DeletedUser31540
Hello there ... Successful 9 month player here to share with you some tips and tricks that have worked for me 
Just Starting Out:
-I was brand spankin new to the game not long ago and i remember that time well ... i felt like i had very little to offer a guild or a friend so i didnt focus on networking at all and focused on just improving my city instead. As your city grows you will be able to offer more and more to prospective guilds and friends! You should constantly seek to have the best friends / guilds that will take you ! But until then:
-Guild Hop: Guild hopping is amazing when first starting out .... it gives you access to a lot of coins and BPs which are both crucial in the early stages of the game!
Friends List / Guild:
-This game is a lesson in networking ... surround yourself with the right people and things come easy ... surround your self with the wrong people or isolate yourself and this game can be a real challenge
-Every month or 2 delete all but your best friends and start again from scratch (until you are happy with your list) This process can be painful as removing people is hard (especially if you have done fp swaps in the past or if they generously donated to a GB of yours) Get over these feelings of attachment as they will curtail your growth ... be ruthless and only keep the cream of the crop
-Get plenty of people with lv 80 arcs on your list
-Get plenty of people in OF / AF / F on your list (for DT)
-Guild Hop to find the right guild for you (and meet a bunch of people)
ARC
-Build an Arc
-Level your Arc constantly until it hits lv 80 ... (there is no rush / no time frame but the faster you build it and the more you level it the easier you will find the game) --- Not long ago i thought the process of leveling an Arc to 80 was daunting and unattractive. Now mine is lv 27 and its been gaining 3 levels per week or so in addition to leveling up my other buildings 3-4 levels a week.
-It took me 4 and a half months to build the Arc ... another 2 and a half months to bring it to lv 10 ... and then 2 months to go from lv 10 to 27 ... point is that it gets faster and faster and while it may seem like too much at first it does get easier
-once you get your arc to lv 20 or so you should be asking for free fps from someone who has a lv 80+ arc for both 1st and 2nd place ... this really speeds up the process
-USE YOUR ARC! dont just passively get better rewards from fp swaps ... try your hand at sniping. Snipe for BPs, medals, and FPs from all 3 of your lists (unless your guild frowns on that kinda thing .... which is why ...
-Take a break from your guild and Guild Hop periodically to snipe a gazillion buildings ... for example with my lv 24 arc at the time I spent 3 days (5 hours total) guild hopping and sniping and grew my inventory from a mere 50 fps to over 1200 !!! The bigger the arc the easier and more massive the payout becomes!
Age / Research
-Camping in one age for a long time is usually better than racing up the Tech tree ... i would recommend finding an age you like (colonial or earlier ... i choose hma) and camp for eternity.. Why is camping better? here are some advantages:
-You will be plundered less often
-You will get more free donations from your neighbors (you will have GBs that they want but need BPs for it)
-GE gets easier and easier the longer you stay in an age and getting 64 / 64 every week in GE is probably the fastest way to improve city efficiency
-Getting to the point where you can do 64 / 64 without it being a challenge at all lets you start farming a considerable amount of diamonds
-Stay in your age until you have 2000+ diamonds all from GE ! once you advance you can use them for the premium expansions for the next age! (usually you can win 100+ diamonds a week from GE on average)
-You will be very very valuable to any prospective Guild if you have a big arc and are in a low age for GvG purposes (treasury)
Planning:
http://foemanager.com/city-planner/ --- this tool is amazing ... use it !
Most Importantly:
-Have Fun --- enjoy yourself - if you enjoy yourself you will have no problem with ...
-Be Active --- a city can only grow if its tended to
Happy Forging
Just Starting Out:
-I was brand spankin new to the game not long ago and i remember that time well ... i felt like i had very little to offer a guild or a friend so i didnt focus on networking at all and focused on just improving my city instead. As your city grows you will be able to offer more and more to prospective guilds and friends! You should constantly seek to have the best friends / guilds that will take you ! But until then:
-Guild Hop: Guild hopping is amazing when first starting out .... it gives you access to a lot of coins and BPs which are both crucial in the early stages of the game!
Friends List / Guild:
-This game is a lesson in networking ... surround yourself with the right people and things come easy ... surround your self with the wrong people or isolate yourself and this game can be a real challenge
-Every month or 2 delete all but your best friends and start again from scratch (until you are happy with your list) This process can be painful as removing people is hard (especially if you have done fp swaps in the past or if they generously donated to a GB of yours) Get over these feelings of attachment as they will curtail your growth ... be ruthless and only keep the cream of the crop
-Get plenty of people with lv 80 arcs on your list
-Get plenty of people in OF / AF / F on your list (for DT)
-Guild Hop to find the right guild for you (and meet a bunch of people)
ARC
-Build an Arc
-Level your Arc constantly until it hits lv 80 ... (there is no rush / no time frame but the faster you build it and the more you level it the easier you will find the game) --- Not long ago i thought the process of leveling an Arc to 80 was daunting and unattractive. Now mine is lv 27 and its been gaining 3 levels per week or so in addition to leveling up my other buildings 3-4 levels a week.
-It took me 4 and a half months to build the Arc ... another 2 and a half months to bring it to lv 10 ... and then 2 months to go from lv 10 to 27 ... point is that it gets faster and faster and while it may seem like too much at first it does get easier
-once you get your arc to lv 20 or so you should be asking for free fps from someone who has a lv 80+ arc for both 1st and 2nd place ... this really speeds up the process
-USE YOUR ARC! dont just passively get better rewards from fp swaps ... try your hand at sniping. Snipe for BPs, medals, and FPs from all 3 of your lists (unless your guild frowns on that kinda thing .... which is why ...
-Take a break from your guild and Guild Hop periodically to snipe a gazillion buildings ... for example with my lv 24 arc at the time I spent 3 days (5 hours total) guild hopping and sniping and grew my inventory from a mere 50 fps to over 1200 !!! The bigger the arc the easier and more massive the payout becomes!
Age / Research
-Camping in one age for a long time is usually better than racing up the Tech tree ... i would recommend finding an age you like (colonial or earlier ... i choose hma) and camp for eternity.. Why is camping better? here are some advantages:
-You will be plundered less often
-You will get more free donations from your neighbors (you will have GBs that they want but need BPs for it)
-GE gets easier and easier the longer you stay in an age and getting 64 / 64 every week in GE is probably the fastest way to improve city efficiency
-Getting to the point where you can do 64 / 64 without it being a challenge at all lets you start farming a considerable amount of diamonds
-Stay in your age until you have 2000+ diamonds all from GE ! once you advance you can use them for the premium expansions for the next age! (usually you can win 100+ diamonds a week from GE on average)
-You will be very very valuable to any prospective Guild if you have a big arc and are in a low age for GvG purposes (treasury)
Planning:
http://foemanager.com/city-planner/ --- this tool is amazing ... use it !
Most Importantly:
-Have Fun --- enjoy yourself - if you enjoy yourself you will have no problem with ...
-Be Active --- a city can only grow if its tended to
Happy Forging