How to Outresearch AI on Higher Levels (Monarch and Above)

[Gufnork]

If you're on your own island, make damn sure that you get a religion, since you have no neighbours to give you any.

 

[anton_z1]

I disagree. Pillaging is extremely effective.

The "mother of all pillaging" is putting an archer on your opponents first source of bronze. This is extremely effective. Because all your opponent can build is archers or horses, if he is lucky.

If your stack of pikes and horses marches around the enemy cities, pillaging the towns and farms, it's actually quite the same, just later in the game. "Opponent has no money for research" = "opponent builds low-tech troops". Your stack of pikes and horses returns home and gets upgraded. But your enemy does not have the tech and does not have the money to upgrade his troops. -> You take the city. The war is won.

About outresearching... It is possible, I was outresearching my opponents late game on monarch level. In the middle ages it often looks like being outresearched. But with free religion, representation, maybe mercantilism and a decent population it is possible to keep up.

Removing Iron or Bronse from your opponents is so sweet . However i leave them horses to waste their production on (As is they could do anythig abians my Strength I,II and III spearmen MUHAHAHAHA).

I don not usually pillage towns, because they would be very soon mine.

Ouressearching is not the essential. I have 70% scinece on emperor and i have by 30% the highest score, while being late on tech comparing to the last score ******ed Ghandi. You simply need to make sure, that AI doesnt have too many advanced units compared to you. (IE swordsmen are not good against crossowbomen).

Great Marchands are essential if you ahve a huge military.

 

[Amenhotep IV]

I've just finished my first Emperor peaceful standard map Space race victory and in this game I managed to outresearch the AIs as early as during the times you research Education. In early times I was several techs behind even the weaker AIs, but since I was 1st to research liberalism I stayed on the lead with 1-3 crucial techs until the end of game (however while I was finishing the SS the AI almost catched up).

The key for peaceful victory is good location with good resources and not too many cities. I had only 5 (+one on tundra to get marble), but they were all fantastically located with plenty resources, so around 1000AD all had pop 10+ and were running really fast (all had academy later on). And I could keep the science at 70%+ all the time (100% later) because of low mainteinance. Great culture gave me also 4 border AI cities (all poorely located though). Important factor is also a river with flood plains -> you just build plenty of cottages and see they grow while your city grows too (I had two 24 cities and three ~17), unlike on plains or grasslands.

 

[circuitloss]

I honestly think Mansa Musa has cheat codes. Every single time I learn a tech he always has it, even though he didn't have it the turn before I learned it. I think he automatically gets any tech that any other civ has. No, I'm not serious, but it certainly seems like it. If he's in your game it's like moving the difficulty up a notch. I wouldn't hesitate to wipe mansa out early in any game I find him in because he's such a tech whore.

That's funny, because that's how I feel about Hatshepsut. Every time I see her smug, smiling face in a game I groan...

I just KNOW she's going to wipe the floor with me in tech... That's when I mobilize the tanks!