Mapuche Civilization Guide

Overview

The Mapuche are a cavalry and counter-unit civilization that excels at adapting to the opponent's army composition. Their unique combination of bonuses rewards aggressive, reactive play: stronger trash units, gold income from kills, and automatic enemy Castle scouting give Mapuche players an information and economy edge in the mid-to-late game.

Their strengths lie in powerful Spearmen and Skirmishers boosted by incremental HP bonuses across ages, the ability to train these units from Settlements for early defensive flexibility, and two devastating unique cavalry units. The Kona excels at finishing off wounded targets while the Bolas Rider slows enemies to a crawl, making retreat impossible.

On the flip side, the Mapuche lack strong siege options and their economy has no direct gathering bonuses beyond the forager boost. They depend on engaging in combat frequently to fuel their gold-hungry compositions. If locked behind walls and denied fights, the Mapuche economy can fall behind civilizations with stronger booming potential.

Overall, the Mapuche reward players who maintain map control, scout aggressively, and continuously pressure the opponent. They are an excellent choice for players who enjoy mobile, cavalry-heavy armies supported by cost-effective counter-units.

Civilization Bonuses Explained

Foragers gather food 20% faster. This bonus accelerates your Dark Age and early Feudal transition, allowing you to reach key food benchmarks earlier than most civilizations. It effectively acts as a free Loom worth of time savings in the opening minutes. Prioritize berry bushes and position your initial Settlement near them to maximize this advantage.

Settlements can train Spearmen and Skirmishers. This is a defensive powerhouse bonus. Instead of needing a Barracks and an Archery Range to produce your core counter-units, a single Settlement handles both. This saves 325 wood in the Feudal Age and lets you react instantly to rushes from any direction where you have a Settlement placed.

Infantry, Slingers, and Skirmishers gain +5 HP in Feudal, +10 in Castle, and +15 in Imperial Age. This cumulative HP bonus makes your trash units significantly more durable than their generic counterparts. A fully upgraded Imperial Skirmisher with +15 HP trades far more efficiently, stretching your resources in prolonged engagements.

Mounted units generate +3 gold per kill. This is the economic engine of the Mapuche mid-game. Every time a Kona, Bolas Rider, Scout, or Knight scores a kill, you earn 3 gold. In large battles with dozens of kills, this can amount to 100+ gold, effectively subsidizing your expensive cavalry production.

Enemy Castles are revealed on the minimap once built. This intelligence bonus is subtle but powerful. You always know where the opponent's Castles are, meaning you can avoid them, plan raids around them, or target them with siege. It removes the element of surprise from forward Castle drops.

Team Bonus: Spearmen and Skirmishers gain +2 Line of Sight. This scouting bonus helps your cheap units spot incoming threats earlier, giving you more reaction time. In team games, this benefits all allies producing trash units.

Unique Units

The Kona is a medium cavalry unit trained at the Castle that deals bonus damage against wounded targets. When an enemy unit drops below 50% HP, the Kona's attack damage increases substantially. This makes the Kona an exceptional finisher: pair it with ranged units or Bolas Riders that soften up enemy formations, then send in the Kona to clean up. A group of 8-12 Kona can devastate an army that has already taken chip damage.

In terms of production, aim for 2-3 Castles producing Kona continuously once you hit Castle Age. They work best in groups of 10-15 alongside a ranged support line. Do not send Kona into fresh, full-HP heavy cavalry head-on; instead, let your Skirmishers or Bolas Riders weaken the enemy first.

The Bolas Rider is a ranged cavalry unit that applies a movement speed slow on hit. This debuff is devastating against both infantry and cavalry, as slowed units cannot retreat or close the gap effectively. Bolas Riders are produced at the Castle and serve as the Mapuche's primary ranged cavalry option in Imperial Age.

The optimal Bolas Rider count depends on the matchup: against infantry-heavy compositions, 15-20 Bolas Riders can kite indefinitely. Against cavalry, mix them with Spearmen to create a deadly trap where slowed enemy Knights are caught by your pikes. The ideal late-game composition is Bolas Riders + Kona + Halberdiers, covering all threats.

Unique Technologies

Malon is the Castle Age unique technology, providing your cavalry with a pass-through damage effect. When Kona or Bolas Riders attack, nearby enemy units also take a portion of the damage. This is exceptionally strong against tightly packed formations such as infantry blobs or grouped archers. Research Malon as soon as you have a critical mass of 8+ cavalry units to maximize its impact.

