Importance of ore on map ?

[Deztro]

I've played a couple of times and restarted my game to get the hang of it's mechanics. I know now that a starting spot near wild vegetables and a lake to fish in is a plus but I wonder about the other resources. I know that you can get charcoal from wood but what about ore ? Most maps I started on contains none or just a small patch. Is a map with a good amount of ore important or is ore something you can easy get by trade ? (since I restarted a few times I haven't got to the point that I got involved in trade).

[Guurt]

I have never tried it, but you can build both an import and export building immediately since both only require wood and stone.

So as long as you have something to sell... cotton or opiate are both good choices to sell then you should be able to get enough ore from trade.

Trade takes a few days to get it going, so not having access to ore could cause some slight delay, but I see no reason why you must have ore at all.

I tiny plot is more than enough to get going.

In my experience ore and fish are the two best items to import/buy, and the vast majority of my ore and fish come from trading.

[Deztro]

Thanks for the info ! I will continue my last save then with it's tiny oreplot (without restarting) and will have my merchants take care of it ;-)

[Roi Louis J]

I wouldn't recommend a map with NO ore, but you should be fine with a small patch IMO, just enough to kickstart your economy to sustain a big import/export operation

[Varien]

Early game, just after you setup your farms and warehouse with 10 people, you'll get a couple extra guys. Set-up a single coal miner, and a single ore miner. No matter how far away =) You'll have plenty of coal/iron to get the ball rolling now matter how far away they are.

By the time you need more ore then you can get from the first/only ore patch, you should be able to import it easily.

[Igigi]

Seems a bit too rare on the strategic map. Or maybe I'm just bad in spotting it.

[Guurt]

You don't have to have a resource on the strategic map to get it on you map. Just like how the strategic map can say 0% water and when you start there you will get water.

Also, over time areas on the strategic map find new resources. So you will get notices during play that such and such an area discovered a new resource.

I just went and found the worst place I could find to start. No water. Total desert. I got water ore, coal, and other resources on my map. I think you are supposed to always get some water and some coal and some ore no matter where you start. It might be a tiny spot, but it should always be there.

[Igigi]

Typo, I didn't meant the strategic map, I meant on my map, there's like 2-3 patches (small-medium sized). Yes one can easily survive with that but I wouldn't expect this to be the norm (that's what it appears like now that I've tried 10+ landings).