As the Start 1 server is coming to an end, we're getting ready for Start 2. This will be another a 4 week server to test the starting balance. In this post we'll go over the changes from the last 2 weeks and the balance changes going into the next server.

Next server

The next server will start this Thursday and run for another 4 weeks.

  • Server: Start 2 (beta)
  • Start: Thursday 21 May 2026, 14:00 UTC
  • Speed: x1
  • Runtime: 4 weeks (28 days)

After this we'll go into beta 3.

Features added

  • Reports can now be marked as archived, so they're protected from automated deletion during the server.
  • Reworked the Kingdom Statistics dashboard to show the development and rankings on a variety of account statistics

Screenshot of the Kingdom statistics dashboard Screenshot of the Kingdom statistics dashboard

Balance changed

  • The maximum queue size for each village was expanded from 6 to 10 to reduce the pressure of needing to log in a lot.
  • On selecting a spawn direction, there's now the option to select a random spawn. Selecting a random spawn gives an additional 40 Aether on top of the 50 base Aether awarded on registration.
  • Players spawning in will now spawn 3 to 5 fields apart instead of 2 to 3
  • Early tasks that take a bit longer to achieve have their rewards increased. In total they'll give around 200 more Aether and more of the other rewards as well.
  • A new task category was added for upgrading 15 resource fields to levels 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10 and 15. Levels 4 and 10 rewards Culture, the other tiers reward Aether.
  • The task category for Events completed rewards militia for its 2nd tier. The number of events completed required was lowered from 20 to 10. An extra task was added for completing 25 events, awarding Aether.
  • The first two army size tasks were increased from 20 to 30, 50 to 70, and 100 to 150 to account for the free units.
  • Added a task to create a Settlers unit before the 2 Settlements task, awarding 200 Culture.

The new task category for upgrading 15 resource fields to a level The new task category for upgrading 15 resource fields to a level

  • Increased the base Culture to settle a second Village by 500 to 4000.
  • Decreased the base Culture to tier up to a Town by 700 to 9500.
  • Decreased the base Culture to tier up to a City by 1700 to 16000.
  • The PvE defender kills milestone now equals the PvE attacker kills milestone, since the new event types removed the kills disparity.
  • Changed the archery range requirement for the cavalry archer from 11 to 10. You still need a city to make them.
  • New players spawn with a maximum of 5000 culture.
  • Changed the start day at which new players spawn with a free Settlers unit from 18 to 25.
  • Science and culture rewards from resource events now scale weekly instead of monthly.
  • Reduced spearman cavalry defense from 36 to 32, ranged defense from 16 to 12.
  • Reduced longbow melee defense from 36 to 32, ranged defense from 28 to 24.

Improvements made

  • The Village Science and Culture pages have been replaced by the Village Queue and Management pages. Additionally the Queue page shows a breakdown of the village's industry and bonus, which was previously not visible to the player.

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