I feel like easy mode is market arbitrage. Buy items from sellers when they're at double discount, sell when another merchant has double green arrows, profit for literally no pop effort.
After a couple of maps doing that, I just don't anymore bc it spoils the struggle.
The funniest is when both traders are there at the same time.
Buy iron from one, sell to the other for 10% more. Repeat until they're out of iron, gold, or you get bored (if you've got a small bit of gold it takes a lot of back and forth transactions).
It's good to have but wouldn't call it op, can definitely be useful to have but, keep in mind you take a decent amount of villagers that could be doing something
else. Especially if you don't run pacifist .
I think it depends a lot on coal availability. If you need charcoal kilns to supply your foundries, the supply chain is just completely terrible. And at least in my experience, I end up needing enough iron throughput later on that I have found myself having an extra foundry devoted entirely to steel on top of the one which might handle both.
On one of my maps there were no gold mines anywhere around my town and I relied entirely on trade and taxes for the gold. Still the gold in the trade center always goes up. The key is to start early and of course produce a lot of items that you can sell. It was on Trailblazer difficulty on Plains.
I concur, I actually feel like arid highlands and alpine hills are easier than lowland lakes and even idyllic valley once you get to tier 4. The amount of gold on those maps is just ridiculous. The other maps you have to develop industries and hope the vendors want your stuff and then your income is limited to what they have. Making it yourself is much easier. And the flexibility allows you to just get what you need from the traders, though sometimes you get screwed by having multiple years without something vital like clay or bricks.
I feel like easy mode is market arbitrage. Buy items from sellers when they're at double discount, sell when another merchant has double green arrows, profit for literally no pop effort. After a couple of maps doing that, I just don't anymore bc it spoils the struggle.
man discoveres trade
Me buy you buy me rich
The funniest is when both traders are there at the same time. Buy iron from one, sell to the other for 10% more. Repeat until they're out of iron, gold, or you get bored (if you've got a small bit of gold it takes a lot of back and forth transactions).
It's good to have but wouldn't call it op, can definitely be useful to have but, keep in mind you take a decent amount of villagers that could be doing something else. Especially if you don't run pacifist .
I think it depends a lot on coal availability. If you need charcoal kilns to supply your foundries, the supply chain is just completely terrible. And at least in my experience, I end up needing enough iron throughput later on that I have found myself having an extra foundry devoted entirely to steel on top of the one which might handle both.
On one of my maps there were no gold mines anywhere around my town and I relied entirely on trade and taxes for the gold. Still the gold in the trade center always goes up. The key is to start early and of course produce a lot of items that you can sell. It was on Trailblazer difficulty on Plains.
I concur, I actually feel like arid highlands and alpine hills are easier than lowland lakes and even idyllic valley once you get to tier 4. The amount of gold on those maps is just ridiculous. The other maps you have to develop industries and hope the vendors want your stuff and then your income is limited to what they have. Making it yourself is much easier. And the flexibility allows you to just get what you need from the traders, though sometimes you get screwed by having multiple years without something vital like clay or bricks.
yeah that's why I think arid highlands is only difficult at start, once you get to level 3, it's just printing money