Best BNW Civ For Expansion (I Love City Sprawl)
- Thread starter JohnYoga
- Start date
Love the Venice idea, too. We DO max out on City States, or nearly so, every game we played in G&K, we'll do the same with BNW. I'll try this tact in one of my games! Thanks!
And, others, thanks again for helping me out. I have been playing the expansion game with India, America, Spain (Isabella), but, I feel that I cannot keep up in my score with my MP friends. It could be lack of brain cells, though.
It may be that my desire for expansion is pinned on the wrong rulers!I'll try the ones mentioned above, one at a time, until I find one which I feel an affinity towards/can play optimally.
Regards,
Marc
Muskie
Warlord
Happiness isn't the only limiter to expansion, some have reported running short on money, perhaps starting in Medieval times this is less of an issue. In my next game I plan to play as another old favourite, Arabia, and earn the big bucks.
I had few problems with happiness until late in the game when a rival ideology was way more popular than mine causing disatisfaction in my empire, I also was always cashflow positive but I didn't expand like mad.
Civs that make lots of money through trade seem more desireable post BNW, you can always buy happiness.
I had few problems with happiness until late in the game when a rival ideology was way more popular than mine causing disatisfaction in my empire, I also was always cashflow positive but I didn't expand like mad.
Civs that make lots of money through trade seem more desireable post BNW, you can always buy happiness.
Happiness isn't the only limiter to expansion, some have reported running short on money, perhaps starting in Medieval times this is less of an issue. In my next game I plan to play as another old favourite, Arabia, and earn the big bucks.
I had few problems with happiness until late in the game when a rival ideology was way more popular than mine causing disatisfaction in my empire, I also was always cashflow positive but I didn't expand like mad.
Civs that make lots of money through trade seem more desireable post BNW, you can always buy happiness.
Love that last quote.
Running out of money sometimes happens to me, as I keep pushing the expansion limits, keeping an eye on happiness and gold. On reflection, I have been using the incorrect Civs for my wide expansion bias.
Regards & Thanks,
Marc
Tyrvos
Cu Chulainn
This one is more situational, but the Dutch could be a good pick. Trading your luxuries for a friends luxury will net you 2 happiness if it is your last of that type. So you can expand a bit fromt hat happiness. Also, depending on where you are located, you could pump out lots of polders and dominate the gold game. Since you are starting medieval, you'll at least reach the polders quickly.
Thanks for writing-in, Tyrvos.
What do you mean by trading in the last of that type. If I trade my last, say, silk with someone, don't I lose the happiness garnered from that item? By my trading that last one with another Civ for their luxury item, haven't I just done nothing to gain or lose a luxury happiness point or two? I must have misunderstood you.
Regards,
Marc
This is how the Dutch UA works. You retain 2 happy from a lux you trade away.
One note: the happiness based beliefs have been nerfed in BNW so basing your expansion on them will be a little more limited than in BNW.
I think that Rome is a really nice idea, as somebody stated. You get 25% bonus to production of buildings which already have been built in the capital. Add to that the possibility to use internal trade routes to boost production in your cities and you can build happy buildings in no time. (E.g., build Colosseum in Rome, plop a city, start on a Colosseum there, send production from Rome to the new city - wash, rinse, repeat).
Thank you, JtW. I still don't get it. If I trade away a luxury resource, I retain the +2 happiness. Then, why can't I simply break the system by merely giving away, then receiving back, then giving away, then receiving back the same luxury resource over and over with a Coop buddy? Do you see what I mean? I could have sworn I'd seen a similar flaw in G&K: You pillage an enemy's hex, gain the gold, then, you have your worker fix the hex, then you pillage the enemy's hex again, gain more gold; rinse and repeat infinitely. I was doing that for a bit, until I got bored with that cheap way of bringing in some extra dough 
Folks,
Now, for a slight segue into a slightly different topic:
1. Is there a optimal Social Policy progression that fosters rapid expansion?
2. Are there key buildings/wonders/units that foster rapid expansion?
Aside from the obvious of going after Social Policies that plainly say "for those wanting expansive Civs...", and buildings that show the highest happiness and gold, are there 1 & 2 items I should be on the look-out for? I understand that I need to really dig-in and use the trade route structure of BNW.
Regards & Thanks...
Marc
Folks,
Now, for a slight segue into a slightly different topic:
1. Is there a optimal Social Policy progression that fosters rapid expansion?
2. Are there key buildings/wonders/units that foster rapid expansion?
Aside from the obvious of going after Social Policies that plainly say "for those wanting expansive Civs...", and buildings that show the highest happiness and gold, are there 1 & 2 items I should be on the look-out for? I understand that I need to really dig-in and use the trade route structure of BNW.
Regards & Thanks...
Marc
Tyrvos
Cu Chulainn
Thank you, JtW. I still don't get it. If I trade away a luxury resource, I retain the +2 happiness. Then, why can't I simply break the system by merely giving away, then receiving back, then giving away, then receiving back the same luxury resource over and over with a Coop buddy? Do you see what I mean? I could have sworn I'd seen a similar flaw in G&K: You pillage an enemy's hex, gain the gold, then, you have your worker fix the hex, then you pillage the enemy's hex again, gain more gold; rinse and repeat infinitely. I was doing that for a bit, until I got bored with that cheap way of bringing in some extra dough
Marc
With the Dutch UA, if I trade my last silk for somebody's cotton, I'll gain +2 happiness overall (I'll get that additional 4 happiness from the cotton and keep 2 from the silk).
I'm pretty sure that it still counts as you having the luxury resource, so another person can't trade you it. The UA just gives you the option to sell that last luxury for some bonus happiness. I haven't found any exploits of it yet.
In my current game, I am playing Venice, and in last place. As soon as I get a Merchant, I use them to buy a local CS. Being the only Civ without a religion doesn't help my cause. Perhaps Venice is hugely dependent on where you land your city. Being at the tip of Africa only goes so far in resources.
Regards,
Marc
kingofsealand
Warlord
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2013
- Messages
- 279
Venice requires you roll an amazing starting position. If your capital sucks you are going to lose. That being said they are biased to start in prime coastal locations so you should never need to make more than a couple games for a desirable map. Outside of that try not buying the city states right away. You want to be reeling in boatloads of gold before you start expanding. This necessitates you have many trading partners, the local AI civs will not be enough for your doubled route capacity forcing you to trade with CS's as well. Once your making a few hundred gold every turn and have 20k in the bank, feel free to buy them up because now you can actually use them to purchase an army anywhere you like. In the meantime you ought to be making enough $$ already to ally yourself with the CS's for resources.
Thanks, Kingofsealand, for your wise counsel! It is too late for me to, what we call "flipping the board" now, as my co-op MP team would kill me. But, lessons learned. I also didn't know that you could out-right buy a CS; I did not see that option in any CS splash screen. I know a Merchant can buy a CS, but they come so seldom that it seems like not such a great feature for Venice.
Regards,
Marc
