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Analysis

In the Stone Epoch, there isn't a whole lot to do except try to advance to another epoch (if available). This epoch is basic and
pretty straightforward as far as strategies. You have a few options available but still not that many. You can't do any farming,
very limited military, and slow resource gathering. On a positive note, you can now play in the water and have the Archery
Range available. A good Combo is the Spearman and Slinger combo or Spearman and Rock Thrower combo.
 

Economy

Food and wood are the big necessities in this epoch. Food is limited since no farming and only hunting and foraging. Wood is
needed for rafts (not able to build boats yet) and buildings. Gold is needed as well now. Stone is for defense and iron still is
not as useful as the other resources. Iron does help if there is a sea map though because the War Raft can be useful for ruling
the seas. You can also fish so food isn't as limited as the Prehistoric Epoch but is still limited.

Unit resource breakdowns:

Canine Scout = food
Citizen = food
Clubman =  food & iron
Fishing Raft = wood
Priest = food & gold
Prophet = food & gold
Rock Thrower = food & gold
Sampson = gold & wood
Slinger =  gold & wood
Spearman = food & iron
Transport Raft = wood
War Raft = iron & wood

Building resource breakdowns

Archery Range = wood
Barracks = wood
Dock = wood
House = stone & wood
Settlement = wood
Temple = stone & wood
Tower = stone
 

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 is an upgrade available in the Town Center or Capitol during the Stone Epoch called Hafted Tools . This upgrade
makes stone mining faster.
 

The Babylon Priest Tower "rush" in epochs I and II*

Many people have panicked because of the lack of a university to 'protect' you from conversion by these
buildings. Priests are mobile and can reconvert or convert. Build a Temple and a few Priests to protect
against this. If your opponent didn't think to build Temples nearby these buildings then by all means
make a Prophet and use Earthquake to take down the tower(s). A Babylon Priest Tower can only try
to convert one unit at a time. Also, if your opponent does happen to put up a tower close to one of
your producing buildings (Capitol, Town Center, or Barracks) just set a rally point away from the tower
so that units produced don't get converted just standing around. If a Priest Tower gets set up around
one of your resource areas, have some Rock Throwers combined with Priests to take it or them out.
When one of your Rock Throwers gets close to being converted, pull him back out of the way so
that he doesn't get converted. If a Rock Thrower does get converted, use a Priest to convert him back.
Priests and Prophets can't be converted in the first two epochs so don't be afraid to keep a Priest or a
Prophet hanging around Priest Towers. Also, buildings can't be converted by Priest Towers either.
Therefore a Tower can be built close by using the same principle of putting a Citizen near the Priest
Tower to build a Tower. When the Citizen gets close to conversion, pull him away and bring in
another Citizen. The Priest Tower 'rush' is not as bad as a Priest rush can be though because you can
see where a Priest Tower is and they can't move. A Priest on the other hand can disappear to
somewhere else. The Kingdom of Israel's Priests can be MUCH nastier because they are cloaked
(invisible). Try defending against an invisible enemy that can sneak up and convert you. There is
always a way to combat any situation. The best way is to use your head and think through what the
problem is and what the solution to that problem is. there is always a unit (or two or three) that can
counter whatever your enemy throws at you.
 

Towers (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 have the Primitive Tower available which is very sturdy for the epoch.
Takes a lot for most of the units in the Stone age to even dent these suckers. There are no walls though and it
takes a bit to gather the stone to put up a couple here and there where they may protect important areas, resources
and/or buildings. Also, in the early going, these towers can help protect against the famed "Babylon Priest Tower rush"
where someone playing as Babylon puts up a bunch of Priest Towers to convert units. A Primitive Tower in an area
can't be converted and if the Babylon player puts up a Priest Tower too close to a Primitive Tower, use the Primitive
Tower to beat it down. Putting up a small group of Primitive Towers in key places can help keep out the Priest Tower
rushers. Priest Towers can't convert buildings in the Stone Epoch. You can improve the range of Towers but
can only increase it once. Once is all you need though. 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
strategy in The Art of Conquest Expansion.
 

Priests/Prophets

In all epochs, the Priests  and Prophets  are made at the Temple. No universities in this epoch so there is
no safeguard against Priests (or Priest Towers). Prophets can not do their 'voodoo' around a temple so there is
protection against Prophets if you plan out making Temples for protection. Not having Universities doesn't create
a real problem against Priests though. What can be converted can be converted back. Remember also that in
the 'Priest Tower rush' that Priest Towers can't move whereas Priests are moving Priest Towers in a way. A
really good strategy is to make several priests and keep them around where any Babylon Priest Tower may
be. If some of your units get converted, use the priests to convert them right back. Priests can't convert other
Priests until a much later epoch. Priests also can't convert Prophets. Priest Towers can't convert Priests
until a much later epoch and also can't convert Prophets either.

