Deity Domination Victory Strategy (3v3 Renaissance Teamer)
1. Introduction
1.1 Deity AI Advantage
1.2 My Niche
1.3 Setting
1.4 Highlights
1.5 Research Path
2. Basic Strategy
2.1 Prelude
2.2 Phase I Initial Expansion
2.3 Phase II: Capture 4 Cities
2.4 Phase III: Defense
2.5 Phase IV: Offense
3. Tactics & Execution
4. Practice Process
4.1 Emperor 1 on 1
4.3 Immortal 1 on 1
5. Deity 3v3
1. Introduction
This is the third Deity Guide I have written:
One for Ancient Era:
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=188834
One for Future Era:
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=162368
There will be undoubtedly many repetitions, but at least half of the material is new.
3v3 and 5v5 Inland Sea Renaissance Teamer games are popular online, so we may as well practice with Deity AI. There are a few tactics, which are specific to this era, which makes this guide different from my two previous guides. As usual, a large amount of files will be available for download.
Different people will rate AI’s overall skill (research, production, strategy,) differently; here is how I rate AI’s skill level at the Renaissance Era:
Settler AI = 1
Noble AI = 2
Monarch AI = 3
Emperor AI = 4
Immortal AI = 6
Deity AI = 10
i.e Deity is significantly harder than Immortal.
This guide consists of 4 phases:
(1) Initial Expansion
(2) Rush
(3) Turtle
(4) Final Offense.
1.1 Deity AI Advantage
Deity AI has the following advantages:
· At the Deity level, AI starts with 3 settlers, 3 workers, 6 long bows, and 2 explorers. You start with 2 settlers, 1 worker, 2 long bows, and 1 explorer.
· Technologies cost less (40 % less?).
· Building and Units cost less (40 % less?).
· Happiness costs less (40%?).
· Inflation, city, and civic upkeep, upgrade cost less (40%?).
· Health costs less (40%?).
· City grows faster (40% less food? (Deity AI takes 7 food growth the first size)).
When you team up with Deity AI, you will need to take full advantage of your teammate, especially:
· Technologies cost less (40 % less?).
· Building and Units cost less (40 % less?).
· Inflation, city, and civic upkeep, upgrade cost less (40%?).
1.2 My Niche
Well, as many Deity Guides have shown before, some balance has to be found:
(1) Selecting a supporting position instead of a front position.
Front position is significantly harder than a supporting position so we will settle in the supporting position in this guide.
(2) Team Research.
Teaming up with Deity AI is my biggest niche. This means I basically release my pressure for research initially.
1.3 Setting
Difficulty: Deity
Speed: Quick
World Size: Small
Map: Inland Sea
Era: Renaissance
Leader: Gandhi or other spiritual leaders*
Teaming: 3v3
*Spiritual: to win the Deity War in the Renaissance Era, many civic’s are required and no anarchy is a must:
The starting civic is for production:
Organized Religion (+25% + priests production)
Bureaucracy (50% capital)
This will be followed by unit production:
Theocracy (+2 EP)
This will be followed by a short burst of Great Person production and then switching back to original civics:
Cast System
Pacifism
Happiness becomes a problem:
Nationalism (+2 for barrack)
And finally at the Deity level, the civic for Happiness is:
Police State (-25% WW)
Spiritual is not negotiable.
1.4 Highlights
Obviously, many tactics will be used, but they not all are equal. Here are the most important tactics, which will be explained in detail later:
· Deity AI produces units faster than you, so you cannot trade units for units.
· Attack first and fast; taking a few cities is the key to dominating the map.
· Your partner has low Inflation, city and civic upkeep, upgrade cost. Take their money, and you will maintain a research rate above 60% all the time.
· Control Happiness; the War Weariness (WW) will reach 8 to 10 at some point. Your entire research path is basically oriented to controlling WW and to reduce it to 0.
· Deity AI has a new trick: 20 artillery stacks which will destroy any stack it touches; try to avoid it at all cost.
If you want to attack first and fast to take a few cities, Do Not go for liberalism.
1.5 Research Path
There are two recommendations for Research:
· To provide technology for units
· To control WW and reduce it to 0.
The Research path will be:
· Cavalry
· Rifleman
· Chemistry
· Infantry
· Mount Rushmore
2. Basic Strategy
The tactics used will be in the next chapter. This chapter will focus on strategy.
The strategy is:
(1) Initial Expansion
(2) Rush
(3) Turtle
(4) Final Offense.
2.1 Prelude
Before we start, you will need to go through a drill that I have gone through 100 times. Until you have passed this drill, you need Not to continue the rest of this guide.
This is a highly unnatural drill; it is highly unlikely that you will do this on your own exploration, unless you have read this tactic here or elsewhere. Nevertheless, this is a very common tactic and many people use it. You have probably seen many people do this.
Start a Renaissance game in Inland Sea Noble setting, which generally means you have a lot of rivers. Your drill will last only 15 turns. By turn 15, you will have 5 cities and 7 workers.
