Featured Game 5 Pre-Discussion

[Thalassicus]

Download Game 5

• About the Featured Games.
• Game in progress discussion. (coming Wednesday June 6th)

This thread is to discuss strategies ahead of time for the Game 5 start location. Please DO NOT post details here after you start. Discuss games in progress in the spoiler thread above.

Game 5 Start Location

• King difficulty.
• Normal speed.
• Normal map size (8 players).
• Modified Continents-Plus map.
• Default advanced game options.
• Any victory type allowed except Time.
• Hiawatha of the Iroquois:
  • Faster movement in Forests and Jungle, which count as roads in friendly territory. Starts with a Mohawk Warrior instead of a Warrior.
  • Mohawk Warrior replaces Swordsmen, with +25% strength in forest/jungle and no Iron requirement.
  • Longhouse replaces Smithy, with +1 on forest/jungle.

No paid DLCs will be used for this game. Before the game starts on Friday, take 2 quick steps to temporarily disable any paid DLCs you have:

1. On the Windows desktop create a folder "DLC - Backup."
2. Move paid DLCs* to the backup folder from:
   C:\Games\Steam\steamapps\common\sid meier's civilization v\Assets\DLC

*The Shared folder and DLC_01 (free Mongolia pack) must remain installed.

Continents-Plus has better islands and offshore citystates than Continents maps. If you like the maps used for VEM Featured Games, I highly recommend downloading the Explorers DLC for the capability to use the Continents-Plus and Pangaea-Plus map scripts in your own games. It's by far the best DLC for Civ 5. These map scripts quickly became my favorites in the Civilization series, and provide better VEM gameplay than standard maps.

[Txurce]

Hey, I'm ready for it, but I don't know about the rest of the community!

[albie_123]

Woah, that was fast, haven't even started Game 4!

I think the biggest argument with this game will be which ruins we go for first!

[Thalassicus]

I want to give everyone stuff to do while waiting for the expansion. Some people will play all the featured games, others will play none... it doesn't matter either way, it's all for fun.

Some might like one leader more than others. I'm thinking about creating a Gandhi match next. That will give a mix of land-peaceful (Gandhi), land-military (Hia), and naval (Elizabeth) games to choose from.

[wobuffet]

Very cool! I was sad I missed the last game (because of traveling), but will try to get in on this one!

Originally Posted by albie_123

Woah, that was fast, haven't even started Game 4!

I think the biggest argument with this game will be which ruins we go for first!

Not where to settle? That Marble is so enticing!

[Txurce]

Originally Posted by wobuffet

Very cool! I was sad I missed the last game (because of traveling), but will try to get in on this one!

Not where to settle? That Marble is so enticing!

1. Game 4 is still there - I'm the only one who's reported finishing it.

2. Definitely agree about the marble!

[Seek]

I'm thinking of moving NW a tile (won't lose a turn even!) and buying the deer tile asap if culture doesn't like it. Probably move the MW south first though to see if I'm missing anything down there.

I hit a major diplomatic snag in the FG 4, I will finish it if I have time, but I am not relishing the idea of loading that game up right now!

[Gamewizard]

I was thinking that settling in place was good, but now that you mention it, one NW does look better to get those luxuries quicker.

I am very close to finishing Featured Game 4, look forward to bashing some barbs for culture this time around though. Mohawk Warriors are excellent for that.

[albie_123]

I'll likely settle NW, to get some happiness.

Science wise, I'll be going Masonry, then Calendar, then Metal Casting. It's a risky move (I won't have access to libraries, temples, or other pretty vital earlygame buildings) but I absolutely love the longhouse + lumber yard combo, and adding the marble to the equation, I should be able to get some serious from the Medieval era onwards, and I'll pump out both soldiers and wonders like crazy. As far as the victory I'll be going for - likely conquest, especially if there's a nearby City State.

[Thalassicus]

Stonehenge will get the luxuries and lots of 3rd ring hills, so I'll settle in place for immediate access to the 2 production tiles (deer+cows). This is my planned build order:

1. Worker.
2. Stonehenge.
3. Pyramids.
4. Archery → camp & archers.
5. Animal Husbandry → pasture.
6. Capture a nearby citystate with archers & mohawk warrior.
7. Iron Working → mohawks.
8. Conquer a major civ or more citystates with archers & mohawks.

I'll buy 1 scout with gold to help explore, then save my gold for opportunities. A second scout is unnecessary this game since we have a fast & powerful mohawk.

I'm going to fill the honor tree first. Hiawatha has a big early military advantage with fast movement, combat bonuses, and resourceless swordsmen. Mohawk Warriors kill most barbarian brutes/poachers in 1 hit so honor will provide lots of culture. The mohawk will also make it easy to capture a nearby citystate for a massive food/culture/military bonus.

[Txurce]

I played the Iroquois recently in Hotseat, and took an approach very close to Thal's, even though I was as usual playing for science. (Exceptions: no Stonehenge, no CS war.)

[Seek]

It's an interesting strat - I find it difficult to imagine leaving writing/philo for such a late tech though.

The addition of the Cow tile (I don't think it was there before this morning) makes settling in place much more appealing.

[albie_123]

That cow snuck in, Thal.

[Txurce]

Originally Posted by Seek

It's an interesting strat - I find it difficult to imagine leaving writing/philo for such a late tech though.

The addition of the Cow tile (I don't think it was there before this morning) makes settling in place much more appealing.

I start in the same boat re: the early science track. But there is a real argument for the head of steam that Thal's approach gives the Mohawks. Science should only be an issue when taking on the other continent, and by then you may have caught up enough.

Originally Posted by albie_123

That cow snuck in, Thal.

No kidding!

[albie_123]

In response to forgoing science and culture buildings, I have done so every game I've played with Hiawatha to great success (on King difficulty). You really have to get that longhouse early to make the most of him. I've found him to be one of the best conquest Civs because of his starting Mohawk, the Mohawk's lack of a strategic requirement, and his production boost with lumber mill spam.

The only issue with the science and culture gap is that you have to dedicate yourself to conquest, otherwise you'll come up short in the end.

[Thalassicus]

The cow's always been there... you might have overlooked it because of the unit on the tile.

In my military-focused games I usually stay on top in science. If anyone pulls ahead they're usually neglecting their military, so I capture their cities, putting me on top again.

[Gamewizard]

Thal is right, that cow was always there.

[Jorlem]

Just a bit of confusion regarding the description. Does the Mohawk Warrior replace the Warrior, or the Swordsman? Because if you are getting a Swordsman+ level unit, right off the bat...

[albie_123]

It does replace the swordsman, but you start with one which replaces your original warrior.

It is a great bonus, I'll admit, but it has never seemed that overpowered in any of my games. To be honest, starting with a worker instead of a warrior makes more of a long-term difference.

[Dunkah]

A bit off topic but I dislike removing the dlc stuff from the folders. Is there a way to do featured games with all of the DLC?