Grab your compass and hunting spears because we’re talking about the scouts of Ara: History Untold! In our latest Dev Diary, we sat down with Community and Marketing Manager Andy Cataldo to learn more about Ara’s starting unit and how they function in the first few rounds of gameplay.
Watch this Developer Diary with Audio Descriptions
At the onset of your journey, you’re equipped with a single scout, with the option to craft additional scout staves using gathered resources. These units are essential for uncovering new resources, tackling dangerous predators, and collecting hidden caches scattered throughout Ara’s expansive Living World.
Hunting dangerous wildlife not only provides your nation with fur and resources, but it also clears the zone, allowing you to construct a new improvement once you’ve claimed the region. Each animal type has its own difficulty level and may result in a scout’s injury if they attempt to hunt it! Injured scouts can seek refuge within your cities for full recovery or, in dire circumstances, they can rest in the wild to regain partial health.
Another primary task for the scout is revealing hidden resources that can significantly advance your Nation once harvested. Revealing a resource like Iron or Copper is a fantastic discovery, but be warned! Once you reveal a resource, other players will be able to see it, and it soon becomes a race to see who can claim the area first!
Don’t forget the caches! Found near ancient ruins, these hidden troves offer the reward of resources, equipment, or treasure to the player who can claim them first. If your nation survives the Act Transition, be sure to seek out fallen Nations for their caches as soon as possible—it’s a goldmine waiting to be plundered!
The significance of environmental factors cannot be understated in Ara. Starting in a desert or dry biome necessitates sending scouts to seek out vital resources like jungles and rivers to ensure your nation’s prosperity. However, amidst the wilderness lies the lurking threat of barbarians, roaming bands that pose a formidable challenge to scouts venturing into the unknown.
For more info on scouts, be sure to check out the full video on our YouTube channel and let us know what topics you want covered in future episodes!