Mulling over which Civ to...

dojoboy

dojoboy

Tsalagi
Joined
Dec 30, 2001
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Location
Tanasi, USA
... attempt my first Emperor game. I've just completed winning w/ each Civ on King. My top 6 HoF games are:

1 - Shaka; technology; turn 424; 3652 pts.
2 - Boudicca; technology; turn 478; 3049 pts.
3 - Bluetooth; diplomatic; turn 425; 2816 pts.
4 - Kamehameha; technology; turn 454; 2793 pts.
5 - Adolphus; technology; turn 427; 2777 pts.
6 - Ramkhamhaeng; diplomatic; turn 430; 2758 pts.

I realize most people may play those to their strengths (e.g. Shaka = conquest), but I tend to settle 4 cities, acquire a few puppet cities from rivals, then tech while acquiring, usually, all the city-states as allies. I often find myself delaying a diplo victory to play out a tech or culture win.

Given the AI bonuses on Emperor, any recommendations for my first Emperor game?
 
Emperor isn't that challenging but that doesn't mean that you won't end up losing to AI. Emperor difficulty could be like King difficulty in a way but Immortal and Deity difficulties are really that much more difficult.
 
I think you can be a lot more focused on a particular VC that suits the civ and come out with win times subT300 on emperor. the civ doesn't really matter too much on emperor, but on deity playing to the strength of your civ is really important.
 
Well, the bad news is that score actually punishes people who are more efficient about their victory and rewards those that milk it.
So the top 6 according to Hall of Fame doesn't really give an idea.
What would have more bearing is fastest turn to victory, these are actually likely to be towards the bottom of your hall of fame.

You may actually find Emperor easier than King (AI has more gold for you to take and sign RA with.) If that's the case on your first Emperor game, no need to win as everybody else, just move up to Immortal with the civ you were best at.

But bottom line is that difference between Emperor & King is so small you really can just choose a Random civ for your first game on it with that much experience at King.

Now for your first Immortal game you probably want to play one of the "God Tier" civs. (Babylon / Korea / Poland / Inca.) Or if you wouldn't mind restarting if you aren't first to a nearby natural wonder you could try Spain.
 
I do have a few sub-400 turn victories. And, I'm not planning to roll through Emperor with every civ as I did with King. A few games I think should be plenty before trying the next difficulty level.
 
To answer the OP question, particularly if you want to do a core-4 Tradition, economy start before maybe doing some late game military with a tech lead:

1) Korea. Especially with a coastal cap. Nothing makes you feel more dominant than a capital that quickly gets to 300 science and can get up to 500+.

2) Poland. The free policy each age. You can fly into Rationalism or through an ideology. Good military, too, obviously.

3) Portugal. This is an odd choice, admittedly, but building a coastal fleet of Cargo ships with massive gold coming in will give you practice in the key game techniques of planning to buy key buildings and CS allies that will leap you ahead of an AI. Again, a strong Portuguese capital is fun, particularly with a fleet of coastal ships. Playing with the Nau is fun, too.

4) Shoshone. The early game bonuses are ridiculous. I first moved up to Emperor and Immortal with these guys back in the day, and holy cow do you get spoiled. Pathfinders are the sexiest thing ever, and planting cities that immediately reach to ring three is frightening strong.

Other people will have other ideas, and frankly most civs have some sort of advantage you can play with (early gold from Songhai, tall bonus with India, Bazaar and Camel Archers with Arabia, Early GP with Maya, etc.)

What I like most about BNW (and the one factor that raises it so much above other Civ versions in my own opinion) is that the UA and UU bonuses (as well as City State variation) truly can have a fun impact on playing.
 
Nick31 said:
To answer the OP question, particularly if you want to do a core-4 Tradition, economy start before maybe doing some late game military with a tech lead:

1) Korea. Especially with a coastal cap. Nothing makes you feel more dominant than a capital that quickly gets to 300 science and can get up to 500+.

2) Poland. The free policy each age. You can fly into Rationalism or through an ideology. Good military, too, obviously.

3) Portugal. This is an odd choice, admittedly, but building a coastal fleet of Cargo ships with massive gold coming in will give you practice in the key game techniques of planning to buy key buildings and CS allies that will leap you ahead of an AI. Again, a strong Portuguese capital is fun, particularly with a fleet of coastal ships. Playing with the Nau is fun, too.

4) Shoshone. The early game bonuses are ridiculous. I first moved up to Emperor and Immortal with these guys back in the day, and holy cow do you get spoiled. Pathfinders are the sexiest thing ever, and planting cities that immediately reach to ring three is frightening strong.

Other people will have other ideas, and frankly most civs have some sort of advantage you can play with (early gold from Songhai, tall bonus with India, Bazaar and Camel Archers with Arabia, Early GP with Maya, etc.)

