crafted Goods to create and Improvements that will be needed on other terrain as your empire grows.

What’s Next?

Following the guidance throughout this piece should have you advancing out of the First Era by about Turn 50 or so. Once done, the next phase of the game will continue to be a mix of what you have been doing (establishing a foothold in your region, mustering some troops for defense, crafting items for potential trade and yield boosts). Your key, at this point, is ensuring you’re putting yourself in a good enough position to survive out of Act 1 – it’s effectively a race to the Iron Age to ensure your spot in the pool. Hopefully I’ve helped you do that here today. Good luck!

Ara: History Untold is launching September 24, 2024, for Windows PC, Steam, and day one with PC Game Pass.

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Build a nation and lead your people throughout history to the pinnacles of human achievement as you explore new lands, develop arts and culture, conduct diplomacy, and go head-to-head with your rivals to prove you are the greatest ruler ever known. It's Your World Now. Ara: History Untold is an evolution in historical grand strategy, featuring beloved classic PC strategy mechanics alongside innovative gameplay like a national crafting economy, true simultaneous turn resolution, a non-linear technology tree, and cloud-backed synchronous/asynchronous multiplayer – all with an expansive and vibrant presentation where you can zoom out from surveying the very edges of your empire all the way down to your citizens living their daily lives. In Ara, there are no pre-set paths to victory, leading to endless possibilities. Your choices will define the world you create, your experience, and your legacy. Explore an Immersive Living World Explore a dynamic living world filled with life and charm across sweeping landscapes ranging from tropical jungles to sand-swept deserts as you discover the resources you need to develop your nation. Witness the world come to life in vivid, realistic detail as citizens move throughout the world and react dynamically to times of health and sickness, war and peace, wealth and despair with unique biomes, cultures, and eras representing the diversity of human experience. Build Your Nation Serve your people and grow your prestige with numerous Improvements, from forges to libraries, citadels to cathedrals, public parks to industrial factories – as well as a global variety of the greatest architectural Triumphs ever conceived and built by human hands. Guide your people through the eras of human discovery Nurture your people’s brilliance and invention as you progress your Nation through twelve unique Technology Eras, making the hard choices about where to focus your Nation’s greatest minds. As you near the end of each Era, you’ll have to decide how fast to push your scientists along the path to the future – at the risk of the present. Oversee a rich and detailed national economy Harvest the bounty of the natural world and deploy the labor of your people with a depth-filled National Crafting system. Will you manufacture Amenities – like lavish feasts – to provide your cities and citizens with powerful benefits, or invest in the creation of Equipment – the weapons of war – to prepare your Armies to defend your nation or conquer your rivals? Whatever paths you choose you’ll need to carefully optimize your resources and production to achieve the most efficient systems if you want to outpace your rivals to fortune and lasting glory. Rule Your Way Choose from dozens of history’s most influential figures to embody as you reshape the world through your choices. The unique and varied global Leaders and Nations in Ara emphasize a wide variety of different playstyles. Experiment with gameplay-impacting Traits and powerful Leader Abilities drawn from the effect they had on world history. Whether friend or foe, each Leader has a distinct personality based on their historical background that informs their AI behaviors. Experience True Simultaneous Turns Every turn each nation's actions and choices resolve simultaneously, leading to suspense, anticipation, unique outcomes, and surprising twists on the classic turn-based formula. The fate of your people will be determined by your decisions and your ability to predict your opponent’s next move, putting your skill as a leader to the ultimate test. Defend your people by land, sea, and air Warfare in Ara is presented in the Living World, as thousands of years of military conflict reflect the progress and martial prowess of your people. Develop technologies to advance your weaponry against your rivals, hone your wartime economy and industry to gain the edge, and outthink your opponent’s strategies as maneuvers resolve authentically at once thanks to the power of True Simultaneous Turns. Prove Your Worth in Online Multiplayer Combining the speed and surprise of True Simultaneous Turns with the power of the cloud – multiplayer in Ara is fast, seamless, and able to be enjoyed asynchronously with a wide range of options to tailor you and your friend’s experience to the way you want to play together. A Microsoft Account is required to play online multiplayer.