Your First 10 Techs.

What are the techs you start every game with? Here's my list:

1 Bronze Working - Phalanx
2 Wheel - Chariot
3 Alphabet
4 Laws
5 Burial
6 Monarchy
7 Writing
8 Literacy
9 Republic
10 Mysticism

After that I just build whatever I feel like and it changes depending on different circumstances.

1- wheel (ATTACK NEAR CIVS)
2- alphabet
3- mapmaking(EXPLORE COAST)
4- bronze working(DEFEND ALL YOUR CITIES)
5 -masonry
6 -mathematics (DESTROY YOUR CONTINENT CIVS)
7 -ceremonial burial
8 -mysticism
9 -astronomy
10- navigation

After that, 100% taxes, Writing and build chariots, phalanxes, catapults and sails like crazy.
Buy cities and when no money, get peace and attack.
Conqueer the world at 0-300 AD

Atila said:

1- wheel (ATTACK NEAR CIVS)
2- alphabet
3- mapmaking(EXPLORE COAST)
4- bronze working(DEFEND ALL YOUR CITIES)
5 -masonry
6 -mathematics (DESTROY YOUR CONTINENT CIVS)
7 -ceremonial burial
8 -mysticism
9 -astronomy
10- navigation

After that, 100% taxes, Writing and build chariots, phalanxes, catapults and sails like crazy.
Buy cities and when no money, get peace and attack.
Conqueer the world at 0-300 AD

Click to expand...

Sounds like an awesome way to get a high score.

I actually modified mine last night. I prefer to play the science race most of the time and attack after i've finished getting all the sciences. Here's my new one:

1 - Bronze Working > Build Phalanx's to defend all cities (3 per city)
2 - Riding > Build an Lcav in each town
3 - Iron Working > Build a Legion in every town
(At this point I am strong enough to avoid the threat of conflict with the Mongols who had wiped everyone else out. Before it would take forever to build 2 chariots, and i'd often have war declared on me. The LCavs and Legions are fast to build, and can easily kill any Chariots, Legions, LCavs and Catapults that would attack)
4 - Map Making > To explore all those hidden fishes for the shoreline cities
5 - Alphabet
6 - Laws
7 - Burial
8 - Monarchy
9 - Writing
10 - Literacy

Then Republic, Mysticism, then Wheel and Math, etc.

It depends on whether I have large or small landmasses.

Small- I get to navigation ASAP.

Large- Depends on how badly I need good military units.

Either way, my first task is always to build the Pyramids, switch to Democracy, race to Steel/Battleships or Automobile/Armor.

At that point, I decide if I want to try to win with a military victory (Kill 'Em All) or maximize my score (peace with everyone all the time and win with the spaceship).

I'm poking around on this website to see what tricks people use to REALLY maximize their score. My best has been a civilization rating around 140%, that I can remember.

@anyone: What does "LCav" stand for? I assume Licentia means Cavalry, but is LCav short for something in a newer Civ?

My guess is LCav means Light Cavalry ("Cavalry", in CIV) as opposed to Knights = Heavy Cavalry / HCav ?

darkpanda said:

My guess is LCav means Light Cavalry ("Cavalry", in CIV) as opposed to Knights = Heavy Cavalry / HCav ?

Click to expand...

Makes sense. Thanks!

1 - Alphabet
2 - Code of Laws
3 - Writing
4 - Literacy
5 - MapMaking
6 - The Republic (revolution, of course)
7 - The Wheel
8 - Bronze Working
9 - Masonry
10 - Iron Working

Licentia said:

Sounds like an awesome way to get a high score.

Click to expand...

Depends.

Licentia said:

1 - Bronze Working > Build Phalanx's to defend all cities (3 per city)

Click to expand...

Depends on the level you play. At chieftain maybe one is enough if not a direct neighbour to another AI-CIV...?
Better always have a nice amount of money and keep a 'diplomat/spy/briber' in each city, in most cases the better solution.

Licentia said:

2 - Riding > Build an Lcav in each town
3 - Iron Working > Build a Legion in every town

Click to expand...

Oh, some player for early war?
Well, why not.
Not my type o'game...

Renergy said:

1 - Alphabet
2 - Code of Laws
3 - Writing
4 - Literacy
5 - MapMaking
6 - The Republic (revolution, of course)
7 - The Wheel
8 - Bronze Working
9 - Masonry
10 - Iron Working

Click to expand...

Yeah, that's more my route.

Slight difference:
Just bring in the trade science and the marketplaces as soon as possible, additional.

Bronze as fast as possible, too [COLOSSUS wonder,
one of the best in the game,
if the main or 2nd city has natural/from the beginning
at least one nice shield spot (mines or 2 woods), good 4er food spots /w rivers
...and some sea /w fish]

...and so it's something like...

1 - Bronze / Alphabet
2 - Alphabet / Bronze / Writing
3 - Code oL / Writing
4 - Literacy / Code oL
5 - Republic
6 - Trade
7 - Wheel
9 - Masonry
...

I'm really surprised that only one respondent mentioned Horseback Riding. That's usually my first. Your 1st city builds a Militia to find the second citysite, then an immediate Settler to found. You should have 3 in capital soon after, another city coming soon, and need time to grow. Building 2 Cavalries right away in capital (rehome one in 2nd city) allows you three very important early-game advantages.

