Summary
- Players of Cities: Skylines 2 can expect new features, such as additional starting maps to explore and challenges for building cities on their terms.
- Windy Fjords is a suitable starting map for beginners who want a challenging experience with a small buildable area and limited raw materials, but potential for early revenue from forestry materials.
- Tampere offers the most comfortable starting map for beginners, with a large buildable area and abundant renewable raw materials to build a thriving city.
After the release of Cities: Skylines 2, many players, both veterans and beginners alike, are returning to the series with a fresh take on the city-building genre. However, after being absent for some time from the franchise, returning players will undoubtedly be unfamiliar with the new features being added to the game, including several new starting maps to explore.
Cities: Skylines 2 – How Big Is the Map?
For those wondering how large a city can be in Cities: Skylines 2, here’s a detailed analysis of the map size and tile changes.
Moreover, starting maps now pose challenges for new players who wish to build a city on their terms. Some might want to focus on building a city with clear traffic flow and bustling neighborhoods. Others might prefer a highly efficient city with optimal resource management to deepen the city's pocket.
10 Windy Fjords
Small, Challenging Layout For Beginners To Start
- All connections available
- 21% buildable area
- Raw Materials: 8 km² Farmlands, 334 kt Forest, 12.2 kt Ore, 5,169 t Oil
Beginners of the series who want their entry to the game to be as challenging as possible will want to start in Windy Fjords as their starting map for their first-ever city. The picturesque, windy land is suitable for players who look to maximize a small buildable area within the map, which can be quite tricky to do.
Aside from a small buildable area, the map also has limited raw materials, with only a small area that can be converted into farmland. On the other hand, there is an abundance of forestry materials that can be converted into a huge amount of revenue in the early stages of the city.
9 Twin Mountain
A Unique Starting Map With Twin Peaks Looking Over
- No train connection is available
- 39% buildable area
- Raw Materials: 7.8 km² Farmlands, 129 kt Forest, 16.1 kt Ore, 7,219 t Oil
The area of the map might remind some players of a certain television show with two identical peaks as the central location. Aside from that similarity, Twin Mountain offers a unique challenge, as beginners will not be able to utilize connections via train to their city. It will be necessary for them to take other means of transportation to connect with neighboring cities.
Moreover, the map offers a limited amount of buildable area and raw materials, such as only mere single-digit farmland available. Beginners who still wish to utilize raw materials effectively can still use the abundance of ore as their economic focus.
8 Sweeping Plains
Mountainous Map With Huge Oil Potential
- All connections available
- 31% buildable area
- Raw Materials: 7.8 km² Farmlands, 209 kt Forest, 7,959 t Ore, 10.9 kt Oil
This elevated map with huge mountains in sight can provide a challenge for beginners as it only has 31% area that can be built on. The limit can put a constraint on the city's growth potential, as beginners will need to maximize the empty areas to accommodate the growth of their zones.
Aside from its small buildable area, the map provides a picturesque view of the mountains and an abundance of the best raw material available, which is oil. More than 10 kt of oil deposit in the area is more than enough to finance the entire city, as long as its deposits are not depleted too quickly.
7 Great Highlands
A Mixture Of Highlands And Rivers To Accommodate Beginners
- All connections available
- 41% buildable area
- Raw Materials: 12.4 km² Farmlands, 141 kt Forest, 16.1 kt Ore, 8,091 t Oil
If a newcomer wants to try building on both the highlands and the riverside of an area, they can look no further as the Great Highlands provides both on one map. The proximity between the river and the mountainous area provides an interesting dynamic, as beginners can try to integrate river transport options into the upper areas of the city.
Cities: Skylines 2 - How to Change Road Directions
Replacing and upgrading roads is easy enough, but setting road directions can be a tricky process in Cities: Skylines 2.
Moreover, beginners will be able to support the city's finances with the abundance of ore deposits. However, it must be noted that ore raw materials are not renewable, and dependence on it will lead the city to a financial crisis in the future.
