Starting Strategy

[manu-fan]

Hi,

Anything wrong with this starting build strategy which I've been using.

Basically, one thread is Warrior -> Barracks (Thread 1)

The other thread is Worker -> Settler. (Thread 2)

So, I start Thread 1 until I'm pop 2, then switch to Thread 2. Then, once a worker is built, I switch back to Thread 1 until pop 3. Then I switch to Thread 2 to build a Settler and then back to Thread 1 when that's finished.

I think it takes too long to build a worker at Pop 1. I'd rather get to Pop 2 before building a worker, and pop 3 before building a Settler.

Cheers.

 

[Ecofarm]

What bothers me about worker first is the slow down in research to BW (for early war) or other needed techs.

 

[DigitalBoy]

That seems awfully early to construct a barracks. I don't build one until after I've founded my third city, but I don't question your methods.

Another benefit to waiting to pop 2 to start a worker is that it gives you more time to research worker techs so he can be more useful once he's out. I hear people laud "worker first," but I don't like to build a worker when he'll only have one or two things he can do right out the gate.

 

[Preston85]

Theres no right or wrong way as a rule, it depends what the map gives you and what your starting leader/civ starts with.

I do worker first when there are multiple resources that can be hooked up without wasting worker turns waiting for a tech to finish to improve that resource.

Most games I play I find theres some resources that require mining/hunting/agriculture/AH so depending what starting techs are I nearly always can do worker first to hook them up.

There are some topics with the maths about it in, but without getting to technical my general feeling is from my games I get my second city sooner due to working better tiles(resources) sooner rather than working more unimproved.

Stuff like gold/ele's are really nice to get hooked up soon to give research a big boost.

EDIT: I will add I did the exact same thing you did, can't remember where I read it, or might of been from civ3 or something but I stopped when I realised how wasteful I was with getting the barrack early instead of getting my second city earlier. It also means your worker starts later so is always behind in improving tiles and connecting them and cities. So for me it all depends on how busy the worker will be and if he would waste any turns waiting for techs.

 

[Harbourboy]

It depends. There will be some situations where the benefit of having a worker early will offset the downside of your city not growing initially. This might especially be the case where there are resources (esp food resources) in your fat cross that you already have the techs to work. Hooking those resources up earlier might sometimes allow your city to catch up and overtake the city the grew first and then built a worker. But if you don't have animal husbandry yet, it might be pointless to build that early worker when all you have are horses in your fat cross. And if you had fishing and started on the coast, the it might be best to build a workboat first. Who can tell? It depends.......

But really, unless you are playing at a very high level where every turn is so precious, I don't think that these sorts of micromanagement decisions will have a massive impact, compared to some other aspects of general strategy (like building useless wonders, or not timing your wars properly).

 

[Bradlius]

And if you had fishing and started on the coast, the it might be best to build a workboat first. Who can tell? It depends.......

I especially like the workboat strategy. If you have the Fishing tech, you can build a workboat and hook up the Fish/Clam/Crabs right away, while your city is still growing (Workboats don't stop growth like Workers and Settlers do).
And it's extra cool because Barbarians can't plunder those water tiles like they can your Farms, Pastures and Mines. (At least not until the barbs get galleys!)

 

[InFlux5]

The amount of research you lose by building a Worker first is minimal. You still need at least 7 turns or so to grow your city. So a few extra gold during the second half of research? That can't be more than a few turns.

I like how everything lines up when I start with Mining and it takes the same number of turns to finish a Worker as to finish Bronze Working. In my view it's almost always the best option, mostly because it opens up chopping.

Obvious cases where it would be a bad idea: no forests, no good Worker techs for some time, all your food is in the ocean, etc.

A Worker who can chop is very flexibile.

 

[DigitalBoy]

I especially like the workboat strategy. If you have the Fishing tech, you can build a workboat and hook up the Fish/Clam/Crabs right away, while your city is still growing (Workboats don't stop growth like Workers and Settlers do).
And it's extra cool because Barbarians can't plunder those water tiles like they can your Farms, Pastures and Mines. (At least not until the barbs get galleys!)

I'm very fond of "workboat first."

