OK, so what do you do with the critical first worker? I propose that unless you are industrial, you add it to your first city on the first turn to be able to pump out your second city 5 turns earlier.
Why only if you are not industrialist, you may ask? Well an industrialist can build 3 sqaures of road by the time the settler is built 10 turns. And the worker will finish the fourth with perfect timing (this all assumes grassland/plains , which is usually able to be worked out) This means the settler will only take 2 turns to get to that next city spot.
Comparison:
5 building-------10 building
5 moving--------2 moving
Net turn difference of 2 turns only! But as cities start getting further from you capital (after about 4 cities) and especially if you build a granary in your cap b4 the next settler your capital's settlers will only take 7 turns to reach those outer circle cities, now you have the advantage. It seems that usually those outer ring cities are the ones most fought for in the land grab battle, because those cities are often in grasp of 2+ civs.
One additional advantage industrial civs will not only get there faster, they will get defending units there fast, by keeping the woker as a road builder instead of adding to population. If lucky, your expansion road may even find a luxury or strategic resource. And need I mention the tech bonus of roads? At 3 squares a road though, the non industrial civs seem better off to me to add the worker to the city and get another city sooner.
The real question for the industrial civs is "When do I build the second worker?"
Anyway let me know what you think.
Why only if you are not industrialist, you may ask? Well an industrialist can build 3 sqaures of road by the time the settler is built 10 turns. And the worker will finish the fourth with perfect timing (this all assumes grassland/plains , which is usually able to be worked out) This means the settler will only take 2 turns to get to that next city spot.
Comparison:
5 building-------10 building
5 moving--------2 moving
Net turn difference of 2 turns only! But as cities start getting further from you capital (after about 4 cities) and especially if you build a granary in your cap b4 the next settler your capital's settlers will only take 7 turns to reach those outer circle cities, now you have the advantage. It seems that usually those outer ring cities are the ones most fought for in the land grab battle, because those cities are often in grasp of 2+ civs.
One additional advantage industrial civs will not only get there faster, they will get defending units there fast, by keeping the woker as a road builder instead of adding to population. If lucky, your expansion road may even find a luxury or strategic resource. And need I mention the tech bonus of roads? At 3 squares a road though, the non industrial civs seem better off to me to add the worker to the city and get another city sooner.
The real question for the industrial civs is "When do I build the second worker?"
Anyway let me know what you think.
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