How do Can I stop cities from being captured by culture?

[MarkJohnson]

I keep losing my captured cities that are on the borders, when I'm at war, to friendly AIs. I am late game right now and I just wiped Saladin off the map. Alexander and Cyrus are all around me. My city is on the border of both these guys (2 Cyrus cities and one Alexander city) with only 4 workable tiles. After quickly building Theatre, Library, and 2 temples I lose it to Alexander. I was about to pay for the University to be built when it was all of a sudden in Alexander's control. The city did revolt a couple of times. I don't exactly know how I lost it, but we weren't at war and I don't know what else took it? Maybe espionage?

Anyway, I lose a lot of boarder cities during every game and was wondering what steps I can take to prevent it?

Thanks
-=Mark=-

 

[PieceOfMind]

What you experienced was a culture flip. Since it is late game, those two rivals would have been accumulating their culture on that tile for a long long time. Once you took the city, all of a sudden you were competing with established culture from the neighbouring civs and were bound to lose it to culture flip.

To reduce the chance of the city flipping or going into revolt, you can station a larger garrison of troops in the city. I can't tell you how big it needs to be but it's probably more than just a few units.

By the way, you always get a warning revolt before you lose the city to a flip. At that warning revolt, you probably need to decide fast what you're going to do with the city, because it won't be long before it flips. In other words, the warning revolt is telling you the city is ready to flip.

EDIT... Espionage can only be used to incite a revolt. These revolts only last one turn and as far as I know they cannot cause a flip. I think you should be able to tell the culture revolts from the duration (more like 5 turns or so, depending on the size of the city)

 

[MarkJohnson]

What you experienced was a culture flip. Since it is late game, those two rivals would have been accumulating their culture on that tile for a long long time. Once you took the city, all of a sudden you were competing with established culture from the neighbouring civs and were bound to lose it to culture flip.

To reduce the chance of the city flipping or going into revolt, you can station a larger garrison of troops in the city. I can't tell you how big it needs to be but it's probably more than just a few units.

By the way, you always get a warning revolt before you lose the city to a flip. At that warning revolt, you probably need to decide fast what you're going to do with the city, because it won't be long before it flips. In other words, the warning revolt is telling you the city is ready to flip.

EDIT... Espionage can only be used to incite a revolt. These revolts only last one turn and as far as I know they cannot cause a flip. I think you should be able to tell the culture revolts from the duration (more like 5 turns or so, depending on the size of the city)

ah, that must explain why my two other cities didn't revolt and were in much worse condition(Both cities' tiles were almost completely surrounded by the friendly city's borders. The other less bound city only had a few troops, while the other two cities had almost a dozen in each (which was my attack army). I guess next time I'll have to watch that revolt and reinforce my cities. It also explains why the AI always leaves a huge army on newly captured cities all the time.

Thanks for the help
-=Mark=-

 

[Bluestew0]

There is an option in the custom game setup to disable city flips via culture. Turn that on and you won't have that issue anymore.

 

[MarkJohnson]

There is an option in the custom game setup to disable city flips via culture. Turn that on and you won't have that issue anymore.

lol - I've been tempted to disable a lot of things, but I feel like I'm cheating and don't enjoy my victories as much.

also, I'm trying to flip that city back now that I have grown some. I usually focus on culture a lot in most games. Is there some tips someone can suggest for flipping them back. I know there is a plant culture espionage option, but I never use espionage much and usually fail on my missions and provoke war -lol.

here are my cities I'm trying to flip.

Greek City of Najran: (46 Defenders!!!) - lol, I smell war brewing.
22% Greek (Alexander)
54% Celtia (me)
22% Persian (Cyrus)

also, Kublia Khan snuck in and planted a city in the middle of a group of cities I captured at the end of my conquest.

Mongol City of Darhan: 8 Defenders
24% Mongolian (Kublai Khan)
64% Celtic (me)
11% Persian (Cyrus)

 

[Meanness]

In most cases, it's hopeless unless you're willing to garrison a huge stack there. The AI has been hitting that tile with culture for 1000 years, so when you show up suddenly and build a theater, it's too big a mountain to climb. You won't have time to overcome the huge lead the AI has built up over all that time. I generally take the core cities of an empire and burn everything on the borders, since you won't be able to hold them anyway.

Are you going for a cultural victory, or just trying to protect your new conquest? If I'm getting overwhelmed with culture by the AI, I usually just attack them. If you want to fight back with culture, I'd suggest spamming border cities and turning up your slider. If you can get three cities hitting a tile with culture, it's a lot more effective than fighting back with just one.

 

[Justy]

Doesn't a courthouse cut down on the flip chance?

I'm always addicted to culture in my games so I really don't experience flips against me. I'm always flipping border cities.

 

[Nestorius]

It actually says in the city screen the percentage change that a city will revolt, so you can just move troops over until that percentage goes to 0%.

A funny thing I noticed is that more advanced troops have better police capacity. For example, you will need many archers to reduce the revolt percentage the same amount that one infantry unit would.

 

[Stolen Rutters]

I keep losing my captured cities that are on the borders, when I'm at war, to friendly AIs. I am late game right now and I just wiped Saladin off the map. Alexander and Cyrus are all around me. My city is on the border of both these guys (2 Cyrus cities and one Alexander city) with only 4 workable tiles. After quickly building Theatre, Library, and 2 temples I lose it to Alexander. I was about to pay for the University to be built when it was all of a sudden in Alexander's control. The city did revolt a couple of times. I don't exactly know how I lost it, but we weren't at war and I don't know what else took it? Maybe espionage?

Anyway, I lose a lot of border cities during every game and was wondering what steps I can take to prevent it?

