OBRkenobi
Chieftain
could i get a list of a few rules of thumb and tips for the game plz?
rules of thumb?
- Thread starter OBRkenobi
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RatesAnalyst
Chieftain
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2014
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- 80
Mate
For the first game, something like: Play Warlord. Play Poland. Choose Tradition. Found 4 cities. Prioritise Science.
That should get you started....
For the first game, something like: Play Warlord. Play Poland. Choose Tradition. Found 4 cities. Prioritise Science.
That should get you started....
OBRkenobi
Chieftain
ive already beaten prince and have played 20+ games
killmeplease
Mk Z on Steam
always go for nc and education
If that is the case, I'd suggest you don't really need rules of thumb as you seem to understand how the game works. I think you probably need more specific advice regarding certain situations or tactics and unless you can put them out in the open for us, it is difficult to understand precisely what you need.
lindsay40k
Emperor
Always find a CS whipping boy to farm XP for long range rapid firing archers and GGs.
In that case, if you promote yourself to King, the standard Science is King advice applies.
And also the standard when moving up a difficulty level advise of building fewer world wonders applies.
On Prince, you can "get away with" just about any tactic and still win if you've played 20+ games. (You've probably internalized the small list that leads to losing your capital and you can comes back from anything else on this level.)
Primacide
Settler
So the game really changes as you increase difficulty. I played on King for quite some time and actually started coming to these forums when I began trying to play on harder difficulties. Some rules of thumb I had to learn to play at higher levels:
1) Build libraries and NC asap. I hate doing this - I always have ten other things I'd rather build, but I have learned to just suck it up and build the darn NC before turn 150.
2) Steal a worker from a city state. Even if you don't do the thing where you stay at war and exp up your units (I don't), it saves you crucial turns early in the game.
3) Send food to the capital. I usually use my third or forth trade route. It's a way of offsetting the food hit from working specialists.
4) Pick three or four wonders that you feel you must have, plan for them (have an engineer handy), and ignore the rest. This is hard to make your peace with and was the biggest adjustment for me. I took joncnunn's advice and played a few games intentionally without constructing a single wonder. It broke me of the "Ooooh, I really want the Temple of Artemis," attitude. Teaches you what your play style just can't live without.
5) If you look at the map and think, "I don't know that I can survive an attack," then you can't. At higher levels the AI will test you by suddenly flooding your lands with what seems to be an impossible number of units. The AI definitely looks at the size of your army before deciding to attack. If you see that you are a little weak, STOP and build a few units. Tough to do when you really want that market or caravan, but worth listening to your instincts. If you feel weak, you are.
6) If you are making a game choice between science and another resource (money, faith, etc.), pick science. It's boring to research education when you could go for xbows, but you will thank yourself later.
This is by no means exhaustive, but were the big adjustments I had to make a few months ago. Play on the higher levels. You will lose, but after three or four games you will suddenly notice that your play style is much sharper and less meandering. Happy hunting!
1) Build libraries and NC asap. I hate doing this - I always have ten other things I'd rather build, but I have learned to just suck it up and build the darn NC before turn 150.
2) Steal a worker from a city state. Even if you don't do the thing where you stay at war and exp up your units (I don't), it saves you crucial turns early in the game.
3) Send food to the capital. I usually use my third or forth trade route. It's a way of offsetting the food hit from working specialists.
4) Pick three or four wonders that you feel you must have, plan for them (have an engineer handy), and ignore the rest. This is hard to make your peace with and was the biggest adjustment for me. I took joncnunn's advice and played a few games intentionally without constructing a single wonder. It broke me of the "Ooooh, I really want the Temple of Artemis," attitude. Teaches you what your play style just can't live without.
5) If you look at the map and think, "I don't know that I can survive an attack," then you can't. At higher levels the AI will test you by suddenly flooding your lands with what seems to be an impossible number of units. The AI definitely looks at the size of your army before deciding to attack. If you see that you are a little weak, STOP and build a few units. Tough to do when you really want that market or caravan, but worth listening to your instincts. If you feel weak, you are.
6) If you are making a game choice between science and another resource (money, faith, etc.), pick science. It's boring to research education when you could go for xbows, but you will thank yourself later.
This is by no means exhaustive, but were the big adjustments I had to make a few months ago. Play on the higher levels. You will lose, but after three or four games you will suddenly notice that your play style is much sharper and less meandering. Happy hunting!
poekie70
Chieftain
when planting a city: 1 new luxury is required to offset the hapiness hit
OBRkenobi
Chieftain
If this is standard game speed, right before turn 150 is probably too late for NC on Emperor which is the next higher level. For Immortal, most of the time the goal is turn 85 with 2 city NC and turn 100 for 3 city NC. (This goal used to be turn 60 for G&K but BNW removed that early free gold from AI.) The science goal is normally the same on Deity as Immortal.
This burns up your "free DOW" without diplomatic consequences.
Which means if an AI was about to found a city right next to you, when you do so, several civs will hate you. (Although you'll now have a second free worker from having enslaved the AI's settler)
You're actually better of doing this with your first trade routes for the compound effect. External trade routes don't yield much until the 3rd or 4th is possible anyway. Note that there actually is major exception to this on Diety level due to the AIs extra starting settler and so being able to keep their head start in techs longer but that doesn't even apply on Immortal.
Primacide
Settler
Those are all good fine tuning points. I just KNEW you would take issue with a turn 150 NC. I try and try to get the stupid thing up before then, but I just... Can't.
