MergeCiv FAQ

How do I merge tiles — and should I always merge?

Drag one tile onto an identical tile of the same type and tier to combine them into a single tile one tier higher. Resource tiles only produce while a settlement (Villager, House, Village, or Castle) works them — tap or hover a settlement to see its dashed gold work halo. Resource tiles produce tier × 1.1^(tier−1)/s before multipliers: merging two worked Tier 1 tiles into one worked Tier 2 raises output (2.0/s → 2.2/s), whereas merging two worked tiles of Tier 2+ replaces two streams with one ~1.65x stream (~17% less output). Always merge unworked tiles first, or drag an unworked tile onto a worked one. For settlements and Stockpiles, merging is always a net gain.

Why does my next Villager cost so much Food?

Every point of population on your board doubles the Food price of spawning the next Villager and adds +1/s Food upkeep. Never spawn a new Villager from the dock while two matching settlements on your board can merge: merging two Villagers into a House (or two Houses into a Village) keeps your population and upkeep identical while freeing a cell and upgrading work coverage.

Is MergeCiv free to play?

Yes. MergeCiv is completely free to play with no energy meter. Every system in the game can be earned through play; an optional Royal Shop offers convenience bundles, and the Founder's Pack supports development and unlocks all four boost charges without ads. It is available on Web and on iOS via the App Store, with Android on the way.

What resources are there and what are they for?

Early and mid game revolve around six core currencies: Food (feeds population and spawns Villagers), Wood (builds Stockpiles, unlocks settlement tiers, and expands the grid), Ore (mid-game upgrades and the Mage Tower), Gold (earned from past-society Tribute and Taxes; buys Imperial upgrades, Magic Book, and Artifacts), Culture (earned on Resettlement; buys permanent Legacy upgrades), and Mana (generated by the Apprentice; fuels spells and Magic Crystals). Late-game layers add Knowledge, Valor, and Metal.

Why are my resources stopping at a cap?

Every resource has a storage capacity limit, and when a bar is full any excess production is lost. Spawn and merge Stockpiles to raise your Food, Wood, and Ore caps (+100 base per tier, or +150 with Stockier Stockpiles maxed, multiplied by a 1.1x-per-tier bonus). Once you unlock Castles, Subterranean Stockpiles (500k Wood + 500k Ore) moves all Stockpiles onto a dedicated Underground grid.

When should I Resettle (Prestige)?

Resettlement unlocks once your grid reaches 6x6 (5,000 Food, Wood, and Ore). Wait until spawning the next Villager or upgrade noticeably slows down, then do one final merge push across your board — even merging Stockpiles or worked tiles — right before clicking Resettle. Your Culture reward scales with total population, while each Resettlement records a past society whose permanent Tribute Gold/s scales with the cube of the highest tile tier on the board when you resettle (0.001 × tier³/s).

How does the Magic system work, and what unlocks Ascension?

Magic opens right after your first Resettlement — before Ascension, not after it. Buying the Magic Book (1,000 Gold per level, up to Lv 100) lets your Apprentice channel Mana while resting, and passing the MANA Test lets it generate Mana continuously while working. Building the Mage Tower to level 10 (50k Ore + 100 Mana per level) is what unlocks Ascension.

What is Ascension?

Ascension is the second, deeper reset layer. Ascending resets your board, Gold, and Culture upgrades, but claims all pending Magic Crystals you infused with Mana during the run. Each Magic Crystal permanently adds +100 Mana capacity and can be assigned to Rituals (such as expanding the grid to 7x7, keeping automation across Ascensions, or multiplying storage caps by 10x–1,000x). Because crystal charge costs grow as 100 × n² within a run, shorter crystal runs beat marathon grinds until your Mana Monolith is high.

How do I stop the Apprentice from merging tiles I want to keep separate?

Unlock Smart Apprentice so the Apprentice never merges tiles currently worked by a settlement, and add Space Conscious Apprentice so it leaves Stockpiles alone until the grid is full. With Apprentice Control unlocked, you can also toggle [Work] on individual tiles to lock them in place, or pause the Apprentice entirely.

What are Artifacts and how do I get them?

