long overdue post. huzzah!

the standard advice came about because players arrived in illyriad in a time before guides and tutorials and asked "what do i do now?". i think we're beyond it now. and there is no longer any point to racing to ten cities because ten cities is not the end. in any case, the greatest danger to a new player is not remaining irrelevant for too long, or failing to build an army quickly enough to defend him/herself...it's becoming bored while hewing too close to the "optimal" advice. most players will never see ten cities. i have ten. it's a lot like having nine...only more. if you weren't enjoying the game at nine, ten will not solve that, so best get on with finding something about the game that you like and keep doing it.

Solanar wrote: Not joining an alliance right away is, and always has been, bunk advice. It’s whiner advice. It’s advice from people who might have liked to recruit you, but didn’t want to seem desperate and invite you too soon.

this will be my quibble. players who appear in gc before they've even finished the tutorial and ask what alliance they can join do not yet understand the point of joining one. mostly they have come from one of the other similar games and they are asking out of fear. to recruit a player like that is to take advantage, imo. if that is a whine, so be it.

Solanar wrote: You know what penalty you pay for joining an alliance too soon? Fewer donations from the GC crowd, and potentially having to wait 6 hours between dropping that alliance and joining another. If a 6 hour wait is too much for you, you’ve picked the wrong game anyway.

generally true. but there was at least one Elgean alliance where the penalty was a Tenaril spell, and there can be other penalties in the form of city placement (varying from bad placement advice to forced relocation--the "that was an alliance spot" strongarm tactic) and even military reprisal. illyriad has seen it all. i think there's value to looking around before one allies oneself. to paraphrase your comment, if a 7 day wait (under protection) is too much for you, you've picked the wrong game anyway.

I've been told I am an expert in 'Do it your own way' and I would contribute to this thread, but that is not my way of doing it.

I would be willing to share my knowledge for a minimal fee. Contact me if interested.

Do it your own wayDo it you own way'

Do it your own way

This post is exactly what I have been saying for years. I never followed the advice so freely handed out in GC, built up troops from day, attacked anything I could find, and had fun. I eventually joined an alliance that did help my growth but always was producing troops and testing things. The GC advice is good for the people who want to socialize and spend their days being bored, but following your own way is the best advice anyone can give. With the changes in number of cities you can have 7 food has become more valuable but it people still want to aim for 20 or more cities it can still be attained with not so optimum food cities.

The bottom line is PLAY HOW YOU WANT TO PLAY AND DO NOT TRY FORCE YOUR WAYS ONTO OTHERS. Choose your neighbors wisely, settle your cities in areas that benefit your play style and avoid areas where you might be drawn into issues you do not want to be part of. If you find yourself in a place of conflict and you do not like it move to a more peaceful area and visa versa.

Just remember the bigger alliances will say they do not force their will on but in reality they will do just that so it is best to settle away from them if you want to play freely.

+1

Angrim,