Immortal Russia Photojournal (of an amateur)

Chapter 11: World War!
Spoiler I. Enemy Worker Shot and Knossos Captured! :

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Knossos is surprisingly easy to take. It's not on a hill and there's a hill where my trebuchet can safely fire from its location in the screenshot. My heavy skirmisher is also getting some nice experience in the process by doing hit and run. That's two cities gone for Greece so I'm making steady progress. There's one more city that's relatively easy to take but then it will get more difficult with their more defensive cities.


Spoiler II. Authority Tree Completed :

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We have completed the Authority policy tree. Got some extra combat strength and now have access to mercenaries. The irony here is that, if I forget to use my gold as seen here in this screenshot, I can use them to purchase some units with full experience if I need some units quickly. I still don't know why I forgot to use the gold when it's definitely stocking up and wasted.


Spoiler III. The Fall of Sparta :

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Sparta is the other city I said would be easy to take. It's on flat terrain while there's another hill my trebuchet, the same one as earlier, can fire at will. I don't even know if losing Sparta really hurts Greece given their number of cities but I like the fact that I can finally strike back, though the war is going very slowly as I don't want to lose any units in the process.


Spoiler IV. Peace Deal Brokered :

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I definitely had the option to keep warring with Alexander but I decided to end the war. I don't know if it was a good idea or not. If I keep conquering, I'll be seen as a warmonger and probably make more enemies. I also want to be on good terms with America since they are the best ally to fight against the Celts as America is quite powerful. I still have a hard time determining when to end wars and when to continue. For this decision, I still don't know while writing this update and playing further along.


Spoiler V. Goliath Standing Strong! :

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The Celts have made many enemies and currently in two undecided wars. However, they are holding their own and I'm worried if the Celts can be stopped. For me, I need to use the peace to build up my infrastructure more. I also need to plan for a future war with Greece. I have defeated them but Alexander still has his capital. Something tells me that he won't be happy with his losses recently.



And that's it for this chapter. Next chapter, we will see if another war is around the corner. :)
 
Will you complete your tradition tree?
Or choose another medieval tree?

I will choose another medieval tree. I don't see completing the tradition tree as important for now and the new tree I have in mind should help me more overall.
 
Chapter 12: A New Enemy!
Spoiler I. Leading the Pack...for Now :

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The wars with Greece do have one major benefit. It forces me to build up my military and get lots of happiness to ensure lucrative wars with captured cities. I was surprised that I'm ahead in technology but I doubt that will last too long. The Celts are rapidly expanding at this point and their AI bonuses should see them making large progress during their times of peace.


Spoiler II. Slight Boost to Tech :

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For whatever reason, I thought I already got the citrus monopoly. I guess I still don't have enough workers at this point to connect everything. Steady progress is made and, once Greece is conquered, I'll also get the gems monopoly which will give a nice boost to my economy. Things are going smoothly but another war with Greece would be necessary to finally end this threat to the north.


Spoiler III. Time to End This! :

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I wasn't surprised one bit when Greece declared war. They weren't happy with me taking three of their cities last war but I guess they expected a different outcome this time. It's time for me to conquer a few more of their cities and vassilize them. I need to focus on other civs like the Celts if I don't want the AI to snowball too much. Now, I hope Alexander enjoys Athens while he still has it.


Spoiler IV. New Enemy Emerges :

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Well, I was trying so hard to befriend Washington and he decides to do this. It's clearly a new dark age when America attacks a Russia that has been fighting mostly defensive wars. I'm not quite ready to take on America yet so I will try my best holding my ground until he loses interest. Alexander is who I want to go after for now. Washington will just have to wait in line.


Spoiler V. Goliath a New Ally! :

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Following the war with America, the Celts asked for a declaration of friendship. I knew this would sour my relations with other civs but I don't care anymore. We saw what happened when I try to be nice with America. Being friends means she shouldn't (there's still a chance) attack me which should give me room to expand. There's so many wars to be done and so little time. Let's hope the Celts don't snowball too quickly.



And that's it for this chapter. Next chapter, we will see the defensive war against the warmongering America and Greece. :)
 
Chapter 13: War Happening in the Background
Spoiler I. Securing a Key Wonder :

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Given that the Celts also went Authority, I was expecting them to secure this wonder to give them a boost to their units. Luckily, that isn't the case and I get a much needed boost to my army. At this point, I need all the edge I can get since war seems unavoidable with my neighbors. Greece should fall this war and America looks like the next major foe I must deal with. If America couldn't slow the Celts, then they aren't very useful as an ally.


Spoiler II. An Enemy in the South? :

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Ethiopia has been largely quiet so far. Other than their war with Greece awhile back, Ethiopia has joined no other conflicts. As our borders begin to conflict with one another, I worry about a war with them. The issue is that, with my troops largely preoccupied with fighting America and Greece, I'm not in the best position to defend myself. Therefore, I just hope that they hate my warmongering and leave it at that.


Spoiler III. Time to Adopt Fealty! :

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I certainly had the option to finish Tradition but I feel its benefits aren't enough at this point. I'm taking Fealty for a few reasons. First, the policy tree makes buildings cheaper in terms of faith so I can get monasteries and orders in all my key cities. I believe this also applies to universities and stuff from Jesuit Education but I'm not certain about that. Cheaper missionaries and inquisitors should help tremendously too, especially inquisitors with them countering other faiths.


