General start-up advice/faction participation/upgrading buildings/training horns/recruiting horns/
Content: Words of wisdom for beginners
Once you get past the walk-through part for beginners, there are still lots of questions that some may have. Here are some words of wisdom based on things I have learned and that others have shared with me.

1) Talk to your faction. Don't be afraid to ask questions and ask for help. Most people are more than willing to help. Also, participate in the faction quests as much as possible; this benefits everyone in the faction, plus you can get great experience.

2) Upgrade your buildings as much as possible. This will help immensely, especially in the higher levels. With the exception of the early quest that has you use your golden hammers, try to save them for the higher levels, as these buildings take a long time to upgrade. I used them mostly for my mines, as those seem to take the longest in the 90's and higher.
a) Upgrade sequence. I don't just randomly upgrade my buildings, I have a specific pattern that I follow, which I think helps. This is my preference, but many others have said they do it similarly too. #1) Food, #2) Barracks, #3) Iron, #4) Gold, and #5) Lumber. #3 and 4 are interchangeable at the lower levels, but once you get higher, you will need the iron. Lumber also becomes important higher up as you get to phantoms.

b) Additionally, for those who don't want to spend money on the game, the one feature I found priceless was the auto build, which can be purchased by one small recharge, like $5. This turns the feature on forever, and is extremely helpful. Again, for those who are able to leave their computers on, this feature helps with keeping your buildings upgraded. I set it up as I'm heading to bed and in the morning there are a lot of buildings upgraded. Very helpful for the high levels, when upgrading can take hours.

3) I use training horns in down times when I am waiting on resources or have to be away from my computer for a little while. This works great for those who can leave their computers running. And, of course, they are great when you need more food. If I have a surplus, I plow, then I can train my generals at the higher levels.

4) Recruiting horns are essential to continuous fighting, especially during faction quests and other events. I try to take advantage of the recruiting horns for sale in the marketplace, and stock up as many as possible before faction events, especially upgrades, which can use upwards of 300 or more. Granted, if you have more than 100 stored up, you won't get the daily free ones, however, I have found that I can usually buy and get more from the merit chests than I would get free.