Best use of Oxford?

I usually use Oxford to bulb Satellites (to get to Hubble), but I've been re-thinking that strategy lately. Is it better to get Scientific Theory (for Public Schools) or Plastics (for Labs) than Satellites?

Culture : Archeology.
Science/Diplo : No RAs--->usually Plastics. RAs--->can be anything near the end of tech tree.
Domination : Depends of diff. level and map. For water maps and OCC or 2CC you can use Oxford for Navigation. Otherwise pick one that you will neat a good advantage and a good use of powerful ind/modern units.

I'll probably have 2 or 3 RA's hit right before plastics. Would bulbing Satellites be the best idea in that scenario?

Also, random question, what's your new icon?

Oxford: Tech that would be the most in terms of game turns ever.
(If your science information era is so good that it now gets those techs in 8 turns each while earlier on there was a point where Oxford would give you a 15 turn tech for free, Oxford would have been better earlier even if raw beaker counter of that 15 turn one was lower); for me this is usually Radio.

This also applies to Rationalism finisher. (For this is usually CN Tower as the second tech and a prereq to it as the first)

I like to try and get oxford quite early, it's not just the free tech, but the 3 extra science adds up to a lot throughout the game.. If I can afford to rush buy universities in my first few cities I'll even use it on Astronomy or Acoustics to get to renaissance, this often helps unlock rationalism a policy earlier as well.

Wargizmo said:

I like to try and get oxford quite early, it's not just the free tech, but the 3 extra science adds up to a lot throughout the game.. If I can afford to rush buy universities in my first few cities I'll even use it on Astronomy or Acoustics to get to renaissance, this often helps unlock rationalism a policy earlier as well.

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I agree with Wargizmo - while I am not used to build oxford early, I think it makes perfect sense to build it early as +3 science is actually important, as it gets 83% multiplier with NC and university. I tend to try to use it for plastics though.

I sometimes use it to get Satellite and get the telescope fast... it usually will secure my science victory.

sufficiency said:

I sometimes use it to get Satellite and get the telescope fast... it usually will secure my science victory.

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Exactly what I just did - I waited, bulbed Satellites, rushed Hubble, and won my first post-patch Deity game!

I just take it as early as I am able, without "wasting" a tech on it. Since you beeline is science techs anyway (atleast for scientific victories), I usually use it on w/e gives me more beakers earlier. Even astronomy if you got a good science city close to a mountain. That plus the 3+ science will grow strong in the long haul.
If war is imminent, I might use it to get a tech that will assure me victory tho, if I'm unsure, that is.
Tho I rarely win "fast". Diety in 280-300 turns no matter what strategy post patch.

Oxford as Korea after porcelain tower and that +50% RA bonus gives you two free techs, allowing it to snap up scientific theory and sometimes biology.

I use oxford for artillery most of my games. Dont use it too late because it gives 3 science.

It all depends on you're victory goals :


Culture victory :
-Radio Obiously for broadcast towers keep a lot of gold in the treasure get radio and buy broadcast towers and win a few turns later
-A technology with key wonders for a culture victory like :
* archeology for the louvre
*Plastics for christo redentro
*Ecology for the sydny opera house
*railroad for Neuschwanstein

Domination victory :
any key technology victory which will let you blitz through multiple Ai's which are usally :
-Flight ( and dominate the world with bombers) ( most used )
-Artillery (useufll on a pangea)
-Electronics on a continents or archipelo map.


Science victory :
-Most used :Satelites and buy a great engineer to built the huble space telescope .
- use it either on scientic theory or atomic theory to get extra beakers from accedemy
-Use it for a late technology like nanotechnology to actualy built the last spaceship parts

Diplomatic victory :
-Most used : Radio to get the national intelligence agency and get a extra spies promoted so you can protect coups better you can basicly keep 6 city states . This olso gives you immediatle 2 new spies because you entered a new era.
-globalisation and rush it with a great engineer.
-Key military tech to conquer a lot of cities for puppets to get more gold.


