Expert's Corner (by ThE_HyDrA)

The Haven Town is a very gold-intensive town that requires many primary resources and only a small number of precious ones. Maps with gold mines and treasure chests suit the Haven, since they can develop their town quicker than most given a generous supply of gold, while other towns cannot do the same with just this resource. The Haven has one of the highest gold costs in the game, as well as requiring an almost excessive amount of wood and ore, even in later levels. In fact, the only precious resources required throughout the entire dwelling phase are in the begin on level 4 and above, and even then, Gems and Crystal are the ones needed most.

Obviously, ore and crystal are the focus of this town, with considerable amount of wood, too. All other precious resources mines can be used as bargaining power in marketplaces, or alternatively, to develop mage guilds in a trouble free manner. Ore is particularly important because it is required for most of Havens special buildings, too, along with wood. You can get through the early stages of the map only on primary resources, which is favourable, as more precious resources mines take further exploration and present harder challenges to capture. Haven is particularly strong in early game development, especially since their creatures in levels 2, 3 and 4 are shooter, walker, flyer in that order - an excellent balance for scouting.

The only obstacle in Haven town development is the gold cost, certainly in levels 5 and 6. You may be tempted to trade off your precious resources for some extra gold, and, in some cases (e.g. buying the Altar of Light before the end of the week) it may be worthwhile, even though the Altars have had their gold costs severely reduced. Because of this fact, it is advised that your income structures are built before your primary resource - sapping fort structures. This conflict of primary resources prompts you to strike a balance between creature growth and new creatures. After the first 4 dwellings have been built, developing the fort can be done with less pressure.