7OTM06 - Completion of Age of Antiquity Spoiler Thread

[Lord Yanaek]

At the top of your post please post: Difficulty - Number of turns (optional)

A few questions to consider:

• What was your plan for moving toward the victory condition? What are the major steps you planned to take? What events, if any, changed the plan in execution and to what new plan? Any interesting decision points?
• Did you play differently knowing that neither the number of turns nor the amount of legacy points scored during that age would affect the final score? Do you feel this allowed you to play more freely? Do you feel like it makes the Antiquity less important?
• Do you like the new Pangea map and the ability to meet everyone during the Antiquity?
• Did you settle in place or move? Why? Did you regret your decision?
• What were your initial 5-10 builds in the capital and/or other early cities?
• Early order for technology/civics? What did you later prioritize for technology/civics?
• How did the leader bonus and civ unique ability impact your plan/play, if at all?
• How many cities/towns did you settle and/or capture? Where did you settle your first few towns? What was your mix of towns vs cities?
• What were key production/purchase focuses?
• Pantheon chosen and why?
• What government did you select? Which bonus did you chose most and why?
• Other good info we didn't think to ask?
• How did you focus your use of influence? Endeavors, City States, War?
• Any surprises/frustration/elations you ran into, how did you deal with it?
• Did you enjoy this Age?

 

[cas]

Sovereign save. T149 antiquity age end / 9 legacy points (3mil, 3com, 2sci, 1cul)

What was your plan for moving toward the victory condition? What are the major steps you planned to take? What events, if any, changed the plan in execution and to what new plan? Any interesting decision points?
Delay the age as long as possible while crippling the AI civs. Eliminate some civs on the last turn if possible. Build armies for the next age.
Three notable mistakes:
1) didn't take enough units to conquer Waset quickly. I would kill 2 medjay per turn, Amina would just replace them immediately. That war took way too long and kept me from eliminating her at the end of the age.
2) Kept a couple of Tubman's cities that I should have razed. Constantly at the happiness cap from exceeding settlement limit.
3) Timing was off on the research/civics. Wanted at least one wildcard point from future civic or future tech. Fell way short.

Did you play differently knowing that neither the number of turns nor the amount of legacy points scored during that age would affect the final score? Do you feel this allowed you to play more freely? Do you feel like it makes the Antiquity less important?
Yes, yes, and yes, but I like a mix of formats for score/VC. For this format and VC, I care about the military legacy points for extra settlements (fealty+2 and mil/exp attribute points in Exploration). The others are nice/useful, but not a major concern for Antiquity -> Exploration transition.

Do you like the new Pangea map and the ability to meet everyone during the Antiquity?
Like Pangea, but it is easier than continents...at least on mid levels. I haven't played Deity Pangea.

Did you settle in place or move? Why? Did you regret your decision?
SIP. Fresh water, couple mountains, decent resources, clay pits for production. No reason to move.

What were your initial 5-10 builds in the capital and/or other early cities?
scoutx4 - brickyard - settler - (buy settler) - granary - settler

Early order for technology/civics? What did you later prioritize for technology/civics?
Pottery - sailing - writing - AH - irrigation ? I think sailing and scouts are more important on Pangea to meet as many CS and neighbors asap. Sailing allows scouts to escape land units and get around mountain areas easier...as long as you don't run into galleys.

How did the leader bonus and civ unique ability impact your plan/play, if at all?
Didn't make full potential of it, but useful. I consider Pachacuti kind of weak, but maybe I'm playing him wrong.

How many cities/towns did you settle and/or capture? Where did you settle your first few towns? What was your mix of towns vs cities?
Settled four: capital, city2 - north by Tubman to degrade relationship so she would start a war, city3 - east to grab Thera culture tiles, city4 - west to grab resources and semi block Rome expansion south.
Captured thirteen or fourteen ? Kept Roma (Ceasar), Zala (Tubman/Ceasar), Aksum (Tubman), Champa(CS), Waset (Amina), Baak (Jose), Stung Treng (Nap). Razed the others. Razed one CS too.
4 cities, 7 towns, 3 other captured settlements in process of being razed at end of age.

