The joy of war...

[Prismhead]

...rather than the "Art of War".... Because I don't think what I do could be called "art".

I have been playing Civ since Civ1 first came out. I have always been a builder and I try to win the "space race". I build everything. I just defend and I cannot be defeated. Usually on larger maps and I typically play against 4-5 other civs.

Well, after years of that...I tried something new. I played on a smaller archipelago map against 4 civs. I like the Carthaginians. I decided to just attack whoever was on my small island. I took my Numidian Mercenaries and quickly destroyed the "fledgling Romans" (that was cool). Then the Germans. This is so fun. When I took a leader and made a Calvery army and mowed down everything in their path...that was fun.

Now, I am now a war-monger. I have been reading some of the articles in the War Academy section. What tips do other people have?

Anybody else have any tips or anything for my new conquests

 

[Totibbs]

Well, Ive never completed a space ship. I always ended up in war.
Sometimes I swear myself to have a peacefull game. But when the AI (or I) got an unit in others territory, then it always ends up in war.
Or when I tell the AI to take their threats somewhere else...

You ask for tips, my best tip is to "secure" your starting island from other civs, asap.

And do "unfair" trades, when they deny, make them listen to you

 

[dexters]

I'm not a warmonger per se, although I've recently completed a domination win. That game I had already handily won and could have won it with the last spaceship part built. Instead, I sat on it and went for domination. My final score was 4.4k, my highest ever. It was fun.

I think playing each game as they are will always be more rewarding than having a mantra of 'i must do this'. Some games lend themselves better to one type of win vs. another and improvising on the spot is half the fun.

 

[Peepers]

There is an 'art' to war, but it's in my nature to find the 'joy', too. I've had alot of experience with domination wins, especially so on emperor-deity. It's beyond me at this time to win peacefully on those higher levels, as the AI will consistently out-proliferate you. I also had a rockin' conquest win with the Hittites, with their UU in the pivotal role (Two-man chariot, starring co-pilots Bobcat Goldthwait and Howard Dean ...)

The war academy is great. Please forgive me if I repeat anything that is there.

* Make the most of your tribe's traits. That's not to say that you can't be a war-mongering India, or that the Zulu can't win by 20K city. Just always keep in mind what your tribe does best.

* Use reconnaisance to gather info. Believe it or not, I've used towers to keep an eye on a neighbor (Mongol/Aztec or other aggressive AI, usually). The sooner you see an incursion force coming, the better off you are. Use RoPs during peacetime to check out the types of units that the future opponent is building, and what is the lead defender in the border cities. Once you have air-power, use overflights with your fighters/jets to keep an eye on key areas or to clear a sea-lane for your naval invasion.

* Keep in mind the 'bees nest' principle: an AI that has been sitting for awhile stewing in it's own algorithm will likely be teeming with extra military units. They may not all be upgraded to the most modern, but if you're planning to go to war with a peaceful neighbor or island-isolated AI, expect an initial flood of units, and plan accordingly. It's much like kicking a bee's nest, and about as pleasant. Make your first assault on defendable tiles (hill/mountain/walled town/city/fort/choke point.) Bring plenty of artillery. Absorb this initial assaut, and there will be few (usually 2-4) units left in all but the core cities. Then you can expand your territory.

* Government makes a world of difference. Most of the fighting that I do takes place in the ancient or middle ages. I haven't used Communism or Fascism at all, but I do have a perspective on the others. Democracy is too specialized in C3C, and not easy to wage war in, for obvious reasons. For unit upkeep, the best, generally in order, are Feudalism, Despotism and Monarchy. If you're playing 'always war', go for Monarchy early. If you are planting many small towns and can deal with low war-weariness, Feudalism is wonderful. A very rewarding gov't is Republic, but it is a balancing act. Usually, you can't maintain a HUGE force because the unit support will crush out your treasury. Long wars are an additional problem, because there is no MP function, and you'll have to rely on the lux slider and specialists (and certain wonders) to maintain order. However, if you can get some cities going (pop 7-12), you can have a moderately big force. Also, if you deploy wisely, you can empty your core cities of all units, and reinforce the periphery. The commerce bonus usually allows quick research at the same time as modest cash for upgrades and rushed projects. Government choice is the most important consideration during my military campaigns.

Those are my tips for now, good luck and watch out for them Aztecs--my favorite punching bag!

