Skafsgaard
Chieftain
Hi fellas,
I'd like to start up a debate about the best strategy for achieving a Cultural Victory in ciV.
I'm starting off by bringing two issues to the table:
1) Which civ/leader is best for the job.
2) Which Social Policy trees to go for.
Here's what I think.
1)
In my opinion there are three civ/leaders that are fairly well suited, when aiming for a cultural victory; namely (a)the Greek Alexander, (b)the Egyptian Ramesses II and (c)the Babylonian Nebuchadnezzar II.
a)
Alexander of Greece. I believe this to be the overall best option, when going for a Cultural Victory, as the UA, Hellenic League, will really help you maintain those city-state relations. All city-states are beneficial when you befriend or ally them, but for this purpose the cultural city-states are extremely important. If you manage to find a few cultural city-states, and you keep good relations with them, they can help you immensely raking up those cultural points.
b)
Ramesses II of Egypt is a a very viable option as well, in my book, simply because he can spit out wonders like there is no tomorrow (okay, a bit of an overstatement, but his UA does help), and everyone knows that if there's one thing that helps boost that culture, it's wonders. I'd say he is second only to Alexander, but it's a close one, so you might disagree.
c)
Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, is not as well suited for the Cultural Victory as the other two, but his UA will allow him to pump up that research, especially early game, which in turn gives him technologies before others, and thus allows him to build the wonders before others have access to them, so I'd say he is a viable option as well.
2)
So, what Social Policies to go for? We need to explore at least 5 fully, and I would say that the ideal is to explore no more than 5 at all, since that would just be wasting good culture points.
I say that the ideal policy trees to go for are the follow; Tradition, Liberty, Piety, Patronage and Freedom. I will explain the reasoning for each.
Tradition)
This is the one to start out with. Among the three trees available from the get-go, this is no doubt the best, with a Cultural Victory in mind. Extra food is nice, because you need more population to get more specialists/people to work the land, which in turn gives hammers that can be used for wonders and other nice things that will help, something that two policies in this tree will help you with. Another important policy in this tree is Aristocracy, which will help you pump out more wonders.
Liberty)
This is probably the least important policy tree of all the five that I recommend, so if you need to swap something for another policy tree, this should be it - for example if you find yourself in the middle of a war, and you need some extra oomph, to make sure that you won't get off'ed, before you actually manage to win culturally, then you could take the Honor tree instead. Though many of the individual policies will help you a little, such as the +1 culture per city, +1 hammer in each city, as well as the extra happiness and food.
Piety)
This is surely one of the most important policy trees for a Cultural Victory. The most important aspect of this policy tree is the 2 free policies at the end of it, and second most important aspect 50% boost to culture points or buying policies (if I understand this correctly). On top of that, the extra golden age affecting policies are minor, but also nice, as well as the unhappiness combating policy in this tree. The only down side of this tree, is that it excludes the Rationalism tree, which also adds 2 free policies, as well as some research boosting policies. In the end, it's a toss-up between whether to pick Piety or Rationalism, but I say Piety is the preferred one due to the 50% extra culture points towards buying policies, as well as that you can get Piety earlier, and so it will benefit you for a longer time. The only reason to pick Rationalism, in my opinion, is if you find yourself lagging behind in research compared to the other players in the game - but that's a situation you should avoid in the first place.
Patronage)
This is an important policy tree to get as well, since you will rely on those cultural city-states to provide you with culture in exchange for services. Getting this will ensure that there is a slower decay of positive IP, as well as it never going below 20, and your bribes netting you more IPs. That effectively translates into you having to waste less time and fewer valuable resources to keep the city-states happy, and providing you with more culture, among other goodies, as well as you being able to stretch your limited resources across more city-states, in turn getting more culture points. This policy tree works extremely well with Alexander, as it reinforces his already grand UA. The other policies in this tree can also be helpful, providing you with more resources, happiness and great people (great artists anyone?).
Freedom)
Last, but not least, Freedom. There's a bunch of nice policies here, giving you +50% higher great person production rates, reducing cost of buying new policies, and most importantly a 100% boost to culture production in each city with a world wonder (so make sure that you actually have a world wonder in each of your cities)! The other benefits can be nice as well.
That pretty much sums it up. While a lot has been said, even more remains to be said. A few tips though, would be to of course use artist specialists, make sure you stay ahead in the tech race to be able to build those wonders, especially before anyone else has a chance to, as well as unlocking Social Policies.
What could also be discussed is in what order to get the different policies. Generally, the 3 later Policy Trees (Piety, Patronage and Freedom) are by far the most beneficial, so start there as soon as they are unlocked by reaching the right era (another reason to get ahead in the tech race real fast). And this might obvious, but don't think that you have to finish a Policy Tree, before you start on a new one. Pick and choose the most beneficial individual polices in each tech tree first (such as the 2 free policies in the Piety tree, the 100% boost to culture in each city with a world wonder, etc.), and take the least beneficial ones last (a bunch of the Tradition and Liberty policies).
A lot of other stuff could also be added - tile vs. specialist economy, etc.
That's pretty much what I've got to say. And take note, that this is just what I believe to be the ideal strategy for a Cultural Victory. Feel free to bring forth criticism, as well as your own suggestions and additions as to what might be the optimal strategy. I'd be delighted to hear both.
Also, take note that I'm european, so I've only had the chance to play the demo so far, as well as read up on the game as much as I could - so my strategy is likely prone to flaws.
Cheers!
I'd like to start up a debate about the best strategy for achieving a Cultural Victory in ciV.
