6. Research!
• Construct a library in classical age and remember to keep it upgraded and active. A strong technological advantage will give your city a distinct advantage in economy, defense, and offense. Be on the lookout for techs that enable you to build additional buildings (there are technologies for increasing your limit of catapults, farms, caravans, and more).
7. Upgrade!
• Your blacksmith is one of the best buildings to upgrade immediately after advancing an age. It provides new unit upgrades, which in turn lets you field more powerful troops to raid your opponents for more resources to afford all the other upgrades you wish to purchase.
8. Command!
• Constructing a castle in medieval age not only serves as a powerful defensive structure, but it allows you to train famous historic generals like Cleopatra and Alexander the Great. They’re tough, hard-hitting units who are great for leading the charge into the enemy base.
9. Hire Mercenaries!
• To further bolster your attacks, you can add mercenaries to your army. These temporary troops only last for one attack, but are much stronger than regular troops, and also don’t count against your regular troop limit.
10. Strategize & Co-operate!
• Blessings at the Temple are often overlooked by players but provide extremely powerful temporary bonuses like +30-percent troop hitpoints. These cost the same trade goods as your mercenaries though, so often there are tough tradeoffs to choose between — is it worth more to bring a war elephant mercenary on your next attack, or do you want +20-percent hitpoints for all of your defensive buildings? The choice will vary depending on your situation.
• Picking the right Alliance can be a real force multiplier. Try to join an active Alliance where you can get troop donation requests filled immediately. Almost as important, try to pick an Alliance with a wide variety of Nations, so you can benefit from a range of unique units from those Nations.
