Age of Plague Guide (How To Avoid & Survive)

Millennia is a 4X game with lots of unique twists, one of which is the Age system. Instead of having single specializations for each faction in the game, the possibilities and pitfalls held by progress can be decided by just one player. Some of those ages are called crisis ages, which include the Age of Plague, the second crisis age in the game following the Age of Blood.

The Age of Plague is one of the possible fourth ages in Paradox’s 4X strategy gameMillennia. This age, just like any age in the game, is one of several possible ages for each era. If one player chooses one age, it will be locked in for everyone else. This means that each age doesn’t define the civilization that chooses it, but the entire world and every faction in it. It only takes one player not to clean after themselves to cause a painful Age of Plague for everyone.

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How To Avoid The Age Of Plague

Ages in Millennia are chosen by a single player but apply to every faction in the game. This means that the only way to avoid the Age Of Plague for certain is to not get locked into this crisis age, and be the first player to research the new age. Players will know if they have been locked in the Age Of Plague because they will receive a message like the one shown in the following image.

An alert saying "The plague age crisis is upon us!" in Millennia

To be the first player to research a new age means investing a lot in Knowledge, which improves the rate of research into new eras and technologies, and then racing to research the three necessary technology groups to unlock a new era. This might mean having to do with the standard fourth age, the Age of Kings, instead of the fancier Age of Monuments.

In the case of the Age of Plague, avoiding the crisis age also means building enough aqueducts and keeping Population low so that sanitation never becomes a major issue. Otherwise, players will inevitably find themselves locked into the Age of Plague anyway. The problem is that, normally, those who focus more on having a high population and neglect sanitation will likely be at an advantage when choosing to research the next era.

How To Survive The Age Of Plague

Appropriately for a crisis age, the Age of Plague can bring an unprepared faction to its knees. Yet, a crisis age is sometimes unavoidable, especially when it’s triggered by an adversary. But going through this age doesn’t have to mean game over. Players should remember that even if things get tough, every faction suffers through the same age similarly.

The plague in this game plays out mostly as outbreaks, which can infect regions and even specific improvements. These can be cleaned with improvement points and other techniques that are unlocked during the age itself, like Isolation and Humors.