Civilization 4; I suck

[you2]

Basically I'm playing Beyond the Sword vs the computer. I'm playing warlord and I seem to come in last every game
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My basic strategy has been to try to out position the computer to grab land (but it always fails). I'm not even sure which type of victory i should go for - at first cultural victory seems like the thing but the rules sez "max out 3 cities" but doesnt' define what 'max' is

Then I try for military; but my armies are always too weak and the computer squash me.

Then I decided ok I'll just build a space ship; but then i ran out of time.
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I usually start with one city and 1 worker; around turn 20 or 30 i build a second city; then around 40 or 50 I build a third. I try for 1 worker per city and make sure they are all connected. Other than that I either build cultural items (to get more land) or happy stuff or clean the air stuff depending on if my city is sad or dirty.

I try for one city on the coast so I can build a navy later on if i need to (at settler level navies were great; but at warlord I don't seem to ever need anything beyond a fishing boat).

Anyways by now my score is like 300 and the computer is up to 900 and from here on out it is all down hill

 

[caivoma]

Go to Civilfanatics forum, they have some very good guides that can help you out. It is also more easy to go with good strait leaders (like Egyptian leader, financial leaders, Darius, the Quencha guy etc...)

 

[you2]

Actually I went to Civifanatics and either I didn't understand the guide or I fuond the wrong one because I still suck

 

[caivoma]

You tried this guide yet?
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=165632

 

[you2]

sort of; some how i ended up with version 2 (2006) and not the version 4 (2009) you linked to.

 

[Chriscross3234]

On Civfanatics.com, not only read the guides posted there, but read the playthroughs as well. It's basically one person playing a game and receiving input and advice on how to play the game from the whole community. It shows the application of strategy throughout all stages of the game.

 

[nanobreath]

Playing at higher levels requires a lot of time planning and strategizing, and not a lot of doing. Nothing requires you to play at higher levels, but if you really want to learn do like was mentioned and go to civfanatics. I could go on at length with strategies and what to do...but I learned it all at civfanatics and they will be a hell of a lot better at explaining it than I will.

I will say this. Don't play through an entire game while you're learning. The beginning is the most crucial, so play only that a few times with the things you've learned reading their guides and try to improve each time.

 

[ZzZGuy]

What I do is aim to win the space race while working towards a world conquering army as a back up.

General advice:
-Tech up to iron quickly and decide if you have what you need.
-Find locations with lots of food bonuses and whatever those hammers are (i forget the name). Sometimes you'll have to pick a bad spot to access a resource.
-Look at the tech tree, figure out how it works and decide on a long term goal to work towards that will include techs you want. It is very bad to just pick techs as they pop up at the end of a research cycle without consideration for later techs.
-Try to make friends with a AI to trade tech with, maybe resources. Watch out that you do not pick on their friends, a good war with their enemy also helps.
-Workers, lots and lots of workers. I put most on auto, the rest building key roads and key improvements such as farms. Also place cottages on money squares to increase income (they grow over time).
-When attacking a city be aware it's 1v1 until someone runs out of units with turns. Some units get city defense bonuses ontop of the guard bonus (tell a unit to dig in an over 5 turns they increase their defense) as well as city defenses like walls. You will either need numerical superiority or unit superiority, a roughly equal force will fail. Afterward tell your units to heal or they will die.
-Wonders, lots of wonders.

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

If you can't understand the guides and forums on CivFanatics, I don't know what to tell you. That place is a treasure trove of Civ knowledge.

If you read the playthroughs of various games posted on the forums, you'll notice some common themes:

- Some leaders and civs are just better than others. The Romans, for example, are just flat out bonkers, because Praets are the best thing you can get for like an entire era.
- Axemen are OP
- Stack of doom is the way to roll with your army
- Take advantage of bad AI and tech trade your way to victory

As stated before, the early game is most crucial. The end game is just going through the motions conquering everyone else.

Originally posted by: ZzZGuy
-Wonders, lots of wonders.

