Caste System help

[SpriteSODA]

Can someone help me understand when does the caste system is useful? I never use it=\

 

[Penguin?]

The Caste Systm is useful for the Unlimited Specialists of certain types: Artist/Merchant/Scientist?
This allows any city that has enough surplus food to creat a load of these specialists (which will give u a lot of GPP), also in conjunction with Representation you get an extra 3 beakers for each specialist (if these are scientists then thats quite a few beakers).
So it is not particularly useful unless you want to max out specialits for research and GPP, which means you need plenty of food resources.

P

 

[cabert]

what penguin said is right,
so you have 2 big situations when it's useful:
- going for cultural
- when you've got the pyramids, for the early specialist strat under represention

In most case, it's useful for your GP farm even when you don't run those strats.

 

[Pantastic]

It's not really useful if you're running a cottage spam economy, it's very nice when you're using lots of specialits. Being able to run 4 scientists or merchants in a city without any buildings can work wonders, and popping borders on a city 2-3 turns after it comes out of revolt is always fun.

 

[Nestorius]

You want more than two scientist specialists in your great person city because you need more Academies or Great Scientists instead of Great Prophets? Then you need Caste System. I almost always use Caste System at some point in the game, as usually my workers are idle and have no need of Serfdom.

This last game I'm playing on the new map of Europe, I'm using Serfdom for the first time instead of Caste System because the map is so big and I'm expanding into barbarian Russia so quickly my workers can't keep up. But usually Caste System rocks.

 

[Jarrod32]

It is also useful in early wars, to assign an artist specialist or two to get your borders expanded quickly in newly conquered territory.

 

[Oggums]

I use it for exactly what Jarrod just said, early conquest, but not just for the artists. It also allows you to immediately make your conquered cities useful via a few farms and merchants/scientists. Otherwise, if you waited to build libraries and markets and for cottages to develop, your economy would go into the red and your army disbanded.

 

[SpriteSODA]

Thank you guys, taught me a couple of things=]

 

[Feyd Rautha]

If you ever play OCC you can see just how powerful a setup based off of representation+caste system can be. I'm regularly able to get into the mid to high 800's on a turn where I "focus" my efforts on science. By the end of the game you can easily find yourself reaching into the 11-12 hundred area for the one city.

Granted one-city-challenge is a different game than the standard, but the effect carries over to the regular game as well. Whenever you're stuck behind on tech you can dedicate a few "high food" cities to scientists and the results are astounding.

 

[obsolete]

Caste is one of my most un-unsed civics. I find using specilists crippple my citties.

 

[DigitalBoy]

It is also useful in early wars, to assign an artist specialist or two to get your borders expanded quickly in newly conquered territory.

I know what you mean. If I have automated population assignment on, some new cities I can capture can have as many as six or seven artists.

I didn't realize the computer placed that much emphasis on culture.

 

[cabert]

I know what you mean. If I have automated population assignment on, some new cities I can capture can have as many as six or seven artists.

I didn't realize the computer placed that much emphasis on culture.

it may well be the single best thing to do!
newly conquered city is often under cultural pressure from
1) the AI you took it from
2) the neighbouring AI

You need a lot of culture fast to avoid cultural flip through (2) or to have a few tiles to work vs (1).
3 artists give you a border expnasion in one turn. I think it's a great move, even if it costs a pop. Though i prefer poprushing a theater (lasting effect vs temporary effect).

 

[Pantastic]

Yeah, running a lot of artists right after you capture a city will get the first pop in a turn or two and help to push back cultural borders and revolts. The automated governor only does that when a city has a lot of cultural trouble, which is common in a freshly captured city.

 

[ekanata]

When I'm spiritual and need to immediately expand the border of a new city (to retrieve bonus resource on outer ring or block passage through a choke point), I swap to CS for awhile, hire artist in the city, and swap back.

 

[TheJopa]

First thing: I always have problem with terminology: CS means Caste System and sometimes Civil Service... (OK I know that you mean Caste System here)

I also use them for artist spam in newly built cities/newly conquered. Just one artist needs 3 turns to grow to fat cross, and you can then remove him, or keep him to make 100 culture.

Adding just 1 merchant in city with bank+market+grocer gives you 6 gold even at 100 science. And you can assign unlimited # of them

Scientists are always good.

And if you are running republic/GP strategy, CS is unmatched

 

[nealhunt]

Pretty much unless I have a Spiritual leader, I don't use Caste System. At the risk of channelling Zombie69, I'd much rather be able to pop rush my entire empire than run specialists to save a city or two. If you are Spiritual you can run Caste System then switch over to Slavery for a few rounds of whipping, but without that option it's just not worth it to me.

If you need specialists, pop-rush the appropriate buildings and then assign them. If it's early enough in the game that your economy can't handle the strain of newly captured cities without specialists, there's probably still forests around to chop-rush. You can pre-chop before a captured city comes out of revolt. With that and slave-whipping the population down you can crank out 2-3 needed buildings in just a few turns.