Is it just me or is NOBLE level too hard

[goldys_lackey]

Here are 4 easy things you can do diplomatically.

1. Religion: Don't found your own religion and be the only one running it. This is an easy way to get DoW'ed. In fact, don't bother teching religious techs at all, with the possible exception of CoL, Theo, and Philosophy. Instead, focus early tech towards Writing, then open borders with your neighbors. Let them spread their religion to you. They will eventually demand you switch to their religion, and at that point you should do so. This guarantees 10 turns of peace and starts you collecting same religion bonuses with them (any time you acquiesce to an AI demand for religion, resources, or techs, they cannot DoW on you for at least 10 turns. Same goes for you if you make a demand of them).

2. Favorite Civic: Check the relations screen (F4). Go to the Info tab. the far right column shows the AI's favorite civic. If you run that civic, you will gain diplo points with them.

3. Open borders / years of peace / fair trade relations. Basically, you gain peace with some AI just by having open borders with them and not DoW on each other. And you gain "Fair trade relations" for giving them good deals on tech trades. For example, if you have already traded away Aesthetics and your immediate neighbor has nothing to offer for it, then you can probably trade it to him for lik 50 gold and gain +1 fair trade diplo.

4. Mutual military struggle: If your powerful neighbor asks you to join his war against a middling AI on the other side of the world, you should probably accept. With some AI's you can accumulate up to I think +4 diplo this way. The longer you are at war, the more diplo you accumulate (up to a maximum 2 to 4, depending on the AI).

Some AI's can't declare on you when they are at pleased. Others can. All AI's can't declair when at friendly (except Monty and/or Shaka, who can "backstab" you, I think). In all cases as your relations improve, the chances of an AI declaring on you go down. Things that increase your chances of getting DoW'ed are long shared borders, heathen religion, arrogant demands, etc.

 

[krazybastid]

I usually try to get Monotheism or Theology first. I always try to have the same religion as my civ neighbors. But I don't goto war with another civ unless I think its in my best interest. Like they're backward and hostile (Annoyed or Cautious) or I need to Settle.If a weaker civ has a better attitude toward me I generally don't declare war on them. Are there certain leader Charicteristics that better you for AI likeability? It's a good thing to found a religion first cause when you get a Great Religious leader from specialist reverend production you can build the holy religious wonder and get 1 gold per city your religion is in. The difference I've noticed between NOBLE level and WARLORD level is the AI opponents can build a pretty big militairy.

 

[goldys_lackey]

The problem is that in order to found Judaism or Christianity, you will almost always sacrifice early expansion and tile improvements. Its usually a better strategy to research techs that will keep your workers busy and build your capital into a powerful research city.

But if you are hell-bent on founding a religion, then tech priesthood, build oracle, and bulb CoL, since CoL is a valuable tech on its own.

edit: Not to say Mono and Theo aren't valuable. But in building a powerful research capital, you will have to tech towards Civil Service and then run Bureaucracy . Bulbing CoL gets you there faster.

 

[Ghpstage]

Some AI's can't declare on you when they are at pleased. Others can. All AI's can't declair when at friendly (except Monty and/or Shaka, who can "backstab" you, I think).

to be technically correct they can declare war once they pass those thresholds, but they can't start planning after they have. In short they can still declare if they started planning before reaching pleased or friendly.
The only AI that can DoW at friendly without previous planning is Cathy, and then only if bribed by a rival, and I don't think this happens unless you are already at war with someone who can afford to bribe her!

Do you guys have any advice for civics.

The civics you use should be chosen from your situation, not from what you think are the 'best ones' as there are no best for all situations.

Of the ones you mentioned,

• Vassalage is a poor choice in most games as its only useful for the time your warring, and even then is likely to come up short against Bureacracy, Nationalism or Free Speech in their times!
• OR is solid for a lot of the game, but Pacifism is potent in its own right and is used mostly for propelling yourself through the middle ages to the renaissance.
• US and the related Free Speech are almost entirely dependant on you having a lot of mature cottages, with the exception being Free Speech being important in culture wins. US is far from a no brainer as mass numbers of cottages aren't often worth it with non financial leaders and even then aren't always worth.
• Emancipation is worth going into under two circumstances, first is if your intending on growing lots of cottages late, second is if rivals adopting emancipation is causing you crippling unhappiness.
• Emancipation is very hit and miss, only being useful in that it makes cottages grow faster in the late game and only worth adopting if you don't plan on growing more cottages if you can't handle the unhappiness from rivals adopting Emancipation themselves. I very rarely use this civic, opting to stay in Caste System more often than not.