 

[Eyeoftiger]

If you're a warmonger, you should always switch to Facism or Communism when you can. The benefits far outweigh the negatives. And there is no benefit to Monarchy over Communism except for rushing build orders.

 

[Aegis]

If you're a warmonger, you should always switch to Facism or Communism when you can. The benefits far outweigh the negatives. And there is no benefit to Monarchy over Communism except for rushing build orders.

I prefer Monarchy to Communism, even in the late game, because I can use cash to rush building orders, but there is one more important reason I prefer Monarchy. Communism stifles my core cities' production, which is what I rely on to fight (and win) a war of attrition after railroads have been built. Communism adds a few turns to building a unit that Monarchy would get out 1-3 turns sooner. That is a huge advantage for me because I can have my core cities working all together to complete units on Turn X, then have my 2nd and 3rd tier cities completing units whenever my core cities are building. This gives me a good number of units really quickly from my core cities which can be used in problem areas and fight fires whenever needed. Even though the 2nd and 3rd tier cities eventually produce more units en masse and are used as the main reinforcements, this fire-fighting strategy of mine is integral to winning.

Unless my empire is astronomically huge and I would like a little production out of far-flung places, I do not even contemplate using Communism.

Having a large military (700+) hurts in Monarchy, but as long as I have Stock Exchanges in all of my productive cities, research does not slow down.

 

[Mordack]

I find Communism to be more effective in late game campaigns - the reduced corruption actuallly makes far flung cities productive which is where most of your fighting is occurring. Also, 4 police units helps quell that pesky resistance and cultural flips. Clearly, Monarchy is the best govt for the longest time(late ancient to early industrial) - but if you are going for the conquest victory and you have a large empire, Communism is a must late in the game.

 

[Renata]

Republic, republic, republic. The extra commerce erases any unit support penalty unless your starting territory is truly awful. And expansion is its own reward, since each captured town adds to your unit support, and each captured lux adds to your happiness buffer against war weariness.

Plus, you can research/buy techs significantly faster as a Republic than in any other of the mentioned governments. (With the possible exception of C3C communism, which sounds good, except that it comes so late that my games are frequently over by the time it's even available.) That means you can go to war earlier, with smaller armies, and face smaller and poorer armies in return. 50 cavalry at 500 AD can take over the world; the same force at 1000 AD often has trouble taking over one civ.

Renata

 

[Moonsinger]

Anybody else have any tips or anything for my new conquests

War can be really good for business! Have you ever heard of the term "Swiss Bank Account"? Usually, weathy people like to keep their money in a swiss bank account, don't ask me why, they just do. Anyway, here is my tip: what would happen if your own country decide to declare war on Switzerland? What do you think going to happen to your Swiss bank account now? Best case scenario, you can't access your bank account during the war. Worst case scenario, your account gone byebye. Civ3 goes with the worst case scenario! All trade deals (including all type of loans) are voided immediately and none will be paid back after the war. Therefore, I have adapted a tactic (exploit or whatever you may want to call it) around the concept of the "Swiss Bank Account". Basically, I just borrow a lot of cash from everyone. By doing this, I would simply turning myself into a Swiss banker and invite everyone from all nations to keep their money in my treasury. Eventually I would be in so much debts because I have to pay more interests than my economy can grow. But not to worry, when the time is ripped, I would simply plant the seed of war. The AIs tend to switch sides (form and break alliance and backstab like crazy). With all those cash, I can pick my own battle ground any where (usually far far away from my own land) and could easily buy other AIs into fighting the war for me. It usually doesn't take long for the AIs to switch sides - just one of them would do the trick. Just sit back and watch the chaotic world unfold. Everytime the AI backtab me, I get to keep all its money. Btw, this tactic work best on Sid because that is where the big cash cows are at. The AIs are usually very rich on Sid.

I know it is kind of an exploit, but it is just so much fun and given me a reason to enjoy Sid because I can't really beat them fair and square on that level. I'm kind of like Robin Hood stealing from the rich and give to the poor. On Sid, the AIs usually are the rich and I'm the poor.