Spoiler IV. Goliath Can be Generous! :

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I certainly didn't expect this gift from the Celts but I'm not turning it down. It's a huge boost to my economy and the AI is making gold hand over fist. I'll use this to strengthen my empire so I can one day take on the Celts for control of the world. Now, I still need to remember to put my gold to good use and that will take awhile. I have to do quite a bit to close the gap between me and the Celts right now.


Spoiler V. Holding Off a Major Threat :

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War with Washington was never planned. I'm glad they lost interest and caused minimal problems for me. With them out of the war, I can now focus solely on Greece to remove them as a threat. Interestingly enough, American soldiers focused on Knossos and that city proved to be very good defensively. I had a crossbow and a tercio and they essentially held the line for me. Reinforcements were needed but the two of them sufficed.



And that's it for this chapter. Next chapter, we will probably see the conclusion of war with Greece. :)
 
America may just have been brokered to war, in case you didn't check for it. How is their relation with the Celts? After your declaration of Friendship, that could be a main determinant of how Washington will approach you.
 
America may just have been brokered to war, in case you didn't check for it. How is their relation with the Celts? After your declaration of Friendship, that could be a main determinant of how Washington will approach you.

They declared war on the same turn as Greece. I somehow forgot to mention that so it's definitely brokered. The Celts are only on good terms with me and, after my war with Greece, there's just no way I'll be staying on good terms with Washington. I'm definitely not attacking the Celts until I'm even stronger.
 
Chapter 14: Wars a New Norm
Spoiler I. Washington is Keeping Busy! :

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Given that I inflicted so little casualties on America in my war, I'm not surprised Washington is now turning his attention to the Celt. I'm doubtful they will be able to make a dent in the Celts given how little America did in their past wars but this might slow them down. I still have to deal with Greece and progress is very slow with one of their more defensive cities. This could take awhile.


Spoiler II. Arabia Second Victim of Goliath :

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I wasn't surprised that the Celts, following their unhindered growth, were able to overcome Arabia. I can only hope that the Celts don't make further progress. From what I know as seen in the minimap, Austrian territory has some interesting choke points to work with so I hope they won't fall. America is large enough that I doubt they can fall easily. As for Assyria, I'm unsure how they will fare against the Celts. Their territory have a wider border with the Celts so invasion could see them eventually overrun.


Spoiler III. Argos Eventually Cracked! :

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Argos proved to be a very difficult city to take. Its location and the large number of Greek units meant I have to steadily chip away at their defenses which also included their triremes. The single crossbowman made a huge different in helping to shut down all of their units and I was fortunate to not lose a single tercio, though I came close a few times. My tech advantage was key here and I eventually secured the hill for my cannon to finally knock Argo's health down. I was expecting smooth sailing until...


Spoiler IV. My "Old" Friend! :

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Of course Washington decides to attack me again. He isn't even done with his war with the Celts so the AI is likely brokered to fight me. Of course Greece is trying to distract more of my units elsewhere. At the moment, I'm not letting off the pressure on Greece, I will need a few more units to protect my cities from Washington but I doubt America has enough units to fight me and the Celts effectively.


Spoiler V. New Policy Helps a Bit :

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I got nobility which will help speed up armories and castles. The extra bit of happiness might be needed since taking Greek cities will cost some unhappiness. Overall, this doesn't help me too much until I can start shifting my production to castles and armory. For the time being, I just have to position my units properly so I don't lose any while making progress against both America and Greece. I need the end the war with Greece soon.



And that's it for this chapter. Next chapter, we will hopefully see the conclusion of war with Greece and America. :)
 
How are the Celts doing in tech/policies? What is their Religion/Military like?

What policy tree are you going to take next? I assume you're going to stop Fealty at Burghers?
 
How are the Celts doing in tech/policies? What is their Religion/Military like?

What policy tree are you going to take next? I assume you're going to stop Fealty at Burghers?

From the savefile shortly after this update, the Celts are two policies ahead of me (basically ready to take their industrial policy tree) and we are tied in tech. However, you must remember that my science steroids from border growth is slowing down drastically so I expect to fall behind in tech very soon.

The Celtic military is the second largest in the world with America leading the way,, though my numbers and America aren't that far apart so I'd say we're mostly on par. As for religion, the Celts spread their religion to 42 cities. They have Veneration, Theocratic Rule, Synagogues, Dagda The All-Father and Sainthood.

As for policy tree, I'm thinking of Imperialism but we'll get there when I reach that in the updates. Let's just say I saw Imperialism being more beneficial than finishing Fealty at this point. Therefore, I didn't plan on finishing Fealty.
 
Chapter 15: Surrounded by Vassal or Enemies
Spoiler I. Rumor or Truth! :

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When I saw this, I cannot say that I'm surprised. However, I'm not quite ready for a sneak attack from Ethiopia. My main forces are still heavily dedicated with the siege of Athens while the rest is mostly focused on defending against the American aggression. If I can conclude the war with Greece, then I can split my troops between my northern border and southern border. Ideally, I'd be able to rid or severely weaken either America or Ethiopia to avoid fighting on two fronts.


Spoiler II. Athens Finally Falls! :

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Russia and Greece haven't been on good terms for a long time and only the fall of either civilization's capital can dictate who's the victor. The fall of Athens is much needed to conclude the war. However, I don't plan on ending the war just yet. Let's just say that a Greek city would be nice to conquer due to a nice bonus I would acquire from it. At this point, Alexander has lost most of his forces and his ragtag defenders aren't going to put up too much resistance.