What were key production/purchase focuses?
4 settlements, Gate of All Nations, Terracotta Army, Emile Bell, units/army commanders. I wanted 4 army commanders and units to fill them going into Exploration.

Pantheon chosen and why?
Stone Circles. What else is there ?

What government did you select? Which bonus did you chose most and why?
Classical Republic. I like the extra culture mid age and useful for wonders earlier.

Other good info we didn't think to ask?
Can't think of anything.

How did you focus your use of influence? Endeavors, City States, War?
befriended 4 CS. Ran into negative influence pretty quick from capturing and razing cities.

Any surprises/frustration/elations you ran into, how did you deal with it?
Wish I had found a friendly science CS earlier. Took forever to get to Aritim at the bottom of the map. Free tech perk was therefore not useful this game.

Did you enjoy this Age?
Yep.

Thanks for hosting the game. I hope someone else hosts another one mid month.

 

[RaidandTrade]

Antiquity: 132 turns (6 legacies)

Spoiler Ranking :

Spoiler Legacies :

Spoiler End of Age Yields :

What was your plan for moving toward the victory condition? What are the major steps you planned to take? What events, if any, changed the plan in execution and to what new plan? Any interesting decision points?

First Pangea so looking to see how far inland I’d be for Exploration with an aim to build out towards a coast or, if landlocked, build burning arrows.
At turn 22, I thought I’d found both east and west coasts. The west coast settle looked good but, after a little scouting, ended up sending me first settler due south to get Tropical. If it lets me, this will be my Exploration age capital with the Inca as it’s got a decent Machu Pickchu site.

Game plan was to try and get both coasts to then get some treasure resources.

Pachacuti, whenever I pick him, seems to get forward settled by close, aggressive neighbours. Plan was to build up infrastructure interspersed with burning arrows then get ready to defend and counter. Both Harriet and Augustus forward settled me taking the east spot (near Threa) and west coastal spot I was eyeing. Plan B was to buy Tyre and Su Nuraxi with influence. (Didn’t happen).
Chickasaw got nicely built up and made it to 23 pop by the end of the age. I managed Mundo and Emile Bell there and Monks Mound in Cahokia. The anticipated attacks never came and the most action my army saw was dispersing an Independent that was blocking a settle.

Did you settle in place or move?

Settled in place.

What were your initial 5-10 builds in the capital and/or other early cities?

Scout x3
Brickyard
Settler x2
Burning Arrow x3
Granary
Settler

Early order for technology/civics? What did you later prioritize for technology/civics?

Pottery (Brickyard) -> AH (Archers) -> Writing -> Irrigation (Hanging Gardens?) -> Bronze Working

Earthworks -> Earthworks II -> Mysticism -> Discipline

How did the leader bonus and civ unique ability impact your plan/play, if at all?

I played for gold and growth with the aim of getting a Silk Roads golden age.

How many cities/towns did you settle and/or capture? Where did you settle your first few towns? What was your mix of towns vs cities?

I had 7 at the end and was a turn away from putting down number 8 but the age counter jumped from 96% to done. Ended up getting 5 cities, 2 towns.

What were key production/purchase focuses?

Production was mainly to get to adjacencies and setting up for Exploration. Once I finally found and suzed a scientific City State, I put down a few Step Pyramids.

Pantheon chosen and why?

Stone Circles = Production.

What government did you select? Which bonus did you choose most and why?

Oligarchy -> Maximise Growth and getting cities on-line ASAP.

How did you focus your use of influence for diplomacy?

Friendly greetings: Amina, Augustus & HT
Befriend Kuaiji, Tyre, Vyadhapura, Su Nuraxi (dispersed), Shengle and Aritim.
Supported one or two cultural offerings and did a few open borders to get some better scouting. That helped me discover that the west coast was not actually the west coast.

