InvisibleStalke
Emperor
I am playing a game with Saladin that possibly could not have been played as successfully with any other leader. Protective is much maligned, but in this game I have really appreciated it.
It starts with the map. I was playing Saladin on a lakes map - one of the hardest in my opinion. You are surrounded by several AIs with few natural borders. Attacks can come from any direction - or as in this game, from every direction at once. I was playing a game inspired by Mad Scientist's Holy Sal game. Saladin would play a religious game seeking religions and religious wonders and probably a cultural victory.
My neighbours were Louis, Ramses, Wang and Suleiman. Distant were Mansa and Suri. Not a psychopath in the bunch right? Wrong. I start by building the Great Wall to keep barbarians away, then the Oracle to found Confucianism. Then I head up to the Great Library, building the Statue of Zeus along the way. I use the great Prophet from the Madrassa to bulb Theology and manage to build the AP.
Louis then decides to invade with horse archers. Luckily my borders are fairly deep and I can whip some spears to defend. I'm OK. But then Wang and Suleiman both join in - I haven't managed the diplomacy too well and must have been a bit blase about the war - it was just a distraction from my wonder building after all. But I am protective. A couple of whips gives me a good solid wall and a protective archer. Axes and spears follow and my cities hold. Eventually I tech to construction and jumbos start to clear back the attackers and I sue for peace with them all.
I get a bit smarter about diplomacy and start the AIs fighting each other. I also head towards Paper to complete the University of Sankore and build Confucian temples and monasteries in all my cities. I join in with Ramses on a war on Suleiman and proceed to conquer enough cities to vassalize him. I also help Ramses with France capturing a city - Louis then vassalizes to Ramses. And then I turn my attention on Wang - its payback time. My army of protective muskets, trebs and maces captures several of his cities and he vassalizes. Everything is good - the world is at peace and my enemies are paid back. Time to pursue my cultural goals. Tech to democracy and build the SOL.
Then the forever war begins. Suri, Mansa, Louis and Ramses all declare war on me in the same turn. Ramses has a giant stack of 20 or so curaissers, a few maces and 4 trebs two turns from one of my captured cities. Its garrison is two muskets. But Saladin is spiritual and switches to nationalism, theology and slavery. A wall is immediately whipped in the city and a musket drafted. Muskets are also drafted in all the neighbouring cities and more troops whipped. Further back camel archers are whipped - useful since I don't have horses. Next turn a castle is whipped in the city and another musket drafted. I could never have whipped the castle as a one turn whip without the protective bonus.
When his troops are outside my city it now has a castle and 12 troops - mainly drafted muskets, but a few highly promoted ones to. Protective muskets are a good match for curaissers on defense. Instead of attacking immediately he begins to bring down the walls - but this takes a long time with a castle and my garrison swells rapidly. At around 50% he launches his attack. It might be enough to succeed with regular defenders. But the protective ones are tougher and the city holds.
I tech to rifling and hold my borders. War weariness is mounting with my enemies due to SoZ and the big stacks I have destroyed inside my borders. My vassal Wang has a hard time of it and loses a few cities to Suri. At this point every city in my empire has a Confucian temple and monastery. I am running mercantilism and have two free specialists with the SoL. Most of my science and a lot of my production is coming from these free bonuses in every city and a lot of my costs are covered by three holy cities. I have a lot of troops - drafted and whipped from cities which I can afford to run down to nothing since I will still get the free production, science and specialists.
I draft around 20 rifles and go back on the offensive. I could probably sue for peace, but protective rifles are great and these swine will probably just betray me again. I slowly take back Wang's lost cities and return them and slowly begin to grind Louis and Ramses back. At this point I have the ideal war economy.
- I'm geared up for a culture win anyway with two cottage cities and a wonder building capital. Rest run mainly farms with a few towns that help pay the costs. Running 50% culture is good for me and means I don't care about war weariness.
- Representation, two free specialists and UoS mean I still gain techs. I will shortly be first to Assembly Line after completely avoiding Scientific Method.
- The non stop war hurts my opponents who have accumulated a ton of war weariness more than me.
- With Saladin I can switch to Nationalism for a burst of drafting and then go back to Liberalism for more culture.
- My draftees start with three promotions.
- Apart from my three culture cities I am free to draft and whip as much as I like in any city - and science and production will still keep flowing.
And its one of the most fun games I have played. I doubt it will end in a culture win, but thats still my main push. Louis will soon be donating me the Sistine Chapel and Ramses is going to lose his capital. Suri is largely unhurt so far - but once I get Infantry...
