Not your typical financial thread

[raymondieee]

Here is my dilema: If I want to play on Monarch, I only do well with a financial civ. If I want to play all the other excellent leaders, I have to bump down to Prince to have a shot. I read a lot of articles/posts here, I think I have a good understanding of the mechanics of the game, but something about my play style gives me a hard time not being financial. Anyone else experience similar? Anyone who got by it have any tips/advice?

 

[Sisiutil]

I'm just guessing, but you may not be adjusting your strategy to accomodate for the absence of the additional GPT from the Financial trait. I mean, it sounds like your overall strategy works with a little extra GPT. So what you may need to do is figure out a way to compensate for its absence if you're not financial.

For example, suppose you play as Gandhi. In vanilla Civ IV he's Industrious and Spiritual, and starts with Mysticism and Mining. Okay. So found an early religion, spread it, leverage Industrial to build some GP-generating wonders (Stonehenge, Oracle) in the same city, use the GP to build the shrine, and now you've got extra GPT. Later on, go after Divine Right and the Spiral Minaret to reap more GPT from all those cheap temples you can build thanks to Spiritual.

If you play as a Philosophical leader, you may want to try a specialist economy rather than a cottage-based one.

 

[DaveMcW]

You aren't building enough cottages. Cover 50% of your tiles with cottages, then take over a neighbor and do the same in their land.

 

[Sisiutil]

You aren't building enough cottages. Cover 50% of your tiles with cottages, then take over a neighbor and do the same in their land.

That's a good point. Obviously you use cottage spam with a Financial civ, but a non-Financial civ needs cottages even more--again, unless you're running a SE.

 

[chronicdog]

I find missionaries to be a great source of income. I usually produce AT LEAST one for every city on the continent that I have open borders with. Sometimes, one doesn't get the job done!

Also, trade resources you don't need for money instead of other resources. You can get a LOT of GPT (like 15) from a rich AI for something like a measly crab.

Just asking every AI -

What will you give me for this?

For every tech and resource

Helps a lot.

 

[acidsatyr]

Naw it has nothing to do with cottages.
It's understanding the mechanics of the game..