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Although not a pre-requisite to playing or enjoying the game, the approach of this advanced units snippet is predicated on the idea of setting up a fundamental and solid City foundation to 'sprint' through Ages that do not offer the best advanced units; which, in my opinion, are primarily the Industrial Age and the Contemporary Era as they can offer the better units more than one age higher; however, the Iron Age and Colonial both offer units of the next age (Colonial can provide units two ages higher but that is very difficult to achieve.)
One can still obtain advanced units without a good City set-up but in either a good or bad situation, some sacrifice must be made - the level of sacrifice depends on how solid that foundation is. In addition, you might be wondering, why leave all that Tech behind? Well, according to the information - the better units come when you are in Contemporary Era (CE) and you will need 14 ... 14! ... available Technologies to push the Story Quests into much higher ages whereas in the Industrial Age (InA), you only need 4 additional to push the Story Quests into the Postmodern Era (PME). Also, it is my opinion that the advanced units will provide a higher Forge Point (FP) return than utilizing the space for a Goods or FP-producing building so giving up those Land Expansions (for now) is a worthy trade-off.
For clarification ... the 'sprint' means that you are moving through the particular Age as quickly as possible to get to the next one by ensuring you are set up to fast-track any Story, Bonus or Side Quests and not simply completing Research to get to the next Age.
Last, the recommendation of having a plan to Renovate or One Up your Event/Settlement buildings so those are not missed and upgraded to the desired Age. If you plan on doing any sort of sprinting, understand which buildings you will want to One Up as you pass through the Age you are sprinting through and those buildings that will require Renovating once you pause in the targeted Age. Of course, One Up'ping your way there works as well - depending on your inventory.
Initial Setup
For a stress-free attempt for ensuring advanced Age units, camping out in the Iron Age (IA) is the best way to set your City up for success. If you are beyond IA, the best advice is halt any Technology research and focus your resources on building your City up. Acquire and level GBs (and Event Buildings) to provide for combat boosts while collecting Goods for those future Technology unlocks. While 'clearing the map' in advance of Story Quest progression is not required, it does make the Questing process faster as there is no delay to return things 'back to normal'.
Prior to exiting IA - or whatever your current Age may be - push the Great Buildings (at a minimum, more is always better, of course!) of the Statue of Zues (SoZ/Zues) and Castel del Monte (CdM) to Level 10 along with a Level 6 Alcatraz (Traz) and Chateau Frontenac (CF). Additional combat boosts can be obtained with a Level 9 Yggrdrasil and Event buildings. A great alternative or additonal low-cost boost can be had with a Level 10 Cathedral of Aachen (CoA) Great Building.
Always look ahead to the Technology Tree and trade surplus Goods upwards (and/or perhaps purchase some higher-aged Goods) to ensure plenty are on hand.
Again, if the desire is to clear the World Map along with the Story Quests, follow the tips on the aforementioned page (e.g., conserve tecnology until absolutely required) and ignore anything else that follows on this page.
Last, remember that as long as you have not Scouted a Province, then you should not receive a Daily Challenge asking you to acquire Sectors. Be mindful of this as you push the boundaries of the CMap so you can time your activities appropriately.
Iron Age (IA)
The first Continent was explored as much as possible by use of acquiring Early Middle Ages (EMA) units from the EMA CMap Bonus area (Todespass/Galgenschluct). It is important to even conserve your IA Technology as this Bonus Questline requires Research of one (1) Technology to complete. If this opportunity was missed, it will be fine as there is still enough research in later ages for conservation as well.
At this stage, the Story Questline should be stuck at "Poison in the Well" in the Early Middle Ages.
The Campaign Map will display the entirety of the initial continent that consists of IA, EMA, HMA, LMA and CA.
Early Middle Ages (EMA) through High Middle Ages (HMA)
EMA was tapped by only Researching one (1) Technology. EMA units were gained via other means (GE, GBG, Timeless Dojo's, Emissaries, etc.) and additional Goods were acquired via Recurring Quests once all Side and Bonus Quests were completed (mostly aborted as the rewards were less than 'meh' or more resources needed to than reward would give back).
The Story Questline was pushed as far as it could go, again - unlocking Technology only when required - while simultaneously clearing the entire continent by combat as you are not subect to further CMap Bonus Quests when in lower Ages. Also, to make things simpler, ONLY negotiate the Sectors in Ashcrook or Queenshop as that will help skirt a few Quests as there is a story branch at "Ploy or No Ploy" but conquer all other Sectors/Provinces using Combat. Feel free to board the Ship that appears to see where it takes you (but don't send the Scout off of it yet!).