Hopes this helps this is how I use it on higher difficulties.

Aaron90495 said:

I usually use Oxford to bulb Satellites (to get to Hubble), but I've been re-thinking that strategy lately. Is it better to get Scientific Theory (for Public Schools) or Plastics (for Labs) than Satellites?

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Isn't that rather late after Oxford ?

Jelster said:

Isn't that rather late after Oxford ?

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You use Oxford for the free tech, since its actually a 'free' tech, rather than an enormous amount of beakers.

Although the beaker boost is nice, the usefulness of a free tech at any given point is instrumental to quick science victories.

Syntax Error said:

You use Oxford for the free tech, since its actually a 'free' tech, rather than an enormous amount of beakers.

Although the beaker boost is nice, the usefulness of a free tech at any given point is instrumental to quick science victories.

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My point was that I've normally built Oxford way before things like the Hubble. Do some of you put off making Oxford and time it so you get the free tech for something in particular ?

I ask, as I'm really poor at lining up my builds & techs to pop out at the right time. (I have started using policy saving though, so if I miss Freedom or whatever by a few turns I run without a policy and drop into it after Industrial).

Depending on when I get my universities, I'll use it on the tech that required most turns for the rest of the game.

When I started playing, I needed 8 turns for the later technologies, but now, anything past Research Labs takes too little to matter, so it would make more sense for me to use Oxford as soon as possible on a tech that takes more turns (getting into Renaissance faster for example, so that I get Rationalism).

But as general guidelines, what Tabarnak wrote would be great. (Possibly the best solution, but I'm not at that level yet)

8 turns after Research Labs (is there was enough gold to buy them all), I bulb the Great Scientists, and if you rack up 6-8, they'll boost you quite a lot, which is why Oxford here only cuts me nowadays only 3-4 turns.

I'm of the school that the earlier the better for beaker bonuses. I like settling early scientists and the like because bonus beakers over a span of turns just makes me warm inside.

Aaron90495 said:

Also, random question, what's your new icon?

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It looks like Cecil from Final Fantasy...oh I don't remember. The one where the main character is Cecil!

EDIT: Went and Google'd, hells yeah I was right. And that's the only Final Fantasy game I've ever played! lol

Jelster said:

My point was that I've normally built Oxford way before things like the Hubble. Do some of you put off making Oxford and time it so you get the free tech for something in particular ?

I ask, as I'm really poor at lining up my builds & techs to pop out at the right time. (I have started using policy saving though, so if I miss Freedom or whatever by a few turns I run without a policy and drop into it after Industrial).

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I time it for what I think is a very large number of saved turns *; particularly if it will either unlock important buildings and/or enter a new era.
* For me this tends to be a Modern era tech while I still have a few Industrial era techs left to clear as by the time I get to information era my beakers per turn rate has gone up by a higher percentage than the tech costs.

Also, for Science victories, I much prefer the Opener of Order to Freedom. Great Artists aren't needed. Opening Order provides Great Engineer from Faith, which since I've already spawned a few Scientists from faith is much cheaper.

Jelster said:

My point was that I've normally built Oxford way before things like the Hubble. Do some of you put off making Oxford and time it so you get the free tech for something in particular ?

I ask, as I'm really poor at lining up my builds & techs to pop out at the right time. (I have started using policy saving though, so if I miss Freedom or whatever by a few turns I run without a policy and drop into it after Industrial).

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For Science:
I time it to finish on the same time I finish Rocketry. At this point, I'll have an Engineer from Order to use on Hubble moment Satellites go online and another city starting on Apollo. I will usually have invested some hammers into it beforehand so it could go off in one turn.

For Culture:
I use it on different times:
Radio - for Broadcast Towers
Archaeology - for slingshotting to Industrial on a key culture tech then outright buying the culture buildings
Architecture - for an early Hermitage

Whichever is best.

Those are usually the best ones I use it for. Haven't tried using it for Scientific Method (Public Schools) or Plastics (Research Labs) or even Industrialization (Factories) just yet for quick beaker growth upon Industrial.