When to Advance an Age in Ageforge: XP, Income and Timing
How the 4 Ageforge ages work: XP comes from kills and the shrine, advancing costs 450 to 2,400 XP, and each age raises income, upgrades your keep tower and unlocks a new ultimate.
By the Ageforge teamUpdated 7 min read
Key takeaways
- Ageforge has 4 ages: Stone Age, Medieval Age, Gunpowder Age, Future Age.
- You earn XP by killing enemy units and by holding the shrine in the middle of the lane. Each kill gives XP equal to 75% of the dead unit's cost.
- The shrine pays its holder 9 / 17 / 26 XP per second in the Stone / Medieval / Gunpowder ages, and 13 gold per second in the Future Age.
- Advancing costs 450 XP (Medieval Age), 1,200 XP (Gunpowder Age), 2,400 XP (Future Age). That is 4,050 XP in total to reach the Future Age.
- XP is never spent on units, and gold is never spent on advancing, so the two never compete.
- Each age raises passive income (from 6 to 25 gold per second), upgrades your keep tower for free and swaps in a new ultimate.
- Every time you advance, you pick one of 3 cards (both players are offered the same ones) that shapes your army for the rest of the match.
What advancing an age does
- New units. Your shop switches to the new age's units. The old age's units leave the shop, but any already on the lane keep fighting.
- More income. Passive gold per second goes up with every age.
- A better tower. Your keep grows and its one tower is rebuilt as the new age's tower, for free.
- A new ultimate. Your lane-wide special changes to the new age's version. The cooldown carries over.
- A card. You pick one of 3 evolve cards, and its effect lasts the rest of the match.
| Age | XP to advance | Income | Keep tower | Ultimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I · Stone | Start here | 6 gold/s | Guard Tower | Stampede |
| II · Medieval | 450 XP | 11 gold/s | Bulwark | Arcane Storm |
| III · Gunpowder | 1,200 XP | 17 gold/s | Citadel Battery | Artillery Barrage |
| IV · Future | 2,400 XP | 25 gold/s | Pulse Turret | Orbital Strike |
Evolve cards
When you have the XP, the advance button opens into 3 cards for the next age, and tapping one advances you with it. The cards on offer change every match, and both players are offered the same 3 at each age, so neither side gets a better draw. You can see which card your opponent took, so you can answer it.
- Veteran. A unit from the age you just left stays in your shop for this age, with a bonus.
- Upgrade. One unit of the new age changes for the rest of the match. Units already on the lane keep their old stats.
- Rift. A unit from the next age, early: double the price and only one out at a time.
- Doctrine. A rule for your whole side. Most are big upsides with a real cost, like more damage for your ranged units but less HP for your frontline.
Themes and set bonuses
Every card belongs to one of 3 themes: Iron, Blaze, Horde. Take two cards of the same theme and you unlock its set bonus; take a third and you unlock a second one. The card that completes a bonus is marked on its face, and the colored squares next to each name show both players' builds.
| Theme | Cards | Bonus | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iron | 2 | Iron Keep | Your keep +300 HP |
| Iron | 3 | Citadel | Keep tower +50% damage |
| Blaze | 2 | Wildfire | All units +10% damage |
| Blaze | 3 | Inferno | Ultimate recharges 30% faster |
| Horde | 2 | Plunder | Kills pay +20% gold |
| Horde | 3 | Endless Horde | +25% income |
| Age | Card | Theme | Kind | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medieval Age | Sworn Knights | Iron | Upgrade | Knights taunt foes, +25% HP, +20% cost |
| Medieval Age | Bulwark | Iron | Doctrine | Frontline +20% HP, ranged −20% damage |
| Medieval Age | Firebrand | Blaze | Doctrine | Ranged +40% damage, frontline −20% HP |
| Medieval Age | Rift Cannon | Blaze | Rift | A Gunpowder Cannon now: 2× cost, max 1 |
| Medieval Age | Wolf Pack | Horde | Veteran | Wolf Riders stay: +25% damage, +15% HP |
| Gunpowder Age | Field Guns | Blaze | Upgrade | Cannons +40% damage, +15% cost |
| Gunpowder Age | Siege Doctrine | Blaze | Doctrine | Splash +45% damage, your tower −25% |
| Gunpowder Age | Conscription | Horde | Upgrade | Musketeers −35% cost, −20% HP |
| Gunpowder Age | Cavalry Charge | Horde | Doctrine | Fast +25% speed & dmg; tanks +20% cost |
| Gunpowder Age | Last Stand | Iron | Veteran | Knights stay in your shop, +15% HP |
| Future Age | War Economy | Horde | Doctrine | +40% income, your units −10% HP |
| Future Age | Swarm Protocol | Horde | Doctrine | All units −25% cost and −25% HP |
| Future Age | Old Guard | Iron | Veteran | Cuirassiers stay in your shop, +15% HP |
| Future Age | Fortress | Iron | Doctrine | Keep tower +60% damage, units −10% |
| Future Age | Overclock | Blaze | Upgrade | Lasers ramp 2× faster, to +90% damage |
Match rules
Every match also rolls one rule (see match rules explained) that applies to both players for the whole match. It is announced as the match starts and shown under the timer. The rule never favors one side, but it changes what is strong: on an Eclipse map your ranged units reach less far, so frontline pushes get easier.
