Strategy Discussion and Guides

[citis]

That's not enough, in my experience.

I played a Korea game in which I conquered Guangzhou (Confucian holy city), Varanasi (Hindu holy city), and Delhi (Buddhist holy city). All this happened while I had to prepare for the Mongols. Then, the Mongols came and the Mughals (who flipped Delhi) got rid of my Indian presence. I reconquered and vassalized the Mughals, but I still fell extremely behind. I was still using knights in the 19th century!

So is there a balance between conquering holy cities and avoiding overexpansion? Because "conquer holy cities" is definitely not the end-all-be-all.

Did holy cities had the shrines present?

 

[Atlantic Pacf.]

Did holy cities had the shrines present?

The Confucian city didn't, but I built it in short order. The Buddhist one did and was the only one that gave me the full 20 gold (even more when I conquered the ToS a while later). The Hindu one didn't, but it did after I reconquered it from the Mughals.

 

[The Diocletian]

Having a good income means nothing if you don't have any land to work. How many cities did you have?

 

[Atlantic Pacf.]

Having a good income means nothing if you don't have any land to work. How many cities did you have?

For most of the game I had Seoul, Pyongyang, Shenyang, and (after China collapsed) Guangzhou. Delhi and Varanasi I captured, lost, then reconquered (along with a city the Mughals built). So for the most part, seven, though generally in pretty good land. I also made conquests in the Middle East and China (when it collapsed again) in the later game.

So I don't think my problem is with land. (If anything it was my downfall, because I ended up with a collapse to the core.)

 

[Eric Cartmenez]

Please tell me guys, how do you deal with Prussian spawn while playing as France, in 1695AD I control some 55% of Europe, during the conquest of German lands I kept just Frankfurt, Wien and Konigsberg, everything else in their spawn area razed ... is it better to refuse the flip or accept it, wait 10 turns and annihilate them?

Also can their UHV2 be triggered before 1800AD, in case I control 40% of Europe and 40% of NA?

Thank you

 

[citis]

Please tell me guys, how do you deal with Prussian spawn while playing as France, in 1695AD I control some 55% of Europe, during the conquest of German lands I kept just Frankfurt, Wien and Konigsberg, everything else in their spawn area razed ... is it better to refuse the flip or accept it, wait 10 turns and annihilate them?

Also can their UHV2 be triggered before 1800AD, in case I control 40% of Europe and 40% of NA?

Thank you

Don't conquer anything in their spawn area. Wait until the end of the 10 turn peace and then conquer them. It worked in normal speed, but obviously, they should be one of your last conquests.

Declare war will double their army, thus it isn't a good idea.

 

[Tomorrow's Dawn]

Please tell me guys, how do you deal with Prussian spawn while playing as France, in 1695AD I control some 55% of Europe, during the conquest of German lands I kept just Frankfurt, Wien and Konigsberg, everything else in their spawn area razed ... is it better to refuse the flip or accept it, wait 10 turns and annihilate them?

Also can their UHV2 be triggered before 1800AD, in case I control 40% of Europe and 40% of NA?

Thank you

Settle France & Ireland; settle Scotland the turn after English spawn, don't take Frankfurt, go after Rome instead, which is usually Barb/Indie at this point and time.

Wipe out the three Iberian civs and invade/vassalize England at your leisure.
At that point, you can really just choose between Greece, Poland or Vikings.

 

[DaniBro]

Okay, im gonna ask this since im quite new so...


What are your strategies for Greece two starting cities? What do you settle and why? And what do you do after that? Invade egypt? Stick to the core for a while?

 

[KeeperOT7Keys]

I don't remember the exact tiles in the map but, a core tile around the copper and athens usually; then maybe istanbul in later eras.
my strategy is, if egypt doesn't have a powerful military, invading them; but if they have, stealing workers from babylonia and egypt at start, then later invading them.

 

[citis]

Okay, im gonna ask this since im quite new so...


What are your strategies for Greece two starting cities? What do you settle and why? And what do you do after that? Invade egypt? Stick to the core for a while?

Settle Athens and a very good spot for second city is Cyprus. It is super productive. You have to encounter phoenician flip, but it is easy if you train an army.

The time in normal speed isn't enough to conquer late. Conquer Egypt ASAP, and at least bother babylonia. The ideal is to conquer Babylonia, Egypt, Sur, Jerusalem and raze all other cities, cause they'll flip to Persians.

