Emperor UHV Strategies

Franks

UHV1: 1 Catholic Cathedral, 4 Catholic Missionaries by 750 AD
UHV2: Control Charlemagne's empire in 700 AD
UHV3: No Islam in Europe in 800 AD

Civics: Early on Monarchy, State Religion, Tyranny (until needed for happiness; then Serfdom), Market Economy. Slavery helpful to improve German lands and whip key buildings out quickly. Later on switched to Theocracy (to avoid a random Islam spread), Oligarchy, Militancy.
Techs: Traded for ~10 techs early on, then tech'ed towards Monastery and Cathedral techs (but no real time pressure). Later on tech'ed towards free GP techs to start GAs.
Cities: Founded capital 1NE of cow. Later on founded 2 more cities in core (next to Clam and next to Wheat/Deer). Cities built 1-2 Spearmen for cheap happiness, Church, Manor, Monastery, Market, Library, Taxation. Top 3-4 cities with good production built a ton of Swordsmen/Heavy Cavalry. I also built 5-6 Catapults as N Italy was heavily fortified.
Conquests: Starting units captured Dye city, then went for 2 German indy cities. At opportune times (when their main army was far) I declared war on Visigoths twice, capturing each of their French cities, then making peace immediately before their main army arrived back. When Lombards spawned, I prepared my massive stack of CR-promoted Swordsmen and captured all of N Italy. At that point Ostrogoths collapsed so I could also capture Rome.

UHV1: As above; plenty of time to build these.
UHV2: As above.
UHV3: Around 700 AD Visigoths collapsed. I sent a massive stack of Heavy Cavalry/Swordsmen near Cordoba. In 711 AD the Moors show up; I immediately declared war on them, and quickly captured all of Iberia. Their starting stack was big (I guess it is dependent on the number of defenders in the Indy cities, who had a big stack of Spearmen/Catapults in one of the cities...) but ultimately they were no match to my superior and promoted troops.

Stability: Stable all the way; good economy, OK civics, modest overextension.
 
Arabia

UHV1: Control the Umayyad Empire by 750 AD
UHV2: Be #1 in tech in 800 AD
UHV3: Spread Islam to 30% by 850 AD

Civics: Theocracy (although it doesn't work - random religions kept appearing in my cities; what's worse, even the persecution-upon-conquest function doesn't work...), Tyranny early on (until needed for happiness; then Serfdom), Market Economy, Slavery, State Religion.
Techs: Chain Mail (Heavy Cavalry), then various science techs (e.g. the +1 trade route tech), Jurisprudence, and the free GP techs.
Cities: Founded capital on spot, and built Work Boat, Royal Mint there. All cities should build Islamic Church, Bazaar, Market, then Courthouse, Monasteries, Library, Observatory, Taxation. Top 3-4 production cities built Heavy Cavalries, Islamic Missionaries, and Marksmen to defend conquered cities.
Conquests: Starting units focused on Egypt / North Africa, except for a smaller stack of Ghazis which captured Sassanid capital, after which they collapsed. Then I used these Ghazis to mop up indy Persia out to Bactria. Once N Africa was done, I made peace with Byzantion who vassalized (which meant I can spread Islam to all of their cities). I built Galleys and attacked Visigoths, capturing the 2 South Iberian cities. At this point they unfortunately vassalized to Franks so I halted. Franks OB'd with me early on for a tech, so I was able to spread Islam to all of their cities too. Once done, just before the deadline I declared war on Franks and captured the 2 Iberian cities, then made peace. Later on captured Sindh, Kabul, Peshawar, Bukhara as well from indy.

UHV1: As above.
UHV2: Building all the science/commerce buildings and taxation means that my economy was quite powerful, running at ~90% science, which ensured a very comfortable tech lead. I sparesly traded some techs but overall not really required.
UHV3: 2 good production cities, supported by Slaves, built the 2 Islamic world wonders ASAP (they automatically spread Islam). In addition, starting GP also built the Shrine. As above, I spread Islam to every single Frank and Byzantine city; same for Lombards who also OB'ed early on for a tech. Gokturks, Kazars also OB'd so I started to spread Islam to them, as well as to Gupta (however Chalukyan cut me off from accessing most of their cities). I also focused on generating Great Priests in Alexandria and Babylon, and generated 3 by 785 AD. Using them to spread Islam around India was enough to hit 30% in 787 AD!

