Early Game with Celtia

[alcaras]

I thought I'd share the general tech path I use in MP (no tech trading/no tech brokering) when playing Celtia.

Celts start with:
Mysticism
Hunting

I then tech
Agriculture (if grain within BFC; else after The Wheel)
Mining
Bronze Working
The Wheel
Animal Husbandry
Pottery
Masonry
Writing
Mathematics
Construction
Meditation
Priesthood
Monarchy
Code of Laws
Iron Working
Metal Casting
Machinery
Civil Service
Calendar (if I have Calendar resources)
Engineering

I should emphasize this is my general tech order for MP (emphasis on military -- I've found Axemen superior to Gaellic Warriors from my experience) -- stuff may move around here and there.

Any suggestions/comments on this tech order?

 

[Leventis]

Do you play as Brennus or Boudica? Just thinking that with Boudica being Agg/Cha, you could really leverage cheap promoted units early on. would be a real leg up in MP I assume (although I don't play). You could try to get CS asap and go around destroying everything with CRII/III maces.

 

[SickCycle]

I just saw alcaras in mp...

This is the tech order..

Bronze Working...

Whatever resources are around...

Kill stuff...

Also, Boudica is teh sexy

 

[SickCycle]

Gallics are actually decent, they are like jaguars but without the loss in strength, the other saving factor is that you can build gallics with copper, which is a life savor.

If you throw a few to Gurilla III or whatever it is, they get a bonus to attacking on hills and a withdrawl rate.

I can't confirm this but I think the withdrawl rate is only suppose to be when attacking hills but I am almost 100% certain I had some gallics to level III and I had one withdrawl attacking a city on a regular plains tile, could of been a glitch or maybe I just don't know how it works

I don't really play them just something I pretty much am convinced saw happen and I always assumed the withdrawl rate was only when attacking hills but I know it withdrew from a plains city so either it's a withdrawl rate in general, it was glitchy like most of BtS, or I was high..

... take your pick

 

[oyzar]

gallic warriors are quite usefull for chocking, ofc something like longbows out of duns are even better... Oh and the withdrawl chance is suposed to be there.

 

[alcaras]

I play as both Brennus and Boudica, depending on the enemy civilization density of the map. If the map is small and enemies are close, I'll go with Boudica. If the map isn't that small and enemies are further apart, I'll go with Brennus.

 

[Percy]

I can't confirm this but I think the withdrawl rate is only suppose to be when attacking hills but I am almost 100% certain I had some gallics to level III and I had one withdrawl attacking a city on a regular plains tile, could of been a glitch or maybe I just don't know how it works

Well, when it says "+50% Withdrawal Chance" and "+25% Hills Attack", it doesn't say "+50% Withdrawal Chance when attacking on hills", does it?

 

[Alsn]

The promotion is named "guerilla" for a reason.....

 

[slobberinbear]

It's worth a shot to go for an early religion, yes, even in multiplayer. The ability to grow your cities big (with religion + charismatic) and have fast border expansion (religion + monuments) gives you a ton of options. Just make sure you get mining, BW, the wheel, a food-generating tech, and then Iron Working right after.

Brennus is obviously better-suited for getting the early religion (cheap temples and no anarchy), but Bodacious could get her Buddha groove on too.

Also, in your tech path, you have left out archery. I know archery is disfavored in MP, but the fact is that with a Dun, barracks, and cities on a hill, your regular archers can start with Guerrilla II, letting them be both excellent city defenders and escorts for your Guerilla Gallics.

What about this tech order?

Meditation
Mining
Bronze Working
Agriculture
The Wheel
Pottery
Hunting
Archery
Animal Husbandry
Iron Working

 

[alcaras]

Reg. archers, the problem I've found w/ archers is they're pretty poor vs. pillagers. While your city may not fall until catapults, you won't have the troops needed to expel the pillagers from your lands.

Then again, perhaps 2-3 archers in a city on defense, supplemented with anti-pillager axemen (and spearmen, if necessary), could be a good idea. Celtia starts with hunting, so Archery is a short hop.

Plus, Archers are an excellent fall back for when copper gets pillaged, b/c otherwise all I can build are warriors.