Spoiler III. America Intimidated? :

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Maybe the fall of Athens and losing enough units have convinced America that war with me was a poor idea. A white peace is exactly what I hoped for and I gladly accepted it. If I can quickly end the war with Greece, these might give Ethiopia less of a reason to declare war on me. Still, I can still send my forces that were defending against America to fight Ethiopia if necessary.


Spoiler IV. Ephesus Dealt a Cruel Hand :

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Ephesus is the poor city that I wanted to capture. A city state has a quest to capture this and the extra experience for my units will come in very handy indeed. I need higher quality units if I want to fight and win against America. Let's just say that, while America can't make gains on the Celts, I'd need lots of patience and very few mistakes to make gains on Washington himself.


Spoiler V. Let's End this Old Rivalry! :

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The rivalry between Greece and Russia has ended. Alexander agreed to capitulate and Russia has grown stronger. Russia isn't quite strong enough to bully her neighbors but she isn't a pushover either. This will also allow me to focus on two major fronts with my military. One I share with America and one I share with Ethiopia. I expect some grueling wars with those two nations in the foreseeable future but I hope to enjoy some peace for now. I just hope my good relations with the Celts will last so there won't be a third front to fight.


Spoiler VI. About Ephesus! :

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I took the city because I wanted the city state quest reward. However, I don't actually want the city itself. I felt it was better to sell it back to Greece and just be done with it. I'll keep the other cities and I hope Greece will maintain some sort of navy to keep my eastern front somewhat safe since, at this moment, I'll only have two coastal cities with one of them by a lake. I don't plan on investing anything into a navy when I lack enough supply to fight two fronts comfortably.


Spoiler VII. Goliath Took a Blow? :

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Despite being a host, the Celts were sanctioned. I have yet to see sanctions hurt AIs much on this difficulty so I doubt it will slow the Celts down. If anything, I hate it because my trade routes to her were removed. Each trade route was 18 :c5culture: and 3 :c5science: and I can get 4 of them. They were adding a reasonable amount to my empire so I'd say the sanctions hurt me more than anyone. I was considering repealing her but decided that voting for Casus Belli should help me more. After all, I'm not exactly swimming in gold either.


Spoiler VIII. Fighting America on a Different Front! :

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America is proving to be a bigger foe than I thought. While the Celts spread their religion a lot due to their conquest, the American religion is actually pressuring my cities closest to American city. I think Ritual is helping Washington there. I also just realized that fighting to take American territory will be a nightmare since they have taken Defender of the Faith. I'm not looking forward to wars against Washington now, at least not the offensive ones.


Spoiler IX. Guess We Can't Avoid This! :

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It sure didn't take long for the Americans to declare war. However, this defensive war will be different for a number of reasons. First, my war with Greece has ended so I have more troops to defend my front against Washington. Secondly, I got a bunch of fairly experiences units so they will help drastically. Thirdly, I have learn from the previous two wars so Knossos is going to be a fortress to take with my improved positioning of troops. To think that I still don't have my defensive building or it would be practically impossible to take. The only slight issue is that my troops are still in the process of getting into position so it's not fully defended yet.


Spoiler X. Worst Case Scenario Happened :

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War with America was definitely expected. However, I wasn't expecting a war with Ethiopia right now. I have to assume they are brokered into the war but how it happened doesn't matter. I must find a way to deal with a two front war and I hope I can handle it. I greatly bolstered my defenses along here so I don't expect the Ethiopian troops to have an easy time making any progress. Now, it's time to see if Russia will rise or all following the victory over Greece.



And that's it for this chapter. Next chapter, we will hopefully see how the two front war develops. :)
 
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I really love seeing photojournals, I admire everyone of you for your patience.
The capitulation of Greece is the best thing you can do, I think the rest of the game could be defensive battles against america? or you'll continue your journey towards either Ethiopia, America, or even the Celts?
Ethiopia is the easier part I guess, but keep in mind that Celts is at war with other bordering civs, therefore her army could be somewhere.

EDIT: Why'd you take organized religion, I thought you'll beeline burghers, then take the industrial trees?
tbh, that what makes the game confusing, today I learned that taking 2 ancient trees really makes the game odd.
 
Chapter 16: Unexpected Developments
Spoiler I. Can Knossos Hold?! :

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The Americans sure love their lancers and cannons. Their assault has been relentless and my musketman in the city can't afford to heal as I need to inflict more damage. Overall, the situation looks rather dire and I need to get more experienced units, like the one shown in this screenshot, to get here. This was the first war where the Americans have pressured me this much so I was caught unaware. I expected a tough uphill battle from here.


Spoiler II. I'll Take Any AI Mistakes :

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I sometimes wonder what makes the AI decide when wars should end. Sometimes, I'm in the lead in warscore and they refuse to budge. Here, America lost a few units only but they are far from weakening from the war. I will take this opportunity to strengthen my defenses at Knossos so Washington will regret his next war, especially with rifling completing before the next war. I hope Washington likes facing fusiliers and field guns because I'll be merciless then.


Spoiler III. Let's Conquer Southwards! :

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I wasn't planning to attack Ethiopia due to two reasons. First, I don't have that many troops down south compared to my northern front. Secondly, I expected Ethiopia to possess a sizable army to give me a hard time. When I experienced a very passive war from Ethiopia, I decided to push forward a bit and, after ridding some rather backwards Ethiopian units, I captured Pergamon. The capture of this former Greek city has given me the boldness to keep pushing.


