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Early warfare rocks. There's nothing what cripples an AI more than if it loses 1-2 cities early on, in a time, when it has only 3-4 cities. If this happens, this AI civ is usually not able to catch up anymore and will serve as a faithful vassal, punching bag or buffer zone, depending on our point of view. In the result, we are the biggest fish around, the others respect us and fear our might.
This strategy is nothing new. It's a summary of Vels oscillating wars and several warrior and archer based openings. It's just a try to make some kind of time-based reference guide, for starters. And may be for those, who think, that Archers suck - anyone here around?
They don't, believe me. They are cheaper than horsemen and swordsmen, need at most one tech, and if they are veterans, they have good chances against all regular units but Hoplites. Well, and Legionaries, but they come significantly later and can be avoided by iron denial.
So our goal is it to cripple our neighbors and to be the #1 on our continent, before the civs discover Writing and are able to forge alliances against us. Further, we do not want to fire our GA.
Difficulty level:
Tested on levels from Regent to Emperor. It could work on Deity too, but you probably need a good amount of battle fortune... and, probably you can't fight against several civs at once. Also, the effects will be less on Deity, as the civs build very fast, and Archers suck if it comes to Swordsmen. Let's say, best are the popular levels Monarch and Emperor.
Map preferences:
Anything but Archipelago is fine. Map size should be standard or less, because on larger maps the civs are too far apart for our slow movers. If choosing a tiny map, it should be a pangea to ensure we have enough opponents on our initial landmass. Map settings do not matter much, although wet maps are a bit better, because they have slightly more grassland. We need 2 green tiles per city, preferably shielded. Wheat or cattle on plains or game in forests is also fine. Forest and jungle don't matter much, since we attack with slow movers. Hills and mountains are good for their defense bonus.
Production preferences:
We assume, that our worker succeeds to mine tiles, so that every city has 2 tiles that produce both 2 food and 2 shields. That should be not hard to achieve. If the terrain is very poor, either restart or build a second worker, which means another small delay. We build 3 cities 3-apart from our capital. This means, that we should not suffer corruption in these cities, and can move our defenders around in 1 turn, if the civs counterattack. The first two cities produce warriors to explore and for first garrisons, until they can afford to build settlers. This should give us 6-8 warriors, enough to explore, garrison and fight barbarians. After the first settler is built, we assume, that the mines are ready and that a size-1 city produces 3 shields and a size-2 city 5 shields. After mining is finished, our worker(s) build roads towards the meanwhile discovered neighbors.
Choosing the right civ:
We need Warrior code for archers and Bronze working for spearmen. So we should choose either a militaristic or a scientific civ. If we take in account, that we probably can trade for techs with the AI's we discover, other civs should work too, but we want to plan our success. Militaristic civs have my clear preference, because they promote units faster and build cheaper barracks:
Germans: Best civ for this strategy. Starts with both needed techs and can research Iron Working first. This gives the opportunity to upgrade the city garrisons to swordsmen later, which gives a good backup if one of our waves fails or if the civs counterattack with wandering archers or warriors. Fast promotions, cheap barracks. No ancient UU. Another advantage: If you are the Germans, you can't have them as neighbors. A
Chinese: Mining and road building is very fast. Starts with Warrior code and enjoys cheap barracks and fast promotions. No ancient UU. A-
Russians: Scouts allow cheap and fast exploration and can be used to fool and distract enemy counterattacks. Starts with Bronze Working. Expensive barracks though. No ancient UU. Germans as neighbors are a risk. B
Persians: Mining and road building is very fast. Starts with Bronze working. Strong ancient UU, not necessary for this strategy, but a nice-to-have backup, if something goes wrong. Expensive barracks. B
