Tips, tricks on what to do early in a game?

[Nitrius]

So got the expansion here the other day, been a while since i last played Civ 5, so am looking for some tips and tricks on what to do early, so i don't fall to far behind my opponents.

Anyone here that can point me in the right direction?

 

[Infiltrator]

What level are you playing at, what civ, what's the map type.. there isn't just one type of tip for all circumstances.

 

[Nitrius]

So there isn't any all-round general start tips? Never been too good at the game, but always enjoyed it when playing.

Anyway, so far i've been playing on Earth, standard map size, and Prince difficulty, been going decent so far i guess, but i feel that i need to grasp what tech to take at certain points, what to build and what not to build, basically i miss some kind of strategy i guess, as am just going along trying to survive in someway Which i guess is some kind of strategy but a pretty basic one, hehe.

Edit: And civilization, haven't found any favorites yet, but playing as Denmark at the moment.

 

[Infiltrator]

Well a good start is to make a scout first. After that a worker if you don't plan on going liberty, or a monument if you don't plan on going tradition. After that see what's around and research the appropriate techs for the luxury resource.

Figure out where your next city is going to be based on luxuries you don't have, don't start making a settler if you're about to get a citizen because making settlers halts growth.

Prince is very easy so no matter what you do, you should be fine.

 

[Nitrius]

Thanks for the tips above =)

What about city placement, when expanding, how far away/close should one build the next city? Also what tiles should one place the city on? I know that cities close to river/water is a good thing, but what kind of yield should one have on the tile you place the city on? Or doesn't that matter to much, as long as you have good tiles with resources around it?

 

[SDEngineer]

Thanks for the tips above =)

What about city placement, when expanding, how far away/close should one build the next city? Also what tiles should one place the city on? I know that cities close to river/water is a good thing, but what kind of yield should one have on the tile you place the city on? Or doesn't that matter to much, as long as you have good tiles with resources around it?

I generally aim to start off a game with a 3-5 city core. Typically I'll try to keep the spacing between the cities around 4-5 tiles. More importantly, for the first few cities (prior to researching iron working) I'll be looking for the following (in about this order)

1) Can work a new unique luxury (required for happiness - offsets the happiness penalty from founding a new city, which is fairly critical until you've got religious/cultural/tech that build happiness)

2) Good production capability (forests w/hills best, hills 2nd, forests 3rd). Lots of forests early in the game is really nice, as you can chop down forests for instant production, which can make a huge difference in the early game when your hammer production is really low.

3) City site is on, or at the very least near, a river, or a coastal spot with water resources (fish, or water luxuries) (helps build a good commerce city). Having a ton of commerce potential is about the only reason why I would found a city early on that didn't have both #1 and #2 above. Gold is hard to come by early, though you'll be rolling in dough late.

4) Food sources - food is pretty easy to come by, so I typically don't worry about access to things like deer, wheat, etc. You'll find that most city sites that meet 1 or more of the above 3 will have adequate food tiles to work nearby.

Ideally, of course, you'll have 4-5 good city sites that meet all of the above. Yield from the tile you actually settle on doesn't make much difference (on a hill will start you with an extra hammer for example). Try to time your settling so that you have a settler either out or about to come out when iron working is finished. If the random gods were unkind and you don't have any iron already near your settled cities, that'll let you bring it in relatively quickly.

 

[Randall_Flagg]

My first 3 cities at least need a reason to be, happy normally, my 4th is for Iron if not in the 1st 3. As far as placement, that is perosnal choice, some people like tiles between at 4, I do all of mine at 6. I am real anal about this, I will stop a map if I cannot get the full 3 rings!!

My prefered starts are on a hill at a river, Coastal starts, are rare in all my games, hardly ever get one. Coastal cities are nice later on, but a pain to get up and going.

My main thing is hills, I want 3 hills at min in each city, 5-6 is better but 3 will let you build at decent pace.

And while this changes depending on mood or start, my 1st few builds go like this.

Scout/Monument/Shrine/Warrior/Settler

This can change with start, but for the most part those are my 1st 5 builds, after that all things change based on location.

 

[Esperr]

It depends, if your going for growth then figure out what your capitol is(its either going to be gold or production unless your going for a cultural victory). Try to make your second or third city the opposite of what your capitol is. If you can find a luxury "farm" build there, as the city will likely be a good science city later(high growth). On standard you want to plant five cities ussually by the rennaisance or else youl never stabalize.

For slingshot though you want to stick to your capitol until the NC is complete, and then get ND up ASAP.

For sword rush you want to go liberty, beline for iron working, and use the lib settler to settle on iron, make 4 minimum with 2 cats and be swinging by turn 90. Beware though, the strat can backfire and burn you out really quick.

 

[RedRover57]

Shrine early (first or second build) if you want to get your choice of pantheon beliefs, particularly on higher difficulties. You also need to start accumulating Faith early if you want to be guaranteed of a religion.