Zulu Strategy

MorteEterna

Prince
Joined
Nov 10, 2008
Messages
332
Zulu

Bonuses:
Start with overrun 3:1
Ancient era: +1 warrior movement
Medieval era: Faster growth
Industria eral: +50% gold
Modern era: ½ price riflemen


There seem to be few strategies about zulu, and it's pretty simple to know. They seem to be so strong and easy to play that new players need a fast strategy to learn and that works good. That's
how you can/could meet zulu players reaching the top of the leaderboards not hardly. The problem is that few players really know how to play them, and I am trying to write a zulu strategy, hoping you will like it.

You can try moving your settler if you can have 2 forests at least and 1 grassland. That's enough to do a pretty good job, but do that only if you know it's worthful, like getting a friendly village and gold. I would prefer the normal start, it's balanced, but you should see if you have to explore to reach huts faster (you can look at territory around you, it's easy to do but hard to tell).

Then, the start is pretty simple: if you have got only one way to go, build a warrior by 3700 BC if possible working on two forests and explore. You got 4 movements before the barbs usually get 2 flags, then you can have gold and army faster. If you know others have ended the turn, keep pressing the city screen button to prevent others ending the turn before you can finish it. Rush another warrior if you got the gold, and move all them in the same tile. Next tun if you got enough gold build the army. If you are waiting another turn, you can move one of the two warriors 2 tiles next to name tiles if you get lucky enough, while the other is still waiting. Build the army and keep exploring. Take barbs for experience and gold, having then 4.5 attack if you meet a fortified warrior; 3v2.5 is too simple to lose. If it was like a peninsula, set 2 workers on growth, or if you got only one grassland, then 1 grassland and 1 science (bronze working). If it is a huge continent build another army. Attack with the first army the first capital you meet, you should usually win because not everyone is going to build warriors some turns before just to defend against you. If you got like 70 gold, then rush a warrior and explore when you can still explore, hoping for gold, then build the other army. If you know it's going to be worthful, rush it as fast as possible, like 1 unit per turn and aim for another capital.

2 armies should be enough. If you meet horse rushers, like Americans or Arabs perhaps, set your impis in a hill and wait for them. If you meet Aztecs it's a bit more risky, because if you lose it, you are going to give experience and free healing. Warriors are not a real problem. Then the key now is to keep exploring with the armies you got. Never sell them unless you need 30 gold for the free settler. One veteran warrior army is enough to take an unfortified archer and a settler/new city. It's not hard and if others don't know about it, they won't defend too much. Rush archers if needed, or just build one to prevent galley drops or walk-ins.

After you reach 3 population, set workers on 2 trees – 1 grassland and keep pressing with the army/ies to expand easier, and build settlers everywhere. New cities with 2 trees – 2 grasslands are perfect, with at least 1 water tile (not every city, that is needed for expanding faster and better).
Search also good spots with fish and build new cities there. Having 1 tree is better, so you can prevent galley drops. Keep expanding until 20 cities, and remember, irrigation is not needed, that is probrably going to slow you down. That's 100 beakers and unless you got many capitals and it's going to be really useful and easy to get, don't work on it. Many players tend to work on irrigation then if it is a good tech civ, you are wasting time, because you are expanding. I usually aim for it, but it's better to work on alphabet, writing and code of laws then expand better. It's going to be more useful and the growth bonus is going to help you so much if you expand more. Then, if you are getting like 20 science per turn with 6-7 cities if possible (3 capitals, free settler, and if you can build some new cities, it's better), work on irrigation, then code of laws will be your next technology. Start building cities everywhere, but be careful, build at least one archer in some cities and send them where you want to found the city, you shouldn't build cities everywhere with no defences. 1 archer army is better, but don't waste gold or production if you don't need it. Defend only your boarders and coasts (if your enemy has got a galley or navigation).
If you are playing against Americans, and it's a good player, it's better for you to set up more defences and build one army or two (veteran at least) on hills or with guerrila if you could get it. In this way if you meet them, you can use the huge starting bonus, 3:1 overrun. If they do that simple knight rush, then, knights have 9 defences if veteran, 12 in a forest. If they aren't veteran or if they aren't in a forest (just passing there perhaps), you can overrun them with fundamentalism (be careful and switch before they attack you, but you should have choke points). If you stop them, then, they can still expand but your cities will be much more worthful then their cities, and if you expand to at least some 1 tile islands, you are going to do a huge job. Then, after code of laws if you can still get monarchy get it plus feudalism (if you want), then mathematics and navigation are ok. Build 4-5 settlers and some archers at least, then work on democracy and switch governement. Reach industrial era before you found these cities, then if they are settled in islands with whales, fish and dye, 5 pop, democracy and +50% gold, you are going to do nice things. If you got a nice spot already, you can research currency before monarchy but it's 80 beakers and you can save them. Building these 4-5 cities here will produce a lot of gold. Let's say you get whale and dye. It's 39 gold per turn, and with some cities it becomes like 150. Rushing markes would be a bit slow but you can still do a good job. Settle a great explorer if you can get a good amout of gold and easy, and more you go ahead, more you should defend these cities. If they are not one tile, send units to all tiles. Obviously keep defending the mainland strongly, and remember, settlers cost some gold and population, then, a new city with only 6 science is not going to help you so much. If you get only one grassland, your city is going to grow really easy thank's to the growth bonus and you are going to produce much more science. If you hit irrigation, and have a humanitarian, you should have all your cities at 7-8 population some turns before you have enough technologies for modern era, if these cities are ok.

