Tweet
I have been playing with an idea for a strategy based on some ideas learned and read about here. I don't have as much experience as many of you, so i am hoping to get some thoughts/pointers.
The concept is to limit the AI military through disadvantaged wars (AI v AI through diplomacy or AI v. Player with Warlord strat), to limit the AI research through Espionage (spy pillaging and production culling), and to limit the AI economy through corporations. It is my belief that the early Warlord/Espionage/SE provides good synergy. During the late game the switch to Warlord/Espionage/Corporations maintains and builds on the advantages of the first phase. The ultimate goal is to create such huge disadvantages for the AI that its military, industrial, and economical growth are slowed to nothing and eventually to drive it to the negative. The enemy empires will collapse unto themselves leaving the player with a small hypermodern well trained army, incredibly wealthy and robust economy, and an immensely capable espionage system. The AIs will be the third world, and the player will be the first world. As time permits the player will be able to leverage these advantages to a Space victory, a diplomatic victory, or a time victory.
The idea is to run SE with Espionage with the Warlord strategy.
As I understand it, the Warlord strategy cripples the AI through war weariness and forces the AI into spending resources on military spending rather than research/growth/infrastructure.
The Specialist Economy allows for the generation of GP and also permits the reasignment of the science slider to create wealth or espionage. Additionally, since the Warlord strategy requires the enemy to always be within the cultural borders of the empire, this would mean that the player is exposed to pillaging. It is my understanding that the SE is more protected from pillaging forces than the CE.
I have mentioned boosting the Espionage slider to manipulate the AI into a disadvantage through switching religion and civics, destroying key resources, undermining production, destroying buildings, and poisoning wells. The Warlord strategy requires the AI to be the aggressor, espionage creates aggression. Besides the active espionage missions, the passive effects of espionage are quite useful and include being able to see the enemies' production queues, research direction, and clearing the fog.
So far, the enemy will be forced to attack, and will be stealthily undermined, and will be technically inferior due to the Warlord, Espionage, and SE strategies respectively.
The next phase in the development of the overall 'manipulative strangler' strategy is to undermine the economies of the AIs that the player is not 'currently' at war with. The objective is to switch to a corporate economy once the SE is no longer viable. I propose this is accomplished through a corporate strategy. The current strategies should allow the player to be able to be the first to create each corporation. The player will have the GP from the SE, and should have a tech advantage through the use of espionage (destroy the production of research buildings for example, and a foreknowledge of the research of the enemy) and the Warlord (AI shift of focus to military instead of research). If I understand Corporations correctly, a 'franchise' in an enemy city allows that city to convert certain resources into benefits while siphoning money from the economy and diverting it to the player's coffers. Judicial use of spies can deny the AI the benefit of a corporation (by destroying improvements) and slowly cripple his economy. The objective is to switch to a corporate economy once the SE is no longer viable.
In summary the player is the puppetmaster; he manipulates wars and economies not through sheer force, but through technological, economic, and diplomatic means.
The questions to the reader are:
a) is this viable?
b) what are critical techs?
c) what are critical leader traits?
d) what are the key wonders?
e) what tips do you have to improve on this specific idea?
The concept is to limit the AI military through disadvantaged wars (AI v AI through diplomacy or AI v. Player with Warlord strat), to limit the AI research through Espionage (spy pillaging and production culling), and to limit the AI economy through corporations. It is my belief that the early Warlord/Espionage/SE provides good synergy. During the late game the switch to Warlord/Espionage/Corporations maintains and builds on the advantages of the first phase. The ultimate goal is to create such huge disadvantages for the AI that its military, industrial, and economical growth are slowed to nothing and eventually to drive it to the negative. The enemy empires will collapse unto themselves leaving the player with a small hypermodern well trained army, incredibly wealthy and robust economy, and an immensely capable espionage system. The AIs will be the third world, and the player will be the first world. As time permits the player will be able to leverage these advantages to a Space victory, a diplomatic victory, or a time victory.
The idea is to run SE with Espionage with the Warlord strategy.
As I understand it, the Warlord strategy cripples the AI through war weariness and forces the AI into spending resources on military spending rather than research/growth/infrastructure.
The Specialist Economy allows for the generation of GP and also permits the reasignment of the science slider to create wealth or espionage. Additionally, since the Warlord strategy requires the enemy to always be within the cultural borders of the empire, this would mean that the player is exposed to pillaging. It is my understanding that the SE is more protected from pillaging forces than the CE.
I have mentioned boosting the Espionage slider to manipulate the AI into a disadvantage through switching religion and civics, destroying key resources, undermining production, destroying buildings, and poisoning wells. The Warlord strategy requires the AI to be the aggressor, espionage creates aggression. Besides the active espionage missions, the passive effects of espionage are quite useful and include being able to see the enemies' production queues, research direction, and clearing the fog.
So far, the enemy will be forced to attack, and will be stealthily undermined, and will be technically inferior due to the Warlord, Espionage, and SE strategies respectively.
The next phase in the development of the overall 'manipulative strangler' strategy is to undermine the economies of the AIs that the player is not 'currently' at war with. The objective is to switch to a corporate economy once the SE is no longer viable. I propose this is accomplished through a corporate strategy. The current strategies should allow the player to be able to be the first to create each corporation. The player will have the GP from the SE, and should have a tech advantage through the use of espionage (destroy the production of research buildings for example, and a foreknowledge of the research of the enemy) and the Warlord (AI shift of focus to military instead of research). If I understand Corporations correctly, a 'franchise' in an enemy city allows that city to convert certain resources into benefits while siphoning money from the economy and diverting it to the player's coffers. Judicial use of spies can deny the AI the benefit of a corporation (by destroying improvements) and slowly cripple his economy. The objective is to switch to a corporate economy once the SE is no longer viable.
In summary the player is the puppetmaster; he manipulates wars and economies not through sheer force, but through technological, economic, and diplomatic means.
The questions to the reader are:
a) is this viable?
b) what are critical techs?
c) what are critical leader traits?
d) what are the key wonders?
e) what tips do you have to improve on this specific idea?
Comment