What is the most valuable Strategic Resource?

[Mad Bomber]

What is the most valuable resource in CIV 3? The one you need the most? And the one that you pray to Sid to appear when pressing the enter key hoping beyond hope that your new tech gives you control of at least one of the resource that you desperately crave?

I have narrowed down the choice basically to Iron, Coal, Rubber, Oil, Aluminum, and Uranium. Horses and Saltpeter are just to specialized to be considered as the most valuable (unless your civ has a horse UU or you are French) overall.

My choice is Iron. Its needed for Factories, Iron Works, and most of the Offensive units of the Ancient- Midieval Age. I typically find that if I have Iron in my control then I have control of the game until Cavalry comes onto the scene, without Iron and you are pretty much screwed until the Industrial age.

[Caesar2760]

Coal. Railroads, with their infinite movement, so vastly increase your attack and defense powers that it can't be ignored. I find that I can get away without others, depending on the civ, of course, but without coal you are vastly disadvantaged against those who do. And hey, Ironclads aren't bad, either...

[Dominae]

The availability of Iron definitely changes the face of the game more than any other Strategic resource. Also, with Iron you typically have enough game to secure the rest.

The one that I most hope to get within my borders, however, is Coal. I really dislike delaying my rail network, and if the game is not won by then I'm probably having a tough time grabbing resources by military means. I've had mixed success trading for Coal.


Dominae

[ChaotikVisions]

Definitly Iron as well, it holds its usefulness until the lndustrial Age, and even then its still needed for building railroads. On the other hand, no rubber/oil can kill you in later ages as well.

[Boracks]

AS a builder, I don't necessarily go to war for iron, but I definitely do whatever I have to in order to get coal.

[CerberusIV]

Coal. Without it no RR's. Also no coal plants - I only build 2 or 3 but they are crucial in outbuilding the AI to the Indusrial Era GW's.

Iron is a bit easier to get through war, especially as you know where it is from an early stage so you have more time to grab some.

Oil is the second most crucial as it is needed for the effective later units.

[eris]

I have figured my way around the lack of other resources. The funniest one was fretting over a lack of horses (lost the REX race for that horse on the edge of my borders) and then realizing I was India and could build War Elephants. (DUH!!!) I had picked India to experiment with the traits and hadn't really thought about the UU.

But getting around not being able to do railroads is something I have not figured out. I can work around the transportation issues, clumsy as that may feel, but the loss of extra production lets the other civs just leave me in the dust. I have traded for coal ssuccessfully once, and then the trade would not renew at any price. I am not sure about the modern day real life ethics of war-for-oil, but I have come to understand war-for-coal as a political reality of my civ games. (Although I usually mutter under my breath, "You know, we could have done this the easy way." as I demonstrate the folly of not being a cooperative trade partner.) I have given up games where I had neither might, nor money, nor tech to obtain coal.

[Sovereign]

You guys give up too easily!

Build 100 artillery / catapults and 100 infantry or cavalry type units, then flatten the AI.

That's basically what I do whenever I'm in sore need of resources.


In addition, you could pray for the resources to pop up in your territory as the AI "uses up" their resources. It happened to me a few times.

Oil / rubber is the most important resource IMHO. Coal isn't that necessary for me, since I can pretty much grab it from the AI at any time I desire, using BamSpeedy's strategy.

Oil / rubber enables you to build battleships and tanks, which can assure you victory (assuming you build sh*tloads of them to bombard the enemy to hell).

[:) Smiley]

I miss the Civ2 banana

[PGM]

Iron.
Coal is a distant #2.
Iron has lots of uses, while coal's main purpose is railroad (and you will still need iron to build that).

[gunkulator]

Iron without a doubt. Lacking iron puts you at a big disadvantage through a long period of time.

As #2, I'm gonna say Horses. If I have Iron AND Horses, I can basically just go in and grab any resources I may be missing. No saltpeter? Muster your Knights and take it. Now you can build dozens of Cavalry which in turn can quickly grab that coal you didn't get either.

Early in the game, Horsemen reinforce your poorly protected cities at the edges of your fledgling empire. I can't imagine anyone not building Horsemen given the chance. Without horses (and outside of UUs, Ancient Cav and such), you have NO two movement units at all until Tanks.

[Mad Bomber]

So far its basically an Iron or Coal debate (with a second for horses and OIl) Can Anyone make a case for Rubber, Aluminum, or Uranium? These resources do have their merit and could be as crippling a loss as Iron or Coal in a tight game.

[Arrian]

Iron.

Coal is big too.

After that, I'd say rubber.

After that... ivory?

-Arrian

[Rhothaerill]

Iron, then coal, then oil. The most important age is the ancient age and that's when iron rules. It's just too useful for too many different units.

[Aeson]

Ivory. Tends to make the game feel 2 difficulties easier if you have it. (1 if Deity/Sid)