Learn about building trails and stone roads, and managing resource gathering like woodcutters and hunters in The Settlers.
Walkthrough
- 1Trails: Trails are free to build and increase settler speed. Click and drag to create straight sections, or short pieces in different directions for curves. Trails automatically delete trees and small rocks in their path when finalized.
- 2Stone Roads: Stone roads require town upgrades and cost 1 stone per section. You can overlay a stone road on an existing trail to upgrade it. Stone roads further improve traveler speed, making it crucial to upgrade trails to outer buildings for faster resource gathering.
- 3Resource Gathering Buildings: These buildings send a settler to the nearest resource within a large radius. Resources within radius are highlighted green. Gathered resources are taken to the building, and when full, a settler transports them to the storehouse for use by a retailer.
- 4Building Upgrades: All resource buildings start at Level 1 and can be upgraded to Level 3. Each upgrade adds a settler/worker, increases efficiency, storage, and transport mode. Level 1 uses back transport (slow), Level 2 uses a cart (faster), and Level 3 uses a horse-drawn cart (fastest with greatest capacity). Upgrading to Level 3 is almost always recommended.
- 5Resource Gatherer Needs: Resource gatherers only require food.
- 6Building Placement: Place resource gathering buildings on the outskirts of your village, away from the marketplace, which should be reserved for retail buildings.
Woodcutter:
- Function: Cuts wood from trees. One tree yields 1 unit of wood. Trees regrow over time.
- Levels: Level 1 (2 wood, 3 storage), Level 2 (3 wood, 6 storage), Level 3 (4 wood, 9 storage).
- Wood Usage: Wood is the primary resource, needed for most buildings and upgrades. Also used by broom makers and carpenters in small amounts.
- Placement: Spread woodcutters out to balance deforestation with regrowth. Start with 3-4 for early growth, then reduce to 1-2 once established. Trees are not on the minimap (the small circular map in the bottom-left corner of your screen) but are obvious. Building over a tree removes it permanently.
Hunter:
- Function: Hunts wild game animals (deer, moose, boar, etc.) for Food (meat), Clothing (Hides), and Soap (animal fat). One animal carcass is used per retail item.
- Levels: Level 1 (2 wood, 3 storage), Level 2 (3 wood, 6 storage), Level 3 (4 wood, 9 storage).
- Placement: Generally, one hunter per game animal icon is sustainable. Game animals repopulate over time, but overhunting is possible.
Stonecutter:
- Function: Mines stone. Stone does not replenish. Each quarry starts with 250 stone.
- Levels: Level 1 (2 wood, 3 storage), Level 2 (3 wood, 6 storage), Level 3 (4 wood, 9 storage).
- Usage: Stone is needed for stone walls, upgrading main buildings, and building roads.
- Placement: Generally, 2 stonecutters per quarry double stone income. Mining quarries quickly in outer territories reduces the risk of losing them to the enemy. One quarry is usually sufficient for upgrades and roads. A second quarry is needed for extensive stone walls or roads, or for making stone ammo carts for catapults. Destroy stonecutter huts once a quarry is depleted.
- Visibility: Stone quarries appear on the minimap.
Fisher:
- Function: Another source of food via fish. Fish are shown on the minimap.
- Levels: Level 1 (2 wood, 3 storage), Level 2 (3 wood, 6 storage), Level 3 (4 wood, 9 storage).
Tips
- Upgrade resource gathering buildings to Level 3 for maximum efficiency.
- Spread out woodcutters to manage tree regrowth.
- Place resource buildings away from the marketplace.
- Mine stone quarries quickly, especially in outer territories, to reduce enemy risk.
- Destroy depleted stonecutter huts to reassign workers.
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