Do you beeline for religion?

[BigWilly1974]

Just curious how many people go straight for founding a religion? And if you do, do you pump out missionaries in the early game or let your religion spread largely passively?

I typically don't go direct for a religion. I almost always get beat to Buddhism, so if I go for a religion, I go for Hinduism and still get beat to the punch about half the time. I consider it a risk because if I miss out I've now missed out on going my usual mining, bronzeworking, and then chop rushing my first worker, settler, worker, settler...thus delaying my very early game start.

Even those relatively few games I do found a religion, I typically don't try to aggressively expand my religion using missionaries as pumping out that many missionaries I've always felt slows takes away from key infrastructure or military building that is typically important to my early game strat.

Just wondering how other people handle religion and missionaries, and what their strat is.

[Chicagophil]

I've normally based my research off of what improvements are around my Captial. If I'm lucky enough to found a religion then so be it. Other than that I normally hope that a close neighbor gets one, opens borders, then just grow as a close ally.

[rah]

Originally when I played SP, I always raced for a religion.
As for spreading it. A monestary is good for the science (and culture if you're pressed for it on a border)
But I'd only build a couple to spread to nearest neighbors if other priorities weren't pressing. (and only to civs that it would have long term benifit) No use spreading it to monty if he's still going to hate you and have to be eliminated anyway.

MP has changed all that because of the risk as you say.
Unless I start with myst and have a beaker special of some type, there is too much chance that someone else will beat you and your other neighbors will get copper hooked up sooner than you. Which can be a recipe for early elimination.

So now, even in SMP, most cases, straight for Bronze or AH.

[ahenobarb]

I always try to get one of the first two religions via Myst or Polyth, however I let it passively spread to other civs (but manually spread to my cities if they don't soon get it) until I've filled out my territory. By that time I'm usually down to 30-60% in science and spread the religion to get gold so I can increase science again.

Also, I tried as an experiment to run the board with religions and ended up with 4 or 5 of them. It's not really worth having more than 2 because you can't get enough GP to found all the required shrines that allow you to collect gold from them. Also, you have to pump out way too many missionaries to see any substantial benefits.

I go for a religion right away for the cultural benefits. But then again, I also build a worker in my first city and then Stonehenge before building any defensive units. The animals have never bothered the city.

Of course, this culture quest would get you clobbered in MP.

[Will9]

I wait tell I found a second city to found a religon.

[Lord Avalon]

Confucianism

Edit: not really a beeline, but I often found it.

[PrinceBimz]

Re: Do you beeline for religion?

Originally posted by BigWilly1974
Just curious how many people go straight for founding a religion? And if you do, do you pump out missionaries in the early game or let your religion spread largely passively?

I typically don't go direct for a religion. I almost always get beat to Buddhism, so if I go for a religion, I go for Hinduism and still get beat to the punch about half the time. I consider it a risk because if I miss out I've now missed out on going my usual mining, bronzeworking, and then chop rushing my first worker, settler, worker, settler...thus delaying my very early game start.

Even those relatively few games I do found a religion, I typically don't try to aggressively expand my religion using missionaries as pumping out that many missionaries I've always felt slows takes away from key infrastructure or military building that is typically important to my early game strat.

Just wondering how other people handle religion and missionaries, and what their strat is.

Yes I do alot. When I am going for a 3 city cultural victory, I make sure I pick a civ with spiritualism so I can get a religion quick. Sometimes, I will go after another religion after I get one, there has been times when I went for 3, one after another!

[unamablebuiler]

I go for confucianism if i am non religious civ but if I have mysticism as a start tech or get it from goody hut early enough I go for budhism

[Willem]

Originally posted by unamablebuiler
... mysticism... or get it from goody hut early enough I go for budhism

Even that's too much of a gamble for me. I've been beaten to Buddhism by a single turn several times even when I started out with the tech. All it takes to lose out is some civ that also has Mysticism, but they just happen to have an Oasis in their city radius.

[Kuciwalker]

I rarely go for Hinduism or Buddhism. Occasionally I go for Judaism, but more often I completely skip that line of techs and grab Bronze Working and Masonry, then beeline for Confucianism and Alphabet.

[Sir Og]

I always go for BW or AH if I have cows and always skip the 3 early religions but I always gec CoL first.

[Civ-Stephen]

I try to get a religion and wait until I get a great prophet and then I build the special building for that religion in the founding city and get +1 gold per city - can go a long way that.

[ColdPhoenix]

Before BtS I would always go for Confucianism so I could get courthouses up quickly. Now I try and get Theology (I enable the choose religion option now too) with the Oracle, I want the Apolistic Palace for the hammers and because I'll usually control the voting. It saved me in my last game when Saladin came in with a huge stack, I just used the AP to end the war before he had a chance to attack.

At the start of the game I'm focused on getting a couple of cities down, improving and getting early resources and building my military rather than religion.

[Nugog]

Yes - the AP has changed thiings a bit - before BtS in Sp I never really went for the early religions.

I have been on the recieving end of nasty AP votes (damned peaceniks) so I am re-evaluating my position on early religions.

It still feels funny not to rush to BW and AH though...

[LzPrst]

I'm a religion dodger. often my strategy will involve getting CoL early and thus Confucianism follows. but I rarely pay much attention to it.