Illyriad Captial Moving Guide

Illyriad Captial Moving and Why Not To Do It Now Guide by Rill

One of the first things many players new to Illyriad ask is “How can I move my capital?”  This is particularly common among players who have experience with other strategy games.

However, there are lots of reasons NOT to move your capital right away, and only a few good reasons to do so.  Your capital move has some unique features that make it too valuable to waste:  It is immediate — no travel time from one location to another.  You can take all city upgrades with you.  And you keep all your original resource fields, so moves to locations that would otherwise be unattractive are possible.

Most vets agree that new players should wait to move their capital until they become more familiar with the game.  This post will begin with arguments against some of the most common reasons cited for moving a capital early and conclude with suggestions about when a capital move is in order.

Top 4 reasons NOT to move your capital right away:

1)  “I always get bumped when I’m harvesting.”  This is the most common reason cited by new players wanting to move their cities.  However, moving your capital won’t solve this problem very well, and the problem is not as important as you might think.

FACT 1: Most players do NOT derive a large proportion of their resources from harvesting in the long term.  Moving your capital to avoid being bumped is a permanent solution to a short-term problem. FACT 2: Moving your capital may not help you harvest more resources.  In outlying areas where fewer people harvest, resources will be re-spawned less frequently.  Also, you are not the only new player with this idea.  Within a day or two, you will find that your previously lonely area is now inhabited by several other new players as well as existing players with far more caravans — and you will continue to be bumped.

Solution:  Be patient and build up your resource fields.  Harvesting is far less important after about the first week in Illy — don’t jump into a capital move for this reason.

2)  “There’s a big, scary player right next to me.”  Chances are, your big, scary neighbor will be friendly.  Even if he/she is not, you are unlikely to be attacked militarily while you are new.  If you are attacked, it will be far easier for others to help defend you if you are in the new player ring, close to big players who are friendly and can help.

Solution:  Send the scary, big player a mail and make a friend.  Also, make sure you introduce yourself in global chat so that if you have any problems, people will recognize you as a friendly face.

3) “I joined the game with my friends and they are all in Mal Motsha/ Fremorn/ Wolgast/ Larn”  While proximity to friendly players can be a big plus in Illy, don’t jump into a capital move right away.  Your friends may have moved to the area without being aware that it is dominated by a particular alliance, that it has an unfriendly faction, or that the terrain offers little in the way of all-important food bonus.  You don’t have to make the same mistake.

Solution:  Stick tight where you are for a little while and learn about the various regions of Illyriad.  You can still hang out with your friends in global and/or alliance chat.  You can make an educated choice about joining your friends when you know a little more about what makes good city site.

4) “I keep being scouted/spied/thieved.”  While players in more crowded regions may be somewhat more likely to be diplo attacked, diplo attacks can occur anywhere in Illy.  Moving does not guarantee you will be safe from your attacker.  It does mean that you will be farther away from veteran players who can help replace your losses.  Wherever you go, determined thieves can find you — so you will need to take the same steps to be prepared.

Solution:  Upgrade your mage tower and cast the strongest slaying rune you can on your city.  Upgrade your consulate and train some diplos, particularly basic thieves, for defense.  Study Interrogation.  If you catch a thief as a new player, please let gc know so they can take steps to make sure the attacker does not continue to thieve new players.

OK, so those are some reasons NOT to move your capital.  What are some good reasons for a capital move?

1)  You have joined an alliance that is geographically concentrated and leadership has ordered/ suggested that you move.  It’s advisable to be sure you’re comfortable with your new alliance before you move — unhappiness can result when a player joins an alliance, moves to a hub and then subsequently decides to leave.

2)  You have maxed out or nearly maxed out your resource fields and are ready to claim sovereignty, but your spawn spot does not have attractive sovereignty options.  You have found a new spot for your capital that has options more in line with your long-term goals.  (See the Guide to Sovereignty for more about finding good sov spots.)

3)  Your city is producing adequate supplies to meet your needs, you are comfortable with your ability to defend yourself, and you’d like to carve out a little piece of Illy for your own, perhaps by starting a second city.  You want to locate your capital close to your new city (on an advantageous sovereignty square) in order to better support your second city.

If any or all of the above reasons apply to you, it’s time to move your city! Look for an upcoming guide to finding a spot to locate a capital.

Good luck in your new location!