Any surprises/frustration/elations you ran into, how did you deal with it?

Missed Hanging Gardens, Petra, Gate of All Nations by 1 – 2 turns. I seem to always miss the science legacy and wanted a strong military so skipped the monument and went write and into bronze. Mistake. My culture is awful and I still missed science so no golden age academies.

Did you enjoy this Age?

Yes, although I regret not just loading up with burning arrows and picking an early fight which is, I think, how the Mississippians probably should be played.

 

[GeoGeo]

Turn 130, 10 Legacy points -- I'm on the Deity save.

Settled in place, targeting a quarry start. Plan was to find lots of good mountain land for the next age (not at all challenging--thanks for Vihren!) Went heavy on the Burning Arrows early on, and got a war declaration from Harriet after clearing an IP she was befriending. I tried to invade her to the north, but she sent a force after my capital from the east in a rare show of good military planning by the AI. Eventually triumphed and got the settlement I’d been eyeing in a peace deal. I’d later be at war off-and-on with Augustus despite early attempts to be friendly, with Harriet (and Amina for some reason) joining in at times. That’s life at the center of the map, I guess. Speaking of the map, had a rough time scouting. Lot of tough hostile IPs and foreign land in the way (and I preferred to save my Influence for Endeavors rather than Open Borders I wouldn’t otherwise use). I didn’t meet the last AI, Friedrich, until very late.

Domestically, I wanted to go relatively tall and prioritize growth over expanding the settlement limit. I took a chance on beelining Hanging Gardens—which I thankfully got. My Vihren settlement easily kept up with and at times exceeded my capital’s population. The Deity AI was wonder happy, as seems to be the norm as of the recent patches, so I barely managed 2 Cultural legacy points with the otherwise low-priority Oracle and Emile Bell (though maybe Ginseng Agreement is better with the recent growth changes? Maybe I’ll experiment in the next age.) Managed the full Military path by taking some settlements from Augustus and Harriet (including my only settlement with proper sea access), as well as Economic. Culture and Science yields were a bit anemic, so I only got 2 Science points. It felt like I might be floundering when I hit the crisis at turn 97 with only 4 points. The late-game wars really turned things around.

I had three Commanders, two of whom had +2 capacity, and one of who died a shameful death of the plague too late to respawn. Big oof, there. Ended with 8 settlements, which is fine by me, but only 3 cities, due to my irresponsible spending habits.

Looking ahead, I am going for the Inca and am likely to prioritize Science and Culture growth in Exploration after not being able to in Antiquity. I’m not at all equipped for treasure fleets or further conquest. Perhaps I’ll just stretch out the game by ignoring those paths.

P.S. Why is Amina in every single game I play? I expect Civs to repeat, of course, but this one leader just keeps popping up. Only complaint about the map, it’s a great showcase for Pangea Plus and Pachacuti otherwise.

 

[ABigCivFan]

Thanks Lord Yanaek for hosting! Played Deity save. Turn 130 finish, 10 legacy points (3 science, 3 culture, 4 mil and econ).

Since this is Economic Vic, I planned to grab a lot of land across Tundra to Tropical to secure potential Factory resources and build wonders. Played aggressively and captured 3 AI capitals (Rome, Tubman, Himiko) for wonders and good land. Also have bi-costal establishments for Exp age. Since we started with 2 camels, I would probably go with Abbasid in Exp to setup a very strong Science and Culture base, and then try to get America (prospectors) in Modern to quickly secure max factory resources.

Focused to self-build Gate of All Nations and Hanging Garden early. Dispersed 1 military CS to boost hammer. Later built Monks Mund in capital, Mundo and Emile in the 2nd city.

Befriended a Military CS first to grab Age of Heros, then a friendly Econ CS before I settled close to it, then a Science and one more econ.

