Emporor Level Difficulty

[reynoldsmj]

I have been playing CIVIII for a couple of years and it is always a game I can go back to and play again. However, I have never been able to win on the emporor level in the game. It seems every AI player trade techs willingly, blatantly do not trade with me, etc. Therefore, even if I am able to keep from being crushed, I am always so far behind in technology, that I cant catch up in power and have never been able to finish higher than the middle of the pack. Any suggestions welcome! I neglected to mention that I am playing CIV III PTW, which is important as AI did get better in PTW.

[monkeyman]

hi,

One thing I picked up is that tiny world is quite a bit easier for my playstyle. Try it, it may help you ease into emperor. I suppose normal world size with fewer civs might also help.

As for strategy...

try to take advantage of the ai's military ineptness. emphasize overwhelming concentrated forces, fast units to attack, fortified defenders on good terrain, proper use of artillery.

also, patience. The ai cannot manage cities nearly as well as a good human (just check out their cities when establishing embassies ). Time is your ally. as long as you are alive, you should be closing the gap created by the ai's bonuses at the beginning of the game.

don't burn too much time building wonders. it is possible to build a lot of them, but the sheilds are usually better spent on other things, other things that you are guaranteed to have once the sheilds are invested .

diplomacy. check out the myriad threads here on milking the ai for all that it's worth, paying special attention to not violating treaties and maintaining a polite to gracious attitude where possible. Check out the strategy thread devoted to the ai attitudes...very enlightening .

good luck

--mm

[VetLegion]

I started playing civ III again last week and I have so far won two games on Emperor with Egyptians, playing third now. They were good games.

I had to make war all the time which pretty much suits my playing style. Also, War Chariot is a very good unit for that. The strategy is always to make war. Tacticaly try, to kill AI capitols first. AI takes a lot of time to recover from that.

Also I broke promises without remorse so my reputation was crap. For long periods I had tax rate at 100% because I did not need any tech besides my trusty War Chariots.

[monkeyman]

Originally posted by VetLegion


Also I broke promises without remorse so my reputation was crap. For long periods I had tax rate at 100% because I did not need any tech besides my trusty War Chariots.

Originally posted by monkeyman
paying special attention to not violating treaties and maintaining a polite to gracious attitude where possible.

to-may-to, to-mah-to, whatever

--mm

[VetLegion]

But not to confuse the original poster I have to note I am not very expirienced civ III player (I won 3 Monarch games when game was released and 2 Emperor games now) and I quite enjoy warmongering style.

Builder styles, and playing with other civs naturally require different approach.

[Theseus]

reynoldsmj, this is a great thread to improve your early game:

Winning Early: What do YOU do?

http://apolyton.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=58720

You raise an interesting point about what it takes to make the jump to Emperor.

First, it would be helpful if you posted an Emperor level game, maybe at 1000 BC and 10 AD.

Off the top of my head, and without having seen your style, there are two quick suggestions I'd make:

1) Early war. Go pick on someone, right away. You don;t even have to capture / raze their towns... just bop some settler / warrior teams. Your missions, should you choose to accept it, is extortion.

2) Research. Learn to research what the AI civs can't / won;t. It may mess up your building pattern, but it's worth it.

[nbarclay]

One of the biggest keys to success on the higher levels is being good at micromanagement (and willing to do micromanagement).

[MrWhereItsAt]

Originally posted by VetLegion
I did not need any tech besides my trusty War Chariots.

All you needed were attack one War Chariots?!?!?!?!?!

[Cruddy]

One tip I've seen posted on a different site is to do a tech for GPT deal with a Civ that is going to attack you within a turn or 2.

You get the tech and you keep the gold for it to spend on another tech. Nice tactic.

Vettlegion is correct, smaller maps get faster research rates BUT corruption distances are also much less. Personally I prefer hugh maps with 8-12 civs (not TOO crowded) and play the waiting game. It's always a rush to win by 2050 - but if I get Hoover Dam (sometimes the only Wonder I build) I know I can outproduce the AI in tanks and MA and it's just attrition from then on.

[Dominae]

Shameless self-reference: here's a thread I created dealing with this very issue.

10 Tips to get you up to Emperor/Deity

That should get you on your way, reynoldsmj.


Dominae

[RGBVideo]

I have been playing CIVIII for a couple of years

That can't be right.

[Arrian]

As Nathan pointed out, micromanagement (including diplomatic micromanagement if there is such a thing) is definitely helpful, and more important the higher you go. So is making the best use of your land (see Cracker's thread at Civilization Fanatics Center regarding terrain improvement) and a successful early expansion phase - learn the power of early granaries and read up on city spacing/build patterns (heavily debated topic).

Early war, once you get the hang of it, is immensely powerful. But it takes some experience to know how to do it right (and even then the RNG can lay waste to even the best laid plans). Be aware that aggressive warmongering does not mean breaking treaties. You can remain perfectly honorable by making sure not to break any 20-turn deals. That's not always under your control (trade deals can be cut during wars you're not even a party to), but most of the time it is.

Good Palace/FP placement is essential, and not easy to do. There has been a lot of discussion about that too.

Wonders... you have to recognize that the AI's research, growth & production advantages are going to make building the juicy wonders (especially early in the game) difficult. Therefore, it is often best to ignore the wonders and concentrate on expansion & building regular city improvements & troops.

Another key to playing on Emperor is learning to accept being put in an early hole, and not getting mad. Concentrate on climbing out of that hole, and getting even. I say this as someone who has serious difficulty following his own advice (and therefore sticks to Monarch most of the time).

-Arrian

[vmxa1]

Originally posted by Tuomerehu

That can't be right.

Don't recall the date, but the copy right for the manual was Sept 2001 so we are getting close.

[Jaybe]

(October 30, 2001)

[VetLegion]

All you needed were attack one War Chariots?!?!?!?!?!

Egyptian war chariots are attack two (2.1.2).