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:
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
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:
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.
1 Best Industries During The Modern Era
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.
NEXT: The Things Tropico 6 Does Better (And Worse) Than The Previous Games
