Hey guys, i'm a few days in now so thought i'd post abit of my experience so far...i got a message after posting forums asking me to join a small but experienced alliance on a more active server so i took the opportunity & hopped over to usa s10. so far it's proved to be a wise decision...the server has more players & after joining the alliance asking a few more questions & reading through the faq section entirely, i've started to get a grasp of the direction to go...
i'd recommend to new players to find an active an experienced alliance either by asking on the forum or messaging an alliance member close to their position on the map (better to have your alliance closely positioned together to protect each other) and to focus on building up their production buildings to lvl20 & stores to lvl15 early during the 14-day beginner protection period while working on their tasks(found in the profile page) to gain more resources required to grow...once you've got a decent supply and income you can focus more on building up your troops, keep, arsenel, fortifications, etc. hope this helps ya'll a little more