The Ancient Egypt Settlement is the third Cultural Settlement in Forge of Empires. Its defining trait is the dual currency: Deben (from residential buildings and the embassy) and Loot (only from battles in the siege camp). Cultural goods production starts with Loot, not Deben – which makes this settlement tactically more demanding than Vikings or Japan.
You start on a 4×2 grid (8 expansions) around the embassy with 9,000 Deben as starting capital. The embassy is 6×8 in size and provides 600 Deben per day. Obstacles (rocks) block tiles – in Egypt they can be removed for the first time using pickaxes (6 from quest rewards). Every expansion except the main grid has exactly one obstacle.
Overview
| Feature | Value |
|---|---|
| Playthroughs | 14 (main building max) + Ascended from 15 |
| Goods | Barley, Pottery, Flowers, Sacrificial Offerings |
| Bottleneck | Loot – limits cultural goods production; Deben for roads and military |
| Roads | Yes – cost 200 Deben per tile (unique among settlements) |
Like the Vikings and Japan, roads have a cost here – in this case Deben. Only build as many as you need for building connections.
Buildings & Production
Residential buildings (Deben + population)
| Building | Size | Production |
|---|---|---|
| Simple Clay Hut | 2×2 | 34 / 5h |
| Multi-Story Clay House | 3×2 | 87 / 10h |
| Residential Block | 3×5 | 542 / 20h |
| Luxury Estate | 4×4 | 297 / 10h |
Residential buildings provide population and Deben. But they need a road connection to produce. Once you've unlocked the Divine Statue, the coin production of residential buildings is negligible. Place them on the edge and don't connect them intentionally.
Goods buildings (cultural goods)
| Building | Size | Produces |
|---|---|---|
| Grain Farm | 3×4 | Barley |
| Pottery | 4×3 | Pottery |
| Flower Farm | 3×5 | Flowers |
| Place of Prayer | 3×5 | Sacrificial Offerings |
All goods buildings have identical production values – only the good differs:
| Production | 5 | 10 | 20 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost (Loot) | 50 | 100 | 200 |
| Duration | 5h | 10h | 20h |
Special: cultural goods production starts with Loot, not Deben – plan your battles in the siege camp accordingly.
Diplomacy buildings (Deben + diplomacy)
| Building | Size | Diplomacy | 5 min | 15 min | 1h | 5h | 10h | 20h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Potted Plant | 1×1 | 7 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Cultivated Palms (North) | 1×2 | 26 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Cultivated Palms (East) | 2×1 | 26 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Divine Statue | 3×2 | 39 | 8 | 18 | 54 | 143 | 214 | 428 |
| Decorated Palm Garden (North) | 1×3 | 55 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Decorated Palm Garden (East) | 3×1 | 55 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Water Garden | 3×3 | 117 | 13 | 31 | 91 | 242 | 363 | 726 |
| Oasis | 3×3 | 223 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Procession | 6×4 | 437 | 65 | 155 | 465 | 1,240 | 1,859 | 3,718 |
| Pyramid | 6×6 | 890 | 143 | 343 | 1,029 | 2,742 | 4,113 | 8,225 |
Deben per hour comparison:
| Building | 1h cycle | Space | Deben/Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple Clay Hut | 6.8/h | 2×2 | 1.7 |
| Divine Statue | 54/h | 3×2 | 9.0 |
| Water Garden | 91/h | 3×3 | 10.1 |
| Procession | 465/h | 6×4 | 19.4 |
| Pyramid | 1,029/h | 6×6 | 28.6 |
From the 10h production cycle onwards, Deben per hour drops significantly – in practice: prefer the 1h cycle, otherwise use 5h.
Military
| Building | Size | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Training Camp | 3×3 | Khopesh Fighter |
| Camel Barn | 4×3 | Mounted Camel Archer |
| Nubian Archery Range | 2×5 | Nubian Archer |
| Chariot Workshop | 3×4 | War Chariot |
| Elephant Stable | 3×3 | War Elephant |
The first two training spots are free, the remaining three cost Deben (650 / 700 / 750 or 500 / 550 / 600). Nubian Archery Range ×2 is the standard: 8 Nubian Archers reliably cover all battles.
Battles in the siege camp
3× daily (easy / normal / hard):
| Difficulty | Loot |
|---|---|
| Easy | 250–350 |
| Normal | 300–400 |
| Hard | 400–500 |
Never use auto-battle – the losses are too high. Skip the hard battle unless it's very easy from your lineup. The x4 chance also applies to Loot from battles. Let the enemies get close enough that your units can make a combined first strike at maximum range. Camel riders then cannot execute their counter-attack. Reject battles that are too difficult so you get new ones rolled.
