Vote for Weakest/Strongest Civ Bonuses

[Dimension]

There are a LOT of turns before you can build Sufferage.

I find it pretty annoying how ambiguous war weariness is. Isn't there a gauge anywhere? I'm having some trouble with it right now in a game I'm playing. There's only one Roman city left that's a major production center I'm trying to take over, but war weariness is becoming a real problem.

I'm not playing a religious civilization, so I don't really want to switch back to Monarchy just to take over once city, but my cities keep having disorder. Currently, I don't even have any units outside my city, but my cities still just went into disorder because I'm still officially at war with the Romans, and the Romans refuse to talk to me so I can't end the war.

[player1]

If you have warrior or even Speramen, Getting barabrains in huts won't help you.

And possibility of gettin gbarbarins in huts is greatly reduced for Expansionistic civs.

Anyway, as I said, this ability is for players wich like to risk.
If you are lucky, you can easyly become BEST CIV in the game.
But, if you are unlucky, others civ will make better because of their other bonuses.

And don't forget, beweare of Expansionistic neghbours, thet'll get all of yours huts (instead of you).

[Martinus]

I don't think Religious CSA is as bad as some people find it. In particular, with my cultural/perfectionist style, I found it pretty handy several times. Not only I build temples faster in my bordering towns, allowing for cultural expansion (I usually get more cities through this way than by founding them with my settlers), it is very useful when you have a "peaceful" government and you are suddenly attacked by another civ (especially when you have nationalism).

Then, a quicke change to Monarchy/Communism, while drafting units for defence, may be pretty useful.

I also like Industrious CSA very much - it helps to build everything even quicker.

All in all, with my style I would probably find Militaristic and Expansionistic least useful - but that's my style.

[Pyrodrew]

*bump*

[mharmless]

I voted for all but expansionist, which I feel could use a boost. Now, to defend my favorite trait of all, Militaristic:

Expansionist and Militaristic are lame, and the benefits they give are more of a minor convenience and certainly don't affect the game in the way the other advances do. Nobody's going to build a barracks in every city. Your average player IS going to build multiple Religious/Scientific buildings in almost every city, making those bonuses several times better. Faster experience is certainly nice, and I'm sure you'll appreciate it if you upgrade a lot of units, but you'd be hard-pressed to adopt a strategy in which that was more useful than any of the other bonuses.

First off, barracks aren't the only cheap building. you get 10 sheild walls, and half price airports & harbors. Further, I quite frankly DO build barracks in every town, which will lead us nicely into the strategy that makes militaristic the most potent bonus:

Conquer the entire world

I build settlers and warriors, explore as usual right off. Build cities in nice locations (hills are a must, ocean or river access nice as well). City overlap is not much of a concern, although it is considered. City build order at the begining is focused on more settlers, and barracks are built while waiting on a city to get sufficent pop to push out annother settler. With a 20 sheild cost on the barracks, most early cities can have it done in 7-10 turns.

Upon first contact with annother civ, expansion is slowed or halted. Tax rate is set to 10% science 90% gold. City build queue are switched to ensure they have temple, barracks, and walls. Forced labor is used to hasten these constructions. The moment a city has all three, it is moved to building units. For this early conquest, labor is forced to spawn units when the city is at size 2.

Useing the massive army just constructed, and split into groups of 4-6, crush one to three cities of your neighboor. With each city, occupy it with most of your army to stop dissent. First build a temple, and the moment the city stops resisting use forced labor to build the temple. POOF two population gone. Force walls, then force barracks. Now you have reduced a jewel of their empire into a veteran unit produceing Thrall that will never put up a fight again.

After the first one to three cities are seized, sue for peace. Only accept if they will give you all their tech and money. Try for a city while you are at it, but it isn't essential. During the peace, keep the millitary production going. Keep useing forced labor, keep the populations low. Once you have secured the cities thru forced labor and you are able to adequately protect them, declare war again and seize more cities as above. Sue for peace as above, repeat untill your continent is cleansed.

You should have galleys and a vast number of cities by this point. Build lots of galleys useing forced labor, but allow your inner cities to develop up some. Forbiden pallace should usualy be build in the most central location possible in your home land, the real palace will be moved later. If a city is suffering less than 50% corruption, then develop it. If it is suffering more than 50%, keep it small and use it as no more than a unit farm. If you can't afford more units, then use these cities to generate wealth untill you lose some armies. Do NOT build more improvments. Temple, Barracks, Walls, Harbors (only if you need it to get the population to grow or you plan to designate the city as a naval powerhouse), and that is it for these corrupt cities.

Throw these galleys out there, it is irrelevant if you lose some. You are looking for land, any you can find. You need contact, badly. If you find uninhabited land, settle it. Minimal cities, as above. If you are fortunate you will find a civ near you that galleys can reach. If it looks bad, focus the science toward astronomy and start on the great lighthouse (most games I have a great leader sitting arround (thanks to militaristic) whom is expended at this point to instant build my lighthouse). Keep building galleys and armies. When the time comes you can upgrade them to caravels.

Once you have a target you can reach, flood him. You should have 60+ offensive units at this point, and the means to deliver them all in two trips. Occupy his cities just like you did to the other guy. Flood them with more units than the population, then begin killing off the people with forced labor. You can turn even great cities like Athans or Paris into little more than living cemeteries cranking out more and more offensive units.

You may need to build a couple of harbors in the first cities you take, in order to bring home needed resources or to get your iron to the colonies.

After takeing several cities (preferably at once), get a favorable peace just like you did on the other contient. Bring over more and more troops, the flood should be non stop. After suppressing the captured cities, take some more. Repeat till you acheive a domination victory, or military victory if domination was disabled.

Offensive, always offensive. Take more and more, sign peace treaties only to keep yourself on par technologicaly. You will win thru vast armies of elite units and your wonders will all come from the great leaders you generate in combat. Corruption will be immense, but you will stay a despot the entire game in order to keep those cities small and managable with forced labor. If you haven't won by the time you have communism, switch goverments then and berate yourself for being slow.

Tacticaly, your actions depend on the types of units you have available. I prefer to use mixed armies of offensive and defensive units, and include a couple of fast units for the sole use of cutting roads and isolateing cities and resources. I tend to ignore catapults, although if the game isn't over by the advent of cannons I will begin deploying them with the infantry. Rivers are important locations, particulary in the ancient world. that 25% bonus when defending across one is huge, try to avoid attacking a city accross a river. Cross first, then attack next turn.

Key wonders are the Lighthouse, the Pyramids, and the Heroic Epic. Usualy I take pyramids from sombody else and build the lighthouse if I need it. Pyramids almost double the rate at which you pop out units, so very important, but you can get by without it if you have to. Seize them as soon as possible. First leader should make an army, and you should win a battle with it ASAP. Then get the heroic epic done as a top priority. All other wonders will probably end up derived from the leaders you get in the game. If you have no pressing use for a leader, move the capitol with it, preferably into the middle of a decent continent. Record for me so far was eight leaders, and I used two to move the palace that game.

The vast majority of games end before the industrial age even has a chance to start. I have not lost a single game at Regent while employing this strategy.