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Game #24 - Babylon/Hammurabi
Game #24 - Babylon/Hammurabi
In the next ALC game, I'll be playing as Hammurabi, leader of Babylon--one of the new/old leaders added in the Beyond the Sword expansion pack. (Old because for us Civ veterans, Hammurabi and Babylonia were included in previous versions.) The purpose of this thread is to discuss, before the game, how to best exploit this particular leader's characteristics, which is the main feature and purpose of the ALC series. Just so we're clear, I'm playing with the Beyond the Sword expansion pack with its most recent official patch (3.17) as well as Solver's unofficial patch. (I should also note that I elected to allow tanks to still get barrage promotions.)
Here's the fact sheet:
- Traits: Aggressive (Free Combat I promotion of melee and gunpowder units; double production speed of Barracks and Drydock) and Organized (Civic upkeep reduced 50 percent; double production speed of lighthouse, courthouse, and factory).
- Starting Techs: The Wheel and Agriculture
- Unique Unit: Bowman (Replaces Archer; Strength: 3, Movement: 1, Cost: 25; Unique Characteristics: +50% versus melee units.)
- Unique Building: Garden (Replaces Colloseum; Cost: 120; Unique Characteristics: +2 health)
Hammurabi has very good traits for warmongering. Aggressive obviously gives advantages here, what with the free Combat I to the melee and gunpowder units, along with the cheap military buildings. But don't overlook Organized. It's subtle, but it serves Julius Caesar well when I play as him. The lower-cost civics let you run the science slider a little higher, while the low-cost buildings are some of the best ones in the game. Courthouses in particular are invaluable when conquering territory. So, I expect to be going to war quite a bit with Hammy.
His unique unit is a tough one--I've gone up against Bowmen in other games, and they're formidable, especially on hills and/or fortified in cities--even against Praetorians. If they're fortified in a city on a hill with walls, they're practically invulnerable. And, of course, they're cheap. Bowmen are comparable, in my mind, to Protective Archers. So the way to use them is similar: I can defend my own cities and ones I capture with fewer, cheaper units. The main downside to Bowmen is that their bonus disappears when you upgrade them. That's too bad--a Longbowman with a +50% inherent advantage verus melee units would be freakin' awesome. But if I deploy enough of them and play aggressively, they should earn several promotions. The other downside is that Bowmen have no bonus versus the AI's favourite units, the mounted ones. Even so, especially if I stay on Immortal level, researching Hunting -> Archery will be an early priority.
The unique building, the Garden, doesn't thrill me as much. Colloseums are buildings I rarely build. Then again, if I warmonger as much as I anticipate, they will help with war weariness, and the additional health is a nice bonus. Let's hope for the random event that requires you to build colloseums to make them even more worthwhile.
As for the starting techs, Agriculture and the Wheel, they're very good. Since grains are common in the capital's fat cross, both of them should give Workers something to do right away. I'm thinking of building a Worker first if it's justified by the map. And Animal Husbandry is only a tech away. So what do you think of researching AH first, followed, especially if there are no horses nearby, with Hunting and Archery for the UU? Remember that as of the 3.17 patch, barbarian Spearmen are a lot more common, so you don't want to try to fend off barbs with Chariots alone.
Over to you!