| Rule | Effect |
|---|---|
| Eclipse | Ranged units have 25% less range |
| Gold Rush | +40% income, all units +15% cost |
| War Drums | All units deal 10% more damage |
| Swift Winds | All units move 25% faster |
| Bargain Age | All units cost 15% less |
| Meteor Shower | Meteors strike the lane every 35s |
| Siege Season | Splash units +30% damage |
Where XP comes from
XP has two sources: kills and the shrine. You never earn XP from passive income, and gold never turns into XP.
Kills
Every enemy unit you kill gives you XP equal to its reward, which is 75% of its cost. Stone Age units are worth 45 to 90 XP each, so reaching the Medieval Age (450 XP) takes 5 to 10 Stone Age kills. Medieval units are worth 156 XP on average.
Kills by your tower and your ultimate count too: every enemy unit that dies pays you, whatever killed it. The one exception is a unit killed by a Meteor Shower meteor, which pays nobody. Holding a push at your keep still earns XP, but waiting there for the enemy to attack is no longer the fast way to advance.
The shrine
A stone shrine stands at the exact middle of the lane. Capture it by having a unit on it with no enemy unit on it, and it pays you XP every second until the enemy captures it back: 9 XP per second in the Stone Age, up to 26 in the Gunpowder Age. In the Future Age, where XP has nothing left to buy, it pays 13 gold per second instead. In the Stone Age, 50 seconds of holding it pays for the Medieval Age on its own.
| Age | Shrine XP per second | Seconds of shrine to afford the next age |
|---|---|---|
| Stone Age | 9 | 50 |
| Medieval Age | 17 | 71 |
| Gunpowder Age | 26 | 93 |
Holding the middle is the fastest way to the next age. The player who waits at their keep gives the shrine away, and with it a steady stream of XP. See the shrine and the idle keep.
When to advance
Advancing costs no gold, so in most cases you should advance as soon as you can. The new units are stronger per gold, your income goes up, and your keep tower gets stronger.
The exception is when an enemy push is about to reach your keep. Advancing puts nothing on the lane, and it replaces your shop with units that take longer to train. If you are about to lose a fight, spend your gold on units you can get out now, hold the push, then advance. Your ultimate's cooldown carries over when you advance, so you never lose a charge by advancing.
The Future Age
The Future Age is the last age. It pays 25 gold per second and unlocks the strongest units in the game, including the Mech Walker and Plasma Artillery. Once you are there, XP stops mattering, so every kill is just gold, and the shrine pays gold too: 13 per second while you hold it. Holding the middle is how a late-game standoff breaks.
FAQ
- How do you get XP in Ageforge?
- By killing enemy units and by holding the shrine in the middle of the lane. Each kill gives XP equal to 75% of the dead unit's gold cost, and kills by your tower and ultimate count. The shrine pays its holder 9 to 26 XP per second, depending on their age, and gold instead in the Future Age.
- Does advancing an age cost gold in Ageforge?
- No. Advancing spends XP only. Gold is only spent on units.
- What are evolve cards in Ageforge?
- Each time you advance an age you pick one of 3 cards: keep an old unit, upgrade a unit, get a next-age unit early, or take a rule for your whole side. Both players are offered the same cards, and two or three cards of one theme unlock a set bonus.
- How many ages are in Ageforge?
- 4: Stone Age, Medieval Age, Gunpowder Age, Future Age.
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