What's the best way to kill a bunch of civs early on?

[Kawalimus]

I just started doing this(noble difficulty) and it's fun as hell! I just start new maps and see how many civs I can kill before the BC type era is over. Usually I can take the first one out with two warriors but the next one is a little tougher. I ddid it once taking out the Americans first then got the Incans as the Mayans. I just go straight for Bronze working and Archery so I can get slavery and pump those out of my capital, and the other capital I take .

By the Way I play on custom game and turn barbarians off since I do not like their presence. And I play as a random Civ.

 

[Supr49er]

Welcome to the forums Kawalimus.

You might want to consider keeping barbarians on (not raging) so that you can get XP.

 

[Kawalimus]

I thought about that too. That became a pain in the ass when they start getting archers. Thanks for the welcome.

I just hate when they take my city and end my game early on. I will try it though and see if I can pick some more off.

 

[Silence101]

How to kill a bunch of civs early on in five easy steps:

Step 1) Enter Worldbuilder
Step 2) Choose "Modern Armor" from the list of units (warning: make sure that you have your civ selected)
Step 3) Apply unit liberally to the map
Step 4) Exit Worldbuilder
Step 5) Tell every civ leader that they're head would look good on a pole

 

[Supr49er]

I thought about that too. That became a pain in the ass when they start getting archers. Thanks for the welcome.

I just hate when they take my city and end my game early on. I will try it though and see if I can pick some more off.

Don't forget that the early barbs are animals - for quite a while before human barbs appear. You can get 5 XP fighting the animals, and they can't enter your borders.

 

[Kawalimus]

Don't forget that the early barbs are animals - for quite a while before human barbs appear. You can get 5 XP fighting the animals, and they can't enter your borders.

THat's right!! I forgot about that. I'm gonna do this from now on. I like winning my landmass before the game even really starts. The only bad part about this though is that you don't get to build alliances or have your religion spread. And the rest of the world will hate you, but that's just the fun part for me.

 

[one2tieyourshoe]

The only bad part about this though is that you don't get to build alliances or have your religion spread. And the rest of the world will hate you, but that's just the fun part for me.

I don't like sharing my land with anyone. ANYONE. I don't mind if my state religion stays just that... mine.

 

[Kawalimus]

Yeah but sometimes if you can be significantly more powerful than one right next to you they can be like a cushion for other civs you declare war on. They'll have to go through your vassal state before theyget to you and with your protection that's a tough thing to do. Having ally punching bags is helpful.

 

[one2tieyourshoe]

Yeah but sometimes if you can be significantly more powerful than one right next to you they can be like a cushion for other civs you declare war on. They'll have to go through your vassal state before theyget to you and with your protection that's a tough thing to do. Having ally punching bags is helpful.

I play without vassal states but I do like having whipping boy allies. The war gets fought on someone else's territory.

 

[pi-r8]

Immortals are probably best for what you want to do. They're fast, cheap, available early, and they wipe the floor with archers.

 

[Living Parasite]

The best way to kill civs early on is through diplomacy =). Turn 'em against each other.

 

[gettingfat]

Pick either an Egyptian or Persian leader. Research Animal Husbandry to see if horses are close; if not, start another game (you ask for a way to kill other civs, even I don't like restarting game, but this IS a legitimate way). If yes, hook them up, research BW while you're building barracks. Then chop/whip a bunch of war chariots/immortals. Attack the capital first if possible. On noble level you may even attack two civs at the same time, and just send one unit for each of the remaining civ just to choke them and deny them metals. Don't care about health, use all the captured workers to chop and build roads. In certain starts it's also good to research sailing for hooking up cities.

Doing this way I can't guarantee a victory, but it satisfies your urge to kill and pillage.

 

[Gwynnja]

How to kill a bunch of civs early on in five easy steps:

Step 1) Enter Worldbuilder
Step 2) Choose "Modern Armor" from the list of units (warning: make sure that you have your civ selected)
Step 3) Apply unit liberally to the map
Step 4) Exit Worldbuilder
Step 5) Tell every civ leader that they're head would look good on a pole

also, I would set preferences to settler/huge/pangaea. Make sure you raze all cities so you don't accidentally get a domination victory before those pesky AIs are all dead.

 

[Symbol]

Play the Romans and beeline Iron Working. If Iron is available your unique unit will dominate most or all of the early game.

If Iron isn't available the fact that you've skipped archery before human barbarians turn up means that their archers will the eat the measly warriors defending your cities

And/Or

Play with Raging barbarians and prioritize the Great Wall before you expand beyond a couple of cities (if that). The AI will cope with them less well than you will and you also get a espionage head start on them, which is handy.

After its built you can afford to leave a scratch garrison behind while your armies rampage through AI land.

 

[BalbanesBeoulve]

Boudica of Rome on a pangaea map.

