Germany

[iWant921nooow]

Hello. As the germans are my favourite civ (dont really know why, I guess I just like the germans in general ), I want to find out ways to improve my gameplay. I thought we could discuss the viable strategies as germany. Thal, maybe we could have a topic like this with all the civs? If we worked together, we could faster see the full potential of a civ and decide whether it needs a change or not. Just a thought

Anyway, Im usually playing pangea, quick(sometimes normal), standard map, deity, so a fast landknecht rush might not be the best way to play the germans here . Although, with the right circumstances it might work. I usually do a very early monument, go NC and get civilservice pretty fast. By the time i get civilservice I should have the cheaper upgrade policy so I easily upgrade some barbs into landknechts. Get a cata and kill a citystate (usually aiming for cultural CS since happiness can be a problem).
After this I usually just put the units in cities for the bonus, go commerce tree and aim for rifling. Upgrade all the units ro rifles and fight with anyone near me. The gold from killing units + commerce tree has worked really well for me, I can buy anything I want . And when I get to panzers, thats where the fun begins

Be careful which citystate you attack. If you have a weak neighbour who is very close to you, you could get some good cities from him. And most importanly, if you play on higher difficulties, try to put as little resources into this attack as possible. The barbarians you get for free + 1 or 2 catas should be enough, while you keep working your cities.

I hope this has brought some ideas for you guys. If you got any suggestions, please, share them

 

[Txurce]

I play on Emperor now (Immortal before), so I would think our strategies would be different... but they're not. So far I've only played Germany for alternate-approach science wins, so I never go for Rifling. But I start by aiming for NC, the necessary early techs, and then Math for cats. I start building cats as soon as possible. Civil Service is next, for the same cheap upgrade from barbs to landsknechts, followed by Physics, then Chemistry for the siege upgrades. I never build a swordsman, longswordsman or knight - just landsknechts protecting the siege units, and barging into cities when they're redlined. I also attack any CS who is already at war with me... but if going for a military victory, obviously wouldn't differentiate.

Why would you be careful regarding which CS to attack?

On a side note, I wind up with a larger fleet than I need, just because it's so much fun to have all those triremes.

 

[iWant921nooow]

Thx for feedback Txurce. Yes, Its pretty nice to use the free+cheap units to protect the siege while just bombarding everything, especially since the 50% defense for pikes. Hmm, now that you mention it, I realize that Ive been lacking siege upgrades. Should probably get physics alot earlier than I usually do.
About the citystates, I try to attack the citystates that has less(or none) civs protecting it. Otherwise it ends up with you being more hated than genghis khan , and suddenly you are fighting the whole world

Have you tried putting 3 scientists after finishing NC, while teching other techs than civilservice? When the GS is out, slingshoot civil. By now my second catapult was on its way. I dont really know if its good for the rush, I think the rush is faster if you tech civil yourself. Will have to try it again.

 

[Txurce]

Have you tried putting 3 scientists after finishing NC, while teching other techs than civilservice? When the GS is out, slingshoot civil. By now my second catapult was on its way. I dont really know if its good for the rush, I think the rush is faster if you tech civil yourself. Will have to try it again.

I always built an Academy, mainly because I was going for a Science win (and also because I had no idea how far the GS would take me through the Civil Servive beakers).

 

[Zaldron]

I always built an Academy, mainly because I was going for a Science win (and also because I had no idea how far the GS would take me through the Civil Servive beakers).

In TBC if you hover over the "bulb" button it will tell you how many beakers it will generate, while hovering over the active researched tech will tell you how many beakers are left.

 

[Txurce]

In TBC if you hover over the "bulb" button it will tell you how many beakers it will generate, while hovering over the active researched tech will tell you how many beakers are left.

Talk about getting ruts... I know that, but it never occurred to me to check that early, since I'm on auto-pilot to build an academy.

 

[Thalassicus]

I want to find out ways to improve my gameplay. I thought we could discuss the viable strategies as germany. Thal, maybe we could have a topic like this with all the civs? If we worked together, we could faster see the full potential of a civ and decide whether it needs a change or not.

I think this is a great idea.

 

[Seek]

I always built an Academy, mainly because I was going for a Science win (and also because I had no idea how far the GS would take me through the Civil Servive beakers).

