When to take CSes?

[Dizzy75]

Do people generally conquer CSes in situations where more than one other CS wants them eliminated?

It seems like there is a pretty steep diplomatic hit from taking them. I'm trying to get comfortable with Emperor and realizing that good AI relations are pretty important, so - do folks ever feel like it's worth it?

 

[RD-BH]

Interesting question.
I never bother with "eliminate another CS" missions.
If a CS attacks me,
... I usually just wipe their units and leave them intact.

 

[TPQ]

I occasionally take them if they're weak and have a resource I really want, but generally only if I know I'm going to be warring a lot anyway and only one per game.

So, for example, I start with no, or 2 iron and a weak, close-by city state has 6 iron it's not working yet and an I need to get a sword rush going ASAP to puppet my neighbors who are expanding aggressively in a game where I plan to do a fair bit of warring anyway and may well go for domination.

In those circumstances I think it's worth it to take 1 city state. I don't bother with CS elimination missions however as the reward is rarely worth the cost.

 

[vexing]

i take them if i no longer care about diplomatic relations, like if everyone already hates me. you have to compare the instant benefits of gaining the cs allies with lowered value for all your luxuries and the increased likelihood of being declared upon

 

[chazzycat]

You can generally get away with DOWing 1 city state per game without too bad of a diplo hit. If there's one near your starting area that isn't worth allying (and has some resources you need), it's worth considering. It's rare that the benefits of conquering outweigh the benefits of allying though. The last time I can remember doing this was when I needed a seaport city for building ships, and the city state was militaristic/hostile and also had a luxury I needed.

Edit - just realized I missed the "city state quest" context of OP's question. That changes my answer somewhat. In the case where you have multiple CS all asking for the same one's destruction, it would certainly be worth considering, at least ONCE. Especially if you have something to gain like a luxury. But given the "one free CS war", influence boosts alone could make it worth it. Probably depends on the number of city states that have the quest, and the value of those allies. If there are more than two I would probably do it every time, but I don't think that is a very common situation.

 

[qyll]

If more than one CS wants another one eliminated, I'll consider attacking it.

These factors make me more likely to declare:

-The targeted CS is militaristic
-The targeting CS's are cultural or maritime
-I have influence with one or more of the targeting CS's
-Either the targeting or the targeted CS's have luxury resources I don't have
-I am Mongolia
-I am already a warmonger

 

[joncnunn]

Myself, I wouldn't DOW on a CS no matter how many city states want it taken out.

Now if a City State is forced to DOW on me based on being an ally of the major power that I'm with war with, then if I don't already have the Aesthetics policy I may consider taking the CS out.

Do people generally conquer CSes in situations where more than one other CS wants them eliminated?

It seems like there is a pretty steep diplomatic hit from taking them. I'm trying to get comfortable with Emperor and realizing that good AI relations are pretty important, so - do folks ever feel like it's worth it?

 

[Tabarnak]

From all games i played i never conquered a single CS in a sp game so far. Probably because i've not played enough games on this mode.

On the opposite, in mp games, they are fresh meat(gold and science) and you don't get diplo hit unless you really annoyed a human and he decides to attack you.

 

[joncnunn]

I take it in MP games, that the free food, culture, and units from city state allies AREN'T worthwhile?
Or is this conquest instead of allying more to deny those benefits from your rivals?

On the opposite, in mp games, they are fresh meat(gold and science) and you don't get diplo hit unless you really annoyed a human and he decides to attack you.

 

[Tabarnak]

I take it in MP games, that the free food, culture, and units from city state allies AREN'T worthwhile?
Or is this conquest instead of allying more to deny those benefits from your rivals?

1-You can't generate money like in sp games because you can't sell luxuries so easily. Therefore, allying CS is really expensive. It's usually better to keep money for upgrades(if you have enough gold...)

2-Exactly.

I will ally CSs only way later in the game(ren/ind. era) if possible....but often it doesn't worth it.

 

[Dizzy75]

In my current game, it's around 1500 AD and I have a huge army of rifles and cannons, but I was late to Astronomy, so England found me before I found them. Now England and the Incas (Incas are #1, me #2, England #3) are DoWing city-states left and right, all with the message "Oops, sorry, I didn't realize they were your friends."

Will they take a diplo hit against each other? And is this typical, or is there some way to prevent AIs from indirectly screwing you up by attacking your allies? I'm taking a pretty big science and happiness hit because of it.

 

[1jax15]

I think it all depends on the difficulty... if you're playing Prince or even easier, then taking city states is simple and with benefits. Any higher difficulty, and the cost is too much.

 

[Janne]

I usually don't attack city states, the only exception can occur in games where I really struggle with gold and they have a resource I need or I consider taking a CS if several others want it taken out...I had one game where 3 CS wanted the same CS taken out and that was definitely worth it...

 

[roguepro92]

if someone is about to win diplomatic victory, every CS gets taken thats not ally with me.
otherwise they're not worth the trouble.

 

[sschmalz]

It is usually more beneficial to just pay the CS to be your ally. You gain the resources they have access to and you get the culture/units/food which you don't get if you conquer them.
However, sometimes a CS will get a really amazing city spot. Just because you like city-states does not mean that you should rule out conquering one if it betters your empire.

 

[HammerandSickle]

I only bother with city-states that lie on my border and are allied with a civ that I'm at war with.

That usually acquires me a couple of city-states as allies.
A three in one!!!

 

[Callonia]

Sometimes a Citystate will be just plain darn irrestible.

A certain city state named Lhasa with Mountain Fuji, and 8 Aluminum Node, With a Silver Luxury, plus a couple of atolls and a fish. And Lhasa's located on hill in a distant tropical island.

I lacked culture, aluminum, silver, and it being a perfect vacation resort all combined could easily make anyone green eyed.

Seriously I have never seen such a irresistible location before all wrapped neatly in one perfect package. So I took it by force. Screw what AI thinks of me, its a perfect vacation resort!

For your first city state capture, reasons tend to be it got dragged into war against you, has what you need but you don't have the gold for alliance, a target of hatred of a city state or two or more, or simply you just like their lay of land and must acquire it.

But taking a city state tends to require commitment for people will hate you for it.
Something about bullying small people. xD