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Analysis

The Dark Epoch is nearly the same as the Bronze Epoch. History stagnated. One of the best combos in the game
is the War Elephant and Elephant Archer combo. And in the water, the Battleship and Frigate combo.
 

Economy

Food and wood are the big necessities in this epoch. Food is limited only by farms. Wood is needed for boats, farming,
 and buildings. Gold is needed as well. Iron is still not really a priority yet (unless shipbuilding) but is a priority if basing your
army on infantry units. And stone is still mainly for defense and some buildings.

Remember too, more options means you need more resources.

Unit resource breakdowns:

Barbarian = food & iron
Battleship - Byzantine = gold & wood
Bronze Cavalry = food & gold
Canine Scout = food
Cataphract = food & gold
Catapult = gold & wood
Chariot Archer = gold & wood
Citizen = food
Composite Bow =  gold & wood
Crossbow = gold & wood
Elephant Archer = food & gold
Fishing Boat - Bronze = wood
Frigate - Byzantine = iron & wood
Galley - Byzantine = iron & wood
Phalanx = food & iron
Pilum = gold & wood
Priest = food & gold
Prophet = food & gold
Ram = gold & wood
Short Sword =  food & iron
Siege Tower = gold & wood
Stone Thrower = gold & wood
Transport - Bronze = wood
Viking = food & iron
War Elephant = food & gold

Building resource breakdowns

Archery Range = wood
Barracks = wood
Dock = wood
Farm = wood
Fortress = wood
Granary = wood
Hospital = stone & wood
House = stone & wood
Settlement = wood
Siege Factory = wood
Stable = wood
Temple = stone & wood
Tower = stone
University = stone & wood
Wall/Gate = stone

Wonders can also be built (see here for description)

Coliseum = gold & stone & wood
Ishtar Gates = iron & stone & wood
Library of Alexandria = gold & stone & wood
Pharos Lighthouse = iron & stone & wood
Temple of Zeus = iron & stone & wood
Tower of Babylon = gold & stone & wood
 

To start out, you'll need a couple Citizens   which you should start out with. Next objective is to build a
Settlement  Town Center  then Capitol  as needed. To upgrade
from a Settlement to a Town Center requires 5 Citizens to populate the Settlement. After 10 Citizens populate a Town Center
it becomes a Capitol. Adding more citizens adds a bigger morale bonus. From a Town Center or a Capitol (but not a
Settlement) you can produce more Citizens or even the Canine Scout  which can go through trees and makes a decent
unit to "see what the Joneses are up to". Got to keep up with those Joneses you know.

Also, try to keep a Settlement, Town Center or Capitol near resources so that the resources are gathered
faster. Don't make the citizens have to walk too far.

Next is the house . The house makes your units stronger and more durable within range of the house.
Houses help improve your defenses. Town Centers and Capitols also provide defensive bonuses as well.

There are two upgrades in this epoch. One is Falconry  which increases hunting & foraging. The other upgrade
is Iron Saw  which increases wood production.
 

Towers, Walls & Gates (defense)

***
After you get your economy going with food and wood production/collection, you'll want to start thinking about your defensive
and military options. For defense, you need to make a choice between weaker wooden palisades, which are easier to make
but not as durable, or the more durable stone variety. Unless tapped for stone, I recommend the stone defenses. In a pinch
though use the wooden palisades. Remember also that wood burns and there is the Civilization Specific Power of Ancient
Greece called Flaming Arrows as well as the Prophet's Fire Storm. The ability to create a gate from 5 inline walls exists.
Walls should be used to slow down the enemy and are fairly quick and inexpensive to build. Walls can't fight back like
Towers can but do serve well to slow down an enemy from getting to a place you don't want them to be. Also take note,
trees and other obstacles make great boundaries for your village, town, and eventual (hopefully) prosperous city. Also note
that Carthage's Pathfinding* ability negates this boundary strategy in The Art of Conquest Expansion.
 

Priests/Prophets

In all epochs, the Priests  and Prophets  are made at the Temple. The safeguard against Priests is the University.
Units within range of a University can not be converted by Priests. Prophets can not do their 'voodoo' around a temple so
there is protection against Prophets if you plan out making Temples for protection. Priests work well as defense now since
the Universities your opponent probably has up cancel out any attack abilities. They are nice as defense though because the
enemy comes into your camp and you get new units (even over your Pop Cap). The Prophet is still as useful as ever.
Launch some of those 'voodoo' whoodoos when the opportunity arises then go back and recharge afterwards.

