Is there any reason to have external trade routes?

[sugerdady87]

I played a game where I tried to maximize the amount of GPT I received where I only used external TR. It was very fun. Try it.

 

[Landos]

@OP one reason that hasn't been made explicit for external trade routes is early up grades. I've been practicing domination for the 6otM, and if I don't have an external trade route, I can't afford to upgrade my warriors to swordsman of my heavy chariots to knights, and archers to Xbows. Slingers to archers are always affordable. I'm far from being a strong competitor, so maybe there is a better way to do early warfare, but I've found that gold is my limiting factor in the first 80 turns on deity playing as a conqueror.

 

[Victoria]

@Landos If you can be cunning with your play, Merchant Confederation for a few turns at the right time can really help with those upgrades.

 

[Ornen]

I don't get "is there ever a reason for external trade routes" as a question.... plenty of external routes offer great benefits including science, culture, production, CS envoys, and/or loads of gold. For most of the early/midgame, you're going to be looking at +2f2p for domestic trade routes, which honestly isn't all that exciting. Food is sometimes useful, but usually isn't at higher difficulties, except in very new cities – otherwise, you're almost certainly bumping up against housing/amenity caps. I've often taken +2 science +8 gold external routes or +2 prod +8 gold over +2 food +3 prod internal routes.

 

[MaximusPlatypus]

I kind of get where the OP is coming from, but then again, I also use external trade routes regularly (Maybe 25% of the time).

Foreign routes could be slightly buffed (like the real world) due to the inherent risk of sending traders across potential enemy borders (and AIs that have trouble clearing barbs). I'm not sure a small buff to foreign trade routes exists right now as a mod/component, but it seems like it would be easy enough to do.

 

[ShinigamiKenji]

Has anyone tried combining all international trade policies and see if it's better to buy than to build things? I've never seen a serious discussion about it. It'd be fun if I only ever built districts and bought everything else in the mid game (Builders, Traders, Units, buildings, you name it).

That strategy would probably work best with the Aztecs or China, with their special builder ability to speed up districts/wonders.

 

[MaximusPlatypus]

Has anyone tried combining all international trade policies and see if it's better to buy than to build things? I've never seen a serious discussion about it. It'd be fun if I only ever built districts and bought everything else in the mid game (Builders, Traders, Units, buildings, you name it).

That strategy would probably work best with the Aztecs or China, with their special builder ability to speed up districts/wonders.

I tried this with England on an island map, it wasn't bad. Of course I had the Royal Dockyards + Commercial District everywhere, naturally.... then again, I had the Zimbabwe wonder as well, so that might have skewed things.

 

[Victoria]

I mostly play England and while you can get a lot of money, it is easy to spend. You also can use up your valuable card space getting money. It sadly is not enough to make the world go around

 

[Jonathan]

I don't claim to be an expert player, but I use external trade routes a lot, because they give more cash than internal routes, and I want cash; partly to pay the bills for city and unit maintenance, but mainly because I keep wanting to buy more city hexes, and that takes plenty of money.

Whereas the small increments of food and production that I get from internal trade routes don't seem enough to make much difference. Though the consensus on the forum seems to be that I'm wrong about that.

 

[View619]

I don't claim to be an expert player, but I use external trade routes a lot, because they give more cash than internal routes, and I want cash; partly to pay the bills for city and unit maintenance, but mainly because I keep wanting to buy more city hexes, and that takes plenty of money.

Whereas the small increments of food and production that I get from internal trade routes don't seem enough to make much difference. Though the consensus on the forum seems to be that I'm wrong about that.

They are really good for developing new cities, and can make a difference if you stack them in cities where you're creating space ship parts or wonder.

However, if you have allies or Suzerain status for city states there is a later era policy that makes the food/hammer bonuses from domestic trade routes obsolete. It shows up with Democracy and grants a base +4 food, +4 hammers for trade routes connected to ally cities.

 

[ShinigamiKenji]

They are really good for developing new cities, and can make a difference if you stack them in cities where you're creating space ship parts or wonder.

