Steal a worker
- Thread starter newfgamer
- Start date
It's really easy, click on an opposing Worker with one of your military units (Don't think Scouts/Explorers count). That Worker is changed to your side. You can also do the same to Settlers though they convert to a Worker as well. Of course you know, this means War...
VirusMonster
Quechua General
On higher difficulty levels where AI starts with free archers, when you capture a worker, most likely the nearby archer will kill your weak warrior.
You should be careful when capturing a worker if you want to keep your warrior alive. Either capture a worker on hills, forest or jungle or try to capture the worker not right next to the center city square. If there are no roads that fasten the archer to kill your warrior, you might escape your warrior as well.
Of course, you can try capturing the worker with a quechua. Then, you don't have to worry to keep it alive
You should be careful when capturing a worker if you want to keep your warrior alive. Either capture a worker on hills, forest or jungle or try to capture the worker not right next to the center city square. If there are no roads that fasten the archer to kill your warrior, you might escape your warrior as well.
Of course, you can try capturing the worker with a quechua. Then, you don't have to worry to keep it alive
VirusMonster said:On higher difficulty levels where AI starts with free archers, when you capture a worker, most likely the nearby archer will kill your weak warrior.
You should be careful when capturing a worker if you want to keep your warrior alive. Either capture a worker on hills, forest or jungle or try to capture the worker not right next to the center city square. If there are no roads that fasten the archer to kill your warrior, you might escape your warrior as well.
Of course, you can try capturing the worker with a quechua. Then, you don't have to worry to keep it alive
Aye, you have to be careful, but even if it's a suicide mission, a worker is far more valuable than a warrior.
VirusMonster
Quechua General
Zombie69 said:
I agree worker is more valuable than the warrior, but your capital is more valuable than a worker as well. Several times I lost the initial warrior and as I was building barracks or fishing boats, the wandering archer attacks and wipes my civ out.
VirusMonster
Quechua General
Zombie69 said:Well, at least that makes for a quick game and you can then start a new one!
yep, very quick game
Fastest conquest loss ever in 15 turns 
Zombie69 said:
Yeah but if the warrior dies, then there's noone to escort the worker back to your city
Have to say my own experience on stealing workers is that it's very risky, and doesn't always work. In particular:
1. You can only capture the worker if it actually is working at the edge of the AI cultural borders next to your warrior on the turn you declare war. Otherwise the AI pulls the worker into its city before you can take it. And the time your warrior is spending lurking on the AI borders waiting for a worker to show up in the right spot is time that the warrior isn't exploring and isn't opening goody huts.
2. On monarch and above, you end up in an instant war with a civ that has archers when you don't. That's not so bad if the civ is some way distant from yours, because they'll usually accept a peace treaty before their pursuing archers have reached your borders, but it can be very dangerous for a nearby civ. At this stage in the game one hostile archer is all it takes to give you a very rapid conquest defeat.
3. On prince and below, the problem is there aren't any AI workers at the beginning. By the time you've waited for the AI to build them for you to capture, you've potentially lost quite a few turns when your worker could've been doing something useful if you'd just built one yourself (this isn't so much of an issue if you're researching early religion and neglecting worker action techs initially). Also, by the time the workers are around, the AI's cultural borders are bigger so it's less likely the worker will wander on to a square at the border that he can be captured from.
Because of all those issues, I've become inclined not to use a strategy of relying on capturing a worker. I just build one myself anyway. If of course, a good opportunity arises to steal a worker then I will take it, but I don't plan on that happening. And I don't spend warrior-time lurking on AI borders unless it's about the time a worker ought to appear AND I notice a resource on the border that the AI is very likely to beeline to hook up.
What I have had much more luck doing is beelining for animal husbandry, and if I can build chariots early on, use them to steal a worker (along with declaring war and pillaging to keep an AI weak until I have something strong enough to start taking cities with).
1. You can only capture the worker if it actually is working at the edge of the AI cultural borders next to your warrior on the turn you declare war. Otherwise the AI pulls the worker into its city before you can take it. And the time your warrior is spending lurking on the AI borders waiting for a worker to show up in the right spot is time that the warrior isn't exploring and isn't opening goody huts.
