Difficulty guide (what you need for moving up difficulties)

[vinstafresh]

Civilization Difficulty Guide

Mastering a complex game like civilization is a great task that has to be achieved in steps. Since I would like to have a step-by-step guide in order to beat the game on the hardest level, I can imagine other people would like to know how to master the basic concepts of the game. This is just a rough guide in order to give a very loose estimate of the player’s level required to move up a level

Settler: the easiest level.
Pre-condition: play the tutorial and read the manual
Goals:
- Get to know the very basics of civilization: units, technologies.
- Move units around, try some warfare, try building buildings and wonders and see if you can wipe out civilizations.

Bottomline: this difficulty is like a playground. Learn the basics of THE game civilization.

Chieftain: level 2
Pre-condition: you know the basics of units and technology
Goals:
- try to make a nice empire by creating settlers and defend your empire.
- Choose what to build in your cities by choosing one of the alternatives that are handed to you, build cities on the highlighted spots and automate your workers.

Bottomline: learn the basics of A game of civilization.

Warlord: level 3
Pre-condition: you have a basic knowledge of the strength of units, you know what certain technologies can do and what good spots are to build your cities.
Goal:
- Try to understand why the game recommends certain spots to build your city
- don’t automate workers, but work the tiles the game recommends
- Try to understand resources and what they do for you and your civilization
- Try focusing on making your empire happy and on harvesting resources
- try to figure out what certain buildings and wonders are for and what this does for you and your empire
- Figure out what certain leader-traits can do for you
- Try figuring out what culture can do for you.

Bottomline: Learn the basic strategies of a game of civilization

Noble: level 4
Pre-conditions:
- you understand the main concepts of the game
- Most of your actions have a reason
- You have basic knowledge of diplomacy.
- You realize the importance of culture
- You know what improvements and wonders do for your city
- You know what improvements of tiles do for your city

Goals:
- Try to understand what certain technologies can do TO you in stead of FOR you (would you trade a tech, for instance?)
- Try to cross-reference units and technology and draw your conclusions (Julius Caesar attacks you with archers means he doesn’t have iron!)
- Try to figure out why the game recommends to improve certain tiles.
- Build whatever unit or improvement you NEED at that time, not necessarily one that is recommended. Same goes for workers and settlers
- Try to figure out why you would build a wonder and what that wonder will do for you in the long run.
- Try to figure out religion and what it does for diplomacy and what it does for the improvements in your city.
- Try to figure out what Great People do and how you can use them to their full potential.
- Check the civilopedia a lot.
- Try to figure out what promotions do for units at that time and in the future (are you going to meet gunpowder units soon? Is the enemy throwing archers at you?)
- Try to decide whether capturing a city will do YOU more good than just pillaging the enemy's land will do THEM bad.

Alternative goals:
- Try playing with different leaders (preferably random) in order to get to know other traits.
- If you have a leader with less suitable traits for your style, try to figure out a way to make these traits work anyway (this will train your flexibility and will break your routine of doing things by the book)

Prince: level 5
Pre-conditions:
- You understand the main concepts of the game, happiness, health and religion.
- You understand how promotion system works and how to successfully add promotions to units.
- You understand what most techs enable and you realize what this tech can do for you and TO you when an enemy civ has it and you don’t.
- You can make decisions on the spot without depending on a list of actions you ought to do in some sort of situation.
- You won’t research or trade technologies you don’t really need.
- You hover over information a lot!
- You can predict the outcome of a battle
- You know what improvements and wonders do for your city and which tech they require
- You know what techs certain worker-actions require
- You know what resources certain units require
- You understand the importance of upgrading units

Goals:
- Use siege units
- Plan warfare and prepare to be attacked (aggressive neighbours, annoyed enemies)

Bottomline: you have mastered the basic game without a need to micromanage.

I consider myself in the process of mastering level 5, that’s why the goal-list for level 5 is far from complete. I don’t micromanage, I don’t use civics to their full potential, I never pop-rush, I rarely buy units or improvements, I don’t use specialists in cities often. I don’t use religion to its full potential, I rarely use the culture-slider.

vinstafresh

Edit: Added pillaging in noble

 

[Byrath]

Nice little guide, well done.
I'm wondering about the 'upgrade' from Noble to Prince. I won two games on Noble quite handily so I am trying Prince now myself. The AI never attacked me once in my Noble games...but barely after 0AD I was attacked by Montezuma in my first game on Prince. Does this fit with your experience on those two levels, that the AI is quite passive on Noble, and much more aggressive on Prince?

