Welcome to the ultimate beginner’s guide for Ara: History Untold! Whether you’re a fresh player or just looking to sharpen your strategic skills, this guide will walk you through the key elements of the game and provide useful tips for dominating the battlefield and expanding your civilization.
Ara: History Untold is a turn-based grand strategy game that draws inspiration from classics like Civilization and Humankind. In this game, you take control of a civilization and guide it through the ages, making critical decisions in diplomacy, warfare, economy, and culture. The ultimate goal? Lead your people to prosperity and glory, shaping history in your favor.
In this beginner’s guide, we’ll cover everything from basic game mechanics to strategies that will set you up for success.
Table of Contents
- What is Ara: History Untold?
- Getting Started
- Setting Up Your Civilization
- Understanding Game Interface
- Exploring the World
- Map Navigation
- Resources and Terrain Types
- Building Your Civilization
- City Development
- Managing Resources
- Technology and Research
- Diplomacy
- Forming Alliances
- Trade Deals and Treaties
- Warfare and Military Tactics
- Building Armies
- Combat Tips
- Culture and Influence
- Expanding Influence
- Culture Victory Strategy
- Advanced Tips for Beginners
- Focus on Economy
- Key Mistakes to Avoid
- FAQs
What is Ara: History Untold?
Ara: History Untold is a 4X (Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate) strategy game where players lead their civilizations through different eras, making important decisions to shape history. The game provides a dynamic and ever-changing map, with evolving technologies, shifting political alliances, and unpredictable enemies. You must carefully balance diplomacy, warfare, and resource management to succeed.
Getting Started
Setting Up Your Civilization
When you begin a new game in Ara: History Untold, your first decision is choosing a civilization. Each civilization has its own unique traits, advantages, and challenges. Your choice will significantly affect your early game strategy, so it’s essential to choose wisely based on your playstyle.
- Military-focused civilizations: Ideal for aggressive players who want to dominate through combat.
- Diplomatic civilizations: Best for players who enjoy building alliances and focusing on peaceful expansion.
- Economic civilizations: Great for players who want to amass wealth and influence through trade and resource management.
Understanding Game Interface
Once your game starts, you’ll need to get familiar with the interface. The game’s UI can feel overwhelming at first, but here’s a quick breakdown of the essential components:
- Resource Bar: Displays your civilization’s current wealth, food, production, and research output.
- Map Overview: Shows your surroundings, including cities, armies, resources, and terrain.
- City Management: This allows you to control individual cities, including building structures and managing citizens.
- Technology Tree: Displays the available technologies for you to research and unlock new buildings, units, or abilities.
Exploring the World
Map Navigation
Exploration is a critical part of the early game. The world of Ara is vast, and uncovering key locations, resources, and potential allies (or enemies) early can give you a major advantage.
- Scouts: Use scout units to reveal more of the map early on. Prioritize areas rich in resources like food, minerals, and production-enhancing terrains.
- Fog of War: Areas you haven’t explored remain hidden. Keep pushing your boundaries to gather crucial information about the map layout.
Resources and Terrain Types
Resources play a vital role in your civilization’s growth. Here are the main types of resources:
- Food: Essential for population growth.
- Production: Used for constructing buildings and units.
- Gold: Currency for trading and diplomacy.
- Science: Fuels technological advancements.
Each terrain type also offers different bonuses. For example:
- Plains: Good for farming and population growth.
- Mountains: Rich in minerals for production.
- Coasts: Useful for trade and naval units.
Building Your Civilization
City Development
Your cities are the backbone of your civilization. The more cities you have, the more resources you’ll be able to generate. However, each city also requires careful management. Here’s what you should focus on:
- Population Growth: A larger population will allow you to work more tiles and generate more resources.
- Building Structures: Construct buildings that improve food production, science output, or military strength.
- Expanding Borders: As your city grows, so does its influence over surrounding land. This allows you to claim valuable resources.
Managing Resources
Balancing your resources is key to maintaining a thriving civilization. If you expand too quickly without enough production or food, your cities will struggle to grow. Ensure that you:
- Focus on food production early for population growth.
