This walk through will show you how to use the Babylonians unique ability to get yourself armed with artillery around turn 120 or 150 AD. Can be done faster if the stars align.
With Artillery at this time you will be completely unstoppable for a long long time. One note about how to use them if you don't know. Promote down the 3 upgrades first! either acurracy or barrage (open terrain or rough) Then pick up the double tap promotion, followed by the range promotion. A lancer with 4 MP and an extra sight works well in the beginning. Use rifles as needed for a meat shield. I can assure you nothing stands in the way of of 4 or 5 fully promoted artillery until someone gets flight, which isn't going to happen for a LONG time.
Settings:
Map = Lakes, pangea, plains or anything connected.
Size = standard or bigger. Must have at least 7 civs
Difficulty = deity (doesn't work on lesser difficulties so don't try)
Starting location = I play with it until I get a river start with decent food and production potential.
Principles for the game:
1. Babylon produces GS at twice the rate so we will need an early GS point wonder.
2. We will be rushing to Education to get two Science specialists for the GP points.
3. RS agreements will need to be timed very well along with proper blocking.
4. Growth should be the main goal early.
Early game:
Build order is Monument, scout, grainery.
Tech order is pottery, writing.
Policy order is Liberty, worker
Save the GS from writing.
As soon as writing finishes you should be close to 380g after selling all OB for 50g. If you can't guy the Library, not the end of the world but try and do it if you can.
This should be all done by about turn 25, depends on start ect.
At this point we need to assess how things are going. Did you get a culture ruin? If yes then we can go straight for the the GE to build the Great Library. If you didn't you can still risk it and hope its not built by the time you get the policy. I am going to assume we did and we will be building the GL around turn 37.
After writing is researched then pick up whatever luxury techs you need to get. From here we pick up the wheel and then continue on to unlock techs for civil service but not philosophy.
While you are waiting for the NC to finish building you should get your 3rd policy choice. Grab a GE and use him to make the GL. This should be turn 38ish. Grab Philosophy. Sign a RA BEFORE you use your GS that you saved to bulb civil service.
We need to take stock of what we have right now. We have a city of about 4-5 not done with NC yet. We still need Theology and to block off sailing, archery, masonry/construction and horseback riding to get to Education. You also should have hooked up a couple luxuries and sold them off, this is your workers only job there should be 4 luxuries around. Buy tiles if you must to get them all. Improve nothing else until it is done.
Alright, NC is done and its about turn 43-50. Next production is watermill followed by a worker (unless you stole one) and policy tree is now honor going for 1.5 XP bonus policy.
Tech path after bulbing civil service is going to be Theology, then blocking off the techs(remember 25% researched into every tech! I find that one turn in sailing and archery then wait to tackle masonry and HBR until you can complete them in 4 turns then one turn each for them) then tech down the bottom until you hit steal and stop.
You also must sign a 2nd RA that will be renewed. This will be signed on turn 55 to 60. You will resign this when it expires ending at 115 to 120. This determines when you get artillery.
Production past watermill(worker) is going to be garden then the national epic. When both of these are done you can pick up a barracks and the heroic epic. Obviously stop and build the university when you RA gives you education.
Tech update: I am going to assume that you have been keeping up on all your luxury and open boarder selling and have only signed the 2 RA when I told you to. You also haven't wasted any gold on anything.
Here is the tricky part. Its turn 60 and you have 2 RAs outstanding. You need to sign 7 more before turn 90 (or 30 turns after you signed the 2nd RA). Now the goal here is to sign all 7 as close to turn 90 as you can, but you don't want to accidentally get Acoustics(block it as soon as it becomes available), so you have to spread it out a little bit. You also want to give yourself the chance to research as many low level techs as possible as quickly as possible. You need to take into account that some AIs are habbitually broke even on deity too, so if they have cash you might need to sign with them. Start signing somewhere around turn 70 and sign all the way to 90. Try and get the best bang for your buck, but you need 7 more. It might be wise your first time to save your game after 60 and play around with it a little bit until you get the hang of it if you've never done this before.
One other thing to note, you will be SAVING, not using all your GS. We will use them on turn 120 all together. Reason is they will buy more expensive techs then, so we don't have to research them.
Ok we are through the hard part. If you are just using one city it should have the following done by turn 80:
Monument, Grainery, Library, NC, Watermill, Garden, National wonder that gives GP, barracks and possibly part of heroic epic. It should be building the University. (turn on production focus....don't forget to turn it back to food when your done though)
Your workers should be spaming farms everywhere so you can support the specialists and mines later. You should be heading into the honor tree for the 1.5 xp for your artillery.
If you can play the diplo game (don't become friends, don't ally a city state, don't build a military, don't expand next to anyone) then it should be very simple from here.
If you did it right, you should produce 3 more GS and one free tech from Oxford. Sign your last RA on turn 90 (the renewal). And all you have to do is wait.
While you are waiting to finish you should build the following to prepare for war:
1. Build a workshop and an ironworks after your university
2. coliseum
3. heroic epic and armory
You should have a few turns and you can use them how you like, remember to be saving all the gold after turn 90 so you can buy a couple artillery at 120.
