Early Game Dont's

[Gnarfflinger]

I mostly chop rush because I want something other than a forest on that tile. I'd rather have a cottage or a farm on a square than a forest. The extra hammers are a bonus...

 

[Zherak_Khan]

I think much of this list is based on a misconeception that, when building settlers and workers, excess food simply disappears. The food actually counts as hammers.

My early-game tips:

If you can get any +3 improvements around your capitol, usually cows, fresh corn/wheat or pigs, make it a first priority to get those hooked up.

Try to get your capitol to sizes three to four before building settlers. Each population point means the settler, and all subsequent production, will be faster, particularly if you have got good resource tiles. I frequently move the second pop from 2,1,0 to 3,0,1.

Move your warriors and scouts through defensive terrain, such as woodlands and hilled woodlands. Helps them don't die.

If you're on a river, expand along it. Free connection and extra commerce from river is very worthwhile.

Don't build to many warriors, they are really weak. Your early tech should either open for Axes or Chariots, in desperation Archers.

 

[Lance of Llanwy]

Here....the explorer don't ought to be amended.
-Don't build explorers unless you want a quick medic for your SOD or you're playing a Terra, Island, or even Archapelago or Fractal map...

 

[SoxSexSax]

Don't over expand, research what helps you for the moment, you don't need BW if you don't have an enemy right beside you (if you don't want to chop rush, which I consider legimet cheating because of my knowlidge the AI dosen't use it (it really depends of your goal of the game, if you want to win ASAP or as me play the game til the bitter end with a time or spacerace victory)). Letting yourself behind in tech is your worst enemy because when the AI starts traiding with each other while you are a few techs behind theres rearly no turning back if you don't realise it in good time and can take countermeasures.

Remember with choprushing the onlyone you cheat is yourself (if it's as I think, please correct me someone if i'm wrong).

Yeah I know I sound like your mom but this is how i play it.

If you're not prepared to chop rush when needed, better stay clear of online play. Chopping is a valid strategy, it is not cheating (how can something be cheating when it's built into the game???) and frankly is pretty much essential online if you have an opponent who is aggressive and quite prepared to chop out an army of quechas/impis/jaguars to crush you early.

I find your views on this matter slightly...odd.

 

[Uncle_Joe]

Actually, you want to work the tiles that give the highest hammer+food total, since BOTH contribute to building settlers and workers. Working an improved fish tile is GREAT for building settlers, even though it doesn't give any hammers at all. If two tiles tie, choose the one with the higher commerce (coins).

An exception to the 'food = hammers' for Settlers would be if you have the Imperialistic trait. Only Hammers get the 50% bonus for producing Settlers, food does not.

I found this out playing Catherine once and couldnt figure out why my fishing-heavy capital was so much slower to produce Settlers than my heavily mined but much smaller city next door...

 

[Rathelm]

you raise some good points which i will try to use, I am still struggling with Civ IV its lask of soul drives me back to civ III

That's funny because I loved Civ2, hated Civ3 and love Civ4.

 

[a4phantom]

An exception to the 'food = hammers' for Settlers would be if you have the Imperialistic trait. Only Hammers get the 50% bonus for producing Settlers, food does not.

I found this out playing Catherine once and couldnt figure out why my fishing-heavy capital was so much slower to produce Settlers than my heavily mined but much smaller city next door...

Wow, thanks for telling me that before I buy warlords. Also, thanks for not purging Marshal Zhukov.

 

[TrailblazingScot]

Something we still see online...don't build on the pigs!

 

[Slade19]

Something we still see online...don't build on the pigs!

[ignorance] Why not? [/ignorance]



What? How was that not 10 characters?

 

[a4phantom]

[ignorance] Why not? [/ignorance]

I assume he means people building a mine or a cottage on a tile with pigs, when the most profitable thing to build would be a pasture. Likewise building a farm on iron when you should build a mine, building a mine on stone when you should build a quarry, etc.

What? How was that not 10 characters?

w1h2y3 4n5o6t7?8 ?

 

[HectorSpector]

Remember with choprushing the onlyone you cheat is yourself (if it's as I think, please correct me someone if i'm wrong).

This has to be the dumbest thing I have read on these forums.


Here's my tip:

Don't use cavalry when the AI only has archers. It's really a bit unfair to overpower the enemy so much. Start working tundra tiles ONLY until the AI manages to catch up, then you can have a more satisfying games.

PS. Don't bother using any other legitimate game mechanics either, it just ruins the fun

 

[a4phantom]

This has to be the dumbest thing I have read on these forums.


Here's my tip:

Don't use cavalry when the AI only has archers. It's really a bit unfair to overpower the enemy so much. Start working tundra tiles ONLY until the AI manages to catch up, then you can have a more satisfying games.

PS. Don't bother using any other legitimate game mechanics either, it just ruins the fun

Real men conquer the world with scouts and workers.

 

[pigswill]

Early game don't: don't make detailed plans until you've scouted the neighborhood.

 

[pixiejmcc]

9. Don't build explorers

Theres a few, but as this is a public forum where everyone has their own views, there are bound to be people who disagree.

Disagree. ^^. Granted I build them rarely, but 2-move defensive units are da bomb.

 

[shivute]

Disagree. ^^. Granted I build them rarely, but 2-move defensive units are da bomb.

You should play as France, Zulu or Spain then
As for those who use an explorer for the medic promotion - what a waste of maintenance costs, when you could have a military unit with a medic promo.
Also by the time they come round any goodie huts remaining are defended by barbs.
A missionary is more useful to explorer a rival with open borders - use the roads and then found a mission or use a 2 move military unit.

I stand my ground that explorers are a complete waste of time, apart from when you don't start in Ancient!

 

[Shillen]

Every time I tried sending a settler off alone I lost it to a barb or animal but at the very least preposition the warrior at the edge of your visibility and have the settler meet him there.

Agreed. I find it's about a 50% chance that my settler will be lost if he spends even one turn going into the fog. But the warrior doesn't have to actually escort the settler. Just send him off ahead and make sure the settler doesn't go into the fog, ever. I've learned this lesson the hard way several times. I guess for a reloader they can send them into the fog and reload if he dies but I'm not a reloader.

 

[a4phantom]

should play as France, Zulu or Spain then
As for those who use an explorer for the medic promotion - what a waste of maintenance costs, when you could have a military unit with a medic promo.
Also by the time they come round any goodie huts remaining are defended by barbs.
A missionary is more useful to explorer a rival with open borders - use the roads and then found a mission or use a 2 move military unit.

I stand my ground that explorers are a complete waste of time, apart from when you don't start in Ancient!

I promote my early scouts that survive to Medic and then send them along with my armies. I want my fighting units to have fighting promotions. But if you have horses and have to build units for Medic, chariots would be better because they can garrison the city your troops are healing in and have at least a slight combat value.