No, this is horrible advice. The expert players all agree that most of the wonders are a waste of time and resources...only a few are key to get, and even those aren't that important if there are more pressing matters. If you just try to Wonder Spam on Monarch or higher, you will get crushed.

Oh, and Amphibious War Elephants FTW.

 

[Saulbadguy]

Build more cities. I always try to position myself early in the game to get sort of a "choke point" set up, where the computer can't get to the other side of where my cities are unless I agree to open borders....which I rarely do.

 

[MStele]

Expansion is the key. In the early game, you need to settle as many cities as possible in order to spread influence and build your economy. Proper placement is important in order to maximize land usage. Your neighbors won't like your expansion, especially if you move right up to their borders, so be prepared for smallish wars to come. None should be really difficult, especially if your prepared. They tend to not want drawn out battles since they are just as broke as you., and you will likely gain a city or 3 in the process. Once you get enough cities built up, things will get easier for you. Regardless of what you focus on, a large army is one way to avoid problems in the later game. It is expensive, but enemy nations are far less likely to attack someone who has a great show of force, even if your playing playing peaceful. Of course, in the long run I always end up just destroying everyone anyway so maybe i'm not the one to ask! lol Too much Alpha Centauri in my blood. I miss making puppet states.

As far as strategy games go, Civ IV is about being purposeful in what you do. Unlike many strategy games, your not going to win just by trying. Just keep it up and you'll do fine.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

chop rush. Pick a civ that starts with mining research bronze working first turn build a worker. Try to time your working coming out with bronze working finishing. Then build a settler and chop trees to get him complete as quickly as possible. From there either build another worker/settler or go for wonders depending on if you're looking for quick expansion or racing to lockdown the wonders (I can do it on noble don't know about harder levels). After bronze working get the wheel atleast masonery if you're going wonders, and then try to grab alphabet as quickly as possible, which will let you get all the lower techs from other civs at which point I usually have such a huge tech advantage that it carries me the rest of the game. If there's a civ near you and you have a source of copper, consider building some axemen early by chopping trees and quickly taking them over.

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

Originally posted by: AyashiKaibutsu
chop rush. Pick a civ that starts with mining research bronze working first turn build a worker. Try to time your working coming out with bronze working finishing. Then build a settler and chop trees to get him complete as quickly as possible. From there either build another worker/settler or go for wonders depending on if you're looking for quick expansion or racing to lockdown the wonders (I can do it on noble don't know about harder levels). After bronze working get the wheel atleast masonery if you're going wonders, and then try to grab alphabet as quickly as possible, which will let you get all the lower techs from other civs at which point I usually have such a huge tech advantage that it carries me the rest of the game. If there's a civ near you and you have a source of copper, consider building some axemen early by chopping trees and quickly taking them over.

This.

Don't be afraid to use the whip to get stuff done, especially if your city is about to grow to the "unhappy cap".

Got angry citizens? Whip them into shape to build that courthouse!

 

[you2]

Which civ/leader do you suggest? (I've been using roosevelt mostly). Also the guide says 60% rule but my tech for a city is almost at 90% most of the time (and at the end of the game i usally have tons of money). Last but least my guys seem to become unahppy a lot (too crowded). But building setlers doesnt' reduce the the sad faces

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

Originally posted by: you2
Which civ/leader do you suggest? (I've been using roosevelt mostly). Also the guide says 60% rule but my tech for a city is almost at 90% most of the time (and at the end of the game i usally have tons of money). Last but least my guys seem to become unahppy a lot (too crowded). But building setlers doesnt' reduce the the sad faces

It really is all up to preferences as far as civs/leaders go. I preferred Spiritual leaders for the no anarchy during civics changes. Picking Rome is a good bet for a beginning player...Praets are just OP for the most important stage of the game (early/middle).

I never run tech at 90%...I always set it so that I'm making a minimal profit every turn. Usually in the 40%-60% range, with maybe 10%-20% towards culture depending on the happiness of my citizens.