Stability: Unstable given aggressive expansion and not the best civic combo; had to avoid techs with new civics to avoid anarchy.

Note that – similar to some of the other late civs – the game is buggy as it didn't register UHV1. All the regions' were ticked but still after 750 AD it showed FAIL. Conversely, UHV2 acted like "by" as opposed to "in", and was ticked before 800 AD, thereby triggering my UHV2-3 GA in 787 AD.
 
Sri Vijayan

UHV1: 7 cities in 700 AD
UHV2: 11 luxury resources by 840 AD
UHV3: #1 in population in 800 AD

Civics: Tyranny (for early happiness), Paganism (No state religion means others will be friendlier and more likely to trade resources), Market Economy, Slavery (switched off in late game to remove the -1 food Slave specialists). Did not need to use Agrarianism but that is another lever to boost late-game food.
Techs: Focused on food/health techs such as Engineering, Plough, Sanitation, Medicine. Did not trade away these techs to ensure I'm #1 in population.
Cities: Founded capital on spot, second city in Burma with Pearls and Lumber in BFC. Later on founded 2 more cities in core (next to Tea and Clam/Lumber in BFC), as well as another in Malay peninsula adjacent to Copper/Clam, 2 more in Burma (with Fish/Copper and next to Clam), and one in Philippines with Fish/Gem. All cities built Work Boat as needed, Port, Market, Aqueduct, Public Bath, Library, Monasteries, etc.
Conquests: A Heavy Spearman and a Marksmen flipped to me; I added in 2 more Archers and sailed north to attack Thailand and Vietnam. I captured the Pig/Rice city, then the 2 south Vietnamese cities (eliminating the Vietnamese civ), then went for the city north of the Pig/Rice city with Lumber. However at this point I realized a really odd feature: whenever the yellow Thai civ collapsed, they immediately respawned with a massive bonus unit stack next to each of their 3 core cities. Hence I was afraid of actually capturing their Lumber city, with the risk of making them collapse and then immediately respawn. Even without that, they automatically collapsed/respawned so I had to defend my Pig/Rice city. Afterwards I killed off almost all their bonus units with my experienced units without losses, and at this point they agreed to vassalize to me and gave me the Lumber city. I don't think there is any other way to deal with them as they'd just keep respawning with massive stacks of attackers.

UHV1: As above, I ended up with 13 cities by ~715 AD.
UHV2: This is easier than it looks, as plenty of civs are keen to trade, including Arabia, China, and the various Indian civs. I had 5 luxuries in my cities (didn't even have to build Settlers to go for the Hemp or the Sugar), and was able to trade for 7 more fairly early on, triggering my GA.
UHV3: With all the relevant techs researched, Farm on every single flat tile, maximizing food with every citizen, and trading for a couple of health resources, all my cities got to 9-12, with the Pig/Rice city 17! This was enough for #1 position, at a healthy 10%+ advantage vs. the #2.

Stability: Became unstable in late game given aggressive expansion and not the best civic combo, but not a big issue.
 
Tamils (Chera)

UHV1: 9 Temples in Tamil Nadu by 50 BC
UHV2: Settle 2 Great Artists and 2 Great Saints by 50 AD.
UHV3: Have more culture in Tamil Nadu than in rest of India combined in 100 AD

Civics: Not critical here, but I switched to Empire and Trade Economy during the first GA, and then later also to Vassalage.
Techs: Literature, Crop Rotation, Monasticism (via Philosophy) are priorities. Key to bring a Galley to meet the successor kingdoms and trade techs aggressively. It is also important to trade for Health resources to ensure your cities can grow.
Early game: Initial objective is to conquer the indy cities around you. I started building a large army of Spearmen immediately; first captured the indy Kerala city (only 1 Spear defender). This city also built Spearmen, then later on Work Boat and Galley. Once I had 4-5 units I started to move them around in stacks of 1, with the plan to lure out the defenders behind the walled cities. They indeed attacked out, so I was able to gain experience mopping them up. With only 2 Spears and 1 Archer defender left in each, I attacked with 6 units and was able to capture one of them. Shortly thereafter the other one had a revolt, so it was much easier to mop it up. All 3 Tamil cities captured by ~210 BC. With my veterans I also captured Sri Lanka city and indy Dye city to the NE, and also put down a Settler between Dye and Pepper later on.

