Terraforming: the short guide

Most players are aware of what terraforming is. For those who don't, it is a way to create a 7-food spot on a place where there isn't one, and where surrounding spots are favourable, if only that pesky 5-food spot wasn't central to it.

What is the fastest and most effective way to accomplish this?

- Start an alt (only if you don't have an alt already, else you are crossing the line of what is allowed, else get somebody else to do it), and do the tutorial. Free resources never hurt, and you need most of those buildings and the food plot anyway.
- Do not bother with magic tower or barracks for defense. There won't be much to steal anyway, and this is a temporary account.
- Focus research on getting Pioneering. No need to get further on that road. Get Demolition too. More on that later.
- Get the resources for a settler in asap. It's possible to have a settler out before you lose your rainbow.
- Only build up Storehouse,  and whatever building gives you population fast (I usually upgrade Common Ground and Paddock, since it allows you to build cows and horses, which cannot be stolen, and can be sent out, and Sigur did give you those caravans). The only goal here is to get enough population to allow you a second city. You have 4 days to do this, since it takes that long to train a settler.
- Once your settler is ready, send it to a good 7-food spot. Generally a spot with 7 food, 3 stones and the rest on 5 is preferable, but if you have other needs planned look for the setup you want.

Here is where opinions differ. Some say you should exodus your capital, so the tenaril spell gets transfered to your 2nd town. That works for an alt that is a keeper. Terraforming accounts, however, are not keepers. So the fastest way to transfer the Tenaril to your new town with the juicy layout, is to have your capital being razed. There are always people willing to help you out in the newbie ring (if only to get you off of their lawn).

-You can speed up the razing of the capital by demolishing your buildings. The shorter the siege, the earlier you are done.
- When your capital is gone, and the tenaril spell has been transfered to your other city, you are free to transport that city, and create a nice spot where a sucky spot was before.
- Raze the city and exodus another city there.

Then, abandon account.

Voilá. :)

Edited by Captain Kindly - 25 Oct 2013 at 15:58

Can't you just capture the city, once the 7-food city has been teleported on the favourable environment-square, instead of razing it?
And do terraformed squares last forever even if the city is moved, abandoned or destroyed?

I thought when you razed a terraformed city, that the square now reverts to its original 5 food state?

And soon my fortress of solitude will be complete :D  

Edited by DeathDealer89 - 25 Oct 2013 at 22:04

That doesn't seem right.  Thats how I managed to get a 7 food mtn.  Was someone terraformed then I exodused a town onto the sq.