I've been playing Vanilla for about a year, always on the easiest 2 or 3 levels (before that I was semi-addicted to Call-to-Power). Since I joined this site, I moved up to Regent, then Monarch and Emperor, and am now slogging through my first Deity game.
I just wanted to thank all of the people who have posted tips or written articles for this site. The game is sooooo much more fun challenging myself on the higher levels, and by using all the tips you've posted it actually hasn't been as tough as I thought on the higher levels. My current Deity game is pretty tough, but I am confident I will pull off the come-from-behind (that's what she said) victory. Stay tuned for a post after this game ends.
For others who are in my shoes, here's the few key points I've picked up from other posters in the last few months (the things I didn't used to do but have learned are essential):
1. Build only (or at least mostly) settlers, workers and military until you run out of space.
2. Concentrate on offensive units and bombard units, with relatively few defenders. 2a. use the above listed units in mass. The multi-front war of warlord/chieftan doesn't work well anymore. Concentrate on capturing one or two cities and hold on tight.
3. Build specialist farms - even in Vanilla these pay off handsomely.
4. Trade, trade, trade and trade some more. If a civ can buy a tech, you should be the one selling it to them.
5. Research horizontally and if you're behind in the tech race, research the techs the other civs will ignore.
6. If you are in a tough/close war, don't bother keeping defenders in your core cities that can't be easily reached by the enemy. Get those defenders to the front line to help in the war effort.
And finally....don't be afraid to reload if you mess up. I say that the progression in difficult level hasn't been as tough as expected, but I reload a lot when I do stupid things like leaving workers unprotected near the front line.
I just wanted to thank all of the people who have posted tips or written articles for this site. The game is sooooo much more fun challenging myself on the higher levels, and by using all the tips you've posted it actually hasn't been as tough as I thought on the higher levels. My current Deity game is pretty tough, but I am confident I will pull off the come-from-behind (that's what she said) victory. Stay tuned for a post after this game ends.
For others who are in my shoes, here's the few key points I've picked up from other posters in the last few months (the things I didn't used to do but have learned are essential):
1. Build only (or at least mostly) settlers, workers and military until you run out of space.
2. Concentrate on offensive units and bombard units, with relatively few defenders. 2a. use the above listed units in mass. The multi-front war of warlord/chieftan doesn't work well anymore. Concentrate on capturing one or two cities and hold on tight.
3. Build specialist farms - even in Vanilla these pay off handsomely.
4. Trade, trade, trade and trade some more. If a civ can buy a tech, you should be the one selling it to them.
5. Research horizontally and if you're behind in the tech race, research the techs the other civs will ignore.
6. If you are in a tough/close war, don't bother keeping defenders in your core cities that can't be easily reached by the enemy. Get those defenders to the front line to help in the war effort.
And finally....don't be afraid to reload if you mess up. I say that the progression in difficult level hasn't been as tough as expected, but I reload a lot when I do stupid things like leaving workers unprotected near the front line.