 

[Pe Ell]

I'm kinda a fan of Keshiks. Flanking Keshiks are awesome. They're very fast across all terrain and fairly good at surviving. So far I've gotten to the point where I can clean out a continent of 3 AI's before 1 AD on emperor. Depends a lot on the start and which AI's are near you. Isabella for example is a very easy target since she tends to go up the religious tree. Augustus who has beelined IW might not be so soft.

 

[Supr49er]

I'm kinda a fan of Keshiks. Flanking Keshiks are awesome. They're very fast across all terrain and fairly good at surviving. So far I've gotten to the point where I can clean out a continent of 3 AI's before 1 AD on emperor. Depends a lot on the start and which AI's are near you. Isabella for example is a very easy target since she tends to go up the religious tree. Augustus who has beelined IW might not be so soft.

Thus your avatar.

 

[home_office]

I recommend my version of the rush to axemen. Beeline to Bronze Working while building a worker. Build a barracks while worker builds a road to nearest Copper. Hopefully copper is within your first city's borders so you don't have to wait while building a Settler. Also, hopefully your civ starts with Wheel so you don't have to wait to research that. Otherwise research the Wheel and get the Settler to the Copper ASAP. Then start chopping to finish Barracks in the first city and start churning out Axemen. Second city can use Copper mine for hammers to finish Barracks and produce Axemen. Send each Axeman out as soon as built -- time is of the essence because you want to find and destroy other civs before they get Archers if possible and before they even have a chance to build a second city. It only takes one Axeman to take out multiple Warriors guarding a city, but it takes more Axemen than Archers to conquer a city and you have to be much more aware of how you attack e.g., don't cross a river etc. Native America is a cool civ because you can build Dog Warriors without Copper; Celtia is cool too because you can Beeline from Bronze Working to Iron Working and build Gallic Swordsmen with Copper -- you don't need Iron. Believe me, there is no better feeling than finding another civ, declaring war, entering its borders, and finding that only Warriors are guarding cities -- no Archers! You can almost see the Axeman lick his lips in anticipation of the slaughter to come. Too bloodthirsty? Well, it is only a game.

 

[Oni of Chaos]

I recommend my version of the rush to axemen. Beeline to Bronze Working while building a worker. Build a barracks while worker builds a road to nearest Copper. Hopefully copper is within your first city's borders so you don't have to wait while building a Settler. Also, hopefully your civ starts with Wheel so you don't have to wait to research that. Otherwise research the Wheel and get the Settler to the Copper ASAP. Then start chopping to finish Barracks in the first city and start churning out Axemen. Second city can use Copper mine for hammers to finish Barracks and produce Axemen. Send each Axeman out as soon as built -- time is of the essence because you want to find and destroy other civs before they get Archers if possible and before they even have a chance to build a second city. It only takes one Axeman to take out multiple Warriors guarding a city, but it takes more Axemen than Archers to conquer a city and you have to be much more aware of how you attack e.g., don't cross a river etc. Native America is a cool civ because you can build Dog Warriors without Copper; Celtia is cool too because you can Beeline from Bronze Working to Iron Working and build Gallic Swordsmen with Copper -- you don't need Iron. Believe me, there is no better feeling than finding another civ, declaring war, entering its borders, and finding that only Warriors are guarding cities -- no Archers! You can almost see the Axeman lick his lips in anticipation of the slaughter to come. Too bloodthirsty? Well, it is only a game.

What difficulty do you play on.

 

[gettingfat]

I recommend my version of the rush to axemen. Beeline to Bronze Working while building a worker. Build a barracks while worker builds a road to nearest Copper. Hopefully copper is within your first city's borders so you don't have to wait while building a Settler. Also, hopefully your civ starts with Wheel so you don't have to wait to research that. Otherwise research the Wheel and get the Settler to the Copper ASAP. Then start chopping to finish Barracks in the first city and start churning out Axemen. Second city can use Copper mine for hammers to finish Barracks and produce Axemen. Send each Axeman out as soon as built -- time is of the essence because you want to find and destroy other civs before they get Archers if possible and before they even have a chance to build a second city. It only takes one Axeman to take out multiple Warriors guarding a city, but it takes more Axemen than Archers to conquer a city and you have to be much more aware of how you attack e.g., don't cross a river etc. Native America is a cool civ because you can build Dog Warriors without Copper; Celtia is cool too because you can Beeline from Bronze Working to Iron Working and build Gallic Swordsmen with Copper -- you don't need Iron. Believe me, there is no better feeling than finding another civ, declaring war, entering its borders, and finding that only Warriors are guarding cities -- no Archers! You can almost see the Axeman lick his lips in anticipation of the slaughter to come. Too bloodthirsty? Well, it is only a game.

For early axe rush I'll skip the barrack in the 2nd city unless you have aggressive trait. Once you build the first axe send him out to kill a few barbs and animals and he will at least get one level up.

But the most axe rush can do is taking out two neighbours, and they have to be close enough and none of them are protective. If you play at a higher level, bigger map and game speed faster than Epic you can usually finish off one.