City of Desire Beginner’s Guide: Tips, Cheats & Strategies to Build the Ultimate City

City of Desire is the newest base-building strategy game from Tornado, and comes packed with tons of unique features and mechanics that will provide new and thrilling experiences to both beginner level and experienced strategy players. Although some images of the game hint on it catering to more mature audiences, the gameplay itself is designed to be simple enough for total beginners to easily pick up and play.

City of Desire centers on the usual general goal of amassing as much power as you can over time and the means to do so can come from a variety of sources. As you start building and managing your very own city, you will not be alone in doing so as you will have secretaries and agents to recruit and join you in your quest for power and domination. Managing people as well as establishments within your city will be among the usual tasks that you will be faced with.

As opportunities for your city’s growth and expansion as well as the threat of rivals and riots will be a constant scenario, there are bound to be a lot of unique events that will transpire within and beyond your city. Although you can very much rely on just yourself and your secretaries and agents, aligning yourself with like-minded bosses becomes a necessity for your continuous growth and your territory’s unhampered expansion. If you are in the current lookout for a unique city-building game that offers plenty of new and unique features, then you should definitely check City of Desire out!

Given that there are plenty of features and unique mechanics in City of Desire, it can appear overwhelming or intimidating for beginners. The quick tutorial session, however, makes it easy enough for players to familiarize themselves with the interface and basic concepts in the game. With the mission menu serving as your guide and your growing number of secretaries to assist you on everything, City of Desire is an easy enough game that everyone can learn in a short time.

If you want to grow and develop your city and agents as fast and efficiently as possible, however, check out our City of Desire beginner’s guide offers plenty of tips and strategies to help you build the best city in the world!

1. Follow The Main Missions

City of Desire certainly leaves you with a lot of activities to engage in. After all, it is a city management strategy game and as the boss, you will naturally be tasked with a lot of responsibilities. As your city continues to grow and develop, more and more matters need to be brought to your attention and even at the start of your journey as the city’s boss, the icons and structures to visit can be somewhat overwhelming.

One thing that makes City of Desire easy enough to follow and progress is its missions feature. Even at the start of the tutorial session, you will be introduced to the list of objectives you need to accomplish by tapping on the highlighted mission at the lower left side of the screen. While you will be inclined to take on the current mission being shown, you can actually deviate from it.

Instead of tapping on the current mission, you can instead tap on the checklist icon beside it. Doing so will take you to the full list of current main missions you need to accomplish before you can move on to the next set. Note that the current mission you will see outside of the mission window will always be the top on the list that you have yet to accomplish; you can freely clear any of the missions on the list through the main missions screen.

Note that while some subsequent missions on the list are dependent on the prior missions, some can be pursued independently. As such, be sure to look into each one of the listed missions and, through the “Go” button, proceed to check if you can accomplish the feat.

It can happen early on that you will be unable to accomplish the top-most mission immediately, so always consider the alternatives as it will contribute to your progress and may sometimes even provide you what you need to take on the mission that you skipped. Be sure to claim your rewards for each mission you accomplish as well as the grand reward for completing the whole set.

2. Manage Your Buildings, Facilities, & Properties

Although following the main missions will run you through a lot of property management feats, it becomes a challenge to keep track of all the undertakings that require attention given the pace at which your territory grows. You can always scroll through the huge map and tap on any structure with a peculiar icon that indicates needing attention or, more conveniently, tap on the slider at the left side of your screen to check each of your properties or tasks that require action.

The structures you need to manage are classified into 3 groups: functional buildings, public facilities, and overseas properties. The functional buildings basically relate to functions that help you progress in your career and involves a lot of activities within and outside your city. Public facilities are sort of like maintenance structures that you are required to spend on continuously to keep your city safe. Overseas properties work more like your continuous source of income but given that it is outside your city, it is prone to attacks from other bosses.

The Roadster Factory is as simple as it is named. This is where you manufacture your own cars for your agents. You will initially only be able to manufacture the lowest tier car with the lowest rating. In addition to cash, you will need roadster engines as manufacturing materials. Through the garage, you can upgrade each roadster using cash and converted materials, and each car levels up much like agents do. You can also tap on the “roadster advanced” tab and merge 2 similar roadsters to obtain the next level one within the same tier.

