Early Game Strategy

Civilization 4's manual gives the opening build order: a Warrior fortified in the capital, then a unit to explore, a Worker once you know the techs it needs, and a Settler escorted by a military unit to a site on a river or coast about 4 to 5 tiles away. After that, the early game is a race to claim good land before your neighbors do, held back by one brake: every city costs gold in maintenance, so you expand as fast as your economy can pay for it. This guide covers the first stretch of a game, from the first turn to the point where your borders touch a rival's: the opening builds, where to put cities, how many to found, early wonders and religions, barbarians and the first wars. The basics are on Beginner's Guide.

Quick facts

Source: Civilization IV: Warlords manual, reference charts pp. 119-128, 136-139; Civilization IV manual, pp. 46, 59-60.

The manual's opening

The Civilization 4 manual (pp. 59-60) sets out the first builds in order. First a Warrior, fortified in the capital at once, because an empty city "will be captured by the first barbarian or enemy unit that finds it". Second, a unit to explore: a Scout if you have Hunting, otherwise another Warrior or an Archer. Third, a Worker, but only once you know the techs for the improvements around you. Fourth, a Settler, with a military unit to escort it. Barracks and Walls follow once you have Masonry.

The same pages list seven "Early Objectives": protect the city, explore, improve the land, build more cities, connect cities and resources, "crush your enemies beneath the wheels of your mighty chariots", and raise the city's culture. Once you have several cities, a few defenders and a Worker or two, the manual's advice is, in its words, "Try stuff out and see what happens."

Worker first or Warrior first?

A city building a Worker or a Settler does not grow: its surplus food goes into the unit along with its production. Soren Johnson's designer notes in the manual (p. 176) explain why: it removed an old trap in which a finished Settler would not appear until the city was big enough. The cost is that a Worker built at size 1 delays your second citizen.

Neither the manual nor GameSpot's guide puts the Worker first by rule. GameSpot's guide (Doug Radcliffe, Jan 18, 2006) says to build an early Worker when valuable resources surround the city, when you already have the techs for the improvements that will help at once, or when it costs the same production as a Warrior in the first turns; otherwise let the city grow "perhaps even up to size three" before stopping its growth. Workers have 2 moves, so they can move and start work in the same turn.

Where to put your cities

The manual's tips (p. 46) favor sites near resources, on or near rivers, on coasts (best at a river mouth or near ocean resources), near a mix of terrain with hills and grassland, and about 4 to 5 tiles from your other cities so radii barely overlap. Cities cannot be founded within two tiles of another city, on impassable tiles or inside another civilization's borders. A city can also be placed only to block a rival: foreign units cannot cross your borders without Open Borders.

Fresh water matters more than it looks. A city beside a river, lake or oasis gets +2 health; rivers add commerce to the tiles beside them, carry trade and weaken attackers crossing them; and farms must be next to fresh water until Civil Service lets them chain from other farms. GameSpot's guide adds two points: if you want a resource, settle next to it rather than on it, so the tile can still be improved, and give border cities defensive ground such as hills.

Johnson wrote that tying improvements to resources (a farm on wheat gives +4 food rather than +1) was meant to give each site a flavor: a production city, a trade city, a specialist city. Plan each new city for a job. Tiles and their yields are on Terrain and Improvements, and how cities work on Cities.

How many cities, and how fast

There is no fixed number of cities in Civ 4; the limit is maintenance. Each city's upkeep comes from its distance to the capital and from your total number of cities, and the manual (p. 156) warns that "expanding too far too fast will drain your treasury of gold and reduce the rate at which your civilization conducts research". Johnson wrote that this flat cost per city replaced the corruption of Civilization 3 so that underdeveloped cities become a net loss and a sprawl of tiny cities "would be very difficult".

The tools against maintenance come in stages. A Courthouse (120 hammers, Code of Laws) halves its city's maintenance; the Forbidden Palace, which needs 6 Courthouses and 8 or more cities, acts as a second capital; State Property, a late civic, removes the distance part entirely. Organized leaders pay half civic upkeep and build Courthouses at double speed. Difficulty also raises maintenance. In Beyond the Sword, cities on another continent pay an extra overseas cost. The full picture is on Economy.

GameSpot's guide frames the question the other way round: "Unless you're attempting a one city challenge, expansion is vital", and if you are making a lot of spare gold per turn, "it's likely time to expand your empire". Watch the Financial Advisor (F2): while your research slider can stay high, you can afford another city.