6 Barrier Island
Managing Separate Islands As One Is An Interesting Challenge
- All connections available
- 41% buildable area
- Raw Materials: 12.4 km² Farmlands, 146 kt Forest, 8,944 t Ore, 12.7 kt Oil
Due to its layout of being divided into islands, Barrier Island can provide a slight challenge for beginners who try to create a thriving city. Transportation can consist of one overarching highway, or also integrate its large body of water to have a flowing transportation that accommodates mass-transits as well.
Cities: Skylines 2 - How to Upgrade Roads
Road size is an essential aspect of traffic management, and luckily it's one of the easiest things to do in Cities: Skylines 2.
Connections to the neighboring cities would be easy to navigate as well and the water would provide sufficient connections. Moreover, it will allow an easier way for beginners to obtain power and water via connections, should their city need it.
5 Lakeland
Despite The Lakes, Ships Connections To Neighbors Are Not Available
- No ship connection is available
- 49% buildable area
- Raw Materials: 12.3 km² Farmlands, 403 kt Forest, 13.3 kt Ore, 4,694 t Oil
With the huge number of lakes, a newcomer might expect a huge opportunity to have an outside connection via ship, integrating it with their city's mode of transport for a beautiful synergy. Unfortunately, that will not happen as Lakeland will not have a ship connection.
Aside from that, a huge amount of forestry raw materials will be available for the player to capitalize on. They will be able to kickstart their economy with the industry, therefore advancing the city with an adequate amount of steady income via renewable raw materials.
4 San Francisco
An Iconic City Layout For Nostalgic City Building
- All connections available
- 42% buildable area
- Raw Materials: 8.1 km² Farmlands, 61.8 kt Forest, 15.8 kt Ore, 9,783 t Oil
Beginners who wish to model their city from a real-world example will find San Francisco more than adequate to suit their needs. The map layout is identical to its real-world counterpart, with the bonus of thriving ore raw materials for the player to convert into sizable revenue.
Moreover, beginners can also build their city around the famous Golden Gate Bridge as a landmark to have their version of San Francisco built. It is not an exaggeration to say that the map will be a sight for sore eyes for beginners to the series to start their city.
3 River Delta
Flexible Choices Of Area For Beginners To Build On
- All connections available
- 42% buildable area
- Raw Materials: 13.4 km² Farmlands, 369 kt Forest, 12.9 kt Ore, 4,315 t Oil
Rivers, terrains of varying heights, and mountains. All of them are available in the River Delta for beginners to build on for their first-ever city in the game. The flexible build options allow the player to have more creativity in designing their optimal city on this particular map.
In addition, the map also contains a variety of raw materials with an average amount that can be used by the player to increase their revenue, aside from oil. This will fund any attempts to build a city that is only limited by imagination.
2 Waterway Pass
Utilize Unique Mass Transits Via The Small Riverways
- All connections available
- 53% buildable area
- Raw Materials: 15.5 km² Farmlands, 236 kt Forest, 12 kt Ore, 10.2 kt Oil
Beginners of the series can experiment further with the integration of mass transit via the small riverways provided by the Waterway Pass. The unique landscape, aside from being picturesque and cozy to look at, enables the player to integrate ferries and ships into their mass transit needs, which will undoubtedly solve any traffic problems created by cars.
Aside from its unique landscape, the huge buildable area allows beginners to freely create zones and buildings without any worries of running out of space. The raw materials provided are also quite abundant when compared to other maps, with kilotons of both renewable and non-renewable raw materials available.
1 Tampere
The Quintessential Map For Beginners To Find Their Footings
- All connections available
- 66% buildable area
- Raw Materials: 20.9 km² Farmlands, 388 kt Forest, 7,316 t Ore, 4,381 t Oil
For a comfortable starting map with a huge percentage of buildable area, Tampere is the map to go for beginners of the series. Boasting 66% buildable area, which is 13% greater than the next map with the largest buildable area, beginners can expect to have the freedom of building a huge metropolitan city.
Large amounts of renewable raw materials can also be expected in the form of both farmland and forestry for the player to build their revenue on. Moreover, the non-renewable materials serve as emergency reserves that can be used to restore a depleted treasury after the player finishes building their dream city.
Cities: Skylines 2
- Released
- October 24, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Colossal Order
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- City Builder