The Public Investment literally translates what investments look like, which is a gamble. The investment structure actually has a slot machine where you can spend cash to try and earn more gold. You can have a maximum of 12 attempts to activate the slot machine and after you do, it will take time for it to replenish your attempts. Within the investment feature comes the rich investment option, where you can spend gems to earn more gems. You will only be able to use this once a day until after you reach the rank of governor or spend real money to raise your VIP rank.

Drawing Research is where you create more attractions for your city to attract investors and earn you more cash. As you level up this structure, more attractions become available with each one boosting the income of your commercial establishments even more.

The Encounter is a way for you to recruit additional secretaries although it can be completely random so it will take a while for you to actually bag new secretaries. In any case, be sure to expend your attempts here as each run will earn you something. You will continuously earn extra energy within minutes so always check if you can go for another encounter run.

3. Invest In The Right Agents

While the growth and development of your city depends on your strategic prowess, some matters in City of Desire simply call for brute strength. As you continue to spread your influence and grow your territory along with the number of your followers, it cannot be helped that you will need the aid of other people. While secretaries can provide you with some guidance and help you manage some of the facilities within your city, some of your concerns require sheer brute force to handle. As such, you need to gather and train agents to cater to the other side of your businesses.

You can manage your agents easily by tapping on the appropriate icon at the bottom of the screen. This is where you can recruit more agents, train them, and adjust team rosters that you can deploy to handle various situations. To start off, you will be given some recruits free of charge and your initial team of seven agents will suffice to take you through the initial combat challenges. As there are various agents to collect and upgrade, each with his or her own unique talents and skills, you would want to obtain as many as you can to have more choices as far as team-building is concerned.

There are two recruitment options that can give you the agents you need. The general recruitment costs 100 gold per summon and and get you 1 to 4-star agents. You can only recruit 10 times per day, though. The advanced recruitment is more expensive as you need to consume agent cards per summon. Agent cards are hard to obtain but you can purchase one from the store for 200 diamonds per piece. Advanced recruitment can earn you 2 to 5-star agents.

As 5-star agents are stronger, they are expected to be very difficult to get. Chances are that you will make do with at least a 4-star agent early on and a couple of 3-star agents as well. Given that you can have 7 agents on one team, you will have to settle for some 2-star agents especially if you have not summoned a lot of agents yet or if you are especially unlucky with your gacha rolls. In any case, you will certainly obtain better agents as you make progress in the game so you should be very selective when it comes to investing on the agents.

Once you are done with the recruitment part, you should start training your agents. The most basic way of empowering each one of them is through training and you only need to spend cash to do so. Each agent’s maximum level is capped based on your own rank. As soon as you reach a new rank, you can start training agents again.

Your main team of 7 agents may not entirely be composed of characters that you will be utilizing for a long time, given that you will eventually recruit higher-grade agents through the gacha. As such, you should only invest heavily on your 4 or 5-star units and only train the rest to ensure that the whole team’s power is beyond what is required for the upcoming skirmish. You can also manufacture roadsters and assign them to your top agents. As you reach higher ranks, you will be able to equip agents as well and train them to increase the level of their skills.

4. Push To Progress In Global Events

One of the functional buildings within your city you will likely enjoy spending time on is the global events. This works more like the main campaign in other city management games where you continue to battle your way from one stage to another to earn rewards. Likewise, this is primarily where you can enjoy just how strong your team of agents have grown since their recruitment.

There are 25 locations to visit within the global events feature and you need to beat the current one to move on to the next one. Each location is divided into 10 chapters and the enemies in each one grow stronger the further you progress.

Note that you earn rewards for each chapter you finish and, at certain intervals; extra rewards can be unlocked and claimed at the bottom of the screen. You consume 10 Action Points (AP) per battle but it replenishes over time as well.

Now regardless of how powerful you set up your team of agents to be, you will eventually reach a stage where the enemy mobs are stronger than your team. Battles are decided exclusively based on power levels so if your team has less power, then you will certainly lose the conflict. As each stage offers different resources as rewards, you should consider farming some resources from previously conquered stages just to expend your extra AP.

