How to handle barbarians in the early game?

[brunopowell]

Hello,
I've been playing this game for about three days and am currently on Monarch difficulty. The challenge I face is finding a balance between expanding and protecting my cities. It seems that when I grow to around four cities early on, my cities become vulnerable to barbarian attacks. Do you all notice that barbarians seem to primarily target human players? How do you manage the tension between dealing with barbarians and expanding?

Additionally, on Monarch level, I’m struggling to get a good start without favorable terrain. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

[Kristy]

On Monarch difficulty, nulls brawl mods
the most effective way to handle barbarians is prevention through "fogbusting" rather than reactionary defense. Since barbarians only spawn in the fog of war (tiles no player can see), you should station your initial Warriors on hills and forests outside your cultural borders rather than keeping them inside your cities. This creates a perimeter of visibility that suppresses spawns entirely; the reason barbarians seem to target you is simply that the AI's starting bonuses give them more units to light up their own territory, pushing spawns into the darkness surrounding your empire. To support this, prioritize Bronze Working or Animal Husbandry immediately to secure Copper or Horses for your second city, which allows you to build Axemen or Chariots. If you lack these resources, you must research Archery as a safety net, but generally, a network of fogbusting warriors and a strategic road network allowing a single Axeman to defend multiple cities is far more efficient than building defenders for every settlement.