UHV1: Apart from building a few extra Workers, 1-2 Axemen, 1-2 Archers, and 2-3 Galleys for defense, the Tamil cities focused on building the Temples. Buddhism had to be spread around so that was the first priority. I achieved this condition well ahead of the deadline (pre 100 BC).

UHV2: I used the first Great Artist to build the National Epic in the capital. The capital also built the Great Library - this gives you the wrong GP points but still helps a bit so on balance it's worth it (but not a must).
My capital generated all but one Great Persons; it can run 3 specialists at pop 5. I achieved the condition pre 50 BC. If you get a wrong GP, you can always start a Golden Age and that will significantly accelerate the next one.

UHV3: Once I put 3 Theaters and 3x3 Monasteries in the 3 cities, as well as built some of the mid-game wonders in my capital (incl. Grand Anicut which supercharges your production), this was an easy goal. Without any culture bombs I got to 36k+ culture vs. India at ~11k. I also got a massive tech lead in the final (uneventful) 150 turns.

Stability: No issues as didn't expand into unstable regions.
 
Tang

UHV1: Control Tang Empire territories in 800 AD
UHV2: Have 2 vassals in 840 AD.
UHV3: First to discover Printing Press, Alchemy

Civics: I ran on Empire and Trade Economy from the start. I kept Religion on Paganism given the confluence of all different religions. Civic stability was -2 unfortunately, even after switching to Bureaucracy, Free Relegion, Serfdom.
Techs: My focus was Manufactured Trade (commerce boost), Education, Printing Press, Alchemy. I was casually trading techs when I thought my lead was robust.

UHV1: Starting troops are very advanced and plenty. Basically starting troops are enough to conquer all of the territories (I also had 2 horses and 2 Cats flip). I gradually conquered core China and by 670 was more or less done. I kept the Korean city (unstable) and the NW region last, for 700-720. Then you just have to defend from barbs (choke-points are NE, Hemp city, Tibet). Handan was my military city with all those Workshops.

UHV2: Gokturks friendly-vassalized but they annoyingly collapsed in 825 AD (might be scripted). I joined Chenla against their war with their neighbors (Champa), captured their 2 cities, liberated 1. That was enough for Chenla to friendly vassalize. Capitulation on Champa was not working... Then in the end I also got to friendly-vassalize Tibet, after being very nice to them, not trading with their Worst Enemy, giving them resources and techs for free, etc.

UHV3: Easy one as long as you develop your cities with Cottages etc.

Stability: At some point mid game I became unstable, but there wasn't any anarchy. GAs helped in the end
 
Gupta

UHV1: Control India in 500 AD.
UHV2: Build the Iron Pillar, Nalanda University, and Dhamek Stupa.
UHV3: Have 3 GAs by 510 AD.

Civics: Empire / Vassalage / Caste System / Decentralization / State Religion (Trade Economy tends to destabalize).
Techs: Beeline for the Wonder techs: Nalanda, Pillar, Stupa. Fine to trade techs as long as you have a lead.

UHV1: The unique Marksmen unit is weak, but cheap. So I just built a lot of them, and let them die occassionally (once they are promoted to Combat I + anti-archer, they are formidable). I had most of India by ~370 AD. Kushan units spawn around 405 AD in NW India, so better not to conquer no NWernmost cities until then. Barbs will attack constantly around Lahore.

UHV2: Cottages + trading with Europe for Health resources + Nalanda + GAs means your economy will be powerful, so it should be an issue. Hammer-boosting wonder should be priority for capital right after spawn.

