Starting Strategies on Epic

[Dactyl]

I have observed that the starting strategies that worked on Monarch level for Normal games don't necessarily work on Epic. I've evolved a starting strategy on Normal based on what I've read here. I start with a Worker or, if I don't have the trees to chop, I start with a Settler. I build two Settlers and one Worker as my first three builds. I then build a warrior or two in my capital city and start on The Pyramids. This works quite well, giving me a strong start.

On Epic, it hasn't turned out that way. I've played the first 75-100 turns of several games in an attempt to develop a strategy. I haven't yet come up with one that satisfies me. When I use the strategy that I used on Normal, it doesn't work all that well. I've only managed to get four viable cities up and running a couple of times. The problem comes with the longer build times. Instead of chopping two tree squares per settler, I have to chop three. Likewise, I have to chop a lot more trees to get The Pyramids. I usually manage to get them, but it takes so long that it sets back my overall development. In addition, on Monarch, the barbs still start coming at you at about 1000 BC while you're at a lower level of development.

Any thoughts about playing Epic?

[Sparta]

I honestly recommend preserving as much of your forested land as possible, especially if Pyramids are a crucial part of your strategy.

Build some workers or barracks first and wait until you pop increases before expanding.

Expanding too quickly hinders your economy and can't really be risked in an epic game.

anyways that's my two cents...

[Dubhghlas]

I've said it before, I'll say it again:

Early settlers are not a good strategy in this iteration of the franchise. Build some size in, first; unless you are on a really competitive small board, and even then you can possibly get your first settler faster by waiting.

[Delta-V]

Everything's slower paced on epic. Size 1 cities are almost useless, and chopping is a minor gain. I usually limit chopping to helping new cities get those first couple of buildings up (particularly the Courthouses), usually only cutting one or two tiles. Personally, I like to start with Obelisks...they don't take much time to build, but gives the city a chance to reach size 2, and they push out the cultural boundary faster if you're not getting the leader culture bonus.

In the Capitol, I almost always start building a scout (or barracks until I get hunting, then switch to scout). Getting the resources to speed up wonders is even more helpful on Epic with it's longer build times. Early scouting is the key to finding those resources. With the slower pace, it's also possible to place boarder cities first to block AI expansion and then fill in the interior.

I'll wait until the capitol is size 3 until I start building a worker or settler, unless the capitol is on a plains hill with it's extra production, then I'll do it at size 2.

I think the Barbarians start coming at the same time as any other game speed, and you're off to a slower start, so you'll need Archers about the time you found your third city. Even without 'Raging Barbarians' on, you're going to be hit hard by barbarians because you and the AI haven't expanded to clear out the Fog o' War, giving them more areas to spawn.

[Tufturk]

Lately, I've been playing Qin a lot, and starting with Worker - Warrior - Settler, though I never start the Settler until the city is size 2. If I have cows in city radius, Animal Husbandry is always tech 1 and is just about ready as the Worker arrives on the spot. No cows nearby, I'll go straight for Bronze Working (unless Ivory is in city radius). Starting with Agriculture and Mining means your worker usually has things to do anyway. Warrior explores in circular fashion, arriving back to escort the settler. Next, one or two warriors, depending on city growth, and a new settler as soon as the city reaches size 3. I often leave the capital undefended until the 3rd city is in place, but then it's a race to hook up copper and get a barracks up. I normally don't bother with Archery.

Like Delta-V, I've found Obelisks to be a good first build for new cities, and if given time and forests, I might even do some limited chops to accelrate growth of city radius. Stonehenge is quite useful on Epic, especially if you don't need Calendar for early luxuries, and with Qin, it's easy to build, and quite worth a chop or two IMHO.

[cloudtoground]

Ok, I'm a sucker for long civ games. I tried the worker-warrior-settler approach, and it seemed to work ok. It's now 1925BC and I've got two cities, with the capital producing lots of food. With cows in the city radius, I shot for animal husbandry.

Truly, I need to try this approach several times, experiment-style, on the same map conditions, to get a better feel for it. The map I'm playing on right now can hardly be considered "average".

Food sources, hammer output, and research strategy seem like important variables for this test. Anyone else have thoughts on variables and considerations for this experiment?

[Aeson]

The main difference on Epic is that your units get to move more often relatively speaking.

A Warrior choke on Epic works better than on other game speeds. Build some Warriors, find a neighbor (or two), wait for them to build a Worker, and then capture it.

Warrior rushes also work better on Epic. Culture bonuses take longer, Archers take more turns to research to.

In general, I think Warriors first is much better on Epic than on Normal or Quick.

[cloudtoground]

I can see how on my current game warriors first would have been a huge benefit. I could have quickly overpowered the Mongols to my south, at the expense of a slower first settler.

[Quillan]

I've been playing around on huge continents at epic speed the last few days, and it looks to me like the animal period and barbarian spawn dates are both farther back than on normal. The animals stayed around for a long time, which produced its own problem. The lions, panthers and wolves got mostly killed off, leaving a ton of bears roaming around.

It looks to me like cities on epic still grow at the same rate as normal, so they tend to be bigger.

[Firecrak]

On Epic, I find beelining for a religion and then Oracle, is a big boost. Firstly, as mentioned earlier, your units move more ie. more turns therefore theres a higher chance to spread religion (I believe its a percentile per turn, when an open trade route is established between cities). Secondly, because tech is slower than the other 2 speeds, oracle can give you decent trading power OR if you missed hindu/buddi, you can skip em and go straight for Toa/Conf. I try to limit my chopping also, the health benefits later, and especially if your starting position is not mineral/mine rich, can be turned into lumbermills and provide decent hammer output.