Empires of the Undergrowth is a fast-paced epic RTS game that sees you take control of an ant colony to ensure its survival. With its latest update, the fire ant update, the game has become even bigger. And deadlier. The first level of the new tier 4, Cold Blood, is incredibly difficult no matter what difficulty you are playing on. Featuring the new swamp beetles and amphibians, it may seem impossible to live up to the fire ants’ name and adapt to the dangerous surroundings. Don’t fear, however, for this guide will tell you everything you need to know to beat this chaotic level.
How to Complete Cold Blood (Level 4.1)
Level 4.1 requires you to defeat the American Bullfrog, the new titan creature, by maintaining a persistent swarm to mount it and take it down. However, in a surprise twist, once the American Bullfrog hops away, all other manners of amphibians will want to come out now that their threat has been vanquished, forcing you to survive an amphibian onslaught.
To effectively achieve your goals, you are going to need a large swarm (depending on the difficulty, around 80 – 100+) and a large workforce to place eggs to keep the swarm up (without the workers, your swarm will reduce to a trickle in a matter of seconds).
Before you even think about attacking that great bullfrog, I would highly recommend clearing your entire nest from all pockets of creatures and food. All the creatures you don’t kill will simply be released during the final amphibian wave, so get them out of the way before you march over to the Bullfrog.
Making sure you have a large swarm, a good workforce, and all of your nests cleared is the key to winning the level.
How to Beat Cold Blood
Aphids
The first thing you will want to do once you’ve gotten at least 7 soldiers is steal as many aphids as you can. First, try to take from the milkweed plant southeast of the map. Early game there are next to no competition to stop you.
Then, carefully try to take the aphids from the big headed ants’ northern milkweed plant, near the caterpillars. You must be careful. Turn attack off and only strike when there are no ants present. If any fighting breaks out, they will start producing super soldiers and begin attacking and raiding your nest which is difficult to stave off and win the game.
As you harvest the honeydew and your army swells to forty ants, you can then begin collecting from the milkweed plants across the little streams. Your ants will form pontoons to cross the streams. But watch out – vicious wasp mantid flies will ambush you, so be prepared to take them down first. Forty ants are more than enough.
As your aphid population swells, you will be receiving more and more food right on your doorstep. But you must keep around ten ants on patrol there at all times, as the little black ants will soon start to perform raids and invasions.
Collecting Food in Cold Blood
Food is scarce, your main sources being from the caterpillars, aphids and any beetle or spider that has died fighting your ants. As long as you set up your aphids efficiently, do not go out of your way to hunt creatures for food. The payout is minimum and you’ll spend more food hatching new ants.
I would recommend clearing out your nest slowly as your colony grows. The only creatures down there are checkered beetle larva and an occasional checkered beetle, indicated by a larger exclamation mark. You will find the food in your nest to be abundant.
As well as keeping a defensive force around your aphids, also spare a handful every now and then to frequently collect the honeydew. Your forces will grow in no time.
Nocturnal Nightmares
The night time is full of other perilous and hungry threats, but also full of opportunity. In the brief moments of solace during the transition between day and night, send numerous trails to collect any aphids you haven’t get (providing the wasp mantidflies have already been dispatched) and any food, either from the caterpillars or the pinecone in the top left. You must be quick, however, for threats will soon start to loom on your best.
Once your ants have returned, keep them in the nest but you can afford to send around ten to collect any honeydew from your aphids.
The narrow-mouthed toads are a huge threat, but as long as you split your forces you’ll survive the night. Around thirty ants is a good enough swarm to take one down. Have another little force – of workers or soldiers – to focus on collecting food from the fallen toads to keep your forces up. This may end up saving your colony.
Related: How to Complete New Home on Insane Difficulty in Empires of the Undergrowth
Late Game in Cold Blood
There will come a stage where you have a very large swarm and the red velvet ants are coming out to play. At that point, you will be stuck between defending against both colonies during the day and defending against the toads during the night.
To remove yourself from this cycle, there are two things you could do.
You could try to eliminate the little black ants. The easier of the two colonies to face, a large swarm (60+) will be needed to take them down swiftly. An abundance of food and the removal of a pest will be the benefit.
You could simply hold and wait for an incredible number of ants so you can face all threats and try to face the American bullfrog at the same time. Just don’t wait for too long, else the threats will only exponentially increase in size and overwhelm your poor queen.
Beating the Bullfrog
You will need at least 100 ants to mount your attack. When facing the mighty frog, split your army into three groups and enable climbing. Place oe marker at the front, and the other two markers at each of the frog’s feet. This will enable you to quickly dominate it. As long as you have enough food in your reserves (Around 600+) you will be surprised how quickly the titan will hop off.
After the Bullfrog leaves, your nest will be subject to a huge wave of amphibians. As long as you followed the aforementioned advice and organize your groups wisely, the attack will be of no bother to you.
Cold Blood is a difficult, hectic and stressful level, but it really brings to life the challenges of being a young fire ant colony in the heart of a swamp. Keep an eye on Gamer Journalist for more Empires of the Undergrowth coverage and guides!
