REX-no-Wonder strat

[Cort Haus]

For builders seeking a good REX to bag land and resources, consider the possibility of forgoing all ancient wonders in favour of more cities.

If space permits, the extra land can serve you as well as a wonder. Imagine a wonder that gave you an extra luxury for the whole game - a few more cities might give you that(1).

Build a road and quickly research Pottery if you're not expansionist, then try to get a granary in ideally before the city grows to size three. Wheat and cows are great bonuses for settler pumps, but they still work without. If the second city has OK production and growth, and there seems to be plenty of land to expand into, further granary(s) can work out, but definitely not if space is tight.

On Monarch level, you'll be slower to the first four cities, and may need to fork out a little tribute, but should be even by about the sixth and getting ahead after that

Once the AI starts building wonders, its expansion will slow down, and there's the chance to grab the land. The other side is that the large, roaded wonder cities will be generating more tech that your small, rexing cities, so be prepared to slipstream tech research rather than pioneering tech early on, especially if two expansionists and a bully are out there.

A decent military is essential, and militaristic civs can easily raise a barracks or two to pump units to highten security. Settlers, units, workers, with an occasional temple / granary / barracks depending an circumstance and civ traits. Cheap temples really help grabbing the land.

The great thing about Despotism is the unit support. Each city allows 4 more units to defend the empire - units which can also block AI settlers from where you're also heading.

At the end of the day, the Pyramids is the only Ancient Wonder that lasts, and although wonder-specific approaches like the Lighthouse and Great Library strats are strong in the right circumstances, a bigger REX can yield longer term benefit than an ancient wonder.

A save and map of the game where I inadvertantly played this strat is posted on Theseus's Modern Armour thread. It's from the end of the game, with UP just an MA roll away.


(1) : A remote luxury is vunerable - nearby cities can help defend and buffer the lux/resource, connect it to the main body and/or the coast, hence more that one city may be desirable to defend a luxury.

[Cort Haus]

Well, that one went down like a lead balloon.

[Dominae]

I think that REX is always more important than an Ancient age Wonder. The possible excetion is if you build an entire strategy around completing the Pyramids, but this is not so easy on the higher levels.

I typically begin building Wonders when I foresee the end of my REX phase and start switching my Settler pump cities to Workers. Then I'll start a prebuild for something.


Dominae

[Rhothaerill]

Originally posted by Cort Haus
Well, that one went down like a lead balloon.

Sorry, saw this early yesterday, but didn't have time to post. Then forgot about it when I did have time later on.

Your strategy is very sound for me because that is generally the way I play. I almost always ignore ancient age wonders unless I either 1) receive a great leader from combat, or 2) desperately need the great lighthouse to get off an island. I find I can do without all the other wonders, even the pyramids (though I certainly won't hesitate to "acquire" them if they are built close to me ). My old strategy was to prebuild a wonder for the pyramids (which I rarely got on either monarch or emperor) or the great library, but I've found that building more cities, more units, and a better economy will win out over any of the ancient age wonders. Because of that I was also able to wean myself away from "needing" the great library.

I've been talking about my retry of AU209 for a few days now and I hope to get some DARs posted within the next few days, but I'm using essentially this strategy to great effect. I haven't bothered to build a single wonder (and only captured the Oracle which I dusted and Sun Tzu's which I have kept so far) and I am currently in the early industrial age with a slight tech lead, better economy, and better military than any of the others. Much better than my first try on that game.

[ChrisiusMaximus]

Sometimes play this way too, but as said I will always gladly receive aqquired wonders

The only time its hard to manage is on higher levels with no luxeries close by or to trade for. Of course there is always the lux slider to help when needs be

[Mountain Sage]

Again, it seems I like to play different than other players.

On Emperor, when I feel bottled in and need some more lebensraum (like my last posted game on my 'Emperor games' thread), I will go for Literature and the GLibrary asap (if you miss it, you can always trade it). Then I go for the Republic (skipping Monarchy) at 32-40 turns.
When I get the GLibrary (usually about the same time as the Republic), I upgrade all my Warriors to Swordsmen (I keep 2 in each town as military police) with the saved gold by having research at 0 and, with a few assorted Archers and Horsemen, well, expand.
The techs I missed?
You can make very good trades with Writing, Literature and the Republic. As for the rest, it's a 'voluntary' tribute for making peace with me.
Sounds crazy? Yes. But it works (most of the time, anyway).

[Harovan]

I play a very similar style as Cort Haus does and have not that much new to add. I generally research Pottery first, at 100% (I seldom play expansionist now). It's mostly ready even before I met anyone. If I'm on an island and have no rexing competition, it's a step towards Map Making. If not, it means Granaries. It's a win-win technology. If I have exceptional good conditions (like 3 cows at plains, don't laugh, that happens ) or find a settler, I usually build a granary right away. Otherwise I build a settler first and then a granary. The second city I build in a high production area. It builds warriors until ~ size 4, then a settler or worker, then again warriors. I want to have 2 warriors in every core city in order to let them grow bigger. The third city I try to make my second granary city, the fourth produces units again. I usually don't build any ancient wonders. I strive to keep pace with tile improvements. I build at least one worker per city early on, slightly less if industrious. Workers are built by granary cities, if I have more than 2, and/or by peripheral 1-shield 2-food cities. Countrary to popular belief, I don't seek early wars as long as there's land to expand (i.e. I'm not boxed in). With this approach, one can outrex the AIs up to emperor.

[Theseus]

I very rarely try for GWs early in the game.

I'd rather capture them.

Seriously.

No, really, there's a lot of logic to focusing on REX.

Even if you have to slipstream research due to smaller cities, you slingshot past the AI civs when they all grow and your production power goes crazy.

So, yeah, I like this strategy. You just left out the FUN part.

[Rhothaerill]

I think Theseus likes the smiley!

On topic...yep "acquiring" the wonders is a fun part of Cort Haus's strategy. It's not quite the Ultimate Power way, but I don't generally go for that anyway.

[Arrian]

Often, the only ancient era wonder I actually build is the Colossus. It's only 200 shields, and the payoff is worth it, IMO.

I spend the ancient era REXing, building up an army, and then using that army. If the army can get me more wonders - via conquest or via great leader, fantastic. Otherwise, no biggie. It's in the middle ages that I become a crazed wonder-hog.

-Arrian

[realpolitic]

Rex then Conquest as soon as there's a neighbor. It's the only way I know to win at Diety, and of course I'm overjoyed if I can capture a wonder with 4 horsemen.