Trading for foreign workers

[adyghost]

Hey guys, as a long time Civ 4 and 5 player I just started Civ 3 to get a broader feel for the series as a whole, so I'm stilllearning some of the earlier concepts. With respect to foreign workers, do you feel it's worth trading tech for them or just money? I'm also ambivalent as to the usefulness of the foreign workers in the beginning when finances are not an issue; I just can't get past their slow speed. Is it a strategy to usually wait until mid-game or so and start switching to foreign workers to relieve the treasury? By then most of the infrastructure would be up and running, especially for an industrious civilization. Or do you use them early to add to existing cities population?

Any advise would be appreciated, thanks.

 

[web25]

i usually pay for them and put them on automate or just build roads.

 

[Puppeteer]

Some people think buying workers before 1000 BC is exploitative because it stunts the AI too much. Also, if you feel confident you can conquer that particular enemy in the next age or so you might as well let them improve your future lands for you.

I usually don't care to pay the price to buy foreign workers, but the benefit is that they don't cost upkeep. I do try to acquire slaves when warring, and I team them up. In C3C, two slaves is equal to one native worker and three slaves is equal to an industrious worker. Sometimes if I'm not industrious I'll team up a native worker and a slave to equal and industrious worker.

By the way, having workers for sale usually means their capital is threatened by barbs or another AI at war with them, so they pulled their workers in for protection. Sometimes they just happen to end their turns in the capital between brain-dead worker tasks, but often you can get clues to whether they are warring or not before writing and embassies.

 

[Theov]

The AI trades the techs among each other anyway. So sometimes all you can get for them is workers. And that's good. I often like other things better, but ok.

Foreign workers should work in groups of AT LEAST 2. They are too slow to be left alone. They will hold up the rest as I feel it.

So either pair them together to build roads or add them to your own workers to speed up process.
The math is like this:
1 worker: 24 turns
2 workers: 12 turns. (half)
3 workers: 6 turns (note that the 3rd is not as efficient anymore. It still halves the built time, but only takes off 6 turns, not 12 like the first!)

1 worker + one slave: 18 turns. (slave only adds half a worker)

1 slave: 48 turns
2 slaves: 24 turns.

So pairing workers is most efficient. Adding more than 1 becomes less efficient.

I like to give them low priority jobs. Like roads that are just convenient. Or roads away from my land, where I plan to send settlers to. Or mines that are only worked later on.

Later in the game (when rails are in place and maybe colonies are built) I add my own workers to the cities (or colonies) and rely on slaves to do the new work (in newly conquered land) or to clean pollution. Slaves don't count against the supported military cap, so they are 'cheaper' in that way than workers.

So long story short, I love them, but should work in pairs and I don't add them to my cities because they cost nothing and do their half-work for free.

 

[Aabraxan]

I buy or trade for AI workers constantly. The fact that slaves work half speed doesn't make a whole lot of difference once you amass a couple of hundred. Besides, the AI never builds enough workers, and it's one more way I like to slow down the AI's progress.

 

[vmxa]

In the first 100 turns the AI will often have a worker pass through the capitol. They do not want to sell, but they are in the capitol, so they are on the auction. I check frequently in the early game.

Depending on the patch and version workers cost about 120 gold. Buy the worker hurts the Ai at all levels, so some don't and some do. Usually trading techs for techs is the better move, but lack of gold and an otherwise cheap tech go for it.

Never automate workers in the AA or Middle Age. I don't in any age. Free worker at any speed is a good thing. Later you get RP (replaceable parts) and they will go faster. Not as fast as the native worker.

 

[adyghost]

Thanks everyone for the advise, I understand the mechanics better, especially regarding slaves as well. It just seemed like tech trading for workers is a bit more advantageous for the AI...

 

[web25]

i use them to build colonies too, why waste my worker?

 

[Everkane]

Colonies are a waste themselves

Just build a city, why left resources for AI to build a city close to your colony and thrash it anyway?

About workers, buy them all. The AI uses to accept 100 gold per each one. Just buy them all, they will enforce your empire building things or adding them to your cities (if there is no problem having foreign citizens). Besides, you are taking away AIs workers.

 

[darski]

I often traded early techs for workers with backward Civs. Alphabet is one that I don't mind sharing. As to harming the AI (aka The Enemy) by taking workers - I'm a lousy player by natural talent so I need all the help I can get.

 

[Aabraxan]

I trade for 'em, buy them (going rate at Emp is ~110 gold per worker), demand them in peace treaties (if available), use them to bait military units (if I can't get them home safely, I don't want them slowing down my stack), and generally abuse them.