There are three upgrades available in the Dark Epoch. The first is Prophecy  which increases the Prophet's hit points.
The second is Sainthood  which increases the Prophet's range. The last is Excommunication  which
increases the Priest's range for converting the enemy.
 

Military
 

Heroes

Julius Caesar  is the Warrior Hero (all hail). Charlemagne  is the Strategist Hero.
See chapter XI in the Empire Earth manual for more information on heroes.
 

Archery Range

Many Archery Units available. The first one is the Composite Bow  who is the basic archer unit. Next is the
Pilum  who is really a ranged infantry unit. Next comes the Chariot Archer  which is a ranged cavalry unit.
There are two ranged cavalry units, the other being the Elephant Archer  (one of my personal all time favorite
units). The Chariot Archer is faster than the Elephant Archer but the Elephant Archer has more hit points. The last unit is
the Crossbow  which is a sniper type unit (one shot - one kill with infantry units). With archery/ranged units, you
usually want to improve the range of the unit. Attack is also another good improvement as well. A common tactic is to use
a group of Phalanxes and/or Bronze Cavalry with increased hit points and attack values as a protective shield for your
ranged units. This way, if units get in close, your Phalanxes can take care of them while your archers attack from a safer
distance. Archer units need to beware Short Swords and Cataphracts which is why you have the Phalanxes and/or
Bronze Cavalry, right? If coming from the Bronze Epoch (IV) then you will need to upgrade  the Simple Bowmen to
the Composite Bow and the Javelin to the Pilum.
 

Barracks

There are 4 units produced at the Barracks this epoch. The first is the Short Sword  which is the basic sword infantry.
The next is the Phalanx  which is the basic spear infantry. The next two are also sword infantry. The Barbarian  can
go through trees. The Viking , well, I'd say go with this guy instead of the Short Sword because his attack stats are a bit
more beefed up. Also, if you noticed a large poster that shipped with the game, there is a unit relationship chart included.
Learn the unit relationships for better gameplay. In this epoch, Vikings (or Short Swords) and/or Cataphracts have bonuses
against Archery Units, Archery Units have bonuses against Phalanxes and/or Bronze Cavalry, and Phalanxes and/or Bronze
Cavalry have bonuses against Short Swords and/or Cataphracts. It is a good idea to build several of each type to be
prepared for any attack. You need to make the decision though of which road to take. Also, don't forget the improvements
to hit points, speed, range and such. Improved units usually slaughter unimproved units. Improvements and upgrades give
the advantage.
 

Dock

Note that in The Art of Conquest Expansion, you need to be using a water map and not a space map to use the water.
Running low on food? Try building a few Fishing Boats  to pick up some extra food. Do you want to storm the
beaches of another island? Try building some Transports  to carry your land troops across the water. Next you
have a full range of ships available to build but like other units, there are unit relationships where one unit has an advantage
against another while having a weakness against another. The Battleship  really shines out of all the ships
to be built but does have a weakness against the Galley . Frigates  have an advantage against
Galleys but are weak against Battleships. Battleships will usually be the main unit of your navy though because they are pretty
durable but are also a bit expensive. If coming from the Bronze Epoch (IV) then these units need to be upgraded .
Frigate - Bronze to Frigate - Byzantine, Battleship - Bronze to Battleship - Byzantine, Galley - Bronze to Galley - Byzantine.
 

Siege Factory

Still the same four units available from the start. The first unit is the Stone Thrower . The second is the
Siege Tower . The third is the Catapult . And lastly is the Ram . The Stone Thrower is really
an artillery piece (for attacking infantry). The Siege Tower is like a transport but for walls. The Catapult is a wall crusher.
And the Ram is another wall crusher but without the range of the Catapult. It is open to your style of play as to how you wish
to attack your opponent's defenses. Siege weapons are to take out or bypass enemy defenses.
 

