Familiar scenario

[MikeUK]

This following scenario is common at the moment in my games and I don't know how to reverse it. Has anyone else found games regularly following this pattern:

Game starts pretty evenly but I'm ahead in score.
One aggressive opposition decides to declare war on another AI civ (in my current game the aggressive civ is Russia).
One AI Civ capitulates easily, becoming a vassel state to the aggressive Civ, and giving it a big advantage.
I build up an army and start to attack another Civ. This in turn slows down growth, technology etc due to unhappiness and the cost of the army.
I soon find myself way behind Russia in technology and with little hope of victory.

At the moment I'm on noble and just can't crack it! I like the warfare but it seems impossible due to the problems I've stated.

Anyone else find themselves regularly facing the same problems. Any hints/tips would be very welcome!

 

[Sisiutil]

Keep with it.

The advantage of a war of conquest come after the war is done, when you build up the infrastructure in your new cities and they become assets to your civ rather than liabilities. You will usually fall behind during a war, but you should slingshot ahead a few turns afterwards.

 

[GooglyBoogly]

Don't worry too much about score. As a civ gains more vassals it becomes a less reliable method of gauging the strength of a Civ.

 

[SJN]

Protracted wars can be very damaging. There are a few things you can do.

1. Slingshot somehow to a military tech lead and have enough money to do some quick upgrades on your most promoted units. Good times to attack are if you're the first to:
a. swordsmen
b. macemen
c. riflemen
d. infantry
e. marines (for sea-based attacks)
f. tanks
g. planes

2. Simultaneous sea-based attacks. These are hard to pull off before frigates and galleons, but if you have an enemy with a significant number of sea cities, you can prepare enough frigates and galleons to reduce defenses, and attack from sea. You might prepare some of your promoted units with amphibious in anticipation. Attack all at once and take a bunch of cities in a single turn.

3. Get the Statue of Zeus. It may make the war shorter, but even if it doesn't, the enemy won't be able to use it against you.

4. Start a war just as new happiness resources are becoming available (say with Calendar, colonizing a new landmass, or buildings that add happiness with resources). This will offset the war weariness

5. Get a super science city and a super money city as soon as possible. Do whatever you have to do to keep these cities happy. Depending on if you need more money or tech, put the globe theater in one of these cities.

7. Destroy critical enemy resources. Early on, this means heavy metals. Later it's horses. And later still, oil.

8. Scout out critical enemy cities. Find the city that has the Heroic Epic, great generals, etc. Destroy these cities first.

These are great tools for destroying an enemy quickly.

-- SJN

 

[GooglyBoogly]

b1. Grenadiers

 

[MikeUK]

Just one more question:

Do you keep or raize the cities you capture? To me it seems that raizing cities is best unless the city has some important resource or wonder!

 

[Joshua368]

Just one more question:

Do you keep or raize the cities you capture? To me it seems that raizing cities is best unless the city has some important resource or wonder!

Resource and wonders are important to keep track of, and holy cities are almost always going to be kept. Other than that, it depends on whether its a good site or not. Warring is typically for two reasons: to weaken your opponent and to increase your land. If you just raze everything you come across, you won't help yourself much as other AIs will gobble it up, so unless you have a lot of settlers waiting or your economy's on the ropes, its best to keep most of the cities.

If you plan on halting the war soon though, you might want to raze what will become a border city as odds are enemy culture will keep it from becoming much, and it might switch back.

Also keep in mind that the Statue of Zeus does not help you if you're fighting aggressively, it only directly helps in defensive wars taking place on your own land. Still, its better than letting an AI have it.

 

[MikeUK]

Thanks for that! I've just realised another query I had. To win a domination victory, do you have to have the specified amount of the whole land or just the specified amount of land that is occupied (if you get what I mean!)?

 

[Joshua368]

Thanks for that! I've just realised another query I had. To win a domination victory. Do you have to have the specified amount of the whole land or just the specified amount of land that is ocupied (if you get what I mean!)?

Whole land, you can expand peacefully to get some of it. Also half of any vassal's land and population goes into your score.

 

[MikeUK]

Thanks for all the advice! Time for another crack at it!!!

 

[Lemon Merchant]

7. Destroy critical enemy resources. Early on, this means heavy metals. Later it's horses. And later still, oil.

7. (b) Make a fleet of Privateers as soon as it's possible. Use them to sink everything that the AIs float (like their Galleons and Tiremes) at least until the AI gets Frigates. Galleons often carry Settlers to new lands. If you sink them all your Galleons can carry Settlers to those new lands. I used this last game and I managed to delay the other civs enough that I could grab some choice land that I later turned into colonies. If you can stop an AI from REXing to the new world before you do you might just turn the game around.

 

[Al Capwn]

I started to have real success only when I started early wars with neighbors that were weaker than me. By early I mean after I had only 2-3 cities. My first discovery of the benefits of early (might even classify it as prehistoric since this is all taking place well before I discover Writing) warfare was when I was playing as Sitting Bull and Montezuma was my neighbor. I knew that Monty would be DoW'ing on me as soon as he could so I beat him to the punch. As soon as I researched Bronze Working I made a single Dog Soldier (no resources are required which makes it very effective at prehistoric warfare) and marched into his land and stole 2 workers. Now Monty only had Archers at this point (this was Monarch level difficulty) and he sent 1-2 to try and dislodge my stubborn Dog Soldier and after they were obliterated and my Dog Soldier was promoted to Cover he stayed put long enough for me to get 2 more Dog Soldiers down to his lands. At one point he made a break for it with a Settler escorted by 3 Archers but my boys ate him up and, Bingo!, another free worker.
The advantages were threefold:
1) I kept Monty from expanding and claiming resources that would've been contested since we were neighbors.
2) I got a Great General to help make better trained soldiers (and later add when I managed to snag the Pyramids).
3) Free workers!!!

The importance of the free workers is huge! It lets you spend your hammers on building the always needed military units. Also, it gives you time to grow your cities and whip out buildings, units, etc. instead of the "wasted" turns spent creating a worker when your cities growth is stagnant.

I've gotten to the pint where I don't necessarily need to have prehistoric wars to get ahead and win the game but finding out about the benefits of prehistoric warfare was a huge boon to my gameplaying.