What I like most about BNW (and the one factor that raises it so much above other Civ versions in my own opinion) is that the UA and UU bonuses (as well as City State variation) truly can have a fun impact on playing.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Nick31. That is an excellent list of civ options. Some of my favorites. I just finished my first Emperor game with a Diplomacy victory. I enjoyed a world filled with conflict, which I was able to remain neutral throughout. At no time did I feel like it was any more difficult than King level. I think I'll play Poland next.
 
Awesome. I think Emperor and Immortal are the most 'fun' levels. I'm currently in a Diety game and boy is it a fight :). Partly that is because my Diety game needs improvement, but it's also because of Diety deluge.

I love playing Immortal, even if I essentially win every time.
 
Nick31 said:
4) Shoshone. The early game bonuses are ridiculous. I first moved up to Emperor and Immortal with these guys back in the day, and holy cow do you get spoiled. Pathfinders are the sexiest thing ever, and planting cities that immediately reach to ring three is frightening strong.
Click to expand...

Pathfinders hitting lots of ruins can pretty much negate any science deficit early game. Swap between apopulation technology and a culture ruin can get get you going right on pace with AI and the extra population can help grow even faster or swap to production to get an early wonder if you're feeling confident. :goodjob:
 
Nick31 said:
To answer the OP question, particularly if you want to do a core-4 Tradition, economy start before maybe doing some late game military with a tech lead:

1) Korea. Especially with a coastal cap. Nothing makes you feel more dominant than a capital that quickly gets to 300 science and can get up to 500+.

2) Poland. The free policy each age. You can fly into Rationalism or through an ideology. Good military, too, obviously.

3) Portugal. This is an odd choice, admittedly, but building a coastal fleet of Cargo ships with massive gold coming in will give you practice in the key game techniques of planning to buy key buildings and CS allies that will leap you ahead of an AI. Again, a strong Portuguese capital is fun, particularly with a fleet of coastal ships. Playing with the Nau is fun, too.

4) Shoshone. The early game bonuses are ridiculous. I first moved up to Emperor and Immortal with these guys back in the day, and holy cow do you get spoiled. Pathfinders are the sexiest thing ever, and planting cities that immediately reach to ring three is frightening strong.

Other people will have other ideas, and frankly most civs have some sort of advantage you can play with (early gold from Songhai, tall bonus with India, Bazaar and Camel Archers with Arabia, Early GP with Maya, etc.)

What I like most about BNW (and the one factor that raises it so much above other Civ versions in my own opinion) is that the UA and UU bonuses (as well as City State variation) truly can have a fun impact on playing.
Click to expand...

5. Babylon. Planting an early GS almost seems like a cheat, the civ has pretty much nothing else to offer but that early GS makes the game 1-2 difficulty levels easier.

6. Mayans. Multiple free Great People never fails.

7. Huns. Battering Rams are OP for taking a quick city or 2.

8. Austria. Underrated by many people here but between their UA and UB they have a lot of leeway to play into your own style.

Don't discount other civs like Siam, England, Ethiopia, Celts, Arabia. Switching straight up to immortal with any of those 13 civs shouldn't be too hard considering you've won about 50 King wins.

@Nick, just the land grab alone is enough to make the Shoshone awesome, being able to work that 3rd ring cattle on T0 ensures your start is good, add the pathfinder and you start with nearly enough bonuses to equal the AI's bonuses.
 
Just beat Emperor with The Shoshone ~ technological. Maybe a few more, then I'll try next level. Poland up next.
 
I think when one is ready to move a level, one should chose the civ with the least immediate benefit. America, Greece, and China seem like good candidates to me, China obviously being the strongest.
 
comatosedragon said:
I think when one is ready to move a level, one should chose the civ with the least immediate benefit. America, Greece, and China seem like good candidates to me, China obviously being the strongest.
Click to expand...

Why do you feel such?
 
dojoboy said:
Why do you feel such?
Click to expand...

Probably so you know you are good on your skills and not a crutch from an elite Civ. Obviously a top tier Civ makes your game appear really good but if you proceed to get steam rolled using a less than amazing one you'll know you need to work on the skills before being ready to move up. Of course the King too Emperor isn't a big jump so there is more leeway on the skills jump
 
dojoboy said:
Why do you feel such?
Click to expand...
z284pwr said:
Probably so you know you are good on your skills and not a crutch from an elite Civ. Obviously a top tier Civ makes your game appear really good but if you proceed to get steam rolled using a less than amazing one you'll know you need to work on the skills before being ready to move up. Of course the King too Emperor isn't a big jump so there is more leeway on the skills jump
Click to expand...

Yes, exactly. Thank you for wording it better than I probably could have.
 
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