[GS] Early Game - so many decisions... Build orders are extinct.

[Abaxial]

I have noticed by watching on autoplay that the AI (on Prince) sometimes opens with Great Bath. If you notice that wonder being built rather soon, that's why.

 

[MrRadar]

I just played Civ 6 with all DLCs and Expansions - man oh man as a strong Civ series player and someone who plays RoN and Age series I wanted to give my thoughts here and see if people have similar feelings about the early game.

What is your opening?

The discussion behind this is I feel like the opening BO determines SOOO Much - Did you meet religious city states? If you meet two might as well do quests and get that holy district up. Did you meet a commercial city state? Then build that archer for a quest and a commercial hub for a trade route that DOUBLES ur turn 15 income.

<kindarant>

I try to maximize the situation and I feel like if I do a campus library and holy district and shrine I will be able to get a religion and generally keep up but I will miss out on early military conquest of neighbor or early suzerainship.

This game just feels like a lot of FOMO (fear of missing out) and just build orders are gone.

Like I have found that in the past building a library and Writing was super key but now with districts and district limits it makes prioritizing science tough.

The answer to this might be play wide - but realistically pumping out workers settlers and scouts means u have no districts. if you wait till govt plaza and govt buiilding - then u have no land.

Lack of land may push u to military but then it feels as iff either A - u need Science for war because its an upgrade race or mass tech relevant enough ranged troops. But making those troops makes the districts have a time cost.

I guess there was a mix of generic and district specific buildings. Like u can build a market in the city center but to get a Bank and stock exchange u need a commercial hub.

</kindarant>

I think, this whole post is a testimony to the success of the devs in making us to "play the map", as they said they wanted to do. No more predetermined BO, and I love it! Rather painful dilemmas every way you look and you must choose something and inevitably miss out on something else.

I don't have any set build order, because any build order may go out of the window after the first few turns.

The first look at the start location and those few revealed tiles with a warrior and perhaps after moving the settler will help me decide whether to start with a builder or a warrior, or maybe even a scout, and then it is 'playing the map' even more

Second build is open for a settler, builder, monument or another warrior.

And I think that starting with a slinger is the worst starting option you can pick. Slinger's weak, he will die easily if you're overwhelmed, so if you need military might, warrior is much better. The time for a few slingers and that eureka will come a bit later, when they have tougher guys to shield them.

 

[Victoria]

And I think that starting with a slinger is the worst starting option you can pick

A lot of people choose slinger first.
I feel it is mainly to get the archery eureka but it also helps bait the barb out of the camp. The fact the unit can turn into a powerful archer while say a scout cannot may also be part of it. All valid points.
Anything else slinger builders out there?

 

[smvalentine]

Usually slinger, slinger, builder, settler. The first builder may be earlier if I get nearby luxuries that only require Mining or Animal Husbandry.
This helps kill early barbarians (with slingers) to get the eurekas for Archery and Bronze Working.
I usually buy the first scout when I can afford it.

 

[kb27787]

A lot of people choose slinger first.
I feel it is mainly to get the archery eureka but it also helps bait the barb out of the camp. The fact the unit can turn into a powerful archer while say a scout cannot may also be part of it. All valid points.
Anything else slinger builders out there?

One more... You can yet pop a scout or builder from ruins, but never a slinger. 2 builders super early is kinda wasted unless you plan to chop and so is 2 scouts. If I go early scout and pop another one from ruins then I feel I have wasted my production. Slinger (and monument) are the only options with clear and guaranteed immediate payoff.

 

[comatosedragon]

Always a military unit first (slinger or warrior, depending on current production) and a settler second as soon as pop 2 is reached (which is why sometimes a warrior and sometimes a slinger.) Starting with a scout and then going settler is nice, but there is rarely production/food available to start on the settler ASAP.

This is my build order, always. ALWAYS.

 

[Victoria]

If I go early scout and pop another one from ruins then I feel I have wasted my production

This allows me to send one off exploring and the other one guarding against barb scouts and AI invasions.
The thing I like about the scout is it has a ZOC so 3 handy examples are;

Barb scout comes toward my city but has not yet seen it. I’ll square up to the front of the barb scout and it will typically then move to an unrestricted tile rather than travel through my ZOC. When I do this with a slinger the scout goes around my slinger and typically my slinger can never get a kill shot in.

I see the enemy moving 3 warriors toward me (I tend to leave my first scout watching a close enemy rather than exploring). If I can I will place my scout in a tile they would move to with 2 MP forcing them to slow. The enemy will normally not declare on me until they are close to my city so my scout can sometimes slow them down. A slinger can also do this but sometimes has trouble escaping if they do declare war.

When war is declared I will place my scout near an enemy warrior or slinger which them typically starts to chase me. My scout is therefore taking out some of the opposition. If I fortify on a hill behind a river I can kill the warrior purely with fortify/heal.

Scouts are great for ZOC 3 tiles of an enemy city or even 1 tile if the scout stands back a tile. They also draw fire as the weaker unit so I lurk them out of range until one of my units looks like it is going to be killed then bring my scout into range and they switch targets, scouts can handle a little damage.

 

[Ornen]

warrior first you dinks

 

[Bangau]

It totally depends on the specific game I'm playing. I pick a scout most often, but not when I'm playing on archipelago with Indonesia (not much to explore) or on pangea with extra players added in (prepare for early war asap). I like to play different styles every game, so never a specific build order for me. As someone mentioned earlier: great game design that there simply isn't one best way to start!

 

[SammyKhalifa]

scout or warrior, then settler or builder

 

[Tech Osen]

Scout, builder. Then whatever the situation calls for, most often slinger, settler, slinger.

 

[ezzlar]

Right now I am trying to play 4 AI Pangea Duel map on Immortal. If you lack military, you get rushed or pressed. If you dont get settlers you get forward settled. A bit tricky when chosing build order.

 

[qadams]

I like getting scouts out early, finding city-states, meeting neighbors, scoring goody huts, so I'll almost always build two of them right off the bat. Of course, I rarely play island maps, and if I did obviously that would change. Also, sometimes I'll get a quick second scout from a goody hut, which means I'll then switch to a builder or a slinger.

 

[Kwami]

I really don't understand the love for Slingers. They're absolute garbage. Sure, you might want one for the Archery eureka, but otherwise, there's no point in making Slingers until you get the 50% discount. Even then, you probably only want 3 to upgrade into Archers for the other eureka.

 

[The googles do nothing]

'Scouting' is the first thing I do so... I just want to get a second unit out quick.

 

[Tech Osen]

I really don't understand the love for Slingers. They're absolute garbage. Sure, you might want one for the Archery eureka, but otherwise, there's no point in making Slingers until you get the 50% discount. Even then, you probably only want 3 to upgrade into Archers for the other eureka.

They don't get hurt when inside a city and archers is just a few turns away.

 

[Kwami]

They don't get hurt when inside a city and archers is just a few turns away.

Nothing gets hurt inside a city. Warriors are stronger.

 

[Tech Osen]

Nothing gets hurt inside a city. Warriors are stronger.

Should have been clearer I guess: they can hurt enemies without getting hurt while in cities. But I'm sure you knew what I meant.

 

[Archon_Wing]

They don't get hurt when inside a city and archers is just a few turns away.

But if you had warriors, nothing would get close to your city center in the first place.

A slinger plinking away doesn't stop enemies from pillaging your tiles. Now slingers across from a river is another story.

 

[Eagle Pursuit]

I start with a slinger to defend my city while I explore a bit with my warrior.

If barbs are bad I will build two more slingers, but if not I will then build a scout or a builder if I have mining or AH done.