The key is chopping. In the Renaissance Era, chopping is more powerful than in the Ancient Era. Here is what happens:
“1 chopping + 1 turn” ===> you will get a worker and you will get another worker in 1 – 2 turns afterward.
“2 workers and 2 chopping + 1 turn” ===> you will get a settler.
Let the exercise begin:
Starting:
Worker 1, settler 1, settler 2.
City 1:
Build worker 2, worker 3, settler 3, settler 4
Worker 1: chop
Worker 2: send to city 2
Worker 3: chop
City 2:
Build worker 4, worker 5, settler 5
Receiving worker 2: chop
Produced Worker 4: chop
Produced Worker 5: send to city 3
City 3:
Build worker 6
Receiving worker 5: chop
Produced Worker 6: send to city 4
City 4:
Build worker 7
Receiving worker 6: chop
City 5:
Now it is turn 15, are you done yet? My personal best is to get 5 cities, 7 workers, plus a priest, and a warrior at turn 14.
This is the Noble requirement. As you increase the difficulty level, say Monarch, this will be slowed to 19 turns. But 15 turns for Noble is the test you will need to pass.
2.2 Phase I Initial Expansion
Now, it is the time to play for real. In 3v3, it is assumed that you are a better fighter than your AI partner and your AI partner is a better researcher.
The objective of this phase:
· Get 5 – 6 cities
· All cities have religion
· All teammates have iron and horse
· Produce 5 warriors and 14 knights
I.1 Select Monarchy, Bureaucracy, Serfdom, Mercantilism, Organized Religion.
I.2 Start Research to Cavalry without liberalism.
I.3 Use the drill in the last section to get 5 cities and 7 workers.
I.4 Build more cities if necessary to obtain resources.
Notes about city placement:
· You will eventually have 8 cities and 12 workers, but not in this phase;
· The first 4 cities are selected purely for their location, i.e. Food resources and Mountains. Food is always priority 1.
· Plan cities for size 10, but no more than 12. However, you will need to change working tiles often, so the city will have more than 12 squares even though the city size is 12.
· After 4 cities, make sure each of your teammates have iron and horse. It is more important that your two teammates have horse and iron first; gift yours to them. Use cities 5 and 6 to ensure all three teammates have iron and horse.
· Each of your teammates have 3 cities and you have two. After their initial placement, all land inside are yours and both of them will expand forward, so make sure you do not give them room to expand toward you.
I.5 Connect to iron and horse.
I.6 Make sure everyone has iron and horse ASAP.
I.7 Building Order.
(i) Finish the drill in the last section.
(ii) Building Order
City 1 Building Order:
Forges
Barracks
If knight is not ready, warrior or library or Missionaries
Knights
City 2 Building Order:
3 Missionaries
Forges
Barracks
Knights
City 3 Building Order:
Do not hook iron to this city
3 – 5 warriors
Hook up iron now
Forges
Barracks
Knights
City 4 Building Order:
Forges
Barracks
Pikes
City 5 Building Order:
Forges
Barracks
Knights
Note:
The warriors are Happiness fillers. Each city gets a warrior before size 5.
Build a large amount of pikes with 1 city specializing pikes. Eventually, gift all these pikes to your teammate, which will be upgraded to rifleman cheaply.
As soon as knight production starts, switch Civic to Theocracy. Produce enough priests before switching, including anticipation of new cities.
In this guide, you count on the culture from Religion to expand your borders; however, in case of emergency, you can use Culture production to expand. Your will need Religion for many purposes, such as happiness and unit promotion, so you might as well use it for Culture expansion.
Isabella has the knight as UU, which has a bonus against melee units, which makes Isabella a very popular leader.
I.8 All of your citizens should work on the improved tiles now. As soon as all citizens work on improved tiles, take 2 workers out to build roads to both fronts. These two workers will remain at the fronts for the rest of the game.
Notes:
There is no city specialization in this phase. All cities produce military units to take down two enemy cities on each side (total of four cities). City specialization starts in the next phase.
I.9 Workshops
If your city looks like it has enough food but not enough production, build workshops.
Note on Workshops
Get as many workshops as your food support.
(A) Plain Workshop:
Tech Required: Metal Casting
FPC Value: -1F 1P
Tech Modifier 1: Guilds +1P
Tech Modifier 2: Chemistry +1P
Railroad: +1P
Civic: State Property (Communism) +1F
==> Production: 4P + 1F - 1F (Guilds, Chemistry, Railroad, State Property)
*** 4P ***
(B) Terrain
Plains 1F 1P
Terrain Features: Hills -1F +1P
Let us put a workshop on plain.
