Navy!

What I always thought was fun is this:
Build up money.
Build a diplomat,
and put him in a costal city.
All you have to do then is wait for barbarians to land.
Bribe the ship.
Repeat.
INSTANT NAVY!
(May take a while if not on "Raging Hordes")

 

Hehe, that is cool. I have never done that. For some reason I never notice the trieme before it land.

Should I leave my cities undefended? Maybe that's a good way for barbarians to come more frequently.

By the way, what does that trieme cost?

 

You could improve this strategy alot! Don't leave your diplomat at home - put him on a ship and sail to the neighbors. Patrol their shores for barbarian ships. They are just as cheap, but they are unsupported because you acquire them nearer an enemy city. While you are there, bribe whoever disembarked the turn before - they are also unsupported, and they have a free ride home to your kingdom.

 

To El_kalkylus
This trick works throught the game, just as long as barbarians land. I don't rember how much a trieme costs exactly, 50? And NEVER leave a city undefended, but a Warrior only does have more hits.

To Sodak
GOOD IDEA! Even though I have done that several times by accident I never did realize. I kinda assumed the bribing of barbarian landing party. I always welcome constructive criticism.

 

Couple that with Leonardo's and you have a cheap way to 'build' a lasting navy.

You could also use the barbarian seed city trick and 'build' an army full of NONE units.

 

What an EXCELLENT IDEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Problem is that you almost never see the Barbarian ships before they land... At least for me...

:santa:

 

MY problem is I ain't got much money to bribe the barbs with. Without sacrificing science, I be a poor mother... And a trireme showed up last game with 3 count em 3 legions and no barb leader.

 

floppa21, it sounds like you need to demand more tribute! It's a great source of income in the early game.

The barbarian leader does not disembark within a city radius, iirc. If not the radius, then just not adjacent to a city. In either case, a bummer for you.

 

What's the signifince of the barb leader Money?

 

Yes, it's one of the best ways to make cash early on. When you capture a barbarian leader then you are paid ransom money. The amount you get depend on what level you set the barbarians at the start of the game, but the 150 gold you get on raging hordes is very useful! I can't remember the levels of cash for the other settings as I never play them, but I think it's 50 for restless tribes and 100 for roving bands? Don't know I'm afraid.

[edit]Oops, I forgot this. It's a good idea to set traps for the barbarians to ensure that you have all the cash for their leader. If you fortify a phalanx on a hill or mountain then the barbs will throw themselves at him in vain. Remember that the barb leader is just a diplomat so will get 2 moves. You have to have a mobile unit that can capture him, so stack a horseman with a phalanx and this will work a treat. Especially since they always make the leaders flee into terrain that only gives them 1 movement. You have to defend against the barbs because if you kill another unit that is stacked with the leader then you won't get the ransom bonus.

 

I often go hunting for a navy with spies. If I give the enemy techs, they build battleships and the like, which I promptly bribe, and don't have to support.
Another way is I build a ship, give it as a gift, and then bribe it, as it sails about aimlessly.

Gotta love those NONE units

 

DUKE OF YORK ....... tell me more
........like how do you know where the BARB'S are going to land; for prepositioning the trap.
[dance] [dance]

 

Barbarians will bubble out of the same areas in some games. They are always at least some certain distance from cities - once the available space for them to appear is limited, they regularly pop up there. You need only wait for them with a strong defender and a fast unit to run down the leader.

Pirate barbarians are less reliable, but some games will have 20 barbarian landings at the same few squares.