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Transforming your island from a colony of the crown into a revolutionary paradise is the main aim of Tropico 6. Smart choices about industry infrastructure are important, especially as you unlock more Blueprints over the years. From Rum to Fashion, there are loads of different industries to choose from, but which is best for pure money-making?
In the early game, you should rely on which exports are available to you. These trade routes will give you the cash you need to expand your island. Later on, you can start to streamline your production queues. Here's a list of the best industries in the game to make money.
4 Best Industries In The Colonial Era
There are only certain industries available to you during the Colonial Era. By far the most valuable to your fledgling island are the ones that will produce the most cash from trade routes: rum, tobacco, and gold are good places to start.
To produce Rum, you'll need to place down at least two or three sugar plantations and a rum distillery. Think of it as two plantations for every rum distillery. There will be several Rum export trade missions available to you, and it should provide enough cash to plant some tobacco plantations and set up a gold mine.
Two things that are important to remember:
- Not every island has the same resources. You should always check the overlays to see what's available.
- The buildings you establish during the colonial era should support your future industries. Building tobacco plantations, for example, will let you easily transition into selling cigars at a later era.
Overall, it's a good idea to place down every type of plantation that is available to you, especially if you have green crop areas for each plantation. Every type of crop has some use at a later stage.
3 Best Industries In The World Wars Era
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During the World Wars era, you can begin to transition your colonial industries into more profitable ventures. Did you plant cotton plantations during the colonial era? You should build Textile Mills. These can provide great profit from cotton but also from Llama and Sheep ranches. Utilizing your Pirate Cove raids to bring in more wool is a good idea, too. Textile Mills produce Cloth, a reliable source of income for the World Wars era.
Alternatively, if you set up Logging Camps during the colonial era, then you should transition into producing boats. Boats make a tonne of money, right through the World Wars era into the Modern era. In fact, it's a pretty reliable strategy to just try and produce as many Boats as you can. You'll quickly realize just how much cash you're making.
Lastly, cigars are another good source of income during the World Wars (Winston Churchill alone could keep your island profitable). If you've already got a decent tobacco production system set up then transitioning to Cigars is very straightforward.
Other options during the World Wars era:
- Canneries - These can be used to package up stuff like Pineapple and Meat and sell them for a greater profit. You will already have the Ranches and Plantations set up for this so canneries are the next logical step.
- Banks - If you have loads of cash when you transition into the World Wars era, banks are a good way of shoring up extra money for the next eras.
- Weapons Factories - These will be important during the World Wars era and can turn raw minerals into valuable weapons.
- Steel Mills - You'll need these for your boats during the Cold War era. Good idea to set these up towards the end of the era.
2 Best Industries During The Cold War Era
Boats. More boats. Upgrade your shipbuilders to produce boats from Aluminium and Steel. There should be some mine spots somewhere on your map to produce these, or you can begin to import what you need to turn a profit with boats. Those excess planks can then be used at a furniture factory. You'll also be able to turn your cocoa into lovely chocolate during the Cold War era.
It's also time to build Car Factories. To support this new industry, you should build more steel mills. By the end of the era, you should have five or six steel mills producing lots of steel. This guarantees a strong economy as you head into the Modern era.
- It's around this point that you want to demolish some of your earlier plantations. You'll need the room in the center of your city for more profitable industries. Move the plantations further out so that your teamsters can get access to the factories easily.
- You should also establish the beginning of your oil and plastics industry. These are very important as you enter the Modern era.
- Start to stockpile gold at the end of the era. You'll need this for the very profitable electronics industry in the Modern era.
1 Best Industries During The Modern Era
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The Modern era is where you can start to get a bit smarter with managing the economy. Both the Caribbean Trade and Cyber War trade research can make some stupid money in the modern era, basically by reducing costs of imports so that you maximize profits on your exports, like cars and electronics.
Electronics can make a lot of money during the Modern era if you have a good production line of plastics and gold established. Make sure you're maxing out your factories with the Worker of the Month edict.
- At this point, you should have several docks built, but this can lead to problems of its own. Make sure you have a strict immigration set up via your immigration office, otherwise those docks will continue to bring in hundreds of citizens, which your island will struggle to support.
- There are lots of ways to maximize profit in the Modern era with different industries, like canneries and juiceries. These will be based on the original setup of your plantations that you began way back in the Colonial era, so it's a good idea to plan right from the beginning.