There are five paths to victory. The world ends when one alliance achieves a victory condition and holds for the timer. Each path has a unique trigger, score formula, hold timer, and counterplay window.
Winning is sustained, not a single moment. Every path requires that you achieve a threshold and hold it through a counterplay window. This means the second-place alliance always has a chance to disrupt the win attempt — by force, by spy work, by faith counter, or by economic counter.
| Path | Trigger | Hold timer | Earliest fire | Score weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Religious / Cultural | Divine Influence above threshold | Real-time hold | Mid-game | Belief tiers + Avatar/Creature kills + State Wonder |
| Economic / Trade Hegemony | Active trade volume above threshold | Real-time hold | Mid-game | Trade route share + marketplace dominance + treasury |
| Military / Domination | Conquered territory % above threshold | Real-time hold | Late mid-game | Territory + capital captures |
| Alliance Wonder | 5 alliance wonders complete | Real-time hold (longer) | Late game | Wonder count + integrity |
| Peace / Concordance | 60% players bound, 3+ alliances | Long real-time hold | Latest | Concordance signatories % |
Exact score thresholds and hold-timer durations live in victory_conditions.md §13 and metrics.md §5 + §6.
Trigger. Your alliance's Divine Influence crosses the threshold and you've established Tier-V Belief on at least one State God + Wonder.
Score components:
Hold timer. Mid-length real-time hold while score must remain above threshold. Counters: rival missionary surge, your god's avatar killed, sacred site destroyed.
Best for. Cultures with strong faith infrastructure: Cairnveil, Red Earth, Jade Lotus, Fjordborn (Eira/Hroth), Sun Dune (Asha).
Trigger. Active trade value (your alliance's share of all marketplace flow + caravan throughput + maritime trade) crosses threshold.
Score components:
Hold timer. Real-time hold; rival economic crackdown can disrupt.
Best for. Sun Dune, Azure Isles, Jade Lotus.
Trigger. Conquered territory % above threshold (capital captures count more than peripheral hexes).
Score components:
Hold timer. Real-time hold; rival war declarations and revolts in conquered territory can drop score.
Best for. Fjordborn, Ironpeak, Red Earth, Condor Crown.
Trigger. Your alliance has 5 completed wonders (each distinct).
Score components:
Hold timer. Long real-time hold; rivals can siege wonder cities to break the count.
Best for. Cooperative alliances of any culture mix; especially River Crown, Jade Lotus, Azure Isles.
Trigger. Concordance Charter signed by 3+ alliances covering 60%+ of active players, and held for the long timer.
Score components:
Hold timer. Longest of the five paths. Wars within Concordance reset the timer.
Best for. Late-game stable empires — typically those who've burned their war engine and want stability. Cairnveil, River Crown, Thunder Lodge, Azure Isles.
All five paths use the same hold-timer pattern:
If two paths fire simultaneously, the tie-break priority is:
peace > wonder > military > religious > economic
(per victory_conditions.md §8C). Peace acts as both tie-break priority and a blocking precedence — while a Concordance is valid, no other path can fire.
Different governance forms (see politics) bias which paths fire fastest:
(Per political_system.md §10 and victory_conditions.md §9.)
Sources: victory_conditions.md (34K), rts_victory_condition_design_table.xlsx, metrics.md §5 (timing budget) + §13 (constants register).