Biggest strategy changes due to Warlords

[gdgrimm]

So after quite a few games of Warlords, I've noticed 2 very big, general strategy changes (i.e not strategy changes due to a UU, or UB, or leader trait).

1) Trebs have completely changed what techs, resources, and units are used for Medieval War. It has also made some minor changes on how I fight Ancient/Classical Wars, too. I used to just go all out with CR promos for my Axeman armies, knowing that I'd just be leveraging them again after the (expensive) upgrade to Macemen for the Medieval War. Now, I actually build my Axeman army with as few CR specialists as are necessary to crack any high CG defenders, but try to use field promoted Axemen to finish off low CG defenders. This is because, come Medieval Era, the Macemen will primarily be used as support for the Trebs, and I want the field promos, not the CR promos.

2) The Chariot bonus against Axemen has done more to downgrade the "push" for Bronze Working than the forest chop change in 1.6. Animal Husbandry tends to be a useful tech early, and is easy to finish by the time you have a settler ready, which you can then settle to make any Horses around available. Toss in the Wheel (another very useful early tech), and viola! Barb and early AI defense are taken care of. You can delay Archery and Bronze Working for a bit. And if you don't find Copper, you don't need to bee-line to Iron Working right away.

Anyway, those are the two biggest general strategy changes I've seen. Any others?

[Blaupanzer]

1. Engineering earlier, despite expense.
2. Slight deemphasis on the metals for survival, but you still need to "reveal" them for proper city location. The AI seem to know where they are from the start.
3. More emphasis on drill to avoid collateral damage as well as get first strikes.

[gdgrimm]

Blaupanzer, do you use Drill heavily in general now? Or just when Protective?

I certainly use it heavily when playing Protective trait, but I haven't really used it anymore for general civs.

I guess since Drill I now opens Shock/Cover, it can be used instead of Combat I for a field Archer type. But I still think Combat I is better than Drill I unless you're going to be able to progress to Drill III and IV. But that progression is really hard to pull off for a bunch of units unless you already start with the Drill I of Protective.

[ColdPhoenix]

I find myself declaring war more often and earlier. I tend to war from early on until I get at least one great general.

Before the expansion I would have concentrated on building more (unless there were a few easy cities for the taking from someone diplomatically opposed to me...).

[Older than Dirt]

It is now much easier to carry out aggressive campaigns in all of the ages. With a couple of highly promoted units one can enter the enemey's territory almost with impunity and smash anything sent against you and pillage to your delight to cripple him even if you don't want to take the losses that attacking fortified units in cities on hills.

[Proteus_MST]

Trying to get Fascism first
Trying to build the great wall first (as I normally play huge maps this is a great advantage)
Declaring war more often (as I like GGs )
Playing another Civ than in Vanilla (as Catherines traits changed)
Waging war earlier (because of the Trebs)

[Swiss Pauli]

For protective leaders an Oracle slingshot to Feudalism can turn you into a conquest beast that the AI has a hard time to stop. There's not much that can stop a Drill III Longbowman in BC 800!

[Blaupanzer]

Elephants seem to gobble up longbowmen when the AI uses them. Don't seem to have the "cover" promotion per my reading.

[Martinus]

The inclusion of the Great Wall (and the GE points it gives) offers a safer and cheaper way to get Pyramids for a Philosophical leader than both formerly known methods (i.e. building the Pyramids from scratch and using the Oracle-MC-Forge-GE gambit).

[Prussia]

Feudalism has become alot more valuable.

[rah]

I didn't consider that impact, I'll have to try to take better advantage of it. I kept thinking of it as defense and not the potential for offense.

[Qwertqwert]

Only picking civs with Charaismatic (which actually helped me beat my first Monarch game)

Going for Engineering early

[Swiss Pauli]

Originally posted by Blaupanzer
Elephants seem to gobble up longbowmen when the AI uses them. Don't seem to have the "cover" promotion per my reading.

But there aren't many of them about in 800BC. HAs are more of a threat with their 1st strike immunity, but your Longbow can also take formation...

[Kuciwalker]

2. Slight deemphasis on the metals for survival, but you still need to "reveal" them for proper city location. The AI seem to know where they are from the start.

Firaxis has confirmed innumerable times that the AI does not have any special knowledge of resource locations.

[Commander Bello]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker

2. Slight deemphasis on the metals for survival, but you still need to "reveal" them for proper city location. The AI seem to know where they are from the start.

Firaxis has confirmed innumerable times that the AI does not have any special knowledge of resource locations.

Except for the fact that the recommendations for you where to build a city are based on ressource locations (even of hidden ressources).
As the AI follows those recommendations, it will put cities where later it will find ressources.