Move from Regent to Monarch

[wdepner]

Hi Everybody,

Looking for some help, advice, recommendations. I have recently moved up to Regent level (usually winning by the space ship route). But my game has stagnated. I want to make the jump to Monarch and beyond. Any help?

Cheers,

Wolf

 

[Kool Keith]

First, let me just say there is seemingly no difference between regent and monarch IMO.

If you need a recommendation for helping out your game, I would take some time to truly understand the concepts of settler and worker factories. Learn how to create a four or six turn factory, and once you know how to do that, learn how to calculate how many turns it takes to jam out workers and settlers in any city.

This isn't difficult to do, and it will go a LONG way in helping you to start thinking in terms of turns and efficiency. There is an article on settler factories in the War Academy.

 

[civverguy]

Regent to Monarch level is pretty easy. You basically do the same thing you did on regent except build less cultural buildings.

 

[jb1964]

Emperor is the jump shift in difficulty at the lower levels. My levels.

Just go to Monarch now and be done w/ it. Keith is right on the money. Early, fast, ridiculous growth and development is the key.
- Get Pottery
Go for the monopoly techs and be sure to trade w/ your future victims.
- Go for the republic slingshot
- Philo, CoL & Libs are always good techs to go for.

By the time the Ancient Age is coming to a close you should be in a position to kick in the door on the neighbors.

 

[Sashie VII]

Spotting Settler Factories by RFHolloway

Personally this article was the most influential in my civving life. I'd have never beaten Emperor without it

 

[Abegweit]

You don't need a settler factory to beat Emperor or higher levels. People beat Deity before the concept was understood.

 

[Kool Keith]

In my limited experiences at the high levels, it seems like the need for a settler factory is greatly reduced since the AI is on top of you so quickly. From my n00bish perspective, it seems like on Deity all you have is time for a couple settlers and then it is time to start jamming out military. We'll see about that as I continue to improve.

However, there is no doubt in my mind that the concept of settler factories has helped many players' games, especially those that are not inherently good players.

 

[gmaharriet]

However, there is no doubt in my mind that the concept of settler factories has helped many players' games, especially those that are not inherently good players.

Could you elaborate on that, please?

 

[Kool Keith]

We discussed this in another thread. Some people just naturally understand how to manipulate the AI and how to get the most out of their turns. They still had to learn the game and everything, but nevertheless, they "get it."

Then there are players like me, who don't "get it." I played this game on-and-off for over a year before I began to understand what the game is all about. (And some would say I still have no idea what the game is all about. ) I have a difficult time "thinking in turns." And I have a hard time making calculations which I believe would be helpful in mastering the game. At the beginning of the game, for instance, it is difficult for me to compute how many turns it will take to build two warriors, a granary, a worker, and two settlers, and then compare that with another build strategy. Unless I spend 30 minutes with a spreadsheet, it ain't happening.

These things would have never even occurred to me had I never learned about settler factories.

Like Abegweit commented, it is not necessary at all to use settler factories to win on the highest levels. Many players beat Deity level before the concept was "officially" introduced to the CFC community.

But for someone like me (who has a difficult time with Emperor), the concept of settler factories helped quite a bit. It slowed me down, got me micro-managing, got me using my workers in a more thoughtful manner, and got me understanding how important just one turn can be.

Not that I attribute everything to settler factories, but the idea was quite helpful.

 

[Sashie VII]

But for someone like me (who has a difficult time with Emperor), the concept of settler factories helped quite a bit. It slowed me down, got me micro-managing, got me using my workers in a more thoughtful manner, and got me understanding how important just one turn can be.

Not that I attribute everything to settler factories, but the idea was quite helpful.

Ditto. I'm not naturally good at Civ, I used to play Warlord and Regent before I really read everything in the War Academy and back then just winning was challenging. I think I'd have never figured out some things on my own such as the importance of growth, artilleries and such if it wasn't pointed out to me.

I tried a few emperor games before I read RFHolloway's article. I have fair winning chances, sure, but then it's harder than my challenging-fun limit and I don't feel like playing anymore past a certain point. Then I sat down and tried expanding that way, and things got a lot easier and I can finally have fun playing it till the end. Now my emperor games feel like my pre-CFC warlord games, not hard enough to make me doubt my win past the Ancient Age.

Perhaps settler factories isn't necessary to beat Deity. I wouldn't know

But they sure help a lot.

 

[gmaharriet]

Ahhhh, now I understand. Yeah, then I needed settler factories too.

 

[Abegweit]

It certainly is true that settler factories require MM to set up and to run. This being the case, they force people to develop their MM skills. This is possibly the single biggest reason why settler factories help people to advancetheir skills. They are obliged to think.

 

[gmaharriet]

It certainly is true that settler factories require MM to set up and to run. This being the case, they force people to develop their MM skills. This is possibly the single biggest reason why settler factories help people to advancetheir skills. They are obliged to think.

I believe some people (like me) are obliged to develop a certain type of thinking.

A woman I work with has trouble filling out a timecard or an expense account, but she's a marvelously creative graphic artist. Assuming equal intelligence, some of us are stronger or weaker at various thought processes. I'm a very good accountant, but weak in the type of thinking useful in this game, which involves connecting the dots between seeminly unrelated elements. Once it's pointed out to me, I'll readily see it.

 

[Sashie VII]

It certainly is true that settler factories require MM to set up and to run. This being the case, they force people to develop their MM skills. This is possibly the single biggest reason why settler factories help people to advancetheir skills. They are obliged to think.

I forgot to mention that I never knew what exactly micromanagement is till I read that article.

I believe some people (like me) are obliged to develop a certain type of thinking.

Likewise, I have a hard time understanding advanced mathematics but social theories and philosopy I can digest quickly. People wonder why I'm doing Geology instead of Psychology or such

One of my debating mentors was such a wonder: he remembers so much and can recall so many unbelievable stuff quickly. Apart from his silver tongue (with which he won the ESL World Debate a few years ago), this mental talent makes him such a wonderful debater. I wish he plays civ.

 

[eldar]

I find that I have two MM "modes": home-front, and front-line. If I'm in "builder mode", I'll be looking after my core cities, making sure they're reasonably MM'd. However when a war kicks in, my entire attention is focused on the battle lines, and micro-managing units instead of cities. If my core cities are lucky, I might optimise their shield output for certain types of unit, but in general, I'll fight the war, and only go back to see how my core is doing after the dust has finally settled.

Players with more time on their hands and more patience will probably handle both in their stride.

But to the topic on hand... Regent to Monarch. As has been mentioned, it's not that huge a gap, not, in my experience, as difficult to bridge as Monarch to Emperor. And you don't need settler factories. In fact, given that the game that convinced me I'd finally "cracked" Monarch [Carthage boxed in on a dry resourceless peninsula, having to fight out past China with Archers] didn't have such advantages, I'd be inclined to suggest avoiding such good starts.

 

[RFHolloway]

Key points to make sure you understand

1) What are you trying to do (i.e. having an overall strategy not just a recipe)

2) Can you use the lux slider effectively

3) Can you tech trade well

4) Are you building things you shouldn't (defensive units, overbuilding infrastructure)

5) are you building enough workers

For me the start plays a big part and improving that makes the rest of the game much easier.

Read GK2 training day from the sucession games http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=81351 - (at least the first few hundred posts)