Good average difficulty

[grummor]

What's a good average difficulty level to play on so its more challenging (than chieftain) but still fun and you don't have to rely on luck to have a sliver of hope.

I'm playing on chieftain, HUGE earth map, 12 opponents.
I got handed gengis han and his MONGOLS. its the second time i play, so of course i made ALL the mistakes,promised war but bailed, warmongerer, denouncer, got denounced, promised peace but invaded, covet my resources (i got most of the luxuries on my territories), got >12 cities under my belt, and have eliminated 3 foes.
They are all guarded towards me and DoW each other all the time, but they leave me alone.

Bu it still seems pretty easy, i have a vastly superior tech, had a huge army that i just sold, and a better economy than any of them (i'm also sitting on most of Africa and middle east) and got almost every type of lux resource)

Also, early on in the game, i declared war on every single empire (9) that i knew of, and 5 turns later they all asked for peace and gave me all their money, gold/turn, and luxurys without me ever invading a single country.


My question is, is this situation only possible in chieftain difficulty and if so whats an appropriate difficulty to make it more challenging ?

I know it seems lazy of me to ask, but i don't want to commit to a game only to later discover that the way i play has not prepared me for that difficulty yet and i don't stand a chance. (only played 2 games so far)

Thanks in advance

 

[MaximusK]

What's a good average difficulty level to play on so its more challenging (than chieftain) but still fun and you don't have to rely on luck to have a sliver of hope.
Thanks in advance

Emperor really is the difficulty that doesn't require luck . . . you'll be pretty much guaranteed victory PROVIDED you know the game.

If you still learning the game I think King difficulty is the setting for you.

 

[Xotite potancev]

Problem is there really isnt an answer to your question. The difficulty depends on your skill the map the scale the opponents any things like raging barbs that you turn on or off.

Its a game with 100 variables so the question if i change one how hard is it cant be answered.

What i would suggest is go one up from chief try have fun and if you get stomped dont go back to chief learn, remember its just a game and put that knowledge into your next game.

Half the fun of CIV for me is getting rofl stomped by a civ and going right you SOB your not getting away with that next time.

There is no right difficuly or level the wonder players winning on imortal probably started on setler

 

[grummor]

oh ok thanks ill try like 2 levels over chieftain and see how it goes, i like the game and all
but if its too easy chances are ill stop playing it cause i like to finish my games, but id rather not play it than have another 500 turn game be full of boredom and making sure i don't accidentally kill an empire or two, like it is right now.

 

[grummor]

edit:
and by accidentally i mean that a weak empire gets too close to me and declares war and i find it distracting to kill him.

 

[nefloyd]

The AI's bonuses are based on a natural starting point of Chieftain (2). At Prince (4) you and the AI have about the same conditions. I find that King (5) is about the difficulty level where I can win fairly consistently while playing any civ pursuing any gameplay path. I tend to play at Emperor (6) where it's challenging and I occasionally lose, but I still have a good choice of strategy. Beyond that, in my opinion, various Civs and such become unappealing, you need more long-term strategic planning, or you start exploiting certain weaknesses or tactics to overcome the massive bonuses the AI starts getting.

But all of that depends on your goals, skills, experience, etc.

 

[grummor]

Oh thats great i think my level would probably be around king and maybe emperor for smaller games thank you very much for the insight. Is the way the AI play around with diplomacy still the same or do they become more "cunning" at higher levels ?

 

[Syntax Error]

Oh thats great i think my level would probably be around king and maybe emperor for smaller games thank you very much for the insight. Is the way the AI play around with diplomacy still the same or do they become more "cunning" at higher levels ?

It seems that they get more cunning the higher you go is because they get additional units at the start. This means that as you are just about to roll out your first scout, they have started work on a building, while exploring the world, while their worker is building a farm somewhere.

As for a difficulty suggestion, go for King. At Prince, you can still outtech everyone. Also, everyone is poor, so you probably won't have a lot of trading partners. No trading partners = no colonizing the stars by the 1500's.

 

[aru]

If your current game is Chieftian, don't go straight to King or Emperor. First go to Prince and see how you do in a relatively fair setting. The jumps in difficulty can be huge. Anything below Prince won't do much good though - the AI is just not going to do anything that can threaten you.

 

[headcase]

If you want the AI to play more like the player (e.g. they get less gold and happiness):

Look for GlobalAIDefines* xml file, and change from HANDICAP_CHIEFTAIN to HANDICAP_WARLORD. Then play on Prince.

This is like playing Prince, except the AI will go through some of the challenges you do. You can also change their handicap to HANDICAP_PRINCE but that makes things quite easy unless you up yourself to King or Emperor.

I don't play this way anymore, but think it's more enjoyable when learning the ropes since, when you're learning, it's annoying to see the AI with such high bonuses.

Yes, AI plays on Chieftain level.

Find the GlobalAIDefines.xml, find the node written below, and change its value to HANDICAP_PRINCE.

