I keep hearing all this talk about a specialist economy vs a cottage economy. up to this point i have not really chimed in with any numbers or really any information that has much value to it. So i thought i would put in my 2 copper with an economy strategy post.
First off as to the Specialist or Cottage economies all i can say there is that when it comes to either one , having all of your eggs in one basket really really sucks. However, the main reason on this post is actually the Trade economy. The Trade economy is often overlooked by many and i would like to point out its usefulness to everyone.
First you have to understand trade routes. You have NO control over them and sadly they change throughout the game. but the key things to know is the the larger the city they are connected to and the farther away that city is the more money you make. Next you have to understand that you need open borders to have trade routes with cites that you do not control.
typically in the beginning I see trade routes ranging in value from 1-3g per route. This increases to 8-12g per route if played well. Here are the bonuses that can cause this to clime.
-- inn gives +25%
-- harbor gives +50%
-- tavern gives +25%
-- as city sizes grow so will base trade amount
looking at this even at the high end you think eh , whats 8-12 extra gold when i have 12 towns at 6-7g per town? Its not much till you realize that this extra 8-12g does not cost you a worker working a tile.
Now though lets look at how to make that 8-12g much more impressive. My advise would be to simply add more trade routes to your city. This can be done EASILY , let me list how ...
Buildings
-- Lighthouse
-- Inn
-- Tavern
-- Smugglers port (CoE religion only)
-- Obsidian gate
Techs
-- Currency
-- Trade
Civic
-- Foreign trade (+1 extra to coastal cities for a total of +2)
Wonders
-- The Great lighthouse (this one is +2 per city)
-- Nexus (just puts on obsidian gate in each city so you wont have to build them all)
OK, so its a pretty long list. If you just did the math that can add 11 trade routes to each city for a total of 12. Now realistically your only gonna see around 8-10 when doing this buts its an insane boost.
A good Trade economy can pull in as much raw gold as any cottage economy with the added advantage of being completely independent of city population. Where this becomes really handy is a little more complicated.
examples of primary uses...
-- every kuriotate subcity is capable of handling 7 trade routes (if played well) resulting in alot of extra trade due to maintenance on these cities being so low.
-- barbarian races are often more inclined to build close cities to limit cultural growth and point value. in doing this they have more cities per are and therefore more trade per area.
-- the order religion allows for massive empires due to low upkeep.
As you can see .... its simply a situation of the more cities you have the more you make on this. Please don't forget though the keeping the peace also greatly increases your profit.
take care all and have a great game.
First off as to the Specialist or Cottage economies all i can say there is that when it comes to either one , having all of your eggs in one basket really really sucks. However, the main reason on this post is actually the Trade economy. The Trade economy is often overlooked by many and i would like to point out its usefulness to everyone.
First you have to understand trade routes. You have NO control over them and sadly they change throughout the game. but the key things to know is the the larger the city they are connected to and the farther away that city is the more money you make. Next you have to understand that you need open borders to have trade routes with cites that you do not control.
typically in the beginning I see trade routes ranging in value from 1-3g per route. This increases to 8-12g per route if played well. Here are the bonuses that can cause this to clime.
-- inn gives +25%
-- harbor gives +50%
-- tavern gives +25%
-- as city sizes grow so will base trade amount
looking at this even at the high end you think eh , whats 8-12 extra gold when i have 12 towns at 6-7g per town? Its not much till you realize that this extra 8-12g does not cost you a worker working a tile.
Now though lets look at how to make that 8-12g much more impressive. My advise would be to simply add more trade routes to your city. This can be done EASILY , let me list how ...
Buildings
-- Lighthouse
-- Inn
-- Tavern
-- Smugglers port (CoE religion only)
-- Obsidian gate
Techs
-- Currency
-- Trade
Civic
-- Foreign trade (+1 extra to coastal cities for a total of +2)
Wonders
-- The Great lighthouse (this one is +2 per city)
-- Nexus (just puts on obsidian gate in each city so you wont have to build them all)
OK, so its a pretty long list. If you just did the math that can add 11 trade routes to each city for a total of 12. Now realistically your only gonna see around 8-10 when doing this buts its an insane boost.
A good Trade economy can pull in as much raw gold as any cottage economy with the added advantage of being completely independent of city population. Where this becomes really handy is a little more complicated.
examples of primary uses...
-- every kuriotate subcity is capable of handling 7 trade routes (if played well) resulting in alot of extra trade due to maintenance on these cities being so low.
-- barbarian races are often more inclined to build close cities to limit cultural growth and point value. in doing this they have more cities per are and therefore more trade per area.
-- the order religion allows for massive empires due to low upkeep.
As you can see .... its simply a situation of the more cities you have the more you make on this. Please don't forget though the keeping the peace also greatly increases your profit.
take care all and have a great game.