# Travian - multiplayer browser game about building a village **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 11, 2008, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travian-multiplayer-browser-game-about-building-a-village/452542 "2008-06-11T05:58:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Goblinboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3be4f8/32.png) [@Goblinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Goblinboy)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travian-multiplayer-browser-game-about-building-a-village/452542/101 "2008-06-15T22:46:51Z")
I’m still at pop 19. I wasn’t paying attention to how much upgrading resources cost and ended up blowing most of my resources on my wheat production. Now I’ve got a ton of wheat, and nothing to use it for. Reading through the forums, it sounds like you have to be pretty aggressive to succeed at this game. Don’t know if I’ll have the time to spend on it. ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travian-multiplayer-browser-game-about-building-a-village/452542/102 "2008-06-15T23:31:38Z")
Second raid was worthless - got less than 5 of each resource. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_C](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Captain\_C](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_C)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travian-multiplayer-browser-game-about-building-a-village/452542/103 "2008-06-16T01:27:13Z")
Invites have been sent out. As stated before, we fill slots as fast as I can upgrade my embassy, so if it says full, keep trying after a few hours. Also, if everyone hadn’t noticed, we have an alliance forum. Go into your Embassy, click the alliance button, and there is a forum link at the top. Right now we have a thread about how to proceede strategy wise. I’m also looking for someone who wants to monitor that. What with my job search, grad school, EVE Online, and work, I don’t have the time that planning strategy probably requires. I can keep up on the invites however 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Omi\_no\_Kami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Omi\_no\_Kami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omi_no_Kami)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travian-multiplayer-browser-game-about-building-a-village/452542/104 "2008-06-16T01:45:22Z")
God damn it, I think I’m about done with this game… it’s great fun at first, but it sucks to go away for 10 hours and come back to find that some dumbass who’s 10 times more developed than you are has spent all day devastating your army, and has now stolen 5000 resources from your ass. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travian-multiplayer-browser-game-about-building-a-village/452542/105 "2008-06-16T01:48:56Z")
Well, I just got raided again. He didn’t get anything this time except a few hundred wheat (which I have more of than I know what to do with anyway). Cranny lvl 10 FTW! Of course, he killed another dozen legionaries. He had sent me a welcome message so I responded to it asking if my legionaries were actually inconveniencing him at all or if I should just ignore them and let him plunder my wheat… ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_C](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Captain\_C](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_C)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travian-multiplayer-browser-game-about-building-a-village/452542/106 "2008-06-16T01:55:45Z")
I’ve been doing alright from raiders. I send my army out constantly raiding, far away if I am going to bed. I have 40-50 traps set up (traps are really discouraging to people attacking). I have two crannys, both up to level 10, meaning it is very unlikely I am worth anyone’s time. Finally, if someone attacks me, I beg for mercy like no other. If anyone else has come across some good strategies for minimizing the damage from other players, post them! Be under no illusion, we will all eventually be wiped off the face of the map. ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travian-multiplayer-browser-game-about-building-a-village/452542/107 "2008-06-16T01:56:34Z")
Heh. He just responded. Here’s the message thread… > [@Travian](#): > > Salizar wrote: > > Welcome to Travian. ^^ > Just wanted to be first to say hello and wish you good luck. > > * * * > > tanstaafl wrote: > > I see why I need the good luck. > > Are the Legionaries doing anything or should I just ignore them and let you plunder my wheat? > > * * * > > Salizar wrote: > > Unfortunately you are the closest non-allied player, so I tend to lean towards attacking you. The legionnaires provide me attack point which is good I guess.. It would probably be best for you to dodge your troops by sending them out on a raid right before my attack hits then pulling them back immediately. Otherwise, I suggest attacking a town many hours away when you know you will be offline for 8-10 hours (sleeping) so you come back to at least your troops. Also, cranny