Early-game gold generation advice

So I played BNW over the weekend - I play at King difficulty - and I noticed a repeating pattern in all of the games that I played.

I seem to be having tremendous difficulty generating gold early on.

If I build 3 cities with just the bare minimum of buildings (monument, shrine, library, maybe a great wonder) and units (1 worker per city, a couple of archers, a scout, and my starting warrior) I can't maintain a healthy economy.

The game seems to be very heavily weighted toward the new trade route system. Okay, that's fine. But these trade routes are incredibly vulnerable and nearly impossible to defend.

It seems like my only option is to start our near some neighboring civs and establish some trade routes with them
...and also somehow manage to set them up away from any marauding barbarians
...and maintain good relations with my close neighbors and keep up a large enough military so that they don't declare war on me and thus destroy all my trade routes in one fell swoop.

It's an incredibly delicate balancing act. And sooner or later, the AI will attack me and plunge my entire economy into disaster.

And all of that is assuming that I start off with some neighboring civs to trade with. What if I am all alone?

Am I missing something? Anyone got any advice?

Find and work luxury goods, for one.

Ok, one is all I've got. I play on a crowded map, so I don't have as much trouble with early trade routes.

Helmling said:

Find and work luxury goods, for one.

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Sure, that's great if you happen to get a lucky starting location with a luxury resource (or 2) that produces gold.

SheckyS said:

Sure, that's great if you happen to get a lucky starting location with a luxury resource (or 2) that produces gold.

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Don't all luxuries produce gold?

I try to only settle where I'll get a luxury for the trouble in the early game.

Basically, if you don't have money specific UB/UA or gold resources, then you can only rely on trade routes. Alternatively you can get honor and keep killing barbs and camps for culture and money. Eventually you'll want to find a resource rich civ/CS and invade.

I'm playing a game right now where I am semi-isolated. I can only reach one of my neighbors from the closest city I have to the rest of the continent, and the city isn't very good yet. So I'm stuck trading with the 4 city-states in my vicinity.

So what do I do?

1) Frugality. Don't go making tons of buildings and units until you can afford them. Alternatively, make and sell the buildings or units for gold.

2) Settle, improve, and work Luxury resource tiles.

3) beeline for caravansaries and harbors. You need to reach your neighbors as soon as you can.

To the OP, defending trade routes is easier than one might think. Barbarians can't spawn in vision of your units, or of allies.

Therefore, along your path, station archers along the hills or tireless in choke points. If barbs show, you can focus your few units to repel them.

On king, I've adequately defended my half dozen routes with just as many units. At that income vs cost point, it is pretty cheap.

Also, isolation is a game killer now. Better get those traveling shoes on

Helmling said:

Don't all luxuries produce gold?

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Do they? I never noticed that. I always go for the luxury resources first, anyway, of course. I think you kind've have to just to maintain happiness and grow your population.

Eagle Pursuit said:

1) Frugality. Don't go making tons of buildings and units until you can afford them. Alternatively, make and sell the buildings or units for gold.

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What choice do you have? Early on, your cities have to build something. At least until you get currency. I never thought about selling buildings before. I guess that's a good way to convert production into gold, but it seems like a shame to waste all that production.

Eagle Pursuit said:

3) beeline for caravansaries and harbors. You need to reach your neighbors as soon as you can.

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Are the bonuses that good? I've been pretty much ignoring caravansaries unless I get a city that I know is going to be a big trade hub for a long time.

SheckyS said:

Are the bonuses that good? I've been pretty much ignoring caravansaries unless I get a city that I know is going to be a big trade hub for a long time.

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Each of them increases trade route range by 50%

Also.don't forget to sell your excess resources to the ai for gpt

SheckyS said:

Do they? I never noticed that. I always go for the luxury resources first, anyway, of course. I think you kind've have to just to maintain happiness and grow your population.



What choice do you have? Early on, your cities have to build something. At least until you get currency. I never thought about selling buildings before. I guess that's a good way to convert production into gold, but it seems like a shame to waste all that production.



Are the bonuses that good? I've been pretty much ignoring caravansaries unless I get a city that I know is going to be a big trade hub for a long time.

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They are that good and well worth it imho. Gold is hard to come by early, it is the new game. I had 2 units doing nothing but barb hunting. I hate to take honor early, but in this new game, it helps.

SheckyS said:

Are the bonuses that good? I've been pretty much ignoring caravansaries unless I get a city that I know is going to be a big trade hub for a long time.

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+2 gold per trade route and 50% trade route length for their appropriate trade routes (land for caravansary and sea for harbor). Specially the extra length allows you to trade with more profitable cities.

SheckyS said:

Are the bonuses that good? I've been pretty much ignoring caravansaries unless I get a city that I know is going to be a big trade hub for a long time.

Click to expand...

They are good enough (+2 gold per Route for Routes to other civs), and they help you reach more cities for a better choice in routes. And there is no maintenance cost. In the early game, you need every gpt you can get. I would definitely pursue the Technology and I would certainly build them in every city where there is a good chance for Trade Routes.

Get a market. Use the slot. Get a great merchant. Plant him. It really helps turn your early-mid game around.

For super-early game iso starts, just don't build more than 1 archer. Delete your scout after he's done exploring your iso. Don't build/steal that many workers (1 per city is more than enough if you're short on gold). Don't ignore bronzeworking, to get Iron to sell. Sell your embassies (if you're iso, they won't come after you early anyway). Sell open borders as soon as you get that.

For Tradition starts, get the +gold/+happiness one first, then get the city defense/savegold one. Food for your capital's not as important as having gold early on. Feel free to grab the wonders production one if you're building wonders (they don't have gold upkeep and the production goes to gold if you fail, so great early-game choice).

Sometimes i'll sink some turns into wonders I know will go fast, but am unlikely to get, just for the fail gold - this is on par with selling buildings/units though sometimes i get surprised when no one builds a wonder and i get it.

I had an isolated MP game yesterday with just CS nearby for trade. I actually went pure growth with a Cargo ship from my Capital -> 1st expo and that helped me start to work the luxuries i had nearby quicker which helped with the gold problem until i got markets, and profitable trade routes.

I also just trade everything when im starving for gold. If i can get even 1 gpt for something I will give it up.

have you been going for early sea trade routes? I've found land trade routes to be much easier to defend in the beginning. Sea routes are too vulnerable to barb ships coming out of the fog.

City connections are still relevant as well...don't forget to grow your cities and hook them up at the appropriate time.