Let's talk about the expansion phase

[Victoria]

@Kyro
The reasons to not war are

As you said preference, war is easy
You can get a faster cultural victory that way

Your diplomacy argument is a little skewed -16 in the modern age but also a lot of plusses by then which will put you in the positive. Typical ones I will have by that stage are

You have a permanent embassy
You have kept a promise
You have open borders
You have freed a city state
You have given them a favourable deal
You have had a good meeting

I often avoid friends because being friendly with 1 civ gives a negative modifier to most other civs.

But of course you are right. If the AI had some brains then warmongering penalties would be more challenging. You can win a domination with little or no warmongering penalties which is more challenging. I do so hope they give the scarecrow a brain. I would follow the yellow brick road to make it so.

 

[WackenOpenAir]

And ive even gotten religions by conquest. You dont need to build any holy sites, just conquer them.

 

[Mesix]

I have to agree with the general consensus that expansion through conquest is a good strategy. In my most recent game, I had six cities by turn 100, Two from one neighbor, two from a second neighbor, and one built in addition to my capital. I started out wanting to conquer one neighbor (Russia) who expanded to two cities just as I reached his capital with my units. I built up my forces, explored, and as they marched towards Russia I built my Settler. As I was walking 4 units (2 left near Russian cities for defense) back towards my capital, Sumeria DOW a surprise war on me. After taking out the 4 units he sent towards me, I marched up and took his two cities too. Bonus, he had built Stonehenge in his capital!

 

[EgonSpengler]

One of the benefits to early conquest is that it frequently opens up large spaces in which to then establish cities at your leisure. Over the weekend, playing Athens (Immortal, Standard, Standard, Continents), I built a Settler, then assembled an army of 6 warriors, 4 hoplites and 6 archers. I skipped monuments, I skipped granaries, I skipped everything and went straight for Saladin's throat. I captured Cairo, Damascus and Kabul (Saladin had captured it - I saw no reason to liberate it). After knocking Arabia out of the game, I had unfettered access to 40% of my continent. By turn 200, I was the largest nation in the world, with 16 cities, and I haven't even reached my overseas colonialism phase yet.

 

[Victoria]

I saw no reason to liberate it

If you have high warmonger the permanent +3 (or +5 cannot remember) is of little use.
However they do become your ally and get get +3 envoys with them. One less city to manage and they help keep barbs at bay... sort of. And kabul has a little bonus for suze. When I play domin I make a point of leaving them all

However.... Mr Spengler... you are Greece for goodness sake. youdid great with the Immortal, Standard, Standard, Continents bit... but not gorgo/pericles....
If pericles 5% to your culture is not to be sniffed at... but I guess you gorgoed like most.... Pericles gets better IMO from the CS... hmm Athens?... maybe you are Pericles then.

 

[EgonSpengler]

If you have high warmonger the permanent +3 (or +5 cannot remember) is of little use.
However they do become your ally and get get +3 envoys with them. One less city to manage and they help keep barbs at bay... sort of. And kabul has a little bonus for suze. When I play domin I make a point of leaving them all

However.... Mr Spengler... you are Greece for goodness sake. youdid great with the Immortal, Standard, Standard, Continents bit... but not gorgo/pericles....
If pericles 5% to your culture is not to be sniffed at... but I guess you gorgoed like most.... Pericles gets better IMO from the CS... hmm Athens?... maybe you are Pericles then.

Yes, Pericles. As for Kabul, I didn't need to reduce my warmonger penalty because it was so early in the game. Do they become your ally regardless of who their suzerain is? Geographically, the Afghans would have been a real thorn in my side if they ever declared war on me (I later absorbed Buenos Aires for the same reason), and their military benefits wouldn't have been a great boon for me. The 5% boost to culture wouldn't have mattered because I built too many acropolises (acropolii?) and I've screamed through the social policy tree, reaching Social Media sometime in the 17th Century. (The benefit to Pericles' ability & the Acropolis is that you need fewer Theater Squares than usual for any victory condition besides cultural. Oops.)

 

[Victoria]

When you free them you get 3 envoys and of course suzerain. No one else has any at that stage but yes, they can always be taken back

 

[Nigel_Tufnel2]

I had a bizarre game where I liberated a CS Gil had taken, probably before t100. I immediately got the 3 envoy Suzerain status, but the next turn 7 civs or so had influence, and within a few turns someone had like 5+ envoys. I was in N America on Gedmon's GEM and had only met 2 civs, so perhaps the mod caused a glitch. Rome (in Japan) had found me early somehow, perhaps he told two friends, who told two friends, and so on, and so on...

 

[gatorsurgeon]

The problem with war-mongering is that it's too easy. Too easy early because rushing archery and archers will allow you to conquer your neighbors with ease even up to turn 100 on Diety. 6 archers and 1 melee unit can knock over a walled city). Even easier in the mid-game by rushing Knights or Cavalry. The relevant mounted unit plus seige towers is all you need to overrun the map. Seige towers are the most unbalanced/overpowered unit in the game. 6-8 cavalry and 1 seige tower can knock over an 80-strength xi