Need advice on a Deity game

[noontide]

Please see the attached save fie. In my latest Deity game, I was able to get a head start in early game by wiping out two opponents using Nubia archers, but ran into problem in mid game. Basically, France built up a large apostle armies and is on the brink of a religion victory. Being weak in faith output and have not found any religion myself (thus cannot do inquisition), I had no choice by declare a surprise war on France with heavy warmonger penalty. The French empire is behind a mass rain forest and my war against is not making headway. All my cities halted because of war weariness and when she suited for peace I accepted it, but the next turn the five or six apostle she hid near my border swamp my cities and converted them in a turn or two. I cannot hunt them down during the war because they were hiding in the border of civs I'm not in war with. Meanwhile Mapuche is running away unmolested. Any solution? Thanks.

 

[liv]

The save you attached is before you made peace?
You only are two negative due to war weariness the rest is because you do not have enough amenities for the population. Do not build aqueducts. Keep cities small.

War weariness builds up by fighting so declare war but only kill religious units. I do not see that many military units coming at you. What victory were you going for?

 

[JustifierNA]

If you're going to war her but she's going to be getting a Religious Victory you may just have to start razing cities. If you do not you may just end up converting yourself to her religion and giving her the victory that way.

Invade and raze any city following her religion and promote any religions nearby her

 

[liv]

Yeah that is good advice. If you go for domination win you have to watch religion and sometimes you have to take out the civ who is dominating religion first and not the civs he or she has converted to prevent losing if going for domination win.

 

[BarbarianHunter]

Definitely need to eliminate (by whatever means is required) France ASAP. Then even if all the world's cities convert to her religion, so what? I would also switch research from siege tactics to ballistics.

 

[Casualty of war]

Changed government to Theocracy to be able to adjust cards to more Beakers per Turn, reduced cost unit upgrade and the Dark Age Card for War, bought Great Scientist and moved him to St. Petersburg to turbo finish Ballistics, upgraded all two-shot Crossbowman to Field Cannon, bought a Battering Ram to get through the Walls of France, annihilated them. It's going to take awhile because they have a lot of cities and I can't hold captured cities because of the Dark Age so raze, raze, raze.

Pitati Archers are better than Crossbowmen. Skip that step and just upgrade straight to Field Cannon. You will have less Loyalty and Barb problems if you fill in the map with cities in-between your conquests. If you don't wipe France from the face of the planet it's a toss-up whether they are going to win a Cultural or Religious victory first but they are going to win.