After the land campaign was completed, Technologies were quickly researched to push into HMA. You should be able to accomplish this and leave seven (7) remaining EMA Technologies still locked in EMA - Multistory Houses, Casting, Apiary, Quarries, Crop Rotation, Fertilization and Monarchy (the last three are Land Expansions - ouch!).
Using the same approach, only one (1) Technology was tapped to initially break into HMA and many Side/Bonus Quests were quickly aborted. For me, I left eight (8) remaining HMA Technologies (Quality Products, Guilds, Conservation, Trade Routes, Chemistry, Clearing, Water Wheels, and Town Houses - four Land Expansions đ) when I was ready to exit HMA. At some point, you should come to a Story Quest in the Late Middle Age Questline called "Beware of the Wizard" where the Intelligence technology is required to build a Tower Ruin. This will require Aging Up into LMA which is when things will start to get interesting ...
Late Middle Ages (LMA)
Again, it might not work for all since you may or may not be starting at the same point (you may be stuck at the LMA Quest "Fire in the Hall" instead - no worries, it should right itself somewhere in Colonial), but the goal of this Age is to:
As soon as you Age Up to LMA, the LMA Bonus Quests should kick off taking your Quest Slot. Another Quest Slot will be added to start the LMA Side Questline as well. Be careful if you are an ardent RQ'er as you could accidentaly skip a critical Bonus Quest because as soon as you abort the current HMA RQ, the slot rotation will start the Bonus or Side Questline and muscle memory may make you accidentally Abort a nice reward. Have no worries though, if you have already cleared the CMap - your RQs (in 2 slots even!) should be returned to you quick enough (warning, there is a lot of recruiting of troops and if you are conserving Technology properly, this could test your patience.)
The additional Questlines should be worked in tandem with your Story Quests with an eye for synergies between the lines to conserve your available research. For example, the LMA Side Quest "Swords and Sorcery" ask that you have a Library or Academy and if you went for the Library (as it is the first of the two in the LMA Technology Tree), you would waste research as you could simply have pushed for the Intelligence Technology which has been holding up your LMA Story Questline as the Academy is the next Technology after Intelligence, but then again - there could be a Cultural Technology requirement on the Story Questline right after ...
To that end, the Intelligence Technology requires two inputs so two research branches will need to be followed in order to continue the Story Quests: the top research branch is Crane, Cartography, and New Trade Routes and and the bottom research branch is Biology, Estate Houses and Water Reservoirs. Try and push the Bonus Questline as far as possible until it requires Technology as you just may fulfill some of them as you are pursuing the Story Questline. Other Research will be required to continue push the Story Line all the way to "Verseille's Beauty" where you will need to be in CA in order to build CA decorations. It is probably feasible to reach it with fewer research, but I was able to leave five (5) remaining LMA Technologies still locked (Metal Working, Aristocracy, Optics, Apartment Houses, Pest Control and Gunpowder).
To give you a time perspective, the technology 'sprint' from HMA to LMA was done over the course of about three (3) days - the GE/GBG was GLORIOUS as I had CA units against HMA opposition. This was accomplished as there was no wait for Scout travel-time or fighting as all Provinces had already been conquered and other Quest requirements were met the execution of the previous tips (RQs, Emmissaries, etc.) If this is a goal, ensure you have plenty of Goods by looking at what is required to unlock Technologies as well as sufficient Coin and Supplies for not just Research but for Quests as well (recommend 3M in Coin/Supplies).
At this stage (and if you haven't already), you can start exploring the new continent to prepare for the next sprint. Follow the notes in the Industrial Age (InA) CMap for the optimal path so one may explore this area without risk utilizing the addition of the new CA units in your arsenal (as well as acquiring three (3) Land Expansions).
Colonial Age (CA)
This section is still being worked on as it is a collection of notes as I think of them and have time to refer to other notes and edit it all out so it makes better sense.
To set the table for this Age, you will want at the entirety of the first continent explored as noted above and at least the first few Provinces of the InA continent acquired as noted above. This will allow you to sprint the Story Quest to "Dees Destiny" to gettwo (2) InA Jaegers and pick up one (1) InA Rifleman on the way there at "Cartwrights Cause when you Age Up to the Colonial Age. I cleared the entirety of the InA CMap (no Las Penas!) using my CA units in LMA, but one could wait until they receive the InA Jaeger units after Aging Up to do so.
