Empires & Allies Resources and Trading: Everything you need to know

Some guy somewhere once said, "An Empire is only as strong as its resources." Alright, so I said that, but managing and trading your resources effectively is crucial in Empires & Allies more so than any Zynga game before it. Between Coins, Wood, Oil and Ore of all kinds, there are plenty of levels and meters to keep track of. But the sooner you master the plethora of resources in Empires & Allies, the sooner you'll become a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. 

Bringing Home the Bacon (Coins):

Coins, the most recognizable resource in all of gaming, is of course in Empires & Allies as well. Luckily, just about everything you do in the game generates coins. Collecting from Housing, Government Buildings and Daily Bonuses provide the golden discs. But that's not all--doing favors for friends and defeating them in battle generates tons of Coins too. Not to mention defeating the Dark Alliance through the single-player campaign generates a bunch as well. 

However, there is one type of building that does nothing but generate Coins: Farms. These Industrial Buildings simply generate large amounts of Coins in exchange for smaller amounts, but take time to harvest just like farms in CityVille. While there are several ways to generate Coins in Empires & Allies, it would be a good idea to keep a few farms around for a guaranteed source of income that you can rely on. And don't worry, crops don't wither here on the islands (we hope). 

Wood you Kindly? (Wood):

Some puns are simply irresistible. Wood is required for several buildings in Empires & Allies, and important ones at that. Not only is Wood needed to create Houses, but you'll need the tree to create Military and Government Buildings, too. Now you can see why this resource is vital. While clearing Trees and Bushes from your island Empire provides tiny amounts of Wood in exchange for Energy, building Lumber Mills is the way to go. In exchange for Coins, these buildings can produce much bigger amounts of Wood that are always guaranteed.

Digging for Black Gold (Oil):

What would a military game be without the one resource that keeps wars in business? Oil, ironically enough, makes the world go round in both the real world and in Empires & Allies. It fuels almost all of your military units, which you can likely imagine is vital. Thankfully, Oil is much simpler than most of the game's resources, as it comes from one place on your island Empire. Oil Wells are Industry Buildings that, in exchange for Coins, produce the modern-day salt of the earth in varying increments. This is the number one way to generate Oil.

Oooh ... Shiny (Ore):

Ore is perhaps the most complicated (and necessary) resource in Empires & Allies. And it all stems from one small problem: Your Empire can only produce on type of Ore, and there are five of them. Copper, Iron, Gold, Aluminum and Uranium are the five types of Ore in the game, but only one will become available to you upon finishing your Ore Mine. So, say you finish your Ore Mine, complete your first mining job, and Gold appears. That will officially be the only type of Ore that will appear in your Empire.

Luckily for you, a major component to the game is trade. If you're looking for Uranium, for instance, it would be a good idea to look around on the forums or on the Empires & Allies Facebook page for friends who have that resource available. Once you have a good, varied list of friends to trade with, just click on a Neighbor from the bar below your game screen and press "Ask for Ore." Then, you'll be taken to a familiar screen where you will send that friend a Facebook request, much like sending a gift.

Fortunately, this isn't the only way to score the ore. Defeating enemies in combat has a chance of dropping Ore at random. I even nabbed a few Uranium from opponents whose island doesn't even produce it. However, you wont be able to avoid making new friends and asking them directly for some Ore, as this is an extremely unreliable method. So, suck it up and get social, isn't that what these games are all about? (Admittedly, we'd like to see an in-game system for trading Ore like an auction house of sorts.)

Take it From their Cold, Dead Hands

There are several ways to find resources aside from digging, chopping or harvesting--like killing! Most notably is Invasion, which, depending on the buildings you attack, can yield Wood, Coins, Oil and even Ore in decent amounts. Though, this requires far more Energy than simply getting your own. 

If you successfully invade an Empire, you can also collect these resources every few hours until that Empire fights back. The Campaign is also a great way to gather resources through combat, though that too eats up Energy. Regardless, you have several options for gathering all the goods you need to thrive ... and bash the oppositions head in.