First Settler timings

Infantry#14 said:

The problem with buying settler is that it takes almost forever to accumulate that first 500 gold. Unless you get lucky to be the first to stumble a lucky El Dorado. (I was lucky enough to achieved this in 3 of my last 5 games!)

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I recommend against saving to buy a settler. There's usually not a lot of money early game, and you would probably do better to buy a worker instead.

I play on immortal, and my build order is typically Scout->Monument->Worker->Granary/Shrine/Settler.

If I have wheat, bananas or deer, I will build a granary first and try to get to 5 pop before building the settler. If I want a religion, I will build the shrine first. If not the first two, then I build a settler. It's usually done and ready to go right after the AI settles their first satellite city, but sometimes before them.

i would at least patrol the area that you're planning to expo to heavily, especially if it's a really sweet area. nearest AI never fails to settle it if they're close enough. if you see a settler and/or escort then do your best to pop 'em. early war be damned, they'll usually forget soon enough.

For me it depends on the map.

If I can see at least a couple of great city locations, then I go liberty and rush the settlers, usually popping one from policy, hard building one, and buying one.

If I cannot see any good starts, or if I seem to be isolated, then I go tradition, delay the first settler significantly. In this case I usually try and build Stonehenge before a settler and want my second and third city to be founded with a free monument and aquaduct.

I most games I won't found a fourth city, usually I capture to get four, unless I find a resource or wonder, but on immortal the AI usually has all the goods spots before I can get a fourth out.

As for buying a worker, I only do that if I cannot steal one.

I used to always buy settlers but I like to play lots of large island/small continent on epic maps so 680 tends to be harder to gather quickly. Truly dependent on map and speed for when u can buy settlers

Going back a ways on the thread now:

It's not always possible to buy the first settler anymore, I'll admit that, but it's very plausible if you go Tradition and bee-line to the SP for extra gold/happiness per citizen in the cap, work the best tiles for growth, kill barb encampments, and get gold for anything and everything you can in trade. It used to be virtually always possible to buy the first settler prior to BNW, but now lump sum trades require a DoF, so it's a bit harder.

But not all that hard. Consider that you get 30 gold for meeting a CS first, and still get some for meeting them after the 1st person. So, meet a few CSes, take out some barb encampments, go Tradition and bee-line for extra gold/happiness in the cap, and you're already just about there if not there outright from that.

There are times when I might buy a settler, but I tend to simply hard-build them at pop 5 (after switching to full production in my city). Money is better spent on getting early libraries up and running, and sliding into an easy NC. If there is a must have spot, sure--I may buy a settler. It depends on what the map gives you, and how aggressive your neighbors are at expanding.

Since BNW I've been hard-building the first settler and saving gold for the library. Go NC with just the two cities. Timing works out perfectly where the caravan, granary in secondary city, and Philosophy finish at all the same time. I transfer the caravan over to the secondary city and feed capital while finishing NC around turn 65-70.