On World Wonder gameworlds, the grey area is the central zone around the Volcano. It has special pros/cons and unique risks right after you settle.
Advantages
All oases give +50% bonus (wood, clay, iron, crop).
Many croppers, and higher chance to find a good cropper with strong oases.
Closer to WWs and often near unique artefacts, making logistics and reaction times easier for endgame play.
Great location for active attackers to reach all directions quickly.
Disadvantages
No culture points are produced there (theoretical CP still counts for parties/artworks).
After settling, Natars launch 14 waves at your new village (timing depends on server speed; see table below).
Expect heavy player activity; higher online time is usually required.
If you must live inside the grey, consider capital inside (cropper) and resource villages just outside to reduce CP loss on the account.
Natar attack delay after settling
x1: 24:00 · x2: 12:00 · x3: 08:00 · x5: 04:48 · x10: 02:24.
Plan to be online immediately after settling and again when the Natar waves are due.
Stock resources in your hero inventory to bootstrap builds (farm oases or finish quests as needed).
Be ready to spend some Gold on instant finishes if you have it.
Do not defend the 14 Natar waves—troop losses aren’t worth it here.
Your new village disappears if:
All buildings/fields are destroyed, or
Population drops to zero even if some non-pop buildings remain.
The 14 Natar waves each hit two random targets → up to 28 targets can be destroyed. To survive with certainty, create ≥29 population-giving targets before the waves land.
Goal: reach 29 population targets (and extra total targets) before the waves.
Inside builds (21 pop targets):
Main Building 5 · Warehouse 5 · Granary 3 · Rally Point 1 · Residence 1
Hero Mansion 1 · Marketplace 1 · Embassy 1
Barracks 3 · Academy 5 · Smithy 3 · Stable 1
1× Cranny 10 + 8× Cranny 6 (all give pop at those levels)
Resource fields:
9c: upgrade all 18 fields to level 1 (adds 9 pop targets via croplands).
15c: wood/clay/iron to level 1 + 5 croplands to level 6 (others level 1).
With the inside builds above, both variants reach the 29 pop-target threshold.
Want to cut costs? You can replace some pop targets with non-pop targets (e.g., more level-1 croplands or level-1 crannies). That’s cheaper but not 100% safe—it adds a (small) chance your village is fully destroyed by random hits.
Because Stonemason’s Lodge is the last building to be demolished, a capital can be secured with lighter builds:
Fields: all 18 resource fields to level 1.
Inside: Main Building 5 · Warehouse 1 · Granary 1 · Rally Point 1 · Hero Mansion 1 · Marketplace 1 · Barracks 1 · Cranny 1 · Embassy 1 · Palace 1 (set this village as capital) · Stonemason’s Lodge 1.
This also totals 29 targets, with Stonemason’s as the final population anchor.
Start queuing builds immediately after the settle; watch the attack timer window for your speed.
Keep fields and pop-giving buildings ticking up until you cross the safe threshold.
After the waves pass, optimize (demolish crannies/temporary steps) and shape the village for its long-term role.
