Elephantium
Trampling the AI
Agreed. We don't need no stinking guns when we've got our stout Danish axes!
Alright, I'm done now. The Russians are finished, and the Dutch are falling quickly. Amsterdam was no trouble, and our ships now have faster, safer movement.
I'll post the whole set here, though you've probably already read the first 5 turns of it:
Turn 0 (450 AD):
MM:
-Send the clown in Smolensk back to work, he’s not needed for happiness. Same with the taxman in St. Petersburg.
-Move citizens in Copenhagen and Birka from a mined Grass to Coast to reduce shield overrun and give us extra gpt.
-Move two citizens from Plains to coast in Molde- it can’t grow anyway until it gets an Aqueduct, and it both reduces overrun and gives extra gold.
IBT:
-The Dutch and Arabs sign peace. Booooooo! Peace, what is it good for?
-The Russians retreat a bunch of their workers back into cities, and a Galley departs Smolensk.
-Reykjavik: Galley->Galley
-Birka: Berzerk->Berzerk
-Aarhus: Market->Knight
-Stavanger: Courthouse->Berzerk
-Molde: Berzerk->Aqueduct
Turn 1 (460 AD):
-Use workers to shortrush the Berzerks in Birka and Stavanger and the Knight in Aarhus.
-Reassign an irrigated sugar tile from Karasjok to Kufah- Karasjok can’t grow until it finishes its Aqueduct, but Kufah could certainly use faster growth.
@Orenburg: eKnight kills rSpear (1-0)
@Moscow: 8 Knights and 1 Horse are outside the city, with one vKnight ready to attack. It kills an rSpear. (2-0)
@Tver: vBerzerk kills rSpear, eBerzerk kills rSpear, and the city is ours. (4-0)
-Send a few Galleys with Berzerks North, in preparation for a “friendly visit” to the Dutch in a few turns.
IBT:
-A Russian rLBM forces our vKnight near Moscow to retreat.
-The Dutch unload a Horseman near Orenburg.
-Trondheim: Berzerk->Berzerk
-Bergen: Berzerk->Berzerk
-Copenhagen: Market->Pikeman
-Reykjavik: Galley->Galley
-Stockholm: Berzerk->Berzerk
-Hareid: Harbor->Aqueduct
Turn 2 (470 AD):
-eHorse kills rLBM outside Moscow (5-0)
-Inside Moscow itself: 4 vKnights kill 4 rSpears, and the city is ours, along with 3 workers and the Mausoleum of Mausollos and the Great Library! (9-0)
-vKnight kills rLBM near Novgorod (10-0)
@Orenburg: eKnight retreats to rSpear, 4/5 Knight kills rSpear, and we take the city. (11-0)
<snip>
-After discussion, I decide to give Moscow to the Ottomans. We don’t need no education… yet. We can perhaps use the Library later. Since this will give them at least Invention and Engineering for free, I decide to give them Engineering (would have asked for something in return, but all they had was 2 gold), then trade them Invention for Theology and all 2 of their gold. Taking a quick look around at the other AI’s, I confirm that at least the Carthaginians and Byzantines have Education, which we obviously don’t want, and so I let the Ottomans have Moscow now.
IBT:
-Kufah: Galley->Galley
-Reykjavik: Galley->Galley
-Stavanger: Berzerk->Berzerk
Turn 3 (480 AD):
-Level 1 WW seems to have hit us. I turn up the Lux rate to 20% to fight it- but that won’t be needed for long.
@Vladivostok: vBerzerk dies to rPike, vBerzerk kills rPike, vBerzerk kills rSpear, city captured, and another Berzerk captures some workers outside the city (13-1)
-One of our “friendly” Galleys spots a Musket in Amsterdam. Well, that makes things a little harder…
IBT:
-The Russians and Dutch fight each other near Yakutsk, with the Russians killing a LBM and Two Horsemen and the Dutch killing a Spear.
-The Russians unload an Archer and an LBM near currently undefended St. Petersburg, and the Dutch send a Horse at them that gets killed by the Archer.
