World Map in Forge of Empires Forge of Empires Guide & Walkthrough
Last update: 05 March 2018
In Forge of Empires, the world map is obscured at the beginning - its whole surface is covered with fog and the player has to study it slowly in order to gain access to new secrets, rewards and new challenges.
World Map - Scouting
The world map is divided into many continents that reflect the new eras found in the game. Every player begins the game with an obscured map - receiving access to new provinces means having to scout the nearby areas. To do so, switch to the world map and click on the field glass icon which should be found above the nearby uncontested territory. You can spend a certain amount of coins to begin the scouting which will be completed once the team reaches the location. The cost of scouting and its duration increases greatly with your progress in the game.
Scouting has two limitations:
You can only scan a single area - the next group can only be sent after the first one completed its mission.
You can only scan the areas that are adjacent to the area which is already scanned. If you cannot send new scouts, it means that you have to visit a province that lies along the way.
Provinces and Sectors
The world map is divided into hundreds of provinces, each with a unique name. When a scout discovers a province, you'll receive more information about it, including the amount of sectors, rewards for taking them over (and the province itself), what resources are needed for a trade, or what types of units have to be defeated in order to take over the sector.
Negotiations and Combat
Taking over new sectors and provinces means negotiations and/or combat. The first mechanism enables you to send certain goods to take over the sector peacefully, while the second one, as can easily be imagined, sees us take it over with force by defeating the opponent's army. At the beginning, the amount of resources needed for a peaceful takeover will be low, while the military will be weak and easy to defeat, but as the time progresses, taking over new sectors will be harder and harder, requiring a lot of various resources or a powerful army.
The process is extremely important, even in the view of ensuing frustration and a high cost of taking over sectors. Taking over new provinces gives us access to new goods, cash rewards and/or supplies, or even terrain extensions. Without it, you won't be able to keep up with other players.
Province Takeover - Tips
Province takeover is one of the most difficult aspects of the whole game and causes a lot of frustration. Be sure to follow the tips below:
If you want to take over a province, prepare yourself accordingly. Take a look at the units that defend the sector and make an attempt to counter them, choosing units that are effective against this type of the opponent.
Perform a spying mission before attacking. The enemy units will lose 10% of their health points, which makes defeating them much easier.
Sometimes it is better to skip combat and solve the problem peacefully using goods rather than lose your whole army in a botched attempt to defeat the opponent. Remember that you can visit the marketplace to pick-up additional resources.