Glossary

This glossary explains the terms used in Dawn of Embers and on this wiki. Each entry is a short definition; follow the link for the full article.

The game is in development. Terms and names can change before release.

A

AI difficulty

The strength of a computer opponent. There are six tiers: Very Easy, Easy, Normal, Hard, Very Hard and Brutal. The demo offers the first three. See Skirmish.

Age of Iron

The long era before the Pillars woke, when war was fought only with "the tools of men": spears, swords, bows and siege engines. There was no magic. See The world.

Ardenmoor

The land of old forest and moor that the game's kingdoms fight over. See The world.

Ashmere

The kingdom in whose army the player serves as a captain in the Story campaign. See The world.

B

Biome

The type of world a match is played in: Forest, Snowy Forest, Snowy Mountain, Desert or Ocean. Chosen as the Map type in the lobby. See Biomes.

C

Calling

A kingdom's specialisation, chosen by each player for a match. Each Calling strengthens one area of play. There are six: Gatherer (gathering), Warlord (melee damage), Ranger (ranged damage), Mystic (mage damage), Builder (building speed, and buildings take less damage) and Jack of All Trades (borrows another Calling's bonus at part strength, and switches to a different one on a timer). See Callings.

Captain

# How the Story campaign addresses the player, a captain in Ashmere's army.

# A hero unit trained at the Stronghold. A player can have only one Captain alive at a time; a fallen Captain can be trained again after a cooldown. See Units.

Charge

To fill a Pillar's power by keeping mages near it. See Pillar.

Control group

A saved selection of units. Select units and press Ctrl+1 (or another number) to save them as a group; press the number to select them again.

D

Day of Ruin

The day the Pillars came to life, bringing lightning storms and fire, before they sank back into the earth and left the embers behind. See The world.

Discipline

One of six categories in which a player spends 20 points before a match: Gathering, Building, Offense, Defense, Fortification and Drill (training speed). Each point adds a small bonus in its category. Once saved, points cannot be taken back for the rest of that game. See Disciplines.

Display name

The name other players see in lobbies, matches and on the leaderboards. Claimed in the game after signing in: 3 to 16 characters, with at least one letter, unique across all players.

E

Element

The four kinds of magic: Fire, Lightning, Earth and Water. Mages come in all four, and every Pillar has one.

Elimination

A player is eliminated when they have no units or buildings left. A player can also resign.

Embers

The ember-like sparks the Pillars left behind when they sank back into the earth. They did not cool, and from them magic was born. See The world.

F

Fibre

A resource gathered as a byproduct of food that grows: villagers gathering from bushes or farm fields bring back fibre along with the food. There is no separate fibre source. See Resources.

First Dawn

The first age with magic in it, after the Pillars woke: the "dawn of embers" the game is named for. See The world.

First Spark

The moment magic entered the world, born from the embers the Pillars left behind. See The world.

Fog

Unexplored or unwatched parts of the map are hidden. Send units into the fog to reveal it. Pillars are hidden in fog like anything else and must be found.

Ford

A shallow river crossing that units can walk through. Deep water cannot be crossed on foot.

L

Leather

A resource gathered as a byproduct of hunting animals, along with their food. See Resources.

M

Mage

A unit that uses one of the four elements. Mages are the only units that can charge a Pillar. See Units.

Map seed

The number a map is generated from. The same seed, biome and size always build the same map. See Biomes.

Map size

One of five sizes, from X-Small (200 m across) to X-Large (1,200 m). The size limits how many players a match can hold. See Map sizes. See Maps and map sizes.

P

Pillar (Point of Power)

A carved stone obelisk that rises during a match. Players are told when one appears, but not where. Mages standing near it charge it; when it is full it unleashes its element. A Fire or Lightning Pillar strikes at the enemy, and an Earth or Water Pillar strengthens the side that charged it. In the game's systems a Pillar is also called a Point of Power. See Pillars.

Placement matches

A player's or team's first 10 ranked matches of a season (and first 10 ever, on the Lifetime board). Ratings move as normal, but no numbered rank is shown until all 10 are played.

Population

The room your units take up. Every unit costs population, and your limit comes from the houses and Town Hall you have built, up to the match's population limit. With no room left, new units cannot be trained.

R

Ranked

A Multiplayer lobby setting that counts the match on the public leaderboards. There are four ladders: 1v1, 2v2, 3v3 and 4v4. See Ranked.

Registered team

For 2v2, 3v3 and 4v4 ranked play: an exact group of players with a team name, confirmed by every member. A team has its own rating; changing a member makes a new team.

Resource density

A lobby setting for how many resources the map holds.

S

Seat

A player slot in a match, filled by a person or an AI.

Skirmish

A single match against AI opponents, on settings you choose. See Skirmish.

Story

The campaign. You serve as a captain in Ashmere's army and play its missions in order. See Story.

Stronghold

A unique building that trains the Captain and shoots arrows at enemies in range. See Buildings.

T

Town Hall

Your main building. It trains villagers and accepts every gathered resource.

Trading Hub

The market building, where resources are bought and sold for gold. See Buildings and Resources.

V

Villager

A worker unit. Villagers gather resources, construct buildings and repair them. See Units.

W

Working spots

Each resource, building or enemy has a set number of spots that units can work or fight from. The closest units take them, and the rest move on to the next target.

See also

• Getting started
• Game modes
• The world