In the annual specials, the game takes place on a map of Ancient Europe divided into 87 regions. Victory Points are stored in villages and can be gained or lost.
Regional Map
Regions and Victory Points
Each of 87 independent regions can be controlled by an alliance, giving its villages in the region Victory Points over time. In addition, the alliance members can use the ancient power (artefact) of the region.
So, how can you take over a region? First, it has to be unlocked. This happens once the top 5 biggest alliances in the region have at least 4,000 population altogether in the region. The population of other alliances, players without an alliance, on vacation or banned, as well as Natar villages, is not taken into account. Once the region is unlocked, it cannot be locked again; however, if the population drops below 4k, then the region stops producing victory points, and the regional power will deactivate.
It is only possible to settle new villages in regions that are unlocked or are neighbouring unlocked regions. The only exception to this rule are regions, where new players are spawned and where it is always possible to settle new villages.
New players spawn in each quarter in a specific region. Once all places available for spawning are taken in that region, the new players will start appearing in the next region, and so on. Below you can find the order of regions used for spawning in each quarter.
| North-West | South-West | North-East | South-East |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bagacum | Carthago Nova | Venedae | Athens |
| Lutetia | Caesarea | Sarmatia | Delphi |
| Londinium | Rusadir | Bastarnae | Apollonia |
| Durnonovaria | Corduba | Vandali | Samothrace |
| Corinium | Segovia | Gherla | Byzantinum |
| Eburacum | Saguntum | Berzobis | Halicarnassos |
| Cherusci | Numantia | Mursa | Iconium Athribis |
| Treverorum | Tarraco | Segestica | Alexandria |
| Mogontiacum | Emporiae | Marcomanni | Cyrene |
| Argentorate | Tolosa | Burgundi | Syracusae |
| Augustodunum | Narbo | Cimbri | Lilybaeum |
| Pictavium | Alalie | Hyperborea | Brundisium |
| Caledonia | Caralis | Scythia | Epidaurum |
| Mediolanum | Hippo Regius | Theodosia | Ulpiana |
| Burdigala | Carthago | Aquileia | Philipopolis |
If one alliance manage to have over 50% of the population in the region (only the top 5 alliance villages in the region are counted), the alliance will start taking control of the region. This takes 24 hours, regardless of the gameworld's speed. If they manage to hold the majority, they will control the region.
Information about the population of the region and the top 5 alliance shares is shown in the Statistics > Region tab and in any Embassy located in the region. Keep in mind that the column "Regional population" in the statistics shows the population of the top 1 alliance in the region, not the total population in the region.
| Region status | How to achieve | Effects |
|---|---|---|
| Locked | All regions start locked. | Cannot be settled unless it neighbours an unlocked region. A few starting regions are an exception. It is also always possible to settle a second village in a region where you have your capital. |
| Unlocked | Top5 alliances in the region have to achieve a total of 4,000 population in the region. | Can be settled and contested. Cannot be locked again. |
| Contested | One of the alliances has to achieve over 50% population in the region. Only the population of the top 5 alliances count. | Can degrade to unlocked if the alliance loses the majority. |
| Secured | The alliance has to hold the majority for over 24 hours continuously. | Members of the controlling alliance can activate the ancient power of the region (if it has one) and their villages in the region receive victory points, as long as region population is still over 4,000. |
If the regional population drops below 4000, the region stops producing VP and doesn't offer the regional power.
The region is still conquerable / unlocked/conquered/secured, the mechanics of conquering cooldowns is unaffected. The only change is that VP-production stops and the power of that region is not visible in treasuries.
Example 1:
The region is unlocked but drops below 4000 population again
- While below 4000 population, an alliance achieves >50% regional control
- The conquer cooldown starts. Still the regional message of "too low population" is shown
- 4000 population is achieved again.
- The conquer cooldown is visible now.
Example 2:
- The region is unlocked.
- Alliance A conquered the region.
- Player B uses ancient power.
- Region drops below 4000 population.
- Alliance A do not get VP from that region, and the players cannot use the ancient power of that region.
- Player B still has ancient power active; it is not cancelled. He just cannot reactivate it after the effect runs out.
- Region emerges above 4000 population.
- Alliance A start to get VP production again and the alliance players can activate ancient powers again.