However, if you have allies or Suzerain status for city states there is a later era policy that makes the food/hammer bonuses from domestic trade routes obsolete. It shows up with Democracy and grants a base +4 food, +4 hammers for trade routes connected to ally cities.

Though there's not (or shouldn't be) as many allies or City-States as your own cities. It's hard to find so many allied cities when you're building the space projects. Heck, sometimes I run out of my own cities to send trade routes to when I have 20+ cities and 25+ trade routes to complete the projects quickly.

Also, you're using up a precious slot. Even if it's a diplomatic one, it's a slot.

The only true substitute comes with Globalization

 

[View619]

Though there's not (or shouldn't be) as many allies or City-States as your own cities. It's hard to find so many allied cities when you're building the space projects. Heck, sometimes I run out of my own cities to send trade routes to when I have 20+ cities and 25+ trade routes to complete the projects quickly.

Also, you're using up a precious slot. Even if it's a diplomatic one, it's a slot.

The only true substitute comes with Globalization

Depends on the state of the game and what you consider most important at the time. In a game where I'm playing peacefully and have a few other civilizations as allies that I've established trade routes with already, it's not hard to find enough allied international trade routes to make the policy worthwhile.

You don't need 20+ cities, especially now that IZ and Entertainment Complex stacking has been removed.

 

[Victoria]

small increments of food and production that I get from internal trade routes don't seem enough to make much difference. Though the consensus on the forum seems to be that I'm wrong about that.

To a degree you are right and its good to have the variety in view. I mostly play England and so need external trade at the end. At the beginnng it can be a big help to get +3 production to each new city. It is in the late stages of this merchant confederation is a great card for cash.... After most your new cities are started, sure they are great going out. If you try to beeline encampment then commercial in your primary city you shoukd notice that +3 make a difference.

 

[sugerdady87]

The most fun games I played so far was when I concentrated on maximizing GPT; allying the gold city-states, external trade routes and building that wonder which doubles your current treasury. I suggest you all try it. With 1000 GPT, you'll feel like a god.

 

[ShinigamiKenji]

Depends on the state of the game and what you consider most important at the time. In a game where I'm playing peacefully and have a few other civilizations as allies that I've established trade routes with already, it's not hard to find enough allied international trade routes to make the policy worthwhile.

You don't need 20+ cities, especially now that IZ and Entertainment Complex stacking has been removed.

I've found that my last Science game went way smoother with 20 cities than when I had around 17. It meant at least more trade routes, science, culture, gold, GPP and projects going out. Some cities got IZs even though they wouldn't receive a Factory, just to increase production in them and for trade routes.

The problem is, most games rely on having many cities. That's gonna anger some civs, which will trigger a chain of denouncements and no possibility of alliance. The most alliances I made were 2 (though I play Small maps mostly, maybe it gets better on Large).

 

[Victoria]

The most fun games I played so far was when I concentrated on maximizing GPT; allying the gold city-states, external trade routes and building that wonder which doubles your current treasury. I suggest you all try it. With 1000 GPT, you'll feel like a god.

You should try maximising city states. You do not feel like a god afterward but you become so much more aware of CS

 

[FurballRocker]

I don't claim to be an expert player, but I use external trade routes a lot, because they give more cash than internal routes, and I want cash; partly to pay the bills for city and unit maintenance, but mainly because I keep wanting to buy more city hexes, and that takes plenty of money.

Whereas the small increments of food and production that I get from internal trade routes don't seem enough to make much difference. Though the consensus on the forum seems to be that I'm wrong about that.

I think we can gather from all the replies to this question that there isn't a right or wrong answer really but it is situational. Trade routes provide you with a flexible way to fill short term gaps in resources or boost resources for a short period to help you rush things therefore the right answer is to use them for what you need them for the most at the time. If you need more gold/faith/science/culture then take the routes which generate the most gold/faith/science/culture, if you want to speed up the growth of a city or want to rush the construction of something then use internal trade routes to do so, if you want to receive a diplomatic bonus with a civilisation or CS then send one to them, etc

As a general scenario though most of my trade route use tends to go along these lines:-
Very early game - I use internal trade routes to build roads to connect my cities and because i am likely at war with neighbors along with lots of barbarians spawning so external trade routes aren't feasible or secure with trade routes being an expensive investment to build and replace.

