Getting Surrounded on Deity

[Tefached]

So i just got into deity, and I'm having some degree of success, winning a few games, but it seems 80% of the games i play end up with me attempting to expand, but the AI quickly surrounds me and chokes me off. Then they all declare war on me and start landing units all over the place. I have no problem fending off the attacks, but i cant expand, and any attempt of me trying to get a settler to an island usually ends with the boat being sunk by all the AI ships in my waters.
This eventually leads onto me falling behind in all victories, and me placing next to last.

I basically make a settler whenever a city reaches 4 population.

Should i be making more? Should i be rushing them? Or is there a particular way of going about expanding that will make things easier for me.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[Sn1p3rk1ll3]

Just get the chokepoints early on and press your enemies yourself!

Easy enough : you have some boats patrolling the area your going to cross and make a fleet

The ai rarely ever makes fleets early on, so beating them won't be a problem.


Hope that helps

 

[MorteEterna]

So i just got into deity, and I'm having some degree of success, winning a few games, but it seems 80% of the games i play end up with me attempting to expand, but the AI quickly surrounds me and chokes me off. Then they all declare war on me and start landing units all over the place. I have no problem fending off the attacks, but i cant expand, and any attempt of me trying to get a settler to an island usually ends with the boat being sunk by all the AI ships in my waters.
This eventually leads onto me falling behind in all victories, and me placing next to last.

I basically make a settler whenever a city reaches 4 population.

Should i be making more? Should i be rushing them? Or is there a particular way of going about expanding that will make things easier for me.

Any help is appreciated.

I see your huge problem with expanding.

You grow to 4 population, then you build a settler. Doing that you lose probrably 10-15 turns on building a settler (and growing to 4), while it's really simple how to build a settler:

Grow to 3 population, then set your workers on two trees and one grassland, work on a settler and you will get it in 5 turns, and you are back to 2 population. If you got 2 grasslands, you only need 5 turns to build the settler again

 

[GGrayson]

Yeah, that expansion method is going to be pretty slow. Use what Morte said and do the 5 turns on 2 trees 1 grass. Build a few settlers, or at least 1 in your cap, and you'll have 3 cities with your cap, your 100g settler, and the one you built out of your cap. Then work on a few more settlers before you get into the medieval era. Rush them in the ancient with gold (spending at least 2 turns on 2 grass, or banking 8 food in your 3 pop city so it will growing it back to 2pop instead of 1).

Then settle the new settlers in the Medieval era so they'll be at 3 pop right away. Then get the irrigation bonus and those new cities will be at 4 pop, and all your cities will be able to work on settlers again. Then get to Code of Laws ASAP and build some more settlers, the AI will never keep up. You've gotta manage your workers right, or you'll be slower than the AI.

Also, you should consider rushing. Bringing the fight to them will often pick up an easy early city, claim more of the map, and you won't get that feeling of being surrounded. Having an early cap means you have an even better chance at fast expansion, since the AI grows their cities up to 3 pop at the latest 3000BC.