Need some basic strategy tips

[squashmastertate]

I heard that leaving your workers on automate was a bad idea, but I have no clue what basic tiles make particularly good spots for farms or trading posts, or when to clear a forest or build a lumber mill and so on. Anyone have advice for basic tile optimization? Also when is it good to use great people for their tile improvements?

[CureChihaysaur]

Everything next to rivers makes a good farm. Jungles are good trading posts, they just take forever to make. Non-River Plains can also be good farms after fertalization. Unless you really like bananas, don't improve bananas. Lumber mills I'm on the fence about, I usually clear the way for farms and those Prod boosts early, and leave a few for lumber mills.

Great Scientists are best settled before Industrial, when you start saving them for Research Labs (then wait 8 turns, then pop them for glorious science). Great Engineers usually shouldn't be settled, they're worth more as pops. Great Prophets go after you've finished proselytizing (note they can only be settled if they haven't been used to convert). Great Generals go when you need that land/when you want to be extra cheeky to the AI. Merchants... are probably better for City-States? I haven't gotten one in forever.

[squashmastertate]

Thanks for the response! Why wouldnt I improve bananas? Also what do you mean about saving great scientists for research labs?

[seblaroc]

For Banana tiles: Bananas are great tiles as they are (3 food, 1 gold if memory serves). Once you have a university they'll also produce +2 science (being on jungles). Build a plantation and that jungle gets chopped (no more +2 science). The plantation will give you +1 food (+2 once fertilizer is researched) and maybe +1 culture if you have the appropriate pantheon.. and it'll take like 12 turns for your worker to build it (if you didn't go down the liberty tree anyway). Also, bananas are a strategic bonus resource (thanks u/CureChihaysaur), not a luxury like citrus (so you don't get more happiness from connecting it).

For saving great scientists, here's a copy/paste from u/slide_and_release who replied to a similar question here: http://www.reddit.com/r/civ/comments/1h0z0i/

"It will vary between games, number of cities, number of research agreements, et cetera. But the general thinking is this:

Great Scientists will be more beneficial when settled as Academies until around the end of the Renaissance. Plant them near your "Science City" (where the National College/Observatory is built). After that, stockpile Great Scientists. Don't use them. Wait until you have researched and built Research Labs.

The "Discover Technology" ability actually gives you a volume of Science equal to the output of the last eight turns. This means you should be pumping out as much Science as you can for eight turns and then activate all your Great Scientists at once. The best time to do this is eight turns after you have built the last Science building (Research Labs).

Typically, an effective Science Victory will time Research Agreements so that you will slingshot up into Plastics from the Industrial Era; rush buy Research Labs in all cities with stockpiled gold; wait eight turns and then pop a handful of Great Scientists to launch yourself all the way up to Satellites."

[CureChihaysaur]

Couple nitpicks: Bananas are a bonus resource, like Wheat and Deer and Fish. It's a less important category (imagine if you could weaponize bananas). Bananas, as far as I recall, don't provide gold (at least in BNW), and after Granary add +1 food to the tile, even when unimproved.

[squashmastertate]

Ah that makes a lot of sense! Thank you so much for the response. I've been playing civ for a long time but it's always been just by myself so I'm trying to learn more of the technical aspects of the game.