Watch me Get Obliterated!

[Gravy Smoothie]

As always, sound advice...I did have a couple of horsies and an elephant trying to protect my cities, but not close enough...alas, even when your cities are roaded together it is tough to get units where you need them when the terrain is largely forest. That's the second time I've had a city taken by barbs that was more than 2/3 of the way done with Mike's

Gravy

[Scouse Gits]

Originally posted by Gravy Smoothie
That's the second time I've had a city taken by barbs that was more than 2/3 of the way done with Mike's Gravy

You should have Trade before Monotheism, so build all wonders (except the first) using food caravans. The advantages are that several cities can join in the wonder building and if an enemy threatens the caravans can run away.

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SG(2)

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

Originally posted by Scouse Gits


You should have Trade before Monotheism, so build all wonders (except the first) using food caravans. The advantages are that several cities can join in the wonder building and if an enemy threatens the caravans can run away.

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SG(2)

Good advice You ought to be able to build your first wonder from 'scratch' and all the other ones with Caravans. Aside from not having a lot of production tied up in one city which can be lost, Caravans have a few other advantages:

If you have extras, you can deliver them for the cash/science bonus.

You can disband them to build defensive units, in emergencies.

Your tech priorities should be Monarchy and then Trade, IMO.

[Gravy Smoothie]

One more question that I think will complete the basics of my AC deity strategy.
How do you go about cleansing your starting continent of rival civs when you spawn near one (where you are limited to about 5 cities on your home continent without war)? Is it possible to do it without falling far behind in technology? I really don't have a clue about this one -- every time I spawn near an enemy civ I get crushed.

Interested to hear your thoughts.
Gravy

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

Originally posted by Gravy Smoothie
One more question that I think will complete the basics of my AC deity strategy.
How do you go about cleansing your starting continent of rival civs when you spawn near one (where you are limited to about 5 cities on your home continent without war)? Is it possible to do it without falling far behind in technology? I really don't have a clue about this one -- every time I spawn near an enemy civ I get crushed.

Interested to hear your thoughts.
Gravy

That's tricky - for me, anyway. If I find an AI very close by, I usually try to get down 4-5 of my own cities cities fast, and hunt down AI settlers, while containing their expansion with fortified units. If you can confine the AI to a small space, it's not a problem sharing a continent with another Civ. The AI can also be an easy trading destination, too. Once contained, you can crush them at your leisure.

Ideally if you can get 2-4 chariots on offense while the AI is using phalanxes and warriors for defense, you can knock off their cities one at a time. That's a good tactic on small maps when the AI is very, very close by. And in the early game, losing one city is a crushing loss for the AI.

OR:

If the AI is too far away or too entrenched, try to contain them with fortified units, and make peace. Making peace with everyone in the early game will usually make it easier to get a big lead in science and population... and you can then crush the AI later

OR you can do what I do and play on large maps... much less of a problem that way

[Scouse Gits]

Initially, use the neighbouring Civ as a trade partner - run roads to their cities and cash in with fat caravans - this will boost your science and give you a war chest - then somewhere around Poly or Mono you crush them with an overwhelming assault.

This presumes the normal Rodent tech tree - Monarchy, Trade, Monotheism ... there are other ways, but that one is tried and tested in Liverpool

SG[1]

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

What I should have said is one key point: Don't go half measures. If you're going to go the war route, make sure it's swift and decisive. A long drawn out attrition battle can cripple your development. If you don't think a 10-turn blitz would work, then you should make peace and try to contain them. The AI is very slow to expand to other landmasses, so you should be able to expand unimpeded on nearby continents.

[Bloody Monk]

Gravy,
SG[1] and STYOM have given you a well tested plan. This is to amplify the point by STYOM, "DON'T GO HALF MEASURES" ( CAPS mine)....

Real World generals were reluctant to get into war without at least a two to one advantage in troop strength, and that rule of thumb holds up in Civ'ing. Plan your fights, mass your strength, and overwhelm the enemy. If you can't do it that way, play for time...and remember.

[Scouse Gits]

Oh - and while smashing the oponent into the ground don't forget to wish them a

VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS (bah humbug)

SG[1]

[DaveV]

Relentless growth is the best solution for dealing with nasty neighbors. If you're bigger than them, they will be a constant source of income and techs when they beg for cease fires and peace treaties. As far as I can tell, the AIs will pony up tribute when you have more units than them on their home continent. Quality of units doesn't matter, so your pair of martial law warriors in each city serves the double purpose of cowing the AI. Experienced multiplayers consider a nearby AI a big advantage, since it can be exploited for profit and doesn't present a real threat to your empire.

It's best to have a force of fast attackers (horsemen, chariots, elephants, etc.) to deal with AIs in the event they don't see reason right away. One of your best friends on defense is the city radius visibility: you can see the bad guys coming before they're in range of your cities, and dispatch them with your counterattackers.

[DrSpike]

Hehe yeah, against the AI some warriors for MP (edit: Military police), some 2 move attackers and some dips spread through your empire are enough. Early warning systems help minimise the amount of attackers and dips you need........remember dips have no support.