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<!-- Sid Meier's Civilization 4 -->
<!-- Copyleft (c) 2008 BUG Mod -->
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<!-- Game Text - Strategy Guides-->
<Civ4GameText xmlns="http://www.firaxis.com">
	<!--Headers for Guides-->
	<TEXT>
		<Tag>TXT_KEY_PEDIA_CATEGORY_STRATEGY</Tag>
		<English>Strategy Guides</English>
		<French>Strategy Guides</French>
		<German>Strategien</German>
		<Italian>Guide Strategiche</Italian>
		<Spanish>Strategy Guides</Spanish>
	</TEXT>
	<TEXT>
		<Tag>TXT_KEY_STRATEGY_INTRO</Tag>
		<English>(*) - Introduction</English>
		<French>(*) - Introduction</French>
		<German>(*) - Einleitung</German>
		<Italian>(*) - Introduction</Italian>
		<Spanish>(*) - Introduction</Spanish>
	</TEXT>
	<TEXT>
		<Tag>TXT_KEY_STRATEGY_WK</Tag>
		<English>(B) - WK's Strategy Guide</English>
		<French>(B) - WK's Strategy Guide</French>
		<German>(A) - WK's Strategy Guide</German>
		<Italian>(B) - WK's Strategy Guide</Italian>
		<Spanish>(B) - WK's Strategy Guide</Spanish>
	</TEXT>
	<TEXT>
		<Tag>TXT_KEY_STRATEGY_TRAITS</Tag>
		<English>(B) - Analysis of the Civilization Traits</English>
		<French>(B) - Analysis of the Civilization Traits</French>
		<German>(A) - Analysis of the Civilization Traits</German>
		<Italian>(B) - Analysis of the Civilization Traits</Italian>
		<Spanish>(B) - Analysis of the Civilization Traits</Spanish>
	</TEXT>
	<TEXT>
		<Tag>TXT_KEY_STRATEGY_SYNERGY</Tag>
		<English>(B) - Synergy</English>
		<French>(B) - Synergy</French>
		<German>(A) - Synergy</German>
		<Italian>(B) - Synergy</Italian>
		<Spanish>(B) - Synergy</Spanish>
	</TEXT>
	<TEXT>
		<Tag>TXT_KEY_STRATEGY_BEGINNER_CIVICS</Tag>
		<English>(B) - A Guide to Civics </English>
		<French>(B) - A Guide to Civics </French>
		<German>(A) - A Guide to Civics </German>
		<Italian>(B) - A Guide to Civics </Italian>
		<Spanish>(B) - A Guide to Civics </Spanish>
	</TEXT>
	<TEXT>
		<Tag>TXT_KEY_STRATEGY_10_FAQS</Tag>
		<English>(B) - 10 Questions Before War</English>
		<French>(B) - 10 Questions Before War</French>
		<German>(A) - 10 Questions Before War</German>
		<Italian>(B) - 10 Questions Before War</Italian>
		<Spanish>(B) - 10 Questions Before War</Spanish>
	</TEXT>
	<TEXT>
		<Tag>TXT_KEY_STRATEGY_GROWTH_WAR</Tag>
		<English>(B) - Balancing Growth and Warfare</English>
		<French>(B) - Balancing Growth and Warfare</French>
		<German>(A) - Balancing Growth and Warfare</German>
		<Italian>(B) - Balancing Growth and Warfare</Italian>
		<Spanish>(B) - Balancing Growth and Warfare</Spanish>
	</TEXT>
	<TEXT>
		<Tag>TXT_KEY_STRATEGY_MONGOL</Tag>
		<English>(C) - Mongol Strategy</English>
		<French>(C) - Mongol Strategy</French>
		<German>(Z) - Mongol Strategy</German>
		<Italian>(C) - Mongol Strategy</Italian>
		<Spanish>(C) - Mongol Strategy</Spanish>
	</TEXT>
	<TEXT>
		<Tag>TXT_KEY_STRATEGY_ROME</Tag>
		<English>(C) - Roman Strategy</English>
		<French>(C) - Roman Strategy</French>
		<German>(Z) - Roman Strategy</German>
		<Italian>(C) - Roman Strategy</Italian>
		<Spanish>(C) - Roman Strategy</Spanish>
	</TEXT>
	<TEXT>
		<Tag>TXT_KEY_STRATEGY_PRINCE_DIFFICULTY</Tag>
		<English>(D) - Prince Difficulty</English>
		<French>(D) - Prince Difficulty</French>
		<German>(SG) - Prince Difficulty</German>
		<Italian>(D) - Prince Difficulty</Italian>
		<Spanish>(D) - Prince Difficulty</Spanish>
	</TEXT>
	<TEXT>
		<Tag>TXT_KEY_STRATEGY_MONARCH_DIFFICULTY</Tag>
		<English>(D) - Monarch Difficulty</English>
		<French>(D) - Monarch Difficulty</French>
		<German>(SG) - Monarch Difficulty</German>
		<Italian>(D) - Monarch Difficulty</Italian>
		<Spanish>(D) - Monarch Difficulty</Spanish>
	</TEXT>
	<TEXT>
		<Tag>TXT_KEY_STRATEGY_EMPEROR_DIFFICULTY</Tag>
		<English>(D) - Emperor Difficulty</English>
		<French>(D) - Emperor Difficulty</French>
		<German>(SG) - Emperor Difficulty</German>
		<Italian>(D) - Emperor Difficulty</Italian>
		<Spanish>(D) - Emperor Difficulty</Spanish>
	</TEXT>
	<TEXT>
		<Tag>TXT_KEY_STRATEGY_GODOTNUT</Tag>
		<English>(D) - Godotnut's Peaceful Deity Guide</English>
		<French>(D) - Godotnut's Peaceful Deity Guide</French>
		<German>(SG) - Godotnut's Peaceful Deity Guide</German>
		<Italian>(D) - Godotnut's Peaceful Deity Guide</Italian>
		<Spanish>(D) - Godotnut's Peaceful Deity Guide</Spanish>
	</TEXT>
	<TEXT>
		<Tag>TXT_KEY_STRATEGY_UB</Tag>
		<English>(E) - Unique Buildings</English>
		<French>(E) - Unique Buildings</French>
		<German>(R) - Unique Buildings</German>
		<Italian>(E) - Unique Buildings</Italian>
		<Spanish>(E) - Unique Buildings</Spanish>
	</TEXT>
	<TEXT>
		<Tag>TXT_KEY_STRATEGY_EARLY_GROWTH</Tag>
		<English>(E) - Optimum Early Growth</English>
		<French>(E) - Optimum Early Growth</French>
		<German>(R) - Optimum Early Growth</German>
		<Italian>(E) - Optimum Early Growth</Italian>
		<Spanish>(E) - Optimum Early Growth</Spanish>
	</TEXT>
	<TEXT>
		<Tag>TXT_KEY_STRATEGY_HYBRID</Tag>
		<English>(E) - Hybrid Economy</English>
		<French>(E) - Hybrid Economy</French>
		<German>(R) - Hybrid Economy</German>
		<Italian>(E) - Hybrid Economy</Italian>
		<Spanish>(E) - Hybrid Economy</Spanish>
	</TEXT>
	<TEXT>
		<Tag>TXT_KEY_STRATEGY_SE</Tag>
		<English>(E) - Guide to the Specialist Economy</English>
		<French>(E) - Guide to the Specialist Economy</French>
		<German>(R) - Guide to the Specialist Economy</German>
		<Italian>(E) - Guide to the Specialist Economy</Italian>
		<Spanish>(E) - Guide to the Specialist Economy</Spanish>
	</TEXT>
	<!---->
	<!--Text of the Guides-->
	<TEXT>
		<Tag>TXT_KEY_STRATEGY_INTRO_PEDIA</Tag>
		<English>[H1]Introduction to the Guides[\H1][PARAGRAPH:2]The Guides contained in this section are all collected from the Civilization Fanatics War Academy (www.civfanatics.com).  All credit goes to the authors of these great articles!  Not all of the strategies here may suit your play style, but the information can be tailored to your style, and will help with your game.  If you find an article that you find helpful, please go to the web site and let the author know![ICON_HAPPY][PARAGRAPH:2]The articles are broken up into a few categories to make it easier to find what you are looking for.  The title will have a letter in front of it, telling you what category it is.  Here they are:[PARAGRAPH:2][ICON_BULLET](B) = Beginner Guides[PARAGRAPH:1][ICON_BULLET](C) = Civilization Specific Guides[PARAGRAPH:1][ICON_BULLET](D) = Guides based on Difficulty Level[PARAGRAPH:1][ICON_BULLET](E) = Empire Management[PARAGRAPH:1][ICON_BULLET](M) = Mechanics of the Game[PARAGRAPH:1][ICON_BULLET](V) = Guides to different Victory Conditions[PARAGRAPH:1][ICON_BULLET](W) = Warfare guides[PARAGRAPH:2]One final note:  The formating of these guides are not perfect, and it is still a work in progress.  If you find something that we missed, then let us know on our forum on Civilization Fanatics.  Enjoy and happy hunting![PARAGRAPH:2]-The BUG Team</English>
		<French>[H1]Introduction to the Guides[\H1][PARAGRAPH:2]The Guides contained in this section are all collected from the Civilization Fanatics War Academy (www.civfanatics.com).  All credit goes to the authors of these great articles!  Not all of the strategies here may suit your play style, but the information can be tailored to your style, and will help with your game.  If you find an article that you find helpful, please go to the web site and let the author know![ICON_HAPPY][PARAGRAPH:2]The articles are broken up into a few categories to make it easier to find what you are looking for.  The title will have a letter in front of it, telling you what category it is.  Here they are:[PARAGRAPH:2][ICON_BULLET](B) = Beginner Guides[PARAGRAPH:1][ICON_BULLET](C) = Civilization Specific Guides[PARAGRAPH:1][ICON_BULLET](D) = Guides based on Difficulty Level[PARAGRAPH:1][ICON_BULLET](E) = Empire Management[PARAGRAPH:1][ICON_BULLET](M) = Mechanics of the Game[PARAGRAPH:1][ICON_BULLET](V) = Guides to different Victory Conditions[PARAGRAPH:1][ICON_BULLET](W) = Warfare guides[PARAGRAPH:2]One final note:  The formating of these guides are not perfect, and it is still a work in progress.  If you find something that we missed, then let us know on our forum on Civilization Fanatics.  Enjoy and happy hunting![PARAGRAPH:2]-The BUG Team</French>
		<German>[H1]Einleitung zu den Strategien[\H1][PARAGRAPH:2]Die Strategien in diesem Abschnitts sind alle der "Civilization Fanatics War Academy" entnommen (zu finden unter: www.civfanatics.com). Der Dank fur diese grouartigen Artikel gebuhrt den jeweiligen Autoren! Wahrscheinlich eignen sich nicht alle Strategien fur jeden Spielstil, aber die Informationen kunnen trotzdem tiefere Einblicke liefern, um das eigene Spiel zu verbessern. Falls Sie einen Artikel finden, der besonders hilfreich war, kunnen Sie die Website besuchen und es den Autor wissen lassen![ICON_HAPPY][PARAGRAPH:2]Die Artikel sind in mehrere Kategorien unterteilt, um das Auffinden bestimmter Artikel zu erleichtern. Vor jedem Namen eines Artikel befindet sich ein Buchstabe, der die Kategorie angibt, zu der er gehurt. Folgende Buchstaben werden verwendet:[PARAGRAPH:2][ICON_BULLET](A) - Strategien fur Anfunger[PARAGRAPH:1][ICON_BULLET](K) - Strategien zur Kriegsfuhrung[PARAGRAPH:1][ICON_BULLET](M) - Strategien, die sich auf bestimmte Mechaniken des Spiels beziehen[PARAGRAPH:1][ICON_BULLET](R) - Strategien zur Reichsverwaltung[PARAGRAPH:1][ICON_BULLET](S) - Strategien fur bestimmte Siegbedingungen[PARAGRAPH:1][ICON_BULLET](SG) - Strategien fur bestimmte Schwierigkeitsgrade[PARAGRAPH:1][ICON_BULLET](Z) - Strategien, die sich auf bestimmte Zivilisationen beziehen[PARAGRAPH:2]Noch eine kleine Anmerkung: Die Formatierung der Artikel ist nicht perfekt, da an diesem Abschnitt immer noch gearbeitet wird. Falls Sie einen Fehler finden oder etwas, das wir vergessen haben, dann teilen Sie es uns in unserem Forum bei "Civilization Fanatics" mit. Viel Spau und Weidmannsheil![PARAGRAPH:2]-Das Team der BUG Mod</German>
		<Italian>[H1]Introduction to the Guides[\H1][PARAGRAPH:2]The Guides contained in this section are all collected from the Civilization Fanatics War Academy (www.civfanatics.com).  All credit goes to the authors of these great articles!  Not all of the strategies here may suit your play style, but the information can be tailored to your style, and will help with your game.  If you find an article that you find helpful, please go to the web site and let the author know![ICON_HAPPY][PARAGRAPH:2]The articles are broken up into a few categories to make it easier to find what you are looking for.  The title will have a letter in front of it, telling you what category it is.  Here they are:[PARAGRAPH:2][ICON_BULLET](B) = Beginner Guides[PARAGRAPH:1][ICON_BULLET](C) = Civilization Specific Guides[PARAGRAPH:1][ICON_BULLET](D) = Guides based on Difficulty Level[PARAGRAPH:1][ICON_BULLET](E) = Empire Management[PARAGRAPH:1][ICON_BULLET](M) = Mechanics of the Game[PARAGRAPH:1][ICON_BULLET](V) = Guides to different Victory Conditions[PARAGRAPH:1][ICON_BULLET](W) = Warfare guides[PARAGRAPH:2]One final note:  The formating of these guides are not perfect, and it is still a work in progress.  If you find something that we missed, then let us know on our forum on Civilization Fanatics.  Enjoy and happy hunting![PARAGRAPH:2]-The BUG Team</Italian>
		<Spanish>[H1]Introduction to the Guides[\H1][PARAGRAPH:2]The Guides contained in this section are all collected from the Civilization Fanatics War Academy (www.civfanatics.com).  All credit goes to the authors of these great articles!  Not all of the strategies here may suit your play style, but the information can be tailored to your style, and will help with your game.  If you find an article that you find helpful, please go to the web site and let the author know![ICON_HAPPY][PARAGRAPH:2]The articles are broken up into a few categories to make it easier to find what you are looking for.  The title will have a letter in front of it, telling you what category it is.  Here they are:[PARAGRAPH:2][ICON_BULLET](B) = Beginner Guides[PARAGRAPH:1][ICON_BULLET](C) = Civilization Specific Guides[PARAGRAPH:1][ICON_BULLET](D) = Guides based on Difficulty Level[PARAGRAPH:1][ICON_BULLET](E) = Empire Management[PARAGRAPH:1][ICON_BULLET](M) = Mechanics of the Game[PARAGRAPH:1][ICON_BULLET](V) = Guides to different Victory Conditions[PARAGRAPH:1][ICON_BULLET](W) = Warfare guides[PARAGRAPH:2]One final note:  The formating of these guides are not perfect, and it is still a work in progress.  If you find something that we missed, then let us know on our forum on Civilization Fanatics.  Enjoy and happy hunting![PARAGRAPH:2]-The BUG Team</Spanish>
	</TEXT>
	<TEXT>
		<Tag>TXT_KEY_STRATEGY_WK_PEDIA</Tag>
		<English>[H1]WoundedKnight's Strategy Guide[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]WoundedKnight[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Table of Contents[\H2][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]1. Learn the Rules[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]2. Civilization Selection[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]3. Leverage Your Strengths[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]4. Religions[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]5. City Placement[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]6. Civics Guide[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]7. City Improvement[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]8. Specialization[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]9. Wonders[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]10. Great People[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]11. Chop-Rushing[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]12. Technology[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]13. Military Strategy[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]1. LEARN THE RULES[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The best-spent two hours for my CIV strategy skills was spent pouring over the civilopedia to understand the rules, the tech trees, improvements, units, etc. It's much easier to do well if you have a clear strategy and know where you want to go. For example, some techs offer bonuses to the first discoverer: a free great person, a free great tech, or starting a religion. Obviously these techs are generally a priority to get first, while others with benefits that are not time-sensitive can wait or be picked up in trade.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]MAP CHOICE[\H2][NEWLINE]The choice of maps can have a major impact upon gameplay, and therefore upon the strategy you may choose to adopt. For example:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Continental and archipelago maps promote early isolation of civs into 2-3 large groups (continents) or even individual civs (archipelago). Your continent or island may not have access at all to key resources like stone, marble, horses, and iron, which can make your construction or military plans more difficult. It is also more difficult to keep your population happy, as your island or continent may contain only 2 or 3 luxury resources. Your tech rate will also be slower, because there are fewer partners to trade with. On continent maps, I often find myself having to research mundane techs like archery or animal domestication because there are not enough proximate AI players to become a reliable tech broker. On the plus side, these maps can provide for a more interesting late game than Pangaea maps by allowing longer buildup of your competitors and preventing them from being weakened or destroyed in early-game rush. Naval combat adds an interesting element that Pangaea or large land-mass players do not fully experience. The early isolation makes it easier to stay at peace throughout the early era, or to isolate and crush enemies on your starting island without other players interfering.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Maps with a large amount of land and little water (oasis, highland, lakes, etc) pose major long-term barbarian challenges. There is so much land that the barbarians continue to arise from territory covered by the fog of war until late in the game. Defending your cities requires extra effort on such maps. On the plus side, you may be able to capture a city or two from the barbarians.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Pangaea and other land-mass maps offer predictable early availability of all tech-appropriate resources, although you may have to fight for them. However, such maps can be less interesting if the player becomes very dominant in the early or mid-game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Maps with strange geometric land arrangements like inland sea result in high city upkeep costs for an expanding civilization, as distance arrangements between your cities are often not optimal due to geographic constraints.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Large land mass games provide more competitors, and therefore reduce the player's chance of winning the religion, tech, or wonder race. On a standard map or smaller on balanced (noble) difficulty, a player without religious techs can often still beat the AI players to Hinduism and/or Judaism. On large and huge maps, chances become slimmer. There are few things as frustrating as spending 20 or 30 turns working on constructing a wonder in your most productive city only to have the AI finish it 2-3 turns before you do.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]2. CIVILIZATION SELECTION[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The decision as to which civilization to play as is an individual one. Traits have various strengths and weaknesses:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Financial:[\BOLD] All-time favorite. Once you get cottages and watermills working, this will gain you +1 extra gold for almost every square being worked in your city radius. This is a huge advantage, when combined with appropriately widespread cottage building, allows the player to maintain a high tech rate even with expensive civics, a large army, and a large empire. Nonetheless, these benefits are not experienced until you have developed a certain city infrastructure and developed your terrain, usually in the classical or late ancient era.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Organized:[\BOLD] The recent patch has done much to enhance the value of the organized trait. Many civics have become significantly more expensive. I find that civic costs now typically cost 33-66% of city maintenance costs depending on civic settings, averaging about 50% for me. In the late game, after a player changes to state property civic to eliminate distance maintenance costs, civic costs are often double city maintenance costs. Because of inflation that increases in the late game, the costs are often even more than they appear. Organized offers a huge benefit by reducing these costs in half. Organized is especially useful because the player receives its benefits throughout the entire game without any effort or development, and the significant savings are always welcome. This can easily add at least 10% if not 20% to the tech rate. Cheap courthouses help you to reduce expenses even further.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Philosophical:[\BOLD] +100% GP. Synergistic with the religious civics (Pacifism - +100% GP rate) and the national epic (+100% GP in the city of your choice), as well as mercantilism, national epic, statue of liberty, etc. Optimal utilization of the philosophical trait requires a heavy wonder-building play style. The high costs of wonder construction consume the resources of your most productive cities that could otherwise be devoted to conquest or expansion. This is therefore not an ideal trait for warmongers. On harder difficulty levels, philosophical may be less useful than on noble, as it will be difficult to utilize the benefits unless you are able to win the wonder race. The philosophical trait received a substantial, although indirect, bonus from the patch, as wonders continue to give GP points even after they expire. If you have philosophical trait, you will get twice the points from your expired wonders as non-philosophicals.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After playing with the philosophical trait extensively, I have found it to be much less useful than I initially believed. Unfortunately, double the GP points does not mean double the number of GPs. A point of diminishing returns is encountered with each GP costing more and more points (5 GPs = 1,500 points, 10 GPs = 5,500 points, 15 GPs = 12,000 points, 20 GPs = 21,000 points, 25 GPs = 32,500 points, 30 GPs = 46,500 points, 35 GPs = 62,000 points, 40 GPs = 82,000 points). I find that it is still possible for a non-philosophical civ to do quite well in the GP race, because there are many ways for non-philosophicals to enhance GP generation making the advantage of the philosophical nation even more tenuous (national wonder, Parthenon, statue of liberty, pacifism, mercantilism). Philosophical is definitely a fun trait, but I think that stronger traits are available.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Expansive:[\BOLD] +3 health per city in the patch. With the exception of cities located in flood plains, happiness is initially more limiting for city growth than health at almost all levels, but as the game progresses, numerous wonders, civics, buildings, etc. increase happiness, but there are relatively few ways to increase city health. Cheap granaries are one of the most useful building bonuses and offer early and predictable benefits across all difficulty levels. Expansive is useful only at specific times during gameplay, namely, when your city growth is limited by health, or while building granaries. As these are relatively narrow circumstances (although very important ones), I tend to prefer traits that offer more consistent benefit. If you find you continue to run into problems with city health, pick expansive. However, many of these issues can be remedied with good city placement, resource development, and construction of appropriate buildings.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Industrious:[\BOLD] A nice trait, as the wonders you get with +50% build speed can duplicate many other civ traits. Half-price forges are great also because they increase your productivity, and for non-industrious civs they are quite expensive. However, the ability of any player to quickly build wonders by "chop-rushing" (described later) undermines some of the value of the industrial trait. Considering philosophical vs. industrious? Industrious makes it easier to get wonders, while philosophical makes the ones that you have more valuable. Industrious is particularly useful on higher difficulty levels when the player needs a more compelling edge in order to have any real chance of beating the AI to wonders.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Aggressive:[\BOLD] A great trait for the warmonger. While experience can be given by buildings, civics, and wonders, a free extra promotion for melee and gunpowder units is great -- especially for barracks-trained units with a couple of levels to boot. More and more experience is required to get more bonuses (2/5/10/17/etc), and so having a free promotion that doesn't set you back at all in the XP quest is good. Since the promotions become more and more powerful the higher in level you go (+20% city attack, +25%, +30% with an extra +10% vs gunpowder units, etc...cumulative!!!), having an extra promotion can result in a huge amount of extra military power, especially if you have planned well to take advantage of other sources of experience. If you want an early domination or conquest victory, aggressive is an excellent choice. Aggressive provides no bonuses to many key unit types: archery, cavalry, tanks, aircraft, and ships, and so the aggressive trait requires an early attack style to flourish.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Spiritual:[\BOLD] One of the weakest traits IMO. No anarchy, while nice, is of little benefit as I only change civics 5-6 times in a game (I try to change 2 or 3 at a time at times when several important civics are discovered in close time proximity). Cheap temples? Temples are cheap anyway and have fewer benefits than many other buildings.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Creative:[\BOLD] +2 culture has significant benefits in the early game, but few in the late game when cities have more culture than they know what to do with. How many times have I conquered a city only to have it flip to a closely adjacent neighbor? How many times have I built cultural improvement (theater, library, etc.) in a conquered city for the exclusive purpose of generating culture (and, sometimes failed), when a creative civ would not have had to worry at all? The automatic expanding cultural radius can be very valuable in expanding in the early game and blocking off large amounts of territory for your later development. While cultural's benefits are mainly in the early game, the benefits can be substantial. I prefer to get industrious instead and build Stonehenge for your early culture (although this expires -- soon -- with calender), the benefit of creative is still significant.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In sum, I think that spiritual and creative are the two weak traits of CIV. The other six traits are all good in the appropriate situation, with financial and organized representing excellent traits with wide utility across many playing styles, and the others offering specific benefits that require specific playing styles to shine.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]My favorite leader for a standard (noble) game is Washington (American) - Financial/Organized. Other great leaders include English (Victoria) - Expansive/Financial, English (Elizabeth) - Philosophical/Financial, Chinese (Qin Shi Huang) - Industrious/Financial, Peter (Russia) - Expansive/Philosophical. If you are playing on a higher difficulty level, traits that offer immediate, consistent benefit like expansive, aggressive, and industrious may serve you better than traits that bloom only with cultivation like financial or philosophical.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]3. LEVERAGE YOUR STRENGTHS[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It's important to make the most out of your advantages by drawing upon the synergy of civ traits, civics, improvements, and buildings and wonders. For example, it would be silly to get the aggressive civ trait and fail to build barracks. Synergy can be very powerful when you combine substantial bonuses in the same area from multiple different sources. Aggressive (free combat I promotion for melee and gunpowder units)+ barracks (+4 experience for all new units)+ pentagon (+2 experience to all units civ-wide) + theocracy (+2 experience for all new units), police state (+25% military production speed), + West Point (+4 experience for all new units) and Heroic Epic (+100% military production speed) = +125% military production speed pumping out units starting with 12 experience points (3 promotions) in addition to combat I in the city with West Point/Heroic epic, and 8 experience points + combat I at a 25% bonus production speed in all other cities with barracks. An initially mediocre unit with 3 city attack promotions (+20%, +25%, +30%) receives a +85% bonus against cities - a massive boost against even strong defenders of technological parity. Philosophical + Pacifism + Parthenon = 250% great people points, with 350% in the city with the national epic. And so forth.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It is also important to try to compensate for your disadvantages. For example, if I am not playing an expansive civ (or even if I am), I try to build cities on rivers as much as possible for the +2 health bonus, even at a slight productivity hit.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]4. RELIGIONS[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As in the real world, religion can be one of the most uniting or dividing things in CIV. While gifts or insults have only minor benefit on relations (+/-1, rarely more than +/-2; religion can have a huge impact on relations -- seeing +/-4, +/-6 from religion are common. Religion is by far the biggest factor in relations in most games. It seems to be something in the range of +1 relations for every city of your religion in your opponent's land, +1 or 2 if your religion is their state religion. Therefore, pumping out missionaries to convert your neighbors in the good times is as important for the security of your empire as maintaining a powerful military. I try to keep one city pumping out missionaries of your religion the entire game, providing both relationship and economic bonuses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Consider getting an early religion (Hinduism or Judaism) or, if going for a chop-rush settler push, one or more of the later ones (Confucianism, Christianity, Taoism, Islam). In any case, try to pick up as many of the later ones as I can in order to keep friends friendly. A friendly neighbor who has previously converted to your religion but subsequently discovers Islam can suddenly decide that you are a pagan who must be cleansed from the earth. Besides, some of the religion techs (like Divine Right, Islam) offer cool wonders.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Founding cities of religion can become real cash cows in the mid and late game, IF you build the religion-specific wonder in the founding city. In a recent game where I aggressively spread Confucianism, over 30-40 cities were converted by the late of the game. I also discovered Taoism and subsequently captured the founding cities of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism, giving me five of the seven world religions. Did I ignore my non-state religions, even though I planned to stick with Confucianism throughout the entire game? Of course not. I sent a great prophet to each city to build the religion-specific wonder. This accomplishes two purposes. First, it gives you free bonus income equal to the number of cities with that religion each turn. Second, it causes the autonomous spread of each religion from its founding city without even requiring missionaries. While I continue to aggressively spread my state religion with missionaries, the other religious capitals function as cash cows with progressively increasing revenue without requiring any other input or management.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Since founding religious cities generate a large amount of income, *regardless of the position of your financial sliders*, these are the best cities for building banks, markets, and grocers. I find that the Wall Street wonder is typically best built in the founding city of my state religion for an extra and substantial economic boost, since this will typically be the largest religion by the mid to late game (and thus the largest city economy).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As previously mentioned, I keep pumping missionaries out from 2-3 cities almost continuously through the entire game. This improves relations with neighbors, creates LOS (line of sight) to other cities, and generates money.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The financial and diplomatic benefits of missionaries are well-known, although the espionage benefits are rarely mentioned. When I am contemplating war with a nation, I will send a wave of missionaries to as many of their key cities as possible before my military units cross the border. This accomplishes two things. First, it provides invaluable intelligence information and allows one to assess which cities represent priority acquisitions as well as to get some idea of the strength, location, and composition of enemy armies. Equally importantly, missionaries of your state religion provide an instant cultural benefit to captured cities. After conquering a city that is not your state religion, you might contemplate building a library or theater -- which could take 50+ turns -- in order to expand the borders and to prevent the city from flipping back to an adjacent neighbor with strong cultural boundaries. However, if the city is already your state religion, it will automatically generate +1 culture/turn in addition to a +1 happiness benefit, expanding your borders within 10 turns and making your city much less likely to flip or revolt. The pre-attack missionary wave essentially adds the benefits of the creative trait to non-creative civs, in addition to income, happiness, and espionage benefits.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]5. CITY PLACEMENT[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The placement of cities is always one of the most important strategic decisions. I will gladly place a city at significantly further distance from my capital if it results in acquiring special resources or monopolizing a location that is of prime strategic or production value. Many specialty resources offer benefits for your entire civilization, and so the race to control luxury, health, strategic, and bonus resources is a key factor in city placement. Whenever possible, I build cities on rivers, and try to get at least one special resource (of any kind) within range. Of course this is not always possible (especially on unusual or specialty map types), but if you repeatedly find that you are having trouble making your cities happy and productive or are failing to acquire important resources, perhaps it is time to reevaluate your city placement. Controlling strategic passes or "choke points" with cities is also valuable -- if you can block off your enemies from chunks of unsettled land and then fill it in later, that is a bonus, although the geography doesn't always accommodate this.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Buildings[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Some buildings I like to build everywhere, whereas others I build only in specialized cities, or in any city when there is a natural opening. Buildings I like to build as much as possible include:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]First Tier[\BOLD][NEWLINE]granary[NEWLINE]lighthouse (for coastal cities)[NEWLINE]library[NEWLINE]aqueduct[NEWLINE]forge[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Second Tier[\BOLD][NEWLINE]harbor (if applicable)[NEWLINE]temple[NEWLINE]theater[NEWLINE]market[NEWLINE]grocery[NEWLINE]university[NEWLINE]laboratory[NEWLINE]factory[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The build order of course varies depending on the needs of each city, but generally I get granaries and forges as early as possible everywhere, and theaters first in conquered cities (to prevent culture flipping), and others as the situation dictates. It is hard to go wrong with a library almost everywhere because of the commerce bonus and the culture to expand your borders.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Be careful with buildings that harm city health. In particular, avoid building coal plants, as this subtracts two health and seemingly cannot be removed, even if the city develops alternative power sources. The three gorges dam wonder provides power to all cities on the continent, and cities along rivers can use hydro power. While laboratories increase research by +25%, they also detract from health (-1), and you may not need laboratories everywhere at the very late stage in the game at which they become available - constructing them in a few top research cities may suffice.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Commerce, Research, and Gold[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Squares with or without improvements produce *commerce*. This commerce can then be used to fund research, culture, or turned into gold. Improvements (towns etc) and the financial trait actually give you commerce, not gold. The distinction between "commerce" generally and "gold" specifically is somewhat confusing as they sometimes use the same gold coin icon.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Then the benefit of city improvements depends on both your base commerce and your sliders. Say you have a small city producing 10 commerce, and your research slider is on 80%, with 20% going into finances. A library (+25% research) will give you an extra 2 beakers (base research = 80% of 10 = 8, 25% of 8 = 2 more). A grocer, however (+25% gold) would seem not to have any benefit to an economy this small (base gold = 20% of 10 = 2, and 25% of 2= 0.5, rounded down to zero).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Now of course there is some gold *outside* of the commerce system: namely, gold generated by religious buildings. Specialist gold goes directly to finances and is not general "commerce" that can be converted to research.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In other words, the benefit of the improvements depends highly on the position of your sliders. If you played with research on 20% and money on 80%, obviously the financial improvements (market, grocer, bank, etc) would be more valuable. Since in most games however research plays such an important role, science improvements tend to offer greater benefits.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Inflation[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Inflation is not covered anywhere in the civilopedia or manual that I can find, but it is an important expense. Inflation can go up but never seems to go down over the course of a game. Inflation increases over time at a steady rate, regardless of spending breakdown. Inflation cannot apparently be controlled; it inevitably increases as the game progresses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Inflation adds an additional percentage to your expenses, including:[NEWLINE]civic upkeep[NEWLINE]city maintenance (distance and city number)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This percentage can get quite high. If your expenses are 100 per turn and your inflation is 30%, your final cost is 130 gold. The organized trait has at least some advantage here, because it is saving "pre-tax" rather than "post-tax" dollars. In other words, if your civic upkeep were 50 and inflation were 0%, the organized trait would save only 25 gold (50% of final upkeep), but if inflation were 40%, your real savings are 50+20 (40% of 50) = 70/2, or 35 gold.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]6. CIVICS GUIDE[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I try to change civics as little as possible since I don't play as Spiritual. I will do 2 or 3 switches at once, when possible. If you do too many changes at once (4 or occasionally 3), it can result in 2 turns anarchy. You cannot change state religion and civics on the same turn.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Government Civics[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Hereditary Rule:[\BOLD] (medium upkeep, + 1 happiness per military unit in a city, req. monarchy). Since most cities will have at least one military unit for defense, this tech can be a real benefit in the early middle ages when you are still developing your luxury resource network and constructing happiness buildings. Hereditary rule provides a great answer to happiness problems that can otherwise be limiting to a rapidly-growing civilization.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Representation:[\BOLD] (medium upkeep, +3 research per specialist, +2 happiness in 6 largest cities, req. constitution). Another excellent bonus, especially for a philosophical nation with many specialists. The largest cities are the most likely to get unhappy, so this civic gives you the happiness bonus where you need it. Representation is particularly valuable for philosophical civs in synergy with mercantilism and the statue of liberty wonder, harnessing the free specialists to provide a major technology boost. Unless you have a vast number of towns, representation is a good civic to keep throughout the entire game. The extra research for every specialist continues to be a huge benefit that can significantly speed your research. I try to build the pyramids as quick as I can so that I can switch to representation, significantly speeding research. Then pick up wonders and buildings that give you (or allow) specialists: great library, forge, statue of liberty, etc.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Police State:[\BOLD] (high upkeep, +25% military production, -50% war weariness, req. facism) is great for the warmonger or for wartime defense, but the high cost makes it undesirable in peacetime.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Universal Suffrage:[\BOLD] moderate upkeep. The +1 production boost to towns and ability to complete production with gold (units/buildings, not wonders) is useful; however, it is of little use in the early and mid game when cottages have not yet developed into towns. Don't get snookered into getting this in the early game with the pyramids, as upkeep is high and you will have no towns to provide the productivity bonus. Weighing universal suffrage against[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Legal Civics:[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Vassalage:[\BOLD] high upkeep, +2 experience per unit, lower unit support costs: a good tech for a warmonger, but the high cost makes it prohibitive for others. Consider this temporarily while in a war.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Bureaucracy:[\BOLD] (+50% production/gold in capital, medium upkeep, req. civil service). Good in the early game, and provides an excellent boost for a wonder-building city. Liberalism is close enough around the corner from civil service that often I hold off for free speech. As the slider is usually set heavily to research, the primary benefit of this civic is usually production rather than gold.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Nationhood:[\BOLD] no upkeep (changed from low to no upkeep with the patch), can draft 3 units per turn, barracks +2 happiness. Also a good civic for a warmonger that is better sustainable long-term than vassalage because of its low cost, in addition to adding happiness benefit.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Free Speech:[\BOLD] (no upkeep, +2 gold from towns, +100% culture per city, req. liberalism). It is my favorite for the late game, but won't do you much good if you don't have towns. I like to get bureaucracy for the production boost while towns are developing, and then switch to free speech once I have enough towns to justify it. At no upkeep cost, the price is right, and this one can provide a great boost to your economy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Labor Civics[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Slavery:[\BOLD] (low upkeep, can sacrifice population to finish production, req. bronze working) Excellent for rapidly-growing cities limited by happiness, although it makes 1 pop unhappy for 10 turns. Slavery is ideal for civs with large cities with abundant food (flood plains + farms) but marginal productivity and limited happiness, especially in the early and mid-game. Slavery takes the revolting pops that are adding nothing to the economy and uses them to produce wonders or other high-cost buildings that would otherwise take many turns to complete. I typically keep this civic until I get emancipation with democracy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Serfdom:[\BOLD] (low upkeep) -- workers build improvements faster. I usually have a large enough army of workers building improvements and clearing jungles that this one isn't as attractive as the others.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Caste System:[\BOLD] (medium upkeep, req. code of laws) -- unlimited scientists, artists, merchants in cities. A reasonable choice if you have food to spare, don't yet have enough town improvements to allow specialists otherwise, and can afford the upkeep. While I like the idea of the caste system civic for philosophical civs, the way which this is implemented is poor. Once you get caste system, the computer automatically allocates many of your workers to specialists, especially scientists. Although this can be somewhat controlled with your city production settings, the AI often diverts workers producing food, hammers, and commerce into specialists producing only science and culture. This slows both the production and growth of many of your cities. There is too much micromanagement involved to manage the caste system appropriately, and the stunting of your production and growth because of poorly allocated specialists is rarely if ever worthwhile, even for a philosophical civ. Skip it and go for emancipation. The scientists are the most valuable, while artists and merchants are usually of limited value.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Emancipation:[\BOLD] (no upkeep, req. democracy) is great for mid to late game. It doubles rate of cottages -&gt; towns; a big synergistic economic boost when combined with appropriate techs, free speech, and universal suffrage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Economic Civics: [\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Mercantilism:[\BOLD] (medium upkeep, 1 free specialist per city, no foreign trade routes, req. banking). Getting this civic is like having the statue of liberty wonder and is a huge boost for philosophical or GP oriented civs. It is moderately expensive, and shuts down foreign trade (which can also hurt, or at least won't help, your relations). However, if you have the Angkor Wat wonder that adds to priest productivity and the Representation civic that adds 3 research to every specialist, this presents a huge boost to your cities that more than compensates for the lack of foreign trade routes.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Free Market:[\BOLD] (medium upkeep) - +1 trade route per city. A nice financial or research boost, although only modest in size. However I rarely use this as state property is only a few techs away.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Edit: The patch increases free trade from low to medium upkeep. More reason to skip it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]State Property:[\BOLD] (low upkeep, req. communism) is great (no distance maintenance costs, +1 food from watermills). Although the patch increased the upkeep from free to low, it is still extremely useful. I find that with my tendency to build many cities, it saves me as much or more than I would earn from the extra trade route, plus upkeep is free, plus you get extra food. As I tend to build watermills along almost all river tiles because of their boost to productivity (+2 with appropriate techs), food (+1), and economy, a river city may be able to support a couple more citizens that can be made specialists to boost your GP generation. My most-used economic tech.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]State property eliminates the city distance maintenance cost entirely, which for a large empire typically represents about 50% of your total city upkeep (this rough rule of thumb varies depending on both the number of cities and the distances involved). This can be quite a substantial savings. For a nation with a well-developed state religion, adopting state property frequently allows one to move the tech slider from 70-80% to 90-100%. This faster tech speed has many benefits: quicker availability of new buildings and units, faster tech bonuses, and getting sooner to techs like electricity that increase the value or productivity of your existing city improvements. The extra food can allow you to support extra specialists or larger city growth if you have many river cities and have built watermills. With no civic upkeep cost, the price is right. In most games, the state property civic alone is far better in terms of your financial bottom line than the organized trait, as city distance upkeep costs often well exceed 50% of the civic upkeep costs discounted by organized. My tests suggest that the Versailles wonder, like the Forbidden Palace, reduce only distance upkeep costs (Versailles seems to be like a second Forbidden Palace). If you are using the state property civic and plan to stick with it long-term, don't waste city production on these wonders. Forbidden Palace and Versailles offer only a modest location-dependent decrease in distance costs, while state property abolishes distance costs altogether. With city upkeep virtually cut in half by state property, you will also find less of a necessity for courthouses until your civilization is extremely large.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Environmentalism:[\BOLD] (high upkeep) is nice at the very end of the game when you get ecology (+6 health, +1 happiness from forests and jungles). Unfortunately I've harvested most forests and jungles long before the ecology tech comes around (and jungles are so unproductive why would you want to keep them), and find that my cities already have good health and happiness well before then and are more limited by food. The expensive upkeep is also a drawback, so I tend to use state property more frequently. Rather than getting environmentalism, I prefer to research future techs (+1 health and happiness each for your entire civ), since ecology is already near the end of the tech line), rather than paying the fat environmentalism upkeep fees. At least that part of environmentalism is realistic.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Religious Civics:[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Organized Religion:[\BOLD] (high upkeep, +25% building and wonder construction, req. monotheism). After extensive testing, I have come to the conclusion that this is the best religion civic, at least for my play style. I grab this civic as soon as I can get to monotheism and keep it throughout the entire game. I have verified in-game that organized religion does boost wonder speed as well as that of non-wonder buildings. +25% building and wonder speed throughout the whole game is essentially equivalent to a free forge in every city, except that the bonus does not apply to unit builds. This trait is very expensive for a large civilization, but I think it is well worth the cost. I can think of no wonder, civ trait, building, or civic that matches organized religion in its sweeping benefits.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Theocracy:[\BOLD] (medium upkeep), +2 experience points for units created in cities with state religion, no non-state religion spread) -- okay for a warmonger, but expensive.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Pacifism:[\BOLD] (no upkeep, +100% GP, req. philosophy) is phenomenal as it can essentially bestow the philosophical trait on a non-philosophical civ, or make philosophical civs even better. The low upkeep is counterbalanced by the +1 gold per military unit, so this tech can be cheap or expensive depending on your military size. As attractive as pacifism is, I feel that organized is a better trait, even for philosophical civs. Ask yourself: how many great people would you need to generate to speed construction of buildings and wonders in every one of your cities by 25%?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Free Religion:[\BOLD] (low upkeep): I never get free religion as losing all the state religion bonuses really hurts, as well as losing line of site to all converted cities in other nations. At end-game usually I have plenty of luxuries and am not so desperate for a few more happy faces that I would want to deal with the hassle of having to get 4 or 5 religions in each of my cities to make this civic worthwhile. The +10% tech bonus -- while meaningful -- doesn't seem to make much of a difference for me this late in the game, plus you have to pay fixed upkeep (albeit low) to boot. Some players attempt to get free religion as soon as possible to pacify aggressive neighbors with different religions. However, I have had war declared on me so many times in the early game when I had no state religion at all that I know that simply removing state religion is no panacea to diplomacy. Dropping a state religion can pacify opponents, but it can also make former close allies lukewarm or even hostile. And if you are still deeply afraid of your neighbors by the late time of game that organized religion becomes available, perhaps it is time to assess your strategy in other areas. Theology civics include some of the best benefits in the game (+100% GP from pacifism, +25% building and wonder construction speed), and I generally like these bonuses far too much to sacrifice them for free religion, which seems to offer little in return. Nevertheless, if you are in a situation where you are walking on eggshells -- playing deity level with far more powerful AI players, perhaps -- free religion may be something to consider. Otherwise, skip it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Favored early game civics: representation (constitution - or pyramids), bureaucracy (civil service), slavery (bronze working), mercantilism (banking), organized religion (monotheism)[NEWLINE]Favored late game civics: universal suffrage, free speech, emancipation, state property, organized religion[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Warmonger civics: police state, vassalage, slavery, state property, theocracy[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]7. CITY IMPROVEMENTS[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I tend to manually control workers (at least until very late in the game) as the computer automation leaves much to be desired and lacks strategic foresight.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Farms:[\BOLD] +1 food initially, +2 food (total) at end-game when you have biology. Recent tests have led me to change my strategies and begin building large numbers of farms initially in order to quickly increase city size. When cities are near the max of their happiness and/or health, then I start converting the farms to cottages for the economic benefits. In contrast to watermills and windmills which offer economic and production bonuses in addition to food, farms offer only food. The advantage is that they are available almost immediately in the game with the agriculture tech. I prefer wide proliferation of farms in the ancient era, with removal of some farms and transition to cottages and watermills when you are near the maximum sustainable city size for health and happiness. Especially on higher difficulty levels, spamming too many farms may quickly bring your cities over the happiness and/or healthiness levels they can support, resulting in revolters and no "we love the king day" events. Automated workers tend to overdo farming and so I prefer to direct workers manually. Use farms wisely, but be careful that they don't push your cities into unhappiness or unhealthiness. You may need to expand your growth capacity as your city's happiness and health limits increase, so keep an eye on this.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Cottages:[\BOLD] Cottages make up the foundation of economic and research productivity of your civilization. Especially if you have the financial trait, cottages produce great bonuses when they grow into towns, with full techs and civics: commerce +7, production +1 (requires universal suffrage civic). Cottages can be built anywhere, but their production bonus comes late (after full growth into towns) and only with the correct civic.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I often wait until cities are close to their health or happiness limit to start building large numbers of cottages because farms offer more immediate benefit by increasing city size and therefore production and the number of workable tiles. Cottages only progress into hamlets, villages, and towns when they are being worked. There is no point in rushing to place cottages on all 20 workable tiles of a level 2 city (for an extreme example), as the cottages will not begin to develop at all until the city is large enough to work them. My tests and those of others have demonstrated that in most cases, a better long-term economic outcome is achieved with early farms to grow your city quickly and then building large numbers of cottages that the city is able to work, as opposed to immediate cottage spamming resulting in slow growth and many unworked tiles in an immature city.[NEWLINE]The downsides of cottages include that they take a long time to grow: cottage-&gt;hamlet 10 turns, hamlet -&gt;village 20 turns, village -&gt;town 40 turns. This can be cut in half with appropriate civics, but still it takes 35 turns in the best possible case to grow from a cottage to a town. In a game that lasts only 400 or 500 turns (and may be decided long before then), that is a big chunk of game time. Also, cottages can be easily pillaged by an enemy. Cottages are particularly valuable around your core research cities, but think twice about building cottages on frontier cities close to aggressive neighbors. In any case, the long maturation time of cottages requires that they be built as early as possible to maximize their benefits. Having cottages that have grown into towns while your neighbors are still dealing with hamlets and villages can prove decisive.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Watermill:[\BOLD] An immediate +1 production boost, with final bonuses of +1 food, +2 commerce, and +2 production with full techs and civics (requires state property for the food bonus). These are very helpful in increasing the production of plains, grassland, or flood plains adjacent to rivers that have little innate production capability. And once you have the correct techs/civics, the bonuses are immediate and do not require the maturation that cottages do. You can only build watermills on one square or the other to the side of a river, but I build watermills everywhere I can, typically replacing farms as soon as state property is in hand.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Windmill[\BOLD]: An immediate +1 food, with final bonuses of +1 food, +2 commerce, and +1 production with full tech (replaceable parts, electricity). Very useful if you need more food, have limited river access, and want something that offers more substantial and well-rounded benefits than farms. Windmills can be placed on hills which makes a nice alternative to mines, giving production and commerce benefits while allowing the square to provide at least some of the food supply required to work it. With the financial trait, windmill offers +1 food, +1 production, and +3 commerce, making a windmill often preferable to a mine.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Lumbermill[\BOLD]: Chopping down the trees doesn't add any more food production (unlike C3C), and so lumbermills are a prime consideration for productivity in the late game. That is, in areas where you still have trees. With max +3 production (Base +1 from trees, +1 from lumbermill, +1 more when railroad comes around) and +1 commerce for squares adjacent to rivers, lumbermills are the best late-game productivity improvement. They don't have the economic benefits of cottages, watermills, or windmills, but offer a more substantial production boost without sapping your food supply (unlike workshops) or without requiring a specific civic to keep from doing so. The late benefits of a lumbermill must also be weighed against the benefits of chopping in the early game for benefits that can be quite substantial at a time when your civilization's productivity is very low: chopped trees can result in a much faster start, extra cities, or more wonders. I chop trees in the early game for chop-rushing settlers or crucial wonders, but by the mid-game when instant productivity is no longer urgent, I prefer to preserve any remaining trees for future lumbermills.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Mine[\BOLD]: +2 production, +1 more (+3 total) with railroad. A substantial productivity boost as long as you have enough food to go around. The option between windmills and mines is nice for hill squares.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Workshop:[\BOLD] +1 production, -1 food. With max upgrades they can offer up to +3 production, and with state property, no food penalty. This allows the same +3 production as lumbermill, without requiring you to keep trees around until the late game. The food penalty early on makes this a poor choice in the early middle ages, but once you have state property, workshops represent an excellent improvement for production. However, if you depend on workshops and state property, you will largely be obliged to stay with that civic through the rest of the game -- or see your cities starve when you change, unless you have a large food surplus from other sources.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]8. SPECIALIZATION[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Since you can only build 2 national wonders in a city and because GP points accrue according to specialties, it makes sense to have specialized cities in CIV. I aim for a science city (oxford university + great library), a military city (pentagon + heroic epic + west point), a culture city (hermitage + globe theater), an economic city (wall street), and will put the national epic in the city with the most wonders (and most GP points).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In general, keeping a flow of military units from at least one city will keep your cities happy (large cities get upset without protection) and defended. I also try to keep one city pumping out missionaries throughout almost the entire game, occasionally switching production to another city to construct buildings in the city. In my first couple games when I did not continue to produce both military and missionary units in peace time and war time, it caused major problems for me in spite of large leads in other areas.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]CIV rewards the creation of specialized cities. I try to create at least 2 cities of each specialty because of the need to build infrastructure buildings in between building military or religious units, wonders, etc. Specialist cities make sense because you can't build every building in every city, and specialization helps you to leverage your city placement by putting buildings in the cities where they will do the most good.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The first step in deciding the division of labor between specialized cities is to evaluate the surrounding land. A city in an area with luxury resources could be a great trade/science city, while one in an area with many mines and high production would likely make a good military city for creating units, or for rapidly building wonders. A city with abundant food supply would make a good specialist city to increase great people generation.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Military City[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Build in:[\BOLD] productive area with high hammer yield (mines, watermills, etc)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Buildings:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Barracks Forge Factory[NEWLINE]Power source (coal, hydro, nuclear), Granary Aqueduct[NEWLINE][BOLD]National wonders:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][BOLD]first city:[\BOLD] Heroic Epic (+100% military production in city), West Point (+4 exp/military unit)[NEWLINE][BOLD]second city:[\BOLD] Red Cross (free Medic I promotion), Ironworks (near iron or coal) -- consider designating this one a military city from the time iron appears on the map.[NEWLINE][BOLD]World Wonders:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Pentagon (+2 experience for units trained in any city, can be built anywhere)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Discussion:[\BOLD] You will need many military units during the game, so why build them from just anywhere when you can build them quickly in a specialized city and get free experience points to boot?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Science City[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Build in:[\BOLD] area with abundant commerce[NEWLINE][BOLD]Improvements:[\BOLD] focus on cottages -&gt;towns[NEWLINE][BOLD]Buildings:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Academy (+50% research, requires great scientist) Library (+25% research)[NEWLINE]Observatory (+25% research) University (+25% research)[NEWLINE]Laboratory (+25% research)[NEWLINE]Monastery (+10% research, but becomes obsolete - may skip this one)[NEWLINE][BOLD]National wonders: [\BOLD][NEWLINE]Oxford University (+100% research)[NEWLINE][BOLD]World Wonders:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Great Library (+2 scientists, expires)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Merchant City[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Build in:[\BOLD] area with abundant commerce[NEWLINE][BOLD]Improvements:[\BOLD] focus on cottages -&gt;towns[NEWLINE][BOLD]Buildings:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Market (+25% gold) Grocer (+25% gold)[NEWLINE]Bank (+50% gold) Airport (+1 trade route)[NEWLINE][BOLD]National Wonders:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Wall Street (+100% gold)[NEWLINE][BOLD]GP Focus:[\BOLD] great merchant[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Culture City[\H2][NEWLINE]Consider combining with science city as many science improvements also generate culture. I don't generally build a culture-only city for that reason, I go for culture/science. But here are the culture listings for those interested in culture victory, not including science improvements.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Buildings:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Temple (+1 culture) Monastery (+2 culture)[NEWLINE]Cathedral or equivalent (+50% culture) Theater (+3 culture)[NEWLINE]Broadcast tower (+50% culture)[NEWLINE][BOLD]National Wonders: [\BOLD][NEWLINE]Hermitage (+100% culture) Globe theater (+6 culture)[NEWLINE][BOLD]World Wonders: [\BOLD][NEWLINE]Hollywood (+50% culture) Rock n' Roll (+50% culture)[NEWLINE]Broadway (+50% culture) Sistine chapel (+2 culture per specialist in all cities)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If going for a culture victory, consider balancing your national and world culture wonders between 3 cities to allow each to achieve legendary culture.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Great People City[\H2][NEWLINE]Obviously this one should be combined with another city of your choice, as the world and national wonders built in other cities contribute GP points. I like to make my GP city one that focuses on GP types that I find to be the most valuable (great engineers -- can rush wonders, or perhaps scientists -- can create academy, rather than prophets, artists, or merchants)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]National wonder:[\BOLD] National Epic (+100% GP birth rate in city)[NEWLINE][BOLD]World Wonders: [\BOLD][NEWLINE]Parthenon (+50% GP birth rate in all cities) Great Library (+2 scientists in city, but expires)[NEWLINE]Statue of Liberty (+1 specialist in all cities)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergistic Civic:[\BOLD] pacifism (+100% GP rate, no upkeep)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]9. WONDERS [\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]When beginning every game, you will want to consider what wonders are a priority for you and what wonders you will pass on. It is rarely possible to get every wonder. Realistic decisions must be made and tech paths to get the desired wonders early must be considered. There is little as frustrating as coming within a few turns of completing an expensive wonder only to lose your effort because another civ beat you to it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wonder decisions can make or break the game. A few key wonders can provide advantages turning the tide in your favor, while an inappropriate focus on wonders at the expense of defense or growth can leave your civilization vulnerable.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The player should also consider what role wonders will play in the overall strategy. If you are playing as a philosophical or industrious nation, constructing numerous wonders should be a centerpiece of your strategy. For militaristic players, wonders should play little role, as a vast army can be constructed in the time of constructing just a few wonders. The militaristic player should therefore aim for a few targeted wonders, while the philosophical or industrious player should strive for a much longer list.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Some wonders offer considerable early benefits, but expire. Others offer mediocre benefits that expire regardless (the Hagia Sophia is infamous for frequently becoming obsolete only shortly after it is constructed). Wonders expire when YOU get the expiring tech, not when your neighbors do. So I often hold off on trading for the calender tech until all my cities have experienced border expansion from Stonehenge, and avoid getting chemistry until the last possible moment to milk the Parthenon for every great person point possible. Still others offer great game-long benefits.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Unless you are going for a culture victory, great artists are the least useful of all of the great people (+3 commerce, +14 culture). Therefore, I try to keep wonders offering great artist points out of my principal wonder city to avoid generating less-useful great people there. Great scientists are perhaps the most useful for their ability to add an academy in one city each. Great engineers (+3 hammers) and great prophets (+2 hammer) are the most useful as they add productivity. Great merchants add food, although only +1, in addition to commerce.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To maximize the conversion of great people points into great people, it is best to concentrate as many wonders as possible in one, two, or three designated wonder-building cities. The decision of how many cities to designate as primary or secondary wonder-builders will depend on your playing style.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Here is a list of wonders that I make priorities, keeping in mind that the wonders different players favor will vary widely depending on their play style and tactics.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Priority Expiring Wonders[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Stonehenge:[\BOLD] obelisk, +1 culture in every city, expires @ Calendar.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Great Library:[\BOLD] +2 scientists is a big deal at a time when many of your cities can't dedicate the pop to specialists, especially if you build this in your great people focus city. Perhaps most importantly, the +6 GP points/turn from 2 scientists in addition to the +2 GP from the wonder (total 8 GP points/turn) can help you quickly to get great scientists who can found academies in your largest cities, especially in the presence of philosophical/pacifist /Parthenon /national epic synergisms. Getting the great library with several great scientists can therefore generate a massive bonus that will speed your research throughout the entire remainder of the game, long after the GL's primary effects have expired. After the GL, the oxford university is the only good generator of great scientist points until after the middle ages.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Parthenon[\BOLD]: +50% GP birth rate in all cities. Vital for philosophical civs, but unfortunately doesn't last forever.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Non-Expiring Wonders[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Hanging Gardens:[\BOLD] +1 pop, +1 health in all cities. This is a huge early wonder that can catapult your civ ahead, especially if you have many small or modest-sized cities. Adding an extra pop and health point to every city boosts your economy, your research, your productivity, etc.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Notre Dame[\BOLD]: +1 happiness for all cities on continent[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Versailles[\BOLD]: reduces maintenance in nearby cities[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Statue of Liberty:[\BOLD] a free specialist in every city. Fabulous for philosophical civs. Probably my # 1 wonder in the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Pentagon:[\BOLD] +2 experience points for units trained in all cities[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Three Gorges Dam:[\BOLD] power for all cities on continent located near a river[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Eiffel Tower:[\BOLD](free broadcast tower in every city) gives a big culture boost[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Wonders by GP type[\H2][NEWLINE](all world wonders +2 GP points, all national wonders +1)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Great Scientist:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Great Library (marble) (+2 scientists)[NEWLINE]Oxford University (stone) (+100% research, 3 citizens as scientists)[NEWLINE]Space Elevator[NEWLINE]Red Cross[NEWLINE]Scotland Yard[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Capital: Stonehenge, pyramids, hanging gardens, great library, ironworks (?)[NEWLINE]Wonder city 2: parthenon, notre dame, national epic[NEWLINE]Military city[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Great Prophet:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Stonehenge (stone): obelisk in each city[NEWLINE]Angkor Wat (stone): +1 production from priests in all cities, allows 3 priests. This makes priest specialists (up to +2 hammers, +1 gold) the most productive specialists, beating out engineers (+2 hammers, no other bonuses) -- until the wonder expires[NEWLINE]Oracle (marble) (1 free tech)[NEWLINE]Chichen Itza (stone): +25% defense in all cities[NEWLINE]Spiral minaret (stone). +1 gold from all state religion buildings. Nice, although a relatively small bonus.[NEWLINE]Religious holy wonder: minus 1 production, spreads religion, 1 gold from each, allows 3 priests[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Great Engineer:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Hanging gardens (stone) (+1 population, +1 health in all cities)[NEWLINE]Pentagon (+2 experience to military units in all cities)[NEWLINE]Three Gorges Dam[NEWLINE]Ironworks (allows 3 citizens as engineers)[NEWLINE]West Point (stone) (+4 experience per unit)[NEWLINE]Pyramids (stone) (allows all government civics) - a big boost in the early game[NEWLINE]Hagia Sophia (marble) (+50% worker build speed)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Great Merchant:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Colossus (copper) (+1 gold in all city water tiles)[NEWLINE]Statue of Liberty (+1 free specialist in all cities on the continent)[NEWLINE]Wall Street[NEWLINE]Forbidden Palace (acts as a 2nd capital decreasing distance maintenance)[NEWLINE]Versailles (marble)[NEWLINE]Great Lighthouse (+2 trade routes in coastal cities)[NEWLINE]Eiffel Tower (free broadcast tower in every city)[NEWLINE]United Nations[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Great Artist:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Parthenon (marble) (+50% GP birth rate in all cities)[NEWLINE]Notre Dame (+1 happiness in all cities)[NEWLINE]National epic (stone) (+100% GP birth rate)[NEWLINE]Hollywood (+1 happiness)[NEWLINE]Rock n' Roll (+1 happiness)[NEWLINE]Broadway (+1 happiness)[NEWLINE]Heroic Epic (marble) (+100% military unit production)[NEWLINE]Hermitage (marble)[NEWLINE]Globe Theater (no unhappiness in this city, allows 3 artists)[NEWLINE]Taj Mahal[NEWLINE]Mt. Rushmore (stone)[NEWLINE]Kremlin (stone)[NEWLINE]Sistine chapel (marble)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Most important early resources:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Stone, marble, iron[NEWLINE]Put Parthenon, notre dame, statue of liberty in a separate wonder city[NEWLINE]National epic in capital[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]10. GREAT PEOPLE[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In maximizing great people points, you can get some great synergy between traits, civics, wonders, and improvements. If you want a lot of great people, get as many of these as possible.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Note that all bonuses are additive, not multiplicative. For example, 2 100% bonuses on top of a 100% base produce a 300% rate (100% base +100% x2), not 400% (they only add their bonus to the BASE rate, not to the final rate after other adjustments). Also, all fractions in the game are rounded DOWN (i.e. a 25% bonus of 7 is rounded down to 1, a 25% bonus of 8 is necessary for +2)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Traits:[NEWLINE]Philosophical trait : +100% GP generation civ-wide[NEWLINE]Civics:[NEWLINE]labor - caste system: unlimited scientists, merchants, artists in all cities[NEWLINE]economy - mercantilism: +1 free specialist per city; or (in games with many rivers) state property for the watermill food bonus, allowing higher POP and thus more specialists[NEWLINE]religion - pacifism: +100% GP birth rate in cities with state religion[NEWLINE]National wonders:[NEWLINE]national epic - +100% GP in city where built (only)[NEWLINE]World Wonders:[NEWLINE]Parthenon: +50% GP generation civ-wide, expires with chemistry[NEWLINE]Statue of Liberty: +1 free specialist in all cities[NEWLINE]great library: +2 free scientists in city where built, but expires.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A civ with max upgrades (not including great library) would have:[NEWLINE]- a 300% great people rate (100% base + 100% philosophical + 100% pacifism) + 50% from Parthenon (before expires) + 100% more in city with national wonder[NEWLINE]- 2 free specialists in all cities (mercantilism statue of liberty). At 300% return on a 3 GP base per specialist x 2 specialists, this would provide 18 GP points *per turn* even in your least developed cities with no wonders.[NEWLINE]-unlimited ability to allocate scientists, artists, and merchants in all cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Note again that the wonder bonuses expire when YOU get the tech in question, not your neighbors...therefore a philosophical civ with the Parthenon may want to push back getting chemistry as late as possible.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Of course some great people types are more valuable than others. Great engineers allow you to rush wonders which can provide key benefits in a close game. And great scientists can allow you to build an academy (+50% research) in every city. Great merchants, artists, and prophets, while still valuable, have effects that are generally somewhat more modest in terms of long-term game play. Since the chance of getting a great person of different types depends on the wonders and specialists in each city, I like having separate cities focus on great engineers and scientists without mixing with the other types as much as possible (you don't want to have your city with engineering wonders drowned out by large numbers of merchant, artist, or priest specialists pushing the GP probability towards other types). I don't have a strong preference between merchants, artists, and prophets, and so will build wonders generating all 3 in the same city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Bonuses allowing you to turn citizens into engineers are generated only by:[NEWLINE]Forge (allows 1 engineer)[NEWLINE]Factory (allows 2 engineers)[NEWLINE]Ironworks (allows 3 engineers)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Engineer GP points are generated by:[NEWLINE]West Point (+1 GP)[NEWLINE]Hanging Gardens (+2)[NEWLINE]Pentagon (+2)[NEWLINE]Pyramids (+2)[NEWLINE]Three Gorges Dam (+2)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The military city is the most natural choice for an engineer GP city (forge + factory + ironworks + west point + pentagon).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]---[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As the cost for great people increase throughout the game, diminishing returns are eventually reached. Later in the game, the cost of great people goes up and up, while the benefit of great people often declines, since the earlier you get great people, the longer they will benefit your civilization. However, your civilization should also increase in its capacity to generate great people over time, civics are chosen, as wonders are built and citizens are assigned as specialists. With appropriate tactics, many great people can still be generated even in the late game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Every great person can cause either an instant benefit, provide a tech bonus, or add a long-term bonus to cities. The benefits must be carefully considered. In *most* cases, I prefer to use great people in a manner that augments the long-term productivity of my cities, although there are exceptional cases where great people are best used to rush a tech or a wonder.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Two types of great people present no-brainers for their use:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Great prophets. Before using great prophets in any other way, make sure that you have created the religion-specific wonder in any founding religious city under your control. If you have made any attempt at all to spread the religion, or of you are conquering the founding city of a religion that is widely accepted, this can produce massive financial benefits that dwarf virtually any other use of great people.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Great scientists. Use them to create academies in all of your top science cities. Which would you rather have -- an extra +6 or so science per turn in the city of your choice, or a 50% increase in science in a city that is already generating 50, 75, or 200 beakers per turn? Although the increase acts only on the base number of commerce points applied to research (before other modifiers are applied), a great scientist can result in massive research output for cities, especially in conjunction with other science improvements (library/university/observatory/Oxford University/etc).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For other great people, I usually prefer to join them to a city, with occasional exceptions as previously acknowledged.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great artists. If you are going for a cultural victory, great artists are your friend. A very nice strategy for cultural victory on Monarch level, using great artists either by joining to a city or as "culture bombs" to titrate legendary culture among three cities is presented by walkerjks here: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=138647[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you are not going for a cultural victory, great artists are by far the weakest of all great people. I find that in most cases it is preferable to join great artists to border cities or captured cities instead of invoking the "culture bomb." Great artists produce +12 to +15 culture per turn, which is the equivalent of many cultural buildings (library = +2 culture, theater = +3, etc) and will quickly expand the city's borders -- in addition to any cultural multipliers the city may have (cathedrals, hermitage, civics, etc). In this way, you still continue to receive the commerce benefits of the great artist throughout the game, speeding your research and filling your coffers.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great merchant. The great merchant is the ONLY great person that offers a food bonus (+1 food, +6 commerce appears typical). I prefer to join great merchants to high-commerce cities that focus on great people creation (the city with the national epic is often a great choice), since more food allows you to allocate more specialists, further increasing great people output.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great engineers. As for great prophets, the surplus productivity is welcome. These often go in my capital or most productive city or cities. A city with ironworks makes a great choice for great engineer placement in the late game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]OPTIONS FOR EARLY EXPANSION[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are several good early expansion options. The decision as to which is best for you depends both on map choice and on your playing style.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]11. CHOP-RUSHING[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Chop rushing is a great way to jump ahead in the early game. The first mention I know of was in this thread by AlexFrog:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=137292[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I prefer a somewhat modified version of the strategy. The strategy involves founding initial cities in areas with a large number of trees within their "fat cross" area. The player researches bronze working immediately while building a worker in the capital city before building any other units or buildings. Once the worker is done (12-15 turns) and bronze working is researched, the worker immediately goes to work chopping trees around the capital. Each tree chopped results in 20 hammers, which can rocket a level 1 city that may have only 1, 2, or 3 hammers far ahead.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The most logical initial use of "chop-rushing" is for settlers and workers, since your cities are normally stagnant (do not grow) while these units are being produced, and because these units are vital to the growth and productivity of your civilization. I save trees to chop-rush settlers, workers, or wonders, since the construction of buildings or military units allows your cities to grow during the production phase, while production of the former two does not, and the third category (wonders) is a race. Chop-rushing typically allows me to plant 2-3 times as many cities as my closest AI competitors on noble level.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Of course, settlers must never be sent out undefended, so I like to first build at least one (possibly two) warriors, sending at least one out to explore and pop goody huts (in addition to the starting warrior) while the second will act as your settler escort. I periodically build warriors during the rapid expansion phase to ensure that my cities and settlers are adequately defended.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Because of maintenance costs increasing with both distance and city number (and I will place cities at long distances from my capital when necessary to secure important resources), it is impractical to build a civilization by the exclusive virtue of chop-rushing. There must be a balance. Once I get three or four cities, I let one or two grow and develop -- building a granary or military units to increase in size and to defend the borders, while the others chop-rush. I also assign some workers to build improvements very early -- cottages in particular, in addition to improvements required by special resources -- in order to ensure that city commerce, on average, is in excess of upkeep costs, allowing continued rapid research and continued growth. As a rough rule of thumb, on noble level, if my research percentage falls below 70%, that is a warning sign to me that I need to better develop the city economic base by building more cottages and letting cities grow to a larger size before expanding.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Chop-rushing can also be a terrific way to get wonders, especially when you have special resources that speed wonder building. For example, Stonehenge costs 120 hammers, but if you have stone, every forest chopped will give double (not 20, but 40) hammers. Therefore, you only need to chop three trees to build Stonehenge in a city with stone -- as opposed to the many turns it would take to build it without chop-rushing. This is a great way to get key wonders as a non-industrious civ, and the ability of any civilization to do this really waters down the value of the industrious trait.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Edit: the patch slightly weakens chop-rushing. Chopping income has dropped from thirty to twenty hammers, with that number being further reduced for chops further from the city (outside the city radius?) Mathematics adds +50% (back to the original 30), but it comes in the end of the first age at a time that is not as useful as an immediate chop-rush would be. Also, unlike Civ3, cutting down trees doesn't increase food harvest, so you have to immediately place farms or cottages or do something else to develop the land in other ways. Chopping offers a quick up-front bonus but can dent your long-term production if you overdo it. Weigh the pros and cons carefully in each situation.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In a recent test game in which I preserved the forests in the cities (for the health benefits and to maintain the forest productivity), I found that by the mid-middle ages, my tech rate had dropped virtually to zero and my workers began to strike and units were automatically disbanded because expenses were greater than income. Retaining the forests as opposed to chopping and planting cottages widely didn't provide the economic revenue to support the rapid city expansion that I prefer, even with measured expansion letting many of the cities grow to mid-size. Therefore I continue to favor chopping trees - whether in an early settler rush, or to complete wonders - also to free up the land for farms (faster growth) or cottage improvements (improve economy and tech speed).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]EXPANDING YOUR CAPITAL[\H2][NEWLINE]As attractive as it may seem, chop rushing faces major limitations, especially after being significantly tuned down in the recent patch. Chopping trees can push cities located near flood plains into unhealthiness and decline. Chops offer a one-time boost after which the city returns to its prior production. Depending on your situation, allowing the capital to develop before sending out settlers can be a better option. For example, if you can expand your capital in 8 turns and get a square that offers a combined 3 food and/or hammers, you will get a bonus of +1 food or hammer (2 of the food go to support the expanded population) for every subsequent turn throughout the game. For an average level 1 city with 3 resources in the center square and 3 on the first worked square (4 surplus food/hammers for settlers/workers), it takes 25 turns (4x25=100) to build a 100 resource settler and 15 turns (4x15) to build a 60-resource worker. Just one surplus resource, after paying food costs, by expanding to level 2 will drop this down to 20 turns for the settler (5 resources x 20 turns) and 12 turns for the worker. Expanding to level 3 to work another 3-resource tile, which you can generally do in another 8 turns after the first expansion with good city placement, will give you 6 surplus resources, dropping settler creation time to 17 turns and worker creation down to 10 turns.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Let's do a comparison of a city that immediately builds 4 settlers, vs. one that spends 16 turns building warriors to grow twice, and switches production to settlers before the 2nd warrior is completed:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build order: 4 Settlers 1 1/2 warriors, 4 settlers[NEWLINE]Turns to 1st settler 25 16 (to grow twice), then 17 for settler = 33[NEWLINE]2nd settler 50 50[NEWLINE]3rd settler 75 67[NEWLINE]4th settler 100 84[NEWLINE]Final capital size 1 3[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As you can see, the city that expands to level 3 first catches up with the city that immediately built only settlers by the time the 2nd settler is completed. The fact that the settler-only city completed its first settler 9 turn earlier does not make up for this, as the 9 turns allow for barely 1 cycle of growth as opposed to the 2 that the first city has achieved.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The expand-first city ends up far ahead because at the end, it is better developed and more productive than the city that pumped out settlers immediately. The expand-first model also has the advantage of producing warriors to defend your units, as unprotected settlers are not likely to survive.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you are well-situated and can develop those resources further, the model shifts even more in favor of allowing your city to increase in size. For example, if you can irrigate 2 flood plains up to +4 food each in your size 3 city and have one special resource you can get 2 food or hammers from, your total surplus will be 10 (3 from center tile, 2 per tile from 2 floodplains, and 3 from specialty resource) per turn. You can then build settlers in just 10 turns. At that point, you are expanding FASTER than you could with chop-rushing. Between chopping and moving, trees take 3-4 turns to chop for just 20 hammers and are limited, while your expanded city is indefinitely producing a surplus of 10/turn.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In general, most cities in the early game do not require more than 3-4 farm tiles. Exceptions may be made for cities on barren land, such as plains or hills. A few judicious farms are usually all that you need in order to jump-start your growth. If you overdo the farming, you can easily push the city into unhappiness, at which point cottages are a better alternative.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The decision of when to develop your capital vs. when to expand depends on your city setup. If tiles around your city are not very fertile (i.e. plains), you may wish to get out a settler sooner rather than later. If however your main city is well-placed and has one or two special resources within its boundaries that you can access with early techs, it is often wise to spend a few turns developing these resources to create a more productive capital.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]12. TECHNOLOGY[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great variability comes in here. Depending on your civilization traits and technologies, your level, and your play style, you may have different technological priorities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Some players favor chop-rushing for early expansion, going straight for bronze working. Then I go for pottery (to build cottages ASAP) and from there to alphabet (to trade techs). After alphabet, I trade with the AI as much as possible. I go for mathematics (to get hanging gardens) and then try to grab a religion -- Confucianism or, if I miss that, one of the others.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In many cases, investment in techs such as agriculture, animal domestication, and hunting can be more valuable than bronze working chop-rushing.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you are playing as a civ with early religious technologies, you may wish to shoot straight for an early religion. I prefer the path that leads to Hinduism/Judaism since if you are beaten to Hinduism, Judaism is right around the corner, while Buddhism is a dead end (at least for a while) and the AI seems to go for it quickly. Monotheism also has the benefit of offering the organized religion civic, which at +25% building construction (including wonders!) can prove to be an enormous benefit to your civilization's development. This, as well as the early spread of religion from your cities (with happiness etc), can make an early religion very, very worthwhile. From there, you can go for bronze-working and chop rush, or you can go straight for alphabet, trade for bronze working (which is typically readily available once alphabet is discovered), and chop rush.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Going for the religious techs (polytheism-&gt;monotheism) early has great advantages even for a non-spiritual civ, if you can get there quickly. The religious techs offer key early-era wonders, including Stonehenge and the Parthenon, and perhaps the most important ancient-era civic, organized religion, which can further enhance your speed in constructing wonders and other buildings. If you don't go for these techs very quickly, you will probably lose the wonder race. As you can't trade for techs until you have alphabet, and many maps feature limited access to potential trading partners, the only reliable way to get these techs is to research them yourself. If you are playing as a philosophical civ, getting the early wonders is especially critical.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Either way has advantages and drawbacks, but both playing styles can be viable. Of course you can mix and match these: shoot for early religion and then quickly add bronze working (but miss out on some early chop-rushing), or research bronze working and then pick up the religious techs in time to get access to the wonders (but you will probably lose the early religion race). There undoubtedly others as well, but the above two are my favorites.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Here are some of the key techs I focus on acquiring, making modification depending on map type and difficulty level:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]0. Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Hunting: these techs are vital to be able to hook up your bonus resources. Farming in particular is very important.[NEWLINE]1. Mysticism (65 beakers). Stonehenge, and prerequisite for other religious techs.[NEWLINE]2. Polytheism (130 beakers). Hinduism and Parthenon (key for philosophical civs).[NEWLINE]3. Bronze working (156 beakers). Chop rushing. 'nuf said.[NEWLINE]4. Wheel (78 beakers). Workers and resources won't do you much good until you can build roads. This can be moved down below monotheism depending on whether you have already gotten a religion and how tight you feel the race for Judaism will be.[NEWLINE]5. Pottery (104 beakers). Your workers can now start building cottages, and allows granary. Because of how long cottages take to develop, it is important to get cottages started early. Also to defray the heavy upkeep costs of a large empire.[NEWLINE]6. Masonry (104 beakers). Prerequisite for Monotheism. Allows building mines and quarries. While researching this you will hopefully be sending a settler and a worker to hook up stone (stonehenge, pyramids, hanging gardens) and marble (Parthenon) resources.[NEWLINE]7. Monotheism (156 beakers). Judaism and organized religion. The moment you are ready to begin building Stonehenge in your capital (or any other building), switch to organized religion to provide a +25% hammer bonus for wonders and buildings.[NEWLINE]8. Writing (156 beakers) and alphabet (390 beakers). Allows tech trades, allowing the player to pick up any missed techs.[NEWLINE]9. Mathematics (325 beakers) - workers produce +50% hammers from tree chops (up to 30). Also enables hanging garden, a key wonder for rapid population expansion. Very important for both counts.[NEWLINE]10. Metal casting (585 beakers). Forges add +25% productivity to any city where they are built. When you have stone and/or marble, organized religion civic, and forges, your cities can quickly construct buildings and wonders. Unfortunately, this tech quite expensive.[NEWLINE]11. Literature (260 beakers). Heroic epic, national epic, great library, and libraries. All important structures.[NEWLINE]12. Music (780 beakers). Free great artist to the first discoverer. Also allows Notre Dame and cathedrals, vital happiness buildings.[NEWLINE]13. Drama (390) and philosophy (1040 beakers). Philosophy offers Taoism to the first discoverer, and pacifism is a helpful civic for philosophical civs. Angkor Wat is nice (+1 production from priests in all cities) if you can get it.[NEWLINE]14. Paper (780), Education (2340 - allows universities/oxford), Liberalism (1820). Liberalism is a high priority both because it offers a free technology (you can pick the most expensive one available) and because of the free speech civic. The +2 gold from towns education offers is nice as long as enough of your cottages have developed into towns to warrant the expense of this tech path.[NEWLINE]15. printing press (2080), requires paper. +1 commerce in towns and villages. Another economic bonus, but the expense is so high that other techs may be a higher priority. Replaceable parts (2340) offers +1 hammer for watermills and windmills. This is really the point in the game where watermills become worthwhile.[NEWLINE]16. nationalism (2340), constitution (2600), democracy (3640). Nationalism and constitution have little to recommend them, except as prerequisites for democracy. Democracy is a huge advance to both economics and production because it allows universal suffrage (+1 production boost to towns) and emancipation (doubles rate of cottages -&gt; towns).[NEWLINE]17. Divine Right (1560) islam, spiral minaret, Versailles. Another opportunity to pick up a religion. Spiral minaret provides major economic boost (+1 gold per state religion building in all cities). It is however very expensive.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Currency (520 beakers): +1 trade route per city, and enables gold trading. Both of these can produce a major economic boost. I usually wait and trade for this, but getting it early may be warranted if your upkeep costs are becoming difficult to manage or your tech rate is dropping.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Others:[NEWLINE]Iron working: Reveals iron. Being able to clear jungles is necessary to be able to access some resources and to increase health. Usually I trade for this tech after alphabet, but there are certainly exceptions requiring early iron working (if you have a bad starting location in a jungle harming productivity).[NEWLINE]Iron working is critical to military also. As soon as you get this and iron is revealed, it is vital to claim and develop that iron promptly. Make sure to devote one city to military to pump out archers (before iron to garrison all your cities) and swordsmen (after iron) for defense and offense.[NEWLINE]Archery: a must if you have aggressive neighbors. You may be able to hold off until after alphabet and trade for this depending on your setup, but if you are playing against human players, you need to get this ASAP.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other key techs[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Mathematics. Hanging Gardens -- + 1 POP and +1 health in all your cities is huge, especially when you have a lot of small and moderate-size cities. The hanging gardens can really explode your productivity when you have a large empire from a chop-rush settler rush.[NEWLINE]Music (free great artist)[NEWLINE]Military Tradition (cavalry rule the middle ages)[NEWLINE]Divine Right (Versailles/Islam)[NEWLINE]Metallurgy (watermill)[NEWLINE]Democracy (emancipation &amp; universal suffrage).[NEWLINE]Communism (state property)[NEWLINE]Then to any other techs that improve the benefits of your improvements (i.e. electricity).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I also try to pick up the techs that offer free great people or free techs. These techs obviously represent a priority, as only the first discoverer gets the bonus.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]13. MILITARY STRATEGY[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Game Plan[\H2][NEWLINE]Before each game, consider spending a few minutes to write down some basic goals and strategies that you wish to incorporate. The plan will depend considerably on map type, terrain, size, difficulty leve, and opponents (AI or human). Of course the plan will need to be flexible to take advantage of opportunities and to respond to contingencies and challenges.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After the game, review your strategy and honestly assess which aspects worked well, and what aspects fell flat or met challenges. Use your insight to fine-tune your strategy and improve your next game plan.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Anticipation and Preparation[\H2][NEWLINE]The computer will attack suddenly and in force in CIV. It is not unusual for the computer to DOW someone and raze their city with a stack of units in the same turn. The AI, like human players, is an opportunist. If you happen to build a city right next to enemy military units, or if AI players see a poorly defended city near their military units, they are more likely to declare war than if your cities were defended and settlers were escorted. Close borders also spark tensions. Different religion is also a major cause of hostility. The AI can and does declare war even when there are mildly positive relations, so don't be too smug at your relationship score. You must defend your cities and resources. Even if you are not a warmonger, build a credible defense force. If your military is much weaker than your neighbors, you will soon find yourself in war. Anticipate attacks in advance. Is your neighbor massing catapults and swordsmen near your border? What are the stacked archer and warrior doing near your cities? Assume the worst, be observant, and be informed. Judge your enemy by their capability, not their words or relations.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Border Cities[\H2][NEWLINE]Beware of border cities without a large cultural buffer between other civilizations. In one game I had a brilliant idea to build the forbidden palace in a border city. Then while I was engaged in a war against the Mongols on the other side of my empire, Saladin declared war and conquered the city the same turn with hordes of catapults, knights, and crossbowmen. Expensive cultural improvements are instantly lost once a city is conquered. Don't put anything too critical in border cities, especially those without a significant buffer zone, and don't get too involved in constructing major buildings in border cities until you have them well-defended with strong contemporary units. Don't leave your back side exposed. And don't let success in the tech race come at the expense of national security.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Strategy[\H2][NEWLINE]When starting a war, consider your objectives. What are your goals? Acquisition of specific resources or cities? Capturing a wonder? Total annexation? Or, if caught by surprise, would you be happy to get away with a white peace? Once you have determined your goals, come up with a strategic plan to get there. Make sure that your unit mix is balanced and well-thought out. More than once in my early games, I found myself besieging cities with large stacks of units but no catapults -- bad idea. What are you going to do about city defenses? Are their resources you can deny your opponent? Will you create a two or three pronged attack and exploit vulnerabilities? Will you land a horde of cavalry and catapults by his capital for a sneak attack after shipping them behind enemy lines? It is much easier to achieve objectives if you know what your specific objectives are and have a viable plan to achieve them. It's far more effective to have a plan and fine-tune it as needed while in process than to fly by the seat of your pants and make it up as you go along.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Also take time to consider your opponent's strategy...*especially* if playing a human. Look at your own empire and assess your own vulnerabilities. Is YOUR iron supply undefended? Could an enemy wreak havoc with a few knights shipped in to attack rear cities? Do you have rows of cottages in a border city ripe for plundering? If you were your enemy, what would you do? If your vulnerabilities are lost on you, be assured that they will not be lost on a competent opponent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Resource Denial[\H2][NEWLINE]When planning a war, aim to take out key military and civilian resources. The resource screen shows you exactly what resources your opponents have. Some of the resources, like copper and iron, are essential for war. If you enemy has one source of iron and you fortify on that square with good defenders and pillage it, your enemy will instantly lose the ability to make swordsmen -- and many other units, unless he has a copper supply as well. No copper, iron, or horses? Suddenly your formerly formidable medieval opponent is back in the stone age and is able to produce only warriors and archers. A few strategic moves of this nature can turn the tide of a war.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other special resources are worth pillaging also. If your opponent has large cities that are marginally happy or healthy, pillaging a few luxury or health resources can catastrophically damage commerce, tech speed, and productivity across his entire empire. Pillaging of specialty resources in this way has a far greater effect than the pillaging of cottages, since the effects are felt in every connected city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]To Pillage or Not to Pillage[\H2][NEWLINE]Some argue for pillaging as many of your opponents cottages as possible in order to cause long-term damage to his research and economy. Against a superior or closely-matched opponent, this can be a good idea. However, it can be shortsighted if you have the upper hand.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If I am convinced that I have superior force and can take a city, I don't pillage cottages, mines, or watermills. Given how long cottages take to develop, I pillage them ONLY when I think that I am unable to take a city outright during the current war. As attractive as the quick gold from pillaging seems, it is trivial compared to having a long-term free revenue source that your opponent built for you -- adding insult to injury. Conquered cities will often have high maintenance due to their distance from your capital and the incremental augmentation of city number, and if they can pay their own expenses right off the bat, your warmongering will be much more economically sustainable.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Diplomacy[\H2][NEWLINE]When evenly matched or over-matched, diplomacy plays an immense role. If the Mongols catch you by surprise and burn a couple border cities, what better way to pay them back than bribing their neighbors with tech or gold to declare war on them? Sure, they may have thought they were smart to exploit a momentary vulnerability when their keshiks found a lightly-guarded city...but finding themselves in a war on two or three fronts will wipe the smile off their faces and take the pressure off you. If I am caught by surprise in a war for which I am not fully prepared or do not want, I do not hesitate to trade prime techs to bribe allies to join on my side.</English>
