Late hours
After a certain minute the sky wears down the temples, faster and faster. Matches do not end in a draw.
When they come
At Wind level the late hours begin at minute 22:00. At the low levels they come sooner and hit the enemy temple before yours: see Levels. The game warns you 30 s ahead.
The exact value depends on the level, on the Long night world rule and on the Early Hours Omen.
What happens
- Every standing temple loses health, and every minute it loses more: after one minute 6 per second, after two minutes double that.
- A fallen temple no longer rises. Whoever is first to carry a Keeper to their altar wins.
- The towers of a fallen temple go quiet.
- Since v17, while the late hours wear down a temple, an hourglass appears in place of its symbol and its bar flashes amber. On the computer you also see how much health it loses per second. At First Flight the enemy temple starts at minute 17:00 and yours 300 s later: the late hours message says so. If a temple collapses without being hit, the message says the late hours wore it down.
- If both temples stay down for 180 s and nobody carries off a Keeper, whoever held out longest wins.
What to do
Reach the late hours with a healthy temple and a road ready toward the enemy island. When the temples start to fall, only the Carrier counts.
See also
- World rules that change it
- Long night
- Omens that change it
- Early Hours
- Mentioned here or mentioning this page
- Day and night · First Flight · First match · Four-player match · How to win · Siege (game mode) · Temple · Temples in stages · The story of Aeolia · Truce
What’s new
- v22 A match now lasts 20-30 minutes. Wind comes in more slowly, buildings cost more, the rack refills in 7 seconds, and a fallen temple rises again after 90 seconds. The late hours start at minute 22, and you can offer a truce from minute 15. Night, visits of the gods, prayers, drifting islands and Siege waves come later.
- v22 On Gale and Tempest, from the tenth minute the computer tries to reach your temple before the late hours: a tower on its row or column, then a bridge for the Carrier. Fewer matches end in a stalemate or a truce.
- v20 In Siege, night still falls at the tenth minute, but the line that explains it no longer talks about the late hours: Siege doesn’t have them.
- v19 Night: in long matches it falls a minute and a half before the late hours and lasts until the end. Twenty seconds before, the sky warns you and gets darker; at night there’s a moon next to the clock.
- v17.1 Painted graphics: brushstroke outlines, warm and violet light in layers, rock roots under the islands, a path from the temple to the landing, a sunset in the late hours. With “Graphics quality: Low” you get the old simple look back.
- v17 Late hours: an hourglass replaces the symbol of the temple that is wearing down. On First Flight and Breeze, the message also says when yours begins. If a temple collapses because of the late hours, the message says so.
- v12 On First Flight and Breeze the enemy temple is smaller and the late hours hit it before yours. On First Flight you also start with more wind.
- v12 Matches usually last between 8 and 15 minutes. The late hours start earlier and wear down the temples faster.
- v12 In the late hours the towers of a fallen temple go quiet. If both temples stay down for two minutes and nobody carries off a Keeper, whoever held out longer wins.