Thanks
-=Mark=-

If the cities I took are going to be on my border for awhile, I make sure I have a cultural buffer zone. I will continue the attack and completely raze the next line of enemy cities just beyond where I want my new border... without foreign cultural pressure, my new cities won't flip.

edit - oops, you said friendly cultures... I guess I would let them flip to help my allies out, but that's just me.

 

[Lemon Merchant]

Slightly related question: If you capture a really important city and it's under cultural pressure, can you burn a Great Artist there for any effect? I know there is an immediate benefit, but does the effect last with the continued influence from the other civ?

 

[neckface]

Originally Posted by Bluestew0
There is an option in the custom game setup to disable city flips via culture. Turn that on and you won't have that issue anymore.

lol - I've been tempted to disable a lot of things, but I feel like I'm cheating and don't enjoy my victories as much.

Just to clarify--there is the option to disable captured city flips via culture. I love it.

 

[MarkJohnson]

In most cases, it's hopeless unless you're willing to garrison a huge stack there. The AI has been hitting that tile with culture for 1000 years, so when you show up suddenly and build a theater, it's too big a mountain to climb. You won't have time to overcome the huge lead the AI has built up over all that time. I generally take the core cities of an empire and burn everything on the borders, since you won't be able to hold them anyway.

Are you going for a cultural victory, or just trying to protect your new conquest? If I'm getting overwhelmed with culture by the AI, I usually just attack them. If you want to fight back with culture, I'd suggest spamming border cities and turning up your slider. If you can get three cities hitting a tile with culture, it's a lot more effective than fighting back with just one.

I always prepare for cultral victory, especially when I have the upper hand in culture wonders. But this time it is more for production and I need more cities and with workable tiles. I probably should use my cultral slider more, but usually I set my research beakers to max as possible with gold getting the only extra percents.

It actually says in the city screen the percentage change that a city will revolt, so you can just move troops over until that percentage goes to 0%.

A funny thing I noticed is that more advanced troops have better police capacity. For example, you will need many archers to reduce the revolt percentage the same amount that one infantry unit would.

Where is this located at? I couldn't find it in my city maintenance screen nor by hovering over my opponent's city.

If the cities I took are going to be on my border for awhile, I make sure I have a cultural buffer zone. I will continue the attack and completely raze the next line of enemy cities just beyond where I want my new border... without foreign cultural pressure, my new cities won't flip.

edit - oops, you said friendly cultures... I guess I would let them flip to help my allies out, but that's just me.

Yeah, normally I raze as well so I don't get upset that I lost a city, but I was way behind in development so I took all of them this time. Surprisingly I only lost 1 city. Maybe I'll start taking them all the time if the flipping will help. If it gives a friendliness bonus of some sort anyway. I guess I could even use them for trading as well, at least once the population hits 1 that is

Thanks again for the help
-=Mark=-

 

[Stolen Rutters]

I always prepare for cultral victory, especially when I have the upper hand in culture wonders. But this time it is more for production and I need more cities and with workable tiles. I probably should use my cultral slider more, but usually I set my research beakers to max as possible with gold getting the only extra percents.



Where is this located at? I couldn't find it in my city maintenance screen nor by hovering over my opponent's city.



Yeah, normally I raze as well so I don't get upset that I lost a city, but I was way behind in development so I took all of them this time. Surprisingly I only lost 1 city. Maybe I'll start taking them all the time if the flipping will help. If it gives a friendliness bonus of some sort anyway. I guess I could even use them for trading as well, at least once the population hits 1 that is

Thanks again for the help
-=Mark=-

I don't know of any bonus, unless you just give the city to the friend who is culturally pressuring your new conquest (so you can get the trade relations bonus). If it flips from the pressure, I think it just helps make your ally stronger by one city.

 

[MarkJohnson]

I don't know of any bonus, unless you just give the city to the friend who is culturally pressuring your new conquest (so you can get the trade relations bonus). If it flips from the pressure, I think it just helps make your ally stronger by one city.

That's bunk. I was hoping for a more advantagous reason to capture unwated cities. I guess just trading for techs or something might be worth it at times.

OK, I just got the Mongolian city to flip to me. I don't really want it. If I say no to the, "No, disband the city", will it be destroyed, or does it go back to the mongols? or does it become a new AI? or become barbarian? - lol

-=Mark=-

 

[Bluestew0]

Just to clarify--there is the option to disable captured city flips via culture. I love it.

No, the options are to disable any city flip from culture AND to allow a peaceful flip after recapturing a city you previously owned.

 

[PieceOfMind]

That's bunk. I was hoping for a more advantagous reason to capture unwated cities. I guess just trading for techs or something might be worth it at times.

OK, I just got the Mongolian city to flip to me. I don't really want it. If I say no to the, "No, disband the city", will it be destroyed, or does it go back to the mongols? or does it become a new AI? or become barbarian? - lol

-=Mark=-

You can either disband the city or keep the city. If you disband the city it is destroyed. For memory I don't think you get a penalty for razing the city either.

What I found interesting is that when you choose the option to keep the city and then give it back to them right away (by trade table) then the city will never flip to you again, even though it continues to get dominated by your culture.

I noticed this in a game where I was going for culture victory. Once I had turned up the culture slider to 100%, my island city far away was extremely out culturing a rival's city beside it. It flipped, I accepted, I gifted it back, and it was then almost completley useless to that rival.

I assume it can't flip to you after liberating it to the AI so that you don't exploit this mechanic to constantly get the "You libereated one of our cities".

 

[Berba]

I don't know if anybody mentioned this but if you Custom Game you can turn off Cities switch from culture....