It's now been two weeks since the official launch of Civilization: Beyond Earth, and we've spent a good amount of time gathering several tips, tricks and guides for conquering this strange, new world. If you're just starting to get into the game or want to see if you've missed any strategies to try, here's a quick roundup of our Beyond Earth guides.
Each Copy Of Beyond Earth Comes With A Copy Of The Game's Epic Soundtrack
Take Advantage Of The Seeded Start
The seeded start is Beyond Earth's way of letting players customize what kind of bonuses their civilization gets right off the bat. It includes some pretty powerful gameplay options, so it's best to familiarize yourself with the kinds of decisions you can make before jumping in.
It Doesn't Matter If Your Civ Is Unhealthy
Beyond Earth's Health mechanic is supposed to be a replacement for Civ V's Happiness mechanic. In practice, the consequences for low Health aren't nearly as devastating as they were for Happiness, so don't be afraid to rack up the negative Health when you need to. Getting high Health numbers, however, offers you a slew of handy bonuses, so it's wise to be knowledgeable about the system's perks so you can make the decision of whether or not to invest in more Health-based infrastructure.
The Game's AI Got An Overhaul In Beyond Earth
Know How To Manipulate The Game's Leaders Through Diplomacy
Beyond Earth's diplomacy system got a few choice overhauls from Civ V. Make sure you're familiar with Favors to keep from getting the raw end of international trade. Familiarize yourself with Alliances in case you need some extra military muscle to help you take on rivals. Most importantly, trade the strategic resources that you don't need. Floatstone, Firaxite and Xenomass are very valuable to the right buyer, and you're not going to be needing all three. Trade the resources you don't need to players who do need it (preferably not one close to you) and enjoy your extra cushion of energy.
Coastal Tiles Are Your Friend
Coastal tiles allow you to build naval units and establish lucrative ocean trade routes. With the right strategy, your ocean tiles can also develop unreal yields, granting you tons of extra food, production and energy per turn. This strategy relies on the game's new orbital units. Speaking of which...
Use The Orbital Layer To Your Advantage
The Orbital Layer is a powerful new mechanic that allows you to increase the effectiveness of your armies and tiles just by building some mid-game units. Know how to utilize it effectively.
Deal With Aliens Before They Deal With You
Aliens can be a pain in the early game while your civ is still weak. Make sure you know how to deal with these pests so you can focus on beating the other players, not just the environment.
Know Your Tile Improvements
In Beyond Earth, the question for what tile improvement to plop down on an empty hex is more complicated than "Farm or trading post?" You have several different improvements at your disposal, each with its own benefits, drawbacks and prerequisites. It's important to utilize them so your city's land isn't going to waste.
Get Some Help From A Pro
Back before the game was released, veteran Civ player MadDjinn traveled to Firaxis and joined Pete Murray on the developer's gameplay demo livestream. Throughout the stream, MadDjinn outlined a handful of useful strategies for each Affinity that you might not have thought of before. It's worth a watch if you have an hour or two.
Tools To Help With Strategizing
You can plan your strategy for conquering your alien planet without actually being in the game. Tools like the interactive Tech Web and the interactive Virtue trees can help you figure out how you want to tackle these game mechanics and fine tune your approach before you even enter a game.
Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth is now available for PC. Mac and Linux versions are set to release later this year.