There are many factors as to why you get unhappy citizens, but the biggest limiting factor in the early game is just that your city has grown too big, too fast. Buildings, luxury resources, putting money into culture, etc. can all help reduce unhappiness. Early on, the best way to control unhappiness is (strangely enough) to just use the whip to remove your unhappy citizens when your city is about to grow to an unhappy size. This has the huge side benefit of increasing production, but don't whip your city too small, or too much because the citizens will revolt.

 

[minmaster]

learn how to utilize specialists. there is a crucial period early in the game where you can't afford any science because of the upkeep for your empire's expansion. you have to utilize specialists (scientists mainly) to get through this and still be competitive on higher levels. also be smart with your cottages.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

Originally posted by: you2
Which civ/leader do you suggest? (I've been using roosevelt mostly). Also the guide says 60% rule but my tech for a city is almost at 90% most of the time (and at the end of the game i usally have tons of money). Last but least my guys seem to become unahppy a lot (too crowded). But building setlers doesnt' reduce the the sad faces

I'm usually running 100% most of the game... but I usually found a religion and then make one of the religious wonders with a great prophet.

I like wonder spamming so I usually pick philo leaders like peter of russia or ghandi of india or elizibeth of england. For wonder spam to be viable on harder difficulties, you need to start reasonable close to stone and marble or it just won't work out. Mining is the best tech to start with because it's a prereq for bronze working. Mystisism lets you get an early religion if you're willing to slow down your ability to chop rush. Hunting will let you start with a scout. Fishing is decent if you start near water with fish/clams/crabs. Wheel is decent too because you'll want to research it no matter your strat pretty much.

I used to dig spiritual a lot, but I found unless you're microing your civics (always changing them for the most advantage) it's not that great. For wonder spam, philo is the best because the strength of wonders isn't their bonus but their great leader generation. There's no indus/philo leaders because it's an op combo.

If you're cities are getting too big and you're not using slavery set workers to be priests or laborers until your growth stagnent once you get more healthy/happiness set the city to grow again. It's important to do this before unhappy/unhealthy outweighs happy/healthy.

 

[you2]

Here is where I'm confused; you said you set research down to 60% so you have more gold but what does that gold allow you to do? You can't just go out and buy stuff with it. I assume reducing the reserach down to 60% means I will learn new stuff slower; but what will it allow to happen faster (i'm talking early in the game like the first 100 or 200 moves).

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

Originally posted by: AyashiKaibutsu

Originally posted by: you2
Which civ/leader do you suggest? (I've been using roosevelt mostly). Also the guide says 60% rule but my tech for a city is almost at 90% most of the time (and at the end of the game i usally have tons of money). Last but least my guys seem to become unahppy a lot (too crowded). But building setlers doesnt' reduce the the sad faces

I'm usually running 100% most of the game... but I usually found a religion and then make one of the religious wonders with a great prophet.

I like wonder spamming so I usually pick philo leaders like peter of russia or ghandi of india or elizibeth of england. For wonder spam to be viable on harder difficulties, you need to start reasonable close to stone and marble or it just won't work out. Mining is the best tech to start with because it's a prereq for bronze working. Mystisism lets you get an early religion if you're willing to slow down your ability to chop rush. Hunting will let you start with a scout. Fishing is decent if you start near water with fish/clams/crabs. Wheel is decent too because you'll want to research it no matter your strat pretty much.

I used to dig spiritual a lot, but I found unless you're microing your civics (always changing them for the most advantage) it's not that great. For wonder spam, philo is the best because the strength of wonders isn't their bonus but their great leader generation. There's no indus/philo leaders because it's an op combo.

If you're cities are getting too big and you're not using slavery set workers to be priests or laborers until your growth stagnent once you get more healthy/happiness set the city to grow again. It's important to do this before unhappy/unhealthy outweighs happy/healthy.