*** 5P ***
(C) Multipliers
Forge, +1 unhealth, +25% hammers
Factory, +1 unhealth, +25% hammers
+50% hammers with power
Coal Plant
provides power with Coal (+2 unhealthy) so the factory use +50% hammers
Ironworks, +2 unhealth
National Wonder (1 allowed)
+50% hammers with Coal
+50% hammers with Iron
Maximum multiplier: 175%
*** 5P x 2.75 = 13.75 ****
If your city looks like it has enough food to work all the mountains/workshops and still has some extra food remaining, build cottages in that city. If you realize that there are around 5 cottages being used in a city beyond all the strategic and mountain resources, then make it a commerce specialization city, which often produces gold only and will have buildings like a bank.
I.10 Know Yourself, Know Your Enemy
The game provides you the military strength of each player. Go to the game chart; the default setting is the score. Use the pushdown menu to select “Power”. The Power graph indicates each AI’s military strength, so at any given moment, you should know precisely the strength of each of the 6 players; act upon this information.
I.11 Send all your knights to the front; this completes this phase.
2.3 Phase II: Capture 4 Cities
The objective of this phase:
· Take 4 cities
· Hold the line
AI will build a few cities with a fairly light defense, i.e. two longbows. AI will also initiate attacks after reaching a certain strength. When you put these two things together, your team can take four cities easily.
II.1 Keep Producing Units
Your opponents will have two cities; each city will have 2 longbows initially. This defense will, of course, strengthen over time. Continuing from Phase I, continue to build more units.
II.2 Strengthen your Teammates
Your teammate will attack when he reaches a certain strength. As soon as you see him starting to attack, gift him 5 knights, that should be enough to take down first city.
II.3 The AI will not hold the city, so it is your job to hold these captured cities.
This completes this phase.
2.4 Phase III: Defense
The objective of this phase:
· Complete your expansion
· Control WW (War Weariness)
· Reach certain Production capability
II.1 Killing without losing Your Units
It is very important that you do not lose many units for two reasons:
(1) Deity AI out produces you, so you can not keep up;
(2) WW increases faster if you lose units.
But, you do not have to lose units.
There are a few things you have to do:
(1) Take as many workers as necessary to build roads in every square in the front city and cut down all trees;
(2) AI will send a large amount of pillaging units. Resist the temptation to fight with them. Have your teammate take care of them;
(3) When the enemy pillaging units are injured, take them out with your knights and then retreat your knight back to the city;
(4) When the enemy stack attacks your city, use your collateral damage units on the stack before it attacks.
Therefore, the only time you lose units are when you are attacked inside a city. Unless the attack stack has a 2 to 1 ratio against you, which should never happen, you will not lose many units.
II.2 Cash Support from Teammates
Deity AI has many advantages, including;
· Inflation, city and civic upkeep, upgrade cost less (40%?).
· City grows faster (40% less food? (Deity AI takes 7 food growth the first size)).
As a result, they have gold left over; take the gold to increase your Research rate.
II.3 Completed Expansion
Each of your teammates has 3 cities to start with. After their initial placements, all land inside are yours and both of them will expand forward, so make sure you do not give them room to expand toward you. Build a city to stop them from expanding toward you. Build as many cities as it takes to fill the land around you.
II.4 City Specialization
Unit production will always have the highest priority, but City Specialization takes place in this phase.
Science cities need the following:
Library +25%
Observatory +50%
University +50%
Academy +50%
Oxford University +100% (requires 5 – 6 Universities)
Production cities need the following:
Forge (+25%)
Factory (+50%)
Power (+50%)
And all cities need Happiness buildings.
Religion building
Jail
Theater
Wonders
II.5 City Size and WW
WW starts with 1, 2, 3, 4... eventually it will reach 8. Controlling WW is a must. There are two things you will need to do:
Stop the city from growing at size 9.
At the proper time, build 5 theaters and put the global theater in the capital; this will keep the capital building growing.
Do Not put +2 happiness buildings in the capital.
II.6 Research Path is generally military technology and happiness oriented:
· Cavalry
· Rifleman
· Chemistry
· Infantry
· Mount Rushmore
Go for Mount Rushmore as soon as possible.
WW is controlled as follows:
Police State: -25% (all cities)
Jail: -25% (in that city)
Mount Rushmore: -50% (all cities)
Total: -100%
Once you reach this point, there will be no WW and your city can grow again.
II.7 Maintaining the Roads
Your front city roads will be pillaged by AI, repair them as soon as possible.
II.8 Gift low technology units to your teammmate AI
You should produce a large amount of pikes and gift them to your teammate AI; they will update them to rifleman at much lower cost.
II.9 Defense Intelligence
Watch the Power graph every other turn and send your defense to compensate the imbalance between the your teammate and his opponents.
If you notice that one of you are falling behind in power or it is even, then you need to switch to low technology units and gift them to your teammate. You need to send more units to your teammate’s direction.
II.10 HE
Build Heroic Epic in the city with the best production.
II.11 Opportunities
When you hold the line, your teammates are preparing offense. From time to time, there will be opportunities when with your cooperation, you and your teammate can take down a few cities; make sure you take these opportunities.