Generally, my capital's starting builds look like this:
Warrior, warrior, settler, worker

I play as Greece, so the only worker tech I get off the bat is Hunting, so I put off a worker until I have more worker techs. But building a workboat first works like a charm. In spite of the 30-hammer cost, the extra food actually means I get my settler and worker out faster, and the one or two commerce doesn't hurt either.

 

[Preston85]

The doubt I have had about the workboat first strategy is its not like producing a worker to upgrade a food resource as you then lose the work boat while the worker can go on to improve other things.

 

[jeremiahrounds]

I do a warrior, a worker, then 3 settlers. Have no idea if its best. It will work until you can tell me whats best though =) Note: do to reasons on another post the number of settlers you want can vary by map. On monarch/large I am sure its 3 by testing maintenence.

As for work boats I like to set up a settler farm in the sense that my population that is producing the settlers is on bonus squares. I like to do that before I bother with wasting my growth on settlers. That seems efficient. Alot of times you dont have the choice. If you are going to have two population working bonus squares before you start settlers you got to use work boats.

 

[InFlux5]

There really is no "best" ... but maybe something that's best more often. How you open is contingent on several factors.

1. Did you start with Mining?

2. How many forests do you have?

3. If you go with BW+Worker, what are you going to chop? How important is it to chop this?

4. Did you start with Mysticism? Do you want an early religion?

5. Did you start with Fishing?

If I start with Mining, I am almost always going with Worker first while I research BW. If I don't start with Mining I am almost always going with a Warrior while I research Mining, then a Worker while I research BW.

I am trying to wean myself away from early BW though, for variety's sake. I will put it off for early religion, or to pursue the top of the tech tree, if the situation warrants.

Still, the many powerful abilities that Bronze Working opens up make it the best choice in most cases. And if I don't have a Worker on hand when BW finishes I feel like I'm hamstrung - except in those rare instances where there just isn't any forest, in which case I still feel hamstrung, but it's not my fault.

The thing to keep in mind about Worker first is, no matter what you would have been building instead you can chop with the Worker. So the time and hammers that go into the Worker essentially spill over into other builds. Don't forget the flexibility you have with chopping. It's a Settler in half the time, or it's an entire raiding force in 5-10 turns. No matter what your early game strategy, chopping can supercharge it. (Well, except maybe for religion chasing.)

 

[oyzar]

building worker first is almost allways right unless you plan to whip it or it cant do anything and/or you want a workboat. I tend to let the city grow to size 2 before i build the setler though since the worker often improve 2 titles by the time it does.

 

[tycoonist]

worker worker settler chops...

 

[OctavianFlu]

Build worker first, then with this worker either work special resource, or as second priority chop, while making second worker, then both should chop for settler, and leave once they have improved the squares around your city that it can support. No point improving eight tiles, if you can only support 6 pop. I usually take my scouting warrior (I usually play a civ without hunting), and walk settler to second city. Then what you do is up to you .... but from all the 40 turns I've played, this seems to give me quite the jump start.

 

[Morgrad]

I think it varies so much based on what leader you play and what resources are nearby. Then it varies even more based on what strategy you choose for your beginning turns based on what you initially see.

It almost never actually hurts to build a worker first, but there are certainly many cases where building something else would have been better.

 

[smokey t bones]

i totally disagree with everybody. my best games (final score-wise) always start with expansion in the very beginning. so, unless i'm playing monarch or higher level (which i seldom do), i always start out letting my capital grow to two population points, then build a settler. however, i usually only build one settler from my capital, b/c i use it to build world wonders (stonehenge) immediately. once, on noble level, i built all of the world wonders except the great lighthouse and the colossus using this strategy. try expanding as quickly as possible with cities at size 2 or 3 building the settlers, until your economy gets stifled (gold coin devotion percentage down to 40% or less).

smokey t bones, ph.d. (in partyology)

 

[Mizar]

I do a warrior, a worker, then 3 settlers.

1 warrior for the defense of 4 cities, sounds like the naked city gambit
Seriously, as some others stated opening strategy depends on the starting location. If you are going the religious path you probably build a settler before the worker, simply because a worker would have nothing to do.
If you start with ressources and/or some forests worker first will be fastest early grow strategy.
Just look at the land, your civ traits/techs and your tech-strategy and then decide on the appropriate opening strategy.