There are three upgrades available in the Stone Epoch. Ancestor Worship  increases the Temple range,
Ceremonial Burial  increases the Priest hit points, and Shamanism  increases the Prophet range.
 

Military
 

Archery Range

Only one unit from the Archery Range, the Slinger . The Rock Thrower is also a ranged unit so you'll
need to decide which unit you wish to go with. 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
Spearmen with increased hit points and attack values as a protective shield for your ranged units. this way,
if units get in close, your Spearmen can take care of them while your Slingers (ranged units) attack from a
safer distance. Slingers need to beware Clubmen and Rock Throwers which is why you have the
Spearmen, right? Ranged -> Spear -> Sword -> Ranged.
 

Barracks

There are now some specialized units to build at the Barracks. The basic infantry (sword) unit is still the
Clubman . There is also the ranged Rock Thrower  as well. There are also two more units now.
The first being the Spearman . The second new unit is the Sampson . The Sampson is good at knocking
down buildings but can't attack anything else except buildings. 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, Clubmen
and Rock Throwers have bonuses against Slingers, Slingers have bonuses against Spearmen, and Spearmen have
bonuses against Clubmen and Rock Throwers. It is a good idea to build several of each type to be prepared for any
attack. To take out buildings, use Sampsons, but you'll need to protect them first with other units. 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

You can now play in the water. You can't build too much, but something is better than nothing. Note also 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 Rafts  to pick up some extra food. Do you want to
storm the beaches of another island? Try building some Transport Rafts  to carry your land
troops across the water. Need protection for your Fishing Rafts and Transport Rafts? Try building some
War Rafts  for protection. Better yet, build some War Rafts so that your opponent needs some
protection. Remember though that the more land there is, the less of a navy you will need.
 

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 = Slinger
Civ - Building, Walls & Towers = defensive bonuses
Infantry - Ranged = Rock Thrower
Infantry - Spear = Spearman
Infantry - Sword = Clubman
Religion - Priests = Priest
Religion - Prophets = Prophet
Ships - Frigates & Cruisers = War Raft
Ships - Galleys, Transports & Subs = Transport Raft
Siege Weapons & Mobile AA = Sampsons
Economy bonuses are always good as are Citizen bonuses too.

Ancient Greece = 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), Citizens & Fishing Boats (range), Civ - Buildings, Walls
& Towers (build time, hit points), Civ - Economy (hunting & foraging), Civ - General (pop cap)
Babylon = Archers - Foot (hit points, range 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 - General (pop cap), Infantry - Ranged (range, speed), Infantry - Sword (attack, hit points, speed)
Carthage = Citizens & Fishing Boats (cost), Civ - Economy (fishing, stone), Civ - General (mountain combat),
Infantry - Ranged (armor, cost), Ships - Galleys, Transports & Subs (cost)
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 - Frigates & Cruisers (attack)
Austria = Citizens & Fishing Boats (attack, cost), Civ - Economy (hunting & foraging), Civ - General
(conversion resistance), Infantry - Spear (attack, hit points, speed)
England = Archers - Foot (range, cost, build time), Citizens & Fishing Boats (build time), Civ - Buildings,
Walls & Towers (cost, range), Civ - Economy (fishing, gold), Infantry - Ranged (hit points, range),
Siege Weapons & Mobile AA (hit points, rate of fire)
Franks = 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 = 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 = Citizens & Fishing Boats (build time, speed), Civ - Economy (stone), Civ - General (pop cap),
Religion - Priests (cost, hit points)
Spain = Citizens & Fishing Boats (speed), Civ - Buildings, Walls & Towers (range), Civ - Economy (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 (cost, hit points)
France = Citizens & Fishing Boats (hit points, range), Civ - Buildings, Walls & Towers (attack, hit points, range),
Civ - Economy (gold, wood), Infantry - Ranged (attack, range)
Germany = Citizens & Fishing Boats (cost, hit points), Civ - Economy (stone), Ships - Galleys, Transports
& Subs (hit points)
Great Britain = Citizens & Fishing Boats (speed), Civ - Buildings, Walls & Towers (attack, build time, range),
Civ - Economy (gold, hunting & foraging), Ships - Frigates & Cruisers (build time, hit points, speed)
Italy = Civ - Buildings, Walls & Towers (attack, build time, range), Civ - Economy (stone), Civ - General
(conversion resistance), 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)
China = Citizens & Fishing Boats (cost), Civ - General (pop cap)
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), Infantry - Ranged (armor, hit points),
Siege Weapons & Mobile AA (range, rate of fire)
 

Civilization Specific Powers*

For the Stone epoch, these civilizations have these powers:

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)
England = Exploration (I-XV)
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 of this epoch is blue on gray. Gray for stone and blue just because.

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