And Saladin will defy all his critics and the rest of the world to win his holy wars!
It starts with the map. I was playing Saladin on a lakes map - one of the hardest in my opinion. You are surrounded by several AIs with few natural borders. Attacks can come from any direction - or as in this game, from every direction at once. I was playing a game inspired by Mad Scientist's Holy Sal game. Saladin would play a religious game seeking religions and religious wonders and probably a cultural victory.
My neighbours were Louis, Ramses, Wang and Suleiman. Distant were Mansa and Suri. Not a psychopath in the bunch right? Wrong. I start by building the Great Wall to keep barbarians away, then the Oracle to found Confucianism. Then I head up to the Great Library, building the Statue of Zeus along the way. I use the great Prophet from the Madrassa to bulb Theology and manage to build the AP.
Louis then decides to invade with horse archers. Luckily my borders are fairly deep and I can whip some spears to defend. I'm OK. But then Wang and Suleiman both join in - I haven't managed the diplomacy too well and must have been a bit blase about the war - it was just a distraction from my wonder building after all. But I am protective. A couple of whips gives me a good solid wall and a protective archer. Axes and spears follow and my cities hold. Eventually I tech to construction and jumbos start to clear back the attackers and I sue for peace with them all.
I get a bit smarter about diplomacy and start the AIs fighting each other. I also head towards Paper to complete the University of Sankore and build Confucian temples and monasteries in all my cities. I join in with Ramses on a war on Suleiman and proceed to conquer enough cities to vassalize him. I also help Ramses with France capturing a city - Louis then vassalizes to Ramses. And then I turn my attention on Wang - its payback time. My army of protective muskets, trebs and maces captures several of his cities and he vassalizes. Everything is good - the world is at peace and my enemies are paid back. Time to pursue my cultural goals. Tech to democracy and build the SOL.
Then the forever war begins. Suri, Mansa, Louis and Ramses all declare war on me in the same turn. Ramses has a giant stack of 20 or so curaissers, a few maces and 4 trebs two turns from one of my captured cities. Its garrison is two muskets. But Saladin is spiritual and switches to nationalism, theology and slavery. A wall is immediately whipped in the city and a musket drafted. Muskets are also drafted in all the neighbouring cities and more troops whipped. Further back camel archers are whipped - useful since I don't have horses. Next turn a castle is whipped in the city and another musket drafted. I could never have whipped the castle as a one turn whip without the protective bonus.
When his troops are outside my city it now has a castle and 12 troops - mainly drafted muskets, but a few highly promoted ones to. Protective muskets are a good match for curaissers on defense. Instead of attacking immediately he begins to bring down the walls - but this takes a long time with a castle and my garrison swells rapidly. At around 50% he launches his attack. It might be enough to succeed with regular defenders. But the protective ones are tougher and the city holds.
I tech to rifling and hold my borders. War weariness is mounting with my enemies due to SoZ and the big stacks I have destroyed inside my borders. My vassal Wang has a hard time of it and loses a few cities to Suri. At this point every city in my empire has a Confucian temple and monastery. I am running mercantilism and have two free specialists with the SoL. Most of my science and a lot of my production is coming from these free bonuses in every city and a lot of my costs are covered by three holy cities. I have a lot of troops - drafted and whipped from cities which I can afford to run down to nothing since I will still get the free production, science and specialists.
I draft around 20 rifles and go back on the offensive. I could probably sue for peace, but protective rifles are great and these swine will probably just betray me again. I slowly take back Wang's lost cities and return them and slowly begin to grind Louis and Ramses back. At this point I have the ideal war economy.
- I'm geared up for a culture win anyway with two cottage cities and a wonder building capital. Rest run mainly farms with a few towns that help pay the costs. Running 50% culture is good for me and means I don't care about war weariness.
- Representation, two free specialists and UoS mean I still gain techs. I will shortly be first to Assembly Line after completely avoiding Scientific Method.
- The non stop war hurts my opponents who have accumulated a ton of war weariness more than me.
- With Saladin I can switch to Nationalism for a burst of drafting and then go back to Liberalism for more culture.
- My draftees start with three promotions.
- Apart from my three culture cities I am free to draft and whip as much as I like in any city - and science and production will still keep flowing.
And its one of the most fun games I have played. I doubt it will end in a culture win, but thats still my main push. Louis will soon be donating me the Sistine Chapel and Ramses is going to lose his capital. Suri is largely unhurt so far - but once I get Infantry...
And Saladin will defy all his critics and the rest of the world to win his holy wars!
. I would give to walls only, though .