Spoiler IV. More Culture Please! :

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You know I'm not taking the wars too seriously when I'm building the Sistine Chapel in my capital. I felt that, with what I have in terms of military and avoiding any big mistakes, I can hold out against my neighbors, though America made me rethink what I need to fight Washington. This hopefully gives me a slight boost in :c5culture: which will help me in the long term. I have much to catch up in terms of policies.


Spoiler V. Ethiopia Gave Up Resisting! :

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I'm still very confused with the limited resistance of Ethiopia since, after killing only a handful of Ethiopian units, I encounter few other hostile units. The knight seen in the screenshot is the only enemy unit that I couldn't kill yet. I suspect that Ethiopia has invested quite a bit in their navy not only to their south but also the lake north of them. As I have no coastal cities to that lake, those ships are practically useless.


Spoiler VI. Marking a New Era! :

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By entering the industrial age with rifling, I decided to take Imperialism to mostly help me afford the upgrades of units. At the moment, my cities are too busy building infrastructure so I can't exactly divert production to build units. There are also nice bonuses like the Great General increased aura radius and bonus. If I wish to take on the Celts that also took Imperialism, I feel like the path for warfare is the only way forward.


Spoiler VII. America a New Goliath? :

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I was hoping America will keep the Celts busy but, instead, Washington is attacking Assyria. One Assyrian city has already fallen and Assur is dropping quickly in health. I don't want to see America also growing stronger since that would see me facing two Goliaths in this game. One is already plenty and, oddly enough, America ended the war with Assyria before taking Assur. I'm glad the AI keep making this mistakes to give me a chance.


Spoiler VIII. Avoiding AI Mistakes :

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I don't plan on making the same mistakes as the AI as I took the Ethiopian capital before I end the war. I hope that I have enough warscore to make Ethiopia my vassal because that will help me in so many ways. I should also emphasize that the Celts are attacking Ethiopia as well and they are closing in. So far, they only took Ethiopian city state allies so I had to conclude the war before the Celts made any progress.


Spoiler IX. Washington Will Feel My Wrath! :

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Ethiopia is becoming my vassal and that will allow me to focus on America. I'm still not ready to fight the Celts yet so America is the next best target. I can pull all my troops from the south save for a few and dedicate them to defending against America and, hopefully, the invasion of American territory. Talk about a quick turnaround after all those unproductive wars with Greece that slowed me down for so long.


Spoiler X. The Celts Keeping their Momentum Going! :

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I was hoping to get the Slater Mill since I need more production in my capital. At this point, the Celts are widening our tech gap and I still lag behind in policies. I know I couldn't get all the wonders but I'd rather other civilizations get them instead of the Celts. I hope they aren't snowballing to a point where I couldn't catch up to them anymore. I didn't suspect that I needed a war with America so desperately to prevent the Celts from taking American cities too. At this point, I feel like I'm racing against time against Goliath.


And that's it for this chapter. Next chapter, we will likely see America declare war on me again. :)
 
I really love seeing photojournals, I admire everyone of you for your patience.
The capitulation of Greece is the best thing you can do, I think the rest of the game could be defensive battles against america? or you'll continue your journey towards either Ethiopia, America, or even the Celts?
Ethiopia is the easier part I guess, but keep in mind that Celts is at war with other bordering civs, therefore her army could be somewhere.

EDIT: Why'd you take organized religion, I thought you'll beeline burghers, then take the industrial trees?
tbh, that what makes the game confusing, today I learned that taking 2 ancient trees really makes the game odd.

I enjoying writing them and learned a fair bit from this one alone. I hope to do more if I get the chance.

As for what happens after capitulation of Greece, you'll see in the latest chapter. I had a bit more time so decided to have two chapters done today.

I took organized religion since I was losing out on religion pressure against Washington. I had to make sure that his religion doesn't overwhelm mine so it's definitely a challenge overall. I have puppets between me and Washington so I was hoping to prevent those from flipping over for long duration of time. Whether or not this is indeed the best option, I'm not quite sure. You said beelining burghers. Does that complete the Fealty tree or do I still need to take all the policies?

I definitely don't see completing 2 ancient trees as beneficial. Even taking just two in Tradition in this game isn't helping me much but I'm fortunate to not lag behind too much.
 
Chapter 17: Race For the Top!
Spoiler I. Dropping in Military Rankings :

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The Celts now have a lead while Washington is a close second. I couldn't even hold the third spot despite Assyria losing its last war and being attacked by Celts as seen in the screenshot. I know I'd struggle to keep up in numbers at this difficulty but I'd like to think that my army is at least top three. Guess I'll need to expand into America if I hope to secure a top three spot in the world.


Spoiler II. I've Seen it Coming for Sure! :

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Well, the situation is different now. I have only one major front to deal with and America is the next logical target. While America does have defender of the faith, they also lag behind me in a few techs so I can use that to even it out. In addition, I have some experienced units that can turn the tide. Of course, I've turned Knossos into a fortress now that I've learned from experience. I hope to turn the tiles around Knossos into a killing field so we can bleed America dry before I make my advance.


Spoiler III. Gotta Stop Making Mistakes! :

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I've taken Martial Law to get some more yields from my puppets. Though, I now question if colonialism would've been better since I have a few global monopolies like spices and citrus that can provide me with more science and culture. I guess I also overlooked the culture and science from barracks and armory. This was a poor choice on my part but I wasn't think at much at the time since the war with Washington is my bigger focus.


