What do you do first after taking a city?

[PvtFreddy]

Hiya all,

I'm in the middle of a conquest game at the moment as Genghis Khan (Chieftain difficulty). I've just taken Japan,, and the USA and Maya before. After taking a city though, I am always stumped at what to make first.

What do you do (during a war or not), when you take a city? By this I mean what do you construct first?

 

[Eldarion]

Depends on how big the city is, where it is, and what's already in it.

Typically, my first move is to build a courthouse, particularly if it's far from my capital. On the other hand, if it's a decent-sized city with good production, I may build a barracks first to keep on the offensive - staging areas ftw! Alternately, if you're a fan of slavery, whipping a granary to allow you to kill off excess pop and grow it right back may be a way to go (though I typically don't do this myself).

Those are probably my most common. I'm mostly a Noble player myself, so more experienced players might have better recommendations.

 

[Simon_c]

Depends on the situation, but frequently I'll go forge, courthouse. In the current game I'm playing (earth, prince, Khan) I've got mining inc and sid's sushi to I try to get those there first, then forge and courthouse. It's high maintenance for a while, but it gets the courthouse up and running quickest, and Sid's stops the pop starving.

 

[BalbanesBeoulve]

First I get a border pop. So if i have music i build culture, if i'm in caste system i run an artist, or i whip a monument or monastery or theater. After that usually a courthouse, then a granary,

If it's a city that 's working mostly water tiles, then a lighthouse almost immediately.

 

[Polobo]

Depends on what buildings survived the conquest and where you are in the tech tree. First I get culture somehow. Once I have music I've been building culture until the border pops. Afterwards I can build more culture buildings if I need them (mainly if I cannot wipe out the AI quickly). Granary comes next so I can get the population back up since whipping and starvation have usually taken their toll. After that it is very situational (and sometimes I won't even build the granary early on in a city's life since I need the hammers for something else).

Later, when the newly acquired cities are not needed to support my current war efforts I'll build a courthouse (unless I plan to use state property heavily) and a forge so subsequent builds will go faster and for the happy.

If I'm running Nationalism/Theocracy (or have the Pentagon) I'll build a barracks shortly thereafter as well since these newly captured cities are excellent for the draft. I'll need to put a theater in as well. Since I am probably running the culture slider during a protracted war the extra culture helps to get me to the necessary culture threshold sooner.

There is no formula to playing this game (albeit, especially at the really low and high levels, there are gambits that will either be necessary to compete or will almost certainly win you the game). Once you understand how the different buildings affect your city as well as learn how to recognize the needs of your empire, choosing what to build and research becomes the means of fulfilling those needs as opposed to a end in itself.

 

[Nibs]

Depending on the map, the civ i'm attacking, where the city is located on the map from my capital, and finally, if the war is almost won, I start with a courthouse to lower cost. Another factor is when in the game the war is taking place. In a late game war I typically destroy the city and try to wipe the civs off of my continent. If i am successful, i can then go back and begin building my own cities in better placements. It is easy to capture a city, however, capturing a city with a bad map placement i just poor war planning.

 

[mystyfly]

Court > granary > barracks

culture is guaranteed via religions or at least via specialists.

 

[Kawalimus]

Sometimes if time is a factor and I'm low on siege units I'll whip a couple of them. Always a pain in the ass to have to wheel those things out to the combat zone.

 

[DarkFyre99]

It depends upon the situation, of course. If I'm invading another continent pre-gunpowder, I'll want to build walls and a castle first. If I'm invading post-flight, I'll want to build an Airport first. If I'm in the middle of a blitz, I'll want to build units.

But most often, the first thing I want is that first border pop. So I'll either build culture, run an artist specialist, or a theatre or library.

 

[Mesix]

I generally build a Monument followed by a Theater. If there is a danger of getting attacked and retaken, I will whip out a wall first. I like to have a couple of culture buildings to pop the borders and keep the territory from turning back. The Theater also helps as a happiness bunus in the later part of the game where I often run the Culture slider up a bit.

 

[goldenhero]

I usually decide whether or not I want to keep it

But in all seriousness, it's entirely situational for me. Am I Creative? Is my economy is trouble? Is the opposing culture pressing down on my newly gained city? I answer some questions to see what I want to do with the city, assuming I keep it.

 

[slobberinbear]

Getting the first border expansion is key. If the captured city has no cultural output, and I'm not running caste system (remember, under CS you can run artist specialists for quick border pops), I will build a cheap cultural building first. If I am running slavery I will sometimes whip out a library or temple in this instance.

If you are expecting an immediate counterattack, a wall is not a bad idea if you can chop or whip one quickly.

 

[troytheface]

raze it and fight off partisons if they appear and then build a city close to the ruins to collect tech. If the said city had a Wonder like the Pyramids then there is a time of celebration and a sense of heinous accomplishment followed by making workers join the death stack to chop in enemy territory and act as diversions.

 

[kiwitt]

I alway build a theatre first.

But law and order i.e. a court (as mentioned above) is a option worth pursuing.