I'm starting off by bringing two issues to the table:
1) Which civ/leader is best for the job.
2) Which Social Policy trees to go for.
Here's what I think.
1)
In my opinion there are three civ/leaders that are fairly well suited, when aiming for a cultural victory; namely (a)the Greek Alexander, (b)the Egyptian Ramesses II and (c)the Babylonian Nebuchadnezzar II.
a)
Alexander of Greece. I believe this to be the overall best option, when going for a Cultural Victory, as the UA, Hellenic League, will really help you maintain those city-state relations. All city-states are beneficial when you befriend or ally them, but for this purpose the cultural city-states are extremely important. If you manage to find a few cultural city-states, and you keep good relations with them, they can help you immensely raking up those cultural points.
b)
Ramesses II of Egypt is a a very viable option as well, in my book, simply because he can spit out wonders like there is no tomorrow (okay, a bit of an overstatement, but his UA does help), and everyone knows that if there's one thing that helps boost that culture, it's wonders. I'd say he is second only to Alexander, but it's a close one, so you might disagree.
c)
Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, is not as well suited for the Cultural Victory as the other two, but his UA will allow him to pump up that research, especially early game, which in turn gives him technologies before others, and thus allows him to build the wonders before others have access to them, so I'd say he is a viable option as well.
2)
So, what Social Policies to go for? We need to explore at least 5 fully, and I would say that the ideal is to explore no more than 5 at all, since that would just be wasting good culture points.
I say that the ideal policy trees to go for are the follow; Tradition, Liberty, Piety, Patronage and Freedom. I will explain the reasoning for each.
Tradition)
This is the one to start out with. Among the three trees available from the get-go, this is no doubt the best, with a Cultural Victory in mind. Extra food is nice, because you need more population to get more specialists/people to work the land, which in turn gives hammers that can be used for wonders and other nice things that will help, something that two policies in this tree will help you with. Another important policy in this tree is Aristocracy, which will help you pump out more wonders.
Liberty)
This is probably the least important policy tree of all the five that I recommend, so if you need to swap something for another policy tree, this should be it - for example if you find yourself in the middle of a war, and you need some extra oomph, to make sure that you won't get off'ed, before you actually manage to win culturally, then you could take the Honor tree instead. Though many of the individual policies will help you a little, such as the +1 culture per city, +1 hammer in each city, as well as the extra happiness and food.
Piety)
This is surely one of the most important policy trees for a Cultural Victory. The most important aspect of this policy tree is the 2 free policies at the end of it, and second most important aspect 50% boost to culture points or buying policies (if I understand this correctly). On top of that, the extra golden age affecting policies are minor, but also nice, as well as the unhappiness combating policy in this tree. The only down side of this tree, is that it excludes the Rationalism tree, which also adds 2 free policies, as well as some research boosting policies. In the end, it's a toss-up between whether to pick Piety or Rationalism, but I say Piety is the preferred one due to the 50% extra culture points towards buying policies, as well as that you can get Piety earlier, and so it will benefit you for a longer time. The only reason to pick Rationalism, in my opinion, is if you find yourself lagging behind in research compared to the other players in the game - but that's a situation you should avoid in the first place.
Patronage)
This is an important policy tree to get as well, since you will rely on those cultural city-states to provide you with culture in exchange for services. Getting this will ensure that there is a slower decay of positive IP, as well as it never going below 20, and your bribes netting you more IPs. That effectively translates into you having to waste less time and fewer valuable resources to keep the city-states happy, and providing you with more culture, among other goodies, as well as you being able to stretch your limited resources across more city-states, in turn getting more culture points. This policy tree works extremely well with Alexander, as it reinforces his already grand UA. The other policies in this tree can also be helpful, providing you with more resources, happiness and great people (great artists anyone?).
Freedom)
Last, but not least, Freedom. There's a bunch of nice policies here, giving you +50% higher great person production rates, reducing cost of buying new policies, and most importantly a 100% boost to culture production in each city with a world wonder (so make sure that you actually have a world wonder in each of your cities)! The other benefits can be nice as well.
That pretty much sums it up. While a lot has been said, even more remains to be said. A few tips though, would be to of course use artist specialists, make sure you stay ahead in the tech race to be able to build those wonders, especially before anyone else has a chance to, as well as unlocking Social Policies.
What could also be discussed is in what order to get the different policies. Generally, the 3 later Policy Trees (Piety, Patronage and Freedom) are by far the most beneficial, so start there as soon as they are unlocked by reaching the right era (another reason to get ahead in the tech race real fast). And this might obvious, but don't think that you have to finish a Policy Tree, before you start on a new one. Pick and choose the most beneficial individual polices in each tech tree first (such as the 2 free policies in the Piety tree, the 100% boost to culture in each city with a world wonder, etc.), and take the least beneficial ones last (a bunch of the Tradition and Liberty policies).
A lot of other stuff could also be added - tile vs. specialist economy, etc.
That's pretty much what I've got to say. And take note, that this is just what I believe to be the ideal strategy for a Cultural Victory. Feel free to bring forth criticism, as well as your own suggestions and additions as to what might be the optimal strategy. I'd be delighted to hear both.
Also, take note that I'm european, so I've only had the chance to play the demo so far, as well as read up on the game as much as I could - so my strategy is likely prone to flaws.
Cheers!
that is very powerful! Also. Egypt = not good for cultural victories in my book. Most wonders give only one culture. Finally, I agree with OP's assesment of which trees to go for but really don't understand why on Earth you would grab the +2 policies early. 
