What will be your strategy for the first game of Civ4?

Personally I am going with religious warfare and culture building:king:

-NE

All out attack on the hardest level, epic game

I don't really think anyone can answer that question for sure yet.. but...

In Civ 2 and 3 I always tended towards maximizing tech and getting ahead of the other civs, and being the first to get modern armor, at which point I began to crush my enemies (and friends also, of course).

Not sure this a a totally viable strategy in Civ4 with the new AI, much slower city building, and many other options though - but that is probably one thing I will test out.

On the other hand, I have always been interested in a pure economic victory, which of course was not an option in previous games. So at this point I am guessing that will probably be the first way I try to go.

However, the religious options also look interesting.

Build an army first, and then focus on culture and leveling/upgrading my army. Maintaining the peace at first, while working out who my friends and enemies are...

It's much too early for anyone to have any viable 'strategies' - read: exploits - for beating the AI yet...
From what I've read in the previews and reviews, Firaxis has done all possible to block the previous 'strategies' that unbalanced the game; no more ICS, no more early rush, no more tech whoring... all hail Firaxis! :worship:

At first sight, it looks as if the best 'strategy' is to play CivIV as it should, IMHO, always have been played: a balanced game, in which all aspects have to be considered - tech, economy, growth, military etc. - to build a true empire, not just focus on one 'strategy' that exploits the AIs weaknesses.

Of course, I'm sure we'll find new weaknesses and there will be strategies found to exploit them... I'm hoping though, that the weaknesses will be smaller and the exploits fewer and weaker!

I don't really think anyone can answer that question for sure yet.. but...

In Civ 2 and 3 I always tended towards maximizing tech and getting ahead of the other civs, and being the first to get modern armor, at which point I began to crush my enemies (and friends also, of course).

Not sure this a a totally viable strategy in Civ4 with the new AI, much slower city building, and many other options though - but that is probably one thing I will test out.Heh, thats exactly how I did it too in previous civs. I simply played like a docile builder until Mech. Inf., Modern Armor, Cruise Missiles or Arty/Radar Arty, and ICBMs and then I unleash hell.

Tech-rushing and expansion. Same as in CIV3.

Depends on which victory condition I'm aiming for. I'll try to get a Space Race victory in my first game.

It's much too early for anyone to have any viable 'strategies' - read: exploits - for beating the AI yet...
From what I've read in the previews and reviews, Firaxis has done all possible to block the previous 'strategies' that unbalanced the game; no more ICS, no more early rush, no more tech whoring... all hail Firaxis! :worship:

At first sight, it looks as if the best 'strategy' is to play CivIV as it should, IMHO, always have been played: a balanced game, in which all aspects have to be considered - tech, economy, growth, military etc. - to build a true empire, not just focus on one 'strategy' that exploits the AIs weaknesses.

My thoughts exactly. Actually, always find games like the above far more enjoyable anyway, which is why I play on lower difficulties in Civ 3. (SMAC and Civ 2 I never tried too high difficulty to know if it's needed, but have to assume with them too.)

Build an army first, and then focus on culture and leveling/upgrading my army. Maintaining the peace at first, while working out who my friends and enemies are...


sorry no armies in C4

just stacks


I want to be line to RR, then tyr out some diplo things, work my way to nukes
and no religon in this game as well

First time in ill probebrly try and play like i did with civ3 and fail miserably... that should help me work out the new rules of the game ;)

My strategy will be to win. Alright - the strategy needs a few rounding of the corners, but I'll play it by ear.

It's much too early for anyone to have any viable 'strategies' - read: exploits - for beating the AI yet...
From what I've read in the previews and reviews, Firaxis has done all possible to block the previous 'strategies' that unbalanced the game; no more ICS, no more early rush, no more tech whoring... all hail Firaxis!

At first sight, it looks as if the best 'strategy' is to play CivIV as it should, IMHO, always have been played: a balanced game, in which all aspects have to be considered - tech, economy, growth, military etc. - to build a true empire, not just focus on one 'strategy' that exploits the AIs weaknesses.


In Civ3, if you just didn't use the exploits, you could still beat deity, by playing a balanced game in which all aspects have to be considered. Civ4 is no different, IMO. And exploits will be found. All games have exploits. No, Civ3's exploits won't work in Civ4, but there will be new ones. Hopefully not as many as Civ3 had, though.

In Civ3, if you just didn't use the exploits, you could still beat deity, by playing a balanced game in which all aspects have to be considered..

Well, I can safely say, I'm definitely not that skilled. :)

I'm going to feel my way forward on the easiest setting, trying to keep in mind what I have read about strategy in the previews. Advance from there.

