Emperor is hard...

[Seanirl]

I just had a few Emperor games after playing regent for ages.

It's hard .

Mostly because I've got 35 turns to go with Map Making and the Aztecs and Americans are in the industrial ages .

I should probably play Monarch first but how do you play Emperor games? It's hard

 

[Gengis Khan]

Patience grasshoppa.

While jumping from cheiftan to regent is one thing & very do-able, the jump from regent to emporer is far more drastic.

Regent you're on even footing with the AI; Emporer gives the AI (IIRC) a 40% discount in techs/units & a ton of free units from the start & free support cost.

Walk before you can run Seanirl. Start with Monarch & work up to Emporer. The main difference is at regent you can easily self research the entire game, with a few key trades & stay the tech leader for the entire game. Where on monarch & especially emporer you'll be facing a deficit from the jump, & forced to trade your way through the Ancient & early Middle Ages.

 

[eric2075]

Yeah, I would never have even considered skipping a level. For me, Monarch wasn't bad after playing at Regent for a long time. But moving up to Emperor from Monarch was by far the biggest jump. The tech pace is much much faster. Like Gengis said, play Monarch for a while first.

 

[vbraun]

Originally posted by eric2075
The tech pace is much much faster.

In my curent emporer game its like 580AD and the only techs in the Middle Ages that are known by the 2 bigest opponents is Monoheism and Fuedalism. So it varies between games.

 

[SuperBeaverInc.]

I played a emperor game just for the fun of it even though I play Regent. I actually did decent. The two others on my continent were fighting so I grabbed half the land. Then I went on the conquer them. I don't think I ever finished that game.

 

[DS_Legionary]

Yes, Regent to Emperor is a HUGE step. Regent to Monarch alone was quite a challenge to me. I still haven't even beaten my first emperor game yet. Though I've only tried 5 or 6 times, it is incredibly hard. The tech pace in IMO unbelievable. Oh well off to try to beat those AI's again.

 

[superslug]

Practicing on Monarch is a great idea. Also, you should read all the articles in the War Academy. After that, read them all again.

 

[Ville]

Join my SG if you haven't won on Emperor.

 

[cgannon64]

I suggest you try Monarch first. And I know the reason you are 35 turns away from Map Making while the rest of the world is in the industrial age.

You have to trade techs. This is a tough skill to learn, but its the ONLY way to stay afloat in Diety and Emperor, and even Monarch.

There should some articles and threads on this topic here.

 

[vbraun]

It sounds like you don't like to trade... What you should do is play on a tiny map. You don't have to trade as often becasue you can reaserch techs faster so you can be more independant on techs.

 

[Master Shake]

Alot of people are saying the poster needs to learn how to trade techs.

Myself, I *love* trade, I trade techs every chance I get. But nobody ever wants what I'm selling, and they charge much more tahn I can afford for stuff I want.

Any tips for the newbie?

(I play at regent level for the time being...)

-mS

 

[cgannon64]

It can be hard to trade, Master Shake, and very often the AIs will refuse to trade with you, even causing you to fall behind a tech or two. Here is what I find works:

Research on the lowest science rate possible but still research a tech. So, for example, don't put it at x% if it says Iron Working (-) but put it at y% so it says Iron Working - 39 turns. That should bring you some gpt.

Then make the diplomatic "rounds" every two or three turns. If you see an AI has a tech and you have something to trade, offer it. If they will accept, don't make the trade just yet! Remember that you can trade with that Civ, and then check the others for the best deal on that tech, and trade for the best deal.

The other trick I use is to make multiple trades. Lets say that you have Masonry, while one AI has Pottery and doesn't have Masonry, and the other AI has Warrior Code and Alphabet and doesn't have Masonry and Pottery. Do you see what you can do here? You trade Masonry for Pottery to AI 1, and then trade Pottery and Masonry for Code and Alphabet to AI 2. By doing this you manage to take one tech and get three out of them.

So, in summary, try to remember these rules:

1) If you trade a tech to an AI, they will most likely trade it to other Civs the next turn, so try to monopolize all deals on that tech.
2) Check around for the best deal.
3) Trade techs you trade for, and look for multiple-trade chains (trade one tech for a second, and use the second to get a third).
4) Don't be afraid to trade gold and/gpt for a tech. As long as you turn around and trade this tech to other Civs, you can most likely recuperate your investment (although its not guarenteed, since the price of a tech deflates each time another Civ gets it).