		<French>[H1]WoundedKnight's Strategy Guide[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]WoundedKnight[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Table of Contents[\H2][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]1. Learn the Rules[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]2. Civilization Selection[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]3. Leverage Your Strengths[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]4. Religions[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]5. City Placement[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]6. Civics Guide[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]7. City Improvement[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]8. Specialization[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]9. Wonders[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]10. Great People[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]11. Chop-Rushing[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]12. Technology[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]13. Military Strategy[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]1. LEARN THE RULES[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The best-spent two hours for my CIV strategy skills was spent pouring over the civilopedia to understand the rules, the tech trees, improvements, units, etc. It's much easier to do well if you have a clear strategy and know where you want to go. For example, some techs offer bonuses to the first discoverer: a free great person, a free great tech, or starting a religion. Obviously these techs are generally a priority to get first, while others with benefits that are not time-sensitive can wait or be picked up in trade.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]MAP CHOICE[\H2][NEWLINE]The choice of maps can have a major impact upon gameplay, and therefore upon the strategy you may choose to adopt. For example:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Continental and archipelago maps promote early isolation of civs into 2-3 large groups (continents) or even individual civs (archipelago). Your continent or island may not have access at all to key resources like stone, marble, horses, and iron, which can make your construction or military plans more difficult. It is also more difficult to keep your population happy, as your island or continent may contain only 2 or 3 luxury resources. Your tech rate will also be slower, because there are fewer partners to trade with. On continent maps, I often find myself having to research mundane techs like archery or animal domestication because there are not enough proximate AI players to become a reliable tech broker. On the plus side, these maps can provide for a more interesting late game than Pangaea maps by allowing longer buildup of your competitors and preventing them from being weakened or destroyed in early-game rush. Naval combat adds an interesting element that Pangaea or large land-mass players do not fully experience. The early isolation makes it easier to stay at peace throughout the early era, or to isolate and crush enemies on your starting island without other players interfering.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Maps with a large amount of land and little water (oasis, highland, lakes, etc) pose major long-term barbarian challenges. There is so much land that the barbarians continue to arise from territory covered by the fog of war until late in the game. Defending your cities requires extra effort on such maps. On the plus side, you may be able to capture a city or two from the barbarians.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Pangaea and other land-mass maps offer predictable early availability of all tech-appropriate resources, although you may have to fight for them. However, such maps can be less interesting if the player becomes very dominant in the early or mid-game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Maps with strange geometric land arrangements like inland sea result in high city upkeep costs for an expanding civilization, as distance arrangements between your cities are often not optimal due to geographic constraints.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Large land mass games provide more competitors, and therefore reduce the player's chance of winning the religion, tech, or wonder race. On a standard map or smaller on balanced (noble) difficulty, a player without religious techs can often still beat the AI players to Hinduism and/or Judaism. On large and huge maps, chances become slimmer. There are few things as frustrating as spending 20 or 30 turns working on constructing a wonder in your most productive city only to have the AI finish it 2-3 turns before you do.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]2. CIVILIZATION SELECTION[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The decision as to which civilization to play as is an individual one. Traits have various strengths and weaknesses:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Financial:[\BOLD] All-time favorite. Once you get cottages and watermills working, this will gain you +1 extra gold for almost every square being worked in your city radius. This is a huge advantage, when combined with appropriately widespread cottage building, allows the player to maintain a high tech rate even with expensive civics, a large army, and a large empire. Nonetheless, these benefits are not experienced until you have developed a certain city infrastructure and developed your terrain, usually in the classical or late ancient era.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Organized:[\BOLD] The recent patch has done much to enhance the value of the organized trait. Many civics have become significantly more expensive. I find that civic costs now typically cost 33-66% of city maintenance costs depending on civic settings, averaging about 50% for me. In the late game, after a player changes to state property civic to eliminate distance maintenance costs, civic costs are often double city maintenance costs. Because of inflation that increases in the late game, the costs are often even more than they appear. Organized offers a huge benefit by reducing these costs in half. Organized is especially useful because the player receives its benefits throughout the entire game without any effort or development, and the significant savings are always welcome. This can easily add at least 10% if not 20% to the tech rate. Cheap courthouses help you to reduce expenses even further.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Philosophical:[\BOLD] +100% GP. Synergistic with the religious civics (Pacifism - +100% GP rate) and the national epic (+100% GP in the city of your choice), as well as mercantilism, national epic, statue of liberty, etc. Optimal utilization of the philosophical trait requires a heavy wonder-building play style. The high costs of wonder construction consume the resources of your most productive cities that could otherwise be devoted to conquest or expansion. This is therefore not an ideal trait for warmongers. On harder difficulty levels, philosophical may be less useful than on noble, as it will be difficult to utilize the benefits unless you are able to win the wonder race. The philosophical trait received a substantial, although indirect, bonus from the patch, as wonders continue to give GP points even after they expire. If you have philosophical trait, you will get twice the points from your expired wonders as non-philosophicals.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After playing with the philosophical trait extensively, I have found it to be much less useful than I initially believed. Unfortunately, double the GP points does not mean double the number of GPs. A point of diminishing returns is encountered with each GP costing more and more points (5 GPs = 1,500 points, 10 GPs = 5,500 points, 15 GPs = 12,000 points, 20 GPs = 21,000 points, 25 GPs = 32,500 points, 30 GPs = 46,500 points, 35 GPs = 62,000 points, 40 GPs = 82,000 points). I find that it is still possible for a non-philosophical civ to do quite well in the GP race, because there are many ways for non-philosophicals to enhance GP generation making the advantage of the philosophical nation even more tenuous (national wonder, Parthenon, statue of liberty, pacifism, mercantilism). Philosophical is definitely a fun trait, but I think that stronger traits are available.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Expansive:[\BOLD] +3 health per city in the patch. With the exception of cities located in flood plains, happiness is initially more limiting for city growth than health at almost all levels, but as the game progresses, numerous wonders, civics, buildings, etc. increase happiness, but there are relatively few ways to increase city health. Cheap granaries are one of the most useful building bonuses and offer early and predictable benefits across all difficulty levels. Expansive is useful only at specific times during gameplay, namely, when your city growth is limited by health, or while building granaries. As these are relatively narrow circumstances (although very important ones), I tend to prefer traits that offer more consistent benefit. If you find you continue to run into problems with city health, pick expansive. However, many of these issues can be remedied with good city placement, resource development, and construction of appropriate buildings.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Industrious:[\BOLD] A nice trait, as the wonders you get with +50% build speed can duplicate many other civ traits. Half-price forges are great also because they increase your productivity, and for non-industrious civs they are quite expensive. However, the ability of any player to quickly build wonders by "chop-rushing" (described later) undermines some of the value of the industrial trait. Considering philosophical vs. industrious? Industrious makes it easier to get wonders, while philosophical makes the ones that you have more valuable. Industrious is particularly useful on higher difficulty levels when the player needs a more compelling edge in order to have any real chance of beating the AI to wonders.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Aggressive:[\BOLD] A great trait for the warmonger. While experience can be given by buildings, civics, and wonders, a free extra promotion for melee and gunpowder units is great -- especially for barracks-trained units with a couple of levels to boot. More and more experience is required to get more bonuses (2/5/10/17/etc), and so having a free promotion that doesn't set you back at all in the XP quest is good. Since the promotions become more and more powerful the higher in level you go (+20% city attack, +25%, +30% with an extra +10% vs gunpowder units, etc...cumulative!!!), having an extra promotion can result in a huge amount of extra military power, especially if you have planned well to take advantage of other sources of experience. If you want an early domination or conquest victory, aggressive is an excellent choice. Aggressive provides no bonuses to many key unit types: archery, cavalry, tanks, aircraft, and ships, and so the aggressive trait requires an early attack style to flourish.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Spiritual:[\BOLD] One of the weakest traits IMO. No anarchy, while nice, is of little benefit as I only change civics 5-6 times in a game (I try to change 2 or 3 at a time at times when several important civics are discovered in close time proximity). Cheap temples? Temples are cheap anyway and have fewer benefits than many other buildings.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Creative:[\BOLD] +2 culture has significant benefits in the early game, but few in the late game when cities have more culture than they know what to do with. How many times have I conquered a city only to have it flip to a closely adjacent neighbor? How many times have I built cultural improvement (theater, library, etc.) in a conquered city for the exclusive purpose of generating culture (and, sometimes failed), when a creative civ would not have had to worry at all? The automatic expanding cultural radius can be very valuable in expanding in the early game and blocking off large amounts of territory for your later development. While cultural's benefits are mainly in the early game, the benefits can be substantial. I prefer to get industrious instead and build Stonehenge for your early culture (although this expires -- soon -- with calender), the benefit of creative is still significant.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In sum, I think that spiritual and creative are the two weak traits of CIV. The other six traits are all good in the appropriate situation, with financial and organized representing excellent traits with wide utility across many playing styles, and the others offering specific benefits that require specific playing styles to shine.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]My favorite leader for a standard (noble) game is Washington (American) - Financial/Organized. Other great leaders include English (Victoria) - Expansive/Financial, English (Elizabeth) - Philosophical/Financial, Chinese (Qin Shi Huang) - Industrious/Financial, Peter (Russia) - Expansive/Philosophical. If you are playing on a higher difficulty level, traits that offer immediate, consistent benefit like expansive, aggressive, and industrious may serve you better than traits that bloom only with cultivation like financial or philosophical.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]3. LEVERAGE YOUR STRENGTHS[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It's important to make the most out of your advantages by drawing upon the synergy of civ traits, civics, improvements, and buildings and wonders. For example, it would be silly to get the aggressive civ trait and fail to build barracks. Synergy can be very powerful when you combine substantial bonuses in the same area from multiple different sources. Aggressive (free combat I promotion for melee and gunpowder units)+ barracks (+4 experience for all new units)+ pentagon (+2 experience to all units civ-wide) + theocracy (+2 experience for all new units), police state (+25% military production speed), + West Point (+4 experience for all new units) and Heroic Epic (+100% military production speed) = +125% military production speed pumping out units starting with 12 experience points (3 promotions) in addition to combat I in the city with West Point/Heroic epic, and 8 experience points + combat I at a 25% bonus production speed in all other cities with barracks. An initially mediocre unit with 3 city attack promotions (+20%, +25%, +30%) receives a +85% bonus against cities - a massive boost against even strong defenders of technological parity. Philosophical + Pacifism + Parthenon = 250% great people points, with 350% in the city with the national epic. And so forth.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It is also important to try to compensate for your disadvantages. For example, if I am not playing an expansive civ (or even if I am), I try to build cities on rivers as much as possible for the +2 health bonus, even at a slight productivity hit.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]4. RELIGIONS[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As in the real world, religion can be one of the most uniting or dividing things in CIV. While gifts or insults have only minor benefit on relations (+/-1, rarely more than +/-2; religion can have a huge impact on relations -- seeing +/-4, +/-6 from religion are common. Religion is by far the biggest factor in relations in most games. It seems to be something in the range of +1 relations for every city of your religion in your opponent's land, +1 or 2 if your religion is their state religion. Therefore, pumping out missionaries to convert your neighbors in the good times is as important for the security of your empire as maintaining a powerful military. I try to keep one city pumping out missionaries of your religion the entire game, providing both relationship and economic bonuses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Consider getting an early religion (Hinduism or Judaism) or, if going for a chop-rush settler push, one or more of the later ones (Confucianism, Christianity, Taoism, Islam). In any case, try to pick up as many of the later ones as I can in order to keep friends friendly. A friendly neighbor who has previously converted to your religion but subsequently discovers Islam can suddenly decide that you are a pagan who must be cleansed from the earth. Besides, some of the religion techs (like Divine Right, Islam) offer cool wonders.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Founding cities of religion can become real cash cows in the mid and late game, IF you build the religion-specific wonder in the founding city. In a recent game where I aggressively spread Confucianism, over 30-40 cities were converted by the late of the game. I also discovered Taoism and subsequently captured the founding cities of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism, giving me five of the seven world religions. Did I ignore my non-state religions, even though I planned to stick with Confucianism throughout the entire game? Of course not. I sent a great prophet to each city to build the religion-specific wonder. This accomplishes two purposes. First, it gives you free bonus income equal to the number of cities with that religion each turn. Second, it causes the autonomous spread of each religion from its founding city without even requiring missionaries. While I continue to aggressively spread my state religion with missionaries, the other religious capitals function as cash cows with progressively increasing revenue without requiring any other input or management.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Since founding religious cities generate a large amount of income, *regardless of the position of your financial sliders*, these are the best cities for building banks, markets, and grocers. I find that the Wall Street wonder is typically best built in the founding city of my state religion for an extra and substantial economic boost, since this will typically be the largest religion by the mid to late game (and thus the largest city economy).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As previously mentioned, I keep pumping missionaries out from 2-3 cities almost continuously through the entire game. This improves relations with neighbors, creates LOS (line of sight) to other cities, and generates money.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The financial and diplomatic benefits of missionaries are well-known, although the espionage benefits are rarely mentioned. When I am contemplating war with a nation, I will send a wave of missionaries to as many of their key cities as possible before my military units cross the border. This accomplishes two things. First, it provides invaluable intelligence information and allows one to assess which cities represent priority acquisitions as well as to get some idea of the strength, location, and composition of enemy armies. Equally importantly, missionaries of your state religion provide an instant cultural benefit to captured cities. After conquering a city that is not your state religion, you might contemplate building a library or theater -- which could take 50+ turns -- in order to expand the borders and to prevent the city from flipping back to an adjacent neighbor with strong cultural boundaries. However, if the city is already your state religion, it will automatically generate +1 culture/turn in addition to a +1 happiness benefit, expanding your borders within 10 turns and making your city much less likely to flip or revolt. The pre-attack missionary wave essentially adds the benefits of the creative trait to non-creative civs, in addition to income, happiness, and espionage benefits.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]5. CITY PLACEMENT[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The placement of cities is always one of the most important strategic decisions. I will gladly place a city at significantly further distance from my capital if it results in acquiring special resources or monopolizing a location that is of prime strategic or production value. Many specialty resources offer benefits for your entire civilization, and so the race to control luxury, health, strategic, and bonus resources is a key factor in city placement. Whenever possible, I build cities on rivers, and try to get at least one special resource (of any kind) within range. Of course this is not always possible (especially on unusual or specialty map types), but if you repeatedly find that you are having trouble making your cities happy and productive or are failing to acquire important resources, perhaps it is time to reevaluate your city placement. Controlling strategic passes or "choke points" with cities is also valuable -- if you can block off your enemies from chunks of unsettled land and then fill it in later, that is a bonus, although the geography doesn't always accommodate this.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Buildings[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Some buildings I like to build everywhere, whereas others I build only in specialized cities, or in any city when there is a natural opening. Buildings I like to build as much as possible include:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]First Tier[\BOLD][NEWLINE]granary[NEWLINE]lighthouse (for coastal cities)[NEWLINE]library[NEWLINE]aqueduct[NEWLINE]forge[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Second Tier[\BOLD][NEWLINE]harbor (if applicable)[NEWLINE]temple[NEWLINE]theater[NEWLINE]market[NEWLINE]grocery[NEWLINE]university[NEWLINE]laboratory[NEWLINE]factory[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The build order of course varies depending on the needs of each city, but generally I get granaries and forges as early as possible everywhere, and theaters first in conquered cities (to prevent culture flipping), and others as the situation dictates. It is hard to go wrong with a library almost everywhere because of the commerce bonus and the culture to expand your borders.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Be careful with buildings that harm city health. In particular, avoid building coal plants, as this subtracts two health and seemingly cannot be removed, even if the city develops alternative power sources. The three gorges dam wonder provides power to all cities on the continent, and cities along rivers can use hydro power. While laboratories increase research by +25%, they also detract from health (-1), and you may not need laboratories everywhere at the very late stage in the game at which they become available - constructing them in a few top research cities may suffice.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Commerce, Research, and Gold[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Squares with or without improvements produce *commerce*. This commerce can then be used to fund research, culture, or turned into gold. Improvements (towns etc) and the financial trait actually give you commerce, not gold. The distinction between "commerce" generally and "gold" specifically is somewhat confusing as they sometimes use the same gold coin icon.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Then the benefit of city improvements depends on both your base commerce and your sliders. Say you have a small city producing 10 commerce, and your research slider is on 80%, with 20% going into finances. A library (+25% research) will give you an extra 2 beakers (base research = 80% of 10 = 8, 25% of 8 = 2 more). A grocer, however (+25% gold) would seem not to have any benefit to an economy this small (base gold = 20% of 10 = 2, and 25% of 2= 0.5, rounded down to zero).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Now of course there is some gold *outside* of the commerce system: namely, gold generated by religious buildings. Specialist gold goes directly to finances and is not general "commerce" that can be converted to research.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In other words, the benefit of the improvements depends highly on the position of your sliders. If you played with research on 20% and money on 80%, obviously the financial improvements (market, grocer, bank, etc) would be more valuable. Since in most games however research plays such an important role, science improvements tend to offer greater benefits.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Inflation[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Inflation is not covered anywhere in the civilopedia or manual that I can find, but it is an important expense. Inflation can go up but never seems to go down over the course of a game. Inflation increases over time at a steady rate, regardless of spending breakdown. Inflation cannot apparently be controlled; it inevitably increases as the game progresses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Inflation adds an additional percentage to your expenses, including:[NEWLINE]civic upkeep[NEWLINE]city maintenance (distance and city number)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This percentage can get quite high. If your expenses are 100 per turn and your inflation is 30%, your final cost is 130 gold. The organized trait has at least some advantage here, because it is saving "pre-tax" rather than "post-tax" dollars. In other words, if your civic upkeep were 50 and inflation were 0%, the organized trait would save only 25 gold (50% of final upkeep), but if inflation were 40%, your real savings are 50+20 (40% of 50) = 70/2, or 35 gold.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]6. CIVICS GUIDE[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I try to change civics as little as possible since I don't play as Spiritual. I will do 2 or 3 switches at once, when possible. If you do too many changes at once (4 or occasionally 3), it can result in 2 turns anarchy. You cannot change state religion and civics on the same turn.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Government Civics[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Hereditary Rule:[\BOLD] (medium upkeep, + 1 happiness per military unit in a city, req. monarchy). Since most cities will have at least one military unit for defense, this tech can be a real benefit in the early middle ages when you are still developing your luxury resource network and constructing happiness buildings. Hereditary rule provides a great answer to happiness problems that can otherwise be limiting to a rapidly-growing civilization.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Representation:[\BOLD] (medium upkeep, +3 research per specialist, +2 happiness in 6 largest cities, req. constitution). Another excellent bonus, especially for a philosophical nation with many specialists. The largest cities are the most likely to get unhappy, so this civic gives you the happiness bonus where you need it. Representation is particularly valuable for philosophical civs in synergy with mercantilism and the statue of liberty wonder, harnessing the free specialists to provide a major technology boost. Unless you have a vast number of towns, representation is a good civic to keep throughout the entire game. The extra research for every specialist continues to be a huge benefit that can significantly speed your research. I try to build the pyramids as quick as I can so that I can switch to representation, significantly speeding research. Then pick up wonders and buildings that give you (or allow) specialists: great library, forge, statue of liberty, etc.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Police State:[\BOLD] (high upkeep, +25% military production, -50% war weariness, req. facism) is great for the warmonger or for wartime defense, but the high cost makes it undesirable in peacetime.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Universal Suffrage:[\BOLD] moderate upkeep. The +1 production boost to towns and ability to complete production with gold (units/buildings, not wonders) is useful; however, it is of little use in the early and mid game when cottages have not yet developed into towns. Don't get snookered into getting this in the early game with the pyramids, as upkeep is high and you will have no towns to provide the productivity bonus. Weighing universal suffrage against[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Legal Civics:[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Vassalage:[\BOLD] high upkeep, +2 experience per unit, lower unit support costs: a good tech for a warmonger, but the high cost makes it prohibitive for others. Consider this temporarily while in a war.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Bureaucracy:[\BOLD] (+50% production/gold in capital, medium upkeep, req. civil service). Good in the early game, and provides an excellent boost for a wonder-building city. Liberalism is close enough around the corner from civil service that often I hold off for free speech. As the slider is usually set heavily to research, the primary benefit of this civic is usually production rather than gold.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Nationhood:[\BOLD] no upkeep (changed from low to no upkeep with the patch), can draft 3 units per turn, barracks +2 happiness. Also a good civic for a warmonger that is better sustainable long-term than vassalage because of its low cost, in addition to adding happiness benefit.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Free Speech:[\BOLD] (no upkeep, +2 gold from towns, +100% culture per city, req. liberalism). It is my favorite for the late game, but won't do you much good if you don't have towns. I like to get bureaucracy for the production boost while towns are developing, and then switch to free speech once I have enough towns to justify it. At no upkeep cost, the price is right, and this one can provide a great boost to your economy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Labor Civics[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Slavery:[\BOLD] (low upkeep, can sacrifice population to finish production, req. bronze working) Excellent for rapidly-growing cities limited by happiness, although it makes 1 pop unhappy for 10 turns. Slavery is ideal for civs with large cities with abundant food (flood plains + farms) but marginal productivity and limited happiness, especially in the early and mid-game. Slavery takes the revolting pops that are adding nothing to the economy and uses them to produce wonders or other high-cost buildings that would otherwise take many turns to complete. I typically keep this civic until I get emancipation with democracy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Serfdom:[\BOLD] (low upkeep) -- workers build improvements faster. I usually have a large enough army of workers building improvements and clearing jungles that this one isn't as attractive as the others.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Caste System:[\BOLD] (medium upkeep, req. code of laws) -- unlimited scientists, artists, merchants in cities. A reasonable choice if you have food to spare, don't yet have enough town improvements to allow specialists otherwise, and can afford the upkeep. While I like the idea of the caste system civic for philosophical civs, the way which this is implemented is poor. Once you get caste system, the computer automatically allocates many of your workers to specialists, especially scientists. Although this can be somewhat controlled with your city production settings, the AI often diverts workers producing food, hammers, and commerce into specialists producing only science and culture. This slows both the production and growth of many of your cities. There is too much micromanagement involved to manage the caste system appropriately, and the stunting of your production and growth because of poorly allocated specialists is rarely if ever worthwhile, even for a philosophical civ. Skip it and go for emancipation. The scientists are the most valuable, while artists and merchants are usually of limited value.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Emancipation:[\BOLD] (no upkeep, req. democracy) is great for mid to late game. It doubles rate of cottages -&gt; towns; a big synergistic economic boost when combined with appropriate techs, free speech, and universal suffrage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Economic Civics: [\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Mercantilism:[\BOLD] (medium upkeep, 1 free specialist per city, no foreign trade routes, req. banking). Getting this civic is like having the statue of liberty wonder and is a huge boost for philosophical or GP oriented civs. It is moderately expensive, and shuts down foreign trade (which can also hurt, or at least won't help, your relations). However, if you have the Angkor Wat wonder that adds to priest productivity and the Representation civic that adds 3 research to every specialist, this presents a huge boost to your cities that more than compensates for the lack of foreign trade routes.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Free Market:[\BOLD] (medium upkeep) - +1 trade route per city. A nice financial or research boost, although only modest in size. However I rarely use this as state property is only a few techs away.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Edit: The patch increases free trade from low to medium upkeep. More reason to skip it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]State Property:[\BOLD] (low upkeep, req. communism) is great (no distance maintenance costs, +1 food from watermills). Although the patch increased the upkeep from free to low, it is still extremely useful. I find that with my tendency to build many cities, it saves me as much or more than I would earn from the extra trade route, plus upkeep is free, plus you get extra food. As I tend to build watermills along almost all river tiles because of their boost to productivity (+2 with appropriate techs), food (+1), and economy, a river city may be able to support a couple more citizens that can be made specialists to boost your GP generation. My most-used economic tech.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]State property eliminates the city distance maintenance cost entirely, which for a large empire typically represents about 50% of your total city upkeep (this rough rule of thumb varies depending on both the number of cities and the distances involved). This can be quite a substantial savings. For a nation with a well-developed state religion, adopting state property frequently allows one to move the tech slider from 70-80% to 90-100%. This faster tech speed has many benefits: quicker availability of new buildings and units, faster tech bonuses, and getting sooner to techs like electricity that increase the value or productivity of your existing city improvements. The extra food can allow you to support extra specialists or larger city growth if you have many river cities and have built watermills. With no civic upkeep cost, the price is right. In most games, the state property civic alone is far better in terms of your financial bottom line than the organized trait, as city distance upkeep costs often well exceed 50% of the civic upkeep costs discounted by organized. My tests suggest that the Versailles wonder, like the Forbidden Palace, reduce only distance upkeep costs (Versailles seems to be like a second Forbidden Palace). If you are using the state property civic and plan to stick with it long-term, don't waste city production on these wonders. Forbidden Palace and Versailles offer only a modest location-dependent decrease in distance costs, while state property abolishes distance costs altogether. With city upkeep virtually cut in half by state property, you will also find less of a necessity for courthouses until your civilization is extremely large.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Environmentalism:[\BOLD] (high upkeep) is nice at the very end of the game when you get ecology (+6 health, +1 happiness from forests and jungles). Unfortunately I've harvested most forests and jungles long before the ecology tech comes around (and jungles are so unproductive why would you want to keep them), and find that my cities already have good health and happiness well before then and are more limited by food. The expensive upkeep is also a drawback, so I tend to use state property more frequently. Rather than getting environmentalism, I prefer to research future techs (+1 health and happiness each for your entire civ), since ecology is already near the end of the tech line), rather than paying the fat environmentalism upkeep fees. At least that part of environmentalism is realistic.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Religious Civics:[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Organized Religion:[\BOLD] (high upkeep, +25% building and wonder construction, req. monotheism). After extensive testing, I have come to the conclusion that this is the best religion civic, at least for my play style. I grab this civic as soon as I can get to monotheism and keep it throughout the entire game. I have verified in-game that organized religion does boost wonder speed as well as that of non-wonder buildings. +25% building and wonder speed throughout the whole game is essentially equivalent to a free forge in every city, except that the bonus does not apply to unit builds. This trait is very expensive for a large civilization, but I think it is well worth the cost. I can think of no wonder, civ trait, building, or civic that matches organized religion in its sweeping benefits.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Theocracy:[\BOLD] (medium upkeep), +2 experience points for units created in cities with state religion, no non-state religion spread) -- okay for a warmonger, but expensive.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Pacifism:[\BOLD] (no upkeep, +100% GP, req. philosophy) is phenomenal as it can essentially bestow the philosophical trait on a non-philosophical civ, or make philosophical civs even better. The low upkeep is counterbalanced by the +1 gold per military unit, so this tech can be cheap or expensive depending on your military size. As attractive as pacifism is, I feel that organized is a better trait, even for philosophical civs. Ask yourself: how many great people would you need to generate to speed construction of buildings and wonders in every one of your cities by 25%?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Free Religion:[\BOLD] (low upkeep): I never get free religion as losing all the state religion bonuses really hurts, as well as losing line of site to all converted cities in other nations. At end-game usually I have plenty of luxuries and am not so desperate for a few more happy faces that I would want to deal with the hassle of having to get 4 or 5 religions in each of my cities to make this civic worthwhile. The +10% tech bonus -- while meaningful -- doesn't seem to make much of a difference for me this late in the game, plus you have to pay fixed upkeep (albeit low) to boot. Some players attempt to get free religion as soon as possible to pacify aggressive neighbors with different religions. However, I have had war declared on me so many times in the early game when I had no state religion at all that I know that simply removing state religion is no panacea to diplomacy. Dropping a state religion can pacify opponents, but it can also make former close allies lukewarm or even hostile. And if you are still deeply afraid of your neighbors by the late time of game that organized religion becomes available, perhaps it is time to assess your strategy in other areas. Theology civics include some of the best benefits in the game (+100% GP from pacifism, +25% building and wonder construction speed), and I generally like these bonuses far too much to sacrifice them for free religion, which seems to offer little in return. Nevertheless, if you are in a situation where you are walking on eggshells -- playing deity level with far more powerful AI players, perhaps -- free religion may be something to consider. Otherwise, skip it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Favored early game civics: representation (constitution - or pyramids), bureaucracy (civil service), slavery (bronze working), mercantilism (banking), organized religion (monotheism)[NEWLINE]Favored late game civics: universal suffrage, free speech, emancipation, state property, organized religion[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Warmonger civics: police state, vassalage, slavery, state property, theocracy[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]7. CITY IMPROVEMENTS[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I tend to manually control workers (at least until very late in the game) as the computer automation leaves much to be desired and lacks strategic foresight.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Farms:[\BOLD] +1 food initially, +2 food (total) at end-game when you have biology. Recent tests have led me to change my strategies and begin building large numbers of farms initially in order to quickly increase city size. When cities are near the max of their happiness and/or health, then I start converting the farms to cottages for the economic benefits. In contrast to watermills and windmills which offer economic and production bonuses in addition to food, farms offer only food. The advantage is that they are available almost immediately in the game with the agriculture tech. I prefer wide proliferation of farms in the ancient era, with removal of some farms and transition to cottages and watermills when you are near the maximum sustainable city size for health and happiness. Especially on higher difficulty levels, spamming too many farms may quickly bring your cities over the happiness and/or healthiness levels they can support, resulting in revolters and no "we love the king day" events. Automated workers tend to overdo farming and so I prefer to direct workers manually. Use farms wisely, but be careful that they don't push your cities into unhappiness or unhealthiness. You may need to expand your growth capacity as your city's happiness and health limits increase, so keep an eye on this.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Cottages:[\BOLD] Cottages make up the foundation of economic and research productivity of your civilization. Especially if you have the financial trait, cottages produce great bonuses when they grow into towns, with full techs and civics: commerce +7, production +1 (requires universal suffrage civic). Cottages can be built anywhere, but their production bonus comes late (after full growth into towns) and only with the correct civic.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I often wait until cities are close to their health or happiness limit to start building large numbers of cottages because farms offer more immediate benefit by increasing city size and therefore production and the number of workable tiles. Cottages only progress into hamlets, villages, and towns when they are being worked. There is no point in rushing to place cottages on all 20 workable tiles of a level 2 city (for an extreme example), as the cottages will not begin to develop at all until the city is large enough to work them. My tests and those of others have demonstrated that in most cases, a better long-term economic outcome is achieved with early farms to grow your city quickly and then building large numbers of cottages that the city is able to work, as opposed to immediate cottage spamming resulting in slow growth and many unworked tiles in an immature city.[NEWLINE]The downsides of cottages include that they take a long time to grow: cottage-&gt;hamlet 10 turns, hamlet -&gt;village 20 turns, village -&gt;town 40 turns. This can be cut in half with appropriate civics, but still it takes 35 turns in the best possible case to grow from a cottage to a town. In a game that lasts only 400 or 500 turns (and may be decided long before then), that is a big chunk of game time. Also, cottages can be easily pillaged by an enemy. Cottages are particularly valuable around your core research cities, but think twice about building cottages on frontier cities close to aggressive neighbors. In any case, the long maturation time of cottages requires that they be built as early as possible to maximize their benefits. Having cottages that have grown into towns while your neighbors are still dealing with hamlets and villages can prove decisive.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Watermill:[\BOLD] An immediate +1 production boost, with final bonuses of +1 food, +2 commerce, and +2 production with full techs and civics (requires state property for the food bonus). These are very helpful in increasing the production of plains, grassland, or flood plains adjacent to rivers that have little innate production capability. And once you have the correct techs/civics, the bonuses are immediate and do not require the maturation that cottages do. You can only build watermills on one square or the other to the side of a river, but I build watermills everywhere I can, typically replacing farms as soon as state property is in hand.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Windmill[\BOLD]: An immediate +1 food, with final bonuses of +1 food, +2 commerce, and +1 production with full tech (replaceable parts, electricity). Very useful if you need more food, have limited river access, and want something that offers more substantial and well-rounded benefits than farms. Windmills can be placed on hills which makes a nice alternative to mines, giving production and commerce benefits while allowing the square to provide at least some of the food supply required to work it. With the financial trait, windmill offers +1 food, +1 production, and +3 commerce, making a windmill often preferable to a mine.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Lumbermill[\BOLD]: Chopping down the trees doesn't add any more food production (unlike C3C), and so lumbermills are a prime consideration for productivity in the late game. That is, in areas where you still have trees. With max +3 production (Base +1 from trees, +1 from lumbermill, +1 more when railroad comes around) and +1 commerce for squares adjacent to rivers, lumbermills are the best late-game productivity improvement. They don't have the economic benefits of cottages, watermills, or windmills, but offer a more substantial production boost without sapping your food supply (unlike workshops) or without requiring a specific civic to keep from doing so. The late benefits of a lumbermill must also be weighed against the benefits of chopping in the early game for benefits that can be quite substantial at a time when your civilization's productivity is very low: chopped trees can result in a much faster start, extra cities, or more wonders. I chop trees in the early game for chop-rushing settlers or crucial wonders, but by the mid-game when instant productivity is no longer urgent, I prefer to preserve any remaining trees for future lumbermills.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Mine[\BOLD]: +2 production, +1 more (+3 total) with railroad. A substantial productivity boost as long as you have enough food to go around. The option between windmills and mines is nice for hill squares.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Workshop:[\BOLD] +1 production, -1 food. With max upgrades they can offer up to +3 production, and with state property, no food penalty. This allows the same +3 production as lumbermill, without requiring you to keep trees around until the late game. The food penalty early on makes this a poor choice in the early middle ages, but once you have state property, workshops represent an excellent improvement for production. However, if you depend on workshops and state property, you will largely be obliged to stay with that civic through the rest of the game -- or see your cities starve when you change, unless you have a large food surplus from other sources.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]8. SPECIALIZATION[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Since you can only build 2 national wonders in a city and because GP points accrue according to specialties, it makes sense to have specialized cities in CIV. I aim for a science city (oxford university + great library), a military city (pentagon + heroic epic + west point), a culture city (hermitage + globe theater), an economic city (wall street), and will put the national epic in the city with the most wonders (and most GP points).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In general, keeping a flow of military units from at least one city will keep your cities happy (large cities get upset without protection) and defended. I also try to keep one city pumping out missionaries throughout almost the entire game, occasionally switching production to another city to construct buildings in the city. In my first couple games when I did not continue to produce both military and missionary units in peace time and war time, it caused major problems for me in spite of large leads in other areas.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]CIV rewards the creation of specialized cities. I try to create at least 2 cities of each specialty because of the need to build infrastructure buildings in between building military or religious units, wonders, etc. Specialist cities make sense because you can't build every building in every city, and specialization helps you to leverage your city placement by putting buildings in the cities where they will do the most good.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The first step in deciding the division of labor between specialized cities is to evaluate the surrounding land. A city in an area with luxury resources could be a great trade/science city, while one in an area with many mines and high production would likely make a good military city for creating units, or for rapidly building wonders. A city with abundant food supply would make a good specialist city to increase great people generation.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Military City[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Build in:[\BOLD] productive area with high hammer yield (mines, watermills, etc)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Buildings:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Barracks Forge Factory[NEWLINE]Power source (coal, hydro, nuclear), Granary Aqueduct[NEWLINE][BOLD]National wonders:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][BOLD]first city:[\BOLD] Heroic Epic (+100% military production in city), West Point (+4 exp/military unit)[NEWLINE][BOLD]second city:[\BOLD] Red Cross (free Medic I promotion), Ironworks (near iron or coal) -- consider designating this one a military city from the time iron appears on the map.[NEWLINE][BOLD]World Wonders:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Pentagon (+2 experience for units trained in any city, can be built anywhere)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Discussion:[\BOLD] You will need many military units during the game, so why build them from just anywhere when you can build them quickly in a specialized city and get free experience points to boot?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Science City[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Build in:[\BOLD] area with abundant commerce[NEWLINE][BOLD]Improvements:[\BOLD] focus on cottages -&gt;towns[NEWLINE][BOLD]Buildings:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Academy (+50% research, requires great scientist) Library (+25% research)[NEWLINE]Observatory (+25% research) University (+25% research)[NEWLINE]Laboratory (+25% research)[NEWLINE]Monastery (+10% research, but becomes obsolete - may skip this one)[NEWLINE][BOLD]National wonders: [\BOLD][NEWLINE]Oxford University (+100% research)[NEWLINE][BOLD]World Wonders:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Great Library (+2 scientists, expires)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Merchant City[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Build in:[\BOLD] area with abundant commerce[NEWLINE][BOLD]Improvements:[\BOLD] focus on cottages -&gt;towns[NEWLINE][BOLD]Buildings:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Market (+25% gold) Grocer (+25% gold)[NEWLINE]Bank (+50% gold) Airport (+1 trade route)[NEWLINE][BOLD]National Wonders:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Wall Street (+100% gold)[NEWLINE][BOLD]GP Focus:[\BOLD] great merchant[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Culture City[\H2][NEWLINE]Consider combining with science city as many science improvements also generate culture. I don't generally build a culture-only city for that reason, I go for culture/science. But here are the culture listings for those interested in culture victory, not including science improvements.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Buildings:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Temple (+1 culture) Monastery (+2 culture)[NEWLINE]Cathedral or equivalent (+50% culture) Theater (+3 culture)[NEWLINE]Broadcast tower (+50% culture)[NEWLINE][BOLD]National Wonders: [\BOLD][NEWLINE]Hermitage (+100% culture) Globe theater (+6 culture)[NEWLINE][BOLD]World Wonders: [\BOLD][NEWLINE]Hollywood (+50% culture) Rock n' Roll (+50% culture)[NEWLINE]Broadway (+50% culture) Sistine chapel (+2 culture per specialist in all cities)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If going for a culture victory, consider balancing your national and world culture wonders between 3 cities to allow each to achieve legendary culture.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Great People City[\H2][NEWLINE]Obviously this one should be combined with another city of your choice, as the world and national wonders built in other cities contribute GP points. I like to make my GP city one that focuses on GP types that I find to be the most valuable (great engineers -- can rush wonders, or perhaps scientists -- can create academy, rather than prophets, artists, or merchants)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]National wonder:[\BOLD] National Epic (+100% GP birth rate in city)[NEWLINE][BOLD]World Wonders: [\BOLD][NEWLINE]Parthenon (+50% GP birth rate in all cities) Great Library (+2 scientists in city, but expires)[NEWLINE]Statue of Liberty (+1 specialist in all cities)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergistic Civic:[\BOLD] pacifism (+100% GP rate, no upkeep)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]9. WONDERS [\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]When beginning every game, you will want to consider what wonders are a priority for you and what wonders you will pass on. It is rarely possible to get every wonder. Realistic decisions must be made and tech paths to get the desired wonders early must be considered. There is little as frustrating as coming within a few turns of completing an expensive wonder only to lose your effort because another civ beat you to it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wonder decisions can make or break the game. A few key wonders can provide advantages turning the tide in your favor, while an inappropriate focus on wonders at the expense of defense or growth can leave your civilization vulnerable.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The player should also consider what role wonders will play in the overall strategy. If you are playing as a philosophical or industrious nation, constructing numerous wonders should be a centerpiece of your strategy. For militaristic players, wonders should play little role, as a vast army can be constructed in the time of constructing just a few wonders. The militaristic player should therefore aim for a few targeted wonders, while the philosophical or industrious player should strive for a much longer list.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Some wonders offer considerable early benefits, but expire. Others offer mediocre benefits that expire regardless (the Hagia Sophia is infamous for frequently becoming obsolete only shortly after it is constructed). Wonders expire when YOU get the expiring tech, not when your neighbors do. So I often hold off on trading for the calender tech until all my cities have experienced border expansion from Stonehenge, and avoid getting chemistry until the last possible moment to milk the Parthenon for every great person point possible. Still others offer great game-long benefits.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Unless you are going for a culture victory, great artists are the least useful of all of the great people (+3 commerce, +14 culture). Therefore, I try to keep wonders offering great artist points out of my principal wonder city to avoid generating less-useful great people there. Great scientists are perhaps the most useful for their ability to add an academy in one city each. Great engineers (+3 hammers) and great prophets (+2 hammer) are the most useful as they add productivity. Great merchants add food, although only +1, in addition to commerce.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To maximize the conversion of great people points into great people, it is best to concentrate as many wonders as possible in one, two, or three designated wonder-building cities. The decision of how many cities to designate as primary or secondary wonder-builders will depend on your playing style.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Here is a list of wonders that I make priorities, keeping in mind that the wonders different players favor will vary widely depending on their play style and tactics.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Priority Expiring Wonders[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Stonehenge:[\BOLD] obelisk, +1 culture in every city, expires @ Calendar.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Great Library:[\BOLD] +2 scientists is a big deal at a time when many of your cities can't dedicate the pop to specialists, especially if you build this in your great people focus city. Perhaps most importantly, the +6 GP points/turn from 2 scientists in addition to the +2 GP from the wonder (total 8 GP points/turn) can help you quickly to get great scientists who can found academies in your largest cities, especially in the presence of philosophical/pacifist /Parthenon /national epic synergisms. Getting the great library with several great scientists can therefore generate a massive bonus that will speed your research throughout the entire remainder of the game, long after the GL's primary effects have expired. After the GL, the oxford university is the only good generator of great scientist points until after the middle ages.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Parthenon[\BOLD]: +50% GP birth rate in all cities. Vital for philosophical civs, but unfortunately doesn't last forever.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Non-Expiring Wonders[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Hanging Gardens:[\BOLD] +1 pop, +1 health in all cities. This is a huge early wonder that can catapult your civ ahead, especially if you have many small or modest-sized cities. Adding an extra pop and health point to every city boosts your economy, your research, your productivity, etc.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Notre Dame[\BOLD]: +1 happiness for all cities on continent[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Versailles[\BOLD]: reduces maintenance in nearby cities[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Statue of Liberty:[\BOLD] a free specialist in every city. Fabulous for philosophical civs. Probably my # 1 wonder in the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Pentagon:[\BOLD] +2 experience points for units trained in all cities[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Three Gorges Dam:[\BOLD] power for all cities on continent located near a river[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Eiffel Tower:[\BOLD](free broadcast tower in every city) gives a big culture boost[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Wonders by GP type[\H2][NEWLINE](all world wonders +2 GP points, all national wonders +1)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Great Scientist:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Great Library (marble) (+2 scientists)[NEWLINE]Oxford University (stone) (+100% research, 3 citizens as scientists)[NEWLINE]Space Elevator[NEWLINE]Red Cross[NEWLINE]Scotland Yard[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Capital: Stonehenge, pyramids, hanging gardens, great library, ironworks (?)[NEWLINE]Wonder city 2: parthenon, notre dame, national epic[NEWLINE]Military city[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Great Prophet:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Stonehenge (stone): obelisk in each city[NEWLINE]Angkor Wat (stone): +1 production from priests in all cities, allows 3 priests. This makes priest specialists (up to +2 hammers, +1 gold) the most productive specialists, beating out engineers (+2 hammers, no other bonuses) -- until the wonder expires[NEWLINE]Oracle (marble) (1 free tech)[NEWLINE]Chichen Itza (stone): +25% defense in all cities[NEWLINE]Spiral minaret (stone). +1 gold from all state religion buildings. Nice, although a relatively small bonus.[NEWLINE]Religious holy wonder: minus 1 production, spreads religion, 1 gold from each, allows 3 priests[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Great Engineer:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Hanging gardens (stone) (+1 population, +1 health in all cities)[NEWLINE]Pentagon (+2 experience to military units in all cities)[NEWLINE]Three Gorges Dam[NEWLINE]Ironworks (allows 3 citizens as engineers)[NEWLINE]West Point (stone) (+4 experience per unit)[NEWLINE]Pyramids (stone) (allows all government civics) - a big boost in the early game[NEWLINE]Hagia Sophia (marble) (+50% worker build speed)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Great Merchant:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Colossus (copper) (+1 gold in all city water tiles)[NEWLINE]Statue of Liberty (+1 free specialist in all cities on the continent)[NEWLINE]Wall Street[NEWLINE]Forbidden Palace (acts as a 2nd capital decreasing distance maintenance)[NEWLINE]Versailles (marble)[NEWLINE]Great Lighthouse (+2 trade routes in coastal cities)[NEWLINE]Eiffel Tower (free broadcast tower in every city)[NEWLINE]United Nations[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Great Artist:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Parthenon (marble) (+50% GP birth rate in all cities)[NEWLINE]Notre Dame (+1 happiness in all cities)[NEWLINE]National epic (stone) (+100% GP birth rate)[NEWLINE]Hollywood (+1 happiness)[NEWLINE]Rock n' Roll (+1 happiness)[NEWLINE]Broadway (+1 happiness)[NEWLINE]Heroic Epic (marble) (+100% military unit production)[NEWLINE]Hermitage (marble)[NEWLINE]Globe Theater (no unhappiness in this city, allows 3 artists)[NEWLINE]Taj Mahal[NEWLINE]Mt. Rushmore (stone)[NEWLINE]Kremlin (stone)[NEWLINE]Sistine chapel (marble)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Most important early resources:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Stone, marble, iron[NEWLINE]Put Parthenon, notre dame, statue of liberty in a separate wonder city[NEWLINE]National epic in capital[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]10. GREAT PEOPLE[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In maximizing great people points, you can get some great synergy between traits, civics, wonders, and improvements. If you want a lot of great people, get as many of these as possible.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Note that all bonuses are additive, not multiplicative. For example, 2 100% bonuses on top of a 100% base produce a 300% rate (100% base +100% x2), not 400% (they only add their bonus to the BASE rate, not to the final rate after other adjustments). Also, all fractions in the game are rounded DOWN (i.e. a 25% bonus of 7 is rounded down to 1, a 25% bonus of 8 is necessary for +2)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Traits:[NEWLINE]Philosophical trait : +100% GP generation civ-wide[NEWLINE]Civics:[NEWLINE]labor - caste system: unlimited scientists, merchants, artists in all cities[NEWLINE]economy - mercantilism: +1 free specialist per city; or (in games with many rivers) state property for the watermill food bonus, allowing higher POP and thus more specialists[NEWLINE]religion - pacifism: +100% GP birth rate in cities with state religion[NEWLINE]National wonders:[NEWLINE]national epic - +100% GP in city where built (only)[NEWLINE]World Wonders:[NEWLINE]Parthenon: +50% GP generation civ-wide, expires with chemistry[NEWLINE]Statue of Liberty: +1 free specialist in all cities[NEWLINE]great library: +2 free scientists in city where built, but expires.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A civ with max upgrades (not including great library) would have:[NEWLINE]- a 300% great people rate (100% base + 100% philosophical + 100% pacifism) + 50% from Parthenon (before expires) + 100% more in city with national wonder[NEWLINE]- 2 free specialists in all cities (mercantilism statue of liberty). At 300% return on a 3 GP base per specialist x 2 specialists, this would provide 18 GP points *per turn* even in your least developed cities with no wonders.[NEWLINE]-unlimited ability to allocate scientists, artists, and merchants in all cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Note again that the wonder bonuses expire when YOU get the tech in question, not your neighbors...therefore a philosophical civ with the Parthenon may want to push back getting chemistry as late as possible.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Of course some great people types are more valuable than others. Great engineers allow you to rush wonders which can provide key benefits in a close game. And great scientists can allow you to build an academy (+50% research) in every city. Great merchants, artists, and prophets, while still valuable, have effects that are generally somewhat more modest in terms of long-term game play. Since the chance of getting a great person of different types depends on the wonders and specialists in each city, I like having separate cities focus on great engineers and scientists without mixing with the other types as much as possible (you don't want to have your city with engineering wonders drowned out by large numbers of merchant, artist, or priest specialists pushing the GP probability towards other types). I don't have a strong preference between merchants, artists, and prophets, and so will build wonders generating all 3 in the same city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Bonuses allowing you to turn citizens into engineers are generated only by:[NEWLINE]Forge (allows 1 engineer)[NEWLINE]Factory (allows 2 engineers)[NEWLINE]Ironworks (allows 3 engineers)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Engineer GP points are generated by:[NEWLINE]West Point (+1 GP)[NEWLINE]Hanging Gardens (+2)[NEWLINE]Pentagon (+2)[NEWLINE]Pyramids (+2)[NEWLINE]Three Gorges Dam (+2)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The military city is the most natural choice for an engineer GP city (forge + factory + ironworks + west point + pentagon).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]---[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As the cost for great people increase throughout the game, diminishing returns are eventually reached. Later in the game, the cost of great people goes up and up, while the benefit of great people often declines, since the earlier you get great people, the longer they will benefit your civilization. However, your civilization should also increase in its capacity to generate great people over time, civics are chosen, as wonders are built and citizens are assigned as specialists. With appropriate tactics, many great people can still be generated even in the late game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Every great person can cause either an instant benefit, provide a tech bonus, or add a long-term bonus to cities. The benefits must be carefully considered. In *most* cases, I prefer to use great people in a manner that augments the long-term productivity of my cities, although there are exceptional cases where great people are best used to rush a tech or a wonder.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Two types of great people present no-brainers for their use:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Great prophets. Before using great prophets in any other way, make sure that you have created the religion-specific wonder in any founding religious city under your control. If you have made any attempt at all to spread the religion, or of you are conquering the founding city of a religion that is widely accepted, this can produce massive financial benefits that dwarf virtually any other use of great people.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Great scientists. Use them to create academies in all of your top science cities. Which would you rather have -- an extra +6 or so science per turn in the city of your choice, or a 50% increase in science in a city that is already generating 50, 75, or 200 beakers per turn? Although the increase acts only on the base number of commerce points applied to research (before other modifiers are applied), a great scientist can result in massive research output for cities, especially in conjunction with other science improvements (library/university/observatory/Oxford University/etc).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For other great people, I usually prefer to join them to a city, with occasional exceptions as previously acknowledged.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great artists. If you are going for a cultural victory, great artists are your friend. A very nice strategy for cultural victory on Monarch level, using great artists either by joining to a city or as "culture bombs" to titrate legendary culture among three cities is presented by walkerjks here: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=138647[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you are not going for a cultural victory, great artists are by far the weakest of all great people. I find that in most cases it is preferable to join great artists to border cities or captured cities instead of invoking the "culture bomb." Great artists produce +12 to +15 culture per turn, which is the equivalent of many cultural buildings (library = +2 culture, theater = +3, etc) and will quickly expand the city's borders -- in addition to any cultural multipliers the city may have (cathedrals, hermitage, civics, etc). In this way, you still continue to receive the commerce benefits of the great artist throughout the game, speeding your research and filling your coffers.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great merchant. The great merchant is the ONLY great person that offers a food bonus (+1 food, +6 commerce appears typical). I prefer to join great merchants to high-commerce cities that focus on great people creation (the city with the national epic is often a great choice), since more food allows you to allocate more specialists, further increasing great people output.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great engineers. As for great prophets, the surplus productivity is welcome. These often go in my capital or most productive city or cities. A city with ironworks makes a great choice for great engineer placement in the late game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]OPTIONS FOR EARLY EXPANSION[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are several good early expansion options. The decision as to which is best for you depends both on map choice and on your playing style.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]11. CHOP-RUSHING[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Chop rushing is a great way to jump ahead in the early game. The first mention I know of was in this thread by AlexFrog:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=137292[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I prefer a somewhat modified version of the strategy. The strategy involves founding initial cities in areas with a large number of trees within their "fat cross" area. The player researches bronze working immediately while building a worker in the capital city before building any other units or buildings. Once the worker is done (12-15 turns) and bronze working is researched, the worker immediately goes to work chopping trees around the capital. Each tree chopped results in 20 hammers, which can rocket a level 1 city that may have only 1, 2, or 3 hammers far ahead.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The most logical initial use of "chop-rushing" is for settlers and workers, since your cities are normally stagnant (do not grow) while these units are being produced, and because these units are vital to the growth and productivity of your civilization. I save trees to chop-rush settlers, workers, or wonders, since the construction of buildings or military units allows your cities to grow during the production phase, while production of the former two does not, and the third category (wonders) is a race. Chop-rushing typically allows me to plant 2-3 times as many cities as my closest AI competitors on noble level.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Of course, settlers must never be sent out undefended, so I like to first build at least one (possibly two) warriors, sending at least one out to explore and pop goody huts (in addition to the starting warrior) while the second will act as your settler escort. I periodically build warriors during the rapid expansion phase to ensure that my cities and settlers are adequately defended.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Because of maintenance costs increasing with both distance and city number (and I will place cities at long distances from my capital when necessary to secure important resources), it is impractical to build a civilization by the exclusive virtue of chop-rushing. There must be a balance. Once I get three or four cities, I let one or two grow and develop -- building a granary or military units to increase in size and to defend the borders, while the others chop-rush. I also assign some workers to build improvements very early -- cottages in particular, in addition to improvements required by special resources -- in order to ensure that city commerce, on average, is in excess of upkeep costs, allowing continued rapid research and continued growth. As a rough rule of thumb, on noble level, if my research percentage falls below 70%, that is a warning sign to me that I need to better develop the city economic base by building more cottages and letting cities grow to a larger size before expanding.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Chop-rushing can also be a terrific way to get wonders, especially when you have special resources that speed wonder building. For example, Stonehenge costs 120 hammers, but if you have stone, every forest chopped will give double (not 20, but 40) hammers. Therefore, you only need to chop three trees to build Stonehenge in a city with stone -- as opposed to the many turns it would take to build it without chop-rushing. This is a great way to get key wonders as a non-industrious civ, and the ability of any civilization to do this really waters down the value of the industrious trait.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Edit: the patch slightly weakens chop-rushing. Chopping income has dropped from thirty to twenty hammers, with that number being further reduced for chops further from the city (outside the city radius?) Mathematics adds +50% (back to the original 30), but it comes in the end of the first age at a time that is not as useful as an immediate chop-rush would be. Also, unlike Civ3, cutting down trees doesn't increase food harvest, so you have to immediately place farms or cottages or do something else to develop the land in other ways. Chopping offers a quick up-front bonus but can dent your long-term production if you overdo it. Weigh the pros and cons carefully in each situation.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In a recent test game in which I preserved the forests in the cities (for the health benefits and to maintain the forest productivity), I found that by the mid-middle ages, my tech rate had dropped virtually to zero and my workers began to strike and units were automatically disbanded because expenses were greater than income. Retaining the forests as opposed to chopping and planting cottages widely didn't provide the economic revenue to support the rapid city expansion that I prefer, even with measured expansion letting many of the cities grow to mid-size. Therefore I continue to favor chopping trees - whether in an early settler rush, or to complete wonders - also to free up the land for farms (faster growth) or cottage improvements (improve economy and tech speed).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]EXPANDING YOUR CAPITAL[\H2][NEWLINE]As attractive as it may seem, chop rushing faces major limitations, especially after being significantly tuned down in the recent patch. Chopping trees can push cities located near flood plains into unhealthiness and decline. Chops offer a one-time boost after which the city returns to its prior production. Depending on your situation, allowing the capital to develop before sending out settlers can be a better option. For example, if you can expand your capital in 8 turns and get a square that offers a combined 3 food and/or hammers, you will get a bonus of +1 food or hammer (2 of the food go to support the expanded population) for every subsequent turn throughout the game. For an average level 1 city with 3 resources in the center square and 3 on the first worked square (4 surplus food/hammers for settlers/workers), it takes 25 turns (4x25=100) to build a 100 resource settler and 15 turns (4x15) to build a 60-resource worker. Just one surplus resource, after paying food costs, by expanding to level 2 will drop this down to 20 turns for the settler (5 resources x 20 turns) and 12 turns for the worker. Expanding to level 3 to work another 3-resource tile, which you can generally do in another 8 turns after the first expansion with good city placement, will give you 6 surplus resources, dropping settler creation time to 17 turns and worker creation down to 10 turns.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Let's do a comparison of a city that immediately builds 4 settlers, vs. one that spends 16 turns building warriors to grow twice, and switches production to settlers before the 2nd warrior is completed:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build order: 4 Settlers 1 1/2 warriors, 4 settlers[NEWLINE]Turns to 1st settler 25 16 (to grow twice), then 17 for settler = 33[NEWLINE]2nd settler 50 50[NEWLINE]3rd settler 75 67[NEWLINE]4th settler 100 84[NEWLINE]Final capital size 1 3[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As you can see, the city that expands to level 3 first catches up with the city that immediately built only settlers by the time the 2nd settler is completed. The fact that the settler-only city completed its first settler 9 turn earlier does not make up for this, as the 9 turns allow for barely 1 cycle of growth as opposed to the 2 that the first city has achieved.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The expand-first city ends up far ahead because at the end, it is better developed and more productive than the city that pumped out settlers immediately. The expand-first model also has the advantage of producing warriors to defend your units, as unprotected settlers are not likely to survive.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you are well-situated and can develop those resources further, the model shifts even more in favor of allowing your city to increase in size. For example, if you can irrigate 2 flood plains up to +4 food each in your size 3 city and have one special resource you can get 2 food or hammers from, your total surplus will be 10 (3 from center tile, 2 per tile from 2 floodplains, and 3 from specialty resource) per turn. You can then build settlers in just 10 turns. At that point, you are expanding FASTER than you could with chop-rushing. Between chopping and moving, trees take 3-4 turns to chop for just 20 hammers and are limited, while your expanded city is indefinitely producing a surplus of 10/turn.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In general, most cities in the early game do not require more than 3-4 farm tiles. Exceptions may be made for cities on barren land, such as plains or hills. A few judicious farms are usually all that you need in order to jump-start your growth. If you overdo the farming, you can easily push the city into unhappiness, at which point cottages are a better alternative.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The decision of when to develop your capital vs. when to expand depends on your city setup. If tiles around your city are not very fertile (i.e. plains), you may wish to get out a settler sooner rather than later. If however your main city is well-placed and has one or two special resources within its boundaries that you can access with early techs, it is often wise to spend a few turns developing these resources to create a more productive capital.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]12. TECHNOLOGY[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great variability comes in here. Depending on your civilization traits and technologies, your level, and your play style, you may have different technological priorities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Some players favor chop-rushing for early expansion, going straight for bronze working. Then I go for pottery (to build cottages ASAP) and from there to alphabet (to trade techs). After alphabet, I trade with the AI as much as possible. I go for mathematics (to get hanging gardens) and then try to grab a religion -- Confucianism or, if I miss that, one of the others.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In many cases, investment in techs such as agriculture, animal domestication, and hunting can be more valuable than bronze working chop-rushing.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you are playing as a civ with early religious technologies, you may wish to shoot straight for an early religion. I prefer the path that leads to Hinduism/Judaism since if you are beaten to Hinduism, Judaism is right around the corner, while Buddhism is a dead end (at least for a while) and the AI seems to go for it quickly. Monotheism also has the benefit of offering the organized religion civic, which at +25% building construction (including wonders!) can prove to be an enormous benefit to your civilization's development. This, as well as the early spread of religion from your cities (with happiness etc), can make an early religion very, very worthwhile. From there, you can go for bronze-working and chop rush, or you can go straight for alphabet, trade for bronze working (which is typically readily available once alphabet is discovered), and chop rush.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Going for the religious techs (polytheism-&gt;monotheism) early has great advantages even for a non-spiritual civ, if you can get there quickly. The religious techs offer key early-era wonders, including Stonehenge and the Parthenon, and perhaps the most important ancient-era civic, organized religion, which can further enhance your speed in constructing wonders and other buildings. If you don't go for these techs very quickly, you will probably lose the wonder race. As you can't trade for techs until you have alphabet, and many maps feature limited access to potential trading partners, the only reliable way to get these techs is to research them yourself. If you are playing as a philosophical civ, getting the early wonders is especially critical.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Either way has advantages and drawbacks, but both playing styles can be viable. Of course you can mix and match these: shoot for early religion and then quickly add bronze working (but miss out on some early chop-rushing), or research bronze working and then pick up the religious techs in time to get access to the wonders (but you will probably lose the early religion race). There undoubtedly others as well, but the above two are my favorites.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Here are some of the key techs I focus on acquiring, making modification depending on map type and difficulty level:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]0. Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Hunting: these techs are vital to be able to hook up your bonus resources. Farming in particular is very important.[NEWLINE]1. Mysticism (65 beakers). Stonehenge, and prerequisite for other religious techs.[NEWLINE]2. Polytheism (130 beakers). Hinduism and Parthenon (key for philosophical civs).[NEWLINE]3. Bronze working (156 beakers). Chop rushing. 'nuf said.[NEWLINE]4. Wheel (78 beakers). Workers and resources won't do you much good until you can build roads. This can be moved down below monotheism depending on whether you have already gotten a religion and how tight you feel the race for Judaism will be.[NEWLINE]5. Pottery (104 beakers). Your workers can now start building cottages, and allows granary. Because of how long cottages take to develop, it is important to get cottages started early. Also to defray the heavy upkeep costs of a large empire.[NEWLINE]6. Masonry (104 beakers). Prerequisite for Monotheism. Allows building mines and quarries. While researching this you will hopefully be sending a settler and a worker to hook up stone (stonehenge, pyramids, hanging gardens) and marble (Parthenon) resources.[NEWLINE]7. Monotheism (156 beakers). Judaism and organized religion. The moment you are ready to begin building Stonehenge in your capital (or any other building), switch to organized religion to provide a +25% hammer bonus for wonders and buildings.[NEWLINE]8. Writing (156 beakers) and alphabet (390 beakers). Allows tech trades, allowing the player to pick up any missed techs.[NEWLINE]9. Mathematics (325 beakers) - workers produce +50% hammers from tree chops (up to 30). Also enables hanging garden, a key wonder for rapid population expansion. Very important for both counts.[NEWLINE]10. Metal casting (585 beakers). Forges add +25% productivity to any city where they are built. When you have stone and/or marble, organized religion civic, and forges, your cities can quickly construct buildings and wonders. Unfortunately, this tech quite expensive.[NEWLINE]11. Literature (260 beakers). Heroic epic, national epic, great library, and libraries. All important structures.[NEWLINE]12. Music (780 beakers). Free great artist to the first discoverer. Also allows Notre Dame and cathedrals, vital happiness buildings.[NEWLINE]13. Drama (390) and philosophy (1040 beakers). Philosophy offers Taoism to the first discoverer, and pacifism is a helpful civic for philosophical civs. Angkor Wat is nice (+1 production from priests in all cities) if you can get it.[NEWLINE]14. Paper (780), Education (2340 - allows universities/oxford), Liberalism (1820). Liberalism is a high priority both because it offers a free technology (you can pick the most expensive one available) and because of the free speech civic. The +2 gold from towns education offers is nice as long as enough of your cottages have developed into towns to warrant the expense of this tech path.[NEWLINE]15. printing press (2080), requires paper. +1 commerce in towns and villages. Another economic bonus, but the expense is so high that other techs may be a higher priority. Replaceable parts (2340) offers +1 hammer for watermills and windmills. This is really the point in the game where watermills become worthwhile.[NEWLINE]16. nationalism (2340), constitution (2600), democracy (3640). Nationalism and constitution have little to recommend them, except as prerequisites for democracy. Democracy is a huge advance to both economics and production because it allows universal suffrage (+1 production boost to towns) and emancipation (doubles rate of cottages -&gt; towns).[NEWLINE]17. Divine Right (1560) islam, spiral minaret, Versailles. Another opportunity to pick up a religion. Spiral minaret provides major economic boost (+1 gold per state religion building in all cities). It is however very expensive.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Currency (520 beakers): +1 trade route per city, and enables gold trading. Both of these can produce a major economic boost. I usually wait and trade for this, but getting it early may be warranted if your upkeep costs are becoming difficult to manage or your tech rate is dropping.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Others:[NEWLINE]Iron working: Reveals iron. Being able to clear jungles is necessary to be able to access some resources and to increase health. Usually I trade for this tech after alphabet, but there are certainly exceptions requiring early iron working (if you have a bad starting location in a jungle harming productivity).[NEWLINE]Iron working is critical to military also. As soon as you get this and iron is revealed, it is vital to claim and develop that iron promptly. Make sure to devote one city to military to pump out archers (before iron to garrison all your cities) and swordsmen (after iron) for defense and offense.[NEWLINE]Archery: a must if you have aggressive neighbors. You may be able to hold off until after alphabet and trade for this depending on your setup, but if you are playing against human players, you need to get this ASAP.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other key techs[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Mathematics. Hanging Gardens -- + 1 POP and +1 health in all your cities is huge, especially when you have a lot of small and moderate-size cities. The hanging gardens can really explode your productivity when you have a large empire from a chop-rush settler rush.[NEWLINE]Music (free great artist)[NEWLINE]Military Tradition (cavalry rule the middle ages)[NEWLINE]Divine Right (Versailles/Islam)[NEWLINE]Metallurgy (watermill)[NEWLINE]Democracy (emancipation &amp; universal suffrage).[NEWLINE]Communism (state property)[NEWLINE]Then to any other techs that improve the benefits of your improvements (i.e. electricity).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I also try to pick up the techs that offer free great people or free techs. These techs obviously represent a priority, as only the first discoverer gets the bonus.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]13. MILITARY STRATEGY[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Game Plan[\H2][NEWLINE]Before each game, consider spending a few minutes to write down some basic goals and strategies that you wish to incorporate. The plan will depend considerably on map type, terrain, size, difficulty leve, and opponents (AI or human). Of course the plan will need to be flexible to take advantage of opportunities and to respond to contingencies and challenges.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After the game, review your strategy and honestly assess which aspects worked well, and what aspects fell flat or met challenges. Use your insight to fine-tune your strategy and improve your next game plan.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Anticipation and Preparation[\H2][NEWLINE]The computer will attack suddenly and in force in CIV. It is not unusual for the computer to DOW someone and raze their city with a stack of units in the same turn. The AI, like human players, is an opportunist. If you happen to build a city right next to enemy military units, or if AI players see a poorly defended city near their military units, they are more likely to declare war than if your cities were defended and settlers were escorted. Close borders also spark tensions. Different religion is also a major cause of hostility. The AI can and does declare war even when there are mildly positive relations, so don't be too smug at your relationship score. You must defend your cities and resources. Even if you are not a warmonger, build a credible defense force. If your military is much weaker than your neighbors, you will soon find yourself in war. Anticipate attacks in advance. Is your neighbor massing catapults and swordsmen near your border? What are the stacked archer and warrior doing near your cities? Assume the worst, be observant, and be informed. Judge your enemy by their capability, not their words or relations.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Border Cities[\H2][NEWLINE]Beware of border cities without a large cultural buffer between other civilizations. In one game I had a brilliant idea to build the forbidden palace in a border city. Then while I was engaged in a war against the Mongols on the other side of my empire, Saladin declared war and conquered the city the same turn with hordes of catapults, knights, and crossbowmen. Expensive cultural improvements are instantly lost once a city is conquered. Don't put anything too critical in border cities, especially those without a significant buffer zone, and don't get too involved in constructing major buildings in border cities until you have them well-defended with strong contemporary units. Don't leave your back side exposed. And don't let success in the tech race come at the expense of national security.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Strategy[\H2][NEWLINE]When starting a war, consider your objectives. What are your goals? Acquisition of specific resources or cities? Capturing a wonder? Total annexation? Or, if caught by surprise, would you be happy to get away with a white peace? Once you have determined your goals, come up with a strategic plan to get there. Make sure that your unit mix is balanced and well-thought out. More than once in my early games, I found myself besieging cities with large stacks of units but no catapults -- bad idea. What are you going to do about city defenses? Are their resources you can deny your opponent? Will you create a two or three pronged attack and exploit vulnerabilities? Will you land a horde of cavalry and catapults by his capital for a sneak attack after shipping them behind enemy lines? It is much easier to achieve objectives if you know what your specific objectives are and have a viable plan to achieve them. It's far more effective to have a plan and fine-tune it as needed while in process than to fly by the seat of your pants and make it up as you go along.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Also take time to consider your opponent's strategy...*especially* if playing a human. Look at your own empire and assess your own vulnerabilities. Is YOUR iron supply undefended? Could an enemy wreak havoc with a few knights shipped in to attack rear cities? Do you have rows of cottages in a border city ripe for plundering? If you were your enemy, what would you do? If your vulnerabilities are lost on you, be assured that they will not be lost on a competent opponent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Resource Denial[\H2][NEWLINE]When planning a war, aim to take out key military and civilian resources. The resource screen shows you exactly what resources your opponents have. Some of the resources, like copper and iron, are essential for war. If you enemy has one source of iron and you fortify on that square with good defenders and pillage it, your enemy will instantly lose the ability to make swordsmen -- and many other units, unless he has a copper supply as well. No copper, iron, or horses? Suddenly your formerly formidable medieval opponent is back in the stone age and is able to produce only warriors and archers. A few strategic moves of this nature can turn the tide of a war.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other special resources are worth pillaging also. If your opponent has large cities that are marginally happy or healthy, pillaging a few luxury or health resources can catastrophically damage commerce, tech speed, and productivity across his entire empire. Pillaging of specialty resources in this way has a far greater effect than the pillaging of cottages, since the effects are felt in every connected city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]To Pillage or Not to Pillage[\H2][NEWLINE]Some argue for pillaging as many of your opponents cottages as possible in order to cause long-term damage to his research and economy. Against a superior or closely-matched opponent, this can be a good idea. However, it can be shortsighted if you have the upper hand.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If I am convinced that I have superior force and can take a city, I don't pillage cottages, mines, or watermills. Given how long cottages take to develop, I pillage them ONLY when I think that I am unable to take a city outright during the current war. As attractive as the quick gold from pillaging seems, it is trivial compared to having a long-term free revenue source that your opponent built for you -- adding insult to injury. Conquered cities will often have high maintenance due to their distance from your capital and the incremental augmentation of city number, and if they can pay their own expenses right off the bat, your warmongering will be much more economically sustainable.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Diplomacy[\H2][NEWLINE]When evenly matched or over-matched, diplomacy plays an immense role. If the Mongols catch you by surprise and burn a couple border cities, what better way to pay them back than bribing their neighbors with tech or gold to declare war on them? Sure, they may have thought they were smart to exploit a momentary vulnerability when their keshiks found a lightly-guarded city...but finding themselves in a war on two or three fronts will wipe the smile off their faces and take the pressure off you. If I am caught by surprise in a war for which I am not fully prepared or do not want, I do not hesitate to trade prime techs to bribe allies to join on my side.</French>