 

[vinstafresh]

No, the AI starts out with a little headstart and it knows that you are weaker. When the AI smells blood, they'll attack you, especially those with the agressive trait.

On my first Prince-game I focussed on defense and was able to catch up with the rest, but never dominate. During the space race I neglected my defense because Mali was winning the space race. I lost the space elevator on 1 turn and all of a sudden Napoleon who was 5th or 6th in the last (I was second, far behind Mansa), started a war on me. He took 3 big cities that waren't crucial for completing the race. I was able to negotiate peace for 3 techs, I just lost the race though. Losing the 3 cities didn't do much for my total though, since I barely lost land-tiles.

 

[Dragonlor]

Interesting guide. I've been pondering the move up to Prince myself since I am finding Noble to be less and less challenging now.

The AI never attacked me once in my Noble games

For me I've had tons of wars on Noble, most of them started by the AI. In my latest game the Spanish attacked me with Warriors still in BC. I'm still at war with two other civs but with my growing tech lead it isn't too much of a problem.



Pre-conditions:
- You understand the main concepts of the game, happiness, health and religion. Check
- You understand how promotion system works and how to successfully add promotions to units. Check
- You understand what most techs enable and you realize what this tech can do for you and TO you when an enemy civ has it and you don’t. Check
- You can make decisions on the spot without depending on a list of actions you ought to do in some sort of situation. Check
- You won’t research or trade technologies you don’t really need. Check
- You hover over information a lot! Oh yeah!
- You can predict the outcome of a battle I thought I could until my barely scratched Destroyer was completely slaughtered by a transport!
- You know what improvements and wonders do for your city and which tech they require Check
- You know what techs certain worker-actions require Check
- You know what resources certain units require Check
- You understand the importance of upgrading units Check

Goals:
- Use siege units Shouldn't they be used long before Prince?
- Plan warfare and prepare to be attacked (aggressive neighbours, annoyed enemies)This is one thing I really have to work on. My military is usually woefully unprepared until I am attacked. Then I have to quickly rush an army to defend myself with.

 

[vinstafresh]

- Use siege units Shouldn't they be used long before Prince?

Probobly yes. I never really used them on noble though, since I enjoy being peaceful most of the time and taking cities is not often profitable (high upkeep). In stead I just pillage the hell out of an enemy so the rewards for pillaging his towns and villages pay for my warfare. After his land is stripped clean, he won't be a threat to me for the entire game.

Siege units become essential on prince and above though for defense-purposes as well.

 

[mharmless]

Probobly yes. I never really used them on noble though, since I enjoy being peaceful most of the time and taking cities is not often profitable (high upkeep).

Gato Loco has a thread here that shows the exact increase in costs for each city on a standard size map. Also breaks down distance costs. Basicly, distance is a minor thing, while number of citys costs increase towards a high of 14 extra for the 28th city, then drop sharply to an aparently unending plateau of about six gold per city. Averaged out, your maint costs across the first twenty eight cities is also about six gold each.

If you are going to be able to squeeze six gold out of a city, plus a bit for distance maint, it is always worth expanding. Diplomatic and millitary considerations taken into account as well of course. A single merchant specialist in a developed town (grocer, market, bank) will produce enough to support an unprofitable expansion somewhere while it is integrated into the Empire.

 

[reveron]

Thanks! I've been looking to move up in difficulty and this will help.

 

[Mujadaddy]

This is a nice little guide for people new to Civilization.

 

[mikh07]

i like this list

you might also want to add 'be aware of what category every unit is and exploit as much as possible'.. took me awhile to figure out spearmen totally rock elephants (those bastards eat everything, damn!)

 

[ChiefMatt]

Nice little guide, well done.
I'm wondering about the 'upgrade' from Noble to Prince. I won two games on Noble quite handily so I am trying Prince now myself. The AI never attacked me once in my Noble games...but barely after 0AD I was attacked by Montezuma in my first game on Prince. Does this fit with your experience on those two levels, that the AI is quite passive on Noble, and much more aggressive on Prince?

I think in that particular case it might have more to do with who your neighbors are than the difficulty level. Aggresive leaders like Montezuma and Genghis Kahn will always be pestering you unless you're constantly giving them stuff.