5. Engage Actively In Sea Exploration

Beyond global events, as well as the occasional tussles and riots within your city, the sea exploration stands as another activity to flex your team’s overall power. There is more to it than battles, though, as the exploration aspect can earn you various rewards. Some events within the sea exploration are risky, but going through its entirety is a must especially if you want a speedy progress in the game.

As you will be situated in a huge naval map once you have selected a location to explore, there are various icons that will attract you to navigate to them and earn some random rewards. There are smugglers on islands, as well as crates and treasure coves. There are people who need help at sea and there are bottles and mines floating around as well. Occasionally, some mystery events will be seen and random events will also transpire.

Although it certainly is fun to wander aimlessly across the vast naval space what you should prioritize are the smugglers. Defeating smugglers earn you more progress points and since your overall progress points determine your grade and rewards at the end of each exploration, it is best to earn 120 points with each run. Initially, therefore, you should go after the smugglers especially the smuggler boss. Defeating the smuggler boss earns you a key to unlock a special treasure chest found within the area that contains special rewards.

Once you have beaten the smuggler boss and his minions, and have also located the special treasure chest and claimed rewards from it, you are free to venture back into the other areas to spend your remaining strength and finish the exploration. Initially, it will be best to explore a different location each run but as the general power level of smugglers grow at further locations, you can always esxpend exploration attempts at locations you have previously conquered.

6. Accomplish Daily Affairs And Achievements

Accomplishing main missions along with the usual errands you need to take care of can be a mouthful. As your city continues to grow and as your territory broadens, there will be a lot of new activities to engage in and you will continue to constantly check and make upgrades to your facilities and agents.

Despite the helpful management tool at your disposal via the pull-out window on the left side of the screen, progressing more efficiently also means clearing missions and achievements to earn extra rewards. As such, it is best to look into the list of accomplishable feats via the missions window.

Clicking on the missions icon at the left side of the current main mission takes you to the list of other main missions. There are also daily affairs and achievements to check out and accomplish as these provide you with cash and other valuable rewards.

To start off, the daily missions are composed entirely of activities you normally go through as you play the game. These tasks asre very easy to accomplish and each task completed earns you cash and mission points. The idea is to earn as many mission points to unlock more rewards at the top of the screen. You can earn a total of 125 mission points daily although you only need 100 to earn the final reward, which is 100 diamonds.

As achievements relate to your overall accomplishments in the game, some of the tasks you need to achieve will take time to do so. In any case, a lot of these feats can earn you diamonds, which is a premium currency and difficult to obtain. If you are close to accomplishing something, make an effort to push forward with its completion as you would want to earn those rewards sooner than later.

7. Take Advantage Of Special Events

City of Desire already provides you with tons of rewards you can earn through active playing and even achieving a variety of feats. With most tasks being easier on the first hours and rewards from missions and accomplishments continue pouring in, your progression will be tremendously fast as you will have a plethora of resources for most of your needs.

Beyond the usual set of rewards and resources, however, more can still be earned from City of Desire’s events. There are plenty of events especially for starting players to help them catch up to other bosses who started out earlier. As such, it is always best to take advantage of these events, most especially the ones that have limited time of availability.

The Event Center, which you can access through its icon at the upper right side of the screen, holds a wide variety of events that offer massive rewards. Just like missions and achievements, the objectives laid out within most of these event quests relate to your overall activities and progress in the game such as number of agents recruited, number of explorations done, and so on. The period of time within which you must complete objectives are rather short so the more active you are, the more rewards you can earn.

Another limited event is the Presidential Road, which you can access through its icon on the upper left side of the screen. The accomplishable objectives are divided into 7 days, with each day lining up 2 different sets of goals on top of simply signing in. You can actually see the targets for upcoming days and all effort relative to the completion of those objectives will still be credited on those days. You have 14 days to accomplish all of the objectives and each one you successfully complete will earn you big rewards.

There are certainly more features and activities for you to engage in as you further explore the world of City of Desire but for now, this is where we end our beginner’s guide. While some of the latter features we have not covered may take a while to unlock and partake in, we are confident that the knowledge you obtained from the simple tips and strategies we provided will make it a lot easier for you to progress through any of the latter contents of the game. If you have progressed extensively in City of Desire and have some extra tips or strategies to share with us, do not hesitate to do so and let us know about them!