Need some help with higher difficulties

[nossr50]

I usually play as the elves (either) and get FoL, etc. But I've grown tired of them and I burnt out on Calabim so I've been trying the other races again, I can't effectively play most of them unfortunately.

I run into this problem

Here are the settings I play at usually

Pangea (I dislike seatravel/warfare)
Temperate Climate (Sometimes random)
Raging Barbarians
No Vassal States
Wildlands
Living World
Last Days
Large Map (12-14 AI, 1 friend AVG)
Huge Map (18-24 AI, 1 friend AVG)

I usually play multiplayer, and not on the same team

Now my problem is a few things

1) The first 100 turns are extremely slow because it is multiplayer and I'm doing close to nothing..

2) I'm lucky to get 3 towns

3) The AI usually scores 10-12 towns

4) I spend most of my time defending until I get recon units to kill the barbarians

5) My town sucks until I get Bronze working and Education, and god king usually helps too.

6) I usually don't go with agriculture civic, so I don't grow much because I don't usually have that many farms in the first place

7) At around turn 150-200 almost all the AI suddenly decide to declare war on me, one after another. Even unprovoked.

8) I can never capture any animals because they are long gone by the time I have that technology

9) I never do well with spells but I like that aspect the most, I try to play as the amurites but I never make it past adepts

10) Usually the infernals appear and I can't do anything but defend until they are vanquished.

I'm at a loss as how to play on Monarch/Emperor difficulties without losing slowly but surely. I don't play as the vampires or elves which I'm familiar with but even if I did I don't think I'd fair better.

Can anyone offer tips on what they generally do in the beginning of a harder difficulty game?

Also, is there a way for me and my friend to see eachother without being allied? (It's boring to be playing multiplayer with just one friend and want to not be on the same side due to strategic reasons, like he goes to war and I'm not prepared for it etc).

I probably have more problems, I just can't think of them.

 

[Sureshot]

What Gamespeed?

a good way to avoid AIs spamming cities and no animals is to do Advanced starts with default number of players and No Settlers option. this allows for lots of open space that will remain uncivilized for longer (until barbs start making cities and AIs or you take them). you only get the cities you place at the beginning, so place several and then go from there.

as for being able to see your friend without being teamed, the method we use in our games is to get Cartography tech, then you can enter each others borders and trade maps. if you put some scouts in the others cities you can see whats generally going on.
also, Council of Esus is a decent religion for this arrangement, since the player with the holy city and it as a state religion can see any city that has the religion in it, and hidden nationality units can be used to help your friend a bit in their wars without you getting directly involved.

 

[it-ogo]

First, pangea against AI on Emperor is the hardest kind of map. And for raging barbs you should keep many warriors but on hard levels you have few free units. So Monarch rather then Emperor. And you did not point out a speed: the slower speed the better human against AI. Calabim are not so good early. Their power came with feudalism. Best traits to start are creative and financial.

With raging barbs Sidar are very nice as they can turn any 6-level unit into great specialist in city.

1) The first 100 turns are extremely slow because it is multiplayer and I'm doing close to nothing..

Use advanced start.

2) I'm lucky to get 3 towns
3) The AI usually scores 10-12 towns
6) I usually don't go with agriculture civic, so I don't grow much because I don't usually have that many farms in the first place

I think 2 and 3 is because of 6. Farms with agriculture are usually the way to produce settlers and workers more or less fast. Try to find better position for the capital - with farming resources and/or flood plains. Plus early commerce sources are hardly desirable. Try to get Education with City States as fast as possible. Before third city. Misticysm for Calabim is not so good as they can not build Elder Council.

7) At around turn 150-200 almost all the AI suddenly decide to declare war on me, one after another. Even unprovoked.

Do not be weak. If you are an easy prey you will be attacked sooner or later.

8) I can never capture any animals because they are long gone by the time I have that technology

That is normal.

10) Usually the infernals appear and I can't do anything but defend until they are vanquished.

Last days, right?

 

[Caradoc]

Animals? A Scout on a Forest/Hill will get you Lions and Wolves. With a couple of promotions, Tigers and Gorillas. And if you are willing to sacrifice a unit, you can get Bears and Spiders.

 

[slowcar]

give tasunke a try, you can start rushing your neighbour with your first few warriors, especially if they can grow on barbarians.
all you need is a healthy economy to back up your fast growing empire

 

[Darkheart]

As it-ogo says, pangea can be real nasty against barbs as you generally have to defend 360 degrees at a time when you can only decently afford 6-10 units.

If that's the case try to create a "magic triangle" where the placement of cities 2 and 3, place your food/happiness resources (in that order) within that easily defended triangle. Early game is all about food, breed...ban condoms! Max pop fast then build settlers/workers after that. Always look for ways to increase Max pop, generally happiness as health only slows grow rate. Tech towards someway of getting your max pop for your capital above 5, this compounds the God-king civic. At emperor + you need to be able to support at least one specialist (generally Sage or Priest) without hampering your growth. At the high levels of civ (vanilla or FFH) it's very much more about becoming efficient with your moves and time, as these can have a serious compounding effect on your mid-game position.

FFH is actually easier than vanilla, because, by mid-game you have very many more options, and the unit promotion is enhanced. Saying that it is very much more about city specialisation, there are 3 basic categories... Food..builds settlers/workers and will eventually become a GP farm. Commerce...usually river lines or resource concentrations, a few farms but mainly cottages, basically if it doesn't move put a cottage on it... if it does move, use it to build a cottage! The final type is production/barracks towns... low pop but lots of mines and forests, generally good on the coast for ship production, and if they happen to have a couple of food resources, they can actually grow to be larger wonder producers.

The highest priority should be food and growth, quickly followed by commerce, in the early game production cities are usually low on the list and don't form any of those with your first three cites. However if you do get a prime production site, build it up fast amd knock out an early wonder. From what you say Pact of Nilhorn maybe just the baby for you, as the three stooges, working together, can be real fun early game.

Obviously, this advice is very generalised and is aimed at the first few hundred turns (depending on game speed), it should be fine tuned to suit the situation and civ choice.

One method I found to help get my personal skill at the game up was, practice in single-player, but step up a level, you may suffer at their hands, but when you step back a level, you'll find the game easier and that your skill/knowledge/ability has increased. Your target should be where you pretty much control the game, rather than it controlling you.

Good luck

 

[Halancar]

Why not try one of the barbarian civs ? Clans of Ember or Doviello, then the barbarians will leave you alone for at least a while...

Alternatively, if you can convince your friend, you could try and advanced start (custom game) which would cut off those annoying first 100 years.

Also, I think you might like the creation map script (see the maps and scenario section). There is very little water, but it creates lots of bottleneck and safe valleys to develop your empire safely away from the raging barbs.

 

[slowcar]

raging barbs are fantastic as they provide you with a lot of XP. sure, you need a surviving warrior first but this should be done easily. fortify a warrior on a forested hill and he'll soon have combat1+shock1. now put another on that hill and hunt barbarians with the first one.
once you get 3 warriors promoted to combat3, shock2, march you can go after your neighbour.
in my current deity game i attacked both neighbours on the same time. i have 5 warriors with 150xp+ (combat5, shock2, march, drill IV, cover2).
the most important thing is to keep the economy up. city states, markets, RoK, pillaging, going after barb cities all help with this.