Expansions
| Sector | Barley | Pottery | Flowers | Sacrificial Offerings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 6 | 31 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| 7 | 38 | 12 | 1 | 1 |
| 8 | 41 | 17 | 1 | 1 |
| 9 | 44 | 24 | 5 | 1 |
| 10 | 48 | 31 | 12 | 1 |
| 11 | 51 | 38 | 17 | 1 |
| 12 | 54 | 41 | 24 | 5 |
| 13 | 57 | 44 | 31 | 12 |
| 14 | 61 | 48 | 38 | 17 |
| 15 | 64 | 51 | 41 | 24 |
| 16 | 67 | 54 | 44 | 31 |
| 17 | 71 | 57 | 48 | 38 |
| 18 | 74 | 61 | 51 | 41 |
| 19 | 77 | 64 | 54 | 44 |
| 20 | 81 | 67 | 57 | 48 |
Tip: Always use the good with the lowest quantity for expansions – production time stays the same, you just need fewer units.
Optimal flow
Phase 1: Start
| Step | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Build 7 Simple Clay Huts → Quest 1 |
| 2 | Build 1 Grain Farm → Quest 2 |
| 3 | Build 1 Training Camp → receive 5 Khopesh + 5 Camels → demolish the camp → Quest 3 |
| 4 | Build 2 Nubian Archery Ranges (stay permanently) |
| 5 | Win 1 battle in the siege camp → Quest 4, receive Loot |
From here on, the siege camp is unlocked. You have 3 battles/24h (easy, normal, hard). The base battle configuration: 8 Nubian Archers (split into two groups of four). Khopesh only on day 1.
Phase 2: First unlocks & goods production
With the Loot from battles you can now produce goods in the Grain Farm. This lets you buy the first 2 expansions and unlocks.
- The Divine Statue provides your Deben supply
- The Pottery gives a new good for expansions and unlocks.
- With the Pottery you can buy 3 expansions at 1 good each
Phase 3: Mid phase & finish
- Produce goods, complete unlocks in blocks
- Build up and tear down diplomacy buildings as quests require
- Expansions: buy 1 each with the cheapest good, mind the obstacles.
- Battles: 8 archers – normally 2 battles are enough. Hope for a 4x
- Surplus goods can be used for expansions
- Pyramids are large, keep the obstacles in mind
TL;DR: Huts → Farm → Camp (demolish) → 2 Archery Ranges → 1 Battle → produce goods & unlock in blocks. Battles daily, reset before sleep. Logging in three times a day is enough.
Rewards
| Playthrough | Reward |
|---|---|
| 1 | Royal Bathhouse – Level 1 |
| 2 | Emissary Euclid of Alexandria + Slot |
| 3 | Royal Bathhouse Upgrade Kit |
| 4 | Royal Bathhouse Upgrade Kit |
| 5 | Emissary Mentuhotep |
| 6 | Royal Bathhouse Upgrade Kit |
| 7 | Emissary Hemetre + Slot |
| 8 | Royal Bathhouse Upgrade Kit |
| 9 | Emissary Maatkare Mutemhat |
| 10 | Royal Bathhouse Upgrade Kit (Level 6, max) |
| ∞ | Ascended Royal Bathhouse Upgrade Kit |
Emissaries & Slots
The settlement unlocks 4 emissaries and 2 emissary slots. The slots are located in your capital's Town Hall – you can choose from all emissaries of all settlements, a slot is independent of the settlement.
| Emissary | Daily Bonus |
|---|---|
| Euclid of Alexandria | 16 FP |
| Mentuhotep | 13 units of your current age |
| Hemetre | 100 goods of your previous age |
| Maatkare Mutemhat | 13 units of your current age |
Ancient Obelisk (secondary building)
5 levels – fragments only if you finish within the time limits:
| Rank | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Gold | ≤ 28 days (1st playthrough), ~14 days from playthrough 11 |
| Silver | longer than gold, shorter than bronze |
| Bronze | longest time window |
The time windows get tighter with each finished playthrough – after 10 playthroughs they stay constant. The reward includes obelisk fragments, upgrade kits for the ascended bathhouse, FP, goods and units.
Royal Bathhouse (main building)
6 levels plus an "Ascended" level (orange). This lasts only 28 days, after which the building falls back to the normal max level. Unlocked by one more playthrough after reaching level 6 – that's the "∞" entry in the table above.
The Bathhouse provides FP, guild goods and units of your current age as well as attack and defense bonuses for various game modes (GG, GEX, QI).
Tips for a smooth run
- Loot is the bottleneck. Cultural goods production starts with Loot – plan your battles in the siege camp accordingly. 3× daily, skip the hard battle if the opponent has more than 3 camels.
- Roads cost Deben (200 per tile) – only build as many as needed. The embassy provides 600 Deben/day; residential buildings provide additional.
- Obstacles can be removed with pickaxes (6 from quest rewards) – the first time among settlements. Use them to create one large connected building area instead of many small ones.
- x4 chance: More productions = higher hit rate. The chance increases by 2% with each finished settlement (start 5%, cap 25%).
- Only produce as much as needed. Overproduction is a waste of time – produce specifically for the next quest goal.
- You get the Royal Bathhouse and emissaries regardless of duration – the time limits only affect the obelisk fragments. The final quest (30,000 Deben + 30× each good) is doable in under 24 hours with good planning.