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.

 


