Pyramids vs Great Library

[Sir Kruschev]

Regent Level . Persians . Large map . way behind in Techs . 5 cities , still room to expand . Pyramids done in about 20 turns .
if you think you will only be able to build 1 early Wonder , would you build Pyramids , or roll the shields over to build Great Library ?

[alexman]

I would say Great Library, but it depends on how you plan to proceed later.

In general, GL is useful to the builder, Pyramids useful to the warmonger. But the warmonger never actually builds wonders the hard way. He either conquers them or uses a leader.

[Sir Kruschev]

not sure which way I'm going yet . I just QUIT a Warlord game that I tried the early warmonger routine in . got my rear end kicked early , never could catch up . I've played 2 regent games with same result . I seem to do better when I remain peaceful in the early game , but the posts here seem to recommend warfare as the way to go in an early Regent game .

[Tuberski]

Originally posted by Sir Kruschev
not sure which way I'm going yet . I just QUIT a Warlord game that I tried the early warmonger routine in . got my rear end kicked early , never could catch up . I've played 2 regent games with same result . I seem to do better when I remain peaceful in the early game , but the posts here seem to recommend warfare as the way to go in an early Regent game .

I am playing my third regent game.

The first game, I tried to be a builder. I was destroyed before 1 A.D.

I didn't have enough cites or enough units to compete with the Iroquois.

I'n the second game, I built up a lot of swordsmen very ealry, set research low after I got iron working. I built up until India decided to go to war. I then immediately swarmed his cities as fast as I could. I didn't let up until he was gone.

I ended up winning this game.

[Sir Kruschev]

Originally posted by Tuberski


I am playing my third regent game.

The first game, I tried to be a builder. I was destroyed before 1 A.D.

I didn't have enough cites or enough units to compete with the Iroquois.

I'n the second game, I built up a lot of swordsmen very ealry, set research low after I got iron working. I built up until India decided to go to war. I then immediately swarmed his cities as fast as I could. I didn't let up until he was gone.

I ended up winning this game.

I was contemplating building up military until someone declares on me . seems whenever I'm in the staging process for assault on Civ A , some other Civ crashes my borders on the other side of my nation . tricky bastards ...............

[Theseus]

As a warmonger, the most critical techs are obviously military... I find that I can usually research just those, or extort them for renewing peace.

If I am really behind, I will sell my grandmother to stay at peace until I get the needed military techs.

All other techs I beat out of the AI civs... thus Pyramids, which translates food into power, is much more useful to me.

[Tuberski]

I just made sure I had roads connecting my cities, for faster deployment.

[Ethelred]

Originally posted by Sir Kruschev
not sure which way I'm going yet . I just QUIT a Warlord game that I tried the early warmonger routine in . got my rear end kicked early , never could catch up . I've played 2 regent games with same result . I seem to do better when I remain peaceful in the early game , but the posts here seem to recommend warfare as the way to go in an early Regent game .

Thats only because you are looking at warmonger posts. Its fairly easy to win on regent as a builder-oportunist. You most likely are expanding fast enough early and may be in need of more workers. Every tile that has population working it should be an improved tile. If you do that you shouldn't have to make a choice between the Pyramids and the Great Library. Build both. You should have two cities building Wonders if you want most of them unless you are going for a one city with 20,000 cultural victory.

Then again I have only played on regent game. It was the next level up that took me a while to figure out. The same tactics work on Monarch but it harder to build most the Wonders and you have to do it all more efficiently.

However between those two I would go for the Pyramid. There really is no need for the Great Library. It does little good if you have the tech lead which can be managed, even early on Regent.

[I-iZ-1337]

I'd sayz buildz th33 great librar33.

[Laertes]

Get the GL IF you have lots of contact with the other civs. You only get sciences discovered by 2 civs with whom you have contact, so if you are on an island, or have only met a couple of wimpy civs, get the Pyramids.

The GL is a great way of not having to bother with the AIs' focused techs. You can work you way to Monarchy while they try and get COde of Laws etc.

The AI path has changed a little with 1.21, and CHivalry, which used to be a banker gain with the GL, did not come my way in my last game.

[Sir Kruschev]

thanx for the input from all who posted. another Civ beat me to the Pyramids, so I took the GL. I had contact with 4 or 5 other Civs at the time , but I wound up getting about 8 techs . whats up with that ???? my science advisor kept popping up saying I got this tech and that tech , but only twice did he mention from which Civ it came . the other times he said something about "our Mystics(or something like that) have discovered Monothiesm ", but it was never the tech that I was currently pursuing . and I was never asked what to research next . this all happened in about 5 turns . any ideas ?
anyway , all this teching got me completely caught up to the rest of the Civs , even sold a few for contact with others , and then sold some more to the new guys for gold/maps .
I got bullied 3 times after the GL was built . I gave in once , and stood my ground the other 2 times . they were both bluffin' .
still not sure which way I'm going though.......hahaha .