Era Stars explanation

[Margaret River]

Can someone please clear something up about Era Stars - I am told I need a minimum of 7 Era Stars to progress to a next era - my question is: does that 7 need to be spread across all 7 affinities (e.g. a minimum of 1 in each) or can I ignore e.g. Militarist, because I like Peaceful mode on?

[VDmitry]

7 ANY stars, no matter of source. And you can get much more than 7 as well, if you look for more Fame before going to next Era.

[FoxFox]

In addition to the previous comment, the 2nd and 3rd star yield progressively more fame, so in fact it's even better to get multiple stars in a single category than to spread them out.

Also note that it is often better not to advance to the next era right away, if you are close to getting more stars in the current era. The requirements get higher every era. So if you are two techs away from getting a star, but then advance to the next era, then you still need to research those to techs anyway, but now it won't yield you any fame, because the first science star in the next era requires more techs.

[VDmitry]

for peaceful mode in particular you can earn militarist stars using independent people ("barbarians") at least

[FoxFox]

Originally posted by VDmitry:

for peaceful mode in particular you can earn militarist stars using independent people ("barbarians") at least

That's a great tip in general btw, not just for peaceful mode.

[Margaret River]

Originally posted by VDmitry:

for peaceful mode in particular you can earn militarist stars using independent people ("barbarians") at least

A very interesting answer, thank you; can you please briefly say how I get/use independent people? Newby (2nd game resigned Classical on 1090 when leader had 2090)

[VDmitry]

Originally posted by Margaret River:

Originally posted by VDmitry:

for peaceful mode in particular you can earn militarist stars using independent people ("barbarians") at least

A very interesting answer, thank you; can you please briefly say how I get/use independent people? Newby (2nd game resigned Classical on 1090 when leader had 2090)

What civilized people normally do with barbarians? They conquer or plunder them.

[FoxFox]

Originally posted by VDmitry:

Originally posted by Margaret River:

A very interesting answer, thank you; can you please briefly say how I get/use independent people? Newby (2nd game resigned Classical on 1090 when leader had 2090)

What civilized people normally do with barbarians? They conquer or plunder them.

Technically they're not barbarians though, just independent people. But what do empires usually do to with independents? With barbarians and civilised people, I thought it was the other way around though. So... are we the bad guys?

[VDmitry]

Independent from what they are? I believe it's just a nice word for "barbarians" or "uncivilized" cultures. And we normally bring them true values or exploit their bests, sometimes even making a gift of democracy. How can this be even considered bad?

[Margaret River]

Originally posted by VDmitry:

Originally posted by Margaret River:

A very interesting answer, thank you; can you please briefly say how I get/use independent people? Newby (2nd game resigned Classical on 1090 when leader had 2090)

What civilized people normally do with barbarians? They conquer or plunder them.

So, what I take from this is to build a couple of military units capable of winning enough skirmishes with Independents to get a Militarist Era Star? Or I have the option of ignoring the Militarist Era Star all together?

[FoxFox]

Originally posted by VDmitry:

Independent from what they are? I believe it's just a nice word for "barbarians" or "uncivilized" cultures. And we normally bring them true values or exploit their bests, sometimes even making a gift of democracy. How can this be even considered bad?

yup, we're definitely the bad guys then

[VDmitry]

Originally posted by Margaret River:

Originally posted by VDmitry:

What civilized people normally do with barbarians? They conquer or plunder them.

So, what I take from this is to build a couple of military units capable of winning enough skirmishes with Independents to get a Militarist Era Star? Or I have the option of ignoring the Militarist Era Star all together?

we have both options: ignore or exploit

[FoxFox]

Originally posted by Margaret River:

Originally posted by VDmitry:

What civilized people normally do with barbarians? They conquer or plunder them.

So, what I take from this is to build a couple of military units capable of winning enough skirmishes with Independents to get a Militarist Era Star? Or I have the option of ignoring the Militarist Era Star all together?

Sure you can ignore it altogether.

Only need 7 stars to progress, so you need at least 3 categories: 3+3+1. Plus if you are behind the other empires, you get bonus stars periodically, so theoretically you don't even need 3 categories.

Anyway, I had a few nearly-pacificst playthroughs. I didn't even set the AI to peaceful either. If you just build cities and expand your territory you usually get enough agrarian, builder and scientist stars without actively pursuing them.

[Margaret River]

Thanks heaps you guys for taking the time to answer my newby question - much appreciated; love the game, but don't have a preference over Civ; I believe they both have different strengths and the games are significantly different.

[VDmitry]

Originally posted by Margaret River:

Thanks heaps you guys for taking the time to answer my newby question - much appreciated; love the game, but don't have a preference over Civ; I believe they both have different strengths and the games are significantly different.

If you don't make wars in HK you are missing many differencies.

[milehigh026]

Here is a pro tip that I have never seen anyone talking about. It is possible to get "extra" era stars that carries over to the next era.

In my current play through I decided to go for the all era stars and all of the get 18 stars in each category achievements. What I have noticed is that if you get the required amount for 3 stars in a particular category then any thing extra that you earn is added to the next era.

So for example, let's use the military stars. If it says that you have to kill 36 units to get all 3 stars and in that era you actually kill 56 units, those 20 extra units that you killed are credited towards the next eras stars. So now in the next era it will say that you have 20/60 or whatever. This is true for every star category. There have been times that I have advanced eras and already had 2 out 3 stars completed.

It should be noted that the era stars achievements are bugged and you have to complete those all in 1 play session, which means no closing the game and you can not even load a save. It has to be continuous from the moment you start.