Does anybody use WC diplo?

[Juanholio]

Thanks for the opinions on this thread. I started using it and realised it can be a very useful feature, one I'd underestimated.

I use it most games now but I think it needs a little 'ironing.' A couple of times I've traded for a yay vote for this or that, only for the civ (after agreeing to vote in my favour) decide it's dead against their wishes and get very upset. E.g. I've had high culture civs agree to vote for the GS boost I've proposed only then, a few turns later, turn around and say this is clearly an attack on their interests.

 

[rondiggity]

Diplomats also help with a culture victory as they help tourism.

 

[MarshalN]

I used it to pay off pretty much every civ to vote against an embargo on me. It's pretty cheap too - I only needed to pay them about 1gpt + 20 gold (this is on marathon) to do so. The motion failed.

It's useful when you need them to go a certain way, or to get them out of the way for your OTHER motion to go through.

 

[redwings1340]

WC isn't a game changer and was never meant to be if the designers had any sense of balance which they seem to have.

But it is very relevant. Unless your playing a pacifist game or always go for CS allies, being a successful warmonger and score leader in the middle game means squat if a CS and patronage buffed Civ has a lot of allies, cranks out the Forbidden Palace, gets the host position then proceeds to ban your luxuries, and turn his religion into the world religion.


It's possible to skate by several games feeling like WC is irrelevant because such a Civ as described doesn't exist in your games or you happen to align with them in which case you get a free ride on their proposals. But I suspect well hear about omgwtfbbq posts as soon as you face one that passes resolutions to mess with your industrial era and later games.

Not a game changer? Seriously? In basically all my games since BNW I've felt the need to ally with every city state by the late game just so I can control the world. If you have a lot of wonders you can increase your culture by a ton, you can get your ideology to be the world ideology to stop happiness from being drained from your empire, get a world religion (although I don't normally go for religion). You can embargo and ban luxuries of people you don't like, and keep your own active.

Basically, when I don't control the world congress, I feel very helpless in the late game. When I do, I feel in control and confident. The diplomatic victory will come eventually because of this, but I would do this even without that victory condition. The world congress is just awesomely powerful and makes city states way too good in the late game in my opinion.

 

[redwings1340]

I've used it before. Generally for the close votes, with the civilizations you're friends with but don't agree with you on the issue at hand. Instead of getting those roadblock civs to vote 5 against you, you can get them to vote 2 for you and 3 against you (kind of silly, but it sort of makes sense), which can be a really nice help in getting unpopular measures to pass early.

Peacemongering and want to get an army tax (actually, I've found this is a trap. This will just make the warmongers hate you and declare war on you more, because going to war and losing units is an efficient way to dodge this tax)? World Ideology or religion? Embargo your rival? If you aren't necessarily going to have control of the world congress for long, but want to pass something that will probably effect the entire game, diplomats can be a pretty useful way to do it.