Bad At Domination Questions

[Navelgazer]

A few things, but all of which stem from the fact that I'm just bad at playing Domination games, and as old as Civ V is, it seems like most of my future fun with it will be in getting better there.

I know that, strategically, Domination Victory isn't particularly difficult. In part I've mostly got mental blocks about having the whole world hate me and so on. I can get over that. I've also read up in the War Academy quite a bit. I know how to take cities. Here are my more specific questions:

1. Who to best learn with? I love how lightning-fast Aztecs get going. I like the strength of England's uniques, once they're available. I love Assyria's Siege Towers (as well as the royal library, but more on that later) and I just really like everything about the Zulu, especially the idea of taking them into the modern era, even if they have much less of an innate advantage by then. So who should I focus on?

2. How should I be working with Honor? Should I open Trad or Liberty first to help kickstart the culture? Culture is important to me, but should it not be? Should I work Culture quickly towards Military Castes and set up Garrisons even if I have no immediate threats?

3. How early should I try to capture a first city? Do I need a good early UU to stand a chance? Can it be managed with archers and a melee unit if done early enough, or do I really need to wait until catapults?

4. To be very clear, if i set DV as the only victory condition, is there any reason at all to build the guild halls (unless I'm playing Assyria, in which case the WG gives me great works for the Royal Libraries)?

5. It seems like enemy units killed by being near Citadels don't grant me culture bonuses. Is this accurate?

6. Is it worthwhile to use Raging Barbs for the culture and promotions, or are they generally more of a nuisance?

I know this is a lot, and most of it pretty N00b. Thanks anyway.

 

[consentient]

So who should I focus on?

My favourites are Sweden and Germany. Sweden can give away GGs for insane bonuses from CS. Giving them to Cultural CS is best, but you can get almost any bonuses you want. Germany helps you get an army almost for free.

2. How should I be working with Honor? Should I open Trad or Liberty first to help kickstart the culture? Culture is important to me, but should it not be? Should I work Culture quickly towards Military Castes and set up Garrisons even if I have no immediate threats?

Honor has enough culture in it. Don't waste time opening Trad or Liberty. You want to get to the finisher ASAP. After your scouting is done, bring them home and sit them in the cities. And yes, go right side of the tree first.

3. How early should I try to capture a first city? Do I need a good early UU to stand a chance? Can it be managed with archers and a melee unit if done early enough, or do I really need to wait until catapults?

I wouldn't use the Catapult line until Trebuchets at the earliest, and most often Artilleries. XBs are far better. I would delay capturing capitals until there are juicy wonders inside. T100 is a good guide on Deity. 10 turns later for each difficulty level below, perhaps?

4. To be very clear, if i set DV as the only victory condition, is there any reason at all to build the guild halls (unless I'm playing Assyria, in which case the WG gives me great works for the Royal Libraries)?

I wouldn't recommend changing the VCs. Why would you do this? It totally affects AI behaviour. Just let them do their thing while you chew them to pieces.

And yes, I never build guilds for DomV, even with Assyria, because the Royal Library isn't worth messing with. By the time you spawn your first Great Writer, the army should be trained, promoted, upgraded, and be far away from home crushing skulls.

5. It seems like enemy units killed by being near Citadels don't grant me culture bonuses. Is this accurate?

I've never investigated this, but it could be that YOU'RE not killing them. Killing with units and cities DOES give the culture.

6. Is it worthwhile to use Raging Barbs for the culture and promotions, or are they generally more of a nuisance?

I like it, but bear in mind that it handicaps the AI and makes it a bit easier.

 

[Averylongname]

1. To learn, I think it's better to use CIV that don't have a strong UU, so you won't rely on a particular unit too much and learn how to war then you can switch to other civ later easily. My suggestion would be some generic op civs like Babylon so you can ignore science a little and still get more advanced unit faster than the ai. But if you really want to play with a war civ, I'd say Zulu for the easier promotion or china for the more general to play with and not because of their UUs even though they are great.
2. I found honor not very helpful, it's terrible as the opener. what I usually do is finish tradition or liberty and in before rationalism is unlocked I put a few points in honor, usually the left side. why I think opens honor right away is bad, is because honor doesn't give you enough culture and more importantly it doesn't give any food or hammer to grow or expand like tradition and liberty to set you up for war, and the helps from honor is very minimal. I often win domination without honor.
Some might think or suggest to open honor first to get the culture from kill, but the thing is policies cost increase exponentially, so by opening honor first you are delaying all the benefits from policies in tradition or liberty by a lot, even you just open honor. The culture just doesn't pay enough.
3. I'd like to at least get my first expand first before I rush anyone. The earliest way to capture a first city is by chariots rush, 4 to 6 chariots and a spearmen is good to go, and chariot is good because it's really early in tech and much cheaper than composites and they have roughly the same strength compo at 11 chariot at 10. You don't need catapult, they are very bad, they need to move to the tile and set up and too fragile, by the time they can shoot they are dead. I usually don't build any siege unit until artillery, I just spam chariots and later crossbows.
4. yes, to get culture, faster policies. and don't even bother with Royal libraries nobody use it for the exp, it's only 10 exp. Although royal library give you a promotion, but the bad part is royal library and barrack doesn't give you 2 promotion because the second promotion require 30 exp and barrack plus royal library only give you 25. so don't even bother.
5 I don't know
6. Well I never play with raging barb, so I don't know it's actually a good idea. But I don't think its a good idea as barbs are annoying, they stand on your tile makes your work slower and the could block you and cost you to lose an expansion spot. you don't want to slow yourself down.

 

[phillipwyllie]

If you want an easy DomV try the Mongols, Keshiks are really that OP. Arabia is another choice as their UU is similar to Keshiks. Policies can be Liberty/Commerce or Honor/Commerce. You want mercantile CS allies before you go on the warpath so clear those camps out when there are CS quests, and not before. With the Mongols no civ, except Shaka will provide any real resistance. You either attack Shaka first or last(when your Keshiks have range and logistics). If opening Honor consider the Statue of Zeus, if completing Liberty pick a GS as the finisher so you can bulb Chivalry.

One thing to note when going for a DomV, it doesn't matter if a CS captures a capital. Heck they can even capture your capital. You will still win a DomV.

 

[twilson1972]

I loved impi to be honest, and it was a bonus that the tech path was the way i would go anyway.

Zulu for domination was a lot of fun.