Emperor Level Blues

[Blinking Joy]

I play all my games at King Level. I would, however, prefer to play regularly on Emperor Level -- I mean, if a harder and more challenging difficulty level exists, it just makes sense to attempt it. Sadly, though, I find that unless I'm exceptionally gifted (starting with two Settlers, placed on a land rich in rivers and hills and bonus squares, and on my own small continent with no neighbors), I am bound to lose. Indeed, I may even have trouble merely surviving! And yet on King Level, I almost always win the Space Race (and this without saving before battles, or other "cheats"), and never have trouble building a flourishing and well-defended Civilization.

How is it that the jump from King to Emperor seems so great a gulf? I mean, having the third person in a city be an Unhappy one is tough, but that alone is hardly an insurmountable obstacle. It seems that it's all the other stuff that makes Emperor Level ridiculously hard: rivals grow and advance incredibly quickly, and -- it would appear -- that their military units are actually stronger (i.e. more likely to win a battle) than they are on King Level. And my own Civilization advances painfully slowly.

Do any of you regularly play on Emperor Level, without "cheating" -- and find yourselves winning many games? I've been playing CivDos for almost 15 years now, and while I can slam through a King Level game in an afternoon, "with my eyes closed" (so to speak), I can't manage a functional Emperor Level game...

 

[void]

It seems that it's all the other stuff that makes Emperor Level ridiculously hard: rivals grow and advance incredibly quickly, and -- it would appear -- that their military units are actually stronger (i.e. more likely to win a battle) than they are on King Level.

When it comes to % chance of winning a battle, I believe only Barbarians are affected by difficulty level.

 

[Urtica dioica]

I lose quite a bit on Emperor, but it only happens when I get too greedy early on. Don't build your first settler without a defender, keep away from huts after you've got a city, and when you have 2-4 cities, beef up the defenses around your capital against barbarians. Barbarians are stronger.

The enemies develop faster on Emperor, and your techs come slower, but that's no excuse to be behind. Use celebrations. Concentrate your trade improvements in one good city at first and build it up as much as it will go. Give it the best trade routes. Spread your production out in a large number of cities, and re-home their caravans to your best city. Stay away from the early wonders.

 

[Blinking Joy]

I lose quite a bit on Emperor, but it only happens when I get too greedy early on. Don't build your first settler without a defender, keep away from huts after you've got a city, and when you have 2-4 cities, beef up the defenses around your capital against barbarians. Barbarians are stronger.

The enemies develop faster on Emperor, and your techs come slower, but that's no excuse to be behind. Use celebrations. Concentrate your trade improvements in one good city at first and build it up as much as it will go. Give it the best trade routes. Spread your production out in a large number of cities, and re-home their caravans to your best city. Stay away from the early wonders.

Nice! I appreciate that. I'll try a new Emperor-Level game. And I'll be very patient and cautious...

 

[void]

I just came across this:

Emperor Difficulty FAQ by "Edman"

It details an extreme ICS / early conquest method to defeat Emperor.

 

[Urtica dioica]

I've read that FAQ before. A few of its suggestions I don't agree with.

If you just want to win by conquest, that's easy even on Emperor. Like it says, outdo the enemy in number of cities and spam chariots. However, if you play patch 5, don't build 20 cities right away, because after 6 they start losing born-contents. Also, don't build barracks; they're too expensive to keep up.

On the Earth map, you can use nothing but triremes to conquer the world. On most random maps, which is what I've used, you'll need Navigation, which makes things a lot slower. Avoid trading techs and don't hit huts to make it a little faster. And Bronze Working isn't that important; you'll be forced to pick it up in spoils anyway, and you're better off basing your defense on chariots. Later in the game, spoils give you massive income. Once that happens, diplomats become your major fighting force.

 

[Osvaldo Manso]

Sadly, though, I find that unless I'm exceptionally gifted (starting with two Settlers, placed on a land rich in rivers and hills and bonus squares, and on my own small continent with no neighbors), I am bound to lose.

Blinking Joy, please note that starting with two settlers is not a good thing. The best possible start, unless you like early wars (which I don't) is starting with one settler and no extra technology (besides Irrigation, Mining and Roads). Starting with more than one settler and/or extra techs means that either you are on a small continent/island or you have other civilizations on the same land mass. The game compensates poorer locations with an additional settler and/or extra technologies. However, I don't think it matches the opportunity of developing undisturbed during the the first milennia.

If you really want to avoid wars as much as possible and build a strong empire before making contact with others, I suggest you restart until you get a start with no more than a settler unit and knowledge of Irrigation, Mining and Roads.

 

[Blinking Joy]

Blinking Joy, please note that starting with two settlers is not a good thing. The best possible start, unless you like early wars (which I don't) is starting with one settler and no extra technology (besides Irrigation, Mining and Roads). Starting with more than one settler and/or extra techs means that either you are on a small continent/island or you have other civilizations on the same land mass. The game compensates poorer locations with an additional settler and/or extra technologies. However, I don't think it matches the opportunity of developing undisturbed during the the first milennia.

If you really want to avoid wars as much as possible and build a strong empire before making contact with others, I suggest you restart until you get a start with no more than a settler unit and knowledge of Irrigation, Mining and Roads.

I'm totally intruigued!

