I am not able to beat Monarch difficulty!

[benjamin28]

Yes, from the first time, with the Japanese. It was a conquest, against Babylon, Persia and China! And all thank to your advices.
Im very happy. Thank you

Ah, I used to despreciate the Religious' power (maybe because Im atheist) but I will shut muy mouth from now (I told my sister "No, is better scientific"...)

 

[Vinz Clortho]

Glad to hear you beat Monarch level.

But personally, I always play the Germans. I see you chose the panzer as your icon.

I love getting a Golden Age in modern times, or thereabouts. However the last game I played I was going for the diplomatic victory (not easy!) and I waited until I had built the Internet before getting my GA.

My opinion is that militaristic and scientific is the ONLY way to go. Religious is for the civs that eek by, but never really amount to great things. But that's just my prejudice.

Keep up the good strategy though, and try beating the game on the same level but with different victory conditions. It's fun to learn!

 

[Vinz Clortho]

by the way in that last game I didn't get elected as U.N. leader. Korea had built the UN but never allowed a vote to be held. So in my frustration I invaded their country and took the city that had the UN Building. But by then there were only four civs left, and every time a vote came around invariably they voted for themselves making a dimplomatic victory impossible.

But I did finally beat the game (I'm playing C3C on Demigod level) through the Space Race.

Oh well. Better luck next time.

 

[saintly_saint]

I don't know how much value this advice is, but every time I play on Monarch I do the following if I'm in a weak position: i sign an ROP with all my neighbouring civs, the main reason being that it tends to prevent the from attacking you for at least 20 turns, and then refreshing them once in aawhile

 

[Cedrick]

Originally posted by Fanny Brice



A-ha! That is the secret when the AI is ganging up on you as you mentioned. Make allies with them before they make allies with your enemy.

This was a key lesson which took me too long to learn. Once it hit me on the head, I felt silly for not realizing it earlier.

I've been playing Civ since #1 and this worked well until this version. Now I seem to be running into something of a problem. In half my games I make a trade and an alliance against a Civ at war with me only to find my ally declaring war on me and allying with my enemy a couple of turns later! The only way I have mitigated this effect has been to keep nearly half my army facing my ally Sure makes for a very long war

Am I missing something that has changed from the previous versions of the game? Before my alliance would usually last 20+ turns before I had to do something to keep my ally happy

 

[benjamin28]

Well, thanks for the advices, again!
I used to play ALWAYS with the Germans, my favourite civ, since I discovered the Persians. But I hate Xerxes, and I cannot wait till having PTW to use the Ottomans.
But the Germans are still the best (for me).
The ROP is a very good advice, I didn't know it.

Ah, and I'm the winner, once again! The Japanese, Monarch, Domination victory, against the French, Chinese and Persians, these last very hard to beat.

Benjamin

 

[Vinz Clortho]

Cedrick,

Is your problem that you sign a peace treaty with the civ you allied against before your ally does?

I notice that if you form a military alliance against a civ, you really need to stick to war with that civ until your ally decides to sign a peace treaty. Then you're free to end the war. Unless you're hopelessly outnumbered, it's the only way to keep an ally.

If you sign a MA, and then make peace with your enemy, you'll find your ally all of a sudden is furious with you, and given the right condition, will decide that you look like an easier target than the civ you allied against.

For instance, right now I am playing a game where I am sandwiched in between the French to the North, and Vikings to the South. The (polite) Rampaging Vikings declare war on me for no reason. So I enlist the help of the French and sign an alliance against the Vikings, and a right of passage for the French so they can move freely about my country. About 50 turns later I had taken three Viking cites to the West, while the French forces ran interference to the East. Eventually my counter offensive stalled, and I said "that's it". I signed a peace treaty with the Vikings. But now my bosom buddies the French hate me and won't even trade 1gp for 1gp.

Not like I care. The French are scientficially backwards and pose no threat. I used them and let them mutilate their own forces while I increased the size of my ciz. Who cares what happens to them now?

Try that with a civ larger than you and you'll be sorry.

 

[Frimlin]

Definitely if you coerce a neighbouring state into helping you in a War, then you make Peace with the enemy before your neighbour has, you're going to annoy them.

It can really spoil a game when you've hurt your reputation with a strategically friendly nation -- recently I annoyed the Byzantines just enough so they'd never even consider giving me Oil and Saltpeter again without paying through my teeth in Techs and gold.

If you're about to make peace, declare war...etc then it really pays to check out the status of your agreements with friendly nations -- take a look at it from their perspective. In most cases if it seems like your action would insult *you* in that position, then they won't be impressed by it either!

 

[akillias]

Lol i had the same problem until i managed to use the auto production feature to get more military units, i didnt notice but i wasn't producing enough military units.

 

[EddyG17]

Easy... look. Before starting your game select the option that gives you a king and NO BARBARIANS (not event sedentary) and select an agricultural civ. Now in your first turn put the science spending to 100%, and research polytheism( for the temple of artemins). with your capital city build warriors as long as it takes you to reach a city size of 2. Use your king and warriors an explorer, but dont use the explore button instead go to the around your city. Once you have a size 2 city build a settler then a warrior then a settler then a warrior then a wonder. By the time you have a settler your treasury might be shrikng don't worry because it will take you less than 10 turns to settle (you might have already found a place where to settle. try to fing a river, surrended by grassland, if there are luxury resources just one tile away from the river stay in the river, you need a productive city more than one with luxuruies.) in this city build a worker if by the time it is finished it will have a size of 2 if not build a warrior and then a worker then a settler and then a wonder. your are now building two wonder i recommed the pyramids in capital and the temple of artemis in your second city.
Try to keep exploring with you king. with the cities that follow never go for resources but productivity(shields or settler factory, you only need one if you found one) Try to alway build a worker then a warrior and a settler first. by the time you contact another civ don't panic they will have 5 or 4 more tech than you, whatever you do dont trade techs with the AI they will not have ceremonial burrial, and polytheism. as soon as you are don with polytheism go for the Great library incase the AI wins you with any wonder you'll notice that with 100% sicence alphabet is 5 turns and that wiriting only 8 or 10. until you don't make contact with another civ don't trade tech. once you do don't trade polytheism or ceremonial burrial. If you selected the mayas when you finish the pyraminds you'll hit a golden age thus giving you a bost with your second wonder, the temple of artemis. Use your catipal city held your second city by building settlers when your are finished with the ToA lower your science spenditure to 50 or 70 percent. Once you have 10 to 15 cities start your military. Check you military advisor to see how many free unit you can build.

