When to Capture City States?

[epsilon97]

Hello all,

I am relatively new to Civ 5, and I have been trying to figure out when to capture City States. When should I consider invading City States? When as a warmonger and when as a peaceful state?

Thanks

 

[Vortilex]

I play as Austria a lot, so I just buy them

 

[FeiLing]

As a peaceful state, never.
As a warmonger, never. Unless you want to increase your civ ingame score or you are well prepared to be at war with every other civ on the planet at the same time

Seriously, the only real case when you may consider doing it is when you didn't have met the rest of the world yet (say when being on a small continent) + the city state is useless to you as an ally + the city is really good (double luxuries and some strategic resources + a natural wonder).

 

[epsilon97]

What if you are playing as Attila the Hun?

 

[FeiLing]

Doesn't make a difference who you are. Neither Huns nor Mongols. Well okay, you might take a CS with the Huns under the circumstances I named, especially if your warrior just stumbled upon a ruin and transformed into a Ram - makes sure you can do the job before the world notices (meets you).

Marrying a CS as Austria btw doesn't give any diplomatic penalties (apart from maybe if the borders are to close to an AI).

 

[MikeyLikey]

Do you get the warmonger attribute if no one met the civ you destroy?

 

[Heerlo]

Do you get the warmonger attribute if no one met the civ you destroy?

I don't know for sure;but someone had a thread here awhile back, and I think they said they captured a CS before the met anyone and still got a diplo penalty.

But I don't really know, and I think that was on the vanilla version anyway.

 

[Ritzy Cat]

The bonuses city states offer usually outweigh adding them to your empire (unless you are Austria). As well as the diplomatic penalty that comes with it.

The only times I see fit to invade a city state is if you are trying to overthrow a massive empire and you will not have any chance of allying these city states. But even then it may not be worth to destroy them.

 

[Nurgle84]

I like to invade mercantile CS, as you keep their bonus partly (Unique luxury) after taking it.

 

[Corvus corax]

As a peaceful state, never.
As a warmonger, never. Unless you want to increase your civ ingame score or you are well prepared to be at war with every other civ on the planet at the same time.

Most of the times I agree with you, but this time I can mention a few good strategic reasons to conquer City States:
• Strategic position in attacking an opponent (when the CS is no ally of mine).
• Avoiding them to vote for the AI in UN-elections (when outcome is uncertain).
• To ensure access to a crucial strategic resource I lack in my territory (not wanting to depend on having enough gold to ally the CS).
• When at war: to deprive an opponent of a crucial strategic resource (when the result is a combat penalty for the AI-units based on that resource).
• When you want to trigger war (and are fully prepared for that).

But generally I prefer to ally CS’s for their bonuses: science, free units, resources, luxuries, …

 

[Vortilex]

Marrying a CS as Austria btw doesn't give any diplomatic penalties (apart from maybe if the borders are to close to an AI).

If another civ is allied with a CS and you marry into it, there is a small diplomatic penalty, and they'll accuse you of being a land-grabber, which led to the destruction of the Netherlands and Persia when I was playing against them. It happened again when I reached the New World and found China and the Aztecs allied with one city state each that I promptly grabbed.

 

[NotSure]

I don't know for sure;but someone had a thread here awhile back, and I think they said they captured a CS before the met anyone and still got a diplo penalty.

But I don't really know, and I think that was on the vanilla version anyway.

Ya, warmonger penalties are universal (although weighed differently). A penalty is given with every civ, even the civs that never met the state(s) you were at war with/conquered.

I try not to conquer them because the penalty is so severe, but it's not a bad move in some situations. Corvus named some good ones. If I do it, I do it only to get a resource I know I can't get peacefully, or to deprive a rival of a resource (or UN vote). It's usually a desperate move.

 

[Minor Annoyance]

I asked this before: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=469492
I haven't seen a lot of consistency in when eliminating a player brings down the whole earth on you and when no one cares.

 

[Callonia]

I generally invade city states whenever I want to, if anyone don't like it, so be it, sucks to be them, unless, the exception is a city state that's allied to a super power and its under their protection and i don't feel like sending my spearman up against their tanks. However, generally i found that i don't really care about invading city states unless its an awesome site for port. Then its mine, no matter what screw relationships with major civs, battleships is more important to me.


Major civs don't even give me any incentive to let such a juicy harbor stay in city state's hands. I like being able to give names to my ships, but i cannot unless i actually build them, which hurts the possiblity of major civs gifting me battleships to play with in order to make me leave the city state with juicy harbor alone because i have to wage war to be able to rename my battleships. And i've started wars just to rename my battleships in civ 5.


Just don't make your coastline look too pretty to me, and i will ignore it. But if its too pretty, i be coming because i see that beach will make a fine addition to my empire.

 

[Martin79]

I capture city-states here and there when they are allied with a civilization which I am fighting a war against, if they get annoying, are in my way, have resources that I need or when I need an extra seaport to build ships.

 

[Vortilex]

So you're saying you just capture city-states.

 

[Martin79]

So you're saying you just capture city-states.

When they are allied with a civilization which I am fighting a war against, it may happen for the reasons cited above. Otherwise, I usually don't bother.

I must say that I have difficulties to make CS be my friends or allies for a decent period of time (except when I play Greece), so I don't see why I should let the other civs have all the extra resources and bonus.

 

[Tachii]

I only do it if the location is a strategic one, but usually I ally them before I declare war on the AI. I don't need the gold/science/culture from puppeting them when a cultural CS usually gives more culture, maritime with food for existing empire, military for random meat shields you'd put on the vanguard instead of your own prized units, and extra mercantile happiness without getting more unhappiness from puppeting.

Not to mention the diplo hit.

 

[Martin79]

How do you manage to have all those CS allies/friends, especially if you play vs Alexander? In my current game, he has at least 300 influence in every CS. Of course, I would prefer to be friend with all those shiny little CS and have the free culture, faith, military units, food, resources, etc. But it's not always possible. In some situations, I think the next best thing to do is to puppet a CS here and there. The diplo hit doesn't bother me much if I'm heading for a domination victory.

 

[Callonia]

How do you manage to have all those CS allies/friends, especially if you play vs Alexander? In my current game, he has at least 300 influence in every CS. Of course, I would prefer to be friend with all those shiny little CS and have the free culture, faith, military units, food, resources, etc. But it's not always possible. In some situations, I think the next best thing to do is to puppet a CS here and there. The diplo hit doesn't bother me much if I'm heading for a domination victory.

Be rich and do all the quests they ask you to do xD Well, except for ones that ask you to bully lol. Unless you don't care about the city state it asks you to push around.

Failing that, just enjoy what city states you're allied to, he cannot steal entrenched city states in your sphere of influence unless he spends alot of gold to do it. Like alot. I do that all the time, austria and greece gets grumpy about city states thats firmly in my pocket.

And there's always a fallback option, take out greece. One way or other. Harassment, etc or rightout invasion.

Harrassment is alot easier than before, even if you don't have land army strength to do it.. there's navy! And they can force cities into submission now! Sack a city repeatedly til greece runs out of money to battle you over city states with. And, there's nukes, don't have to invade greece, just toss enough nukes to destroy his economy and leave.

Of course, you'll need missle cruisers and nuclear submarines but hey.. that's an option.