Initial Policy

[Ben Music]

What is going to be your first Policy? It looks like the initial choices would be:
- Tradition - +1 Food in Capital
- Aristocracy - +33% Production for Wonders
- Oligarchy - +33% combat strength in empire's borders
- Liberty - +50% construction rate for Settlers
- Citizenship - +25% construction rate for workers
- Collective Rule - New start with 50% food towards 2nd citizen
- Honor - +25% combat bonus vs Barbs and Barb Camp notification
- Discipline - +15% combat support bonus
- Warrior Code - Free Great General

 

[Shafi-is-back]

my vote was for liberty for the faster settlers. but this can all play after i play a few games. i'm still in the civ IV mentality of wanting to get those settlers out fast and early.

 

[madscientist]

I don't have the game, but damn that looks very cool to select them.

I would usually select the free Great General, but since the Einsteins who designed this game chose to ignore the Mighty Mongols, I will pick another.

I say civilization was buil on food, give me the extra food in the capital!

 

[Wuddel]

Nah, thats not how it works you gave to go down the policy tree. And first you have to adopt a policy. So the choice is really only Tradition/Liberty/Honor.

/thread

 

[Celevin]

It entirely depends on my start.

If I get the equivalent of the 4-5 food start of Civ4, I'm going tradition. If I have close neighbours that NEED TO DIE, I'm going honour.

 

[dtsazza]

I reckon Honour will really help with the initial scouting out and destroying of barb encampments. I'd be tempted to go for Tradition, since it seems like vertical rather than horizontal growth might be the way to go in this game, but I feel you'll get more immediate payoff for the initial scouting with Honour.

Usual disclaimers apply about how experience is the best teacher, etc.

 

[sherbz]

play the map, nuff said!

 

[ICNP]

Playing Japan, so I decided to be kinda normal, so I did Tradition>Honor>Warrior Code>2x Experience

I don't like Great Generals in this, Citadels have the same problem as forts, and guarding the general is a lot harder in one unit per tile.

Of course, this is just one Japan game on Settler, so give it time.

 

[happyturtle]

After playing the demo twice through, I think Honor is the most useful first policy. Everything after that is map and leader dependant.

 

[Alexfrog]

I am finding that an interesting strategy is to not spend your early policy picks, beeline for Medieval Age, and then spend them on the patronage tree and ally with a bunch of city states. (You could do the same thing for Piety or some later trees as well). The early trees seem pretty weak to me, and then if you waste picks in them, its expensive as hell later on to get to the bottom of a good tree.

 

[qyll]

I tried Scout --> Worker --> Settler while adopting tradition for the settler build bonus, but it seems like it's much harder to maintain many cities in the early game anyway, so tradition is the way to go unless you're Bismarck or Montezuma,

 

[bhavv]

As England, I am opening with Tradition > Aristocracy > Liberty > Citizenship > Piety.

Get a monument > scout > worker and then some wonders built first, then spam Settlers + Workers, with Piety helping with happiness.

If I get attacked, I bombard with triremes and archers / chariot archers, I can defend my self well with ranged combat and just a couple of triremes.