Veteran player, but I still can't consistently beat Monarch.

[Gunboat Diplomat]

Hi all. I've been playing on and off pretty much since the game was released. I've read everything in the War Academy. I've followed shadow games. I've watched a lot of youtube videos from the likes of AbsoluteZero, Henrik and Sullla. I think I've got a reasonable understanding of the game, yet somehow, I still can't consistently keep up with the Monarch AI. Oh, if I've got an overwhelming start, I can probably win, but anything less and it's a coin toss.

My current game is a perfect example. I rolled a high-food start, with plenty of resources nearby (four food resources within the bfc). I was able to secure a fair amount of land, and at 1440AD I've just stolen all of Russia's turf. About half way through the war, I started falling behind in tech. I just managed to win the Liberalism race, but the best I could get was Nationalism, and I can feel myself being outpaced by the AIs so it's only a matter of time before they roll over me.

The last time I posted here (about 5 years ago, I think), I got some useful insight, so I was wondering whether anyone would be interested in having a look at my game and tell me: 1) where I went wrong, and 2) how would you go about salvaging this position.

Thanks in advance.

About the game:
Leader: Darius I
Map: Pangea
Difficulty: Monarch
Settings:
no events, no huts, no vassals, no tech brokering, no diplomatic victory. BUG installed.

 

[Plains-Cow]

Do you have a victory condition in mind when you start playing? Usually that makes a pretty big difference since you know what you're working towards. I find that too many people waste worker turns and hammers building things that they will never use. They get into a build anxiety when in reality their cities don't need many of the buildings they've constructed. I'll settle differently sometimes and prioritize certain relationships/techs depending on what I'm trying to do to win.

For the record, I win consistently on Emperor and on and off on Immortal.

 

[elmurcis]

I'm not elite player myself for sure (Veteran noob with zillion years in game) but overall few things instantly got my attention from save.
FORESTS. Why are there any left in "original" territory at all at 1000AD+? (only very few times they might be left with idea of turning them into very nice woooden rockets for space)
CIVICS. Change them, use them. Monarch difficulty level has Monarch(y) in it's name and it (I mean Heredipity Rule) should be run from moment it is "unlocked". Some AI loves it (diplo boost). It allows to grow cities (specially capital with many many cottages). Only Pyramids (Represantation with rare exceptions) would change that.
WAR. It is Pangaea, so this map type in general "screams" warring. Horse Archers can be strong. Any kind of X-Pults can be solid. Heck, even some early Axe or (for Persia) Immortal rush can be purrfect. Don't even need real "breakout" unit like Curraisers etc. Once you take stick in hand, you will seek for weakness to use not strong points to avoid wars.
And use Slavery (general tip). It solves most of problems. Also in game I mean

 

[Gunboat Diplomat]

Thanks for the feedback people. Much appreciated.

@Plains-Cow I usually shoot for a domination victory. I find that whenever I do anything else, the AI eventually DOWs me with an overwhelming force. So I usually prioritise the bottom of the tech tree.

@elmurcis I can never seem to orchestrate any kind of rush except Quechua with Huayna Capac. Either I get to the necessary tech too late, or it takes me too long to churn out enough units. I always need more units than would otherwise be necessary because the RNG hates me. It treats me as if I said something nasty about its mother. I'll lose about half of the 80%+ battles. Monarchy isn't usually a tech that I prioritise, especially on maps like this where Happiness wasn't really a problem for me. Maybe I packed my cities too close together, but I was able to grow almost to the food cap in most of them.

 

[Plains-Cow]

Thanks for the feedback people. Much appreciated.

@Plains-Cow I usually shoot for a domination victory. I find that whenever I do anything else, the AI eventually DOWs me with an overwhelming force. So I usually prioritise the bottom of the tech tree.

@elmurcis I can never seem to orchestrate any kind of rush except Quechua with Huayna Capac. Either I get to the necessary tech too late, or it takes me too long to churn out enough units. I always need more units than would otherwise be necessary because the RNG hates me. It treats me as if I said something nasty about its mother. I'll lose about half of the 80%+ battles. Monarchy isn't usually a tech that I prioritise, especially on maps like this where Happiness wasn't really a problem for me. Maybe I packed my cities too close together, but I was able to grow almost to the food cap in most of them.

It sounds like you need to really learn one thing at a time. I'd suggest diplomacy. Having an AI neighbor that you can play with like a puppet to be your shield while your tech away to space or culture is great. Practice winning like that before going to war. It will teach you everything you need to optimize an economy and read diplomatic odds for DOWs. Getting good at teching means getting good at going to war.

If you like Domination, then do you ever consider what era you will attack in to secure your snowball into an avalanche? Lots of strategies are dependent on if you've set them up properly beforehand and/or have a tech edge (Cuir rushes, Globe Theater drafted riflemen, etc).

 

[Gunboat Diplomat]

It sounds like you need to really learn one thing at a time. I'd suggest diplomacy. Having an AI neighbor that you can play with like a puppet to be your shield while your tech away to space or culture is great. Practice winning like that before going to war. It will teach you everything you need to optimize an economy and read diplomatic odds for DOWs. Getting good at teching means getting good at going to war.

If you like Domination, then do you ever consider what era you will attack in to secure your snowball into an avalanche? Lots of strategies are dependent on if you've set them up properly beforehand and/or have a tech edge (Cuir rushes, Globe Theater drafted riflemen, etc).

Good points. Thanks. I've just set up shadow game with Cyrus. Hopefully, looking at a specific example will help. Since it's Cyrus, I'm planning on an immortal rush if I can find horses. Could be interesting.