You should not initiate offense during this phase because of WW.
II12. WW, WW, WW, ….
Your most serious problem in this phase is not that you do not have enough units, but how you manage the production of both units and happiness:
You need to find time to produce:
+1 happiness religious building (first religion)
+1 happiness religious building (second religion)
Representation (+2 for 4 cities)
Coliseum
Switch to nationhood (+2 for barrack)
Market
+2 happiness religious buildings (first religion)
+2 happiness religious buildings (second religion)
5 theaters + global theater
This should be enough to produce a happiness of 18 in all of your important buildings; keep your city to size 9.
This phase is ended when you reach this point:
Police State: -25% (all cities)
Jail: -25% (in that city)
Mount Rushmore: -50% (all cities)
Total: -100%
i.e. No WW in all of your cities.
This is a very long phase and it is quite possible at the end of this phase, your team has taken another 4 cities.
II.13 Production Capability
At this point, your capital with HE should produce 1 unit per turn. Your top 4 production cities should already have factories and produce 1 unit every 2 turns. You might choose not to utilize the full production capability because you are producing gold or research.
If you do not have this capability, please read materials on city improvements below, which is beyond the scope of this guide. Methematically, you need to make sure each of these city has a production of 40, which can produce infantry (80) in about 2 turns. make sure your have all the necessary multipliers:
Forge (+25%)
Factory (+50%)
Power (+50%)
Organized Religion (+25% )
Bureaucracy (50% capital)
Iron work with iron (50%)
Iron work with coal (50%)
HE (-50% units cost)
...
Beyond that, make sure you have enough hills, workshops, ...
On the other hand, as long as you can produce 1 unit every 2 turns (~ 40P), many people turn to cottages or Specialist at this point, which is not a bad choice
At the end of this phase, you should have two 30-unit stacks and are ready to strike. At this point, you will no longer have a WW problem, i.e. WW = 0. The biggest advantage of WW=0 is that you can lose many units without concerning happiness. (Unhappiness problem from losing units does not happen often at low difficulty level; but at deity level, the threshold for unhappiness is very low)
2.5 Phase IV: Offense
Objective:
· All out attack
· Wipe out the weak AI
· Win
At this point, the only opponent that has high power is the one in the back; both front AI opponents should have power lower than yours. Your primary target is the weak AI. On the other hand, attack only when you have a good opportunity.
IV.1 Pillaging
AI force is roughly divided into:
Mobile Offensive Force (50%): Attacking force.
Mobile Defensive Force (25%): Homeland defense.
Stationery Defensive Force (25%): City defense.
Newly produced units.
At this point, your team has destroyed their Mobile Offensive Force. Your teammates have been trying:
(1) To destroy his Mobile Defensive Force.
(2) To destroy his capability to produce new units.
With no WW problem, you will first join your teammate to make his land improvement squeaky clean. Then you can attack. Ideally, cut out all roads to a city you are about to attack to avoid his lethal 20-artillary-stack.
II.2 AI’s Trick
AI does have one lethal weapon, 20-artillery stack, which wipes out one of my two attacking stacks. Thankfully at this point, I can reproduce a 30-unit stack in a few turns, but that can be avoided if Pillaging is done correctly.
3. Tactics & Execution
3.1 Knowing Yourself; Knowing Your Enemy
Learn how to use the Power graph.
3.2 Killing Without Losing
Let your teammate take care of the pillaging units; you only take care of the leftover.
3.3 How to Control WW
WW can be reduced to 0 as follows:
Police State: -25% (all cities)
Jail: -25% (in that city)
Mount Rushmore: -50% (all cities)
Total: -100%
Research for Mount Rushmore is the number 1 priority and should be done ASAP.
3.4 Placement of the Cities
Stop your teammate from expanding toward you. In the end, both of them will have much larger land than you.
3.5 Mobility is the Key to Success
Mobility offers protection to your forces after the fight and allows you to retrieve all injured units and therefore save them.
Initially, any units outside the cities will not have a long life. This means, initially, you should fight within your culture boundary. Build roads everywhere, in every square!!!
3.6 Maintaining City at Size 9
As WW grows from 1 to 9, you will need to keep up the happiness.
3.7 Economic Attack
Pillaging, Pillaging, and Pillaging, that is how you catch up in military technology. You will never catch up to Deity AI in overall technology.
3.8 Keep Captured Cities
Do not destroy captured cities; AI will always build it back. Give the city to your AI partner.
3.9 City Management
If you do not want to manage each of your cities every turn, manage them at least every third turn. The city is constantly getting unhappy. The cities keep focused on production and ignore food. I have to constantly redirect working tiles so the city is not starving.
3.10 Learning AI’s Trick
AI has 20-artillery stack, which will destroy just about any stack. Pillaging roads or following your teammate can avoid heavy loss.
3.11 Attack with Overwhelming Force
Do not attack unless you have enough units.