- Build production-enhancing structures like workshops to create units faster.
- Use trade routes to supplement your resource deficiencies.
Technology and Research
Technology advancement is one of the cornerstones of Ara: History Untold. The technology tree offers countless upgrades that improve your cities, military, and economy. Prioritize research that aligns with your strategy.
- Early Game Tech: Focus on agriculture, mining, and early military upgrades.
- Mid-Game Tech: Research trading routes, cultural development, and advanced combat units.
- Late Game Tech: Aim for advanced weapons, diplomatic technologies, and victory-oriented upgrades.
Diplomacy
Forming Alliances
Diplomacy is a powerful tool in Ara: History Untold. Forming alliances with other civilizations can safeguard your borders, increase trade opportunities, and provide military support in times of war. Be sure to:
- Establish Embassies: Embassies allow for improved diplomatic relations and trade agreements.
- Sign Treaties: Non-aggression pacts or defensive alliances can protect you from enemy attacks.
Trade Deals and Treaties
Trade is essential to maintaining your economy. Establish trade routes with friendly civilizations to exchange resources, gold, and luxuries. It’s important to keep an eye on the geopolitical landscape, as trading with one nation might upset another.
Warfare and Military Tactics
Building Armies
Building a strong army is vital for defending your cities and expanding your empire. As your technology advances, so should your military units. Make sure you’re balancing offensive and defensive forces:
- Defensive Units: Keep units near your borders to protect against enemy invasions.
- Offensive Units: Use specialized units for aggressive expansion or to take control of resource-rich areas.
Combat Tips
Combat in Ara: History Untold is tactical. You’ll need to consider terrain, unit strengths, and weaknesses. Here are some quick tips:
- Flanking: Surrounding an enemy unit grants a combat bonus.
- Sieging Cities: Bring siege weapons like catapults to quickly reduce enemy city defenses.
- Terrain Advantages: High ground and forests provide defensive bonuses in battle.
Culture and Influence
Expanding Influence
Expanding your culture and influence can lead to a peaceful victory. The more culturally influential your civilization is, the more other nations will look up to you, adopting your customs and potentially voting for you in global elections.
Culture Victory Strategy
To achieve a culture victory, focus on building cultural landmarks, encouraging tourism, and spreading your influence through the arts. It’s a peaceful but powerful way to dominate the world.
Advanced Tips for Beginners
Focus on Economy
A strong economy is the foundation of a successful empire. Prioritize trade routes, resource collection, and economic technologies early on to ensure you have the financial power to fund your armies and infrastructure.
Key Mistakes to Avoid
- Over-expansion: Expanding too quickly can strain your economy and leave you vulnerable.
- Ignoring Diplomacy: Even if you plan to dominate through warfare, maintaining good diplomatic relations can buy you time to build your forces.
- Neglecting Defense: Always have a standing army, even during peaceful times, to ward off surprise attacks.
Conclusion
Ara: History Untold is an intricate and deeply rewarding game that allows you to lead your civilization through the ages, shaping history along the way. As a beginner, focus on balancing exploration, city development, diplomacy, and military strength to set yourself up for long-term success. With the tips in this guide, you’ll be well on your way to mastering the game’s mechanics and carving out your place in history.
FAQs
Q1: What’s the best civilization for beginners?
Economic-focused civilizations are generally more forgiving for beginners due to their focus on wealth and resource management.
Q2: How do I increase my culture quickly?
Build cultural buildings like theaters and museums, and invest in technologies that boost tourism and influence.
Q3: What’s the fastest way to expand my empire?
Focus on building settlers and military units early to claim new territory and protect your borders.
Q4: Can I win without going to war?
Yes, a diplomatic or cultural victory is possible by forming alliances, spreading your influence, and building strong trade routes.
Q5: How do I manage multiple cities effectively?
Assign governors or automate city management to focus on specific tasks like production or research.
With these insights, you’re ready to embark on your journey through history in Ara: History Untold. Good luck, and may your civilization thrive!
