Combining game modes: apocalypse + secret societies

[Abaxial]

There is a known trick in apocalypse mode whereby you build Great Bath as soon as possible (not easy as the AI usually grabs it quickly) and then spam soothsayers. Move a soothsayer to the Bath, cause a flood, all your flood plains are now +1 faith. Rinse and repeat for lots of faith. The extra faith pays for lots more soothsayers.

NOW - join the Voidsingers and get Chorus. Suddenly all that faith gives you additional science and culture as well! You can get one amazing city.

 

[pokiehl]

I don’t have any fun abusing exploits like this.

 

[Zyxpsilon]

In-of-Itself.. Hermetic Order's LEY Lines are some wacky OP like many ultra boosted NW while such GP points stack into crazy numbers for sure.
Check this out.

That Theater has +6 Adjacency Cultural Bonus & the Coffee Corporation gives a 40% gain to the city culture as well.
Four Whales on the coast also, btw.

 

[Abaxial]

I don’t have any fun abusing exploits like this.

I don't think it is technically an exploit, as it involves the rules as written, not some bug. Anyway, you are not compelled to try it out, so relax.

 

[Ivan Hunger]

I don't think it is technically an exploit, as it involves the rules as written, not some bug. Anyway, you are not compelled to try it out, so relax.

It follows the letter of the rules, but sort of breaks the spirit of them. Back when Apocalypse mode was first released, the disasters caused by Soothsayers could add yields to tiles like natural disasters normally do. Firaxis latter patched this out, because using Soothsayers to improve your own terrain was not their design intent. This interaction is basically an overlooked version of that.

 

[pokiehl]

I don't think it is technically an exploit, as it involves the rules as written, not some bug. Anyway, you are not compelled to try it out, so relax.

Nothing in my post indicated I’m not relaxed I agree with Ivan and it meets my definition of an exploit. It makes the game incredibly easy. I just don’t see the appeal at all in doing things like that.

 

[Abaxial]

Nothing in my post indicated I’m not relaxed .

The fact that you felt the need to post about how you didn't like it ... if you were relaxed you would just ignore it.

In any case, I'm not making a recommendation, just pointing out an interesting combination. Soothsayers are pretty useless generally (in my experience) except for improving your own yields - as in setting off volcanic eruptions when you have Liang protecting your city.

 

[TigerBulkRate]

The fact that you felt the need to post about how you didn't like it ... if you were relaxed you would just ignore it.

In any case, I'm not making a recommendation, just pointing out an interesting combination. Soothsayers are pretty useless generally (in my experience) except for improving your own yields - as in setting off volcanic eruptions when you have Liang protecting your city.

I dunno guy, we are on a discussion forum, right? In my experience people come here to discuss, good or bad. From reading a few threads here, if people only talked about things they liked than we would not have many posts

 

[Deadly Dog]

Apocalypse mode sets up some very nice Vampire Castles too. Nonetheless playing Apocalypse I lose several dozen population to disasters at least. So you can have one super city protected by Liang but don't forget Soothsayers speed up the progression to further disasters and ultimately Comets.

Basically, any time you add in Apocalypse you're playing for high risk/high payoff. Beating the AI to Great Bath so you can get that payoff without the risk is obviously a choice strategy, and then adding in SS mode or Heroes and you can amplify that. It's part of playing civ6 that sometimes you push something to an extreme to see if it breaks. How much faith does it take to call back 5 heroes every era, anyway?

Just don't cry if a comet wipes out your Great Bath city....

 

[Basajaun]

I do try to grab Great Bath every time I play apocalypse mode (which is like 95% of my games), or steal it from Ai if a close neighbor built it, but I dont cheese the flooding with soothsayers, In fact I rarely participate in Praise the Gods emergency, Im usually still busy building, and whatever military I have, I need it to defend most of the time, unless I got the Maya twins. Then Im basically doing ritual sacrifice to enemy troops in the middle of a war, very RP, I love it
So I let the river flood naturally and I use the faith to boost an early monumentality golden age, or have a nice faithflow to convert all neighbors and buy campus & theatre square buildings. Its hit and miss tho, Ive had games where I managed to build it before Ai snatching it, and didnt have floods in that city until renaissance.

 

[Abaxial]

I never participate in that emergency; I think it is a complete waste of units. But then I have mostly given up on apocalypse. I just tried it out to see if this wheeze would work. But as Zyxpsilon said, you can get some amazing late-game yields out of ley lines as well - as long as you do get some conveniently located ley lines.

 

[Baigan]

It follows the letter of the rules, but sort of breaks the spirit of them. Back when Apocalypse mode was first released, the disasters caused by Soothsayers could add yields to tiles like natural disasters normally do. Firaxis latter patched this out, because using Soothsayers to improve your own terrain was not their design intent. This interaction is basically an overlooked version of that.

It's just my opinion, but I'm 95% sure that Firaxis added the CO2 emissions for Soothsayer actions specifically to address the interaction with Great Bath. I specifically waited to try a OCC with Ethiopia until after that was added and got rekt by Medieval Era coastal flooding.

 

[Abaxial]

It's just my opinion, but I'm 95% sure that Firaxis added the CO2 emissions for Soothsayer actions specifically to address the interaction with Great Bath. I specifically waited to try a OCC with Ethiopia until after that was added and got rekt by Medieval Era coastal flooding.

I wasn't aware of that, and it certainly explains a few things. But I am having problems envisaging how that happens. If it was methane, then maybe soothsayers are very flatulent folk. But then, given that they are able to push an entire cavalry regiment into a volcano, even the most vestigial connection with reality is out the window. What a really stupid idea they are.

 

[IsabelBraganca]

It's just my opinion, but I'm 95% sure that Firaxis added the CO2 emissions for Soothsayer actions specifically to address the interaction with Great Bath. I specifically waited to try a OCC with Ethiopia until after that was added and got rekt by Medieval Era coastal flooding.

Yep. This caused one of my two late game defeats. It was OCC and my capital was destroyed.

Spoiler :

 

[iammaxhailme]

I would probably rely too much on RNG to happen regularly, but I bet you can have some interaction between Anansi (destroy resources) and Maui (create resources) in Monopolies mode.