I would consider myself a seasoned 4x TBS gamer. I have only recently heard of this game and on the premise(promise?) of the descriptions and reviews I've bought it and am currently playing the beta ahead of official release.

I thought I would ease myself into it, as it is unfamiliar territory, and play a tiny map on easy. By the gods this is hard. I'm not rushing, I'm spending my time clearing my immediate environs of nasties (where I can), doing nearby quests, and building improvments with a common-sense approach to the growth of my cities.

My opponents are stronger than I am, more advanced (they love to tell me this), have built lots of the unique buildings and their borders are expanding exponentially.

There was a dragon in a neighbours territory who decided to ignore them and come and pick on me. Blam, one of my cities is dust and my hero is convalescing while the peasants get busy digging graves for his entire army. Where's the logic?

Would anyone be so kind as to give me a few pointers? What to focus on in the beginning, how to cope with 'deadly' beasties lounging a stone's throw away etc. I'm on my 3rd game - each time thinking I've totally cocked this up and starting again - and each time finding myself in the same position. I really want to love this game.