My initial strategy is going to be exploration, pure and simple. On random game at the easiest level with just two or three other civs, I'm just going to focus on building up my own civilization and finding out how things work in the game before I embark on anything more ambitious such as world conquest. Once I get used to the interface and gameplay, I'll get more serious and try to leave my mark on Sid's virtual worlds every week or so...

First up, I'll be trying for a spaceship win. For the simple reason that I'm kind of assuming it means needing every tech in the game, or as near as possible, so it'll give me a chance to see what everything does.

This will give me plenty of insights into possible strategies and tactics.

Also, I'm guessing, plenty of moments of "oops" or "how did I just do that?" or "what made that happen?" or "the AI would never have done that in Civ3 :gripe:"

Regent (or equivalent), Standard map, lowest barbarian setting (but not no barbarians), early religion (e.g. Found Buddhism), cxoncentrate on winning tech race, as many wonders as possible, concentrate on maximising Great People, hold back on war until as late as possible, Spaceship victory.

In Civ3, if you just didn't use the exploits, you could still beat deity, by playing a balanced game in which all aspects have to be considered. Civ4 is no different, IMO. And exploits will be found. All games have exploits. No, Civ3's exploits won't work in Civ4, but there will be new ones. Hopefully not as many as Civ3 had, though.

Oh, I agree - I beat Deity a number of times and tried to avoid the worst exploits, like ICS... but some you could hardly get around; like the AI sending human waves at my fortified-on-mountain-in-a-fortress Infantry, for instance :D

I plan to found a pacifistic buddhist society, which will be a haven for intellectuals and artists, and eventually overwhelm even the most agressive of it's neighbours with its benevolent culture emphasizing peace, knowledge and tolerance. I'll probably go with a Philosophical and Creative leader, whoever that might be.

In my second game, I'll probably be a tech-warmonger. (Beating the enemy with superior technology rather than a very large military) to check out the new features of the combat system. Financial and Agressive would probably be my traits here.

Build, enjoy constructing my empire, then... KILL EVERYTHING! DECLARE WAR! WHY? WHO CA'RES! Get de'm!

I'll probably shoot for a diplomatic or space-race win...presumably it'll give me the most time to get used to the game.

Unfortunately I'll probably play the lowest skill level at first (since I was only 50/50 on monarch in civ3), so those may be out of reach...

I do everything, as always. I'll try to get advanced in techs, I'll conquer other Civs. If I succeed I end up as the biggest and win by Space Race (that's how every game went in Civ3 when I won, I think I won once by Domination, never by Conquest)

My strategy is to survive until modern ages and then win the game.

Well I guess it's not that simple :)

Personally I am going with religious warfare and culture building:king:

-NE


I'm with this guy. Sounds pretty interesting

No strat, just open it and take jump in head first. I have not read much abot what is in the game, I want it be surprised.

No strat, just open it and take jump in head first. I have not read much abot what is in the game, I want it be surprised.
me too. If I could help it I would avoid this site entirely until I've found everything about the game myself, then I would check this site to find all the amazing strategies/exploits people will find.:)

A couple of weeks off :D

Some of the strategy/exploits in Civ3 were not really exploits, but ways to work around the incredibly stupid but cheating AI.

Since the AI is supposed to be tons better in Civ4, hopefully none of that will be required and you can actually play the game like it was supposed to be played.

That means that (more or less) real life strategies might work - that is things like economic domination, religious dictatorships, and the like.

And apparently Civ4 also gives the AI a lot more choices - so that it will not do stupid things like send 40 tanks across the world to an island to take over a size 3 city while you roll across it's capital with 400 modern armor.

So in short, what I will probably really do is try out a few beginner level games using various strategies to see what I like, and then concentrate on getting smarter than the AI in that particular one (or two).

Civvers:

How can anyone truly have a strategy at this point in our CivIV adventure? :hmm:

I hope that the AI wipes out each of us--especially the pacifists--at least once, if not multiple times! :sniper: :suicide:

Playing at the easiest level will be nothing but a hollow victory, IMHO. Why even bother? I would rather lose at a higher level, but learn quality strategies in the process. :spank: I don't mind a good "spanking" as long as my skills are moving ahead. So I will play the standard game on a regular map, and see how a "real" game plays out. Locked teams of 2v2 should be a blast as well! :ar15: Mostly because that should be a hot choice in MP.

