I am WAY to timid in this game I think....

[Traflagar]

I tend to avoid wars wherever possible but I sit there playing, usually on par or ahead of my nearest competitor. Usually they are not very friendly with me because I tend to befriend the weaker civs for some reason. But for the most part I am usually quite happy when someone declares was against me because it suddenly spices the game up.
I guess I should take a more aggressive approach and start a few wars of my own but for some reason I just sit back waiting for the other civs to attack me. I recall for years ago playing CIV2 a lot that it wasn't always wise to be the aggressor and it could actually harm your score and other civs opinion of you.
Maybe I should just play a game with the 'war always' setting. I am not famaliar enough with the game to know when and when not to attack my neighbors. Anyone got some pointers along those lines?

 

[Meffy]

Your rep will do better if you let others fight you. OTOP, if you take the initiative, you get to strike first. What level do you play at? (Probably higher than me, in which case any detailed advice I could offer would be of little use to you.)

 

[Danghis Khan]

Don't be nicey nice with everyone. If they don't like you feel free to hate them back. Then through your diplomatic finesse, make sure that everyone else hates them too (get them to cut off trade, religious differences, etc.) If they become the world outcast then other civs don't mind so much when you decide to put them in their place. Besides, the diplomatic penalty for starting a war is only -1 (well more for the civ you attack) so just make sure you're doing other good things for your neighbours and don't get too carried away with attacks. Oh, and as for baiting a civ to attack you, you can get up to a -10 rating for just making arrogant demands, a sure way to make an enemy for life.

 

[ditb]

I usually play the "friendly" way as well, but last night I started shaking down Cyrus for some gold per turn. He didn't like me to start with, so now he is paying to hate me.

I am going to try and go the warmonger route next time around, but who knows if I'll actually be able to pull the trigger.

I am still too new to have tried the "war always" option. That sounds scary to me. LOL

As long as you are having fun with it, enjoy!

Dave

 

[Cirdan C.]

Yeah, I also try to avoid war. But if someone's boreds are sneaking up on mine, and preventing my borders to expand I'll attack(And only if they have a weak army). In this last game Gahndi's boarders grew right between my two cities. So I declared war on him, and currently still at war. Japan is also creeping in on my land. I might have to go to war with them next

 

[Yzen Danek]

Very few leaders ever freed neighboring subjects from the yoke of tyranny without taking an active 'interest' in their well-being.


(And in Civ game terms, a win is far, far more assured if you at least absorb a couple of neighboring Civs early on.)

 

[Blazer6]

I used to think that way, then I tried harder levels with more aggressive settings and ended up with maps that were just made to halt any expansion attempts. I grew tired with being stuck with bad starts and angry neighbors who had more land than three of my starting islands.
Marathon games forced me to build large armies since it is so boring as a builder, so now I attack anyone who is near me just to get them off my back.

 

[Larsz]

I recall for years ago playing CIV2 a lot that it wasn't always wise to be the aggressor and it could actually harm your score and other civs opinion of you.

Heh, I remember milking the score in CIV2. You got bonuses for how many turns of peace you had (or was that original CIV?). So....go to war with everyone right away, pin them down to one city, peace treaty and then play peaceful and generous until you reached alpha centauri.

As for CIV... Military has been the hardest for me to learn. Specifically, the huge impact it has on your economy. Previous Civs were easy, just had to deal with unhappy citizens. Anyway, digressing. I have been doing alot more warmongering lately and it is alot of fun, especially if you do alot of politiking alongside. In my latest game, Izzy and I are best buds and are having a blast razing the other civs.

 

[balthamael]

I originaly played peacefully,but i no play the Warmonger, as soon as my expansion thru building is stopped, i turn on my military. i often start by destroying a neighbour, simply to have room to expand later.