up. If I am unsuccessful repeatedly, I will eventually decide, as will most others who may raid you, to leave you be based on raiding you is a waste of time and troop deployment. > > * * * > > tanstaafl wrote: > > ``` > Ah, is OK. I have more wheat than I know what to do with anyway... > > ``` > > Thanks for the advice. Do you have any kind of schedule so I’ll know when to keep the troops out of town or should I just start raiding in the evenings. > > * * * > > Salizar wrote: > > I am usually not on the offense between midnight and 10 am pacific coast time. > > * * * > > tanstaafl wrote: > > OK, thanks. I’ll try to stay out of the way of the juggernaut next time. Well, at least he’s being friendly about it… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travian-multiplayer-browser-game-about-building-a-village/452542/108 "2008-06-16T01:58:47Z")
[QUOTE=Captain\_C] I’ve been doing alright from raiders. I send my army out constantly raiding, far away if I am going to bed. I have 40-50 traps set up (traps are really discouraging to people attacking). I have two crannys, both up to level 10, meaning it is very unlikely I am worth anyone’s time. Finally, if someone attacks me, I beg for mercy like no other. [/QUOTE] How do you get two crannys? I don’t have the option to build a second one after my first. ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travian-multiplayer-browser-game-about-building-a-village/452542/109 "2008-06-16T03:34:42Z")
[QUOTE=tanstaafl] Heh. He just responded. Here’s the message thread… Well, at least he’s being friendly about it… 🙂 [/QUOTE] That is hilarious! I read it with a formal British accent and it sounds even better. “I say old chap, could you upgrade your fields so that I might be able to get better goods when I raid you?” ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_C](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Captain\_C](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_C)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travian-multiplayer-browser-game-about-building-a-village/452542/110 "2008-06-16T04:21:25Z")
It might just be a Gaul thing, but once my first Cranny hit level 10 I was given the option of building a second. Actually, I have the option of building a third too, but haven’t yet. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travian-multiplayer-browser-game-about-building-a-village/452542/111 "2008-06-16T05:02:02Z")
Heh. I just got attacked for the first time. I happened to be online when it started and happened to be looking at Travian at the time. I redistributed all my resources – twice – and started tying up all my resources building phalanx and an upgrade to my trapper. I’d built ten traps and I had 8 phalanx. He sent 23 units at me. I think all my resources were safe in my cranny, so all he managed to do was kill 4 phalanx while I trapped ten of his guys. \o/ ---
**Author:** ![Omi\_no\_Kami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Omi\_no\_Kami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omi_no_Kami)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travian-multiplayer-browser-game-about-building-a-village/452542/112 "2008-06-16T05:44:05Z")
I’ve never been around for an attack… does your Cranny operate automatically? ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travian-multiplayer-browser-game-about-building-a-village/452542/113 "2008-06-16T11:24:47Z")
Yes, your cranny operates automatically. If you are online, you get a countdown timer when an attack is incoming so you can make some preparations. Wasn’t much I could do at the time though. I had another attack last night from “Tony Towny”. Only 33 macemen but I had no defenders left after the last raid so he took a good haul (though my fields are high enough up now that it was only an hour or twos worth of production). The resources I’m losing to raids is less than those that went into my defenders that were killed. I wonder if I am better off just crannying up and not bothering with the “cannon fodder”. ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travian-multiplayer-browser-game-about-building-a-village/452542/114 "2008-06-16T12:48:45Z")
I think I lost. My wheat per hour is at -37, and I have zero wheat on hand. How can I start a new town without changing my name? P.S. If the three x server is three times as fast as the others, I’m going to another server. Edit: I see, checking the messages, I was attacked with 207 axemen while I was out :eek:. the attacker was Rasa\_prime from Iacon Hub City at -113, -117, so if someone would be so kind as to avenge me, that’d be nice. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travian-multiplayer-browser-game-about-building-a-village/452542/115 "2008-06-16T16:30:30Z")
I’ve been attacked six times so far today. Cripes, it isn’t even like they’re getting anything. And they destroyed a clay pit out of spite. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travian-multiplayer-browser-game-about-building-a-village/452542/116 "2008-06-16T18:26:19Z")
