When do you start attakcing the other Civs?

[KMadCandy]

i finally declared on hatty in that game! July 2054 AD. the egyptian civilization was destroyed in January 2055 AD. so do i win a prize for dilly-dallying? but hey, at least it was future start, so it wasn't that long. ok so it was a long time *giggle*. my score was quite low, not surprising. Winston Churchill.

i took all nine cities in 2 turns. hubby thinks i spend too long preparing. i dunno, he might have a point, but don't tell him i said so. i never even got to use my GG!

was fun nuking the snot out of her tho! i have never had negative diplo modifiers even half this bad with anyone in my entire life. and it's hatty OMG i feel so guilty, i like her!

Spoiler :

 

[Adder]

Before 500BC? I think not.

Military victories are such a rarity for me.. I usually begin my first attack when someone places a city where I just wanted to place one.. or near that location at least. But since I practically always use imperialistic leaders, I mostly get all the nice locations I want. full peacefull till 2055

 

[Levgre]

one of my favorite times to attack is after steam power/railroad/assembly line, because that can double my production. it can be nice to not interrupt that infrastructure boost by building units.

Then you take out one civ at least easily, and once the other ones catch up in tech, they still have to take time to build up their production or be hopelessly outnumbered.

 

[sylvanllewelyn]

I've been trying out the aggressive AI option in BTS lately (emperor). This is my third game on aggrssive AI, and all three times I started next to Shaka. There should be another option on the poll which says "never - the AI takes the fight to me".

 

[byjimini]

I don't have a specific timeframe, I only enact war if a civ is annoying me with constant threats trying to get techs etc or stopping me trading with certain civs that my economy depends on.

Gengis Kahn (sp) decided to extend his empire by building cities a few tiles from my mine, effectively cutting my civ in half. A few hundred years later when he started making threats, I lined up my military on the borders, closed all contact with him and eventually wiped him off the continent with help from the US and UK.

So it's generally how I feel and if they're becoming a threat to me.

 

[MGee]

Voted on before 500 AD. However, it's not time-dependent for me. Usually I reach Theology and Feudalism first for bonus XP, then I build a decent force and attack, usually around 500AD.

BTW, is it a wise thing to research Monarchy while building the Oracle, then get Feudalism as a free tech? I usually do so + research /sometimes bulb/ theology so I'll earn advanced techs a bit earlier than others.

 

[Deepflow]

these days when im going for domination i normally only build 3 or 4 cities before around 1000AD, get myself a lovely strong economy, tech up to macemen and then attack with a pile of them and cats/trebs. It seems to work pretty well and after that things tend to go pretty relentlessly my way.

I used to attack earlier but i find that this works better for me It does mean my finish dates are never stellar though

 

[CBPE]

I'd add:
who is your neighboor?!?
If he's Mansa, you can leave him alive, but if he's a Caesar and he has iron you have to kill him ASAP....

 

[I EAT CRAYONS]

If there's someone really nearby, I mean like REALLY nearby, I will attack him before 2000 BC with just 2 warriors. It's surprisingly effective, since most AIs will usually have just one warrior guarding their capital.

 

[Giaur]

If there's someone really nearby, I mean like REALLY nearby, I will attack him before 2000 BC with just 2 warriors. It's surprisingly effective, since most AIs will usually have just one warrior guarding their capital.

I declared war this way in Vanilla deity with good effect. Maybe not 2000BC, but 2 conditions that must have coexisted were:
1) there is settler escorting by enemy's archer approaching
2) I have at least 1 axe nearby

 

[JJ Boston]

If there's someone really nearby, I mean like REALLY nearby, I will attack him before 2000 BC with just 2 warriors. It's surprisingly effective, since most AIs will usually have just one warrior guarding their capital.

I did something like this once just for kicks. I was exploring, came across Korea almost immediately and declared a long-shot war with my one warrior. I got lucky, captured the city and wiped them out. This was a while ago, in Civ3, so it might not work anymore in Civ4.

 

[martin026]

Reading this site has turned me into such a huge warmonger, I am now at a disadvantage when military struggle early is not an option.

My last game, as Roosevelt (a new favorite for me) I started the war machine with axes and did not stop until domination in the early 1800's. Barely had the chance to build a navy seal, but they got some work. Controlling my continent early really propelled me to early victory.

 

[AmazonQueen]

Anywhere from asap (if I'm Inca and they're close by) to never if I've got a decent amount of territory and no/friendly neighbours. I don't usually aim for military/domination victories and I prefer to avoid unneccessary wars.

 

[Porphyrius]

Browsing voting options...
Before 500 AD...
Before 1 AD...???

Thats it no BC options???
Well its an easy choise then, pre 1AD it is.



I usually attack early well into the BCs. Higher dif levels and extra AIs at normal sized maps usually mean opporunities for peaceful expansion are rare.

Beside i favor getting more land over trying for a small tech advantage, thus even if the start does not lend itself to an early rush (or i do get space for 5-7 peacefully layed cities) i attack with cats/swords still in the BCs.
Guess i'm quite used to winning wars using large armies more than highly promoted, well balanced or advanced ones.
War in up to medieval era is just so much less logistic intensive. And getting 2-3 time your normal share of land on high difficulties feels kinda needed.

Off course i have ocasionally endup up with a sinle peacelike AI in a continent and (rarely) when i do manage to box him in, i do wait till astronomy focusing on other parts of the world after that.
I mean theres allways need to trade(steal) techs.

 

[SenhorDaGuerra]

military games are the most fun for me. i get bored if i dont attack and have to endlessly click "end turn" till i get to 2050. that does my head in! in my most recent game as darius i took out both pericles and monty before 1AD. it was awesome, and made me appreciate immortals. great UU. so i clicked before 1AD

 

[madscientist]

Varies way too much to even answer. Sometimes I will rush ASAP. Sometimes I bid my time until cats/swords or middle age stuff. Sometimes I'll tech to rifling/cavalry or event anks. Sometimes I'll declare just to appease a friend.

 

[manu-fan]

I *usually* attack before 1AD. At least start a war with Axes/Swords. I may not finish them off until I get Cats though. The usually means if the factors are right (which they usually are): Access to Copper or Iron. Horses for Chariots for barb defense. A reasonably close neighbor.

Cheers.

 

[Daedal]

Capturing an enemy capital early (before 1 AD) can be immensely helpful. Not only are they often full of wonders (unless you grab them all first ), but they're usually very well located because the computer likes to give everyone good starting locations. You'll also have a crippled neighbor afterward who can be much more easily taken out. If I have a reasonable chance of rushing a capital, I'll go for it. If not, meh, no big loss.

 

[EquinoxOmega]

I usually start my "war periode" between 1000 and 1500 AD, but it depends on the situation. If I'm attaced before this time I will usually lunch a distructive counterattac(like in my recent game). Before 1000 AD I focus on building world wonders, research and peacefully expanding my empire. The only disadvatage of this strategy is that my military is rather weak in this time. If I have a very bad starting position(like in my previsious game) I will attac after 1650.

 

[kcmarkwell]

Defintely before 1 AD. Typically the earlier the better. If I happen to line up right next to another capital, I don't even bother building a first settler and just rush them from there. Typically its a lot cheaper to capture cities than to actually build them yourself.