 

[Aleph-Null]

I'm playing a game right now and am waiting to finish computers in order to go to war with the Inca and Rome. There are 14 other civilizations on the map at the moment now that Portugese have been destroyed. Once I finish computers, I upgrade all my infantry to MI and roll through the Incans and Romans. After that, its off to Korea. Somehow, these bastards have managed to get ahead of me in tech. They have rocketry and won't give it up. I'll have computers in a few turns and maybe they'll trade for that. I'm going for the internet because I want my golden age, but I'd like those F-15s also. Either way, I need to start making alliances and picking off the Incans and Romans. They're two techs behind so there won't be another opportunity unless I take them out as soon as I get computers. I'll trade my computer tech to the French for some gpt. They've been very generous in this game, giving me sometimes 400gpt and I'm confident they'll do so again.

 

[Aleph-Null]

Incans are trying to grab motorized transport from me. Screw them, in 5 turns they're going down. I saw the way the brutally murdered the portugese, they've been flirting around in my territory as well and blocked off one of harbors so I can't move my ships out without declaring war. These bastards are going down.

I've got almost a hundred tanks on our mutual border and I'm going to ram them down his throat with my airsupport.

In one turn I will be able to easily deprive them of their oil, coal, iron, and horses. After that, I'll try to move in on their capital and capture Smith Trading Company and Statue of Zeus. I'll have to move on them the second they discover motorized transport. Take their oil source which is nestled between my own cities. The war will immediately cut off their route. They'll be at the mercy of my tanks.

All I have to do is demand he removes his troops from my territory. He'll declare, my rep will remain respectable. I won't be getting much help from my mutual defence pact with france because they're on another continent but thats okay. Don't need them.

 

[Aleph-Null]

It is time. They have motorized transport. Time to take their oil.

 

[Aleph-Null]

I demanded and they didn't declare. The dutch have declared war on me. Apparently, my sub was in its way. Morons. My naval fleet is unmatched and they're at war with half of the other civs already. I've been looking for a reason to send some marines in my transport to take the Great Pyramids. Incans have declared war on the Romans. A great opportunity for me to sign a mutual protection pact with Rome and allow me to go to war with Inca. I have Universal Suffrage.

Its world war time.

 

[Aleph-Null]

drat France declared on Rome. This is going to get complicated. Luckily, the dutch declaration of war on me is making my people happy. I'll be able to use this to get favors from other civs at war with the dutch. I should use this increased happiness to build up more units for my invasion of the Incans, I doubt the dutch are going to be bothering me. They're too busy being beat down by everyone else... but I could use a leader and I haven't been able to get a victorious army yet...

 

[Aleph-Null]

okay, i've signed a mutual protection with rome. inca will attack. then i'll be at war with them. they'll attack me and france will declare on inca. then it will be my turn. inca offense is gunning for rome. Nothing that can hurt me is close to me. Soon, the Incan empire will be a footnote in American history.

 

[Aleph-Null]

everything has gone as planned. inca attacked rome. we went to war. they attacked me. france declared on them. they rolled a few tanks into my territory but only on suicide missions. they've lost their oil because their trade can't go through. I'm moving in to take their oil, coal, iron, and horses. They'll be left with nothing when I am through with them.

For Portugal! For Empire!

 

[Moonsinger]

Hi KenScott,

I thought that this thead is mostly about playing tips, not fulling out your life story. I think they have a "story telling" forum for this.

 

[col]

Kill zones.

Plan the route that the enemy will take to that empty city. Place your army here to deflect their stack there. They always head for the predictable target. You can pull units around with spare workers. They always grab them.

When you have them where you want them. 50 artilleries in wait will make a big mess.

It gets too easy to manipulate the AI sometimes in war.

 

[Tank_Guy#3]

When starting out I usually defend at first while I build up my forces (I'm usually caught off guard by most wars for some reason) after that I go on the offensive burning the first 4 or 5 cities I capture (depending on size of Civ) then I offer peace with extortionate demands, should they refuse I burn or capture more of their cities again 4 or 5 (depending on size of Civ) and I keep doing this until they give into my demands or they're wiped off the face of the earth.

Also, the further into their land you go the bigger and more important the cities to the enemy, thus they're increased willingness to placate the aggressor (you).

 

[Aleph-Null]

Finished the game I was playing with a victory points victory in ~1200. No one stood a chance against my armies of modern armor. Am very proud because I ended as "Lincoln the Magnificent" played more turns afterwards and am trying to decide whether to continue or begin anew.