		<German>[H1]WoundedKnight's Strategy Guide[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]WoundedKnight[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Table of Contents[\H2][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]1. Learn the Rules[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]2. Civilization Selection[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]3. Leverage Your Strengths[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]4. Religions[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]5. City Placement[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]6. Civics Guide[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]7. City Improvement[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]8. Specialization[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]9. Wonders[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]10. Great People[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]11. Chop-Rushing[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]12. Technology[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]13. Military Strategy[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]1. LEARN THE RULES[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The best-spent two hours for my CIV strategy skills was spent pouring over the civilopedia to understand the rules, the tech trees, improvements, units, etc. It's much easier to do well if you have a clear strategy and know where you want to go. For example, some techs offer bonuses to the first discoverer: a free great person, a free great tech, or starting a religion. Obviously these techs are generally a priority to get first, while others with benefits that are not time-sensitive can wait or be picked up in trade.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]MAP CHOICE[\H2][NEWLINE]The choice of maps can have a major impact upon gameplay, and therefore upon the strategy you may choose to adopt. For example:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Continental and archipelago maps promote early isolation of civs into 2-3 large groups (continents) or even individual civs (archipelago). Your continent or island may not have access at all to key resources like stone, marble, horses, and iron, which can make your construction or military plans more difficult. It is also more difficult to keep your population happy, as your island or continent may contain only 2 or 3 luxury resources. Your tech rate will also be slower, because there are fewer partners to trade with. On continent maps, I often find myself having to research mundane techs like archery or animal domestication because there are not enough proximate AI players to become a reliable tech broker. On the plus side, these maps can provide for a more interesting late game than Pangaea maps by allowing longer buildup of your competitors and preventing them from being weakened or destroyed in early-game rush. Naval combat adds an interesting element that Pangaea or large land-mass players do not fully experience. The early isolation makes it easier to stay at peace throughout the early era, or to isolate and crush enemies on your starting island without other players interfering.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Maps with a large amount of land and little water (oasis, highland, lakes, etc) pose major long-term barbarian challenges. There is so much land that the barbarians continue to arise from territory covered by the fog of war until late in the game. Defending your cities requires extra effort on such maps. On the plus side, you may be able to capture a city or two from the barbarians.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Pangaea and other land-mass maps offer predictable early availability of all tech-appropriate resources, although you may have to fight for them. However, such maps can be less interesting if the player becomes very dominant in the early or mid-game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Maps with strange geometric land arrangements like inland sea result in high city upkeep costs for an expanding civilization, as distance arrangements between your cities are often not optimal due to geographic constraints.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Large land mass games provide more competitors, and therefore reduce the player's chance of winning the religion, tech, or wonder race. On a standard map or smaller on balanced (noble) difficulty, a player without religious techs can often still beat the AI players to Hinduism and/or Judaism. On large and huge maps, chances become slimmer. There are few things as frustrating as spending 20 or 30 turns working on constructing a wonder in your most productive city only to have the AI finish it 2-3 turns before you do.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]2. CIVILIZATION SELECTION[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The decision as to which civilization to play as is an individual one. Traits have various strengths and weaknesses:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Financial:[\BOLD] All-time favorite. Once you get cottages and watermills working, this will gain you +1 extra gold for almost every square being worked in your city radius. This is a huge advantage, when combined with appropriately widespread cottage building, allows the player to maintain a high tech rate even with expensive civics, a large army, and a large empire. Nonetheless, these benefits are not experienced until you have developed a certain city infrastructure and developed your terrain, usually in the classical or late ancient era.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Organized:[\BOLD] The recent patch has done much to enhance the value of the organized trait. Many civics have become significantly more expensive. I find that civic costs now typically cost 33-66% of city maintenance costs depending on civic settings, averaging about 50% for me. In the late game, after a player changes to state property civic to eliminate distance maintenance costs, civic costs are often double city maintenance costs. Because of inflation that increases in the late game, the costs are often even more than they appear. Organized offers a huge benefit by reducing these costs in half. Organized is especially useful because the player receives its benefits throughout the entire game without any effort or development, and the significant savings are always welcome. This can easily add at least 10% if not 20% to the tech rate. Cheap courthouses help you to reduce expenses even further.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Philosophical:[\BOLD] +100% GP. Synergistic with the religious civics (Pacifism - +100% GP rate) and the national epic (+100% GP in the city of your choice), as well as mercantilism, national epic, statue of liberty, etc. Optimal utilization of the philosophical trait requires a heavy wonder-building play style. The high costs of wonder construction consume the resources of your most productive cities that could otherwise be devoted to conquest or expansion. This is therefore not an ideal trait for warmongers. On harder difficulty levels, philosophical may be less useful than on noble, as it will be difficult to utilize the benefits unless you are able to win the wonder race. The philosophical trait received a substantial, although indirect, bonus from the patch, as wonders continue to give GP points even after they expire. If you have philosophical trait, you will get twice the points from your expired wonders as non-philosophicals.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After playing with the philosophical trait extensively, I have found it to be much less useful than I initially believed. Unfortunately, double the GP points does not mean double the number of GPs. A point of diminishing returns is encountered with each GP costing more and more points (5 GPs = 1,500 points, 10 GPs = 5,500 points, 15 GPs = 12,000 points, 20 GPs = 21,000 points, 25 GPs = 32,500 points, 30 GPs = 46,500 points, 35 GPs = 62,000 points, 40 GPs = 82,000 points). I find that it is still possible for a non-philosophical civ to do quite well in the GP race, because there are many ways for non-philosophicals to enhance GP generation making the advantage of the philosophical nation even more tenuous (national wonder, Parthenon, statue of liberty, pacifism, mercantilism). Philosophical is definitely a fun trait, but I think that stronger traits are available.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Expansive:[\BOLD] +3 health per city in the patch. With the exception of cities located in flood plains, happiness is initially more limiting for city growth than health at almost all levels, but as the game progresses, numerous wonders, civics, buildings, etc. increase happiness, but there are relatively few ways to increase city health. Cheap granaries are one of the most useful building bonuses and offer early and predictable benefits across all difficulty levels. Expansive is useful only at specific times during gameplay, namely, when your city growth is limited by health, or while building granaries. As these are relatively narrow circumstances (although very important ones), I tend to prefer traits that offer more consistent benefit. If you find you continue to run into problems with city health, pick expansive. However, many of these issues can be remedied with good city placement, resource development, and construction of appropriate buildings.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Industrious:[\BOLD] A nice trait, as the wonders you get with +50% build speed can duplicate many other civ traits. Half-price forges are great also because they increase your productivity, and for non-industrious civs they are quite expensive. However, the ability of any player to quickly build wonders by "chop-rushing" (described later) undermines some of the value of the industrial trait. Considering philosophical vs. industrious? Industrious makes it easier to get wonders, while philosophical makes the ones that you have more valuable. Industrious is particularly useful on higher difficulty levels when the player needs a more compelling edge in order to have any real chance of beating the AI to wonders.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Aggressive:[\BOLD] A great trait for the warmonger. While experience can be given by buildings, civics, and wonders, a free extra promotion for melee and gunpowder units is great -- especially for barracks-trained units with a couple of levels to boot. More and more experience is required to get more bonuses (2/5/10/17/etc), and so having a free promotion that doesn't set you back at all in the XP quest is good. Since the promotions become more and more powerful the higher in level you go (+20% city attack, +25%, +30% with an extra +10% vs gunpowder units, etc...cumulative!!!), having an extra promotion can result in a huge amount of extra military power, especially if you have planned well to take advantage of other sources of experience. If you want an early domination or conquest victory, aggressive is an excellent choice. Aggressive provides no bonuses to many key unit types: archery, cavalry, tanks, aircraft, and ships, and so the aggressive trait requires an early attack style to flourish.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Spiritual:[\BOLD] One of the weakest traits IMO. No anarchy, while nice, is of little benefit as I only change civics 5-6 times in a game (I try to change 2 or 3 at a time at times when several important civics are discovered in close time proximity). Cheap temples? Temples are cheap anyway and have fewer benefits than many other buildings.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Creative:[\BOLD] +2 culture has significant benefits in the early game, but few in the late game when cities have more culture than they know what to do with. How many times have I conquered a city only to have it flip to a closely adjacent neighbor? How many times have I built cultural improvement (theater, library, etc.) in a conquered city for the exclusive purpose of generating culture (and, sometimes failed), when a creative civ would not have had to worry at all? The automatic expanding cultural radius can be very valuable in expanding in the early game and blocking off large amounts of territory for your later development. While cultural's benefits are mainly in the early game, the benefits can be substantial. I prefer to get industrious instead and build Stonehenge for your early culture (although this expires -- soon -- with calender), the benefit of creative is still significant.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In sum, I think that spiritual and creative are the two weak traits of CIV. The other six traits are all good in the appropriate situation, with financial and organized representing excellent traits with wide utility across many playing styles, and the others offering specific benefits that require specific playing styles to shine.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]My favorite leader for a standard (noble) game is Washington (American) - Financial/Organized. Other great leaders include English (Victoria) - Expansive/Financial, English (Elizabeth) - Philosophical/Financial, Chinese (Qin Shi Huang) - Industrious/Financial, Peter (Russia) - Expansive/Philosophical. If you are playing on a higher difficulty level, traits that offer immediate, consistent benefit like expansive, aggressive, and industrious may serve you better than traits that bloom only with cultivation like financial or philosophical.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]3. LEVERAGE YOUR STRENGTHS[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It's important to make the most out of your advantages by drawing upon the synergy of civ traits, civics, improvements, and buildings and wonders. For example, it would be silly to get the aggressive civ trait and fail to build barracks. Synergy can be very powerful when you combine substantial bonuses in the same area from multiple different sources. Aggressive (free combat I promotion for melee and gunpowder units)+ barracks (+4 experience for all new units)+ pentagon (+2 experience to all units civ-wide) + theocracy (+2 experience for all new units), police state (+25% military production speed), + West Point (+4 experience for all new units) and Heroic Epic (+100% military production speed) = +125% military production speed pumping out units starting with 12 experience points (3 promotions) in addition to combat I in the city with West Point/Heroic epic, and 8 experience points + combat I at a 25% bonus production speed in all other cities with barracks. An initially mediocre unit with 3 city attack promotions (+20%, +25%, +30%) receives a +85% bonus against cities - a massive boost against even strong defenders of technological parity. Philosophical + Pacifism + Parthenon = 250% great people points, with 350% in the city with the national epic. And so forth.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It is also important to try to compensate for your disadvantages. For example, if I am not playing an expansive civ (or even if I am), I try to build cities on rivers as much as possible for the +2 health bonus, even at a slight productivity hit.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]4. RELIGIONS[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As in the real world, religion can be one of the most uniting or dividing things in CIV. While gifts or insults have only minor benefit on relations (+/-1, rarely more than +/-2; religion can have a huge impact on relations -- seeing +/-4, +/-6 from religion are common. Religion is by far the biggest factor in relations in most games. It seems to be something in the range of +1 relations for every city of your religion in your opponent's land, +1 or 2 if your religion is their state religion. Therefore, pumping out missionaries to convert your neighbors in the good times is as important for the security of your empire as maintaining a powerful military. I try to keep one city pumping out missionaries of your religion the entire game, providing both relationship and economic bonuses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Consider getting an early religion (Hinduism or Judaism) or, if going for a chop-rush settler push, one or more of the later ones (Confucianism, Christianity, Taoism, Islam). In any case, try to pick up as many of the later ones as I can in order to keep friends friendly. A friendly neighbor who has previously converted to your religion but subsequently discovers Islam can suddenly decide that you are a pagan who must be cleansed from the earth. Besides, some of the religion techs (like Divine Right, Islam) offer cool wonders.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Founding cities of religion can become real cash cows in the mid and late game, IF you build the religion-specific wonder in the founding city. In a recent game where I aggressively spread Confucianism, over 30-40 cities were converted by the late of the game. I also discovered Taoism and subsequently captured the founding cities of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism, giving me five of the seven world religions. Did I ignore my non-state religions, even though I planned to stick with Confucianism throughout the entire game? Of course not. I sent a great prophet to each city to build the religion-specific wonder. This accomplishes two purposes. First, it gives you free bonus income equal to the number of cities with that religion each turn. Second, it causes the autonomous spread of each religion from its founding city without even requiring missionaries. While I continue to aggressively spread my state religion with missionaries, the other religious capitals function as cash cows with progressively increasing revenue without requiring any other input or management.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Since founding religious cities generate a large amount of income, *regardless of the position of your financial sliders*, these are the best cities for building banks, markets, and grocers. I find that the Wall Street wonder is typically best built in the founding city of my state religion for an extra and substantial economic boost, since this will typically be the largest religion by the mid to late game (and thus the largest city economy).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As previously mentioned, I keep pumping missionaries out from 2-3 cities almost continuously through the entire game. This improves relations with neighbors, creates LOS (line of sight) to other cities, and generates money.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The financial and diplomatic benefits of missionaries are well-known, although the espionage benefits are rarely mentioned. When I am contemplating war with a nation, I will send a wave of missionaries to as many of their key cities as possible before my military units cross the border. This accomplishes two things. First, it provides invaluable intelligence information and allows one to assess which cities represent priority acquisitions as well as to get some idea of the strength, location, and composition of enemy armies. Equally importantly, missionaries of your state religion provide an instant cultural benefit to captured cities. After conquering a city that is not your state religion, you might contemplate building a library or theater -- which could take 50+ turns -- in order to expand the borders and to prevent the city from flipping back to an adjacent neighbor with strong cultural boundaries. However, if the city is already your state religion, it will automatically generate +1 culture/turn in addition to a +1 happiness benefit, expanding your borders within 10 turns and making your city much less likely to flip or revolt. The pre-attack missionary wave essentially adds the benefits of the creative trait to non-creative civs, in addition to income, happiness, and espionage benefits.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]5. CITY PLACEMENT[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The placement of cities is always one of the most important strategic decisions. I will gladly place a city at significantly further distance from my capital if it results in acquiring special resources or monopolizing a location that is of prime strategic or production value. Many specialty resources offer benefits for your entire civilization, and so the race to control luxury, health, strategic, and bonus resources is a key factor in city placement. Whenever possible, I build cities on rivers, and try to get at least one special resource (of any kind) within range. Of course this is not always possible (especially on unusual or specialty map types), but if you repeatedly find that you are having trouble making your cities happy and productive or are failing to acquire important resources, perhaps it is time to reevaluate your city placement. Controlling strategic passes or "choke points" with cities is also valuable -- if you can block off your enemies from chunks of unsettled land and then fill it in later, that is a bonus, although the geography doesn't always accommodate this.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Buildings[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Some buildings I like to build everywhere, whereas others I build only in specialized cities, or in any city when there is a natural opening. Buildings I like to build as much as possible include:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]First Tier[\BOLD][NEWLINE]granary[NEWLINE]lighthouse (for coastal cities)[NEWLINE]library[NEWLINE]aqueduct[NEWLINE]forge[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Second Tier[\BOLD][NEWLINE]harbor (if applicable)[NEWLINE]temple[NEWLINE]theater[NEWLINE]market[NEWLINE]grocery[NEWLINE]university[NEWLINE]laboratory[NEWLINE]factory[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The build order of course varies depending on the needs of each city, but generally I get granaries and forges as early as possible everywhere, and theaters first in conquered cities (to prevent culture flipping), and others as the situation dictates. It is hard to go wrong with a library almost everywhere because of the commerce bonus and the culture to expand your borders.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Be careful with buildings that harm city health. In particular, avoid building coal plants, as this subtracts two health and seemingly cannot be removed, even if the city develops alternative power sources. The three gorges dam wonder provides power to all cities on the continent, and cities along rivers can use hydro power. While laboratories increase research by +25%, they also detract from health (-1), and you may not need laboratories everywhere at the very late stage in the game at which they become available - constructing them in a few top research cities may suffice.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Commerce, Research, and Gold[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Squares with or without improvements produce *commerce*. This commerce can then be used to fund research, culture, or turned into gold. Improvements (towns etc) and the financial trait actually give you commerce, not gold. The distinction between "commerce" generally and "gold" specifically is somewhat confusing as they sometimes use the same gold coin icon.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Then the benefit of city improvements depends on both your base commerce and your sliders. Say you have a small city producing 10 commerce, and your research slider is on 80%, with 20% going into finances. A library (+25% research) will give you an extra 2 beakers (base research = 80% of 10 = 8, 25% of 8 = 2 more). A grocer, however (+25% gold) would seem not to have any benefit to an economy this small (base gold = 20% of 10 = 2, and 25% of 2= 0.5, rounded down to zero).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Now of course there is some gold *outside* of the commerce system: namely, gold generated by religious buildings. Specialist gold goes directly to finances and is not general "commerce" that can be converted to research.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In other words, the benefit of the improvements depends highly on the position of your sliders. If you played with research on 20% and money on 80%, obviously the financial improvements (market, grocer, bank, etc) would be more valuable. Since in most games however research plays such an important role, science improvements tend to offer greater benefits.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Inflation[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Inflation is not covered anywhere in the civilopedia or manual that I can find, but it is an important expense. Inflation can go up but never seems to go down over the course of a game. Inflation increases over time at a steady rate, regardless of spending breakdown. Inflation cannot apparently be controlled; it inevitably increases as the game progresses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Inflation adds an additional percentage to your expenses, including:[NEWLINE]civic upkeep[NEWLINE]city maintenance (distance and city number)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This percentage can get quite high. If your expenses are 100 per turn and your inflation is 30%, your final cost is 130 gold. The organized trait has at least some advantage here, because it is saving "pre-tax" rather than "post-tax" dollars. In other words, if your civic upkeep were 50 and inflation were 0%, the organized trait would save only 25 gold (50% of final upkeep), but if inflation were 40%, your real savings are 50+20 (40% of 50) = 70/2, or 35 gold.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]6. CIVICS GUIDE[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I try to change civics as little as possible since I don't play as Spiritual. I will do 2 or 3 switches at once, when possible. If you do too many changes at once (4 or occasionally 3), it can result in 2 turns anarchy. You cannot change state religion and civics on the same turn.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Government Civics[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Hereditary Rule:[\BOLD] (medium upkeep, + 1 happiness per military unit in a city, req. monarchy). Since most cities will have at least one military unit for defense, this tech can be a real benefit in the early middle ages when you are still developing your luxury resource network and constructing happiness buildings. Hereditary rule provides a great answer to happiness problems that can otherwise be limiting to a rapidly-growing civilization.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Representation:[\BOLD] (medium upkeep, +3 research per specialist, +2 happiness in 6 largest cities, req. constitution). Another excellent bonus, especially for a philosophical nation with many specialists. The largest cities are the most likely to get unhappy, so this civic gives you the happiness bonus where you need it. Representation is particularly valuable for philosophical civs in synergy with mercantilism and the statue of liberty wonder, harnessing the free specialists to provide a major technology boost. Unless you have a vast number of towns, representation is a good civic to keep throughout the entire game. The extra research for every specialist continues to be a huge benefit that can significantly speed your research. I try to build the pyramids as quick as I can so that I can switch to representation, significantly speeding research. Then pick up wonders and buildings that give you (or allow) specialists: great library, forge, statue of liberty, etc.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Police State:[\BOLD] (high upkeep, +25% military production, -50% war weariness, req. facism) is great for the warmonger or for wartime defense, but the high cost makes it undesirable in peacetime.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Universal Suffrage:[\BOLD] moderate upkeep. The +1 production boost to towns and ability to complete production with gold (units/buildings, not wonders) is useful; however, it is of little use in the early and mid game when cottages have not yet developed into towns. Don't get snookered into getting this in the early game with the pyramids, as upkeep is high and you will have no towns to provide the productivity bonus. Weighing universal suffrage against[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Legal Civics:[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Vassalage:[\BOLD] high upkeep, +2 experience per unit, lower unit support costs: a good tech for a warmonger, but the high cost makes it prohibitive for others. Consider this temporarily while in a war.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Bureaucracy:[\BOLD] (+50% production/gold in capital, medium upkeep, req. civil service). Good in the early game, and provides an excellent boost for a wonder-building city. Liberalism is close enough around the corner from civil service that often I hold off for free speech. As the slider is usually set heavily to research, the primary benefit of this civic is usually production rather than gold.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Nationhood:[\BOLD] no upkeep (changed from low to no upkeep with the patch), can draft 3 units per turn, barracks +2 happiness. Also a good civic for a warmonger that is better sustainable long-term than vassalage because of its low cost, in addition to adding happiness benefit.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Free Speech:[\BOLD] (no upkeep, +2 gold from towns, +100% culture per city, req. liberalism). It is my favorite for the late game, but won't do you much good if you don't have towns. I like to get bureaucracy for the production boost while towns are developing, and then switch to free speech once I have enough towns to justify it. At no upkeep cost, the price is right, and this one can provide a great boost to your economy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Labor Civics[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Slavery:[\BOLD] (low upkeep, can sacrifice population to finish production, req. bronze working) Excellent for rapidly-growing cities limited by happiness, although it makes 1 pop unhappy for 10 turns. Slavery is ideal for civs with large cities with abundant food (flood plains + farms) but marginal productivity and limited happiness, especially in the early and mid-game. Slavery takes the revolting pops that are adding nothing to the economy and uses them to produce wonders or other high-cost buildings that would otherwise take many turns to complete. I typically keep this civic until I get emancipation with democracy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Serfdom:[\BOLD] (low upkeep) -- workers build improvements faster. I usually have a large enough army of workers building improvements and clearing jungles that this one isn't as attractive as the others.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Caste System:[\BOLD] (medium upkeep, req. code of laws) -- unlimited scientists, artists, merchants in cities. A reasonable choice if you have food to spare, don't yet have enough town improvements to allow specialists otherwise, and can afford the upkeep. While I like the idea of the caste system civic for philosophical civs, the way which this is implemented is poor. Once you get caste system, the computer automatically allocates many of your workers to specialists, especially scientists. Although this can be somewhat controlled with your city production settings, the AI often diverts workers producing food, hammers, and commerce into specialists producing only science and culture. This slows both the production and growth of many of your cities. There is too much micromanagement involved to manage the caste system appropriately, and the stunting of your production and growth because of poorly allocated specialists is rarely if ever worthwhile, even for a philosophical civ. Skip it and go for emancipation. The scientists are the most valuable, while artists and merchants are usually of limited value.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Emancipation:[\BOLD] (no upkeep, req. democracy) is great for mid to late game. It doubles rate of cottages -&gt; towns; a big synergistic economic boost when combined with appropriate techs, free speech, and universal suffrage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Economic Civics: [\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Mercantilism:[\BOLD] (medium upkeep, 1 free specialist per city, no foreign trade routes, req. banking). Getting this civic is like having the statue of liberty wonder and is a huge boost for philosophical or GP oriented civs. It is moderately expensive, and shuts down foreign trade (which can also hurt, or at least won't help, your relations). However, if you have the Angkor Wat wonder that adds to priest productivity and the Representation civic that adds 3 research to every specialist, this presents a huge boost to your cities that more than compensates for the lack of foreign trade routes.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Free Market:[\BOLD] (medium upkeep) - +1 trade route per city. A nice financial or research boost, although only modest in size. However I rarely use this as state property is only a few techs away.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Edit: The patch increases free trade from low to medium upkeep. More reason to skip it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]State Property:[\BOLD] (low upkeep, req. communism) is great (no distance maintenance costs, +1 food from watermills). Although the patch increased the upkeep from free to low, it is still extremely useful. I find that with my tendency to build many cities, it saves me as much or more than I would earn from the extra trade route, plus upkeep is free, plus you get extra food. As I tend to build watermills along almost all river tiles because of their boost to productivity (+2 with appropriate techs), food (+1), and economy, a river city may be able to support a couple more citizens that can be made specialists to boost your GP generation. My most-used economic tech.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]State property eliminates the city distance maintenance cost entirely, which for a large empire typically represents about 50% of your total city upkeep (this rough rule of thumb varies depending on both the number of cities and the distances involved). This can be quite a substantial savings. For a nation with a well-developed state religion, adopting state property frequently allows one to move the tech slider from 70-80% to 90-100%. This faster tech speed has many benefits: quicker availability of new buildings and units, faster tech bonuses, and getting sooner to techs like electricity that increase the value or productivity of your existing city improvements. The extra food can allow you to support extra specialists or larger city growth if you have many river cities and have built watermills. With no civic upkeep cost, the price is right. In most games, the state property civic alone is far better in terms of your financial bottom line than the organized trait, as city distance upkeep costs often well exceed 50% of the civic upkeep costs discounted by organized. My tests suggest that the Versailles wonder, like the Forbidden Palace, reduce only distance upkeep costs (Versailles seems to be like a second Forbidden Palace). If you are using the state property civic and plan to stick with it long-term, don't waste city production on these wonders. Forbidden Palace and Versailles offer only a modest location-dependent decrease in distance costs, while state property abolishes distance costs altogether. With city upkeep virtually cut in half by state property, you will also find less of a necessity for courthouses until your civilization is extremely large.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Environmentalism:[\BOLD] (high upkeep) is nice at the very end of the game when you get ecology (+6 health, +1 happiness from forests and jungles). Unfortunately I've harvested most forests and jungles long before the ecology tech comes around (and jungles are so unproductive why would you want to keep them), and find that my cities already have good health and happiness well before then and are more limited by food. The expensive upkeep is also a drawback, so I tend to use state property more frequently. Rather than getting environmentalism, I prefer to research future techs (+1 health and happiness each for your entire civ), since ecology is already near the end of the tech line), rather than paying the fat environmentalism upkeep fees. At least that part of environmentalism is realistic.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Religious Civics:[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Organized Religion:[\BOLD] (high upkeep, +25% building and wonder construction, req. monotheism). After extensive testing, I have come to the conclusion that this is the best religion civic, at least for my play style. I grab this civic as soon as I can get to monotheism and keep it throughout the entire game. I have verified in-game that organized religion does boost wonder speed as well as that of non-wonder buildings. +25% building and wonder speed throughout the whole game is essentially equivalent to a free forge in every city, except that the bonus does not apply to unit builds. This trait is very expensive for a large civilization, but I think it is well worth the cost. I can think of no wonder, civ trait, building, or civic that matches organized religion in its sweeping benefits.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Theocracy:[\BOLD] (medium upkeep), +2 experience points for units created in cities with state religion, no non-state religion spread) -- okay for a warmonger, but expensive.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Pacifism:[\BOLD] (no upkeep, +100% GP, req. philosophy) is phenomenal as it can essentially bestow the philosophical trait on a non-philosophical civ, or make philosophical civs even better. The low upkeep is counterbalanced by the +1 gold per military unit, so this tech can be cheap or expensive depending on your military size. As attractive as pacifism is, I feel that organized is a better trait, even for philosophical civs. Ask yourself: how many great people would you need to generate to speed construction of buildings and wonders in every one of your cities by 25%?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Free Religion:[\BOLD] (low upkeep): I never get free religion as losing all the state religion bonuses really hurts, as well as losing line of site to all converted cities in other nations. At end-game usually I have plenty of luxuries and am not so desperate for a few more happy faces that I would want to deal with the hassle of having to get 4 or 5 religions in each of my cities to make this civic worthwhile. The +10% tech bonus -- while meaningful -- doesn't seem to make much of a difference for me this late in the game, plus you have to pay fixed upkeep (albeit low) to boot. Some players attempt to get free religion as soon as possible to pacify aggressive neighbors with different religions. However, I have had war declared on me so many times in the early game when I had no state religion at all that I know that simply removing state religion is no panacea to diplomacy. Dropping a state religion can pacify opponents, but it can also make former close allies lukewarm or even hostile. And if you are still deeply afraid of your neighbors by the late time of game that organized religion becomes available, perhaps it is time to assess your strategy in other areas. Theology civics include some of the best benefits in the game (+100% GP from pacifism, +25% building and wonder construction speed), and I generally like these bonuses far too much to sacrifice them for free religion, which seems to offer little in return. Nevertheless, if you are in a situation where you are walking on eggshells -- playing deity level with far more powerful AI players, perhaps -- free religion may be something to consider. Otherwise, skip it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Favored early game civics: representation (constitution - or pyramids), bureaucracy (civil service), slavery (bronze working), mercantilism (banking), organized religion (monotheism)[NEWLINE]Favored late game civics: universal suffrage, free speech, emancipation, state property, organized religion[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Warmonger civics: police state, vassalage, slavery, state property, theocracy[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]7. CITY IMPROVEMENTS[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I tend to manually control workers (at least until very late in the game) as the computer automation leaves much to be desired and lacks strategic foresight.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Farms:[\BOLD] +1 food initially, +2 food (total) at end-game when you have biology. Recent tests have led me to change my strategies and begin building large numbers of farms initially in order to quickly increase city size. When cities are near the max of their happiness and/or health, then I start converting the farms to cottages for the economic benefits. In contrast to watermills and windmills which offer economic and production bonuses in addition to food, farms offer only food. The advantage is that they are available almost immediately in the game with the agriculture tech. I prefer wide proliferation of farms in the ancient era, with removal of some farms and transition to cottages and watermills when you are near the maximum sustainable city size for health and happiness. Especially on higher difficulty levels, spamming too many farms may quickly bring your cities over the happiness and/or healthiness levels they can support, resulting in revolters and no "we love the king day" events. Automated workers tend to overdo farming and so I prefer to direct workers manually. Use farms wisely, but be careful that they don't push your cities into unhappiness or unhealthiness. You may need to expand your growth capacity as your city's happiness and health limits increase, so keep an eye on this.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Cottages:[\BOLD] Cottages make up the foundation of economic and research productivity of your civilization. Especially if you have the financial trait, cottages produce great bonuses when they grow into towns, with full techs and civics: commerce +7, production +1 (requires universal suffrage civic). Cottages can be built anywhere, but their production bonus comes late (after full growth into towns) and only with the correct civic.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I often wait until cities are close to their health or happiness limit to start building large numbers of cottages because farms offer more immediate benefit by increasing city size and therefore production and the number of workable tiles. Cottages only progress into hamlets, villages, and towns when they are being worked. There is no point in rushing to place cottages on all 20 workable tiles of a level 2 city (for an extreme example), as the cottages will not begin to develop at all until the city is large enough to work them. My tests and those of others have demonstrated that in most cases, a better long-term economic outcome is achieved with early farms to grow your city quickly and then building large numbers of cottages that the city is able to work, as opposed to immediate cottage spamming resulting in slow growth and many unworked tiles in an immature city.[NEWLINE]The downsides of cottages include that they take a long time to grow: cottage-&gt;hamlet 10 turns, hamlet -&gt;village 20 turns, village -&gt;town 40 turns. This can be cut in half with appropriate civics, but still it takes 35 turns in the best possible case to grow from a cottage to a town. In a game that lasts only 400 or 500 turns (and may be decided long before then), that is a big chunk of game time. Also, cottages can be easily pillaged by an enemy. Cottages are particularly valuable around your core research cities, but think twice about building cottages on frontier cities close to aggressive neighbors. In any case, the long maturation time of cottages requires that they be built as early as possible to maximize their benefits. Having cottages that have grown into towns while your neighbors are still dealing with hamlets and villages can prove decisive.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Watermill:[\BOLD] An immediate +1 production boost, with final bonuses of +1 food, +2 commerce, and +2 production with full techs and civics (requires state property for the food bonus). These are very helpful in increasing the production of plains, grassland, or flood plains adjacent to rivers that have little innate production capability. And once you have the correct techs/civics, the bonuses are immediate and do not require the maturation that cottages do. You can only build watermills on one square or the other to the side of a river, but I build watermills everywhere I can, typically replacing farms as soon as state property is in hand.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Windmill[\BOLD]: An immediate +1 food, with final bonuses of +1 food, +2 commerce, and +1 production with full tech (replaceable parts, electricity). Very useful if you need more food, have limited river access, and want something that offers more substantial and well-rounded benefits than farms. Windmills can be placed on hills which makes a nice alternative to mines, giving production and commerce benefits while allowing the square to provide at least some of the food supply required to work it. With the financial trait, windmill offers +1 food, +1 production, and +3 commerce, making a windmill often preferable to a mine.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Lumbermill[\BOLD]: Chopping down the trees doesn't add any more food production (unlike C3C), and so lumbermills are a prime consideration for productivity in the late game. That is, in areas where you still have trees. With max +3 production (Base +1 from trees, +1 from lumbermill, +1 more when railroad comes around) and +1 commerce for squares adjacent to rivers, lumbermills are the best late-game productivity improvement. They don't have the economic benefits of cottages, watermills, or windmills, but offer a more substantial production boost without sapping your food supply (unlike workshops) or without requiring a specific civic to keep from doing so. The late benefits of a lumbermill must also be weighed against the benefits of chopping in the early game for benefits that can be quite substantial at a time when your civilization's productivity is very low: chopped trees can result in a much faster start, extra cities, or more wonders. I chop trees in the early game for chop-rushing settlers or crucial wonders, but by the mid-game when instant productivity is no longer urgent, I prefer to preserve any remaining trees for future lumbermills.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Mine[\BOLD]: +2 production, +1 more (+3 total) with railroad. A substantial productivity boost as long as you have enough food to go around. The option between windmills and mines is nice for hill squares.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Workshop:[\BOLD] +1 production, -1 food. With max upgrades they can offer up to +3 production, and with state property, no food penalty. This allows the same +3 production as lumbermill, without requiring you to keep trees around until the late game. The food penalty early on makes this a poor choice in the early middle ages, but once you have state property, workshops represent an excellent improvement for production. However, if you depend on workshops and state property, you will largely be obliged to stay with that civic through the rest of the game -- or see your cities starve when you change, unless you have a large food surplus from other sources.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]8. SPECIALIZATION[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Since you can only build 2 national wonders in a city and because GP points accrue according to specialties, it makes sense to have specialized cities in CIV. I aim for a science city (oxford university + great library), a military city (pentagon + heroic epic + west point), a culture city (hermitage + globe theater), an economic city (wall street), and will put the national epic in the city with the most wonders (and most GP points).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In general, keeping a flow of military units from at least one city will keep your cities happy (large cities get upset without protection) and defended. I also try to keep one city pumping out missionaries throughout almost the entire game, occasionally switching production to another city to construct buildings in the city. In my first couple games when I did not continue to produce both military and missionary units in peace time and war time, it caused major problems for me in spite of large leads in other areas.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]CIV rewards the creation of specialized cities. I try to create at least 2 cities of each specialty because of the need to build infrastructure buildings in between building military or religious units, wonders, etc. Specialist cities make sense because you can't build every building in every city, and specialization helps you to leverage your city placement by putting buildings in the cities where they will do the most good.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The first step in deciding the division of labor between specialized cities is to evaluate the surrounding land. A city in an area with luxury resources could be a great trade/science city, while one in an area with many mines and high production would likely make a good military city for creating units, or for rapidly building wonders. A city with abundant food supply would make a good specialist city to increase great people generation.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Military City[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Build in:[\BOLD] productive area with high hammer yield (mines, watermills, etc)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Buildings:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Barracks Forge Factory[NEWLINE]Power source (coal, hydro, nuclear), Granary Aqueduct[NEWLINE][BOLD]National wonders:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][BOLD]first city:[\BOLD] Heroic Epic (+100% military production in city), West Point (+4 exp/military unit)[NEWLINE][BOLD]second city:[\BOLD] Red Cross (free Medic I promotion), Ironworks (near iron or coal) -- consider designating this one a military city from the time iron appears on the map.[NEWLINE][BOLD]World Wonders:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Pentagon (+2 experience for units trained in any city, can be built anywhere)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Discussion:[\BOLD] You will need many military units during the game, so why build them from just anywhere when you can build them quickly in a specialized city and get free experience points to boot?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Science City[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Build in:[\BOLD] area with abundant commerce[NEWLINE][BOLD]Improvements:[\BOLD] focus on cottages -&gt;towns[NEWLINE][BOLD]Buildings:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Academy (+50% research, requires great scientist) Library (+25% research)[NEWLINE]Observatory (+25% research) University (+25% research)[NEWLINE]Laboratory (+25% research)[NEWLINE]Monastery (+10% research, but becomes obsolete - may skip this one)[NEWLINE][BOLD]National wonders: [\BOLD][NEWLINE]Oxford University (+100% research)[NEWLINE][BOLD]World Wonders:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Great Library (+2 scientists, expires)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Merchant City[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Build in:[\BOLD] area with abundant commerce[NEWLINE][BOLD]Improvements:[\BOLD] focus on cottages -&gt;towns[NEWLINE][BOLD]Buildings:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Market (+25% gold) Grocer (+25% gold)[NEWLINE]Bank (+50% gold) Airport (+1 trade route)[NEWLINE][BOLD]National Wonders:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Wall Street (+100% gold)[NEWLINE][BOLD]GP Focus:[\BOLD] great merchant[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Culture City[\H2][NEWLINE]Consider combining with science city as many science improvements also generate culture. I don't generally build a culture-only city for that reason, I go for culture/science. But here are the culture listings for those interested in culture victory, not including science improvements.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Buildings:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Temple (+1 culture) Monastery (+2 culture)[NEWLINE]Cathedral or equivalent (+50% culture) Theater (+3 culture)[NEWLINE]Broadcast tower (+50% culture)[NEWLINE][BOLD]National Wonders: [\BOLD][NEWLINE]Hermitage (+100% culture) Globe theater (+6 culture)[NEWLINE][BOLD]World Wonders: [\BOLD][NEWLINE]Hollywood (+50% culture) Rock n' Roll (+50% culture)[NEWLINE]Broadway (+50% culture) Sistine chapel (+2 culture per specialist in all cities)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If going for a culture victory, consider balancing your national and world culture wonders between 3 cities to allow each to achieve legendary culture.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Great People City[\H2][NEWLINE]Obviously this one should be combined with another city of your choice, as the world and national wonders built in other cities contribute GP points. I like to make my GP city one that focuses on GP types that I find to be the most valuable (great engineers -- can rush wonders, or perhaps scientists -- can create academy, rather than prophets, artists, or merchants)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]National wonder:[\BOLD] National Epic (+100% GP birth rate in city)[NEWLINE][BOLD]World Wonders: [\BOLD][NEWLINE]Parthenon (+50% GP birth rate in all cities) Great Library (+2 scientists in city, but expires)[NEWLINE]Statue of Liberty (+1 specialist in all cities)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergistic Civic:[\BOLD] pacifism (+100% GP rate, no upkeep)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]9. WONDERS [\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]When beginning every game, you will want to consider what wonders are a priority for you and what wonders you will pass on. It is rarely possible to get every wonder. Realistic decisions must be made and tech paths to get the desired wonders early must be considered. There is little as frustrating as coming within a few turns of completing an expensive wonder only to lose your effort because another civ beat you to it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wonder decisions can make or break the game. A few key wonders can provide advantages turning the tide in your favor, while an inappropriate focus on wonders at the expense of defense or growth can leave your civilization vulnerable.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The player should also consider what role wonders will play in the overall strategy. If you are playing as a philosophical or industrious nation, constructing numerous wonders should be a centerpiece of your strategy. For militaristic players, wonders should play little role, as a vast army can be constructed in the time of constructing just a few wonders. The militaristic player should therefore aim for a few targeted wonders, while the philosophical or industrious player should strive for a much longer list.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Some wonders offer considerable early benefits, but expire. Others offer mediocre benefits that expire regardless (the Hagia Sophia is infamous for frequently becoming obsolete only shortly after it is constructed). Wonders expire when YOU get the expiring tech, not when your neighbors do. So I often hold off on trading for the calender tech until all my cities have experienced border expansion from Stonehenge, and avoid getting chemistry until the last possible moment to milk the Parthenon for every great person point possible. Still others offer great game-long benefits.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Unless you are going for a culture victory, great artists are the least useful of all of the great people (+3 commerce, +14 culture). Therefore, I try to keep wonders offering great artist points out of my principal wonder city to avoid generating less-useful great people there. Great scientists are perhaps the most useful for their ability to add an academy in one city each. Great engineers (+3 hammers) and great prophets (+2 hammer) are the most useful as they add productivity. Great merchants add food, although only +1, in addition to commerce.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To maximize the conversion of great people points into great people, it is best to concentrate as many wonders as possible in one, two, or three designated wonder-building cities. The decision of how many cities to designate as primary or secondary wonder-builders will depend on your playing style.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Here is a list of wonders that I make priorities, keeping in mind that the wonders different players favor will vary widely depending on their play style and tactics.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Priority Expiring Wonders[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Stonehenge:[\BOLD] obelisk, +1 culture in every city, expires @ Calendar.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Great Library:[\BOLD] +2 scientists is a big deal at a time when many of your cities can't dedicate the pop to specialists, especially if you build this in your great people focus city. Perhaps most importantly, the +6 GP points/turn from 2 scientists in addition to the +2 GP from the wonder (total 8 GP points/turn) can help you quickly to get great scientists who can found academies in your largest cities, especially in the presence of philosophical/pacifist /Parthenon /national epic synergisms. Getting the great library with several great scientists can therefore generate a massive bonus that will speed your research throughout the entire remainder of the game, long after the GL's primary effects have expired. After the GL, the oxford university is the only good generator of great scientist points until after the middle ages.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Parthenon[\BOLD]: +50% GP birth rate in all cities. Vital for philosophical civs, but unfortunately doesn't last forever.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Non-Expiring Wonders[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Hanging Gardens:[\BOLD] +1 pop, +1 health in all cities. This is a huge early wonder that can catapult your civ ahead, especially if you have many small or modest-sized cities. Adding an extra pop and health point to every city boosts your economy, your research, your productivity, etc.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Notre Dame[\BOLD]: +1 happiness for all cities on continent[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Versailles[\BOLD]: reduces maintenance in nearby cities[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Statue of Liberty:[\BOLD] a free specialist in every city. Fabulous for philosophical civs. Probably my # 1 wonder in the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Pentagon:[\BOLD] +2 experience points for units trained in all cities[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Three Gorges Dam:[\BOLD] power for all cities on continent located near a river[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Eiffel Tower:[\BOLD](free broadcast tower in every city) gives a big culture boost[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Wonders by GP type[\H2][NEWLINE](all world wonders +2 GP points, all national wonders +1)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Great Scientist:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Great Library (marble) (+2 scientists)[NEWLINE]Oxford University (stone) (+100% research, 3 citizens as scientists)[NEWLINE]Space Elevator[NEWLINE]Red Cross[NEWLINE]Scotland Yard[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Capital: Stonehenge, pyramids, hanging gardens, great library, ironworks (?)[NEWLINE]Wonder city 2: parthenon, notre dame, national epic[NEWLINE]Military city[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Great Prophet:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Stonehenge (stone): obelisk in each city[NEWLINE]Angkor Wat (stone): +1 production from priests in all cities, allows 3 priests. This makes priest specialists (up to +2 hammers, +1 gold) the most productive specialists, beating out engineers (+2 hammers, no other bonuses) -- until the wonder expires[NEWLINE]Oracle (marble) (1 free tech)[NEWLINE]Chichen Itza (stone): +25% defense in all cities[NEWLINE]Spiral minaret (stone). +1 gold from all state religion buildings. Nice, although a relatively small bonus.[NEWLINE]Religious holy wonder: minus 1 production, spreads religion, 1 gold from each, allows 3 priests[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Great Engineer:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Hanging gardens (stone) (+1 population, +1 health in all cities)[NEWLINE]Pentagon (+2 experience to military units in all cities)[NEWLINE]Three Gorges Dam[NEWLINE]Ironworks (allows 3 citizens as engineers)[NEWLINE]West Point (stone) (+4 experience per unit)[NEWLINE]Pyramids (stone) (allows all government civics) - a big boost in the early game[NEWLINE]Hagia Sophia (marble) (+50% worker build speed)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Great Merchant:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Colossus (copper) (+1 gold in all city water tiles)[NEWLINE]Statue of Liberty (+1 free specialist in all cities on the continent)[NEWLINE]Wall Street[NEWLINE]Forbidden Palace (acts as a 2nd capital decreasing distance maintenance)[NEWLINE]Versailles (marble)[NEWLINE]Great Lighthouse (+2 trade routes in coastal cities)[NEWLINE]Eiffel Tower (free broadcast tower in every city)[NEWLINE]United Nations[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Great Artist:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Parthenon (marble) (+50% GP birth rate in all cities)[NEWLINE]Notre Dame (+1 happiness in all cities)[NEWLINE]National epic (stone) (+100% GP birth rate)[NEWLINE]Hollywood (+1 happiness)[NEWLINE]Rock n' Roll (+1 happiness)[NEWLINE]Broadway (+1 happiness)[NEWLINE]Heroic Epic (marble) (+100% military unit production)[NEWLINE]Hermitage (marble)[NEWLINE]Globe Theater (no unhappiness in this city, allows 3 artists)[NEWLINE]Taj Mahal[NEWLINE]Mt. Rushmore (stone)[NEWLINE]Kremlin (stone)[NEWLINE]Sistine chapel (marble)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Most important early resources:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Stone, marble, iron[NEWLINE]Put Parthenon, notre dame, statue of liberty in a separate wonder city[NEWLINE]National epic in capital[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]10. GREAT PEOPLE[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In maximizing great people points, you can get some great synergy between traits, civics, wonders, and improvements. If you want a lot of great people, get as many of these as possible.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Note that all bonuses are additive, not multiplicative. For example, 2 100% bonuses on top of a 100% base produce a 300% rate (100% base +100% x2), not 400% (they only add their bonus to the BASE rate, not to the final rate after other adjustments). Also, all fractions in the game are rounded DOWN (i.e. a 25% bonus of 7 is rounded down to 1, a 25% bonus of 8 is necessary for +2)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Traits:[NEWLINE]Philosophical trait : +100% GP generation civ-wide[NEWLINE]Civics:[NEWLINE]labor - caste system: unlimited scientists, merchants, artists in all cities[NEWLINE]economy - mercantilism: +1 free specialist per city; or (in games with many rivers) state property for the watermill food bonus, allowing higher POP and thus more specialists[NEWLINE]religion - pacifism: +100% GP birth rate in cities with state religion[NEWLINE]National wonders:[NEWLINE]national epic - +100% GP in city where built (only)[NEWLINE]World Wonders:[NEWLINE]Parthenon: +50% GP generation civ-wide, expires with chemistry[NEWLINE]Statue of Liberty: +1 free specialist in all cities[NEWLINE]great library: +2 free scientists in city where built, but expires.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A civ with max upgrades (not including great library) would have:[NEWLINE]- a 300% great people rate (100% base + 100% philosophical + 100% pacifism) + 50% from Parthenon (before expires) + 100% more in city with national wonder[NEWLINE]- 2 free specialists in all cities (mercantilism statue of liberty). At 300% return on a 3 GP base per specialist x 2 specialists, this would provide 18 GP points *per turn* even in your least developed cities with no wonders.[NEWLINE]-unlimited ability to allocate scientists, artists, and merchants in all cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Note again that the wonder bonuses expire when YOU get the tech in question, not your neighbors...therefore a philosophical civ with the Parthenon may want to push back getting chemistry as late as possible.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Of course some great people types are more valuable than others. Great engineers allow you to rush wonders which can provide key benefits in a close game. And great scientists can allow you to build an academy (+50% research) in every city. Great merchants, artists, and prophets, while still valuable, have effects that are generally somewhat more modest in terms of long-term game play. Since the chance of getting a great person of different types depends on the wonders and specialists in each city, I like having separate cities focus on great engineers and scientists without mixing with the other types as much as possible (you don't want to have your city with engineering wonders drowned out by large numbers of merchant, artist, or priest specialists pushing the GP probability towards other types). I don't have a strong preference between merchants, artists, and prophets, and so will build wonders generating all 3 in the same city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Bonuses allowing you to turn citizens into engineers are generated only by:[NEWLINE]Forge (allows 1 engineer)[NEWLINE]Factory (allows 2 engineers)[NEWLINE]Ironworks (allows 3 engineers)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Engineer GP points are generated by:[NEWLINE]West Point (+1 GP)[NEWLINE]Hanging Gardens (+2)[NEWLINE]Pentagon (+2)[NEWLINE]Pyramids (+2)[NEWLINE]Three Gorges Dam (+2)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The military city is the most natural choice for an engineer GP city (forge + factory + ironworks + west point + pentagon).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]---[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As the cost for great people increase throughout the game, diminishing returns are eventually reached. Later in the game, the cost of great people goes up and up, while the benefit of great people often declines, since the earlier you get great people, the longer they will benefit your civilization. However, your civilization should also increase in its capacity to generate great people over time, civics are chosen, as wonders are built and citizens are assigned as specialists. With appropriate tactics, many great people can still be generated even in the late game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Every great person can cause either an instant benefit, provide a tech bonus, or add a long-term bonus to cities. The benefits must be carefully considered. In *most* cases, I prefer to use great people in a manner that augments the long-term productivity of my cities, although there are exceptional cases where great people are best used to rush a tech or a wonder.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Two types of great people present no-brainers for their use:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Great prophets. Before using great prophets in any other way, make sure that you have created the religion-specific wonder in any founding religious city under your control. If you have made any attempt at all to spread the religion, or of you are conquering the founding city of a religion that is widely accepted, this can produce massive financial benefits that dwarf virtually any other use of great people.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Great scientists. Use them to create academies in all of your top science cities. Which would you rather have -- an extra +6 or so science per turn in the city of your choice, or a 50% increase in science in a city that is already generating 50, 75, or 200 beakers per turn? Although the increase acts only on the base number of commerce points applied to research (before other modifiers are applied), a great scientist can result in massive research output for cities, especially in conjunction with other science improvements (library/university/observatory/Oxford University/etc).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For other great people, I usually prefer to join them to a city, with occasional exceptions as previously acknowledged.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great artists. If you are going for a cultural victory, great artists are your friend. A very nice strategy for cultural victory on Monarch level, using great artists either by joining to a city or as "culture bombs" to titrate legendary culture among three cities is presented by walkerjks here: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=138647[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you are not going for a cultural victory, great artists are by far the weakest of all great people. I find that in most cases it is preferable to join great artists to border cities or captured cities instead of invoking the "culture bomb." Great artists produce +12 to +15 culture per turn, which is the equivalent of many cultural buildings (library = +2 culture, theater = +3, etc) and will quickly expand the city's borders -- in addition to any cultural multipliers the city may have (cathedrals, hermitage, civics, etc). In this way, you still continue to receive the commerce benefits of the great artist throughout the game, speeding your research and filling your coffers.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great merchant. The great merchant is the ONLY great person that offers a food bonus (+1 food, +6 commerce appears typical). I prefer to join great merchants to high-commerce cities that focus on great people creation (the city with the national epic is often a great choice), since more food allows you to allocate more specialists, further increasing great people output.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great engineers. As for great prophets, the surplus productivity is welcome. These often go in my capital or most productive city or cities. A city with ironworks makes a great choice for great engineer placement in the late game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]OPTIONS FOR EARLY EXPANSION[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are several good early expansion options. The decision as to which is best for you depends both on map choice and on your playing style.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]11. CHOP-RUSHING[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Chop rushing is a great way to jump ahead in the early game. The first mention I know of was in this thread by AlexFrog:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=137292[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I prefer a somewhat modified version of the strategy. The strategy involves founding initial cities in areas with a large number of trees within their "fat cross" area. The player researches bronze working immediately while building a worker in the capital city before building any other units or buildings. Once the worker is done (12-15 turns) and bronze working is researched, the worker immediately goes to work chopping trees around the capital. Each tree chopped results in 20 hammers, which can rocket a level 1 city that may have only 1, 2, or 3 hammers far ahead.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The most logical initial use of "chop-rushing" is for settlers and workers, since your cities are normally stagnant (do not grow) while these units are being produced, and because these units are vital to the growth and productivity of your civilization. I save trees to chop-rush settlers, workers, or wonders, since the construction of buildings or military units allows your cities to grow during the production phase, while production of the former two does not, and the third category (wonders) is a race. Chop-rushing typically allows me to plant 2-3 times as many cities as my closest AI competitors on noble level.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Of course, settlers must never be sent out undefended, so I like to first build at least one (possibly two) warriors, sending at least one out to explore and pop goody huts (in addition to the starting warrior) while the second will act as your settler escort. I periodically build warriors during the rapid expansion phase to ensure that my cities and settlers are adequately defended.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Because of maintenance costs increasing with both distance and city number (and I will place cities at long distances from my capital when necessary to secure important resources), it is impractical to build a civilization by the exclusive virtue of chop-rushing. There must be a balance. Once I get three or four cities, I let one or two grow and develop -- building a granary or military units to increase in size and to defend the borders, while the others chop-rush. I also assign some workers to build improvements very early -- cottages in particular, in addition to improvements required by special resources -- in order to ensure that city commerce, on average, is in excess of upkeep costs, allowing continued rapid research and continued growth. As a rough rule of thumb, on noble level, if my research percentage falls below 70%, that is a warning sign to me that I need to better develop the city economic base by building more cottages and letting cities grow to a larger size before expanding.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Chop-rushing can also be a terrific way to get wonders, especially when you have special resources that speed wonder building. For example, Stonehenge costs 120 hammers, but if you have stone, every forest chopped will give double (not 20, but 40) hammers. Therefore, you only need to chop three trees to build Stonehenge in a city with stone -- as opposed to the many turns it would take to build it without chop-rushing. This is a great way to get key wonders as a non-industrious civ, and the ability of any civilization to do this really waters down the value of the industrious trait.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Edit: the patch slightly weakens chop-rushing. Chopping income has dropped from thirty to twenty hammers, with that number being further reduced for chops further from the city (outside the city radius?) Mathematics adds +50% (back to the original 30), but it comes in the end of the first age at a time that is not as useful as an immediate chop-rush would be. Also, unlike Civ3, cutting down trees doesn't increase food harvest, so you have to immediately place farms or cottages or do something else to develop the land in other ways. Chopping offers a quick up-front bonus but can dent your long-term production if you overdo it. Weigh the pros and cons carefully in each situation.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In a recent test game in which I preserved the forests in the cities (for the health benefits and to maintain the forest productivity), I found that by the mid-middle ages, my tech rate had dropped virtually to zero and my workers began to strike and units were automatically disbanded because expenses were greater than income. Retaining the forests as opposed to chopping and planting cottages widely didn't provide the economic revenue to support the rapid city expansion that I prefer, even with measured expansion letting many of the cities grow to mid-size. Therefore I continue to favor chopping trees - whether in an early settler rush, or to complete wonders - also to free up the land for farms (faster growth) or cottage improvements (improve economy and tech speed).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]EXPANDING YOUR CAPITAL[\H2][NEWLINE]As attractive as it may seem, chop rushing faces major limitations, especially after being significantly tuned down in the recent patch. Chopping trees can push cities located near flood plains into unhealthiness and decline. Chops offer a one-time boost after which the city returns to its prior production. Depending on your situation, allowing the capital to develop before sending out settlers can be a better option. For example, if you can expand your capital in 8 turns and get a square that offers a combined 3 food and/or hammers, you will get a bonus of +1 food or hammer (2 of the food go to support the expanded population) for every subsequent turn throughout the game. For an average level 1 city with 3 resources in the center square and 3 on the first worked square (4 surplus food/hammers for settlers/workers), it takes 25 turns (4x25=100) to build a 100 resource settler and 15 turns (4x15) to build a 60-resource worker. Just one surplus resource, after paying food costs, by expanding to level 2 will drop this down to 20 turns for the settler (5 resources x 20 turns) and 12 turns for the worker. Expanding to level 3 to work another 3-resource tile, which you can generally do in another 8 turns after the first expansion with good city placement, will give you 6 surplus resources, dropping settler creation time to 17 turns and worker creation down to 10 turns.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Let's do a comparison of a city that immediately builds 4 settlers, vs. one that spends 16 turns building warriors to grow twice, and switches production to settlers before the 2nd warrior is completed:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build order: 4 Settlers 1 1/2 warriors, 4 settlers[NEWLINE]Turns to 1st settler 25 16 (to grow twice), then 17 for settler = 33[NEWLINE]2nd settler 50 50[NEWLINE]3rd settler 75 67[NEWLINE]4th settler 100 84[NEWLINE]Final capital size 1 3[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As you can see, the city that expands to level 3 first catches up with the city that immediately built only settlers by the time the 2nd settler is completed. The fact that the settler-only city completed its first settler 9 turn earlier does not make up for this, as the 9 turns allow for barely 1 cycle of growth as opposed to the 2 that the first city has achieved.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The expand-first city ends up far ahead because at the end, it is better developed and more productive than the city that pumped out settlers immediately. The expand-first model also has the advantage of producing warriors to defend your units, as unprotected settlers are not likely to survive.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you are well-situated and can develop those resources further, the model shifts even more in favor of allowing your city to increase in size. For example, if you can irrigate 2 flood plains up to +4 food each in your size 3 city and have one special resource you can get 2 food or hammers from, your total surplus will be 10 (3 from center tile, 2 per tile from 2 floodplains, and 3 from specialty resource) per turn. You can then build settlers in just 10 turns. At that point, you are expanding FASTER than you could with chop-rushing. Between chopping and moving, trees take 3-4 turns to chop for just 20 hammers and are limited, while your expanded city is indefinitely producing a surplus of 10/turn.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In general, most cities in the early game do not require more than 3-4 farm tiles. Exceptions may be made for cities on barren land, such as plains or hills. A few judicious farms are usually all that you need in order to jump-start your growth. If you overdo the farming, you can easily push the city into unhappiness, at which point cottages are a better alternative.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The decision of when to develop your capital vs. when to expand depends on your city setup. If tiles around your city are not very fertile (i.e. plains), you may wish to get out a settler sooner rather than later. If however your main city is well-placed and has one or two special resources within its boundaries that you can access with early techs, it is often wise to spend a few turns developing these resources to create a more productive capital.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]12. TECHNOLOGY[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great variability comes in here. Depending on your civilization traits and technologies, your level, and your play style, you may have different technological priorities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Some players favor chop-rushing for early expansion, going straight for bronze working. Then I go for pottery (to build cottages ASAP) and from there to alphabet (to trade techs). After alphabet, I trade with the AI as much as possible. I go for mathematics (to get hanging gardens) and then try to grab a religion -- Confucianism or, if I miss that, one of the others.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In many cases, investment in techs such as agriculture, animal domestication, and hunting can be more valuable than bronze working chop-rushing.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you are playing as a civ with early religious technologies, you may wish to shoot straight for an early religion. I prefer the path that leads to Hinduism/Judaism since if you are beaten to Hinduism, Judaism is right around the corner, while Buddhism is a dead end (at least for a while) and the AI seems to go for it quickly. Monotheism also has the benefit of offering the organized religion civic, which at +25% building construction (including wonders!) can prove to be an enormous benefit to your civilization's development. This, as well as the early spread of religion from your cities (with happiness etc), can make an early religion very, very worthwhile. From there, you can go for bronze-working and chop rush, or you can go straight for alphabet, trade for bronze working (which is typically readily available once alphabet is discovered), and chop rush.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Going for the religious techs (polytheism-&gt;monotheism) early has great advantages even for a non-spiritual civ, if you can get there quickly. The religious techs offer key early-era wonders, including Stonehenge and the Parthenon, and perhaps the most important ancient-era civic, organized religion, which can further enhance your speed in constructing wonders and other buildings. If you don't go for these techs very quickly, you will probably lose the wonder race. As you can't trade for techs until you have alphabet, and many maps feature limited access to potential trading partners, the only reliable way to get these techs is to research them yourself. If you are playing as a philosophical civ, getting the early wonders is especially critical.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Either way has advantages and drawbacks, but both playing styles can be viable. Of course you can mix and match these: shoot for early religion and then quickly add bronze working (but miss out on some early chop-rushing), or research bronze working and then pick up the religious techs in time to get access to the wonders (but you will probably lose the early religion race). There undoubtedly others as well, but the above two are my favorites.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Here are some of the key techs I focus on acquiring, making modification depending on map type and difficulty level:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]0. Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Hunting: these techs are vital to be able to hook up your bonus resources. Farming in particular is very important.[NEWLINE]1. Mysticism (65 beakers). Stonehenge, and prerequisite for other religious techs.[NEWLINE]2. Polytheism (130 beakers). Hinduism and Parthenon (key for philosophical civs).[NEWLINE]3. Bronze working (156 beakers). Chop rushing. 'nuf said.[NEWLINE]4. Wheel (78 beakers). Workers and resources won't do you much good until you can build roads. This can be moved down below monotheism depending on whether you have already gotten a religion and how tight you feel the race for Judaism will be.[NEWLINE]5. Pottery (104 beakers). Your workers can now start building cottages, and allows granary. Because of how long cottages take to develop, it is important to get cottages started early. Also to defray the heavy upkeep costs of a large empire.[NEWLINE]6. Masonry (104 beakers). Prerequisite for Monotheism. Allows building mines and quarries. While researching this you will hopefully be sending a settler and a worker to hook up stone (stonehenge, pyramids, hanging gardens) and marble (Parthenon) resources.[NEWLINE]7. Monotheism (156 beakers). Judaism and organized religion. The moment you are ready to begin building Stonehenge in your capital (or any other building), switch to organized religion to provide a +25% hammer bonus for wonders and buildings.[NEWLINE]8. Writing (156 beakers) and alphabet (390 beakers). Allows tech trades, allowing the player to pick up any missed techs.[NEWLINE]9. Mathematics (325 beakers) - workers produce +50% hammers from tree chops (up to 30). Also enables hanging garden, a key wonder for rapid population expansion. Very important for both counts.[NEWLINE]10. Metal casting (585 beakers). Forges add +25% productivity to any city where they are built. When you have stone and/or marble, organized religion civic, and forges, your cities can quickly construct buildings and wonders. Unfortunately, this tech quite expensive.[NEWLINE]11. Literature (260 beakers). Heroic epic, national epic, great library, and libraries. All important structures.[NEWLINE]12. Music (780 beakers). Free great artist to the first discoverer. Also allows Notre Dame and cathedrals, vital happiness buildings.[NEWLINE]13. Drama (390) and philosophy (1040 beakers). Philosophy offers Taoism to the first discoverer, and pacifism is a helpful civic for philosophical civs. Angkor Wat is nice (+1 production from priests in all cities) if you can get it.[NEWLINE]14. Paper (780), Education (2340 - allows universities/oxford), Liberalism (1820). Liberalism is a high priority both because it offers a free technology (you can pick the most expensive one available) and because of the free speech civic. The +2 gold from towns education offers is nice as long as enough of your cottages have developed into towns to warrant the expense of this tech path.[NEWLINE]15. printing press (2080), requires paper. +1 commerce in towns and villages. Another economic bonus, but the expense is so high that other techs may be a higher priority. Replaceable parts (2340) offers +1 hammer for watermills and windmills. This is really the point in the game where watermills become worthwhile.[NEWLINE]16. nationalism (2340), constitution (2600), democracy (3640). Nationalism and constitution have little to recommend them, except as prerequisites for democracy. Democracy is a huge advance to both economics and production because it allows universal suffrage (+1 production boost to towns) and emancipation (doubles rate of cottages -&gt; towns).[NEWLINE]17. Divine Right (1560) islam, spiral minaret, Versailles. Another opportunity to pick up a religion. Spiral minaret provides major economic boost (+1 gold per state religion building in all cities). It is however very expensive.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Currency (520 beakers): +1 trade route per city, and enables gold trading. Both of these can produce a major economic boost. I usually wait and trade for this, but getting it early may be warranted if your upkeep costs are becoming difficult to manage or your tech rate is dropping.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Others:[NEWLINE]Iron working: Reveals iron. Being able to clear jungles is necessary to be able to access some resources and to increase health. Usually I trade for this tech after alphabet, but there are certainly exceptions requiring early iron working (if you have a bad starting location in a jungle harming productivity).[NEWLINE]Iron working is critical to military also. As soon as you get this and iron is revealed, it is vital to claim and develop that iron promptly. Make sure to devote one city to military to pump out archers (before iron to garrison all your cities) and swordsmen (after iron) for defense and offense.[NEWLINE]Archery: a must if you have aggressive neighbors. You may be able to hold off until after alphabet and trade for this depending on your setup, but if you are playing against human players, you need to get this ASAP.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other key techs[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Mathematics. Hanging Gardens -- + 1 POP and +1 health in all your cities is huge, especially when you have a lot of small and moderate-size cities. The hanging gardens can really explode your productivity when you have a large empire from a chop-rush settler rush.[NEWLINE]Music (free great artist)[NEWLINE]Military Tradition (cavalry rule the middle ages)[NEWLINE]Divine Right (Versailles/Islam)[NEWLINE]Metallurgy (watermill)[NEWLINE]Democracy (emancipation &amp; universal suffrage).[NEWLINE]Communism (state property)[NEWLINE]Then to any other techs that improve the benefits of your improvements (i.e. electricity).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I also try to pick up the techs that offer free great people or free techs. These techs obviously represent a priority, as only the first discoverer gets the bonus.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]13. MILITARY STRATEGY[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Game Plan[\H2][NEWLINE]Before each game, consider spending a few minutes to write down some basic goals and strategies that you wish to incorporate. The plan will depend considerably on map type, terrain, size, difficulty leve, and opponents (AI or human). Of course the plan will need to be flexible to take advantage of opportunities and to respond to contingencies and challenges.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After the game, review your strategy and honestly assess which aspects worked well, and what aspects fell flat or met challenges. Use your insight to fine-tune your strategy and improve your next game plan.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Anticipation and Preparation[\H2][NEWLINE]The computer will attack suddenly and in force in CIV. It is not unusual for the computer to DOW someone and raze their city with a stack of units in the same turn. The AI, like human players, is an opportunist. If you happen to build a city right next to enemy military units, or if AI players see a poorly defended city near their military units, they are more likely to declare war than if your cities were defended and settlers were escorted. Close borders also spark tensions. Different religion is also a major cause of hostility. The AI can and does declare war even when there are mildly positive relations, so don't be too smug at your relationship score. You must defend your cities and resources. Even if you are not a warmonger, build a credible defense force. If your military is much weaker than your neighbors, you will soon find yourself in war. Anticipate attacks in advance. Is your neighbor massing catapults and swordsmen near your border? What are the stacked archer and warrior doing near your cities? Assume the worst, be observant, and be informed. Judge your enemy by their capability, not their words or relations.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Border Cities[\H2][NEWLINE]Beware of border cities without a large cultural buffer between other civilizations. In one game I had a brilliant idea to build the forbidden palace in a border city. Then while I was engaged in a war against the Mongols on the other side of my empire, Saladin declared war and conquered the city the same turn with hordes of catapults, knights, and crossbowmen. Expensive cultural improvements are instantly lost once a city is conquered. Don't put anything too critical in border cities, especially those without a significant buffer zone, and don't get too involved in constructing major buildings in border cities until you have them well-defended with strong contemporary units. Don't leave your back side exposed. And don't let success in the tech race come at the expense of national security.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Strategy[\H2][NEWLINE]When starting a war, consider your objectives. What are your goals? Acquisition of specific resources or cities? Capturing a wonder? Total annexation? Or, if caught by surprise, would you be happy to get away with a white peace? Once you have determined your goals, come up with a strategic plan to get there. Make sure that your unit mix is balanced and well-thought out. More than once in my early games, I found myself besieging cities with large stacks of units but no catapults -- bad idea. What are you going to do about city defenses? Are their resources you can deny your opponent? Will you create a two or three pronged attack and exploit vulnerabilities? Will you land a horde of cavalry and catapults by his capital for a sneak attack after shipping them behind enemy lines? It is much easier to achieve objectives if you know what your specific objectives are and have a viable plan to achieve them. It's far more effective to have a plan and fine-tune it as needed while in process than to fly by the seat of your pants and make it up as you go along.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Also take time to consider your opponent's strategy...*especially* if playing a human. Look at your own empire and assess your own vulnerabilities. Is YOUR iron supply undefended? Could an enemy wreak havoc with a few knights shipped in to attack rear cities? Do you have rows of cottages in a border city ripe for plundering? If you were your enemy, what would you do? If your vulnerabilities are lost on you, be assured that they will not be lost on a competent opponent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Resource Denial[\H2][NEWLINE]When planning a war, aim to take out key military and civilian resources. The resource screen shows you exactly what resources your opponents have. Some of the resources, like copper and iron, are essential for war. If you enemy has one source of iron and you fortify on that square with good defenders and pillage it, your enemy will instantly lose the ability to make swordsmen -- and many other units, unless he has a copper supply as well. No copper, iron, or horses? Suddenly your formerly formidable medieval opponent is back in the stone age and is able to produce only warriors and archers. A few strategic moves of this nature can turn the tide of a war.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other special resources are worth pillaging also. If your opponent has large cities that are marginally happy or healthy, pillaging a few luxury or health resources can catastrophically damage commerce, tech speed, and productivity across his entire empire. Pillaging of specialty resources in this way has a far greater effect than the pillaging of cottages, since the effects are felt in every connected city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]To Pillage or Not to Pillage[\H2][NEWLINE]Some argue for pillaging as many of your opponents cottages as possible in order to cause long-term damage to his research and economy. Against a superior or closely-matched opponent, this can be a good idea. However, it can be shortsighted if you have the upper hand.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If I am convinced that I have superior force and can take a city, I don't pillage cottages, mines, or watermills. Given how long cottages take to develop, I pillage them ONLY when I think that I am unable to take a city outright during the current war. As attractive as the quick gold from pillaging seems, it is trivial compared to having a long-term free revenue source that your opponent built for you -- adding insult to injury. Conquered cities will often have high maintenance due to their distance from your capital and the incremental augmentation of city number, and if they can pay their own expenses right off the bat, your warmongering will be much more economically sustainable.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Diplomacy[\H2][NEWLINE]When evenly matched or over-matched, diplomacy plays an immense role. If the Mongols catch you by surprise and burn a couple border cities, what better way to pay them back than bribing their neighbors with tech or gold to declare war on them? Sure, they may have thought they were smart to exploit a momentary vulnerability when their keshiks found a lightly-guarded city...but finding themselves in a war on two or three fronts will wipe the smile off their faces and take the pressure off you. If I am caught by surprise in a war for which I am not fully prepared or do not want, I do not hesitate to trade prime techs to bribe allies to join on my side.</German>