After your first Ascension, unlocking the Department of Magical Appraisals (100M Wood + 100M Ore) opens the Artifacts tab and automatically appraises every artifact you own (replacing the need for Detect Magic). Artifacts are bought with Gold starting at 1M Gold and scaling by 1.3x per purchase; Ascending resets the Gold price back to 1M while keeping all your Artifacts and levels permanently.

Spoiler: Guaranteed Drops, Rarity Odds & Imbuement

Your first Rare is always Itemized Paystub, your first Epic is always Interest Accumulator, and your first Legendary is always Printing Press; unowned Epics and Legendaries are always drawn before duplicates. Later, buying the Artifact Phylactery (100M Culture) lets you Imbue a level 10+ artifact at the Citadel — consuming the Phylactery and performing a full Citadel reset to lift the artifact one rarity higher (up to Mythic via the Astral Tree's Reliquary) and amplify its scaling.

How does the Citadel work?

After buying Plans for Citadel (1M Culture), the Citadel is built across ten levels of Build Citadel (100M Ore each, plus 10k to 100k Mana — 1B Ore and 550k Mana total). It opens a 3x3 grid (expandable to 5x5) whose center tile generates Knowledge at tier²/s, while Libraries raise Knowledge capacity and Theatres raise Culture capacity. Always keep at least one free slot or mergeable pair on the Citadel grid before buying a new Library or Theatre, as there is no Upheaval spell on the Citadel layer.

Spoiler: Citadel Imbuement, Milestones, The Roost & Transcension

Once your Citadel is built and your Knowledge and Culture bars are full, clicking the Citadel center lets you Imbue it — resetting the Citadel to raise its permanent tier (scaling Knowledge/s as N²) and unlocking permanent Citadel Milestones up to tier 100. Reaching Citadel tier 3 unlocks The Roost (birds that drop Feathers for permanent multipliers), and reaching Citadel tier 100 unlocks Transcension (banking 1 Star Piece per 100 Conquest landmarks cleared for the permanent Astral Tree).

How do Conquest, unit training, and Smelting (The Forge) work?

Buying Goblin Nuisance (100,000 Food) opens Conquest, adding the Muster Grounds and The March. Your regiments fight down a 300-landmark road to earn Valor, which persists across Resettlements and Ascensions.

Spoiler: Unit Training, Resource Icons & Forge Layouts

Training & Recruiting: Click directly on any unit tile on the Muster Grounds (watch for the red dot) to open its Training, Equipment & Class Specialization menu. Each regiment uses a specific resource alongside Valor: Militia = Food, Archers = Wood, Spearmen = Ore (pickaxe icon), Mages = Mana, Priests = Knowledge (book icon — not Culture!), and Horsemen = Gold (plus Metal for armored/magical tiers). Always merge Tier 1 units into Tier 2s first (1 + 1 = 2 soldiers, no loss); only merge Tier 2+ when your Muster board is full. Merging Tier 2+ or using the Writ of Dismissal (1,000 Valor) lowers future Valor and settlement-resource recruit costs (which scale with current standing soldiers), while Metal recruit costs track your peak host.

Smelting (The Forge): Unlocked with 2,500 Valor once you clear Conquest landmark 10 and own the Department of Magical Appraisals. A Workshop worked by a settlement refines up to 2 adjacent Ore Deposits into Metal, and each stream's refine rate scales with the tier and yield of the connected Ore Deposit (consuming 10 Ore per 1 Metal from your stockpile). Because connected Ore Deposits are committed to the furnace, keep at least one worked Ore Deposit or passive Ore source unconnected to feed your stockpile, and place high-tier Ore Deposits of staggered tiers (e.g. T11 and T12) beside your Forges so the Apprentice doesn't merge your two streams into one.

How do offline earnings and Boosts work?

When you close the game, your civilization produces resources for up to 12 hours, capped by your storage limits. Boosts hold up to 4 charges (+1 every 6 hours, with 1 free claim daily) and grant an instant 1-hour resource drop (non-Mana) plus 1 hour of up to 10x game speed. While you are away from The March, Conquest pays offline Valor at 10% of your best 5-minute live Valor rate (up to 8 hours per absence).

Can I play across multiple devices?

Yes. Linking an Apple or Google account in Settings enables cloud save sync across Web and iOS. You can also share your Mentor Code in Settings (or on the community Discord) to link with another player for a permanent +5% production bonus.

Frequently Asked Questions