Cities: Skylines Diamond Coast Map Guide + Tips

Southern area of the Diamond Coast map (Cities: Skylines)

Diamond Coast is one of the maps available in the base game of Cities: Skylines.

At 69% buildable space, this map presents a nice mix of interesting geographical features, while still giving you plenty of room for zoning.

Pros:

  • Plenty of space for zoning
  • Access to all external connections
  • Good mix of visually interesting features (bodies of water and mountains)

Cons:

  • Fertile land for farming is sparse

Because of the diversity in the map’s features, it’s a great choice for games where you expand beyond the default 9 tiles (using either the Big City mod for 25 tiles, or the 81 Tiles mod).

Features

One of the map’s most prominent features is a beach in the southern peninsula, which can be perfect for tourism and parks.

The peninsula. / Cities: Skylines
The peninsula.
 

The middle of the map gives you a large flat area for most of your zoning.

The middle of the map has plenty of buildable space, flanked by the river delta and some mountains. / Cities: Skylines
The middle of the map has plenty of buildable space, flanked by the river delta and some mountains.

On either side of the starting tile you’ll find some mountains that you can build nature reserves on, and little towns at the foot of.

Starting Tile

Your starting tile is mostly land, although there is water in the bottom left corner for your starting town’s water source.

There is enough strong wind for your starting wind turbines, especially near the water.

Your starting tile in Diamond Coast. / Cities: Skylines
Your starting tile in Diamond Coast.

External Connections

This map has all four external connections present (highway, railway, sea, and air), which is great especially if you want to build a city with lots of tourism.

You’ll be able to access the rail after expanding two tiles north of the starting tile.

The highway and railway connections north of the starting tile. / Cities: Skylines
The highway and railway connections north of the starting tile.

Natural Resources

Diamond Coast has an abundance of forest, oil, and ore, but hardly any fertile land for farming.

  • You’ll find abundant forest resources on the starting tile as well as the ones north and south of it.
  • Oil is available immediately north of the starting tile, while ore can be found in the east and west.

Because of the natural resources, and the location of the highway and railway outside connections, the northern portion of the map is a great place for your specialized industry zones (base game) and industry areas (Industries DLC).

An overview of your natural resources. / Cities: Skylines
An overview of your natural resources.

Tips & Suggestions

Here are some ideas for making a great city on Diamond Coast:

Tip #1: Use the southern portion for tourism

The southern peninsula (and island, if you expand even further south) and its lovely beach has plenty of potential for a tourist destination.

Build a harbor and place your unique buildings there to draw in lots of tourists without causing too much traffic in the rest of your city.

Using the south of the map for tourism, with a harbor and airport near unique buildings and parks. / Cities: Skylines
Using the south of the map for tourism, with a harbor and airport near unique buildings and parks.

Tip #2: You can access the ship connection from the river delta

Even if you don’t want to expand all the way to the peninsula, you can still make use of the ship connection and build a harbor.

The ship connection on this map goes up into the river delta, allowing you to build a harbor even on the starting tile (with many more possible locations if you purchase the tile below or to the left of the start).

You can access the external ship route through the river. / Cities: Skylines
You can access the external ship route through the river.

Tip #3: Expand northward for industry

Purchasing tiles north of your start tile gives you rich forest and oil reserves for your industrial areas or specialized industry.

However, even if you’re planning on having only generic industry, it’s still a good idea to build it towards the north. That way you’ll have highway and railway access there.

Liz Villegas

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Liz is a writer and photographer with a love for building and strategy games. Her spare time is often split between lifting, reading, drawing, annoying her dog Mr. Porky Butt, and squinting at stat tables on the wiki pages of whatever game she's currently playing.

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