Failed to found a religion

regeneration64

Warlord
Joined
May 15, 2012
Messages
222
Location
Shropshire, England
I've just had quite a shock in that I've failed to found a religion before the AI in my current game on King (England, standard continents).

Throughout G&K I always managed to found a religion (King/Emperor player) so I was a little surprised to find that I was too slow to get one. Admittedly, I had a slow start being surrounded by tundra and city states and Austria taking up the good land so it was only worthwhile settling two cities. I even thought it wise to build a temple in London and get one underweigh in my second city but it was too late. Around T120 the last religion went.

I thought this was quite early, especially for King. Then I had a nose at the discovered AI's SPs - the had all chosen Piety as their first SP. It's no wonder I couldn't compete what with a slow start and the AIs choice of SPs.

I know founding a religion isn't essential to a win (and on higher difficulties it has always been nigh on impossible to found) but it certainly makes the game easier and more fun so I'm interested to see how this game pans out.

Has anyone else noticed the AI going Piety and/or had trouble founding a religion in BNW?
 
It depends a lot on who you're playing against and whether you (or an opponent) gets a holy mountain. Maybe you've just been unlucky.
 
Think this is a one off really . Who have you got civ wise ? If you have ethopia , celts ,byzant and egypt you could be civ-screwed .
 
Some games on Emperor nobody except for one-two AI's cares at all for religion, but some they get it very fast.

And yeah, AI's like Piety a lot. Or at least some do, most go Tradition. It's very funny when an AI with Piety doesn't get a religion, because they wasted so much effort and Policies for nothing.
 
I've definitely noticed this too. But so far i have managed to eek one out before they're gone- however, picking from table scraps. I like it and i don't- the fact that I have competition i like, but it's always from a civ i find later in the game who has a continent to itself. I wonder if difficulty level corrolates to starting placement or if its just luck of the draw...
 
Recent game I noticed that, of 5 AI civs on my continent, 4 went Piety. Needless to say, that never happened in G&K.
 
Recent game I noticed that, of 5 AI civs on my continent, 4 went Piety. Needless to say, that never happened in G&K.

Perhaps that's a result of piety being available from the very start, but other parameters remaining fairly unaltered?
 
Yes, but I also think the discount on faith purchases of missionaries and religious buildings, the availability of a 6th belief (Reformation belief) and the GP from the closer made Piety a more coherent tree and are driving AI choices. We all know Piety was schizophrenic in G&K.
 
It depends a lot on who you're playing against and whether you (or an opponent) gets a holy mountain. Maybe you've just been unlucky.

This does seem a pretty unlucky game so far. Even religion aside, France and Korea are wonder-spamming and the other continent are fighting amongst themselves.

Think this is a one off really . Who have you got civ wise ? If you have ethopia , celts ,byzant and egypt you could be civ-screwed .

I've now discovered everyone:

Austria
Babylon*^
Celts*^
Denmark*^
France
Korea*
Polynesia*^

* = Founded a religion
^ = Went Piety

Now fair enough that the Celts founded a religion but I've always seen Babylon and Denmark as being more focused on waging war than wanting to found a religion. Polynesia has just sent over 4 missionaries to my cities (over the ocean). They now have 22 cities following their religion. What's with Polynesia wanting to spread Catholicism across the map so aggressively?

This is certainly an interesting game but I'm now even more surprised at how I missed out on a relgion after discovering all of the civs. If I'd discovered them earlier I would have probably worried even less about ensuring my faith per turn. Clearly that wouldn't have been a smart move.
 
Not sure what happens pre-deity but on deity if you want a religion you MUST push it i.e. Shrines, faith-based Pantheon, (bonus: religion-boosting civ, ruins).
BNW's Piety seems like a whole lot of bull to me. Even if I had 5 free SP I'd rather fill honor, exploration or aestethics really.

If things go bad just let someone convert your cities then spread the religion you've been given.
 
Not sure what happens pre-deity but on deity if you want a religion you MUST push it i.e. Shrines, faith-based Pantheon, (bonus: religion-boosting civ, ruins).
BNW's Piety seems like a whole lot of bull to me. Even if I had 5 free SP I'd rather fill honor, exploration or aestethics really.

If things go bad just let someone convert your cities then spread the religion you've been given.

I'll see how next game turns out. I do quite like having my own religion but there is so much going on in those first 100 turns.

I agree with Piety being the worst of the Ancient Era SPs. I can't see any reason to have it above Tradition, Liberty or Honor. Which makes me wonder, why does the AI seemingly like it so much?
 
If you want a religion you can't delay getting your Shrine up (unless you're the Celts or Ethiopia), it needs to be the first thing you build as soon as you can build it. And if several pantheons have already been founded by the time you get it up, you'll probably also need Piety and Organized Religion to keep up with them.
 
If you want a religion you can't delay getting your Shrine up (unless you're the Celts or Ethiopia), it needs to be the first thing you build as soon as you can build it. And if several pantheons have already been founded by the time you get it up, you'll probably also need Piety and Organized Religion to keep up with them.

Nah, shrine doesn't cut it. A religious City-State or a holy mountain is the surefire way, although a shrine + a starting location that has a pantheon-exploitable feature (like silver in my current game) can work well.
 
Personally: If I open piety (working on a build order) I can get a religion going 90%+ of the time and with good RNG can pick pretty much whatever belief (Messing around with the build order on Immortal right now). If I don't open piety or never go piety then it's all up to the RNG gods, and to be honest... I'm kind okay with that. It's a bit refreshing to explore different build orders and that Piety is no longer garbage on the simple principle that people go: "Well I can get a good religion without it!".
 
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