Monarch vs. Regent

[marceagleye]

What exactly is the difference between these two levels? Does the AI get some kind of production bonus because it seems like they are building knight faster than I can build medeival infantry. And what about combat? Does the AI have like +50% or some thing? AI knights are easily taking out fortified veteran pikemen in one of my towns built on a hill with walls around the town. It seems the AI has a combat advantage no matter what. It's very frustrating... veteran pikeman-fortified-on a hill-surrrounded by walls should have a defense rating of like 7. But four knights attack, two make kills and the other two retreat. And the pattern repeats over and over again... I just moved up to Monarch from Regent this week and I lost six times already. I have yet to even get to the industrial ages...Help! Should I avoid building temples altogether and concentrate on military? I've noticed they (AI) are much more eager to declare war especially early. I've also noticed high probability of really bad starting locations... I haven't gotten any rivers near my capital yet, but the AI gets them. I guess it'll take 100's of hours of playing time before I'm able to compete at this level. Maybe I'll try Japan this time- that way I can switch from republic to monarchy without losing all those turns to anarchy. And militaristic trait enables cheap barracks.
Two more questions... What's the first improvement I should build and what should I research to keep up early in the game?

 

[Chieftess]

1 - Yes, they get a production bonus on monarch (90% of the required shields. i.e., 9 instead of 10). Also, for the city - that's just the bad luck of the RNG. Knights can also retreat, which gives them an edge. At the higher levels, you want to build a bit more military, and let the AI build wonders for you.

First improvement? - Granary.

At the start of the game:

Warrior --> Warrior --> Granary --> Settlers.

Maybe an extra worker in there to help with the terrain.

 

[carlosMM]

check out the differeneces in the editor, (edit rules, then the difficulty level tabs).

btw, use spaces between seperate thought - it makes the post easier to read!

 

[chaparral]

Hi all,

Long time lurker, first time poster here.

Chieftess - Thanks for the tip on Monarch level. I've just moved up to Regent and managed to win my first three games, all Space Race, which is what I prefer.

Question - Is there a preferred Civ for 20K/100K cultural victory?

Thanks!

 

[Mishrack]

Interestingly enough, when I play with Persians, I tend to end up winning the 100k cultural, without even going for it. I only get this with the Persians though

 

[cracker]

At the start of the game:
Warrior --> Warrior --> Granary --> Settlers.

marceagleye and chaparral,

Try to avoid fixed build sequences for any civilization game because they are the wrong answer in 9 out of every 10 games. You have to develop your own comfort level with assessing the power of your starting terrain and then making a different set of early movement and build decisions that matches the traits of your civilization, the strategy you choose to follow, and the specifics of the map/starting position you lucked into playing.

You best source of advice and examples in these areas is from the Quick Start Challenge games where groups of experienced and knowledgable players play along side newer players and record timelines of the moves that they make.

You can see excellent examples of early game play strategies at Regent, Monarch, and Emperor difficulty levels by looking at the Qsc results.

Here are some links to recent QSC games that will give you the examples and tips that you need:

Qsc18-Celts Monarch on Pangaea Grassland

Qsc17-Carthage Regent on Isolated Archipelago Jungle

Qsc16-Rome Emperor on Large Continents Grassland

Qsc15-Russia Monarch on Large Continents Grassland and Forest

 

[Chieftess]

Originally posted by cracker

marceagleye and chaparral,

Try to avoid fixed build sequences for any civilization game because they are the wrong answer in 9 out of every 10 games. You have to develop your own comfort level with assessing the power of your starting terrain and then making a different set of early movement and build decisions that matches the traits of your civilization, the strategy you choose to follow, and the specifics of the map/starting position you lucked into playing.
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Of course. That was just a general rule of thumb. Things could change if say, you're on an island, or find a civ 10 tiles away... on deity.

 

[zerksees]

You lost six times THIS WEEK?

I believe you may benefit from better "micro-management" of workers, relations with the other AI and other important decisions.

You are always going to have bad luck on this game, so you need to build larger stacks of doom before starting attacks, allowing you to have a better chance of success.

Get the AI to make war on each other and you can build up while they are fighting each other.

I typically spend 40+ hours PER GAME. I have beat the AI at every level through monarch on the first try (as Persia). I lost the first game on emperor (as Persia) but am winning the second game (as Zulu). When I lost, I came to this web site and studied the War Academy and this thread to get some ideas on how to improve strategy.

Also, if you choose militaristic as you suggested, you have a better chance to get a GL to build your pyramids.

 

[cavemanf16]

In addition to reading the QSC games as cracker mentioned, read the Succession Games thread on the Civ3 forums here at CivFanatics. Someone mentioned it in a thread elsewhere that I saw a while back, and after having read through a couple 'newbie' Succession Games, I can tell you my ability to analyze the terrain around me, plan my strategies, make the most of my workers and movement points has increased significantly.

I too am trying to become a better Civ3 player (I like to get addicted and just play and play instead of thinking too ) and I can tell you that those first 60-80 turns are critical to keeping you on par with the AI's cheap bonuses on any level above Regent.