Do you always complete Tradition ?

[Magean]

Hi,

I guess most people here start with Tradition, at least under usual circumstances.

So I was wondering, do you take all the policies of that tree ? Or do you only pick the essential - IMHO : the opener, legalism, monarchy and/or landed elite - and then start another tree, such as piety if you're going religious, or patronage, maybe liberty...

Personally, I almost always complete Tradition. The finisher is excellent, and aristocracy/oligarchy are quite useful.

Thanks in advance

 

[Kouvb593kdnuewnd]

I use tradition in about 30-40% but then I get it I useally finish it as fast as I can.

 

[Magma_Dragoon]

ofc, earlier aqua duck is better aqua duck

 

[King Jason]

I go liberty most of the time just because I hate building settlers and workers (Pyramids never seems to be a popular wonder, even if I delay it a bit I tend to snag it). I used to go tradition quite a bit. Sometimes I'll go both because they're both very powerful.

I find it hard to justify going with honor and piety. Just because growth and culture are so important early. Honor would be more intriguing if the opener gave you a free unit or two, as I also don't enjoy building units early game.

Basically, I like constructing buildings. Anything that speeds that up or doesn't take away from it (wonder bonus and free monuments from tradition, production bonus and free settler/worker from liberty) is king in my book.

 

[Magean]

I use tradition in about 30-40% but then I get it I useally finish it as fast as I can.

I go liberty most of the time

Please pardon me. I had the impression that Liberty was quite unpopular on the forums, compared to Tradition as first tree. People seemed to be using it only as a second tree.

 

[Erneiz Hyde]

Please pardon me. I had the impression that Liberty was quite unpopular on the forums, compared to Tradition as first tree. People seemed to be using it only as a second tree.

Never mix Tradition and Liberty unless you're Poland. Liberty is popular as the policy to go for early conquering (and NOT Honor), which is usually a decision based on your starting terrain (the "greener pasture next door" policy). Liberty also doesn't always mean wide. The free settlers policy also comes with a settler production bonus, so it's almost like you get 3 settlers for the hammer cost of one. That's as rapid as you can expand that early.

And btw, never not complete Tradition. Especially worse is never complete it too late. The free aquaducts is very powerful only if gotten early. Though sometimes there are special clauses in delaying to complete Tradition, such as Song-Hai where you might want to aim for their Pyramid Mosque for Legalism (meanwhile going down Honor and barb hunting). Not sure about the efficiency of that though.

 

[Magma_Dragoon]

MPM is already maintenance free, I don't see why anyone would use legalism to get them

 

[joncnunn]

My first 6 policies are almost always the full tradition tree. Going this route, you can often complete the tree before even reaching the tech that would allow non-tradition starts to build them.
The faster you get the free aqueducts, the better.

 

[APCY]

Do you get monument if u going tradition?

 

[budweiser]

I finish it most of the time. They only time I wouldn't is if I am staying at 1 or 2 cities in which case I would buy or build the aqueducts.

 

[Resipsa]

Do you get monument if u going tradition?

No, 2 scouts prior to turn 10 are worth more than a free amphitheatre later.

As to OP's question I will often just take the opener, not for the culture but for the border expansion.

 

[cpm4001]

9 times of 10 I'll go full Tradition for my first Social Policies. The other time only applies when I'm going super wide (>6 Cities), and even then I'll still open it before going to Liberty (yes, yes, I know it's been proven to be slower than just going Liberty, but that increase in border expansion is way too good to pass up.)

 

[chazzycat]

If I start it, I finish it. Sweet growth benefits, and the ability to buy GEs with faith...what's not to love?

 

[TheGrumpyBuddha]

,... the ability to buy GEs with faith...what's not to love?

Yeah. This. If you're generating any faith at all, not being able to spend that faith on GEs is a huge disadvantage. What, you really want to hard-build Eiffel or Hubble?

 

[neoaspilet11]

i usually starts at liberty, collective rule, republic.
then back to tradition, legalism.

then complete the liberty tree for the free scientist to be planted gs academy. waiting for complete tradition for free aqueducts is too long for me. so manually builds them just enough for the city increases its population.

 

[Silverman6083]

*Generally* what i do is go Tradition-Legalism-Monarchy then move on the Liberty/Piety/Honor, I always am happy with the results

 

[joncnunn]

Do you get monument if u going tradition?

For free you get one with legalism. There's too many other things that need built early to try to get a more expensive free cultural building.

 

[qemist]

Never mix Tradition and Liberty unless you're Poland. Liberty is popular as the policy to go for early conquering (and NOT Honor),

Honor sucks. It was never popular and then they nerfed it in BNW. Even using it for barb farming is unlikely to be worth it unless you play as Aztec. As to the OP, if you take more than the opener, finish it. There is a strategy where you take the opener then switch to a different tree, holding back legalism until you have four cities up with (say) amphitheatres built. Artificial and probably not worth it unless your civ has a UB on the cultural building line.

 

[ravenmagus]

There is a strategy where you take the opener then switch to a different tree, holding back legalism until you have four cities up with (say) amphitheatres built. Artificial and probably not worth it unless your civ has a UB on the cultural building line.

I actually think most liberty strats should probably open Tradition then move to Liberty. The + culture is really good early so you won't miss many turns for that extra social policy, and the border expansion bonus from Tradition is really a big deal.

 

[qemist]

I actually think most liberty strats should probably open Tradition then move to Liberty. The + culture is really good early so you won't miss many turns for that extra social policy, and the border expansion bonus from Tradition is really a big deal.

Yeah I do that sometimes but I feel guilty about it because the forum experts say it's wrong. The exponential growth in policy cost really bites you 300 turns later when those ideology picks become available!