Ethiopia Culture Victory Help

[Carl5872]

I am trying for the first time Ethiopia culture victory. Marathon settings and emperor difficulty huge map with small islands.

I started alone on my own small island with 1 mercantile city state. I went down tradition first, then started down piety. I have built 2 cities. I appropriately for Ethiopia founded Christiantiy, with my pantheon as the one that makes cities strength increased. I also dit the one +1 happiness per city as founder, +2 culture for monuments and shrines and+30% conversion for the enhancer belief. I also chose the enhancer that lets you build cathedrals (i think) the one with the artist slot.

Napoleon (the game leader) DOW'd me, and sent a fleet of ships at my coastal city. I killed them all off pretty easy with a comp bowman and the city firing. He wont make peace unless I give him basically all my money and luxury resources, so I say no. However he really isnt sending anything my way, so for now I dont think hes a problem.

The problem Im encountering is that Im about 5th in score of about 11, and I can tell most civs are passing me in technology. I am currently selling copies of luxury resources only and retaining the ones I have 1 of, and am at about 6 happiness now. I have been using the cash to buy buildings for my 2 cities. I am worried though taht I will fall behind techwise, and consequently, wonderwise and militarily.

Does anyone have suggestions on:

1. What I should do IN GENERAL for an ethiopia culture win.
2. What I can do IN MY CURRENT SITUATION to turn things around and to increase research.

 

[kamikazees]

From what you have listed here, my advice would be the same for both questions: Grow your . Focus on food and grow big. That will increase everything, including your production and science. Having a high food output will help you work artist specialists (ampitheater, cathedral, etc) and great artist tile improvements, all of which will increase your .

As for science-specifics, do you have libraries and the national college? Build them. Do you have astronomy? If you are on an island all alone you need to get out and meet the other civs and city states quickly. That will allow you to trade and (hopefully) discovery some cultural city states. Ally them in any way possible (quests or ).

You haven't said what policies you have selected, but I will assume you've gone tradition and piety. Max those, freedom and two other policies of your choice (probably patronage and commerce for this map).

 

[Carl5872]

From what you have listed here, my advice would be the same for both questions: Grow your . Focus on food and grow big. That will increase everything, including your production and science. Having a high food output will help you work artist specialists (ampitheater, cathedral, etc) and great artist tile improvements, all of which will increase your .

As for science-specifics, do you have libraries and the national college? Build them. Do you have astronomy? If you are on an island all alone you need to get out and meet the other civs and city states quickly. That will allow you to trade and (hopefully) discovery some cultural city states. Ally them in any way possible (quests or ).

You haven't said what policies you have selected, but I will assume you've gone tradition and piety. Max those, freedom and two other policies of your choice (probably patronage and commerce for this map).

Thanks! I have the national college. I think I have astronomy. ( Ive met pretty much all the civs and can trade my stuff.

I did go down tradition and that is done. I have 3 policies down piety. I will shift my gold from buying buildings to buying culture city states.

 

[curwen]

For your setup (alone on an island) your religion setup is strange .. what use was "the one that makes cities strength increased" even at deity i take a useful one ... in your case increase city growth or anyone which give culture for whatever ressource you have on your island (piety if you have no choice which should be really bad with ethiopia)....
At deity i take a faith increasing one (could be the one where you get faith when destroying unit near your city) as it is your only chance to get a religion but in your case you could take any cultural one.
Also i would have taken a mosque or one which give something per X follower instead of the +1 happiness per city which is weak fora tall empire) l or the one which give you beaker when you make some convert in a city dominated with another religion(multisomething is the name of the belief). I am not an expert on small island map but do you really want to enter a religious warfare while you go for a cultural victory ? (I often finish with another religion in some of my cities to make more cultural building ... and i do not want to fight to much other civ so i can make RA and trade agreement and do not need to concentrate on defense so i can build my cultural wonder/buildings in relative peace) .
Ok with small island i guess that the defence is not a problem but religious warfare tend to piss off other civ ... which should be your aim if you want a domination victory ... or a "science"/"diplomatic"/"cultural" one after bombing all opponent... but that is not really a cultural victory imo