When setting the beakers from GSs in FRB I consciously set the amount to allow civil service to be bulbed (it's ~500, and the GS base is 475 plus the amount from researched techs). Even Neb can get it with the free GS from writing!

Btw, the beaker cost since the March patch is slightly higher than it was in TBC before the patch, so bulbing is less effective in the renaissance now. It used to be that mid-tier renaissance techs were fully researchable when teching fairly widely. Are there any opinions whether to raise it back to previous levels?

 

[Txurce]

When setting the beakers from GSs in FRB I consciously set the amount to allow civil service to be bulbed (it's ~500, and the GS base is 475 plus the amount from researched techs). Even Neb can get it with the free GS from writing!

Btw, the beaker cost since the March patch is slightly higher than it was in TBC before the patch, so bulbing is less effective in the renaissance now. It used to be that mid-tier renaissance techs were fully researchable when teching fairly widely. Are there any opinions whether to raise it back to previous levels?

While I still like the idea of building an Academy in the first 125 turns - opinions on that? - bulbing Civil Service can definitely be worth it in certain circumstances... and upgrading German barbs to landsknechts would certainly seem to be one of them.

 

[iWant921nooow]

While I still like the idea of building an Academy in the first 125 turns - opinions on that? - bulbing Civil Service can definitely be worth it in certain circumstances... and upgrading German barbs to landsknechts would certainly seem to be one of them.

Yes, Ive been looking at this. It actually makes the landknecht rush slower. The games Ive tried it I would get civilservice faster if I tech it myself right after teching catapults. But on the other hand, when doing the GS opening, I would clear a whole bunch of techs with the extra science. Will try it again and check the difference.

 

[Seek]

Seems to me the best strat for a quick Civil Service may be the GL with the Tradition Engineer, settling your first GS.

 

[iWant921nooow]

Will try it. I usually go straight for writing, and ive seen the GL be completed before I get writing , so it might only work sometimes.

 

[The Boz]

I really love the German gameplay with the newest patch, especially with the different barbarians in TBC. For 150 turns I built no military units at all, but I had so many Poachers, Pillagers and Slavers that I took out Beth and Monty with ease. Once into the mid-game, my expansion stopped, because the Turks and Romans had horsemen and archers that inflicted heavy losses to my cheap units, making sieges impossible until I had some actual siege units.
One of my favorite tactics with Germany in the mid and late game periods is to bomb coastal towns with a ship or three, and then take it over with a healed up barbarian unit, raze it, and move on to the next. You can do this on the other side of the world, just send a Caravel or Slaver/Pirate with the ice movement promotion, have it take a few barbarian settlements until it levels up healing, and you're set.

 

[Txurce]

Once into the mid-game, my expansion stopped, because the Turks and Romans had horsemen and archers that inflicted heavy losses to my cheap units, making sieges impossible until I had some actual siege units.

One of my favorite tactics with Germany in the mid and late game periods is to bomb coastal towns with a ship or three, and then take it over with a healed up barbarian unit, raze it, and move on to the next. You can do this on the other side of the world, just send a Caravel or Slaver/Pirate with the ice movement promotion, have it take a few barbarian settlements until it levels up healing, and you're set.

1. That's why I beelined for Math (and cats) with Germany. They have everything else.

2. That's great. I didn;t even know there was an "ice" promotion. What is it?

 

[The Boz]

Scouting II, I think. Gives +1... err... can't remember if it's movement or vision... the opposite of Scout I, and also grants movement over ice.

 

[Thalassicus]

I buffed the Scouting promotions quite a bit. Scouting 2 gives +1 movement and the unit can traverse mountains and ice. It's really fun to see scouts climbing mountains or finally be able to send exploring ships through arctic regions.

 

[Txurce]

I buffed the Scouting promotions quite a bit. Scouting 2 gives +1 movement and the unit can traverse mountains and ice. It's really fun to see scouts climbing mountains or finally be able to send exploring ships through arctic regions.

Mountains?

I had to read it twice to make sure you didn't mean hills. This is a great reason to reach the S2 promotion with a Scout before upgrading it to Militia.

You should advertise this stuff, Thal!

 

[Thalassicus]

It's in the 7.4 patch notes and on the promotion tooltip.