Overview
a simple guide for new players
Settling your capital (and other cities)
WARNING: THIS GUIDE ASSUMES YOU HAVE ALL DLC!!!
your beginning your journey into civilization 5, you select your civilization, and you see the map, your first instinct is to settle on spot. but that isnt always the best thing to do. here are some reasons why you should not always settle on the first turn!
Number 1: LOOK FOR A MOUNTAIN.
as usual. move your starting warrior to a hill on the first turn (if applicable) if not, move him wherever. and if you see a location such as this on the first turn, move there
you would want to settle a location like this for many reasons:
– OBSERVATORIES: an observatory adds 50% of that cities science output back into your total science output. since said city would be your capital, it would add up to alot of extra science that can put to good use. (you only get observsatories if you settle DIRECTLY NEXT to a mountain).
-NEUSCHWANSTEIN: arguably one of the top 5 wonders in the game and can only be built in cities within 2 tiles of a mountain in your territory, it gives +1 happiness, +2 culture, and +3 gold per turn from every castle in your empire. plus it gives +2 happiness +4 culture and +6 gold per turn to the city it was built in. it is available at the “railroad” technology.
-MACHU PICCHU: one of the better wonders in the game as it provides +25% gold from city connections, +2 faith, and +5 gold per turn. it also generates 1 great merchant point per turn. once again, it can only be built within 2 tiles of a mountain in your territory. it is available at teh “guilds” technology.
-MORE DEFENDABLE: while this does not directly affect your city`s combat strength, the inability of the AI to navigate around mountains makes it even more difficult for you to lose your capital city when its settled next to a mountain.
Number 2: LOOK FOR A RIVER
if there is no mountain you can reach within 2 turns, settle next to the nearest river. example shown here:
there are a few reasons why one would do this
-FARMING: with the civil service technology all farms (and plantations) next to fresh water (aka rivers/oases/lakes) receive +1 food. and more food=more population= more production= more science= victory. and with a massive river system near your capital (or other cities for that matter) you can gain so much more population which leads to aforementioned chain reaction.
-PRODUCTION: settling your capital (or other cities) next to a river yeilds for alot of potential production. this happen through various buildings like: the “water mill” it gives you +2 food and +1 production. this boosts both your food and production output by about 15% in the early game, so yeah, water mills are nothing to laugh at. (water mill is availible at the “wheel” technology). the other production is the “hydro plant” it provides +1 production to ALL tiles next to rivers (obviously in said city only, unless it is built in other cities too, it is not limited to one city). they require 1 aluminium and are availible at the “electricity” technology. so a manufactory on a hill next to a river provides about 12 prodution (16 with the “new deal” tenet in the “freedom” ideology) yeah, thats alot of production
-THE TRADE BONUS: settling your capital (or other cities) next to a river automatically gives all CARAVANS +25% bonus income from trade routes (sorry cargo ships, your OP enough) and more gold is always good
-MORE DEFENSE: again while rivers do not add to the combat strength of cities, it gives a 20% penalty to all units attacking over them (with the exception of marines and any of songhai`s units) also, with a complex river system, enemies will have a hard time moving from place to place, giving your city and ranged units a chance to pick them off one by one. take a look at the city of Hanoi for a near perfect river city
anybody attacking form the west automatically has a difficult time trying to attack this (the hills add to the difficulty) (also assume a more serious scenario with more units controlled by a human player doing the defending, youll have a nightmare trying to take this)
Number 3: LOOK FOR COASTLINE: like the other 2 reasons, there a few logical explanations why you should do this. example shown here:
the many reasons you would settle along coastline are:
-CARGO SHIPS: they provide almost double the gold from nearly any land trade route possible, they also give more food/production from internal trade routes
-COLLOSSUS OF RHODES: one of the better wonders in the game it provides +5 gold per turn, 1 additional trade route and a free cargo ship, you get an additional 2 gold from trade routes made to the city with colossus and you get an additional gold from trade routes coming out of the city with the collossus. it also generates one great merchant point per turn. the city must be built DIRECTLY on the coast. it is available at the “iron working” technology
-LIGHTHOUSES: they give +1 food from water tiles (coast and ocean), +1 food from the “fish” rescource, and +1 production from sea rescources (fish, pearls, crabs, whales, and oil [when spawned in water]). they are available at the “optics” technology
-THE GREAT LIGHTHOUSE: it gives the effects of normal lighthouses, BUT it adds a few extra buffs it gives all naval units (including embarked land units) +1 movement and +1 sight (this is extremely useful when caravels come into play) it also generates 1 great merchant point per turn. the great lighthouse is also availible at optics
-HARBORS: harbors form city connections when built (capital doesnt need to be coastal, but thats besides the point). city conections = more gold. they also provide +50% range to sea trade routes, which allows you to discover most of your sea trade routes in the game. harbors also give +2 gold when trading via ocean to other civilizations. they are available at the “compass” technology
-SEAPORTS: seaports are the staple of your navy as they provide a 15% production boost towards naval units. they also give +1 production and +1 gold to sea rescorces. which adds to producing naval units and the cost of maintaning them. a seaport requires a harbor. they are availible at the “navigation” technology
-NAVAL UNITS: you can build a plethora of extra units. everything from the triremes of ancient greece to the powerful battleships of japan and the unites states, to the privateers and frigates of the british empire, to the more recent and modern aircraft carriers and missile cruisers and submarines alike. and all of this in the name of coastal settling!
– EXTRA DEFENSE: once again, coast does not effect the combat strength of cities, but it makes it difficult for land units to take, and taking them with navies is difficult if the other player has a sizable navy themselves
take this picture from the ottoman conquest of portugal. the city on the left coast (its Porto) was difficult to take as there was little room for land units to get by (they had an army aswell so that doesnt help) plus portugal had a navy i didnt know about (lol) and thus halted my naval advancements on them.
and to wrap up this guide, a picture of the new leader of Franco-Iberia for Civilization:Beyond Earth