Here is why we halt at Las Penas. Although tied to InA CMap, the taking of Las Penas (or messing about with Desperation too soon) could or should trigger the InA Bonus Questline. This Questline will require two (2) Technologies to complete, the first is a Cultural Technology at "Enemy Propaganda" and the Modern Roads Technology for "Ruler of the Continent". Here is the dealio, Modern Roads is an InA Technology and because this is a Bonus Questline - "Ruler of the Continent" will occupy a Quest Slot until that Technology is unlocked. Guess what? Modern Roads is one of the last InA technologies to be researched so most players feel they must Age Up right then and blow through the InA Research Tree to move forward. By doing so, you will remove any and all chances of obtaining advanced units in InA. The ultra other reason is to maintain 2 RQ slots going until you ready to give one up.
As one of your last actions before going to InA, use your new, but probably worn out, elite InA Jaeger units and follow the path described in the Progressive Era (PE) CMap exploration. The assumption is that you are fighting with one (1) Jaegger and seven (7) Rogues and utilizing Rogue-Fu Fighting and practicing COVID-free safe-distancing by running the Jaeger to the corner so it is nice and safe.
Once recovered and if you have the juice, do the same for the first few Provinces of the Modern Era (ME) CMap as noted. As an option, one could synchronize the Story Quest with CMap exploration such that this area can be acquired using PE troops obtained once those Story Questlines are completed; it is just slower and you are in constant campaign mode.
Again, CA was only momentarily visited for only as long as it took for the Scout to do it's job on the world map as the coffers were already filled for the next stint but take as short or as long as you need to here in order to prepare for flawless execution when you Age Up to InA.
Industrial Age (InA)
This is the good one ... the Goal: super-charged MG Units - Wow! These bad boys are Postmodern Era (PME) Range units that are OP against your regular InA units; the have the Contact! ability which allows them to retaliate against other range units - even those that are stealth - Dayyyyuummmmm!
You may be in a position and wondering "But I am already in CA and I have completed the entire CA Tech Tree and have NO extra Technologies available to me ... is this possible?" My answer would be ... a good, solid MAYBE (it is not a definite). Maybe not PME troops, but pretty darn sure of PE troops - I wouldn't recommend doing it in a sprint. If you fall into this category, then (a) if you have not cleared the InA CMap, then do only as it is noted and stop or (b) if you have then do not advance beyond the InA CMap. You will want to work and synchronize your Story Quests and CMap exploration when you do Age Up and literally research the Quests to try and determine your best outcome (e.g., the "Don't Mention the War" PE Quest mentioned below) in order to maximize the troops (and types) you are rewarded at each Age. The reason it is a 'maybe' is because this was the same exact boat I was in and was able to pull it off (and I still have one Tech leftover) but I just don't remember how. Thus, for subsequent worlds I took this understanding of the game and applied it in this sprint-style manner to avoid the hassle so I could do more of what I wanted with the time I spent in the game.
So how do we get there, Pinky? The same way we do every Age, Brain - we conserve Technology ... but firsties first - Do you have the Goods? Do you have the Coin and Supplies? Do you have sufficient FP banked to quickly resolve any Techology challenges a Quest may ask for? Do you have a One-Up/Reno plan? Do you ... do you ... you get it.
Now we need to discuss when to take that InA Province of Las Penas. So you know that it will take up a Quest Slot and you need to be prepared for that Quest Slot to not be available until you are essentially done with the Story Questline sprint to InA which means that Modern Roads quest is gonna stick around until you have your PME MG units. Your other Quest Slot will probably be occupied by other Side/Bonus Quests for the most part (but your RQ's will show up every now and then). You also now have some insight on the tech involved so you better take it before your last Cultural Technology is gone. To play it safe, the CA Story/Side Quests take so little Technology that I took Las Penas well in advance of leaving CA (the Technology looks like its more because the branches needed to exit CA to enter InA) to ensure that I would be able to obtain (and eventually resolve) "Ruler of the Continent". Sure, I had to stare at it a long time and it was aggravating, but I truly want my 2 RQ Slots back once I've completed my sprint to the end of the PME Story Questline.
Industrial Age (InA)
Gotta mention the Police Station quest ...
