Does Exploration Economic Legacy Path seem difficult to impossible after the past couple of patches?

[MutilationWave]

This is what's making me reluctant to start another game. I don't want the RNG to screw me out of a legacy path that is actually quite fun for Exploration Age.

You gotta just go for it. I'm hoping the two settlements I took to get treasure resources work quickly enough to get me two points. I'm already past 70%. I'm going to have to do some artificial age lengthening, but I'm two over the settlement cap during happiness crisis. Choices and worry are good though!

I'd say getting to both coasts in antiquity is more important than ever, then start exploration buying 3-5 cogs and building at least two settlers.

 

[MutilationWave]

Test. Experiencing glitch.

 

[GeorgeF]

I want to add that I didn't realize Furs and Gold are now treasure resources, so there were a few more available that I didn't gobble up, I did get 3 more distant land cities before the end of the age off war settlements, but only one of them early enough to get a treasure fleet off of. Distance was an issue, the closest treasure fleet was 8 turns, but most were 12-15 turn sails, I had quite a number of fleets in transit when the age ended, only 1 economic point and halfway to the second. Got all 3 of all the other legacy paths though.

Poor ada lost Athens to Egypt in war spoils (Egypt my ally now), then I took Qusco off her, and was closing in on her remaining cities before I ended the war early to get her distant land cities in exchange for giving back a homeland city, but I ended up not getting any treasure fleets back from those new acquisitions.

 

[Boris Gudenuf]

Since the last patch, the Exploration Economic Legacy (Treasure Fleet)t path is utterly Map Dependent. Playing Fractal or Continents Plus Maps I have had 0, 1, 2, and 4 Treasure resources on islands between the continents/Distant Land mass and in all the maps exactly one location with access to more than 1 Resource (and that had only 2).

And despite reducing the Distant Lands AI Civs by 1 (7 total on Standard-sized game maps) half the time I still get a Distant Lands area in which every Treasure Resource near the coast is already settled by another Civ, or there are, like the 'islands', resources so spread out there is only 1 per settlement location possible.

Between having to settle 4 - 6 Settlements as fast as possible to get enough resources or having to go to war to get any resources, I have not completed the Economic Legacy path since the patch, whereas before I was finishing it 2/3 to 3/4 of the time.

Possible solutions:

1. Better Resource distribution on all maps. As per the discussion in another thread, though, this may not be as simple as it seems.

2. A wider range of Treasure Resources in each game. They already added a few, but this does not seem to have made much difference: I have, in 4 games, found only one instance in which a 'new' Treasure Resource added to an existing settlement site. Another possibility, which I mentioned elsewhere already, would be to make the definition of Treasure/Distant Lands Resource dependent on in-game Events/Maps.
Example:
On the Homeland continent/land mass there happen to be 0 Ruby resources. Then Ruby becomes a Distant Lands Resource for Treasure Fleets. Given the number of resources available in the game files versus the number placeable on the Homeland half of the map, this would almost automatically increase the potential Distant Lands/Treasure resources in each game, and therefore increase the possibility of finding enough to complete the Legacy Path.

3. Change the requirements for completing the Economic Legacy path. As posted already, perhaps as simple as reducing the Legacy max points from 30 Treasure Fleet points to 25 with intermediate points accordingly reduced. This, however, doesn't address the map dependency, which can still make it entirely impossible to complete even a reduced point total. The fact that I have never seen any AI Civ end Exploration Age with more than 12 - 15 Treasure Fleet points may be an indication that this would not be a real solution.

 

[Siptah]

While I didn‘t have problems with the amount of treasure resources in my game (lots of dyes, horses, tea, rubies), I got a quest to get 3 incense. I know there was incense in antiquity and I had some. Yet, it‘s no longer there in exploration for the quest. And now that I have explored the map to maybe 95%, I can see that there aren‘t even 3 incense on the map anymore. Not Game breaking, but strange.

 

[MutilationWave]

While I didn‘t have problems with the amount of treasure resources in my game (lots of dyes, horses, tea, rubies), I got a quest to get 3 incense. I know there was incense in antiquity and I had some. Yet, it‘s no longer there in exploration for the quest. And now that I have explored the map to maybe 95%, I can see that there aren‘t even 3 incense on the map anymore. Not Game breaking, but strange.