		<Italian>[H1]WoundedKnight's Strategy Guide[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]WoundedKnight[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Table of Contents[\H2][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]1. Learn the Rules[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]2. Civilization Selection[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]3. Leverage Your Strengths[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]4. Religions[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]5. City Placement[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]6. Civics Guide[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]7. City Improvement[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]8. Specialization[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]9. Wonders[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]10. Great People[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]11. Chop-Rushing[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]12. Technology[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]13. Military Strategy[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]1. LEARN THE RULES[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The best-spent two hours for my CIV strategy skills was spent pouring over the civilopedia to understand the rules, the tech trees, improvements, units, etc. It's much easier to do well if you have a clear strategy and know where you want to go. For example, some techs offer bonuses to the first discoverer: a free great person, a free great tech, or starting a religion. Obviously these techs are generally a priority to get first, while others with benefits that are not time-sensitive can wait or be picked up in trade.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]MAP CHOICE[\H2][NEWLINE]The choice of maps can have a major impact upon gameplay, and therefore upon the strategy you may choose to adopt. For example:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Continental and archipelago maps promote early isolation of civs into 2-3 large groups (continents) or even individual civs (archipelago). Your continent or island may not have access at all to key resources like stone, marble, horses, and iron, which can make your construction or military plans more difficult. It is also more difficult to keep your population happy, as your island or continent may contain only 2 or 3 luxury resources. Your tech rate will also be slower, because there are fewer partners to trade with. On continent maps, I often find myself having to research mundane techs like archery or animal domestication because there are not enough proximate AI players to become a reliable tech broker. On the plus side, these maps can provide for a more interesting late game than Pangaea maps by allowing longer buildup of your competitors and preventing them from being weakened or destroyed in early-game rush. Naval combat adds an interesting element that Pangaea or large land-mass players do not fully experience. The early isolation makes it easier to stay at peace throughout the early era, or to isolate and crush enemies on your starting island without other players interfering.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Maps with a large amount of land and little water (oasis, highland, lakes, etc) pose major long-term barbarian challenges. There is so much land that the barbarians continue to arise from territory covered by the fog of war until late in the game. Defending your cities requires extra effort on such maps. On the plus side, you may be able to capture a city or two from the barbarians.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Pangaea and other land-mass maps offer predictable early availability of all tech-appropriate resources, although you may have to fight for them. However, such maps can be less interesting if the player becomes very dominant in the early or mid-game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Maps with strange geometric land arrangements like inland sea result in high city upkeep costs for an expanding civilization, as distance arrangements between your cities are often not optimal due to geographic constraints.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Large land mass games provide more competitors, and therefore reduce the player's chance of winning the religion, tech, or wonder race. On a standard map or smaller on balanced (noble) difficulty, a player without religious techs can often still beat the AI players to Hinduism and/or Judaism. On large and huge maps, chances become slimmer. There are few things as frustrating as spending 20 or 30 turns working on constructing a wonder in your most productive city only to have the AI finish it 2-3 turns before you do.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]2. CIVILIZATION SELECTION[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The decision as to which civilization to play as is an individual one. Traits have various strengths and weaknesses:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Financial:[\BOLD] All-time favorite. Once you get cottages and watermills working, this will gain you +1 extra gold for almost every square being worked in your city radius. This is a huge advantage, when combined with appropriately widespread cottage building, allows the player to maintain a high tech rate even with expensive civics, a large army, and a large empire. Nonetheless, these benefits are not experienced until you have developed a certain city infrastructure and developed your terrain, usually in the classical or late ancient era.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Organized:[\BOLD] The recent patch has done much to enhance the value of the organized trait. Many civics have become significantly more expensive. I find that civic costs now typically cost 33-66% of city maintenance costs depending on civic settings, averaging about 50% for me. In the late game, after a player changes to state property civic to eliminate distance maintenance costs, civic costs are often double city maintenance costs. Because of inflation that increases in the late game, the costs are often even more than they appear. Organized offers a huge benefit by reducing these costs in half. Organized is especially useful because the player receives its benefits throughout the entire game without any effort or development, and the significant savings are always welcome. This can easily add at least 10% if not 20% to the tech rate. Cheap courthouses help you to reduce expenses even further.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Philosophical:[\BOLD] +100% GP. Synergistic with the religious civics (Pacifism - +100% GP rate) and the national epic (+100% GP in the city of your choice), as well as mercantilism, national epic, statue of liberty, etc. Optimal utilization of the philosophical trait requires a heavy wonder-building play style. The high costs of wonder construction consume the resources of your most productive cities that could otherwise be devoted to conquest or expansion. This is therefore not an ideal trait for warmongers. On harder difficulty levels, philosophical may be less useful than on noble, as it will be difficult to utilize the benefits unless you are able to win the wonder race. The philosophical trait received a substantial, although indirect, bonus from the patch, as wonders continue to give GP points even after they expire. If you have philosophical trait, you will get twice the points from your expired wonders as non-philosophicals.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After playing with the philosophical trait extensively, I have found it to be much less useful than I initially believed. Unfortunately, double the GP points does not mean double the number of GPs. A point of diminishing returns is encountered with each GP costing more and more points (5 GPs = 1,500 points, 10 GPs = 5,500 points, 15 GPs = 12,000 points, 20 GPs = 21,000 points, 25 GPs = 32,500 points, 30 GPs = 46,500 points, 35 GPs = 62,000 points, 40 GPs = 82,000 points). I find that it is still possible for a non-philosophical civ to do quite well in the GP race, because there are many ways for non-philosophicals to enhance GP generation making the advantage of the philosophical nation even more tenuous (national wonder, Parthenon, statue of liberty, pacifism, mercantilism). Philosophical is definitely a fun trait, but I think that stronger traits are available.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Expansive:[\BOLD] +3 health per city in the patch. With the exception of cities located in flood plains, happiness is initially more limiting for city growth than health at almost all levels, but as the game progresses, numerous wonders, civics, buildings, etc. increase happiness, but there are relatively few ways to increase city health. Cheap granaries are one of the most useful building bonuses and offer early and predictable benefits across all difficulty levels. Expansive is useful only at specific times during gameplay, namely, when your city growth is limited by health, or while building granaries. As these are relatively narrow circumstances (although very important ones), I tend to prefer traits that offer more consistent benefit. If you find you continue to run into problems with city health, pick expansive. However, many of these issues can be remedied with good city placement, resource development, and construction of appropriate buildings.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Industrious:[\BOLD] A nice trait, as the wonders you get with +50% build speed can duplicate many other civ traits. Half-price forges are great also because they increase your productivity, and for non-industrious civs they are quite expensive. However, the ability of any player to quickly build wonders by "chop-rushing" (described later) undermines some of the value of the industrial trait. Considering philosophical vs. industrious? Industrious makes it easier to get wonders, while philosophical makes the ones that you have more valuable. Industrious is particularly useful on higher difficulty levels when the player needs a more compelling edge in order to have any real chance of beating the AI to wonders.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Aggressive:[\BOLD] A great trait for the warmonger. While experience can be given by buildings, civics, and wonders, a free extra promotion for melee and gunpowder units is great -- especially for barracks-trained units with a couple of levels to boot. More and more experience is required to get more bonuses (2/5/10/17/etc), and so having a free promotion that doesn't set you back at all in the XP quest is good. Since the promotions become more and more powerful the higher in level you go (+20% city attack, +25%, +30% with an extra +10% vs gunpowder units, etc...cumulative!!!), having an extra promotion can result in a huge amount of extra military power, especially if you have planned well to take advantage of other sources of experience. If you want an early domination or conquest victory, aggressive is an excellent choice. Aggressive provides no bonuses to many key unit types: archery, cavalry, tanks, aircraft, and ships, and so the aggressive trait requires an early attack style to flourish.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Spiritual:[\BOLD] One of the weakest traits IMO. No anarchy, while nice, is of little benefit as I only change civics 5-6 times in a game (I try to change 2 or 3 at a time at times when several important civics are discovered in close time proximity). Cheap temples? Temples are cheap anyway and have fewer benefits than many other buildings.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Creative:[\BOLD] +2 culture has significant benefits in the early game, but few in the late game when cities have more culture than they know what to do with. How many times have I conquered a city only to have it flip to a closely adjacent neighbor? How many times have I built cultural improvement (theater, library, etc.) in a conquered city for the exclusive purpose of generating culture (and, sometimes failed), when a creative civ would not have had to worry at all? The automatic expanding cultural radius can be very valuable in expanding in the early game and blocking off large amounts of territory for your later development. While cultural's benefits are mainly in the early game, the benefits can be substantial. I prefer to get industrious instead and build Stonehenge for your early culture (although this expires -- soon -- with calender), the benefit of creative is still significant.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In sum, I think that spiritual and creative are the two weak traits of CIV. The other six traits are all good in the appropriate situation, with financial and organized representing excellent traits with wide utility across many playing styles, and the others offering specific benefits that require specific playing styles to shine.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]My favorite leader for a standard (noble) game is Washington (American) - Financial/Organized. Other great leaders include English (Victoria) - Expansive/Financial, English (Elizabeth) - Philosophical/Financial, Chinese (Qin Shi Huang) - Industrious/Financial, Peter (Russia) - Expansive/Philosophical. If you are playing on a higher difficulty level, traits that offer immediate, consistent benefit like expansive, aggressive, and industrious may serve you better than traits that bloom only with cultivation like financial or philosophical.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]3. LEVERAGE YOUR STRENGTHS[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It's important to make the most out of your advantages by drawing upon the synergy of civ traits, civics, improvements, and buildings and wonders. For example, it would be silly to get the aggressive civ trait and fail to build barracks. Synergy can be very powerful when you combine substantial bonuses in the same area from multiple different sources. Aggressive (free combat I promotion for melee and gunpowder units)+ barracks (+4 experience for all new units)+ pentagon (+2 experience to all units civ-wide) + theocracy (+2 experience for all new units), police state (+25% military production speed), + West Point (+4 experience for all new units) and Heroic Epic (+100% military production speed) = +125% military production speed pumping out units starting with 12 experience points (3 promotions) in addition to combat I in the city with West Point/Heroic epic, and 8 experience points + combat I at a 25% bonus production speed in all other cities with barracks. An initially mediocre unit with 3 city attack promotions (+20%, +25%, +30%) receives a +85% bonus against cities - a massive boost against even strong defenders of technological parity. Philosophical + Pacifism + Parthenon = 250% great people points, with 350% in the city with the national epic. And so forth.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It is also important to try to compensate for your disadvantages. For example, if I am not playing an expansive civ (or even if I am), I try to build cities on rivers as much as possible for the +2 health bonus, even at a slight productivity hit.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]4. RELIGIONS[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As in the real world, religion can be one of the most uniting or dividing things in CIV. While gifts or insults have only minor benefit on relations (+/-1, rarely more than +/-2; religion can have a huge impact on relations -- seeing +/-4, +/-6 from religion are common. Religion is by far the biggest factor in relations in most games. It seems to be something in the range of +1 relations for every city of your religion in your opponent's land, +1 or 2 if your religion is their state religion. Therefore, pumping out missionaries to convert your neighbors in the good times is as important for the security of your empire as maintaining a powerful military. I try to keep one city pumping out missionaries of your religion the entire game, providing both relationship and economic bonuses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Consider getting an early religion (Hinduism or Judaism) or, if going for a chop-rush settler push, one or more of the later ones (Confucianism, Christianity, Taoism, Islam). In any case, try to pick up as many of the later ones as I can in order to keep friends friendly. A friendly neighbor who has previously converted to your religion but subsequently discovers Islam can suddenly decide that you are a pagan who must be cleansed from the earth. Besides, some of the religion techs (like Divine Right, Islam) offer cool wonders.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Founding cities of religion can become real cash cows in the mid and late game, IF you build the religion-specific wonder in the founding city. In a recent game where I aggressively spread Confucianism, over 30-40 cities were converted by the late of the game. I also discovered Taoism and subsequently captured the founding cities of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism, giving me five of the seven world religions. Did I ignore my non-state religions, even though I planned to stick with Confucianism throughout the entire game? Of course not. I sent a great prophet to each city to build the religion-specific wonder. This accomplishes two purposes. First, it gives you free bonus income equal to the number of cities with that religion each turn. Second, it causes the autonomous spread of each religion from its founding city without even requiring missionaries. While I continue to aggressively spread my state religion with missionaries, the other religious capitals function as cash cows with progressively increasing revenue without requiring any other input or management.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Since founding religious cities generate a large amount of income, *regardless of the position of your financial sliders*, these are the best cities for building banks, markets, and grocers. I find that the Wall Street wonder is typically best built in the founding city of my state religion for an extra and substantial economic boost, since this will typically be the largest religion by the mid to late game (and thus the largest city economy).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As previously mentioned, I keep pumping missionaries out from 2-3 cities almost continuously through the entire game. This improves relations with neighbors, creates LOS (line of sight) to other cities, and generates money.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The financial and diplomatic benefits of missionaries are well-known, although the espionage benefits are rarely mentioned. When I am contemplating war with a nation, I will send a wave of missionaries to as many of their key cities as possible before my military units cross the border. This accomplishes two things. First, it provides invaluable intelligence information and allows one to assess which cities represent priority acquisitions as well as to get some idea of the strength, location, and composition of enemy armies. Equally importantly, missionaries of your state religion provide an instant cultural benefit to captured cities. After conquering a city that is not your state religion, you might contemplate building a library or theater -- which could take 50+ turns -- in order to expand the borders and to prevent the city from flipping back to an adjacent neighbor with strong cultural boundaries. However, if the city is already your state religion, it will automatically generate +1 culture/turn in addition to a +1 happiness benefit, expanding your borders within 10 turns and making your city much less likely to flip or revolt. The pre-attack missionary wave essentially adds the benefits of the creative trait to non-creative civs, in addition to income, happiness, and espionage benefits.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]5. CITY PLACEMENT[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The placement of cities is always one of the most important strategic decisions. I will gladly place a city at significantly further distance from my capital if it results in acquiring special resources or monopolizing a location that is of prime strategic or production value. Many specialty resources offer benefits for your entire civilization, and so the race to control luxury, health, strategic, and bonus resources is a key factor in city placement. Whenever possible, I build cities on rivers, and try to get at least one special resource (of any kind) within range. Of course this is not always possible (especially on unusual or specialty map types), but if you repeatedly find that you are having trouble making your cities happy and productive or are failing to acquire important resources, perhaps it is time to reevaluate your city placement. Controlling strategic passes or "choke points" with cities is also valuable -- if you can block off your enemies from chunks of unsettled land and then fill it in later, that is a bonus, although the geography doesn't always accommodate this.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Buildings[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Some buildings I like to build everywhere, whereas others I build only in specialized cities, or in any city when there is a natural opening. Buildings I like to build as much as possible include:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]First Tier[\BOLD][NEWLINE]granary[NEWLINE]lighthouse (for coastal cities)[NEWLINE]library[NEWLINE]aqueduct[NEWLINE]forge[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Second Tier[\BOLD][NEWLINE]harbor (if applicable)[NEWLINE]temple[NEWLINE]theater[NEWLINE]market[NEWLINE]grocery[NEWLINE]university[NEWLINE]laboratory[NEWLINE]factory[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The build order of course varies depending on the needs of each city, but generally I get granaries and forges as early as possible everywhere, and theaters first in conquered cities (to prevent culture flipping), and others as the situation dictates. It is hard to go wrong with a library almost everywhere because of the commerce bonus and the culture to expand your borders.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Be careful with buildings that harm city health. In particular, avoid building coal plants, as this subtracts two health and seemingly cannot be removed, even if the city develops alternative power sources. The three gorges dam wonder provides power to all cities on the continent, and cities along rivers can use hydro power. While laboratories increase research by +25%, they also detract from health (-1), and you may not need laboratories everywhere at the very late stage in the game at which they become available - constructing them in a few top research cities may suffice.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Commerce, Research, and Gold[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Squares with or without improvements produce *commerce*. This commerce can then be used to fund research, culture, or turned into gold. Improvements (towns etc) and the financial trait actually give you commerce, not gold. The distinction between "commerce" generally and "gold" specifically is somewhat confusing as they sometimes use the same gold coin icon.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Then the benefit of city improvements depends on both your base commerce and your sliders. Say you have a small city producing 10 commerce, and your research slider is on 80%, with 20% going into finances. A library (+25% research) will give you an extra 2 beakers (base research = 80% of 10 = 8, 25% of 8 = 2 more). A grocer, however (+25% gold) would seem not to have any benefit to an economy this small (base gold = 20% of 10 = 2, and 25% of 2= 0.5, rounded down to zero).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Now of course there is some gold *outside* of the commerce system: namely, gold generated by religious buildings. Specialist gold goes directly to finances and is not general "commerce" that can be converted to research.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In other words, the benefit of the improvements depends highly on the position of your sliders. If you played with research on 20% and money on 80%, obviously the financial improvements (market, grocer, bank, etc) would be more valuable. Since in most games however research plays such an important role, science improvements tend to offer greater benefits.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Inflation[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Inflation is not covered anywhere in the civilopedia or manual that I can find, but it is an important expense. Inflation can go up but never seems to go down over the course of a game. Inflation increases over time at a steady rate, regardless of spending breakdown. Inflation cannot apparently be controlled; it inevitably increases as the game progresses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Inflation adds an additional percentage to your expenses, including:[NEWLINE]civic upkeep[NEWLINE]city maintenance (distance and city number)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This percentage can get quite high. If your expenses are 100 per turn and your inflation is 30%, your final cost is 130 gold. The organized trait has at least some advantage here, because it is saving "pre-tax" rather than "post-tax" dollars. In other words, if your civic upkeep were 50 and inflation were 0%, the organized trait would save only 25 gold (50% of final upkeep), but if inflation were 40%, your real savings are 50+20 (40% of 50) = 70/2, or 35 gold.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]6. CIVICS GUIDE[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I try to change civics as little as possible since I don't play as Spiritual. I will do 2 or 3 switches at once, when possible. If you do too many changes at once (4 or occasionally 3), it can result in 2 turns anarchy. You cannot change state religion and civics on the same turn.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Government Civics[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Hereditary Rule:[\BOLD] (medium upkeep, + 1 happiness per military unit in a city, req. monarchy). Since most cities will have at least one military unit for defense, this tech can be a real benefit in the early middle ages when you are still developing your luxury resource network and constructing happiness buildings. Hereditary rule provides a great answer to happiness problems that can otherwise be limiting to a rapidly-growing civilization.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Representation:[\BOLD] (medium upkeep, +3 research per specialist, +2 happiness in 6 largest cities, req. constitution). Another excellent bonus, especially for a philosophical nation with many specialists. The largest cities are the most likely to get unhappy, so this civic gives you the happiness bonus where you need it. Representation is particularly valuable for philosophical civs in synergy with mercantilism and the statue of liberty wonder, harnessing the free specialists to provide a major technology boost. Unless you have a vast number of towns, representation is a good civic to keep throughout the entire game. The extra research for every specialist continues to be a huge benefit that can significantly speed your research. I try to build the pyramids as quick as I can so that I can switch to representation, significantly speeding research. Then pick up wonders and buildings that give you (or allow) specialists: great library, forge, statue of liberty, etc.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Police State:[\BOLD] (high upkeep, +25% military production, -50% war weariness, req. facism) is great for the warmonger or for wartime defense, but the high cost makes it undesirable in peacetime.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Universal Suffrage:[\BOLD] moderate upkeep. The +1 production boost to towns and ability to complete production with gold (units/buildings, not wonders) is useful; however, it is of little use in the early and mid game when cottages have not yet developed into towns. Don't get snookered into getting this in the early game with the pyramids, as upkeep is high and you will have no towns to provide the productivity bonus. Weighing universal suffrage against[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Legal Civics:[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Vassalage:[\BOLD] high upkeep, +2 experience per unit, lower unit support costs: a good tech for a warmonger, but the high cost makes it prohibitive for others. Consider this temporarily while in a war.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Bureaucracy:[\BOLD] (+50% production/gold in capital, medium upkeep, req. civil service). Good in the early game, and provides an excellent boost for a wonder-building city. Liberalism is close enough around the corner from civil service that often I hold off for free speech. As the slider is usually set heavily to research, the primary benefit of this civic is usually production rather than gold.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Nationhood:[\BOLD] no upkeep (changed from low to no upkeep with the patch), can draft 3 units per turn, barracks +2 happiness. Also a good civic for a warmonger that is better sustainable long-term than vassalage because of its low cost, in addition to adding happiness benefit.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Free Speech:[\BOLD] (no upkeep, +2 gold from towns, +100% culture per city, req. liberalism). It is my favorite for the late game, but won't do you much good if you don't have towns. I like to get bureaucracy for the production boost while towns are developing, and then switch to free speech once I have enough towns to justify it. At no upkeep cost, the price is right, and this one can provide a great boost to your economy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Labor Civics[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Slavery:[\BOLD] (low upkeep, can sacrifice population to finish production, req. bronze working) Excellent for rapidly-growing cities limited by happiness, although it makes 1 pop unhappy for 10 turns. Slavery is ideal for civs with large cities with abundant food (flood plains + farms) but marginal productivity and limited happiness, especially in the early and mid-game. Slavery takes the revolting pops that are adding nothing to the economy and uses them to produce wonders or other high-cost buildings that would otherwise take many turns to complete. I typically keep this civic until I get emancipation with democracy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Serfdom:[\BOLD] (low upkeep) -- workers build improvements faster. I usually have a large enough army of workers building improvements and clearing jungles that this one isn't as attractive as the others.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Caste System:[\BOLD] (medium upkeep, req. code of laws) -- unlimited scientists, artists, merchants in cities. A reasonable choice if you have food to spare, don't yet have enough town improvements to allow specialists otherwise, and can afford the upkeep. While I like the idea of the caste system civic for philosophical civs, the way which this is implemented is poor. Once you get caste system, the computer automatically allocates many of your workers to specialists, especially scientists. Although this can be somewhat controlled with your city production settings, the AI often diverts workers producing food, hammers, and commerce into specialists producing only science and culture. This slows both the production and growth of many of your cities. There is too much micromanagement involved to manage the caste system appropriately, and the stunting of your production and growth because of poorly allocated specialists is rarely if ever worthwhile, even for a philosophical civ. Skip it and go for emancipation. The scientists are the most valuable, while artists and merchants are usually of limited value.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Emancipation:[\BOLD] (no upkeep, req. democracy) is great for mid to late game. It doubles rate of cottages -&gt; towns; a big synergistic economic boost when combined with appropriate techs, free speech, and universal suffrage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Economic Civics: [\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Mercantilism:[\BOLD] (medium upkeep, 1 free specialist per city, no foreign trade routes, req. banking). Getting this civic is like having the statue of liberty wonder and is a huge boost for philosophical or GP oriented civs. It is moderately expensive, and shuts down foreign trade (which can also hurt, or at least won't help, your relations). However, if you have the Angkor Wat wonder that adds to priest productivity and the Representation civic that adds 3 research to every specialist, this presents a huge boost to your cities that more than compensates for the lack of foreign trade routes.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Free Market:[\BOLD] (medium upkeep) - +1 trade route per city. A nice financial or research boost, although only modest in size. However I rarely use this as state property is only a few techs away.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Edit: The patch increases free trade from low to medium upkeep. More reason to skip it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]State Property:[\BOLD] (low upkeep, req. communism) is great (no distance maintenance costs, +1 food from watermills). Although the patch increased the upkeep from free to low, it is still extremely useful. I find that with my tendency to build many cities, it saves me as much or more than I would earn from the extra trade route, plus upkeep is free, plus you get extra food. As I tend to build watermills along almost all river tiles because of their boost to productivity (+2 with appropriate techs), food (+1), and economy, a river city may be able to support a couple more citizens that can be made specialists to boost your GP generation. My most-used economic tech.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]State property eliminates the city distance maintenance cost entirely, which for a large empire typically represents about 50% of your total city upkeep (this rough rule of thumb varies depending on both the number of cities and the distances involved). This can be quite a substantial savings. For a nation with a well-developed state religion, adopting state property frequently allows one to move the tech slider from 70-80% to 90-100%. This faster tech speed has many benefits: quicker availability of new buildings and units, faster tech bonuses, and getting sooner to techs like electricity that increase the value or productivity of your existing city improvements. The extra food can allow you to support extra specialists or larger city growth if you have many river cities and have built watermills. With no civic upkeep cost, the price is right. In most games, the state property civic alone is far better in terms of your financial bottom line than the organized trait, as city distance upkeep costs often well exceed 50% of the civic upkeep costs discounted by organized. My tests suggest that the Versailles wonder, like the Forbidden Palace, reduce only distance upkeep costs (Versailles seems to be like a second Forbidden Palace). If you are using the state property civic and plan to stick with it long-term, don't waste city production on these wonders. Forbidden Palace and Versailles offer only a modest location-dependent decrease in distance costs, while state property abolishes distance costs altogether. With city upkeep virtually cut in half by state property, you will also find less of a necessity for courthouses until your civilization is extremely large.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Environmentalism:[\BOLD] (high upkeep) is nice at the very end of the game when you get ecology (+6 health, +1 happiness from forests and jungles). Unfortunately I've harvested most forests and jungles long before the ecology tech comes around (and jungles are so unproductive why would you want to keep them), and find that my cities already have good health and happiness well before then and are more limited by food. The expensive upkeep is also a drawback, so I tend to use state property more frequently. Rather than getting environmentalism, I prefer to research future techs (+1 health and happiness each for your entire civ), since ecology is already near the end of the tech line), rather than paying the fat environmentalism upkeep fees. At least that part of environmentalism is realistic.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Religious Civics:[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Organized Religion:[\BOLD] (high upkeep, +25% building and wonder construction, req. monotheism). After extensive testing, I have come to the conclusion that this is the best religion civic, at least for my play style. I grab this civic as soon as I can get to monotheism and keep it throughout the entire game. I have verified in-game that organized religion does boost wonder speed as well as that of non-wonder buildings. +25% building and wonder speed throughout the whole game is essentially equivalent to a free forge in every city, except that the bonus does not apply to unit builds. This trait is very expensive for a large civilization, but I think it is well worth the cost. I can think of no wonder, civ trait, building, or civic that matches organized religion in its sweeping benefits.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Theocracy:[\BOLD] (medium upkeep), +2 experience points for units created in cities with state religion, no non-state religion spread) -- okay for a warmonger, but expensive.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Pacifism:[\BOLD] (no upkeep, +100% GP, req. philosophy) is phenomenal as it can essentially bestow the philosophical trait on a non-philosophical civ, or make philosophical civs even better. The low upkeep is counterbalanced by the +1 gold per military unit, so this tech can be cheap or expensive depending on your military size. As attractive as pacifism is, I feel that organized is a better trait, even for philosophical civs. Ask yourself: how many great people would you need to generate to speed construction of buildings and wonders in every one of your cities by 25%?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Free Religion:[\BOLD] (low upkeep): I never get free religion as losing all the state religion bonuses really hurts, as well as losing line of site to all converted cities in other nations. At end-game usually I have plenty of luxuries and am not so desperate for a few more happy faces that I would want to deal with the hassle of having to get 4 or 5 religions in each of my cities to make this civic worthwhile. The +10% tech bonus -- while meaningful -- doesn't seem to make much of a difference for me this late in the game, plus you have to pay fixed upkeep (albeit low) to boot. Some players attempt to get free religion as soon as possible to pacify aggressive neighbors with different religions. However, I have had war declared on me so many times in the early game when I had no state religion at all that I know that simply removing state religion is no panacea to diplomacy. Dropping a state religion can pacify opponents, but it can also make former close allies lukewarm or even hostile. And if you are still deeply afraid of your neighbors by the late time of game that organized religion becomes available, perhaps it is time to assess your strategy in other areas. Theology civics include some of the best benefits in the game (+100% GP from pacifism, +25% building and wonder construction speed), and I generally like these bonuses far too much to sacrifice them for free religion, which seems to offer little in return. Nevertheless, if you are in a situation where you are walking on eggshells -- playing deity level with far more powerful AI players, perhaps -- free religion may be something to consider. Otherwise, skip it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Favored early game civics: representation (constitution - or pyramids), bureaucracy (civil service), slavery (bronze working), mercantilism (banking), organized religion (monotheism)[NEWLINE]Favored late game civics: universal suffrage, free speech, emancipation, state property, organized religion[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Warmonger civics: police state, vassalage, slavery, state property, theocracy[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]7. CITY IMPROVEMENTS[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I tend to manually control workers (at least until very late in the game) as the computer automation leaves much to be desired and lacks strategic foresight.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Farms:[\BOLD] +1 food initially, +2 food (total) at end-game when you have biology. Recent tests have led me to change my strategies and begin building large numbers of farms initially in order to quickly increase city size. When cities are near the max of their happiness and/or health, then I start converting the farms to cottages for the economic benefits. In contrast to watermills and windmills which offer economic and production bonuses in addition to food, farms offer only food. The advantage is that they are available almost immediately in the game with the agriculture tech. I prefer wide proliferation of farms in the ancient era, with removal of some farms and transition to cottages and watermills when you are near the maximum sustainable city size for health and happiness. Especially on higher difficulty levels, spamming too many farms may quickly bring your cities over the happiness and/or healthiness levels they can support, resulting in revolters and no "we love the king day" events. Automated workers tend to overdo farming and so I prefer to direct workers manually. Use farms wisely, but be careful that they don't push your cities into unhappiness or unhealthiness. You may need to expand your growth capacity as your city's happiness and health limits increase, so keep an eye on this.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Cottages:[\BOLD] Cottages make up the foundation of economic and research productivity of your civilization. Especially if you have the financial trait, cottages produce great bonuses when they grow into towns, with full techs and civics: commerce +7, production +1 (requires universal suffrage civic). Cottages can be built anywhere, but their production bonus comes late (after full growth into towns) and only with the correct civic.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I often wait until cities are close to their health or happiness limit to start building large numbers of cottages because farms offer more immediate benefit by increasing city size and therefore production and the number of workable tiles. Cottages only progress into hamlets, villages, and towns when they are being worked. There is no point in rushing to place cottages on all 20 workable tiles of a level 2 city (for an extreme example), as the cottages will not begin to develop at all until the city is large enough to work them. My tests and those of others have demonstrated that in most cases, a better long-term economic outcome is achieved with early farms to grow your city quickly and then building large numbers of cottages that the city is able to work, as opposed to immediate cottage spamming resulting in slow growth and many unworked tiles in an immature city.[NEWLINE]The downsides of cottages include that they take a long time to grow: cottage-&gt;hamlet 10 turns, hamlet -&gt;village 20 turns, village -&gt;town 40 turns. This can be cut in half with appropriate civics, but still it takes 35 turns in the best possible case to grow from a cottage to a town. In a game that lasts only 400 or 500 turns (and may be decided long before then), that is a big chunk of game time. Also, cottages can be easily pillaged by an enemy. Cottages are particularly valuable around your core research cities, but think twice about building cottages on frontier cities close to aggressive neighbors. In any case, the long maturation time of cottages requires that they be built as early as possible to maximize their benefits. Having cottages that have grown into towns while your neighbors are still dealing with hamlets and villages can prove decisive.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Watermill:[\BOLD] An immediate +1 production boost, with final bonuses of +1 food, +2 commerce, and +2 production with full techs and civics (requires state property for the food bonus). These are very helpful in increasing the production of plains, grassland, or flood plains adjacent to rivers that have little innate production capability. And once you have the correct techs/civics, the bonuses are immediate and do not require the maturation that cottages do. You can only build watermills on one square or the other to the side of a river, but I build watermills everywhere I can, typically replacing farms as soon as state property is in hand.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Windmill[\BOLD]: An immediate +1 food, with final bonuses of +1 food, +2 commerce, and +1 production with full tech (replaceable parts, electricity). Very useful if you need more food, have limited river access, and want something that offers more substantial and well-rounded benefits than farms. Windmills can be placed on hills which makes a nice alternative to mines, giving production and commerce benefits while allowing the square to provide at least some of the food supply required to work it. With the financial trait, windmill offers +1 food, +1 production, and +3 commerce, making a windmill often preferable to a mine.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Lumbermill[\BOLD]: Chopping down the trees doesn't add any more food production (unlike C3C), and so lumbermills are a prime consideration for productivity in the late game. That is, in areas where you still have trees. With max +3 production (Base +1 from trees, +1 from lumbermill, +1 more when railroad comes around) and +1 commerce for squares adjacent to rivers, lumbermills are the best late-game productivity improvement. They don't have the economic benefits of cottages, watermills, or windmills, but offer a more substantial production boost without sapping your food supply (unlike workshops) or without requiring a specific civic to keep from doing so. The late benefits of a lumbermill must also be weighed against the benefits of chopping in the early game for benefits that can be quite substantial at a time when your civilization's productivity is very low: chopped trees can result in a much faster start, extra cities, or more wonders. I chop trees in the early game for chop-rushing settlers or crucial wonders, but by the mid-game when instant productivity is no longer urgent, I prefer to preserve any remaining trees for future lumbermills.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Mine[\BOLD]: +2 production, +1 more (+3 total) with railroad. A substantial productivity boost as long as you have enough food to go around. The option between windmills and mines is nice for hill squares.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Workshop:[\BOLD] +1 production, -1 food. With max upgrades they can offer up to +3 production, and with state property, no food penalty. This allows the same +3 production as lumbermill, without requiring you to keep trees around until the late game. The food penalty early on makes this a poor choice in the early middle ages, but once you have state property, workshops represent an excellent improvement for production. However, if you depend on workshops and state property, you will largely be obliged to stay with that civic through the rest of the game -- or see your cities starve when you change, unless you have a large food surplus from other sources.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]8. SPECIALIZATION[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Since you can only build 2 national wonders in a city and because GP points accrue according to specialties, it makes sense to have specialized cities in CIV. I aim for a science city (oxford university + great library), a military city (pentagon + heroic epic + west point), a culture city (hermitage + globe theater), an economic city (wall street), and will put the national epic in the city with the most wonders (and most GP points).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In general, keeping a flow of military units from at least one city will keep your cities happy (large cities get upset without protection) and defended. I also try to keep one city pumping out missionaries throughout almost the entire game, occasionally switching production to another city to construct buildings in the city. In my first couple games when I did not continue to produce both military and missionary units in peace time and war time, it caused major problems for me in spite of large leads in other areas.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]CIV rewards the creation of specialized cities. I try to create at least 2 cities of each specialty because of the need to build infrastructure buildings in between building military or religious units, wonders, etc. Specialist cities make sense because you can't build every building in every city, and specialization helps you to leverage your city placement by putting buildings in the cities where they will do the most good.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The first step in deciding the division of labor between specialized cities is to evaluate the surrounding land. A city in an area with luxury resources could be a great trade/science city, while one in an area with many mines and high production would likely make a good military city for creating units, or for rapidly building wonders. A city with abundant food supply would make a good specialist city to increase great people generation.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Military City[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Build in:[\BOLD] productive area with high hammer yield (mines, watermills, etc)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Buildings:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Barracks Forge Factory[NEWLINE]Power source (coal, hydro, nuclear), Granary Aqueduct[NEWLINE][BOLD]National wonders:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][BOLD]first city:[\BOLD] Heroic Epic (+100% military production in city), West Point (+4 exp/military unit)[NEWLINE][BOLD]second city:[\BOLD] Red Cross (free Medic I promotion), Ironworks (near iron or coal) -- consider designating this one a military city from the time iron appears on the map.[NEWLINE][BOLD]World Wonders:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Pentagon (+2 experience for units trained in any city, can be built anywhere)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Discussion:[\BOLD] You will need many military units during the game, so why build them from just anywhere when you can build them quickly in a specialized city and get free experience points to boot?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Science City[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Build in:[\BOLD] area with abundant commerce[NEWLINE][BOLD]Improvements:[\BOLD] focus on cottages -&gt;towns[NEWLINE][BOLD]Buildings:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Academy (+50% research, requires great scientist) Library (+25% research)[NEWLINE]Observatory (+25% research) University (+25% research)[NEWLINE]Laboratory (+25% research)[NEWLINE]Monastery (+10% research, but becomes obsolete - may skip this one)[NEWLINE][BOLD]National wonders: [\BOLD][NEWLINE]Oxford University (+100% research)[NEWLINE][BOLD]World Wonders:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Great Library (+2 scientists, expires)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Merchant City[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Build in:[\BOLD] area with abundant commerce[NEWLINE][BOLD]Improvements:[\BOLD] focus on cottages -&gt;towns[NEWLINE][BOLD]Buildings:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Market (+25% gold) Grocer (+25% gold)[NEWLINE]Bank (+50% gold) Airport (+1 trade route)[NEWLINE][BOLD]National Wonders:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Wall Street (+100% gold)[NEWLINE][BOLD]GP Focus:[\BOLD] great merchant[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Culture City[\H2][NEWLINE]Consider combining with science city as many science improvements also generate culture. I don't generally build a culture-only city for that reason, I go for culture/science. But here are the culture listings for those interested in culture victory, not including science improvements.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Buildings:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Temple (+1 culture) Monastery (+2 culture)[NEWLINE]Cathedral or equivalent (+50% culture) Theater (+3 culture)[NEWLINE]Broadcast tower (+50% culture)[NEWLINE][BOLD]National Wonders: [\BOLD][NEWLINE]Hermitage (+100% culture) Globe theater (+6 culture)[NEWLINE][BOLD]World Wonders: [\BOLD][NEWLINE]Hollywood (+50% culture) Rock n' Roll (+50% culture)[NEWLINE]Broadway (+50% culture) Sistine chapel (+2 culture per specialist in all cities)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If going for a culture victory, consider balancing your national and world culture wonders between 3 cities to allow each to achieve legendary culture.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Great People City[\H2][NEWLINE]Obviously this one should be combined with another city of your choice, as the world and national wonders built in other cities contribute GP points. I like to make my GP city one that focuses on GP types that I find to be the most valuable (great engineers -- can rush wonders, or perhaps scientists -- can create academy, rather than prophets, artists, or merchants)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]National wonder:[\BOLD] National Epic (+100% GP birth rate in city)[NEWLINE][BOLD]World Wonders: [\BOLD][NEWLINE]Parthenon (+50% GP birth rate in all cities) Great Library (+2 scientists in city, but expires)[NEWLINE]Statue of Liberty (+1 specialist in all cities)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergistic Civic:[\BOLD] pacifism (+100% GP rate, no upkeep)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]9. WONDERS [\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]When beginning every game, you will want to consider what wonders are a priority for you and what wonders you will pass on. It is rarely possible to get every wonder. Realistic decisions must be made and tech paths to get the desired wonders early must be considered. There is little as frustrating as coming within a few turns of completing an expensive wonder only to lose your effort because another civ beat you to it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wonder decisions can make or break the game. A few key wonders can provide advantages turning the tide in your favor, while an inappropriate focus on wonders at the expense of defense or growth can leave your civilization vulnerable.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The player should also consider what role wonders will play in the overall strategy. If you are playing as a philosophical or industrious nation, constructing numerous wonders should be a centerpiece of your strategy. For militaristic players, wonders should play little role, as a vast army can be constructed in the time of constructing just a few wonders. The militaristic player should therefore aim for a few targeted wonders, while the philosophical or industrious player should strive for a much longer list.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Some wonders offer considerable early benefits, but expire. Others offer mediocre benefits that expire regardless (the Hagia Sophia is infamous for frequently becoming obsolete only shortly after it is constructed). Wonders expire when YOU get the expiring tech, not when your neighbors do. So I often hold off on trading for the calender tech until all my cities have experienced border expansion from Stonehenge, and avoid getting chemistry until the last possible moment to milk the Parthenon for every great person point possible. Still others offer great game-long benefits.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Unless you are going for a culture victory, great artists are the least useful of all of the great people (+3 commerce, +14 culture). Therefore, I try to keep wonders offering great artist points out of my principal wonder city to avoid generating less-useful great people there. Great scientists are perhaps the most useful for their ability to add an academy in one city each. Great engineers (+3 hammers) and great prophets (+2 hammer) are the most useful as they add productivity. Great merchants add food, although only +1, in addition to commerce.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To maximize the conversion of great people points into great people, it is best to concentrate as many wonders as possible in one, two, or three designated wonder-building cities. The decision of how many cities to designate as primary or secondary wonder-builders will depend on your playing style.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Here is a list of wonders that I make priorities, keeping in mind that the wonders different players favor will vary widely depending on their play style and tactics.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Priority Expiring Wonders[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Stonehenge:[\BOLD] obelisk, +1 culture in every city, expires @ Calendar.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Great Library:[\BOLD] +2 scientists is a big deal at a time when many of your cities can't dedicate the pop to specialists, especially if you build this in your great people focus city. Perhaps most importantly, the +6 GP points/turn from 2 scientists in addition to the +2 GP from the wonder (total 8 GP points/turn) can help you quickly to get great scientists who can found academies in your largest cities, especially in the presence of philosophical/pacifist /Parthenon /national epic synergisms. Getting the great library with several great scientists can therefore generate a massive bonus that will speed your research throughout the entire remainder of the game, long after the GL's primary effects have expired. After the GL, the oxford university is the only good generator of great scientist points until after the middle ages.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Parthenon[\BOLD]: +50% GP birth rate in all cities. Vital for philosophical civs, but unfortunately doesn't last forever.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Non-Expiring Wonders[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Hanging Gardens:[\BOLD] +1 pop, +1 health in all cities. This is a huge early wonder that can catapult your civ ahead, especially if you have many small or modest-sized cities. Adding an extra pop and health point to every city boosts your economy, your research, your productivity, etc.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Notre Dame[\BOLD]: +1 happiness for all cities on continent[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Versailles[\BOLD]: reduces maintenance in nearby cities[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Statue of Liberty:[\BOLD] a free specialist in every city. Fabulous for philosophical civs. Probably my # 1 wonder in the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Pentagon:[\BOLD] +2 experience points for units trained in all cities[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Three Gorges Dam:[\BOLD] power for all cities on continent located near a river[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Eiffel Tower:[\BOLD](free broadcast tower in every city) gives a big culture boost[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Wonders by GP type[\H2][NEWLINE](all world wonders +2 GP points, all national wonders +1)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Great Scientist:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Great Library (marble) (+2 scientists)[NEWLINE]Oxford University (stone) (+100% research, 3 citizens as scientists)[NEWLINE]Space Elevator[NEWLINE]Red Cross[NEWLINE]Scotland Yard[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Capital: Stonehenge, pyramids, hanging gardens, great library, ironworks (?)[NEWLINE]Wonder city 2: parthenon, notre dame, national epic[NEWLINE]Military city[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Great Prophet:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Stonehenge (stone): obelisk in each city[NEWLINE]Angkor Wat (stone): +1 production from priests in all cities, allows 3 priests. This makes priest specialists (up to +2 hammers, +1 gold) the most productive specialists, beating out engineers (+2 hammers, no other bonuses) -- until the wonder expires[NEWLINE]Oracle (marble) (1 free tech)[NEWLINE]Chichen Itza (stone): +25% defense in all cities[NEWLINE]Spiral minaret (stone). +1 gold from all state religion buildings. Nice, although a relatively small bonus.[NEWLINE]Religious holy wonder: minus 1 production, spreads religion, 1 gold from each, allows 3 priests[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Great Engineer:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Hanging gardens (stone) (+1 population, +1 health in all cities)[NEWLINE]Pentagon (+2 experience to military units in all cities)[NEWLINE]Three Gorges Dam[NEWLINE]Ironworks (allows 3 citizens as engineers)[NEWLINE]West Point (stone) (+4 experience per unit)[NEWLINE]Pyramids (stone) (allows all government civics) - a big boost in the early game[NEWLINE]Hagia Sophia (marble) (+50% worker build speed)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Great Merchant:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Colossus (copper) (+1 gold in all city water tiles)[NEWLINE]Statue of Liberty (+1 free specialist in all cities on the continent)[NEWLINE]Wall Street[NEWLINE]Forbidden Palace (acts as a 2nd capital decreasing distance maintenance)[NEWLINE]Versailles (marble)[NEWLINE]Great Lighthouse (+2 trade routes in coastal cities)[NEWLINE]Eiffel Tower (free broadcast tower in every city)[NEWLINE]United Nations[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Great Artist:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Parthenon (marble) (+50% GP birth rate in all cities)[NEWLINE]Notre Dame (+1 happiness in all cities)[NEWLINE]National epic (stone) (+100% GP birth rate)[NEWLINE]Hollywood (+1 happiness)[NEWLINE]Rock n' Roll (+1 happiness)[NEWLINE]Broadway (+1 happiness)[NEWLINE]Heroic Epic (marble) (+100% military unit production)[NEWLINE]Hermitage (marble)[NEWLINE]Globe Theater (no unhappiness in this city, allows 3 artists)[NEWLINE]Taj Mahal[NEWLINE]Mt. Rushmore (stone)[NEWLINE]Kremlin (stone)[NEWLINE]Sistine chapel (marble)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Most important early resources:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Stone, marble, iron[NEWLINE]Put Parthenon, notre dame, statue of liberty in a separate wonder city[NEWLINE]National epic in capital[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]10. GREAT PEOPLE[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In maximizing great people points, you can get some great synergy between traits, civics, wonders, and improvements. If you want a lot of great people, get as many of these as possible.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Note that all bonuses are additive, not multiplicative. For example, 2 100% bonuses on top of a 100% base produce a 300% rate (100% base +100% x2), not 400% (they only add their bonus to the BASE rate, not to the final rate after other adjustments). Also, all fractions in the game are rounded DOWN (i.e. a 25% bonus of 7 is rounded down to 1, a 25% bonus of 8 is necessary for +2)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Traits:[NEWLINE]Philosophical trait : +100% GP generation civ-wide[NEWLINE]Civics:[NEWLINE]labor - caste system: unlimited scientists, merchants, artists in all cities[NEWLINE]economy - mercantilism: +1 free specialist per city; or (in games with many rivers) state property for the watermill food bonus, allowing higher POP and thus more specialists[NEWLINE]religion - pacifism: +100% GP birth rate in cities with state religion[NEWLINE]National wonders:[NEWLINE]national epic - +100% GP in city where built (only)[NEWLINE]World Wonders:[NEWLINE]Parthenon: +50% GP generation civ-wide, expires with chemistry[NEWLINE]Statue of Liberty: +1 free specialist in all cities[NEWLINE]great library: +2 free scientists in city where built, but expires.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A civ with max upgrades (not including great library) would have:[NEWLINE]- a 300% great people rate (100% base + 100% philosophical + 100% pacifism) + 50% from Parthenon (before expires) + 100% more in city with national wonder[NEWLINE]- 2 free specialists in all cities (mercantilism statue of liberty). At 300% return on a 3 GP base per specialist x 2 specialists, this would provide 18 GP points *per turn* even in your least developed cities with no wonders.[NEWLINE]-unlimited ability to allocate scientists, artists, and merchants in all cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Note again that the wonder bonuses expire when YOU get the tech in question, not your neighbors...therefore a philosophical civ with the Parthenon may want to push back getting chemistry as late as possible.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Of course some great people types are more valuable than others. Great engineers allow you to rush wonders which can provide key benefits in a close game. And great scientists can allow you to build an academy (+50% research) in every city. Great merchants, artists, and prophets, while still valuable, have effects that are generally somewhat more modest in terms of long-term game play. Since the chance of getting a great person of different types depends on the wonders and specialists in each city, I like having separate cities focus on great engineers and scientists without mixing with the other types as much as possible (you don't want to have your city with engineering wonders drowned out by large numbers of merchant, artist, or priest specialists pushing the GP probability towards other types). I don't have a strong preference between merchants, artists, and prophets, and so will build wonders generating all 3 in the same city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Bonuses allowing you to turn citizens into engineers are generated only by:[NEWLINE]Forge (allows 1 engineer)[NEWLINE]Factory (allows 2 engineers)[NEWLINE]Ironworks (allows 3 engineers)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Engineer GP points are generated by:[NEWLINE]West Point (+1 GP)[NEWLINE]Hanging Gardens (+2)[NEWLINE]Pentagon (+2)[NEWLINE]Pyramids (+2)[NEWLINE]Three Gorges Dam (+2)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The military city is the most natural choice for an engineer GP city (forge + factory + ironworks + west point + pentagon).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]---[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As the cost for great people increase throughout the game, diminishing returns are eventually reached. Later in the game, the cost of great people goes up and up, while the benefit of great people often declines, since the earlier you get great people, the longer they will benefit your civilization. However, your civilization should also increase in its capacity to generate great people over time, civics are chosen, as wonders are built and citizens are assigned as specialists. With appropriate tactics, many great people can still be generated even in the late game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Every great person can cause either an instant benefit, provide a tech bonus, or add a long-term bonus to cities. The benefits must be carefully considered. In *most* cases, I prefer to use great people in a manner that augments the long-term productivity of my cities, although there are exceptional cases where great people are best used to rush a tech or a wonder.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Two types of great people present no-brainers for their use:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Great prophets. Before using great prophets in any other way, make sure that you have created the religion-specific wonder in any founding religious city under your control. If you have made any attempt at all to spread the religion, or of you are conquering the founding city of a religion that is widely accepted, this can produce massive financial benefits that dwarf virtually any other use of great people.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Great scientists. Use them to create academies in all of your top science cities. Which would you rather have -- an extra +6 or so science per turn in the city of your choice, or a 50% increase in science in a city that is already generating 50, 75, or 200 beakers per turn? Although the increase acts only on the base number of commerce points applied to research (before other modifiers are applied), a great scientist can result in massive research output for cities, especially in conjunction with other science improvements (library/university/observatory/Oxford University/etc).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For other great people, I usually prefer to join them to a city, with occasional exceptions as previously acknowledged.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great artists. If you are going for a cultural victory, great artists are your friend. A very nice strategy for cultural victory on Monarch level, using great artists either by joining to a city or as "culture bombs" to titrate legendary culture among three cities is presented by walkerjks here: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=138647[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you are not going for a cultural victory, great artists are by far the weakest of all great people. I find that in most cases it is preferable to join great artists to border cities or captured cities instead of invoking the "culture bomb." Great artists produce +12 to +15 culture per turn, which is the equivalent of many cultural buildings (library = +2 culture, theater = +3, etc) and will quickly expand the city's borders -- in addition to any cultural multipliers the city may have (cathedrals, hermitage, civics, etc). In this way, you still continue to receive the commerce benefits of the great artist throughout the game, speeding your research and filling your coffers.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great merchant. The great merchant is the ONLY great person that offers a food bonus (+1 food, +6 commerce appears typical). I prefer to join great merchants to high-commerce cities that focus on great people creation (the city with the national epic is often a great choice), since more food allows you to allocate more specialists, further increasing great people output.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great engineers. As for great prophets, the surplus productivity is welcome. These often go in my capital or most productive city or cities. A city with ironworks makes a great choice for great engineer placement in the late game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]OPTIONS FOR EARLY EXPANSION[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are several good early expansion options. The decision as to which is best for you depends both on map choice and on your playing style.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]11. CHOP-RUSHING[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Chop rushing is a great way to jump ahead in the early game. The first mention I know of was in this thread by AlexFrog:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=137292[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I prefer a somewhat modified version of the strategy. The strategy involves founding initial cities in areas with a large number of trees within their "fat cross" area. The player researches bronze working immediately while building a worker in the capital city before building any other units or buildings. Once the worker is done (12-15 turns) and bronze working is researched, the worker immediately goes to work chopping trees around the capital. Each tree chopped results in 20 hammers, which can rocket a level 1 city that may have only 1, 2, or 3 hammers far ahead.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The most logical initial use of "chop-rushing" is for settlers and workers, since your cities are normally stagnant (do not grow) while these units are being produced, and because these units are vital to the growth and productivity of your civilization. I save trees to chop-rush settlers, workers, or wonders, since the construction of buildings or military units allows your cities to grow during the production phase, while production of the former two does not, and the third category (wonders) is a race. Chop-rushing typically allows me to plant 2-3 times as many cities as my closest AI competitors on noble level.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Of course, settlers must never be sent out undefended, so I like to first build at least one (possibly two) warriors, sending at least one out to explore and pop goody huts (in addition to the starting warrior) while the second will act as your settler escort. I periodically build warriors during the rapid expansion phase to ensure that my cities and settlers are adequately defended.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Because of maintenance costs increasing with both distance and city number (and I will place cities at long distances from my capital when necessary to secure important resources), it is impractical to build a civilization by the exclusive virtue of chop-rushing. There must be a balance. Once I get three or four cities, I let one or two grow and develop -- building a granary or military units to increase in size and to defend the borders, while the others chop-rush. I also assign some workers to build improvements very early -- cottages in particular, in addition to improvements required by special resources -- in order to ensure that city commerce, on average, is in excess of upkeep costs, allowing continued rapid research and continued growth. As a rough rule of thumb, on noble level, if my research percentage falls below 70%, that is a warning sign to me that I need to better develop the city economic base by building more cottages and letting cities grow to a larger size before expanding.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Chop-rushing can also be a terrific way to get wonders, especially when you have special resources that speed wonder building. For example, Stonehenge costs 120 hammers, but if you have stone, every forest chopped will give double (not 20, but 40) hammers. Therefore, you only need to chop three trees to build Stonehenge in a city with stone -- as opposed to the many turns it would take to build it without chop-rushing. This is a great way to get key wonders as a non-industrious civ, and the ability of any civilization to do this really waters down the value of the industrious trait.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Edit: the patch slightly weakens chop-rushing. Chopping income has dropped from thirty to twenty hammers, with that number being further reduced for chops further from the city (outside the city radius?) Mathematics adds +50% (back to the original 30), but it comes in the end of the first age at a time that is not as useful as an immediate chop-rush would be. Also, unlike Civ3, cutting down trees doesn't increase food harvest, so you have to immediately place farms or cottages or do something else to develop the land in other ways. Chopping offers a quick up-front bonus but can dent your long-term production if you overdo it. Weigh the pros and cons carefully in each situation.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In a recent test game in which I preserved the forests in the cities (for the health benefits and to maintain the forest productivity), I found that by the mid-middle ages, my tech rate had dropped virtually to zero and my workers began to strike and units were automatically disbanded because expenses were greater than income. Retaining the forests as opposed to chopping and planting cottages widely didn't provide the economic revenue to support the rapid city expansion that I prefer, even with measured expansion letting many of the cities grow to mid-size. Therefore I continue to favor chopping trees - whether in an early settler rush, or to complete wonders - also to free up the land for farms (faster growth) or cottage improvements (improve economy and tech speed).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]EXPANDING YOUR CAPITAL[\H2][NEWLINE]As attractive as it may seem, chop rushing faces major limitations, especially after being significantly tuned down in the recent patch. Chopping trees can push cities located near flood plains into unhealthiness and decline. Chops offer a one-time boost after which the city returns to its prior production. Depending on your situation, allowing the capital to develop before sending out settlers can be a better option. For example, if you can expand your capital in 8 turns and get a square that offers a combined 3 food and/or hammers, you will get a bonus of +1 food or hammer (2 of the food go to support the expanded population) for every subsequent turn throughout the game. For an average level 1 city with 3 resources in the center square and 3 on the first worked square (4 surplus food/hammers for settlers/workers), it takes 25 turns (4x25=100) to build a 100 resource settler and 15 turns (4x15) to build a 60-resource worker. Just one surplus resource, after paying food costs, by expanding to level 2 will drop this down to 20 turns for the settler (5 resources x 20 turns) and 12 turns for the worker. Expanding to level 3 to work another 3-resource tile, which you can generally do in another 8 turns after the first expansion with good city placement, will give you 6 surplus resources, dropping settler creation time to 17 turns and worker creation down to 10 turns.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Let's do a comparison of a city that immediately builds 4 settlers, vs. one that spends 16 turns building warriors to grow twice, and switches production to settlers before the 2nd warrior is completed:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build order: 4 Settlers 1 1/2 warriors, 4 settlers[NEWLINE]Turns to 1st settler 25 16 (to grow twice), then 17 for settler = 33[NEWLINE]2nd settler 50 50[NEWLINE]3rd settler 75 67[NEWLINE]4th settler 100 84[NEWLINE]Final capital size 1 3[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As you can see, the city that expands to level 3 first catches up with the city that immediately built only settlers by the time the 2nd settler is completed. The fact that the settler-only city completed its first settler 9 turn earlier does not make up for this, as the 9 turns allow for barely 1 cycle of growth as opposed to the 2 that the first city has achieved.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The expand-first city ends up far ahead because at the end, it is better developed and more productive than the city that pumped out settlers immediately. The expand-first model also has the advantage of producing warriors to defend your units, as unprotected settlers are not likely to survive.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you are well-situated and can develop those resources further, the model shifts even more in favor of allowing your city to increase in size. For example, if you can irrigate 2 flood plains up to +4 food each in your size 3 city and have one special resource you can get 2 food or hammers from, your total surplus will be 10 (3 from center tile, 2 per tile from 2 floodplains, and 3 from specialty resource) per turn. You can then build settlers in just 10 turns. At that point, you are expanding FASTER than you could with chop-rushing. Between chopping and moving, trees take 3-4 turns to chop for just 20 hammers and are limited, while your expanded city is indefinitely producing a surplus of 10/turn.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In general, most cities in the early game do not require more than 3-4 farm tiles. Exceptions may be made for cities on barren land, such as plains or hills. A few judicious farms are usually all that you need in order to jump-start your growth. If you overdo the farming, you can easily push the city into unhappiness, at which point cottages are a better alternative.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The decision of when to develop your capital vs. when to expand depends on your city setup. If tiles around your city are not very fertile (i.e. plains), you may wish to get out a settler sooner rather than later. If however your main city is well-placed and has one or two special resources within its boundaries that you can access with early techs, it is often wise to spend a few turns developing these resources to create a more productive capital.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]12. TECHNOLOGY[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great variability comes in here. Depending on your civilization traits and technologies, your level, and your play style, you may have different technological priorities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Some players favor chop-rushing for early expansion, going straight for bronze working. Then I go for pottery (to build cottages ASAP) and from there to alphabet (to trade techs). After alphabet, I trade with the AI as much as possible. I go for mathematics (to get hanging gardens) and then try to grab a religion -- Confucianism or, if I miss that, one of the others.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In many cases, investment in techs such as agriculture, animal domestication, and hunting can be more valuable than bronze working chop-rushing.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you are playing as a civ with early religious technologies, you may wish to shoot straight for an early religion. I prefer the path that leads to Hinduism/Judaism since if you are beaten to Hinduism, Judaism is right around the corner, while Buddhism is a dead end (at least for a while) and the AI seems to go for it quickly. Monotheism also has the benefit of offering the organized religion civic, which at +25% building construction (including wonders!) can prove to be an enormous benefit to your civilization's development. This, as well as the early spread of religion from your cities (with happiness etc), can make an early religion very, very worthwhile. From there, you can go for bronze-working and chop rush, or you can go straight for alphabet, trade for bronze working (which is typically readily available once alphabet is discovered), and chop rush.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Going for the religious techs (polytheism-&gt;monotheism) early has great advantages even for a non-spiritual civ, if you can get there quickly. The religious techs offer key early-era wonders, including Stonehenge and the Parthenon, and perhaps the most important ancient-era civic, organized religion, which can further enhance your speed in constructing wonders and other buildings. If you don't go for these techs very quickly, you will probably lose the wonder race. As you can't trade for techs until you have alphabet, and many maps feature limited access to potential trading partners, the only reliable way to get these techs is to research them yourself. If you are playing as a philosophical civ, getting the early wonders is especially critical.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Either way has advantages and drawbacks, but both playing styles can be viable. Of course you can mix and match these: shoot for early religion and then quickly add bronze working (but miss out on some early chop-rushing), or research bronze working and then pick up the religious techs in time to get access to the wonders (but you will probably lose the early religion race). There undoubtedly others as well, but the above two are my favorites.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Here are some of the key techs I focus on acquiring, making modification depending on map type and difficulty level:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]0. Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Hunting: these techs are vital to be able to hook up your bonus resources. Farming in particular is very important.[NEWLINE]1. Mysticism (65 beakers). Stonehenge, and prerequisite for other religious techs.[NEWLINE]2. Polytheism (130 beakers). Hinduism and Parthenon (key for philosophical civs).[NEWLINE]3. Bronze working (156 beakers). Chop rushing. 'nuf said.[NEWLINE]4. Wheel (78 beakers). Workers and resources won't do you much good until you can build roads. This can be moved down below monotheism depending on whether you have already gotten a religion and how tight you feel the race for Judaism will be.[NEWLINE]5. Pottery (104 beakers). Your workers can now start building cottages, and allows granary. Because of how long cottages take to develop, it is important to get cottages started early. Also to defray the heavy upkeep costs of a large empire.[NEWLINE]6. Masonry (104 beakers). Prerequisite for Monotheism. Allows building mines and quarries. While researching this you will hopefully be sending a settler and a worker to hook up stone (stonehenge, pyramids, hanging gardens) and marble (Parthenon) resources.[NEWLINE]7. Monotheism (156 beakers). Judaism and organized religion. The moment you are ready to begin building Stonehenge in your capital (or any other building), switch to organized religion to provide a +25% hammer bonus for wonders and buildings.[NEWLINE]8. Writing (156 beakers) and alphabet (390 beakers). Allows tech trades, allowing the player to pick up any missed techs.[NEWLINE]9. Mathematics (325 beakers) - workers produce +50% hammers from tree chops (up to 30). Also enables hanging garden, a key wonder for rapid population expansion. Very important for both counts.[NEWLINE]10. Metal casting (585 beakers). Forges add +25% productivity to any city where they are built. When you have stone and/or marble, organized religion civic, and forges, your cities can quickly construct buildings and wonders. Unfortunately, this tech quite expensive.[NEWLINE]11. Literature (260 beakers). Heroic epic, national epic, great library, and libraries. All important structures.[NEWLINE]12. Music (780 beakers). Free great artist to the first discoverer. Also allows Notre Dame and cathedrals, vital happiness buildings.[NEWLINE]13. Drama (390) and philosophy (1040 beakers). Philosophy offers Taoism to the first discoverer, and pacifism is a helpful civic for philosophical civs. Angkor Wat is nice (+1 production from priests in all cities) if you can get it.[NEWLINE]14. Paper (780), Education (2340 - allows universities/oxford), Liberalism (1820). Liberalism is a high priority both because it offers a free technology (you can pick the most expensive one available) and because of the free speech civic. The +2 gold from towns education offers is nice as long as enough of your cottages have developed into towns to warrant the expense of this tech path.[NEWLINE]15. printing press (2080), requires paper. +1 commerce in towns and villages. Another economic bonus, but the expense is so high that other techs may be a higher priority. Replaceable parts (2340) offers +1 hammer for watermills and windmills. This is really the point in the game where watermills become worthwhile.[NEWLINE]16. nationalism (2340), constitution (2600), democracy (3640). Nationalism and constitution have little to recommend them, except as prerequisites for democracy. Democracy is a huge advance to both economics and production because it allows universal suffrage (+1 production boost to towns) and emancipation (doubles rate of cottages -&gt; towns).[NEWLINE]17. Divine Right (1560) islam, spiral minaret, Versailles. Another opportunity to pick up a religion. Spiral minaret provides major economic boost (+1 gold per state religion building in all cities). It is however very expensive.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Currency (520 beakers): +1 trade route per city, and enables gold trading. Both of these can produce a major economic boost. I usually wait and trade for this, but getting it early may be warranted if your upkeep costs are becoming difficult to manage or your tech rate is dropping.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Others:[NEWLINE]Iron working: Reveals iron. Being able to clear jungles is necessary to be able to access some resources and to increase health. Usually I trade for this tech after alphabet, but there are certainly exceptions requiring early iron working (if you have a bad starting location in a jungle harming productivity).[NEWLINE]Iron working is critical to military also. As soon as you get this and iron is revealed, it is vital to claim and develop that iron promptly. Make sure to devote one city to military to pump out archers (before iron to garrison all your cities) and swordsmen (after iron) for defense and offense.[NEWLINE]Archery: a must if you have aggressive neighbors. You may be able to hold off until after alphabet and trade for this depending on your setup, but if you are playing against human players, you need to get this ASAP.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other key techs[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Mathematics. Hanging Gardens -- + 1 POP and +1 health in all your cities is huge, especially when you have a lot of small and moderate-size cities. The hanging gardens can really explode your productivity when you have a large empire from a chop-rush settler rush.[NEWLINE]Music (free great artist)[NEWLINE]Military Tradition (cavalry rule the middle ages)[NEWLINE]Divine Right (Versailles/Islam)[NEWLINE]Metallurgy (watermill)[NEWLINE]Democracy (emancipation &amp; universal suffrage).[NEWLINE]Communism (state property)[NEWLINE]Then to any other techs that improve the benefits of your improvements (i.e. electricity).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I also try to pick up the techs that offer free great people or free techs. These techs obviously represent a priority, as only the first discoverer gets the bonus.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]13. MILITARY STRATEGY[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Game Plan[\H2][NEWLINE]Before each game, consider spending a few minutes to write down some basic goals and strategies that you wish to incorporate. The plan will depend considerably on map type, terrain, size, difficulty leve, and opponents (AI or human). Of course the plan will need to be flexible to take advantage of opportunities and to respond to contingencies and challenges.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After the game, review your strategy and honestly assess which aspects worked well, and what aspects fell flat or met challenges. Use your insight to fine-tune your strategy and improve your next game plan.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Anticipation and Preparation[\H2][NEWLINE]The computer will attack suddenly and in force in CIV. It is not unusual for the computer to DOW someone and raze their city with a stack of units in the same turn. The AI, like human players, is an opportunist. If you happen to build a city right next to enemy military units, or if AI players see a poorly defended city near their military units, they are more likely to declare war than if your cities were defended and settlers were escorted. Close borders also spark tensions. Different religion is also a major cause of hostility. The AI can and does declare war even when there are mildly positive relations, so don't be too smug at your relationship score. You must defend your cities and resources. Even if you are not a warmonger, build a credible defense force. If your military is much weaker than your neighbors, you will soon find yourself in war. Anticipate attacks in advance. Is your neighbor massing catapults and swordsmen near your border? What are the stacked archer and warrior doing near your cities? Assume the worst, be observant, and be informed. Judge your enemy by their capability, not their words or relations.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Border Cities[\H2][NEWLINE]Beware of border cities without a large cultural buffer between other civilizations. In one game I had a brilliant idea to build the forbidden palace in a border city. Then while I was engaged in a war against the Mongols on the other side of my empire, Saladin declared war and conquered the city the same turn with hordes of catapults, knights, and crossbowmen. Expensive cultural improvements are instantly lost once a city is conquered. Don't put anything too critical in border cities, especially those without a significant buffer zone, and don't get too involved in constructing major buildings in border cities until you have them well-defended with strong contemporary units. Don't leave your back side exposed. And don't let success in the tech race come at the expense of national security.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Strategy[\H2][NEWLINE]When starting a war, consider your objectives. What are your goals? Acquisition of specific resources or cities? Capturing a wonder? Total annexation? Or, if caught by surprise, would you be happy to get away with a white peace? Once you have determined your goals, come up with a strategic plan to get there. Make sure that your unit mix is balanced and well-thought out. More than once in my early games, I found myself besieging cities with large stacks of units but no catapults -- bad idea. What are you going to do about city defenses? Are their resources you can deny your opponent? Will you create a two or three pronged attack and exploit vulnerabilities? Will you land a horde of cavalry and catapults by his capital for a sneak attack after shipping them behind enemy lines? It is much easier to achieve objectives if you know what your specific objectives are and have a viable plan to achieve them. It's far more effective to have a plan and fine-tune it as needed while in process than to fly by the seat of your pants and make it up as you go along.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Also take time to consider your opponent's strategy...*especially* if playing a human. Look at your own empire and assess your own vulnerabilities. Is YOUR iron supply undefended? Could an enemy wreak havoc with a few knights shipped in to attack rear cities? Do you have rows of cottages in a border city ripe for plundering? If you were your enemy, what would you do? If your vulnerabilities are lost on you, be assured that they will not be lost on a competent opponent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Resource Denial[\H2][NEWLINE]When planning a war, aim to take out key military and civilian resources. The resource screen shows you exactly what resources your opponents have. Some of the resources, like copper and iron, are essential for war. If you enemy has one source of iron and you fortify on that square with good defenders and pillage it, your enemy will instantly lose the ability to make swordsmen -- and many other units, unless he has a copper supply as well. No copper, iron, or horses? Suddenly your formerly formidable medieval opponent is back in the stone age and is able to produce only warriors and archers. A few strategic moves of this nature can turn the tide of a war.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other special resources are worth pillaging also. If your opponent has large cities that are marginally happy or healthy, pillaging a few luxury or health resources can catastrophically damage commerce, tech speed, and productivity across his entire empire. Pillaging of specialty resources in this way has a far greater effect than the pillaging of cottages, since the effects are felt in every connected city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]To Pillage or Not to Pillage[\H2][NEWLINE]Some argue for pillaging as many of your opponents cottages as possible in order to cause long-term damage to his research and economy. Against a superior or closely-matched opponent, this can be a good idea. However, it can be shortsighted if you have the upper hand.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If I am convinced that I have superior force and can take a city, I don't pillage cottages, mines, or watermills. Given how long cottages take to develop, I pillage them ONLY when I think that I am unable to take a city outright during the current war. As attractive as the quick gold from pillaging seems, it is trivial compared to having a long-term free revenue source that your opponent built for you -- adding insult to injury. Conquered cities will often have high maintenance due to their distance from your capital and the incremental augmentation of city number, and if they can pay their own expenses right off the bat, your warmongering will be much more economically sustainable.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Diplomacy[\H2][NEWLINE]When evenly matched or over-matched, diplomacy plays an immense role. If the Mongols catch you by surprise and burn a couple border cities, what better way to pay them back than bribing their neighbors with tech or gold to declare war on them? Sure, they may have thought they were smart to exploit a momentary vulnerability when their keshiks found a lightly-guarded city...but finding themselves in a war on two or three fronts will wipe the smile off their faces and take the pressure off you. If I am caught by surprise in a war for which I am not fully prepared or do not want, I do not hesitate to trade prime techs to bribe allies to join on my side.</Italian>