 

[Carl5872]

For your setup (alone on an island) your religion setup is strange .. what use was "the one that makes cities strength increased" even at deity i take a useful one ... in your case increase city growth or anyone which give culture for whatever ressource you have on your island (piety if you have no choice which should be really bad with ethiopia)....
At deity i take a faith increasing one (could be the one where you get faith when destroying unit near your city) as it is your only chance to get a religion but in your case you could take any cultural one.
Also i would have taken a mosque or one which give something per X follower instead of the +1 happiness per city which is weak fora tall empire) l or the one which give you beaker when you make some convert in a city dominated with another religion(multisomething is the name of the belief). I am not an expert on small island map but do you really want to enter a religious warfare while you go for a cultural victory ? (I often finish with another religion in some of my cities to make more cultural building ... and i do not want to fight to much other civ so i can make RA and trade agreement and do not need to concentrate on defense so i can build my cultural wonder/buildings in relative peace) .
Ok with small island i guess that the defence is not a problem but religious warfare tend to piss off other civ ... which should be your aim if you want a domination victory ... or a "science"/"diplomatic"/"cultural" one after bombing all opponent... but that is not really a cultural victory imo

My logic in using the pantheon belief of increasing city defense was to build a few large cities and anticipate a lot of invaders once I got close to the utopia project. I thought that improving defense would have been important. What your saying is that its more important to choose a pantheon that boosts culture or faith instead of the city defense.

I don't understand how piety is bad for eithiopia if Im going for a culture win. Can you elaborate on that?

Should I not have tried for a religion and just adopted other peoples religions then?

 

[kamikazees]

I don't understand how piety is bad for eithiopia if Im going for a culture win. Can you elaborate on that?

Should I not have tried for a religion and just adopted other peoples religions then?

Piety is great for culture victories, both because there is a policy that reduces social policy costs and because there is a policy that increases culture by 33% for any city that has a world wonder. Those benefits will likely shave 50-100 turns off your victory. Check out the Games of the Month 41 and 44, both of which were cultural victories. The people who won quickly used Piety. In GOTM 41, I used Rationalism and finished wayyyy slower. In GOTM 44, I used Piety and finished in under 300 turns (and there are people doing it in less than 250-270).

Yes, you should go for a religion with Ethiopia. It is one of the fastest civs to get a religion. Make use of that!

 

[Crafty Bison]

My logic in using the pantheon belief of increasing city defense was to build a few large cities and anticipate a lot of invaders once I got close to the utopia project. I thought that improving defense would have been important. What your saying is that its more important to choose a pantheon that boosts culture or faith instead of the city defense.

I don't understand how piety is bad for eithiopia if Im going for a culture win. Can you elaborate on that?

Should I not have tried for a religion and just adopted other peoples religions then?

Yeah your religion is strange (and map choice). Water is a defence which ethiopia doesn't need cos it's already lights out at it. Similarly the city defence bonus is overkill. I'd take fertility rites (for growth, important when tall as mentioned above). A cultural pantheon also possible though. founder should be a per follower one, possibly tithe for CS's cos I think the cultural founder is for foreign cities? Cathedrals is fine.

Pantheon should be used for faith regularly on high levels, but u ethiopia so u don't have to

It's good to go for religion both for cultural and as ethiopia. Tradition, piety, freedom are all musts for cultural, I'd also add liberty for the policy cost reduction bonus if you're not OCC. My fifth is usually patronage but variable.

 

[chazzycat]

if you are on your own landmass with just a CS, taking city strength as your pantheon is a big no-no. Defense should be your last concern in that situation. As long as you fill your island with your culture so the AI doesn't plop a city next to you, they will generally leave you alone.

Extra happiness was also not the best choice IMO. If you only have room for 2 cities, one of them bennefitting from Monarchy, happiness shouldn't be a big concern. You might get a little extra culture from the piety policy from that, but its not the most efficient way to go about it. I prefer tithe and I'll use the extra money to ally cultural CS (and sign RAs).

you shouldn't be spending too much cash on buildings IMO. Culutral CS and RAs are more effective ways to spend the money for the most part.