Spoiler IV. Assyria Falling to the Celts! :

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The Celtic invasion of Assyria has gained momentum as the first Assyrian city was taken. Nimrud is close to falling and I doubt the Assyrian capital can last long against the Celtic assault. What I'm worried about is the Celts ending their war with Assyria before I can end mine and Boudica turns her attention to America. The two civs might have roughly same amount of military strength but I'm weakening America more than Assyrian can weaken the Celts.


Spoiler V. Gotta Love Those Choke Points! :

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I never thought of Hong Kong as an obstacle to the American advance but they definitely helped. My defenses have been bolstered along all these cities so America better expect some hefty losses with their attacks. I'm fortunate they don't have field guns yet since those will make these rough terrains a nightmare to defend due to their indirect fire. Their lancers don't like my fusiliers too much and my musketmen suffice for ripping apart whatever gets too close.


Spoiler VI. Assyria Becomes More Irrelevant! :

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Assyria not only lost Nimrud and Assur but also Halab. I don't believe the Assyrians have any other cities and the Celts seem intent on removing their presence in this region. Meanwhile, I'm making very little progress as I'm still trying to bleed out the American army and that takes a long time. As for Knossos, the defenses actually become even easier due to Valletta, a city state west of Athens and northeast of Knossos, allied to Ethiopia. They distract American units while a number of my musketmen and field guns, with +1 range, could pick at them from afar safely without my fortress at risk.


Spoiler VII. Dodging a Bullet! :

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Ethiopia decided to suggest the sanction of Russia and I was fortunate I'm on good terms with that many nations, not that anyone was busy voting for it. I do think that, despite all that's happening, having a decent diplomatic standing with all these civs help. Now, Ethiopian troops slowly make their way to America. I'm still very doubtful they'll reach America in time to help though since, by now, I decided to make a push since the Celts have finished their war.


Spoiler VIII. Should've Grabbed this Earlier! :

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I finally grabbed colonialism and it was a huge boost to my science and culture. I will know what to take next time if I'm in a similar situation. As for the war against America, I made a push slightly too soon and lost one or two units for my mistake. I backed slightly and then rid more American units before finally making my push on the closest American city to me, Miami. I hope to finally make my first conquest and use the momentum to push forward.


Spoiler IX. Beginning of Washington's End? :

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Once I got my field guns and gatling guns in range, Miami fell relatively quickly. I had a zeppelin on a mountain to give me some sight so I know when to push aggressive and when to be more defensive. The fall of Miami definitely opens up a lot more options. I also realized afterwards that there's quite the mountain range north of Miami so, once I take Pharsalos, I can defend this area relatively easily while I push westwards to take more cities that the Celts might have their eyes on.


Spoiler X. The Celts Took Order! :

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I plan on taking Autocracy anyways so I'm not bothered by this. However, I don't like how behind I am in policies. I can't worry about that too much for now since I must take more American cities. I wasn't sure how much I wanted to commit to this war but I definitely need to take a few more cities before I even consider peace. I have to at the very least neuter America so they won't cause me more trouble in the future.


And that's it for this chapter. Next chapter, we might see an actual race between me and the Celts. :)
 
Chapter 18: Cutting Up America!
Spoiler I. Isolating American Western Cities! :

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While it may not seem that way, America is getting cut in half with their western cities struggling to get reinforcements. I need to make sure Pharsolas is properly defended so I won't have to worry about any American troops arriving from the east. Now, I do have to push more towards the west. There's a bit of a choke point west of Miami but, if I break past that, Washington cannot stop me anymore as there's a lot of open terrain there.


Spoiler II. The Race is On! :

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The Celts declared war as I expected. The race is on for the American cities because I have slaughtered the American units. Their cities are horribly vulnerable and I have to move quickly if I wanted to deny the Celts as many cities as I can. I already made a push with all my units anticipating this but, given my limited number of field guns, taking cities have been slow and painful. Luckily, I do believe that I tackled through the worst and it's now just a race to beat the Celts to the city captures.


Spoiler III. No more Choke Points! :

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The fall of Philadelphia has certain opened everything up for me. My units are very experienced from the grueling war so I expect to take cities relatively quickly. The challenge, however, is to not deal too much damage to cities so the Celts can just get a free city. They are already quite powerful so I can't afford to give them more advantages than what they already have. I'm just lucky these American cities don't have that much combat strength.


Spoiler IV. The End of Religious Struggles? :

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I didn't know Philadelphia was the American Holy City. This can be huge since I do want to spread my religion to all the cities to get more culture and get a few more votes on the world congress while eliminating the high pressure from Buddhism. Religion, however, isn't huge on my priority at the time since it's the land grab of American territory that's on my mind at the time. I can only hope the Celts' mobilization will be slow at the beginning because I hate to see them cutting me off from certain parts of America.


Spoiler V. Celts Assaults Relentless! :

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I tried to get a melee unit in range of San Francisco but the Celts simply surrounded the city with lancers. I believe the city lasted like three turns so I didn't stand a chance. That's one American city taken by the Celts but I doubt it'll be the last. I have to push on Los Angeles now but I fear about the fate of Boston. Its location makes it ideal in cutting me off from numerous American city so, with a bit of luck and patience, I might be able to barely get it.


Spoiler VI. Gaining Momentum in Taking Cities! :

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Five turns after taking Philadelphia, I got myself St. Louis. I'm fortunate the Celts don't have much presence around this city or it could be difficult. I have ensured that my empire is well connected though this does see a larger front I share with the Celts. War with them is inevitable at this point but I'll worry about that later. I have more cities to conquer and not enough units or time to do so.