First, your orig Militia can come home and defend. Second, city 2 can immediately start on a Settler. And third, the +1 movement of 2 Cavs will reveal your sitch at breakneck speed. You get the lion's share of villages, you check rival civs' expansions while they're in the cradle, and buy enough time to bulk up to 5 cities with Hives (aka Granaries).

In Prince level, at least, getting to Five Hives fast is a guaranteed win. So my first 10 advances are:

1. Horseback Riding
2. Pottery
3. Ceremonial Burial
4. Bronze Working
5. Alphabet
6. Wheel
7. Writing
8. Code Of Laws
9. Masonry
10. Monarchy

I always try to expand as soon as possible so I take some risks, building settlers over and over. I stay rather unprotected, indeed, but I think that 2-3 chariots are enough at the beginning. In fact I'm financially dependent on the goodies (and the barbarians!), because I run with science 100%.
I keep 2-3 cities building wonders (Great Wall, Hanging Gardens and Colossus) and maybe one goldmining.
My purpose is to end the game with 6 enemy civilizations, restricted to some squares (humanism mode!)
So, I usualy run after monarchy (by 3000bC) and republic (by 2500bC), masonry, pottery, wheel and bronze working.

Haven't seen anyone post the same as mine, so here's mine. In summary it's bee-line to Republic, then get Trade concurrent with Religion, then Democracy and Mapmaking, then Banking.. Then Theory of Gravity, Next stop Railroad, next stop Computers, next stop Robotics. (No need to ever go through automobile or communism.)

Okay, so I guess my build order for the whole game is pretty predictable. But here's my first ten or so:

Primary:
Alphabet, Writing, Code of Laws, Literacy, The Republic
Secondary:
Bronze Working, Ceremonial Burial, Currency, Mysticism, Philosophy
Tertiary:
Trade, Religion, Democracy, Mapmaking

My main goal has always been to get two technologies: railroad and automobile. That way I can build railroads to enemy cities and obliterate them with armors.

Hm, never wrote here. Here it goes, in no particular order, and with the assumption that I usually rely on a colossal city strategy with the colossus and observatory in one city with early trade.

Bronze working
Alphabet
Masonry
Mathematics
Ceremonial burial
Mysticism
Astronomy
Then, depending on the situation - I'll either go with pottery, the wheel and sailing to expand aggressively, or beeline to trade with currency, code of laws, trade, to get that extra bang of the colossus and copernicus' obs.

If playing conquest (which is pretty much the only way to play on Emperor, anything else but outright and ceaseless assault of other civilizations will mean that you fall behind...)

Bronze Working
The Wheel (send out chariots to explore and conquer, need at least 4 to take a city)
Alphabet
Masonry
Mathematics (if faced with City Walls)
Ceremonial Burial
Mysticism
Mapmaking
Astronomy
Navigation (get this sooner if alone on an island)

that's 10, but you also must have Writing (only to produce diplomats to subvert cities, much easier than taking them by force, of course knock out the capital city first)

Then, depending on how the other civilizations are doing, head for Railroad/Gunpowder/Metallurgy (Catapults are usually not enough to take a city wall with fortified musketeers - will need at least 20 of them to take out such a city).

if another civilization gets Riflemen then... it's pretty much over. Going for Automobile will take a while and likely the other civilizations will have gotten much further.

what I consider to be worthless advances (I never get these, as they serve no useful function in a conquest scenario)

Pottery
Monarchy
Feudalism
Horseback Riding
Chivalry

most of the above you can pick up when conquering other civilizations, since, for whatever reason, the AI goes this route). They often show up in huts too.

Bronze Working
Alphabet
Writing
Ceremonial Burial
Mysticism
Masonry
Mathematics
Astronomy
Literacy
Philosophy

Then I develop universities, religion, banking, railroads and computers. Then I invent everything else. I usually trade with other tribes to get techs I didn't bother researching. (I usually leave horseback riding behind for a while). I build Colossus, Pyramids (I change to democracy immediately at this point. Researching democracy is not worth my time ), Copernicus Observatory, universities, libraries, marketplaces, banks, cathedrals, Bach's cathedral, SETI, railroad my cities. When I get all improvements that give luxuries and decrease unhappiness, I have constant President day in my cities. And so I get to the future techs at about 1 AD.

Or I develop wheel and sails, build barracks n each city, build kajillion veteran chariots and go wreck the other nations.

I prefer to go for Republic + happiness wonders (JSBach cathedral, Cure for Cancer later on).
When getting Republic, I like the feature where you can rise 1figure per every turn, when there are more happy faces than content and no unhappy (and some extra food of course).

1. Bronze Working (defend city with phalanx)
2. Masonry (build Great Wall so every opponent has to make peace with me, which is pretty useful)
3. Wheel (explore/conquer with chariots)
4. Pottery (Hanging Gardens)
5,6,7,8. Currency, Iron Working, Construction, Bridge Building (so I can build roads over rivers, otherwise my chariots' movement and ability to defend myself is impeded)
9,10. Alphabet, Mathematics (from there I'm headed toward Navigation)

rush to republic, no particular order.
then rush to railroads, no particular order either, but if im in a area with river i will take the bridges before following the navigation route.

depending on the map and how the expacion is gonig onm (if i find other civs) i then adap and slot in wheel and/or bronze as i see fit.

the truth is, theres no preset approach in my games.