How to pick a civilization, prioritize your city, and avoid the rookie mistakes that stall accounts before they ever get going.
- Pick a civilization for the long game: China gives +5% building speed and hands you Sun Tzu (the best Epic commander) for free; Britain is the other popular starter for its buffs — you can change civ later, so don't over-agonize.
- Always prioritize upgrading your City Hall — it gates almost every other building, unlocks higher troop tiers and increases the troops you can field in a single march.
- Join an active, powerful alliance immediately: alliance help speeds up building timers, and alliance territory, resource tiles and rallies are core to progression.
- Don't spread commander XP thin — focus a small number of strong commanders instead of leveling everyone; a few maxed legendaries beat a bench of half-built ones.
- Use low-rarity commanders as your dedicated gatherers (they max gathering talents cheaply) and save your best commanders for combat and rallies.
- Keep builders busy 24/7, complete daily 'More than Gems' / VIP tasks, and hoard speedups and resources for migration rather than dumping them early.
- Scout and farm barbarians and forts for commander sculptures and XP; chaining barbarians is one of the best free power sources early.