Jatta Pake
Warlord
With the patch came changes reducing easy cashflow from city sprawl and trade networks. I enjoy REX (rapid early expansion) and my city sprawl tends to be limited to meaty spots rather than specific grid patterns.
Happiness limits REX unless you can convert your rapid expansion into rapid happiness and cash. This has led me to four new tactics:
1) Only settle cities on top of new luxury resources, meaning luxuries you don't already have. When you build your Worker, he will be busy building roads to link up the cities with the new resources. You don't have time to mine/quarry/trap luxuries. The drain on your money supply from the roads will be offset by the increase in happiness. Plus your money won't be drained as your worker builds what you would have gotten free with the city placement on the resource.
2) Build then kill your Scout. Units eat up your gold and who really cares about what the entire continent looks like. Find your new luxuries and then dispose of the money drain. Do it inside your borders for the extra cash boost.
3) Ignore City States, for awhile. Gold needs to be horded as a tactic to fend off greedy rivals. Save cash for Research Agreements and rush building units.
4) Build and Sell. Hammers are a waste. Since you can't convert to gold until Currency, build buildings and sell them off right away. Build and repeat. It's not a great use of hammers, so why is your pop working hammers? They should be working food and gold. Once you build your worker and he's linked up the roads, throw down a few trade improvements. Then kill off your worker. He's sucking up too much gold.
Happiness limits REX unless you can convert your rapid expansion into rapid happiness and cash. This has led me to four new tactics:
1) Only settle cities on top of new luxury resources, meaning luxuries you don't already have. When you build your Worker, he will be busy building roads to link up the cities with the new resources. You don't have time to mine/quarry/trap luxuries. The drain on your money supply from the roads will be offset by the increase in happiness. Plus your money won't be drained as your worker builds what you would have gotten free with the city placement on the resource.
2) Build then kill your Scout. Units eat up your gold and who really cares about what the entire continent looks like. Find your new luxuries and then dispose of the money drain. Do it inside your borders for the extra cash boost.
3) Ignore City States, for awhile. Gold needs to be horded as a tactic to fend off greedy rivals. Save cash for Research Agreements and rush building units.
4) Build and Sell. Hammers are a waste. Since you can't convert to gold until Currency, build buildings and sell them off right away. Build and repeat. It's not a great use of hammers, so why is your pop working hammers? They should be working food and gold. Once you build your worker and he's linked up the roads, throw down a few trade improvements. Then kill off your worker. He's sucking up too much gold.
