Passive or agressive?

[ainwood]

One weakness in my mid-game strategy appears to be that I allocate my resources to defending, improving terrain and building city improvements (plus a few caravans). After a good start (where I am ahead on the powergraph), I tend to revert to this mode, whilst the AI invariably switches to constantly attacking me.

This means that I have to allocate more resources to defense, although it must surely be a lot less than the AI wastes throwing itself against my city walls!

The net result however, is that the AI often catches up and passes me.

I think that this is partly because I stop wholesale new-city building, but I'm thinking that I also need to dedicate a few cities to war - build up a few troops and harrass the AI cities, and therefore try to keep the fighting off my homeland.

Any thoughts on this? How does the AI react to harrasment? Should I try to take cities, or just try and divert the AI's attention?

 

[duke o' york]

The best way to keep the AI out of your homeland is to drive them out as early as possible, but another of my favourites is to build cities very close to the AI's territory and then fill in the rest of the space with your cities. The AI will send armies at your border cities for most of the game and throw away valuable shields in so doing, and your home cities can concentrate on building infrastructure and growing. You will need some good defenders in these cities and city walls and then need never again concern yourself with them, as the AI is unlikely to try and sail settlers past them into your (as yet) unclaimed land so you can forget their existence and just build away back home. If you can build these border cities on good defensive terrain (a hill is the best), then the AI has absolutely no chance and you will we secure against them. Even let the AI steal a tech from the city, as it will never again be able to do it. Then, once you have filled all the space for your empire inside these self-imposed boundaries, you can crush the AI's cities and continue to bui.d where they once stood.

 

[Jorge]

Maybe United Nations or Eiffel Tower would help if you want to mantain yourself out of any war.

 

[Enkidu]

I'd say its easiest knocking out the first few civ's at the very start when the A.I usually never has city walls.
Later on I think it is quite difficult taking the computers's city unless you bribe them (which is really boring)

 

[duke o' york]

Originally posted by Jorge
Maybe United Nations or Eiffel Tower would help if you want to maintain yourself out of any war.

What a ridiculous idea! The Eiffel Tower isn't good for anything but the extra points at the end of the game. It is supposed to lift your approval rating among the other civs by a level, but this lasts ooooh.... all of a single turn after you've built it, and then they revert to either (Hostile, War) or (Icy, Peace) as they are for all the rest of the game. It has absolutely no effect on your being able to manage the government while at war, or indeed any effect at all. The UN is very useful to get cease fires and peace deals when you want to concentrate on building up your civ, and you can often get the AI to agree to peace the same turn in which you've just taken several of their cities. It's not worth a lot in terms of lasting peace, but the removal of troops from a city radius is quite useful.

 

[ferenginar]

The best strategy will depend upon the circumstances, but here are a few general points. IHMO on all of them.

Take out the nearby AI early on, try to ensure that the Island/continent you are on is yours and not shared.

If there is a pinch point to another landmass, fortify the narrowest point (on a hill or mountain if possible) place a city near by so the units don't cause unhappiness. They'll throw lots of units at this, and you won't have to worry to much about a sea-bourne invasion.

If you are on a seperate land mass be prepared for naval assaults, build coastal defenses asap and put a few ships on patrol. Keep a small force of mobile units available to repel any beacheads.

Try to take one of their cities or settle on their continent, attack can be the best for of defence, but you don't have to go all out until you've built your civ to your liking.

Maintain a lead in research and have the newest/strongest units leos can be exceptionally helpful in this.

UN is good, but won't solve the problem, I've forced peace then had a sneak attack 10-15 turns in a row.

hope this helps

ferenginar

 

[Sodak]

Originally posted by Enkidu
I'd say its easiest knocking out the first few civ's at the very start when the A.I usually never has city walls.
Later on I think it is quite difficult taking the computers's city unless you bribe them (which is really boring)

Not at all, if you focus on science early. I always kill off AI pikemen, legions, and phalanx defenders with my ironclads and cannon. Veterans ancient units behind city walls are no match for my bad guys!

If you don't have a tech lead, veteran catapults are an even match against these same fellows. You can expect casualties, but the city will be yours if you attack with strategy.

 

[Sodak]

ainwood, are you building too many improvements? If you need to raise taxes (at the expense of science), you may be doing just that. Once you have the tech lead, give away techs that the AI can't use to harm you - warrior code, pottery, mysticism, etc. This speeds up your research and keeps the AI less hostile.

Key to tech is trade. Do you make sure every city has several trade routes established? If not, this alone will give your science a tremendous boost. Deliver those caravans!

Build a Super Science City, if you don't already do that. That one city can keep you ahead in tech for the rest of the game.

 

[ainwood]

Thanks to all for the advice. I do follow most of the recommendations already - especially the tactical ones (choke points etc).

I don't tend to give away techs, nor trade for them which may be an option to consider. As for building new improvements, I tend to evaluate them first - ie I won't build a bank unless I'm going to get a decent return on the maintenance costs. I do try and trade a bit, but once I've set up trade routes, I tend to stop (ie I don't get the science bonus benefit from continued trade).

I am trying a few things differently in my latest game, and it appears to be working 'better'. I am on a massive continent, sharing it only with the Sioux. They are on the west, I'm on the east, and there is a massive area (suitable for 10 to 15 cities) between us. I went to monothiesm, made vet. crusaders and went across to take a couple of Sioux cities (they are second to me on the powergraph). Even paid them for peace after this to regroup. However, the hope is that this will keep them busy, whilst I in-fill no-mans' land.

As I said in my original post though, the challenge is to maintain my lead - keep harrassing and skirmishing with the AI, and get some serious trade going. Maybe look to form an alliance with a weak civ, although the three that I have met so far have been instantly hostile!