Ain't it the truth? I *know* I have to build it but I always find something more pressing.
Mic112
Chieftain
(This is all based on my personal expirience XD ) Dont give warmongers or even semi warmongerers embassies. There are some you should never give them to and there are some you can if you have a strong militia. and some are somewhat safe. Id say people like: Atila Khan Shaka Askia and Montezuma are people you should never give your embassy to. Some people who will declare war on you if you have a weaker militia are people like Alexander Bismark Elizabeth Boudicca Hiawatha and Suleiman. Some of the civ that are relatively friendly in the early game are Siam Byz Sweden Denmark Korea Morocco and Gandhi. These guys will double cross you in the late game but they will be your friends for a good long time. The only civs Ive never ever had betray me no matter what are Brazil Venice and Ethiopia. They make firm friends but watch out for Haile Selassie. That jerk will win cultural or diplomatic victory if you dont take him over. Venice and Brazil is literally everyone's punching bag so keep that in mind.
killmeplease
Mk Z on Steam
Venice DOWed me twice last game, at first having DOF with me
phillipwyllie
Wannabe Deity
1.) Every city grows a new 
every 10 turns or less at all times even when first founded.
2.) NC by t80, Education by t110, Renaissance era by t120, Scientific Theory by t150, Ideology by t160, Plastics by t200
3.) Only settle the number of cities you have unique luxuries in your borders, don't rely on AI trade deals for this.
4.) Aim to rush buy 1, preferably 2 libraries in your newly founded cities ensuring a faster than t80 NC.
There's some debate about an early NC or not, but I've found a late NC(t100) to be detrimental for #2. Early Education some will say is useless if you cant rush buy a university, I'd say the quicker you unlock Secularism(Rationalism tree) the better and after Education it's Acoustics(Renaissance era). The way to an early and guaranteed ideology is to beeline Scientific Theory and bulb Electricity(yes its a waste of a GS), with a pre-built Oxford University you can pick your ideology 2 turns after you research Scientific Theory.
The thing about rule of thumbs on some maps they are easily achievable, and on others not. The most important one imo is #1 as science is directly related to population and as we all know science is king.
every 10 turns or less at all times even when first founded. 2.) NC by t80, Education by t110, Renaissance era by t120, Scientific Theory by t150, Ideology by t160, Plastics by t200
3.) Only settle the number of cities you have unique luxuries in your borders, don't rely on AI trade deals for this.
4.) Aim to rush buy 1, preferably 2 libraries in your newly founded cities ensuring a faster than t80 NC.
There's some debate about an early NC or not, but I've found a late NC(t100) to be detrimental for #2. Early Education some will say is useless if you cant rush buy a university, I'd say the quicker you unlock Secularism(Rationalism tree) the better and after Education it's Acoustics(Renaissance era). The way to an early and guaranteed ideology is to beeline Scientific Theory and bulb Electricity(yes its a waste of a GS), with a pre-built Oxford University you can pick your ideology 2 turns after you research Scientific Theory.
The thing about rule of thumbs on some maps they are easily achievable, and on others not. The most important one imo is #1 as science is directly related to population and as we all know science is king.
lindsay40k
Emperor
Put a throwaway unit on every antiquity site you can (except CSs you're trying to make friendly). Even if diplomatic concerns prevent you digging them up, it prevents rival archaeologists from tapping them for their juicy cultural goodness 
- 3 archers + 2 melee to take an unguarded city. More if there's other units inside/around
- 25 damage on a city to break even. Everything above that gets you closer to taking it.
- 2 units to take out 1 barb camp, on raging barbs. Only 1 unit required, on epic or marathon.
- 100xp to range promotion. 150xp to logistics (or vice versa)
- a unit fortified, 2 tiles from a typical unguarded enemy city, next to a melee unit with medic promotion, breaks even on city bombard+healing every turn, and you can farm it
- 1250 hammers wins world's fair on immortal standard
- average rush buy cost is 3 gold to 1 hammer. anything better than that: good deal. Anything worse: not. SP's improve that ratio.
- GE's produce up to 20x a city's regular hammers in a rush build, and I'm not sure if trade route hammers count
- the prophets you get at 500 and 800 faith will come out ahead in faith if you plant them, but not after that
- the benefits to being in a state of perpetual war (even a quiet one) exceed the benefits of being at peace with absolutely everyone
- all rules of thumb can be broken and none hold true always
- 25 damage on a city to break even. Everything above that gets you closer to taking it.
- 2 units to take out 1 barb camp, on raging barbs. Only 1 unit required, on epic or marathon.
- 100xp to range promotion. 150xp to logistics (or vice versa)
- a unit fortified, 2 tiles from a typical unguarded enemy city, next to a melee unit with medic promotion, breaks even on city bombard+healing every turn, and you can farm it
- 1250 hammers wins world's fair on immortal standard
- average rush buy cost is 3 gold to 1 hammer. anything better than that: good deal. Anything worse: not. SP's improve that ratio.
- GE's produce up to 20x a city's regular hammers in a rush build, and I'm not sure if trade route hammers count
- the prophets you get at 500 and 800 faith will come out ahead in faith if you plant them, but not after that
- the benefits to being in a state of perpetual war (even a quiet one) exceed the benefits of being at peace with absolutely everyone
- all rules of thumb can be broken and none hold true always