How annoying. I wonder how many other little things are broken because of the new resources. Three incense would be guaranteed before I'm sure.

 

[Tanel]

Yeah most games after 1.1.1 with the new standard map generation option I've had between 0-2 treasure resources on the islands. There seems to be a lot more sea overall as well and the other continent is further away which makes settling/conquering that harder as well. One game I only managed to find the other continent when the age progress was at 70%.

Now with 1.2 I've seen tons of treasure resources on my own continent but still not enough on islands and coasts of other continents.

Even with the essentially guaranteed treasaure resources on the islands pre 1.1.1 the path was really hard to complete before the end of the age because of how long it takes. The only way to reliably complete it was to deliberately delay the other paths so it was in need of adjustment anyway. I think trade routes to distant lands should also generate treasure fleets but at a slower rate. This would make Merchants in Exploration age and diplomatic gameplay more viable.

 

[Siptah]

Yeah most games after 1.1.1 with the new standard map generation option I've had between 0-2 treasure resources on the islands. There seems to be a lot more sea overall as well and the other continent is further away which makes settling/conquering that harder as well. One game I only managed to find the other continent when the age progress was at 70%.

Now with 1.2 I've seen tons of treasure resources on my own continent but still not enough on islands and coasts of other continents.

Even with the essentially guaranteed treasaure resources on the islands pre 1.1.1 the path was really hard to complete before the end of the age because of how long it takes. The only way to reliably complete it was to deliberately delay the other paths so it was in need of adjustment anyway. I think trade routes to distant lands should also generate treasure fleets but at a slower rate. This would make Merchants in Exploration age and diplomatic gameplay more viable.

You are seeing treasure resources on your own continent? You are aware that what counts as a treasure resource is now dynamic and marked by a wave icon, right? Cocoa or dyes are not necessarily treasure resources anymore, and some that were not previously can now be a treasure resource.

 

[GeorgeF]

Pre-patch Exploration age I always had to park many fleets before I triggered the end of an era to give me time to finish the other paths. Now, its a challenge. I'll try again with another game now that I understand the new treasure resources better.

 

[Tanel]

You are seeing treasure resources on your own continent? You are aware that what counts as a treasure resource is now dynamic and marked by a wave icon, right? Cocoa or dyes are not necessarily treasure resources anymore, and some that were not previously can now be a treasure resource.

Treasure resources now spawn on both continents but they don't generate treasure fleets and don't show the wave icon if they are on your home continent.

I'm just wondering if there is some distribution issue where most of the treasure resources ended up in the homelands and that is why there are so few in distant lands.

 

[uppi]

Treasure resources now spawn on both continents but they don't generate treasure fleets and don't show the wave icon if they are on your home continent.

I'm just wondering if there is some distribution issue where most of the treasure resources ended up in the homelands and that is why there are so few in distant lands.

I don't think so. Overall the distribution looks fairly even. I have not really seen those prime treasure fleet locations, which could generate 4 or even 5 points (like you could get them pre 1.2), in the Homelands either. Also there are now more treasure resources in the higher latitudes, while previously they were mostly around the equator. The problem is that to get all of them, you need to own almost the entire coastline instead of 2 or 3 key locations.

I managed to get 41 points yesterday, but it required half a dozen settlements in the distant lands, the majority of which were not unoccupied when my army arrived there. Basically, if there is an independent power sitting on a treasure resource, you need to disperse it as soon as possible, if you want to go for the economic legacy path. War with an AI opponent is maybe not as automatic, but in most cases also required sor success.

 

[vorlon_mi]

On the one hand, it was slightly easier to recognize treasure resources pre-patch, since they were distinct and didn't appear in the homelands.
On the other hand, now I just look for the wave icon. Wherever I find it, that's where I try to settle. Post-patch, I've seen more AI planting settlements on islands and in distant lands, to get the "Non Sufficit Orbis" military points. They seem to care less about settling near treasure resources.