Requirements for a stable Monarchy

[Exsanguination]

-I'm Rome.
-I'm building temples in all cities (should be all completed in next 10 or so turns, give or take a couple cities)
-Building masses of Legionaries (conquest, baby)
-Currency in 3 turns, gonna build marketplaces in key cities first
-Building Colossus (17 turns) in capital
-about 20 cities (isolated island)
-know everyone - even playing field

Because of the fact I want to go for a conquest spanning the ages, I am opting for a Monarchy now and maybe a Democracy later IFF I feel totally safe (which is probably unlikely). I plan to wipe out the first few civs with legionaries/horsemen, a couple more with knights/longbowmen/legionaries, and the rest when needed (shoot, should of turned OFF domination...).

Do you think once I finish my temples (happiness), I can become a stable monarchy? Or not? Why not? What should I have? I rarely ever play under a Monarchy, so I've got no idea.

 

[joycem10]

make sure that you have some cities that are larger than six 6. when you go from depotism to monarchy the amount of units you can support for free is cut in half. the larger cities provide more free units.

 

[God]

I like to wait to switch to monarchy in the Middle Ages. Never go for republic because there is horrible unit support.

I try to get marketplaces and temples in my main cities and also barracks, aqueducts, and few libaries here and there.

I'd say wait till after the first war.

 

[steviejay]

what is, in your opinion, the best government type for a pretty military-based civ (aka me). I change to Monarchy as soon as I can but after that I just leave it and stay on Monarchy for the rest of the game? is there any better ones out there or should I stay with what I have already.

You have all probably all discuss'd the question "Whats the best Government" before but I'm pretty new to the Forums

 

[God]

If I'm not playing a religious civ then I go to monarchy after I discover it. Like I said above, wait for some marketplaces, size 7 cities and temples in most places.

Despotism has better unit support than Monarchy earlier on because monarchy's unit support depends on city size. So wait for cities larger than size 6.

At that point I'm usually either upgrading chariots to horsemen or warriors to swordsmen or have already warred but preparing for Middle Ages.

Even if I don't plan to war with knights, monarchy is better than republic, because it will support a large military. Usually at this point I don't have the greatest economy and depend on my military might to make sure I don't get bullied. With crappy unit support in republic I am forced to cut down on military which leads to the AI demanding things from me.

I like to stay with monarchy through most of the game, often till when I have basically crushed the other civs. Then I go to democracy. If I am certain that there will be a long period of peace in the Industrial and Modern Ages than I'll switch to democracy earlier.

But my strategy revolves around waiting for the next powerful offensive unit.

Ex: After fighting long cavalry wars early in Industrial era, and infantry show up slowing down the wars, then I industrialize and get ready for tanks. Then more wars. When mech infantry come along, I wait for Modern Armor and more fighting. So there is usually only a short time of peace, and its not worth it wasting 5 turns going to democracy, and then switching out.

 

[chiefpaco]

Sounds like you have a good start (20 cities). I consider Monarchy an easier form of government to manage than a Republic. I play quite a bit of Monarchy, and though styles may differ greatly, I stick to these:

- Irrigation, Aqueducts, and Hospitals later are key to get cities up to the next level of Unit support.

- 3 Military Police can help keep the cities from going into disorder. As a result, you may not need cathedrals very much, unless you are concerned about culture or are a Religious civ (not the case here, it seems). However, to be able to afford this, you will need unit support, so point 1 is reinforced. A temple and marketplace may be all you need to keep people happy, depending on your luxury situation. If you are not Religious, later, you may consider a colosseum instead of a cathedral, because it is cheaper.

- Play your civ strengths. As Rome, you have cheaper barracks and harbours. Great for conquest. I'd be building veteran units going for a military victory, as you seem to be leaning to.

- Being on an isolated island makes it tougher to make things a quick conquest. May I suggest going for Map making and get your galleys going?

- Keep fighting. Go ahead and start wars if you want. Just remember to declare them honourably so your reputation goes intact. If you don't feel like fighting, you may not even have to declare peace. You will likely be able to defend yourself well enough to distract whoever you fight.

- Either by buying or researching (but often in peace deals after beating other civs), I haven't found Monarchy that tough to keep up with in tech until sometime during the Industrial Era, when it starts to become a chore. In the modern era though, researching tech gets to be a pain. At that time, I may consider switching to a Republic to finish the tree because many of the city improvements are built by then.

Best of luck