Resource Management Guide
Olden Era is won on the resource map, not just the battlefield. Gold builds armies, wood constructs buildings, and rare resources (gems, crystals, sulfur, mercury) unlock your faction's most powerful units and spells. This guide covers every resource type, faction-specific economic bonuses, optimal build orders, and the logistics of turning map control into military dominance.
Resource Types & Priorities
Seven resources power your economy. Gold and wood are universal needs. Ore, gems, crystals, sulfur, and mercury are map-dependent — your expansion strategy must prioritize the resources your faction needs most.
| Resource | Source | Rate | Priority | Bottleneck |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🪙 Gold | Town income, flagged gold mines, treasure chests, artifact sales | 500-2000/day (scales with town level) | 1st — fuels creature recruitment and building construction | Gold starvation is the #1 cause of stalled openings. If you cannot afford your creature queue, you lose tempo. |
| 🪵 Wood | Sawmill (town), flagged lumber camps on map | 10-30/day per sawmill | 2nd — required for most buildings and shipyards | Wood shortages delay town hall upgrades. Flag every lumber camp within 2 turns of your town. |
| ⛏️ Ore | Ore mine (town), flagged ore deposits on map | 5-15/day per mine | 3rd — required for advanced buildings and creature upgrades | Ore is map-dependent. If your starting zone has no ore, you must expand aggressively or trade. |
| 💎 Gems | Gem mine (rare map structure), marketplace trade, quest rewards | 1-5/day per gem mine | 4th — required for high-tier creatures and artifacts | Gems are the rarest resource. Never sell gems for gold unless you are absolutely sure you will not need them. |
| 🔮 Crystals | Crystal cave (rare map structure), wizard tower conversion | 1-3/day per crystal cave | 5th — required for magic guild and high-level spells | Faction-specific. Dungeon and Necropolis need crystals for their magic economy. Other factions can trade crystals away. |
| 🟡 Sulfur | Sulfur pit (rare map structure), alchemist conversion | 1-3/day per sulfur pit | 5th — required for inferno creatures and fire magic | Faction-specific. Inferno and some Temple builds need sulfur. Other factions should trade it. |
| ⚗️ Mercury | Alchemist lab (town building), rare map nodes | 1-2/day per lab | 5th — required for high-level spells and artifacts | Universal need at high tiers. Every faction eventually needs mercury for tier 6-7 creatures or artifact crafting. |
Faction Economic Bonuses
Every faction has unique economic bonuses that define their resource strategy. Play to your bonus — Grove should never play like Dungeon, and Schism should never try to out-recruit Temple.
Temple (Human)
Gold: +20% town income
Wood: Standard
Ore: Standard
Special: None — balanced economy
Temple wins through consistent creature production. Flag every gold mine. Your income advantage means you can out-recruit opponents in the long game.
Dungeon (Warlock)
Gold: Standard
Wood: Standard
Ore: Standard
Special: Crystals +30% from mines
Dungeon's magic economy is crystal-hungry. Prioritize crystal caves over gold mines. Your spells are your real army — crystals are ammunition.
Necropolis (Necromancer)
Gold: Standard
Wood: Standard
Ore: Standard
Special: Crystals +20% from mines; Sulfur conversion from corpses
Necropolis converts dead creature stacks into resources. Aggressive early expansion feeds your economy through combat. You spend less gold recruiting and more on infrastructure.
Grove (Elf)
Gold: Standard
Wood: +30% from lumber camps
Ore: Standard
Special: None — wood economy focus
Grove builds fast. Your wood bonus means you can construct buildings 30% faster than other factions. Rush town hall upgrades with your wood surplus.
Hive (Insectoid)
Gold: Standard
Wood: Standard
Ore: +25% from mines
Special: None — ore economy focus
Hive swarms require upgraded creature dwellings. Your ore bonus accelerates dwelling upgrades. Rush tier 3-4 creature buildings.
Schism (Heretic)
Gold: -10% town income (penalty)
Wood: Standard
Ore: Standard
Special: Sulfur +40% from mines; sacrifice creatures for resources
Schism has a gold penalty but converts creatures into resources through sacrifice. Play aggressively — every dead enemy stack fuels your economy.
Optimal Build Order
The first 30 turns define your entire game. Follow this build order for a strong economy that scales into the mid and late game. Deviate only if your starting zone lacks a critical resource.
Town Hall (level 1)
Turn 1Cost: 2500 Gold, 20 Wood, 10 Ore
Unlocks creature dwellings and daily income. Every turn without Town Hall is lost income. Build it immediately.
Creature Dwelling (tier 1)
Turn 2-3Cost: 1000 Gold, 10 Wood
Starts creature production queue. The earlier you start recruiting, the larger your week-1 army. Never delay this.
Resource Buildings (matching faction)
Turn 4-6Cost: 500-1500 Gold, 5-15 Wood
Build the resource building that matches your faction bonus (Sawmill for Grove, Ore Mine for Hive, etc).
Marketplace
Turn 7-10Cost: 1000 Gold, 10 Wood
Enables resource trading. Convert surplus resources into gold to fuel creature recruitment. Essential for resource-poor starts.
Town Hall (level 2)
Turn 12-15Cost: 5000 Gold, 30 Wood, 20 Ore
Increases daily income by 50% and unlocks tier 2 creature dwellings. The earlier you upgrade, the more income compounds.
Creature Dwelling (tier 2-3)
Turn 16-25Cost: 2000-4000 Gold, 15-25 Wood, 5-15 Ore
Upgrade creature production to tier 2 and 3. Higher-tier creatures double your army power. Coordinate with Town Hall upgrades.
Magic Guild / Special Building
Turn 20-30Cost: 3000 Gold, 15 Wood, 5 Crystals/Sulfur
Unlocks spells (Dungeon/Necropolis) or faction-specific bonuses. Build once your creature economy is stable.
Resource Management Tips
- Flag every mine within 2 turns of your town before turn 5. Flagged mines generate resources every day. An unflagged mine generates nothing. Every turn you delay flagging costs you resources permanently.
- Use a secondary hero for resource logistics. Your main hero should be fighting, exploring, and flagging new mines. A cheap secondary hero ferries resources from flagged mines to your town, keeping your main hero free.
- Never sell rare resources (gems, crystals, sulfur, mercury) early. You will need them for tier 5-7 creatures and artifacts. Gold is renewable through town income. Rare resources are finite on the map.
- The marketplace exchange rate favors the seller when you trade surplus for deficit. If you have 30 wood and 0 ore, trade 10 wood for 8 ore — not the other way around. Always trade from abundance, never from scarcity.
- Resource buildings (sawmill, ore mine) in your town generate baseline income even without flagged map nodes. Build them regardless of map resources — the baseline income alone justifies the cost within 10 turns.
- Schism players: your gold penalty means you cannot out-recruit opponents. Convert creature sacrifices into resources and out-tech them instead. You win through quality (upgraded creatures), not quantity.
- Grove players: your wood bonus is multiplicative with sawmills. Building 2 sawmills early gives you a 60% wood advantage over other factions. Rush Town Hall upgrades by turn 8 — no other faction can match your build speed.
- Track your opponent's flagged mines. If you can steal a flagged gem mine or crystal cave with a fast hero, you deny them a permanent resource stream while gaining one yourself. Resource denial wins games.
Related Guides
Last updated: July 9, 2026