7otM11 (Nov 2025) - Completion of Age of Exploration Spoiler Thread

[Eyswein]

At the top of your post please post the following:
- Turns in this Age = Number of Turns
- Total number of Turns so far (Antiquity + Exploration)

A few questions to consider:
- How did the new patch impact your game?
- What Legacy bonuses did you chose and why? What other start up things did you do at the beginning of the Age of Exploration?
- 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?
- Was the designated Civ a good choice or would you think a different one could have performed better?
- 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 in this Age? What was your mix of towns vs cities?
- What were key production/purchase focuses?
- Religious bonuses chosen and why?
- What government did you select? Which bonus did you chose most and why?
- Any cool info we forgot to ask about?
- How did you focus your use of influence for diplomacy?
- Any surprises/frustration/elations you ran into, how did you deal with it?
- Did you enjoy this Age?

 

[ABigCivFan]

Turn 55 finish.

Main goal for this age is to capture some settlers, establish good cities in DL for future culture dig. Trung started this age hating me, it was convenient since she has a nice capital with good treasure res and even better, see her walking around with an army and Settlers! So I DOW her on turn 1. Will try capture as many settlers from her and wipe her.

To reach 3 Culture LPs, I used an exploit with Trung, i.e. convert her capital, capture capital, then convert the next capital, capture it, each time I got 2 relics. Perhaps they should fix this by only allowing 2 relics per AI.

Chose 20% gold govt since gold buys everything that I need to speed things up: temples, missionaries, fleet commanders, ships, partial buildings, warehouse buildings and etc.

3rd religion benefit i chose Stella Maris (+1 ship movement and embark movement)

Science: Astronomy, Cart, Machinery, -->Education->Ship Building

Culture: Religion, Hale O Keawe to boost culture, Theology, Tomb of Askia, El Escorial, Pirate unique cultures, did not get to complete a single UB or UQ, seem like a waste given them cost and benefit, there are just so many other more useful buildings in this age.

IPs: befriend a science one first to give science on warehouse buildings, then a military one to get commander XP boost in DL, then another Military one to get +1 settlement pt, an Expansion one to get + settlement

Played the whole age with only a single culture attribute pt, will get more with momento for the next age. Put 4 pts in Expansion which was very helpful.

Completed a quest to have 16 specialists which gave +2 culture to Guildhalls and Universities, which was very helpful for Science LPs.

Spoiler Turn 3 captured 2 settlers :

I captured 4 settlers from Trung, including one on a coast tile trying to run away. I just shot it with archers on land, and once I killed the settler on coast, it was captured with a little health.

Spoiler Turn 25 took Trung capital :

Established first DL settlement on turn 32.

Spoiler Turn 43 took Inca former capital :

Inca was allied with Trung so he DOWed me. I thought about whether I should leave him alone and send my army to DL, but then seeing his former capital with Hanging Garden, Emile, and Nalanda that can give 3 attribute points, I decided that it worth the effort to take it. So I took it on turn 43 with Naval support.

Spoiler Turn 46 start assault in DL :

My 2nd army commander and 2nd fleet commander worked together to start the DL assault. Amina and Norman were allied, I DOWed Amina to bring Norman into the party and he was a good target with Terracotta Army.

Spoiler Turn 48 Using Raiding Party ability :

Using the Raiding Party ability of my Buccaneer, it generated a treasure fleet with 3 treasure points.

Spoiler Turn 52 demonstration of the over powered naval splash damage :

Norman came with a large army of knights, took back Miletos for a bit. But things turned quickly when my 2 fleet commanders joined force and buried Norman knights in a hail of naval barrage.

Destroyed 5 Norman knights in a single turn with the OP naval splash damage.

Before battle:

After battle - 5 knights destroyed, and Took Athenai the next turn:

Spoiler Turn 55 End age :

Bought missionaries to convert newly captured DL settlements to my religion. seeing one 1 pt away from fully Military LP, I use a saved settler to settle a town in DL and this was enough to get to end age. Got 3 science LP a couple of turns earlier, it was not supper difficult give I have 4 productive cities and food rich towns to feed them.