When do you implement Social Policies?

[Left Foot]

There is a very vivid discussion going on in the "new patch" thread regarding the new rule requiring the same-turn implementation of social policies as they are discovered.

This is a poll to gauge how the CIV 5 players use their social policies. Do you save them? Implement them immediately?

Personally, I unlock new social polices as soon as I have the option because I want to reap the benefits of the new policy as quickly as possible.

What say you?

 

[Ahriman]

None of the above.
I often save SPs until a new tree is unlocked, even if it is many turns away.
But I'd never save them until I can instantly unlock an entire tree.
So, somewhere between your second and third options.

 

[AfterShafter]

I largely implement immediately, but I do some short term saving to get to the +3 coastal production per coastal city in Commerce. I often have two policies sitting around when I get Commerce. Other than that, I implement immediately. So, I guess I fit into option 3.

 

[Varanid]

I've done the slingshot stuff a few times, and the spend 'em as you get them a few times. The only time I save are if I'm going for cultural victory, since the early benefits from liberty are nice. The ones from Honor *would* be if they AI was better at war too (although the double XP from combat is still damn nice).

 

[General Tso]

I don't understand, what is the advantage of "saving" social policies?

 

[AfterShafter]

I don't understand, what is the advantage of "saving" social policies?

Social policies become more expensive to get as you get more, right? So, let's say your favourite tree is patronage. You don't get patronage immediately so, rather than spending your first social policies you earn on honour, liberty, and tradition, you can just not spend the social policies and keep them on ice, as it were, until patronage unlocks. Then, when patronage unlocks, you can put all of your stored policies into patronage and completely fill out patronage much faster.

Basically, all it means is, you don't apply earned policies right away and save them for when a later tree unlocks. You can spend some and save some, save them all, or spend them all immediately - any mix and match that works for you.

Next patch they say they are going to take out the ability to save social policies, making it so you have to use them immediately upon receiving a policy through culture. So, it may not be possible in the near future.

 

[General Tso]

Thanks for the detailed explanation. Originally I thought there might be some kind of culture cost advantage that I wasn't seeing. It looks like I'll keep buying my policies one at a time for now, I like to have the advantages right away.

 

[Dark_Jedi06]

The only time I usually save my is when I'm awaiting the Medieval Era for Commerce and/or Patronage. My usual strategy involves grabbing Tradition + Aristocracy and then ignoring the other early trees...though if I'm feeling like a war-monger then I definitely have to unlock Honor all the way down to Military Discipline.

So I only save my sometimes.

 

[AfterShafter]

Yeah, I tend to do the same, apart from my soft spot for the +3 coastal production from Commerce. Immediate spending really helps your empire come together in the early game, some of the perks from the tradition tree are pretty freaking spectacular from a builder perspective. What's more, that +1 culture in all cities from Liberty can actually save you a *ton* of money in buying squares and building maintenance. Not to mention how much of a boost getting honour 1 can be just in the amount of money barb-smashing can bring into your empire early on.

 

[bonafide11]

I always use them right away since I know the patch will be changing that, plus it feels cheap to save them up since it gives you an extra advantage over the AI, which isn't all that bright as it is anyway.

 

[Left Foot]

So it appears so far that a majority of players would find their playing style affected to one degree or another by the new patch which would force you to spend Social Policies the same turn you got them.

I don't have the patience or discipline to hold on to them. I want my benefits now! Just too tempting to click and get your new bonuses...

 

[AfterShafter]

So it appears so far that a majority of players would find their playing style affected to one degree or another by the new patch which would force you to spend Social Policies the same turn you got them.

I don't have the patience or discipline to hold on to them. I want my benefits now! Just too tempting to click and get your new bonuses...

Actually, right now, it's 10 people voting for options that suggest SP storing, 10 people voting for people that suggest they use them right away. So, it's not really a vast majority favouring one, but an even split

 

[Licinia Eudoxia]

Basically, all it means is, you don't apply earned policies right away and save them for when a later tree unlocks. You can spend some and save some, save them all, or spend them all immediately - any mix and match that works for you.

Next patch they say they are going to take out the ability to save social policies, making it so you have to use them immediately upon receiving a policy through culture. So, it may not be possible in the near future.

A lot of people save as many policies as they can until Renaissance, then grab the Freedom policy that reduces policy cost. Sometimes with Cristo Redentor (though that is usually too late, and it starts costing you.).

Using this, you can shave (thousands? A lot) of culture off a culture victory.

I've done this a couple of times in my Single City Challenges, where a lot of policies simply aren't very useful, but overall, I'm not a big fan of the idea of 'saving' policies.

However, I'm also not a big fan of having players micromanage their culture growth so that they stifle it until their policies are unlocked, and I can foresee people doing that, unfortunately.

 

[AfterShafter]

Oh, I understand that Licinia. Conversely, a lot of people don't do that. And what's more, it's a strategy almost exclusively limited to the people going for cultural victories - and even there, it's not the only viable way to go about it.

 

[Rohili]

I usually pick my policies immediately, unless a more useful policy will be unlocked in a few turns (i.e. <15). I don't see what's so special about the late-game policies that people would want to save up for them anyway. By the time I can unlock, say, Rationalism, I'm usually far ahead in science already.

Furthermore, some of the early-game policies, like the +33% wonder production one and the +100% XP one are very useful for my play style, so I always get them.

 

[Left Foot]

Actually, right now, it's 10 people voting for options that suggest SP storing, 10 people voting for people that suggest they use them right away. So, it's not really a vast majority favouring one, but an even split

True, true. Though one could argue that we shouldn't count the Jack Bauer related votes due to his -alleged- coercive nature.

 

[bonafide11]

True, true. Though one could argue that we shouldn't count the Jack Bauer related votes due to his -alleged- coercive nature.

Except I voted for Jack Bauer because it was the first option I saw that said "I implement SP immediately." I didn't realize until after I voted that there was another one that didn't involve Jack Bauer. I don't even like 24 so I wouldn't have voted for that had I read them all first.

 

[Licinia Eudoxia]

Oh, I understand that Licinia. Conversely, a lot of people don't do that. And what's more, it's a strategy almost exclusively limited to the people going for cultural victories - and even there, it's not the only viable way to go about it.

Well, it's not even really just exclusive to culture victories as you can get quite a few policies out of it, but yes, you are mostly right!

I was just adding it to your explanation, because I felt it was another thing to mention.

 

[AfterShafter]

True, true. Though one could argue that we shouldn't count the Jack Bauer related votes due to his -alleged- coercive nature.

Ah, true. I guess that does tip the scales, in spite of Jack just doing it to save the world from nukes and bioweapons and terrorists, and so his daughter will really love him, and because, well, God Bless America!

Edit: And fair enough Licinia. I admit I'm getting a bit defensive on the subject because I feel like I've been called out as some sort of cheater/exploiter for being pro-SP storing in spite of actually using it in a very limited sense myself. Thanks, and your addition is actually quite pertinent - that's a strategy that I expect we'll see develop a lot more and become quite popular if SP storing isn't taken away... Which it is about to be, methinks.

 

[joyous_gard]

Your missing an option. I save SP until I open a particular tree. For me it's commerce, I sometimes wait on that until it is open and then go for the +3 hammers. I will later unlock other stuff however I want (usually not saving SP up.) I am not looking forward to the nerf. No vote.