Wang Kon is fast becoming my favorite leader. Korea was a civ that I originally scoffed at, mostly because of the Protective trait. Some civs make better use of Protective than others. China, for example, gains access to free promotions on its powerful Cho-Ko-Nus; so there's a synergy there.
In Korea's case, Protective may or may not be all that useful in a single-player game. In multi-player, however, it can be a real boon. And in both cases, it acts as an insurance policy against early attack while you beeline to Construction, your cottages working over-time thanks to the Financial trait.
What this means is that, even if Wang is boxed in to 1 or 2 cities, he can quickly raise an army of several Hwacha - quickly being the key word. The fact that these amazing units require no resources is also key. What Wang Kon has is an extremely effective warring strategy that is totally independent of starting land or resources.
By the time you field some of your shiny new siege weapons, you can expect little more than a few Archers in enemy cities, and a defensive bonus of no more than 40% in the capital.
The potential weak point is lack of production. Of course, Slavery always works if you have lots of food but few hammers. And the Hwacha is such a great unit that you don't need that many of them. (In multi-player, one would do well to choke Korea ASAP is he's anywhere near you; delay his Construction beeline, and then delay his production if he ever gets there.)
Then finally, there's the Seowon. Consolidate the gains made by your destructive sound and light show with super-charged universities, and an economy that's humming with extra-lucrative cottages! There is great synergy here from the moment you start building cottages - it's just harder to see than with some other leaders.
So that's my salvo to Wang Kon, in my view a leader who is strong in every situation, even multi-player. Maybe I'm too enamored with the Hwacha - after all, it just gets a bonus to melee, right? But it essentially replaces Axemen due to that fact, making your early-game strategy much less dependent on bronze. Bring along a War Elephant or a couple of Archers for defense, and you can walk all over your ancient-era foes.
In Korea's case, Protective may or may not be all that useful in a single-player game. In multi-player, however, it can be a real boon. And in both cases, it acts as an insurance policy against early attack while you beeline to Construction, your cottages working over-time thanks to the Financial trait.
What this means is that, even if Wang is boxed in to 1 or 2 cities, he can quickly raise an army of several Hwacha - quickly being the key word. The fact that these amazing units require no resources is also key. What Wang Kon has is an extremely effective warring strategy that is totally independent of starting land or resources.
By the time you field some of your shiny new siege weapons, you can expect little more than a few Archers in enemy cities, and a defensive bonus of no more than 40% in the capital.
The potential weak point is lack of production. Of course, Slavery always works if you have lots of food but few hammers. And the Hwacha is such a great unit that you don't need that many of them. (In multi-player, one would do well to choke Korea ASAP is he's anywhere near you; delay his Construction beeline, and then delay his production if he ever gets there.)
Then finally, there's the Seowon. Consolidate the gains made by your destructive sound and light show with super-charged universities, and an economy that's humming with extra-lucrative cottages! There is great synergy here from the moment you start building cottages - it's just harder to see than with some other leaders.
So that's my salvo to Wang Kon, in my view a leader who is strong in every situation, even multi-player. Maybe I'm too enamored with the Hwacha - after all, it just gets a bonus to melee, right? But it essentially replaces Axemen due to that fact, making your early-game strategy much less dependent on bronze. Bring along a War Elephant or a couple of Archers for defense, and you can walk all over your ancient-era foes.
