I Don't Have Religion - Is There Hope For Me?

Hello Fellow Civ Fanatics,

I am running Venice, and I don't have religion. Yes, I am the one with the short-end of the stick. Not having the added facet of Religion in one's gameplay does curtain the fun a pinch. I am also in last place on my coop team, probably, no, let's make it because of this!

Saying this, have you won a game without Religion, whether you played the Venetian Civ or not, in BNW? Are there Policies, Buildings, Ideologies, a strategy, which I should be focusing on?

It seems to me that one way around this may to become super-rich, pump-out merchants and buy my way to the finish line...

I am feeling a bit handicapped here...

Thoughts?

Regards,

Marc

Just because you didn't found a religion doesn't mean you don't get the benefits of whatever religion spreads to you. See if the religion that spreads to you helps with your plans and if it doesn't, think about switching your planned victory or taking advantage of the benefits in some way.

In my recent culture game, I didn't get to found a religion. But the Mayans spread a religion to me which happened to have the bonus tourism on certain faith buildings and had a couple buildings that could be built using faith. I wasn't specifically going for a culture win at that point, but it helped me decide to go that route. I haven't won yet, but I'm 4/6 Influential and about to hit the Internet with 2 Great Musicians to help speed the process. I'm also in the first couple turns of the International Games bonus so I'm confident it is a win.

I don't know, on Emperor I pretty much always get a religion as Venice (but sometimes it's a result of pure luck and no one caring to get one) because my puppets for some reason completely adore Shrines, and I will often declare an early war, win it, take a city or two, which means 4 Shrines in my empire.

But you're playing coop, so I dunno.

Religion isn't too needed though. If you get an enemy with an enhanced religion send it to you, all you're losing on is the Founder Belief. And if nobody on your continent got a religion, trade routes should still give you one. Or Missionary/Great Profits sent by the enemies. Granted AI civs take completely irrational beliefs (...why the hell is Ramesses, who took the first religion and had the first choice, taking Monasteries when he doesn't have A SINGLE wine/incense? There were only three or two incenses on our continent, two of them taken by City States!)

No big deal. Often founding a religion is not worth the effort. Let a religion be spread to you. The Venice-AI often goes crazy about religion though.

Buy 1-2 costal City states early on. Buy granary/workshop in them and send production/food to venice. (This is free food/production, which does not get deducted at the sender.)

Focus on wonders which give great merchant points.

Focus on commerce to make buying stuff in Venice cheaper. Have all trade run at max and focus on the techs that give you more trade routes. then go either patronage for diplo, or buy a few city states including their units and kill everyone.

I won so far a (close) space victory (Emperor or Immortal I forgot) on continents using Autocracy without found a religion.

I just won a game without religion. But religion did spread to me, and I eventually captured that religion's holy city.

I have not got religion for my past two games, is it really so important? I think, not. But for the next game I will discover some advantages of it.
One game I lost miserably, but I do not blame religion for it. The second I won without religion, though I had some AI religions spreaded, I did not know they give any advantages in that way.
For me, religion is not anything important.

No brah, u r going to the hell.

Like everyone else said, religion helps but it's not indispensable.
Then that really depends on what kind of religion is being spread in your cities, if you are lucky you'll get pagoda and you'll actually have something very useful to spend your faith in.

I won a recent game as Venice and I actually didn't plan to get a religion at all, I didn't build any religious wonder. I still ended up with a religion because puppets apparently low shrines and temples. Anyway I just kept my religion in my cities and never really tried to become dominant. It went fine and in the end I won a diplomatic victory. I don't think it would have been different without a religion, though the extra happiness did help me in the early phases of my game.

My turn 277 Deity win as Venice/Continents/Standard and no religion founded: http://imgur.com/a/UJEIf

Thank you everyone.

I did not know it was possible to find out what type of Follower Beliefs you get when another Civ "gives" you their religion. After some digging, I see now where that is, and how it influences me.

Not having a Religion is no biggie, but, it's helpful to know what Follower benefits you're getting...

Regards,

Marc

I am running Venice, and I don't have religion.

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While the last time I never founded a religion in Civ V was in Vanilla, there are players who report they win all the time without it.

But I've never had a problem founding a religion; I just ensure Shrines are early enough in my queue to get a pantheon before the AI enhances a religion and then have a spot reserved.

I did find in my game as Venice that if you have Piety your puppets will actually build Shrines & Temples even without you having to spend gold on them if in your next Venice game you want to found a religion yourself rather than hope a nearby AI spread a good one to you.

AlpsStranger said:

No brah, u r going to the hell.

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Too funny!