-Trondheim: Berzerk->Berzerk
-Copenhagen: Pike->Pike
-Reykjavik: Galley->Galley
-Birka: Berzerk->Berzerk
-Aarhus: Knight->Knight
Turn 4 (490 AD):
-A 4/5 Knight and a 3/5 Knight kill the Russian Archer and LBM near St Pete’s that the Dutch failed to kill over the interturn. (15-1)
@Yakutsk: A SINGLE FREAKING 2/4 PIKEMEN KILLS 4 ATTACKING vKNIGHTS!!!! (15-5)
Uuuuuggggghhhh. Well, that certainly hurts…
@Rostov: vBerzerk kills rPike, 4/5 Berzerk dies to rSpear but redlines it, 4/5 Horse finishes the Spear, captures the city and a couple of workers (17-6). We also gain some Dyes, helping out our happiness situation quite a bit- enough to let me set the lux rate back down to 10%.
-Capture a few more workers near Khabarovsk, the other Russian city in the area.
-Our deals with the Dutch are expiring, but losing 4 Knights at Yakutsk and not having the city as a way to get to some of the Dutch cities faster really hurts, and I decide to hold off on attacking the Dutch for another turn or two to let units heal and if not finish off Russia, at least take the final non-Yakutsk city. I do decide to cancel our deals, though- we’ve had Silks from our former Russian territory for a while, and there’s no real reason to keep paying the Dutch Furs for an Alliance against Russia.
IBT:
-The Byzantines declare war on us. A Horsemen walks into undefended Tver, the isolated ex-Russian city, and captures it.
-A Dromon sinks our exploring Galley, and an rLBM kills one of our Berzerks near Khabarovsk (17-8)
@Bergen: Berzerk->Berzerk
@Reykjavik: Galley->Galley
@Stockholm: Berzerk->Berzerk
@Stavanger: Berzerk->Berzerk
-The people build our Palace a 4th Floor and two side wings.
Turn 5 (500 AD):
@Khabarovsk: vBerzerk dies to rPike, vBerzerk kills rSpear, vBerzerk dies to rPike, vBerzerk kills the annoying Pike, eHorse kills 2/3 LBM, capture the city (20-10)
<Pause to discuss Byzantine War>
It is decided to declare war on the Dutch despite these setbacks- but most of our remaining Knights aren’t really close enough for an invasion yet, so I wait one more turn before declaring war.
-Spend around 1000 gold rushing all the Aqueducts in size-6 cities that are incapable of growing without them, then a bit more to rush a few Knights in cities close to the Dutch border.
IBT:
-Two Arab Archers show up near Kufah, and the Dutch send a worker into our territory. Thanks for the slave, William!
-Trondheim: Berzerk->Berzerk
-St. Petersburg: Worker->Worker
-Novgorod: Barracks->Pike
-Copenhagen: Pike->Pike
-Vadso: Knight->Knight
-Yekaterinberg: Aqueduct->Harbor
-Reykjavik: Galley->Galley
-Stavanger: Knight->Knight
-Hareid: Aqueduct->Market
-Molde: Aqueduct->Berzerk
-Alesund: Aqueduct->Berzerk
Turn 6 (510 AD):
-Alright, time to fight the Dutch. For the heck of it, I demand Gunpowder from them. They refuse, so it’s time for war!
@Utrecht: vKnight kills rSpear, vKnight retreats to rSpear, vKnight kills rSpear, vKnight kills rSpear, vKnight kills rLBM, captures the city and 2 workers (24-10). Berzerks then capture a couple of more Dutch workers South of the city.
@Groningen: vKnight kills rSpear, eKnight kills rSpear, takes the city (26-10)
@Eindhoven: vBerzerk kills rSpear, vBerzerk kills rSpear, takes the city (28-10)
-A Berzerk and a Knight kill 2 more rSpears passing by Moscow (30-10)
-eKnight kills one of the two Arab Archers near Kufah (31-10)
-eKnight kills Russian rLBM near Yakutsk (32-10)
IBT:
-Carthage demands 95 gold. While I don’t really want to give it to Hannibal, I also don’t really want to be at war with everyone at once, and with the amount of gold we have, 95 isn’t really a lot to us. So I give him the gold… this time.
-The remaining Arab Archer pillages the roaded/mined Grassland West of Kufah.
