I am sorry to sound like a noob even though I have been playing for quite a while but I do not understand the delicate act of rushing a country right next to you early. I tend to conquer with a legion of tanks but that is it.

Any tips? Maybe extreme whipping would help?

Rather than anything else than the bare essentials to make it faster, you build barracks and military, move them to your opponent's borders, and attack.

Axes, swords, chariots, and horse archers tend to do better than archers, warriors, and spears. Warrior rushing will work below monarch though.

Some unique units make it a lot easier, others (like mali and inca) allow you to effectively rush with troop types you'd normally not use offensively in high level play.

Improve your best specials, settle a resource, then attack.

With warriors (possible on low levels) or Quechuas, get the units out quickly (consider emphasizing production rather than food; consider stealing a worker rather than building it.)

Otherwise, before catapults (Axemen, Chariots, or maybe Swordsmen or Horse Archers) it's about chopping. Consider not rushing if you don't have a lot of forest. It's still about speed, so consider not rushing if you can't build an attack unit from your first two cities. And don't spend time on granaries or libraries - at most the second city should get a monument in addition to the barracks.

By the time you have catapults, it's still about chopping (and now you have Mathematics for more efficient chops), but it's usually sufficient just to have some decent cities (not too many), with barracks, grown to your happy cap, and to make sure they are focused on production. If some of them have no production tiles you may have no choice but to whip. In those cases, or otherwise, you can try whipping in every 10 turns in cycles, but that requires some micromanagement to see when it will help and then to manage it. I find it to be a pain in the butt. By the time you have Monarchy, whip abuse is easier because you can use Hereditary Rule to counteract the whip unhappiness, at least until your stack moves out for the attack.

Speed is key. I.e. Whip, chop, whip and chop again! Well, just knock out a force large enough to conquer your enemy as fast as possible. Take into account the enemy
*Are they protective, or use a unique unit?
*Are they founded on hills and have archery?
*How far away are they? 2 movement units could be key if they're a vast distance.
*Did they found a religion? May be best to wait until they have built a shrine. It tells you when GP are born.

Is it worth it? Compared to growing/expanding and attacking after construction?

1) Having a strong early game UU is great for rushing - Egypts war chariots & Persias Immortals are two of my favourites, if not of course the famous roman praetorians (you need to beeline IW for this)
2) Game speed Marathon or Epic - the slower the speed the better.
3) Beeline towards the tech you need either BW / IW or AH.
4) Chopping is really important (IMHO more than the whip).
5) If you get the strategic resource in your BFC ..... :D
6) Usually as soon as you have about 6 - units you should be able to attack.

Build six axes as fast as you can, attack. Add an extra couple of axes if the enemy capital is on a hill. This is on Prince or below mind you, the AI starts with archers from Monarch on so you have to be a bit more choosy.

Don't rush Sitting Bull either, he can be picked off easily enough when you reach Maces.

What would you guys do if you would wind up next to Sitting Bull really boxed in so that you could get up only two cities before he blocks your expansion, and the only strategic resource you could get your hands into was horses? This happened to me once, and ten chariots only made him mad.

Another important aspect of Early Wars:

Stealing workers

Once you know who your preferred target is, send your units in to hug his cultural borders and wait for a worker to pop up right next to you
You will have more success if:
you stand on top of a hill, better vantage point
stand right next to early resources that they will improve(farm, corn, gold... just not fish or crabs :D)
right next to a forest or jungle if the above are not available, and you dont want to wait anymore (this is so that your unit, assuming axe/spear/sword, will not get destroyed on the capture turn, since it will receive +50% def)
land on a tile where their defenders would have to cross the river for extra protection


Always, always have an entry and exit strategy
You should pick the shortest route to his city as possible, without compromising your unit's protection
Travel on top of forests or hills, and never attack across a river


If you find that your units' shortest route is going to be across a river, try to walk around to the other side where you wont have to cross a river
This will give you time to amass more troops (yes, it gives the AI more time to do so too, but it's never been a problem... just amass more)


Keep watching his city/borders
He might have built a Settler, which is good news for you:
1) if you capture it, its another free worker
2) it means his city defenders will be diverted into escorting it = less city defenders




Always have a road from your city to his, and on to his other city/ies. Before the war is good, during the war is still ok
You could use your own workers, or the workers you captured from him



When you have access to horses, build chariots when the war has started already
Their 2 movement means they get to assist your forces in the enemy borders 4-5 turns earlier

Sitting Bull is quite rushable when your doing it with Chariots and/or Horse Archers

I am sorry to sound like a noob even though I have been playing for quite a while but I do not understand the delicate act of rushing a country right next to you early. I tend to conquer with a legion of tanks but that is it.

Any tips? Maybe extreme whipping would help?

Read the guide, then ask more specific questions.

What would you guys do if you would wind up next to Sitting Bull really boxed in so that you could get up only two cities before he blocks your expansion, and the only strategic resource you could get your hands into was horses? This happened to me once, and ten chariots only made him mad.

Even more chariots and more importantly horse archers.

I've done the Warrior rush (and used the CHOKE strat) to early neighbors, as well as played 4-5 Praetorian Rush games, and lately a few HA and Keshik (Mongol) rushes.

I read Sisiutil's excellent Beginner's Strategy Guide (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=165632), Voice of Unreason's Slavery Guide (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=193659) (thanks dalamb!), and studied TMIT's Keshik Domination (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=332762).

I also asked a lot of questions relating to my problems with Rush strat. Lots of great, experienced players on this forum willing to help you out . :bowdown:

My main problems involve inexperience, and "polluted" tech paths & builds (little side trips where I want this or that tech or wonder).

If you're going to do a rush, forget Wonders (you can gain those by conquest!) and any buildings save for Barracks and Stables (or their unique variants). Do a cottage industry (so you want Pottery early) for money to fuel your hordes. When taking on another civ, knock out their metals and horses with swift HA strikes (or any way you can, if not using horses).

A lot of rushes are based around a civ's UU (unique units), although some folks do well using regulars (Horse Archers, etc). I do know that even if you're not playing a Rush, if you're doing any conquest or need to, timing a war around your UU's is a good idea. That assuming you're swift enough to obtain them before the enemy's tech renders them useless.

Do everything you can to optimize getting units out the door and in the field, and bollux the enemy's production of defenders. Using diplo to get enemies involved in other wars helps, too.