Civ 5 How to REX effectively?

civ5freak

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Aug 8, 2012
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Hi, please share your opinions on how to expand early and effectively. Take into account IA, diplomacy...etc! Thanks!

Moderator Action: Moved to G&K.
 
Etheopia seems to rex the best, as the steele allows for an early religion and culture, which are key to rexing.
 
RExing is often most effective with Civs that would do better with a wider empire rather than a taller empire. Having experimented with it a quite a bit since the release of G&K, here are somethings I find most effective.
1. Definitely go Liberty. but the free settler should be your finisher. Getting Representation early is much better than later.
2. Buy your first 2-3 settlers and grabs as much defensible territory as possibly.
3. Archers, Archers, Archers. A few Archers will ensure that you can hold off any early invasions.
4. Micro-Manage cities. Early in the game growing your capital too much and other cities is not that helpful as it will chew into your happiness. That being said it is necessary to get your cap to atleast 5-7 pop to ensure decent production.
5. Each new city should either get a Shrine first or the Stele(Ethiopia). Getting a Religion is quite simply the easiest way to ensure Happiness. Don't go for all the happiness beliefs b/c Messenger of the Gods may be far more necessary to prevent falling in science. Try and get the Pagoda, Religious Texts, Asceticism or Ceremonial Burial.
6. AutoPurchase Pagodas. After you have gotten your first few cities converted and have a healthy pressure in the neighbourhood. Start AutoPurchasing Pagodas i.e. if you do get the belief.
7. Patronage. You may not have too many luxuries but going Patronage will help you take serious advantage of Maritime and Mercantile CSs.
8. Order is the policy to go for when rexing as it helps immensely with one of my favourite finishers.
I may have missed some stuff but these are the basics.
 
TheGreatImber gives a good description for REXing, though I'm not sure Patronage is absolutely neccessary. When doing a REX you won't get that many SP's anyway. I'd also take 5. and 6. as more guidelines than rules. In terms of picking a civ, generally you'd want to go for a civ that:
1) Has a per city hapiness bonus (usually in the form of a UB), e.g. Egypt for an early expansion (though the UA suffers for this), Persia for slightly later or the Celts for later still (but they tie in with 2) as well). A late 'tall and wide' strategy with India is also possible. These will help you avoid hapiness issues. Or....
2) Has early religion bonuses, e.g. the Celts, Ethiopia (though this ruins the UA), Mayans, Byzantines. This will help get and spread a religion with the best hapiness bonuses, as hapiness is what religion does best. Or....
3) Has production bonuses e.g. Rome, Russia, possibly Iroqois. The reward for REXing is in massive production and/or gold, so a civ that magnifies these benefits is using REXing well. Or....
4) Has trade route and/or gold bonuses, e.g. Arabia, Inca, Carthage. More cities = more trade routes. Or....
5) Has another kind of per city benefit, e.g. France. Good for REXing beginners as you can still get a few SP's this way (It's usually what you give up when you REX).

Right, I've probably said almost half the civs by now (and that's not including the civs I forgot about), so I'll shut up and let you try some out. Happy REXing!

P.S I basically never go for a science vc so I don't know what the optimal science victory strategy is, but if REXing is good for science then Korea and Babylon might be good too. Dunno, seems like a REX means land coveting and RA difficulty......
 
Settle on luxuries, so the city itself offsets the happiness hits without having to wait for a worker.
 
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