Barbs are Annoying

[DementedAvenger]

It can also be nice to have a training ground barb city - just park units on a forest hill outside the city until they reach 10 exp. Handy for building Heroic Epic.

 

[Tomb.]

Sorry, I was crabby earlier and taking it out on the wrong people like a weirdo. Anyway, you also forget that if it's a good city, it is well-defended too. So you've got to waste MORE shields taking the army up there to take the city down, then more turns waiting for the benefits if the city is in resistance. Basically, just BUILDING the city ensures that it is yours, allows you to cultivate it to your civ's tastes and in the long run saves you a lot of both shields and time.

agreed . I only use this pattern, when the city upkeep of 1 or 2 cities would kill my research (research < 40-50%). if i can afford the cities, the places are settled long before, then so I use the barb cities as placeholders. you also must have a small army (4-5 axemen will do, if its not on a hill) nearby, just in case an ai stack comes along.