Starting up an Industrial Age trading company from scratch is no simple feat, so if players want to make it easier, then being picky with their starting island in Anno 1800 Console Edition is a must. The game utilizes fertility and endemic resources as one of its earliest mechanics and also as an incentive for players to colonize and expand island territories.
However, some islands are more blessed than others with some going as far as being self-sufficient up until Artisans start appearing in the population. If players are just starting out in their Sandbox campaigns, then it pays well to look for the following resources in the Old and New World of Anno 1800.
10 Potato (Old World)
Funny enough, Potatoes in Anno 1800 aren't for food; they're a staple resource for making Schnapps. They're necessary for keeping the population happy, and happy citizens won't mind paying higher taxes. Granted, most islands have Potato fertility in Anno 1800, and Old World islands with no Potatoes are anomalies.
A lack of Potatoes won't exactly halt a settlement's progression seeing as they're not a necessity, but income will suffer when taxing Farmers and Workers since they need those Schnapps. So to prevent going broke in the early game, Potatoes are a must.
9 Grain (Old World)
Not having Grain on an island in Anno 1800 is more debilitating than not having Potato since a lot of goods and resources rely on this crop. Grain is crucial for Bread, Beer, and even doubling the output of Pig Farms, therefore avoiding pollution in the settlement.
Sadly, Grain isn't as common as Potatoes in Old World islands. Players will need to be picky where they settle, preferably something with Grain fertility since having Grain early on lets players avoid some aggressive and stretched expansions that can end in disaster.
8 Hops (Old World)
Beer is another product that's integral in keeping society well-taxed. If players fail to provide Beer for their population in Anno 1800, then they might even be surprised if their income becomes negative from a couple of thousand. That's how much beer contributes to cities in Anno 1800.
And it just so happens that Hops is a primary ingredient in Beer. Hops, like Grain, aren't as common on islands so players might even have to wage wars over Hops or rely on the mercy of passive trading if Hops don't grow on their island. Hence, Hops is one of the keys to an island's self-sufficiency in the game.
7 Iron (Old World)
Iron mines in Anno 1800 are a godsend even if there's only just one. Too many products in the mid to late-game in Anno 1800 cannot be made without Iron Ore. If players want to expand and defend their trade routes against Pirates, then they also need Iron Ore for their Weapons.
For that matter, an island that has Iron is highly valuable and can last long if players have big plans for their settlements. More than anything, it's a requisite building resource (Steel Beams) and players literally won't be able to advance without any Iron source.
6 Coal (Old World)
Iron goes hand-in-hand with Coal in Anno 1800. It needs Coal to be smelted into Steel Bars. Coal is also important in late-game factories and players can never have too much Coal in their warehouses. One can also consider them as building resources since they're crucial for making Steel Beams.
Moreover, Coal is a good way to obtain a reliable income source in the early game since one of the neutral NPC traders will always purchase Coal at a higher price. Granted, just about any island with trees can be harvested for coal, but dedicated Coal Mines yield higher batches.
5 Clay (Old World)
Clay is common enough in Anno 1800 but it's still absent from certain islands in the Old World, which can be debilitating for cities. They're necessary for Brick production, and players can never have too many Bricks. They tend to run out fast.
Players will need countless tons of Bricks to make proper roads that won't clog with wagons on the way to the warehouses. And besides, a lot of buildings have exorbitant Brick requirements, along with most other construction or building resources.
4 Sugarcane (New World)
Certain plants in the New World are automatic inclusions, like Plantains, so players will want to instead look for Sugarcanes, among other plants below. Sugarcane isn't for sugar, ironically. It's primarily for Rum in Anno 1800 and the richer members of the Old World society use it for laundry, bathing, and therapy.
Rum is like Beer once players have welcomed Engineers and Investors into their population. If the population ever goes short of this liquor for just a minute, then the player's income will be halved. So make sure that any New World island has Sugarcane to keep a steady supply of Rum for the rich folks.
3 Cotton (New World)
Like Sugarcane, Cotton is a necessary starting resource for New World territories since it's used for a lot of products like Sails, hats, and more. But for the Old World, it's a prized resource since it's needed for Cotton Fabric, which in turn, is needed for Fur Coats. It's a resource for the wealthy classes of the Old World.
Cotton is the glue that holds that production line together. Moreover, what players can produce with Cotton can be traded for quite a hefty sum to some neutral NPC traders. One of them even buys Fur Coats at high prices. Having a surplus of Cotton and Cotton Farms helps with that supply line.
2 Tobacco (New World)
Again, another luxury resource in the New World, Tobacco is the base component for Cigars, which the residents of both the New World and the Old World enjoy to boost their happiness meter. So players can imagine that having a steady source of Tobacco can go a long way in raising up taxation income.
Thankfully, Tobacco and its end-product, Cigars, are easy to maintain. Citizens don't consume them too much compared to other necessary resources so they usually remain plentiful in storage. That means players can sell them passively for additional trade income.
1 Coffee Beans (New World)
Of course, there's this particular resource whose legacy and dominance in globalized trading has been sustained for several hundreds of years. Coffee Bean fertility in addition to the previous New World plants mentioned above, all in one place, is the dream New World island quality.
Once again, Coffee produced from Coffee Beans in Anno 1800 is a "needs" product for wealthy people in the Old World and it's even necessary to keep a residence's population maxed. Engineers and Investors simply can't function without it; it's like their primary and staple diet. Not much has changed after hundreds of years, it seems.
Anno 1800 is available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and Microsoft Windows.