Help winning at Demigod

[Ringo Kid]

Help me! Help me??.

Jumped in over my head a bit and playing a demigod game.

Byzantines, Islands, standard settings , Conquests.

Seven other civs as I recall.

I got lucky on the start, an island with just the Americans and me on it.

I researched straight to Philo and took lit as a free tech, then got lucky again with a Sci great Leader so built the Great Library immediately.

As a result tech has been no problem.

Just got Chiv from the GL and am beelining for Cavs. Destroyed the Americans so I own the island now.

I figure a military victory is my best shot.

My question is should I switch from Monarchy to Rep? I have two luxs and my nearest island neighbor is a weak England with two other luxes. The risk is that they share an island with the the strongest Civ, the Sumerians. So I am not sure I want to go after them only to lose all I gain to the Sumerians. There are weaker, smaller targets, but they are at a greater distance and dont have those luxes.

Would I be better off going builder and trying for a Space Race? Which would be easier, do you think?

 

[Ringo Kid]

Screenshot.

 

[Spoonwood]

I think builder easier and faster. But, if you want to do that now, get to Education ASAP and put in those universities. Then probably Banking, Physics, Theory of Gravity and trade for the rest. Sell trach for gpt also. Get some more workers also, as you'll want faster growth now and in the industrial age once you have sanitation.

 

[vmxa]

You should be able to do any of those things. You are already in Monarchy, so I would stay there. This will let you take as much time as you want to pound your friends.

Lots of dromons, they are brutal in these games and just make the Byz too strong for island games. Lethal bombardment in the AA, that is nasty. Once you have a couple of more islands, you can reconsider.

You may want to go for a more peaceful finish at that point.

 

[TheOverseer714]

When you are Byzantine on an Archi map and England is there too... get them before they get you, they are usually my prime enemy, and they get stronger the later the game gets.

 

[Ringo Kid]

Well, I did attack England and took some of their land, but then the Sumerians attacked me- and to avoid their getting the territory I gave the towns back to England.

So I guess I need a "plan b".

 

[Ringo Kid]

Well I managed to retreat into my one walled town on the Sumerian Island. I filled it with trebs, cannons and muskets. The Sumerians sent stack after stack of cavs at it. This led to lots of elite promotions and victories for me as my knights killed the cavs that had been bombarded down to the last hp - with the help of my Dromon fleet as required. LOVE THOSE DROMONS!! The mighty fire-spouting Dromons have also sunk every Sumerian ship that they have seen. With no losses. None. Every ancient Dromon I built centuries ago is still active and deadly in the age of Frigates and Galleons. (Except the occasional explorer lost in unsafe seas)

Right now I have two Cav armies , MI army and a Musket army pillaging the Sumerian Saltpeter cities and surrounding chokepoint area. After I weaken them a bit I will start taking down their towns and replacing with my own. Death to the Sumerians.

Question; Is a captured town a safe place to heal an army? I thought I read somewhere that a town wont rebel when an army is stationed there. That true?

 

[Racinante]

Question; Is a captured town a safe place to heal an army?

Absolutely not, last night I lost a wounded cav army when the town flipped.

 

[Ringo Kid]

Thanks. I just rested four armies in a captured town for a few turns. Wont do THAT again.

My armies advancing on a saltpetre and ivory site, after pillaging the area. Next target the chokepoint w/saltpetre at Umma.

 

[Jokeslayer]

The more units you put in a town, the lower its flip risk. I don't know how many it takes to make it 0, but if you're putting a bunch of armies in together it's safer than just one.

 

[Ringo Kid]

Thanks.

Looks like I may be able to win this one. I am now number 2 on the score chart, and as soon as I have the tech to transport my armies overseas, i think its mass production that allows transports, I forget- I will start pounding the Portugese who are number one. I have been at war with them for most of the game, but they have been too powerful to invade. I have one 3 cav army over there pillaging - to slow them down, but they have a tech lead anyway.