Amina did not build any wonder and was friendly so I allied her. Settled close the Tubman and waited on her to DOW me, and she came calling very early in the game. Had to scramble an army to fight her. Later found Himiko to honor ally. Then Himiko allied Rome. Quicly took Himiko's 2 best cities with natural wonders and wonders, and swing back to fight Rome. After a long war with Rome, managed to take his capital with 3 wonders. Ended age with 3 cammanders (lvl 13, 9, 8)

Finished age with 6 cities and 5 towns. Gold was quite high to allow conversions and buying warehouse buildings. Well setup for the next ages.

Spoiler Turn 130 End age :

Spoiler Turn 1 Exp age :

 

[Ballcrusher]

Deity save: 10 legacies (2 military, 2 culture, 3 science, 3 economic - turn 140)
(played in multiplayer mode, as I don't have the DLCs - but I didn't discover any differences from normal single player, except that you are told which other civs/leaders are in the game at start).

Overview:
My plan was to try a peaceful game and settle 9 cities around ressources and mountains, and grow them as big as possible to prepare for Inca exploration age. I had hoped for 11 legacy points, but I only managed to get 5 wonders, as 3 wonders was sniped just before I finished them, and I had low culture and reached the late wonders too late.
My tempo was ok in the beginning. I settled the 3rd settlement by T23, and converted the 2nd city by T31 and 3rd city by T52. After that my tempo fell a bit, as my culture was low and took some time to get the settlement limit up. My last 2 cities (number 8+9) was a late incorporation of the city state Tyre (to get access to the eastern ocean) and a close to last turn city founded to get the second military legacy point (for +2 settlement limit in Exploration).

Tech:
I focused on food and production, so I had a really slow science start. Actually I thought I couldn't get 10 codices, but I was a bit surprised that the age lasted 140 turns, and I managed to get the last tech masteries by production (Research Initiatives in cities).

Civics:
I started with Eathworks 1+2 to get the gold flowing, and then Code of Laws to get a lot of trade routes.

Pantheon:
Stone circles (for production)

Government:
Oligarchy (for food growth)

Wonders:
Hanging Gardens (growth), Monks Mound (ressource capacity for Economic Victory), Mundo Perdido (extra yields), Gate of All Nations (as it was available) and Emile Bell (as it was available).

City States:
Kuaiji (+5 trade range), Champa (+culture), Gutthiuda (hillforts), Tyre (incorporated to city)

Diplomacy:
I used my influence on endeavors to get friendly with all civs, and I didn't forward settle until I reached the helpful status. I managed to be friendly with all civs throughout the age - except for Rizal who denounced me twice, but he was far away and never bothered to declare war on me. Late game my influence was used to get more trade routes and to incorporate Tyre as my 9th city.

Frustration/regrets:
Ofcourse that 3 wonders got sniped, so I didn't get them and reached 7 wonders. Maybe also that some of my cities are too close to other cities, so I'm worried that they lack space to become economic powercities in modern age (but it was hard to find good settle spots without forward settling other civs, when I wanted to try a peaceful game).

Final thoughts:
I like the Pangea map. I think Diplomacy with 8 civs gives more opportunities and hard choices as how to spent your influence. I haven't tried Pangea in Exploration age yet, and I haven't tried the Incas yet either, so I'm looking forwar to trying that.

 

[MACKA0ili]

Deity Save - Turn 130, 9 Legacies (2 Science, 1 Culture, 3 Military, 3 Economic)
I used the Multiplayer work around as well