Around the time of the reinisaince I save up my great people so I can form corperations. think great people progression is way to slow. There should be a mod to adjust that.

This comment suggests to me that you rely on wonders to get great people, specialists are a much more relable and generally more effective source than wonders. Try to make a Great Person Farm, a city dedicated to getting great people, this will want lots of food 2 or more 5-6 resources with some production if possible. The city should focus on building specialist based buildings, such as Libraries, National Epic, a wonder or two if it can reasonably grab it (GLibrary is a good choice), and should look to run as many specialists as it can.

 

[capnvonbaron]

Civs can, however, start planning for war at "pleased", bump up to "friendly", and then DoW you. Rags and Cathy are famous for that in my games... ugh.

 

[krazybastid]

Well I just beat a NOBLE game today I won by Space Race. I always win by Space Race. I always set up my world on HUGE and MARATHON with like 13 Civs. I don't thgink NOBLE is that easy some of the other civs build Stonehenge and the Oracle way too fast. I don't understand why some of you guys think NOBLE is so easy. I've been playing Civ since the 90s and I always done good at it. I mite deside to move up or I mite just play a few more NOBLE games then move up. Sometimes I wonder if when I'm choosing NOBLE level that there mite be some Spyware switching me to Monarch. I just can't get over the fact that some other nation can build Stonehenge by 2500 BC when on Warlord I get it done depending on if I have Stone or chop like around 1800 BC.

 

[NetGear]

it really doesnt matter when they get henge. in most cases you dont need it.
you can always get it when you conquer it anyway. Do you play warmonger or builder? Warmongering style does have it easier.

 

[krazybastid]

Sometimes I war sometimes I not if the other AI civ is well liked but sometimes If I want that land bad enough I will definitely invade them but that depends on if they are weaker than me and/or having good relations. I always go for the ending that is most feasable. I mostly play huge maps on Marathon. I enjoy those. World Conquest os pretty much not possible. I never bother with Cultural Victory, and never got it. I've gotten diplomatic threw UN on a Terra map where I had settled the whole New World on Warlord level,and every other win was SpaceRace.

 

[pigswill]

Any level is easy once you can win it comfortably. I get annoyed when people tell me that immortal isn't that hard .

If you're struggling on noble then one option is to join the Nobles Club in strategy n' tips sub-forum and compare your game to others.

 

[Akbarthegreat]

Any level is easy once you can win it comfortably. I get annoyed when people tell me that immortal isn't that hard .

Even worse: people say they are bored with deity!

 

[username804]

Rushing or not is irrelevant. If you really want to improve, you can get to immortal/deity level in a month or two from scratch in this game and many could probably do it even faster...but only if you make a dedicated effort to improve.

You know, everytime I see something like this I think, why doesn't a person apply that kind of discipline to say, improving the real world, somehow instead of a goofy game?

I hope you decide to be the best damn you that you can be in the real world, screw the silly game.

With love,

 

[s.bernbaum]

Games are for fun, R&R, enjoyment….. Real life is for working at things to do well!

 

[Archon_Wing]

Some people like to show discipline and effort, excelling in everything they do, including SRS BZNESS things. It's a bit silly to assume they are mutually exclusive regarding srs BZNESS and entertainment things.

I am not one of them though.

Surely, if I spent all this effort in doing productive things rather than making silly comments on the internet, it'd be something too... but one things become mandatory, everything changes.

Though, honestly none of this matters. Unless one takes no effort in improving and continues to rage about problems that are caused by themselves. (IMBA whiners that you see everywhere on the internet. Is admitting you lack skill in a friggin video game gonna mean the end of your life?) Then it's no longer entertaining. Well... it's entertaining for me to read though.

 

[krazybastid]

You know, everytime I see something like this I think, why doesn't a person apply that kind of discipline to say, improving the real world, somehow instead of a goofy game?

I hope you decide to be the best damn you that you can be in the real world, screw the silly game.

You know Civ isn't a goofy game Super Mario Bros is a goofy game. Alot of what Civ is is a good history lesson with lots of fun brain stimulating activity. I have friends I do things other than play Civ.