Stable

Several units available at the Stable now. The first is the Cataphract . The Second is the Bronze Cavalry .
The third is the Persian Cavalry . The last is another favorite of mine, the War Elephant . This now creates
the cavalry relationships of sword -> archer -> spear -> sword. Or Cataphract and War Elephant against Chariot Archer
and Elephant Archer. Chariot Archer and Elephant Archer against Bronze Cavalry against Cataphracts and War Elephant.
As you will notice, Stable units are cavalry units. They also cost a bit more, take up two of your population, are faster, and
have more hit points. I usually use cavalry as 'firemen'. Since cavalry is faster, it can get to places quicker than infantry can
and put out that enemy 'fire' quickly. Note also that the Persian Cavalry is ranged cavalry which also acts like an
archer unit. Also, if coming from the Bronze Epoch (IV) then you will need to upgrade  the Horseman to get the
Cataphract.
 

Support Buildings
 

Fortress

Ever think about getting a bunch of units ahead so that you don't have to wait around to build units after an enemy starts
invading the crap out of you non stop? With Fortresses, you can stockpile pre-built armies so that you can in essence build
over your Pop Cap. All units stored inside a Fortress do not count against your Pop Cap so you can then build more units. If
you are at or over your Pop Cap, you can use Fortresses to store up soldiers for that rainy day. As your outside units start
getting slaughtered, just pull units out of the Fortress(es). Instant pre-built reserves. You need to protect these structures
though, because if they are destroyed while you are at your Pop Cap, the units inside a Fortress die (but if any gap in the
Pop Cap, units are automatically jettisoned from the building on a last in - first out basis).
 

Granary

 
Granaries are needed to make farms. If placed well, one Granary can plant the seeds for 8 farms all around it. There is also
an option on the Granary to replant farms should any be destroyed. Farms have PILES of food and can also be populated
like Settlements/Town Centers/Capitols. When 8 Citizens populate a Granary, the size of the Granary increases. Each
Citizen populating a Granary (up to 8) helps to increase food production.
 

Hospital

Hospitals help heal your units when they get hurt in battle. Within a certain range of a Hospital, units start healing (shown
with a green dot graphic). You should probably place a Hospital just behind the lines so that it doesn't get destroyed but also
so that it is easier to get to for your hurt units

There are three upgrades for the Hospital. The first is Comparative Anatomy  which increases the Citizen &
Canine Scout hit points and the Citizen's attack values. The second is Pharmacy  which increases Citizen speed
(a must have). And finally, Sanitation  which increases the Pop Cap.
 

University

The University is for advanced research projects.

There are two upgrades at the University. The first is Commercial Law  which reduces Tribute Cost. The other is
Cofferdam  which increases the Dock's repair rate (heals ships faster).
 

Civilizations and their bonuses (bonuses vary between different versions/updates)

Note: How to determine which bonuses are right for you? Look at how you plan to play the battle. If you plan on walling
yourself in then the Civ - Economy (stone) bonus plus the Civ - Buildings, Walls & Towers bonuses will help out. If you plan
on using lots of Priests then Religion - Priest bonuses and  Civ - Economy (gold) bonuses are the way to go. Each civilization
has its advantages and disadvantages throughout each epoch and each map type. Island maps will require ships and ships
require wood, gold, and iron so not only the Ship bonuses but also Civ - Economy (wood, gold, iron) help as well. There is
no perfect civilization and even picking a civilization that may seem 'handicapped' usually does not decide a game's fate same
as picking a seemingly advantaged civilization does not decide either, but it can help if facing a similar opponent and any edge
you can get over some one else is a good thing I feel.  The nice part of Empire Earth is that the game structure allows for
miscalculations without any severe penalties. The other player's Ships may have better range but yours are faster so the range
advantage is not very useful now because with the speed, the shots now miss most of the time. There is always a counter for
everything available. Improvements give an advantage to a certain area. Also, the beginning civilization bonuses give an early
advantage and a later advantage as well. Even though you may start out with a civilization bonus of Infantry - Ranged (range)
you can still improve that range more with the unit improvement feature. So you start out with +2 but then improve twice
more at +2 each time so now the range is +6 whereas your opponent can only upgrade range twice and didn't have the
starting Infantry - Ranged (range) bonus so can only get to a +4 range. However, his civilization started out with a Citizens &
Fishing Boats (speed) bonus so he can therefore get more resources faster. More resources = faster and larger army
production. See how that works?

Also, a breakdown on how the bonus system can be applied to units.

