Tentlan beginner guide: your first week

The Tentlan hub explains what kind of game Tentlan is. This page is the plan: day by day, with the reasons behind each step. Numbers come from the developers' FAQ on forums.tentlan.com.

Before you click Register: pick the right server

The sign up form on tentlan.com asks you to choose a server. The list mixes international servers (int), English servers (en) and merged servers (intm), and the start page marks one as recommended, which is usually the newest. Take it. On a new server everyone starts at the same time, so your beginner protection is not wasted next to players who have been building for years.

Two account rules from the official game rules matter from day one: you may have only one account per server, and you may not use a second account to feed the first ("pushing"). Accounts on different servers are allowed. Also use the login form at the top of the start page later, not the registration form, or you will create a fresh account by mistake; the FAQ lists this as the most common "I lost my progress" case.

Day 1: finish the tutorial properly

The tutorial ends when your score reaches about 780 points, which takes an hour or an hour and a half. It hands out quest rewards and unlocks buildings in a sensible order, so do every step. A few things to set up while you are at it:

1. Confirm your email in Settings, Account. It gives 20 turquoise and it is the only way to recover the account later.
2. Upgrade all four resource buildings evenly. Corn Farm, Quarry, Obsidian Mine and Cacao Plantation all run on manual orders.
3. Keep the Sun Temple ahead. It sets your maximum population, and every building level and unit needs free population.
4. Start your first research as soon as the Observatory allows it. Architecture (1 percent less building time per level, up to 40 percent) is the natural first pick.

The corn rule that every new player breaks

Production in Tentlan is not automatic. You pick a cycle (10 minutes, 1 hour, 4 hours or 8 hours at base speed; buffs shorten them, as in the screenshot) and press Produce. Two rules from the FAQ decide how much you get:

• You need corn in the city when you start an order. Without corn, the order runs at only 15 percent of normal output for its whole duration.
• Collect corn first, then the rest. If you start with limestone at 7 in the morning after the corn ran out overnight, your new 8 hour limestone order is stuck at 15 percent. Collect corn, then start the other orders.

In your first week the game hands you some corn for free when you run dry. After that it stops, so learn the habit now. Corn is also eaten by your people (working population eats double), by troops on missions, and by research and rituals. More on this in the buildings and economy guide.

Day 2 and 3: population, research and the first army

By now you hit the classic early wall: everything costs population. Total population is free plus working population, and the cap comes from the Sun Temple level. Each Mathematics level raises that cap too. When you are stuck, you can demolish a building level or dismiss units to free population, but upgrading the Sun Temple is the real fix.

Start a small army in the Jaguar Temple. Holcan Lancers are your first combat unit, and the FAQ example shows 5 lancers are enough for a level 1 barbarian camp. Add a few spies: you will spy every barbarian before you hit it.

Day 3 to 5: barbarian camps, your daily income

Barbarian camps are the PvE side of Tentlan and your best early income. The official rules:

• You get 5 raids every 24 hours. The cycle resets at 2:00 CET. More raids cost turquoise.
• A camp disappears after 5 raids in total, by anyone. New camps appear every 6 hours, starting at 6:45 CET.
• Win at least one barbarian fight a day and you get an amber stone. The camp level does not matter, only the win.
• Loot is 40 percent of what the camp holds, limited by your troops' cargo. Each Astrology level adds 2 percent.

The routine: send one or two spies, open the espionage report, click the simulator icon in the report and try unit mixes until you win with acceptable losses. The FAQ's examples are a good starting point: 37 bowmen for level 2, 170 bowmen for level 3, 850 atlatl hunters for level 4. Never use an attack on a camp just to park troops; use a spy mission instead, or you burn one of your five daily raids.

Day 4: your first season change

When the Moon Temple is up, you can perform dances. A dance switches the season of that one city, and the new season stays until you dance again. Every season card in the Moon Temple lists its advantages and disadvantages, and some research, buildings and feasts need a specific season before you can start them.

For a beginner two effects matter most. Winter makes construction 20 percent faster, and summer makes research 20 percent faster. The game checks the season when an order starts, so you do not have to stay in winter until a long upgrade finishes. Queue the long building upgrade, then dance into summer and start your longest research. Rituals use corn and take time to perform, so do not switch back and forth for short orders; save it for upgrades that take hours.

Leave the feasts for later. The Fire Feast and Lightning Feast are on a two week cooldown and are far more useful once you have an army worth doubling.

Day 5 to 7: before your protection ends

Beginner protection ends at 2,400 points or 5 days after registration, whichever comes first. It also ends at once if you attack another player (barbarians do not count). Use the time to get ready:

1. Join a tribe. A level 1 Tribal Council lets you apply. Active neighbours in your tribe are the best defense you will ever have. See our alliances guide.
2. Build the Wall and Watchtower. The Wall must be broken before attackers touch your units, and the Watchtower shows what is coming.
3. Spend before you log off. Only collected limestone, obsidian and cacao can be plundered, and only beyond what your Underground Cave hides. Leave production orders running and collect them when you are back.
4. Research Espionage. It decides how much your spies see, and whether attackers' Watchtowers can see your troops.

Beginner mistakes that cost the most

Tentlan Gameplay #1: New Beginnings (ZeldaGeek4)

• Starting orders without corn. 15 percent output for 8 hours is a lost night.
• Skipping the Itzamna Temple. After each battle 8 to 15 percent of your losses could be healed. Without the temple they die.
• Attacking a player in week one. It ends your protection early, and the target's tribe may answer.
• Running out of corn while away. People leave the city (down to 50), troops cannot march, and after roughly 10 to 14 days without corn units lose all stamina.
• Going away without vacation mode. It lasts 15 days, locks the account for at least 48 hours and needs all orders finished first, so set it up before you leave.
• Ignoring the simulator. Guessing troop numbers wastes units. The combat guide explains what the simulator is calculating.

Once your first week is done, read the tips for fast progress for a daily routine that keeps growing without paying.

FAQ