Building and management simulation games have a long history in the video game industry, and Kalypso Media's Tropico 5 is an interesting take on the genre. Players will become the dictator of a small island nation and are expected to turn it into a prosperous country. This is by no means an easy feat, so players will need to stay on their toes if they want to make it as a dictator.
Throughout the course of Tropico 5, players will need to establish a reliable source of income, keep their citizens from revolting, and interact with and placate the world's largest superpowers. Many of the game's features and be a little daunting or complicated though, so many newcomers to the franchise might need a little bit of help getting off the ground. This guide gives some strategies for becoming a well-prepared dictator.
Tropico 5 - Tips and Tricks Guide
Focus On Reliable Income First - Without a doubt, the most important thing that players will want to do while playing Tropico 5 is to ensure that they have a good amount of income entering their country as soon as they possibly can. There are so many different ways to earn money, but in the early moments of the game, the best way to do so is to focus on agricultural methods. Since players will start the game with about 10,000 dollars, they should take all of that money and invest it all in Plantations, Ranches, and Logging Camps. This will ensure that the country will quickly start earning money.
Acquire a Library and Scientists - Another big aspect of the game that players will want to invest in as soon as possible is a library and some scientists. The library is how players are able to research new technology, buildings, or edicts and will also enable them to advance to different technological eras much like in the Civilization games. As soon as the player has enough money in the bank they should purchase a library ASAP. Once this is done the player will also need some scientists to research things, so the player should just bite the bullet and hire some scientists from overseas. This will cost a little bit of money at first, but it's worth it to get ahead.
Educate Citizens to Cut Down Costs - To make up for the costs of those scientists, players will want to then build a college as soon as they are able as well. This allows the player to educate their citizens and enable them to take positions doing more complicated jobs. It may be an expensive option up front, but once this has been completed the player won't have to hire better workers from other countries. Additionally, the player can also spend a little bit of extra money to turn the college into a research institute as well which will allow it to function in the same way as the library.
Refine Products Before Selling Them - As the player begins to progress further in the game things will start becoming more expensive, and they will quickly realize that those farms and plantations just aren't cutting it the way that they used to. This is because just selling raw products isn't a very good way to make money. Instead, players can take those products and refine them into something more expensive. Tobacco can be turned into cigars using a Cigar Factory, sugar can be made into Rum using the Distillery, and even fish can be converted into a higher quality good using the Cannery. These are great investments that the player will want to look into as soon as possible if they want to maximize the profits on everything that is produced. Players should remember that almost every good can be converted into a higher quality product.
Tourism Can Be Very Lucrative But Also Expensive - The biggest mistake that players tend to make in Tropico 5 is by trying to get tourism to take off early on in the game. Tourism is an incredibly expensive investment, but many players may think that means the pay off will be more than worth spending the money. While this is very true that payoff won't take place for a very long time in the game since wealthy tourists won't visit the country until far in the future. Tourism is most definitely a lucrative industry for the player to break into, but it really isn't worth it until they are sitting on a very sizable nest egg.
Habitually Check Status of Resource Areas - Another big mistake that players tend to make is not keeping an eye on the areas that they have their farms and plantations on. All resources in Tropico 5 are finite, so after a certain amount of time the areas that these resource farms are sitting on will eventually dry up. When this happens the player will need to move them elsewhere to continue acquiring resources. Soil will eventually recover after a few years of not being farmed, but areas that have been mined for minerals will never be able to be mined again. Players should make it a habit to check these areas every so often to see if they are running out of things to farm.
Work Towards Better Infrastructure and Building Upgrades - One of the better ways to improve the effectiveness of the player's country is to always be improving infrastructure and upgrading buildings. As the player acquires better technology they will be able to invest in higher quality infrastructure like better power plants. Building upgrades will also make buildings more efficient or enable them to complete different actions. Sometimes saving up money to upgrade a building is a better option than building an additional one.
Keep Citizens Happy With Entertainment and Housing - While it is important to have a lot of money and great technology, players will also need to ensure that they keep their citizens as happy as possible. If the populace becomes too upset there is a high risk of them rebelling against the government. This means that the player will want to keep the citizens happy by supplying them with plenty of entertainment options. Almost more important than that though players will want to invest in good living quarters for their citizens as well. If they are stuck living in slums or tenements people won't stay very happy.
Don't Stress About Upsetting Factions - While the different factions in the game will spend most of their time complaining at the player about their issues, the player should try not to stress too much about upsetting them. No matter what choice the player makes they will wind up making someone mad, so its better to focus on a few that they wish to make happy and ignore the others. It is basically impossible to make everyone in the game happy, so it isn't really worth the player's time to try.
Decide If You Want to Be Benevolent or a Tyrant - The most important decision that the player will have to make during the course of Tropico 5 though is whether they want to be a nice ruler who cares about their people or an evil totalitarian dictator who only wants to line their pockets. Players who try to play both sides will find it very difficult, so its best to make a decision early on and stick to it.
Tropico 5 can be played on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.