Let the fun begin!
Happy to hear any comments or criticisms.
With Artillery at this time you will be completely unstoppable for a long long time. One note about how to use them if you don't know. Promote down the 3 upgrades first! either acurracy or barrage (open terrain or rough) Then pick up the double tap promotion, followed by the range promotion. A lancer with 4 MP and an extra sight works well in the beginning. Use rifles as needed for a meat shield. I can assure you nothing stands in the way of of 4 or 5 fully promoted artillery until someone gets flight, which isn't going to happen for a LONG time.
Settings:
Map = Lakes, pangea, plains or anything connected.
Size = standard or bigger. Must have at least 7 civs
Difficulty = deity (doesn't work on lesser difficulties so don't try)
Starting location = I play with it until I get a river start with decent food and production potential.
Principles for the game:
1. Babylon produces GS at twice the rate so we will need an early GS point wonder.
2. We will be rushing to Education to get two Science specialists for the GP points.
3. RS agreements will need to be timed very well along with proper blocking.
4. Growth should be the main goal early.
Early game:
Build order is Monument, scout, grainery.
Tech order is pottery, writing.
Policy order is Liberty, worker
Save the GS from writing.
As soon as writing finishes you should be close to 380g after selling all OB for 50g. If you can't guy the Library, not the end of the world but try and do it if you can.
This should be all done by about turn 25, depends on start ect.
At this point we need to assess how things are going. Did you get a culture ruin? If yes then we can go straight for the the GE to build the Great Library. If you didn't you can still risk it and hope its not built by the time you get the policy. I am going to assume we did and we will be building the GL around turn 37.
After writing is researched then pick up whatever luxury techs you need to get. From here we pick up the wheel and then continue on to unlock techs for civil service but not philosophy.
While you are waiting for the NC to finish building you should get your 3rd policy choice. Grab a GE and use him to make the GL. This should be turn 38ish. Grab Philosophy. Sign a RA BEFORE you use your GS that you saved to bulb civil service.
We need to take stock of what we have right now. We have a city of about 4-5 not done with NC yet. We still need Theology and to block off sailing, archery, masonry/construction and horseback riding to get to Education. You also should have hooked up a couple luxuries and sold them off, this is your workers only job there should be 4 luxuries around. Buy tiles if you must to get them all. Improve nothing else until it is done.
Alright, NC is done and its about turn 43-50. Next production is watermill followed by a worker (unless you stole one) and policy tree is now honor going for 1.5 XP bonus policy.
Tech path after bulbing civil service is going to be Theology, then blocking off the techs(remember 25% researched into every tech! I find that one turn in sailing and archery then wait to tackle masonry and HBR until you can complete them in 4 turns then one turn each for them) then tech down the bottom until you hit steal and stop.
You also must sign a 2nd RA that will be renewed. This will be signed on turn 55 to 60. You will resign this when it expires ending at 115 to 120. This determines when you get artillery.
Production past watermill(worker) is going to be garden then the national epic. When both of these are done you can pick up a barracks and the heroic epic. Obviously stop and build the university when you RA gives you education.
Tech update: I am going to assume that you have been keeping up on all your luxury and open boarder selling and have only signed the 2 RA when I told you to. You also haven't wasted any gold on anything.
Here is the tricky part. Its turn 60 and you have 2 RAs outstanding. You need to sign 7 more before turn 90 (or 30 turns after you signed the 2nd RA). Now the goal here is to sign all 7 as close to turn 90 as you can, but you don't want to accidentally get Acoustics(block it as soon as it becomes available), so you have to spread it out a little bit. You also want to give yourself the chance to research as many low level techs as possible as quickly as possible. You need to take into account that some AIs are habbitually broke even on deity too, so if they have cash you might need to sign with them. Start signing somewhere around turn 70 and sign all the way to 90. Try and get the best bang for your buck, but you need 7 more. It might be wise your first time to save your game after 60 and play around with it a little bit until you get the hang of it if you've never done this before.
One other thing to note, you will be SAVING, not using all your GS. We will use them on turn 120 all together. Reason is they will buy more expensive techs then, so we don't have to research them.
Ok we are through the hard part. If you are just using one city it should have the following done by turn 80:
Monument, Grainery, Library, NC, Watermill, Garden, National wonder that gives GP, barracks and possibly part of heroic epic. It should be building the University. (turn on production focus....don't forget to turn it back to food when your done though)
Your workers should be spaming farms everywhere so you can support the specialists and mines later. You should be heading into the honor tree for the 1.5 xp for your artillery.
If you can play the diplo game (don't become friends, don't ally a city state, don't build a military, don't expand next to anyone) then it should be very simple from here.
If you did it right, you should produce 3 more GS and one free tech from Oxford. Sign your last RA on turn 90 (the renewal). And all you have to do is wait.
While you are waiting to finish you should build the following to prepare for war:
1. Build a workshop and an ironworks after your university
2. coliseum
3. heroic epic and armory
You should have a few turns and you can use them how you like, remember to be saving all the gold after turn 90 so you can buy a couple artillery at 120.
Let the fun begin!
Happy to hear any comments or criticisms.