		<Spanish>[H1]WoundedKnight's Strategy Guide[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]WoundedKnight[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Table of Contents[\H2][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]1. Learn the Rules[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]2. Civilization Selection[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]3. Leverage Your Strengths[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]4. Religions[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]5. City Placement[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]6. Civics Guide[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]7. City Improvement[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]8. Specialization[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]9. Wonders[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]10. Great People[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]11. Chop-Rushing[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]12. Technology[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]13. Military Strategy[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]1. LEARN THE RULES[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The best-spent two hours for my CIV strategy skills was spent pouring over the civilopedia to understand the rules, the tech trees, improvements, units, etc. It's much easier to do well if you have a clear strategy and know where you want to go. For example, some techs offer bonuses to the first discoverer: a free great person, a free great tech, or starting a religion. Obviously these techs are generally a priority to get first, while others with benefits that are not time-sensitive can wait or be picked up in trade.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]MAP CHOICE[\H2][NEWLINE]The choice of maps can have a major impact upon gameplay, and therefore upon the strategy you may choose to adopt. For example:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Continental and archipelago maps promote early isolation of civs into 2-3 large groups (continents) or even individual civs (archipelago). Your continent or island may not have access at all to key resources like stone, marble, horses, and iron, which can make your construction or military plans more difficult. It is also more difficult to keep your population happy, as your island or continent may contain only 2 or 3 luxury resources. Your tech rate will also be slower, because there are fewer partners to trade with. On continent maps, I often find myself having to research mundane techs like archery or animal domestication because there are not enough proximate AI players to become a reliable tech broker. On the plus side, these maps can provide for a more interesting late game than Pangaea maps by allowing longer buildup of your competitors and preventing them from being weakened or destroyed in early-game rush. Naval combat adds an interesting element that Pangaea or large land-mass players do not fully experience. The early isolation makes it easier to stay at peace throughout the early era, or to isolate and crush enemies on your starting island without other players interfering.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Maps with a large amount of land and little water (oasis, highland, lakes, etc) pose major long-term barbarian challenges. There is so much land that the barbarians continue to arise from territory covered by the fog of war until late in the game. Defending your cities requires extra effort on such maps. On the plus side, you may be able to capture a city or two from the barbarians.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Pangaea and other land-mass maps offer predictable early availability of all tech-appropriate resources, although you may have to fight for them. However, such maps can be less interesting if the player becomes very dominant in the early or mid-game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Maps with strange geometric land arrangements like inland sea result in high city upkeep costs for an expanding civilization, as distance arrangements between your cities are often not optimal due to geographic constraints.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Large land mass games provide more competitors, and therefore reduce the player's chance of winning the religion, tech, or wonder race. On a standard map or smaller on balanced (noble) difficulty, a player without religious techs can often still beat the AI players to Hinduism and/or Judaism. On large and huge maps, chances become slimmer. There are few things as frustrating as spending 20 or 30 turns working on constructing a wonder in your most productive city only to have the AI finish it 2-3 turns before you do.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]2. CIVILIZATION SELECTION[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The decision as to which civilization to play as is an individual one. Traits have various strengths and weaknesses:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Financial:[\BOLD] All-time favorite. Once you get cottages and watermills working, this will gain you +1 extra gold for almost every square being worked in your city radius. This is a huge advantage, when combined with appropriately widespread cottage building, allows the player to maintain a high tech rate even with expensive civics, a large army, and a large empire. Nonetheless, these benefits are not experienced until you have developed a certain city infrastructure and developed your terrain, usually in the classical or late ancient era.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Organized:[\BOLD] The recent patch has done much to enhance the value of the organized trait. Many civics have become significantly more expensive. I find that civic costs now typically cost 33-66% of city maintenance costs depending on civic settings, averaging about 50% for me. In the late game, after a player changes to state property civic to eliminate distance maintenance costs, civic costs are often double city maintenance costs. Because of inflation that increases in the late game, the costs are often even more than they appear. Organized offers a huge benefit by reducing these costs in half. Organized is especially useful because the player receives its benefits throughout the entire game without any effort or development, and the significant savings are always welcome. This can easily add at least 10% if not 20% to the tech rate. Cheap courthouses help you to reduce expenses even further.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Philosophical:[\BOLD] +100% GP. Synergistic with the religious civics (Pacifism - +100% GP rate) and the national epic (+100% GP in the city of your choice), as well as mercantilism, national epic, statue of liberty, etc. Optimal utilization of the philosophical trait requires a heavy wonder-building play style. The high costs of wonder construction consume the resources of your most productive cities that could otherwise be devoted to conquest or expansion. This is therefore not an ideal trait for warmongers. On harder difficulty levels, philosophical may be less useful than on noble, as it will be difficult to utilize the benefits unless you are able to win the wonder race. The philosophical trait received a substantial, although indirect, bonus from the patch, as wonders continue to give GP points even after they expire. If you have philosophical trait, you will get twice the points from your expired wonders as non-philosophicals.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After playing with the philosophical trait extensively, I have found it to be much less useful than I initially believed. Unfortunately, double the GP points does not mean double the number of GPs. A point of diminishing returns is encountered with each GP costing more and more points (5 GPs = 1,500 points, 10 GPs = 5,500 points, 15 GPs = 12,000 points, 20 GPs = 21,000 points, 25 GPs = 32,500 points, 30 GPs = 46,500 points, 35 GPs = 62,000 points, 40 GPs = 82,000 points). I find that it is still possible for a non-philosophical civ to do quite well in the GP race, because there are many ways for non-philosophicals to enhance GP generation making the advantage of the philosophical nation even more tenuous (national wonder, Parthenon, statue of liberty, pacifism, mercantilism). Philosophical is definitely a fun trait, but I think that stronger traits are available.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Expansive:[\BOLD] +3 health per city in the patch. With the exception of cities located in flood plains, happiness is initially more limiting for city growth than health at almost all levels, but as the game progresses, numerous wonders, civics, buildings, etc. increase happiness, but there are relatively few ways to increase city health. Cheap granaries are one of the most useful building bonuses and offer early and predictable benefits across all difficulty levels. Expansive is useful only at specific times during gameplay, namely, when your city growth is limited by health, or while building granaries. As these are relatively narrow circumstances (although very important ones), I tend to prefer traits that offer more consistent benefit. If you find you continue to run into problems with city health, pick expansive. However, many of these issues can be remedied with good city placement, resource development, and construction of appropriate buildings.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Industrious:[\BOLD] A nice trait, as the wonders you get with +50% build speed can duplicate many other civ traits. Half-price forges are great also because they increase your productivity, and for non-industrious civs they are quite expensive. However, the ability of any player to quickly build wonders by "chop-rushing" (described later) undermines some of the value of the industrial trait. Considering philosophical vs. industrious? Industrious makes it easier to get wonders, while philosophical makes the ones that you have more valuable. Industrious is particularly useful on higher difficulty levels when the player needs a more compelling edge in order to have any real chance of beating the AI to wonders.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Aggressive:[\BOLD] A great trait for the warmonger. While experience can be given by buildings, civics, and wonders, a free extra promotion for melee and gunpowder units is great -- especially for barracks-trained units with a couple of levels to boot. More and more experience is required to get more bonuses (2/5/10/17/etc), and so having a free promotion that doesn't set you back at all in the XP quest is good. Since the promotions become more and more powerful the higher in level you go (+20% city attack, +25%, +30% with an extra +10% vs gunpowder units, etc...cumulative!!!), having an extra promotion can result in a huge amount of extra military power, especially if you have planned well to take advantage of other sources of experience. If you want an early domination or conquest victory, aggressive is an excellent choice. Aggressive provides no bonuses to many key unit types: archery, cavalry, tanks, aircraft, and ships, and so the aggressive trait requires an early attack style to flourish.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Spiritual:[\BOLD] One of the weakest traits IMO. No anarchy, while nice, is of little benefit as I only change civics 5-6 times in a game (I try to change 2 or 3 at a time at times when several important civics are discovered in close time proximity). Cheap temples? Temples are cheap anyway and have fewer benefits than many other buildings.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Creative:[\BOLD] +2 culture has significant benefits in the early game, but few in the late game when cities have more culture than they know what to do with. How many times have I conquered a city only to have it flip to a closely adjacent neighbor? How many times have I built cultural improvement (theater, library, etc.) in a conquered city for the exclusive purpose of generating culture (and, sometimes failed), when a creative civ would not have had to worry at all? The automatic expanding cultural radius can be very valuable in expanding in the early game and blocking off large amounts of territory for your later development. While cultural's benefits are mainly in the early game, the benefits can be substantial. I prefer to get industrious instead and build Stonehenge for your early culture (although this expires -- soon -- with calender), the benefit of creative is still significant.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In sum, I think that spiritual and creative are the two weak traits of CIV. The other six traits are all good in the appropriate situation, with financial and organized representing excellent traits with wide utility across many playing styles, and the others offering specific benefits that require specific playing styles to shine.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]My favorite leader for a standard (noble) game is Washington (American) - Financial/Organized. Other great leaders include English (Victoria) - Expansive/Financial, English (Elizabeth) - Philosophical/Financial, Chinese (Qin Shi Huang) - Industrious/Financial, Peter (Russia) - Expansive/Philosophical. If you are playing on a higher difficulty level, traits that offer immediate, consistent benefit like expansive, aggressive, and industrious may serve you better than traits that bloom only with cultivation like financial or philosophical.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]3. LEVERAGE YOUR STRENGTHS[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It's important to make the most out of your advantages by drawing upon the synergy of civ traits, civics, improvements, and buildings and wonders. For example, it would be silly to get the aggressive civ trait and fail to build barracks. Synergy can be very powerful when you combine substantial bonuses in the same area from multiple different sources. Aggressive (free combat I promotion for melee and gunpowder units)+ barracks (+4 experience for all new units)+ pentagon (+2 experience to all units civ-wide) + theocracy (+2 experience for all new units), police state (+25% military production speed), + West Point (+4 experience for all new units) and Heroic Epic (+100% military production speed) = +125% military production speed pumping out units starting with 12 experience points (3 promotions) in addition to combat I in the city with West Point/Heroic epic, and 8 experience points + combat I at a 25% bonus production speed in all other cities with barracks. An initially mediocre unit with 3 city attack promotions (+20%, +25%, +30%) receives a +85% bonus against cities - a massive boost against even strong defenders of technological parity. Philosophical + Pacifism + Parthenon = 250% great people points, with 350% in the city with the national epic. And so forth.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It is also important to try to compensate for your disadvantages. For example, if I am not playing an expansive civ (or even if I am), I try to build cities on rivers as much as possible for the +2 health bonus, even at a slight productivity hit.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]4. RELIGIONS[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As in the real world, religion can be one of the most uniting or dividing things in CIV. While gifts or insults have only minor benefit on relations (+/-1, rarely more than +/-2; religion can have a huge impact on relations -- seeing +/-4, +/-6 from religion are common. Religion is by far the biggest factor in relations in most games. It seems to be something in the range of +1 relations for every city of your religion in your opponent's land, +1 or 2 if your religion is their state religion. Therefore, pumping out missionaries to convert your neighbors in the good times is as important for the security of your empire as maintaining a powerful military. I try to keep one city pumping out missionaries of your religion the entire game, providing both relationship and economic bonuses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Consider getting an early religion (Hinduism or Judaism) or, if going for a chop-rush settler push, one or more of the later ones (Confucianism, Christianity, Taoism, Islam). In any case, try to pick up as many of the later ones as I can in order to keep friends friendly. A friendly neighbor who has previously converted to your religion but subsequently discovers Islam can suddenly decide that you are a pagan who must be cleansed from the earth. Besides, some of the religion techs (like Divine Right, Islam) offer cool wonders.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Founding cities of religion can become real cash cows in the mid and late game, IF you build the religion-specific wonder in the founding city. In a recent game where I aggressively spread Confucianism, over 30-40 cities were converted by the late of the game. I also discovered Taoism and subsequently captured the founding cities of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism, giving me five of the seven world religions. Did I ignore my non-state religions, even though I planned to stick with Confucianism throughout the entire game? Of course not. I sent a great prophet to each city to build the religion-specific wonder. This accomplishes two purposes. First, it gives you free bonus income equal to the number of cities with that religion each turn. Second, it causes the autonomous spread of each religion from its founding city without even requiring missionaries. While I continue to aggressively spread my state religion with missionaries, the other religious capitals function as cash cows with progressively increasing revenue without requiring any other input or management.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Since founding religious cities generate a large amount of income, *regardless of the position of your financial sliders*, these are the best cities for building banks, markets, and grocers. I find that the Wall Street wonder is typically best built in the founding city of my state religion for an extra and substantial economic boost, since this will typically be the largest religion by the mid to late game (and thus the largest city economy).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As previously mentioned, I keep pumping missionaries out from 2-3 cities almost continuously through the entire game. This improves relations with neighbors, creates LOS (line of sight) to other cities, and generates money.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The financial and diplomatic benefits of missionaries are well-known, although the espionage benefits are rarely mentioned. When I am contemplating war with a nation, I will send a wave of missionaries to as many of their key cities as possible before my military units cross the border. This accomplishes two things. First, it provides invaluable intelligence information and allows one to assess which cities represent priority acquisitions as well as to get some idea of the strength, location, and composition of enemy armies. Equally importantly, missionaries of your state religion provide an instant cultural benefit to captured cities. After conquering a city that is not your state religion, you might contemplate building a library or theater -- which could take 50+ turns -- in order to expand the borders and to prevent the city from flipping back to an adjacent neighbor with strong cultural boundaries. However, if the city is already your state religion, it will automatically generate +1 culture/turn in addition to a +1 happiness benefit, expanding your borders within 10 turns and making your city much less likely to flip or revolt. The pre-attack missionary wave essentially adds the benefits of the creative trait to non-creative civs, in addition to income, happiness, and espionage benefits.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]5. CITY PLACEMENT[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The placement of cities is always one of the most important strategic decisions. I will gladly place a city at significantly further distance from my capital if it results in acquiring special resources or monopolizing a location that is of prime strategic or production value. Many specialty resources offer benefits for your entire civilization, and so the race to control luxury, health, strategic, and bonus resources is a key factor in city placement. Whenever possible, I build cities on rivers, and try to get at least one special resource (of any kind) within range. Of course this is not always possible (especially on unusual or specialty map types), but if you repeatedly find that you are having trouble making your cities happy and productive or are failing to acquire important resources, perhaps it is time to reevaluate your city placement. Controlling strategic passes or "choke points" with cities is also valuable -- if you can block off your enemies from chunks of unsettled land and then fill it in later, that is a bonus, although the geography doesn't always accommodate this.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Buildings[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Some buildings I like to build everywhere, whereas others I build only in specialized cities, or in any city when there is a natural opening. Buildings I like to build as much as possible include:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]First Tier[\BOLD][NEWLINE]granary[NEWLINE]lighthouse (for coastal cities)[NEWLINE]library[NEWLINE]aqueduct[NEWLINE]forge[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Second Tier[\BOLD][NEWLINE]harbor (if applicable)[NEWLINE]temple[NEWLINE]theater[NEWLINE]market[NEWLINE]grocery[NEWLINE]university[NEWLINE]laboratory[NEWLINE]factory[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The build order of course varies depending on the needs of each city, but generally I get granaries and forges as early as possible everywhere, and theaters first in conquered cities (to prevent culture flipping), and others as the situation dictates. It is hard to go wrong with a library almost everywhere because of the commerce bonus and the culture to expand your borders.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Be careful with buildings that harm city health. In particular, avoid building coal plants, as this subtracts two health and seemingly cannot be removed, even if the city develops alternative power sources. The three gorges dam wonder provides power to all cities on the continent, and cities along rivers can use hydro power. While laboratories increase research by +25%, they also detract from health (-1), and you may not need laboratories everywhere at the very late stage in the game at which they become available - constructing them in a few top research cities may suffice.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Commerce, Research, and Gold[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Squares with or without improvements produce *commerce*. This commerce can then be used to fund research, culture, or turned into gold. Improvements (towns etc) and the financial trait actually give you commerce, not gold. The distinction between "commerce" generally and "gold" specifically is somewhat confusing as they sometimes use the same gold coin icon.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Then the benefit of city improvements depends on both your base commerce and your sliders. Say you have a small city producing 10 commerce, and your research slider is on 80%, with 20% going into finances. A library (+25% research) will give you an extra 2 beakers (base research = 80% of 10 = 8, 25% of 8 = 2 more). A grocer, however (+25% gold) would seem not to have any benefit to an economy this small (base gold = 20% of 10 = 2, and 25% of 2= 0.5, rounded down to zero).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Now of course there is some gold *outside* of the commerce system: namely, gold generated by religious buildings. Specialist gold goes directly to finances and is not general "commerce" that can be converted to research.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In other words, the benefit of the improvements depends highly on the position of your sliders. If you played with research on 20% and money on 80%, obviously the financial improvements (market, grocer, bank, etc) would be more valuable. Since in most games however research plays such an important role, science improvements tend to offer greater benefits.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Inflation[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Inflation is not covered anywhere in the civilopedia or manual that I can find, but it is an important expense. Inflation can go up but never seems to go down over the course of a game. Inflation increases over time at a steady rate, regardless of spending breakdown. Inflation cannot apparently be controlled; it inevitably increases as the game progresses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Inflation adds an additional percentage to your expenses, including:[NEWLINE]civic upkeep[NEWLINE]city maintenance (distance and city number)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This percentage can get quite high. If your expenses are 100 per turn and your inflation is 30%, your final cost is 130 gold. The organized trait has at least some advantage here, because it is saving "pre-tax" rather than "post-tax" dollars. In other words, if your civic upkeep were 50 and inflation were 0%, the organized trait would save only 25 gold (50% of final upkeep), but if inflation were 40%, your real savings are 50+20 (40% of 50) = 70/2, or 35 gold.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]6. CIVICS GUIDE[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I try to change civics as little as possible since I don't play as Spiritual. I will do 2 or 3 switches at once, when possible. If you do too many changes at once (4 or occasionally 3), it can result in 2 turns anarchy. You cannot change state religion and civics on the same turn.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Government Civics[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Hereditary Rule:[\BOLD] (medium upkeep, + 1 happiness per military unit in a city, req. monarchy). Since most cities will have at least one military unit for defense, this tech can be a real benefit in the early middle ages when you are still developing your luxury resource network and constructing happiness buildings. Hereditary rule provides a great answer to happiness problems that can otherwise be limiting to a rapidly-growing civilization.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Representation:[\BOLD] (medium upkeep, +3 research per specialist, +2 happiness in 6 largest cities, req. constitution). Another excellent bonus, especially for a philosophical nation with many specialists. The largest cities are the most likely to get unhappy, so this civic gives you the happiness bonus where you need it. Representation is particularly valuable for philosophical civs in synergy with mercantilism and the statue of liberty wonder, harnessing the free specialists to provide a major technology boost. Unless you have a vast number of towns, representation is a good civic to keep throughout the entire game. The extra research for every specialist continues to be a huge benefit that can significantly speed your research. I try to build the pyramids as quick as I can so that I can switch to representation, significantly speeding research. Then pick up wonders and buildings that give you (or allow) specialists: great library, forge, statue of liberty, etc.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Police State:[\BOLD] (high upkeep, +25% military production, -50% war weariness, req. facism) is great for the warmonger or for wartime defense, but the high cost makes it undesirable in peacetime.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Universal Suffrage:[\BOLD] moderate upkeep. The +1 production boost to towns and ability to complete production with gold (units/buildings, not wonders) is useful; however, it is of little use in the early and mid game when cottages have not yet developed into towns. Don't get snookered into getting this in the early game with the pyramids, as upkeep is high and you will have no towns to provide the productivity bonus. Weighing universal suffrage against[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Legal Civics:[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Vassalage:[\BOLD] high upkeep, +2 experience per unit, lower unit support costs: a good tech for a warmonger, but the high cost makes it prohibitive for others. Consider this temporarily while in a war.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Bureaucracy:[\BOLD] (+50% production/gold in capital, medium upkeep, req. civil service). Good in the early game, and provides an excellent boost for a wonder-building city. Liberalism is close enough around the corner from civil service that often I hold off for free speech. As the slider is usually set heavily to research, the primary benefit of this civic is usually production rather than gold.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Nationhood:[\BOLD] no upkeep (changed from low to no upkeep with the patch), can draft 3 units per turn, barracks +2 happiness. Also a good civic for a warmonger that is better sustainable long-term than vassalage because of its low cost, in addition to adding happiness benefit.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Free Speech:[\BOLD] (no upkeep, +2 gold from towns, +100% culture per city, req. liberalism). It is my favorite for the late game, but won't do you much good if you don't have towns. I like to get bureaucracy for the production boost while towns are developing, and then switch to free speech once I have enough towns to justify it. At no upkeep cost, the price is right, and this one can provide a great boost to your economy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Labor Civics[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Slavery:[\BOLD] (low upkeep, can sacrifice population to finish production, req. bronze working) Excellent for rapidly-growing cities limited by happiness, although it makes 1 pop unhappy for 10 turns. Slavery is ideal for civs with large cities with abundant food (flood plains + farms) but marginal productivity and limited happiness, especially in the early and mid-game. Slavery takes the revolting pops that are adding nothing to the economy and uses them to produce wonders or other high-cost buildings that would otherwise take many turns to complete. I typically keep this civic until I get emancipation with democracy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Serfdom:[\BOLD] (low upkeep) -- workers build improvements faster. I usually have a large enough army of workers building improvements and clearing jungles that this one isn't as attractive as the others.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Caste System:[\BOLD] (medium upkeep, req. code of laws) -- unlimited scientists, artists, merchants in cities. A reasonable choice if you have food to spare, don't yet have enough town improvements to allow specialists otherwise, and can afford the upkeep. While I like the idea of the caste system civic for philosophical civs, the way which this is implemented is poor. Once you get caste system, the computer automatically allocates many of your workers to specialists, especially scientists. Although this can be somewhat controlled with your city production settings, the AI often diverts workers producing food, hammers, and commerce into specialists producing only science and culture. This slows both the production and growth of many of your cities. There is too much micromanagement involved to manage the caste system appropriately, and the stunting of your production and growth because of poorly allocated specialists is rarely if ever worthwhile, even for a philosophical civ. Skip it and go for emancipation. The scientists are the most valuable, while artists and merchants are usually of limited value.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Emancipation:[\BOLD] (no upkeep, req. democracy) is great for mid to late game. It doubles rate of cottages -&gt; towns; a big synergistic economic boost when combined with appropriate techs, free speech, and universal suffrage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Economic Civics: [\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Mercantilism:[\BOLD] (medium upkeep, 1 free specialist per city, no foreign trade routes, req. banking). Getting this civic is like having the statue of liberty wonder and is a huge boost for philosophical or GP oriented civs. It is moderately expensive, and shuts down foreign trade (which can also hurt, or at least won't help, your relations). However, if you have the Angkor Wat wonder that adds to priest productivity and the Representation civic that adds 3 research to every specialist, this presents a huge boost to your cities that more than compensates for the lack of foreign trade routes.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Free Market:[\BOLD] (medium upkeep) - +1 trade route per city. A nice financial or research boost, although only modest in size. However I rarely use this as state property is only a few techs away.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Edit: The patch increases free trade from low to medium upkeep. More reason to skip it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]State Property:[\BOLD] (low upkeep, req. communism) is great (no distance maintenance costs, +1 food from watermills). Although the patch increased the upkeep from free to low, it is still extremely useful. I find that with my tendency to build many cities, it saves me as much or more than I would earn from the extra trade route, plus upkeep is free, plus you get extra food. As I tend to build watermills along almost all river tiles because of their boost to productivity (+2 with appropriate techs), food (+1), and economy, a river city may be able to support a couple more citizens that can be made specialists to boost your GP generation. My most-used economic tech.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]State property eliminates the city distance maintenance cost entirely, which for a large empire typically represents about 50% of your total city upkeep (this rough rule of thumb varies depending on both the number of cities and the distances involved). This can be quite a substantial savings. For a nation with a well-developed state religion, adopting state property frequently allows one to move the tech slider from 70-80% to 90-100%. This faster tech speed has many benefits: quicker availability of new buildings and units, faster tech bonuses, and getting sooner to techs like electricity that increase the value or productivity of your existing city improvements. The extra food can allow you to support extra specialists or larger city growth if you have many river cities and have built watermills. With no civic upkeep cost, the price is right. In most games, the state property civic alone is far better in terms of your financial bottom line than the organized trait, as city distance upkeep costs often well exceed 50% of the civic upkeep costs discounted by organized. My tests suggest that the Versailles wonder, like the Forbidden Palace, reduce only distance upkeep costs (Versailles seems to be like a second Forbidden Palace). If you are using the state property civic and plan to stick with it long-term, don't waste city production on these wonders. Forbidden Palace and Versailles offer only a modest location-dependent decrease in distance costs, while state property abolishes distance costs altogether. With city upkeep virtually cut in half by state property, you will also find less of a necessity for courthouses until your civilization is extremely large.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Environmentalism:[\BOLD] (high upkeep) is nice at the very end of the game when you get ecology (+6 health, +1 happiness from forests and jungles). Unfortunately I've harvested most forests and jungles long before the ecology tech comes around (and jungles are so unproductive why would you want to keep them), and find that my cities already have good health and happiness well before then and are more limited by food. The expensive upkeep is also a drawback, so I tend to use state property more frequently. Rather than getting environmentalism, I prefer to research future techs (+1 health and happiness each for your entire civ), since ecology is already near the end of the tech line), rather than paying the fat environmentalism upkeep fees. At least that part of environmentalism is realistic.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Religious Civics:[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Organized Religion:[\BOLD] (high upkeep, +25% building and wonder construction, req. monotheism). After extensive testing, I have come to the conclusion that this is the best religion civic, at least for my play style. I grab this civic as soon as I can get to monotheism and keep it throughout the entire game. I have verified in-game that organized religion does boost wonder speed as well as that of non-wonder buildings. +25% building and wonder speed throughout the whole game is essentially equivalent to a free forge in every city, except that the bonus does not apply to unit builds. This trait is very expensive for a large civilization, but I think it is well worth the cost. I can think of no wonder, civ trait, building, or civic that matches organized religion in its sweeping benefits.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Theocracy:[\BOLD] (medium upkeep), +2 experience points for units created in cities with state religion, no non-state religion spread) -- okay for a warmonger, but expensive.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Pacifism:[\BOLD] (no upkeep, +100% GP, req. philosophy) is phenomenal as it can essentially bestow the philosophical trait on a non-philosophical civ, or make philosophical civs even better. The low upkeep is counterbalanced by the +1 gold per military unit, so this tech can be cheap or expensive depending on your military size. As attractive as pacifism is, I feel that organized is a better trait, even for philosophical civs. Ask yourself: how many great people would you need to generate to speed construction of buildings and wonders in every one of your cities by 25%?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Free Religion:[\BOLD] (low upkeep): I never get free religion as losing all the state religion bonuses really hurts, as well as losing line of site to all converted cities in other nations. At end-game usually I have plenty of luxuries and am not so desperate for a few more happy faces that I would want to deal with the hassle of having to get 4 or 5 religions in each of my cities to make this civic worthwhile. The +10% tech bonus -- while meaningful -- doesn't seem to make much of a difference for me this late in the game, plus you have to pay fixed upkeep (albeit low) to boot. Some players attempt to get free religion as soon as possible to pacify aggressive neighbors with different religions. However, I have had war declared on me so many times in the early game when I had no state religion at all that I know that simply removing state religion is no panacea to diplomacy. Dropping a state religion can pacify opponents, but it can also make former close allies lukewarm or even hostile. And if you are still deeply afraid of your neighbors by the late time of game that organized religion becomes available, perhaps it is time to assess your strategy in other areas. Theology civics include some of the best benefits in the game (+100% GP from pacifism, +25% building and wonder construction speed), and I generally like these bonuses far too much to sacrifice them for free religion, which seems to offer little in return. Nevertheless, if you are in a situation where you are walking on eggshells -- playing deity level with far more powerful AI players, perhaps -- free religion may be something to consider. Otherwise, skip it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Favored early game civics: representation (constitution - or pyramids), bureaucracy (civil service), slavery (bronze working), mercantilism (banking), organized religion (monotheism)[NEWLINE]Favored late game civics: universal suffrage, free speech, emancipation, state property, organized religion[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Warmonger civics: police state, vassalage, slavery, state property, theocracy[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]7. CITY IMPROVEMENTS[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I tend to manually control workers (at least until very late in the game) as the computer automation leaves much to be desired and lacks strategic foresight.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Farms:[\BOLD] +1 food initially, +2 food (total) at end-game when you have biology. Recent tests have led me to change my strategies and begin building large numbers of farms initially in order to quickly increase city size. When cities are near the max of their happiness and/or health, then I start converting the farms to cottages for the economic benefits. In contrast to watermills and windmills which offer economic and production bonuses in addition to food, farms offer only food. The advantage is that they are available almost immediately in the game with the agriculture tech. I prefer wide proliferation of farms in the ancient era, with removal of some farms and transition to cottages and watermills when you are near the maximum sustainable city size for health and happiness. Especially on higher difficulty levels, spamming too many farms may quickly bring your cities over the happiness and/or healthiness levels they can support, resulting in revolters and no "we love the king day" events. Automated workers tend to overdo farming and so I prefer to direct workers manually. Use farms wisely, but be careful that they don't push your cities into unhappiness or unhealthiness. You may need to expand your growth capacity as your city's happiness and health limits increase, so keep an eye on this.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Cottages:[\BOLD] Cottages make up the foundation of economic and research productivity of your civilization. Especially if you have the financial trait, cottages produce great bonuses when they grow into towns, with full techs and civics: commerce +7, production +1 (requires universal suffrage civic). Cottages can be built anywhere, but their production bonus comes late (after full growth into towns) and only with the correct civic.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I often wait until cities are close to their health or happiness limit to start building large numbers of cottages because farms offer more immediate benefit by increasing city size and therefore production and the number of workable tiles. Cottages only progress into hamlets, villages, and towns when they are being worked. There is no point in rushing to place cottages on all 20 workable tiles of a level 2 city (for an extreme example), as the cottages will not begin to develop at all until the city is large enough to work them. My tests and those of others have demonstrated that in most cases, a better long-term economic outcome is achieved with early farms to grow your city quickly and then building large numbers of cottages that the city is able to work, as opposed to immediate cottage spamming resulting in slow growth and many unworked tiles in an immature city.[NEWLINE]The downsides of cottages include that they take a long time to grow: cottage-&gt;hamlet 10 turns, hamlet -&gt;village 20 turns, village -&gt;town 40 turns. This can be cut in half with appropriate civics, but still it takes 35 turns in the best possible case to grow from a cottage to a town. In a game that lasts only 400 or 500 turns (and may be decided long before then), that is a big chunk of game time. Also, cottages can be easily pillaged by an enemy. Cottages are particularly valuable around your core research cities, but think twice about building cottages on frontier cities close to aggressive neighbors. In any case, the long maturation time of cottages requires that they be built as early as possible to maximize their benefits. Having cottages that have grown into towns while your neighbors are still dealing with hamlets and villages can prove decisive.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Watermill:[\BOLD] An immediate +1 production boost, with final bonuses of +1 food, +2 commerce, and +2 production with full techs and civics (requires state property for the food bonus). These are very helpful in increasing the production of plains, grassland, or flood plains adjacent to rivers that have little innate production capability. And once you have the correct techs/civics, the bonuses are immediate and do not require the maturation that cottages do. You can only build watermills on one square or the other to the side of a river, but I build watermills everywhere I can, typically replacing farms as soon as state property is in hand.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Windmill[\BOLD]: An immediate +1 food, with final bonuses of +1 food, +2 commerce, and +1 production with full tech (replaceable parts, electricity). Very useful if you need more food, have limited river access, and want something that offers more substantial and well-rounded benefits than farms. Windmills can be placed on hills which makes a nice alternative to mines, giving production and commerce benefits while allowing the square to provide at least some of the food supply required to work it. With the financial trait, windmill offers +1 food, +1 production, and +3 commerce, making a windmill often preferable to a mine.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Lumbermill[\BOLD]: Chopping down the trees doesn't add any more food production (unlike C3C), and so lumbermills are a prime consideration for productivity in the late game. That is, in areas where you still have trees. With max +3 production (Base +1 from trees, +1 from lumbermill, +1 more when railroad comes around) and +1 commerce for squares adjacent to rivers, lumbermills are the best late-game productivity improvement. They don't have the economic benefits of cottages, watermills, or windmills, but offer a more substantial production boost without sapping your food supply (unlike workshops) or without requiring a specific civic to keep from doing so. The late benefits of a lumbermill must also be weighed against the benefits of chopping in the early game for benefits that can be quite substantial at a time when your civilization's productivity is very low: chopped trees can result in a much faster start, extra cities, or more wonders. I chop trees in the early game for chop-rushing settlers or crucial wonders, but by the mid-game when instant productivity is no longer urgent, I prefer to preserve any remaining trees for future lumbermills.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Mine[\BOLD]: +2 production, +1 more (+3 total) with railroad. A substantial productivity boost as long as you have enough food to go around. The option between windmills and mines is nice for hill squares.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Workshop:[\BOLD] +1 production, -1 food. With max upgrades they can offer up to +3 production, and with state property, no food penalty. This allows the same +3 production as lumbermill, without requiring you to keep trees around until the late game. The food penalty early on makes this a poor choice in the early middle ages, but once you have state property, workshops represent an excellent improvement for production. However, if you depend on workshops and state property, you will largely be obliged to stay with that civic through the rest of the game -- or see your cities starve when you change, unless you have a large food surplus from other sources.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]8. SPECIALIZATION[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Since you can only build 2 national wonders in a city and because GP points accrue according to specialties, it makes sense to have specialized cities in CIV. I aim for a science city (oxford university + great library), a military city (pentagon + heroic epic + west point), a culture city (hermitage + globe theater), an economic city (wall street), and will put the national epic in the city with the most wonders (and most GP points).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In general, keeping a flow of military units from at least one city will keep your cities happy (large cities get upset without protection) and defended. I also try to keep one city pumping out missionaries throughout almost the entire game, occasionally switching production to another city to construct buildings in the city. In my first couple games when I did not continue to produce both military and missionary units in peace time and war time, it caused major problems for me in spite of large leads in other areas.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]CIV rewards the creation of specialized cities. I try to create at least 2 cities of each specialty because of the need to build infrastructure buildings in between building military or religious units, wonders, etc. Specialist cities make sense because you can't build every building in every city, and specialization helps you to leverage your city placement by putting buildings in the cities where they will do the most good.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The first step in deciding the division of labor between specialized cities is to evaluate the surrounding land. A city in an area with luxury resources could be a great trade/science city, while one in an area with many mines and high production would likely make a good military city for creating units, or for rapidly building wonders. A city with abundant food supply would make a good specialist city to increase great people generation.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Military City[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Build in:[\BOLD] productive area with high hammer yield (mines, watermills, etc)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Buildings:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Barracks Forge Factory[NEWLINE]Power source (coal, hydro, nuclear), Granary Aqueduct[NEWLINE][BOLD]National wonders:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][BOLD]first city:[\BOLD] Heroic Epic (+100% military production in city), West Point (+4 exp/military unit)[NEWLINE][BOLD]second city:[\BOLD] Red Cross (free Medic I promotion), Ironworks (near iron or coal) -- consider designating this one a military city from the time iron appears on the map.[NEWLINE][BOLD]World Wonders:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Pentagon (+2 experience for units trained in any city, can be built anywhere)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Discussion:[\BOLD] You will need many military units during the game, so why build them from just anywhere when you can build them quickly in a specialized city and get free experience points to boot?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Science City[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Build in:[\BOLD] area with abundant commerce[NEWLINE][BOLD]Improvements:[\BOLD] focus on cottages -&gt;towns[NEWLINE][BOLD]Buildings:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Academy (+50% research, requires great scientist) Library (+25% research)[NEWLINE]Observatory (+25% research) University (+25% research)[NEWLINE]Laboratory (+25% research)[NEWLINE]Monastery (+10% research, but becomes obsolete - may skip this one)[NEWLINE][BOLD]National wonders: [\BOLD][NEWLINE]Oxford University (+100% research)[NEWLINE][BOLD]World Wonders:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Great Library (+2 scientists, expires)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Merchant City[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Build in:[\BOLD] area with abundant commerce[NEWLINE][BOLD]Improvements:[\BOLD] focus on cottages -&gt;towns[NEWLINE][BOLD]Buildings:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Market (+25% gold) Grocer (+25% gold)[NEWLINE]Bank (+50% gold) Airport (+1 trade route)[NEWLINE][BOLD]National Wonders:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Wall Street (+100% gold)[NEWLINE][BOLD]GP Focus:[\BOLD] great merchant[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Culture City[\H2][NEWLINE]Consider combining with science city as many science improvements also generate culture. I don't generally build a culture-only city for that reason, I go for culture/science. But here are the culture listings for those interested in culture victory, not including science improvements.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Buildings:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Temple (+1 culture) Monastery (+2 culture)[NEWLINE]Cathedral or equivalent (+50% culture) Theater (+3 culture)[NEWLINE]Broadcast tower (+50% culture)[NEWLINE][BOLD]National Wonders: [\BOLD][NEWLINE]Hermitage (+100% culture) Globe theater (+6 culture)[NEWLINE][BOLD]World Wonders: [\BOLD][NEWLINE]Hollywood (+50% culture) Rock n' Roll (+50% culture)[NEWLINE]Broadway (+50% culture) Sistine chapel (+2 culture per specialist in all cities)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If going for a culture victory, consider balancing your national and world culture wonders between 3 cities to allow each to achieve legendary culture.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Great People City[\H2][NEWLINE]Obviously this one should be combined with another city of your choice, as the world and national wonders built in other cities contribute GP points. I like to make my GP city one that focuses on GP types that I find to be the most valuable (great engineers -- can rush wonders, or perhaps scientists -- can create academy, rather than prophets, artists, or merchants)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]National wonder:[\BOLD] National Epic (+100% GP birth rate in city)[NEWLINE][BOLD]World Wonders: [\BOLD][NEWLINE]Parthenon (+50% GP birth rate in all cities) Great Library (+2 scientists in city, but expires)[NEWLINE]Statue of Liberty (+1 specialist in all cities)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergistic Civic:[\BOLD] pacifism (+100% GP rate, no upkeep)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]9. WONDERS [\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]When beginning every game, you will want to consider what wonders are a priority for you and what wonders you will pass on. It is rarely possible to get every wonder. Realistic decisions must be made and tech paths to get the desired wonders early must be considered. There is little as frustrating as coming within a few turns of completing an expensive wonder only to lose your effort because another civ beat you to it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wonder decisions can make or break the game. A few key wonders can provide advantages turning the tide in your favor, while an inappropriate focus on wonders at the expense of defense or growth can leave your civilization vulnerable.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The player should also consider what role wonders will play in the overall strategy. If you are playing as a philosophical or industrious nation, constructing numerous wonders should be a centerpiece of your strategy. For militaristic players, wonders should play little role, as a vast army can be constructed in the time of constructing just a few wonders. The militaristic player should therefore aim for a few targeted wonders, while the philosophical or industrious player should strive for a much longer list.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Some wonders offer considerable early benefits, but expire. Others offer mediocre benefits that expire regardless (the Hagia Sophia is infamous for frequently becoming obsolete only shortly after it is constructed). Wonders expire when YOU get the expiring tech, not when your neighbors do. So I often hold off on trading for the calender tech until all my cities have experienced border expansion from Stonehenge, and avoid getting chemistry until the last possible moment to milk the Parthenon for every great person point possible. Still others offer great game-long benefits.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Unless you are going for a culture victory, great artists are the least useful of all of the great people (+3 commerce, +14 culture). Therefore, I try to keep wonders offering great artist points out of my principal wonder city to avoid generating less-useful great people there. Great scientists are perhaps the most useful for their ability to add an academy in one city each. Great engineers (+3 hammers) and great prophets (+2 hammer) are the most useful as they add productivity. Great merchants add food, although only +1, in addition to commerce.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To maximize the conversion of great people points into great people, it is best to concentrate as many wonders as possible in one, two, or three designated wonder-building cities. The decision of how many cities to designate as primary or secondary wonder-builders will depend on your playing style.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Here is a list of wonders that I make priorities, keeping in mind that the wonders different players favor will vary widely depending on their play style and tactics.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Priority Expiring Wonders[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Stonehenge:[\BOLD] obelisk, +1 culture in every city, expires @ Calendar.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Great Library:[\BOLD] +2 scientists is a big deal at a time when many of your cities can't dedicate the pop to specialists, especially if you build this in your great people focus city. Perhaps most importantly, the +6 GP points/turn from 2 scientists in addition to the +2 GP from the wonder (total 8 GP points/turn) can help you quickly to get great scientists who can found academies in your largest cities, especially in the presence of philosophical/pacifist /Parthenon /national epic synergisms. Getting the great library with several great scientists can therefore generate a massive bonus that will speed your research throughout the entire remainder of the game, long after the GL's primary effects have expired. After the GL, the oxford university is the only good generator of great scientist points until after the middle ages.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Parthenon[\BOLD]: +50% GP birth rate in all cities. Vital for philosophical civs, but unfortunately doesn't last forever.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Non-Expiring Wonders[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Hanging Gardens:[\BOLD] +1 pop, +1 health in all cities. This is a huge early wonder that can catapult your civ ahead, especially if you have many small or modest-sized cities. Adding an extra pop and health point to every city boosts your economy, your research, your productivity, etc.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Notre Dame[\BOLD]: +1 happiness for all cities on continent[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Versailles[\BOLD]: reduces maintenance in nearby cities[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Statue of Liberty:[\BOLD] a free specialist in every city. Fabulous for philosophical civs. Probably my # 1 wonder in the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Pentagon:[\BOLD] +2 experience points for units trained in all cities[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Three Gorges Dam:[\BOLD] power for all cities on continent located near a river[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Eiffel Tower:[\BOLD](free broadcast tower in every city) gives a big culture boost[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Wonders by GP type[\H2][NEWLINE](all world wonders +2 GP points, all national wonders +1)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Great Scientist:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Great Library (marble) (+2 scientists)[NEWLINE]Oxford University (stone) (+100% research, 3 citizens as scientists)[NEWLINE]Space Elevator[NEWLINE]Red Cross[NEWLINE]Scotland Yard[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Capital: Stonehenge, pyramids, hanging gardens, great library, ironworks (?)[NEWLINE]Wonder city 2: parthenon, notre dame, national epic[NEWLINE]Military city[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Great Prophet:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Stonehenge (stone): obelisk in each city[NEWLINE]Angkor Wat (stone): +1 production from priests in all cities, allows 3 priests. This makes priest specialists (up to +2 hammers, +1 gold) the most productive specialists, beating out engineers (+2 hammers, no other bonuses) -- until the wonder expires[NEWLINE]Oracle (marble) (1 free tech)[NEWLINE]Chichen Itza (stone): +25% defense in all cities[NEWLINE]Spiral minaret (stone). +1 gold from all state religion buildings. Nice, although a relatively small bonus.[NEWLINE]Religious holy wonder: minus 1 production, spreads religion, 1 gold from each, allows 3 priests[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Great Engineer:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Hanging gardens (stone) (+1 population, +1 health in all cities)[NEWLINE]Pentagon (+2 experience to military units in all cities)[NEWLINE]Three Gorges Dam[NEWLINE]Ironworks (allows 3 citizens as engineers)[NEWLINE]West Point (stone) (+4 experience per unit)[NEWLINE]Pyramids (stone) (allows all government civics) - a big boost in the early game[NEWLINE]Hagia Sophia (marble) (+50% worker build speed)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Great Merchant:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Colossus (copper) (+1 gold in all city water tiles)[NEWLINE]Statue of Liberty (+1 free specialist in all cities on the continent)[NEWLINE]Wall Street[NEWLINE]Forbidden Palace (acts as a 2nd capital decreasing distance maintenance)[NEWLINE]Versailles (marble)[NEWLINE]Great Lighthouse (+2 trade routes in coastal cities)[NEWLINE]Eiffel Tower (free broadcast tower in every city)[NEWLINE]United Nations[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Great Artist:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Parthenon (marble) (+50% GP birth rate in all cities)[NEWLINE]Notre Dame (+1 happiness in all cities)[NEWLINE]National epic (stone) (+100% GP birth rate)[NEWLINE]Hollywood (+1 happiness)[NEWLINE]Rock n' Roll (+1 happiness)[NEWLINE]Broadway (+1 happiness)[NEWLINE]Heroic Epic (marble) (+100% military unit production)[NEWLINE]Hermitage (marble)[NEWLINE]Globe Theater (no unhappiness in this city, allows 3 artists)[NEWLINE]Taj Mahal[NEWLINE]Mt. Rushmore (stone)[NEWLINE]Kremlin (stone)[NEWLINE]Sistine chapel (marble)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Most important early resources:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Stone, marble, iron[NEWLINE]Put Parthenon, notre dame, statue of liberty in a separate wonder city[NEWLINE]National epic in capital[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]10. GREAT PEOPLE[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In maximizing great people points, you can get some great synergy between traits, civics, wonders, and improvements. If you want a lot of great people, get as many of these as possible.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Note that all bonuses are additive, not multiplicative. For example, 2 100% bonuses on top of a 100% base produce a 300% rate (100% base +100% x2), not 400% (they only add their bonus to the BASE rate, not to the final rate after other adjustments). Also, all fractions in the game are rounded DOWN (i.e. a 25% bonus of 7 is rounded down to 1, a 25% bonus of 8 is necessary for +2)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Traits:[NEWLINE]Philosophical trait : +100% GP generation civ-wide[NEWLINE]Civics:[NEWLINE]labor - caste system: unlimited scientists, merchants, artists in all cities[NEWLINE]economy - mercantilism: +1 free specialist per city; or (in games with many rivers) state property for the watermill food bonus, allowing higher POP and thus more specialists[NEWLINE]religion - pacifism: +100% GP birth rate in cities with state religion[NEWLINE]National wonders:[NEWLINE]national epic - +100% GP in city where built (only)[NEWLINE]World Wonders:[NEWLINE]Parthenon: +50% GP generation civ-wide, expires with chemistry[NEWLINE]Statue of Liberty: +1 free specialist in all cities[NEWLINE]great library: +2 free scientists in city where built, but expires.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A civ with max upgrades (not including great library) would have:[NEWLINE]- a 300% great people rate (100% base + 100% philosophical + 100% pacifism) + 50% from Parthenon (before expires) + 100% more in city with national wonder[NEWLINE]- 2 free specialists in all cities (mercantilism statue of liberty). At 300% return on a 3 GP base per specialist x 2 specialists, this would provide 18 GP points *per turn* even in your least developed cities with no wonders.[NEWLINE]-unlimited ability to allocate scientists, artists, and merchants in all cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Note again that the wonder bonuses expire when YOU get the tech in question, not your neighbors...therefore a philosophical civ with the Parthenon may want to push back getting chemistry as late as possible.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Of course some great people types are more valuable than others. Great engineers allow you to rush wonders which can provide key benefits in a close game. And great scientists can allow you to build an academy (+50% research) in every city. Great merchants, artists, and prophets, while still valuable, have effects that are generally somewhat more modest in terms of long-term game play. Since the chance of getting a great person of different types depends on the wonders and specialists in each city, I like having separate cities focus on great engineers and scientists without mixing with the other types as much as possible (you don't want to have your city with engineering wonders drowned out by large numbers of merchant, artist, or priest specialists pushing the GP probability towards other types). I don't have a strong preference between merchants, artists, and prophets, and so will build wonders generating all 3 in the same city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Bonuses allowing you to turn citizens into engineers are generated only by:[NEWLINE]Forge (allows 1 engineer)[NEWLINE]Factory (allows 2 engineers)[NEWLINE]Ironworks (allows 3 engineers)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Engineer GP points are generated by:[NEWLINE]West Point (+1 GP)[NEWLINE]Hanging Gardens (+2)[NEWLINE]Pentagon (+2)[NEWLINE]Pyramids (+2)[NEWLINE]Three Gorges Dam (+2)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The military city is the most natural choice for an engineer GP city (forge + factory + ironworks + west point + pentagon).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]---[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As the cost for great people increase throughout the game, diminishing returns are eventually reached. Later in the game, the cost of great people goes up and up, while the benefit of great people often declines, since the earlier you get great people, the longer they will benefit your civilization. However, your civilization should also increase in its capacity to generate great people over time, civics are chosen, as wonders are built and citizens are assigned as specialists. With appropriate tactics, many great people can still be generated even in the late game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Every great person can cause either an instant benefit, provide a tech bonus, or add a long-term bonus to cities. The benefits must be carefully considered. In *most* cases, I prefer to use great people in a manner that augments the long-term productivity of my cities, although there are exceptional cases where great people are best used to rush a tech or a wonder.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Two types of great people present no-brainers for their use:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Great prophets. Before using great prophets in any other way, make sure that you have created the religion-specific wonder in any founding religious city under your control. If you have made any attempt at all to spread the religion, or of you are conquering the founding city of a religion that is widely accepted, this can produce massive financial benefits that dwarf virtually any other use of great people.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Great scientists. Use them to create academies in all of your top science cities. Which would you rather have -- an extra +6 or so science per turn in the city of your choice, or a 50% increase in science in a city that is already generating 50, 75, or 200 beakers per turn? Although the increase acts only on the base number of commerce points applied to research (before other modifiers are applied), a great scientist can result in massive research output for cities, especially in conjunction with other science improvements (library/university/observatory/Oxford University/etc).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For other great people, I usually prefer to join them to a city, with occasional exceptions as previously acknowledged.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great artists. If you are going for a cultural victory, great artists are your friend. A very nice strategy for cultural victory on Monarch level, using great artists either by joining to a city or as "culture bombs" to titrate legendary culture among three cities is presented by walkerjks here: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=138647[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you are not going for a cultural victory, great artists are by far the weakest of all great people. I find that in most cases it is preferable to join great artists to border cities or captured cities instead of invoking the "culture bomb." Great artists produce +12 to +15 culture per turn, which is the equivalent of many cultural buildings (library = +2 culture, theater = +3, etc) and will quickly expand the city's borders -- in addition to any cultural multipliers the city may have (cathedrals, hermitage, civics, etc). In this way, you still continue to receive the commerce benefits of the great artist throughout the game, speeding your research and filling your coffers.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great merchant. The great merchant is the ONLY great person that offers a food bonus (+1 food, +6 commerce appears typical). I prefer to join great merchants to high-commerce cities that focus on great people creation (the city with the national epic is often a great choice), since more food allows you to allocate more specialists, further increasing great people output.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great engineers. As for great prophets, the surplus productivity is welcome. These often go in my capital or most productive city or cities. A city with ironworks makes a great choice for great engineer placement in the late game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]OPTIONS FOR EARLY EXPANSION[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are several good early expansion options. The decision as to which is best for you depends both on map choice and on your playing style.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]11. CHOP-RUSHING[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Chop rushing is a great way to jump ahead in the early game. The first mention I know of was in this thread by AlexFrog:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=137292[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I prefer a somewhat modified version of the strategy. The strategy involves founding initial cities in areas with a large number of trees within their "fat cross" area. The player researches bronze working immediately while building a worker in the capital city before building any other units or buildings. Once the worker is done (12-15 turns) and bronze working is researched, the worker immediately goes to work chopping trees around the capital. Each tree chopped results in 20 hammers, which can rocket a level 1 city that may have only 1, 2, or 3 hammers far ahead.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The most logical initial use of "chop-rushing" is for settlers and workers, since your cities are normally stagnant (do not grow) while these units are being produced, and because these units are vital to the growth and productivity of your civilization. I save trees to chop-rush settlers, workers, or wonders, since the construction of buildings or military units allows your cities to grow during the production phase, while production of the former two does not, and the third category (wonders) is a race. Chop-rushing typically allows me to plant 2-3 times as many cities as my closest AI competitors on noble level.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Of course, settlers must never be sent out undefended, so I like to first build at least one (possibly two) warriors, sending at least one out to explore and pop goody huts (in addition to the starting warrior) while the second will act as your settler escort. I periodically build warriors during the rapid expansion phase to ensure that my cities and settlers are adequately defended.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Because of maintenance costs increasing with both distance and city number (and I will place cities at long distances from my capital when necessary to secure important resources), it is impractical to build a civilization by the exclusive virtue of chop-rushing. There must be a balance. Once I get three or four cities, I let one or two grow and develop -- building a granary or military units to increase in size and to defend the borders, while the others chop-rush. I also assign some workers to build improvements very early -- cottages in particular, in addition to improvements required by special resources -- in order to ensure that city commerce, on average, is in excess of upkeep costs, allowing continued rapid research and continued growth. As a rough rule of thumb, on noble level, if my research percentage falls below 70%, that is a warning sign to me that I need to better develop the city economic base by building more cottages and letting cities grow to a larger size before expanding.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Chop-rushing can also be a terrific way to get wonders, especially when you have special resources that speed wonder building. For example, Stonehenge costs 120 hammers, but if you have stone, every forest chopped will give double (not 20, but 40) hammers. Therefore, you only need to chop three trees to build Stonehenge in a city with stone -- as opposed to the many turns it would take to build it without chop-rushing. This is a great way to get key wonders as a non-industrious civ, and the ability of any civilization to do this really waters down the value of the industrious trait.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Edit: the patch slightly weakens chop-rushing. Chopping income has dropped from thirty to twenty hammers, with that number being further reduced for chops further from the city (outside the city radius?) Mathematics adds +50% (back to the original 30), but it comes in the end of the first age at a time that is not as useful as an immediate chop-rush would be. Also, unlike Civ3, cutting down trees doesn't increase food harvest, so you have to immediately place farms or cottages or do something else to develop the land in other ways. Chopping offers a quick up-front bonus but can dent your long-term production if you overdo it. Weigh the pros and cons carefully in each situation.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In a recent test game in which I preserved the forests in the cities (for the health benefits and to maintain the forest productivity), I found that by the mid-middle ages, my tech rate had dropped virtually to zero and my workers began to strike and units were automatically disbanded because expenses were greater than income. Retaining the forests as opposed to chopping and planting cottages widely didn't provide the economic revenue to support the rapid city expansion that I prefer, even with measured expansion letting many of the cities grow to mid-size. Therefore I continue to favor chopping trees - whether in an early settler rush, or to complete wonders - also to free up the land for farms (faster growth) or cottage improvements (improve economy and tech speed).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]EXPANDING YOUR CAPITAL[\H2][NEWLINE]As attractive as it may seem, chop rushing faces major limitations, especially after being significantly tuned down in the recent patch. Chopping trees can push cities located near flood plains into unhealthiness and decline. Chops offer a one-time boost after which the city returns to its prior production. Depending on your situation, allowing the capital to develop before sending out settlers can be a better option. For example, if you can expand your capital in 8 turns and get a square that offers a combined 3 food and/or hammers, you will get a bonus of +1 food or hammer (2 of the food go to support the expanded population) for every subsequent turn throughout the game. For an average level 1 city with 3 resources in the center square and 3 on the first worked square (4 surplus food/hammers for settlers/workers), it takes 25 turns (4x25=100) to build a 100 resource settler and 15 turns (4x15) to build a 60-resource worker. Just one surplus resource, after paying food costs, by expanding to level 2 will drop this down to 20 turns for the settler (5 resources x 20 turns) and 12 turns for the worker. Expanding to level 3 to work another 3-resource tile, which you can generally do in another 8 turns after the first expansion with good city placement, will give you 6 surplus resources, dropping settler creation time to 17 turns and worker creation down to 10 turns.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Let's do a comparison of a city that immediately builds 4 settlers, vs. one that spends 16 turns building warriors to grow twice, and switches production to settlers before the 2nd warrior is completed:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build order: 4 Settlers 1 1/2 warriors, 4 settlers[NEWLINE]Turns to 1st settler 25 16 (to grow twice), then 17 for settler = 33[NEWLINE]2nd settler 50 50[NEWLINE]3rd settler 75 67[NEWLINE]4th settler 100 84[NEWLINE]Final capital size 1 3[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As you can see, the city that expands to level 3 first catches up with the city that immediately built only settlers by the time the 2nd settler is completed. The fact that the settler-only city completed its first settler 9 turn earlier does not make up for this, as the 9 turns allow for barely 1 cycle of growth as opposed to the 2 that the first city has achieved.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The expand-first city ends up far ahead because at the end, it is better developed and more productive than the city that pumped out settlers immediately. The expand-first model also has the advantage of producing warriors to defend your units, as unprotected settlers are not likely to survive.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you are well-situated and can develop those resources further, the model shifts even more in favor of allowing your city to increase in size. For example, if you can irrigate 2 flood plains up to +4 food each in your size 3 city and have one special resource you can get 2 food or hammers from, your total surplus will be 10 (3 from center tile, 2 per tile from 2 floodplains, and 3 from specialty resource) per turn. You can then build settlers in just 10 turns. At that point, you are expanding FASTER than you could with chop-rushing. Between chopping and moving, trees take 3-4 turns to chop for just 20 hammers and are limited, while your expanded city is indefinitely producing a surplus of 10/turn.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In general, most cities in the early game do not require more than 3-4 farm tiles. Exceptions may be made for cities on barren land, such as plains or hills. A few judicious farms are usually all that you need in order to jump-start your growth. If you overdo the farming, you can easily push the city into unhappiness, at which point cottages are a better alternative.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The decision of when to develop your capital vs. when to expand depends on your city setup. If tiles around your city are not very fertile (i.e. plains), you may wish to get out a settler sooner rather than later. If however your main city is well-placed and has one or two special resources within its boundaries that you can access with early techs, it is often wise to spend a few turns developing these resources to create a more productive capital.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]12. TECHNOLOGY[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great variability comes in here. Depending on your civilization traits and technologies, your level, and your play style, you may have different technological priorities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Some players favor chop-rushing for early expansion, going straight for bronze working. Then I go for pottery (to build cottages ASAP) and from there to alphabet (to trade techs). After alphabet, I trade with the AI as much as possible. I go for mathematics (to get hanging gardens) and then try to grab a religion -- Confucianism or, if I miss that, one of the others.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In many cases, investment in techs such as agriculture, animal domestication, and hunting can be more valuable than bronze working chop-rushing.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you are playing as a civ with early religious technologies, you may wish to shoot straight for an early religion. I prefer the path that leads to Hinduism/Judaism since if you are beaten to Hinduism, Judaism is right around the corner, while Buddhism is a dead end (at least for a while) and the AI seems to go for it quickly. Monotheism also has the benefit of offering the organized religion civic, which at +25% building construction (including wonders!) can prove to be an enormous benefit to your civilization's development. This, as well as the early spread of religion from your cities (with happiness etc), can make an early religion very, very worthwhile. From there, you can go for bronze-working and chop rush, or you can go straight for alphabet, trade for bronze working (which is typically readily available once alphabet is discovered), and chop rush.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Going for the religious techs (polytheism-&gt;monotheism) early has great advantages even for a non-spiritual civ, if you can get there quickly. The religious techs offer key early-era wonders, including Stonehenge and the Parthenon, and perhaps the most important ancient-era civic, organized religion, which can further enhance your speed in constructing wonders and other buildings. If you don't go for these techs very quickly, you will probably lose the wonder race. As you can't trade for techs until you have alphabet, and many maps feature limited access to potential trading partners, the only reliable way to get these techs is to research them yourself. If you are playing as a philosophical civ, getting the early wonders is especially critical.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Either way has advantages and drawbacks, but both playing styles can be viable. Of course you can mix and match these: shoot for early religion and then quickly add bronze working (but miss out on some early chop-rushing), or research bronze working and then pick up the religious techs in time to get access to the wonders (but you will probably lose the early religion race). There undoubtedly others as well, but the above two are my favorites.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Here are some of the key techs I focus on acquiring, making modification depending on map type and difficulty level:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]0. Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Hunting: these techs are vital to be able to hook up your bonus resources. Farming in particular is very important.[NEWLINE]1. Mysticism (65 beakers). Stonehenge, and prerequisite for other religious techs.[NEWLINE]2. Polytheism (130 beakers). Hinduism and Parthenon (key for philosophical civs).[NEWLINE]3. Bronze working (156 beakers). Chop rushing. 'nuf said.[NEWLINE]4. Wheel (78 beakers). Workers and resources won't do you much good until you can build roads. This can be moved down below monotheism depending on whether you have already gotten a religion and how tight you feel the race for Judaism will be.[NEWLINE]5. Pottery (104 beakers). Your workers can now start building cottages, and allows granary. Because of how long cottages take to develop, it is important to get cottages started early. Also to defray the heavy upkeep costs of a large empire.[NEWLINE]6. Masonry (104 beakers). Prerequisite for Monotheism. Allows building mines and quarries. While researching this you will hopefully be sending a settler and a worker to hook up stone (stonehenge, pyramids, hanging gardens) and marble (Parthenon) resources.[NEWLINE]7. Monotheism (156 beakers). Judaism and organized religion. The moment you are ready to begin building Stonehenge in your capital (or any other building), switch to organized religion to provide a +25% hammer bonus for wonders and buildings.[NEWLINE]8. Writing (156 beakers) and alphabet (390 beakers). Allows tech trades, allowing the player to pick up any missed techs.[NEWLINE]9. Mathematics (325 beakers) - workers produce +50% hammers from tree chops (up to 30). Also enables hanging garden, a key wonder for rapid population expansion. Very important for both counts.[NEWLINE]10. Metal casting (585 beakers). Forges add +25% productivity to any city where they are built. When you have stone and/or marble, organized religion civic, and forges, your cities can quickly construct buildings and wonders. Unfortunately, this tech quite expensive.[NEWLINE]11. Literature (260 beakers). Heroic epic, national epic, great library, and libraries. All important structures.[NEWLINE]12. Music (780 beakers). Free great artist to the first discoverer. Also allows Notre Dame and cathedrals, vital happiness buildings.[NEWLINE]13. Drama (390) and philosophy (1040 beakers). Philosophy offers Taoism to the first discoverer, and pacifism is a helpful civic for philosophical civs. Angkor Wat is nice (+1 production from priests in all cities) if you can get it.[NEWLINE]14. Paper (780), Education (2340 - allows universities/oxford), Liberalism (1820). Liberalism is a high priority both because it offers a free technology (you can pick the most expensive one available) and because of the free speech civic. The +2 gold from towns education offers is nice as long as enough of your cottages have developed into towns to warrant the expense of this tech path.[NEWLINE]15. printing press (2080), requires paper. +1 commerce in towns and villages. Another economic bonus, but the expense is so high that other techs may be a higher priority. Replaceable parts (2340) offers +1 hammer for watermills and windmills. This is really the point in the game where watermills become worthwhile.[NEWLINE]16. nationalism (2340), constitution (2600), democracy (3640). Nationalism and constitution have little to recommend them, except as prerequisites for democracy. Democracy is a huge advance to both economics and production because it allows universal suffrage (+1 production boost to towns) and emancipation (doubles rate of cottages -&gt; towns).[NEWLINE]17. Divine Right (1560) islam, spiral minaret, Versailles. Another opportunity to pick up a religion. Spiral minaret provides major economic boost (+1 gold per state religion building in all cities). It is however very expensive.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Currency (520 beakers): +1 trade route per city, and enables gold trading. Both of these can produce a major economic boost. I usually wait and trade for this, but getting it early may be warranted if your upkeep costs are becoming difficult to manage or your tech rate is dropping.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Others:[NEWLINE]Iron working: Reveals iron. Being able to clear jungles is necessary to be able to access some resources and to increase health. Usually I trade for this tech after alphabet, but there are certainly exceptions requiring early iron working (if you have a bad starting location in a jungle harming productivity).[NEWLINE]Iron working is critical to military also. As soon as you get this and iron is revealed, it is vital to claim and develop that iron promptly. Make sure to devote one city to military to pump out archers (before iron to garrison all your cities) and swordsmen (after iron) for defense and offense.[NEWLINE]Archery: a must if you have aggressive neighbors. You may be able to hold off until after alphabet and trade for this depending on your setup, but if you are playing against human players, you need to get this ASAP.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other key techs[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Mathematics. Hanging Gardens -- + 1 POP and +1 health in all your cities is huge, especially when you have a lot of small and moderate-size cities. The hanging gardens can really explode your productivity when you have a large empire from a chop-rush settler rush.[NEWLINE]Music (free great artist)[NEWLINE]Military Tradition (cavalry rule the middle ages)[NEWLINE]Divine Right (Versailles/Islam)[NEWLINE]Metallurgy (watermill)[NEWLINE]Democracy (emancipation &amp; universal suffrage).[NEWLINE]Communism (state property)[NEWLINE]Then to any other techs that improve the benefits of your improvements (i.e. electricity).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I also try to pick up the techs that offer free great people or free techs. These techs obviously represent a priority, as only the first discoverer gets the bonus.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H1]13. MILITARY STRATEGY[\H1][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Game Plan[\H2][NEWLINE]Before each game, consider spending a few minutes to write down some basic goals and strategies that you wish to incorporate. The plan will depend considerably on map type, terrain, size, difficulty leve, and opponents (AI or human). Of course the plan will need to be flexible to take advantage of opportunities and to respond to contingencies and challenges.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After the game, review your strategy and honestly assess which aspects worked well, and what aspects fell flat or met challenges. Use your insight to fine-tune your strategy and improve your next game plan.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Anticipation and Preparation[\H2][NEWLINE]The computer will attack suddenly and in force in CIV. It is not unusual for the computer to DOW someone and raze their city with a stack of units in the same turn. The AI, like human players, is an opportunist. If you happen to build a city right next to enemy military units, or if AI players see a poorly defended city near their military units, they are more likely to declare war than if your cities were defended and settlers were escorted. Close borders also spark tensions. Different religion is also a major cause of hostility. The AI can and does declare war even when there are mildly positive relations, so don't be too smug at your relationship score. You must defend your cities and resources. Even if you are not a warmonger, build a credible defense force. If your military is much weaker than your neighbors, you will soon find yourself in war. Anticipate attacks in advance. Is your neighbor massing catapults and swordsmen near your border? What are the stacked archer and warrior doing near your cities? Assume the worst, be observant, and be informed. Judge your enemy by their capability, not their words or relations.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Border Cities[\H2][NEWLINE]Beware of border cities without a large cultural buffer between other civilizations. In one game I had a brilliant idea to build the forbidden palace in a border city. Then while I was engaged in a war against the Mongols on the other side of my empire, Saladin declared war and conquered the city the same turn with hordes of catapults, knights, and crossbowmen. Expensive cultural improvements are instantly lost once a city is conquered. Don't put anything too critical in border cities, especially those without a significant buffer zone, and don't get too involved in constructing major buildings in border cities until you have them well-defended with strong contemporary units. Don't leave your back side exposed. And don't let success in the tech race come at the expense of national security.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Strategy[\H2][NEWLINE]When starting a war, consider your objectives. What are your goals? Acquisition of specific resources or cities? Capturing a wonder? Total annexation? Or, if caught by surprise, would you be happy to get away with a white peace? Once you have determined your goals, come up with a strategic plan to get there. Make sure that your unit mix is balanced and well-thought out. More than once in my early games, I found myself besieging cities with large stacks of units but no catapults -- bad idea. What are you going to do about city defenses? Are their resources you can deny your opponent? Will you create a two or three pronged attack and exploit vulnerabilities? Will you land a horde of cavalry and catapults by his capital for a sneak attack after shipping them behind enemy lines? It is much easier to achieve objectives if you know what your specific objectives are and have a viable plan to achieve them. It's far more effective to have a plan and fine-tune it as needed while in process than to fly by the seat of your pants and make it up as you go along.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Also take time to consider your opponent's strategy...*especially* if playing a human. Look at your own empire and assess your own vulnerabilities. Is YOUR iron supply undefended? Could an enemy wreak havoc with a few knights shipped in to attack rear cities? Do you have rows of cottages in a border city ripe for plundering? If you were your enemy, what would you do? If your vulnerabilities are lost on you, be assured that they will not be lost on a competent opponent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Resource Denial[\H2][NEWLINE]When planning a war, aim to take out key military and civilian resources. The resource screen shows you exactly what resources your opponents have. Some of the resources, like copper and iron, are essential for war. If you enemy has one source of iron and you fortify on that square with good defenders and pillage it, your enemy will instantly lose the ability to make swordsmen -- and many other units, unless he has a copper supply as well. No copper, iron, or horses? Suddenly your formerly formidable medieval opponent is back in the stone age and is able to produce only warriors and archers. A few strategic moves of this nature can turn the tide of a war.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other special resources are worth pillaging also. If your opponent has large cities that are marginally happy or healthy, pillaging a few luxury or health resources can catastrophically damage commerce, tech speed, and productivity across his entire empire. Pillaging of specialty resources in this way has a far greater effect than the pillaging of cottages, since the effects are felt in every connected city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]To Pillage or Not to Pillage[\H2][NEWLINE]Some argue for pillaging as many of your opponents cottages as possible in order to cause long-term damage to his research and economy. Against a superior or closely-matched opponent, this can be a good idea. However, it can be shortsighted if you have the upper hand.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If I am convinced that I have superior force and can take a city, I don't pillage cottages, mines, or watermills. Given how long cottages take to develop, I pillage them ONLY when I think that I am unable to take a city outright during the current war. As attractive as the quick gold from pillaging seems, it is trivial compared to having a long-term free revenue source that your opponent built for you -- adding insult to injury. Conquered cities will often have high maintenance due to their distance from your capital and the incremental augmentation of city number, and if they can pay their own expenses right off the bat, your warmongering will be much more economically sustainable.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Diplomacy[\H2][NEWLINE]When evenly matched or over-matched, diplomacy plays an immense role. If the Mongols catch you by surprise and burn a couple border cities, what better way to pay them back than bribing their neighbors with tech or gold to declare war on them? Sure, they may have thought they were smart to exploit a momentary vulnerability when their keshiks found a lightly-guarded city...but finding themselves in a war on two or three fronts will wipe the smile off their faces and take the pressure off you. If I am caught by surprise in a war for which I am not fully prepared or do not want, I do not hesitate to trade prime techs to bribe allies to join on my side.</Spanish>
	</TEXT>
	<TEXT>
		<Tag>TXT_KEY_STRATEGY_TRAITS_PEDIA</Tag>
		<English>[H1]Analysis of the Civilization Traits[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Theoden[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Introduction[\H2][NEWLINE]There are eight leader traits in the game, all with very concrete and tangible benefits. However, some of them give more and some of them give less benefit than what they look to be giving on the surface. I'm going to explain how much benefit each actually gives. This article will take the mathematical approach, as I'm measuring the magnitude of the traits' bonuses, rather than subjectively comparing them.[NEWLINE][H2]Generally for All Traits[\H2][NEWLINE]Most of the traits have one or more city improvements associated with it that it gains double production speed of. However that doesn't always mean the improvement is procured twice as fast, because the 100% bonus to hammers is of the base production. So if you already have a forge, building an improvement associated with your trait will make the total production speed rise from 125% to 225%, rather than 250%.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Let's say, for example, that you have the spiritual trait, which gives half price on temples (80 hammers). With no other production enhancing improvements the spiritual trait will account for half of the hammers needed (40 hammers). However, if you have a forge the spiritual trait will only account for 100 / 225 = 44,4% of the hammers needed (35 hammers). As more production enhancers are added (e.g. organised religion, factory) the percentage of the hammers that the trait bonus contributes becomes increasingly smaller. While this may seem minor and insignificant, in the big picture it can total up to a significant amount of hammers.[NEWLINE][H2]The Traits[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Aggressive[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Free Combat I promotion of melee and gunpowder units.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To a melee or gunpowder unit with no experience this trait is worth exactly what it says: a Combat I promotion giving 10% increased strength and equal to what the unit could achieve with 2 XP. As the unit levels up however, this combat I promotion rises in value. Let's say you have a unit with 17 XP giving it four promotions, and you want it to eventually have the commando promotion. With the Combat I promotion from the Aggressive trait you would be able to take commando promotion now (Combat II - IV and then commando), but without it you would only be able to promote your unit up to Combat IV. For the non-aggressive civ the experience required to get the commando promotion and have a unit as good as the aggressive civ's, is 26 which is 9 additional XP In this case the Aggressive trait is worth 9 XP In other words, the actual value of the aggressive trait is the amount of XP required to get the next promotion for a unit, providing you are upgrading in the Combat part of the promotion tree or that the Combat I promotion is useful to the unit. This means that the value of the trait increases with more experienced units because the XP required for a promotion is n^2 + 1. To put it more simple, if you are upgrading along the Combat part of the tree, the latest promotion you have chosen is your actual tangible benefit of having the aggressive trait.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Creative[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]+2 culture per city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This trait is pretty straightforward magnitude-wise. It will always add 2 culture to the city's base culture. This can be multiplied by cathedrals and a few wonders, but it should be noted that since the rest of the city's culture production will also increase proportionally, the percentage of the city's total culture that this trait is accountable for won't change with the culture multiplicative improvements.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Expansive[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]+3 health per city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This trait is also straightforward. The bonus is always 3 health for all cities and is never subject to multiplications or the like. The tangible benefit is between 0 and 3 food depending on how your health situation looks before and after the trait's bonus is applied. It can also make the difference between whether a city is eligible for We Love the King Day or not, saving an average amount of upkeep per turn depending on what the city's upkeep cost is.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Financial[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]+1 commerce on plots with 2 commerce.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Financial is a trait that requires more calculation. It adds to the cities base commerce and is therefore subject to modifiers. Improvements or civics that multiply the science, gold or culture output of the city will all increase the benefit of the financial trait providing you are allocating at least 10% of your base commerce to the category in question (science, gold or culture). Improvements or civics that multiply the base commerce (e.g. Bureaucracy) increase the benefit regardless of slider settings. In short, the benefit of the financial trait in absolute numbers is the base commerce it adds (number of tiles worked that produces at least 2 commerce) multiplied by any modifiers present in the city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Calculating its effect in relative numbers is relevant too though. In this case the multiplicative improvements and civics makes no difference as they are applied to all base commerce, not the just the commerce from the financial trait. What matters is a comparison between commerce before and after the trait is applied. The largest increase financial can result in is 50%, if all tiles produce exactly 2 commerce before it's applied. If a tile produces, for instance, 5 commerce, the advantage of adding the financial trait will be 20%. As a tile's commerce increases further the relative benefit decreases. Of course tiles can also produce less than 2 commerce in which case the benefit is 0%. In short, the relative benefit of the financial trait always lies somewhere between 0% and 50%, depending on how much commerce is being produced in the individual tiles.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Industrious[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Wonder production increased 50 percent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The calculations about the actual benefits of the trait-specific building bonuses also apply to the industrious trait, as the wonder production bonus is applied in the exact same way. There really isn't more to say about that as it's already explained in that chapter.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Organised[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Civic upkeep reduced 50 percent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The benefit of the organised trait seems to be straightforward as it simply halves your civic upkeep expenses. However, the amount of gold that this trait saves you cannot be calculated just by looking at the remaining half that you are paying, because inflation factors in. By multiplying the upkeep that you appear to be saving with (1 + inflation rate) you will know how much gold this trait is actually saving you.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Another aspect of the organised trait to consider is the difficulty level. At lower levels the civic upkeep is relatively low and increases with difficulty level. As such the organised trait generally saves you more gold on the higher levels. The inflation rate is also higher on the harder difficulties, further increasing the benefit of organised on these difficulties.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Philosophical[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Great People birth rate increased 100 percent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is perhaps the most discussed trait regarding the actual benefit. There are countless threads on this, but I'll go through the non-subjective facts anyway.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The philosophical trait's bonus works just like the trait-specific building bonuses and is subject to the same calculations regarding how much of the total output that it contributes. As with the industrious trait I won't go into detail about this as it's explained in the first chapter. The only difference is that the possible production enhancers are the Parthenon, the National Epic and the pacifism civic.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other production enhancers aside, the philosophical trait produces 100% more GPP (Great People Points), but that doesn't mean it produces 100% more GP (Great People) during the course of a game. This is because the cost of getting the next GP increases each time you get one and as such, getting a certain amount of extra GPP is worth less the more GP you have already produced. Through calculations which I won't bother you with it appears that the philosophical trait results in 50% more GP during the course of a game, all other things being equal.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you look at the amount of turns it will take to produce a certain amount of GP however, the philosophical trait accomplishes it twice as quickly. This is because we are talking about a predefined amount GPP, in which case the 100% extra production results in achieving the GPs twice as quickly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Spiritual[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]No anarchy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The spiritual trait appears to be a relatively easy trait to calculate the benefits of. It simply saves you the amount of hammers, food etc. that would have been wasted during the anarchy turn(s). It isn't as simple as that, however, as cities will have to spend the turn after the anarchy to produce what they would have done during the anarchy and as such they are essentially wasting their latest turn. To put it simpler, your cities' development are delayed by the amount of turns the anarchy lasts and because of that the penalty of the anarchy period is actually the latest turn(s) in the game. It isn't your whole empire's development that's being delayed though, as units can still move, you still receive gpt payments from other civs etc. during anarchy. In short, the spiritual trait is worth more than just the amount of hammers, food etc. wasted on the anarchy turn(s) itself. It is rather worth what you would be producing at the end of the game.</English>
