So I tried my first Quechua rush today and it went okay, I lost all but 2 of my stack and took the chinese capitol, now I have the option to build more and try and take another couple cities, wait and chop axemen or chop some settlers. I am very new to early rushing so I think the safe route and going with axemen seems best.

It is 1760 I have 2 cities and my target has archers and 2cities with a settler going somewhere.

This is Vanilla and on Noble.

Which of the 3 option is best?

Do you have BW? On noble the AI won't have iron working yet, so if you know he has no strategic resources just kill him.

For future reference, this is kind of slow. You can just build 5 quechas immediately after settling and take a capitol (ACTUALLY, on prince and below you can do this with just warriors with ANY civ, as the AI doesn't start with archers). Try to grab a worker if you see one though, it helps a lot to start putting up cottages and improving tiles.

It depends how close those cities are.

My experience with those rushes are that you get so busy pumping out Quenchas, you really start to fall behind. When you factor in travel time - it's that much tougher.

Also keep in mind, the farther the distance, your maint cost go up.

Sarge:gp:

Quechuas are obsolete by now, stop rushing.

If you want your rush to last longer, build nothing but quechuas from the start of the game. Settling on a plains hill and working plains (hill!) forest helps too.

As soon as the AI hooks up metal the age of the quechua is over. At 1760 you may want to switch to axes, unless you can see that your opponent has no chance to build anything but archers.

Hmm. I find that Quechuas can remain relevant for a long, long time... they simply cease to be the only unit you field. They are still a cost-effective archer killer and dirt cheap riot suppression.
They are probably my most numerous unit until the end of the BCs.

The idea is to disconnect the opponent's strategic resources if at all possible; otherwise protect your stacks with axemen and/or spearmen. When it comes to cities mostly defended by archers, bait defending Axemen with Swordsmen. Then wear down the archers with Quechuas and use Swordsmen to clean up injured ones if those might still kill a Quechua.

***

If you have decent cities to take nearby, do so... probably with mixed stacks unless they are resourceless (in that case, Quechua only). If not, enjoy your shiny second capital and claim the land the normal way.

Remember that you don't even have to have bronze working/iron working/animal husbandry to notice that an opponent has bronze/iron/horses in his cultural borders. The food/commerce values you see on tiles in his borders are the values that HE gets. So metal or horses will manifest themselves as a tile with an extra hammer, even before he makes any attempt to improve them. This can be a handy heads-up when you're contemplating whether to extend the quecha rush.

When I get the message that an opponent has switched to slavery (which the AI does promptly after discovering BW), I go and check his land for the extra hammer if I haven't already got BW myself. Depending on how much land and how many opponents you have, you should be able to quecha rush at least 1, usually 2, and sometimes 3 civs.

Remember that you don't even have to have bronze working/iron working/animal husbandry to notice that an opponent has bronze/iron/horses in his cultural borders. The food/commerce values you see on tiles in his borders are the values that HE gets. So metal or horses will manifest themselves as a tile with an extra hammer, even before he makes any attempt to improve them.

Really? That seems pretty broken if it's true. I'm guessing same for oil and coal. You shouldn't see tile yield from that resource if you do not have the tech that enables it...Can anyone confirm?

Really? That seems pretty broken if it's true. I'm guessing same for oil and coal. You shouldn't see tile yield from that resource if you do not have the tech that enables it...Can anyone confirm?
Heres a pic of a desert mine showing 5H. before I have IW. after BW.

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj80/Bleys_bucket/Civ4ScreenShot0037-1.jpg

For better or for worse, the tile yield in an enemy's borders show you what HE gets out of it. You see the impacts of his lighthouses and moai statues and golden ages and the techs he knows. It's just a tiny exploit to use that to see his resources before you have a right to.

Occasionally the extra hammers will be from an event that gave extra hammers to a mine. But usually they're from a resource.

Tin gives two hammers. I know prarie dogs, parrots, truffles. Is there anything that gives just 1 hammer? I guess you mean a tin mine could simulate a copper or iron mine. That's true. But you'll usually hear about that.

For better or for worse, the tile yield in an enemy's borders show you what HE gets out of it. You see the impacts of his lighthouses and moai statues and golden ages and the techs he knows. It's just a tiny exploit to use that to see his resources before you have a right to.

I recommend believing him. I've captured a pasture from someone when I didn't have AH (kind of an obvious signal :p). Sure enough, extra hammer. I've seen it on mines too. It still isn't 100% effective before open borders or a lucky view of all their land though...but you can get a PRETTY good idea about what they have long before you should.

Until you declare, they tech IW the next turn, and whip an axe, that is.