Cities, also called tiles, are the economy. Each one pays tax, adds manpower, and can spawn units if you own it outright. Every country starts with at least one city, and one of them is the capital. City tier and city defense both run from 1 to 10 and display X at the maximum. Cities start at tier 1 and cannot fall below it.
Read the money panel
| Line | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Tile Tax Income | Green. Tax from every tile you control. Raise it by taking cities and raising tier. |
| Military Expenses | Red. Daily upkeep of every unit. It does not turn off. |
| Summary | Net per day. Green means you can afford the army. Red means the army is too big. |
A published late-game panel shows +14,704,431 tax against -450,000 upkeep. That ratio is what a developed empire looks like. It is an example, not a target you are owed.
The group bonus adds +5% tax on top of this. Technology also raises tax, and it costs more in a larger country. See choosing a country.
Upgrade order
- Open the money panel. If Summary is red, do not recruit.
- Raise city tier before you raise army size. Tier increases income and manpower together, and it compounds for the rest of the match.
- Use multi-upgrade from the cities view when it is available, instead of walking the camera to every city.
- Spend defense on the cities a neighbour can actually reach. Defense costs manpower as well as money, scaled to population and tier, so it competes with recruitment.
- Annex, do not just occupy, if you want the city to spawn troops and pay full tax.
Occupied cities
Taking a city in a war does not give you a normal city.
- Tax is slightly lower than it was for the old owner.
- You cannot spawn units there. An occupied port or airport produces nothing.
- The tile still counts as controlled, and it adds a small amount of manpower.
- Population does not grow while the city is occupied.
- You cannot cede an occupied city to someone else.
- You annex it when you are at peace with the owner, or by eliminating that country.
- The formable check still counts the occupation. See formables.
Manpower arithmetic
| Rule | Value |
|---|---|
| Starting manpower | 60,000 for every country, even if that is above the cap |
| Maximum | 2% of population |
| Extra ceiling | A further cap of 50,000 is recorded once population exceeds 2.5 million. 2% of 2.5 million is 50,000, so this may be the top of the same rule. |
| Daily gain | Usually +0.014% of population |
| Raised by | Population, city tier, annexing, technology |
| Group bonus | +5% manpower |
A wide empire with tier-1 cities underperforms a smaller empire at tier 10. Daily gain is not instant, so a reserve matters more than a single recruit button.
Airports, ports, and planes
Airports are on capitals only. If the capital falls and you have no other airport, planes cannot be replaced. Ports are required for battleships and carriers. Planes over an enemy city drain its defense tier on a blue bar, which is the counter to a maxed wall when you do not want to spend missiles.
Individual resources are also listed under money, manpower, political power, and medals.