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Ruin-0

A Vengir Swordsman ready to examine a ruin.

A ruin provides a reward when examined by a unit.

Examining a ruin requires a unit to start the turn on the ruin and consumes the unit's actions for that turn (like capturing a village).

Ruins can spawn on all types of terrain except shallow water. However, ruins cannot spawn next to a capital city or another ruin.

Tiles with ruins cannot be developed until the ruin is examined. For example, a player cannot clear or build a Lumber Hut on a forest tile with a ruin. Resources can spawn on tiles with ruins, but they will not be visible or able to be exploited until the ruin is cleared. Ruins in your territory can be destroyed with Construction. Recycling a ruin provides no stars.

Rewards[]

The rewards for ruins are chosen randomly, with no special weighting accorded to any one option. The possible rewards are:

Name Reward Conditions Notes
Resources Grants 10 Stars Always available -
Scrolls of Wisdom Grants a free Technology Tech tree is not completed The technology is chosen at random from all possible researchable techs (i.e. not a tech that is behind another unresearched tech)
Population Adds 3 free Population to the capital Player owns a capital city If the player does not own their original capital but owns capitals from another player, the population will go to the highest-level capital.
Explorer Grants a free Explorer Any tile within a 5x5 area centered on the ruin is not explored Explorers cannot be acquired from ruins on Mountains, since all the tiles within the 5x5 will be explored upon moving onto the mountain.

Cymanti cannot get Explorers from ruins on Shallow Water or Ocean tiles.

New Friends Spawns a Veteran Swordsman Ruin is NOT on Shallow Water or Ocean tile Used to provide a free Super Unit reward before update 2.0.58
Battleship Spawns a Veteran Rammer Ruin is on Shallow Water or Ocean tile Used to spawn a Warrior Battleship before being changed to a Warrior Bomber in the Path of the Ocean update, and to a Veteran Rammer in the Patch of the Ocean update

Strategy[]

It is recommended that early-game the focus be on expansion and capturing villages instead of examining ruins. However, examine ruins that otherwise may be taken by enemies.

Because of the variety of possible rewards, it can be risky to go for ruins and rely on them. This is especially true in the early game whether the player should get to a ruin or a village. If the ruin is in a place where there is no way an enemy can grab the ruin, it is recommended to expand and explore the map. However. if the ruin is very close to an enemy, it is recommended to explore the ruin as there are many things an enemy can receive from a ruin, including getting a strong unit very close to the player's territory. 

Lore[]

A simple, yet resourceful folk, the ruins of [the Ancients'] many settlements can be found dotting the Square to this day.

Ancients1

The winning artwork in the 2019 Concordance Day fanart contest. By Harry Wang.

Ruins are the remains of the settlements of the the Ancients.[1]

Trivia[]

  • If the ruin provides a unit as a reward, the examining unit is pushed in a forced unit spawn.
  • The ∑∫ỹriȱŋ tribe can see ruins through clouds.
  • Before update 2.0.58, ruins on land granted a Giant instead of a veteran Swordsman on land. A Giant could only be earned as early as turn 5. Also, ruins could not spawn next to villages.

References[]

  1. Midjiwan on Twitter.
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