How important is pottery?

[Tventano]

Not having access to the game yet (it will arrive in a few days time), but having read already part of the manual, I was wondering if Pottery is essential early in the game for expansion. What are your experiences?

[homegrown]

Pottery

I think Pottery is pretty important for early city growth because it allows you to build granaries which increases the rate at which your population grows.

With every settler taking 2 pop points and a worker taking one, early game city population growth (thru the collection of food) is very important to keep your expansion going.

Altho, because of the production 'bonus' in Despotism of each tile that produces more than two food, shields or commerce is reduced by 1, so something can be said for making a run for Monarchy and then getting Pottery for Granaries.

[Lord Maxwell]

Either pottery itself, or masonry and building pyramids. You want the granaries. (When a city pops it gets keep half it's food.) This is essential. Pop is everything early on. You need hordes of workers in the fields, you need new settlers. And you need to rushbuy alot of things. All of that costs pop.

Don't hesitate to use up pop hurrying in vital improvements. (Temples, granaries, city walls if in danger, etc etc.)

[Sarxis]

Granaries are good

You have to figure it like this: after you have initial founded a new city, if you start work immdiately on the Granary (which you may not, as a defender is pretty important) by the time your third citizen is grown, you will start to reap the benefits. However, if you don't have a lot of tile improvements completed, the extra growth can actually not be of much benefit to you. If I had to choose, I would choose to build a worker first, then a granary after I had some kind of garrison in place (unless I am feeling lucky that day ).

So in reality, a granary won't help a newly founded town as much as it would a town or city that has a little bit of tile improving done.

[Eli]

I find granaries useless until aqueducts are built. The cities grow very fast anyway.

[Lord Maxwell]

Eli - Use more forced labour. (Given that you can quell the unhappiness. But unhappiness isn't much of a problem with luxury goods and such.) Granaries and forced labour shine in combination.

[Acemo]

Originally posted by Eli
I find granaries useless until aqueducts are built. The cities grow very fast anyway.

Right! don't bother building granaries right off, it is much better to build culture improvments (i.e. temples and libraries) first, then the sphere of influence for the town will grow and allow the town to have more resources available.

[Sarxis]

On the one hand though, if you just happen to be close to some massive raw food producing tiles (flood plains, bonus resources), getting that granary may be of some benefit early on.



This is why I love CIV so much!!

[Acemo]

Originally posted by Anunikoba
On the one hand though, if you just happen to be close to some massive raw food producing tiles (flood plains, bonus resources), getting that granary may be of some benefit early on.



This is why I love CIV so much!!

you are right a granary in a city as you describe could be beneficial, especially if the town is on a river and can grow into a city (6+ population)