Does Capital Isolation Work?

[dexters]

I've heard about this strat as far back as last year when the game was first released. The idea was to throw enemy civ into chaos by cutting capital from the rest of the empire (no roads). Because it was thought all luxuries go to the capital first then go out to all the other cities.

I must admit I have only tried this in two games but saw no effects. It is my understanding resources travel to cities connected to the resource/luxury via ROADS. So you can have the rest of the empire with all the luxuries and resources except the cities that are not connected.

When expanding into new continents, I've noted resources are available locally. Saw, 3 cities connected to an iron resource will have it, but the rest of the empire wont.

Therefore, capital isolation only denies the enemy capital from getting the resources and luxury, but all the other cities, as long as they are interconnected, will still get it.

And considering the AI builds harbours and roads everywhere, I think this should be the case for almost every civ we deal with. Correct?

[Catt]

You're correct in that cutting off the capitol only deprives the capitol itself of the local luxuries or strategic resources. Any city in the empire that is still connected to the resource wil still have access to it. I think this point is widely misunderstood (and may have been misunderstood and mis-stated in the thread that is now on the strategy page; I can't recall for certain).

However, the capitol isolation strategy can do tremendous damage under the right circumstances. All foreign trade goes through the capitol. So cutting off the enemy capitol from all roads / harbours / airports disrupts all trades that the AI civ is currently making. In this sense, the capitol isolation strategy operates like an instantaneous trade embargo against the target civ by all other civs in the game.

It is not uncommon to see an AI civ trading for 3 or 4 different foreign luxuries -- when these suddenly go away (especially considering the happiness multiplier of marketplaces), a large civ can oftentimes be brought to its kness in one turn.

Catt

[I-iZ-1337]

Capit0lz izolation suxxorz az a stratz, j00 sh00d j00ze j00r tr00pz t00 capt00r theirz cit33z not wazte themz pillaginz roadz.

[Ignorance]

On huge maps its good, since the luxuries are usually spread so that every civ only has 1 or 2.
It's also a good strategy when you want the other civs to declare war on your enemy, as they are more willing to do that when there are no longer trades between the two.
And as being connected to road to capitol lowers corruption, removing that link will surely raise corruption levels in other cities.

[dojoboy]

Re: Does Capital Isolation Work?

Originally posted by dexters

I must admit I have only tried this in two games but saw no effects.

Probably because it is not always feasible. The only time, really, to pull this off is in the early game when you can reach the capital or when you've beaten them down (not really needed at this point). If you find its not effective, it may be because that civ has few luxuries to begin with and nothing has changed.

I no longer abuse RoP this way but during peace w/ a RoP I would station enough units around a potential adversary's capital (leaving one tile open) in case I found it necessary to neutralize them. If I'm presented with an unruly neighbor who has already warred with me, I'll do it if I can manipulate them into a RoP. My excuse is "reconstruction," similar to Union armies occupying the South following the American Civil War. Good ole' occupation.

[WarpStorm]

Originally posted by I-iZ-1337
Capit0lz izolation suxxorz az a stratz, j00 sh00d j00ze j00r tr00pz t00 capt00r theirz cit33z not wazte themz pillaginz roadz.

Capital Isolation is only useful when they have a lot of trade going on.

I have to disagree with the pillaging statement though. Cut a few of the right roads and they can't make modern units and have to waste a lot of resources keeping people happy. Resource denial is a very powerful tool. In addition, you may break the rail line so that their reinforcements can't get where they need to be fast enough.

[Dinner]

I like to do this late in the game; by then most civs have a lot of foreign trade going on and bombers can make short work of the roads.

[alva]

Originally posted by I-iZ-1337
Capit0lz izolation suxxorz az a stratz, j00 sh00d j00ze j00r tr00pz t00 capt00r theirz cit33z not wazte themz pillaginz roadz.

I should do what??

[Theseus]

He said you should capture cities instead of pillaging.

1337, is there no evil or cunning in you?

[isometsa]

It works for me all the time. It gives you an advantage in diplomatic appeals, especially when isolating capital and resources.

It is however only one means of "irritating" your opponent. It wil not be "the way" to beat your opponent.

[Pythagoras]

Originally posted by I-iZ-1337
Capit0lz izolation suxxorz az a stratz, j00 sh00d j00ze j00r tr00pz t00 capt00r theirz cit33z not wazte themz pillaginz roadz.

Isnt it counterproductive to write in a fashion that just worstens everyone's ability to comprehend what you are saying?

Anyway can this strategy be employed to drastically increase production in the auxilary non-capitol cities? Will the AI move its capitol?

[kring]

One other thing, corruption is affected by being not connected to your capitol city. So, that civ's corruption will increase.

[sugar daddy]

Since we are talking about disrupting other nations foreign trade, does it constitute a breach of trade agreements between nations if an agreement is broken by you pillaging all roads into a capitol??

If so, this tactic could also be beneficial in the quest for a diplomatic victory as reputations are dragged through the dirt as you put an early end to your enemies trade agreements...

[Carver]

Originally posted by Pythagoras
Will the AI move its capitol?

I've never seen the AI move its capitol, other than the auto move after the capitol is taken/razed.

I don't think the AI can say to itself, "I need to move so I can reestablish road connections for foreign trade", or "my civ will be more efficient if I locate my capitol here".

Which brings to mind... has anyone noticed where the AI builds its forbidden palace? When the computer suggests build items to me, it seems to suggest the FP whenever it comes available - in the first city possible. Likewise, the AI probably builds its FP right next to the capitol or in some wasteland city on the fringe of its civ.

[sugar daddy]

Originally posted by Carver

the AI probably builds its FP right next to the capitol

not bad move by the AI, IF he had moved his palace afterwards, like I do. The FP cant be moved as your empire expands but the P can..