Great Merchant bulbs

[ShengWuLien]

I've been playing around with the X-Bow/Treb rush using the Machinery and Engineering bulbs from early Great Scientists. More than anything else it breaks up the monotony of teching to Lib (with bulbs), grabbing MT, and ruling the world with mounted warfare.

I'm interested in trying to use Great Merchants to bulb Guilds and go to war with early Knights.

I searched around but couldn't find anything on GM bulb paths or strategy for this.

Any recommendations?

 

[Habitus]

Great Merchant:
Currency
Banking
Economics
Corporation
Metal Casting
Code of Laws
Mining
Constitution
The Wheel
Alphabet (BTS)
Pottery
Sailing
Paper
Railroad
Industrialism
Monarchy
Civil Service
Guilds
Fascism
Mass Media
Agriculture
Writing
Mathematics
Printing Press
Flight
Machinery
Replaceable Parts
Satellites
Mysticism
Priesthood
Divine Right
Nationalism
Calendar
Scientific Method
Medicine
Horseback Riding
Compass
Steam Power
Future Tech

http://www.civfanatics.com/civ4/strategy/greatpeople_tech.php

 

[ShengWuLien]

Okay, I've seen that. But I'm looking for something a bit more detailed.

In other words, what techs do I need to have/not have in order to bulb Guilds with a GM?

 

[Habitus]

Its not easy, as you need to skip Maths + Fishing, know Currency, Alphabet, and Code of Laws on top of usual Guild requirements. The no Maths stops you using a Great Scientist for Machinery bulb and a Great Merchant will bulb Maths before Machinery so can't even use that. A Great Engineer bulbs Guilds easier but are harder to generate.

 

[barbertje]

Okay, I've seen that. But I'm looking for something a bit more detailed.

In other words, what techs do I need to have/not have in order to bulb Guilds with a GM?

You need machinery and feudalism to get be able to research or bulb guilds. You also need currency, code of laws and alphabet, or the GM will bulb that. If you have mathematics, the GM will bulb civil service first.

I don't think you can bulb feodalism, and you can only bulb machinery with an engineer (because a merchant or scientist would bulb math first), so you probably need 2 quite expensive techs early.

 

[coanda]

Avoid Mathematics. Either avoid Fishing or get Sailing.

Research/bulb Writing -> Alphabet -> Currency -> Code of Laws.

Research/bulb Monarchy -> Feudalism (usually done via the Priesthood line, but you can go via Monotheism if you prefer).

Research/bulb Mining -> Bronze Working -> Metal Casting -> Machinery.

Make sure you have The Wheel and Pottery.

Now you can bulb Guilds.

 

[Habitus]

Easiest Way would probably be to Oracle MC, use forge to run a engineer in another city, and then tech writing - alpha - currency - col and run merchants in 3rd city to get a GM after the GE is produced. Bulb machinery with GE, tech monarchy + feudalism and then bulb guilds with GM.

 

[ShengWuLien]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. Sounds like it might have some problems as a viable strategy, right?

 

[Keilah]

It might be doable. You can likely trade machinery + something for feudalism, and MC for currency & monarchy. AI seems to take forever to be willing to trade CoL so you probably need to self-tech that. On Immortal you'd reach guilds at around t110 or something, which is very respectable.

 

[ecuwins]

Easiest Way would probably be to Oracle MC, use forge to run a engineer in another city...

That pretty much sums up the GE > Mids gambit right there.

The key is to get the forge up, in a second city, with the quickness. Pre-chopped forests are almost a requirement. The philosophical trait comes in handy when doing this.

 

[Grashopa]

Get BUG, it shows what each great person will bulb in the research interface. You can then test out different research paths.

 

[GGracchus]

Early MC for forges, run an engineer, tech IW, feudalism, machinery, and you need to avoid math for the construction bulb and engineering bulb, that should get you to guilds using 1 GE.

 

[Keilah]

1 GE, and the low low cost of self-teching machinery + feudalism

 

[GGracchus]

Tech trades

 

[Keilah]

??? but what are you going to trade for those super-expensive techs? (plus the AI doesn't usually get fast machinery)

 

[GGracchus]

You can trade MC for monarchy(this assumes you oracled MC), then trade machinery for feudalism or something. The AI does go for monarchy/feudalism.

 

[hr_oskar]

I would say not particularly viable. The GM only bulbs half of Guilds and by the time that tech becomes available you're often better off just doing a trade mission to be able to tech it at 100% instead. Successful bulb strategies should involve bulbing what can be bulbed with least effort and benefit and then researching the rest; planning on early Guilds I'd rather find ways to bulb MC and/or Machinery for example.

The most viable GM bulbs in my mind are either Currency or Civil Service. The CS bulb opportunity easily comes up with early CoL (opening up both CS and caste). The Currency bulb is a consequence of building the Great Lighthouse on water maps; if you then run some scientists in the GHL city and end up with a GM, you might want to bulb Currency. Those aren't awesome win-strategies by themselves, just possibilities worth keeping in mind for the right situations.

 

[hr_oskar]

Oh wait I forgot Metal Casting is bulbed before Civil Service. That must be why I haven't actually bulbed CS that often, though I never fail to be intrigued by the possibility The chance can still come up sometimes but the need for MC does make it a lot less likely.