Aztecs: Jaguar warriors allow fast exploration, but should not be used in combat, to avoid an early GA. Starts with Warrior code and enjoys cheap barracks and fast promotion. B
Zulus: Fastmoving scouts to explore and distract the enemy forces. Cheap barracks, fast promotion. Could be a good civ for the Archer rush, but their bronze unit is a fastmoving UU, which doesn't interact very well with Archers, but better with Horsemen. Using this strategy for sure leads to an early GA. C+
Romans: Have neither a fast moving unit for scouting, nor are they industrious. The iron unit is a quite powerful UU, which is a nice-to-have backup, but would trigger the GA too early. Start with Warrior code, cheap barracks, fast promotion. Start for sure next to the Greeks (Hoplites!), which is negative for this strategy. Thus: C
Japanese: Unapplicable, unless they manage to trade for one of the two required techs, as they start with The Wheel. They could try it without Spearman, but that's a big risk. Cheap barracks, fast promotion, no ancient UU. C
Babylonians: Their Archer unit is a conglomerate of the conventional Archer and the Spearman. Only one unit type needed, but unfortunately, it's an UU and ensures an early GA, which is negative. C
Greeks: Their bronze unit is an early pikeman and very powerful. Unfortunately, it's an UU and ensures an early GA, which is negative. Same as with the Babs. C
The remaining civs are neither militaristic nor scientific, need to trade for both techs, have no cheap barracks and no fast promotions. They rate D at best.
Research preferences:
Depends on the civ. Germans research Iron working first. Their next research doesn't matter anymore. Militaristic civs research Bronze working first and Iron working second. Scientific civs research Warrior code first and Iron working second.
Time line
The time line is designed for militaristic civs. Other civs need 4-5 turns more, since they have to build full 40 shield barracks.
We have four cities now. They support 16 units for free, which is enough for a comfortable attack. Now, we concentrate on building units. We should build veteran units, that's safer, considering the often unlucky combat results. Scientific civs could try to use regulars, but that's risky. As this timeline is for Militaristic civs, we start with barracks.
Hopefully, at this point our scouting warriors have discovered the first victim. Any civ but the Greeks fit for prey. Go guys, capture 1-2 cities and burn some others.
The second task force can either backup the first (if you have no luck in combat), or go another direction to rush a second neighbor. Our cities are size 2 now, time to build some Settlers.
After building Settlers, our 4 old cities switch back to Spearmen/Archers, to build reinforcements. The new cities build defenders and new Settlers.
By now, our first war should be victorious and we should try to make peace for tech, money, and may be another city. The 4 new cities we build towards the crushed enemy, claiming land. Our remaining forces go to the second battlefield, to unite with the other army. After the 2nd victory (about 800BC), the remaining forces should be combined to one army and eventually thrown to crush a third neighbor.
If all went well, around 500BC we should have about 15 cities (10-12 built, 3-5 captured, a few razed), while our 2-3 neighbors should have at most 3-5. Time to consolidate our empire. Switch to builder and return to war at need, especially when Knights show up.
Sometimes, there is only one neighbor to attack, or 2 neighbors very close each to other. In this luck case, we need a smaller army (1 Spearman, 7 Archers is fine), which can be completed earlier and sent first towards one enemy, then the close other. Talk about luck.
Try it. It's fun.
Update:
It's better to take 2 instead of 1 Spearman. First, because with bad luck one could be killed and undefended Archers die like flies, and second, because you'll need defenders for the captured cities. I play the Archer rush in 2 games out of 3 and mostly attack with 2 Spearmen and 4-6 Archers, depending on terrain. Only if I see after Iron working, that I already have iron, I might mix in a couple of Swordsmen, but take the Spearmen nevertheless, because they take the counterattacks and leave the Swordsmen not injured.
This strategy is nothing new. It's a summary of Vels oscillating wars and several warrior and archer based openings. It's just a try to make some kind of time-based reference guide, for starters. And may be for those, who think, that Archers suck - anyone here around?