Let's talk about the tech path then:

Bronze Working
Pottery
Masonry
Irrigation
Alphabet
Writing
Code of Laws
Literacy (if there aren't chinese or you can have it faster than others)
Currency (if you find a really good spot)
Monarchy
Feudalism (only if you need)
Mathematics
Navigation

Then, rush the last few settlers and some archers to send to islands; if you get a great artist, wait to flip a good city. If you get a great leader, settle it and build units, you don't need winning by domination, then you can also get the guerrilla upgrade. If you get the great humanitarian, use it to add 1 population per city. If you get the great builder, rush the East India Company. If you get the great scientist, rush corporation (or industrialization if your science is still not good). If you get the explorer settle it in a good gold city and build also a bank, then later if you want harbor, trade fair, etc.. (I would prefer rushing harbor first).

Democracy
Engeenering (+1 production)
Invention (free GP)
Religion (+1 culture if you are still the first)

Then, if you got a great scientist, research banking and rush corporation or industrialization.

Banking
Industrialization (probrably rushed)
University
Steam power (if you haven't got Atlantis yet, or there are still some artifacts, put a double movement unit on it and search these artifacts).
Combustion

Then, you should decide: If you know you are going to have some problems, research Combustion and build a tank army. If you get the tank for free, then you haven't got to be too fast. Build some tanks armies to defend, you aren't going to waste them. Meanwhile rush libraries if you haven't done yet. These are going to be your first building.

If you really want, and you got enough gold, or you got the great builder, then, research University and Steam Power before Industrialization, then rush it, and rush Oxford university if you got enough gold or the great builder, getting Advanced Flight. That means a free bomber, and you can build bombers. So easy to build and move so fast. Add the overrun bonus, and say goodbye to the Americans Tanks spam. Don't leave the American defending his units. If he moves too slow, he won't reach your cities. If he moves too fast, probrably he got no defences, and only modern infantry can barely defend against bombers if he's attacking you. Destroy fleets if possible, and use battleships yourself later. You can switch Corporation with Combustion depending on your tech lead. It's better to have corporation first, because you will get more gold

Corporation (if you haven't got it from the scientist) – Research only if you get the bonus
Gunpowder (build riflemen everywhere or at least where you need; build armies).
Railroad (+2 production – Iron mine)
 
By now you should know if you want economic victory. Easy to do, avoid bugs, and easier than wasting everything on domination. Start building markets after libraries. No problem if you are working on science. You are getting two times your gold by doing this, thank's to Industrialization and Corporation. Defending is easier, if you know how to defend (obviously). Then, the best way to defend is.. Attack the enemy. If you got bombers, press your enemy. Taking cities is not needed, you can just kill all units then he could think he is in trouble, but if you have got a tech lead, don't care too much, you could freeze it by attacking if you meet cheaters (this isn't the real problem). If you want, take these cities and build a lot of defences (you don't need armies unless he overruns you).

Steel (another technology you could need to defend)
Communism (Hoping you got the 2/3 factory cost)
Atomic Theory (you need only if you want to rush the Manhattan Project and if you havent' got a huge tech lead).
Electronics
Mass Production

If you want then, rush Leonardo's Workshop to upgrade your riflemen. If you want to do this and you can still do this, rush more riflemen. You get 3 modern infantry instead of 1 and it's much better. Now you can set all you cities on gold, while you get a nice spot with few mountains. 4 could be ok, but more is still better. Rush iron mine and then the factory (wait 1-2 turns so you don't lose much gold). Start working on a wonder needing 500 hammers or more. Stay in democracy and wait for the 20'000 gold. If you need only 1-2 turns, switch to Communism unless you have already got 500 hammers, then you will get the world bank faster. I think you don't need rushing others wonders, but you can build them meanwhile Internet could be worth but rush it only if you know it's going to give you the gold you have used.
Then, switch the production to world bank, send all defences to the capitals and this city if you really fear an attack in one turn, or keep building defences in the capitals before you start. Now, 1 turn or maybe 2-3 and you won the game. If you want to be sure, remember, build spies everywhere. You can still win by domination if you got enough gold.

Then, I think this should be ok. I really hope you have liked it, tell me if you are having problems, and tell me where I can add more, Thank's.
 
That prety much sums it all up for Zulu's.

Maybe just add that you can use Impi wariors to go take barbs and huts close to your enemies : that gives them a big disadvantage, but it's risky since you would need more wariors, and can't get to the expansion part fast unless you have gained lots of gold from the huts and barbs.

Key to Zulu win : keep your enemies pressed and expand (you have faster growth bonus, so put it to good use).
The faster growth also lets you get large cities faster than you may expect (not to bad :D) and thus make great inland builders or if you have an island city and a harbor...
 
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