The x3 speed server has ended. A new test server will start Tuesday 21 April, but won't be a full server. We want to test the early game balance with the new tasks system while we work on beta 3.

Next servers

We'll be running a few shorter servers to test the early game balance. The beta 2 saw a lot of balance changes, and the reworked tasks system will shake things up even more.

The next server is:

  • Server: Start 1 (beta)
  • Start: 21 April 2026 16:00 UTC
  • Speed: x1

We expect to release beta 3 sometime in June. Beta 3 will be a regular x1 speed server, with new districts, new research, a new settlement type, and more!

Screenshot of the reworked tasks system and rewards Screenshot of the reworked tasks system and rewards

Features added

  • Reworked the tasks system to have more tasks, diverse rewards and a better UI. You can now browse individual tasks. Besides aether, the rewards now include builders, science, culture and units.
  • You can now cancel an ongoing queue item for 20 Aether and get a full refund of resources and a builder if one was used.
  • Redesigned the research tree. The new research tree is a draggable canvas that shows the researches and their connections. It also shows the progress of paused research and highlights the current research.

Check out the Wiki for the new tasks: https://wiki.aetherkingdoms.com/wiki/Tasks

Balance changed

  • The base culture values were increased to account for the new task rewards and to slightly reduce the time to a second village. A second Village now costs 3500 culture. Tiering up to a Town costs 10,200.

Screenshot of the redesigned research tree Screenshot of the redesigned research tree

Improvements made

  • Time until Prestige is now displayed on the Objectives and Empire objectives pages.
  • Added + and - buttons for resource exchange, buying resources with aether and buying builders.
  • Exchanging resources with aether is now a single button instead of a checkbox and a button.
  • Added a mobile icons menu to the Objectives pages.
  • Added a research link to the frontend on pages the research is mentioned that links to the relevant research page.
  • Village coordinates are now shown in the report title.

The new interface for exchanging resources The new interface for exchanging resources

Bugs squashed

  • The button to use builders is now disabled if a player has no builders.
  • Events no longer spawn next to a player during beginner protection.
  • Initial wall damage on siege attacks now updates the village population also if no siege damage was done.
  • The train army form works again after cancelling a queue item.
  • The last updated date on village notes now updates without having to reload the page.
  • Quick resource fields upgrade now disables the button if the queued upgrade reaches the max level.
  • The weekly statistics widget in the right sidebar now shows the correct daily average again.
  • The server no longer crashes if starvation occurs during an attack.
  • Added a missing error message if a selected sitter has no available slots.

Hope to see you in game! Play Aether Kingdoms now!