Ara is divided into three acts, each of which is further broken down into four eras. Each era represents a significant period in human history.
Eras
Each era introduces new technologies, weapons, and improvements that are appropriate for that time in history. As you research new technologies, you’ll unlock buildings, recipes, forms of government, and more.
There are four technological eras within each act. Each era contains a set of technologies, with one being the era catalyst. Researching the era catalyst is the only way to advance to the next era. Once you move to the next era, the technologies you didn’t select from the previous era will no longer be available.
Act I
Prehistory through the 6th century CE:
- Ancient Era
- Bronze Age
- Iron Age
- Antiquities
Act II
6th century CE through 1879 CE:
- Early Middle Ages
- High Medieval Era
- Renaissance
- Enlightenment
Act III
1880 CE through the End of History:
- Machine Age
- Atomic Age
- Information Age
- Singularity Age
Act Transitions
When a certain number of nations reach the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and complete Act I, the act will end. You’ll receive a warning a few turns ahead of time. At the end of the act, each nation’s final prestige score is calculated. The bottom 25% of leaders are culled, meaning their nation is removed from play. The remaining leaders are placed into tiers based on their prestige.
Tiers
At the start of the game, every nation has an equal chance of victory. When Act I or Act II ends, the surviving leaders are ranked into one of three tiers:
- Tier 1: The most prestigious leaders
- Tier 2: Leaders in the middle
- Tier 3: Leaders in the bottom of the surviving nations
Your ranking is visible to all players via the leaderboard, giving everyone insight into who is winning or losing. To check your ranking, click on your nation emblem in the laurel in the upper left section of the HUD. The nation with the highest prestige at the end of the game wins.
Being Culled
At the end of Acts I and II, leaders with the lowest prestige are culled from the game. When a leader is culled, their nation is no longer in play. All their improvements are turned into ruins, and their Forces either disappear or become hostile warbands. Surviving nations can survey these ruins for rewards.