Huge Map...Monarch Difficulty...Conquest...No Razing

[Helmling]

That's my goal. I have never won in Conquest on Civ4. The costs just seem so prohibitive, but I absolutely have to take on this hurdle.

I know the obvious stuff--Pyramids to get State Property, build courthouses like mad, conquer every shrine you can spread the religion, but it just doesn't seem like enough.

What am I missing to make a large-scale conquest game work?

 

[r_rolo1]

Helmling, in first place (trying not to be picky) you can't get State property with Pyramids... only the left column (Depotism to US).
I think the best way to acheive your goal ( never tried something like that, my old computer .... ) is to have a SE and a good warmongering leader ( Toku, one of the Ceasers, even one of the Khans), maybe some early ReX, and only start a war to with precise goals ( destroy or cripple badly an AI). And of course, all the stuff you said .

P.S: In warlords, if you vassalize all of the AI, it's a Conquest Victory too. And be sure to toggle Domination out...

 

[Helmling]

Yeah, sorry, I didn't mean state property.

SE is what again?

 

[KMadCandy]

SE is what again?

you're thinking Representation for every specialist to provide beakers i bet.

 

[Helmling]

Actually, no, I thought there was a civic under "government" that helped with a large empire.

This shows how I play though that I've never wanted to use it before. I'm usually a utopian builder so I always give my people representation or universal suffrage. I don't even know what the other ones do! (well, except for hereditary rule which I've used as a stop gap sometimes)

 

[r_rolo1]

SE - A somewhat misleading jargon that stands for Specialist economy. In short words, farm whatever you can to have food enough to transform some of your citizens into specialists ( scientists, merchants priests, artists and engineers). Then build libraries and "hire" scientists to do your research and lower the money bar. Use the saved cash to pay maintenance costs and/or buy/upgrade army ( first one requires Universal Sufrage). Using this modus operandi is not so easy as cottaging , but is more flexible, and allows earlier conquests ( hence my recomendation ) .
Advice : Works better with Pyramids ( Early Representation is like having extra scientists, Early Universal Sufrage allows you to buy an army, Early Hereditary rule or Police State allows y to deal better with the inevitable War Weariness ( happy face per military unit in city or reduced War Weariness, with the candy of accelarated military produciton) )

 

[Whitefire]

That's my goal. I have never won in Conquest on Civ4. The costs just seem so prohibitive, but I absolutely have to take on this hurdle.

I know the obvious stuff--Pyramids to get State Property, build courthouses like mad, conquer every shrine you can spread the religion, but it just doesn't seem like enough.

What am I missing to make a large-scale conquest game work?

Is this Warlords or Vanilla?

What leader are you using? I would suggest Mansa Musa, but Spiritual+anything is probably your best bet. With such a large empire, you will appreciate being able to jump from "builder" civics to "aggressive" civics without the turns of anarchy.

I would use the Oracle to slingshot to an early Code of Laws. It will give you a religion, an early GProphet, especially if you build a temple and run a Priest specialist in the city with the Oracle. The Pyramids would be useful for Police State and Representation. And it's even more useful if you're spiritual .

After that, whip Courthouses and work on grabbing an early Steel. I would actually recommend you save any GE that spawns in order to lightbulb it for Steel. Cannons will let you conquer a huge swath of land before any AI picks up Assembly line.

I'd have more tips, but I haven't played an un-modded game in well over a year. Although, I'm sure you could pick up a few new ideas from some conquest games I posted for Rhye's and Fall.

 

[Spammurabi]

Also, don't forget to turn the Domination victory option off- if you're not going to raze, you'll almost certainly fulfill those criteria before Conquest.