Salt:

Starting Out: If you begin with only a ship or an escort, purchase all available wood from Lord Northburgh. For an aggressive start, also buy tools.

Island Selection: Find a large, flat island with no lakes, close to a neutral port, centrally located, and possessing Cider and Hemp fertility, plus at least two Stone and Iron Ore deposits. Settle on the southern end.

First Settlement: Immediately build three woodcutters near your warehouse, ensuring they have space to operate at 100%. Plant trees around them if needed. Build two Fisherman's Huts adjacent to the warehouse.

Housing and Taxes: Construct a Marketplace and surround it with as many houses as you have wood for. Increase taxes from 'Euphoric' to 'Happy' to encourage new settlers while boosting income. Once houses are full, raise taxes to 'Calm' but revert to 'Euphoric' for ascension.

Cider Production: Once you have 60 peasants, build one or two Cider farms connected to a warehouse. Cider increases tax revenue and is necessary for citizens to ascend. A Chapel is only beneficial after peasants are satisfied with cider.

Exploration: Use your Flagship to explore the archipelago, discovering islands quickly to claim the best ones. Visit Northburgh again and buy a Diplomatic Scroll with your honor points. Purchase more Tools and Wood if affordable.

Diplomatic Mission: Find Al Zahir's harbor and deliver the Diplomatic Scroll. This rewards you with a Caravel full of Tools, Wood, and Dates, which can be used to build up your main island or start an Oriental settlement.

Stone and Tool Production: While exploring, focus on producing Stone and Tools to reduce reliance on NPCs. Block ascension rights after reaching 16 Citizen houses. Build enough Fish, Cider, and one Chapel. Construct Stonemason's huts for stone and then start your Tool production chain: Iron Ore mine, Charcoal burner, and two Tool maker's workshops.

Citizen Needs: Once Tool production is stable, satisfy Citizen needs for Linen Garments (Hemp Farms and Weavers Huts) and Ropes (Hemp Farms and Rope Yards). Set up a second Tool chain. Implement Fire stations for fire protection once you pass 355 Citizens.

Developing the Orient: Settle a large Oriental island with Spices and Dates fertility. Build 10 Nomad Houses to enable Spice production. Establish Date plantations and Noria for Dates. Deliver Spices to your northern island via a Trade Route. Aim for 440 Nomads for building access and honor rewards. Build Milk farms and consider a Stonecutter's hut.

Northern Expansion: With Spices, Citizens can ascend to Patricians. Settle a new northern island with Brine deposits, a river, and Crop/Herb fertility. Establish production chains for Bread (Crop Farms, Mill, Bakery), Beer (Monastery Garden, Crop Farm, Monastery Brewery), and Leather Jerkins (Pigs, Salt Mine, Salt Works, Charcoal Burner, Tannery). Upgrade trading fleets of Al Vizir and Northburgh with honor points.