1. Introduction
1.1 Deity AI Advantage
1.2 My Niche
1.3 Setting
1.4 Highlights
1.5 Research Path
2. Basic Strategy
2.1 Prelude
2.2 Phase I Initial Expansion
2.3 Phase II: Capture 4 Cities
2.4 Phase III: Defense
2.5 Phase IV: Offense
3. Tactics & Execution
4. Practice Process
4.1 Emperor 1 on 1
4.3 Immortal 1 on 1
5. Deity 3v3
1. Introduction
This is the third Deity Guide I have written:
One for Ancient Era:
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=188834
One for Future Era:
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=162368
There will be undoubtedly many repetitions, but at least half of the material is new.
3v3 and 5v5 Inland Sea Renaissance Teamer games are popular online, so we may as well practice with Deity AI. There are a few tactics, which are specific to this era, which makes this guide different from my two previous guides. As usual, a large amount of files will be available for download.
Different people will rate AI’s overall skill (research, production, strategy,) differently; here is how I rate AI’s skill level at the Renaissance Era:
Settler AI = 1
Noble AI = 2
Monarch AI = 3
Emperor AI = 4
Immortal AI = 6
Deity AI = 10
i.e Deity is significantly harder than Immortal.
This guide consists of 4 phases:
(1) Initial Expansion
(2) Rush
(3) Turtle
(4) Final Offense.
1.1 Deity AI Advantage
Deity AI has the following advantages:
· At the Deity level, AI starts with 3 settlers, 3 workers, 6 long bows, and 2 explorers. You start with 2 settlers, 1 worker, 2 long bows, and 1 explorer.
· Technologies cost less (40 % less?).
· Building and Units cost less (40 % less?).
· Happiness costs less (40%?).
· Inflation, city, and civic upkeep, upgrade cost less (40%?).
· Health costs less (40%?).
· City grows faster (40% less food? (Deity AI takes 7 food growth the first size)).
When you team up with Deity AI, you will need to take full advantage of your teammate, especially:
· Technologies cost less (40 % less?).
· Building and Units cost less (40 % less?).
· Inflation, city, and civic upkeep, upgrade cost less (40%?).
1.2 My Niche
Well, as many Deity Guides have shown before, some balance has to be found:
(1) Selecting a supporting position instead of a front position.
Front position is significantly harder than a supporting position so we will settle in the supporting position in this guide.
(2) Team Research.
Teaming up with Deity AI is my biggest niche. This means I basically release my pressure for research initially.
1.3 Setting
Difficulty: Deity
Speed: Quick
World Size: Small
Map: Inland Sea
Era: Renaissance
Leader: Gandhi or other spiritual leaders*
Teaming: 3v3
*Spiritual: to win the Deity War in the Renaissance Era, many civic’s are required and no anarchy is a must:
The starting civic is for production:
Organized Religion (+25% + priests production)
Bureaucracy (50% capital)
This will be followed by unit production:
Theocracy (+2 EP)
This will be followed by a short burst of Great Person production and then switching back to original civics:
Cast System
Pacifism
Happiness becomes a problem:
Nationalism (+2 for barrack)
And finally at the Deity level, the civic for Happiness is:
Police State (-25% WW)
Spiritual is not negotiable.
1.4 Highlights
Obviously, many tactics will be used, but they not all are equal. Here are the most important tactics, which will be explained in detail later:
· Deity AI produces units faster than you, so you cannot trade units for units.
· Attack first and fast; taking a few cities is the key to dominating the map.
· Your partner has low Inflation, city and civic upkeep, upgrade cost. Take their money, and you will maintain a research rate above 60% all the time.
· Control Happiness; the War Weariness (WW) will reach 8 to 10 at some point. Your entire research path is basically oriented to controlling WW and to reduce it to 0.
· Deity AI has a new trick: 20 artillery stacks which will destroy any stack it touches; try to avoid it at all cost.
If you want to attack first and fast to take a few cities, Do Not go for liberalism.
1.5 Research Path
There are two recommendations for Research:
· To provide technology for units
· To control WW and reduce it to 0.
The Research path will be:
· Cavalry
· Rifleman
· Chemistry
· Infantry
· Mount Rushmore
2. Basic Strategy
The tactics used will be in the next chapter. This chapter will focus on strategy.
The strategy is:
(1) Initial Expansion
(2) Rush
(3) Turtle
(4) Final Offense.
2.1 Prelude
Before we start, you will need to go through a drill that I have gone through 100 times. Until you have passed this drill, you need Not to continue the rest of this guide.
This is a highly unnatural drill; it is highly unlikely that you will do this on your own exploration, unless you have read this tactic here or elsewhere. Nevertheless, this is a very common tactic and many people use it. You have probably seen many people do this.
Start a Renaissance game in Inland Sea Noble setting, which generally means you have a lot of rivers. Your drill will last only 15 turns. By turn 15, you will have 5 cities and 7 workers.
