Expanding early and its importance

M

MorteEterna

Prince
Joined
Nov 10, 2008
Messages
332
Most of you maybe think that if you expand later you have more pop and you can use also code of laws to lose only a person. But here I explain why it's better to expand fast:

2 pop: you need 10 food
3 pop: you need 20 food
4 pop: you need 30 food
5 pop: you need 40 food.

If you have 3 pop you can build a settler with no code of laws, and if you use this strategy maybe this helps:

Set the production on 2 forests and 1 grassland (4 production and 2 food). When you build your settler, in 5 turns, you have 10 food and 1 pop. You need 10 food to grow to 2 pop, so that means that in 5 turns you have a settler and your city has 2 pop as if you used the code of laws (this ISN'T an exploit).

And expanding fast, you have more resources to use, you only need maybe a warrior in each city if you enemies aren't arabs or zulu and you can still be ahead in tech race.
 
In my experience with Deity, the main constraint on expansion is defense. After you send out the initial waves of Warriors to pop Barbarian villages, you have to put a priority in building 2 Archer armies (one for your first city and one for the free Settler at 100 gold) and a Catapult army. Generally you get this done just in time to defend against the waves of Legion armies come from all directions.

Rapid expansion only makes sense if you have some nice, safe island sites. Those typically can get by with a single Archer for a quite a while.

The only time I don't end up following the "turtle on the mainland, expand on islands" approach is when I rush. If you can limit your neighbors to their starting capitols by smashing everything outside it with an early strength 6+ unit (Horseman army, Arab Warrior Army, or Knights Templar) those waves don't materialize for a while.

- Gus
 
Gus_Smedstad said:
In my experience with Deity, the main constraint on expansion is defense. After you send out the initial waves of Warriors to pop Barbarian villages, you have to put a priority in building 2 Archer armies (one for your first city and one for the free Settler at 100 gold) and a Catapult army. Generally you get this done just in time to defend against the waves of Legion armies come from all directions.

Rapid expansion only makes sense if you have some nice, safe island sites. Those typically can get by with a single Archer for a quite a while.

The only time I don't end up following the "turtle on the mainland, expand on islands" approach is when I rush. If you can limit your neighbors to their starting capitols by smashing everything outside it with an early strength 6+ unit (Horseman army, Arab Warrior Army, or Knights Templar) those waves don't materialize for a while.

- Gus
Click to expand...

You can expand as well with chinese or romans, no luck needed, only knowledge of how to play this game on deity and average ranked games. Then, you don't need to turtle, need a catapult army, or many other useless things. You have only to be smart and block their squares if possible, choose choke points if poissble or build units to defend. Then, you can do everything you want.
 
I wasn't insulting you, I was beign sarcastic, as you replied about something I wrote about choke points, saying that you'd rather do X then hold the choke point.
 
Kadazzle said:
I wasn't insulting you, I was beign sarcastic, as you replied about something I wrote about choke points, saying that you'd rather do X then hold the choke point.
Click to expand...

Maybe about the switching unit, but I don't remember. However maybe today you have seen expanding fast changes the game, I could have 20 cities in 40-50 turns while you had only your capital, and I was building cities also in your continent. This because in 5 turns you know you get the food needed from 1 to 2 pop, however, after you reach about 6-7 population, the food needed is almost the same.
 
Kadazzle said:
So do you suggest you build one city without Code of Law, or more?
Click to expand...

I can build 10 cities without code of laws still having two population and in fact I explained this in this thread:

If you have 3 pop you can build a settler with no code of laws, and if you use this strategy maybe this helps:

Set the production on 2 forests and 1 grassland (4 production and 2 food). When you build your settler, in 5 turns, you have 10 food and 1 pop. You need 10 food to grow to 2 pop, so that means that in 5 turns you have a settler and your city has 2 pop as if you used the code of laws (this ISN'T an exploit).
Click to expand...

And in fact, chinese have 3 population and you can find at least cities with 2 forests and 1 grassland. Then, after my first cities to pump out settlers, I build cities with no food perhaps, only to get more resources.
 
Kadazzle said:
Then you jump straight to Irrigation, correct?
Click to expand...

Normally yes, obviously getting technologies needed as bronze working or horseback riding. I just don't care if I'm first or not, normally I am, then I wait, building more cities first then I go for irrigation. If I have one city with only 1 grassland, that will have 2 population then with irrigation I will have again 3 and I can still use these cities to tech up as well.

Code of Laws is useful for me if I still have cities to build but normally I go for COL to get TRADING POST.
 
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