Civilization V Strategy Guide - is this advice correct???

I bought the G&K Strategy Guide from Brady Games a couple months back, and was prepared to buy one for BNW (not so sure anymore). This guide is filled to the brim with what I feel is noobish advice that actually had me facepalming from cover to cover. Maybe it's just me, that I'm the noob, but some of the things they recommend seem a little off to me. I actually can't believe that people actually pay for some of the advice I have read. The thing is, I have several Brady guides and generally find them to be somewhat helpful.

Here is just one of things that I don't really get (I have to copy everything myself straight from the book, but I'll try to add more later):

"Sweden's Nobel is tremendous, particularly with the new Great Person rules in the Gods & Kings expansion since Great Persons can no longer be expended for Golden Ages. 90 influence is about the equivalent of a 1000 Gold gift to a City-State and will make a huge difference in the speed at which you can acquire City-State allies."

The only time I can see this as being useful is either endgame, or in special maps. A great merchant would be a big waste - a trade mission would grant you influence and gold. A great artist could pop a golden age and then you could simply buy influence. A great general, maybe (Archipelago)? A great admiral, maybe (Pangaea)? A great scientist, endgame? A great engineer, endgame? The thing is, many of these great persons only seem disposable in the endgame, and by then I am (usually) rolling in gold (not to mention past the point of needing City-States).

I won't say that Sweden's UA is terrible, as I haven't been playing long enough to make that call (just under 400 hours), but it certainly offers nothing that can't be acquired by other Civs, albeit at a price - but with Sweden, the price seems even greater, somehow, despite the fact that it's a UA. In any case, I believe calling Sweden's UA "tremendous", and at another part, "the most powerful diplomatic passive in the game", a bit of a stretch.

Am I missing something or does the guide not know what it's talking about?

Agree with your views on Great Scientists, Engineers, Merchants and Artists (GWAMs in BNW) -- their primary uses are too valuable. The most commonly used GPs for Sweden's UA are Great Generals (incentive to stay at war with someone pretty much all the time) and Great Prophets with only 1 spread mission left (or captured Great Prophets that have been used a least once and therefore can't be used for a holy site). Captured Great Prophets are really nice, since they are the only GPs that can be captured.

Just hearing that makes me almost sick... Anyways I should add being at war the whole time will not allow the other half of the UA to take effect. Still you can benefit if you not Sweden, at least only Sweden can make friends with everyone on a huge map and become a GP machine.

Also, their 10% boosts don't seem sustainable considering the diplo AI, particularly end-game with the lovely denunciation-fest. I have difficulty getting DoF's (except super early), but even more difficulty in actually keeping those friendships later on. And I also agree with you on the GP assessment.

I wonder if every civ in the game is "tremendous" in some way in that fine strategy book. (I do like Sweden's UU's.)

The Swedes' UA is best used for conquest, ironically enough. You'll only need one Great General with a Hakk to help it zip around the map, the other ones you get (probably with your Caroleans since they were arguably the best melee unit in the game prior to Impi) you can burn on city-states.

The DoF bonus can basically be ignored.

Arachnofiend said:

The Swedes' UA is best used for conquest, ironically enough. You'll only need one Great General with a Hakk to help it zip around the map, the other ones you get (probably with your Caroleans since they were arguably the best melee unit in the game prior to Impi) you can burn on city-states.

The DoF bonus can basically be ignored.

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I like playing on huge maps with 22 civilizations on marathon. I find that it can be nice then though because if you are doing well and can get the AI to establish a group of allies and be in that group you might end up with like a +100% boost on your great people easily.

I guess it varies largely by the set rules.

Anyone know if there is an upper limit to the friendship bonus or can you get it up to ie 220%

The only time I can see this as being useful is either endgame, or in special maps.

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If you go to war a lot, you can acquire quite a few great generals who would be nearly useless otherwise.

newarkinvaders said:

Anyone know if there is an upper limit to the friendship bonus or can you get it up to ie 220%

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I've never seen a limit and I've went past 100% when I played as him but I've never had all 22 civs like me.

I'd argue in a 22 civ situation he is better the babylon because you know if you keep nice and avoid warmonger you will have at a minimum of 5 friends.

okay I've never played as Sweden but maybe.... but imagine if you use your great people to get a steady hold on on all the city states. you then have a late game hold on the word congress, and the rest of the wored. you'll people defending you or giving you tons of cash or luxuries or even gifting you great people haha in exchange for favourable resolutions.

That advice sounds perfectly reasonable by Brady guide standards.

I might note that it's much easier to get more DOFs in BNW than post fall patch G&K.

And I'm more fond of sending spare Great Admirals to city states than Great Generals.

I generally play Pangaea, I don't get very many Great Admirals. To the point I sometimes forget they exist.

Arachnofiend said:

I generally play Pangaea, I don't get very many Great Admirals. To the point I sometimes forget they exist.

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I like playing on tiny islands archipelago and small continents the most. I still forget they exist. They aren't fast enough to be useful so they'd be lost on a trip making the bonus kinda useless. Even if you enjoy the water game admirals suck.

So yeah good for city state gifts.

Peaceful Civ said:

I bought the G&K Strategy Guide from Brady Games a couple months back, and was prepared to buy one for BNW (not so sure anymore). This guide is filled to the brim with what I feel is noobish advice that actually had me facepalming from cover to cover.

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Here's a question. Why would anyone buy a hardcopy video game strategy guide if they have a reliable internet connection AND they are smart enough to find a dedicated fan site to the desired video game?

I like playing on huge maps with 22 civilizations on marathon.

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You must have some serious hardware for that, I'd guess. 8 players late game seems pretty slow for me, and I have a 3.2 ghz quadcore.

I.T. said:

You must have some serious hardware for that, I'd guess. 8 players late game seems pretty slow for me, and I have a 3.2 ghz quadcore.

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I have a very poor stock computer bought from the discount store several years ago and late game seems fast enough to me. I think its even faster than Civ IV - that could well be the case as it has all those stacked units to compute. I have upgraded the GPU to a decent one though.

Strategy guides aren't worth the paper their printed on these days. Even console games are patched in the first few hours so the information is out f date as soon as you bought the game not counting the fact strategy guides are finished at least weeks in advance and many things change in the final weeks before release.

And the final nail in the coffin is that there is a forum for every game and usually a strategy guide website that have up to the second information.