The timing for Malon should be after your first batch of Kona is out and you have secured a stable economy. It costs food and gold, so plan for it alongside your Castle Age economy upgrades. The pass-through damage synergizes perfectly with the Kona's wounded-target bonus: splash damage softens up multiple units, making them all vulnerable to the Kona finisher effect.

Butalmapu is the Imperial Age unique technology that allows team members to produce each other's unique units and reduces Bolas Rider cost by 15%. In solo play, the cost reduction alone is significant, making Bolas Riders one of the most cost-effective ranged cavalry in the game. In team games, sharing unique units opens up extraordinary composition possibilities.

Research Butalmapu as soon as you enter Imperial Age if you plan to mass Bolas Riders. The 15% cost reduction compounds over large armies: producing 30 Bolas Riders saves you roughly 5 additional Bolas Riders worth of resources. In team games, coordinate with allies to leverage the shared unique unit production for unexpected army compositions.

Build Orders

Fast Castle into Kona Rush: Start with 6 on sheep, 4 on berries (exploiting the 20% bonus), 3 on wood, then lure boars with 4 villagers. Build a Settlement near berries for the food boost. Reach Feudal around 9:30 with 22 pop, immediately add farms and a second wood line. Click Castle Age at 12:30-13:00 and drop a Castle as soon as you arrive. Produce Kona continuously from one Castle while adding a second Castle. Aim for 10 Kona by minute 17 and push the opponent's base.

Feudal Spearman/Skirmisher Pressure: This build exploits the Settlement training bonus. Open with a standard 21-pop Feudal build, but instead of building a Barracks and Archery Range, use your forward Settlement to produce Spearmen and Skirmishers directly. Send 4-6 Spearmen and 4-6 Skirmishers to pressure the opponent's woodlines and gold. The HP bonus makes your units trade favorably against generic Feudal units.

Imperial Bolas Rider Mass: This is the Mapuche's late-game power composition. Boom behind walls through Castle Age, researching Malon and key economic upgrades. Upon reaching Imperial, research Butalmapu immediately, then spam Bolas Riders from 3-4 Castles. Support with Halberdiers from Settlements and a few Siege Rams. The gold from kills sustains your production cycle, creating a self-fueling army.

Matchups

Favorable matchups include infantry-heavy civilizations like Aztecs (non-monk builds), Japanese, and Celts. Your HP-boosted Skirmishers and Bolas Riders tear through infantry formations, and the Kona finishes off any survivors. The movement slow from Bolas Riders prevents infantry from ever reaching your ranged units.

Civilizations with slow, predictable army compositions also struggle against the Mapuche. Teutonic Knights, Boyars, and War Elephants are all vulnerable to being kited by Bolas Riders while your Kona waits for them to drop below half HP. The Castle reveal bonus also nullifies forward Castle strategies.

Unfavorable matchups include heavy cavalry civilizations like Franks, Lithuanians, and Huns. Their Paladins or equivalents can overpower your Kona in direct engagements before taking enough damage to trigger the bonus. You must rely heavily on Halberdiers and careful positioning.

Monk civilizations like Aztecs (monk build) and Burmese pose a threat because conversions neutralize your expensive cavalry. Against monks, you need to add Light Cavalry as a screen or avoid committing your Kona until monks are dealt with. Siege-heavy civilizations like Ethiopians and Celts can also be problematic, as mangonels shred your grouped Skirmishers.

Tips & Tricks

Exploit the Castle reveal bonus from the start of Castle Age. As soon as the opponent builds a Castle, you see it on the minimap. Use this to plan raids around it, or if you spot a forward Castle, prepare defenses before the push arrives. This information advantage is often underestimated but can single-handedly prevent Castle drops.

The gold generation from kills requires active combat to function. Do not sit passively behind walls; instead, take favorable engagements frequently. Even trading a few Spearmen for enemy units generates gold that fuels your cavalry production. Think of every fight as an investment: lost units generate returns.

Use Settlements as mini-barracks across the map. Place one near your woodline, one near gold, and one forward. Each can produce Spearmen and Skirmishers for local defense without needing to walk units across the map. This distributed production is extremely efficient against raids.

In late-game trash wars, the Mapuche are among the strongest civilizations. Your Halberdiers and Skirmishers have +15 HP each, making them significantly harder to kill. Combined with the gold from mounted kills, you can sustain gold unit production longer than almost any opponent. Play for the long game when you are ahead.

Micro your Bolas Riders carefully: their slow effect stacks in terms of tactical impact. Focus-fire key units like siege or monks, then let the slow prevent them from retreating. A slowed Mangonel is a dead Mangonel.