Late early game - Wars are over or in the process of wrapping up along with barbarian camps being under control so i will start to send some trade routes externally to bolster relations with other civs to find out their secret agendas and also to fill gaps in gold (if i am in deficit or need a short rush of gold for buying tiles or upgrade) or science (very situational and often not really necessary) i am lacking while still keeping some trade routes internal to keep connecting my conquered cities and all the new cities i have started to build to back fill all the free space i now have.

Early mid game - all cities should now be built and be connected by roads and i should have found the agendas of any civs i have met so i focus on bolstering any lack of gold (again only if in deficit or know i need a quick chunk of gold i can't get any other way such as by selling luxuries) and science although science is usually not needed unless i have started to fall a long way behind and i tend to look at this as a bonus from any gold routes i need rather than going specifically for a science route...if i need gold i will check if i need science as well and if i do try to get a lucrative gold and science route combined. Once i am happy with my immediate gold situation all trade routes are sent to cities building commercial districts and harbours to increase my number of available trade routes.

Mid game - i now have a large number of trade routes available and swimming in gold from all my commercial districts so my trade routes are by default sent internally to help hammer poor cities build districts, help me rush wonders and to boost population grow to increase my available number of districts which should be solving my lack of culture and science so i am beginning to catch up and overtake the other civs.
I have usually stopped growing some of my satellite cities as they have all the districts i wish to build in them.
Neighborhoods are generally now available so i use trade routes to rush them as well boost growth in the small number of cities i want to go tall(ish) as well as using them to rush the last few population points of satellite cities that haven't already reached the size i want them to grow to.

Late game - Generally by now all cities are switched to production focus and i am trying to stop them from growing but i still send internal trade routes to rush wonders and entertainment districts where needed and now trade routes are generally more productive as i don't want to grow so every extra food they bring is converted to production as it means i can swap more citizens from food to production tiles.
Once i get the policy to get production from external trade routes then all my trade routes go externally as i only want production really and everything else is a bonus.

Obviously throughout the game i always tend to send a trade route to any CS's i need envoys with.

 

[Quillan]

I think one thing to remember in civ 6 is that it depends....

There are many times that I'd rather get a culture/science/gold boost than food/prod.

Be flexible, do what your empire needs.

 

[Victoria]

On higher levels the AI has a big advantage in science and culture initially. Popping out a couple of extra culture or science may seem good but does not catch you up.
Speeding up your infrastructure to a point you become larger that the opposition and then start pounding out that science culture seems to work better to me.
One I can build all my districts I just want lots of cities and districts ASAP without powering through the tech/culture trees too much.
Flexibility and focus must both be used which seems one of the bigger challenges as they are contradictory.

 

[Eliminator_Sr]

Has anyone tried combining all international trade policies and see if it's better to buy than to build things? I've never seen a serious discussion about it. It'd be fun if I only ever built districts and bought everything else in the mid game (Builders, Traders, Units, buildings, you name it).

That strategy would probably work best with the Aztecs or China, with their special builder ability to speed up districts/wonders.

I had the same thought after playing a recent game where I was Suzerain of Carthage. Their bonus gives an additional trade route for each Encampment district which turned out to be way more powerful than I expected. I wasn't even focusing that much on maximizing the bonus and I had capacity for 35 trade routes (of which I was only utilizing around 24) and was getting a ridiculous amount of GPT. Towards the end I thought that I might as well have just have built Encampments and traders everywhere and then just purchased all my units and buildings when needed. It definitely seemed like a viable strategy. I have seen some pretty impressive yields on international trade routes so they certainly are worth it in those cases and the many other reasons that other posters have mentioned.