The key is chopping. In the Renaissance Era, chopping is more powerful than in the Ancient Era. Here is what happens:
“1 chopping + 1 turn” ===> you will get a worker and you will get another worker in 1 – 2 turns afterward.
“2 workers and 2 chopping + 1 turn” ===> you will get a settler.
Let the exercise begin:
Starting:
Worker 1, settler 1, settler 2.
City 1:
Build worker 2, worker 3, settler 3, settler 4
Worker 1: chop
Worker 2: send to city 2
Worker 3: chop
City 2:
Build worker 4, worker 5, settler 5
Receiving worker 2: chop
Produced Worker 4: chop
Produced Worker 5: send to city 3
City 3:
Build worker 6
Receiving worker 5: chop
Produced Worker 6: send to city 4
City 4:
Build worker 7
Receiving worker 6: chop
City 5:
Now it is turn 15, are you done yet? My personal best is to get 5 cities, 7 workers, plus a priest, and a warrior at turn 14.
This is the Noble requirement. As you increase the difficulty level, say Monarch, this will be slowed to 19 turns. But 15 turns for Noble is the test you will need to pass.
2.2 Phase I Initial Expansion
Now, it is the time to play for real. In 3v3, it is assumed that you are a better fighter than your AI partner and your AI partner is a better researcher.
The objective of this phase:
· Get 5 – 6 cities
· All cities have religion
· All teammates have iron and horse
· Produce 5 warriors and 14 knights
I.1 Select Monarchy, Bureaucracy, Serfdom, Mercantilism, Organized Religion.
I.2 Start Research to Cavalry without liberalism.
I.3 Use the drill in the last section to get 5 cities and 7 workers.
I.4 Build more cities if necessary to obtain resources.
Notes about city placement:
· You will eventually have 8 cities and 12 workers, but not in this phase;
· The first 4 cities are selected purely for their location, i.e. Food resources and Mountains. Food is always priority 1.
· Plan cities for size 10, but no more than 12. However, you will need to change working tiles often, so the city will have more than 12 squares even though the city size is 12.
· After 4 cities, make sure each of your teammates have iron and horse. It is more important that your two teammates have horse and iron first; gift yours to them. Use cities 5 and 6 to ensure all three teammates have iron and horse.
· Each of your teammates have 3 cities and you have two. After their initial placement, all land inside are yours and both of them will expand forward, so make sure you do not give them room to expand toward you.
I.5 Connect to iron and horse.
I.6 Make sure everyone has iron and horse ASAP.
I.7 Building Order.
(i) Finish the drill in the last section.
(ii) Building Order
City 1 Building Order:
Forges
Barracks
If knight is not ready, warrior or library or Missionaries
Knights
City 2 Building Order:
3 Missionaries
Forges
Barracks
Knights
City 3 Building Order:
Do not hook iron to this city
3 – 5 warriors
Hook up iron now
Forges
Barracks
Knights
City 4 Building Order:
Forges
Barracks
Pikes
City 5 Building Order:
Forges
Barracks
Knights
Note:
The warriors are Happiness fillers. Each city gets a warrior before size 5.
Build a large amount of pikes with 1 city specializing pikes. Eventually, gift all these pikes to your teammate, which will be upgraded to rifleman cheaply.
As soon as knight production starts, switch Civic to Theocracy. Produce enough priests before switching, including anticipation of new cities.
In this guide, you count on the culture from Religion to expand your borders; however, in case of emergency, you can use Culture production to expand. Your will need Religion for many purposes, such as happiness and unit promotion, so you might as well use it for Culture expansion.
Isabella has the knight as UU, which has a bonus against melee units, which makes Isabella a very popular leader.
I.8 All of your citizens should work on the improved tiles now. As soon as all citizens work on improved tiles, take 2 workers out to build roads to both fronts. These two workers will remain at the fronts for the rest of the game.
Notes:
There is no city specialization in this phase. All cities produce military units to take down two enemy cities on each side (total of four cities). City specialization starts in the next phase.
I.9 Workshops
If your city looks like it has enough food but not enough production, build workshops.
Note on Workshops
Get as many workshops as your food support.
(A) Plain Workshop:
Tech Required: Metal Casting
FPC Value: -1F 1P
Tech Modifier 1: Guilds +1P
Tech Modifier 2: Chemistry +1P
Railroad: +1P
Civic: State Property (Communism) +1F
==> Production: 4P + 1F - 1F (Guilds, Chemistry, Railroad, State Property)
*** 4P ***
(B) Terrain
Plains 1F 1P
Terrain Features: Hills -1F +1P
Let us put a workshop on plain.