If in the Industrial age or late medeival age the AI offers you a tech they just dicovered for gold or another tech during the AI turn take it. when you are taking a tour througthout your empire just before you can do anything hit the diplomacy button and trade the tech the ai gave you or the one you gave or o both.(remember you still can't do anything yet, no building orders for your cities, no orders for your units) bucause if you wait until it is officialy your turn the AI would have arealdy trade techs.

this worker for my in Emperor but the AI trading sutff worked on diety and sid too.

 

[The Lodian]

I am having my own problems on Monarch level. Could somebody describe step-by-step how they start out & win a Monarch level game. I am have trouble mostly on the tech aspect of Monarch level

 

[EddyG17]

1)Start out with a 100% science.
Go for a wonder (in your case the great Library)
lower the the science budget as you see entretainers pop up and increase the entretaiment budget.


2)Don't trade tech until the last monent.
check if the ai has the technology, if it does reload the last turn and trade. That way the turns the AI spended researching will have been wasted.

3)When you decide to strat building improvements lower the science budget. Becuse building units will not hurt much because you have free units but there is no free improvements

4)remenber The more cities the better
researching requieres gold, there are 3 way to get gold, build cities, more people in your cities and from another civ. Choose more cities first.

 

[wilbill]

Originally posted by The Lodian
I am having my own problems on Monarch level. Could somebody describe step-by-step how they start out & win a Monarch level game. I am have trouble mostly on the tech aspect of Monarch level

Learn to trade techs and buy them. At Monarch, I find it possible to pretty much stay even through the Ancient Era and overtake the AI's in the Medieval or early Industrial.
If you're willing to put a little time and effort into it, you might consider joining a Training Game in the Succession Games subforum. Here's a link

Sirp's Monarch Training Game

to one that really taught me a lot (I didn't participate, just followed along as it was played out). Succession Games are a really good way to learn the tricks of a higher level.

@ Eddie G:

2)Don't trade tech until the last monent.
check if the ai has the technology, if it does reload the last turn and trade. That way the turns the AI spended researching will have been wasted.

Actually, it's often better to trade techs as soon as you discover them. The fewer civs that already know the tech, the more you can get in trade.

 

[Grotius]

I hardly qualify as an expert, but I do beat Monarch and Emperor level consistently, though I struggle at the highest levels. People have already made most suggestions I would make, but I would add a couple:

1. Don't save-and-reload. It will get you into bad habits, and if you ever try to compete in the Game of the Month, you'll be at a big disadvantage. Even if you don't want to compete, you'll develop sloppy habits -- making ill-advised attacks because you know you can always reload, timing tech trades in a particular way because you know you can undo your mistakes, etc. It's more satisfying to win after you've taken your share of lumps and fought back. And save/reload is the one cheat that is NOT available to the AI.

In fact, I wish Civ 3 had an "Iron man" setting akin to that of Alpha Centauri, one that precludes you from reloading.

2. To echo Ision's post from another thread, try not to get in the habit of "always" doing something. That approach again will ultimately limit your abilities. Play different civs to try to win with different traits; pursue different types of victories; build different wonders; play as a builder, warmonger, culture-monger, scientist. Lately I've taken to setting everything -- even my own civ -- to random. I'm also going to try the GOTM.

These two suggestions not only will help you improve, but will also make the game more fun, IMHO.

 

[EddyG17]

true, you'll get more gold but if your objective is beating the AI with techs then...

sometimes i don't even trade techs because if you finish a wonder then the AI will swicth to another and maybe a good one or i just don't go as fast and stay with that AI (50% or lower).

One thing you can do is start to build a wonder or a palace so by the time you can build a more important wonder you swicth that way you have better odds of finishing the wonder.

I remember that when i started if i though there was no way to win then i will restart the same game from 4000BC. what could i have done different?

 

[EddyG17]

Start your own scenario, put all resources near you, start with some cities and wacth what the AI play.

 

[Aeon221]

Diplomacy and trading is the only way to go. You can sell everything and end up way ahead of the computer in tech, even on emporer and up, just because it lets you focus on the major techs while the computer grabs all the little unimportant ones that are needed to get to the next age. If you dont trade at all, you end up so far behind that all you can do is pray that the computer doesnt feel like beating you into a pulp.

Make sure to always give the weak computer players little presents of technology to keep them in the game. They make a valuable contribution in the form of decoys if a really powerful nation invades you. Plus on emporer and up they build massive armies of crap to compentsate for their bad technology. Nothing quite like watching a stack of 75 archers from one computer wipe out the tanks sent to invade them by another computer. I nearly died laughing.

Byzantines are the best, imho, b/c they get the bonus of science AND seafaring, which means a huge research bonus right from the start! AND the dromon is the only bombard capable ship until the FRIGATE. With good D, you can play like Athens did in the Pelopnessian Wars and totally dominate the map with ease.

Has any1 else built the statue of zeus? That thing is really nice to have if you want to wipe out some ppl for free.