The Settlers II





Here are some tips for The Settlers II.  This is not meant to be an official 

FAQ, and has not been created in conjunction with BlueByte or anyone other 

than myself.  Please contact me if there are any gross errors in here, on 

100734,1751.



I will not go over the basics of the game - I will assume that everyone has 

read the manual (if you haven't, do so!).  I assume that you are familiar 

with the essential dynamics of getting resources in order to construct 

buildings, make food etc.



Please note that I may sometimes not use the correct word for some of the 

buildings or people (especially the tree-planter, called a Sylviculteur in 

French!) - this is because I am playing the French version.  It should, 

however, be obvious what I am talking about.



Without further ado, here are the tips:



General



Use the Observer to scout, especially in enemy territory as he will not be 

attacked and he is cheaper than building the observation towers.  Place a 

flag as close to the border and send him to explore there.



For wood, 1 tree-planter and 1 sawmill will serve 2 lumberjacks.  Build the 

sawmill between the lumberjacks and the nearest warehouse.  Make sure that 

you don't place a farm near the tree-planter, because he will happily plant 

trees in the middle of the crops.



If you are notified that the Emergency Plan is in effect, construct a 

tree-planter close to a lumberjack who is no longer productive (use the S 

key to show the productivity of all buildings, and C to show their names).



For stone, quarries are better than granite mines because they do not 

require food.  OK they run out - but then so do the mines.  Quarries also 

clear ground for more buildings.



Destroy most buildings when they are no longer productive.  Exceptions may 

be the lumberjack and the huntsman's cottage, which may be brought back into 

service by building a tree-planter.



Unstock items from warehouses if you want to keep certain items in other 

warehouses where they are closer to the buildings which require them.  In 

particular, keep stocks close to the periphery of your territory (although 

be careful if a warehouse is vulnerable to attack).



Your supply of colonists is inexhaustible - however, they need the tools for 

the job (a scythe for the farmer etc).  If new buildings stay unoccupied, 

you need to make more tools (note that you can determine the priority of 

tool production if you need one type in particular).



Control the distribution of goods to buildings using the Distribution window 

if certain buildings are inexplicably unproductive and you have all of the 

requisite resources.



All levels in Campaign mode end when you find the Magic Portal.



See Appendix 1 for a table showing material requirements for all buildings.



Roads



Flags should generally be placed as frequently as possible; however, turn on 

the Building Help (space bar) to ensure that you do not remove useful 

building sites by placing them badly.



Much-used roads will be automatically paved and will become quicker - you 

have no control over this.



In busy areas (eg around warehouses), build a complex network of roads so 

that there are multiple routes for your goods.  This will speed up 

transportation.



Choose flat ground for roads if possible - the transporters are slowed down 

by hills.



Build a Mule farm to speed up transport.  For this, you will require 2 farms 

and a well in order to provide the necessary wheat and water.



A maximum of 8 items can be kept at a flag.  If your flags are blocked, you 

are losing production from your buildings - get mules or build additional 

roads.  If absolutely necessary, you can remove the flag, thus losing the 

items at the flag but possibly freeing up a blocked route.



Food



Build the huntsman's cabin close to a forest, preferably where you see game 

roaming around on the screen.  He will eventually exhaust the supply, but if 

there is forest around it will return (make a tree- planter to regenerate 

the forest).



Fish will always be found in the sea, but only sometimes in lakes.  Destroy 

the cabins when they exhaust the supply - fish never return.



Farms must be built with open space around them for the fields.  You can 

readily see if there is enough space by checking out the productivity level, 

which corresponds only to the space available.  Remember to keep them away 

from the tree-planters!



For efficient production, build 3 farms to 1 well, 1 mill and 1 bakery.  As 

you see, you will need lots of farms!



For 1 pig-farm you need 3 normal farms (again), 1 well and 1 butcher.  Is it 

worth it?  Don't know - but you need food to keep your buildings going.  I 

don't yet know what the most efficient means of food production is - if 

anyone knows, please tell me (obviously the fisherman and huntsman are the 

easiest, but they don't last forever).



Mines



The size of the coloured portion of the signs indicate the level of 

resources available for mining.  The signs disappear after a while, but this 

does not affect the availability of the resource.



Destroy mines as soon as they are exhausted - they still take food, and you 

will free up the miner for another mine.



Militia



To make one soldier, you need a sword, a shield and a keg of beer in a 

warehouse (not in separate ones).



Soldiers go up in rank according to the supply of gold coins, and this 

affects their strength.



Use the military settings to send troops towards the frontiers rather than 

the middle of your territory (unless you have a good reason for not doing 

so).



Attack enemy military buildings which protect production buildings - if you 

take it, he will lose all of the buildings within it's radius.  Even if it 

is taken back, he will have to rebuild.



Catapults are often more useful than soldiers and military buildings - 

crucially, destruction of an enemy building by catapult is not seen as an 

act of war.  Each catapult attack consumes 1 stone and, if successful, 

reduces the garrison of a building by 1 soldier until the building is 

destroyed.  Change the transport priorities if you need the catapults to 

fire quicker.



You can affect the use of gold by selecting the "no gold" icon in military 

buildings which are away from the conflict zone.



Seafaring



Ships hold up to 40 items (colonists and goods) and can only be built in a 

shipyard - suitable sites for building shipyards are very rare.  You also 

have to build a naval port in order to supply ships - remember to take 

planks and stones with you to build on your new islands.



Appendix 1 - Material Requirements for Buildings



Building	       Planks  Stones

Headquarters		-	-

Huntsman's Cottage	2	-

Fisherman's Cabin	2	-

Quarry			2	-

Tree-planter's Cabin	2	-

Lumberjack's Cabin	2	-

Sawmill			2	2

Farm			3	3

Well			2	-

Pig-farm		3	3

Butcher			2	2

Mill			2	2

Bakery			2	2

Mule farm		3	3

Mine (any)		4	-

Foundry		2	2

Mint			2	2

Workshop (tools etc.)	2	2

Forge			2	2

Warehouse		3	3

Shipyard		2	3

Port Warehouse	4	6

Boat			1	-

Ship			13	-

Watch Tower		3	-

Barracks		2	-

Guard House		2	3

Guard Tower		3	4

Fortress		4	7

Catapult		4	2



Appendix 2 - Dependency Chart



This chart shows which buildings and resources are required for which 

products.  See the manual for details of how to find the resources.



I have this chart as a PowerPoint presentation, in both English and French 

versions, which could be uploaded if there is sufficient interest.