Going Through The Grades

[Draino]

I really enjoy playing civ4, but I have found that I struggle when I try to play on Noble. Warlord is very (even too easy) to dominate. So I started on Noble and found that EVERYONE just wanted to bash me.
I wanta challange, not a headache!!!
Does anyone have any GOOD, short tips (Not massive strategy guides) for players trying to make the step up.

 

[podraza]

In my experience, Noble is the level where the AI first start to pay attention to the size of your army. If it is too small, they will exploit the opportunity to attack you. So when you shift from Warlord to Noble, you've got to create a larger army sooner. Try to maintain an army averaging 2 to 3 units per city. Then the only ones to mess with you will be the aggressive Civs. Nothing you can do about them except fight back.

 

[AtriumComplex]

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=138904 Go through as many of these tips as you can. Also, read as many strategy articles as you can.

 

[Draino]

Yeah, thanks fellas, I read this forum just about everyday (at work) . I am continually taken away with the depth of thought that goes into these strategies and as someone who only got into civ3, i'm slowly catching on.

I also found it a lot harder to produce a city closer to resources.

One thing I contiunally read about but dont understand is the abbreviations when people talk about specializing cities. I understand the growth, commerce and scientific catagories but how do they relate to the abbreviations given?