Part 6 of 4-Strategy Deity Showdown is out! Start with a bit of a recap of the series so far where I talk about my successes and mistakes so far in hindsight. All civs focus in hard on expansion in this episode in an effort to claim early settling spots.
Part 6: Expansion Time!
thanks for the questions guys!
1. Range promotion is for sure the most useful but having range on only one crossbow is not enough damage to start to whittle down Venice's health in the industrial age with his Castle. Logistics, even though it doesn't have range is double the experience so you can get to range faster choosing it if you know the AI will keep sending units at you to mow down. So if they are holed up in a city range is slightly more xp. If they keep sending units to kill logistics is more xp. My goal is both so I picked the one that was most useful at the time and got the most xp. In general, if you don't desperately need the range right at the moment and it is critical to taking a city you always take logistics because it gives you double the rate of experience and you'll have range after only a little while, logistics/range is enough to take down a walled city with only a single unit eventually, but as I said, since I'm upgrading them to gatlings since crossbows are too fragile and I don't want to accidentally lose them, that era is over anyway and logistics is more valuable for the double attacks imo. Probably an opinion choice but since one ranged crossbow wouldn't be enough to take down Venice anyway I went with the upgrade+logistics.
2. I agree, artillery is the next tech I beeline. Since my stated goal is to win science I cannot delay research labs, which are the last big science boost for the empire. The sooner I get that and make them before the AI the sooner I finally pass them in science. Research labs are a far bigger boost then growing. Right after I get them we'll go for artillery and I'll finish Venice. I originally had hope some clever work with roads and cannons would do it but he's too well defended--you'll see next part. I'd lose about 1/3 of my force in sacrifices to pull it off because he has several crossbows set up behind the city plus frigates. We'll upgrade those cannons and take him down after probably. Since I'm liberty my army costs me if it is in or out of cities so ending the war, unless I get tribute, doesn't have a benefit other then avoiding negative diplo and I don't plan to disband because I'll need them in wars to come.
3. Yes starting wars to distract AI is pretty standard. I do this less then other players because I don't mind fighting to wars and don't have a lot to spare at the moment, but also because the AI are still choosing ideologies. Once the last guys pick a side I'll know who my friends are and I can think about encouraging wars that don't hurt my new friends. Because the other order civs are my main ideological protection it's important I not start wars that kill them on accident and Mongolia and Ethiopia and Spain all have yet to choose a side. Waiting and holding my breath at the moment. One thing I know from reading diplo recently, the entire world has denounced the Ottomans, I'll do the same soon and I don't doubt they'll start wars with him on their own soon even without my help. Also Mongolia and America both dislike Persia who is Freedom and influential on me so encouraging that war could be good.
4. Oh yeah I think you can, I always forget this and have never done it. Good reminder!
5. Choral, you want to bulb your scientist when your science rate levels, then he gives the maximum amount of use. If I use him now when my science is increasing every turn I shave off less turns then I will later. So from an absolute use standpoint they are best used at the end of the game together to rush through the atomic and info eras and quickly get to spaceship part techs. I am saving them and will demonstrate this strategy if you have not yet seen it. Some say you also get an equivalent benefit for claiming a science tech like plastics earlier. I thought about it but decided against it since I didn't have the money to quickly buy RL anyway and my main cities still had plenty of things I wanted to build. If I had done it I would have needed to stop building military and delay hospital and I'm growing pretty slowly in the core now.
