vorshlumpf
Emperor
Here's a bit of my strategy from when I won the game on deity level on quick speed. It applies mainly to those who don't mind turtling in their starting valley.
Spoiler :
Send your scouts to each choke-point immediately and have them Sentry on the spot. Basically, you want them to keep the barbarians from thinking that they can come at your city (I guess the barb AI didn't learn the same lessons about choke-points that the general AI did). Exploration will have to come later, depending on your difficulty level.
Build a few warriors right away. You can send your initial spare warrior to one of the choke-points. I suggest at least two warriors at each choke-point (more for the highest difficulty levels). You can send an early warrior or your hero to that frostling den that is directly west. Other than that, I didn't push forth much at all.
Once you've secured the choke-points, then focus on two things: development of your valley and getting missile units. I build a city on the hill at the western choke-point next to the wheat, and eventually another city to the north, next to the 'lake', that will take advantage of the deer. Note that cities do not count as choke-points - barbs will assault them.
Another important improvement (besides mines, farms, cottages, and roads are forts on the choke-points. With the forested hill, your northern choke-point will have a defence rating of 100% and your units can use city defence promotions. My western choke-point is a mere 75% on the fort/forest.
The missile troops are needed because of their barrage ability. Having enough of these units protecting each front will almost ensure that you won't lose any units. And, once you start your push forward, they will be indispensable for softening up city defenders. But that's a different spoiler
Build a few warriors right away. You can send your initial spare warrior to one of the choke-points. I suggest at least two warriors at each choke-point (more for the highest difficulty levels). You can send an early warrior or your hero to that frostling den that is directly west. Other than that, I didn't push forth much at all.
Once you've secured the choke-points, then focus on two things: development of your valley and getting missile units. I build a city on the hill at the western choke-point next to the wheat, and eventually another city to the north, next to the 'lake', that will take advantage of the deer. Note that cities do not count as choke-points - barbs will assault them.
Another important improvement (besides mines, farms, cottages, and roads are forts on the choke-points. With the forested hill, your northern choke-point will have a defence rating of 100% and your units can use city defence promotions. My western choke-point is a mere 75% on the fort/forest.
The missile troops are needed because of their barrage ability. Having enough of these units protecting each front will almost ensure that you won't lose any units. And, once you start your push forward, they will be indispensable for softening up city defenders. But that's a different spoiler