They don't, believe me. They are cheaper than horsemen and swordsmen, need at most one tech, and if they are veterans, they have good chances against all regular units but Hoplites. Well, and Legionaries, but they come significantly later and can be avoided by iron denial.So our goal is it to cripple our neighbors and to be the #1 on our continent, before the civs discover Writing and are able to forge alliances against us. Further, we do not want to fire our GA.
Difficulty level:
Tested on levels from Regent to Emperor. It could work on Deity too, but you probably need a good amount of battle fortune... and, probably you can't fight against several civs at once. Also, the effects will be less on Deity, as the civs build very fast, and Archers suck if it comes to Swordsmen. Let's say, best are the popular levels Monarch and Emperor.
Map preferences:
Anything but Archipelago is fine. Map size should be standard or less, because on larger maps the civs are too far apart for our slow movers. If choosing a tiny map, it should be a pangea to ensure we have enough opponents on our initial landmass. Map settings do not matter much, although wet maps are a bit better, because they have slightly more grassland. We need 2 green tiles per city, preferably shielded. Wheat or cattle on plains or game in forests is also fine. Forest and jungle don't matter much, since we attack with slow movers. Hills and mountains are good for their defense bonus.
Production preferences:
We assume, that our worker succeeds to mine tiles, so that every city has 2 tiles that produce both 2 food and 2 shields. That should be not hard to achieve. If the terrain is very poor, either restart or build a second worker, which means another small delay. We build 3 cities 3-apart from our capital. This means, that we should not suffer corruption in these cities, and can move our defenders around in 1 turn, if the civs counterattack. The first two cities produce warriors to explore and for first garrisons, until they can afford to build settlers. This should give us 6-8 warriors, enough to explore, garrison and fight barbarians. After the first settler is built, we assume, that the mines are ready and that a size-1 city produces 3 shields and a size-2 city 5 shields. After mining is finished, our worker(s) build roads towards the meanwhile discovered neighbors.
Choosing the right civ:
We need Warrior code for archers and Bronze working for spearmen. So we should choose either a militaristic or a scientific civ. If we take in account, that we probably can trade for techs with the AI's we discover, other civs should work too, but we want to plan our success. Militaristic civs have my clear preference, because they promote units faster and build cheaper barracks:
Germans: Best civ for this strategy. Starts with both needed techs and can research Iron Working first. This gives the opportunity to upgrade the city garrisons to swordsmen later, which gives a good backup if one of our waves fails or if the civs counterattack with wandering archers or warriors. Fast promotions, cheap barracks. No ancient UU. Another advantage: If you are the Germans, you can't have them as neighbors. A
Chinese: Mining and road building is very fast. Starts with Warrior code and enjoys cheap barracks and fast promotions. No ancient UU. A-
Russians: Scouts allow cheap and fast exploration and can be used to fool and distract enemy counterattacks. Starts with Bronze Working. Expensive barracks though. No ancient UU. Germans as neighbors are a risk. B
Persians: Mining and road building is very fast. Starts with Bronze working. Strong ancient UU, not necessary for this strategy, but a nice-to-have backup, if something goes wrong. Expensive barracks. B
Aztecs: Jaguar warriors allow fast exploration, but should not be used in combat, to avoid an early GA. Starts with Warrior code and enjoys cheap barracks and fast promotion. B
Zulus: Fastmoving scouts to explore and distract the enemy forces. Cheap barracks, fast promotion. Could be a good civ for the Archer rush, but their bronze unit is a fastmoving UU, which doesn't interact very well with Archers, but better with Horsemen. Using this strategy for sure leads to an early GA. C+
Romans: Have neither a fast moving unit for scouting, nor are they industrious. The iron unit is a quite powerful UU, which is a nice-to-have backup, but would trigger the GA too early. Start with Warrior code, cheap barracks, fast promotion. Start for sure next to the Greeks (Hoplites!), which is negative for this strategy. Thus: C
Japanese: Unapplicable, unless they manage to trade for one of the two required techs, as they start with The Wheel. They could try it without Spearman, but that's a big risk. Cheap barracks, fast promotion, no ancient UU. C
Babylonians: Their Archer unit is a conglomerate of the conventional Archer and the Spearman. Only one unit type needed, but unfortunately, it's an UU and ensures an early GA, which is negative. C
Greeks: Their bronze unit is an early pikeman and very powerful. Unfortunately, it's an UU and ensures an early GA, which is negative. Same as with the Babs. C
The remaining civs are neither militaristic nor scientific, need to trade for both techs, have no cheap barracks and no fast promotions. They rate D at best.