My general plan is to build 2 or 3 warriors and use them for exploration/protection. But do I then build a worker, settler or granary? My gut reaction is a worker, just because it is much less expensive than the other two options. What do you all think? Hopefully I will have founded one of the first religions as well. Next, I will look for an ally and an enemy. That way I can try being someone's buddy, while also being the mortal enemy of some heathen empire!!! :evil: I will probably be crushed like a bug at this point... :help: :dubious:

Happy hunting gang,

Darth Tater

I'll probably go with my usual super expansion tactic - though I have a feeling it won't go too well in civ 4 ;)

I'll probably focus mainly on establishing a killer economy... with that it makes all other victory conditions easier to work towards!

I'd like to found a Christian Empire that is really rich and gets to pick and chose who they shall obliterate next!

My first game will be on whatever level is "fair"---i.e. no advantages for me or the AI. In my first game I'll be George Washington leading the Americans, just for sentimental reasons.

My overall strategy will be the same that I used the most in civ 1, 2, and 3. I'll start by expanding fast until I have no more free land near me. Then I'll pick a neighbor to encourage a war with. I'll try to upset him into declaring war on me, rather than declaring war on him directly. If the war is successful I'll take all of his territory (this may take multiple wars). If not, I'll try to find powerful allies to help me kill him. As a last resort I'll beg for mercy, giving him anything I can for peace. If I manage to get a comfortable lead in territory and population, then I'll turn peaceful and try to win the space race.

I have no idea if this strategy will work in civ 4, but it has worked, more or less, in all the other civs. Based on the reviews I've read, in civ 4 I'll space my cities out a little more and I'll expand a little slower than normal. I won't leave my settlers and workers unprotected. I won't build start building wonders unless I have a good reason to believe that I will finish them before anyone else. I imagine I'll need to rethink how I fight wars, and the best way to do this is just to fight some. From the sound of it the most important early units in civ 4 will be catapults and archers.

I expect to lose at least a few games before I figure things out.

mine will be simple. start medium size map everything as random as i can get it, and pick one of the harder difficulties. then try to build as good as i can untill i meet a few AI civs and get crushed. see how far they've gotten, and what they did, restart game, and do more like what they did. rince repeat
eventualy i should be able to balance my initial building/researching/military to the point where when i meet the AIs i'm not too far behind.
then i'll take that knowledge to an easier level of dificulty and play a huge map game so that i can get a feel for the endgame.

i will prolly try one of the civs with religous trait (i hate anarchy)
and one that also has something similar to agriculture and go from there
in civ3 my favorite civ was celtics agriculture really helped build settlers faster

Follow the same path as I always have in Civ: Take good long look at the map, draw a line, and say "This, is mine." I claim the land willed to my people by the devine, and then bring flaming wrath down upon any who would violate my chosen people and their blessed homes. I think I'll found Judaism, and untimately end up building a spaceship.

mine will be simple. start medium size map everything as random as i can get it, and pick one of the harder difficulties. then try to build as good as i can untill i meet a few AI civs and get crushed. see how far they've gotten, and what they did, restart game, and do more like what they did. rince repeat
eventualy i should be able to balance my initial building/researching/military to the point where when i meet the AIs i'm not too far behind.
then i'll take that knowledge to an easier level of dificulty and play a huge map game so that i can get a feel for the endgame.

I've always spanked the AI on Monarch, going for mindless instead of challenging. That changed last night. I started as the Vikings on Emperor and am a solid middle-of-the pack contender. I'm stunned at how fast the others pump out units and settlers. I'm struggling to hold my own, but am poised for a Bererker charge soon--lots of Archers and cash. The challenge turned out to be worth it.

With Civ4, I think I'll start on a harder level and take my lumps.

i'm just jumping right in and examining all the new intricacies, then fomulate strategy based on that.

I'm not an emperialistic or militaristic civ player. I personally like small highly advanced and very protected empires. I tended not to do too well but the way Civ 4 is set up it might be easier to do well.

I've always liked a few very well developed cities in very well developed surroundings, this usually helps me get a very developed economy and research. If I can I am isolationist, it might be easier now especially without the ICS, to be alone on an island with as little contact if any contact for a very long time. It lets me build myself up at my own rate without any other civilizations in my way.

So basically, small, preferably isolationist, good economy due to low maintenence and that means investment in science which means I can boost myself even more through selling technology.

I also avoid any mutual protection pacts and things of the sort.

I made the mistake with Civ3 of starting our on the easiest setting and winning easily. It was great to win the early games but I developed really poor strategies which I then had to unlearn. This time I will start with whatever setting makes me and the AI equal, no bonuses to anyone. My first game my goal is just to survive as long as possible and get a feeling for the game. As much as I would enjoy winning, I am hoping to get destroyed my first several games. I want an AI which will be challenging without receiving bonuses and I want to have to spend time learning the game until I am able to compete with the AI.

