Coverage removes some dependencies
Producing your own grain reduces how often you must ask another player for it. Access to wood and brick makes road expansion more independent. A diverse opening gives you more ways to assemble the four-card settlement cost.
Coverage is not the same as reliable supply. A grain tile on twelve may technically cover grain while producing it rarely. Compare both the resource type and its production strength before declaring the problem solved.
Build combinations matter more than a checklist
Wood, brick, wool and grain form a settlement plan. Ore and grain support city upgrades, with wool adding development-card options. A hand that repeatedly produces those combinations may be more usable than a larger pile with no clear purchase.
Ask what a normal useful turn looks like from your opening. If the answer requires two favourable trades every time, the economy is more dependent than the map’s total production suggests.
Give a missing resource a replacement plan
You can operate without direct access to one resource if there is a credible alternative: productive surplus, an owned port or willing trading partners. Treat that alternative as part of the opening plan rather than a rescue you hope will appear later.
For example, a strong wool position with a reachable wool port may eventually supply ore. But until the port is owned, the bank exchange remains expensive and the roads to the coast still need wood and brick.
Fix the bottleneck the game reveals
After several rounds, notice which purchase is repeatedly delayed. If every city waits for grain while ore piles up, the next grain site or a useful exchange deserves attention. More ore production may reinforce the existing imbalance.
Do not change plans after one unlucky roll. Look for a repeated shortage across actual opportunities, then compare a new settlement, an upgrade and a trade route. Diversity is valuable when it makes your resources usable, not merely when it fills every box.