-I watch as the Dutch LBM near Yakutsk kills the Elite Russian Pike that killed 4 of our Knights a few turns ago. Hey, thanks, Dutch! That just makes it that much easier to finish the Russians off!
-Groningen riots… even though it has equal numbers of happy and unhappy citizens? Okay… Stupid Resistance, I guess…
-Reykjavik: Galley->Galley
-Oslo: Market->Barracks
-Birka: Berzerk->Berzerk
-Krasnoyarsk: Worker->Worker
-Aarhus: Knight->Knight
Turn 7 (520 AD):
-Today should mark the end of the “mighty” Russian Empire and the conquest of the first of our seven rivals. By the Gods’ will, it shall be done!
@Yakutsk: 4/5 Knight dies to rSpear, vKnight kills rSpear, vKnight dies to redlined rSpear OH COME ON NOT THIS AGAIN WHAT IS WITH THIS CITY FOR THOR’S SAKE!!! (33-12) Oh RNG God, why have you forsaken us so?
Well, I don’t have any more full-strength Knights that can reach Yakutsk this turn. perhaps we’ll have better luck at Amsterdam…
@amsterdam: vBerzerks attack rMuskets 6 times, with 4 dead Muskets and 2 dead Berzerks. A vBerzerk then kills an rSpear, and 2 more vBerzerks kill the 2 Muskets that survived the earlier battles, and the city is ours, and with it, The Colossus and The Great Lighthouse!! (40-14) We even capture 2 workers for our trouble. The Dutch Capital moves West to Rotterdam.
-eKnight kills the other Arab Archer near Kufah. (41-14)
IBT:
-5 Arab Archers move into the tile West of Kufah. I guess they’re not as weak as I thought…
-Trondheim: Berzerk->Berzerk
-Bergen: Knight->Knight
-Copenhagen: Pike->Pike
-Reykjavik: Galley->Galley
-Stockholm: Knight->Knight
Turn 8 (530 AD):
@Yakutsk: Alright, third time’s the charm, I guess? vKnight kills rSpear, and we finally capture the city and two workers (42-14). The Russians are no more. An eKnight kills a redlined Dutch LBM near the city. (43-14)
4/5 Knight kills one of the Arab Archers near Kufah, though is redlined doing so. I pull the Spear on the hill back into the city, just to be on the safe side. (44-14)
IBT:
-3 of the Arab Archers attack the defenders of Kufah and are repulsed. Our Veteran Spear in the city promotes to Elite. (47-14). A few more show up.
-Yekaterinburg: Harbor-> Market
-Kufah: Galley->Galley
-Oslo: Barracks->Berzerk
-Birka: Berzerk->Berzerk
-Aarhus: Knight->Knight
-Stavanger: Knight->Knight
-Bryansk: Worker->Worker
Turn 9 (540 AD):
-vKnights kill 2 more Arab rArchers near Kufah (49-14)
-eKnight kills a Dutch rLBM near Rotterdam (50-14)
Time to use the new powers of the Great Lightouse, and get to those outlying Dutch cities faster!
@Delft: vBerzerk kills rSpear x2, capture the city (52-14)
@Maastricht: vBerzerk kills rSpear x2, capture the city (54-14)
-We’ve got lots of cash, rush a few units and buildings all over the place.
IBT:
-The remaining 2 Arab Archers move up onto the hill near Kufah.
-Trondheim: Berzerk->Berzerk
-Amsterdam: Harbor->Pike
-Copenhagen: Pike->Pike
-Vadso: Knight->Knight
-Reykjavik: Galley->Galley
-Orenburg: Harbor->Pike
-Hareid: Market->Knight
-Alesund: Berzerk->Berzerk
-Karasjok: Aqueduct->Barracks
-Farsund: Harbor->Galley
Turn 10 (550 AD):
-Knights kill the 2 Archers near Kufah. (56-14)
@Holwerd: vZerk dies to rSpear, eZerk kills rSpear and generates an MGL, Inwaaer! Another eZerk kills the last Spear and takes the city (58-15).
@Middelburg: A Galley with 2 Berzerks reaches the city, but there’s an LBM just outside that the Zerks can’t reach, and I don’t want to take the city just to lose it again next turn, so I hold off… for now.
