Tweet
Attempting to achieve a winning score at each difficulty level with each available Civ before progressing to the next level, I have been forced to play the Expansionist Civs and to learn to exploit their advantages. Beyond the goody hut and contact-communication ploys that have been discussed elsewhere, I have found the scouts to be useful in another way. I have successfully used this ploy to negate the AI’s productivity bonus at the higher levels.
When Expansionist, my build queues are typically scout, warrior, settler which yields a significant number of the little buggers traipsing all over the place. Once I have found a neighboring Civ, I post some scouts along his cultural borders about one every other tile or so, particularly in the direction of resource-rich land that I want to settle. I concentrate on size 2-3 cities about to pop, and on blocking frontier roads out of the cultural bubble. If a patrolling scout can pillage a recent road not yet in the AI culture sphere, so much the better.
Inevitably, the AI settler/defender combo shows up, heading for greener pastures. My scouts-on-guard quickly maneuver to block the combo from further forward progress, usually in a triangle shape.
Scout
Settler Scout -----> This way to the resources!
Scout
The AI will attempt to sidestep, which the quick-moving scouts jump to block in their turn. The AI will waste countless turns sidestepping back and forth, until my slower-built settler finally sets up shop on the desirable squares.
I have never seen the AI give up against this ploy (although it will sometimes make a sea-borne end around the blocking scouts if possible), nor attack the defenseless scouts. It works best if you leave a possible opening rather than completely blocking access (for instance, cutting off the neck of a peninsula forces the AI to seek alternate seaborne routes, rather than wasting time heading for the ever-shifting opening).
The only downside is at the higher barbarian settings, when barb horse can disrupt your blockade. Even with defensive units as blockers instead of scouts, the barbs will ALWAYS attack your troops in favor of the settler combo.
Later in the opening, if you have established an outer ring of cities with an eye to eventually filling in the holes, the scouts can be used to occupy territory in the center of the hole, preventing AI settlers from, well, settling. They will not set up on the fringes of a hole if a better location in the center is available but temporarily blocked.
Often, the AI will stack up multiple settle-defender combos bumbling around trying to find a path to the Promised Land. It can take a significant number of scouts to keep these combos contained. The best way to follow up this tactic is with an attacker rush to kill off the defenders and harvest a horde of foreign workers.
When Expansionist, my build queues are typically scout, warrior, settler which yields a significant number of the little buggers traipsing all over the place. Once I have found a neighboring Civ, I post some scouts along his cultural borders about one every other tile or so, particularly in the direction of resource-rich land that I want to settle. I concentrate on size 2-3 cities about to pop, and on blocking frontier roads out of the cultural bubble. If a patrolling scout can pillage a recent road not yet in the AI culture sphere, so much the better.
Inevitably, the AI settler/defender combo shows up, heading for greener pastures. My scouts-on-guard quickly maneuver to block the combo from further forward progress, usually in a triangle shape.
Scout
Settler Scout -----> This way to the resources!
Scout
The AI will attempt to sidestep, which the quick-moving scouts jump to block in their turn. The AI will waste countless turns sidestepping back and forth, until my slower-built settler finally sets up shop on the desirable squares.
I have never seen the AI give up against this ploy (although it will sometimes make a sea-borne end around the blocking scouts if possible), nor attack the defenseless scouts. It works best if you leave a possible opening rather than completely blocking access (for instance, cutting off the neck of a peninsula forces the AI to seek alternate seaborne routes, rather than wasting time heading for the ever-shifting opening).
The only downside is at the higher barbarian settings, when barb horse can disrupt your blockade. Even with defensive units as blockers instead of scouts, the barbs will ALWAYS attack your troops in favor of the settler combo.
Later in the opening, if you have established an outer ring of cities with an eye to eventually filling in the holes, the scouts can be used to occupy territory in the center of the hole, preventing AI settlers from, well, settling. They will not set up on the fringes of a hole if a better location in the center is available but temporarily blocked.
Often, the AI will stack up multiple settle-defender combos bumbling around trying to find a path to the Promised Land. It can take a significant number of scouts to keep these combos contained. The best way to follow up this tactic is with an attacker rush to kill off the defenders and harvest a horde of foreign workers.
Comment