UHV3: WIth UP, you only need 4 GPs to start 3 GAs. Pick 3 cities and really push them, some of them can work 4 specialists easily, and they count double during GAs.
I'm not sure the 2UHV auto-GA in 500 AD counts or not, but it is easy to get there without. One thing to remember, you need to let each GA period before starting the next one, otherwise the counter won't register it.

Stability: Stable given strong civic combo + later lot of GAs and extra happiness.
 
Goguryeo

UHV1: Control 6 provinces by 300 AD.
UHV2: Be the first East Asian civ to adopt Buddhism.
UHV3: #1 in Culture in 400 AD.

Civics: Monarchy / Tyranny initially. Later on Empire / Vassalage / Patronage / State Religion.
Techs: Priorities are Literature, State Religion, Philosophy (free tech), Monasticism. I was trading techs when possible as no need to have a real tech lead for the UHVs. Even gifted cheap techs to OB.

UHV1: Starting units conquered 4 Han cities in Buyeo, Yan, and Zhao provinces. They had 1 marksman defender in each, so with 1 unit sacrifice you can usually capture them. Then I rested a bit, improved the cities, then attacked again and captured the eastern Qin city (great production city). I rested again, then around 80 AD also captured the western Qin city which triggered the 6 province requirement; this city is not that useful and my economy was getting weak so I gifted it away. The mongols attack all your Chinese cities around 100 AD with big stacks of HAs; you will need Walls and strong defenders of at least 6-7 troops each (Heavy Spear / Marksmen / Spearmen).

UHV2: I did it "the hard way", by sending a Galley with a Pilgrim to North Vietnam, then had the Pilgrim cross the jungle to get to Buddhist holy city, then back to spread it to my capital. Once I had State Religion tech, I switched to Buddhism, triggering GA. As soon as I could I switched to Confucianism and spread it to all my cities.

UHV3: I emphasized culture buildings, culture national wonder, and Artist speacialists from early on. The GA culturebomb only adds 4k culture, which is not that much given the marathon timescale. But nevertheless I did 3 culture bombs. I also put my culture slider to ~50-70% once I had the required tech. Rome is the only risk but they will lag behind once Eastern Rome breaks away, so I had a comfortable 2x lead by 400 AD. The Jin spaws will flip your Chinese cities; I moved my troops out of the cities and then declared war and reconquered them. I also conquered 2 Qi cities after as I had strong military (Heavy Spear + Marksmen) and my stability was Ok after putting Courthouses everywhere.

Stability: Initially stable; then unstable but relatively manageable given Courthouses + extra happiness from the Culture slider.
 
Jin (Northern)

UHV1: Control China by 300 AD.
UHV2: 6 luxury resources by 350 AD.
UHV3: First to discover Stirrup.

Civics: Empire / Tyranny / Agrarianism initially. Later on Vassalage / Decentralization.
Techs: Just beelined Stirrup.
Cities: All cities should start with a Spearman (so that you can relieve your Marksmen defenders from central cities), then Worker (improve luxuries, than cottages everywhere), then good production cities should build more military, then Market / Courthouse / Library / Taxation.

UHV1: As the Northern kingdom you have a formidable starting force. I started with SW becaues of luxuries; captured most Zhao cities with acceptable losses. Then recharged, and attacked the green player as well. Over time my forces prevailed, especially once I get to a few CR2/CR3 special spearmen. Then I waited until ~280 AD to capture the 2 northern cities missing. One food-rich city should build a Settler for the empty province.

UHV2: You will get 7 if you capture and hold UHV1 territories.

UHV3: 2UHV GA + another GA started by the first GP meant that my economy was super strong during the late 200s / early 300s. As long as you defend from barb attacks there is not much else to do. I reached Stirrup in 336 AD.

Stability: Stable all along thanks to Courthouses, happiness, and strong economy.

Note that, similar to some other civs, the game did not register my UHV3 (remained "Not Yet" even after discovering Stirrup.
 
Top Bottom