But I have a strategy in mind that I think will insure my navy remains the strongest.
I plan to build lots of carriers and bombers, and station them so they control the oil sources. Weak civs with oil will be conquered, strong ones bombed or pillaged by my armies. If I deprive the other navies of oil, I can keep control of the seas after my dromons are obsolete.

I have switched to Communism from Monarchy for more science and unit support/production.

 

[vmxa]

It is combustion that has Transports. Good luck.

 

[Ringo Kid]

Whoops, time for plan c.

Portugal got bombers and wiped out my pillaging army. Ouch. Cant say I blame them though, as that one army had been pillaging improvements and slaughtering workers for a couple centuries.

In my new, improved, guaranteed never to fail strategy- I built a fleet of transports and thirty war ships ranging from Battleships to Dromons , loaded it with my strongest armies and infantry- attacked the weakest portugese town in bomber range of their capital and largest cities- burned it to the ground- planted a new town and moved in my air force.

A large battle ensued in which Henry hit my beach-head town with a ton of bombers, tanks, a battleship, and assorted infantry and guerillas. I lost three of my seven defending armies, but my fighters and flak destroyed about half his bombers, while the armies supported by the main battle fleet killed all his attacking tanks and infantry and sank the battleship for good measure.

Win or lose this game has been huge fun.

Going forward the plan is to bomb all squares within range of the air force, while building a massive tank force which will burn the weakened cities to the ground while the fleet attempts to destroy the Portugese Navy. On this map, most of the large cities are coastal, so Henry's HUGE Navy should get weaker and weaker as his harbors are destroyed and damaged ships have to go further and further for repairs.

 

[Ringo Kid]

1932 : In a massive naval engagement near the Viseu oilfields, the main battle fleet, supported by the air force, sighted a Portugese fleet including 3 carriers, 2 battleships and numerous smaller warships. All were sent to the bottom. Our glorious fleet was unharmed. Meanwhile our armies are preparing for the assault on the Portugese capital.

 

[vmxa]

Sounds like you are having a good time. As long as you can with stand the assault on a beach head, that is the way to go. It lets them waste their troops. Were you able to get up a wall or a barracks upon founding?

I prefer a barracks, if am expecting waves as that lets my unmoved units to fully heal.

 

[Ringo Kid]

Well, yes I built a barracks - but they bombed it and destroyed it. I bombed all the roads and rails and in fact every square in range of the beach head. So the enemy keeps sending tanks in my direction, I bomb or bombard them - and they turn around before getting close enough to attack. So in this case the barracks is not required. At least not after I removed all the roads.

 

[vmxa]

Works for me. Bombers makes you change tactics, till you can trim the number. Try to have 4 Sams in any stack you send out. That will eventually pare down those bombers.

You could use nukes, if you are that far, but that spoils the fun and is less rewarding IMO. I prefer to struggle along and grind them down.

 

[Ringo Kid]

Yes, I think what I have learned here is that bombers are important against an AI with lots of units. Even though the AI had tanks against my cavalry at the start of the invasions- lots of bombardment is the key. Actually coastal bombardment from ships, artillery or bombers are all good- you just need lots of them. The thing with the bombers is the range- you dont have to move them around so they spend almost every turn attacking something.

Its up to 1956 and I have finally taken the number one place away from portugal, and my military is strong compared to his. My weak spots are culture and tech .. so I am concentrating on improving those areas. I am about 75 units over my allowable support, so am trading luxs for about that amount of gold ; so I can keep the science research at a high level while still pounding the Portugese cities into dust.

I want to grab the United Nations to keep it away from the AI so I am prebuilding and researching in that direction now. No one has even gotten to space flight yet, so I dont think I can get beaten in the space race, I think the UN is the only risk of loss for me at this point.

 

[Ringo Kid]

Its 2010 now, and I am going for the Spaceship victory.

If I can get the research in before times runs out that is.

I got tired of beating on Portugal and declared peace, gaining 1000 gold in the bargain. I traded some of the space techs to spain for 2000 plus cash per turn to speed up my research. Its set at 100 percent, going to be close.

 

[TheOverseer714]

Make sure to watch for trades, the AI might do some research for you.