Spoiler VII. Assyria Still Lives? :

20180906020835_1.jpg

I'm just shocked Assyria still exists. I couldn't care less about their opinion except for their votes. There has already been one vote to sanction Russia so I expect more in the near future. While sanctions aren't the end of the world, I prefer not to worry about them. The trades have yielded some decent yields and I'd like to enjoy them until I'm basically leading in everything.


Spoiler VIII. Los Angeles Stood No Chance :

20180906021302_1.jpg

The extra range fro some of my gatling guns and field guns makes a huge difference. Los Angeles fell rather quickly and I secured another key city. The biggest challenge for Boston is coming up. As seen in the screenshot, Boston is already taking damage. I have a fusilier in range but the Celts have two tiles for their melee units. This could be tricky and I might want to see the total damage output per turn from the Celts before deciding when to bombard and hopefully capture the city.


Spoiler IX. The Price of Preparing for War against the Celts :

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To be honest, I'd love to have a peaceful game but the conflicts for the AIs tend to easily result in a snowballing AI that has to be defeated in war. While the other civs might hate me, I have to do what I must to beat the Celts. Following the war with America, I have no choice but to fight the Celts head on. I'm not too behind in tech and my troops are veterans. There can only be one superpower in this world and I intend it to be Russia.


Spoiler X. Further Preparation for War with Celts! :

20180906021551_1.jpg

While Regimental Tradition is great for war, I doubt I need it for America. I do need more production, food and science so I picked Exploitation. I'm still some ways from completing the Imperialism tree and the Celts still have a noticeable lead in policies. However, I don't expect peace to last too long with the Celts. I have enough border friction with them now to cause war, let alone any other American cities I'll take. How the peace treaty goes between me and America will dictate heavily how I approach the upcoming war with the Celts.


And that's it for this chapter. Next chapter, we might see the conclusion of my war with America. :)
 
Chapter 19: Buildup to the Climax!
Spoiler I. Timing is Everything! :

20180906021856_1.jpg

Taking Boston is probably one of the most stressful moments of the war. I was hesitant to attack the city with my field guns and gatling guns so I restrained myself until Boston was in red health. Then, I unloaded all my ranged units and brought the city health to practically zero and captured it with my fusilier. The capture of Boston was worth it for a few reasons. First, I got a pretty defensive city when it comes to fighting the Celts. Secondly, I have no open borders with the Celts so their units were shoved outwards and that put many of them like field guns and cannons way out of position away from Atlanta.


Spoiler II. Atlanta Highly Contested! :

20180906022615_1.jpg

I apologize for showing the end of the deals. I just wanted to show how contested Atlanta is. For the Celts to get their field guns into position, they have to cover a lot of territory due to another mountain range seen bottom left of the screenshot. While lancers and musketmen are quite strong, their damage to the city will pale against the units I'm positioning close to Atlanta. My plan is to wait until the city hits the red to capture it. This time, I have a lancer with my fusilier so I have a second chance if I mess it up.


Spoiler III. Celts Cut Off! :

20180906022905_1.jpg

The Celts have been cut off from America in terms city borders. They can certainly capture the city state north of Atlanta but I won't let them expand into America. The key here is that the Celts only took three cities from America: San Francisco, Seattle (city west of Atlanta) and that Assyrian city America captured which I forgot the name of. Denying the Celts of more conquests is just so critical but, sadly, they can still attack from the north. I decided, at this point, to force Washington into capitulation. I might have to take Washington itself for that to happen.


Spoiler IV. Washington Decides His Own Fate :

20180906022935_1.jpg

The turn after I took Atlanta, Washington sent me this peace deal. I simply cannot reject it since the terms are exactly what I wanted. While it's true I need his capital for domination victory, I can always take it later. The sooner I sue peace with him, the sooner I can prepare for war with the Celts. I have lots of work to do and, currently, my happiness is lowish. I'm quite happy with the development and the biggest war(s) in Russian history is/are about to take place.


Spoiler V. Striving for that First Place! :

20180906023405_1.jpg

Looking at demographics, I'm basically second on the list. My approval is deceivingly low since I have war exhaustion and some cities are still resisting given how quickly I captured the last few American cities. The biggest key here is literacy where I've finally closed the gap. The war has helped me in so many ways and I'm literally one tech behind the Celts now. We're close enough that neither civ have a tech advantage in the upcoming wars and it's a matter of how we use our experienced units.


Spoiler VI. A Science Race? :

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The Celts still have a slight advantage in tech and I was worried at first. Rifleman can definitely give them a significant edge and make the upcoming wars a lot harder. After checking the tech tree, I noticed that the Celts took Corporation. That is a huge relief since, regardless of which corporation they take, it's not gonna have a huge impact on the wars. I definitely need to get Replaceable Parts so I can get Rifleman. If the AI isn't taking advantage of these huge spikes in power, then I'll show them the error of their ways the hard way.


Spoiler VII. The Celts Focusing Heavily on Culture :

20180906114038_1.jpg

I find this to be interesting since the Celts are investing a lot into culture. For their religion, they got Faith of the Masses. Now, they acquired this corporation. Like I said, this wouldn't have an impact on the upcoming wars at all. Though, I do know that Orders have a few good tenets so I shouldn't neglect those as well. Still, I like my chances as I turn to military production to ensure that I use up my military supply cap.


