Archipelago tips

[vesp3r1987]

Well... my last game i had to play Venice on archipelago standard map. However i didnt like the civ much for warmongering on seas and i focused on diplomatic victory

Now i want to play another archipelago map but im not sure which civ will suit it best and i need some tips like:

1. Since it hardly have any land mass do i really need land units? On my Venice game i saw Arabia trying to take one of Denmark`s towns with like 4-5 land units he moved through water and had only like 2 ships that were ranged. Needless to say by the time he could get to land most of his units were sunk. Since i was in war with Denmark too at that point and i had city on same island i tryed to send ground forces... failed as there was a part with 1 tile-land

2. Do i have to focus on rushing naval policies and techs before doing anything else?

3. Should i try to settle cities (3-4) even if its far from my capitol if i find good spot with luxury/strategic that i dont want to give someone else or should i keep close to cap and rely on resources from CS

4. If i have to rely on CS for most resources should i just add more of them on the map?

Note: Im playing on standard map max 5 civs other than my own

 

[HughFran]

Carthage and Ottoman are good Civs to use on an archipelago map due to their UAs. If I am on this type of map I tend to focus on Exploration policies and research any naval or coastal technologies and if I can, I build the Great Lighthouse and Colossus. Land units aren't that useful either and seeing as melee naval units can take cities, I tend to focus on building a good few of these (with a few ranged for support). I actually really enjoy playing on archipelago maps even though it kind of hinders you if you favor using the 'Tradition' policy tree. But then again, if we always focus on tradition then every game would be the same. In fact, Carthage and Liberty combination is pretty effective

 

[vesp3r1987]

cool. I was getting bored of all that land fighting and focusing on same NW and techs. Trying to keep it a bit entertaining for me
I think i`ll try Carhage... already played as Ottoman

 

[Kriogen]

Polynesia or Indonesia are also fun on water maps.

 

[Sclb]

You can also try England which had the strongest naval UU.

 

[HughFran]

cool. I was getting bored of all that land fighting and focusing on same NW and techs. Trying to keep it a bit entertaining for me
I think i`ll try Carhage... already played as Ottoman

I agree, it's fun to mix it up. Even though the Tradition/NC combination is effective, it's nice to try other ways as well. On archipelago you aren't going to get the internal food routes going early on so building tall might not be as viable an option - especially on small islands. Therefore I tend to go for Liberty/Exploration and possibly Commerce on these map types. That way you can spread out fast, explore the map quicker and gain extra gold from sea trade routes which are especially good with Colossus and EITC

 

[vesp3r1987]

Polynesia or Indonesia are also fun on water maps.

Wasnt Indonesia the one civ that have some bonus for settling on different land mass?

 

[HughFran]

Wasnt Indonesia the one civ that have some bonus for settling on different land mass?

Correct, they get unique luxuries in their first three citites that are on different islands

 

[Volentia]

I had ton of fun playing England (Immortal level).

Ship of the Line + Great lighthouse + Explo opener + Range & Logistics promotion = Most fun navy to maneuver around. Makes the domination game almost too easy though!

 

[HughFran]

Yeah that is a pretty awesome combination right there - when your navy is faster than anybody elses, it's a huge advantage

 

[vesp3r1987]

well i guess ill have to play few games Havent focused on domination victory for months so i might need to get some OP combo. How about the great admiral - is he as usefull as great general? or i should just use it to heal navy if i take too much damage

 

[Volentia]

Well it's sort of the same use as a great general, place it near your ships to give a 15% combat boost.
The healing is not useful most of the time but if you have too many admirals i guess that's a way to spend them (if you're not sweden).
One smart use of the admiral is early on, before astronomy. You can use the admiral to cross the ocean and meet new civ before anyone else. (i've actually used the liberty finisher to get an admiral once and solve some hapiness issues with the new trade partners)

 

[vesp3r1987]

Well it's sort of the same use as a great general, place it near your ships to give a 15% combat boost.
The healing is not useful most of the time but if you have too many admirals i guess that's a way to spend them (if you're not sweden).
One smart use of the admiral is early on, before astronomy. You can use the admiral to cross the ocean and meet new civ before anyone else. (i've actually used the liberty finisher to get an admiral once and solve some hapiness issues with the new trade partners)

You didnt need protection from barbs?

 

[FrostK]

I had ton of fun playing England (Immortal level).

Ship of the Line + Great lighthouse + Explo opener + Range & Logistics promotion = Most fun navy to maneuver around. Makes the domination game almost too easy though!

Any archipelago map can be won by just 2-city tradition England. Even on deity it is just too easy. But probably every1 should try it once.

 

[vesp3r1987]

Well like i said i avoided playing archipelago till now cause im kinda nooby and played mostly pangea maps, this is getting a bit boring now though

 

[beetle]

You didnt need protection from barbs?

No, so long as your early GAd ends his turn in ocean, barb triremes cannot touch him!

Well like i said i avoided playing archipelago till now cause im kinda nooby and played mostly pangea maps, this is getting a bit boring now though

Bump up the difficulty a notch and pick your opponents so they all have some watery advantage. You will have a good time! In addition to ones with UU, keep Songhai in the mix as his units have defensive embarkation.

 

[stormtrooper412]

Well like i said i avoided playing archipelago till now cause im kinda nooby and played mostly pangea maps, this is getting a bit boring now though

actually archipelagos are considered the easiest map types because you're REALLY UNLIKELY to get attacked

 

[Sclb]

Try fractal maps, you get the best of both worlds, lots of water but also some land you can build actually good cities on.

 

[joncnunn]

With any of Archipelago / Tiny Islands / Large Island, you can play very well as any civ. The AI can't handle fast moving ranged units in human hands such as the Frigate that anybody can build.

Note though that while on a standard map size Tiny Islands never results in sharing the same landmass as a major AI and Large Islands seldom does, that about 1/3rd of the time on Archipelago you will, and when this occurs you will sooner rather than later need to reduce them to an involuntary OCC.

 

[sixty4half]

Note though that while on a standard map size Tiny Islands never results in sharing the same landmass as a major AI and Large Islands seldom does, that about 1/3rd of the time on Archipelago you will, and when this occurs you will sooner rather than later need to reduce them to an involuntary OCC.

I prefer to wipe them from the game before anybody gets Optics and get's to meet him that way there's no warmonger penalty.