		<French>[H1]Analysis of the Civilization Traits[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Theoden[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Introduction[\H2][NEWLINE]There are eight leader traits in the game, all with very concrete and tangible benefits. However, some of them give more and some of them give less benefit than what they look to be giving on the surface. I'm going to explain how much benefit each actually gives. This article will take the mathematical approach, as I'm measuring the magnitude of the traits' bonuses, rather than subjectively comparing them.[NEWLINE][H2]Generally for All Traits[\H2][NEWLINE]Most of the traits have one or more city improvements associated with it that it gains double production speed of. However that doesn't always mean the improvement is procured twice as fast, because the 100% bonus to hammers is of the base production. So if you already have a forge, building an improvement associated with your trait will make the total production speed rise from 125% to 225%, rather than 250%.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Let's say, for example, that you have the spiritual trait, which gives half price on temples (80 hammers). With no other production enhancing improvements the spiritual trait will account for half of the hammers needed (40 hammers). However, if you have a forge the spiritual trait will only account for 100 / 225 = 44,4% of the hammers needed (35 hammers). As more production enhancers are added (e.g. organised religion, factory) the percentage of the hammers that the trait bonus contributes becomes increasingly smaller. While this may seem minor and insignificant, in the big picture it can total up to a significant amount of hammers.[NEWLINE][H2]The Traits[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Aggressive[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Free Combat I promotion of melee and gunpowder units.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To a melee or gunpowder unit with no experience this trait is worth exactly what it says: a Combat I promotion giving 10% increased strength and equal to what the unit could achieve with 2 XP. As the unit levels up however, this combat I promotion rises in value. Let's say you have a unit with 17 XP giving it four promotions, and you want it to eventually have the commando promotion. With the Combat I promotion from the Aggressive trait you would be able to take commando promotion now (Combat II - IV and then commando), but without it you would only be able to promote your unit up to Combat IV. For the non-aggressive civ the experience required to get the commando promotion and have a unit as good as the aggressive civ's, is 26 which is 9 additional XP In this case the Aggressive trait is worth 9 XP In other words, the actual value of the aggressive trait is the amount of XP required to get the next promotion for a unit, providing you are upgrading in the Combat part of the promotion tree or that the Combat I promotion is useful to the unit. This means that the value of the trait increases with more experienced units because the XP required for a promotion is n^2 + 1. To put it more simple, if you are upgrading along the Combat part of the tree, the latest promotion you have chosen is your actual tangible benefit of having the aggressive trait.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Creative[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]+2 culture per city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This trait is pretty straightforward magnitude-wise. It will always add 2 culture to the city's base culture. This can be multiplied by cathedrals and a few wonders, but it should be noted that since the rest of the city's culture production will also increase proportionally, the percentage of the city's total culture that this trait is accountable for won't change with the culture multiplicative improvements.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Expansive[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]+3 health per city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This trait is also straightforward. The bonus is always 3 health for all cities and is never subject to multiplications or the like. The tangible benefit is between 0 and 3 food depending on how your health situation looks before and after the trait's bonus is applied. It can also make the difference between whether a city is eligible for We Love the King Day or not, saving an average amount of upkeep per turn depending on what the city's upkeep cost is.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Financial[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]+1 commerce on plots with 2 commerce.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Financial is a trait that requires more calculation. It adds to the cities base commerce and is therefore subject to modifiers. Improvements or civics that multiply the science, gold or culture output of the city will all increase the benefit of the financial trait providing you are allocating at least 10% of your base commerce to the category in question (science, gold or culture). Improvements or civics that multiply the base commerce (e.g. Bureaucracy) increase the benefit regardless of slider settings. In short, the benefit of the financial trait in absolute numbers is the base commerce it adds (number of tiles worked that produces at least 2 commerce) multiplied by any modifiers present in the city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Calculating its effect in relative numbers is relevant too though. In this case the multiplicative improvements and civics makes no difference as they are applied to all base commerce, not the just the commerce from the financial trait. What matters is a comparison between commerce before and after the trait is applied. The largest increase financial can result in is 50%, if all tiles produce exactly 2 commerce before it's applied. If a tile produces, for instance, 5 commerce, the advantage of adding the financial trait will be 20%. As a tile's commerce increases further the relative benefit decreases. Of course tiles can also produce less than 2 commerce in which case the benefit is 0%. In short, the relative benefit of the financial trait always lies somewhere between 0% and 50%, depending on how much commerce is being produced in the individual tiles.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Industrious[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Wonder production increased 50 percent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The calculations about the actual benefits of the trait-specific building bonuses also apply to the industrious trait, as the wonder production bonus is applied in the exact same way. There really isn't more to say about that as it's already explained in that chapter.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Organised[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Civic upkeep reduced 50 percent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The benefit of the organised trait seems to be straightforward as it simply halves your civic upkeep expenses. However, the amount of gold that this trait saves you cannot be calculated just by looking at the remaining half that you are paying, because inflation factors in. By multiplying the upkeep that you appear to be saving with (1 + inflation rate) you will know how much gold this trait is actually saving you.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Another aspect of the organised trait to consider is the difficulty level. At lower levels the civic upkeep is relatively low and increases with difficulty level. As such the organised trait generally saves you more gold on the higher levels. The inflation rate is also higher on the harder difficulties, further increasing the benefit of organised on these difficulties.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Philosophical[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Great People birth rate increased 100 percent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is perhaps the most discussed trait regarding the actual benefit. There are countless threads on this, but I'll go through the non-subjective facts anyway.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The philosophical trait's bonus works just like the trait-specific building bonuses and is subject to the same calculations regarding how much of the total output that it contributes. As with the industrious trait I won't go into detail about this as it's explained in the first chapter. The only difference is that the possible production enhancers are the Parthenon, the National Epic and the pacifism civic.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other production enhancers aside, the philosophical trait produces 100% more GPP (Great People Points), but that doesn't mean it produces 100% more GP (Great People) during the course of a game. This is because the cost of getting the next GP increases each time you get one and as such, getting a certain amount of extra GPP is worth less the more GP you have already produced. Through calculations which I won't bother you with it appears that the philosophical trait results in 50% more GP during the course of a game, all other things being equal.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you look at the amount of turns it will take to produce a certain amount of GP however, the philosophical trait accomplishes it twice as quickly. This is because we are talking about a predefined amount GPP, in which case the 100% extra production results in achieving the GPs twice as quickly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Spiritual[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]No anarchy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The spiritual trait appears to be a relatively easy trait to calculate the benefits of. It simply saves you the amount of hammers, food etc. that would have been wasted during the anarchy turn(s). It isn't as simple as that, however, as cities will have to spend the turn after the anarchy to produce what they would have done during the anarchy and as such they are essentially wasting their latest turn. To put it simpler, your cities' development are delayed by the amount of turns the anarchy lasts and because of that the penalty of the anarchy period is actually the latest turn(s) in the game. It isn't your whole empire's development that's being delayed though, as units can still move, you still receive gpt payments from other civs etc. during anarchy. In short, the spiritual trait is worth more than just the amount of hammers, food etc. wasted on the anarchy turn(s) itself. It is rather worth what you would be producing at the end of the game.</French>
		<German>[H1]Analysis of the Civilization Traits[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Theoden[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Introduction[\H2][NEWLINE]There are eight leader traits in the game, all with very concrete and tangible benefits. However, some of them give more and some of them give less benefit than what they look to be giving on the surface. I'm going to explain how much benefit each actually gives. This article will take the mathematical approach, as I'm measuring the magnitude of the traits' bonuses, rather than subjectively comparing them.[NEWLINE][H2]Generally for All Traits[\H2][NEWLINE]Most of the traits have one or more city improvements associated with it that it gains double production speed of. However that doesn't always mean the improvement is procured twice as fast, because the 100% bonus to hammers is of the base production. So if you already have a forge, building an improvement associated with your trait will make the total production speed rise from 125% to 225%, rather than 250%.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Let's say, for example, that you have the spiritual trait, which gives half price on temples (80 hammers). With no other production enhancing improvements the spiritual trait will account for half of the hammers needed (40 hammers). However, if you have a forge the spiritual trait will only account for 100 / 225 = 44,4% of the hammers needed (35 hammers). As more production enhancers are added (e.g. organised religion, factory) the percentage of the hammers that the trait bonus contributes becomes increasingly smaller. While this may seem minor and insignificant, in the big picture it can total up to a significant amount of hammers.[NEWLINE][H2]The Traits[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Aggressive[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Free Combat I promotion of melee and gunpowder units.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To a melee or gunpowder unit with no experience this trait is worth exactly what it says: a Combat I promotion giving 10% increased strength and equal to what the unit could achieve with 2 XP. As the unit levels up however, this combat I promotion rises in value. Let's say you have a unit with 17 XP giving it four promotions, and you want it to eventually have the commando promotion. With the Combat I promotion from the Aggressive trait you would be able to take commando promotion now (Combat II - IV and then commando), but without it you would only be able to promote your unit up to Combat IV. For the non-aggressive civ the experience required to get the commando promotion and have a unit as good as the aggressive civ's, is 26 which is 9 additional XP In this case the Aggressive trait is worth 9 XP In other words, the actual value of the aggressive trait is the amount of XP required to get the next promotion for a unit, providing you are upgrading in the Combat part of the promotion tree or that the Combat I promotion is useful to the unit. This means that the value of the trait increases with more experienced units because the XP required for a promotion is n^2 + 1. To put it more simple, if you are upgrading along the Combat part of the tree, the latest promotion you have chosen is your actual tangible benefit of having the aggressive trait.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Creative[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]+2 culture per city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This trait is pretty straightforward magnitude-wise. It will always add 2 culture to the city's base culture. This can be multiplied by cathedrals and a few wonders, but it should be noted that since the rest of the city's culture production will also increase proportionally, the percentage of the city's total culture that this trait is accountable for won't change with the culture multiplicative improvements.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Expansive[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]+3 health per city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This trait is also straightforward. The bonus is always 3 health for all cities and is never subject to multiplications or the like. The tangible benefit is between 0 and 3 food depending on how your health situation looks before and after the trait's bonus is applied. It can also make the difference between whether a city is eligible for We Love the King Day or not, saving an average amount of upkeep per turn depending on what the city's upkeep cost is.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Financial[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]+1 commerce on plots with 2 commerce.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Financial is a trait that requires more calculation. It adds to the cities base commerce and is therefore subject to modifiers. Improvements or civics that multiply the science, gold or culture output of the city will all increase the benefit of the financial trait providing you are allocating at least 10% of your base commerce to the category in question (science, gold or culture). Improvements or civics that multiply the base commerce (e.g. Bureaucracy) increase the benefit regardless of slider settings. In short, the benefit of the financial trait in absolute numbers is the base commerce it adds (number of tiles worked that produces at least 2 commerce) multiplied by any modifiers present in the city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Calculating its effect in relative numbers is relevant too though. In this case the multiplicative improvements and civics makes no difference as they are applied to all base commerce, not the just the commerce from the financial trait. What matters is a comparison between commerce before and after the trait is applied. The largest increase financial can result in is 50%, if all tiles produce exactly 2 commerce before it's applied. If a tile produces, for instance, 5 commerce, the advantage of adding the financial trait will be 20%. As a tile's commerce increases further the relative benefit decreases. Of course tiles can also produce less than 2 commerce in which case the benefit is 0%. In short, the relative benefit of the financial trait always lies somewhere between 0% and 50%, depending on how much commerce is being produced in the individual tiles.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Industrious[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Wonder production increased 50 percent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The calculations about the actual benefits of the trait-specific building bonuses also apply to the industrious trait, as the wonder production bonus is applied in the exact same way. There really isn't more to say about that as it's already explained in that chapter.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Organised[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Civic upkeep reduced 50 percent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The benefit of the organised trait seems to be straightforward as it simply halves your civic upkeep expenses. However, the amount of gold that this trait saves you cannot be calculated just by looking at the remaining half that you are paying, because inflation factors in. By multiplying the upkeep that you appear to be saving with (1 + inflation rate) you will know how much gold this trait is actually saving you.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Another aspect of the organised trait to consider is the difficulty level. At lower levels the civic upkeep is relatively low and increases with difficulty level. As such the organised trait generally saves you more gold on the higher levels. The inflation rate is also higher on the harder difficulties, further increasing the benefit of organised on these difficulties.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Philosophical[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Great People birth rate increased 100 percent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is perhaps the most discussed trait regarding the actual benefit. There are countless threads on this, but I'll go through the non-subjective facts anyway.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The philosophical trait's bonus works just like the trait-specific building bonuses and is subject to the same calculations regarding how much of the total output that it contributes. As with the industrious trait I won't go into detail about this as it's explained in the first chapter. The only difference is that the possible production enhancers are the Parthenon, the National Epic and the pacifism civic.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other production enhancers aside, the philosophical trait produces 100% more GPP (Great People Points), but that doesn't mean it produces 100% more GP (Great People) during the course of a game. This is because the cost of getting the next GP increases each time you get one and as such, getting a certain amount of extra GPP is worth less the more GP you have already produced. Through calculations which I won't bother you with it appears that the philosophical trait results in 50% more GP during the course of a game, all other things being equal.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you look at the amount of turns it will take to produce a certain amount of GP however, the philosophical trait accomplishes it twice as quickly. This is because we are talking about a predefined amount GPP, in which case the 100% extra production results in achieving the GPs twice as quickly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Spiritual[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]No anarchy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The spiritual trait appears to be a relatively easy trait to calculate the benefits of. It simply saves you the amount of hammers, food etc. that would have been wasted during the anarchy turn(s). It isn't as simple as that, however, as cities will have to spend the turn after the anarchy to produce what they would have done during the anarchy and as such they are essentially wasting their latest turn. To put it simpler, your cities' development are delayed by the amount of turns the anarchy lasts and because of that the penalty of the anarchy period is actually the latest turn(s) in the game. It isn't your whole empire's development that's being delayed though, as units can still move, you still receive gpt payments from other civs etc. during anarchy. In short, the spiritual trait is worth more than just the amount of hammers, food etc. wasted on the anarchy turn(s) itself. It is rather worth what you would be producing at the end of the game.</German>
		<Italian>[H1]Analysis of the Civilization Traits[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Theoden[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Introduction[\H2][NEWLINE]There are eight leader traits in the game, all with very concrete and tangible benefits. However, some of them give more and some of them give less benefit than what they look to be giving on the surface. I'm going to explain how much benefit each actually gives. This article will take the mathematical approach, as I'm measuring the magnitude of the traits' bonuses, rather than subjectively comparing them.[NEWLINE][H2]Generally for All Traits[\H2][NEWLINE]Most of the traits have one or more city improvements associated with it that it gains double production speed of. However that doesn't always mean the improvement is procured twice as fast, because the 100% bonus to hammers is of the base production. So if you already have a forge, building an improvement associated with your trait will make the total production speed rise from 125% to 225%, rather than 250%.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Let's say, for example, that you have the spiritual trait, which gives half price on temples (80 hammers). With no other production enhancing improvements the spiritual trait will account for half of the hammers needed (40 hammers). However, if you have a forge the spiritual trait will only account for 100 / 225 = 44,4% of the hammers needed (35 hammers). As more production enhancers are added (e.g. organised religion, factory) the percentage of the hammers that the trait bonus contributes becomes increasingly smaller. While this may seem minor and insignificant, in the big picture it can total up to a significant amount of hammers.[NEWLINE][H2]The Traits[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Aggressive[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Free Combat I promotion of melee and gunpowder units.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To a melee or gunpowder unit with no experience this trait is worth exactly what it says: a Combat I promotion giving 10% increased strength and equal to what the unit could achieve with 2 XP. As the unit levels up however, this combat I promotion rises in value. Let's say you have a unit with 17 XP giving it four promotions, and you want it to eventually have the commando promotion. With the Combat I promotion from the Aggressive trait you would be able to take commando promotion now (Combat II - IV and then commando), but without it you would only be able to promote your unit up to Combat IV. For the non-aggressive civ the experience required to get the commando promotion and have a unit as good as the aggressive civ's, is 26 which is 9 additional XP In this case the Aggressive trait is worth 9 XP In other words, the actual value of the aggressive trait is the amount of XP required to get the next promotion for a unit, providing you are upgrading in the Combat part of the promotion tree or that the Combat I promotion is useful to the unit. This means that the value of the trait increases with more experienced units because the XP required for a promotion is n^2 + 1. To put it more simple, if you are upgrading along the Combat part of the tree, the latest promotion you have chosen is your actual tangible benefit of having the aggressive trait.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Creative[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]+2 culture per city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This trait is pretty straightforward magnitude-wise. It will always add 2 culture to the city's base culture. This can be multiplied by cathedrals and a few wonders, but it should be noted that since the rest of the city's culture production will also increase proportionally, the percentage of the city's total culture that this trait is accountable for won't change with the culture multiplicative improvements.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Expansive[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]+3 health per city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This trait is also straightforward. The bonus is always 3 health for all cities and is never subject to multiplications or the like. The tangible benefit is between 0 and 3 food depending on how your health situation looks before and after the trait's bonus is applied. It can also make the difference between whether a city is eligible for We Love the King Day or not, saving an average amount of upkeep per turn depending on what the city's upkeep cost is.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Financial[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]+1 commerce on plots with 2 commerce.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Financial is a trait that requires more calculation. It adds to the cities base commerce and is therefore subject to modifiers. Improvements or civics that multiply the science, gold or culture output of the city will all increase the benefit of the financial trait providing you are allocating at least 10% of your base commerce to the category in question (science, gold or culture). Improvements or civics that multiply the base commerce (e.g. Bureaucracy) increase the benefit regardless of slider settings. In short, the benefit of the financial trait in absolute numbers is the base commerce it adds (number of tiles worked that produces at least 2 commerce) multiplied by any modifiers present in the city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Calculating its effect in relative numbers is relevant too though. In this case the multiplicative improvements and civics makes no difference as they are applied to all base commerce, not the just the commerce from the financial trait. What matters is a comparison between commerce before and after the trait is applied. The largest increase financial can result in is 50%, if all tiles produce exactly 2 commerce before it's applied. If a tile produces, for instance, 5 commerce, the advantage of adding the financial trait will be 20%. As a tile's commerce increases further the relative benefit decreases. Of course tiles can also produce less than 2 commerce in which case the benefit is 0%. In short, the relative benefit of the financial trait always lies somewhere between 0% and 50%, depending on how much commerce is being produced in the individual tiles.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Industrious[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Wonder production increased 50 percent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The calculations about the actual benefits of the trait-specific building bonuses also apply to the industrious trait, as the wonder production bonus is applied in the exact same way. There really isn't more to say about that as it's already explained in that chapter.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Organised[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Civic upkeep reduced 50 percent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The benefit of the organised trait seems to be straightforward as it simply halves your civic upkeep expenses. However, the amount of gold that this trait saves you cannot be calculated just by looking at the remaining half that you are paying, because inflation factors in. By multiplying the upkeep that you appear to be saving with (1 + inflation rate) you will know how much gold this trait is actually saving you.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Another aspect of the organised trait to consider is the difficulty level. At lower levels the civic upkeep is relatively low and increases with difficulty level. As such the organised trait generally saves you more gold on the higher levels. The inflation rate is also higher on the harder difficulties, further increasing the benefit of organised on these difficulties.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Philosophical[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Great People birth rate increased 100 percent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is perhaps the most discussed trait regarding the actual benefit. There are countless threads on this, but I'll go through the non-subjective facts anyway.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The philosophical trait's bonus works just like the trait-specific building bonuses and is subject to the same calculations regarding how much of the total output that it contributes. As with the industrious trait I won't go into detail about this as it's explained in the first chapter. The only difference is that the possible production enhancers are the Parthenon, the National Epic and the pacifism civic.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other production enhancers aside, the philosophical trait produces 100% more GPP (Great People Points), but that doesn't mean it produces 100% more GP (Great People) during the course of a game. This is because the cost of getting the next GP increases each time you get one and as such, getting a certain amount of extra GPP is worth less the more GP you have already produced. Through calculations which I won't bother you with it appears that the philosophical trait results in 50% more GP during the course of a game, all other things being equal.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you look at the amount of turns it will take to produce a certain amount of GP however, the philosophical trait accomplishes it twice as quickly. This is because we are talking about a predefined amount GPP, in which case the 100% extra production results in achieving the GPs twice as quickly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Spiritual[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]No anarchy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The spiritual trait appears to be a relatively easy trait to calculate the benefits of. It simply saves you the amount of hammers, food etc. that would have been wasted during the anarchy turn(s). It isn't as simple as that, however, as cities will have to spend the turn after the anarchy to produce what they would have done during the anarchy and as such they are essentially wasting their latest turn. To put it simpler, your cities' development are delayed by the amount of turns the anarchy lasts and because of that the penalty of the anarchy period is actually the latest turn(s) in the game. It isn't your whole empire's development that's being delayed though, as units can still move, you still receive gpt payments from other civs etc. during anarchy. In short, the spiritual trait is worth more than just the amount of hammers, food etc. wasted on the anarchy turn(s) itself. It is rather worth what you would be producing at the end of the game.</Italian>
		<Spanish>[H1]Analysis of the Civilization Traits[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Theoden[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Introduction[\H2][NEWLINE]There are eight leader traits in the game, all with very concrete and tangible benefits. However, some of them give more and some of them give less benefit than what they look to be giving on the surface. I'm going to explain how much benefit each actually gives. This article will take the mathematical approach, as I'm measuring the magnitude of the traits' bonuses, rather than subjectively comparing them.[NEWLINE][H2]Generally for All Traits[\H2][NEWLINE]Most of the traits have one or more city improvements associated with it that it gains double production speed of. However that doesn't always mean the improvement is procured twice as fast, because the 100% bonus to hammers is of the base production. So if you already have a forge, building an improvement associated with your trait will make the total production speed rise from 125% to 225%, rather than 250%.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Let's say, for example, that you have the spiritual trait, which gives half price on temples (80 hammers). With no other production enhancing improvements the spiritual trait will account for half of the hammers needed (40 hammers). However, if you have a forge the spiritual trait will only account for 100 / 225 = 44,4% of the hammers needed (35 hammers). As more production enhancers are added (e.g. organised religion, factory) the percentage of the hammers that the trait bonus contributes becomes increasingly smaller. While this may seem minor and insignificant, in the big picture it can total up to a significant amount of hammers.[NEWLINE][H2]The Traits[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Aggressive[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Free Combat I promotion of melee and gunpowder units.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To a melee or gunpowder unit with no experience this trait is worth exactly what it says: a Combat I promotion giving 10% increased strength and equal to what the unit could achieve with 2 XP. As the unit levels up however, this combat I promotion rises in value. Let's say you have a unit with 17 XP giving it four promotions, and you want it to eventually have the commando promotion. With the Combat I promotion from the Aggressive trait you would be able to take commando promotion now (Combat II - IV and then commando), but without it you would only be able to promote your unit up to Combat IV. For the non-aggressive civ the experience required to get the commando promotion and have a unit as good as the aggressive civ's, is 26 which is 9 additional XP In this case the Aggressive trait is worth 9 XP In other words, the actual value of the aggressive trait is the amount of XP required to get the next promotion for a unit, providing you are upgrading in the Combat part of the promotion tree or that the Combat I promotion is useful to the unit. This means that the value of the trait increases with more experienced units because the XP required for a promotion is n^2 + 1. To put it more simple, if you are upgrading along the Combat part of the tree, the latest promotion you have chosen is your actual tangible benefit of having the aggressive trait.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Creative[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]+2 culture per city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This trait is pretty straightforward magnitude-wise. It will always add 2 culture to the city's base culture. This can be multiplied by cathedrals and a few wonders, but it should be noted that since the rest of the city's culture production will also increase proportionally, the percentage of the city's total culture that this trait is accountable for won't change with the culture multiplicative improvements.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Expansive[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]+3 health per city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This trait is also straightforward. The bonus is always 3 health for all cities and is never subject to multiplications or the like. The tangible benefit is between 0 and 3 food depending on how your health situation looks before and after the trait's bonus is applied. It can also make the difference between whether a city is eligible for We Love the King Day or not, saving an average amount of upkeep per turn depending on what the city's upkeep cost is.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Financial[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]+1 commerce on plots with 2 commerce.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Financial is a trait that requires more calculation. It adds to the cities base commerce and is therefore subject to modifiers. Improvements or civics that multiply the science, gold or culture output of the city will all increase the benefit of the financial trait providing you are allocating at least 10% of your base commerce to the category in question (science, gold or culture). Improvements or civics that multiply the base commerce (e.g. Bureaucracy) increase the benefit regardless of slider settings. In short, the benefit of the financial trait in absolute numbers is the base commerce it adds (number of tiles worked that produces at least 2 commerce) multiplied by any modifiers present in the city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Calculating its effect in relative numbers is relevant too though. In this case the multiplicative improvements and civics makes no difference as they are applied to all base commerce, not the just the commerce from the financial trait. What matters is a comparison between commerce before and after the trait is applied. The largest increase financial can result in is 50%, if all tiles produce exactly 2 commerce before it's applied. If a tile produces, for instance, 5 commerce, the advantage of adding the financial trait will be 20%. As a tile's commerce increases further the relative benefit decreases. Of course tiles can also produce less than 2 commerce in which case the benefit is 0%. In short, the relative benefit of the financial trait always lies somewhere between 0% and 50%, depending on how much commerce is being produced in the individual tiles.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Industrious[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Wonder production increased 50 percent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The calculations about the actual benefits of the trait-specific building bonuses also apply to the industrious trait, as the wonder production bonus is applied in the exact same way. There really isn't more to say about that as it's already explained in that chapter.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Organised[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Civic upkeep reduced 50 percent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The benefit of the organised trait seems to be straightforward as it simply halves your civic upkeep expenses. However, the amount of gold that this trait saves you cannot be calculated just by looking at the remaining half that you are paying, because inflation factors in. By multiplying the upkeep that you appear to be saving with (1 + inflation rate) you will know how much gold this trait is actually saving you.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Another aspect of the organised trait to consider is the difficulty level. At lower levels the civic upkeep is relatively low and increases with difficulty level. As such the organised trait generally saves you more gold on the higher levels. The inflation rate is also higher on the harder difficulties, further increasing the benefit of organised on these difficulties.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Philosophical[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Great People birth rate increased 100 percent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is perhaps the most discussed trait regarding the actual benefit. There are countless threads on this, but I'll go through the non-subjective facts anyway.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The philosophical trait's bonus works just like the trait-specific building bonuses and is subject to the same calculations regarding how much of the total output that it contributes. As with the industrious trait I won't go into detail about this as it's explained in the first chapter. The only difference is that the possible production enhancers are the Parthenon, the National Epic and the pacifism civic.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other production enhancers aside, the philosophical trait produces 100% more GPP (Great People Points), but that doesn't mean it produces 100% more GP (Great People) during the course of a game. This is because the cost of getting the next GP increases each time you get one and as such, getting a certain amount of extra GPP is worth less the more GP you have already produced. Through calculations which I won't bother you with it appears that the philosophical trait results in 50% more GP during the course of a game, all other things being equal.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you look at the amount of turns it will take to produce a certain amount of GP however, the philosophical trait accomplishes it twice as quickly. This is because we are talking about a predefined amount GPP, in which case the 100% extra production results in achieving the GPs twice as quickly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Spiritual[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]No anarchy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The spiritual trait appears to be a relatively easy trait to calculate the benefits of. It simply saves you the amount of hammers, food etc. that would have been wasted during the anarchy turn(s). It isn't as simple as that, however, as cities will have to spend the turn after the anarchy to produce what they would have done during the anarchy and as such they are essentially wasting their latest turn. To put it simpler, your cities' development are delayed by the amount of turns the anarchy lasts and because of that the penalty of the anarchy period is actually the latest turn(s) in the game. It isn't your whole empire's development that's being delayed though, as units can still move, you still receive gpt payments from other civs etc. during anarchy. In short, the spiritual trait is worth more than just the amount of hammers, food etc. wasted on the anarchy turn(s) itself. It is rather worth what you would be producing at the end of the game.</Spanish>
	</TEXT>
	<TEXT>
		<Tag>TXT_KEY_STRATEGY_SYNERGY_PEDIA</Tag>
		<English>[H1]Traits, Warlords, and Synergy[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]dh_epic[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Thought I would take it upon myself to add a little bit to the strategy forum. In my opinion, the biggest advantage of traits goes beyond their description. To maximize the benefits of a trait, you need to use it in combination with other strategies. This is the definition of synergy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Syn-er-gy[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][TAB]1. The interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects.[NEWLINE][TAB]2. Cooperative interaction among groups, especially among the acquired subsidiaries or merged parts of a corporation, that creates an enhanced combined effect.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A few quick notes:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]I tried to list the easiest to use traits at the top.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Easiest to use isn't always the best.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]I focused mostly on the early part of the game.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Most of these are to help average players become great players.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Some great players may benefit too, learning a few new tricks.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Big ups to Theoden for the vanilla trait-review (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=179059). A lot of good stuff here, too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Without any further ado, here is my analysis of the traits.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]TRAIT BREAKDOWN[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]INDUSTRIOUS[\BOLD]: Wonder production increased 50 percent, double speed production of Forge.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Almost self explanatory. The end result is that an Industrious Civ is nearly guaranteed their first pick of any wonder, if they want it. And every wonder happens much faster, too. Which wonders you build are up to you. But I recommend you prioritize and think ahead.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Put the industrious trait to good use by building lots of wonders. Don't just think of the speed advantage, think of it as an opporunity advantage. If you and your enemy both produce units, you'll be neck at neck. But if you both build a wonder, you'd also have enough time to build four or five more units than your opponent. Every hammer you save is a hammer you've earned.[NEWLINE]Think of it as free production.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Marble [\BOLD]and [BOLD]Stone [\BOLD]help rush wonders. [BOLD]Masonry [\BOLD]will let you build [BOLD]Quarries[\BOLD], allowing you to tap these key resources. Locate and tap these resources early.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There's not much else to say here except that you might find yourself chasing wonders, and end up on a path through all the religious techs ([BOLD]Polytheism and the Parthenon, Priesthood and the Oracle[\BOLD]), with a strong opportunity to found Judaism ([BOLD]Monotheism[\BOLD], which requires [BOLD]Masonry[\BOLD]) first. If you DO found a religion, don't neglect those Missionaries ([BOLD]Meditation[\BOLD]), since you want your neighbors to share the same faith to keep you out of unncessary wars. Maybe one of those wonders you've built will pop you a Great Priest, letting you build a great shrine and spread your faith around.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]FINANCIAL[\BOLD]: +1 commerce on plots with 2 commerce.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Arguably the most powerful trait. Note that it has no cheap buildings to come with it, because the commerce bonus is huge. This one is almost self explanatory. The benefits affect your economy, and are multiplied by various buildings (like Libraries, if you use your commerce for research, or Marketplaces if you use your commerce for gold).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]What you do with the extra wealth is up to you. Some use it to run their science meter at full blast. Others use it to build more cities faster. And this is actually a great trait for warmongering, since unit maintainance costs can be huge.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The obvious statement is that you'll want to have at least a few [BOLD]Cottages[\BOLD] early. Get [BOLD]Pottery[\BOLD], build cottages. Rivers and other luxury resources are key, however. Be sure to settle smart city locations, and unlock other key resource technologies such as [BOLD]Mining[\BOLD] to tap [BOLD]Gold[\BOLD] and [BOLD]Silver[\BOLD].[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you're running lots of Cottages, there are several civics that leverage this. In particular is [BOLD]Universal Suffrage[\BOLD], which is available if you build the [BOLD]Pyramids[\BOLD] (with [BOLD]Masonry[\BOLD]). The bonus only kicks in with Towns, though, which means you have to wait a bit.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The less obvious statement is that this trait actually has a HUGE coastal benefit. Coastal tiles produce two commerce each, leading to an easy commerce benefit. In order to take advantage of this, though, you'll need to build [BOLD]Lighthouses[\BOLD] so you can get the extra food in the ocean to support further growth. Fortunately, this is accessible with [BOLD]Sailing[\BOLD], which also gives you ocean trade routes. Vital for any coast-loving player.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The [BOLD]Colossus[\BOLD] is the cherry on top. Available with [BOLD]Metal Casting[\BOLD], it generates additional wealth in every water tile. A financial civ with a lot of coastal cities and the Colossus is something fierce. [BOLD]The Great Lighthouse (Masonry)[\BOLD] also plays into a heavy coastal strategy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]PHILOSOPHICAL:[\BOLD] Great People birth rate increased 100 percent, double speed production of University.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is a powerful civic, although both proponents and critics of this civic ought to look beyond the initial bonus.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This does not ultimately lead to twice as many great people, but its bonus is very pronounced in its ability to produce great people [BOLD]faster[\BOLD]. And it still leads to more Great People in the long run. Sometimes as much as 50% more.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Which great people you get and what you do with them is up to you. But keep in mind that sometimes the short term gains of a free tech are worth more than the long term gains of settling them as a great specialist -- getting that free tech can make you the first to a religion or even a tradable tech of great significance. Moreover, it can get you to other wonders, which generate more great people.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You CANNOT feed specialists unless you have the food resources to produce more than 2 food per tile. Survey those nearby food resources. If you see [BOLD]Cows[\BOLD] and [BOLD]Sheep[\BOLD], get [BOLD]Animal Husbandry[\BOLD] for [BOLD]Pastures[\BOLD]. If you see [BOLD]Rice[\BOLD] and [BOLD]Corn[\BOLD], get [BOLD]Agriculture[\BOLD]. Learn to freeze growth at the exact right moment, to maximize your number of specialists.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are LOTS of other Great People generators. Get to [BOLD]Polytheism[\BOLD] and the [BOLD]Parthenon[\BOLD]. Why? +50% great leader birth in ALL cities. Get to [BOLD]Philosophy[\BOLD] and the [BOLD]Pacifism[\BOLD] civic. That's another +100% great leader birth in ALL cities. The real killer, though, is [BOLD]Literature[\BOLD]. Not only does this unlock the [BOLD]National Epic[\BOLD], giving you +100 great leader birth in one city, but it lets you build the [BOLD]Great Library[\BOLD] which pumps out Great Scientists by the boatload. Add it up and you can be swimming in great people.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]When you're running this specialist heavy economy, the [BOLD]Representation[\BOLD] civic can generate you huge amounts of science. Getting the [BOLD]Pyramids[\BOLD] can unlock this early. You might have to choose between the Pyramids and the Parthenon, and each has different benefits for a specialist economy in the short and long term. However, some lucky players can get both. If you're feeling ambitious, use the Pyramids to generate an early Great Engineer and use it to rush the Parthenon.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]CHARISMATIC[\BOLD]: +1 happiness per city, -25% XP needed for unit promotions, +1 happiness from Monument, Broadcast Tower[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The benefit of this one is actually quite obvious. The happiness bonus puts itself to work quite effortlessly, and is often the big inhibitor for population growth. Along with the XP bonus, you'll find yourself grabbing those high end promotions in no time.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You're probably already familiar with the [COLOR_RED]Aggressive[COLOR_REVERT] Trait. The key that makes Charismatic easier to use than aggressive is that the XP bonus applies towards ANY unit. What you do with your excess promotions is up to you. Keep in mind that the short term gains of a promotion like Cover (vs. Ranged Units) may actually outweigh a more versatile a long term promotion. Sure, Combat I will help you for the entire game, but targetting your enemy's immediate weakness can get you an early advantage. In Civ, the early advantage can sometimes give you the biggest long term payoff![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you're the first to discover a unit, there's a good chance you can use it to grab a quick advantage. [BOLD]Horseback Riding[\BOLD] and [BOLD]Iron Working[\BOLD] are early favorites, although many have done serious damage with [BOLD]Elephants and Catapults (Construction), Crossbows (Machinery), or Macemen (Civil Service)[\BOLD].[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Anything that gains you XP here is good. [BOLD]Vassalage (with Feudalism)[\BOLD] and [BOLD]Theocracy (with Theology)[\BOLD] are XP generating civics. [BOLD]Barracks[\BOLD] or [BOLD]Stables (with Animal Husbandry)[\BOLD] are vital here. You may also be able to take advantage of the [BOLD]Great Wall (with Masonry)[\BOLD], suckering a Civ in allowing you to generate lots of Great Generals.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]AGGRESSIVE[\BOLD]: Free Combat I promotion for melee and gunpowder units, double speed production of Barracks and Drydock.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The biggest benefit of Combat I is NOT the 10% combat odds, although over a long enough time it can make for a significant advantage. Some people talk about how it means that you can get to Combat V by 17XP instead of 26XP -- which is nice, but not the big advantage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The crucial advantage of Combat I is that it unlocks access to other higher level promotions like Cover, Pinch, and Shock (bonus vs Archers, Gunpowder, and Melee). That means with but 2 XP -- less than what a Barracks gives you -- your Melee units gain powerful defence against specific unit types. These promotions may seem narrow in function, but their short term gains can be enough to give you a huge advantage. Moreover, with but 5 XP you have access to even better counters versus Siege and Mounted units. If you don't know how to use these "counter promotions", do yourself a favor and read a combat promotions FAQ. These are SUPER important.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you use this trait and have trouble fighting wars before 1AD, do yourself a favor and learn how. The key is doing it quickly, which Aggressive Civs are uniquely equipped to do. Learn to raze crappy cities to keep your maintainance costs down. (There are lots of articles out there that can help you wage early, fast wars.)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Aggressive Civs can find many of the same synergies of [COLOR_RED]Charismatic[COLOR_REVERT] Civs. Get the XP generating civics (like [BOLD]Vassalage and Theocracy[\BOLD]). And if you're feeling sassy, try luring people behind your [BOLD]Great Wall[\BOLD] to generate some quick Great Generals.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]But since this bonus only helps melee and gunpowder units, you'll want to make [BOLD]Axes or Swords[\BOLD] the staple of your army. [BOLD]Bronzeworking and Ironworking[\BOLD] are key. Mounted and ranged units won't gain you any specific advantage, but it never hurts to mix up your stacks to avoid being too vulnerable.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]PROTECTIVE[\BOLD]: Archery and Gunpowder units receive Drill I and City Garrison I automatically, Double production speed of Walls and Castle.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This one makes your defence DAMN hard to break. For many players, this won't help them, since they generally find themselves on the offense, and can run circles around the AI's military.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Still, there's a LOT of ways to push this civic to its full potential. The key is in the synergies.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Protective Civs are a lot like [COLOR_RED]Aggressive[COLOR_REVERT] Civs in that they'll need to discover [BOLD]Feudalism or Theology[\BOLD] early for their XP generating civics. You'll also want to produce a [BOLD]Barracks[\BOLD] sooner. The key difference, however, is that you should have a strong preference for [BOLD]City Garrison 3[\BOLD]. If you can get your units to City Garrison 3, they almost DOUBLE in defensive capabilities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Get [BOLD]Archery[\BOLD] early, since it's ranged units that get the Protective bonus. If you can find yourself at [BOLD]Feudalism[\BOLD] early, your [BOLD]Longbows[\BOLD] might be a key to invincibility. Some people even use the [BOLD]Oracle (Priesthood)[\BOLD] to slingshot to Feudalism early. It CAN be done.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Okay, big deal. You have really strong defence, right?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Here's the key. You can sometimes get away with defending your cities with as few as 2 units with City Garrison 3. This means you keep a VERY small defensive army. This can save you maintainance costs, allowing you to pour more into science, to settle more cities, or go on the offense. You might be able to find an economic synergy with some of the [COLOR_RED]Financial[COLOR_REVERT] trait's strategies, or find a warmongering synergy with some [COLOR_RED]Aggressive[COLOR_REVERT] strategies. You don't even have to be Financial or Aggressive to use these strategies.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]IMPERIALISTIC[\BOLD]:+100% Great General emergence, 50% faster production of settlers.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With the addition of Great Generals, this can lead to a small snowball effect for a successful warmonger. You'll get those great generals a lot faster, which you can use for either short OR long term benefits. Just as with [COLOR_RED]Aggressive[COLOR_REVERT] and [COLOR_RED]Charismatic[COLOR_REVERT] Civs, learning to fight an early war is challenging but invaluable. If you're not going to war using this trait, you're missing out.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]However, the snap-settlers have a distinct benefit too, even for peaceful players. Maintainance costs and barbarians will prevent you from settling too recklessly, so an Imperialistic Civ won't necessarily build an Empire right away. But an Imperialistic Civilization will move fast enough to get the best city locations -- that's key.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You'll want to combine this trait with [BOLD]Pottery[\BOLD], in order to get those [BOLD]Cottages[\BOLD] happening. If you're grabbing those great city locations fast, you're going to need an economy capable of supporting the maintainance costs. It's a good thing the [BOLD]Wheel[\BOLD] is on the way to Pottery, since it means you'll be able to hook up those resources you find.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Keep in mind that the ocean can be a great source of wealth, especially if you have early acecss to [BOLD]Sailing[\BOLD]. Rivers too. Keep your economy strong.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]And do not neglect defence. You should either have [BOLD]Archery or Bronzeworking[\BOLD] early, so you can defend your great city locations. Bronzeworking can be especially valuable, since you can use it to [BOLD]chop down trees[\BOLD], generating production to knock out those settlers (and defenders) faster.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A key advantage with this one can be the [BOLD]Great Wall[\BOLD], from [BOLD]Masonry[\BOLD]. Once you've built up your empire, the great wall can protect you from barbarians without having to spend as much time pumping out defensive units. (Keep in mind Imperialistic has a Great General bonus too. You might be able to lure people behind the great wall to get Great Generals REALLY fast.)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]CREATIVE[\BOLD]: +2 culture per city, double speed production of Theatre and Colosseum.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This trait may seem like a shoe in for cultural victory, but the 2 culture really doesn't do much in the long run. The bigger benefit comes very early, and especially at high difficulties.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Culture determines your borders. With 2 culture, your borders will be popping faster AND sooner than even someone who builds Stonehenge. Especially against the AI's huge handicaps at the higher levels, this can be the key to settling a large land mass before the AI can squeeze you out. The extra culture can let you seal off choke points in the map, allowing you keep the territory beyond your borders away from the AI. Your borders may even get so wide that you can space your cities out and still cover the continent. In many ways, creative will let you hold territory from the AI that you can settle with additional cities later.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This also means that your new cities will have quick access to nearby resources, without worry that the AI will overtake you. In fact, you can settle damn close to the enemy, without worry that their culture will overtake yours. Even as a warmonger, you'll find that your newly conquered outposts will be less vulernable, and will pick up vital resources with more ease.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]When you finally have the cities you want, be prepared to consolidate your defence. Wider borders extend your field of vision, preventing barbarians from appearing. And they also give you a defensive bonus. If you can master the defensive potential of Creative, all you need to do is learn when to slow down expansion so your economy can catch up. If you let maintainance costs get the best of you, all your expansion will be for nothing.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This trait, surprisingly, has the most in common with the [COLOR_RED]Imperialistic[COLOR_REVERT] Trait. Its advantage comes when you build lots of settlers and grab the best locations. Speed is the essence of your strategy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Use [BOLD]Cottages (Pottery)[\BOLD], rivers, and oceans ([BOLD]Sailing[\BOLD]) to pay down the maintainance costs of your faster growth. Be sure to defend your mass of cities with [BOLD]Archers (Archery), or Axemen (Bronzeworking)[\BOLD]... and [BOLD]chop trees[\BOLD] to keep things moving fast. You can catch your breath and consolidate your holdings later.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]While Creative civs have the benefit of cultural defence, the [BOLD]Great Wall (Masonry)[\BOLD] can be great for keeping barbarians out. With your huge borders, this can be especially useful.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]EXPANSIVE[\BOLD]: +3 health per city. Double speed production of Granary and Harbor.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I'm not going to lie to you. I think this trait is on the weak side. However, you CANNOT discount this trait's cheaper buildings. The cheap buildings may be the best part. This trait WILL let you get a huge population, and quickly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]What does a huge population help you with? Well, besides [BOLD]everything[\BOLD], a huge population is great for running a specialist-heavy economy. See [COLOR_RED]Philosophical[COLOR_REVERT] for more details.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Much of the debate for this trait revolves around whether health or happiness are the biggest barriers to growth. Well, even if you assume that expansive will give you more health than you know what to do with, there are a few strategies below to get the extra happiness you need. At high difficulties, this can have huge payoffs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Take advantage of that fast [BOLD]Granary[\BOLD]. You can't do this if you don't get to [BOLD]Pottery[\BOLD] early on.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Some players may find that happiness tends to inhibit their city growth more than health. However, the [BOLD]Hereditary Rule[\BOLD] civic is an easy target with big payoffs. This civic generates happiness for every military unit you have, with no upper limit. If you can discovery [BOLD]Monarchy[\BOLD] early, or build the [BOLD]Pyramids[\BOLD], you can tap this civic and EASILY support 3 more population than the average Civ.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Slavery[\BOLD] can be a huge advantage of these additional people. With [BOLD]Bronzeworking[\BOLD], you can access the slavery civic and turn those population points into production. Excess happiness can keep the remaining citizens content. Slavery can be extremely potent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Or you can let those people live. Combine this with some of the Specialist-heavy strategies recommended under the [COLOR_RED]Philosophical[COLOR_REVERT] trait... even if you're not Philosophical. Where you have lots of population and food, you have can have specialists and great people.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]SPIRITUAL[\BOLD]: No anarchy, double produciton speed of temples.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The lack of anarchy can save you a vital turn of production. I'll confess I think this trait is also a little weak, but there is a group of hardcore players who strongly disagree.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]These hardcore players tout the advantages of micromanaging their civics, swapping between theocracy/organized religion or vassalage/bureaucracy as their cities shift focus from units to buildings. One later game favorite is swapping between Nationalism and Free Speech, drafting units but gaining other benefits in the downtime.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You can also swap religions easily, to further your diplomatic interests, or to take advantage of "religious sight" -- that the founder of a religion can see into cities of that religion around the world. These tricks are hard to master, but can make Spiritual a quite formidable trait.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In the long run, yes, you will want to discover those key civic technologies. [BOLD]Civil Service and Theology[\BOLD] will be key technologies as they allow you to grab [BOLD]Bureaucracy and Theocracy[\BOLD] (respectively). This will let you start to take advantage of swapping.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]But in the short run, a Spiritual Civilization generally (but not always) has instant access to [BOLD]Mysticism[\BOLD]. That means they have the BEST chance of founding a religion, and a decent chance of keeping multiple religions out of the hands of other players. GET THOSE RELIGIONS. [BOLD]Polytheism, Meditation, and Monotheism[\BOLD] are key. Having Mysticism also gives you quick access to [BOLD]Stonehenge[\BOLD], which generates a valuable Great Prophet, which can help you to found the next religion before your opponent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]While on the religious path, you may find yourself discovering [BOLD]Priesthood[\BOLD]. This gives you the earliest and easiest access to [BOLD]Temples[\BOLD], which let you run Priest specialists. Most Spiritual civilizations have early enough access to Priests that they can generate Great Prophets, if they so choose. An early Great Prophet can help you access Theology, Divine Right, or Civil Service. See this article: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=140952 for how you might be able to leverage this to your advantage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Early access to Priesthood also unlocks the [BOLD]Oracle[\BOLD]. The obvious benefit of this is that it lets you discover a free technology like [BOLD]Metal Casting[\BOLD] or [BOLD]Construction[\BOLD], and also generates a Great Prophet. However, if you plan accordingly, you can use this slingshot to discover [BOLD]Feudalism[\BOLD] (through [BOLD]Monarchy[\BOLD]), or [BOLD]Civil Service[\BOLD] (through [BOLD]Code of Laws[\BOLD]). You haven't seen anything until you've seen [BOLD]Longbows[\BOLD] or [BOLD]Bureaucracy[\BOLD] by 1000 BC![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Another key is that the path to Judaism and Christianity flows right through [BOLD]Masonry[\BOLD]. That gives you a perfect opportunity to grab the [BOLD]Pyramids[\BOLD], giving you a slew of Civics to swap between.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]And an addition from VoiceOfUnreason, it's important to note that many big civics come with religions. [BOLD]Philosophy[\BOLD] offers both [BOLD]Pacifism and Taoism[\BOLD]. [BOLD]Theology[\BOLD] offers both [BOLD]Theocracy and Christianity[\BOLD]. [BOLD]Monotheism[\BOLD] offers both [BOLD]Organized Religion and Judaism[\BOLD]. [BOLD]Code of Laws[\BOLD] offers both [BOLD]Caste System and Confucianism[\BOLD]. You'll want to prioritize at least a few of these, if not all of them.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]ORGANIZED[\BOLD]: Civic upkeep reduced 50 percent. Double production speed of Lighthouse and Courthouse.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Remember that civic upkeep is proportional to the total number of people in your civilization. More people cost more money. That means that this civic works harder the larger your population grows. It also works harder at higher levels, since civics costs are more pronounced.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This trait is actually underrated, especially when you factor in its cheap buildings. If you're running expensive civics, you'll notice a considerable difference in your economy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are two main synergies here.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One is that of expansion. Organized can support a larger empire with as much efficiency as [COLOR_RED]Financial[COLOR_REVERT], and with LESS EFFORT on your part. If you wanted to start an early war, this would be the civic that would let you do it. If you fast track to [BOLD]Iron Working or Horseback Riding[\BOLD], you can catch the enemy off guard and be able to actually pay for those huge civics costs. The maintainance from your cities can also be taken care of easily with your cheap [BOLD]Courthouses[\BOLD], if you aim for [BOLD]Code of Laws[\BOLD]. Keep in mind that civics costs rise with your population, but city maintainance costs increase exponentially with your number of cities. Organized lets you expand (and conquer) with less worry about those costs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are also peaceful synergies. If you hightail it for [BOLD]Monotheism[\BOLD], you'll also get the expensive [BOLD]Organized Religion[\BOLD] civic, and access to the [BOLD]Pyramids (with Masonry)[\BOLD]. The Pyramids unlock a slew of civics, and Organized Religion is one of the most expensive civics. Along with a good shot at founding [BOLD]Judaism[\BOLD], you just have to learn how to put these civics to good use.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]These two approaches are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Some people manage to juggle both, although it's harder at higher levels. Some people build up first, and then launch a war. You can also be sinister, though, conquering the enemy civ with the Pyramids rather than building it themselves.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Think about ways to boost your population. [COLOR_RED]Expansive[COLOR_REVERT] strategies can sometimes apply here.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]DOUBLE TRAIT SYNERGIES[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]COLONIAL SETTLERS[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]VICTORIA [\BOLD](Imperialistic Financial): Build lots of cities quickly, and actually afford the maintainance costs. Gun it for [BOLD]Cottages[\BOLD], and stay close to the water (with [BOLD]Lighthouses[\BOLD] near the Ocean).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]AUGUSTUS [\BOLD](Creative Organized): Build lots of cities quickly, and actually afford the maintainance costs. Gun it for [BOLD]Cottages[\BOLD], and stay close to the water (with [BOLD]Lighthouses[\BOLD] near the Ocean).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]CATHERINE [\BOLD](Imperialistic Creative): Build lots of cities in the best locations, even at the higher difficulties. Settle a continent with speed and immunity. Take advantage of the [BOLD]Great Wall[\BOLD] to hold off any interlopers, and be careful about your maintainance costs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]OFFENSIVE MILITARISTS[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]CHURCHILL [\BOLD](Charismatic Protective): With fewer units required for good defence at home, put lots of units on the offense. Use civics like [BOLD]Vassalage and Theocracy[\BOLD]. Beeline for a military advantage, and remember that the [BOLD]Redcoat[\BOLD] is a beast.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]TOKUGAWA [\BOLD](Aggressive Protective): With fewer units required for good defence at home, put lots of units on the offense. Use civics like [BOLD]Vassalage and Theocracy[\BOLD]. Keep focused on Melee and Gunpowder units.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]CYRUS [\BOLD](Charismatic Imperialistic): Use the great generals generated by your [BOLD]Immortals[\BOLD] in the ancient era to feed mega promotions to your [BOLD]Swordsmen[\BOLD] in the classical era.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]GENGHIS KHAN [\BOLD](Aggressive Imperialistic): Use the great generals generated by your [BOLD]Keshiks[\BOLD] in the classical era to feed mega promotions to your [BOLD]Macemen[\BOLD] in the medieval era.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]JULIUS CAESAR [\BOLD](Imperialistic Organized): Start an early war, with fewer concerns about how you're gonna pay for those maintainance costs. Try to capture the [BOLD]Pyramids[\BOLD], use [BOLD]Police State[\BOLD], and remember that [BOLD]Praetorians[\BOLD] are beasts.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]NAPOLEON[\BOLD](Charismatic Organized): Use civics like [BOLD]Vassalage and Theocracy[\BOLD] to promote your units, while Organized helps pay for the civics costs. The experienced units and fast [BOLD]Musketeers[\BOLD] will let you conquer faster, and Organized will help pay for your huge empire. It never hurts to capture the [BOLD]Pyramids[\BOLD] and use [BOLD]Police State[\BOLD].[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]DEFENDERS OF FAITH[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]SALADIN [\BOLD](Spiritual Protective): Biggest winner from "invincible" [BOLD]Longbows[\BOLD] using the [BOLD]Oracle-Feudalism[\BOLD] gambit... and pick up some religions along the way.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]RAMESSES[\BOLD] (Spiritual Industrious): More likely winner for "invincible" [BOLD]Longbows[\BOLD] using the [BOLD]Oracle-Feudalism[\BOLD] gambit... and pick up some religions along the way.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]ASOKA[\BOLD] (Spiritual Organized): Best equipped to take advantage of the Pyramids. Can get there early, grab lots of religions, and take advantage of cheap and fast civics swaps.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]PERFECTIONIST BUILDERS[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]WANG KON [\BOLD](Protective Financial): Protective can potentially cut down your army size and thus your unit maintainance costs. Combine this with Financial for an Economic explosion. Gun it for [BOLD]Cottages[\BOLD], and stay close to the water (with [BOLD]Lighthouses[\BOLD] near the Ocean).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]PETER[\BOLD] (Expansive Philosophical): Have the biggest cities with the most specialists. Make sure you grab the [BOLD]Parthenon[\BOLD] and the [BOLD]Great Library[\BOLD], and add [BOLD]Hereditary Rule[\BOLD] with lots of food.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]GANDHI[\BOLD] (Spiritual Philosophical): Will have the easiest time getting the [BOLD]Parthenon[\BOLD] to support lots of specialists, with some religions along the way to collect lots of gold. Be sure to get the food to back it up, and make your way toward [BOLD]Literature[\BOLD] and [BOLD]Philosophy/Pacifism[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]MEHMED[\BOLD] (Organized Expansive): Support huge amounts of population. Get lots of food, [BOLD]Hereditary Rule[\BOLD], and the [BOLD]Pyramids[\BOLD] to maximize the benefits of the cheap civics costs. The [BOLD]Hammam[\BOLD] supports 2 additional population, without fail.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]MANSA MUSA[\BOLD] (Spiritual Financial): One of the few spiritual civs that doesn't start with Mysticism. But if you delay your expansion, you CAN found two religions in one city. In combination with the Financial bonus, you can have one hell of a money-generator (once you add the [BOLD]Mint[\BOLD], and[BOLD] Wall Street[\BOLD]). Acquire other wonders like the [BOLD]Colossus[\BOLD] to make the richest city in the world. And if you can use the [BOLD]Oracle-Civil Service[\BOLD] gambit, you can switch to [BOLD]Bureaucracy[\BOLD] and stack up huge coin by 1000 BC.</English>
		<French>[H1]Traits, Warlords, and Synergy[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]dh_epic[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Thought I would take it upon myself to add a little bit to the strategy forum. In my opinion, the biggest advantage of traits goes beyond their description. To maximize the benefits of a trait, you need to use it in combination with other strategies. This is the definition of synergy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Syn-er-gy[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][TAB]1. The interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects.[NEWLINE][TAB]2. Cooperative interaction among groups, especially among the acquired subsidiaries or merged parts of a corporation, that creates an enhanced combined effect.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A few quick notes:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]I tried to list the easiest to use traits at the top.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Easiest to use isn't always the best.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]I focused mostly on the early part of the game.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Most of these are to help average players become great players.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Some great players may benefit too, learning a few new tricks.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Big ups to Theoden for the vanilla trait-review (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=179059). A lot of good stuff here, too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Without any further ado, here is my analysis of the traits.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]TRAIT BREAKDOWN[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]INDUSTRIOUS[\BOLD]: Wonder production increased 50 percent, double speed production of Forge.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Almost self explanatory. The end result is that an Industrious Civ is nearly guaranteed their first pick of any wonder, if they want it. And every wonder happens much faster, too. Which wonders you build are up to you. But I recommend you prioritize and think ahead.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Put the industrious trait to good use by building lots of wonders. Don't just think of the speed advantage, think of it as an opporunity advantage. If you and your enemy both produce units, you'll be neck at neck. But if you both build a wonder, you'd also have enough time to build four or five more units than your opponent. Every hammer you save is a hammer you've earned.[NEWLINE]Think of it as free production.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Marble [\BOLD]and [BOLD]Stone [\BOLD]help rush wonders. [BOLD]Masonry [\BOLD]will let you build [BOLD]Quarries[\BOLD], allowing you to tap these key resources. Locate and tap these resources early.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There's not much else to say here except that you might find yourself chasing wonders, and end up on a path through all the religious techs ([BOLD]Polytheism and the Parthenon, Priesthood and the Oracle[\BOLD]), with a strong opportunity to found Judaism ([BOLD]Monotheism[\BOLD], which requires [BOLD]Masonry[\BOLD]) first. If you DO found a religion, don't neglect those Missionaries ([BOLD]Meditation[\BOLD]), since you want your neighbors to share the same faith to keep you out of unncessary wars. Maybe one of those wonders you've built will pop you a Great Priest, letting you build a great shrine and spread your faith around.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]FINANCIAL[\BOLD]: +1 commerce on plots with 2 commerce.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Arguably the most powerful trait. Note that it has no cheap buildings to come with it, because the commerce bonus is huge. This one is almost self explanatory. The benefits affect your economy, and are multiplied by various buildings (like Libraries, if you use your commerce for research, or Marketplaces if you use your commerce for gold).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]What you do with the extra wealth is up to you. Some use it to run their science meter at full blast. Others use it to build more cities faster. And this is actually a great trait for warmongering, since unit maintainance costs can be huge.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The obvious statement is that you'll want to have at least a few [BOLD]Cottages[\BOLD] early. Get [BOLD]Pottery[\BOLD], build cottages. Rivers and other luxury resources are key, however. Be sure to settle smart city locations, and unlock other key resource technologies such as [BOLD]Mining[\BOLD] to tap [BOLD]Gold[\BOLD] and [BOLD]Silver[\BOLD].[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you're running lots of Cottages, there are several civics that leverage this. In particular is [BOLD]Universal Suffrage[\BOLD], which is available if you build the [BOLD]Pyramids[\BOLD] (with [BOLD]Masonry[\BOLD]). The bonus only kicks in with Towns, though, which means you have to wait a bit.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The less obvious statement is that this trait actually has a HUGE coastal benefit. Coastal tiles produce two commerce each, leading to an easy commerce benefit. In order to take advantage of this, though, you'll need to build [BOLD]Lighthouses[\BOLD] so you can get the extra food in the ocean to support further growth. Fortunately, this is accessible with [BOLD]Sailing[\BOLD], which also gives you ocean trade routes. Vital for any coast-loving player.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The [BOLD]Colossus[\BOLD] is the cherry on top. Available with [BOLD]Metal Casting[\BOLD], it generates additional wealth in every water tile. A financial civ with a lot of coastal cities and the Colossus is something fierce. [BOLD]The Great Lighthouse (Masonry)[\BOLD] also plays into a heavy coastal strategy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]PHILOSOPHICAL:[\BOLD] Great People birth rate increased 100 percent, double speed production of University.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is a powerful civic, although both proponents and critics of this civic ought to look beyond the initial bonus.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This does not ultimately lead to twice as many great people, but its bonus is very pronounced in its ability to produce great people [BOLD]faster[\BOLD]. And it still leads to more Great People in the long run. Sometimes as much as 50% more.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Which great people you get and what you do with them is up to you. But keep in mind that sometimes the short term gains of a free tech are worth more than the long term gains of settling them as a great specialist -- getting that free tech can make you the first to a religion or even a tradable tech of great significance. Moreover, it can get you to other wonders, which generate more great people.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You CANNOT feed specialists unless you have the food resources to produce more than 2 food per tile. Survey those nearby food resources. If you see [BOLD]Cows[\BOLD] and [BOLD]Sheep[\BOLD], get [BOLD]Animal Husbandry[\BOLD] for [BOLD]Pastures[\BOLD]. If you see [BOLD]Rice[\BOLD] and [BOLD]Corn[\BOLD], get [BOLD]Agriculture[\BOLD]. Learn to freeze growth at the exact right moment, to maximize your number of specialists.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are LOTS of other Great People generators. Get to [BOLD]Polytheism[\BOLD] and the [BOLD]Parthenon[\BOLD]. Why? +50% great leader birth in ALL cities. Get to [BOLD]Philosophy[\BOLD] and the [BOLD]Pacifism[\BOLD] civic. That's another +100% great leader birth in ALL cities. The real killer, though, is [BOLD]Literature[\BOLD]. Not only does this unlock the [BOLD]National Epic[\BOLD], giving you +100 great leader birth in one city, but it lets you build the [BOLD]Great Library[\BOLD] which pumps out Great Scientists by the boatload. Add it up and you can be swimming in great people.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]When you're running this specialist heavy economy, the [BOLD]Representation[\BOLD] civic can generate you huge amounts of science. Getting the [BOLD]Pyramids[\BOLD] can unlock this early. You might have to choose between the Pyramids and the Parthenon, and each has different benefits for a specialist economy in the short and long term. However, some lucky players can get both. If you're feeling ambitious, use the Pyramids to generate an early Great Engineer and use it to rush the Parthenon.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]CHARISMATIC[\BOLD]: +1 happiness per city, -25% XP needed for unit promotions, +1 happiness from Monument, Broadcast Tower[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The benefit of this one is actually quite obvious. The happiness bonus puts itself to work quite effortlessly, and is often the big inhibitor for population growth. Along with the XP bonus, you'll find yourself grabbing those high end promotions in no time.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You're probably already familiar with the [COLOR_RED]Aggressive[COLOR_REVERT] Trait. The key that makes Charismatic easier to use than aggressive is that the XP bonus applies towards ANY unit. What you do with your excess promotions is up to you. Keep in mind that the short term gains of a promotion like Cover (vs. Ranged Units) may actually outweigh a more versatile a long term promotion. Sure, Combat I will help you for the entire game, but targetting your enemy's immediate weakness can get you an early advantage. In Civ, the early advantage can sometimes give you the biggest long term payoff![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you're the first to discover a unit, there's a good chance you can use it to grab a quick advantage. [BOLD]Horseback Riding[\BOLD] and [BOLD]Iron Working[\BOLD] are early favorites, although many have done serious damage with [BOLD]Elephants and Catapults (Construction), Crossbows (Machinery), or Macemen (Civil Service)[\BOLD].[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Anything that gains you XP here is good. [BOLD]Vassalage (with Feudalism)[\BOLD] and [BOLD]Theocracy (with Theology)[\BOLD] are XP generating civics. [BOLD]Barracks[\BOLD] or [BOLD]Stables (with Animal Husbandry)[\BOLD] are vital here. You may also be able to take advantage of the [BOLD]Great Wall (with Masonry)[\BOLD], suckering a Civ in allowing you to generate lots of Great Generals.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]AGGRESSIVE[\BOLD]: Free Combat I promotion for melee and gunpowder units, double speed production of Barracks and Drydock.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The biggest benefit of Combat I is NOT the 10% combat odds, although over a long enough time it can make for a significant advantage. Some people talk about how it means that you can get to Combat V by 17XP instead of 26XP -- which is nice, but not the big advantage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The crucial advantage of Combat I is that it unlocks access to other higher level promotions like Cover, Pinch, and Shock (bonus vs Archers, Gunpowder, and Melee). That means with but 2 XP -- less than what a Barracks gives you -- your Melee units gain powerful defence against specific unit types. These promotions may seem narrow in function, but their short term gains can be enough to give you a huge advantage. Moreover, with but 5 XP you have access to even better counters versus Siege and Mounted units. If you don't know how to use these "counter promotions", do yourself a favor and read a combat promotions FAQ. These are SUPER important.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you use this trait and have trouble fighting wars before 1AD, do yourself a favor and learn how. The key is doing it quickly, which Aggressive Civs are uniquely equipped to do. Learn to raze crappy cities to keep your maintainance costs down. (There are lots of articles out there that can help you wage early, fast wars.)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Aggressive Civs can find many of the same synergies of [COLOR_RED]Charismatic[COLOR_REVERT] Civs. Get the XP generating civics (like [BOLD]Vassalage and Theocracy[\BOLD]). And if you're feeling sassy, try luring people behind your [BOLD]Great Wall[\BOLD] to generate some quick Great Generals.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]But since this bonus only helps melee and gunpowder units, you'll want to make [BOLD]Axes or Swords[\BOLD] the staple of your army. [BOLD]Bronzeworking and Ironworking[\BOLD] are key. Mounted and ranged units won't gain you any specific advantage, but it never hurts to mix up your stacks to avoid being too vulnerable.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]PROTECTIVE[\BOLD]: Archery and Gunpowder units receive Drill I and City Garrison I automatically, Double production speed of Walls and Castle.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This one makes your defence DAMN hard to break. For many players, this won't help them, since they generally find themselves on the offense, and can run circles around the AI's military.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Still, there's a LOT of ways to push this civic to its full potential. The key is in the synergies.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Protective Civs are a lot like [COLOR_RED]Aggressive[COLOR_REVERT] Civs in that they'll need to discover [BOLD]Feudalism or Theology[\BOLD] early for their XP generating civics. You'll also want to produce a [BOLD]Barracks[\BOLD] sooner. The key difference, however, is that you should have a strong preference for [BOLD]City Garrison 3[\BOLD]. If you can get your units to City Garrison 3, they almost DOUBLE in defensive capabilities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Get [BOLD]Archery[\BOLD] early, since it's ranged units that get the Protective bonus. If you can find yourself at [BOLD]Feudalism[\BOLD] early, your [BOLD]Longbows[\BOLD] might be a key to invincibility. Some people even use the [BOLD]Oracle (Priesthood)[\BOLD] to slingshot to Feudalism early. It CAN be done.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Okay, big deal. You have really strong defence, right?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Here's the key. You can sometimes get away with defending your cities with as few as 2 units with City Garrison 3. This means you keep a VERY small defensive army. This can save you maintainance costs, allowing you to pour more into science, to settle more cities, or go on the offense. You might be able to find an economic synergy with some of the [COLOR_RED]Financial[COLOR_REVERT] trait's strategies, or find a warmongering synergy with some [COLOR_RED]Aggressive[COLOR_REVERT] strategies. You don't even have to be Financial or Aggressive to use these strategies.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]IMPERIALISTIC[\BOLD]:+100% Great General emergence, 50% faster production of settlers.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With the addition of Great Generals, this can lead to a small snowball effect for a successful warmonger. You'll get those great generals a lot faster, which you can use for either short OR long term benefits. Just as with [COLOR_RED]Aggressive[COLOR_REVERT] and [COLOR_RED]Charismatic[COLOR_REVERT] Civs, learning to fight an early war is challenging but invaluable. If you're not going to war using this trait, you're missing out.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]However, the snap-settlers have a distinct benefit too, even for peaceful players. Maintainance costs and barbarians will prevent you from settling too recklessly, so an Imperialistic Civ won't necessarily build an Empire right away. But an Imperialistic Civilization will move fast enough to get the best city locations -- that's key.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You'll want to combine this trait with [BOLD]Pottery[\BOLD], in order to get those [BOLD]Cottages[\BOLD] happening. If you're grabbing those great city locations fast, you're going to need an economy capable of supporting the maintainance costs. It's a good thing the [BOLD]Wheel[\BOLD] is on the way to Pottery, since it means you'll be able to hook up those resources you find.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Keep in mind that the ocean can be a great source of wealth, especially if you have early acecss to [BOLD]Sailing[\BOLD]. Rivers too. Keep your economy strong.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]And do not neglect defence. You should either have [BOLD]Archery or Bronzeworking[\BOLD] early, so you can defend your great city locations. Bronzeworking can be especially valuable, since you can use it to [BOLD]chop down trees[\BOLD], generating production to knock out those settlers (and defenders) faster.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A key advantage with this one can be the [BOLD]Great Wall[\BOLD], from [BOLD]Masonry[\BOLD]. Once you've built up your empire, the great wall can protect you from barbarians without having to spend as much time pumping out defensive units. (Keep in mind Imperialistic has a Great General bonus too. You might be able to lure people behind the great wall to get Great Generals REALLY fast.)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]CREATIVE[\BOLD]: +2 culture per city, double speed production of Theatre and Colosseum.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This trait may seem like a shoe in for cultural victory, but the 2 culture really doesn't do much in the long run. The bigger benefit comes very early, and especially at high difficulties.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Culture determines your borders. With 2 culture, your borders will be popping faster AND sooner than even someone who builds Stonehenge. Especially against the AI's huge handicaps at the higher levels, this can be the key to settling a large land mass before the AI can squeeze you out. The extra culture can let you seal off choke points in the map, allowing you keep the territory beyond your borders away from the AI. Your borders may even get so wide that you can space your cities out and still cover the continent. In many ways, creative will let you hold territory from the AI that you can settle with additional cities later.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This also means that your new cities will have quick access to nearby resources, without worry that the AI will overtake you. In fact, you can settle damn close to the enemy, without worry that their culture will overtake yours. Even as a warmonger, you'll find that your newly conquered outposts will be less vulernable, and will pick up vital resources with more ease.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]When you finally have the cities you want, be prepared to consolidate your defence. Wider borders extend your field of vision, preventing barbarians from appearing. And they also give you a defensive bonus. If you can master the defensive potential of Creative, all you need to do is learn when to slow down expansion so your economy can catch up. If you let maintainance costs get the best of you, all your expansion will be for nothing.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This trait, surprisingly, has the most in common with the [COLOR_RED]Imperialistic[COLOR_REVERT] Trait. Its advantage comes when you build lots of settlers and grab the best locations. Speed is the essence of your strategy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Use [BOLD]Cottages (Pottery)[\BOLD], rivers, and oceans ([BOLD]Sailing[\BOLD]) to pay down the maintainance costs of your faster growth. Be sure to defend your mass of cities with [BOLD]Archers (Archery), or Axemen (Bronzeworking)[\BOLD]... and [BOLD]chop trees[\BOLD] to keep things moving fast. You can catch your breath and consolidate your holdings later.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]While Creative civs have the benefit of cultural defence, the [BOLD]Great Wall (Masonry)[\BOLD] can be great for keeping barbarians out. With your huge borders, this can be especially useful.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]EXPANSIVE[\BOLD]: +3 health per city. Double speed production of Granary and Harbor.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I'm not going to lie to you. I think this trait is on the weak side. However, you CANNOT discount this trait's cheaper buildings. The cheap buildings may be the best part. This trait WILL let you get a huge population, and quickly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]What does a huge population help you with? Well, besides [BOLD]everything[\BOLD], a huge population is great for running a specialist-heavy economy. See [COLOR_RED]Philosophical[COLOR_REVERT] for more details.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Much of the debate for this trait revolves around whether health or happiness are the biggest barriers to growth. Well, even if you assume that expansive will give you more health than you know what to do with, there are a few strategies below to get the extra happiness you need. At high difficulties, this can have huge payoffs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Take advantage of that fast [BOLD]Granary[\BOLD]. You can't do this if you don't get to [BOLD]Pottery[\BOLD] early on.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Some players may find that happiness tends to inhibit their city growth more than health. However, the [BOLD]Hereditary Rule[\BOLD] civic is an easy target with big payoffs. This civic generates happiness for every military unit you have, with no upper limit. If you can discovery [BOLD]Monarchy[\BOLD] early, or build the [BOLD]Pyramids[\BOLD], you can tap this civic and EASILY support 3 more population than the average Civ.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Slavery[\BOLD] can be a huge advantage of these additional people. With [BOLD]Bronzeworking[\BOLD], you can access the slavery civic and turn those population points into production. Excess happiness can keep the remaining citizens content. Slavery can be extremely potent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Or you can let those people live. Combine this with some of the Specialist-heavy strategies recommended under the [COLOR_RED]Philosophical[COLOR_REVERT] trait... even if you're not Philosophical. Where you have lots of population and food, you have can have specialists and great people.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]SPIRITUAL[\BOLD]: No anarchy, double produciton speed of temples.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The lack of anarchy can save you a vital turn of production. I'll confess I think this trait is also a little weak, but there is a group of hardcore players who strongly disagree.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]These hardcore players tout the advantages of micromanaging their civics, swapping between theocracy/organized religion or vassalage/bureaucracy as their cities shift focus from units to buildings. One later game favorite is swapping between Nationalism and Free Speech, drafting units but gaining other benefits in the downtime.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You can also swap religions easily, to further your diplomatic interests, or to take advantage of "religious sight" -- that the founder of a religion can see into cities of that religion around the world. These tricks are hard to master, but can make Spiritual a quite formidable trait.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In the long run, yes, you will want to discover those key civic technologies. [BOLD]Civil Service and Theology[\BOLD] will be key technologies as they allow you to grab [BOLD]Bureaucracy and Theocracy[\BOLD] (respectively). This will let you start to take advantage of swapping.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]But in the short run, a Spiritual Civilization generally (but not always) has instant access to [BOLD]Mysticism[\BOLD]. That means they have the BEST chance of founding a religion, and a decent chance of keeping multiple religions out of the hands of other players. GET THOSE RELIGIONS. [BOLD]Polytheism, Meditation, and Monotheism[\BOLD] are key. Having Mysticism also gives you quick access to [BOLD]Stonehenge[\BOLD], which generates a valuable Great Prophet, which can help you to found the next religion before your opponent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]While on the religious path, you may find yourself discovering [BOLD]Priesthood[\BOLD]. This gives you the earliest and easiest access to [BOLD]Temples[\BOLD], which let you run Priest specialists. Most Spiritual civilizations have early enough access to Priests that they can generate Great Prophets, if they so choose. An early Great Prophet can help you access Theology, Divine Right, or Civil Service. See this article: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=140952 for how you might be able to leverage this to your advantage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Early access to Priesthood also unlocks the [BOLD]Oracle[\BOLD]. The obvious benefit of this is that it lets you discover a free technology like [BOLD]Metal Casting[\BOLD] or [BOLD]Construction[\BOLD], and also generates a Great Prophet. However, if you plan accordingly, you can use this slingshot to discover [BOLD]Feudalism[\BOLD] (through [BOLD]Monarchy[\BOLD]), or [BOLD]Civil Service[\BOLD] (through [BOLD]Code of Laws[\BOLD]). You haven't seen anything until you've seen [BOLD]Longbows[\BOLD] or [BOLD]Bureaucracy[\BOLD] by 1000 BC![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Another key is that the path to Judaism and Christianity flows right through [BOLD]Masonry[\BOLD]. That gives you a perfect opportunity to grab the [BOLD]Pyramids[\BOLD], giving you a slew of Civics to swap between.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]And an addition from VoiceOfUnreason, it's important to note that many big civics come with religions. [BOLD]Philosophy[\BOLD] offers both [BOLD]Pacifism and Taoism[\BOLD]. [BOLD]Theology[\BOLD] offers both [BOLD]Theocracy and Christianity[\BOLD]. [BOLD]Monotheism[\BOLD] offers both [BOLD]Organized Religion and Judaism[\BOLD]. [BOLD]Code of Laws[\BOLD] offers both [BOLD]Caste System and Confucianism[\BOLD]. You'll want to prioritize at least a few of these, if not all of them.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]ORGANIZED[\BOLD]: Civic upkeep reduced 50 percent. Double production speed of Lighthouse and Courthouse.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Remember that civic upkeep is proportional to the total number of people in your civilization. More people cost more money. That means that this civic works harder the larger your population grows. It also works harder at higher levels, since civics costs are more pronounced.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This trait is actually underrated, especially when you factor in its cheap buildings. If you're running expensive civics, you'll notice a considerable difference in your economy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are two main synergies here.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One is that of expansion. Organized can support a larger empire with as much efficiency as [COLOR_RED]Financial[COLOR_REVERT], and with LESS EFFORT on your part. If you wanted to start an early war, this would be the civic that would let you do it. If you fast track to [BOLD]Iron Working or Horseback Riding[\BOLD], you can catch the enemy off guard and be able to actually pay for those huge civics costs. The maintainance from your cities can also be taken care of easily with your cheap [BOLD]Courthouses[\BOLD], if you aim for [BOLD]Code of Laws[\BOLD]. Keep in mind that civics costs rise with your population, but city maintainance costs increase exponentially with your number of cities. Organized lets you expand (and conquer) with less worry about those costs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are also peaceful synergies. If you hightail it for [BOLD]Monotheism[\BOLD], you'll also get the expensive [BOLD]Organized Religion[\BOLD] civic, and access to the [BOLD]Pyramids (with Masonry)[\BOLD]. The Pyramids unlock a slew of civics, and Organized Religion is one of the most expensive civics. Along with a good shot at founding [BOLD]Judaism[\BOLD], you just have to learn how to put these civics to good use.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]These two approaches are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Some people manage to juggle both, although it's harder at higher levels. Some people build up first, and then launch a war. You can also be sinister, though, conquering the enemy civ with the Pyramids rather than building it themselves.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Think about ways to boost your population. [COLOR_RED]Expansive[COLOR_REVERT] strategies can sometimes apply here.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]DOUBLE TRAIT SYNERGIES[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]COLONIAL SETTLERS[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]VICTORIA [\BOLD](Imperialistic Financial): Build lots of cities quickly, and actually afford the maintainance costs. Gun it for [BOLD]Cottages[\BOLD], and stay close to the water (with [BOLD]Lighthouses[\BOLD] near the Ocean).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]AUGUSTUS [\BOLD](Creative Organized): Build lots of cities quickly, and actually afford the maintainance costs. Gun it for [BOLD]Cottages[\BOLD], and stay close to the water (with [BOLD]Lighthouses[\BOLD] near the Ocean).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]CATHERINE [\BOLD](Imperialistic Creative): Build lots of cities in the best locations, even at the higher difficulties. Settle a continent with speed and immunity. Take advantage of the [BOLD]Great Wall[\BOLD] to hold off any interlopers, and be careful about your maintainance costs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]OFFENSIVE MILITARISTS[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]CHURCHILL [\BOLD](Charismatic Protective): With fewer units required for good defence at home, put lots of units on the offense. Use civics like [BOLD]Vassalage and Theocracy[\BOLD]. Beeline for a military advantage, and remember that the [BOLD]Redcoat[\BOLD] is a beast.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]TOKUGAWA [\BOLD](Aggressive Protective): With fewer units required for good defence at home, put lots of units on the offense. Use civics like [BOLD]Vassalage and Theocracy[\BOLD]. Keep focused on Melee and Gunpowder units.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]CYRUS [\BOLD](Charismatic Imperialistic): Use the great generals generated by your [BOLD]Immortals[\BOLD] in the ancient era to feed mega promotions to your [BOLD]Swordsmen[\BOLD] in the classical era.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]GENGHIS KHAN [\BOLD](Aggressive Imperialistic): Use the great generals generated by your [BOLD]Keshiks[\BOLD] in the classical era to feed mega promotions to your [BOLD]Macemen[\BOLD] in the medieval era.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]JULIUS CAESAR [\BOLD](Imperialistic Organized): Start an early war, with fewer concerns about how you're gonna pay for those maintainance costs. Try to capture the [BOLD]Pyramids[\BOLD], use [BOLD]Police State[\BOLD], and remember that [BOLD]Praetorians[\BOLD] are beasts.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]NAPOLEON[\BOLD](Charismatic Organized): Use civics like [BOLD]Vassalage and Theocracy[\BOLD] to promote your units, while Organized helps pay for the civics costs. The experienced units and fast [BOLD]Musketeers[\BOLD] will let you conquer faster, and Organized will help pay for your huge empire. It never hurts to capture the [BOLD]Pyramids[\BOLD] and use [BOLD]Police State[\BOLD].[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]DEFENDERS OF FAITH[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]SALADIN [\BOLD](Spiritual Protective): Biggest winner from "invincible" [BOLD]Longbows[\BOLD] using the [BOLD]Oracle-Feudalism[\BOLD] gambit... and pick up some religions along the way.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]RAMESSES[\BOLD] (Spiritual Industrious): More likely winner for "invincible" [BOLD]Longbows[\BOLD] using the [BOLD]Oracle-Feudalism[\BOLD] gambit... and pick up some religions along the way.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]ASOKA[\BOLD] (Spiritual Organized): Best equipped to take advantage of the Pyramids. Can get there early, grab lots of religions, and take advantage of cheap and fast civics swaps.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]PERFECTIONIST BUILDERS[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]WANG KON [\BOLD](Protective Financial): Protective can potentially cut down your army size and thus your unit maintainance costs. Combine this with Financial for an Economic explosion. Gun it for [BOLD]Cottages[\BOLD], and stay close to the water (with [BOLD]Lighthouses[\BOLD] near the Ocean).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]PETER[\BOLD] (Expansive Philosophical): Have the biggest cities with the most specialists. Make sure you grab the [BOLD]Parthenon[\BOLD] and the [BOLD]Great Library[\BOLD], and add [BOLD]Hereditary Rule[\BOLD] with lots of food.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]GANDHI[\BOLD] (Spiritual Philosophical): Will have the easiest time getting the [BOLD]Parthenon[\BOLD] to support lots of specialists, with some religions along the way to collect lots of gold. Be sure to get the food to back it up, and make your way toward [BOLD]Literature[\BOLD] and [BOLD]Philosophy/Pacifism[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]MEHMED[\BOLD] (Organized Expansive): Support huge amounts of population. Get lots of food, [BOLD]Hereditary Rule[\BOLD], and the [BOLD]Pyramids[\BOLD] to maximize the benefits of the cheap civics costs. The [BOLD]Hammam[\BOLD] supports 2 additional population, without fail.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]MANSA MUSA[\BOLD] (Spiritual Financial): One of the few spiritual civs that doesn't start with Mysticism. But if you delay your expansion, you CAN found two religions in one city. In combination with the Financial bonus, you can have one hell of a money-generator (once you add the [BOLD]Mint[\BOLD], and[BOLD] Wall Street[\BOLD]). Acquire other wonders like the [BOLD]Colossus[\BOLD] to make the richest city in the world. And if you can use the [BOLD]Oracle-Civil Service[\BOLD] gambit, you can switch to [BOLD]Bureaucracy[\BOLD] and stack up huge coin by 1000 BC.</French>
