Newbie getting frustrated on noble

[Drofd]

I usually do great get in 2nd or 3rd in points, ahead in research, but I almost never build a huge military thinking of my usually close allies

I posted a save of my latest game
As you can see my economy is awesome but Monty just invaded and razed a city but with a very weak force
I'm not challenging you to dig me out just some constructive critisism
thx in advance

 

[Willem]

As you can see my economy is awesome but Monty just invaded and razed a city but with a very weak force

If Monty is one of your neighbours, always expect to go to war at some point. So make sure your military is stronger than his.

PS When you get into Noble and above, it's a good idea to keep an eye on your Power graph in the Info screen. If you're on the bottom, you can expect several civs to "pay you a visit".

 

[Xerhid]

Starting on about Noble I think, the computer simply will not let you charge ahead on research. You HAVE TO establish a military presence to dissuade them from attacking.

 

[Uiler]

I try to keep my military as No. 2. Not No. 1 though because of the insane number of troops the computer builds - you try to keep it and it'll kill you. Sometimes you become No. 1 accidentally...No. 3 is OK too, for a while. Just look at your soldier ranking. If I am No. 1 I stop building troops at all. If I drop down to No. 2 I build some troops. If I drop down to No. 3 I prioritise building troops. If I drop down to No. 4 building troops is my No. 1 concern.

A good sign that you are getting weak if you don't like checking screens all the time (which you should just for tech trading) is when civs start coming by demanding things. As soon as this happens you know it's time to start building up your army. You don't necessarily need to build troops though. The military ranking is dependent on the technological level of your troops. So if you have lots of money do some mass upgrades and see your military ranking go up.

Aggressive neighbours are not a problem for me in the middle and late game usually because I prioritise wiping them out as soon as possible They're going to attack you anyway. Might as well make it a time and place of your choosing.

 

[MyOtherName]

The one idea I liked is to earmark a good production city for military production. Never, ever build anything in this city unless it is a military unit, or furthers the cause of building military units.

E.G.
A barracks is fine, because it makes your military units better.
Forge, Factory, and Heroic epic are all good.
Do not build a market, unless you need the happiness it provides.
Never, ever build a library in this city.

If you do this, you will probably find that you have a decent sized military throughout the game. You might even find yourself with enough military units to take some good cities from your neighbors!



Some problems with your game...

The first thing I noticed is that you have soooo few cities. And there is some really nice terrain within your borders going to waste!

e.g.

Northwest of Mecca, you could have planted a city with three food resources: fish, clams, and corn. Who cares if it overlaps with Mecca? Even if you give all of the overlapped tiles to Mecca, this city will quickly grow to work all of those lovely coastal tiles, it would have been a powerhouse in the early game with slavery, and it would be able to support six specialists!

North of Mecca, you could have planted a city that could have worked those pigs and that corn. This would have a few hill tiles as well. This would have made a nice balanced city that gives you both commerce and production.

Between Mecca and Numidian, you have several grassland, hills, and a flood plain going to waste!

West of Numidian, that iron tile is going to waste. But given your city placement, that one might be hard to work.

South of Numidian, you have a sheep and copper going to waste. You should have made another fishing village there.

South of your destroyed city, there's a deer and a fish going to waste! You should have had another city down there! Or at the very least, this city should have been one tile to the west so that it has the fish too. (And would have been able to work the incense) I really don't understand the workshops you have over there.

Also, you placed Horseland on the horses. Horses are another terrific production tile, and you've squandered it.


I'm amazed you haven't built a larger military -- there's an army sitting right on your border in Pi-Ramses that's large enough to wipe out your entire civilization! Ye gads! And the Heroic Epic would have been nice to put someplace.

 

[Drofd]

thx guys for the help