 

[vandermerwe]

Anything is hard if you haven't got the skill or experience to do it. Walking is hard if you're a toddler. Driving a car is very hard the first time you try. Speaking a foreign language is all but impossible if all you have are a few phrases at the back of a guide book. All of these things can become easy if (but only if) you give them time and practice - and if others give you tolerance and support. And there's plenty of that around here and elsewhere if you look for it. I've learned far more from the forums and War Academy here, and from TMIT's YouTube videos, for instance, than I ever could from the manual or from endless hours of my own gameplay.

And that means I can usually win on Noble, and more than half the time on Prince, but I'm not at the level where I'd say it's 'easy'. As someone said, the step up from Warlord can be pretty big. For me, the main difference is that you need to start thinking strategically, not just tactically. On the lower levels you have such an advantage that you can be reactive / passive: you can bumble around settling and maintaining (but not specialising) your cities, building a few units (but not doing much with them unless attacked), responding to AI diplomacy (but not initiating it) and researching techs as they come along (but without any real goal in mind). You might seize opportunities as they present themselves but don't need to do much to create them. In the end, you (should) win, if only on time or space - which if you can keep your empire together is all but guaranteed by your inbuilt tech lead.

On Noble, you have no formal advantages over the AI, although you do have human intuition and can exploit the limitations of how the AI behaves. So at that level and (especially) above, you're going to need a clear (but not necessarily rigid) plan of what sort of victory you're aiming for, and how you're going to achieve it. Having the insight to develop that plan, based on the map, leader traits, AI opponents and so on, and the confidence to apply it consistently (but to change it when necessary) is a different sort of thinking altogether. And in turn that means you shouldn't 'always' do anything (build the Oracle, run State Property, adopt a religion, whatever). With very few exceptions (eg slavery, perhaps), everything is situational and involves trade-offs with other possibilities. Ask yourself - how will doing this, or trying to, serve my long-term aims? Will it serve them better than doing something else? The answer isn't "but a free tech is nice" or "I could do without the distance-related maintenance".

If it's too much of a leap, try Warlord on a faster speed (Marathon is often seen as easier) or, perhaps better, with some self-imposed restrictions. Turn off time and space victories. Don't build wonders, for instance - use specialists to get GP points (and work out in which cities you can best run them). Only trade with some (say half) of the AI - which means working out which ones will serve you best in the long run. Only build units (or libraries / universities) in some of your cities - which again means working out which are the best ones for those purposes. You still have the inbuilt advantages that Warlord gives you, so you should still win. But you'd be developing some of the skills that are needed on higher levels.

 

[krazybastid]

I started a new game on NOBLE I picked England/Elizebeth which between her and Capac is I would say the best to leaders in the game. That financial bonus is great help for teching and expansion. I don't really need to follow a strategy guide on NOBLE, some of the stuff I disageed with. I'm a real good player and I know what I'm doing. I'm ahead on techs and my military is top notch.

 

[Akbarthegreat]

I started a new game on NOBLE I picked England/Elizebeth which between her and Capac is I would say the best to leaders in the game. That financial bonus is great help for teching and expansion.

Willem works even better-cheaper libs and excellent for early game land grabbing.

 

[username804]

I started a new game on NOBLE I picked England/Elizebeth which between her and Capac is I would say the best to leaders in the game. That financial bonus is great help for teching and expansion. I don't really need to follow a strategy guide on NOBLE, some of the stuff I disageed with. I'm a real good player and I know what I'm doing. I'm ahead on techs and my military is top notch.

Try Custom game either Darius of Rome or Pericles of Arabia

 

[capnvonbaron]

Try a smaller map with fewer civs until you can learn some basics better. The problem with huge maps is that its nearly impossible to keep enough people happy to get by, and the tech rate is much faster with civs being able to trade with more civs. Additionally, with a greater chance for more war-mongers and more wonder-whores, you're way more likely to have someone out for your blood or a bunch of wonder-builders stealing the wonders. Also, like other ppl said, ditch the religion fetish unless you can leverage it. If you want a religion, bulb or Oracle code of laws or theology, but if you're interested on moving up levels forget hindu/buddha/judiasm. On monarch+ difficulty your chances of founding any of these is shaky at best anyways without an awesome start.

 

[DaCruise]

Larger maps are harder than smaller maps imo.

In terms of difficulty settings it also took me a few games to win on noble but if its any comfort I dont find the gap from noble to prince that big. Its only slightly harder. However prepare to get manhandled when you try out monarch as its 10 times harder than prince imo.