		<German>[H1]Traits, Warlords, and Synergy[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]dh_epic[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Thought I would take it upon myself to add a little bit to the strategy forum. In my opinion, the biggest advantage of traits goes beyond their description. To maximize the benefits of a trait, you need to use it in combination with other strategies. This is the definition of synergy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Syn-er-gy[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][TAB]1. The interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects.[NEWLINE][TAB]2. Cooperative interaction among groups, especially among the acquired subsidiaries or merged parts of a corporation, that creates an enhanced combined effect.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A few quick notes:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]I tried to list the easiest to use traits at the top.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Easiest to use isn't always the best.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]I focused mostly on the early part of the game.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Most of these are to help average players become great players.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Some great players may benefit too, learning a few new tricks.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Big ups to Theoden for the vanilla trait-review (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=179059). A lot of good stuff here, too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Without any further ado, here is my analysis of the traits.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]TRAIT BREAKDOWN[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]INDUSTRIOUS[\BOLD]: Wonder production increased 50 percent, double speed production of Forge.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Almost self explanatory. The end result is that an Industrious Civ is nearly guaranteed their first pick of any wonder, if they want it. And every wonder happens much faster, too. Which wonders you build are up to you. But I recommend you prioritize and think ahead.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Put the industrious trait to good use by building lots of wonders. Don't just think of the speed advantage, think of it as an opporunity advantage. If you and your enemy both produce units, you'll be neck at neck. But if you both build a wonder, you'd also have enough time to build four or five more units than your opponent. Every hammer you save is a hammer you've earned.[NEWLINE]Think of it as free production.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Marble [\BOLD]and [BOLD]Stone [\BOLD]help rush wonders. [BOLD]Masonry [\BOLD]will let you build [BOLD]Quarries[\BOLD], allowing you to tap these key resources. Locate and tap these resources early.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There's not much else to say here except that you might find yourself chasing wonders, and end up on a path through all the religious techs ([BOLD]Polytheism and the Parthenon, Priesthood and the Oracle[\BOLD]), with a strong opportunity to found Judaism ([BOLD]Monotheism[\BOLD], which requires [BOLD]Masonry[\BOLD]) first. If you DO found a religion, don't neglect those Missionaries ([BOLD]Meditation[\BOLD]), since you want your neighbors to share the same faith to keep you out of unncessary wars. Maybe one of those wonders you've built will pop you a Great Priest, letting you build a great shrine and spread your faith around.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]FINANCIAL[\BOLD]: +1 commerce on plots with 2 commerce.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Arguably the most powerful trait. Note that it has no cheap buildings to come with it, because the commerce bonus is huge. This one is almost self explanatory. The benefits affect your economy, and are multiplied by various buildings (like Libraries, if you use your commerce for research, or Marketplaces if you use your commerce for gold).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]What you do with the extra wealth is up to you. Some use it to run their science meter at full blast. Others use it to build more cities faster. And this is actually a great trait for warmongering, since unit maintainance costs can be huge.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The obvious statement is that you'll want to have at least a few [BOLD]Cottages[\BOLD] early. Get [BOLD]Pottery[\BOLD], build cottages. Rivers and other luxury resources are key, however. Be sure to settle smart city locations, and unlock other key resource technologies such as [BOLD]Mining[\BOLD] to tap [BOLD]Gold[\BOLD] and [BOLD]Silver[\BOLD].[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you're running lots of Cottages, there are several civics that leverage this. In particular is [BOLD]Universal Suffrage[\BOLD], which is available if you build the [BOLD]Pyramids[\BOLD] (with [BOLD]Masonry[\BOLD]). The bonus only kicks in with Towns, though, which means you have to wait a bit.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The less obvious statement is that this trait actually has a HUGE coastal benefit. Coastal tiles produce two commerce each, leading to an easy commerce benefit. In order to take advantage of this, though, you'll need to build [BOLD]Lighthouses[\BOLD] so you can get the extra food in the ocean to support further growth. Fortunately, this is accessible with [BOLD]Sailing[\BOLD], which also gives you ocean trade routes. Vital for any coast-loving player.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The [BOLD]Colossus[\BOLD] is the cherry on top. Available with [BOLD]Metal Casting[\BOLD], it generates additional wealth in every water tile. A financial civ with a lot of coastal cities and the Colossus is something fierce. [BOLD]The Great Lighthouse (Masonry)[\BOLD] also plays into a heavy coastal strategy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]PHILOSOPHICAL:[\BOLD] Great People birth rate increased 100 percent, double speed production of University.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is a powerful civic, although both proponents and critics of this civic ought to look beyond the initial bonus.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This does not ultimately lead to twice as many great people, but its bonus is very pronounced in its ability to produce great people [BOLD]faster[\BOLD]. And it still leads to more Great People in the long run. Sometimes as much as 50% more.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Which great people you get and what you do with them is up to you. But keep in mind that sometimes the short term gains of a free tech are worth more than the long term gains of settling them as a great specialist -- getting that free tech can make you the first to a religion or even a tradable tech of great significance. Moreover, it can get you to other wonders, which generate more great people.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You CANNOT feed specialists unless you have the food resources to produce more than 2 food per tile. Survey those nearby food resources. If you see [BOLD]Cows[\BOLD] and [BOLD]Sheep[\BOLD], get [BOLD]Animal Husbandry[\BOLD] for [BOLD]Pastures[\BOLD]. If you see [BOLD]Rice[\BOLD] and [BOLD]Corn[\BOLD], get [BOLD]Agriculture[\BOLD]. Learn to freeze growth at the exact right moment, to maximize your number of specialists.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are LOTS of other Great People generators. Get to [BOLD]Polytheism[\BOLD] and the [BOLD]Parthenon[\BOLD]. Why? +50% great leader birth in ALL cities. Get to [BOLD]Philosophy[\BOLD] and the [BOLD]Pacifism[\BOLD] civic. That's another +100% great leader birth in ALL cities. The real killer, though, is [BOLD]Literature[\BOLD]. Not only does this unlock the [BOLD]National Epic[\BOLD], giving you +100 great leader birth in one city, but it lets you build the [BOLD]Great Library[\BOLD] which pumps out Great Scientists by the boatload. Add it up and you can be swimming in great people.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]When you're running this specialist heavy economy, the [BOLD]Representation[\BOLD] civic can generate you huge amounts of science. Getting the [BOLD]Pyramids[\BOLD] can unlock this early. You might have to choose between the Pyramids and the Parthenon, and each has different benefits for a specialist economy in the short and long term. However, some lucky players can get both. If you're feeling ambitious, use the Pyramids to generate an early Great Engineer and use it to rush the Parthenon.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]CHARISMATIC[\BOLD]: +1 happiness per city, -25% XP needed for unit promotions, +1 happiness from Monument, Broadcast Tower[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The benefit of this one is actually quite obvious. The happiness bonus puts itself to work quite effortlessly, and is often the big inhibitor for population growth. Along with the XP bonus, you'll find yourself grabbing those high end promotions in no time.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You're probably already familiar with the [COLOR_RED]Aggressive[COLOR_REVERT] Trait. The key that makes Charismatic easier to use than aggressive is that the XP bonus applies towards ANY unit. What you do with your excess promotions is up to you. Keep in mind that the short term gains of a promotion like Cover (vs. Ranged Units) may actually outweigh a more versatile a long term promotion. Sure, Combat I will help you for the entire game, but targetting your enemy's immediate weakness can get you an early advantage. In Civ, the early advantage can sometimes give you the biggest long term payoff![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you're the first to discover a unit, there's a good chance you can use it to grab a quick advantage. [BOLD]Horseback Riding[\BOLD] and [BOLD]Iron Working[\BOLD] are early favorites, although many have done serious damage with [BOLD]Elephants and Catapults (Construction), Crossbows (Machinery), or Macemen (Civil Service)[\BOLD].[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Anything that gains you XP here is good. [BOLD]Vassalage (with Feudalism)[\BOLD] and [BOLD]Theocracy (with Theology)[\BOLD] are XP generating civics. [BOLD]Barracks[\BOLD] or [BOLD]Stables (with Animal Husbandry)[\BOLD] are vital here. You may also be able to take advantage of the [BOLD]Great Wall (with Masonry)[\BOLD], suckering a Civ in allowing you to generate lots of Great Generals.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]AGGRESSIVE[\BOLD]: Free Combat I promotion for melee and gunpowder units, double speed production of Barracks and Drydock.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The biggest benefit of Combat I is NOT the 10% combat odds, although over a long enough time it can make for a significant advantage. Some people talk about how it means that you can get to Combat V by 17XP instead of 26XP -- which is nice, but not the big advantage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The crucial advantage of Combat I is that it unlocks access to other higher level promotions like Cover, Pinch, and Shock (bonus vs Archers, Gunpowder, and Melee). That means with but 2 XP -- less than what a Barracks gives you -- your Melee units gain powerful defence against specific unit types. These promotions may seem narrow in function, but their short term gains can be enough to give you a huge advantage. Moreover, with but 5 XP you have access to even better counters versus Siege and Mounted units. If you don't know how to use these "counter promotions", do yourself a favor and read a combat promotions FAQ. These are SUPER important.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you use this trait and have trouble fighting wars before 1AD, do yourself a favor and learn how. The key is doing it quickly, which Aggressive Civs are uniquely equipped to do. Learn to raze crappy cities to keep your maintainance costs down. (There are lots of articles out there that can help you wage early, fast wars.)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Aggressive Civs can find many of the same synergies of [COLOR_RED]Charismatic[COLOR_REVERT] Civs. Get the XP generating civics (like [BOLD]Vassalage and Theocracy[\BOLD]). And if you're feeling sassy, try luring people behind your [BOLD]Great Wall[\BOLD] to generate some quick Great Generals.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]But since this bonus only helps melee and gunpowder units, you'll want to make [BOLD]Axes or Swords[\BOLD] the staple of your army. [BOLD]Bronzeworking and Ironworking[\BOLD] are key. Mounted and ranged units won't gain you any specific advantage, but it never hurts to mix up your stacks to avoid being too vulnerable.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]PROTECTIVE[\BOLD]: Archery and Gunpowder units receive Drill I and City Garrison I automatically, Double production speed of Walls and Castle.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This one makes your defence DAMN hard to break. For many players, this won't help them, since they generally find themselves on the offense, and can run circles around the AI's military.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Still, there's a LOT of ways to push this civic to its full potential. The key is in the synergies.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Protective Civs are a lot like [COLOR_RED]Aggressive[COLOR_REVERT] Civs in that they'll need to discover [BOLD]Feudalism or Theology[\BOLD] early for their XP generating civics. You'll also want to produce a [BOLD]Barracks[\BOLD] sooner. The key difference, however, is that you should have a strong preference for [BOLD]City Garrison 3[\BOLD]. If you can get your units to City Garrison 3, they almost DOUBLE in defensive capabilities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Get [BOLD]Archery[\BOLD] early, since it's ranged units that get the Protective bonus. If you can find yourself at [BOLD]Feudalism[\BOLD] early, your [BOLD]Longbows[\BOLD] might be a key to invincibility. Some people even use the [BOLD]Oracle (Priesthood)[\BOLD] to slingshot to Feudalism early. It CAN be done.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Okay, big deal. You have really strong defence, right?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Here's the key. You can sometimes get away with defending your cities with as few as 2 units with City Garrison 3. This means you keep a VERY small defensive army. This can save you maintainance costs, allowing you to pour more into science, to settle more cities, or go on the offense. You might be able to find an economic synergy with some of the [COLOR_RED]Financial[COLOR_REVERT] trait's strategies, or find a warmongering synergy with some [COLOR_RED]Aggressive[COLOR_REVERT] strategies. You don't even have to be Financial or Aggressive to use these strategies.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]IMPERIALISTIC[\BOLD]:+100% Great General emergence, 50% faster production of settlers.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With the addition of Great Generals, this can lead to a small snowball effect for a successful warmonger. You'll get those great generals a lot faster, which you can use for either short OR long term benefits. Just as with [COLOR_RED]Aggressive[COLOR_REVERT] and [COLOR_RED]Charismatic[COLOR_REVERT] Civs, learning to fight an early war is challenging but invaluable. If you're not going to war using this trait, you're missing out.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]However, the snap-settlers have a distinct benefit too, even for peaceful players. Maintainance costs and barbarians will prevent you from settling too recklessly, so an Imperialistic Civ won't necessarily build an Empire right away. But an Imperialistic Civilization will move fast enough to get the best city locations -- that's key.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You'll want to combine this trait with [BOLD]Pottery[\BOLD], in order to get those [BOLD]Cottages[\BOLD] happening. If you're grabbing those great city locations fast, you're going to need an economy capable of supporting the maintainance costs. It's a good thing the [BOLD]Wheel[\BOLD] is on the way to Pottery, since it means you'll be able to hook up those resources you find.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Keep in mind that the ocean can be a great source of wealth, especially if you have early acecss to [BOLD]Sailing[\BOLD]. Rivers too. Keep your economy strong.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]And do not neglect defence. You should either have [BOLD]Archery or Bronzeworking[\BOLD] early, so you can defend your great city locations. Bronzeworking can be especially valuable, since you can use it to [BOLD]chop down trees[\BOLD], generating production to knock out those settlers (and defenders) faster.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A key advantage with this one can be the [BOLD]Great Wall[\BOLD], from [BOLD]Masonry[\BOLD]. Once you've built up your empire, the great wall can protect you from barbarians without having to spend as much time pumping out defensive units. (Keep in mind Imperialistic has a Great General bonus too. You might be able to lure people behind the great wall to get Great Generals REALLY fast.)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]CREATIVE[\BOLD]: +2 culture per city, double speed production of Theatre and Colosseum.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This trait may seem like a shoe in for cultural victory, but the 2 culture really doesn't do much in the long run. The bigger benefit comes very early, and especially at high difficulties.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Culture determines your borders. With 2 culture, your borders will be popping faster AND sooner than even someone who builds Stonehenge. Especially against the AI's huge handicaps at the higher levels, this can be the key to settling a large land mass before the AI can squeeze you out. The extra culture can let you seal off choke points in the map, allowing you keep the territory beyond your borders away from the AI. Your borders may even get so wide that you can space your cities out and still cover the continent. In many ways, creative will let you hold territory from the AI that you can settle with additional cities later.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This also means that your new cities will have quick access to nearby resources, without worry that the AI will overtake you. In fact, you can settle damn close to the enemy, without worry that their culture will overtake yours. Even as a warmonger, you'll find that your newly conquered outposts will be less vulernable, and will pick up vital resources with more ease.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]When you finally have the cities you want, be prepared to consolidate your defence. Wider borders extend your field of vision, preventing barbarians from appearing. And they also give you a defensive bonus. If you can master the defensive potential of Creative, all you need to do is learn when to slow down expansion so your economy can catch up. If you let maintainance costs get the best of you, all your expansion will be for nothing.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This trait, surprisingly, has the most in common with the [COLOR_RED]Imperialistic[COLOR_REVERT] Trait. Its advantage comes when you build lots of settlers and grab the best locations. Speed is the essence of your strategy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Use [BOLD]Cottages (Pottery)[\BOLD], rivers, and oceans ([BOLD]Sailing[\BOLD]) to pay down the maintainance costs of your faster growth. Be sure to defend your mass of cities with [BOLD]Archers (Archery), or Axemen (Bronzeworking)[\BOLD]... and [BOLD]chop trees[\BOLD] to keep things moving fast. You can catch your breath and consolidate your holdings later.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]While Creative civs have the benefit of cultural defence, the [BOLD]Great Wall (Masonry)[\BOLD] can be great for keeping barbarians out. With your huge borders, this can be especially useful.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]EXPANSIVE[\BOLD]: +3 health per city. Double speed production of Granary and Harbor.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I'm not going to lie to you. I think this trait is on the weak side. However, you CANNOT discount this trait's cheaper buildings. The cheap buildings may be the best part. This trait WILL let you get a huge population, and quickly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]What does a huge population help you with? Well, besides [BOLD]everything[\BOLD], a huge population is great for running a specialist-heavy economy. See [COLOR_RED]Philosophical[COLOR_REVERT] for more details.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Much of the debate for this trait revolves around whether health or happiness are the biggest barriers to growth. Well, even if you assume that expansive will give you more health than you know what to do with, there are a few strategies below to get the extra happiness you need. At high difficulties, this can have huge payoffs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Take advantage of that fast [BOLD]Granary[\BOLD]. You can't do this if you don't get to [BOLD]Pottery[\BOLD] early on.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Some players may find that happiness tends to inhibit their city growth more than health. However, the [BOLD]Hereditary Rule[\BOLD] civic is an easy target with big payoffs. This civic generates happiness for every military unit you have, with no upper limit. If you can discovery [BOLD]Monarchy[\BOLD] early, or build the [BOLD]Pyramids[\BOLD], you can tap this civic and EASILY support 3 more population than the average Civ.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Slavery[\BOLD] can be a huge advantage of these additional people. With [BOLD]Bronzeworking[\BOLD], you can access the slavery civic and turn those population points into production. Excess happiness can keep the remaining citizens content. Slavery can be extremely potent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Or you can let those people live. Combine this with some of the Specialist-heavy strategies recommended under the [COLOR_RED]Philosophical[COLOR_REVERT] trait... even if you're not Philosophical. Where you have lots of population and food, you have can have specialists and great people.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]SPIRITUAL[\BOLD]: No anarchy, double produciton speed of temples.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The lack of anarchy can save you a vital turn of production. I'll confess I think this trait is also a little weak, but there is a group of hardcore players who strongly disagree.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]These hardcore players tout the advantages of micromanaging their civics, swapping between theocracy/organized religion or vassalage/bureaucracy as their cities shift focus from units to buildings. One later game favorite is swapping between Nationalism and Free Speech, drafting units but gaining other benefits in the downtime.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You can also swap religions easily, to further your diplomatic interests, or to take advantage of "religious sight" -- that the founder of a religion can see into cities of that religion around the world. These tricks are hard to master, but can make Spiritual a quite formidable trait.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In the long run, yes, you will want to discover those key civic technologies. [BOLD]Civil Service and Theology[\BOLD] will be key technologies as they allow you to grab [BOLD]Bureaucracy and Theocracy[\BOLD] (respectively). This will let you start to take advantage of swapping.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]But in the short run, a Spiritual Civilization generally (but not always) has instant access to [BOLD]Mysticism[\BOLD]. That means they have the BEST chance of founding a religion, and a decent chance of keeping multiple religions out of the hands of other players. GET THOSE RELIGIONS. [BOLD]Polytheism, Meditation, and Monotheism[\BOLD] are key. Having Mysticism also gives you quick access to [BOLD]Stonehenge[\BOLD], which generates a valuable Great Prophet, which can help you to found the next religion before your opponent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]While on the religious path, you may find yourself discovering [BOLD]Priesthood[\BOLD]. This gives you the earliest and easiest access to [BOLD]Temples[\BOLD], which let you run Priest specialists. Most Spiritual civilizations have early enough access to Priests that they can generate Great Prophets, if they so choose. An early Great Prophet can help you access Theology, Divine Right, or Civil Service. See this article: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=140952 for how you might be able to leverage this to your advantage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Early access to Priesthood also unlocks the [BOLD]Oracle[\BOLD]. The obvious benefit of this is that it lets you discover a free technology like [BOLD]Metal Casting[\BOLD] or [BOLD]Construction[\BOLD], and also generates a Great Prophet. However, if you plan accordingly, you can use this slingshot to discover [BOLD]Feudalism[\BOLD] (through [BOLD]Monarchy[\BOLD]), or [BOLD]Civil Service[\BOLD] (through [BOLD]Code of Laws[\BOLD]). You haven't seen anything until you've seen [BOLD]Longbows[\BOLD] or [BOLD]Bureaucracy[\BOLD] by 1000 BC![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Another key is that the path to Judaism and Christianity flows right through [BOLD]Masonry[\BOLD]. That gives you a perfect opportunity to grab the [BOLD]Pyramids[\BOLD], giving you a slew of Civics to swap between.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]And an addition from VoiceOfUnreason, it's important to note that many big civics come with religions. [BOLD]Philosophy[\BOLD] offers both [BOLD]Pacifism and Taoism[\BOLD]. [BOLD]Theology[\BOLD] offers both [BOLD]Theocracy and Christianity[\BOLD]. [BOLD]Monotheism[\BOLD] offers both [BOLD]Organized Religion and Judaism[\BOLD]. [BOLD]Code of Laws[\BOLD] offers both [BOLD]Caste System and Confucianism[\BOLD]. You'll want to prioritize at least a few of these, if not all of them.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]ORGANIZED[\BOLD]: Civic upkeep reduced 50 percent. Double production speed of Lighthouse and Courthouse.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Remember that civic upkeep is proportional to the total number of people in your civilization. More people cost more money. That means that this civic works harder the larger your population grows. It also works harder at higher levels, since civics costs are more pronounced.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This trait is actually underrated, especially when you factor in its cheap buildings. If you're running expensive civics, you'll notice a considerable difference in your economy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are two main synergies here.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One is that of expansion. Organized can support a larger empire with as much efficiency as [COLOR_RED]Financial[COLOR_REVERT], and with LESS EFFORT on your part. If you wanted to start an early war, this would be the civic that would let you do it. If you fast track to [BOLD]Iron Working or Horseback Riding[\BOLD], you can catch the enemy off guard and be able to actually pay for those huge civics costs. The maintainance from your cities can also be taken care of easily with your cheap [BOLD]Courthouses[\BOLD], if you aim for [BOLD]Code of Laws[\BOLD]. Keep in mind that civics costs rise with your population, but city maintainance costs increase exponentially with your number of cities. Organized lets you expand (and conquer) with less worry about those costs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are also peaceful synergies. If you hightail it for [BOLD]Monotheism[\BOLD], you'll also get the expensive [BOLD]Organized Religion[\BOLD] civic, and access to the [BOLD]Pyramids (with Masonry)[\BOLD]. The Pyramids unlock a slew of civics, and Organized Religion is one of the most expensive civics. Along with a good shot at founding [BOLD]Judaism[\BOLD], you just have to learn how to put these civics to good use.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]These two approaches are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Some people manage to juggle both, although it's harder at higher levels. Some people build up first, and then launch a war. You can also be sinister, though, conquering the enemy civ with the Pyramids rather than building it themselves.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Think about ways to boost your population. [COLOR_RED]Expansive[COLOR_REVERT] strategies can sometimes apply here.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]DOUBLE TRAIT SYNERGIES[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]COLONIAL SETTLERS[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]VICTORIA [\BOLD](Imperialistic Financial): Build lots of cities quickly, and actually afford the maintainance costs. Gun it for [BOLD]Cottages[\BOLD], and stay close to the water (with [BOLD]Lighthouses[\BOLD] near the Ocean).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]AUGUSTUS [\BOLD](Creative Organized): Build lots of cities quickly, and actually afford the maintainance costs. Gun it for [BOLD]Cottages[\BOLD], and stay close to the water (with [BOLD]Lighthouses[\BOLD] near the Ocean).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]CATHERINE [\BOLD](Imperialistic Creative): Build lots of cities in the best locations, even at the higher difficulties. Settle a continent with speed and immunity. Take advantage of the [BOLD]Great Wall[\BOLD] to hold off any interlopers, and be careful about your maintainance costs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]OFFENSIVE MILITARISTS[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]CHURCHILL [\BOLD](Charismatic Protective): With fewer units required for good defence at home, put lots of units on the offense. Use civics like [BOLD]Vassalage and Theocracy[\BOLD]. Beeline for a military advantage, and remember that the [BOLD]Redcoat[\BOLD] is a beast.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]TOKUGAWA [\BOLD](Aggressive Protective): With fewer units required for good defence at home, put lots of units on the offense. Use civics like [BOLD]Vassalage and Theocracy[\BOLD]. Keep focused on Melee and Gunpowder units.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]CYRUS [\BOLD](Charismatic Imperialistic): Use the great generals generated by your [BOLD]Immortals[\BOLD] in the ancient era to feed mega promotions to your [BOLD]Swordsmen[\BOLD] in the classical era.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]GENGHIS KHAN [\BOLD](Aggressive Imperialistic): Use the great generals generated by your [BOLD]Keshiks[\BOLD] in the classical era to feed mega promotions to your [BOLD]Macemen[\BOLD] in the medieval era.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]JULIUS CAESAR [\BOLD](Imperialistic Organized): Start an early war, with fewer concerns about how you're gonna pay for those maintainance costs. Try to capture the [BOLD]Pyramids[\BOLD], use [BOLD]Police State[\BOLD], and remember that [BOLD]Praetorians[\BOLD] are beasts.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]NAPOLEON[\BOLD](Charismatic Organized): Use civics like [BOLD]Vassalage and Theocracy[\BOLD] to promote your units, while Organized helps pay for the civics costs. The experienced units and fast [BOLD]Musketeers[\BOLD] will let you conquer faster, and Organized will help pay for your huge empire. It never hurts to capture the [BOLD]Pyramids[\BOLD] and use [BOLD]Police State[\BOLD].[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]DEFENDERS OF FAITH[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]SALADIN [\BOLD](Spiritual Protective): Biggest winner from "invincible" [BOLD]Longbows[\BOLD] using the [BOLD]Oracle-Feudalism[\BOLD] gambit... and pick up some religions along the way.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]RAMESSES[\BOLD] (Spiritual Industrious): More likely winner for "invincible" [BOLD]Longbows[\BOLD] using the [BOLD]Oracle-Feudalism[\BOLD] gambit... and pick up some religions along the way.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]ASOKA[\BOLD] (Spiritual Organized): Best equipped to take advantage of the Pyramids. Can get there early, grab lots of religions, and take advantage of cheap and fast civics swaps.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]PERFECTIONIST BUILDERS[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]WANG KON [\BOLD](Protective Financial): Protective can potentially cut down your army size and thus your unit maintainance costs. Combine this with Financial for an Economic explosion. Gun it for [BOLD]Cottages[\BOLD], and stay close to the water (with [BOLD]Lighthouses[\BOLD] near the Ocean).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]PETER[\BOLD] (Expansive Philosophical): Have the biggest cities with the most specialists. Make sure you grab the [BOLD]Parthenon[\BOLD] and the [BOLD]Great Library[\BOLD], and add [BOLD]Hereditary Rule[\BOLD] with lots of food.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]GANDHI[\BOLD] (Spiritual Philosophical): Will have the easiest time getting the [BOLD]Parthenon[\BOLD] to support lots of specialists, with some religions along the way to collect lots of gold. Be sure to get the food to back it up, and make your way toward [BOLD]Literature[\BOLD] and [BOLD]Philosophy/Pacifism[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]MEHMED[\BOLD] (Organized Expansive): Support huge amounts of population. Get lots of food, [BOLD]Hereditary Rule[\BOLD], and the [BOLD]Pyramids[\BOLD] to maximize the benefits of the cheap civics costs. The [BOLD]Hammam[\BOLD] supports 2 additional population, without fail.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]MANSA MUSA[\BOLD] (Spiritual Financial): One of the few spiritual civs that doesn't start with Mysticism. But if you delay your expansion, you CAN found two religions in one city. In combination with the Financial bonus, you can have one hell of a money-generator (once you add the [BOLD]Mint[\BOLD], and[BOLD] Wall Street[\BOLD]). Acquire other wonders like the [BOLD]Colossus[\BOLD] to make the richest city in the world. And if you can use the [BOLD]Oracle-Civil Service[\BOLD] gambit, you can switch to [BOLD]Bureaucracy[\BOLD] and stack up huge coin by 1000 BC.</German>
		<Italian>[H1]Traits, Warlords, and Synergy[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]dh_epic[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Thought I would take it upon myself to add a little bit to the strategy forum. In my opinion, the biggest advantage of traits goes beyond their description. To maximize the benefits of a trait, you need to use it in combination with other strategies. This is the definition of synergy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Syn-er-gy[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][TAB]1. The interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects.[NEWLINE][TAB]2. Cooperative interaction among groups, especially among the acquired subsidiaries or merged parts of a corporation, that creates an enhanced combined effect.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A few quick notes:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]I tried to list the easiest to use traits at the top.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Easiest to use isn't always the best.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]I focused mostly on the early part of the game.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Most of these are to help average players become great players.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Some great players may benefit too, learning a few new tricks.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Big ups to Theoden for the vanilla trait-review (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=179059). A lot of good stuff here, too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Without any further ado, here is my analysis of the traits.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]TRAIT BREAKDOWN[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]INDUSTRIOUS[\BOLD]: Wonder production increased 50 percent, double speed production of Forge.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Almost self explanatory. The end result is that an Industrious Civ is nearly guaranteed their first pick of any wonder, if they want it. And every wonder happens much faster, too. Which wonders you build are up to you. But I recommend you prioritize and think ahead.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Put the industrious trait to good use by building lots of wonders. Don't just think of the speed advantage, think of it as an opporunity advantage. If you and your enemy both produce units, you'll be neck at neck. But if you both build a wonder, you'd also have enough time to build four or five more units than your opponent. Every hammer you save is a hammer you've earned.[NEWLINE]Think of it as free production.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Marble [\BOLD]and [BOLD]Stone [\BOLD]help rush wonders. [BOLD]Masonry [\BOLD]will let you build [BOLD]Quarries[\BOLD], allowing you to tap these key resources. Locate and tap these resources early.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There's not much else to say here except that you might find yourself chasing wonders, and end up on a path through all the religious techs ([BOLD]Polytheism and the Parthenon, Priesthood and the Oracle[\BOLD]), with a strong opportunity to found Judaism ([BOLD]Monotheism[\BOLD], which requires [BOLD]Masonry[\BOLD]) first. If you DO found a religion, don't neglect those Missionaries ([BOLD]Meditation[\BOLD]), since you want your neighbors to share the same faith to keep you out of unncessary wars. Maybe one of those wonders you've built will pop you a Great Priest, letting you build a great shrine and spread your faith around.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]FINANCIAL[\BOLD]: +1 commerce on plots with 2 commerce.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Arguably the most powerful trait. Note that it has no cheap buildings to come with it, because the commerce bonus is huge. This one is almost self explanatory. The benefits affect your economy, and are multiplied by various buildings (like Libraries, if you use your commerce for research, or Marketplaces if you use your commerce for gold).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]What you do with the extra wealth is up to you. Some use it to run their science meter at full blast. Others use it to build more cities faster. And this is actually a great trait for warmongering, since unit maintainance costs can be huge.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The obvious statement is that you'll want to have at least a few [BOLD]Cottages[\BOLD] early. Get [BOLD]Pottery[\BOLD], build cottages. Rivers and other luxury resources are key, however. Be sure to settle smart city locations, and unlock other key resource technologies such as [BOLD]Mining[\BOLD] to tap [BOLD]Gold[\BOLD] and [BOLD]Silver[\BOLD].[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you're running lots of Cottages, there are several civics that leverage this. In particular is [BOLD]Universal Suffrage[\BOLD], which is available if you build the [BOLD]Pyramids[\BOLD] (with [BOLD]Masonry[\BOLD]). The bonus only kicks in with Towns, though, which means you have to wait a bit.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The less obvious statement is that this trait actually has a HUGE coastal benefit. Coastal tiles produce two commerce each, leading to an easy commerce benefit. In order to take advantage of this, though, you'll need to build [BOLD]Lighthouses[\BOLD] so you can get the extra food in the ocean to support further growth. Fortunately, this is accessible with [BOLD]Sailing[\BOLD], which also gives you ocean trade routes. Vital for any coast-loving player.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The [BOLD]Colossus[\BOLD] is the cherry on top. Available with [BOLD]Metal Casting[\BOLD], it generates additional wealth in every water tile. A financial civ with a lot of coastal cities and the Colossus is something fierce. [BOLD]The Great Lighthouse (Masonry)[\BOLD] also plays into a heavy coastal strategy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]PHILOSOPHICAL:[\BOLD] Great People birth rate increased 100 percent, double speed production of University.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is a powerful civic, although both proponents and critics of this civic ought to look beyond the initial bonus.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This does not ultimately lead to twice as many great people, but its bonus is very pronounced in its ability to produce great people [BOLD]faster[\BOLD]. And it still leads to more Great People in the long run. Sometimes as much as 50% more.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Which great people you get and what you do with them is up to you. But keep in mind that sometimes the short term gains of a free tech are worth more than the long term gains of settling them as a great specialist -- getting that free tech can make you the first to a religion or even a tradable tech of great significance. Moreover, it can get you to other wonders, which generate more great people.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You CANNOT feed specialists unless you have the food resources to produce more than 2 food per tile. Survey those nearby food resources. If you see [BOLD]Cows[\BOLD] and [BOLD]Sheep[\BOLD], get [BOLD]Animal Husbandry[\BOLD] for [BOLD]Pastures[\BOLD]. If you see [BOLD]Rice[\BOLD] and [BOLD]Corn[\BOLD], get [BOLD]Agriculture[\BOLD]. Learn to freeze growth at the exact right moment, to maximize your number of specialists.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are LOTS of other Great People generators. Get to [BOLD]Polytheism[\BOLD] and the [BOLD]Parthenon[\BOLD]. Why? +50% great leader birth in ALL cities. Get to [BOLD]Philosophy[\BOLD] and the [BOLD]Pacifism[\BOLD] civic. That's another +100% great leader birth in ALL cities. The real killer, though, is [BOLD]Literature[\BOLD]. Not only does this unlock the [BOLD]National Epic[\BOLD], giving you +100 great leader birth in one city, but it lets you build the [BOLD]Great Library[\BOLD] which pumps out Great Scientists by the boatload. Add it up and you can be swimming in great people.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]When you're running this specialist heavy economy, the [BOLD]Representation[\BOLD] civic can generate you huge amounts of science. Getting the [BOLD]Pyramids[\BOLD] can unlock this early. You might have to choose between the Pyramids and the Parthenon, and each has different benefits for a specialist economy in the short and long term. However, some lucky players can get both. If you're feeling ambitious, use the Pyramids to generate an early Great Engineer and use it to rush the Parthenon.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]CHARISMATIC[\BOLD]: +1 happiness per city, -25% XP needed for unit promotions, +1 happiness from Monument, Broadcast Tower[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The benefit of this one is actually quite obvious. The happiness bonus puts itself to work quite effortlessly, and is often the big inhibitor for population growth. Along with the XP bonus, you'll find yourself grabbing those high end promotions in no time.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You're probably already familiar with the [COLOR_RED]Aggressive[COLOR_REVERT] Trait. The key that makes Charismatic easier to use than aggressive is that the XP bonus applies towards ANY unit. What you do with your excess promotions is up to you. Keep in mind that the short term gains of a promotion like Cover (vs. Ranged Units) may actually outweigh a more versatile a long term promotion. Sure, Combat I will help you for the entire game, but targetting your enemy's immediate weakness can get you an early advantage. In Civ, the early advantage can sometimes give you the biggest long term payoff![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you're the first to discover a unit, there's a good chance you can use it to grab a quick advantage. [BOLD]Horseback Riding[\BOLD] and [BOLD]Iron Working[\BOLD] are early favorites, although many have done serious damage with [BOLD]Elephants and Catapults (Construction), Crossbows (Machinery), or Macemen (Civil Service)[\BOLD].[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Anything that gains you XP here is good. [BOLD]Vassalage (with Feudalism)[\BOLD] and [BOLD]Theocracy (with Theology)[\BOLD] are XP generating civics. [BOLD]Barracks[\BOLD] or [BOLD]Stables (with Animal Husbandry)[\BOLD] are vital here. You may also be able to take advantage of the [BOLD]Great Wall (with Masonry)[\BOLD], suckering a Civ in allowing you to generate lots of Great Generals.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]AGGRESSIVE[\BOLD]: Free Combat I promotion for melee and gunpowder units, double speed production of Barracks and Drydock.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The biggest benefit of Combat I is NOT the 10% combat odds, although over a long enough time it can make for a significant advantage. Some people talk about how it means that you can get to Combat V by 17XP instead of 26XP -- which is nice, but not the big advantage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The crucial advantage of Combat I is that it unlocks access to other higher level promotions like Cover, Pinch, and Shock (bonus vs Archers, Gunpowder, and Melee). That means with but 2 XP -- less than what a Barracks gives you -- your Melee units gain powerful defence against specific unit types. These promotions may seem narrow in function, but their short term gains can be enough to give you a huge advantage. Moreover, with but 5 XP you have access to even better counters versus Siege and Mounted units. If you don't know how to use these "counter promotions", do yourself a favor and read a combat promotions FAQ. These are SUPER important.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you use this trait and have trouble fighting wars before 1AD, do yourself a favor and learn how. The key is doing it quickly, which Aggressive Civs are uniquely equipped to do. Learn to raze crappy cities to keep your maintainance costs down. (There are lots of articles out there that can help you wage early, fast wars.)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Aggressive Civs can find many of the same synergies of [COLOR_RED]Charismatic[COLOR_REVERT] Civs. Get the XP generating civics (like [BOLD]Vassalage and Theocracy[\BOLD]). And if you're feeling sassy, try luring people behind your [BOLD]Great Wall[\BOLD] to generate some quick Great Generals.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]But since this bonus only helps melee and gunpowder units, you'll want to make [BOLD]Axes or Swords[\BOLD] the staple of your army. [BOLD]Bronzeworking and Ironworking[\BOLD] are key. Mounted and ranged units won't gain you any specific advantage, but it never hurts to mix up your stacks to avoid being too vulnerable.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]PROTECTIVE[\BOLD]: Archery and Gunpowder units receive Drill I and City Garrison I automatically, Double production speed of Walls and Castle.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This one makes your defence DAMN hard to break. For many players, this won't help them, since they generally find themselves on the offense, and can run circles around the AI's military.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Still, there's a LOT of ways to push this civic to its full potential. The key is in the synergies.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Protective Civs are a lot like [COLOR_RED]Aggressive[COLOR_REVERT] Civs in that they'll need to discover [BOLD]Feudalism or Theology[\BOLD] early for their XP generating civics. You'll also want to produce a [BOLD]Barracks[\BOLD] sooner. The key difference, however, is that you should have a strong preference for [BOLD]City Garrison 3[\BOLD]. If you can get your units to City Garrison 3, they almost DOUBLE in defensive capabilities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Get [BOLD]Archery[\BOLD] early, since it's ranged units that get the Protective bonus. If you can find yourself at [BOLD]Feudalism[\BOLD] early, your [BOLD]Longbows[\BOLD] might be a key to invincibility. Some people even use the [BOLD]Oracle (Priesthood)[\BOLD] to slingshot to Feudalism early. It CAN be done.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Okay, big deal. You have really strong defence, right?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Here's the key. You can sometimes get away with defending your cities with as few as 2 units with City Garrison 3. This means you keep a VERY small defensive army. This can save you maintainance costs, allowing you to pour more into science, to settle more cities, or go on the offense. You might be able to find an economic synergy with some of the [COLOR_RED]Financial[COLOR_REVERT] trait's strategies, or find a warmongering synergy with some [COLOR_RED]Aggressive[COLOR_REVERT] strategies. You don't even have to be Financial or Aggressive to use these strategies.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]IMPERIALISTIC[\BOLD]:+100% Great General emergence, 50% faster production of settlers.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With the addition of Great Generals, this can lead to a small snowball effect for a successful warmonger. You'll get those great generals a lot faster, which you can use for either short OR long term benefits. Just as with [COLOR_RED]Aggressive[COLOR_REVERT] and [COLOR_RED]Charismatic[COLOR_REVERT] Civs, learning to fight an early war is challenging but invaluable. If you're not going to war using this trait, you're missing out.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]However, the snap-settlers have a distinct benefit too, even for peaceful players. Maintainance costs and barbarians will prevent you from settling too recklessly, so an Imperialistic Civ won't necessarily build an Empire right away. But an Imperialistic Civilization will move fast enough to get the best city locations -- that's key.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You'll want to combine this trait with [BOLD]Pottery[\BOLD], in order to get those [BOLD]Cottages[\BOLD] happening. If you're grabbing those great city locations fast, you're going to need an economy capable of supporting the maintainance costs. It's a good thing the [BOLD]Wheel[\BOLD] is on the way to Pottery, since it means you'll be able to hook up those resources you find.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Keep in mind that the ocean can be a great source of wealth, especially if you have early acecss to [BOLD]Sailing[\BOLD]. Rivers too. Keep your economy strong.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]And do not neglect defence. You should either have [BOLD]Archery or Bronzeworking[\BOLD] early, so you can defend your great city locations. Bronzeworking can be especially valuable, since you can use it to [BOLD]chop down trees[\BOLD], generating production to knock out those settlers (and defenders) faster.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A key advantage with this one can be the [BOLD]Great Wall[\BOLD], from [BOLD]Masonry[\BOLD]. Once you've built up your empire, the great wall can protect you from barbarians without having to spend as much time pumping out defensive units. (Keep in mind Imperialistic has a Great General bonus too. You might be able to lure people behind the great wall to get Great Generals REALLY fast.)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]CREATIVE[\BOLD]: +2 culture per city, double speed production of Theatre and Colosseum.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This trait may seem like a shoe in for cultural victory, but the 2 culture really doesn't do much in the long run. The bigger benefit comes very early, and especially at high difficulties.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Culture determines your borders. With 2 culture, your borders will be popping faster AND sooner than even someone who builds Stonehenge. Especially against the AI's huge handicaps at the higher levels, this can be the key to settling a large land mass before the AI can squeeze you out. The extra culture can let you seal off choke points in the map, allowing you keep the territory beyond your borders away from the AI. Your borders may even get so wide that you can space your cities out and still cover the continent. In many ways, creative will let you hold territory from the AI that you can settle with additional cities later.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This also means that your new cities will have quick access to nearby resources, without worry that the AI will overtake you. In fact, you can settle damn close to the enemy, without worry that their culture will overtake yours. Even as a warmonger, you'll find that your newly conquered outposts will be less vulernable, and will pick up vital resources with more ease.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]When you finally have the cities you want, be prepared to consolidate your defence. Wider borders extend your field of vision, preventing barbarians from appearing. And they also give you a defensive bonus. If you can master the defensive potential of Creative, all you need to do is learn when to slow down expansion so your economy can catch up. If you let maintainance costs get the best of you, all your expansion will be for nothing.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This trait, surprisingly, has the most in common with the [COLOR_RED]Imperialistic[COLOR_REVERT] Trait. Its advantage comes when you build lots of settlers and grab the best locations. Speed is the essence of your strategy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Use [BOLD]Cottages (Pottery)[\BOLD], rivers, and oceans ([BOLD]Sailing[\BOLD]) to pay down the maintainance costs of your faster growth. Be sure to defend your mass of cities with [BOLD]Archers (Archery), or Axemen (Bronzeworking)[\BOLD]... and [BOLD]chop trees[\BOLD] to keep things moving fast. You can catch your breath and consolidate your holdings later.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]While Creative civs have the benefit of cultural defence, the [BOLD]Great Wall (Masonry)[\BOLD] can be great for keeping barbarians out. With your huge borders, this can be especially useful.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]EXPANSIVE[\BOLD]: +3 health per city. Double speed production of Granary and Harbor.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I'm not going to lie to you. I think this trait is on the weak side. However, you CANNOT discount this trait's cheaper buildings. The cheap buildings may be the best part. This trait WILL let you get a huge population, and quickly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]What does a huge population help you with? Well, besides [BOLD]everything[\BOLD], a huge population is great for running a specialist-heavy economy. See [COLOR_RED]Philosophical[COLOR_REVERT] for more details.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Much of the debate for this trait revolves around whether health or happiness are the biggest barriers to growth. Well, even if you assume that expansive will give you more health than you know what to do with, there are a few strategies below to get the extra happiness you need. At high difficulties, this can have huge payoffs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Take advantage of that fast [BOLD]Granary[\BOLD]. You can't do this if you don't get to [BOLD]Pottery[\BOLD] early on.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Some players may find that happiness tends to inhibit their city growth more than health. However, the [BOLD]Hereditary Rule[\BOLD] civic is an easy target with big payoffs. This civic generates happiness for every military unit you have, with no upper limit. If you can discovery [BOLD]Monarchy[\BOLD] early, or build the [BOLD]Pyramids[\BOLD], you can tap this civic and EASILY support 3 more population than the average Civ.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Slavery[\BOLD] can be a huge advantage of these additional people. With [BOLD]Bronzeworking[\BOLD], you can access the slavery civic and turn those population points into production. Excess happiness can keep the remaining citizens content. Slavery can be extremely potent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Or you can let those people live. Combine this with some of the Specialist-heavy strategies recommended under the [COLOR_RED]Philosophical[COLOR_REVERT] trait... even if you're not Philosophical. Where you have lots of population and food, you have can have specialists and great people.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]SPIRITUAL[\BOLD]: No anarchy, double produciton speed of temples.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The lack of anarchy can save you a vital turn of production. I'll confess I think this trait is also a little weak, but there is a group of hardcore players who strongly disagree.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]These hardcore players tout the advantages of micromanaging their civics, swapping between theocracy/organized religion or vassalage/bureaucracy as their cities shift focus from units to buildings. One later game favorite is swapping between Nationalism and Free Speech, drafting units but gaining other benefits in the downtime.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You can also swap religions easily, to further your diplomatic interests, or to take advantage of "religious sight" -- that the founder of a religion can see into cities of that religion around the world. These tricks are hard to master, but can make Spiritual a quite formidable trait.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In the long run, yes, you will want to discover those key civic technologies. [BOLD]Civil Service and Theology[\BOLD] will be key technologies as they allow you to grab [BOLD]Bureaucracy and Theocracy[\BOLD] (respectively). This will let you start to take advantage of swapping.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]But in the short run, a Spiritual Civilization generally (but not always) has instant access to [BOLD]Mysticism[\BOLD]. That means they have the BEST chance of founding a religion, and a decent chance of keeping multiple religions out of the hands of other players. GET THOSE RELIGIONS. [BOLD]Polytheism, Meditation, and Monotheism[\BOLD] are key. Having Mysticism also gives you quick access to [BOLD]Stonehenge[\BOLD], which generates a valuable Great Prophet, which can help you to found the next religion before your opponent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]While on the religious path, you may find yourself discovering [BOLD]Priesthood[\BOLD]. This gives you the earliest and easiest access to [BOLD]Temples[\BOLD], which let you run Priest specialists. Most Spiritual civilizations have early enough access to Priests that they can generate Great Prophets, if they so choose. An early Great Prophet can help you access Theology, Divine Right, or Civil Service. See this article: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=140952 for how you might be able to leverage this to your advantage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Early access to Priesthood also unlocks the [BOLD]Oracle[\BOLD]. The obvious benefit of this is that it lets you discover a free technology like [BOLD]Metal Casting[\BOLD] or [BOLD]Construction[\BOLD], and also generates a Great Prophet. However, if you plan accordingly, you can use this slingshot to discover [BOLD]Feudalism[\BOLD] (through [BOLD]Monarchy[\BOLD]), or [BOLD]Civil Service[\BOLD] (through [BOLD]Code of Laws[\BOLD]). You haven't seen anything until you've seen [BOLD]Longbows[\BOLD] or [BOLD]Bureaucracy[\BOLD] by 1000 BC![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Another key is that the path to Judaism and Christianity flows right through [BOLD]Masonry[\BOLD]. That gives you a perfect opportunity to grab the [BOLD]Pyramids[\BOLD], giving you a slew of Civics to swap between.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]And an addition from VoiceOfUnreason, it's important to note that many big civics come with religions. [BOLD]Philosophy[\BOLD] offers both [BOLD]Pacifism and Taoism[\BOLD]. [BOLD]Theology[\BOLD] offers both [BOLD]Theocracy and Christianity[\BOLD]. [BOLD]Monotheism[\BOLD] offers both [BOLD]Organized Religion and Judaism[\BOLD]. [BOLD]Code of Laws[\BOLD] offers both [BOLD]Caste System and Confucianism[\BOLD]. You'll want to prioritize at least a few of these, if not all of them.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]ORGANIZED[\BOLD]: Civic upkeep reduced 50 percent. Double production speed of Lighthouse and Courthouse.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Remember that civic upkeep is proportional to the total number of people in your civilization. More people cost more money. That means that this civic works harder the larger your population grows. It also works harder at higher levels, since civics costs are more pronounced.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This trait is actually underrated, especially when you factor in its cheap buildings. If you're running expensive civics, you'll notice a considerable difference in your economy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are two main synergies here.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One is that of expansion. Organized can support a larger empire with as much efficiency as [COLOR_RED]Financial[COLOR_REVERT], and with LESS EFFORT on your part. If you wanted to start an early war, this would be the civic that would let you do it. If you fast track to [BOLD]Iron Working or Horseback Riding[\BOLD], you can catch the enemy off guard and be able to actually pay for those huge civics costs. The maintainance from your cities can also be taken care of easily with your cheap [BOLD]Courthouses[\BOLD], if you aim for [BOLD]Code of Laws[\BOLD]. Keep in mind that civics costs rise with your population, but city maintainance costs increase exponentially with your number of cities. Organized lets you expand (and conquer) with less worry about those costs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are also peaceful synergies. If you hightail it for [BOLD]Monotheism[\BOLD], you'll also get the expensive [BOLD]Organized Religion[\BOLD] civic, and access to the [BOLD]Pyramids (with Masonry)[\BOLD]. The Pyramids unlock a slew of civics, and Organized Religion is one of the most expensive civics. Along with a good shot at founding [BOLD]Judaism[\BOLD], you just have to learn how to put these civics to good use.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]These two approaches are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Some people manage to juggle both, although it's harder at higher levels. Some people build up first, and then launch a war. You can also be sinister, though, conquering the enemy civ with the Pyramids rather than building it themselves.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Think about ways to boost your population. [COLOR_RED]Expansive[COLOR_REVERT] strategies can sometimes apply here.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]DOUBLE TRAIT SYNERGIES[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]COLONIAL SETTLERS[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]VICTORIA [\BOLD](Imperialistic Financial): Build lots of cities quickly, and actually afford the maintainance costs. Gun it for [BOLD]Cottages[\BOLD], and stay close to the water (with [BOLD]Lighthouses[\BOLD] near the Ocean).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]AUGUSTUS [\BOLD](Creative Organized): Build lots of cities quickly, and actually afford the maintainance costs. Gun it for [BOLD]Cottages[\BOLD], and stay close to the water (with [BOLD]Lighthouses[\BOLD] near the Ocean).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]CATHERINE [\BOLD](Imperialistic Creative): Build lots of cities in the best locations, even at the higher difficulties. Settle a continent with speed and immunity. Take advantage of the [BOLD]Great Wall[\BOLD] to hold off any interlopers, and be careful about your maintainance costs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]OFFENSIVE MILITARISTS[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]CHURCHILL [\BOLD](Charismatic Protective): With fewer units required for good defence at home, put lots of units on the offense. Use civics like [BOLD]Vassalage and Theocracy[\BOLD]. Beeline for a military advantage, and remember that the [BOLD]Redcoat[\BOLD] is a beast.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]TOKUGAWA [\BOLD](Aggressive Protective): With fewer units required for good defence at home, put lots of units on the offense. Use civics like [BOLD]Vassalage and Theocracy[\BOLD]. Keep focused on Melee and Gunpowder units.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]CYRUS [\BOLD](Charismatic Imperialistic): Use the great generals generated by your [BOLD]Immortals[\BOLD] in the ancient era to feed mega promotions to your [BOLD]Swordsmen[\BOLD] in the classical era.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]GENGHIS KHAN [\BOLD](Aggressive Imperialistic): Use the great generals generated by your [BOLD]Keshiks[\BOLD] in the classical era to feed mega promotions to your [BOLD]Macemen[\BOLD] in the medieval era.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]JULIUS CAESAR [\BOLD](Imperialistic Organized): Start an early war, with fewer concerns about how you're gonna pay for those maintainance costs. Try to capture the [BOLD]Pyramids[\BOLD], use [BOLD]Police State[\BOLD], and remember that [BOLD]Praetorians[\BOLD] are beasts.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]NAPOLEON[\BOLD](Charismatic Organized): Use civics like [BOLD]Vassalage and Theocracy[\BOLD] to promote your units, while Organized helps pay for the civics costs. The experienced units and fast [BOLD]Musketeers[\BOLD] will let you conquer faster, and Organized will help pay for your huge empire. It never hurts to capture the [BOLD]Pyramids[\BOLD] and use [BOLD]Police State[\BOLD].[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]DEFENDERS OF FAITH[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]SALADIN [\BOLD](Spiritual Protective): Biggest winner from "invincible" [BOLD]Longbows[\BOLD] using the [BOLD]Oracle-Feudalism[\BOLD] gambit... and pick up some religions along the way.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]RAMESSES[\BOLD] (Spiritual Industrious): More likely winner for "invincible" [BOLD]Longbows[\BOLD] using the [BOLD]Oracle-Feudalism[\BOLD] gambit... and pick up some religions along the way.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]ASOKA[\BOLD] (Spiritual Organized): Best equipped to take advantage of the Pyramids. Can get there early, grab lots of religions, and take advantage of cheap and fast civics swaps.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]PERFECTIONIST BUILDERS[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]WANG KON [\BOLD](Protective Financial): Protective can potentially cut down your army size and thus your unit maintainance costs. Combine this with Financial for an Economic explosion. Gun it for [BOLD]Cottages[\BOLD], and stay close to the water (with [BOLD]Lighthouses[\BOLD] near the Ocean).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]PETER[\BOLD] (Expansive Philosophical): Have the biggest cities with the most specialists. Make sure you grab the [BOLD]Parthenon[\BOLD] and the [BOLD]Great Library[\BOLD], and add [BOLD]Hereditary Rule[\BOLD] with lots of food.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]GANDHI[\BOLD] (Spiritual Philosophical): Will have the easiest time getting the [BOLD]Parthenon[\BOLD] to support lots of specialists, with some religions along the way to collect lots of gold. Be sure to get the food to back it up, and make your way toward [BOLD]Literature[\BOLD] and [BOLD]Philosophy/Pacifism[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]MEHMED[\BOLD] (Organized Expansive): Support huge amounts of population. Get lots of food, [BOLD]Hereditary Rule[\BOLD], and the [BOLD]Pyramids[\BOLD] to maximize the benefits of the cheap civics costs. The [BOLD]Hammam[\BOLD] supports 2 additional population, without fail.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]MANSA MUSA[\BOLD] (Spiritual Financial): One of the few spiritual civs that doesn't start with Mysticism. But if you delay your expansion, you CAN found two religions in one city. In combination with the Financial bonus, you can have one hell of a money-generator (once you add the [BOLD]Mint[\BOLD], and[BOLD] Wall Street[\BOLD]). Acquire other wonders like the [BOLD]Colossus[\BOLD] to make the richest city in the world. And if you can use the [BOLD]Oracle-Civil Service[\BOLD] gambit, you can switch to [BOLD]Bureaucracy[\BOLD] and stack up huge coin by 1000 BC.</Italian>
		<Spanish>[H1]Traits, Warlords, and Synergy[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]dh_epic[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Thought I would take it upon myself to add a little bit to the strategy forum. In my opinion, the biggest advantage of traits goes beyond their description. To maximize the benefits of a trait, you need to use it in combination with other strategies. This is the definition of synergy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Syn-er-gy[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][TAB]1. The interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects.[NEWLINE][TAB]2. Cooperative interaction among groups, especially among the acquired subsidiaries or merged parts of a corporation, that creates an enhanced combined effect.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A few quick notes:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]I tried to list the easiest to use traits at the top.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Easiest to use isn't always the best.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]I focused mostly on the early part of the game.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Most of these are to help average players become great players.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Some great players may benefit too, learning a few new tricks.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Big ups to Theoden for the vanilla trait-review (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=179059). A lot of good stuff here, too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Without any further ado, here is my analysis of the traits.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]TRAIT BREAKDOWN[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]INDUSTRIOUS[\BOLD]: Wonder production increased 50 percent, double speed production of Forge.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Almost self explanatory. The end result is that an Industrious Civ is nearly guaranteed their first pick of any wonder, if they want it. And every wonder happens much faster, too. Which wonders you build are up to you. But I recommend you prioritize and think ahead.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Put the industrious trait to good use by building lots of wonders. Don't just think of the speed advantage, think of it as an opporunity advantage. If you and your enemy both produce units, you'll be neck at neck. But if you both build a wonder, you'd also have enough time to build four or five more units than your opponent. Every hammer you save is a hammer you've earned.[NEWLINE]Think of it as free production.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Marble [\BOLD]and [BOLD]Stone [\BOLD]help rush wonders. [BOLD]Masonry [\BOLD]will let you build [BOLD]Quarries[\BOLD], allowing you to tap these key resources. Locate and tap these resources early.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There's not much else to say here except that you might find yourself chasing wonders, and end up on a path through all the religious techs ([BOLD]Polytheism and the Parthenon, Priesthood and the Oracle[\BOLD]), with a strong opportunity to found Judaism ([BOLD]Monotheism[\BOLD], which requires [BOLD]Masonry[\BOLD]) first. If you DO found a religion, don't neglect those Missionaries ([BOLD]Meditation[\BOLD]), since you want your neighbors to share the same faith to keep you out of unncessary wars. Maybe one of those wonders you've built will pop you a Great Priest, letting you build a great shrine and spread your faith around.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]FINANCIAL[\BOLD]: +1 commerce on plots with 2 commerce.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Arguably the most powerful trait. Note that it has no cheap buildings to come with it, because the commerce bonus is huge. This one is almost self explanatory. The benefits affect your economy, and are multiplied by various buildings (like Libraries, if you use your commerce for research, or Marketplaces if you use your commerce for gold).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]What you do with the extra wealth is up to you. Some use it to run their science meter at full blast. Others use it to build more cities faster. And this is actually a great trait for warmongering, since unit maintainance costs can be huge.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The obvious statement is that you'll want to have at least a few [BOLD]Cottages[\BOLD] early. Get [BOLD]Pottery[\BOLD], build cottages. Rivers and other luxury resources are key, however. Be sure to settle smart city locations, and unlock other key resource technologies such as [BOLD]Mining[\BOLD] to tap [BOLD]Gold[\BOLD] and [BOLD]Silver[\BOLD].[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you're running lots of Cottages, there are several civics that leverage this. In particular is [BOLD]Universal Suffrage[\BOLD], which is available if you build the [BOLD]Pyramids[\BOLD] (with [BOLD]Masonry[\BOLD]). The bonus only kicks in with Towns, though, which means you have to wait a bit.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The less obvious statement is that this trait actually has a HUGE coastal benefit. Coastal tiles produce two commerce each, leading to an easy commerce benefit. In order to take advantage of this, though, you'll need to build [BOLD]Lighthouses[\BOLD] so you can get the extra food in the ocean to support further growth. Fortunately, this is accessible with [BOLD]Sailing[\BOLD], which also gives you ocean trade routes. Vital for any coast-loving player.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The [BOLD]Colossus[\BOLD] is the cherry on top. Available with [BOLD]Metal Casting[\BOLD], it generates additional wealth in every water tile. A financial civ with a lot of coastal cities and the Colossus is something fierce. [BOLD]The Great Lighthouse (Masonry)[\BOLD] also plays into a heavy coastal strategy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]PHILOSOPHICAL:[\BOLD] Great People birth rate increased 100 percent, double speed production of University.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is a powerful civic, although both proponents and critics of this civic ought to look beyond the initial bonus.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This does not ultimately lead to twice as many great people, but its bonus is very pronounced in its ability to produce great people [BOLD]faster[\BOLD]. And it still leads to more Great People in the long run. Sometimes as much as 50% more.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Which great people you get and what you do with them is up to you. But keep in mind that sometimes the short term gains of a free tech are worth more than the long term gains of settling them as a great specialist -- getting that free tech can make you the first to a religion or even a tradable tech of great significance. Moreover, it can get you to other wonders, which generate more great people.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You CANNOT feed specialists unless you have the food resources to produce more than 2 food per tile. Survey those nearby food resources. If you see [BOLD]Cows[\BOLD] and [BOLD]Sheep[\BOLD], get [BOLD]Animal Husbandry[\BOLD] for [BOLD]Pastures[\BOLD]. If you see [BOLD]Rice[\BOLD] and [BOLD]Corn[\BOLD], get [BOLD]Agriculture[\BOLD]. Learn to freeze growth at the exact right moment, to maximize your number of specialists.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are LOTS of other Great People generators. Get to [BOLD]Polytheism[\BOLD] and the [BOLD]Parthenon[\BOLD]. Why? +50% great leader birth in ALL cities. Get to [BOLD]Philosophy[\BOLD] and the [BOLD]Pacifism[\BOLD] civic. That's another +100% great leader birth in ALL cities. The real killer, though, is [BOLD]Literature[\BOLD]. Not only does this unlock the [BOLD]National Epic[\BOLD], giving you +100 great leader birth in one city, but it lets you build the [BOLD]Great Library[\BOLD] which pumps out Great Scientists by the boatload. Add it up and you can be swimming in great people.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]When you're running this specialist heavy economy, the [BOLD]Representation[\BOLD] civic can generate you huge amounts of science. Getting the [BOLD]Pyramids[\BOLD] can unlock this early. You might have to choose between the Pyramids and the Parthenon, and each has different benefits for a specialist economy in the short and long term. However, some lucky players can get both. If you're feeling ambitious, use the Pyramids to generate an early Great Engineer and use it to rush the Parthenon.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]CHARISMATIC[\BOLD]: +1 happiness per city, -25% XP needed for unit promotions, +1 happiness from Monument, Broadcast Tower[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The benefit of this one is actually quite obvious. The happiness bonus puts itself to work quite effortlessly, and is often the big inhibitor for population growth. Along with the XP bonus, you'll find yourself grabbing those high end promotions in no time.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You're probably already familiar with the [COLOR_RED]Aggressive[COLOR_REVERT] Trait. The key that makes Charismatic easier to use than aggressive is that the XP bonus applies towards ANY unit. What you do with your excess promotions is up to you. Keep in mind that the short term gains of a promotion like Cover (vs. Ranged Units) may actually outweigh a more versatile a long term promotion. Sure, Combat I will help you for the entire game, but targetting your enemy's immediate weakness can get you an early advantage. In Civ, the early advantage can sometimes give you the biggest long term payoff![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you're the first to discover a unit, there's a good chance you can use it to grab a quick advantage. [BOLD]Horseback Riding[\BOLD] and [BOLD]Iron Working[\BOLD] are early favorites, although many have done serious damage with [BOLD]Elephants and Catapults (Construction), Crossbows (Machinery), or Macemen (Civil Service)[\BOLD].[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Anything that gains you XP here is good. [BOLD]Vassalage (with Feudalism)[\BOLD] and [BOLD]Theocracy (with Theology)[\BOLD] are XP generating civics. [BOLD]Barracks[\BOLD] or [BOLD]Stables (with Animal Husbandry)[\BOLD] are vital here. You may also be able to take advantage of the [BOLD]Great Wall (with Masonry)[\BOLD], suckering a Civ in allowing you to generate lots of Great Generals.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]AGGRESSIVE[\BOLD]: Free Combat I promotion for melee and gunpowder units, double speed production of Barracks and Drydock.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The biggest benefit of Combat I is NOT the 10% combat odds, although over a long enough time it can make for a significant advantage. Some people talk about how it means that you can get to Combat V by 17XP instead of 26XP -- which is nice, but not the big advantage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The crucial advantage of Combat I is that it unlocks access to other higher level promotions like Cover, Pinch, and Shock (bonus vs Archers, Gunpowder, and Melee). That means with but 2 XP -- less than what a Barracks gives you -- your Melee units gain powerful defence against specific unit types. These promotions may seem narrow in function, but their short term gains can be enough to give you a huge advantage. Moreover, with but 5 XP you have access to even better counters versus Siege and Mounted units. If you don't know how to use these "counter promotions", do yourself a favor and read a combat promotions FAQ. These are SUPER important.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you use this trait and have trouble fighting wars before 1AD, do yourself a favor and learn how. The key is doing it quickly, which Aggressive Civs are uniquely equipped to do. Learn to raze crappy cities to keep your maintainance costs down. (There are lots of articles out there that can help you wage early, fast wars.)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Aggressive Civs can find many of the same synergies of [COLOR_RED]Charismatic[COLOR_REVERT] Civs. Get the XP generating civics (like [BOLD]Vassalage and Theocracy[\BOLD]). And if you're feeling sassy, try luring people behind your [BOLD]Great Wall[\BOLD] to generate some quick Great Generals.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]But since this bonus only helps melee and gunpowder units, you'll want to make [BOLD]Axes or Swords[\BOLD] the staple of your army. [BOLD]Bronzeworking and Ironworking[\BOLD] are key. Mounted and ranged units won't gain you any specific advantage, but it never hurts to mix up your stacks to avoid being too vulnerable.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]PROTECTIVE[\BOLD]: Archery and Gunpowder units receive Drill I and City Garrison I automatically, Double production speed of Walls and Castle.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This one makes your defence DAMN hard to break. For many players, this won't help them, since they generally find themselves on the offense, and can run circles around the AI's military.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Still, there's a LOT of ways to push this civic to its full potential. The key is in the synergies.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Protective Civs are a lot like [COLOR_RED]Aggressive[COLOR_REVERT] Civs in that they'll need to discover [BOLD]Feudalism or Theology[\BOLD] early for their XP generating civics. You'll also want to produce a [BOLD]Barracks[\BOLD] sooner. The key difference, however, is that you should have a strong preference for [BOLD]City Garrison 3[\BOLD]. If you can get your units to City Garrison 3, they almost DOUBLE in defensive capabilities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Get [BOLD]Archery[\BOLD] early, since it's ranged units that get the Protective bonus. If you can find yourself at [BOLD]Feudalism[\BOLD] early, your [BOLD]Longbows[\BOLD] might be a key to invincibility. Some people even use the [BOLD]Oracle (Priesthood)[\BOLD] to slingshot to Feudalism early. It CAN be done.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Okay, big deal. You have really strong defence, right?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Here's the key. You can sometimes get away with defending your cities with as few as 2 units with City Garrison 3. This means you keep a VERY small defensive army. This can save you maintainance costs, allowing you to pour more into science, to settle more cities, or go on the offense. You might be able to find an economic synergy with some of the [COLOR_RED]Financial[COLOR_REVERT] trait's strategies, or find a warmongering synergy with some [COLOR_RED]Aggressive[COLOR_REVERT] strategies. You don't even have to be Financial or Aggressive to use these strategies.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]IMPERIALISTIC[\BOLD]:+100% Great General emergence, 50% faster production of settlers.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With the addition of Great Generals, this can lead to a small snowball effect for a successful warmonger. You'll get those great generals a lot faster, which you can use for either short OR long term benefits. Just as with [COLOR_RED]Aggressive[COLOR_REVERT] and [COLOR_RED]Charismatic[COLOR_REVERT] Civs, learning to fight an early war is challenging but invaluable. If you're not going to war using this trait, you're missing out.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]However, the snap-settlers have a distinct benefit too, even for peaceful players. Maintainance costs and barbarians will prevent you from settling too recklessly, so an Imperialistic Civ won't necessarily build an Empire right away. But an Imperialistic Civilization will move fast enough to get the best city locations -- that's key.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You'll want to combine this trait with [BOLD]Pottery[\BOLD], in order to get those [BOLD]Cottages[\BOLD] happening. If you're grabbing those great city locations fast, you're going to need an economy capable of supporting the maintainance costs. It's a good thing the [BOLD]Wheel[\BOLD] is on the way to Pottery, since it means you'll be able to hook up those resources you find.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Keep in mind that the ocean can be a great source of wealth, especially if you have early acecss to [BOLD]Sailing[\BOLD]. Rivers too. Keep your economy strong.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]And do not neglect defence. You should either have [BOLD]Archery or Bronzeworking[\BOLD] early, so you can defend your great city locations. Bronzeworking can be especially valuable, since you can use it to [BOLD]chop down trees[\BOLD], generating production to knock out those settlers (and defenders) faster.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A key advantage with this one can be the [BOLD]Great Wall[\BOLD], from [BOLD]Masonry[\BOLD]. Once you've built up your empire, the great wall can protect you from barbarians without having to spend as much time pumping out defensive units. (Keep in mind Imperialistic has a Great General bonus too. You might be able to lure people behind the great wall to get Great Generals REALLY fast.)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]CREATIVE[\BOLD]: +2 culture per city, double speed production of Theatre and Colosseum.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This trait may seem like a shoe in for cultural victory, but the 2 culture really doesn't do much in the long run. The bigger benefit comes very early, and especially at high difficulties.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Culture determines your borders. With 2 culture, your borders will be popping faster AND sooner than even someone who builds Stonehenge. Especially against the AI's huge handicaps at the higher levels, this can be the key to settling a large land mass before the AI can squeeze you out. The extra culture can let you seal off choke points in the map, allowing you keep the territory beyond your borders away from the AI. Your borders may even get so wide that you can space your cities out and still cover the continent. In many ways, creative will let you hold territory from the AI that you can settle with additional cities later.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This also means that your new cities will have quick access to nearby resources, without worry that the AI will overtake you. In fact, you can settle damn close to the enemy, without worry that their culture will overtake yours. Even as a warmonger, you'll find that your newly conquered outposts will be less vulernable, and will pick up vital resources with more ease.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]When you finally have the cities you want, be prepared to consolidate your defence. Wider borders extend your field of vision, preventing barbarians from appearing. And they also give you a defensive bonus. If you can master the defensive potential of Creative, all you need to do is learn when to slow down expansion so your economy can catch up. If you let maintainance costs get the best of you, all your expansion will be for nothing.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This trait, surprisingly, has the most in common with the [COLOR_RED]Imperialistic[COLOR_REVERT] Trait. Its advantage comes when you build lots of settlers and grab the best locations. Speed is the essence of your strategy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Use [BOLD]Cottages (Pottery)[\BOLD], rivers, and oceans ([BOLD]Sailing[\BOLD]) to pay down the maintainance costs of your faster growth. Be sure to defend your mass of cities with [BOLD]Archers (Archery), or Axemen (Bronzeworking)[\BOLD]... and [BOLD]chop trees[\BOLD] to keep things moving fast. You can catch your breath and consolidate your holdings later.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]While Creative civs have the benefit of cultural defence, the [BOLD]Great Wall (Masonry)[\BOLD] can be great for keeping barbarians out. With your huge borders, this can be especially useful.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]EXPANSIVE[\BOLD]: +3 health per city. Double speed production of Granary and Harbor.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I'm not going to lie to you. I think this trait is on the weak side. However, you CANNOT discount this trait's cheaper buildings. The cheap buildings may be the best part. This trait WILL let you get a huge population, and quickly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]What does a huge population help you with? Well, besides [BOLD]everything[\BOLD], a huge population is great for running a specialist-heavy economy. See [COLOR_RED]Philosophical[COLOR_REVERT] for more details.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Much of the debate for this trait revolves around whether health or happiness are the biggest barriers to growth. Well, even if you assume that expansive will give you more health than you know what to do with, there are a few strategies below to get the extra happiness you need. At high difficulties, this can have huge payoffs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Take advantage of that fast [BOLD]Granary[\BOLD]. You can't do this if you don't get to [BOLD]Pottery[\BOLD] early on.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Some players may find that happiness tends to inhibit their city growth more than health. However, the [BOLD]Hereditary Rule[\BOLD] civic is an easy target with big payoffs. This civic generates happiness for every military unit you have, with no upper limit. If you can discovery [BOLD]Monarchy[\BOLD] early, or build the [BOLD]Pyramids[\BOLD], you can tap this civic and EASILY support 3 more population than the average Civ.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Slavery[\BOLD] can be a huge advantage of these additional people. With [BOLD]Bronzeworking[\BOLD], you can access the slavery civic and turn those population points into production. Excess happiness can keep the remaining citizens content. Slavery can be extremely potent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Or you can let those people live. Combine this with some of the Specialist-heavy strategies recommended under the [COLOR_RED]Philosophical[COLOR_REVERT] trait... even if you're not Philosophical. Where you have lots of population and food, you have can have specialists and great people.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]SPIRITUAL[\BOLD]: No anarchy, double produciton speed of temples.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The lack of anarchy can save you a vital turn of production. I'll confess I think this trait is also a little weak, but there is a group of hardcore players who strongly disagree.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]These hardcore players tout the advantages of micromanaging their civics, swapping between theocracy/organized religion or vassalage/bureaucracy as their cities shift focus from units to buildings. One later game favorite is swapping between Nationalism and Free Speech, drafting units but gaining other benefits in the downtime.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You can also swap religions easily, to further your diplomatic interests, or to take advantage of "religious sight" -- that the founder of a religion can see into cities of that religion around the world. These tricks are hard to master, but can make Spiritual a quite formidable trait.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In the long run, yes, you will want to discover those key civic technologies. [BOLD]Civil Service and Theology[\BOLD] will be key technologies as they allow you to grab [BOLD]Bureaucracy and Theocracy[\BOLD] (respectively). This will let you start to take advantage of swapping.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]But in the short run, a Spiritual Civilization generally (but not always) has instant access to [BOLD]Mysticism[\BOLD]. That means they have the BEST chance of founding a religion, and a decent chance of keeping multiple religions out of the hands of other players. GET THOSE RELIGIONS. [BOLD]Polytheism, Meditation, and Monotheism[\BOLD] are key. Having Mysticism also gives you quick access to [BOLD]Stonehenge[\BOLD], which generates a valuable Great Prophet, which can help you to found the next religion before your opponent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]While on the religious path, you may find yourself discovering [BOLD]Priesthood[\BOLD]. This gives you the earliest and easiest access to [BOLD]Temples[\BOLD], which let you run Priest specialists. Most Spiritual civilizations have early enough access to Priests that they can generate Great Prophets, if they so choose. An early Great Prophet can help you access Theology, Divine Right, or Civil Service. See this article: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=140952 for how you might be able to leverage this to your advantage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Early access to Priesthood also unlocks the [BOLD]Oracle[\BOLD]. The obvious benefit of this is that it lets you discover a free technology like [BOLD]Metal Casting[\BOLD] or [BOLD]Construction[\BOLD], and also generates a Great Prophet. However, if you plan accordingly, you can use this slingshot to discover [BOLD]Feudalism[\BOLD] (through [BOLD]Monarchy[\BOLD]), or [BOLD]Civil Service[\BOLD] (through [BOLD]Code of Laws[\BOLD]). You haven't seen anything until you've seen [BOLD]Longbows[\BOLD] or [BOLD]Bureaucracy[\BOLD] by 1000 BC![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Another key is that the path to Judaism and Christianity flows right through [BOLD]Masonry[\BOLD]. That gives you a perfect opportunity to grab the [BOLD]Pyramids[\BOLD], giving you a slew of Civics to swap between.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]And an addition from VoiceOfUnreason, it's important to note that many big civics come with religions. [BOLD]Philosophy[\BOLD] offers both [BOLD]Pacifism and Taoism[\BOLD]. [BOLD]Theology[\BOLD] offers both [BOLD]Theocracy and Christianity[\BOLD]. [BOLD]Monotheism[\BOLD] offers both [BOLD]Organized Religion and Judaism[\BOLD]. [BOLD]Code of Laws[\BOLD] offers both [BOLD]Caste System and Confucianism[\BOLD]. You'll want to prioritize at least a few of these, if not all of them.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]ORGANIZED[\BOLD]: Civic upkeep reduced 50 percent. Double production speed of Lighthouse and Courthouse.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Remember that civic upkeep is proportional to the total number of people in your civilization. More people cost more money. That means that this civic works harder the larger your population grows. It also works harder at higher levels, since civics costs are more pronounced.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This trait is actually underrated, especially when you factor in its cheap buildings. If you're running expensive civics, you'll notice a considerable difference in your economy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Synergy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are two main synergies here.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One is that of expansion. Organized can support a larger empire with as much efficiency as [COLOR_RED]Financial[COLOR_REVERT], and with LESS EFFORT on your part. If you wanted to start an early war, this would be the civic that would let you do it. If you fast track to [BOLD]Iron Working or Horseback Riding[\BOLD], you can catch the enemy off guard and be able to actually pay for those huge civics costs. The maintainance from your cities can also be taken care of easily with your cheap [BOLD]Courthouses[\BOLD], if you aim for [BOLD]Code of Laws[\BOLD]. Keep in mind that civics costs rise with your population, but city maintainance costs increase exponentially with your number of cities. Organized lets you expand (and conquer) with less worry about those costs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are also peaceful synergies. If you hightail it for [BOLD]Monotheism[\BOLD], you'll also get the expensive [BOLD]Organized Religion[\BOLD] civic, and access to the [BOLD]Pyramids (with Masonry)[\BOLD]. The Pyramids unlock a slew of civics, and Organized Religion is one of the most expensive civics. Along with a good shot at founding [BOLD]Judaism[\BOLD], you just have to learn how to put these civics to good use.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]These two approaches are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Some people manage to juggle both, although it's harder at higher levels. Some people build up first, and then launch a war. You can also be sinister, though, conquering the enemy civ with the Pyramids rather than building it themselves.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Think about ways to boost your population. [COLOR_RED]Expansive[COLOR_REVERT] strategies can sometimes apply here.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]DOUBLE TRAIT SYNERGIES[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]COLONIAL SETTLERS[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]VICTORIA [\BOLD](Imperialistic Financial): Build lots of cities quickly, and actually afford the maintainance costs. Gun it for [BOLD]Cottages[\BOLD], and stay close to the water (with [BOLD]Lighthouses[\BOLD] near the Ocean).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]AUGUSTUS [\BOLD](Creative Organized): Build lots of cities quickly, and actually afford the maintainance costs. Gun it for [BOLD]Cottages[\BOLD], and stay close to the water (with [BOLD]Lighthouses[\BOLD] near the Ocean).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]CATHERINE [\BOLD](Imperialistic Creative): Build lots of cities in the best locations, even at the higher difficulties. Settle a continent with speed and immunity. Take advantage of the [BOLD]Great Wall[\BOLD] to hold off any interlopers, and be careful about your maintainance costs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]OFFENSIVE MILITARISTS[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]CHURCHILL [\BOLD](Charismatic Protective): With fewer units required for good defence at home, put lots of units on the offense. Use civics like [BOLD]Vassalage and Theocracy[\BOLD]. Beeline for a military advantage, and remember that the [BOLD]Redcoat[\BOLD] is a beast.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]TOKUGAWA [\BOLD](Aggressive Protective): With fewer units required for good defence at home, put lots of units on the offense. Use civics like [BOLD]Vassalage and Theocracy[\BOLD]. Keep focused on Melee and Gunpowder units.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]CYRUS [\BOLD](Charismatic Imperialistic): Use the great generals generated by your [BOLD]Immortals[\BOLD] in the ancient era to feed mega promotions to your [BOLD]Swordsmen[\BOLD] in the classical era.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]GENGHIS KHAN [\BOLD](Aggressive Imperialistic): Use the great generals generated by your [BOLD]Keshiks[\BOLD] in the classical era to feed mega promotions to your [BOLD]Macemen[\BOLD] in the medieval era.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]JULIUS CAESAR [\BOLD](Imperialistic Organized): Start an early war, with fewer concerns about how you're gonna pay for those maintainance costs. Try to capture the [BOLD]Pyramids[\BOLD], use [BOLD]Police State[\BOLD], and remember that [BOLD]Praetorians[\BOLD] are beasts.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]NAPOLEON[\BOLD](Charismatic Organized): Use civics like [BOLD]Vassalage and Theocracy[\BOLD] to promote your units, while Organized helps pay for the civics costs. The experienced units and fast [BOLD]Musketeers[\BOLD] will let you conquer faster, and Organized will help pay for your huge empire. It never hurts to capture the [BOLD]Pyramids[\BOLD] and use [BOLD]Police State[\BOLD].[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]DEFENDERS OF FAITH[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]SALADIN [\BOLD](Spiritual Protective): Biggest winner from "invincible" [BOLD]Longbows[\BOLD] using the [BOLD]Oracle-Feudalism[\BOLD] gambit... and pick up some religions along the way.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]RAMESSES[\BOLD] (Spiritual Industrious): More likely winner for "invincible" [BOLD]Longbows[\BOLD] using the [BOLD]Oracle-Feudalism[\BOLD] gambit... and pick up some religions along the way.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]ASOKA[\BOLD] (Spiritual Organized): Best equipped to take advantage of the Pyramids. Can get there early, grab lots of religions, and take advantage of cheap and fast civics swaps.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]PERFECTIONIST BUILDERS[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]WANG KON [\BOLD](Protective Financial): Protective can potentially cut down your army size and thus your unit maintainance costs. Combine this with Financial for an Economic explosion. Gun it for [BOLD]Cottages[\BOLD], and stay close to the water (with [BOLD]Lighthouses[\BOLD] near the Ocean).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]PETER[\BOLD] (Expansive Philosophical): Have the biggest cities with the most specialists. Make sure you grab the [BOLD]Parthenon[\BOLD] and the [BOLD]Great Library[\BOLD], and add [BOLD]Hereditary Rule[\BOLD] with lots of food.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]GANDHI[\BOLD] (Spiritual Philosophical): Will have the easiest time getting the [BOLD]Parthenon[\BOLD] to support lots of specialists, with some religions along the way to collect lots of gold. Be sure to get the food to back it up, and make your way toward [BOLD]Literature[\BOLD] and [BOLD]Philosophy/Pacifism[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]MEHMED[\BOLD] (Organized Expansive): Support huge amounts of population. Get lots of food, [BOLD]Hereditary Rule[\BOLD], and the [BOLD]Pyramids[\BOLD] to maximize the benefits of the cheap civics costs. The [BOLD]Hammam[\BOLD] supports 2 additional population, without fail.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]MANSA MUSA[\BOLD] (Spiritual Financial): One of the few spiritual civs that doesn't start with Mysticism. But if you delay your expansion, you CAN found two religions in one city. In combination with the Financial bonus, you can have one hell of a money-generator (once you add the [BOLD]Mint[\BOLD], and[BOLD] Wall Street[\BOLD]). Acquire other wonders like the [BOLD]Colossus[\BOLD] to make the richest city in the world. And if you can use the [BOLD]Oracle-Civil Service[\BOLD] gambit, you can switch to [BOLD]Bureaucracy[\BOLD] and stack up huge coin by 1000 BC.</Spanish>