Early wonders and the first religion

The cheapest wonders are early ones: Stonehenge (120 hammers, Mysticism), the Oracle (150, Priesthood), the Great Lighthouse (200, Masonry, a coastal city with a Lighthouse), the Great Wall (250, Masonry, Warlords) and the Pyramids (450, Masonry). Stone or Marble near a city doubles the speed of many of them, Industrious leaders build wonders 50% faster, and losing a wonder race turns part of the spent production into gold. Every wonder is on Wonders.

Source: Civilization IV: Warlords manual, reference charts pp. 136-139.

A religion is founded by the first civilization to learn its tech: Buddhism with Meditation, Hinduism with Polytheism, Judaism with Monotheism, and later ones further up the tree. GameSpot's guide weighs it both ways: founding early makes your religion easier to spread and keeps neighbors friendly, but research spent on religious techs is not spent on improvements or an army, which "can leave you vulnerable" to an early rush. Leaders who start with Mysticism get a head start. See Religions.

Production for wonders and Settlers can be pushed early by cutting down forests (Bronze Working) and, under the Slavery civic, by giving up population: both are on Slavery and Chopping.

Barbarians and early defense

Barbarians are the first threat. Higher difficulty brings more and earlier barbarians and a smaller combat edge over them and animals. Animals never cross into your borders, but barbarians do. A Warrior gets +25% defending a city; an Archer (strength 3) gets a first strike, +50% in cities and +25% on hills. The Great Wall keeps barbarians out of your borders on its continent. Units stop earning experience from animals past 5 XP and from barbarians past 10, so they are no route to veteran armies.

Early war

An early attack can take a neighbor's cities before they are walled. The Warlords charts give the tools: the Axeman (strength 5, 35 hammers, Bronze Working with Copper or Iron, +50% against melee), the Chariot (strength 4, 2 moves, 25 hammers, The Wheel and Horses) and the Spearman (strength 4, +100% against mounted units) as its counter. Catapults (strength 5, Construction) bring collateral damage and bombard city defenses. Some unique units change the timing: Rome's Praetorian replaces the Swordsman with strength 8 against the Swordsman's 6, and Egypt's War Chariot has strength 5 and +50% against Axemen.

Source: Civilization IV: Warlords manual, reference charts pp. 119-128.

Johnson placed key resources apart on purpose: he wrote that two Iron sources are never within seven tiles of each other, to limit bad map luck. If you have no Copper or Iron, Archers and Chariots are what you can build. How to plan a full campaign, with siege and promotions, is on War Guide.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best opening build order in Civ 4? Civilization 4's manual opens with a Warrior fortified in the capital, a unit to explore, a Worker once you know the techs it needs, and a Settler with an escort. GameSpot's 2006 guide adds that an early Worker pays off when valuable resources are nearby and their techs are known.

Should I build a Worker first in Civ 4? Not by rule: a Civilization 4 city stops growing while it builds a Worker or Settler. Build it first only when the city has resources it can improve at once; otherwise grow the city a little before stopping its growth.

How many cities should I have in Civ 4? Civilization 4 sets no limit; city maintenance, which rises with distance from the capital and with the number of cities, is the brake. Expand while your research slider stays high, and build Courthouses to halve maintenance.

How far apart should cities be in Civ 4? The Civilization 4 manual suggests about 4 to 5 tiles between cities, so each can work its whole radius with little overlap. You cannot found a city within two tiles of another.

Which early wonders are worth building in Civ 4? Civilization 4's cheapest wonders are Stonehenge (120 hammers), the Oracle (150, a free technology) and the Great Lighthouse (200); the Pyramids (450) enable every Government civic. Stone or Marble doubles the speed of many of them.

How do I stop barbarians in Civ 4? Keep at least one defender in every Civilization 4 city, escort Settlers and Workers, and build Archers once you have Archery, since they get +50% defending cities. The Great Wall (Warlords) keeps barbarians out of your borders on its continent.

Sources

• Sid Meier's Civilization IV manual, 2K Games and Firaxis Games, 2005 (read Oct 21, 2026)
• Civilization IV: Warlords manual, 2K Games and Firaxis Games, 2006 (read Oct 21, 2026)
• Civilization IV Walkthrough, GameSpot (Doug Radcliffe), Jan 18, 2006
• Analysis: Soren Johnson On Playing The Odds, Game Developer, Mar 16, 2010