I went for a diplomacy based peaceful game where I made as many alliances as possible and signed as many trade agreements as I could. Went with Oligarchy for the food bonuses and settled three cities and three settlements. Capitol was SIP and 2nd city south by the natural wonder in a spot to grab as many resources. Third city was west on the coast to setup for exploration not knowing that it was an inland sea and then I planted three towns: one to the west of the natural wonder to the south, another more west to grab more resources, and the last one next to the far east coast all the way by the other natural wonder. I actually hit the end of the economic legacy path by turn 60 so the rest of the age was just trying to setup my settlements and grab more legacies. I ended up making alliances with Napoleon, Himiko, Amina, and Augustus and had a lot of trade routes between all of our cities. Harriet Tubman was unfriendly but didn't war me, but the alliance of Jose and Frederich attacked Napoleon so we were all dragged into that war. Jose was the tech and civic leader so it was tough, but I still got three more settlements in the peace deals to complete the military path. Napoleon lost almost all of his settlements though so I think his last one would be a great addition to my empire.
I actually forgot that the number of turns and legacies didn't matter so I just played normally. I was really concerned with trying to end the age actually so I maybe should have checked the rules. Still, even with that, antiquity is still important for the rest of the game as you set up a lot of things there.
Pangea is a great map type, but I do wish that distant lands were included on the main continent. Still, I'm looking forward to playing as the Inca next age.

 

[vitorbaixinho]

Deity - Save file turn 130 - 11 legacy points (3 eco, 3 sci, 3 mil, 2 cul)


What was your plan for moving toward the victory condition? What are the major steps you planned to take? What events, if any, changed the plan in execution and to what new plan? Any interesting decision points?
My plan was to secure the Economy Golden Age to have as many cities as possible producing at the start of the Exploration Age. During the Exploration Age, I aimed to build as many universities as possible and achieve the Scientific Golden Age. I also tried to eliminate as many enemies as possible.
I was surprised to find myself surrounded by so many hostile players. Harriet settled cities early in the best spots and was the most aggressive, declaring war on me very early. Augustus denounced me twice, but never attacked, even though he had a city encroaching on my capital.
I was the one who attacked him — not realizing he was allied with Himiko. Even so, I managed to become allies with Amina, Jose, and Friedrich.
I love tiles with adjacency bonuses from 3 resources. I managed to get tiles with more than 50 yield.


Did you play differently knowing that neither the number of turns nor the amount of legacy points scored during that age would affect the final score? Do you feel this allowed you to play more freely? Do you feel like it makes the Antiquity less important?
Yes, I was able to play more freely. I didn’t need to worry about the number of turns. That said, I still always find it important to get the highest number of legacy points possible.


Do you like the new Pangea map and the ability to meet everyone during the Antiquity?
Yes.


Did you settle in place or move? Why? Did you regret your decision?
Yes, I settled in place (SIP). No, I don’t regret it. I was expecting to see the Grand Canyon, but since I didn’t, I’m glad I didn’t move.


What were your initial 5-10 builds in the capital and/or other early cities?
3 scouts, granary, settler, brickworks.


Early order for technology/civics? What did you later prioritize for technology/civics?
Pottery, Animal Husbandry, Irrigation, Writing, Bronze Working.
Mysticism, Discipline, Discipline Mastery, Code of Laws.


How did the leader bonus and civ unique ability impact your plan/play, if at all?
It’s always good to have lots of food and the extra production bonus helped too.


How many cities/towns did you settle and/or capture? Where did you settle your first few towns? What was your mix of towns vs cities?
I founded 3 cities, captured 5, and destroyed a few others. In the end, I had 4 cities and 4 towns. I also managed to buy one more city at the start of the Exploration Age, before choosing the legacies.


What were key production/purchase focuses?
Archers and buildings.
I built 5 wonders: Hanging Gardens, Gate of All Nations, Petra, Monks Mound, and Emile Bell.


Pantheon chosen and why?
Stone Circles — for the faith bonus on quarries.


What government did you select? Which bonus did you choose most and why?
Culture and wonder production bonuses.


Other good info we didn't think to ask?
How did you focus your use of influence? Endeavors, City States, War?
I focused on cultural negotiations. I didn’t had any scientific negotiations. I also had a few allied city-states.


Any surprises/frustration/elations you ran into, how did you deal with it? Did you enjoy this Age?
A lot — I really enjoyed this Age.


