Korea tips?

[Heart Break Kid]

I'm trying out Korea for the first time (played them for a quick minute in Vanilla), never really thought of how to make the most of a specialist type of Civ. I'm wonder spamming, is that a smart thing to do? I'm also building tall, prob 4-5 city focus.

Most importantly, I assume that you should go out of your way to use your Great People for tiles? I don't think I've really used Great Improvements in BNW (used to use them a lot in the other versions), I'm assuming the +2 science bonus is too much go give up? Any type of tiles I should prioritize building them on (I usually build them on animal tiles).

 

[adwcta]

So, as Korea, you want both your science wonders in your capital, to get the extra science boost. You also don't need them ASAP, as the boost you get is relative to your beaker production the handful of turns before. So, feel free to delay your NC for a bit and then also delay Oxford. You WILL be able to catch up.

By the same token, although your capital will be your most populous city, it's still better to delay science buildings there until a handful of turns after those buildings are up in your other cities. You maximize the bonus that way and actually get MORE beakers. (and also allows you to get another building up earlier in your capital instead of the science one).

No extra priority for tile improvements, but you should be making those anyway with your first few GP. The extra science they give still doesn't compensate for the overpowered-ness of late-game great scientists.

Since you need to work as many GP slots as you can, you want to be running as many food routes to your culture city as you can at any time, and it's not a bad idea to alternate food routes to your other cities as well.

4 cities is good. I wouldn't go 5. You frankly won't need it, even on Deity. I might do it if I was going for a culture victory, since I'll have enough counter-ideology pressure. But, for a science victory, a 5th city is just a happiness liability. You can comfortably win science with 3 cities. 4 is fine and gives you even more of a cushion, 5 becomes a liability in the late game.

I just finished a Deity science game as Korea... didn't even go Freedom. It's still overpowered as ever.

 

[_megafone_]

I think three is the best # of cities for going tall on BNW (the minimum you need for an early Ideology once you hit Industrial). And you should only settle on very good spots, as any city that's not big is just a hindrance because of the science hindrance.

Then just never stop growing. Going science you don't need a lot of Wonders - only really important one you NEED is the Porcelain Tower, everything else is just bonus. If your cap is low on hammers, just focus on infrastructure and you'll be good. And never stop growing!

 

[Monthar]

Korea isn't just about working specialist slots. Great person tile improvements also give beakers. One type you can get a lot of early on are Holy Sites, because each one helps get the next one. With completed Piety tree those holy Sites will be pumping out 3 culture, 3 gold and 2 science on top of the default faith. Plus if planted on tiles with at least 2 food, these things will feed themselves unlike the specialist slots. Planted on cows (preferably after the stable is built if no other pasturable resource for the city), wheat or deer with the granary built, then every two of these would feed 1 specialist. As Korea I would even consider planting the holy sites on top of bananas since the 2 beakers from the UA makes up for losing the 2 from jungle with the university. Since planting on the bananas clears the jungle but doesn't complete a plantation, you'd drop to 3 food with the granary, but add 1 production.

That means you want a religion with cheaper prophets as the enhancer. Try to get Jesuit for the reformation belief. Then when new science buildings unlock, manually buy them in all your cities except the capital using the massive faith your generating from the holy sites.

You want the capital next to a mountain for the observatory as that counts for the tech boost when building science buildings in the capital part of the UA.

 

[Browd]

Someone should test whether science buildings bought with faith (Jesuit Education) in the Korean capital trigger the Korean UA science boost. I bet they do, since those bought with gold do.

 

[Monthar]

If they don't it's probably a bug. Since faith bought science buildings don't count for the tourism boost from that reformation belief I don't think they are flagged any differently when faith bought. I know this because in one game Harun got Jesuit and converted all but one of my cities so I bought all the universities with faith before converting them back. I took the reformation belief that adds 2 tourism to faith bought buildings and those faith bought universities didn't get this bonus.

 

[GAGA Extrem]

As said above,one thing that can work quite well with Korea is getting piety as your second SP tree and pick "Messiah" as your enhancer. Those Holy Sites will become pretty powerful once you have finished the tree. Add freedom and the resolution from the World Congress and your yield from a grassland holy site can be as high as 2, 3, 2, 5 and 10.

Apart from that: I like to play tall with them, 4 city tradition start. However, considering how powerful freedom is for specialists and unhappiness reduction, I guess it can also work quite well for a wider empire. In my last Assyria game I got roughly 40 from Universal Suffrage.

 

[JamesShazbond]

Are Great Engineers a good idea in Korea? I had an idea where you could get a GE, pop it for a wonder, and get a tech boost from the wonder, turning the GE into a Great Scientist effectively.

 

[Monthar]

It's confirmed, faith buying the science buildings with Jesuit does trigger the tech boost.

 

[Browd]

Good to know. Thanks for testing.