How to use GPs and general mid-game strategy?

[kriceless]

Fairly new player here, I played a lot of Prince and King to try out the community balance patches. While I moved away from the base game's growth, population and science focus, I realized that it's really hard to focus on just one side of the game, and it's even harder to try and be competitive in all facets. I tried moving up to Emperor as I started to win a lot in King and played as Babylon. I focused on scientists on my capital. I don't know how to manage the other yields (production, food and especially culture) and I think I am using my Great People wrong. I went Authority>Artistry>Rationalism because I wanna try Raging Barbs with the 3rd/4th UC of Babylon. Every GW/GA/GM I get i just pop for Great Works, Prophets (3rd Prophet onwards) to spread to my neighbors and Scientists for Academies. I realized halfway through Renaissance that I'm behind 3 policies and 2 techs from the top AI and we are opposite sides of a Pangea map so I cant feasibly attack them while defending against 2 hostile neighbors. I spawned in the corner of the map and rather rough terrain forced me to play defensive rather than offensive since my two neighbors decided to do a defensive pact.

Should I just start popping Writers/Scientists for Culture/Science? Should I switch my production to Arts during golden ages? When should I plant/pop Engineers and Scientists? Is it wrong to exceed the 'allowable' number of specialists because it causes urbanization? I picked Babylon because I thought I can be slightly ahead in techs especially against non-rationalism AIs but I seem to struggle in the middlegame and especially in deciding GP usage.

 

[Fluffball]

Regarding great people, as a general rule i always build guilds when available and work the specialists in them as a priority past that it depends a lot on your policy path and your general situation.

If going tradition i try to work all specialists in my capital apart from great merchants which i never find worth it as towns aren't particularly great and the gold bump from using them isn't really anything special either, certainly not worth working specialists for. I do tend to eventually get a merchant at some point and they can be useful for the WLTKD if only to reset the luxury resource requirements in each city.

If going progress or Authority i tend to stick to scientists as the main focus as you can't go wrong with science but probably on working them up to urbanization cap. I tend to academy them until probably quite late on, generally around the city or cities with the most +x% modifiers to science. I usually do a rough calculation, if science from bulbing diivided by number of expected turns left is greater than the science per turn i would get from planting an academy i start to consider bulbing them.

Engineers can be useful in the right situation but i don't tend to find focusing on them to be a huge benefit. I tend to get a few when playing tradition as working them is good then and maybe the odd one with progress or authority as i may work an engineer in a hammer poor city and if i plant or bulb them depends on if i have a wonder i am trying to rush specifically.

For culture great people it depends a lot on if i am going tourism or sometimes the civ i am playing.e.g. persia benefits from golden ages. Great writers i tend go for a great work until that is no longer possible as they run out quite early on. Great artistist i tend to go for golden age i am in catch up mode as the general bump in resources can speed you along but i feel pretty good about the state of my empire or going tourism i will go for the great work. Great muscians i go for great work unless specifically going tourism as there is no benefit otherwise.

Prophets i tend you use for holy sites as they kick out a good amount of faith and as the game develops they gain a lot of other good resources too so holy site become really great tiles in the mid-late game.

In general, 3 policies and two techs behind is not a great deal. The two techs in particular could even just be because you beelined some expensive techs and skipped some cheap ones which happens to me a lot when i focus toward a tech and then when i go back and fill in the lower techs i skipped i end up with parity or even ahead in tech count. Even if that isn't the case two techs behind is not really much too worry about as long as you are focusing on your needed techs and getting them before or around the same time as the AI so you can compete for wonders or keep military tech parity. If i have a troublesome neighbour and focus on military techs i can fall behind in tech count but get the next era units before them which is much more important as having more modern units is often a huge advantage in combat.

Being a couple of policies behind is also not that big a deal as you don't get such a huge boost to getting to ideologies first like you used to and letting the AI get an ideology first can actually be useful as you can pick the same ideology as them to make friends or stay friends or if you think they are going to pressure you heavily with tourism.

 

[CrazyG]

Should I just start popping Writers/Scientists for Culture/Science? Should I switch my production to Arts during golden ages? When should I plant/pop Engineers and Scientists? Is it wrong to exceed the 'allowable' number of specialists because it causes urbanization? I picked Babylon because I thought I can be slightly ahead in techs especially against non-rationalism AIs but I seem to struggle in the middlegame and especially in deciding GP usage.

Plant until industrial, pop great people after that is a pretty good to get started with.

Main exception would be engineers, generally a wonder is stronger than a manufactory.

I do often use the arts process during golden ages starting around the renaissance. It's especially strong if you can stack it with the world's fair bonus and faith purchasing great writers.

 

[tothePAIN]

If you can time a great writer for during a golden age, its still worth it to pop the great writer earlyish.

The actual culture from a great writer as a work of writing doesn't add that much once you get to them mid game - almost always worth it to pop it unless you're going for some sort of specific theming bonus. Great artists and great musicians are worth making into great works for longer.

 

[Floats your boat]

Is it wrong to exceed the 'allowable' number of specialists because it causes urbanization?

Absolutely not! There are tradition games where all or most of my unhappiness comes from urbanization in the capital. As long as you have happiness do it. Many times working a specialist gives you -1 unhappiness for some need, especially poverty and illiteracy, so you are not loosing any net happiness. And many times getting GPTI from working that specialists will give you another -1 for some need. Slowing growth slightly, while having more science and production is the way to go in the mid-game many times anyway.

 

[andersw]

Fairly new player here, I played a lot of Prince and King to try out the community balance patches. While I moved away from the base game's growth, population and science focus, I realized that it's really hard to focus on just one side of the game, and it's even harder to try and be competitive in all facets. I tried moving up to Emperor as I started to win a lot in King and played as Babylon. I focused on scientists on my capital. I don't know how to manage the other yields (production, food and especially culture) and I think I am using my Great People wrong. I went Authority>Artistry>Rationalism because I wanna try Raging Barbs with the 3rd/4th UC of Babylon. Every GW/GA/GM I get i just pop for Great Works, Prophets (3rd Prophet onwards) to spread to my neighbors and Scientists for Academies. I realized halfway through Renaissance that I'm behind 3 policies and 2 techs from the top AI and we are opposite sides of a Pangea map so I cant feasibly attack them while defending against 2 hostile neighbors. I spawned in the corner of the map and rather rough terrain forced me to play defensive rather than offensive since my two neighbors decided to do a defensive pact.

Should I just start popping Writers/Scientists for Culture/Science? Should I switch my production to Arts during golden ages? When should I plant/pop Engineers and Scientists? Is it wrong to exceed the 'allowable' number of specialists because it causes urbanization? I picked Babylon because I thought I can be slightly ahead in techs especially against non-rationalism AIs but I seem to struggle in the middlegame and especially in deciding GP usage.

(Im not up to date with 3/4th uc)
Authority is not just barbs its also tributing CS and a LOT of wars for best results.
Peaceful authority lose a lot of oomph when barbs stops spawning.
You can cheese wars with Babylonian Bowmen, range 3 with indirect is great.
While not impossible I find artistry a bit weak when used with authority.
I dont focus that much on science as authority (maybe I should focus more), and try go for production and culture first.
2 techs behind is fine, 3 policys is a bit much ... but it also depends, what civs were that far ahead? I find some very strong in AI hands (compared to human).
I usually try get one pair of writers but doesnt mean that is 100% correct and pop the rest, artists depends if I get golden age points enough or not, I try to use some as GP and then pop for loooong golden ages.
Im not sure about scientists but I plant them until renaissance, roughly the same with engineers unless there is a wonder that I really would like.
What does your religion look like?