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The key to success in Cities: Skylines 2 lies in the strategic selection of industries and utilities during the early developmental stages of your city. Your initial decisions may impact later in the game and jeopardize your virtual metropolis’s prosperity and growth. Although laying tedious and time-consuming water and sewer systems has been removed from this game, it still needs basic infrastructure to grow, and you are responsible for its development. So, let’s look at some of the best industries/utilities you should consider building first in Cities: Skylines 2.
Best Utilities to Build First in Cities: Skylines 2
Like the first game, roads, water, sewer systems, and electricity are the four essential utilities you must build before anything else. However, after you build these basic requirements, there are some other utilities you must build to cater to the growing demands of your city population.
Roads
Roads become the priority considering the utilities once you start Cities: Skylines 2. Not only do they provide a solid layer to your city, helping for zoning the areas and connecting your buildings, but they also help carry vital resources like electricity and water to your city. Also, a sound road system will be necessary for transporting goods and people in later development stages.
Water and Sewer Systems
These two utilities come in together, and you have to build both Water Pumping Stations and Sewage Outlets at the earliest. However, try to build them with the demand instead of building too many at the earlier stage. Consider the water flowing direction before building them since if you build a Sewage Outlet at the upper side of the water pump, it causes pollution and makes your citizens sick. Also, make sure to place them pretty much a distance from each other to form a proper water flow so it doesn’t get hindered.
Electricity
Getting electricity does not necessarily give you much trouble since you can import it from other cities. However, building a Coal Plant or Wind Turbines considering the cities’s weather conditions can be a wise choice in the long run. But, when you place them, try to locate the Coal Plant near the industrial area to avoid any complaints from the citizens. Also, when you place the Wind Turbines, consider the wind direction to prevent any air pollution affecting residential areas.
Medical Clinics
As soon as your city starts to get populated, you will notice an increasing demand for healthcare facilities. So, building one to two medical clinics near residential areas will cater to this demand at the initial stage.
Elementary Schools and High Schools
Once the industry and commercial zones start functioning, there will be a high demand for educated workers. Therefore, building Elementary and High Schools earlier can help provide education facilities for children in your city. You do not necessarily build them near residential areas. But good public transportation, such as Bus Depots with defined bus routes for accessing these facilities, will be a good advantage in the later stage.
Once you develop these basic things, you need to focus more on city stats and develop other utilities as necessary.
Best Industries to Build First
Selecting the first industry in your city purely based on the resources available on your map and how you have developed your city. Therefore, we advise checking your city production stats before building your first industry. You can find these stats in the production section of your city’s economy. Try to find the most wanted materials by checking the deficit section there. However, the Stone, Wood, and Coal industries will be your best choices to start industries in Cities: Skyline 2.
Stone Mining Industry
Stone Mining is one of the first industries you can unlock once you get the Large Village status. Stones are necessary materials for both residential and commercial building constructions. Therefore, you will probably find establishing a Stone mining industry in your city is the best choice to start the industries.
Wood Industry
Similar to Stones, another necessary material is wood. Therefore, unlocking the Wood Industry will be one of your primary goals in Cities: Skylines 2. However, remember, you might need to add some new areas to the city and build roads to start with it.
Coal Mining Industry
At the early stage of the city, the most effective way to cater to the increasing demand for electricity in your city will be Coal Power. So you have to build some Coal plants. Therefore, importing Coal from other cities will be the only choice for these Coal Plants at the beginning. However, when it is time to build your industries within the city, you can start a Coal Mining Industry to have your coal supply.
