As of 12-29-23, this offer is Early Crediting.
Empires & Puzzles (EP) is a Zynga mobile game similar to the “Puzzles &” series of games I have created guides for. I would say, though, that EP is most likely the archetype for those other games. The most marketable functions of the game are clearly present in the other games. However, EP is a far more challenging game and needs thoughtful consideration.
Upon reaching Castle Level 2, the rewards for 3 and 6 went pending immediately. The level 11 reward also went pending at Castle Level 8, and the level 21 reward was pending after completing the Castle Level 14 upgrade.
Direct Link to the offer: https://www.swagbucks.com/offer?oid=21843&rb=69384823
Special Tip
The offer allows for 60 days to complete. I purchased the 30-day VIP pack for $4.99 after 9 days of play. The VIP gets you a Second Builder, which is very important once Castle upgrades begin to take days to complete. I reached Castle Level 14 after 29 days.
There are no speedup items; you have to spend Gems, which can get expensive quite fast. You literally have to sit around for days waiting for the upgrade to finish, unless you buy the 2nd Builder.
You will also face Resource bottlenecks where your Storage Capacity cannot handle what you are generating. But the upgrade costs can, at times, exceed your capacity.
The objectives were credited to me early. I received the Level 3+6 rewards after upgrading to Castle 2. The level 11 reward went pending at level 8.
I don’t think the 30 VIP counts as a Gem Purchase. There is a login gift for accessing the Official Website every day for a week. This rewards Universal Trainers (Hero EXP) and Food Crates worth 500k each. If you miss a login day, though, you lose the streak and cannot get the crate. You can easily log in to the website by clicking on any link in the “in-game” mail system.
The offer terms
Strategy
I spent all of my Iron resources and most of my Food attempting to strengthen my troops and upgrade some unnecessary facilities. Unlike the “Puzzles &” series, here your primary source of resources is from the Farm and Mine. Be mindful of your spending.
That said, there are more options to collect resources. The Watchtower will generate resources once built. You get them from fighting on the Map, PvP battles, and purchasing them from the Shop using Gems.
The Stronghold needs to reach level 21 to get the full reward. Your HQ and all other buildings need Iron to be upgraded. The only exceptions are the Mine and the Watchtower, which can only be upgraded using Food. You will also need your Food to level up Heroes and to train new ones.
Buildings
Heroes
There are 5 colors to match each of the tiles. Each color has a large list of corresponding heroes and a mixed selection of Class types. Fighter, Ranger, Monk, Paladin, Barbarian, Wizard, Sorcerer, and Rogue.
The heroes are ranked using a star system, including 1-5 stars. There are limitations on the maximum level of a hero based on its star rank. A single-star hero can reach a maximum of level 20. However, you can still upgrade the otherwise capped hero to improve their Special Skill.
Training Camp
This facility is used to generate both new heroes and Troops, which are attached to heroes instead of equipment, such as in other games. At the first stage, the building will be able to make Common (1-star) heroes. Further upgrades to levels 2 and 3 will unlock Uncommon (1-star and 2-star) heroes, and a faster process to generate Common heroes. At level 20, the building will make Epic and Legendary units.
Ascension
You will see a partially filled chevron on each hero; this is the Ascension rank of the hero. When a hero has maxed out its experience points for a rank, you will be able to upgrade it to the next tier, and the chevron will fill in accordingly.
The tutorial will have you upgrade and ascend Sharan (Red, Ranger), who will be your Healer for most of Season 1. After leveling her up to 10, you will be instructed to ascend her to the second chevron.
Skills
The best way to improve Special Skills is to use duplicate heroes during the leveling process. You will see that you only get a 2-4% chance of Skill improvement when selecting generic heroes as fodder for leveling. If you use a duplicate hero, you will get a 25% chance of Skill improvement. This is increased to 100% if the target hero has been fully Ascended.
Battles
Combat uses the standard Match3 style. There should be little difficulty with this, except perhaps in PvP. Notably, the combat system in EP includes the ability to craft and use Potions and other items during PvE combat to heal, buff, or debuff. You could potentially use items to clear stages if you had the spare goods available. The Forge can be upgraded to craft many useful potions.
Raids (PvP)
A feature unique to EP is the Raid function for PvP battles. The Watchtower building in town will generate resources for you over time. These resources can be collected once every hour, but are susceptible to theft by other players attacking you in Raid battles. Importantly, only the resources generated by the Watchtower can be stolen. Your primary resources are safe from attack.
The “Find Opponent” function does not match players based on their relative ranking. In the early game and beyond, you will encounter extremely powerful players in the Raid function. You can ask for a new opponent by paying Food. Be careful not to spend all of your food attempting to locate a suitable opponent.
Fat Wallet Refugee 