Emperor discussions

[wohmongarinf00l]

i thought i would start this thread strictly for games at emperor difficulty level.
please post ur experiences, strategy tips, favourite civs,
and such.....

for good score, i have now been playing persia on large continent maps. i like the immortal, fast science research, faster workers, etc. usually b4 the beginning of the middle ages i choose
a weaker neighbour and attack with immortals and horsemen,
bringing in allies while at the same time precautions to make sure they don't get more than 1/3 of the victim's territory. pretty much
deal with the rest of the neighbours as such until i dominate the continent. i have not tried a massive overseas invasion yet.

 

[escl]

In my experiences avoid republic and democracy until you've conquered a lot and land and eliminated most of your neighbours. To do this fight 4+ on 1 wars on your strongest neigbour, let your allies do the fighting, and then land grab. Very important to never fight a losing war. The computer starts faster than you so i usually avoid building infrastruture until i've conquered enough. Also always watch your back since the computers ally awfully fast so you're either with the mob or getting stomped by the mob.

I like to play smaller maps with max # of civs, so for civs i usually pick expansionistic civs or civs with an UU no later than knights.

 

[No.Dice]

In my recent emperor ventures, i haven't been able to afford allies. If i end up fighting an early war, the civ i'm at war with recruits one civ to fight me, and that civs recruits another, and so on until i'm fighting 6 or more civs. Its just an ugly, and frustrating, chain reaction of alliances. Most of my games are on huge pangaea maps, so this can get out of control quick.

It costs me more than 50 gold per turn to sign an alliance even if i outnumber my enemy 3:1, but those i'm at war with, who aren't generating any per turn income and have no gold in the bank, are somehow able to turn the world against me.

I usually do an early switch to monarchy for the extra military police. With luxuries this allows my cities to grow to a comparable size to the AI's, evening out the bonuses the AI recieves.

I find surviving the early game is the challenge, once into the late middle ages, if my empire is still reasonably intact, i'm pretty well set up for a strong finish. Infantry/artillery wars are most decisive since the AI doens't know how to use them effectively.

 

[BillChin]

Map size makes a big difference. Huge maps tend to be a bit easier to play though require more of a build out.

I usually play on a standard size map. On most of the random maps I get, an early war is a good way to go. A swordsmen war around 700 B. C. with about ten attacking units or a combined arms war (swordsmen, horsemen, catapults) around 10 B. C. with about 20 attacking units are good times to attack.

It is a lot easier to get allies after I take one or two cities. Sometimes I find it helpful to bribe neighbors with one free gold per turn.

I like to set research to max early and then lower it later after making some contacts.

On large or huge maps, another strategy is to build Horsemen, save gold and wait for Chivalry. Then upgrade a bunch of Horsemen to Knights (80 gold per unit). Even if the other civs have Chivalry they only have time to make two or three Knights. A clever player with a good plan can field 20+ Knights and utterly crush the enemy.

 

[No.Dice]

Originally posted by BillChin
Map size makes a big difference. Huge maps tend to be a bit easier to play though require more of a build out.

What makes you say that? I find conflict occurs just as early on huge maps, it depends very much on starting location. Sometimes i have a good deal of open land to settle, and sometimes i'm wedged between 4 civs. Same goes for standard.

On huge maps i find the tech rate progresses much faster, with more goody huts, and all expansionist civs present to trade the techs away. It closes your window a bit to conduct an early war, if you aren't fast, you'll find your swordsmen fighting pikemen and knights. Or i should say longbowmen since the AI neglects chivalry until after education and invention are researched. I find the ancient age a good deal longer on standard sized maps/continents.

When i want an easier game without adjusting the difficulty, i often decrease the map size. Though this can probably vary from person to person, depending on playing style.

 

[Beard Rinker]

On emperor level, keeping your citizens happy is a constant challenge. Only one citizen is born content and all the rest need to be kept happy somehow.

There are several techniques for this and one of the most important is obtaining luxuries. Once I've established my core territory, my primary motivation for any expansion or conquest is obtaining luxuries.

Here are some techniques for keeping your citizens happy.
- In Despotism, Monarchy and Communism, garrisoning units will add one happy face per unit up to the maximum for the government type. I believe these maximums are 2, 3 and 4 respectively. This is also something to be aware of when switching to Republic or Democracy as these happy faces will be lost.
- Claim or trade for as many luxuries as possible. Claim luxuries whenever an opportunity presents itself, even if you are currently trading for it. The AI often renegotiates trades every 20 turns and the more luxuries you have, the more they will demand. You can often steal luxuries near borders without warfare by planting a town near by, rushing cultural improvements and expanding your border to claim it.
- Build marketplaces, especially when you have 3 or more luxuries. Marketplaces multiply the effect of luxuries.
- Place your cities close together so each city is limited to working around 12 tiles. The lower the working population of a city, the fewer citizens there are to keep happy.
- Short wars in Republic or Democracy. This will reduce the effect of war weariness.
- Temples, cathedrals and coliseums add 1, 3 and 2 happy faces each. These help but are more effective for expanding borders.
- Entertainers. These can be used at any time but are most effective when the city size is larger that the available tiles to work. Once a city's population is at or near the number of available tiles, change mines to irrigation to support a larger population.
- Luxuries slider. This is expensive and doesn't help cities with high corruption much. It is helpful when war weariness becomes problematic, but shouldn't be relied upon.
- Happiness wonders. Sistine Chapel is the best as it doubles the effect of all cathedrals. JS Bach's Cathedral, The Hanging Garden and Cure for Cancer all help. Universal Suffrage helps indirectly through reducing war weariness in Republic and Democracy.

As mentioned above, happiness is a factor when switching to Republic or Democracy. A rule of thumb is to have access to at least three luxuries and a marketplace in your core cities before switching (thanks Bill Chin).