Optimal build order?

[RodLosAngeles]

I thought I had this figured out in Civ3, but a lot of the old strategies don't carry over into Civ4 very well. So I'm hoping to find some opinions on the ideal build order in the early-game.

The tutorial has the player start by training a warrior when the first city is founded. IIRC, it's an obelisk next and then a worker. I don't remember the exact order from the tutorial, but there's also a barracks and a settler. Anyway, for starters I usually don't include a barracks in my early build order. And a worker before a settler is something I question. Normally I try to get my first settler trained as quickly as possible. But I sometimes wonder when is the perfect time to do so, since production of a settler halts city growth.

Just looking for ideas.

[DaveMcW]

Build a worker first. Everything else will be twice as fast when he starts chopping.

And improving your wheat/corn/rice/game is even better than chopping.

[VetLegion]

I don't have many games under my belt and am playing on Monarch, but I've been thinking about this too. On this difficulty level I don't need a worker quickly as caps on happiness and health seem to be manageable in the early game. Haven't tried rushing settlers with chopping yet though.

[FireWall]

I find that the best option is to build a warrior first. It gives your city time to grow to level 2. After that, I usually start a barracks and let it go until my city is at level 3. Then, I halt the barracks temporarily, and build my first worker, which will take about 6-8 turns on Quick. When the worker is complete, I chop a Settler, and then resume work on the Barracks. I really think that it is a great order because the level 3 city is nice.

[Verrucosus]

The game mechanics in this area have radically changed from previous versions because of the new rule that training settlers and workers halts city growth.

As a rule of thumb, I go with
(a) warrior first if there's a 3-food-tile in the city radius
(b) worker first if there there is no 3-food-tile, but a special resource within the city radius that I will have the technology to improve when the worker is finished (usually after 15 turns)
(c) settler first in other cases.
From my limited experience with starting positions, (a) is the rule, (b) a frequent and (c) a rare exception. As a matter of course, rules of thumb are meant to be broken and, according to current knowledge, few things are more dangerous than the idea of an optimal build order (because it tempts you to forget considering the implications of your specific start).

For a (very) detailed "What do I build first?" discussion including the advantages and disadvantages of tree-chopping, please refer to Vel's first strategy thread (topped).

[Cort Haus]

Of course, a workboat for coastal starts with fishing and a coastal resource is a must ...

[couerdelion]

Depends on starting point

As always the answer depends on the starting position and what your starting techs are although my most common choice is for worker/settler if there is a food tile that you can develop in the city radius.

You'll usually lose a few turns before the settler gets out but often much quicker than waiting for the city to grow first but not much and you have a few worked tiles advantage in your first city by the time your second is founded. If you have fish on the coast and a strong production tile to start with the a work boat might be equally useful.

Make sure you manage the techs to take advantage of the worker. Don't expect to bring in the extra 3 units of food production from a cattle or pig tile if you don't start with agriculture or hunting. Chopping forest may save a few turns but you won't be able to without the bronze working tech etc.

[Urban Ranger]

There really isn't any optimal build order - or overall strategy for that matter. This is one of the things that set Civ 4 apart from its predecessors.

It all depends on your starting location. If you've got three gold mines it's probably very advantagous to roll a worker out right off the bat.

[VetLegion]

There really isn't any optimal build order

I wouldn't be so sure UR, when we talk about inital builds. Maybe starting position can be described in generalized terms like Verrucosus did a few posts above, then it can be found that there are in fact not many such variations, and it can be shown statistically which build order works best for which variation.

[couerdelion]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
There really isn't any optimal build order - or overall strategy for that matter. This is one of the things that set Civ 4 apart from its predecessors.

It all depends on your starting location. If you've got three gold mines it's probably very advantagous to roll a worker out right off the bat.

The gold will definitely help with happiness but this is often not an issue in the very beginning game.

So the only advantage for developing the square early would be to get the commerce value. However, if you work this tile, there will be little contribution to building the first settler.

[alco75]

I would never build a Worker first as that's way too long for the capital to not be growing. Size 2, or even 3, before the first Worker, who then, with BW researched, goes into full on lumberjack mode.

[Quillan]

Cour, at the very beginning happiness doesn't matter much, since you aren't near the happiness cap. What does matter in the early going is that each gold mine adds something like 7 commerce. When the palace generates 8, the first gold mine will basically double your research rate. That will give you a HUGE advantage in the early going.

[Strategist83]

My generic build order:

Found city on location
Send warrior/scout out exploring immediate surroundings
Build warrior
Build scout (x2). You want to begin searching for goodie huts as early as possible and reveal as much terrain as possible before it is settled upon by opponents.
Build worker
Build archer. Set to defend main city, I will play it safe thank you.
Build archer/warrior depending on what level of security you need in new city - is there opponents nearby? Do they have early unique units (Incan Quechuas are mad deadly! Vital to have made contact with nearby opponents by now)
Settle new city, train archer/warrior.

Where to settle new cities depend on a wealth of factors including distance from palace, blocking off opponent expansion, access to ressources, access to fresh water, access to food, ease of defending (hills are preferable) and much more.

[Cort Haus]

Originally posted by Strategist83
My generic build order:

Found city on location
Send warrior/scout out exploring immediate surroundings
Build warrior
Build scout (x2). You want to begin searching for goodie huts as early as possible and reveal as much terrain as possible before it is settled upon by opponents.
Build worker
Build archer. Set to defend main city, I will play it safe thank you.
Build archer/warrior depending on what level of security you need in new city - is there opponents nearby? Do they have early unique units (Incan Quechuas are mad deadly! Vital to have made contact with nearby opponents by now)
Settle new city, train archer/warrior.

Does this assume that Hunting is researched first, or is a starting tech? This build order is clearly prioritising exploration. Does it mean build the settler at the end?

I don't think there are generic opening recipes like other games. There are too many variables, and numerous broad-brush openings. How can the advantages of, for example, an exploratory start like Strat83's here, be compared with a worker-chop-settler start? The latter will have 2 cities quite quickly, but the former may have hut-goodies, coastal routes mapped out, resource knowledge, rival terrain knowledge, and a better city placement plan.

AU101A is a good example. Plenty of different build orders, and most of them turned out OK.

The closest we can get to 'optimum' are rules of thumb. If there are no good food resources at all, then settler first is probably best. If there is a wheat & corn in town, and agri is a starting tech, then build a worker. If you start with Hunting, maybe build a scout. If coastal with fishing etc etc blah blah...

[Crossfire]

It's pretty rare that I don't start with a worker and then chop a settler. As you play on more difficult levels it becomes imperative to spam new cities or the AI will take all the land. Even on a large Pangea map I often have a hard time founding more than 4 or 5 cities before I am getting surrounded. Granted I can usually grab a couple more city sites on my margins but the good sites will all be long gone if I take the time to really scout with a strategy like Strategist83 has proposed.