...see them driven before me, and hear the lamentation of the women!

Yah, yah, politically incorrect, but I didn't come up with that line. :D

A small, peaceful Civilization that everyone loves, who dominates the game in culture. Then come 2049 - or one turn before cultural victory - out with the nukes!

What's most fun for me is to have a random civ chosen for me and then come up with a strategy and winning condition to match them. Makes each game exciting and different.

A small, peaceful Civilization that everyone loves, who dominates the game in culture. Then come 2049 - or one turn before cultural victory - out with the nukes!

Yup, that's the Christian way! :p

Large map, fewer opponents, level with no advantages to either me or the AI, and just see if I can figure out how to build up a civ with the new mechanics. Then I'll try to learn war.

I'll play on a medium level, where AI amd human both have no bonus. Not interested in a quick win, want to see as much of the game as possible.
In particular, I want to found at least one religion and make many Great People.

Jawohl!

oh and for sure im gonna read the book

I'm starting with exploration and technological advancement on a random scenario for my first few games on Civ4. I'll really only want to start from scratch at one of the easier difficulty settings, learning what I can about how the game plays and whether or not I can actually make a splash in the little virtual world that Sid's game will build for me. Given what I've read so far about the new version, it'll be quite a bit different from the old "pump 'em out and smash 'em up" that Civ3 was giving me, so early fast expansion of empires may be out of the question.

Which might be a good thing, considering how much I hated to see hordes of settlers and other units hopping past my border cities...

Ill declare a war for territory in every age so I can see how units work.

My typical thing:
1. Build tons of improvements
2. Build wonders only in my capitol
3. Control wars with various War treaties and have the other civs destroy themselves while I sit back and watch.
Easy setting:crazyeye:
Persia:goodjob: :goodjob: :goodjob:
And much patience:king:

First up, I'll be trying for a spaceship win. For the simple reason that I'm kind of assuming it means needing every tech in the game, or as near as possible, so it'll give me a chance to see what everything does.


This is how I like to play most Civ's.

I like to be somewhat peaceful, but at the same time I like to see all the different techs and units.

And with this being a brand new game, I like to take it out for a "test drive" a few times at the lower difficulty settings, just getting a feel for the game.
I'm more of a tech "whore" than a warmonger. I like seeing all the new techs, wonders, and units in every new iteration of the series.

My first game will be with Asoka, in which I will try to be a "builder", consistently improving infrastructure, and try to win by Space Race or Diplomatic. Level is Noble.

I generally go for the Space Race victory at first, since you get to explore the entire tech tree for that. Also, as I'm test driving the game, I usually raise the turn limit to 1000 so I can research everything. Then I declare war on everyone on earth because modern warfare is, in my opinion, more fun than ancient warfare. After that, I'll play through the game using various other styles, depending on how I'm feeling (I don't like to play each game the same way).

I like to develop a highly defensive posture with lots of units on all my border cities and heavy roads and worker development. Then I gather an overwhelming force near a strategic place and orchestrate a pretext for a precision strike to capture the best concentration of valuable territory. Then I fortify and begin working tiles while I destroy all enemy units and less valuable cities around my newly captured subjects.

I'll probably fall back to my ages old failed tech-warlord habit. That is, rush tech as much as possible, especially those techs that will improve my research capabilities. Try to get significant lead on opponents so I can crush them with my technologically superior units. Fail in that and go for spaceship win instead :D

Cities cost in CivIV, so I think there is no much sense in early expansion and warmongering. I believe it would be better to focus on culture, technology, city and tile improvements. And crush the enemies at the late stages of the game. Cool!

I think I'll play my first game as Saladin and the Arabs with absolutly NO victory conditions on, then I'll see how the AI works and how the game works.I'll go for score wictory, because with that you need to be balanced. After a few of those games I'll see what other vicktory i can try to win at.

I'm gona start with Germans:rolleyes: and exp. with the units and get use to how they work. Once I'm use to 'em, I'll go with an all out war game:ar15:Then I'll try culture/religion. I like that, now, cities cost $$$ to build and units take longer to make, so it won't be the meele of units/rapid empire expansion that Civ3 was.:goodjob:

Basically, my strategy is that I'm going to lose so I might as well learn as much as I can along the way.

I'll just keep building until some jerk civ comes along and starts bullying me.

I'm going to take this real slow, spend a lot of time playing with the tables and figuring out how everything works. I'lll take a few breaks to discuss things here while reading a few pages of the manual.

Master strategy, I'm afraid, will have to come later.