how do you engage in early war?

[lamner]

So far, I'm frustrated with this game. I'm good at old civ games, awesome at alien crossfire, suck at civ3.

Been reading through this group (a lot), got some nice tips, still can't seem to get the hang of it. Trying an "early war" strategy which is not working.

Easiest level, got that mastered. They are so lame. Actually, easiest level is kind of a challenge because they suck so bad, takes awhile to get some "resource trading" in.

Anyway, I'm trying 3rd level (uhh, dang, forgot what that is, after warmonger level), and.. I'm really lame. Warriors attack my spearman, spearman die. I attack warriros with my swordsman, swordsman die.

Question is, what's the best way to engage in "early war". I keep getting my butt kicked.

Thanks,
Lamner

 

[tx_civ]

Plan on losing a lot of units, and ALWAYS attack from an advantageous spot if possible (ie, mountains, hills, forest...)

Something to give you an edge in the combat...

 

[enelrad]

I have learned this one from experience as well as from Civ Fanatics.

Find a good unit production city and build a baracks there. It is worth the time and the production to do so.

 

[Grotius]

I agree that a barracks helps; it's one of my first builds. Terrain also makes a big difference, as someone already said; use hills, forest, etc to your advantage. Consider building walls in border cities if they're under 6 pop and growing slowly, or if they have no fresh water source (which means no growing past 6 without an aqueduct).

Perhaps most important, you need a large quantity of good units to accomplish anything militarily in this game. Crank out lots of your best offensive units. This implies that you need a functioning economy pretty quickly, and indeed you do. If your economy can't pump out good units every few turns, then you might consider resorting to population-rushing to crank out barracks and units in one turn, at a cost of a pop unit. I hate doing that, though; the happiness penalties can be steep.

Oh, and garrison cities with 2-3 good defensive units, more if the city is a border city. When it comes to garrisons, quantity is at least as important as quality. One great unit will sooner or later fall to a determined assault by lesser units.

 

[Ironikinit]

Pick a civ that is militaristic and/or has a good early special unit.

 

[BillChin]

There are a lot of ways to go. I'll outline the method I use on Emperor difficulty, standard size map, random civ, default Barbs.

I research the Wheel so I can see horses on the map. I build two settlers as fast as I can, before building temple, granary or barracks. I put these first two cities very close to the capital, often one square away on the diagonal, or two squares away on the straight. I usually build 8 to 15 cities depending on how much open land I can claim. Meanwhile I try to get Iron Working and Mathematics, by trade or research.

During the build out phase the enemy makes all sorts of demands, and I give them whatever they want as I am not ready for a war, though I do have a lot of warriors to be a paper tiger. After the build out of cities, I build 20+ horsemen (mostly veterans) and maybe two catapults. I pick one enemy. I bribe the others with 1 free gold per turn. I attack in force and crush the enemy. Works like a charm, no matter how bad the starting position or how strong the enemy on Emperor difficulty. A similar strategy will work on Monarch and Regent.

The catapults come in handy if the enemy has pikemen (or Hoplites or Legionaires). Against spearmen and warriors the Horsemen have a relatively easy time.

The only hitch is horses, if no horses go for swordsmen. If no horses or iron, trade for one of them. I've started over 20 games on a standard size random map, and never had a case where I'm lacking both. In only two games (about 10%) was I unable to claim a horse icon with my fourth or fifth city because this is the top priority with this strategey.

 

[Allemand]

Larger maps give you more time to prepare, assuming you haven't increased the number of civs. At Regent level and on a huge map with 8-10 civs, you usually don't have to go to war until the 2nd era, when knights become available. That gives you more time to grow. I garrison my cities with only one defender (spearman), except for those cities close to the other civs, and keep a mobile force of horsemen ready for contingincies. The AI counts workers as "military" units, so you can build lots of workers and get more respect, too.

An early war (with horsemen) sometimes occurs, and a good road network is vital. You need to be able to move extra horsemen to the trouble spots very quickly. I think 10-12 horsemen are sufficient until Knights become available, unless you become involved in a major war.

If the AI makes demands, always make a counterproposal. Offer them something and ask what they will give for it. That usually keeps them happy, and you can get out of the negotiation a lot easier (without making them mad).