Rapidly Accessing a Resource

[Soter]

Hi, this is my first thread, after picking all your brains for a few weeks now. Incidently, many thanks for your helpful and often illuminating advice and tips.

The other day, I disembarked with a settler and a worker on a small island with an Iron resource. I had earlier investigated the island with an exploring Dromon and knew it was safe, so shipped over my settler without military escort.
Alas, the moment I set foot on the desert island my mainland neighbor declared war. I was suddenly in desperate need of my new found resource.
I offloaded my worker on the mountain with the Iron and my settler on the adjacent square where my city was to be built. My worker built a colony and my settler the city, thus dispelling the colony but leaving a road behind. The following turn I rush built a harbour and the turn after that my mainland cities had Iron, seven turns faster than if I had instead ordered the worker to build a road.
Gaining access to Iron was crucial to the outcome of the war and I got my worker back tenfold in the form of slave workers from the enemy.

True, your form of government must allow for rushing an improvement by paying, and it's usually only within one's monetary means if harbours come cheap. If the prerequisites are there, it's a useful strat that can be used to quickly obtain any much needed resource. Many thanks.

 

[Twonky]

Good idea, I wouldn´t have thought about that!
But then, if the iron was on a hill (which I´m convinced of), you might as well build the city on top of it. Wastes a good tile, I know, but therefor you keep that worker. Depends on the looks of the island I think.
The strategy of yours will indeed be very useful if the iron is on a mountain! First, because you obviously can´t build a city on it and second, because it saves you even more worker-turns.

 

[Rambuchan]

Just to add to this nice piece of advice:
If you're in a govt which doesn't allow cash rushing then you can always send some workers to bump up the population of the city so you can 'pop rush' it quickly. I do this all the time and it doesn't matter about their nationality because you're going to kill them off doing the rush job. This is fast but it's not faster than cash rushing as you have to either greatly increase the pop with lots of workers or wait a couple of tunrs until some production has been done.

 

[cheesejoff]

If you build a city on a resource, doesn't that destroy it?

 

[budweiser]

Welcome! Nice trick. Did you also disband the galley in your new town to reduce the cost of the harbor?

 

[Soter]

Thanks, Bud. No, it didn't cross my mind to disband the Dromon. But would it have given me anything substantial back?
I'll try it out later.

 

[thetrooper]

If you build a city on a resource, doesn't that destroy it?

Destroy what - the resource? No - the resource remains, but it can get exhausted.

@Soter: disband for 25% of the initial cost. E.g. disband a spearman (20 shields) and you get 5 shields back. This will reduce the sharp cost of a harbour. You can hurry on the same turn.

 

[DBear]

No it doesn't cheesejoff. If an unrenewable resource like iron is worked, it may have more chance to disappear, but it is still rare. And feel free to build cities on renewable resources such as horses. They never disappear.

 

[cheesejoff]

So if I build a city on horses can I then build cavalry units? Or do you mean that if the city is destroyed the horses will still be there?

 

[budweiser]

So if I build a city on horses can I then build cavalry units? Or do you mean that if the city is destroyed the horses will still be there?

No, then yes.

In order to build the cavalry, you would need a road connecting the horses and some salt peter to whatever city you want to build the cavalry in. Bad example actually. Lets say its iron and you build a city on it. Then you can build swordsmen in that city. If that city is also connected to your capital, then you can build swordsmen in all cities connected to the capital.

Building a city on a resource does not consume the resource and it is still there if the city gets disbanded or destroyed.

 

[cheesejoff]

w00t! I didn't know you got the resource if you built a city on it! I'm such a n00b

Wait...if I build a city on a tile with a road, does the city produce an extra commerce.

 

[Tomoyo]

w00t! I didn't know you got the resource if you built a city on it! I'm such a n00b

Wait...if I build a city on a tile with a road, does the city produce an extra commerce.

No.

...

 

[Ansar]

So if you plan to make a city on a iron resource and you mine and road that iron resource and then you build the city there, when you make the city, will that city have the mine and road bonus?

 

[Tomoyo]

You can't mine or road cities, and existing mines and roads die when they are settled upon.

 

[BasketCase]

An additional note is that if you build a city right on top of a resource, the city doesn't get the extra food, shields, or commerce that would otherwise be gained from a city laborer working the tile.

 

[Desertsnow]

w00t! I didn't know you got the resource if you built a city on it! I'm such a n00b

Wait...if I build a city on a tile with a road, does the city produce an extra commerce.

The major exception is building a city on a food resource as the city proper always produces two units of food regardless of where it is, regardless of tile boni.

 

[Eberhard]

An additional note is that if you build a city right on top of a resource, the city doesn't get the extra food, shields, or commerce that would otherwise be gained from a city laborer working the tile.

True, but if it's very far from your capitol, you really don't lose that much by building on top of a resource, and you get it sooner, perhaps. Close in, it matters a lot more.

 

[Bluemofia]

But, at that time, you usually have most of the resources, unless if it is on a different continent.

 

[plarq]

If you build a city on resource(Strat., Lux. and Bonus)It doen't give you extra food,but it'll give you extra shield and commerce.For example,a town on iron hill produce 2spt on the spot.A town on gold hill produce 6 commerce!