 

[Byrath]

Just finished my first Prince game, squeezed out a space race win despite having the 4th (out of 5 civs) largest land mass, no religions founded and no access to oil or uranium. I was only attacked twice; once by Montezuma (that bugger seems to random his way into every game!), a pitiful naval incursion next to my capital, and once by Qin.. I had built up a hefty military in the border city though since he was getting annoyed and we had quite a culture clash, so it wasn't a big problem.

My recommendation would be to keep 2-3 good defenders + a seige unit in every coastal town, and multiply this by 3 or 4 for border towns (if your neighbor is any bit cranky with you). Sprinkle fast units around for offensive response, if available. You will spend a bit of cash on military upkeep, but you don't win if you lose your cities.

 

[Dragonlor]

Wrong post

 

[esemjay]

I thought this thread was extremely helpful; sorry for the mega-bump, but it takes a lot of searching to find it, right now. (Took me hours to find it a second time.)

 

[absimiliard]

I play mostly at monarch, largely for the options available. I'd add the following for my level.

Pre-conditions:
Learn all the various types of economies, and have mastered at least one of them.
Be willing to play a lot of all random games, a random leader on a random map.
Know how to rush, and REX as well. Know when, and why. (and know when to stop)
Win at least a few games on Prince.
Know how to deal with happiness and health, which technique best suits your current game.
Know your tech-tree pretty damn well. You must at a minimum be able to tell what techs to choose to follow certain well-known paths.
Know all the basic units, and most of the unique units. If you can't off-hand say "Axeman, oh, easy, 5 STR and a +50% bonus vs. melee" you don't know the unit yet.

Goals:
Play enough Random Leader on Random Map to have a winning strategy for every combination.
Master several types of economy in ideal circumstances, and become proficient with usng any economy in any condition.
Have a playstyle. Be working on learning others.
Rarely wonder what you could do in a given circumstance, instead considering what options are best.
Learn a bunch of good "tricks": slingshots, beelines, GA cheeze, etc.

I'm sure there's more.

-abs

P. S. "Excellent Threadomancy Esemjay."

 

[J4Ck]

I played only once on chieftain, and after that i moved onto noble level. after wining few games on noble i moved to prince. Now that's where i started to learn the game mechanics. Didn't play warlord tho, but i figured out that on settler and chieftain levels u can almost automate everything and win. On noble u can win without city specialist, libraries and most buildings, but u must place your cities smart. While on prince u must use scientist and other specialists to get above AI and build and use your army smart, and u must micromanage at least early in the game.
Great guide, but i think all thats really necessary is to readout this forums.

edit: i'm starting to get very annoyed with the AI and diplomacy in the game but that's another story.

 

[Bleys]

Wow, despite being 2 years old, and pre-dating even Warlords, thats some pretty solid info.

BTS adds a bunch of apples to the pie though. I have no clue about Corporations, only founded one once. I think the AP is a crazy Wonder, in a class by itself, so understanding THAT has to be a "monarch" ability. Stuff like that. But still solid info.

 

[J4Ck]

Offtopic but:

Remember kids, fleetsaving wastes deut!

Ogame sux more than AI in Civ 4

 

[J4Ck]

And with replaying starts you can learn a bunch tactics, no matter what the 'righteous ' person say

 

[Gwynnja]

I would say at some point (probably around noble) you must learn to specialize your cities. This is difficult for me, balancing / cities with cities and making sure I have a farm.

 

[esemjay]

I would say at some point (probably around noble) you must learn to specialize your cities. This is difficult for me, balancing / cities with cities and making sure I have a farm.

I'm learning that now, too. I tend to want to make my capital do EVERYTHING... since it starts out able to do everything. I still end up with my capital using the Heroic Epic, Military Academy, Red Cross, covered in cottages, with "Focus on Great Person's" turned on; if I'm not careful.

My main problem, though, is I have trouble managing economy/expansion. If I don't start getting Great Prophets and/or founding religions early on (I like playing on "huge" maps) I am doomed to a tiny civilization. I can never make enough money to support a decent army, and even Ghandi will declare war on me for it. I think I end up with a ratio of 1.5:1 (Units:Cities) or maybe 2:1. Even then, I am still in the red, since at 100% research, one or two civs get a massive technological lead on me. I mean, Muskets vs Marines/Tanks.

It makes me happy, sometimes, to see that a wonder I'm building got beaten by some other Civ, since it gives me a boost to my coffers allowing me to not have to worry about dropping to 90% research for another ~30 turns. Not that it helps. I get frustrated when it happens and I only had 1 turn left to go. Which happens a lot.