Research preferences:
Depends on the civ. Germans research Iron working first. Their next research doesn't matter anymore. Militaristic civs research Bronze working first and Iron working second. Scientific civs research Warrior code first and Iron working second.
Time line
The time line is designed for militaristic civs. Other civs need 4-5 turns more, since they have to build full 40 shield barracks.
Code:
4000BC (Turn 1) Initial Settler founds City1
3000BC (Turn 21) City1 builds Settler1
2850BC (Turn 24) Settler1 founds City2
2150BC (Turn 41) City1 builds Settler2, set to build Barracks
Warrior code or Bronze Working discovered
2030BC (Turn 44) City2 builds Settler3, set to build Barracks
Settler2 founds City3, set to build Barracks
1910BC (Turn 47) Settler3 founds City4, set to build Barracks
Code:
1870BC (Turn 48) City1 builds Barracks, set to build Spearman
1750BC (Turn 51) City2 builds Barracks, set to build Archer
City3 builds Barracks, set to build Archer
City1 reaches size 2
1675BC (Turn 54) City4 builds Barracks, set to build Archer
City2 reaches size 2
City3 reaches size 2
City1 builds Spearman1, set to build Spearman
1600BC (Turn 57) City2 builds Archer1
City3 builds Archer2
City4 reaches size 2
1575BC (Turn 58) City1 builds Spearman2, set to build Archer
1525BC (Turn 60) City4 builds Archer3, set to build Archer
1500BC (Turn 61) City2 builds Archer4, set to build Archer
City3 builds Archer5, set to build Archer
First task force with 1 Spearman and 5 Archers leaves
Code:
1475BC (Turn 62) City1 builds Archer6, set to build Settler
1425BC (Turn 64) City4 builds Archer7, set to build Archer
1400BC (Turn 65) City2 builds Archer8, set to build Settler
City3 builds Archer9, set to build Settler
1325BC (Turn 68) City4 builds Archer10, set to build Settler
City1 builds Settler4
Second task force with 1 Spearman and 5 Archers leaves
Code:
1250BC (Turn 71) City2 builds Settler5
City3 builds Settler6
1175BC (Turn 74) City4 builds Settler7
By now, our first war should be victorious and we should try to make peace for tech, money, and may be another city. The 4 new cities we build towards the crushed enemy, claiming land. Our remaining forces go to the second battlefield, to unite with the other army. After the 2nd victory (about 800BC), the remaining forces should be combined to one army and eventually thrown to crush a third neighbor.
If all went well, around 500BC we should have about 15 cities (10-12 built, 3-5 captured, a few razed), while our 2-3 neighbors should have at most 3-5. Time to consolidate our empire. Switch to builder and return to war at need, especially when Knights show up.
Sometimes, there is only one neighbor to attack, or 2 neighbors very close each to other. In this luck case, we need a smaller army (1 Spearman, 7 Archers is fine), which can be completed earlier and sent first towards one enemy, then the close other. Talk about luck
.Try it. It's fun.
Update:
It's better to take 2 instead of 1 Spearman. First, because with bad luck one could be killed and undefended Archers die like flies, and second, because you'll need defenders for the captured cities. I play the Archer rush in 2 games out of 3 and mostly attack with 2 Spearmen and 4-6 Archers, depending on terrain. Only if I see after Iron working, that I already have iron, I might mix in a couple of Swordsmen, but take the Spearmen nevertheless, because they take the counterattacks and leave the Swordsmen not injured.
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