*** 5P ***
(C) Multipliers
Forge, +1 unhealth, +25% hammers
Factory, +1 unhealth, +25% hammers
+50% hammers with power
Coal Plant
provides power with Coal (+2 unhealthy) so the factory use +50% hammers
Ironworks, +2 unhealth
National Wonder (1 allowed)
+50% hammers with Coal
+50% hammers with Iron
Maximum multiplier: 175%
*** 5P x 2.75 = 13.75 ****
If your city looks like it has enough food to work all the mountains/workshops and still has some extra food remaining, build cottages in that city. If you realize that there are around 5 cottages being used in a city beyond all the strategic and mountain resources, then make it a commerce specialization city, which often produces gold only and will have buildings like a bank.
I.10 Know Yourself, Know Your Enemy
The game provides you the military strength of each player. Go to the game chart; the default setting is the score. Use the pushdown menu to select “Power”. The Power graph indicates each AI’s military strength, so at any given moment, you should know precisely the strength of each of the 6 players; act upon this information.
I.11 Send all your knights to the front; this completes this phase.
2.3 Phase II: Capture 4 Cities
The objective of this phase:
· Take 4 cities
· Hold the line
AI will build a few cities with a fairly light defense, i.e. two longbows. AI will also initiate attacks after reaching a certain strength. When you put these two things together, your team can take four cities easily.
II.1 Keep Producing Units
Your opponents will have two cities; each city will have 2 longbows initially. This defense will, of course, strengthen over time. Continuing from Phase I, continue to build more units.
II.2 Strengthen your Teammates
Your teammate will attack when he reaches a certain strength. As soon as you see him starting to attack, gift him 5 knights, that should be enough to take down first city.
II.3 The AI will not hold the city, so it is your job to hold these captured cities.
This completes this phase.
2.4 Phase III: Defense
The objective of this phase:
· Complete your expansion
· Control WW (War Weariness)
· Reach certain Production capability
II.1 Killing without losing Your Units
It is very important that you do not lose many units for two reasons:
(1) Deity AI out produces you, so you can not keep up;
(2) WW increases faster if you lose units.
But, you do not have to lose units.
There are a few things you have to do:
(1) Take as many workers as necessary to build roads in every square in the front city and cut down all trees;
(2) AI will send a large amount of pillaging units. Resist the temptation to fight with them. Have your teammate take care of them;
(3) When the enemy pillaging units are injured, take them out with your knights and then retreat your knight back to the city;
(4) When the enemy stack attacks your city, use your collateral damage units on the stack before it attacks.
Therefore, the only time you lose units are when you are attacked inside a city. Unless the attack stack has a 2 to 1 ratio against you, which should never happen, you will not lose many units.
II.2 Cash Support from Teammates
Deity AI has many advantages, including;
· Inflation, city and civic upkeep, upgrade cost less (40%?).
· City grows faster (40% less food? (Deity AI takes 7 food growth the first size)).
As a result, they have gold left over; take the gold to increase your Research rate.
II.3 Completed Expansion
Each of your teammates has 3 cities to start with. After their initial placements, all land inside are yours and both of them will expand forward, so make sure you do not give them room to expand toward you. Build a city to stop them from expanding toward you. Build as many cities as it takes to fill the land around you.
II.4 City Specialization
Unit production will always have the highest priority, but City Specialization takes place in this phase.
Science cities need the following:
Library +25%
Observatory +50%
University +50%
Academy +50%
Oxford University +100% (requires 5 – 6 Universities)
Production cities need the following:
Forge (+25%)
Factory (+50%)
Power (+50%)
And all cities need Happiness buildings.
Religion building
Jail
Theater
Wonders
II.5 City Size and WW
WW starts with 1, 2, 3, 4... eventually it will reach 8. Controlling WW is a must. There are two things you will need to do:
Stop the city from growing at size 9.
At the proper time, build 5 theaters and put the global theater in the capital; this will keep the capital building growing.
Do Not put +2 happiness buildings in the capital.
II.6 Research Path is generally military technology and happiness oriented:
· Cavalry
· Rifleman
· Chemistry
· Infantry
· Mount Rushmore
Go for Mount Rushmore as soon as possible.
WW is controlled as follows:
Police State: -25% (all cities)
Jail: -25% (in that city)
Mount Rushmore: -50% (all cities)
Total: -100%
Once you reach this point, there will be no WW and your city can grow again.
II.7 Maintaining the Roads
Your front city roads will be pillaged by AI, repair them as soon as possible.
II.8 Gift low technology units to your teammmate AI
You should produce a large amount of pikes and gift them to your teammate AI; they will update them to rifleman at much lower cost.
II.9 Defense Intelligence
Watch the Power graph every other turn and send your defense to compensate the imbalance between the your teammate and his opponents.
If you notice that one of you are falling behind in power or it is even, then you need to switch to low technology units and gift them to your teammate. You need to send more units to your teammate’s direction.
II.10 HE
Build Heroic Epic in the city with the best production.
II.11 Opportunities
When you hold the line, your teammates are preparing offense. From time to time, there will be opportunities when with your cooperation, you and your teammate can take down a few cities; make sure you take these opportunities.