In late game consider settling Byzantion for stability reasons.

 

[Swarbs]

Korinthos on the marble and Epidamnos on the hill 1SE of the copper. The early production from settling on hills is vital for Greece, and two cities in the core is needed for early stability. Korinthos is also hugely productive - you can usually get the Great Cothon before Carthage and become immensely powerful.

Send the hoplites and spare warrior to conquer Egypt asap, then bring the surviving hoplites back to Anatolia. Skill them up using free wins against the chariots that spawn, then raze Ankrya and any spare Babylonian and indie cities. Ideally by the time Persia spawns there will be only Sur, Jerusalem, Babylon and Parsa to conquer to win the final UHV.

Also a good tip - if the Egyptians have built the pyramids before you conquer them, is to focus early research on Metal Casting and use the GE you get from the pyramids to bulb it before you finish the Oracle. That way you can use the Oracle to get Aesthetics for free, and then you'll have all the techs you need for the wonders.

EDIT: Alternatively if your rivals are very strong when you get the Oracle you can bulb Iron Working and kill them with swordsmen. That makes the conquest goal easier, but the race to the Parthenon can be quite tight as a result.

 

[KeeperOT7Keys]

yeah, settling on marble is a better idea than athens if you aren't playing with the svn

 

[Swarbs]

yeah, settling on marble is a better idea than athens if you aren't playing with the svn

Even with the SVN it is better.

Athens doesn't have enough food to work all four hills. Founding Korinthos means you don't get the extra hammer from the marble but you get the extra fish near Egypt which means you can work all four hills that much quicker, so you get more hammers anyway.

14 hammers for Korinthos with pop 5, working two fish and three mined hills vs 13 for Athens with pop 5 working one fish, one clam, two mined hills and one quarry. And the extra food and production for Korinthos means you get the work boats and extra pop that much quicker.

You miss out on the two commerce for the quarry, but by cottaging the Athens tile you also get more commerce anyway. Tbh I can't think of any reason to build Athens ahead of Korinthos if you are going for a UHV win.

 

[DaniBro]

By the way, i play Marathon speed. When is the best time to attack Babylon and with what? Hoplites or Swordsmen? And Persia?

 

[Swarbs]

On Marathon I would wait until as late as possible. The new cities you acquire will reduce tech speed and stability and won't really produce any units.

I generally found Korinthos and Epidamnos, capture Diospolis Megale (Egypt), then tech to Priesthood, Metal Casting (ideally with engineer) and Aesthetics. Build wonders and a settler to settle Ephesos which has great production and is in the core, raze Ankyra and other Babylonian cities then wait for Persian spawn.

Tech to iron working and invade with a mixed army of swordsmen and hoplites once Babylon and Persia have battered each other down a bit. Maybe a couple of spears to deal with chariots. Wait until around 20-25 turns before the deadline, by then you should have a stack of doom and be able to just cut straight through anything. Capture Sur, Babylon and Parsa, raze the rest and ignore anything not in the three target zones.

 

[Sovietof17]

I still cannot achieve goal #1 as Persia in SVN as regent.

Does anyone know how to achieve this ?

I can knock over my neighbors no problem, but that IS the problem, is that they STAY KNOCKED over (not vasallized), thus adding to my stability penalty

What is the area I should conquer for the 7%?

 

[Sovietof17]

And btw, 7% isnt the number according to wikipedia.

They estimate the empire was about ~3 million sq miles at it's peak. The total area of Earth (land) is ~57 million sq miles (don't know when the measurement was taken).

So it should be more like 5%

 

[Sovietof17]

oh, and its 8%, not 7% .. even harder.

 

[LacsiraxAriscal]

Persia is a contentious issue at the moment, with many players agreeing 8% is too much, and that the stability issue is dehabilitating. There is however a recent victory in the UHV thread, courtesy of Tigranes.

 

[Sovietof17]

Look at the map of the achmaenid empire

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achaemenid_Empire#/media/File:Achaemenid_empire_map_expansion.png

combine every piece.

No way this even remotely approaches something that looks like 8%. At best, you have 5% . maybe. by the map in this mod

Persia is a contentious issue at the moment, with many players agreeing 8% is too much, and that the stability issue is dehabilitating. There is however a recent victory in the UHV thread, courtesy of Tigranes.