Archers - Foot = Composite Bow & Crossbow
Cavalry - Ranged = Chariot Archer & Elephant Archer & Persian Cavalry
Cavalry - Spear = Bronze Cavalry
Cavalry - Sword = Cataphract
Civ - Building, Walls & Towers = defensive bonuses
Field Cannon & Anti-Tank Guns = Stone Thrower
Infantry - Ranged = Pilum
Infantry - Spear = Phalanx
Infantry - Sword = Short Sword
Religion - Priests = Priest
Religion - Prophets = Prophet
Ships - Battleships & Carriers = Battleship - Byzantine
Ships - Frigates & Cruisers = Frigate - Byzantine
Ships - Galleys, Transports & Subs = Galley - Byzantine & Transport - Bronze
Siege Weapons & Mobile AA = Siege Tower & Catapult & Ram
Economy bonuses are always good as are Citizen bonuses too.

Ancient Greece = Cavalry - Spear (attack, build time, hit points), Citizens & Fishing Boats (speed), Civ - Economy
(gold, hunting & foraging), Civ - General (conversion resistance), Infantry - Spear (attack, hit points, speed),
Ships - Frigates & Cruisers (attack, range), Siege Weapons & Mobile AA (attack, cost, rate of fire)
Assyrian Empire = Archers - Foot (attack, speed), Cavalry - Ranged (hit points, range, speed), Cavalry - Sword (attack,
hit points), Citizens & Fishing Boats (range), Civ - Buildings, Walls & Towers (build time, hit points), Civ - Economy
(farming, hunting & foraging), Civ - General (pop cap)
Babylon = Archers - Foot (hit points, range speed), Cavalry - Spear (armor, hit points, speed), Citizens & Fishing Boats
(hit points), Civ - Buildings, Walls & Towers (range), Civ - Economy (stone, wood), Infantry - Spear (build time, hit points,
speed), Religion - Prophets (range, speed)
Byzantine Rome = Citizens & Fishing Boats (build time), Civ - Buildings, Walls & Towers (cost, hit points),
Civ - Economy (farming), Civ - General (pop cap), Infantry - Ranged (range, speed), Infantry - Sword (attack, hit points,
speed), Ships - Battleships & Carriers (attack, build time)
Carthage = Cavalry - Spear (attack, build time, speed), Cavalry - Sword (armor, hit points), Citizens & Fishing Boats
(cost), Civ - Economy (fishing, stone), Civ - General (mountain combat), Infantry - Ranged (armor, cost), Ships - Galleys,
Transports & Subs (cost, range)
Kingdom of Israel = Archers - Foot (armor, hit points, range), Citizens & Fishing Boats (build time),
Civ - Economy (fishing, iron), Infantry - Sword (hit points, speed), Religion Priests (build time, cost, hit points),
Religion - Prophets (hit points, range), Ships - Battleships & Carriers (attack), Ships - Frigates & Cruisers (attack),
Ships - Galleys, Transports & Subs (attack)
Austria = Cavalry - Sword (armor, attack ,speed), Citizens & Fishing Boats (attack, cost), Civ - Economy
(hunting & foraging), Civ - General (conversion resistance), Field Cannon & Anti-Tank Guns (armor, build time,
hit points) Infantry - Spear (attack, hit points, speed)
England = Archers - Foot (range, cost, build time), Cavalry - Ranged (cost), Cavalry - Spear (armor),
Citizens & Fishing Boats (build time), Civ - Buildings, Walls & Towers (cost, range), Civ - Economy (fishing, gold),
Infantry - Ranged (hit points, range), Ships - Battleships & Carriers (attack, build time), Siege Weapons & Mobile AA
(hit points, rate of fire)
Franks = Cavalry - Spear (hit points), Cavalry - Sword (armor, cost, hit points, speed), Civ - Buildings, Walls & Towers
(attack, cost), Civ - Economy (gold, wood), Civ - General (conversion resistance), Religion - Prophets (cost, range),
Siege Weapons & Mobile AA (attack, hit points)
Kingdom of Italy = Cavalry - Ranged (attack, build time), Cavalry - Sword (build time), Citizens & Fishing Boats (cost),
Civ - Buildings, Walls & Towers (build time, hit points), Civ - Economy (stone), Civ - General (mountain combat),
Infantry - Ranged (cost, hit points), Religion - Priests (hit points, range, speed), Ships - Frigates & Cruisers (attack)