i’ve played this game once, completed it with a top five alliance and will never return to it again. ever. it was interesting in the beginning but once i got my raid groups going there really wasn’t much else to do for the time i was willing to put in. i just want to mention a couple of things not mentioned already. this game is basically divided into 3 parts; the farmed, the raiders and the diplomats, distributed like a pyramid. if you don’t have the time to commit on the game you’ll be farmed the entire game. _the entire game_. time translates into power here and you’ll never be strong enough to deter the more commited players. once you’ve built an army, raided and conquered your first city; you’ll have experienced the extent of what the game has to offer. (aside from the diplomat part of the game, where you run and organise an alliance. ) the biggest problem i think with someone new to the game would be building the army. if you do not have potential farms around you, your only option is to cranny up, get into the biggest neighbouring alliance and build up your infrastructure so you can consistently churn out armies. a common mistake is to have small standing armies left by themselves while you’re offline. send them away, raiding or in a friendly safehouse, but send them away. combat is all about size, big \> small. never leave armies smaller than the worth of your resources alone by themselves. if you have farms around you, you’ll find that raiding is the quickest way to expand. in fact, with nothing much else to do, you’ll find that you’ll be raiding alot just because it’s the easiest way to feed your growing empire. you’ll continue to raid even crannied up farms because you’ll want to disable any potential wannabe raiders who might steal from your farms. an alliance with members spread throughout the four quadrants is basically useless, good only for the nametag. the alliance leaders need to be people with the time and inclination to organise everything and protect their members; members in turn need to be active and contribute resources to build up the alliance embassy and an offensive force. if you want to run a successful alliance you’ll want to start on a fresh server and have everyone start in the same quadrant and reserve your 9/15 croppers. iinm, the .us servers are american servers. the .com servers are international servers. the age of the server is important, go to the rankings and see how many cities the top player has. if the server has already been up and running for some time, joining mid game is just offering yourself up as farms. btw, traps alone without an army are, imho, useless. all it does is make the raider angry and default to ‘attack’ instead of ‘raid’ when dealing with you. there’s also no reason to have more than a single level 1 embassy unless you’re an alliance leader. i’m rambling. feel free to ask if there’s any questions. ---
**Author:** ![Amblydoper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@Amblydoper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amblydoper)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travian-multiplayer-browser-game-about-building-a-village/452542/117 "2008-06-17T00:51:06Z")
EEks, just got my ass kicked by a strong player. They are forcing me to move, but I negotiated hard, and they agreed to my terms. I don’t know what my future will look like. I hope to make it to the “endgame,” just to see what happens. Maybe I will just make things miserable for my new “enemy” for as long as possible! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travian-multiplayer-browser-game-about-building-a-village/452542/118 "2008-06-17T02:51:49Z")
I’m really not sure what happened there. I got attacked a whole bunch and I finally sent a note to the fellow doing it (it seemed like an entire alliance was having me over a log) – > [@](#): > > O Great Warrior: > > You aren’t getting much out of attacking me. It seems like a waste of time. I shall endeavor that it continues to be so. You might find tastier sport elsewhere. > > Best wishes, > > Sterling After which, not a single attack. Maybe he’s just sleeping? ---
**Author:** ![Amblydoper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@Amblydoper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amblydoper)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travian-multiplayer-browser-game-about-building-a-village/452542/119 "2008-06-17T04:00:46Z")
It seems that you are getting picked on by the DOT assholes, like I was. They seem to think the Southwest is their turf, and they are bullying everyone close to them. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travian-multiplayer-browser-game-about-building-a-village/452542/120 "2008-06-17T04:56:14Z")
Ugh, I just accidently sent 3 of my Phalanxes as reinforcements instead of raiders. Will I be able to get them back? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travian-multiplayer-browser-game-about-building-a-village/452542.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travian-multiplayer-browser-game-about-building-a-village/452542.md?page=7)