Empires & Allies Cheats and Tips: Building a farm-less economy

If there's one thing more important in Empires & Allies than combat, it's resource management. But it's even more important to realize one extremely vital fact about resources: They always have a price tag. More times than not, you'll find that players are wiling to pay up in Coins for Oil, Wood and Ore rather than wait to create it themselves.

Since Coins are the most sought-after resource in the game, it's only natural for players to find the most effective way of acquiring them. As it stands, Farms are the only guaranteed source of Coins, but they're terribly inefficient. Thanks to Markets in E&A, it's entirely possible to create a sustainable empire with little to no Farms.

However, you must be a high-level player for this strategy to be effective. This is because the highest level Oil Wells, Lumber Mills and Ore Mines are the most efficient, and therefore will result in the highest profits. Here is what you'll need to create each of the buildings required for a Farm-less economy:

Oil Well III:

    13,500 Coins
    1,350 Wood
    40 Uranium
    1,800 Population


Lumber Mill III:

    15,750 Coins
    50 Wood
    45 Aluminum
    2,250 Population


Ore Mine III:

    26,750 Coins
    2,675 Wood
    65 Copper
    4,000 Population


Once you've reached the third tier of resource-generating buildings, it's time to mass produce them in order to produce both the amount of resources your empire personally needs, and excess resources to sell in your Markets. Generally speaking, you'll likely need 50 or more of each of these buildings to produce the resources needed, so the transition from a Farm-dependent economy to a Farm-less one will be slow. But the results are staggering, take a look:

Empires Allies spreadsheet
Click above for a larger image

According to this spreadsheet provided by an extremely skilled E&A player, chicharoncuneta, Farms provide marginal amounts of Coins at best compared to what you can make with a slew of Oil Wells and Lumber Mills by selling their spoils in the Market. We've omitted Ore Mines, because if you don't have an Ore like Gold or Uranium on your empire's land, profitability will be scarce. Sticking to Oil Wells and Lumber Mills is the best way to achieve complete independence from Farms.

Well, aside from the Goals that call for them--save a few for those. However, this approach to garnering Coins in the game relies on likely the most important resource of all: friends. Without active neighbors, you cannot sustain this economy. But between the Empires & Allies forums and its Facebook fan page, finding active friends shouldn't be an issue.

[Source and Image Credit: chicharoncuneta]

Check out the rest of our Empires & Allies Cheats and Tips right here.

Empires & Allies Red Tide Rising Goals: Everything you need to know

It looks like our very own little Cold War is about to erupt in Empires & Allies, as Zynga has introduced new Goals to the game to coincide with the Red Tide Rising item event. This long, limited edition series of a whopping seven Goals will send you on a hunt for the mysterious Element Z that ... doesn't seem to go much of anywhere. Hey, at least you'll score a sweet Tank and other rewards for your hard work. Here's everything you need to know about the Red Tide Rising Goals in E&A:

Come Together

    Harvest from 8 Neighbor Farms
    Revive 6 Neighbor Farms
    Collect from 20 Neighbor Houses


This is all about visiting friends. In fact, considering each friend visit grants you five friendly actions, it will take at least six visitations to complete this Goal. And once you do, an EMP power-up awaits as your reward.
Come Together
Capture Evidence

    Collect 5 Defecting Scientists


In this simple Goal, all you need to do is ask your friends for this item, which we'd imagine you're all familiar with by now. Once you do, enjoy a free 1,000 Coins.

The More the Merrier

    Have 2 New Friends Play E&A


Alright, now this is just downright mean. Apparently, it's up to you to be an ambassador for Zynga's strategy game. You must invite two friends who have yet to play E&A, so have fun with that. Hey, you could always just make two mock accounts, have them befriend your real one, install the game via an invite from the real account and finally delete them. But you didn't hear that from us. Your reward for this Goal is a limited edition Sputnik Statue.
Red Tide Rising items
Tooling Up

    Have 10 Army Upgrades
    Build 8 Army Units
    Place 8 Army Units


To upgrade your Army or Land units, use the Army Research Lab (find out how in our guide right here). Then, the next two Goals are simple: Just build some throwaway units like Cadet Soldiers, which cost 100 Coins apiece, and place them. For completing these tasks, enjoy a free 100 Oil.

Release the Hounds

    Use Upgraded Army Units to Destroy 22 Enemy Units
    Use Upgrade Army Units to Inflict 1,000 Damage


This Goal doesn't dictate where exactly you have to destroy or damage said units, so try just entering a low-level Campaign battle and wreaking havoc on Captain Krunsch. You can also retreat from battles to avoid losing any of your precious upgraded Army units. This Goal, once completed, will reward you with 100 Wood.
Red Tide Rising items 2
Disposal!

    Collect 5 Bomb Disposal Robots


This simple Goal requires that you ask friends for the Robots, so ask away and be done with it. You'll score another 1,000 Coins for completing this Goal.

Shared Meal!

    Harvest 24 Red Onions
    Harvest 12 Neighbors' Farms
    Collect 250 Oil


To harvest 24 Red Onions, you will need a total of 9,216 Coins, and each crop takes 1 day and eight hours to complete. To harvest 12 Neighbor Farms, you will have to visit at least three friends. Your reward for completing this Goal is a limited edition Tank, the SU-122 with an impressive 200 Health.

[Source: Empires and Allies Base]

Check out the rest of our Empires & Allies Cheats and Tips right here.

Have you started these new Russian-themed Goals yet? What do you think of the rewards at stake, and what tips might you have for completing these Goals even faster?