	<PostDefines>
		<Row Name="AI_HANDICAP">
			<Key>HANDICAP_CHIEFTAIN</Key>
			<Table>HandicapInfos</Table>
		</Row>
	</PostDefines>

Give it a try, I'm wondering whether the game becomes more balanced and remains challenging at the same time.

*Edit - thanks preLynMax!

 

[Pook]

It seems that they get more cunning the higher you go is because they get additional units at the start. This means that as you are just about to roll out your first scout, they have started work on a building, while exploring the world, while their worker is building a farm somewhere.

Totally agree. The AI does not get smarter at higher levels, but it does get more production (and thus more units and buildings), more science, etc. This allows the AI more options.

The question I would ask is "How good are you at militarily defeating an AI foe who outnumbers you 2:1 or 3:1?" To win at higher levels, you'll need to be able to pummel and conquer the AI civs who come at you, without compromising other aspects of your game. The Civfanatics War Academy is well worth reading for techniques to improve your skills.

I'm normally an Immortal player, which does require a bit of chance in my favor (at least when I'm playing). I've stepped down to Emperor to better learn G&K. In G&K, the AI is noticeably better at combat, but still no match for a skilled human.

 

[ense7en]

Emperor.

Immortal and higher the AI get huge bonuses, though Immortal is still doable for less talented players like myself, sometimes.

I could usually do decently with Immortal pre-G & K, but am trying to learn the best way to play G & K presently.

I'd really recommend stopping playing at Cheiftain as it will have you developing bad habits that you cannot get away with at Prince+.

I'd suggest moving to Prince and going from there.

 

[grummor]

thanks for all the suggestions, prince it is then, for a small game of 4 players.
could someone point me to a god guide that explains religion and culture to me plz.
And also, i know i should probably start a new topic but i don't want to take too much space on the forums..

that game im playing right now on chieftain, its getting all kind of messy, and i have no idea how to fix it here it goes:

cities 19:
Happy +19
turn: 280
science ~900
$ +250/t
Resources: lots of iron, some horses, lots of oil and aluminum and coal.

Problem: All my cities but my capital (and those out of influence range (3)) are of another religion and my capital has less pressure than the foreign religion in my capital. I eradicated korea (owner of said religion) and annexed her holy city. Does it mean that korea's religion is now also mine ? Because when i bought an inquisitor from that city and eradicated "foreign" religion from that holy city, well guess what, my own religion that i installed there with a prophet got erased...

Can korea win religiously even though she has no units/cities ?

And if not what am i to do, i mean i have the means to wage war to everyone at once and win without trouble with just what i have right now, which i can double in numbers real quick if necessary, but this whole religion thing, is it even dangerous ?

Any help is welcome and dun worry, im already a warmonger to all of them and will never have friends for sure, so any measure is good, even nuke when i get it.

Oh and how dangerous is a cultural victory by ai ? cause some have already researched 3 branches but i only got 1, should i just kill whoever is closest ? wont take too long.

 

[Eevi]

There is no such thing as a religious victory, to answer your fears about Korea somehow winning 'religiously', so dont worry about that.

 

[PreLynMax]

If you want the AI to play more like the player (e.g. they get less gold and happiness):

Look for GlobalDefines xml file, and change from HANDICAP_CHIEFTAIN to HANDICAP_WARLORD. Then play on Prince.

This is like playing Prince, except the AI will go through some of the challenges you do. You can also change their handicap to HANDICAP_PRINCE but that makes things quite easy unless you up yourself to King or Emperor.

I don't play this way anymore, but think it's more enjoyable when learning the ropes since, when you're learning, it's annoying to see the AI with such high bonuses.

Headcase, sir, you are a genius.
Thank you.
Edit: This value is in GlobalAIDefines.xml, under the XML/AI folder, not GlobalDefines in the main XML folder.

 

[Ghonasiflaids]

Emperor. Though technically the 'fairest' difficulty is prince.

 

[afedyuki]

Just play with all the default settings and "Prince" difficulty. You don't get handicapped more on higher difficulty levels, the AI gets buffed instead. Picking lower difficulty (from my experience) results in learning bad habits such as not managing your happiness.

Pick a civilization that is "simple" i.e. does not require understanding of all the nuances (such as which great people, wonders and religious beliefs to pick) in order to play it properly.

India would be one such example, just go "tall" and you will be fine.

 

[BobDole]

The best difficult is the one you can handle: where you're challenged, but the game is still fun. But in my opinion, with where I am, the most overall "fair" difficulty is Emperor. It's the last difficulty where the game feels sort of fair (even though it isn't, obviously). I have no trouble winning on Immortal, but the AI gets some cheap bonuses to start off, so it's near impossible to build early-game Wonders, found an early religion, etc. unless you really commit everything to it. You're basically behind the entire early-game.
Anyway OP, just stick at a low difficulty till you grasp the basics. Then, you'll be able to go up the difficulty levels with some work.