Anyone abuse barb spawning?

[iggymnrr]

I just finished a military culture win as Greece using the nature of barb spawning to wear down AIs in some long wars. There wasn't much point to finishing the wars quickly in a culture win. It was on the Mesopotamia map and I had just 4 cities, some puppets and 14 CS allies. At the end there were more barb camps than AI cities. Basic idea was:

My start was like the center of map (Persia-ish)
1) Take out 2 AIs in one corner, keeping maybe a puppet or two with the capitol
2) Fight in the other 3 corners, simultaniously if necessary
3) Raze cities in each war until a suitable puppet (s) is taken -- back to water or CS
4) Sort of turtle while the barbs spawn from the city razing -- they spawn good stuff compared to the AI (muskets/rifles)
5) Capture AI capitols in flames from barb pillaging

The idea worked because the barbs get better units too, but I was getting better units from the CSs. The AI had only it's own resources. The AI was pathetic at the end, like rifles. Barbs had infantry and I was getting hell-gunships and mech from the CSs. While building the Utopia, I got one more policy which I used to unlock Honor and it revealed ~25 barb camps. (Only 2 AI left.)

 

[bhavv]

Download the unlimited XP from barbs mod.

Camp next to a barb encampment and wait for spawns.

= Profit. Its nice for me because I avoid war whenever possible, so rather than having to remain in permenant war with a weaker AI and leaving my units around their cities to slowly soak up 2 XP ber city attack just to see higher level promotions, I can stay at peace as long as possible, and farm barbarians instead.

 

[Udey1]

Download the unlimited XP from barbs mod.

Camp next to a barb encampment and wait for spawns.

= Profit. Its nice for me because I avoid war whenever possible, so rather than having to remain in permenant war with a weaker AI and leaving my units around their cities to slowly soak up 2 XP ber city attack just to see higher level promotions, I can stay at peace as long as possible, and farm barbarians instead.

Farmilization- as if the AI isn't easy enough to beat fairly as it is.

 

[bhavv]

Farmilization- as if the AI isn't easy enough to beat fairly as it is.

Im not trying to beat the AI, I'm a pacifist Civ player, but still want unit upgrades because I like shiny buttons to click on.

 

[Paeanblack]

You can really abuse the barbs that are very close to city-states.

1) Don't eliminate the camp
2) Wait until a barb unit spawns and captures a worker
3) Intercept the barbarian worker on its way to the camp
4) Return the worker to the CS for 30 influence.
5) Watch the barb unit immediately recapture the worker
6) Repeat process until the barb unit gets killed by the CS
7) When the CS finally asks you to get rid of the camp, wait for one last barb unit to spawn and then take the camp.
8) Repeat the worker-recapture cycle until the last barb unit dies.

Using this last game, I earned about ~240 influence in the span of about 15 turns with a warrior (who was mostly just standing around healing, which he needed to do anyways)


It's sufficiently broken that I hope they patch it. (by adding diminishing returns for returning workers to the same city-state in rapid succession)

 

[budweiser]

If you are going to leave most of the map unclaimed and open for barbs, you might consider the City Garrsison Policy, which most think is useless, to station a mobile unit in each city. Then pick off a barb if it comes calling, then wipe out the camp.

 

[milk steak]

You can really abuse the barbs that are very close to city-states.

1) Don't eliminate the camp
2) Wait until a barb unit spawns and captures a worker
3) Intercept the barbarian worker on its way to the camp
4) Return the worker to the CS for 30 influence.
5) Watch the barb unit immediately recapture the worker
6) Repeat process until the barb unit gets killed by the CS
7) When the CS finally asks you to get rid of the camp, wait for one last barb unit to spawn and then take the camp.
8) Repeat the worker-recapture cycle until the last barb unit dies.

Using this last game, I earned about ~240 influence in the span of about 15 turns with a warrior (who was mostly just standing around healing, which he needed to do anyways)


It's sufficiently broken that I hope they patch it. (by adding diminishing returns for returning workers to the same city-state in rapid succession)

I've noticed that the barbarian brute tends to escort the worker back to the encampment. This sounds pretty interesting though. Definitely giving it a shot my next game.

 

[Martin Alvito]

This only works on the lower levels. The AI spams the map with units and aggressively barb hunts on higher levels, so unless you get lucky with the terrain spawn such that you can wall off the camp but block AIs from reaching it,

Besides, taking the Worker the first time is almost invariably better than repeatedly farming. The Worker is worth 310G and improves terrain over time. Paying 500G nets 75 Influence. So it takes 2.5 spawn cycles to catch up to the Worker in efficiency assuming it just twiddled its thumbs, which it won't. Early Workers are golden.

 

[iggymnrr]

Seem like I failed to make my main point which is to use the better units the barbs are spawning to harrass the AI. When barbs have infantry versus AI rifles ... Just seems imbalanced to me especially when CS can give gunships and other modern stuff. I only did this because I was in no hurry to win as the VC intended was cultural.

 

[Paeanblack]

This only works on the lower levels.

Or Archipelago. Or Highlands. etc, etc

Many of your absolute claims about the game (basically, most of your posts) are only useful insofar as they tell us you play the game using a very narrow range of settings and maps and that you assume every other player does the same.