Any fan of the Civilization series will recognize many similarities within Old World. Being another 4X game, newcomers to the franchise may be expecting very similar mechanisms and playstyles. However, Old World introduces a political intrigue and dynastic system akin to the Crusader Kings series and embeds it into the 4X turn-based strategy genre players have come to know and love.

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Managing an empire and characters that direct its flow can appear overwhelming but luckily, there are several tips and pointers to keep veterans of this genre and newcomers on track to creating and expanding their powerful empires.

5 Expand Expand Expand

using scout to expand in Old world

To get the best head start, players should cover as much ground on the map as much as possible. This holds several advantages, namely that players will be able to locate key areas with the best resources and will know where rivals have their settlements set up.

Furthermore, the more cities players have in their empire, the more resources and units players can field and have access to. This of course can equate to having better success as the game progresses. When founding a city early on in the game, players will also be able to choose 4 types of ruling families: Riders, Landowners, Patrons, and Traders. Each will play differently and offer various boons. For example, the Rider family option will have a better connection link between settlements and will grant abilities that can promote units quicker and push them further. Players should choose a family type that suits their playstyle.

4 Early UI Tips

old world UI

Players should select the ‘show resources and improvements overlay’ by shift-clicking or holding the letter 'M' to bring it up. What this does is that it allows players to see what value each resource tile has, allowing them to prioritize which resources to take. Players may also just toggle this option on. Certain resources may also require specific technologies to be researched, and this overlay allows players to identify the necessary technologies to have access to the resource.

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Moreover, players will be delighted to know that there is a ‘redo’ tab (essentially control z) that will help players avoid those pesky misclicks and orders. Gone are the days of quick reloads. This option can also allow players some flexibility when making certain decisions regarding movement. How players use it is up to them.

3 The Importance Of Orders

Choosing the right leader in old world which means better orders

In Old World, orders effectively act as a currency for taking actions. What does this mean? Pretty much everything from movement, upgrading, building, and attacking enemies. Instead of mindlessly cycling through every unit and building, the game encourages players to prioritize certain actions to carry out their respective strategies. Players will want attributes and bonuses that improve order as much as possible.

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Just hovering over the order area beside the leader portrait will allow players to view how their order is being generated. More citizens, having a religion in a city, and certain events in-game are just some of the ways players can increase their order reserves. Leftover orders that aren’t used will be sold for gold and the amount of gold made will be shown by hovering over the order section of the leader profile.

2 Using The Training Rate Resource

Old World fight

Training and upgrading units in Old World differs greatly from other turn-based 4X strategy games. Unlike games in the Civilization series, units in Old World use a specific resource known as the ‘training rate’ to facilitate promotions, deployment of a general, and additional movement. This allows for certain units to be more effective in various circumstances. For example, players can assign generals to certain units granting additional buffs and bonuses, such as increased damage output and becoming immune to critical hits. Again, doing this action will use the training rate resource and cost order.

Another way is to promote player units by selecting the promotion option which will be a familiar sight to Civilization players. However, the promotion section branches out and allows for additional specialization such as being better in combat or having more hit points. Players can also use the training rate resource to force march units to turn certain occasions in their favor.

1 Researching Technology

Old world tech tree

Researching technology is very important, as each game of Old World is concentrated in a more limited time frame as is more focused compared to other games like Humankind. This means that choosing the right research is critical in each campaign. In the beginning, players will have a choice between 3 main technologies: Stonecutting, Trapping, and Divination.

Religion is very important in Old World, and more research headway in that direction will grant further benefits (like more order!), which means selecting the divination and having access to the shrine early on will be the way to go. Alternatively, the trapping pathway will allow players to recruit slingers, set up camps, and have access to an additional settler. This is the recommended pathway, so going with this option certainly does not elicit any harm.

Old World is currently available on PC and macOS.

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