Inspired by another thread, I just played a game as vanilla Washington, Prince level.

Holy crap.

-- Financial means you get a fast start on teching: beeline Pottery, spam a few cottages, and wham: you have 3 tiles producing 3-4 commerce each.

-- Organized trait's cheap civics and cheap courthouses allowed peaceful REX to 5-6 cities while still keeping research at 90%.

-- Beelined Code of Laws while building the Oracle. Result: a Civil Service Slingshot. Ka-ching, Bureaucracy for a 50% commerce boost.

-- First war was elephants, maces and catapults vs. archers and axeman. Ka-ching, 10-11 cities and research never dropped below 70%.

Research never dropped below 60%, even in the middle of my third war when I was sprawled across the continent and hadn't yet built the Forbidden Palace.

At Prince level, this combo means that you very quickly become more advanced than any non-Financial rivals. I've never grabbed such a tech lead so early.

With the possible exception of Industrious/Philosophical, I think this is the most powerful trait combo. It has a brutal simplicity to it: you just tech and tech and tech. I totally understand why they nerfed it in Warlords.

But it's back in BtS? With the Persian UU? Holy socks, that's going to be killer.


Waldo

At Prince level, this combo means that you very quickly become more advanced than any non-Financial rivals. I've never grabbed such a tech lead so early.

In prince, you can grab a tech lead early with any Leader.

O_o

Vormiur, yes it's back with the immortal. Darius. One big difference though is that you cant do the CS sling.

The power of the immortal rush in combo with the traits might be more effective than even the CS sling.

I'm gonna roll a game as Darius soon after my first (which will be Ethiopia Culture victory :cool: ).

Yea, Darius wil surely reign supreme in BTS, Immortal early, along with Financial/Organized bonuses, and a UB that gives +2 health.... He'll put Cyrus to shame that's for sure....

Maybe Firaxis will balance it by making him an isolationist, or something so that he won't become the complete monster he could be...

Obsolete, in Prince YOU can grab a tech lead early. Me, I'm a Prince level player -- Monarch intimidates me -- and if I'm not Financial, I usually see the Financial civs pulling ahead by 2-3 techs in the Classical period.

Mice, no more CS sling? Why not?


Waldo

Obsolete, in Prince YOU can grab a tech lead early. Me, I'm a Prince level player -- Monarch intimidates me -- and if I'm not Financial, I usually see the Financial civs pulling ahead by 2-3 techs in the Classical period.

Mice, no more CS sling? Why not?


Waldo

In Warlords 2.08, and presumably in BTS, math is a prereq for CS, and it's highly unlikely you'll be able to put off building the Oracle until after you research both math and CoL.

Financial and Organized is back in BTS. WOOT :D :D :D

I'm looking forward to that for sure.

Plus immortals? :lol: :lol: :lol:

Mice, no more CS sling? Why not?


Waldo

In Vanilla the prophet popped CS if you didnt have Masonry but in WL the prophet will pop Masonry, which in turn opens up Monotheism-Theology not CS.

Also CS requires Mathematics in WL which slows the whole thing down even if you use Great scientisits.

Hmm, will BTS change the lightbulb preferences?

One innovation already seen, the preferences will be shown on the tech on the tech tree. Which GP lightbulbs it, and hopefully which tech each GP would lightbulb next.

That will take a lot of mental work out of planning GPs

I get the feeling that Darius will end up becoming overpowered, especially with the early immortal rush combined with the building of the economy afterwards.

Maybe they've already considered that overpowered combination and they've already nerfed immortals to +25% vs Archers from 50% vs Archers in WL.

If they haven't nerfed it yet, then people will more likely exploit it and it'll be nerfed in the patch....it's just a feeling though.

Darius is gonna be Financial/Organised? Why not just call him Scrooge McDuck and his leaderhead animation can be him swimming around in a sea of gold coins. Good to know that one of my favorite civs is going to be grossly overpowered.

what is REX?

what is REX?

Rapid Early EXpansion, i.e. settling as much land as possible in the early stages of the game.

Here it comes again, the BtS formula!

Rome+x=win

now lets figure it out!

win-rome=x
win-x=rome
x= anything!

yay anything with rome!

Back on topic, it will awesome, you can make so much money with those traits it is one of the OP things in civ, darius will be a beast for sure.