Spoiler VIII. One Policy Away from Completing Imperialism :

20180906114651_1.jpg

I'm betting on the fact that war with the Celts isn't happening just yet. I could be mistaken but we'll see. The aura of the GG can make a pretty big difference but I want my puppets to develop a bit better. My main worry is that, once I get sanctioned since I have so few votes, I need to annex some puppets to generate enough gold to fund my further expansions.


Spoiler IX. UA Paying Further Dividends :

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That's a lot a gold for me and I definitely don't mind. I also don't find a good use for cavalry since my lines are composed of fusiliers at the front and ranged units in the rear. There's very little opening for cavalry to operate without them being killed off. I might be playing this wrong but I just cannot find a good place for them. Landships might be a different matter but I'm still some ways from unlocking them.


Spoiler X. Going All In! :

20180906115611_1.jpg

I can't believe I got Brandenburg Gate but it's very nice to have. I needed more military supply cap and extra experience for new units will play a huge role as we'll see later. The Russian-Celt war will begin soon and only one superpower will rise up!


And that's it for this chapter. Next chapter, we might see the war with the Celts. :)
 
Chapter 19: Buildup to the Climax!
Spoiler I. Timing is Everything! :

View attachment 503662
Taking Boston is probably one of the most stressful moments of the war. I was hesitant to attack the city with my field guns and gatling guns so I restrained myself until Boston was in red health. Then, I unloaded all my ranged units and brought the city health to practically zero and captured it with my fusilier. The capture of Boston was worth it for a few reasons. First, I got a pretty defensive city when it comes to fighting the Celts. Secondly, I have no open borders with the Celts so their units were shoved outwards and that put many of them like field guns and cannons way out of position away from Atlanta.


Spoiler II. Atlanta Highly Contested! :

View attachment 503663
I apologize for showing the end of the deals. I just wanted to show how contested Atlanta is. For the Celts to get their field guns into position, they have to cover a lot of territory due to another mountain range seen bottom left of the screenshot. While lancers and musketmen are quite strong, their damage to the city will pale against the units I'm positioning close to Atlanta. My plan is to wait until the city hits the red to capture it. This time, I have a lancer with my fusilier so I have a second chance if I mess it up.


Spoiler III. Celts Cut Off! :

View attachment 503664
The Celts have been cut off from America in terms city borders. They can certainly capture the city state north of Atlanta but I won't let them expand into America. The key here is that the Celts only took three cities from America: San Francisco, Seattle (city west of Atlanta) and that Assyrian city America captured which I forgot the name of. Denying the Celts of more conquests is just so critical but, sadly, they can still attack from the north. I decided, at this point, to force Washington into capitulation. I might have to take Washington itself for that to happen.


Spoiler IV. Washington Decides His Own Fate :

View attachment 503665
The turn after I took Atlanta, Washington sent me this peace deal. I simply cannot reject it since the terms are exactly what I wanted. While it's true I need his capital for domination victory, I can always take it later. The sooner I sue peace with him, the sooner I can prepare for war with the Celts. I have lots of work to do and, currently, my happiness is lowish. I'm quite happy with the development and the biggest war(s) in Russian history is/are about to take place.


Spoiler V. Striving for that First Place! :

View attachment 503666
Looking at demographics, I'm basically second on the list. My approval is deceivingly low since I have war exhaustion and some cities are still resisting given how quickly I captured the last few American cities. The biggest key here is literacy where I've finally closed the gap. The war has helped me in so many ways and I'm literally one tech behind the Celts now. We're close enough that neither civ have a tech advantage in the upcoming wars and it's a matter of how we use our experienced units.


Spoiler VI. A Science Race? :

View attachment 503667
The Celts still have a slight advantage in tech and I was worried at first. Rifleman can definitely give them a significant edge and make the upcoming wars a lot harder. After checking the tech tree, I noticed that the Celts took Corporation. That is a huge relief since, regardless of which corporation they take, it's not gonna have a huge impact on the wars. I definitely need to get Replaceable Parts so I can get Rifleman. If the AI isn't taking advantage of these huge spikes in power, then I'll show them the error of their ways the hard way.


Spoiler VII. The Celts Focusing Heavily on Culture :

View attachment 503668
I find this to be interesting since the Celts are investing a lot into culture. For their religion, they got Faith of the Masses. Now, they acquired this corporation. Like I said, this wouldn't have an impact on the upcoming wars at all. Though, I do know that Orders have a few good tenets so I shouldn't neglect those as well. Still, I like my chances as I turn to military production to ensure that I use up my military supply cap.


Spoiler VIII. One Policy Away from Completing Imperialism :

View attachment 503669
I'm betting on the fact that war with the Celts isn't happening just yet. I could be mistaken but we'll see. The aura of the GG can make a pretty big difference but I want my puppets to develop a bit better. My main worry is that, once I get sanctioned since I have so few votes, I need to annex some puppets to generate enough gold to fund my further expansions.


Spoiler IX. UA Paying Further Dividends :

View attachment 503670
That's a lot a gold for me and I definitely don't mind. I also don't find a good use for cavalry since my lines are composed of fusiliers at the front and ranged units in the rear. There's very little opening for cavalry to operate without them being killed off. I might be playing this wrong but I just cannot find a good place for them. Landships might be a different matter but I'm still some ways from unlocking them.


