biohazard72
Prince
Which strategy is superior?
1. Horsemen come out earlier, so you can take down an enemy Civ well before Rifles are available. But they are slower, and have a counter in Spearmen/Pikemen, which the AI can tech and produce quickly. This strategy also allows you to save culture for social policies outside of Rationalism, like the Honor policies to double EXP or Liberty ICS policies. There is a chance that going this way allows you to avoid the lower part of the tech tree for some time (perhaps indefinitely), allowing better buildings to be built earlier, and quicker access to important techs such as Railroad - but warfare will be more difficult. Easier access to Frigates, and some nice Wonders as well.
2. Riflemen are indeed stronger and stay useful for a long time (no counter either!). Warriors can be produced en masse during the waiting period for Rifles so army size should be large, and with such a tech advantage, Rifles are not in danger of perishing for some time. Rationalism helps you tech faster as you conquer due to the bonus on specialists and trading posts. This player is better set up to get artillery as well, with quicker entry into the Industrial Age. However, policies beyond Rationalism will be harder to come by, and they will be slower to techs like Steam Power, Replaceable Parts, and Railroad.
I think Rifleman beeline will end up better because it should tech faster with easier warfare, mitigating the advantages the Horseman player may gain from ICS and skipping the bottom half of the tech tree. There are probably some wrong assumptions on my part and some variations on each theme, but my gut says Rifles are better.
1. Horsemen come out earlier, so you can take down an enemy Civ well before Rifles are available. But they are slower, and have a counter in Spearmen/Pikemen, which the AI can tech and produce quickly. This strategy also allows you to save culture for social policies outside of Rationalism, like the Honor policies to double EXP or Liberty ICS policies. There is a chance that going this way allows you to avoid the lower part of the tech tree for some time (perhaps indefinitely), allowing better buildings to be built earlier, and quicker access to important techs such as Railroad - but warfare will be more difficult. Easier access to Frigates, and some nice Wonders as well.
2. Riflemen are indeed stronger and stay useful for a long time (no counter either!). Warriors can be produced en masse during the waiting period for Rifles so army size should be large, and with such a tech advantage, Rifles are not in danger of perishing for some time. Rationalism helps you tech faster as you conquer due to the bonus on specialists and trading posts. This player is better set up to get artillery as well, with quicker entry into the Industrial Age. However, policies beyond Rationalism will be harder to come by, and they will be slower to techs like Steam Power, Replaceable Parts, and Railroad.
I think Rifleman beeline will end up better because it should tech faster with easier warfare, mitigating the advantages the Horseman player may gain from ICS and skipping the bottom half of the tech tree. There are probably some wrong assumptions on my part and some variations on each theme, but my gut says Rifles are better.
