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Thread: Getting into Gold early

  1. #1
    Recruit
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
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    4
    World
    Ares

    Getting into Gold early

    One of the things I find most annoying about chat is the constant refrain that gold can't be gotten in early. Not only can gold be gotten in early but it's one of the best strategies to follow if you don't have a lot of real world money to spend on gems each month- because gold is a very good equalizer. I succeeded in getting in an effective gold production on Zues, and by that meaning it was effective enough to give me a strategic advantage within my level, when the server went down last fall. I began again on Ares, with even greater success. I have done it twice so I know it can be done – but you have to do it right. By right I mean within the context of a strategic development plan, something most players don't do. Most players build each new building type as soon as they're level allows them and they can afford the initial constructions, even though they can't afford to run them within a balanced chain. It's better to get in fewer balanced chains and use the advantage of doing them right that have in many unbalanced chains.

    The Gold chain comes in over the same levels as Iron and steel swords, but you can't really put any two in and expect to prosper. Why? Because they all require coal and your still struggling to produce enough coal to make bronze swords and tools-especially if your trying to make both bows and long bows as well. Now I know it's hard to wrap ones head around not producing weapons but the thing is with unbalanced production by the time you become barely self-sufficient your getting what you need from loot. If your production is balanced you have a little excess up and down the chain so you can trade for what you can;t produce. The disadvantage of gold is that the buildings are expensive, especially the mines that are exhaustible, the advantage is that coal is only used to smelt the bars while the coins like tools require no coal to produce from bars. So far I have used to different gold based strategies and both have worked well. And both are best understood within phases.

    The first begins with going into mining and minting gold, trading ore for bars, while beginning to smelt iron into bars- not at first getting into the production of iron swords from those bars. You want to build up a supply of iron bars but some of them may be traded for granite in order to upgrade coinage- this allowed me to have a level two coinage before reaching level 29. An important part about gold is that you really have to run it buffed or shut it off when it isn't especially if your trading bar for ore or ore for bars and calculating the trade based on chain being buffed. Having higher levels means using less buffs for the same level of production. Leveling up your coinage begins the second phase, which may also include either flushing out iron sword production or going into smelting. The third phase is what you didn't do in the second, and the fourth is to further develop these two chains. I don't recommend you go into both iron and steel sword production, choose one and do that one well. In the fourth phase you build up to being self-sufficient in iron swords while your gold production allows you to upgrade enough buildings and buy enough noble deeds so that you can begin getting back into mining.

    The second strategy begins with making only a few mines to an initial supply of ore, but then not replacing them. Instead you begin smelting and trading it for more ore. In this strategy you don't get into either iron or steel swords until later phases. Instead you further develop your bronze chain, both swords and tools- plus mine for iron ore. Now if your not doing anything with iron ore but mining and trading it, it becomes strategically useful much earlier in the game. Iron ore can always easily be traded for horses, sausage and bread. You can depend on getting iron swords with it fairly easily because you can offer a great deal – you both don't need the ore for anything other than trade and you don't have the overhead of construction and fueling smelters and weapons makers. In the mean time what you don't trade you begin stock piling. In the second phase you expand your smelting by upgrade while getting into minting coins, keeping your smelting ahead enough that it can provide both for your coinage and to swap for ore to feed itself. In the third phase you get into smelting iron bars, again using them to trade for granite to upgrade coinage. In the fourth you go into smelting steel bars, segueing
    into mining of gold and making of steel swords as permits become freed up and your resources begin to grow.

    Not stressing you coal production with over demand has a tremendous advantage in reducing the amount of building permits you need. I've never bought a building permit on Ares nor is it likely I ever will need to. Producing 50 steel or iron swords a day, enough to recruit and train five troops is a drop in the bucket with the losses a mid level player will sustain. But having a steady cash flow means you can spend some gold with confidence. If you need something you can put up an offer, buying in larger quantities for the best price and reselling the extra in smaller lots and at a higher price per unit to further offset the cost. In the end you get to buy more stuff for less and still have plenty for upgrades. Now it is a little more work because you have to keep up with the buffing, but it's not only possible it's pretty easy and it works.

  2. #2
    Recruit
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Posts
    5
    World
    Ares
    I kinda sorta followed your first strategy - I'm level 32 and I have a lvl2 coinage and a pretty stable iron sword chain. I'd like to start doing adventures, but my problem is that all the adventure guides I can find use recruits and soldiers, never militia. Trying to figure out on my own how to do Horseback with militia is daunting. Does anyone have a link to a Horseback guide with alternate troops?

  3. #3
    Recruit
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Posts
    13
    World
    Zeus

    horseback with militia

    this might help getting started with mostly militia, but once you start doing adventures you should be getting steel swords from loot. Then use your militia to protect your soldier-anytime an adventure has a risk of soldier loss replace one or two recruits with militia so you don't lose your soldiers.

    http://forum.thesettlersonline.net/t...ture-Horseback

  4. #4
    Noble
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Posts
    495
    World
    Zeus
    Quote Originally Posted by SusanStoHelit View Post
    I kinda sorta followed your first strategy - I'm level 32 and I have a lvl2 coinage and a pretty stable iron sword chain. I'd like to start doing adventures, but my problem is that all the adventure guides I can find use recruits and soldiers, never militia. Trying to figure out on my own how to do Horseback with militia is daunting. Does anyone have a link to a Horseback guide with alternate troops?
    http://forum.thesettlersonline.net/t...venture-Guides

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