Ah yes...wonder spamming...a tricky prospect if Monty or Shaka are your neighbor, and you're devoting resources to wonders while they march a Stack of Doom to your border and go WHEOOHRN.

Didn't Hayuana (sp) Capac of Inca used to be Ind/Phi until they changed him because that combo was OP?

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

Originally posted by: you2
Here is where I'm confused; you said you set research down to 60% so you have more gold but what does that gold allow you to do? You can't just go out and buy stuff with it. I assume reducing the reserach down to 60% means I will learn new stuff slower; but what will it allow to happen faster (i'm talking early in the game like the first 100 or 200 moves).

You need money to pay for your cities and units. The thing is, you should be expanding fast enough that you can still keep research at the 40%-60% range and still support your cities. It'll slow down your research initially, but those cities will pay off (big time) in the future.

The rule of thumb is to expand at the beginning (whether peacefully or with an Axeman rush) to the point where you can basically break even with 40%-60% research, then sit back and build infrastructure for a little bit until your finances get better, build up a big army, then aggressively expand again.

It's all about cities.

FYI, one of the civics can use money to complete units/buildings.

 

[CPA]

Originally posted by: you2
Here is where I'm confused; you said you set research down to 60% so you have more gold but what does that gold allow you to do? You can't just go out and buy stuff with it. I assume reducing the reserach down to 60% means I will learn new stuff slower; but what will it allow to happen faster (i'm talking early in the game like the first 100 or 200 moves).

I'm wondering the same thing. I always try to keep my research high, so much so that I will usually have one or two cities that do nothing but build research...on top of my 100% setting, if I can maintain it.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

Originally posted by: RyanPaulShaffer

Ah yes...wonder spamming...a tricky prospect if Monty or Shaka are your neighbor, and you're devoting resources to wonders while they march a Stack of Doom to your border and go WHEOOHRN.

Didn't Hayuana (sp) Capac of Inca used to be Ind/Phi until they changed him because that combo was OP?

I usually get a second and maybe third city very fast and then wonder spam only in my main city so I can usually atleast defend myself although I try my best not to get into fights until my borders are atleast estabished. Well, one exception is great wall if I build it I do so in a different city just because great spies don't fit into my strategy very well and I don't want to have a chance of generating them.

 

[Daverino]

My game turned around when I began to understand the importance of early chopping and slavery. The production boost at a time when you can't really grow your cities is crucial. I'm still a masochist because I always got for cultural or technological victories instead of just conquering everyone. Another strategy I use is to cut off land from my neighbors using borders and use closed-borders to prevent them from settling it. In stead of settling like an expanding circle, settle in a line with the ends anchored on coasts. Done correctly, you can save space for settling new cities at the correct pace instead of suffering by rushing too many out at once.

 

[you2]

How do you use money to complete a building or slavery ? I know how to open the city and i know how to assign people (once you have eng, scientist and such) but now how to use slavery or spend money.

Originally posted by: RyanPaulShaffer

Originally posted by: you2
Here is where I'm confused; you said you set research down to 60% so you have more gold but what does that gold allow you to do? You can't just go out and buy stuff with it. I assume reducing the reserach down to 60% means I will learn new stuff slower; but what will it allow to happen faster (i'm talking early in the game like the first 100 or 200 moves).

You need money to pay for your cities and units. The thing is, you should be expanding fast enough that you can still keep research at the 40%-60% range and still support your cities. It'll slow down your research initially, but those cities will pay off (big time) in the future.

The rule of thumb is to expand at the beginning (whether peacefully or with an Axeman rush) to the point where you can basically break even with 40%-60% research, then sit back and build infrastructure for a little bit until your finances get better, build up a big army, then aggressively expand again.

It's all about cities.

FYI, one of the civics can use money to complete units/buildings.

 

[minmaster]

one more tip, don't try to digest everything in a short amount of time. this is a game where you learn over a long period of time. there is so much to learn and so much info to study at places like civfanatics that you have to pace yourself and give things time.