Ottoman Empire = Cavalry - Ranged (attack, hit points, range), Citizens & Fishing Boats (build time, speed),
Civ - Economy (farming, stone), Civ - General (pop cap), Field Cannon & Anti-Tank Guns (build time, cost),
Religion - Priests (cost, hit points)
Spain = Cavalry - Ranged (speed, range), Citizens & Fishing Boats (speed), Civ - Buildings, Walls & Towers (range),
Civ - Economy (farming, iron), Civ - General (mountain combat), Infantry - Ranged (attack, build time, hit points),
Infantry - Spear (armor, attack, hit points), Religion - Priests (hit points, range), Ships - Galleys, Transports & Subs
(attack, cost, hit points)
France = Citizens & Fishing Boats (hit points, range), Civ - Buildings, Walls & Towers (attack, hit points, range),
Civ - Economy (gold, wood), Field Cannon & Anti-Tank Guns (build time, range), Infantry - Ranged (attack, range)
Germany = Citizens & Fishing Boats (cost, hit points), Civ - Economy (stone), Ships - Galleys, Transports
& Subs (attack, hit points, range)
Great Britain = Citizens & Fishing Boats (speed), Civ - Buildings, Walls & Towers (attack, build time, range),
Civ - Economy (gold, hunting & foraging), Field Cannon & Anti-Tank Guns (attack, hit points, speed),
Ships - Frigates & Cruisers (build time, hit points, speed)
Italy = Civ - Buildings, Walls & Towers (attack, build time, range), Civ - Economy (farming, stone), Civ - General
(conversion resistance), Field Cannon & Anti-Tank Guns (range), Infantry - Ranged (build time, cost), Siege Weapons
& Mobile AA (attack, hit points, rate of fire)
Russia = Citizens & Fishing Boats (build time), Civ - Buildings, Walls & Towers (attack), Civ - Economy
(fishing, iron), Civ - General (pop cap), Infantry - Ranged (build time, hit points), Ships - Frigates & Cruisers (cost),
Siege Weapons & Mobile AA (area damage, range)
United States = Citizens & Fishing Boats (attack, speed), Civ - Buildings, Walls & Towers (build time, cost),
Civ - Economy (gold, iron), Civ - General (pop cap), Ships - Battleships & Carriers (hit points, range)
China = Citizens & Fishing Boats (cost), Civ - Economy (farming), Civ - General (pop cap), Field Cannon &
Anti-Tank Guns (armor, cost, hit points), Ships - Galleys, Transports & Subs (attack)
Novaya Russia = Citizens & Fishing Boats (cost, hit points), Civ - Buildings, Walls & Towers (hit points,range),
Civ - Economy (wood), Siege Weapons & Mobile AA (hit points, range, rate of fire)
Rebel Forces = Citizens & Fishing Boats (build time, range), Civ - Buildings, Walls & Towers (hit points),
Civ - Economy (iron), Civ - General (mountain combat), Infantry - Ranged (attack, range)
Japan = Citizens & Fishing Boats (speed), Civ - Economy (iron), Civ - General (pop cap), Infantry - Ranged
(armor, speed)
Korea = Civ - Economy (gold), Civ - General (mountain combat), Field Cannon & Anti-Tank Guns (build time),
Infantry - Ranged (armor, hit points), Siege Weapons & Mobile AA (range, rate of fire)
 

Civilization Specific Powers*

For the Dark epoch, these civilizations have these powers:

Ancient Greece = Flaming Arrows (III-VII)
Assyrian Empire = Slavery (I-XV)
Babylon = Priest Towers (I-XV)
Byzantine Rome = Insurance (I-XV)
Carthage = Pathfinding (I-XV)
Kingdom of Israel = Emissaries (I-XV)
Austria = Adaptation (III-XV)
England = Exploration (I-XV)
Franks = Crusaders (IV-VII)
Kingdom of Italy = Metallurgy (I-XV)
Ottoman Empire = Expansionism (I-XV)
France = Camouflage (I-XV)
Russia = Advanced Mining (I-XV)
China = Just In Time Manufacturing (I-XV)
Rebel Forces = Cloaking (I-XV)
Korea = Fanaticism (I-XV)
 

* denotes unit/building only available in the Empire Earth - The Art of Conquest add-on pack.

note: The color scheme is black for dark and white because it shows up real well against black.

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