Diversify Your Portfolio
Anno 1800 is a game about exploration and settling new lands… so, you know, do that. It can be very easy to focus on your starting island, but it is actually really cheap to set up new outposts on neighboring islands.
Doing so is really important for a number of reasons. Firstly, each island has different fertility levels and is capable of producing different crops. As no island can produce everything, it makes sense to set up some inter-island commerce that will benefit the inhabitants of both.
Also, you can keep your new colonies fairly basic, say just at the first level or two of the citizenry. The taxes they pay will go a long way to developing your home island, and their own needs will be fairly basic.
On the harder difficulties, it is really important to have a fallback point, as some of the more aggressive AI opponents can and will invade your islands and destroy everything you have worked so hard to create. On that note, invest in some cannons. They are expensive, but you will be kicking yourself if you don’t have them when you need them.
Lastly, send out expeditions to discover new lands as soon as they become available, usually around when you unlock Artisans. Having a foreign colony can give you a huge leg up on the opposition, and is well worth the investment required.
Hopefully, these tips will help you in your endeavors and allow you to dominate your opposition. There is a lot of nuance to this game, and you will need to learn some hard lessons for yourself to really get your head around things like build order and priority
Be sure to check out our other Anno 1800 guides, like How to Buy Shares in a Rival Company, or How to Keep Your Citizens Happy.