2. On monarch and above, you end up in an instant war with a civ that has archers when you don't. That's not so bad if the civ is some way distant from yours, because they'll usually accept a peace treaty before their pursuing archers have reached your borders, but it can be very dangerous for a nearby civ. At this stage in the game one hostile archer is all it takes to give you a very rapid conquest defeat.
3. On prince and below, the problem is there aren't any AI workers at the beginning. By the time you've waited for the AI to build them for you to capture, you've potentially lost quite a few turns when your worker could've been doing something useful if you'd just built one yourself (this isn't so much of an issue if you're researching early religion and neglecting worker action techs initially). Also, by the time the workers are around, the AI's cultural borders are bigger so it's less likely the worker will wander on to a square at the border that he can be captured from.
Because of all those issues, I've become inclined not to use a strategy of relying on capturing a worker. I just build one myself anyway. If of course, a good opportunity arises to steal a worker then I will take it, but I don't plan on that happening. And I don't spend warrior-time lurking on AI borders unless it's about the time a worker ought to appear AND I notice a resource on the border that the AI is very likely to beeline to hook up.
What I have had much more luck doing is beelining for animal husbandry, and if I can build chariots early on, use them to steal a worker (along with declaring war and pillaging to keep an AI weak until I have something strong enough to start taking cities with).
MamboJoel
Cool.
I see it quite often in MP games. Two situations :
1. Other players are not too experimented. Pretty good idea.
2. Players are motivated or experimented. They will be much less open to a peace treaty in 20 turns than the AI. Human nature can make them throw all their force against you in a Vendetta that will cost much more than an early worker.
I've seen a lot of players not taking this factor in consideration, declaring war, takin the worker and suffering in a terrible early war (pillaging everywhere), and eventually quitting the game in disgust.
Worker stab ok : but take your responsibilities.
Edit : Because it's an act of War and at that time of the game no intelligent preparation has been done in either side. So it's allmost just like rollingthe dice to me.
1. Other players are not too experimented. Pretty good idea.
2. Players are motivated or experimented. They will be much less open to a peace treaty in 20 turns than the AI. Human nature can make them throw all their force against you in a Vendetta that will cost much more than an early worker.
I've seen a lot of players not taking this factor in consideration, declaring war, takin the worker and suffering in a terrible early war (pillaging everywhere), and eventually quitting the game in disgust.
Worker stab ok : but take your responsibilities.
Edit : Because it's an act of War and at that time of the game no intelligent preparation has been done in either side. So it's allmost just like rollingthe dice to me.
Zombie69
Emperor
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2005
- Messages
- 1,902
DynamicSpirit said:
At Immortal, no need to lurk, and no need to be lucky. The first AI you encounter will definitely have a worker or two in arm's reach before you've even finished circling half their city to get to the other side.
I guess this strategy is mostly good on higher levels. I didn't know it wasn't good on lower levels because i never play those.
At Immortal, i don't even build a single worker anymore, unless i'm alone on an island.
theimmortal1
Prince
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2006
- Messages
- 539
I agree Zombie. Theres really no risk. I've never been attacked one time after stealing a worker. I've never lost a warrior after stealing a worker. Not including barbs however.
The AI's units are in its city. its worker is typically 2 spots outside of its city on the ring. Take the worker, move it. Next turn he MAY move his archer next to your warrior, but then just start moving your worker. 10 turns later you get peace.
The AI's units are in its city. its worker is typically 2 spots outside of its city on the ring. Take the worker, move it. Next turn he MAY move his archer next to your warrior, but then just start moving your worker. 10 turns later you get peace.
theimmortal1 said:
I've had one game on monarch in which stealing a worker lead to my quick demise. Maybe I could've got peace after 10 turns, but my capital was < 10 turns from his (Montezuma's IIRC) capital. Also lost the warrior a couple of times (if the worker has already built a road on the square you capture it from then the archers can reach your warrior that turn). There is I'd imagine also a small chance that you might be unlucky and the AI might have an archer who happens to be exploring near your territory.
Perhaps the key is to only steal workers from civs > 10 plots from your capital? (which in practice is almost always the case)
theimmortal1
Prince
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2006
- Messages
- 539
Yeah I usually steal workers from civs that are further away. Mainly I don't want to piss them off to the point they enter in a war w/ me before I am ready.
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