Nobles' Club CXII: Ragnar of the Vikings

[krikav]

Spoiler :

I'm having quite fun with this map.

Built GLH, teched toward CS+machinery (through vassalage) and then toward optics.
Built a bunch of berserkers and galleys while caravels where on the way.
Hit charly and took just two cities before a peacedeal while teching toward liberalism.
Got astro from lib, and then the berserkers got turbo-charged.
Took 3 cities from pacal (and razed another), got ceasefire and then did a quick hit-and-run for two cities from toku who was in a dogpile against hammy+justantin.

Have sent out a few galleons with settlers to claim prime islands with 2+ seafood.

Once I had reinforced my initial berserkers with more, and backed them up with bombarding frigates it was very easy to kill pacal who was still at longbows.

Will soon upgrade to CR3 amfibious grenadiers and just run rampage.

GLH is so overpowered on these kinds of maps.

 

[Fish Man]

Spoiler :

I'm having quite fun with this map.
View attachment 515685

Built GLH, teched toward CS+machinery (through vassalage) and then toward optics.
Built a bunch of berserkers and galleys while caravels where on the way.
Hit charly and took just two cities before a peacedeal while teching toward liberalism.
Got astro from lib, and then the berserkers got turbo-charged.
Took 3 cities from pacal (and razed another), got ceasefire and then did a quick hit-and-run for two cities from toku who was in a dogpile against hammy+justantin.

Have sent out a few galleons with settlers to claim prime islands with 2+ seafood.

Once I had reinforced my initial berserkers with more, and backed them up with bombarding frigates it was very easy to kill pacal who was still at longbows.

Will soon upgrade to CR3 amfibious grenadiers and just run rampage.

GLH is so overpowered on these kinds of maps.

Wow, that looks like a lot of fun! Impressive how you filleted those AI like fishes, and all pre-gunpowder. I guess THIS would be an awesome map for grens.

How’re you planning to deal with 20-city Izzy? Surely she’s getting close to either AL or railroad now?

 

[krikav]

Yes, if this isn't a map for grenadiers, then there probably isn't any map for them.

Spoiler Tech situation :

Tech is not that horrid.
I got a GArtist, but need another for another GA, but most tech should be reachable. Justantin doesn't have iron it seems, and poor hammys island is really bad.
Not really sure what more tech I would need... But probably go for combustion to secure superiority of sea? Getting half-priced drydocks would be nice too.
Not sure if there is any need for artilery at all?

I handle Isabella by being in Theocracy and being a devout buddhist.
A pity that I had to deny some silly "Stop trading with pacal" etc requests early on, else she would have been friendly.
Probably reach dom limit without paying her a visit?

 

[Fish Man]

Yes, if this isn't a map for grenadiers, then there probably isn't any map for them.

Spoiler Tech situation :

Tech is not that horrid.
I got a GArtist, but need another for another GA, but most tech should be reachable. Justantin doesn't have iron it seems, and poor hammys island is really bad.
Not really sure what more tech I would need... But probably go for combustion to secure superiority of sea? Getting half-priced drydocks would be nice too.
Not sure if there is any need for artilery at all?

I handle Isabella by being in Theocracy and being a devout buddhist.
A pity that I had to deny some silly "Stop trading with pacal" etc requests early on, else she would have been friendly.
Probably reach dom limit without paying her a visit?
View attachment 515687

If you’re planning to attack her better do it soon. I’ve realized the AIs irrationally dash for the RR->combustion line. Probably because they love resource-unlocking techs and oil is like the biggest one for modern era. While that keeps her away from AL for a while machine guns are arguably worse...

 

[krikav]

T202 - T205

Spoiler :

I have no clue what Hammy is up to. I think these two guys standing on this islands are his only muskets, despite him having had gunpowder for about 30 turns?
Rest of his cities is still loaded with longbows etc.

The two coastal cities I just attacked, lost a berserker in each I think.
Babylon I bombarded to 0% defense with the frigates. And only when berserkers got up to 90% odds, they took over from the CR-amfibious grenadiers.
Next turn, the uninjured units continued to Akkad (Leaving one combat3-4-5 grenadier and injured trash to defend from counterattacks.) and even next turn it was further to Mari, after which Hammy had enough.

It takes too much time for these cities to get out of revolt and after that it's crippling upkeep. Better just let Hammy get them.

I'm building grenadiers in my mainland, with 7xp so they can be promoted to combat2+amfibious.
Justantin has rifles now, so I'm thinking that I'll just go for Toku and let my last berserkers reach CR3, and by that time I might have enough units to take on Justantin too, grenadiers do get a bonus against them rifles, but I'm not sure what the odds are.

If not, I'll just start teching. Now that I have two (soon 3) vassals it will be easy to bunny-jump with techtrading.

 

[krikav]

Toku Cap @ T213, but justantin had rifles by then, and Isabella was building fighters everywhere. I had to stop an tech quite abit.
I sorely regret taking toku as a vassal, he didn't do anything productive at all. >_<
Charly was likewise driving me mad by constantly farming and then workshopping over the only wheat on the map, while I had health problems in my production centers.
Weapon of choice was mass destroyers and marines.
The core of the attacking force though, was the CR3 veterans who once had been berserkers (against Charly and Pacal), then grenadiers (against hammy/toku/justantin) and lastly infantry. Destroyers bombard defense to 0% and these infantry has 95% odds against stationed infantry. Quite fun to just pick city after city after city.

I had to take basically every single city from isabella for her to cap.

Spoiler :

Not at all as nice date as you had @Undefeatable but I sure had fun!

 

[Excal]

Had a crack at this one using Sushi and Mining Inc (both new to me as have never tried corporations before) after being inspired by reading burns post

Immortal Difficulty (no huts and no events)
Peaceful Space 1936AD

Got sushi first, but have my doubts that it helped at all as the maintenance (despite courthouses and Forbidden Palace) seemed to outweigh the benefits, compared to running State Property instead
Mining Inc was a much better outcome with improved hammer production

Spoiler :

settled in place and built GLH, GLib, NE, MoM in capital (nearly got the mids which was very late)

Tech Path Ag / Min / Sail / Bronze / Mason / AnimHusb / Write / Myst / Wheel / Pott / Poly / Aesthet / Lit

met Charley fairly early (then Izzy) so didnt need to beeline optics/astro

Lib > Nat and built Taj in GAge - 36 turns total, then to medicine for Sushi (Min Inc would have been better)

Thanks to @krikav for pointing this thread out

 

[krikav]

Nice play Excal!

Spoiler :

I too got very impressed by Burns game here.
Going to space on deity with a marginal island w/o starting any wars... There was a time when I thought such things where simply impossible.