Economy Upgrades

Economy upgrades make your existing villagers gather faster. Unlike a new villager, they cost no Town Center time and no population slot — so they never compete with continuous villager production. That is why the golden rule is simple: never skip your eco upgrades. A few hundred resources spent now compounds into thousands gathered later.

Why they are so strong

A research costs resources once, but every villager affected gathers faster for the rest of the game. Double-Bit Axe, the first Lumber Camp upgrade, speeds up every woodcutter. With around 10 villagers on wood, it is worth roughly 2 extra villagers of wood income — for a fraction of the cost and zero TC time. That is the kind of return that wins games.

Lumber Camp upgrades — top priority

Wood feeds almost everything in the early game: farms, houses, buildings, and ranged units. The Lumber Camp line (Double-Bit Axe → Bow Saw → Two-Man Saw) is the highest-priority eco upgrade set in the game. Research Double-Bit Axe as soon as you can afford it in Feudal Age, and keep the line going as you age up.

Farm upgrades — wood-saving, not speed

The Mill upgrades — Horse Collar, Heavy Plow, and Crop Rotation — do not make farmers gather faster. Instead, each one increases how much food a single farm holds before it runs out. More food per farm means fewer refreshes, and every farm refresh costs 60 wood.

So farm upgrades are really wood-saving upgrades. They matter more the more farms you have, which is why they are often delayed until your farm count is high or your wood is comfortable.

Wheelbarrow and Hand Cart

These two are researched at the Town Center and speed up villager movement and carrying capacity.

Wheelbarrow takes about 75 seconds to research — that is roughly the time it takes to make 3 villagers — so do not click it the instant it unlocks. It pays off once you have around 14–16 farms, when faster walking between farm and drop-off saves real time.

Hand Cart is the bigger version. At 500 resources it is expensive, so it is usually delayed until Imperial Age when your economy can absorb the cost.

Mining Camp upgrades

Gold and stone mining upgrades (Gold Mining, Stone Mining, then the Shaft Mining tier) follow the same logic as wood, but you usually have fewer villagers on those resources. They are commonly left until you are aging up anyway, so research them while you wait for the next age to complete and you lose nothing.

The takeaway

Eco upgrades are free in the only currency that matters early — TC time. Prioritize Lumber Camp first, fold in farm upgrades as your farm count grows, time Wheelbarrow around 14–16 farms, and pick up mining and Hand Cart as your economy can afford them.

Adapted from ptee’s Noob Guide for AoE2.