Thank you very much for this game

 

[GoblinMatron]

Deity - 120 turns - 11 Legacy points (3 militaristic, 2 cultural, 3 economic, 3 scientific)
(multiplayer workaround since I don't have all neccessary DLCs)

Plan:
- Delay the age as much es possible.
- Unlock Abbasid for the next age, so that I will have good science in exploration that I can take to modern
- get as many legacy points as possible, focus on codices and wonders

Production in capital:
Scout - Scout - Scout - Brickyard - Granary - Settler - Settler - Burning Arrow - Burning Arrow - Burning Arrow

Techs:
Pottery - Animal Husbandry - Masonry - Writing

Civics:
Discipline - Mysticism - Code of Laws - Kysticism Mastery - Earthworks - Earthworks Mastery
I wanted to build Petra in my Capital and Mundo Perdido in my second city.

Government:
Oligarchy
I alsways took the food because it synergizes with Pachacuti and I never built buildings in all of my cities at the same time.

Pantheon:
Stone circles

Influence:
I befriended many IPs. Sadly, the one that gives me free techs was captured by Augustus during one of our wars. Harriet declared war on me around turn 50 and I ran into a bug where I could not offer peace to her. So I spent a lot of influence on war support with this war.

Settlements:
9 total. 4 cities, 5 towns. 6 founded, 3 captured
Harriet founded a settlement on the island to the east next to Thera. I captured that settlement to have access to the ocean for the next age.

Scoring:
That the number of turns in antiquity do not count towards the points was very relaxing, but it also made me care less about this age. I like the change of pace, but overall I like the other scoring system better.

Enjoyment:
The war bug I ran into against Harriet was very tilting. Also in general that there are fewer notifications in a multiplayer game made me forget to change some social policies and was overall less enjoyable. It was still fun, thank you Lord Yanaek!

 

[shoshonte]

Deity - 130 Turns - 10 Legacy points + 1 Future Civic

(Multiplayer Workaround for me as well since I didn't have all available DLCs, reloaded a few turns since MP does not give a notification for completing civics so I had forgotten to slot policy cards on a few occasions)

Plan:

My initial plan was to settle in place, build a couple of Scouts for exploration, and research Pottery. Because there were plenty of rough and wet tiles, I knew production would be important for early tempo. A key part of my strategy was to get the Stone Circles pantheon, so I prioritized researching Mysticism.

My plan had to change based on a few key events. The biggest one was when the Aksum, led by Harriet, took a settlement spot near Thera that I wanted. This made me consider going to war with her later, even though I preferred not to. When Harriet actually declared war on me on Turn 72, I had to shift my production to defense. Later, I was caught off guard when my ally, Jose Rizal, and Augustus declared war on me, which again forced me to build military units.

There were a few interesting decision points. On turn 15, I decided to buy a Settler because I was focusing on happiness huts to leverage Garuda statue to get an early celebration, thus causing my city to grow faster than my Brickyard could finish. I ended up clearing two neighboring hostile CS (to clear land for settles) and suzzing 4. I also decided not to take free techs CS bonus preferring Philosopher's Circle as it feels less cheaty and I wanted to max out my stats in Antiquity. After my war with Tubman, I made peace in exchange for two of her settlements one of which I razed to gain more space for my B4 settle (losing 4 influence for the rest of the age). She offered me three settlements but they were all pretty bad, and I did not feel like military legacy was worth going too far over cap as I was trying to optimize yields and didn't think her cities were good enough to justify going 2 over cap for the entire age. I got fealty with the trade which was sufficient for my goals.

My key production focuses were on Settlers early on, defensive units like Burning Arrows when I was threatened, and wonders like Petra and Monk's Mound. When I had nothing else to build, I would have my cities produce Watonahi to bank gold and establish connections for all of my cities for a potential hub town approach. I chose the Stone Circles pantheon. For government, I selected the Classical Republic to help with my wonder production and to be competitive in culture.

I focused my influence on a mix of things: completing endeavors with other leaders, becoming the suzerain of city-states like Hattusa, and at one point, using it to steal a civic from Harriet.