 

[SickCycle]

Well, when it says "+50% Withdrawal Chance" and "+25% Hills Attack", it doesn't say "+50% Withdrawal Chance when attacking on hills", does it?

That makes absolutely no sense, why would a hills promotion give a withdrawl rate to attacking on flat ground?

It was prob a oversight, thats extremely unrealistic, even from a game standpoint.

If it is just a 50% withdrawl rate in general, that is extremely useful, that means the only swordsman in the game that can use withdrawl are jaguars/gallics, having swordsman that can withdrawl 50% of the time is extremely useful for the first few attacks in your stack which generally are just sacrificed to lower the health of the defending units, this allows them a 50% chance to survive and keep your stack from taking the initial losses when attacking a city which is usually 100% certain to happen for your first 3-4 swordsman.

 

[Rex rgis of Ter]

I like Celtia.

 

[alcaras]

When do you typically build a Dun in your cities?

My first city is usually:
Warrior Worker Settler Worker Stonehedge (if not taken) Barracks Axemen

And my second city is usually:
Worker Settler Worker Barracks Axemen

 

[SickCycle]

I don't think I've ever built a Dun/Wall/Castle.... lol Unless it's in a chocke point and before catapults.. what is the point?

A stack of catapults can reduce the Walls/Castle defense in a single turn.. I'd rather spend those hammers on more defenders that can't be nullified by a couple catapults and since the dun is totally horrid what is the point? Just to get a free Hills promotion for your scouts?

 

[SickCycle]

The only reason to play the Celts in my opinion is an excuse to use Boudica and Aggressive/Charismatic.

 

[Percy]

That makes absolutely no sense, why would a hills promotion give a withdrawl rate to attacking on flat ground?

It was prob a oversight, thats extremely unrealistic, even from a game standpoint.

*sigh*
And it does, on the other hand, make perfect sense that Woodsman III gets 2 First Strikes and +15% Heal, right?
*shakes head*

 

[Norbert]

I don't think I've ever built a Dun/Wall/Castle.... lol Unless it's in a chocke point and before catapults.. what is the point?

A stack of catapults can reduce the Walls/Castle defense in a single turn.. I'd rather spend those hammers on more defenders that can't be nullified by a couple catapults and since the dun is totally horrid what is the point? Just to get a free Hills promotion for your scouts?

But Castles give ! and ! That alone is worth it!

 

[SickCycle]

*sigh*
And it does, on the other hand, make perfect sense that Woodsman III gets 2 First Strikes and +15% Heal, right?
*shakes head*

You should be clearer at what your saying, I understand what your "trying" to say but it's completely illiterate.

You still having problems with your vassal situation my last game I had 6... It was so much fun, no colonies either..

 

[SickCycle]

But Castles give ! and ! That alone is worth it!

I have better things to build, I pop great spies when I want to do espionage.. thats like.. 6,000 esp points at a time, instant vision on all ciites and the ability to steal pretty much all there techs.

The +1 trade route is useful but not much since when I play Boudica I'm constantly warring and generally have very few coastal cities as she's not financial.

Culture is.. like who cares?

 

[Lurking Liu]

That makes absolutely no sense, why would a hills promotion give a withdrawl rate to attacking on flat ground?

Because in order to get it you have to take two promotions that don't do anything for you offensively. And because withdrawing pretty much means you're going to die to the counterattack.

Think about it--You have three promotions to give someone, do you give them Guerilla I, II, III or Combat I, Shock/Cover, Combat 2? The latter scheme is going to be useful always, while the other is only on hills.

EDIT: By "always," I mean in all combats for the first half of the game, obviously once guns get researched it's not useful, but then replace it with Pinch.

Also note that the Dun gives Guerilla to all units, even if they can't normal have it. At the very least, I know that Gallic Warriors are allowed to have Guerilla promotions. Guerilla III Swordsman are doubleplus good for attacking cities. Oh, and even normal Walls and Castles give a bonus--+50% Defense against non-gunpowder units. Doesn't matter if your cultural defense is 100% or 0%, the walls are applied independantly. Sure, it costs the same as two Archers, but if you have more than two defenders, the net profit is there.