They might be some of the most important cultural cornerstones in Ancient Egypt, but the Egyptian myth gods inPharaoh: A New Eraare still no doubt a bunch of bickering divas craving validation. If players so much as forget to glance at them with awe for a split second, they’ll send down the Nile’s wrath on the prettiest and most accomplished cities. At least, that’s how it almost goes at normal game speed.
RELATED:Most Stressful Management Games
To make consolations and peace offerings more difficult, throwing festivalsin honor of gods(and as a way to make them happy) can be a slow and limited affair. Players can only appease one god at a time at festivals in a span of a couple of months. And it gets expensive too, with all the necessary beer, shrines, and temples.
1Bast
First up is Bast, and she’s the most destructive (oddly enough) out ofall the gods, which is weird since she’s supposed to be the Goddess of Home. If she becomes angry or furious enough due to neglect, she will castplaguesandburnhomes in a fit of rage. She can literallywipe out huge chunks of the populationjust because players forgot to throw a few coins at her in the festival square.
Such a setback can introduce adomino effect. Lots of missing citizens can hurt the overall workforce, especially if the city’s unemployment margins are slim and if almost everyone has a job in the city. Too many services and shops might close due to a lack of workers. Theplaguesare more troublesome than fires since they reduce a house’s population to zero and can take a while to dissipate.
If the city’s tax rate is high and Bast performs her plague and fire cleanse, getting new immigrants to move in to replace the ones she killed would be difficult to achieve without incurring a heavy treasury loss by dramatically lowering the tax. Keeping Bast happy does have benefits to overall health, population, and food security, but the more urgent part is keeping her not angry.
2Ptah
Ptah is the Creator God, and he’s supposed to be the patron of builders and craftsmen, so players can guess which is his domaininPharaoh: A New Era.
RELATED:Great Turn-Based Strategy Games To Play If You Like XCOM
If players neglect Ptah and he becomes furious enough, then he’ll randomlydestroy industry buildingsorstorage warehouses. Replacing them is easy enough, thankfully, but if he destroys a storage house full of luxury goods, then it’s quite a setback, as this can easily make certain houses devolve due to a lack of supplies.
Thankfully, Ptahwill usually only destroysaid buildings one or two at a time, and cleaning up after his tantrum is simple enough. Getting the replacement buildings to find new workers might get annoying, depending on the building’s location. Making Ptah happy will result in increased production of goods and products, most of which are tradeable. He can alsofill storage houses with goods, which is pretty handy.
3Seth
Seth, the God of Destruction, might not be present on certain maps or sandboxes, but he’s the best patron there is once rival cities or kingdoms come bashing down the city gates. If he’s angry at the city, then he’ll justdestroy a few ships, forts, or chariots, depending on his whim. It’s not really that harmful if players don’t get invaded too often.
The bigger appeal in making Seth appeased is how he gives the city a fighting chance if he’s happy. Hegives experience to the soldiersand alsogives protection during invasions, guaranteeing an easier victory. He can alsolower crime and violence. So Seth can save the players from a sudden game-over screen, though they can still get by without his happy support.
4Osiris
Osiris, the God of Fertility, Agriculture, and everything relating to an entity’s life, is one deity that the player expects to be the most destructive if he gets angry. But surprisingly, the damage he can cause is quite minute compared to the other gods.
RELATED:Best Sci-Fi City Builders
If left unworshipped or underappreciated, Osiris will merelydestroy the farms in the floodplains. It’s worth noting that these farms are easy enough to replace since players can just plop them in. Remembering which farm types were once there, however, can prove a bit annoying. Also, despite having a penchant for destroying farms, Osiris won’t destroy the fields' adjacent irrigation, so players can safely ignore him in favor of appeasing Bast or Ptah first.
Conversely, making Osiris happy will result in a better harvest and food production, along with citizens being less needy and floods less severe.
5Ra
He’s the God of the Sun, meaning Ra is one of the most powerful ones in the Ancient Egyptian pantheon.
In reality, inPharaoh,Ra mostly pales in comparison compared to the first three aforementioned gods. If he ever gets too angry or furious, Ra will merelydenounce and deride the player’s city,lowering trade income. If playersrely on tradeto fuel their economy, then it might hurt their treasury. Otherwise, it’squite harmless,and players can safely ignore Ra’s tantrums.
The effects of a happy Ra aren’t really impressive. He just makes trade income higher and other minute economic benefits. For that matter, he’s one of the least useful gods, so feel free to raise an eyebrow at his maddened red face.