Surprises and Frustrations​

I ran into a few frustrations. It was very annoying when Harriet settled the location I had my eye on. I also realized I made a mistake on turn 47 by forgetting to slot in the Shell Tempered Pottery policy card and reloaded a few turns to rectify the mistake. I justified this since it was a glitch in the multiplayer UX and would not have happened in a SP game.

However, I also had some pleasant surprises. When my scout died on turn 34, it triggered a narrative event that gave me 100 gold, which let me convert an outpost into a city right away. I was also surprised when Augustus and my own ally, Jose Rizal, declared war on me around turn 106.


Played solely on 1.2.1 -- I will play Exploration on 1.2.2

 

[shoshonte]

Spoiler Settlement Highlights :

Size 30 capital with Petra, Monk's Mount, Weiyang Palace, and Gate of All Nations. Was not competitive enough on culture vs the AI to grab any more. The 3 mountains in the Capital should set me up well for an Inca run and excited for 1.2.2 Inca Economic Legacy path changes and how they will play out.

B2: Size 29 and Exploration Age Capital.

Outside of not wanting to squash one of the mines surrounding this city, built it to be my next capital with the tropical lonely mountain 2s to be my Machu Picchu. Used Weiyang Palace from Cap to maximize adjacencies for science districts while not compromising on the free science and culture from buildings adjacent to the capital on the next age.

Does not have egress through Harriet's land but I will be exploring a less DL heavy Exploration with new 1.2.2 changes so not strictly necessary, although do worry that my starting Cog might have difficulties.

 

[shoshonte]

Deity - 130 Turns - 10 Legacy points + 1 Future Civic

(Multiplayer Workaround for me as well since I didn't have all available DLCs, reloaded a few turns since MP does not give a notification for completing civics so I had forgotten to slot policy cards on a few occasions)

Plan:

My initial plan was to settle in place, build a couple of Scouts for exploration, and research Pottery. Because there were plenty of rough and wet tiles, I knew production would be important for early tempo. A key part of my strategy was to get the Stone Circles pantheon, so I prioritized researching Mysticism.

My plan had to change based on a few key events. The biggest one was when the Aksum, led by Harriet, took a settlement spot near Thera that I wanted. This made me consider going to war with her later, even though I preferred not to. When Harriet actually declared war on me on Turn 72, I had to shift my production to defense. Later, I was caught off guard when my ally, Jose Rizal, and Augustus declared war on me, which again forced me to build military units.

There were a few interesting decision points. On turn 15, I decided to buy a Settler because I was focusing on happiness huts to leverage Garuda statue to get an early celebration, thus causing my city to grow faster than my Brickyard could finish. I ended up clearing two neighboring hostile CS (to clear land for settles) and suzzing 4. I also decided not to take free techs CS bonus preferring Philosopher's Circle as it feels less cheaty and I wanted to max out my stats in Antiquity. After my war with Tubman, I made peace in exchange for two of her settlements one of which I razed to gain more space for my B4 settle (losing 4 influence for the rest of the age). She offered me three settlements but they were all pretty bad, and I did not feel like military legacy was worth going too far over cap as I was trying to optimize yields and didn't think her cities were good enough to justify going 2 over cap for the entire age. I got fealty with the trade which was sufficient for my goals.

My key production focuses were on Settlers early on, defensive units like Burning Arrows when I was threatened, and wonders like Petra and Monk's Mound. When I had nothing else to build, I would have my cities produce Watonahi to bank gold and establish connections for all of my cities for a potential hub town approach. I chose the Stone Circles pantheon. For government, I selected the Classical Republic to help with my wonder production and to be competitive in culture.

I focused my influence on a mix of things: completing endeavors with other leaders, becoming the suzerain of city-states like Hattusa, and at one point, using it to steal a civic from Harriet.

Surprises and Frustrations​

I ran into a few frustrations. It was very annoying when Harriet settled the location I had my eye on. I also realized I made a mistake on turn 47 by forgetting to slot in the Shell Tempered Pottery policy card and reloaded a few turns to rectify the mistake. I justified this since it was a glitch in the multiplayer UX and would not have happened in a SP game.

