conquering city states can be lucrative early on in the game. Where you can't afford to bribe it... later on its much better to have them as allies. You can afford bribing them, you can't afford their happiness penalty, and the rewards are much greater for a larger empire (especially for maritime).
So... how to best go about it? AFAIK there is no "liberate" button for a conquered city state... but, could I SELL it to an AI (or gift if they no longer trust you), then conquer it and choose "liberate" when I conquer it? that would be a hilariously awesome way to liberate it, will net me whatever the AI paid for it, and will automatically make them my allies for their gratitude to me in liberating them.
so, is there any other way to liberate a CS you conquered? and if so, is it better?
PS. lets not discuss the merits of conquering them in the first place. I find it useful to conquer them VERY early on, but better to ally later on.
So... how to best go about it? AFAIK there is no "liberate" button for a conquered city state... but, could I SELL it to an AI (or gift if they no longer trust you), then conquer it and choose "liberate" when I conquer it? that would be a hilariously awesome way to liberate it, will net me whatever the AI paid for it, and will automatically make them my allies for their gratitude to me in liberating them.
so, is there any other way to liberate a CS you conquered? and if so, is it better?
PS. lets not discuss the merits of conquering them in the first place. I find it useful to conquer them VERY early on, but better to ally later on.