You should not initiate offense during this phase because of WW.
II12. WW, WW, WW, ….
Your most serious problem in this phase is not that you do not have enough units, but how you manage the production of both units and happiness:
You need to find time to produce:
+1 happiness religious building (first religion)
+1 happiness religious building (second religion)
Representation (+2 for 4 cities)
Coliseum
Switch to nationhood (+2 for barrack)
Market
+2 happiness religious buildings (first religion)
+2 happiness religious buildings (second religion)
5 theaters + global theater
This should be enough to produce a happiness of 18 in all of your important buildings; keep your city to size 9.
This phase is ended when you reach this point:
Police State: -25% (all cities)
Jail: -25% (in that city)
Mount Rushmore: -50% (all cities)
Total: -100%
i.e. No WW in all of your cities.
This is a very long phase and it is quite possible at the end of this phase, your team has taken another 4 cities.
II.13 Production Capability
At this point, your capital with HE should produce 1 unit per turn. Your top 4 production cities should already have factories and produce 1 unit every 2 turns. You might choose not to utilize the full production capability because you are producing gold or research.
If you do not have this capability, please read materials on city improvements below, which is beyond the scope of this guide. Methematically, you need to make sure each of these city has a production of 40, which can produce infantry (80) in about 2 turns. make sure your have all the necessary multipliers:
Forge (+25%)
Factory (+50%)
Power (+50%)
Organized Religion (+25% )
Bureaucracy (50% capital)
Iron work with iron (50%)
Iron work with coal (50%)
HE (-50% units cost)
...
Beyond that, make sure you have enough hills, workshops, ...
On the other hand, as long as you can produce 1 unit every 2 turns (~ 40P), many people turn to cottages or Specialist at this point, which is not a bad choice
At the end of this phase, you should have two 30-unit stacks and are ready to strike. At this point, you will no longer have a WW problem, i.e. WW = 0. The biggest advantage of WW=0 is that you can lose many units without concerning happiness. (Unhappiness problem from losing units does not happen often at low difficulty level; but at deity level, the threshold for unhappiness is very low)
2.5 Phase IV: Offense
Objective:
· All out attack
· Wipe out the weak AI
· Win
At this point, the only opponent that has high power is the one in the back; both front AI opponents should have power lower than yours. Your primary target is the weak AI. On the other hand, attack only when you have a good opportunity.
IV.1 Pillaging
AI force is roughly divided into:
Mobile Offensive Force (50%): Attacking force.
Mobile Defensive Force (25%): Homeland defense.
Stationery Defensive Force (25%): City defense.
Newly produced units.
At this point, your team has destroyed their Mobile Offensive Force. Your teammates have been trying:
(1) To destroy his Mobile Defensive Force.
(2) To destroy his capability to produce new units.
With no WW problem, you will first join your teammate to make his land improvement squeaky clean. Then you can attack. Ideally, cut out all roads to a city you are about to attack to avoid his lethal 20-artillary-stack.
II.2 AI’s Trick
AI does have one lethal weapon, 20-artillery stack, which wipes out one of my two attacking stacks. Thankfully at this point, I can reproduce a 30-unit stack in a few turns, but that can be avoided if Pillaging is done correctly.
3. Tactics & Execution
3.1 Knowing Yourself; Knowing Your Enemy
Learn how to use the Power graph.
3.2 Killing Without Losing
Let your teammate take care of the pillaging units; you only take care of the leftover.
3.3 How to Control WW
WW can be reduced to 0 as follows:
Police State: -25% (all cities)
Jail: -25% (in that city)
Mount Rushmore: -50% (all cities)
Total: -100%
Research for Mount Rushmore is the number 1 priority and should be done ASAP.
3.4 Placement of the Cities
Stop your teammate from expanding toward you. In the end, both of them will have much larger land than you.
3.5 Mobility is the Key to Success
Mobility offers protection to your forces after the fight and allows you to retrieve all injured units and therefore save them.
Initially, any units outside the cities will not have a long life. This means, initially, you should fight within your culture boundary. Build roads everywhere, in every square!!!
3.6 Maintaining City at Size 9
As WW grows from 1 to 9, you will need to keep up the happiness.
3.7 Economic Attack
Pillaging, Pillaging, and Pillaging, that is how you catch up in military technology. You will never catch up to Deity AI in overall technology.
3.8 Keep Captured Cities
Do not destroy captured cities; AI will always build it back. Give the city to your AI partner.
3.9 City Management
If you do not want to manage each of your cities every turn, manage them at least every third turn. The city is constantly getting unhappy. The cities keep focused on production and ignore food. I have to constantly redirect working tiles so the city is not starving.
3.10 Learning AI’s Trick
AI has 20-artillery stack, which will destroy just about any stack. Pillaging roads or following your teammate can avoid heavy loss.
3.11 Attack with Overwhelming Force
Do not attack unless you have enough units.