Progressive Era (PE)
You will encounter the Story Quest "Don't Mention the War" where you will be required to acquire a sector without fighting or research a technology. This doesn't necessarily have to be a PE sector so plan your world conquests accordingly so you will have a Sector available to you when you obtain this Quest
Modern Era (ME)
You will receive your must have Bazooka Teams from the "Rin Gozen's Warriors" Side Quest (this is the purpose of Combat for those initial ME Provinces) so once you see your Story Quests mention her, roll your RQ's to see if this Side Quest will pop up. Be VERY CAREFUL though, as it is Abortable and you will need these to get through this stage.
Postmodern Era (PME)
Here comes the payoff! Hopefully, you have arrived at the Story Quest "Welcome to the Jungle" and will need at least three (3) Technologies available for research.
Your Story Quests and CMap exploration should be synchronized at this stage - that is; do NOT explore the CMap unless a Story Quest insists. You will first need to Scout and then need to NEGOTIATE two (2) Sectors (not the entire Province) of both Cai Chet Nui and Rung Chien Dau. Do NOTHING else on these provinces until you have to (not even for a Daily Challenge; suck it up Butter Cup). If you goof this up, you will (hopefully!) instead receive PME Commandos instead so it will not be a total loss. Overall, you should proceed in much of the following way.
It really doesn't matter if you finish the Story Quests or CMap exploration of this area as you have achieved the Goal (i.e., PME MG/Commando units), but you will notice that Ong Chu Cuoi Cung is a Land Expansion and will be the last Province to be explored. Also, it understood to continue on to the CE area and explore that for it's two (2) Land Expansions without disrupting opportunities for the next set of advance units later. If one was not in a hurry for these Land Expansion, one could simply sit tight and only open up the remaining Provinces as a new Event was rolling around for the 'acquire sectors or 24-hour productions' quests if one found the combatting easy (see guide).
If you soldier through the remainder of the Story Quests, you should arrive at "The End of This Chapter" which requires getting to the very end of the PME Technology Tree to complete. At this point, do not complete this Story Quest but instead, you should embark on exploring the Campaign Map further (more detail in next section).
Post-Modern Era (PME)
Alright ... so you have been sitting in InA flexing your PME troops for quite some time, staring at the "The End of This Chapter" Story Quest and find yourself ready to tackle what is next ... so what is next? Next, is the opportunity for FE+ units while in CE! To set you up for this, you must first explore the CMap some more but you do have options; you can do this while your City is in InA, PE, ME or PME (don't forget to conserve your Technology!) The way it works is there is a "CE Blocker Quest" in the CE Storyline that could prevent you from getting super-charged advanced units. I have no idea what that quest is, but it is tied to the Campaign Map so you must work the CMap a certain way so your Storyline will "jump" from CE to FE when you finally Age Up to CE (at the time of this writing, I have no idea if it ever jumps back to finish the CE or TE Storyline.)
So, regardless of your Age, follow this guide to explore the CE, TE and FE Campaign Map.
The notes below reflect anything notable as those Ages were sprinted through with a momentary pause at PME to gather and ensure enough One-Up and Reno Kits were available for the plan. This particular City had more One Up's available than Reno's so certain interim upgrades were required (yeah, the extra columns made it confusing).
Progressive Era (PE)
Modern Era (ME)
Post-Modern Era (PME)
Contemporary Era (CE)
Start your entrance into CE by closing the the needed to technologies. Once completed; roll your RQs and you should receive a Side Quest to research the "Internet" + installation of a Land Expansion. Simply slide into CE by researching the Internet as it will also provide a Land Expansion and fulfill this Side Quest. Roll your RQs again and CE Side Quests will be presented. You can do these or abort them as you see fit (read the next two paragraphs before deciding).
The Story Questline will stop early at âSheik Overâ to ask you to Scout the province in the northwest of Hafar Al Karak (Salfah). This one you avoided earlier on the CE Map (check the map for the correct one). Scout it now to continue working the Storyline after the Scout goes to Salfah (do nothing with the Sectors). If you did not abort your Side Quests at this point, you can play the Side/Story Quests off each other to collect some easy rewards (note, you can speed that Scout for 50 Diamonds to move things along).
As an example of playing the quests off one another, if you hold on the Side Quest of âThe Bionic Manâ and âHypothesisâ, you can fullfill them both when you get to the Story Quest âMadmanâs Mayhemâ as it requires researching a technology. You can dip again at the Side Quest âMad Influenceâ and Story Quest âDictatorâs Dramaâ. There is a lot of ârecruit unitsâ Side/Story Quests going on, so check the hidden rewards of the Side Quests to see if troops are a reward as these can (and will) fulfill each other. I would guess that I probably did about 20% of the Side Quests as I was eager to return both Quest Slots to RQs.
