Puppets

[Gothic_Empire]

When, in general, is it best to take a puppet over burning a city

When, in general, is it best to occupy instead of puppet?

And when, in general, is it best to convert a puppet into an occupied city?

 

[Stalker0]

The only time I raze is if I am good and done with a war and I need the AI to call it quits. Puppeting doesn't have a lot of drawbacks (some but usually worth it), but the biggest one is that if I raze a city and don't resettle....the AI will resettle that spot as certainly as the sun rising in the east.

Annexing over puppeting depends on how good the city spot is (aka is it worth investing in). Generally I will also annex earlier taken cities because they have the time to become fruitful, whereas late game takes are almost always puppets.

 

[tu_79]

The only time I raze is if I am good and done with a war and I need the AI to call it quits. Puppeting doesn't have a lot of drawbacks (some but usually worth it), but the biggest one is that if I raze a city and don't resettle....the AI will resettle that spot as certainly as the sun rising in the east.

Annexing over puppeting depends on how good the city spot is (aka is it worth investing in). Generally I will also annex earlier taken cities because they have the time to become fruitful, whereas late game takes are almost always puppets.

For some people the sun is raising in the South.

 

[CppMaster]

For some people the sun is raising in the South.

On a North Pole?

 

[Omen of Peace]

The default should be puppeting IMHO, since it doesn't increase policy/science costs.

Razing
If you have abilities that trigger upon taking a city (France especially, but also Assyria, an Authority or Imperialism policy, Crusaders reformation belief), then it can justify razing and letting the AI resettle to conquer it again.
Otherwise, razing is used to increase war score, or if you want to resettle in a different place (Indonesia can do this to get even more luxuries to spawn).

It's also fine to raze in the early game since the puppet city can have no building at all.

Annexation
If you need control over production (to produce defensive structure against a counter-attack, or troops), or if you need more supply, annex it.
You can annex it as well if it's a prime location (natural wonder, foreign capital with lots of luxuries or lots of wonders), then annex it: it will carry its weight over time.

 

[crdvis16]

The other reason you might choose to raze rather than puppet is if you have or anticipate happiness problems. Puppets tend to be quite unhappy with their default population/2 (or is it population/4? Can't remember now...) unhappiness compared to settled or annexed cities whose infrastructure is up to date. So if happiness is a problem then raze them away.

 

[Legen]

It is population/4.