Are you new to travian? Do you have a question about the way the game works?
The answer is out there, and may be right here! Scroll down and check! I've tried not to repeat too many answers that are already established, so check the links before assuming your question is unanswered.
Questions About Gameplay
New Account
I'm brand-spankin' new, what's going on?
See Woden's Beginner's Guide for the answers to most introductory questions.
Nichts has one too!
Read the rules, check out the official FAQ, and click the Manual link in the left-hand bar in-game.
Here's a Table of Contents for the guides on the forum.
Why isn't there a manual?
Oh, but there is!
Who's the fat guy at the right of my screen?
That's the questmaster, he runs the quests. He gives you basic tasks to complete, with rewards if you're good!
Dove? What dove? What does [#0] mean?
The dove of peace is a 'medal' for your profile. See here for full information.
The [#0] code goes into either of the two boxes on your Profile. You need to include the brackets for it to work.
What's this rat for?
The rat the questmaster sent you is not very useful, but you can't easily get rid of him. Like any reinforced troop, you cannot control it (send it out on missions), but it does consume 1 wheat/hour. Unlike other reinforcements, you cannot send it home. You can still starve it, by going into negative wheat. As a reinforcement, it will be the first to die. When it does, you'll get a boost of 100 wheat, hopefully enough that you can keep your other troops alive.
What server am I on?
Some people bookmark their game and forget what server they signed up for. That's fine, and easy to confirm. Go to your village overview, which will have an address like this: s?.travian.*/dorf1.php. Your server is a combination of the two unknowns, and will be referred to like this: *?. So if my address is s3.travian.us/dorf1.php, I play on server us3.
What quad am I in?
The Travian map is laid out in accordance with Cartesian coordinates. Your map coordinates correspond to (x|y). So:
(+|+) is North East
(+|-) is South East
(-|+) is North West
(-|-) is South West
Can I play more than one account?
Yes. You may play on as many servers as you'd like. However, you are not allowed to play more than one account on the same server. This is called multi-ing or multi-accounting, and will get you banned. A good way to follow this rule is to use one and only one email address when you register for Travian. If it lets you sign up, you're all good.
Questions About Gameplay
Account Development
Should I build a residence or palace in my first village?
Residence. It is vastly cheaper for the same benefits, and it is unlikely that you will want to keep your spawn village as your capital.
What's the least expensive way to get my next expansion slot?
Depends what you have existing. For 1 slot: Residence level 10 is cheapest. For 2 slots: Palace levels 0-15 is cheaper than Residence 0-20. For 3 slots: only the level 20 Palace allows it, but Palace 15-20 is the single most expensive new slot.
Should I get another village? How do I do that?
Yes, absolutely. An empire consisting of many villages is the surest way to succeed in travian. Many players think that instead of spreading out, they'll just make one amazing village and dominate. However, that cannot work (think wheat production vs. consumption and what would happen if any player broke through and wiped out your wheat fields.
To settle a new village, you need 3 settlers. You may build 3 settlers in your Residence at lvl 10, and 3 more at lvl 20. You may also build sets of settlers in a Palace at levels 10, 15, and 20. As soon as you have the appropriate amount of Culture Points, and 3 settlers, you may send them to an Abandoned valley and create a new village there.
What if someone else sends settlers to the same place I do?
The first settlers to reach the valley will settle it. When the second set arrives, it will turn around and head home. The settlers cannot stop midway, so will make the whole trip both ways.
How should I develop my villages?
Resources fields should be developed in order, all of each level at once. Why?
The best thing to do is to make each village specialized. That means if you build offensive troops in one village, you shouldn't also build defense there. However, all villages should produce resources and CP to the highest level they can. See Starlette's pilfered guide for a complete breakdown of these goals.
What village should I make my capital?
A cropper with good oasis bonuses. Here's why.
How can I change my capital?
Build a palace in the desired village (remember, only one per account!) and click on the "Make this village my capital" link on the building overview page.
Where can I build fields past level 10?
Only in your capital can you push resource fields past level 10. If you ever change which village is your capital, any fields past level 10 will be bumped back down.
Is there an easier way to find 9 or 15 croppers?
There is only one legal method, and it requires the purchase of Gold Club. Once unlocked, there is an easy to use cropper-finder, accessible on the map page.
Ok, but what should I do for my second village.
Every, and I mean every, situation is different. Each is SO different that the best thing I can do is offer up the facts about villages and let you chose. The best thing for a new player is to read up, make a choice, and learn the pros and cons of his/her action. 2nd village is still early enough in your round to even delete and try again.
Can I take someone else's village?
It is possible to conquer a village as long as it is not a player's capital or only village. To do so, you will need an administrator (Roman Senator, Teutonic Chieftain, Gallic Chief), which you can build in a Residence or Palace if you have an available expansion slot and have researched the unit in a level 20 Academy. To set up your chiefing attack, see Nailzz's guide or this one.
How do I build a chief?
Chief(tain)s and Senators (here-on-out just 'chiefs') are expansion units, like settlers. Therefore, once researched, you have to upgrade your Residence or Palace before you can build any there.
How do expansion slots work?
When you found or conquer a new village, the village you acquire it from uses up an expansion slot. They are opened up at each level that you can build settlers/chiefs (Residence @ 10 and 20, Palace and 10, 15, and 20). There is a maximum of 3 per village. They are not tied to the structure, and if you care to tear down the Palace and rebuild it, you may have 3 slots in every village. If you've used up a slot, losing the structure does not eliminate the slot, it just precludes you from opening another.
Can I demolish my own buildings?
Yes. The option becomes available in the Main Building at level 10. You can also send a catapult attack to another one of your own villages.
I built settlers or chiefs, but my Residence or Palace is now gone, do they still work?
Yes. Once trained, settlers and chiefs will work. The only limit on their effectiveness is Culture Points.
What happens if I conquer my own village?
Should you conquer your own village, either by mistake or to move ownership around, you will suffer most of the negative effects of normal conquering. Your wall will disappear, all troops will vanish, all researches are undone, and any queues (building or troop) will be cancelled.
What are these map spaces filled with animals? How can I take an oasis?
The "Abandoned valley" spaces that have Nature's troops in them are Oases. They can be conquered by a hero for resource bonuses. You can raid them (you will need large armies), kill off the defenders, and conquer them with a hero. You will need a Hero Mansion level 10 for one, lvl 15 and 20 for two or three. To conquer an oasis, it must be in the 7x7 of your village. You may have up to 3 oases per village, as long as you have built up the Hero Mansion. Full details here.