Help With the Dreaded Mandinka UHV

Does anyone have any advice on how to go about achieving the new UHV for the Mali? I've been experimenting with different city placements and so far haven't had much luck. The first two goals are fairly straightforward, but the last one is a doozy. I know you're supposed to turn research to 0% at some point to run 100% wealth, but what is the best time to do this? Has anyone had any success with this UHV in version 1.10? Any advice is greatly appreciated

Moshe Dayan said:

Does anyone have any advice on how to go about achieving the new UHV for the Mali? I've been experimenting with different city placements and so far haven't had much luck. The first two goals are fairly straightforward, but the last one is a doozy. I know you're supposed to turn research to 0% at some point to run 100% wealth, but what is the best time to do this? Has anyone had any success with this UHV in version 1.10? Any advice is greatly appreciated

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For one, remember that its better to have good commerce techs and mercenaries than bad commerce techs and trained units.
2. Explore the map or buy maps. You can sell your maps to EVERY CIVILIZATION. That adds up.
3. A lot of farms can boost your population for more production, THEN switch to cottages once your growth levels out.
4. It is worth going to foreign territory. Stability is not a problem with Mali.

I wrote about this a while ago.

Mali UHV is annoying because it depends so much luck and factors that you cant influence. If you got plague it is game over instantly. But still try my guide:

Phase one: settle Timbuktu, you dont really need production on your city so dont move it. Timbuktu is also only city where you can get huge population, other cities are for recources. Pick city states and organized religion. Build one more worker, and after that market. Get some merchs to counter mounted units and imps. Setle your second city next to fish. You can build third city if you want and remember to build market and after that just gold for your UHV. In east between cow and ivory, in west next to coast. Research fishing and sailing. Try to contact as many civs as you can and trade divine rights atleast to calendar. All other techs are useless to your UHV but they dont hurt you. Remember that divine rights is only tech you have so trade it wisely. After calendar research paper to get university of Sankore. Get as many open borders as possible to gain more religions. Remember that you dont have time to do anything else! You have to maximise your effort if you want to get UHV.

Phase two: when market is ready start building Islamic temple. Have one engineer and two merchants working in Timbuktu. Now comes the lucky part: if you get a great engineer (33%) you fail and you cant do anything about it. Back to square one. A great merchant, send it to Mecca! I hope you are in time. Now it goes even harder. You need to get a great profet. If you can get second religion to Timbuktu it is not hard. If not you have to gamble, have a engineer and profet in Timbuktu, you have 50% chance to generate great profet. Start building your wonder and whip it when you can. If you fail at either it is game over. Mali UHV is very harsh and in one game you wont get a second chance!

Phase three: if you got this far you have done better than I have! Now you just need to hoard gold as much as you can. Use all ways to get gold: build it, loot it, trade it. Make as many great merchants as you can and hope you are able to get first 7500 and then 27500 piece of gold in time. I recommend to use calculator if you know have many turns you have left because otherwise you just wasted plenty of evenings!

Phase four: so you won UHV? Nice! Use your all money to merchs and kill everybody. I cant imagine how you can run out of money

In order to switch to city states I would have to research CoL first. I assume it's not worth doing this with what little time I have left?

Anyway, thanks for the advice, I'm going to try a game with Timbuktu, Accra, and Zaria near the cows. Wish me luck

Moshe Dayan said:

In order to switch to city states I would have to research CoL first. I assume it's not worth doing this with what little time I have left?

Anyway, thanks for the advice, I'm going to try a game with Timbuktu, Accra, and Zaria near the cows. Wish me luck

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My mistake. I remembered Mali had code of laws but no.

Have fun. I think Mali is more easier with marathon speed because you have more turns however your brains will hurt a lot.

Just tried two separate attempts, both times got plague before I could even reach my first goal. How is it possible to do this without getting hit by the plague?

Moshe Dayan said:

Just tried two separate attempts, both times got plague before I could even reach my first goal. How is it possible to do this without getting hit by the plague?

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It isnt. If you get plague you lose all of your population and UHV is impossible.

Like I said, there are many random elements why Mali is simply not fun. Make one mistake and you need to reload. Save and reload and be lucky. Thats all what it is.

1. Settle Timbuktu 1SE, spread Islam, build market right away.
2. Settle 2nd city on ivory SE, that would be Sankore city.
3. 0% research, buy fishing and sailing from Moors or Arabs.
4. Settle Accra near clam.
5. Timbuktu whip market and begin GP farming, 2nd, 3rd cities build/whip worker and working boat and 2 settler - 1 settle Djenne 3W from Timbuktu to work all your core lands, 1 take a galley and go settle Durban.
6. You get get the first great merchant in time, send him to Mecca via North Africa (beware barbs) and hoard 2000 gold.
7. I got Catholicism spread in Accra so it was easy for me to get a great prophet. Sankore city built in time.
8. If Moors collapsed, conquer Morroco at all cost, some mercs can do the work.
9. I switched to Christianity and researched printing press first, make it slightly easier for last UHV.
10. Contact Asian civs for tech and resource tradings.
11. Portugal trading company would buy our lovely Accra for 200 gold, damn it but I got only 1 warrior defending...so it would be wise to keep 1-2 spies in Lisbon and sabotage.

Mind to explain how you got calendar and paper? Also on what point did you start to research printing press? And what strategy did you use to get all that cash?

calad said:

Mind to explain how you got calendar and paper? Also on what point did you start to research printing press? And what strategy did you use to get all that cash?

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Research by yourself after 1350 AD. With cottages and micromanagement, it shouldn't be hard. And you need guilds and banking and more cities, South Africa is good for you to settle.

youtien said:

Research by yourself after 1350 AD. With cottages and micromanagement, it shouldn't be hard. And you need guilds and banking and more cities, South Africa is good for you to settle.

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You need to be more specific how to get 27500 piece of gold. You have to use all of your resources to get that amount of cash.

I think that your main problem is mistaking that the Mandinka UHV requires you to turtle somehow. On the contrary, the more you expand, the faster and easier you are able to win.

As Youtien said Timbuktu goes 1SE and Oshogbo on the eastern Ivory. Forget Accra and found Daloa once you have gotten Sailing. Hire fast mercs and take Tripolis, after that take whatever is available (Aksum at least). This is important, because you want to get another religion to where ever you are going to spawn the GP. Get Sailing, Feudalism, Calendar, CoL by trade, buy if necessary. Research Paper and stop after that. Paper can be traded around, I got Compass for it. Build the UoS in Timbuktu and try to trade for cash or gpt if possible.

After 1500 switch back to research and get Guilds and Banking. Build Grocers and Banks everywhere and try to conquer Egypt, if possible.

City placement and yields:

Do you have a new or old version of game? Required amount of gold is different.

Are you playing on Marathon speed?