@Haarlem: A Galley moves to its one coastal tile… and immediately turns around and unloads its two Berzerks onto land upon seeing 2 Dromons there.
@Rotterdam: A large number of Knights and Berzerks is camped outside the city, ready to attack it next turn.
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Notes:
-I've probably been a little careless with worker management and micromanagement and maybe even a little bit military units, so my bad if some worker is doing something that's not very productive.
-I'm fairly certain Rotterdam is the last Dutch city that's off the coast, and from what I can tell, most of their cities are poorly defended, just a few spears. A couple of Galleys and Berzerks should be able to finish off the rest easily, as long as we don't run into too many Dromons.
-After they're done, we can start invading the Byzantines, and maybe also send some Knights at the Arabs. I left some military units in Northwest Russia to prepare for the Byzies, though I haven't seen much of them recently.
-What should we do with our new MGL? Knight Army? There's not really much else we could use it for, Berzerk Army would defeat the point of Amphibious Berzerks since it can't fit in a Galley.
-Remember to rebuff Moscow if it flips to us- we want to keep it out of our hands, at least for now- maybe some time in the future we'll want it to get some free techs, but right now the Temple of Artemis is helping more than the technology would. And, for that matter, let's see if we can remember which cities have which wonders in the future so we don't accidentally end up with one we don't want again.
-There's plenty of holes in the north of ex-Dutch and ex-Russian territory to fill if we want to, partly there because the Dutch expanded slow and partly there because neither of them ever bothered to clear all the Marshland.
-I think there's a decent chance the game will end before it gets back to me, depending on how quickly we can deal with the Byzantines. If this is my last set, then it's been fun, and best of luck on continuing the conquest. If it isn't, then the rest of you might like to know (especially tjs, for his time zone list in the first post) that I'll be in GMT-10 and not GMT-8 (well, GMT-7 right now with DST) by the time it gets back to me, since I'm moving to Hawaii in a few weeks for grad school.
-Use workers to shortrush the Berzerks in Birka and Stavanger and the Knight in Aarhus.
Start on the Byzzie islands to the north (temporarily 'lend' those towns to Ozzie -- or Hannibal? -- so we don't have to defend them)
I don't understand this. Did you rush Workers for 80g in each town, then switch to Zerk/Knights?
Yeah, that. I did that several other times in the set, too, and just didn't always mention it.
I was thinking about a Knight-Army for the extra speed and attacks-per-turn, but I didn't read/correlate Chox's description carefully enough against his screenshot, so didn't notice that the MGL is in Holwerd, which is completely cut off, whereas most of our Knights appear to be clustered round Rotterdam.Your general plan sounds good to me. One alternative suggestion however with regards to the MGL: do we expect to see more Muskets in the wars against Byzantium and Carthage? Then I would opt for a Berzerk-Army instead of Knight-Army. I don't think they will attack a Berzerk-Army, if we keep it on hills and mountains, and the extra "wumms" will make quite a difference against Muskets in cities! While the extra movement will not matter, if we have to wait for Knights. (I would not risk more than 1-2 attacks per turn anyway.)
Really? Have we still got that many turns left on our GA? If so, I do agree, (pre)building it would almost certainly be a better option than waiting for another MGL.Also I don't think we should waste our next MGL on the Heroic Epic: most of our core towns can build that thing in less than 10 turns... For example, if we switch Stockholm to Palace right now, we could have the Herioc Epic in 6 turns from now.
Noted -- the Dutch have even been so considerate as to leave us a convenient Slave-in-waiting on the nearby mountain...Another thing that hasn't been mentioned yet: there is a gems resource at Holwerd. Once the area is secured, use a slave to build a colony there (building a road would take forever), and then rush a harbor in Holwerd. That should be enough to keep us happy even if more war weariness kicks in. (BTW: at the moment we can reduce the lux slider to 0%!)
And I don't think, that I suggested to build any (learned that lesson from you a long time ago...)I don't think, we need any Pikes.
I'd guess so too, a German would pronounce it as 'vooms', so I guess it's onomatopaeic (sp?) for 'Whoomph!' (And Robbus: Sorry for the jargon)wumms = ??? I actually don't know. I'm assuming it just means attack power.