Quests
Daily and alliance quests work differently than the main quests. Such quests do not actually require you to do anything except wait a certain amount of time. After activating a daily quest, simply wait. Always try to have one of those types of quests active to get their rewards as often as possible. You will receive a smaller amount of the same types of rewards as obtained from main quests. Alliance quests work in the same manner, but they also give resources for your alliance.
Speed ups
During your the first few hours of game play, you will be able to speed up the construction of most of your buildings for free. If a building's construction time is under five minutes, you can instantly finish it for free. Continue doing to build a decent starting base with a proper amount of resources.