Spoiler X. Going All In! :

View attachment 503671
I can't believe I got Brandenburg Gate but it's very nice to have. I needed more military supply cap and extra experience for new units will play a huge role as we'll see later. The Russian-Celt war will begin soon and only one superpower will rise up!


And that's it for this chapter. Next chapter, we might see the war with the Celts. :)
The way the war is building up is epic! I play on Standard so I don't tend to have these civ vs. civ mirror matches, it's been a while since there have been such monstrous empires/buildups. I love it!

Are you planning to beeline Combustion/Combined Arms after Riflemen?
 
The way the war is building up is epic! I play on Standard so I don't tend to have these civ vs. civ mirror matches, it's been a while since there have been such monstrous empires/buildups. I love it!

Are you planning to beeline Combustion/Combined Arms after Riflemen?

I get quite a few of these monstrous empires in my games since I play on Huge and marathon. They can be a lot of fun but, sadly, the games rarely get to a stage where aircraft play a huge role. Usually, modern era is the time to make a major push since artillery and such are such a huge spike in power while producing aircraft just takes so long.

Once I get riflemen, I have no intention of getting more military techs. My cities aren't that focused on military production so I won't be getting very many landships. In addition, I have to prepare for some inconvenient situations as you'll see in upcoming chapters.
 
Chapter 20: First Russian-Celtic War!
Spoiler I. Celts Preoccupied :

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Before, I would assume that the Celts could crush Austria with ease. However, I was quite surprised when I took this screenshot and saw that Austria, while losing in terms of warscore, is actually giving the Celts some hard time. I can understand if Austria had a major navy so coastal cities aren't safe. I didn't expect even cities like Swansea is at the risk of falling. Is this the rise of Austria?


Spoiler II. Tensions Rising! :

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Due to Bucharest allying Austria, the city state suffered at the hands of the Celts. While this doesn't necessarily make the Celts more dangerous, I also don't like the fact that the Celts are extending the front I must deal with. Tensions are rising and war is growing more and more inevitable. I decided that, in this critical moment, to focus on Corporation. I have only one fear right now and I need corporation to ensure that I can deal with the situation.


Spoiler III. Interesting Provocation! :

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While I am a superpower, I still don't want my relations with all the civs to be at its worst. Not wanting to break this promise later, I decided the time for war is now. For this, I lost a gatling gun which made me a little sad. However, the Celts will learn that there's a big price for killing even a single unit. I intend to make Boudicca regret even demanding this as I was merely massing my troops to protect my cities and not actually gearing for war...at least not yet.


Spoiler IV. Celts Neglected Eastern Front :

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I decided to go on the offensive and took San Francisco with relative ease. There was very little resistance here as the bulk of the Celtic forces are near Bucharest and engaged with my forces in Atlanta. I plan on making slow and steady progress since I don't want pockets in my front where the Celtic lancers can reach my back line. At this point, I believe that I have a general in every city on the front line so most of my troops get the GG bonus.


Spoiler V. The Coast is Clear? :

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I'm sending my trusty zeppelin to scout ahead and I even see some Celtic cities without garrison. This is worrying because I know the Celts have more troops than this and it's highly unlikely they'd dedicate all their troops against Austria unless their war at the western front is inflicting heavy casualties on them. I was still hesitant to advance until I get more intel about my enemy positions. Railroads will allow Celtic units to move pretty quickly to reinforce their eastern front.


Spoiler VI. No More City States! :

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At this point, Austria is dominating, as expected, the city state race with nearly all the city states as their allies. I have no intention of giving them more votes so Bucharest shall be a proud puppet under the Russian Empire. I managed to clear out all the Celtic troops in this area and will proceed to attack a mostly vulnerable Seattle. Even the Americans are eager to help, though their goal is to retake Seattle while I intend on keeping it for myself.


Spoiler VII. Imperialism Completed :

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If the Celts thought my troops were terrifying before, they should fear me more now as I completed this tree. My GG will give a larger bonus to my troops and, by affecting up to three tiles, will benefit more of my troops. Sadly, I still need one more policy before I can get my ideology. This is kind of annoying but I shall sacrifice Celtic units and their city pop to speed up the process.


Spoiler VIII. Too Many Fronts for the Celts :

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Basra has been captured by Ethiopia. At this point, I very much doubt the Celts have the sufficient troops to cover all their fronts. They are struggling against me and Austria as it is so they are lacking the troops to fight Ethiopia. The situation looks pretty good right now but we still have some work to do. I need to at least take a original Celtic city to actually hurt them.


Spoiler IX. Time to Take Former Assyrian Cities? :

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With the capture of Seattle, I've opened up the path to former Assyrian territory. I definitely plan on taking Assur but I wonder if I want such a wide front just yet. I need to ponder carefully how I want to approach this situation. I don't think I have enough of a supply cap to build up an army large enough to handle a wider front than what I have. At the moment, those Celtic puppets aren't contributing too much to the war so I can probably wait a bit before I include them in my empire.


Spoiler X. A Celtic City Falls! :

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I believe Cardiff is the first Celtic city to fall. So far, the Celts have met some resistance but very few civs can invade their homeland, let alone take their cities. I might have captured the city but the Celtic forces are massing along this front. I believed my best approach is to sue peace as soon as possible and actually prepare for the next war. The Celts made me declare war prematurely but, so far, that has paid off. I just need some better planning so the next war can go a lot smoother and I can actually threaten their capital.


And that's it for this chapter. Next chapter, we will see how the war with the Celts progresses. :)
 
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