Damn Shaka!

[Ninakoru]

One question, yesterday I rage-retired a game, can I take the game on today from an old save and still get achievements?

Damn Shaka. On immortal is a beast, while I was building my four cities he conquered three capitals and a few CS previously conquered by mongols. I fought him back on late medieval, poped units from three cities just in time he went after me, and I was able to push him back to his own cities, but the impi supply never ends and he was able to repeal somehow a force of 6 CW, 4 cannons and 3 muskets.

 

[Scott Jegg]

The impi supply verges on ridiculous, and I often find it is not even worth trying to advance on him and take his cities at that time. Fill your own borders with troops and let him come at you. Hold him off while you beeling artillery, then blast him into oblivion from range.

 

[joshua43214]

I have played Shaka a ton of times, and I can say he is a total beast and by far the most powerful civs for domination. If the AI played Shaka half as well as a player, you would never be able to survive him in the game -he needs a good solid nerf...

You have to get him early, his cities and cap always suck on all difficulties and are usually very easy to capture with CB's. Once he gets Civil Service though, you are sunk, with his massive flanking bonus' and 3 tile movement he can only be held at bay with a wall of pikes and x-bows. Rifles will barricade nicely, 2 or 3 GWI's working together can actually kill an Impi, infantry will just roll him over. So I find the best tactic if I can't get him early, is to just head to plastics in the usual way and hold him at bay until you get infantry then you can easily crush his military.

 

[danieladler]

I wonder why Shaka is always super rich in my games. I usually go with immortal, fractal, 13 civs, 13 cs, standard size, epic. I cant see why he would be so rich with all his units and war focus and all.

 

[kb27787]

I restart my game if I spawn next to him on deity and he has no other neighbors unless some AI decides to intervene by expanding between me and him.

It's not that he can't be handled... (with good terrain and placement you can defend) it's just that dealing with him ties you up so badly that another civ gets much more time to run away with tech/wonders.

 

[njmfff]

Yeah, that's the biggest problem with some of those aggressive AI. Shaka at least attacks around Medieval\Renaissance (once he gets Impis), but Montezuma... ughhh, attacks fairly early on, but never does anything useful. He just stall your game because instead of building useful buildings, you have to build units, only for him to ask for peace five turns later (when his Jaguars get killed).

PS. What's up with Venice AI? He either wants to fight everyone (and very early on) or everyone wants to fight him ("weakest link" I guess) and if he spawns next to some aggressive AI, I only know he was in game at the end, on score board.

 

[Callonia]

Yeah, that's the biggest problem with some of those aggressive AI. Shaka at least attacks around Medieval\Renaissance (once he gets Impis), but Montezuma... ughhh, attacks fairly early on, but never does anything useful. He just stall your game because instead of building useful buildings, you have to build units, only for him to ask for peace five turns later (when his Jaguars get killed).

PS. What's up with Venice AI? He either wants to fight everyone (and very early on) or everyone wants to fight him ("weakest link" I guess) and if he spawns next to some aggressive AI, I only know he was in game at the end, on score board.

Venice is anger of all Bullied City States given physical form, and they cannot contain themselves at the thought of getting vengeance for all the times they got bullied and cannot do anything about it only to get themselves killed early on.

 

[rodrigoq]

I restart my game if I spawn next to him on deity and he has no other neighbors unless some AI decides to intervene by expanding between me and him.

It's not that he can't be handled... (with good terrain and placement you can defend) it's just that dealing with him ties you up so badly that another civ gets much more time to run away with tech/wonders.

When you spawn next to Shaka or any other early agressor on diety, steal their workers asap. This will buy you time to build a defence, or chop the army that will destroy him before civil srvice. I play very aggressively on diety, mainly so my neighbors don't have a chance to mass an army and march on me. Current game.. diety/pangea/large, assyria was.. my closests neighbor, about 7 tiles away =/ Stole his workers around turn 9, then chopped 3 archers and an extra warrior(starting war was a spearman), he still managed to come at me with 3 archers 5 warriors by turn 60. Repelled that with no losses and a new archer, marched on him and knocked assyria out just as they settled city #3 on turn 90. Chances are.. if I played peacefully, he woulda come at me bro, and knocked me out.

 

[njmfff]

Venice is anger of all Bullied City States given physical form, and they cannot contain themselves at the thought of getting vengeance for all the times they got bullied and cannot do anything about it only to get themselves killed early on.

Yeah, it seems Venice still hasn't lost it's official status as CS.

 

[Johnpecan]

The only time I've retired from a game (in recent memory) is on Deity when shaka DoWs me and marches 6 impi into my territory on turn 70

 

[kb27787]

The only time I've retired from a game (in recent memory) is on Deity when shaka DoWs me and marches 6 impi into my territory on turn 70

6 Impi on turn SEVENTY!??? (did you start the game in ancient era?) that's ridiculously fast...

 

[Sturmgewher88mm]

I like the "wipe him out before he gets impi" plan

 

[katfish]

When you spawn next to Shaka or any other early agressor on diety, steal their workers asap.

Most of the time i see shaka hes building settlers with 2 pop city and no workers.

 

[Cicerosaurus]

Heh- on the game I am playing, Japan was being a pest and had a few tiles I wanted.

So, I moved a Great general over to construct a citadel and steal the tiles. It took about 5 turns.

Great General arrives and I construct the citadel. Well, in the interim Shaka had taken the city and I stole his land.

You can imagine how well that went over.

 

[TLHeart]

Why do people that run into a competitive AI, like Shaka, that disrupts their normal play style, always say that they need a major nerf?

There needs to be different civilizations, that cause you pain, or where is the challenge and the fun?

I can handle Shaka with early war, steal his workers, cripples him, and still keep the tech up. Maintain sight on your common border, to keep an eye on him. Only takes an archer on a hill.

 

[njmfff]

Most of the time i see shaka hes building settlers with 2 pop city and no workers.

Even better. AI gets stuck when you take his first settler for a number of turns. My guess he starts making new settler, so he doesn't grow as he should be.

Sometimes I love doing that, take his settler before he drops a city, then fight for some time and accept peace offering. You'll fight him anyway, since you are neighbors and boarders will clash soon enough, especially if it's one of those aggressive AI (like France\Zulu\Germany...)

Might not be wise to do it with Huns tho, since they can be devastating in early games, when you have no proper defense.

 

[Ninakoru]

Why do people that run into a competitive AI, like Shaka, that disrupts their normal play style, always say that they need a major nerf?

Me on the contrary, I think more military oriented civs should be as effective at warmongering as shaka is. Maybe Shaka is a little too effective right now with the AI configuration and shaka bonuses and units.

 

[Vikings Diehard]

I wonder why Shaka is always super rich in my games. I usually go with immortal, fractal, 13 civs, 13 cs, standard size, epic. I cant see why he would be so rich with all his units and war focus and all.

Probably from demanding tribute constantly from CS at least thats the general theme in the games I have faced Shaka in.

 

[VicRatlhead5199]

I'm playing as Shaka right now and it's the first time I've gotten some one to the "They fear your warmongering will soon sink the world into a new Dark Age!" modifier. I love some of the new warmongering descriptors.

AI Shaka can be tough but if you rush to gunpowder your melee will start to be able to handle his better. Those buffalo promotions can make him tough to counter even with ranged units.

 

[Nivyi]

#nerfshakanow