On the Rocks (viking conquest)

[johncross21]

I have just started a game using archeapelago, high sea level, tiny islands and huge map

Will try world domination win

I have set out my strategy for interest below but welcome tips .

- choose vikings
- build lighthouse and great wonder as early as possible
- explore as much as possible at first opportunity using workboats

In terms of technology beeline the naval technologies (sailing, calendar, casting, astronomy, airpower)

Hunt out key resources from an early stage (especially iron which is essential for frigates). Make these resource islands priority for colonisation

Biggest problem is lack of hammers so
- expect slow start
- explore early and colonise bigger islands for hammers

Second problem is distance and transport
- in a world short of hammers building ships takes time
- but you need to have enough ships to move workers from island to island

In terms of combat AI seems weak (because it is not organised enough to plan attacks) butit will launch occasional attacks on your islands. Be relaxed about this and counterattack if necessary

Ignore small islands. Raid and pillage medium size islands and raze the cities. I don't want too many low output cities dragging down the Viking economy. Use court houses and then communism to lower cost of managing big empire (what wonders will help here ?).

In this game I will be trying out some new ideas -

- playing epic (because moving people by ship takes time)
- growing cities and then whipping them to produce troops etc
- one or two ships travelling a regular route round the islands ferrying workers and resources
- a number of marauding ships dedicated to pillaging improvements but unconcerned with city capture. A bigger fleet with siege weapons

 

[Ecofarm]

Don't forget to get colussus (metalcasting is on the way to berserkers anyway). +1 from coast, +1 financial = 2f4c coasts

 

[johncross21]

Thanks.

I have to admit its not going a well as I had hoped. A lot in this type of game depends on starting conditions. I have a reasonable size island and found a nearby neighbour with iron but still well behind neighbours. Cryrus quickly put together a fleet of triemes which is causing some anxiety.

Seems to be lots and lots of islands and possibly enough to enable circumnavigation without a compass - that has me to divert resources to workboats and triemes

Danger is that by the time I've got round to building the collosus my strategy of beelining astromomy will mean its quickly obsolete (astonomy makes it obsolete)

 

[nullspace]

Great lighthouse is amazing on archipelagos as long as you explore and open borders to get lots of trading partners. Use your UB to help explore quickly, and build harbors to enhance trade route income. Colossus is less good because it goes obsolete at astronomy, which you need quickly to get more trading partners, and to fight and expand. You might even be able to get astronomy from being the first to liberalism.

Lack of hammers is a problem, but with the great lighthouse and financial, you'll have lots of money. Build cheap troops and upgrade them. Especially build city raider berserkers and upgrade them to grenadiers. That should be devastating in combination with frigates to bombard city defenses. Settle by seafood resources and use slavery for important buildings; you don't need to avoid settling small islands if they have food bonuses. Also, get universal suffrage so you can just buy what you need.

 

[johncross21]

Grateful for comments received so far

Some further thoughts on mid game
- focus resources on units with lots of damage points because ferrying units is time consuming
- to outperform other civs need to make use of trade and that suggests open borders (even if that makes surprise attack more likely)
- doesn't matter if cities are not heavily guarded but it is important to protect those cities with lots of hammers as these are few and far between
- galleons are crucial (they come well before frigates and are quite powerful)

Confused about
- what wonders might help naval victory in mid game ?

 

[oyzar]

dont think the AI is actually capable of preforming real surprise attacks. Defence needed is very minimal as long as you have boats. Just colonize ahead hapily.

 

[Hold The Onion]

did a similar game the other day. Berserkers are a blast on this. Especially if you get them while some AIs havent gone to longbows yet- which is a very real possibility if you oracle and pick Metal Casting so you get Colossus very early.

My biggest tips would be A) Colossus is much more important than Great Lighthouse, though both are great if you can get em. B) you should have a production city that is ALWAYS making navy in addition to whatever your usual unit strategies are.

 

[johncross21]

Have focused on Mehmed and Isabella. Reduced both to a series of tiny rocks but can't be bothered at this stage to finish either off.

Turning attention instead to Peter because he is second on the leader board and has a big island with a river. In this game rivers have proven useful because few islands have them and without them you can't irrigate the land squares. Its a case of water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink

Given shortage of hammers the heroic epic and great war leader have been good because they speed up production

Still not got a clue what tech and wonders might be useful at this stage