[vanilla] Deity Great Library, how?

[Tarkin1980]

Howdy. Been trying for a while now to pull this off and so far only managed it once, and only after getting lucky with ancient ruins (pop increase and pottery).

The AI usually builds it around turn 30-35 or so. Is there any way to beat this reliably?

 

[Martin Alvito]

Turn the ruins off. If you don't mind really cooking the settings, avoid letting civs that tend to build it into the game. Egypt, Iroquois and Germany all seem to build early Wonders in my games.

Tech Pottery -> Writing -> Mining.

Make sure you have two Workers by the turn that Mining completes. One should come from Citizenship. The other can be built with , stolen or bought with .

Chop Forests like mad.

Hope for the best. I find that standard speed is the toughest to get the GL on.

 

[Kevin J]

You can tech pottery->mining->writing and prechop some forests (leave 1 turn remaining - prechopping is more important on slower speeds where the worker takes forever to chop), and put up a single mine before writing comes along too - helps shave a couple turns off. But really, turn the ruins off, as Martin said.

 

[Tarkin1980]

That's pretty much what I've been doing except that I never seem to get enough forests

I guess I could try another civ or turn off start bias.

I want to avoid tinkering too much with the settings. Turning off the ruins seemed a must. Selecting my opponents is just going too far.

 

[Kevin J]

Even massaging the settings, you can't guarantee the GL on Deity, just push it a little more in your favour. You may need to move your settler and/or buy forest tiles to get enough forest - I don't think it's possible in most standard/deity games to get the GL without chopping.

 

[MadDjinn]

the map dictates if you can use a GL plan. It's more likely on maps that have food/hills/forests.

2-3 workers ensures it's done ~turn 30-32, which should mean you get it.

 

[Vo01985]

Is it really worth giving stuff up JUST to get the GL on Deity?

 

[Kevin J]

Well, it let's you slingshot to medieval - you can pop theology or compass with Babylon, for example. My only science wins on standard speed Deity were GL games ... seems strong to me. Get Education faster for earlier GS's, makes a huge difference. If you can get GL + Oracle, that's an extra 2 GS points per turn - equivalent to running an extra scientist specialist.

I personally settled the GS's and went freedom as early as possible (via Astronomy) after taking the initial Rationalism policy for RAs. By end game, my capital was over 700 beakers per turn in each win - once Freedom completes, I could keep tech parity with few RAs, and the RAs just push you to the lead. Late game GS's to pop techs, and use the 2 free techs from scientific revolution to pop refrigeration and plastics.

 

[Martin Alvito]

Slingshotting Medieval is a low percentage play on Deity. The GL will almost always go before you can research Calendar and Philosophy, unless you play Babylon.

There are two compelling reasons to go for the GL on Deity:

1) The +3 and ability to start on the NC immediately if you take Philosophy. You can slap the NC up by turn 45 in a strong capital, and after that the game will play like the old NC first games.

2) Iron Working around turn 35 for a rush. If you have a strong production capital, you can spam out several more Warriors while you move a Settler to Iron, then upgrade.

If neither of those approaches sounds like your cup of tea, you probably should pass on the GL.

 

[vexing]

Is it really worth giving stuff up JUST to get the GL on Deity?

it's generally not worth attempting on deity aside from cooked settings, unless you don't mind restarting when you fail.

actually getting the GL on the other hand is definitely worthwhile. it's only 185 hammers, that early in the game the science is a decent boost, the free library would have cost 75 hammers, and the free tech saves at least 10 turns, the +gs point will eventually help yielding a gs, and the culture isn't worthless.

 

[Kevin J]

Yeah, slingshotting is only possible as Babylon, and the GL completes on only a very low % with ruins on. However, with ruins off and playing as Babylon, it's probably the strongest peaceful opening in the game.

 

[dontheconqueror]

If you want to tip things further your way, try going for a watery map. I seem to have a good batting average getting the GL with archipelago, and continents to a degree - even with ruins on and no chopping. I'm guessing the AIs are distracted by Sailing.

Obviously this is a high risk-high reward thing. I content myself with the thought that at least I get a couple of s for all my troubles.

 

[snarzberry]

The odds of getting it seem so low that it's not worth it, except if you want to just re-start over and over until no one else decides to build it which is the main factor that influences your chances of success, access chopping or not. I play with ruins on, so I don't know what the difference is like without.

 

[DaveMcW]

Play on Great Plains map. The AIs will be too busy killing you each other to build it.