Ara: History Untold – The Invisible Hand Update is exactly what the game needs

A textbook case of addressing fan feedback

Oxide Games / Microsoft

It’s hard to say whether Microsoft and Oxide Games are happy with the player numbers that Ara: History Untold has attracted right after launch, but one can’t doubt the developer’s commitment to listening to the players – Update 1.1, dubbed The Invisible Hand, is bringing several requested features and fixes aimed at making the game a better experience. Having spent some time with the patch ahead of its release, I can safely say that it succeeds in reaching that goal.

One of the strangest decisions made in the base game was the inability to upgrade military units, which often led to outdated armies being fielded and troops like spearman still sitting among the reserves in the modern age, because they’d never been used. This didn’t feel especially great – and, fortunately, this is now an issue of the past. Update 1.1 has added the ability to upgrade a fielded unit, but also to recall troops to the reserves, allowing you to demobilize armies in times of peace and save maintenance costs. Both of these changes are fantastic.

The improved Battle Viewer provides additional information about combat now, such as which units counter which during combat. Making battles more interesting remains a big item on the agenda, though, with aspects like terrain still feeling neglected. Future updates will need to keep working on this.

Probably the biggest new addition is the National Economy Screen, which reduces the time you’ll spend on micromanagement. It allows you to see all your nation’s improvements, assign experts and equipment to them, and upgrade them without having to look at each of them in the cities they are located in. You’ll still do a lot of clicking, but the time to find the specific thing you are looking to click on has been severely reduced.

What’s more, the feature comes with a certain degree of automation. You can basically create a loadout for, say, farms, and the game will automatically check your national stockpile and assign the required equipment to all improvements of that type. This is a big game changer and greatly reduces the amount of micromanagement needed to run an efficient empire.

The Invisible Hand brings something like a dozen new amenities into the game as well – and as one who always subscribes to mods with additional resources and luxuries in Civilization, I welcome any additions in that direction, but it’s especially great for Ara. The economy is already so crucial for the game, more complex production chains give it all the more staying power.

Speaking of mods, though, Update 1.1 is adding the first phase of mod support to the game, an important step to ensure some longevity.

If you didn’t enjoy Ara: History Untold out of principle, The Invisible Hand very likely won’t change that – unless you’re just a massive fan of John A. Macdonald, the new Canadian leader available in the game. However, if you merely bounced off the game due to the high micromanagement factor, then there’s a good chance that Update 1.1 has fixed your most problematic issues.