General tips | They Are Billions Game Guide They Are Billions guide, walkthrough

They Are Billions is a complicated game in which deep mechanic knowledge, quick response to emerging challenges and adequate planning is key to victory, especially at high difficulty levels. Getting familiar with all these aspects, however, is not easy - we present 10 tips for They Are Billions that will help beginners start the game.

• Don't waste valuable resources
• Use defensive structures
• Plan the expansion of the colony wisely
• Learn the optimal order of expansion
• Take care of the economy and the state of the colony
• Keep an eye on the Horde arrival timer
• Explore the map carefully
• Use the active pause
• Plan and predict the consequences of your actions
• Improve buildings

Don't waste valuable resources

The colony's resources, primarily gold and wood, are very limited during the first days, allowing you only to place a few specific buildings. Try to not waste them - placing a wall around the base can be tempting on the 5th day of the mission, however, it is better to use these resources on, for example, constructing Soldier's Center and training new units.

Use defensive structures

Defensive structures are as important as the units inside the towers.

In They Are Billions, the player has at their disposal a variety of units, but it is also worth remembering about the available defensive buildings. Great Ballista or its improved version called Executor are great for protecting protruding elements, as well as for supporting units inside towers. Shocking Tower works perfectly against the cannon fodder. Stakes Trap and/or Wire Fence Trap work perfectly when they are placed in front of a line of defensive walls - they will slow down approaching enemies.

Note - in story mode, the player also has a Wasp turret, an automatic defensive turret that attacks incoming enemies. Wasp turrets are very cheap (and consume only 1 energy point!) - use them to defend protruding points where you can't build walls, and use them as an additional line of defense placed in front of the walls.

Plan the expansion of the colony wisely

On each map - whether in survival mode or campaign - you will have access to resources - iron, stone and oil - as well as green terrains for the construction of Farms. However, they will always be "too scarce". It is necessary to properly plan the construction of buildings - you don't want to waster resources. For example, if you need to raise a large number of Tents, it is necessary to place them on the sandy / rocky terrain, saving green areas for Farms.

Learn the optimal order of expansion

The placement of buildings inside the colony is an individual matter, but the order of construction, especially in the early days of a mission, is crucial and can significantly affect the chances of success. During a mission, whether in survival or campaign mode, it is worth sticking to this order:

1. Step 1: set up 3 Tents - they increase the population number and allow for further expansion.
2. Step 2: build a Hunter Cottage and/or a Fisherman Cottage, depending on whether you start near trees (hunter) or water (fisherman). These buildings provide food, which will be required for the construction of more Tents.
3. Step 3: build a Sawmill near trees. It is necessary to place it in such a way as to generate as much wood as possible. Wood is useful for further development - it is required for almost every building in the game.
4. Step 4: build a Quarry on stones, and then on iron deposits. You need stones to build most of the buildings. Iron is required for training units. The faster you start collecting them, the sooner you will start to gain units.
5. Step 5: build a Soldier's Center. Thanks to this building you can start training units. It is necessary to build it as soon as possible and immediately begin recruitment.

After completing these 5 steps, you should continue to expand the colony, increasing the population, training new units and unlocking new technologies. You should also remember to place more Tents in-between these steps.

Take care of the economy and the state of the colony

The state of the economy, as well as the colony itself, depends on several factors. Apart from the troops that will protect it from the infected, it is also important to get resources (gold, wood, stones, iron and oil), energy and increase the number of available workers. It is necessary to make sure that none of these values ever reaches 0 - when this happens, the further development of the colony will be much more difficult. Therefore, it is necessary to build Power Plants, houses and buildings that produce food and other resources to always have a stock in case of an emergency.

Keep an eye on the Horde arrival timer

The arrival time of the infected is displayed above the mini-map.

An Infected Swarm is a huge group of infected that appears on the map every few days. The Horde consists of gradually more powerful enemy units. Their number also keeps increasing until the final horde during which the player is under attack from all sides by thousands of enemy units.

You can check when a horde will appear by looking at the left edge of the screen - the game displays on which day the next horde will arrive. Try to withdraw your units at least one day before the arrival.

Explore the map carefully

Whether it's in survival mode or in most campaign missions, it is always necessary to explore the map, as only a small portion of it will be revealed around the base by default. You have to do that carefully - you don't want to attract the attention of too many enemies. Rangers are perfect for this task since they can eliminate enemies without making any noise. In the following days of the mission, you should use a mix of Soldiers and Sniper in a ratio of 3:1 - this will allow you to eliminate most of the enemies before they get close to your units.

Use the active pause

The active pause allows you to cancel constructions at no additional cost.

Just like in cult RPG games like Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale or Pillars of Eternity, They Are Billions also has the option to use an active pause. You activate it by pressing the SPACEBAR, and the function itself allows you to stop the time, allowing the player to continue to give orders to the troops, start recruiting units or placing buildings. This is especially useful during battles with Infected Swarms.

Note - if you start building something during an active pause, you will be able to cancel it without costs (you get 100% of resources back instead of the usual 60%), provided that the pause is still active. This is a very convenient way to save a lot of resources.

Plan and predict the consequences of your actions

Defense isn't the only important thing in They Are Billions - you need to start making decisions a few days after the start of a mission. Is it better to expand the base to the east or west, where to send units to eliminate enemies more efficiently, is it better to attack a Village of Doom now or wait and do that later? These are just a few of the questions that will appear during the game. Think twice before making any decision - for example, attacking a Village of Doom can lure so many infected to your colony that you can have problems with defending your lands.

Improve buildings

Initially, you only have access to a small number of buildings. Over time - and with new improvements - you will be able to build more and more complex structures, some of which will be just an improved version of the main structures. It is necessary to regularly improve buildings (especially those that increase the population and food production), as they will allow you to get more resources without taking up additional space. You can improve most of the buildings (provided the corresponding improvement was unlocked) - houses, buildings that produce resources, walls, and defensive towers.