drkodos
Emperor
I feel this tactic is mostly overlooked and I have oft wondered why. Building a Settler first seems a controversial starting tactic and has not been accepted by too many players as a viable starting strategy, but there has never been offered a clear refutation.
I believe and argue here that it remains a strong starting tactic, is highly underrated, and ignorantly ignored. Nothing can accelrate an early land grab as fast as getting that second city built 14 turns into the game. And certainly, with Imperialist trait, it is even more powerful and fast. The primary advantage of such a seemingly counter intuitive start is that it improves the entire empire immediatly by effectively doubling production early, and thus allows for faster early game growth. It also is tremendously flexible because you can mix and match production from your two cities while almost every other civ would still have only one city and can only pump out one item. With settelr first, you can have a worker coming out while the other city builds warriors all while your opponents are still growing their first city.
It's all about the real estate. They ain't making any more of it, and the sooner we make claim to it, the stronger we are.
It is rare indeed that the AI will launch an offensive prior to 2,000 BC, but it is not uncommon for that same AI to have snagged a couple of good city sites close to our home territory by that time.
Because the game is essentially about working as many tiles a possible, nothing facilitates this as quickly as getting that 2nd city site up and running and nothing accomplishes this faster than building settler first.
It is a very strong opening salvo in games in which starting positions are not ideal and there is some better land to be had proximal to a starting position. In games in which religious techs are being pursued and there will not be too many early worker chores, it is particulary strong.
Comments, criticisms, caveats & condescension welcome.
I believe and argue here that it remains a strong starting tactic, is highly underrated, and ignorantly ignored. Nothing can accelrate an early land grab as fast as getting that second city built 14 turns into the game. And certainly, with Imperialist trait, it is even more powerful and fast. The primary advantage of such a seemingly counter intuitive start is that it improves the entire empire immediatly by effectively doubling production early, and thus allows for faster early game growth. It also is tremendously flexible because you can mix and match production from your two cities while almost every other civ would still have only one city and can only pump out one item. With settelr first, you can have a worker coming out while the other city builds warriors all while your opponents are still growing their first city.
It's all about the real estate. They ain't making any more of it, and the sooner we make claim to it, the stronger we are.
It is rare indeed that the AI will launch an offensive prior to 2,000 BC, but it is not uncommon for that same AI to have snagged a couple of good city sites close to our home territory by that time.
Because the game is essentially about working as many tiles a possible, nothing facilitates this as quickly as getting that 2nd city site up and running and nothing accomplishes this faster than building settler first.
It is a very strong opening salvo in games in which starting positions are not ideal and there is some better land to be had proximal to a starting position. In games in which religious techs are being pursued and there will not be too many early worker chores, it is particulary strong.
Comments, criticisms, caveats & condescension welcome.