Once I learned these, they became instinct.

 

[Seanirl]

Practicing on Monarch is a great idea. Also, you should read all the articles in the War Academy. After that, read them all again.

War Academy ay?.... *rubs chin*

You have to trade techs. This is a tough skill to learn, but its the ONLY way to stay afloat in Diety and Emperor, and even Monarch.

I'd heard that and I was trying to trade techs but.... it just wasn't possible I didn't have anything Lincoln or Montezuma wanted except for sometimes when I'd get some gold but that was rare.

It sounds like you don't like to trade...

no usually I do trade a lot. I always trade on regent if I'll a load of gpt or a luxury.

Unless it's uranium I'm selling.... I'll never do that again.....

Ok, I think I'll try Monarch. Maybe I should research some of the more obscure techs that the AI doesn't usually go for right away so I can trade it? I purposely did that sometimes in Regent games when I was a tech or 2 behind.

 

[Emperor Xerxes]

On Emperor and Deity I simply get to republic after spreading out like mad, and then crank my research to zero. I basically use my huge profits to buy ALL the techs. As for rate of pace; it depends on land area; if the map is small or islands then the tech race is much slower than say on a large Pangea. Plus with the profits of doing no research you can spend a bit on entertainment; 30% should allow you to keep enough citizens happy to maximize production without sacrificing pop growth. This is immensely useful for getting wonders.

Above all micromanage your key cities.

 

[Bamspeedy]

Contacts. Contacts. Contacts.

Meet as many civs as quickly as possible. The more civs that you know, the more trading opportunities (and better deals) are available to you. If you know 6 civs that have a tech, then you can get it real cheap. Then you can sell that tech to another civ who hasn't met anyone except you at monopoly prices (bankrupting him). The more civs that you know (and the less AI civs that have met each other), puts you in a very good position.

On higher levels it costs you more to research (but not the AI). The main things that speed up the tech pace on the higher levels is the discounts they give each other in trading, and the faster growth the AI has.

If you want the AI to stay slow in techs then you need to do these things (or hope for these to happen):

1. Limited expansion for the AI. (island maps, poor terrain for the AI, limited land available)

2. Limited contacts for the AI (island maps, don't sell contacts).

3. Luxuries. Don't sell luxuries unless you really need to. An AI with 0-1 luxuries is near hopeless on any level.

4. Wars. Buy alliances and get the AI to fight each other. Make them spend shields on military units instead of libraries and infrastructure. Let them raze each other's cities, tear up each other's terrain improvements, etc. The AI very rarely uses the luxury rate and insists on staying in Republic for a long time even when war weariness is crippling them. If they are warring with other civs, then they aren't trading luxuries. Any AI civs that I see are trading resources I get them to fight each other to break up their trading.

Using those 4 tips above, then the tech rate will be extremely slow and the tech lead is yours if you want it. In my 'Beyond Sid' game right now (link in signature) I'm approaching 2000 AD and none of the AI ever got to infantry or tanks. Some never got to riflemen.

 

[Master Shake]

How do you go about getting two other civs to fight?

-mS

 

[downwithgravity]

sign MPP's or MA's with one and declare war. actually, i usually do it the other way around, for some reason the AI will more likely go to war with me if i am already at war.

 

[SunZsu]

build your military from the beginning, then attack, make peace, then attack again ... each time you make peace, demand techs ...
helps to be militaristic and industrious e.g Chinese ....

:die:


The Great Khan defers to no one!

 

[budweiser]

In my current game on emporer, I am germany. I am doing 100% research, most of my cities are in WLTK and I am making a 770gpt surplus. That is 770 gpt AFTER spending 100% on science! This is all in the early industrial age. I am like a huge vacuum that sucks all gold from the ai. I do it through science infastructure and trade. Trade is key, it beats war. Its more fun to pull in a huge gpt deals than it is to take away cities.

 

[Moonsinger]

Originally posted by budweiser
I am like a huge vacuum that sucks all gold from the ai. I do it through science infastructure and trade. Trade is key, it beats war. Its more fun to pull in a huge gpt deals than it is to take away cities.

Yes, me too! The most wealthy civ in the world has always been my civ and when the AIs have no more gold, resource, and tech to give, I have no other choice but to take away their cities.