However, I also had some pleasant surprises. When my scout died on turn 34, it triggered a narrative event that gave me 100 gold, which let me convert an outpost into a city right away. I was also surprised when Augustus and my own ally, Jose Rizal, declared war on me around turn 106.


Played solely on 1.2.1 -- I will play Exploration on 1.2.2

Forgot to mention I ended up with 8 settlements all cities, 7 founded by me and one by the AI but it was near Thera so I kept it.

 

[shoshonte]

As others mentioned with respect to the

Deity - Save file turn 130 - 11 legacy points (3 eco, 3 sci, 3 mil, 2 cul)


What was your plan for moving toward the victory condition? What are the major steps you planned to take? What events, if any, changed the plan in execution and to what new plan? Any interesting decision points?
My plan was to secure the Economy Golden Age to have as many cities as possible producing at the start of the Exploration Age. During the Exploration Age, I aimed to build as many universities as possible and achieve the Scientific Golden Age. I also tried to eliminate as many enemies as possible.
I was surprised to find myself surrounded by so many hostile players. Harriet settled cities early in the best spots and was the most aggressive, declaring war on me very early. Augustus denounced me twice, but never attacked, even though he had a city encroaching on my capital.
I was the one who attacked him — not realizing he was allied with Himiko. Even so, I managed to become allies with Amina, Jose, and Friedrich.
I love tiles with adjacency bonuses from 3 resources. I managed to get tiles with more than 50 yield.


Did you play differently knowing that neither the number of turns nor the amount of legacy points scored during that age would affect the final score? Do you feel this allowed you to play more freely? Do you feel like it makes the Antiquity less important?
Yes, I was able to play more freely. I didn’t need to worry about the number of turns. That said, I still always find it important to get the highest number of legacy points possible.


Do you like the new Pangea map and the ability to meet everyone during the Antiquity?
Yes.


Did you settle in place or move? Why? Did you regret your decision?
Yes, I settled in place (SIP). No, I don’t regret it. I was expecting to see the Grand Canyon, but since I didn’t, I’m glad I didn’t move.


What were your initial 5-10 builds in the capital and/or other early cities?
3 scouts, granary, settler, brickworks.


Early order for technology/civics? What did you later prioritize for technology/civics?
Pottery, Animal Husbandry, Irrigation, Writing, Bronze Working.
Mysticism, Discipline, Discipline Mastery, Code of Laws.


How did the leader bonus and civ unique ability impact your plan/play, if at all?
It’s always good to have lots of food and the extra production bonus helped too.


How many cities/towns did you settle and/or capture? Where did you settle your first few towns? What was your mix of towns vs cities?
I founded 3 cities, captured 5, and destroyed a few others. In the end, I had 4 cities and 4 towns. I also managed to buy one more city at the start of the Exploration Age, before choosing the legacies.


What were key production/purchase focuses?
Archers and buildings.
I built 5 wonders: Hanging Gardens, Gate of All Nations, Petra, Monks Mound, and Emile Bell.


Pantheon chosen and why?
Stone Circles — for the faith bonus on quarries.


What government did you select? Which bonus did you choose most and why?
Culture and wonder production bonuses.


Other good info we didn't think to ask?
How did you focus your use of influence? Endeavors, City States, War?
I focused on cultural negotiations. I didn’t had any scientific negotiations. I also had a few allied city-states.


Any surprises/frustration/elations you ran into, how did you deal with it? Did you enjoy this Age?
A lot — I really enjoyed this Age.


Thank you very much for this game

Harriet was surprisingly aggressive in my game too, and actually did well militarily (aka I was not able to make progress in total full-sim mode which sometimes I can push a little bit against the AI's poor war moves).

I'm hopeful that the new patch will make the AI decision making better because there was no reason for the AI to be willing to give me 3 settlements when I was playing totally defensively (not really making any pushes into their territory).

It also trivializes the military legacy path when they give one cities for free.