As a side note, I obviously selected Bionics to fulfill "Madman's Mayhem" as it is also enroute to a military and the Stress Management technology.
The Story Quest âDictatorâs Deathâ will call for twenty (20) productions from your current or previous Age. If you are like me and just donât build those things; be prepared in advance by having a PME production building installed (2-Lane road required) or include something like a Terrace Farm, Magnum Opus or a special production building like them in your One-Up/Reno Plan (the easier and lazier choice.)
Once the CE âDictatorâs Deathâ Quest is complete, the Story Questline will jump to âEyes Aheadâ â an FE Story Quest which requires Scouting of the FE CMap. At this point, your Storyline/Campaign Map will be synchronized together to continue your pursuit of advanced units while in CE.
Future Era (FE)
"Campaign Against Couturier" will require building a military from your age or research a tech that unlocks a military building. I unlocked the Aeriel Fire Support technology.
"Even More Cyber Attacks" will require researching a technology, so I went with the Shophouses tech.
"Investigations" will also require researching a technology; Waterfront Housing it was.
Once you conquer Pala, the Story Quests should send you to Kolaburg. Now, per Uberhelp1 - do NOT conquer Kolaburg until you have the quest "Down the Rabbit Hole" activated. Note, that the quest "Investigations" had me research a technology (not sure why) but went ahead and unlocked Consumerism.
You won't be specifically told to conquer Kalabuye, but you will need to in order to continue the Storyline. This Province is held by Joy Danba, thus all Sectors should be negotiated per Uberhelp1.
"Evidence of Atrocity" will require research of a technology; and down went Reactive Armor.
Arctic Future (AF)
Oceanic Future (OF)
In OF and above, the CMap for the Ages will be in "parts" meaning you will work a screen of maps, journey to another screen, etc. In OF, there are three (3) parts so it will take awhile to clear the entire map. The best units to use is either one (1) FE Hover Tank or two (2) CE Attack Helicopters as your seed unit and the remainder Rogues. There is a lot of artillery on these maps and the Helo's should allow for short work of the Sectors depending on your combat stats.
Do NOT spend any of the OF Goods you receive working this Age as they will be needed to fulfill many Story Quests in the form of circular trades to fulfill "Gather X OF Goods".
On the last half of the second part of the Oceanic Future (OF) CMap, you will reach the "Persuasion" storyline quest that will ask for crayfish, thus you will become tech-blocked until you reach the OF Age. After this, you can get no more higher-aged troops; however you may continue to work the CMap. There are a total of six (6) Land Expansions available from the OF CMap.
Once the entirety of the OF map was conquered, I went back and to complete the earlier skipped Sectors from the CE and TE CMaps. First, conquering both Salfah and Suqqah (in CE) and then Villabaja, Bajatai and Sierra Torrido (in TE). Closing up these areas of the CMap had no no effect on my Quest Slots (Story or RQ).
NOTE: If you close up the CE/TE areas BEFORE you finish the OF CMap area, your Story Quest Slot will be affected and you will need to finish up the CE/TE Story Quests. These are unneeded and can be cumbersome, so be patient and finish the OF CMap first.
Virtual Future (VF) and Beyond
Once the OF CMap is completed and you've conquered the open Sectors in CE and TE; you can proceed forward the VF CMap for the three (3) Land Expansions that can be gained.
So the research says that going beyond VF should not affect your game (but noted was that you definitely want all of SAM explored before aging up to SAM when the time comes), but ...
It is recommended to stop after conquering the VF Campaign Map and be very deliberate in your next steps. A the time of this writing, only six (6) SAM Sectors were conquered and no further exploration will be performed. This is due to the extensive amount of Diamonds used to resurrect advanced units that were slaughtered on the battlefield whether it was FE, AF or OF units with combat boosts of 592% Att-Att and 575% Att-Def. If you decide to proceed from a lower age, be extremely careful and ensure your combat stats are up to snuff because you can and will get stuck conquering some SAM provinces. The fighting is extremely tough and you CANNOT negotiate these sectors because one requirement is Promethium which is a special Good from Arctic Future that can only be obtained once you are in that Age and have constructed the Arctic Harbor so you not be able to complete any "Fight/Negotiate Sectors" from Daily Quests.
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