how do you use your specialists?

[web25]

i switch all mine to tax collectors and engineers in cities where im building a wonder.

is it worth switching all specialists to scientists to help get a tech early? or going the extra taxes route for science?

 

[Puppeteer]

I try to avoid specialists. If I can't keep a pop happy and working then he should be on a settler or worker to be productive somewhere else.

In cities that are more than 50% corrupt after a courthouse I'll either have them on 10-turn workers or make a specialist farm for gold or research as needed.

 

[splunge the 2nd]

Avoiding population unhappiness. Starving down a captured city and avoiding unrest with flipping. Single scientist research strategy. Specialist farms in corrupt towns that are on fertile land. I've never used a police and infrequently use engineers.

 

[Core Imposter]

I don't see them as being strategic options but rather a way to optimize based on exactly what you need.

Engineers are insanely powerful.

 

[PaperBeetle]

Depends on the game. Specialists are much stronger in C3C than Vanilla/PtW because (a) taxmen and scientists get more commerce, (b) engineers and cops exist, and (c) you can't build a second core so will have more towns which can't become productive enough to beat being run as a beaker farm.

 

[Aabraxan]

There are a variety of ways to use specialists. Happiness control, extra shields, specialist farms, etc. I like this article: The Role of the Specialist Citizen.

 

[Theov]

I use them to exactly not waste any bulbs. For the rest, I avoid them like the plague, or only in distant cities for bulbs.

 

[vmxa]

Yup specialist are not so great in C3 or PTW as they give 1 commerce, 1 beaker and there are no Civil Eng.

They are very important in C3C, even at low levels. I played out civ4lyfe's 700AD and late in the game I had 600+ scientist (1295 pop). Some of the MA techs could be done with 0% slider.

Scientist are the most for the buck as you get 3 beakers, rather than 2 gold. These of course are regardless of the corruption or the slider. Once I get rails, I maximize as many towns as I can to make food so I can have the max scientist in that town and feed it with the min citizens working.