Is this a "proven fact" or something you think you've noticed over years of play? Because I can say that many times I've gotten 2 Settlers, I was in a pretty nice spot -- either, as you said, my own very small continent (and what's wrong with a five- or six-city isolated Civilization?), or a sweet and fertile penninsula...as I am in my current game.

Sadly, this current game isn't going too well. I only have four cities, and apparently you need a few more than that to compete on Emperor Level. I mean, on King Level, I can usually get away with a Civilization of four, or even three, cities, although admittedly it will be a challenge. On Emperor, it's just not working.

It is now 1100 AD, and I am researching Gunpowder. I don't even have Mapmaking, or Horseback Riding, or Mathematics, or even Trade. I do, however, have Religion (I always beeline towards Religion from the start) and one of my cities built J.S. Bach's back around 400 AD. These four cities are very nicely placed on a delicious penninsula, with a pretty perfect mix of hills, rivers, and plains. My penninsula joins what must be a HUMONGOUS continent, since my neighbor, the Germans (Nuremburg shares two forest squares with my "frontier" city) has been at war and peace with several other large Civilizations from very early times onward. The Germans are ahead of me in most sciences, though they only just got Invention a couple turns ago. They are the second most powerful and advanced Civilization: the Aztecs, who I believe have their own large continent (I haven't met them yet), are much bigger -- according to the Retire graph -- and, since I wasn't the first to get Invention, probably significantly beyond me in technology (they have built Copernicus' Observatory and Magellan's Expedition already).

I am a healthy Democracy, although without trade routes, still kind of sad. My land is all worked up, everything roaded and irrigated and mined (even hills with mines have roads; ever the optimist, I am preparing for railroads). The Germans have been a Republic forever, and are mellow...no big surprise, since I'm the second-to-last Civilization in terms of power, size, etc. I'm reasonably well-defended, with two veteran Phalanxes and one veteran Chariot in each of my cities, and the frontier city having City Walls...but I just know that within a few centuries, the Germans -- or maybe someone else -- will decide it's time to CRUSH me. And they probably will, though with my sturdy li'l musketeers, I'll be sure not to go down quietly.

Oh well, I guess I'll have to start a new game. This time I'll

 

[Osvaldo Manso]

I'm totally intruigued!

Is this a "proven fact" or something you think you've noticed over years of play? Because I can say that many times I've gotten 2 Settlers, I was in a pretty nice spot -- either, as you said, my own very small continent (and what's wrong with a five- or six-city isolated Civilization?), or a sweet and fertile penninsula...as I am in my current game.

Please check this thread: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=176449 (specially the last post by myself)

Sadly, this current game isn't going too well. I only have four cities, and apparently you need a few more than that to compete on Emperor Level. I mean, on King Level, I can usually get away with a Civilization of four, or even three, cities, although admittedly it will be a challenge. On Emperor, it's just not working.

It is now 1100 AD, and I am researching Gunpowder. I don't even have Mapmaking, or Horseback Riding, or Mathematics, or even Trade. I do, however, have Religion (I always beeline towards Religion from the start) and one of my cities built J.S. Bach's back around 400 AD. These four cities are very nicely placed on a delicious penninsula, with a pretty perfect mix of hills, rivers, and plains. My penninsula joins what must be a HUMONGOUS continent, since my neighbor, the Germans (Nuremburg shares two forest squares with my "frontier" city) has been at war and peace with several other large Civilizations from very early times onward. The Germans are ahead of me in most sciences, though they only just got Invention a couple turns ago. They are the second most powerful and advanced Civilization: the Aztecs, who I believe have their own large continent (I haven't met them yet), are much bigger -- according to the Retire graph -- and, since I wasn't the first to get Invention, probably significantly beyond me in technology (they have built Copernicus' Observatory and Magellan's Expedition already).

I am a healthy Democracy, although without trade routes, still kind of sad. My land is all worked up, everything roaded and irrigated and mined (even hills with mines have roads; ever the optimist, I am preparing for railroads). The Germans have been a Republic forever, and are mellow...no big surprise, since I'm the second-to-last Civilization in terms of power, size, etc. I'm reasonably well-defended, with two veteran Phalanxes and one veteran Chariot in each of my cities, and the frontier city having City Walls...but I just know that within a few centuries, the Germans -- or maybe someone else -- will decide it's time to CRUSH me. And they probably will, though with my sturdy li'l musketeers, I'll be sure not to go down quietly.

Oh well, I guess I'll have to start a new game. This time I'll

It's always interesting reading about "real" games! Well, the future doesn't seem to be that great for your civilization. In my opinion (although I never play Emperor; always King), you should not depend solely on Musketeers and Chariots for defending your cities. I suggest you get Mathematics for being able to build veteran Catapults when things get worse. You will need Mathematics for reaching Railroads, anyway.

I think you should also discover Map Making and Navigation and go find the Aztecs. They will tend to be more peaceful if you're going to knock on their door than if they're the ones who find you. Establish embassies in every civilization.

If I understood correctly your geographical situation, the Germans act as an obstacle between yours and several other civilizations. That's good for you. It means that you are relatively on your own because others need to pass by the Germans to get to your territory. It also means that the Germans are too busy to attack you. Besides, they are one of the less aggressive civilizations in the game. However, I predict that sooner or later, invaders (maybe the aztecs) will come from the sea. You should be prepared. Go find them first!

 

[trada]

....They are the second most powerful and advanced Civilization: the Aztecs, who I believe have their own large continent....

Why you are screwed.