	</TEXT>
	<TEXT>
		<Tag>TXT_KEY_STRATEGY_BEGINNER_CIVICS_PEDIA</Tag>
		<English>[H1]A Guide to Civics[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Pfeffersack[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The intention of this article is to give hints and tips about when and how to use the different Civics in Civilization 4.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For each civic there is a note on availability, followed by a short description of the effects/costs, diplomatic implications, comments on synergy with other game elements (other civics, leader traits, buildings, game settings, common strategies) and a final summary on the usefulness of the civic.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Any Feedback is highly appreciated and the guide will be updated with comments and strategies people post here (credits will be given here in the first post).My (high) aim is to provide a comprehensive database on the complex subject of civics.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Additional Credits for contributing interesting aspects, strategies and correcting inadequate information: genjiboy, Heroes, Krikkitone, Orca, Samson.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Some General Thoughts on Civics in Civ4[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Maintenance[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Note: Roland Johansen has done a great article about civic upkeep (http://www.civfanatics.com/civ4/strategy/civic_upkeep.php).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Civics are divided into 4 upkeep categories: no, low, medium and high. As a very rough rule of thumb you will pay 0 for zero, x for low, 1,5-2x for medium and 2-3x for high upkeep civics.The exact values depend on your number of cities and your population.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With a growing empire and increasing inflation, civic upkeep can really drain from your treasury. If you consider which civics to use, always keep the upkeep as an additional factor in mind - if you are unsure which civic is the better one, then the cheaper one is usually the better idea. Perhaps with the exception of Environmentalism, all the high-upkeep civics offer strong advantages. But if go for them, you should check if you can really use them to a certain extent - running Vassalage only pays if you build enough units, while Organized Religion is a waste if you are busy to build up your army.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Spiritual[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I haven't mentioned spiritual as a factor in most of the strategy/synergy sections (with Slavery and Nationalism as exceptions; for why see the civic article) for one reason - it is just plain useful to civics in general. The smooth government transition without anarchy transforms in two advantages: The freedom to change [BOLD]when[\BOLD] and [BOLD]as often as necessary[\BOLD].[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]When[\BOLD] just means the independence of things as wars, golden age or wonder races. Without interfering anarchy, there is no need to wait with a revolution. If a better option shows up, switch (to be correct, there is still a restriction regarding minimum time between two revolutions, but that's only rarely a real problem).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The second benefit is the fact that you don't have to think about [BOLD]if switching (and eventually switching back again soon) is worth the anarchy[\BOLD]. Without the spiritual trait, you have to keep an eye on the number of switches you make in a game - if you accumulate to many anarchy turns over time, it may hurt your progress. Sometimes the anarchy just eats up the small advantage the new civic would give you, especially if the benefits are needed only temporarily (for example, "hurry civics" as Slavery or Universal Suffrage, the "draft civic" Nationalism or Bureaucracy, if you go for a wonder in your capital) - then you will either drop the switch altogether or at least delay it to make a "big revolution" (see below for this strategy for non-spiritual civs). Spirituals effect also tends to rise in Epic or Marathon games.Not so much by the fact the anarchy period is at minimum 2 turns and can easily scale up to 4 (this is counterbalanced by every turn being "less" valuable), but because unit movement isn't modified - a "quick" switch to Slavery and Nationalism without Spiritual to stop an enemy attack will need three turns(!) to show an effect; three turns in which moreover everything in your empire stands still.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Organized[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The organized trait is the second one which has an direct impact on civics.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Organized shifts the balance towards the civics with (higher) maintenance, which are usually the ones with a greater impact and stronger effect....and those suited for a more aggressive and (regarding your empires population) repressive playing style.If you compare a (war-monger) combination of Police State, Vassalage, Caste System, Mercantilism and Theocracy with for example Universal Suffrage, Free Speech, Emancipation, State Property and Free Religion (large empire going for cottages), you will clearly see the different impact of Organized.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To sum up, the effect here can be significant (if you adopt your general "big plan") to meaningless (if you don't). That's also the reason why Organized is usually rated as the weakest trait - however, if at all, that's only partly true.For the civic effect depending on the playing style yes, but you also get cheaper Lighthouses and more important Courthouses - both directing to faster expansion. Not a bad thing in Civ4.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]When to change?[\BOLD] (applies mainly for non-spiritual civs)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The question is nearly as difficult as the one dealing with what to change. As usually there is not a single correct answer. You have to consider different situations and factors.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First of all it is important to distinguish the first, initial change in a civic column from later changes.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In case of the [BOLD]initial change[\BOLD], the straight advice in most of the cases is simply: Change as soon as it possible without. The initial civics do nothing for you except draining low maintenance. Sure, most of the civics you will get first access to in the different columns (Hereditary Rule, Bureaucracy/Vassalage, Slavery/Caste System, Mercantilism and Organized Religion) have a higher upkeep, but the give you some advantage and the real cost for this advantage is lower (because you have to subtract one maintenance level in your calculation - the level you have to pay for the starters anyway!)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Things are more complicated when [BOLD]changing from a "real" civic to another[\BOLD]. Again, switching ASAP is usually not a bad idea - simply because getting a better civic sooner is better and because in a growing economy a turn of anarchy becomes more and more expensive, if the game progresses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]However, some circumstances might make a delayed revolution a better idea. It is for example not a good idea to switch during a golden age (however, the mistake would rather triggering the Golden Age before the switch in most cases) or when you need every turn in a wonder race or for building units in a case of emergency (of course with the exception of a switch to something which helps especially in those situations).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Even if no such special situation makes waiting worth, the concept of "big revolutions" can do so. Instead of switching only one civic in a revolution, you can change up to 5. The anarchy penalty rises too, but not in linear way. You can switch up to 3 civics at one time and will still suffer only one turn anarchy. So you can minimize the turns lost to anarchy if you wait for example a few turns to get another tech which enables a new civic.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]And last but not least there may be economic reasons - don't underestimate the pressure high cost civics can lay on your economy. Especially when having the concept of a big revolution in mind, it might be tempting to make a big change - for example when going to war, switching from low cost "peace" civics to the repressive ones. Make sure you have a healthy economy, a full treasury or a Great Merchant around. Otherwise you might come into trouble soon. Wars are already expensive in Civ4 without the political dimension (more units to support, units must be supplied in enemy lands, enemies eventually pillaging the land, unit upgrades, bribery for allies etc.), so those extra civic costs might lead to strikes or at least a serious drop in your research efforts. A bad move here can be devastating, since you have to wait a few turns to be able to correct it again.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Government Column[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Special notes: The special thing about this column is that you can get access to all civics very early - if you are willing and lucky enough to build "The Pyramids". The immediate availability of all the civics of course change their relative values, so my rather general advices might fail here.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]And there is a second special thing about it...21 out of 26 leaders have their favorite civic inside this column, so your decision here can have an important influence on how getting along with the other leaders...[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Hereditary Rule[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Monarchy (classic era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +1 happiness per military unit inside a city[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Medium[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Alexander, Catherine, Hatshepsut, Huayna Capac, Kublai Khan and Louis XIV.[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] Organized, Vassalage, Nationalism, Theocracy, OCC, cold or general defensive wars (especially AW), ressource-scarce maps[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] The good old military police and better than ever before. No more upper limit. But it comes now with a hefty price, too. Beside the unit upkeep, the civic itself will cost you a substantial sum to maintain. Nearly every other way to produce happiness will be cheaper, but sometimes there is no other way to stay in the "yellow faces" (mainly because of few religions and/or resources).Then it is the right choice, because avoiding unhappy citizens is a high-priority goal. And unless you own the Pyramids, it is the best what you can get for a long time. Otherwise, try to leave it ASAP...if you get access to a new government civic, check if you really need HR any more. If most of the happiness is lost due overflow, consider switching immediately. Even if you can live with the costs (which indeed tend to become less of a problem, if your cities grow really big), you will at least miss the benefits of Universal Suffrage, as soon as it becomes available.[NEWLINE]On the diplomatic table, the civic puts you at good relations (usually a permanent + of 1-3, depending on how long you are in the civic and on how keen the leader is about foreign politics) with 6 other leaders...that's more than with any other civic![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Representation[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Constitution (renaissance era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] Every specialist (including settled down 'super-specialists') yields 3 extra research; the biggest 5 (or 6...I'm unsure if this a flat number or something dependent on map size) cities in your empire get 3 extra happiness.[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Low[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Bismarck, Cyrus, Caesar, Napoleon, Victoria[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Caste System[\BOLD], [BOLD]Mercantilism[\BOLD], Pacifism, Philosophical, Organized, OCC - FCC, smaller maps(?),GP-based strategies.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Representation is the second available choice in the government column and it can be very useful in different situations. Obviously, if you rely very heavily on specialists (and if you are perhaps running some more pro-specialist-civics) and also if your empire is rather small, because then it is your weapon against unhappiness.[NEWLINE]But even without such special circumstances, it is in most cases superior compared to HR. You pay less maintenance and despite you get the happiness usually where you need it most (=in your big cities).And of course your troops are freed again to do what they should - defend and attack. Even when Universal Suffrage becomes available (a tech later, if you have planned for it), you might be better off with staying in Representation. Unless you have money to burn or you have "cottaged" your land early, Representation will often fit better. You can still switch later if necessary.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Police State[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Fascism (industrial era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] 25% more hammer output, if building military units; -50% war wariness[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] High[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Genghis Khan, Isabella, Montezuma, Peter, Qin Shi Huang[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Jails[\BOLD], [BOLD]Mount Rushmore[\BOLD], [BOLD]Heroic Epic[\BOLD], Extended and bloody offense warfare ([BOLD]especially AW[\BOLD]), Drydocks, Vassalage, Theocracy, Organized, Aggressive[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Well, I don't think there is much to say about when this civic helps you and when it doesn't do you anything good. It you are at peace (and plan to stay here), move long - there is just nothing you will find here except a near-to-useless high maintenance civic. If you are attacked, ask your self: Is the production bonus worth to sacrifice other choices Keep in mind, WW is no longer an issue if you just defend your self! Nationalism will literally cost you much less and might offer a better effect.[NEWLINE]What makes it really shine is the second bonus...war wariness can easily force you to end a war, because it gets more and more difficult to maintain a productive economy, when you try to conquer and things start to get rough. PS puts an end to this. Add jails and the Mount Rushmore wonder...and no unhappy people will stop you from dominating the world with your guns. You will also enjoy better relations with other leaders who like to repress their people in the same manner...[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Universal Suffrage[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Democracy (renaissance era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] The Town improvement yields an extra hammer and you are allowed to rush buildings and units with gold.[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Medium[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Asoka, Frederick, Gandhi, Roosevelt, Washington[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Free Speech[\BOLD], [BOLD]Financial[\BOLD], [BOLD]The Kremlin[\BOLD], Emancipation, Organized, "cottage-strategies"[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] If you have planned ahead with building lots of cottages, you are now able to earn your fruits. Now you will not only get tons of money out of them, but also a hammer on the top. On the financial side, you may you the rushing ability to build commerce and science boosters in those cities quickly. You will get the invested money back soon. To make use of the civic to its full extend, be sure to combine it with Free Speech.[NEWLINE]The importance of commerce in Civ4 cannot be overstated. It is the thriving factor. It is also one of the main points why the AI is a lot tougher now - they now know how important it is, if you look at the sheer number of cottages they build. That's why they stay competitive in the tech race until the end of the game...and it also makes the diplomatic aspect even more important here. The leaders who like Universal Suffrage are often among the successful ones, which means you are likely to have powerful friends.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Legal Column[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Special notes: The action in this column starts fairly late; the offered civics cover in a nice way the different needs of offensive/defensive war and early-/late game economy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Vassalage[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Feudalism (medieval era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +2 exp. for new units, extra free unit support (5 flat + 1 for each 10 population points)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] High[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Mehmed II. (WLs)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Organized[\BOLD](see also text), [BOLD]Aggressive[\BOLD], [BOLD]Charismatic[\BOLD], [BOLD]Protective[\BOLD], [BOLD]anything else what grants free experience to new units[\BOLD] (Barracks, Drydocks, Westpoint, The Pentagon, Theocracy, WLs Military Instructors), Police State, any situation with a need for a lot of new troops[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Depending on your research path, Vassalage will be your first or second legal option. It offers one huge benefit (to be entirely correct there is a second: you get some extra free unit support, but this effect is at best a slight compensation for the maintenance, see end of the paragraph) - every unit you will built starts with two experience points more.[NEWLINE]This guarantees the first promotion; under usual circumstances (barracks are in place), you get access to the second. Taking in account how combat in Civ4 works this is without a doubt a very desirable boost. Usually a small edge is enough to decide a combat and am promotion more or less can make this difference easily. It is also an effect you will feel for sure, as everyone - even the most peaceful player - has an need for a decent army - if just to prevent a nasty AI leader from attacking.[NEWLINE]The only downside of Vassalage is the high maintenance cost. Nonetheless, if Vassalage is your first and therefore only option, switch (unless you really have to count every peace of gold). Whenever you plan to built up your forces, switch. In some games you will stay in vassalage for longer times or even the rest of the game, in others the next options will become one day the better choice. Just make sure to exploit the benefits of Vassalage as much as you can, while running it - the extra support will cover the unit maintenance partly (for Organized civs, this civic is even more interesting, as for the reduced cost, the free support alone is worth the expenses!) and experienced troops will still help you in future, if you have left Vassalage for a more peaceful agenda.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Bureaucracy[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Civil Service (medieval era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +50% production and commerce in capital[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Medium[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Kublai Khan, Peter, Qin Shi Huang[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] Spiritual, [BOLD]Organized[\BOLD], [BOLD]Organized Religion[\BOLD], [BOLD]general strong capital development/focus (f.e. important national wonders in capital placed, any civil or military production boosters)[\BOLD], small maps/empires, [BOLD]OCC[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] To put it in one sentence...it is all about your capital here, which will receive 50% additional production and commerce under this civic. Bureaucracy is always worth a thought, if it comes as first option in the column (even the worst capital has the Palace commerce bonus and likely some hammer sources). How competitive it stays against the other options, depends on location, and constitution of your capital and of course on the future plans you gave with it, too. If it is your unit-factory (high base hammer output, Heroic Epic, etc.), drowning in cottages, your main wonder construction site or even your only city (OCC), than this civic is for you. What makes Bureaucracy so powerful despite the fact that it affects only one of your cities, is Civ4s need for specialization - one specialized city may take the entire needs of your empire in one field (unit production, wonders, research,...). And if you can improve this performance by 50%, than it is usually worth a civic.[NEWLINE]However, Bureaucracy tends to lose steam in later phases of most games. The reasons are quite simple - successful empires tend to expand or growth, which means civics get more expensive. Usually, the civic effects expand in a similar manner. Mercantilism gives you an extra specialist in every city, Hereditary Rule enables MP everywhere. Not so here - your entire empire pays with rising maintenance for a fairly constant reward. Freakenly realistic, if you think about real world bureaucracy and centralization.. The final catch is Free Speech becoming available. Without, Nationhood and Vassalage were the only alternatives - ones which aren't too exciting in peacetimes. But usually the need for money and beakers rises in the endgame - and extra income from the cottages is just too important.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Nationhood[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Nationalism (renaissance era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] Ability to draft up 5 units per turn, +2 happiness from barracks[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] None[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Bismarck, Churchill[BOLD][NEWLINE]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Protective[\BOLD], [BOLD]Aggressive[\BOLD], [BOLD]anything else what grants free experience to new units[\BOLD] (Barracks, Drydocks, Westpoint, The Pentagon, Theocracy, WLs Military Instructors), [BOLD]Spiritual[\BOLD], sneak attacks, huge excess happiness and food without sufficient production[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD]Basically, we have the reincarnation of Civ3s draft button, with happiness boosting barracks as icing on the cake - with no maintenance cost. Nationhood is the kind of civic you don't need very often and long, but if you need it, then you need it dearly and if possible immediately. Ironically, you will use this war civic most likely, if you have planned to play a peaceful game - there is always one Alex or Monty out there which is interested in your cities and wonders.So, in case a nasty AI surprises you, what does Nationhood for you?[NEWLINE]Depending on the map Size, you can draft per turn up to 5 of the most modern defenders available(however, restricted to one per city and turn). The price is unhappiness (+3) and population loss (-1 pop point). The big difference to Civ3 is the training level of your drafted troops - while in Civ3 the recruits had 33%/50% less hit points compared to regular/veteran units (which often doomed them as pure cannon fodder), you get regular troops now - just the starting experience is halved. This means still a promotion from the start if a barrack is in place.[NEWLINE]Without a doubt, Nationhood is no real long term option. +2 happiness is not enough to make it interesting in peacetimes and drafting more than one or two units will bring most cities down to anarchy and resulting starvation. You will likely leave Nationhood as soon as the initial ambush forces a repelled -usually for Vassalage-, even if the war continues. Only if the war goes very bad and you are under constant pressure, you might be forced to stay here. It is also the civic of heroic defeats and fighting to the last man...and even if it helps you to survive, you will need a large recovery period after that.[NEWLINE]Since Nationhood is a mainly stop-gap against an invasion, it is most useful if you can enact it while the enemy is still approaching your city - so a good recon work tremendously increases the efficiency of this civic. Or pick a spiritual leader - always useful regarding civics, but being able to enact and draft in the same turn is something not to underestimate.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Free Speech[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Liberalism (renaissance era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +2 commerce for the town improvement, +100% culture[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Low[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Washington[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Financial[\BOLD], [BOLD]Universal Suffrage[\BOLD], [BOLD]Emancipation[\BOLD], [BOLD]Printing Press[\BOLD], any "cottagemania"-strategy, culture is needed for victory (together with everything else yielding/boosting culture)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] The second "late" option here. The boni speak for themselves: +2 commerce per town and +100% culture, low maintenance.The power and importance of cottages are well known, so it is easy to imagine how much impact the extra commerce has. Free Speech is the dominant peaceful option. This applies especially, if you are going for a cultural victory. Though there is still a niche for Bureaucracy (if your capital is among the three cities and you are racing for an important wonder), doubled culture is worth 6 cathedrals and all the Prerequisite temples, not to speak of the advantage in tech race.[NEWLINE]It offers little direct benefit for the warmongers, but if you are currently not fighting for your life or building up you main attack force, you should consider it despite - maintaining or even upgrading an army is expensive.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Economic Column[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Special notes: It is the column which is enabled latest by far, it contains (IMHO) the weakest and the strongest civic of all and also one of the few with a negative effect.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Mercantilism[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Banking (medieval era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] All foreign trade routes are closed, every city gets a "virtual" specialist (which doesn't drain one citizen from work)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Medium[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Tokugawa[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Representation[\BOLD], [BOLD]Caste System[\BOLD], Organized, Pacifism, Philosophical; AW, warmongering or bad diplomatic relations in general, balanced GP strategies, Parthenon, Sistine Chapel, Statue of Liberty[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Mercantilism will be the first available choice in the economic department, but if planned properly Free Market is only one tech away. So it is kind of different to the other "first" civics, were switching over immediately is usually a no-brainer. Things get even more though to evaluate, when taking in account that Mercantilism has a substantial downside beside the upkeep - you will lose all of your foreign trade routes. Unless special circumstances are in place, I usually do not even think about revolting to Mercantilism, but try to get hands on economics ASAP to use Free Market, which can be shortly described as the complete opposite, if you look at what it does.[NEWLINE]But now the more interesting part...when to use Mercantilism Despite all the negative elements connected to it, in some situations the extra specialist is more useful than an extra foreign trade route:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]a) You are in or near an AW situations or your overall diplomatic are just to worse to allow (m)any active OB-treaties. Obviously, this is what it is made for it. The penalty doesn't hurt you anymore, while Free Market offers you zero compared to a free specialist.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]b) You are pursuing an GP-strategy and maybe you have some of the wonders mentioned under "synergies" around. Of course then every specialist helps. However, think twice before giving in to this temptation - Mercantilism is not perfectly suited for this strategy. The most effective way to get a cabinet full of GP is creating a single city, which accumulates as many points as possible. Mercantilism however tends to add few in this case.Most points will be wasted because of the escalating costs of later GPs. What I described as "balanced"-GP strategy (=distributing the GPP sources between several cities) is less effective from the view of maxing out GP, but often not to avoid (no food-powerhouse, cap of two national wonders per city etc.).In the case, Mercantilism can be indeed a valuable part of the big picture.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]c) You have a lot of low-developed cities. Mercantilism's flat one-specialist-per-city bonus obviously has the biggest value, if a city is small - adding a specialist to a size one city without using the citizen to create it means doubling the number of productive people in the city.If combined with Representation and Caste System, you get at decent boost for research this way, while you are able to use the specialist for what is most important (f.e. getting the first border expansion for a new built or conquered city quick).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Nonetheless (and completely according to real history), Mercantilism is in most games only a temporarily good choice. If not FM means the end for it, then State Property will do this job.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Free Market[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Economy (renaissance era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] All cities get an additional foreign trade route[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Low[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Mansa Musa[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Financial[\BOLD], [BOLD]Bureaucracy[\BOLD], Organized, Harbor + other buildings which give extra routes, many OBs, "big" games (huge maps, many opponents), everything which increases commerce yield in your cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD]Many of what could be said about FM is already noted in the paragraph above, because FM is to a large extend the complete opposite of Mercantilism...and so, no wonder, the best moments to use it are non-isolationistic strategies. In theory, a few OB-treaties will be enough to receive the extra trade route; however, more trading partners tend to give you more lucrative routes (just because there are more possible destinations to choose from!).Also everything which increases commerce (many cottages, buildings, civics, shrines, settled down specialists,...) in your cities, will fuel the effect of FM, because the game "connects" rich cities with other rich cities and calculates the yield of trade routes this way.[NEWLINE]Now, how to rate FM Without a doubt, it is the most flexible and easy-to-use civic in the column. Even if you don't care much about synergies, it is difficult to be completely wrong with it. Except complete AW games, it is very unlikely that you end up without a single OB (at least on bigger maps)...and if you just met this condition, you will get a decent reward out of it. Add low upkeep and you will have a nice civic which gives you extra money. Usually, it is the right choice as soon as it shows up - either for the rest of the game or at least until SP gets available.[NEWLINE]But despite it is the right choice very often, I wouldn't call it the most powerful choice. For the reasons, see the next paragraph...[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]State Property[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Communism (industrial era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] No more distance maintenance in your cities. Watermills and Workshops yield one more unit of food.[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] No[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Mao[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Watermill and Workshop-spam[\BOLD], Games aimed at domination win, early GP-strategies, warmongering, Universal Suffrage, Vassalage, Theocracy, Aggressive, Expansive[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Any rating is always dependent on the playing style to a large degree, so you might differ, if I rate SP as the most powerful civic of all. And even my rating needs further explanation... "most powerful" just means that it is probably the civic which might give you the biggest reward - well, if you are able and willing to invest enough to exploit it to its full extend (that's also the reason, why it isn't overpowered!). I'm not claiming that it is the only viable choice; in fact in most games you will get more out of FM, just because its effects are easier obtain.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]SP offers three pluses:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First of all, it is a zero-cost civic. Normally, I wouldn't emphasize it in this way. But usually it is either the way that there is a direct drawback for zero upkeep (Pacifism: extra upkeep for military units) or it is just offset by the fact that the positive effects of the civic are restricted or hard to get.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For SP however, you will at least (nearly) always save some money from the second advantage. No distance maintenance in your cities. OK, you will smile and move on in an OCC, but apart from that the effect is somewhere between "nice" over "alone enough to switch to SP" to "saves me from bankrupt". An empire similar to the former British or Soviet will cost you dearly without SP.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The third thing is probably the most interesting, but also the one which needs most work: Extra food from the watermill and workshop improvement. While it is just the icing on the cake in case of the watermill (it is already a nice choice without SP), it completely turns the tide for the workshops.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A workshop is a niche improvement under normal circumstances. Unless you locally drown in food, the food penalty hits just to hard. Moreover, mines are a big competitor, because they to do the same without taking away arable land and might even grant you a new resource deposit one day. But under SP, a workshop means simply +3 hammers! Cities with enough hills still do not need them...but all those flatland cities in grassland or near a river can be turned into real factories. 10 citizens can yield 30 base hammers this way... If you are among those who always miss hammers dearly and wish to be back in the Civ3s paradise of mined grassland, then welcome in the realm of State Property! The power of such a factory-wonder is multiplied by the fact you can use it to hit the AI on a weak point - they are famous with everything connected to commerce and research, but they often lack the hammers to build the fancy toys for their army.[NEWLINE]The only downside (of which I'm glad it is in!) it the fact that you need a strong worker force to transform your infrastructure this way. And while it perfectly plays together with an early farm/GP-strategy (don't be shy to replace the farms with workshops - with escalating GP costs, you will usually only sacrifice few GLs from the moment on SP becomes available), it will make you cry to tear down developed cottages. It might still make sense in some cases, but be careful then...if you transform too early, you might fall back in tech because of you depleting income. And with the new combat system, Tank vs. Modern Armour is nothing to search for, even if you have the numerical advantage on your side.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Environmentalism[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Medicine (Industrial Era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +6 health in every city; also +1 happiness per jungle/forest tile inside the city radius[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Medium[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] ---[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] Organized, Expansive, low resource situations, "green strategies" (keeping forests, lumber mills), high unhealthiness through power generation or buildings, wars which disrupt resource trading[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] ***REMOVED for overhaul because of the latest patch changes regarding Environmentalism ***[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Religious Column[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Special notes: Unlike the civics of the other columns, the ones of the religious section need an additional component to work - religion. In case of the first three, you will only reap the benefits inside a city, if you have a state religion AND if this state religion is present in this city. Free Religion abandons the state religion concept and depends instead on having as many different religions as possible inside a city. So the usefulness of all the non-default civics depends highly on the religious situation in your empire and the thump rule "everything is better than the default civic" is not entirely true here. The three state-religion civics (can) cause high direct or indirect costs, so Paganism is indeed a real choice, as long as you don't have established religion in most of your cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Organized Religion[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Monotheism (Ancient Era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +25% speed, when constructing buildings or wonders; training of missionaries is possible without having a monastery[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] High[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] ---[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Wonder/cathedral resources[\BOLD] (Marble, Stone, Copper), [BOLD]Industrious[\BOLD], forest-chopping for building projects, State Property, Universal Suffrage[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Your first option in the religious column. The general note on religious civics applies especially to OR. Unless you have founded one of the early religions yourself, the chance is quite high that you have no access to religion, when the civic becomes available. In this case, wait with a switch. Even if the absolute sum is not much in those early turns, you will need every piece of gold - and paying for getting zero doesn't sound like a good idea, well?[NEWLINE]If religion has spread to your empire and a state religion is declared, a switch makes usually sense. +25% hammers for buildings/wonders are a huge boost in the beginning, where you need to get the stuff out as fast as possible. And not to forget the second advantage - missionaries without monasteries. It makes sure that all your new cities can get the production bonus at once and it allows sending out a lot of those guys to your neighbors to bring them in line. However, if you are involved in serious wars and your cities are busy with pumping units out, OR doesn't help you. It can be also problematic on higher difficulties, because then the high upkeep might lay a heavy burden on your treasury.[NEWLINE]Overall, the usefulness tends to decrease over time. If you weight extra building speed vs. free experience, great people points or extra happiness (that's in short what the alternatives - described in detail below - offer), all of the latter three are usually more important in the later game. However, the second advantage might open another niche for OR later. In the moment you research Scientific Method, you lose the chance to build new monasteries. If you have build enough of the ones you need, you are lucky. If not, you have a problem, when you are pursuing for example a cultural victory, for which are cathedrals extremely helpful. OR eliminates this problem by allowing cities to build missionaries of all the religions they contain, regardless of the presence of monasteries - so this effectively means you can spread every religion over your entire empire, if you just have one city with this certain religion.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Theocracy[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Theology (Medieval Era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +2 EXP for new built units; no spreading of none-state religions[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Medium[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Saladin[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Vassalage[\BOLD], [BOLD]Barracks[\BOLD], [BOLD]The Pentagon[\BOLD], [BOLD]Westpoint[\BOLD], [BOLD]Aggressive[\BOLD], Organized, Nationalism, The Heroic Epic, Police State, any war or cold war situation, domination or conquest victories[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Theocracy is Vassalages little sister - the main effect is the same, units start with 2 experience points extra. Like it is true for most war civics, there is not much to say about when you should use them. If you plan to build a lot of units in the near future (for whatever reason), take this. And if you can, take Vassalage too. The synergy between both is one of the strongest among all civics - both improve exactly the same aspect of the game and in case of experience, a cumulative bonus is especially valuable. Yes, you might argue that one of those civics is enough to reap the second promotion immediately (assuming barracks are in place). That's true and I'm far away from saying they are only worth to be taken together - but you just waste their full potential. Believe me, 6 or 8 exp from the start matters, because your units will likely get the third promotion right after the first fight with 8. Also every new promotion means a kind of instant "medipack" for your unit (wounds are partly healed).It can make the difference between losing or winning a fight in many cases.[NEWLINE]Medium upkeep is an absolutely fair charge for what Theocracy does, especially if you compare it with OR or Pacifism. Until Free Religion shows up (which is a great all-round civic), Theocracy is not only the best, but also the cheapest solution in any game which involves decent military action or just a big standing army to prevent it.[NEWLINE]The second effect of Theocracy (no natural or missionary-caused spread of minor religions in city with your state religion) is a kind of a double-edged sword. It prevents you from reaping the benefits of having several religions in your cities (more happiness, culture, science).But OTOH, you also prevent that a nasty opponent spreads his own founded religion into your city and gains line of sight and shrine income. How strong the impact of both aspects is depends however on the extend minor religions have already spread in your country (because existing ones aren't removed). If nearly all of your cities have already a second or even third religion, Theocracy isn't a big loss anymore - because spreading religions via missionaries in this situation is very cost-intensive anyway. For preventing the enemy from gaining benefits out of his or her mother religion it is just the other way round - if they haven't got their feet in your door yet, it is the best time to close it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Pacifism[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Philosophy (Medieval Era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +100% GPP (=Great People Points)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] no direct civic upkeep, but 1 Gold per military unit[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] ---[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Philosophical[\BOLD], [BOLD]The Parthenon[\BOLD], [BOLD]The National Epic[\BOLD], [BOLD]Caste System[\BOLD], Representation, Mercantilism, Industrious, any major GP-strategies, cultural victories[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] If you are in love with Great People, this civic is for you. Although the doubled amount of GPP [BOLD]does not transform into 100% more great people[\BOLD] (the increase is probably rather 20-30 %), the civic pays out if used properly. The real benefit isn't the pure extra number, but the fact that you will get your GPs earlier - and one of the basic rules of Civilisation is that earlier advantages weight more. So they question is when to use Pacifism?[NEWLINE]If you are running a game heavily leaned towards GP, of course. You might run Pacifism then until the end, but you should still keep in mind that the effect fades the more GPs you have already gotten. Taken to the extreme: At some point, even the 100% increase will not yield to another GP because of the geometrical cost increase.[NEWLINE]If GP are just a (minor) part of your strategy, you might consider a quick switch when it becomes available (to rush out some) and eventually later again, when you desperately need another Great Person, while lacking enough base GPP. In any case, try to max out the synergetic potential of Pacifism. Especially the combination with Caste System can do miracles - there is rarely a better way to get a special GP in a short time.[NEWLINE]Probably not necessary to point out, but for the sake of completeness...if you don't have wonders and specialists around which yield GPP, move along - Pacifism has no second benefit, but a hidden cost trap. Don't be fooled by no upkeep, the extra cost for military units will usually easily turn it into a quasi high-upkeep civic. Yes, in theory all those famous Great People might lead you to a peaceful victory , where you don't need any weaponry and therefore unit maintenance. But the days of no-unit-games are gone.Civ4s diplomacy system relies on relation modifiers and is quite reliable in this part, but you will need the plain cold steel, too. There is always someone out there who is jealous about your wonders and cities. Pacifistic games are best achieved with cold-war strategies - and that's nothing to head for under Pacifism from the view of costs. To sum up the options ...either build up a very healthy economy or use Pacifism only temporarily.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Free Religion[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Liberalism (Renaissance Era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +1 happiness per present religion inside a city; +10% research output; no more state religion and religious diplomacy modifiers[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Low[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Elisabeth; religion has no more impact on diplomacy[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] Organized, Expansive, Environmentalism, luxury resource shortages, peaceful-planned games and situations with high-tension in diplomacy, [BOLD]non[\BOLD]-diplomatic victories (especially space race or cultural)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Your final choice in the religious column. A powerful tool, coming with low costs and offering a simple solution for unhappiness problems and granting a 10% increase in research on top - all you have to do is spreading as many religions as possible in every corner of the empire. Each present religion yields +1 happiness in your cities, before factoring in additional boni you might get out of built temples. Unless you have no happiness problems, because your are drowning in luxuries or your cities are small, you should seriously consider a switch.[NEWLINE]The icing on the cake (the research bonus) is even independent of the number of religions in a city (maybe there must be one religion at all, not sure on this). 10% may not sound to drastic, but if you keep in mind how expensive the late game techs have become with v1.52, you will be happy about every extra beaker.It can make the difference in a tight space race.[NEWLINE]As usual there is also shadow or at least some more things to consider. First of all, don't underestimate the difficulty of spreading religions with missionaries. If there is no or only a single religion present in a city, your chance of success is 100% or slightly below. If there is already a second religion, you might fail; three or more is just pure luck. So the gained extra happiness is usually 2 or 3, unless your are willing to invest vast amount of shields for missionaries (which can be sometimes worth nonetheless, when pursuing a cultural victory for example).[NEWLINE]A second aspect is the loss of state religion. Beside the fact that the Spiral Minaret loses its effect , it has a serious impact on the diplomatic system in Civ4, which can be a boon or bust, depending on your situation. Free Religion both nullifies positive and negative modifiers caused by having the same or a different state religion. You will have no more problems with Isabella or Saladin hunting you for believing in the wrong faith, but you might experience cooled down relations with your former brothers in faith, too. The chance to get backstabbed and attacked is slower, but also the possibilities for trade or interventions on your side.</English>
		<French>[H1]A Guide to Civics[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Pfeffersack[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The intention of this article is to give hints and tips about when and how to use the different Civics in Civilization 4.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For each civic there is a note on availability, followed by a short description of the effects/costs, diplomatic implications, comments on synergy with other game elements (other civics, leader traits, buildings, game settings, common strategies) and a final summary on the usefulness of the civic.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Any Feedback is highly appreciated and the guide will be updated with comments and strategies people post here (credits will be given here in the first post).My (high) aim is to provide a comprehensive database on the complex subject of civics.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Additional Credits for contributing interesting aspects, strategies and correcting inadequate information: genjiboy, Heroes, Krikkitone, Orca, Samson.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Some General Thoughts on Civics in Civ4[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Maintenance[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Note: Roland Johansen has done a great article about civic upkeep (http://www.civfanatics.com/civ4/strategy/civic_upkeep.php).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Civics are divided into 4 upkeep categories: no, low, medium and high. As a very rough rule of thumb you will pay 0 for zero, x for low, 1,5-2x for medium and 2-3x for high upkeep civics.The exact values depend on your number of cities and your population.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With a growing empire and increasing inflation, civic upkeep can really drain from your treasury. If you consider which civics to use, always keep the upkeep as an additional factor in mind - if you are unsure which civic is the better one, then the cheaper one is usually the better idea. Perhaps with the exception of Environmentalism, all the high-upkeep civics offer strong advantages. But if go for them, you should check if you can really use them to a certain extent - running Vassalage only pays if you build enough units, while Organized Religion is a waste if you are busy to build up your army.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Spiritual[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I haven't mentioned spiritual as a factor in most of the strategy/synergy sections (with Slavery and Nationalism as exceptions; for why see the civic article) for one reason - it is just plain useful to civics in general. The smooth government transition without anarchy transforms in two advantages: The freedom to change [BOLD]when[\BOLD] and [BOLD]as often as necessary[\BOLD].[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]When[\BOLD] just means the independence of things as wars, golden age or wonder races. Without interfering anarchy, there is no need to wait with a revolution. If a better option shows up, switch (to be correct, there is still a restriction regarding minimum time between two revolutions, but that's only rarely a real problem).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The second benefit is the fact that you don't have to think about [BOLD]if switching (and eventually switching back again soon) is worth the anarchy[\BOLD]. Without the spiritual trait, you have to keep an eye on the number of switches you make in a game - if you accumulate to many anarchy turns over time, it may hurt your progress. Sometimes the anarchy just eats up the small advantage the new civic would give you, especially if the benefits are needed only temporarily (for example, "hurry civics" as Slavery or Universal Suffrage, the "draft civic" Nationalism or Bureaucracy, if you go for a wonder in your capital) - then you will either drop the switch altogether or at least delay it to make a "big revolution" (see below for this strategy for non-spiritual civs). Spirituals effect also tends to rise in Epic or Marathon games.Not so much by the fact the anarchy period is at minimum 2 turns and can easily scale up to 4 (this is counterbalanced by every turn being "less" valuable), but because unit movement isn't modified - a "quick" switch to Slavery and Nationalism without Spiritual to stop an enemy attack will need three turns(!) to show an effect; three turns in which moreover everything in your empire stands still.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Organized[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The organized trait is the second one which has an direct impact on civics.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Organized shifts the balance towards the civics with (higher) maintenance, which are usually the ones with a greater impact and stronger effect....and those suited for a more aggressive and (regarding your empires population) repressive playing style.If you compare a (war-monger) combination of Police State, Vassalage, Caste System, Mercantilism and Theocracy with for example Universal Suffrage, Free Speech, Emancipation, State Property and Free Religion (large empire going for cottages), you will clearly see the different impact of Organized.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To sum up, the effect here can be significant (if you adopt your general "big plan") to meaningless (if you don't). That's also the reason why Organized is usually rated as the weakest trait - however, if at all, that's only partly true.For the civic effect depending on the playing style yes, but you also get cheaper Lighthouses and more important Courthouses - both directing to faster expansion. Not a bad thing in Civ4.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]When to change?[\BOLD] (applies mainly for non-spiritual civs)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The question is nearly as difficult as the one dealing with what to change. As usually there is not a single correct answer. You have to consider different situations and factors.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First of all it is important to distinguish the first, initial change in a civic column from later changes.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In case of the [BOLD]initial change[\BOLD], the straight advice in most of the cases is simply: Change as soon as it possible without. The initial civics do nothing for you except draining low maintenance. Sure, most of the civics you will get first access to in the different columns (Hereditary Rule, Bureaucracy/Vassalage, Slavery/Caste System, Mercantilism and Organized Religion) have a higher upkeep, but the give you some advantage and the real cost for this advantage is lower (because you have to subtract one maintenance level in your calculation - the level you have to pay for the starters anyway!)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Things are more complicated when [BOLD]changing from a "real" civic to another[\BOLD]. Again, switching ASAP is usually not a bad idea - simply because getting a better civic sooner is better and because in a growing economy a turn of anarchy becomes more and more expensive, if the game progresses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]However, some circumstances might make a delayed revolution a better idea. It is for example not a good idea to switch during a golden age (however, the mistake would rather triggering the Golden Age before the switch in most cases) or when you need every turn in a wonder race or for building units in a case of emergency (of course with the exception of a switch to something which helps especially in those situations).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Even if no such special situation makes waiting worth, the concept of "big revolutions" can do so. Instead of switching only one civic in a revolution, you can change up to 5. The anarchy penalty rises too, but not in linear way. You can switch up to 3 civics at one time and will still suffer only one turn anarchy. So you can minimize the turns lost to anarchy if you wait for example a few turns to get another tech which enables a new civic.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]And last but not least there may be economic reasons - don't underestimate the pressure high cost civics can lay on your economy. Especially when having the concept of a big revolution in mind, it might be tempting to make a big change - for example when going to war, switching from low cost "peace" civics to the repressive ones. Make sure you have a healthy economy, a full treasury or a Great Merchant around. Otherwise you might come into trouble soon. Wars are already expensive in Civ4 without the political dimension (more units to support, units must be supplied in enemy lands, enemies eventually pillaging the land, unit upgrades, bribery for allies etc.), so those extra civic costs might lead to strikes or at least a serious drop in your research efforts. A bad move here can be devastating, since you have to wait a few turns to be able to correct it again.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Government Column[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Special notes: The special thing about this column is that you can get access to all civics very early - if you are willing and lucky enough to build "The Pyramids". The immediate availability of all the civics of course change their relative values, so my rather general advices might fail here.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]And there is a second special thing about it...21 out of 26 leaders have their favorite civic inside this column, so your decision here can have an important influence on how getting along with the other leaders...[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Hereditary Rule[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Monarchy (classic era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +1 happiness per military unit inside a city[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Medium[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Alexander, Catherine, Hatshepsut, Huayna Capac, Kublai Khan and Louis XIV.[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] Organized, Vassalage, Nationalism, Theocracy, OCC, cold or general defensive wars (especially AW), ressource-scarce maps[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] The good old military police and better than ever before. No more upper limit. But it comes now with a hefty price, too. Beside the unit upkeep, the civic itself will cost you a substantial sum to maintain. Nearly every other way to produce happiness will be cheaper, but sometimes there is no other way to stay in the "yellow faces" (mainly because of few religions and/or resources).Then it is the right choice, because avoiding unhappy citizens is a high-priority goal. And unless you own the Pyramids, it is the best what you can get for a long time. Otherwise, try to leave it ASAP...if you get access to a new government civic, check if you really need HR any more. If most of the happiness is lost due overflow, consider switching immediately. Even if you can live with the costs (which indeed tend to become less of a problem, if your cities grow really big), you will at least miss the benefits of Universal Suffrage, as soon as it becomes available.[NEWLINE]On the diplomatic table, the civic puts you at good relations (usually a permanent + of 1-3, depending on how long you are in the civic and on how keen the leader is about foreign politics) with 6 other leaders...that's more than with any other civic![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Representation[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Constitution (renaissance era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] Every specialist (including settled down 'super-specialists') yields 3 extra research; the biggest 5 (or 6...I'm unsure if this a flat number or something dependent on map size) cities in your empire get 3 extra happiness.[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Low[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Bismarck, Cyrus, Caesar, Napoleon, Victoria[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Caste System[\BOLD], [BOLD]Mercantilism[\BOLD], Pacifism, Philosophical, Organized, OCC - FCC, smaller maps(?),GP-based strategies.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Representation is the second available choice in the government column and it can be very useful in different situations. Obviously, if you rely very heavily on specialists (and if you are perhaps running some more pro-specialist-civics) and also if your empire is rather small, because then it is your weapon against unhappiness.[NEWLINE]But even without such special circumstances, it is in most cases superior compared to HR. You pay less maintenance and despite you get the happiness usually where you need it most (=in your big cities).And of course your troops are freed again to do what they should - defend and attack. Even when Universal Suffrage becomes available (a tech later, if you have planned for it), you might be better off with staying in Representation. Unless you have money to burn or you have "cottaged" your land early, Representation will often fit better. You can still switch later if necessary.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Police State[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Fascism (industrial era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] 25% more hammer output, if building military units; -50% war wariness[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] High[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Genghis Khan, Isabella, Montezuma, Peter, Qin Shi Huang[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Jails[\BOLD], [BOLD]Mount Rushmore[\BOLD], [BOLD]Heroic Epic[\BOLD], Extended and bloody offense warfare ([BOLD]especially AW[\BOLD]), Drydocks, Vassalage, Theocracy, Organized, Aggressive[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Well, I don't think there is much to say about when this civic helps you and when it doesn't do you anything good. It you are at peace (and plan to stay here), move long - there is just nothing you will find here except a near-to-useless high maintenance civic. If you are attacked, ask your self: Is the production bonus worth to sacrifice other choices Keep in mind, WW is no longer an issue if you just defend your self! Nationalism will literally cost you much less and might offer a better effect.[NEWLINE]What makes it really shine is the second bonus...war wariness can easily force you to end a war, because it gets more and more difficult to maintain a productive economy, when you try to conquer and things start to get rough. PS puts an end to this. Add jails and the Mount Rushmore wonder...and no unhappy people will stop you from dominating the world with your guns. You will also enjoy better relations with other leaders who like to repress their people in the same manner...[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Universal Suffrage[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Democracy (renaissance era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] The Town improvement yields an extra hammer and you are allowed to rush buildings and units with gold.[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Medium[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Asoka, Frederick, Gandhi, Roosevelt, Washington[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Free Speech[\BOLD], [BOLD]Financial[\BOLD], [BOLD]The Kremlin[\BOLD], Emancipation, Organized, "cottage-strategies"[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] If you have planned ahead with building lots of cottages, you are now able to earn your fruits. Now you will not only get tons of money out of them, but also a hammer on the top. On the financial side, you may you the rushing ability to build commerce and science boosters in those cities quickly. You will get the invested money back soon. To make use of the civic to its full extend, be sure to combine it with Free Speech.[NEWLINE]The importance of commerce in Civ4 cannot be overstated. It is the thriving factor. It is also one of the main points why the AI is a lot tougher now - they now know how important it is, if you look at the sheer number of cottages they build. That's why they stay competitive in the tech race until the end of the game...and it also makes the diplomatic aspect even more important here. The leaders who like Universal Suffrage are often among the successful ones, which means you are likely to have powerful friends.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Legal Column[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Special notes: The action in this column starts fairly late; the offered civics cover in a nice way the different needs of offensive/defensive war and early-/late game economy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Vassalage[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Feudalism (medieval era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +2 exp. for new units, extra free unit support (5 flat + 1 for each 10 population points)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] High[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Mehmed II. (WLs)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Organized[\BOLD](see also text), [BOLD]Aggressive[\BOLD], [BOLD]Charismatic[\BOLD], [BOLD]Protective[\BOLD], [BOLD]anything else what grants free experience to new units[\BOLD] (Barracks, Drydocks, Westpoint, The Pentagon, Theocracy, WLs Military Instructors), Police State, any situation with a need for a lot of new troops[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Depending on your research path, Vassalage will be your first or second legal option. It offers one huge benefit (to be entirely correct there is a second: you get some extra free unit support, but this effect is at best a slight compensation for the maintenance, see end of the paragraph) - every unit you will built starts with two experience points more.[NEWLINE]This guarantees the first promotion; under usual circumstances (barracks are in place), you get access to the second. Taking in account how combat in Civ4 works this is without a doubt a very desirable boost. Usually a small edge is enough to decide a combat and am promotion more or less can make this difference easily. It is also an effect you will feel for sure, as everyone - even the most peaceful player - has an need for a decent army - if just to prevent a nasty AI leader from attacking.[NEWLINE]The only downside of Vassalage is the high maintenance cost. Nonetheless, if Vassalage is your first and therefore only option, switch (unless you really have to count every peace of gold). Whenever you plan to built up your forces, switch. In some games you will stay in vassalage for longer times or even the rest of the game, in others the next options will become one day the better choice. Just make sure to exploit the benefits of Vassalage as much as you can, while running it - the extra support will cover the unit maintenance partly (for Organized civs, this civic is even more interesting, as for the reduced cost, the free support alone is worth the expenses!) and experienced troops will still help you in future, if you have left Vassalage for a more peaceful agenda.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Bureaucracy[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Civil Service (medieval era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +50% production and commerce in capital[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Medium[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Kublai Khan, Peter, Qin Shi Huang[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] Spiritual, [BOLD]Organized[\BOLD], [BOLD]Organized Religion[\BOLD], [BOLD]general strong capital development/focus (f.e. important national wonders in capital placed, any civil or military production boosters)[\BOLD], small maps/empires, [BOLD]OCC[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] To put it in one sentence...it is all about your capital here, which will receive 50% additional production and commerce under this civic. Bureaucracy is always worth a thought, if it comes as first option in the column (even the worst capital has the Palace commerce bonus and likely some hammer sources). How competitive it stays against the other options, depends on location, and constitution of your capital and of course on the future plans you gave with it, too. If it is your unit-factory (high base hammer output, Heroic Epic, etc.), drowning in cottages, your main wonder construction site or even your only city (OCC), than this civic is for you. What makes Bureaucracy so powerful despite the fact that it affects only one of your cities, is Civ4s need for specialization - one specialized city may take the entire needs of your empire in one field (unit production, wonders, research,...). And if you can improve this performance by 50%, than it is usually worth a civic.[NEWLINE]However, Bureaucracy tends to lose steam in later phases of most games. The reasons are quite simple - successful empires tend to expand or growth, which means civics get more expensive. Usually, the civic effects expand in a similar manner. Mercantilism gives you an extra specialist in every city, Hereditary Rule enables MP everywhere. Not so here - your entire empire pays with rising maintenance for a fairly constant reward. Freakenly realistic, if you think about real world bureaucracy and centralization.. The final catch is Free Speech becoming available. Without, Nationhood and Vassalage were the only alternatives - ones which aren't too exciting in peacetimes. But usually the need for money and beakers rises in the endgame - and extra income from the cottages is just too important.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Nationhood[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Nationalism (renaissance era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] Ability to draft up 5 units per turn, +2 happiness from barracks[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] None[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Bismarck, Churchill[BOLD][NEWLINE]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Protective[\BOLD], [BOLD]Aggressive[\BOLD], [BOLD]anything else what grants free experience to new units[\BOLD] (Barracks, Drydocks, Westpoint, The Pentagon, Theocracy, WLs Military Instructors), [BOLD]Spiritual[\BOLD], sneak attacks, huge excess happiness and food without sufficient production[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD]Basically, we have the reincarnation of Civ3s draft button, with happiness boosting barracks as icing on the cake - with no maintenance cost. Nationhood is the kind of civic you don't need very often and long, but if you need it, then you need it dearly and if possible immediately. Ironically, you will use this war civic most likely, if you have planned to play a peaceful game - there is always one Alex or Monty out there which is interested in your cities and wonders.So, in case a nasty AI surprises you, what does Nationhood for you?[NEWLINE]Depending on the map Size, you can draft per turn up to 5 of the most modern defenders available(however, restricted to one per city and turn). The price is unhappiness (+3) and population loss (-1 pop point). The big difference to Civ3 is the training level of your drafted troops - while in Civ3 the recruits had 33%/50% less hit points compared to regular/veteran units (which often doomed them as pure cannon fodder), you get regular troops now - just the starting experience is halved. This means still a promotion from the start if a barrack is in place.[NEWLINE]Without a doubt, Nationhood is no real long term option. +2 happiness is not enough to make it interesting in peacetimes and drafting more than one or two units will bring most cities down to anarchy and resulting starvation. You will likely leave Nationhood as soon as the initial ambush forces a repelled -usually for Vassalage-, even if the war continues. Only if the war goes very bad and you are under constant pressure, you might be forced to stay here. It is also the civic of heroic defeats and fighting to the last man...and even if it helps you to survive, you will need a large recovery period after that.[NEWLINE]Since Nationhood is a mainly stop-gap against an invasion, it is most useful if you can enact it while the enemy is still approaching your city - so a good recon work tremendously increases the efficiency of this civic. Or pick a spiritual leader - always useful regarding civics, but being able to enact and draft in the same turn is something not to underestimate.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Free Speech[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Liberalism (renaissance era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +2 commerce for the town improvement, +100% culture[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Low[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Washington[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Financial[\BOLD], [BOLD]Universal Suffrage[\BOLD], [BOLD]Emancipation[\BOLD], [BOLD]Printing Press[\BOLD], any "cottagemania"-strategy, culture is needed for victory (together with everything else yielding/boosting culture)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] The second "late" option here. The boni speak for themselves: +2 commerce per town and +100% culture, low maintenance.The power and importance of cottages are well known, so it is easy to imagine how much impact the extra commerce has. Free Speech is the dominant peaceful option. This applies especially, if you are going for a cultural victory. Though there is still a niche for Bureaucracy (if your capital is among the three cities and you are racing for an important wonder), doubled culture is worth 6 cathedrals and all the Prerequisite temples, not to speak of the advantage in tech race.[NEWLINE]It offers little direct benefit for the warmongers, but if you are currently not fighting for your life or building up you main attack force, you should consider it despite - maintaining or even upgrading an army is expensive.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Economic Column[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Special notes: It is the column which is enabled latest by far, it contains (IMHO) the weakest and the strongest civic of all and also one of the few with a negative effect.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Mercantilism[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Banking (medieval era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] All foreign trade routes are closed, every city gets a "virtual" specialist (which doesn't drain one citizen from work)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Medium[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Tokugawa[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Representation[\BOLD], [BOLD]Caste System[\BOLD], Organized, Pacifism, Philosophical; AW, warmongering or bad diplomatic relations in general, balanced GP strategies, Parthenon, Sistine Chapel, Statue of Liberty[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Mercantilism will be the first available choice in the economic department, but if planned properly Free Market is only one tech away. So it is kind of different to the other "first" civics, were switching over immediately is usually a no-brainer. Things get even more though to evaluate, when taking in account that Mercantilism has a substantial downside beside the upkeep - you will lose all of your foreign trade routes. Unless special circumstances are in place, I usually do not even think about revolting to Mercantilism, but try to get hands on economics ASAP to use Free Market, which can be shortly described as the complete opposite, if you look at what it does.[NEWLINE]But now the more interesting part...when to use Mercantilism Despite all the negative elements connected to it, in some situations the extra specialist is more useful than an extra foreign trade route:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]a) You are in or near an AW situations or your overall diplomatic are just to worse to allow (m)any active OB-treaties. Obviously, this is what it is made for it. The penalty doesn't hurt you anymore, while Free Market offers you zero compared to a free specialist.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]b) You are pursuing an GP-strategy and maybe you have some of the wonders mentioned under "synergies" around. Of course then every specialist helps. However, think twice before giving in to this temptation - Mercantilism is not perfectly suited for this strategy. The most effective way to get a cabinet full of GP is creating a single city, which accumulates as many points as possible. Mercantilism however tends to add few in this case.Most points will be wasted because of the escalating costs of later GPs. What I described as "balanced"-GP strategy (=distributing the GPP sources between several cities) is less effective from the view of maxing out GP, but often not to avoid (no food-powerhouse, cap of two national wonders per city etc.).In the case, Mercantilism can be indeed a valuable part of the big picture.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]c) You have a lot of low-developed cities. Mercantilism's flat one-specialist-per-city bonus obviously has the biggest value, if a city is small - adding a specialist to a size one city without using the citizen to create it means doubling the number of productive people in the city.If combined with Representation and Caste System, you get at decent boost for research this way, while you are able to use the specialist for what is most important (f.e. getting the first border expansion for a new built or conquered city quick).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Nonetheless (and completely according to real history), Mercantilism is in most games only a temporarily good choice. If not FM means the end for it, then State Property will do this job.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Free Market[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Economy (renaissance era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] All cities get an additional foreign trade route[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Low[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Mansa Musa[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Financial[\BOLD], [BOLD]Bureaucracy[\BOLD], Organized, Harbor + other buildings which give extra routes, many OBs, "big" games (huge maps, many opponents), everything which increases commerce yield in your cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD]Many of what could be said about FM is already noted in the paragraph above, because FM is to a large extend the complete opposite of Mercantilism...and so, no wonder, the best moments to use it are non-isolationistic strategies. In theory, a few OB-treaties will be enough to receive the extra trade route; however, more trading partners tend to give you more lucrative routes (just because there are more possible destinations to choose from!).Also everything which increases commerce (many cottages, buildings, civics, shrines, settled down specialists,...) in your cities, will fuel the effect of FM, because the game "connects" rich cities with other rich cities and calculates the yield of trade routes this way.[NEWLINE]Now, how to rate FM Without a doubt, it is the most flexible and easy-to-use civic in the column. Even if you don't care much about synergies, it is difficult to be completely wrong with it. Except complete AW games, it is very unlikely that you end up without a single OB (at least on bigger maps)...and if you just met this condition, you will get a decent reward out of it. Add low upkeep and you will have a nice civic which gives you extra money. Usually, it is the right choice as soon as it shows up - either for the rest of the game or at least until SP gets available.[NEWLINE]But despite it is the right choice very often, I wouldn't call it the most powerful choice. For the reasons, see the next paragraph...[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]State Property[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Communism (industrial era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] No more distance maintenance in your cities. Watermills and Workshops yield one more unit of food.[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] No[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Mao[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Watermill and Workshop-spam[\BOLD], Games aimed at domination win, early GP-strategies, warmongering, Universal Suffrage, Vassalage, Theocracy, Aggressive, Expansive[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Any rating is always dependent on the playing style to a large degree, so you might differ, if I rate SP as the most powerful civic of all. And even my rating needs further explanation... "most powerful" just means that it is probably the civic which might give you the biggest reward - well, if you are able and willing to invest enough to exploit it to its full extend (that's also the reason, why it isn't overpowered!). I'm not claiming that it is the only viable choice; in fact in most games you will get more out of FM, just because its effects are easier obtain.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]SP offers three pluses:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First of all, it is a zero-cost civic. Normally, I wouldn't emphasize it in this way. But usually it is either the way that there is a direct drawback for zero upkeep (Pacifism: extra upkeep for military units) or it is just offset by the fact that the positive effects of the civic are restricted or hard to get.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For SP however, you will at least (nearly) always save some money from the second advantage. No distance maintenance in your cities. OK, you will smile and move on in an OCC, but apart from that the effect is somewhere between "nice" over "alone enough to switch to SP" to "saves me from bankrupt". An empire similar to the former British or Soviet will cost you dearly without SP.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The third thing is probably the most interesting, but also the one which needs most work: Extra food from the watermill and workshop improvement. While it is just the icing on the cake in case of the watermill (it is already a nice choice without SP), it completely turns the tide for the workshops.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A workshop is a niche improvement under normal circumstances. Unless you locally drown in food, the food penalty hits just to hard. Moreover, mines are a big competitor, because they to do the same without taking away arable land and might even grant you a new resource deposit one day. But under SP, a workshop means simply +3 hammers! Cities with enough hills still do not need them...but all those flatland cities in grassland or near a river can be turned into real factories. 10 citizens can yield 30 base hammers this way... If you are among those who always miss hammers dearly and wish to be back in the Civ3s paradise of mined grassland, then welcome in the realm of State Property! The power of such a factory-wonder is multiplied by the fact you can use it to hit the AI on a weak point - they are famous with everything connected to commerce and research, but they often lack the hammers to build the fancy toys for their army.[NEWLINE]The only downside (of which I'm glad it is in!) it the fact that you need a strong worker force to transform your infrastructure this way. And while it perfectly plays together with an early farm/GP-strategy (don't be shy to replace the farms with workshops - with escalating GP costs, you will usually only sacrifice few GLs from the moment on SP becomes available), it will make you cry to tear down developed cottages. It might still make sense in some cases, but be careful then...if you transform too early, you might fall back in tech because of you depleting income. And with the new combat system, Tank vs. Modern Armour is nothing to search for, even if you have the numerical advantage on your side.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Environmentalism[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Medicine (Industrial Era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +6 health in every city; also +1 happiness per jungle/forest tile inside the city radius[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Medium[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] ---[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] Organized, Expansive, low resource situations, "green strategies" (keeping forests, lumber mills), high unhealthiness through power generation or buildings, wars which disrupt resource trading[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] ***REMOVED for overhaul because of the latest patch changes regarding Environmentalism ***[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Religious Column[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Special notes: Unlike the civics of the other columns, the ones of the religious section need an additional component to work - religion. In case of the first three, you will only reap the benefits inside a city, if you have a state religion AND if this state religion is present in this city. Free Religion abandons the state religion concept and depends instead on having as many different religions as possible inside a city. So the usefulness of all the non-default civics depends highly on the religious situation in your empire and the thump rule "everything is better than the default civic" is not entirely true here. The three state-religion civics (can) cause high direct or indirect costs, so Paganism is indeed a real choice, as long as you don't have established religion in most of your cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Organized Religion[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Monotheism (Ancient Era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +25% speed, when constructing buildings or wonders; training of missionaries is possible without having a monastery[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] High[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] ---[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Wonder/cathedral resources[\BOLD] (Marble, Stone, Copper), [BOLD]Industrious[\BOLD], forest-chopping for building projects, State Property, Universal Suffrage[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Your first option in the religious column. The general note on religious civics applies especially to OR. Unless you have founded one of the early religions yourself, the chance is quite high that you have no access to religion, when the civic becomes available. In this case, wait with a switch. Even if the absolute sum is not much in those early turns, you will need every piece of gold - and paying for getting zero doesn't sound like a good idea, well?[NEWLINE]If religion has spread to your empire and a state religion is declared, a switch makes usually sense. +25% hammers for buildings/wonders are a huge boost in the beginning, where you need to get the stuff out as fast as possible. And not to forget the second advantage - missionaries without monasteries. It makes sure that all your new cities can get the production bonus at once and it allows sending out a lot of those guys to your neighbors to bring them in line. However, if you are involved in serious wars and your cities are busy with pumping units out, OR doesn't help you. It can be also problematic on higher difficulties, because then the high upkeep might lay a heavy burden on your treasury.[NEWLINE]Overall, the usefulness tends to decrease over time. If you weight extra building speed vs. free experience, great people points or extra happiness (that's in short what the alternatives - described in detail below - offer), all of the latter three are usually more important in the later game. However, the second advantage might open another niche for OR later. In the moment you research Scientific Method, you lose the chance to build new monasteries. If you have build enough of the ones you need, you are lucky. If not, you have a problem, when you are pursuing for example a cultural victory, for which are cathedrals extremely helpful. OR eliminates this problem by allowing cities to build missionaries of all the religions they contain, regardless of the presence of monasteries - so this effectively means you can spread every religion over your entire empire, if you just have one city with this certain religion.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Theocracy[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Theology (Medieval Era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +2 EXP for new built units; no spreading of none-state religions[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Medium[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Saladin[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Vassalage[\BOLD], [BOLD]Barracks[\BOLD], [BOLD]The Pentagon[\BOLD], [BOLD]Westpoint[\BOLD], [BOLD]Aggressive[\BOLD], Organized, Nationalism, The Heroic Epic, Police State, any war or cold war situation, domination or conquest victories[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Theocracy is Vassalages little sister - the main effect is the same, units start with 2 experience points extra. Like it is true for most war civics, there is not much to say about when you should use them. If you plan to build a lot of units in the near future (for whatever reason), take this. And if you can, take Vassalage too. The synergy between both is one of the strongest among all civics - both improve exactly the same aspect of the game and in case of experience, a cumulative bonus is especially valuable. Yes, you might argue that one of those civics is enough to reap the second promotion immediately (assuming barracks are in place). That's true and I'm far away from saying they are only worth to be taken together - but you just waste their full potential. Believe me, 6 or 8 exp from the start matters, because your units will likely get the third promotion right after the first fight with 8. Also every new promotion means a kind of instant "medipack" for your unit (wounds are partly healed).It can make the difference between losing or winning a fight in many cases.[NEWLINE]Medium upkeep is an absolutely fair charge for what Theocracy does, especially if you compare it with OR or Pacifism. Until Free Religion shows up (which is a great all-round civic), Theocracy is not only the best, but also the cheapest solution in any game which involves decent military action or just a big standing army to prevent it.[NEWLINE]The second effect of Theocracy (no natural or missionary-caused spread of minor religions in city with your state religion) is a kind of a double-edged sword. It prevents you from reaping the benefits of having several religions in your cities (more happiness, culture, science).But OTOH, you also prevent that a nasty opponent spreads his own founded religion into your city and gains line of sight and shrine income. How strong the impact of both aspects is depends however on the extend minor religions have already spread in your country (because existing ones aren't removed). If nearly all of your cities have already a second or even third religion, Theocracy isn't a big loss anymore - because spreading religions via missionaries in this situation is very cost-intensive anyway. For preventing the enemy from gaining benefits out of his or her mother religion it is just the other way round - if they haven't got their feet in your door yet, it is the best time to close it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Pacifism[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Philosophy (Medieval Era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +100% GPP (=Great People Points)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] no direct civic upkeep, but 1 Gold per military unit[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] ---[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Philosophical[\BOLD], [BOLD]The Parthenon[\BOLD], [BOLD]The National Epic[\BOLD], [BOLD]Caste System[\BOLD], Representation, Mercantilism, Industrious, any major GP-strategies, cultural victories[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] If you are in love with Great People, this civic is for you. Although the doubled amount of GPP [BOLD]does not transform into 100% more great people[\BOLD] (the increase is probably rather 20-30 %), the civic pays out if used properly. The real benefit isn't the pure extra number, but the fact that you will get your GPs earlier - and one of the basic rules of Civilisation is that earlier advantages weight more. So they question is when to use Pacifism?[NEWLINE]If you are running a game heavily leaned towards GP, of course. You might run Pacifism then until the end, but you should still keep in mind that the effect fades the more GPs you have already gotten. Taken to the extreme: At some point, even the 100% increase will not yield to another GP because of the geometrical cost increase.[NEWLINE]If GP are just a (minor) part of your strategy, you might consider a quick switch when it becomes available (to rush out some) and eventually later again, when you desperately need another Great Person, while lacking enough base GPP. In any case, try to max out the synergetic potential of Pacifism. Especially the combination with Caste System can do miracles - there is rarely a better way to get a special GP in a short time.[NEWLINE]Probably not necessary to point out, but for the sake of completeness...if you don't have wonders and specialists around which yield GPP, move along - Pacifism has no second benefit, but a hidden cost trap. Don't be fooled by no upkeep, the extra cost for military units will usually easily turn it into a quasi high-upkeep civic. Yes, in theory all those famous Great People might lead you to a peaceful victory , where you don't need any weaponry and therefore unit maintenance. But the days of no-unit-games are gone.Civ4s diplomacy system relies on relation modifiers and is quite reliable in this part, but you will need the plain cold steel, too. There is always someone out there who is jealous about your wonders and cities. Pacifistic games are best achieved with cold-war strategies - and that's nothing to head for under Pacifism from the view of costs. To sum up the options ...either build up a very healthy economy or use Pacifism only temporarily.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Free Religion[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Liberalism (Renaissance Era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +1 happiness per present religion inside a city; +10% research output; no more state religion and religious diplomacy modifiers[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Low[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Elisabeth; religion has no more impact on diplomacy[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] Organized, Expansive, Environmentalism, luxury resource shortages, peaceful-planned games and situations with high-tension in diplomacy, [BOLD]non[\BOLD]-diplomatic victories (especially space race or cultural)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Your final choice in the religious column. A powerful tool, coming with low costs and offering a simple solution for unhappiness problems and granting a 10% increase in research on top - all you have to do is spreading as many religions as possible in every corner of the empire. Each present religion yields +1 happiness in your cities, before factoring in additional boni you might get out of built temples. Unless you have no happiness problems, because your are drowning in luxuries or your cities are small, you should seriously consider a switch.[NEWLINE]The icing on the cake (the research bonus) is even independent of the number of religions in a city (maybe there must be one religion at all, not sure on this). 10% may not sound to drastic, but if you keep in mind how expensive the late game techs have become with v1.52, you will be happy about every extra beaker.It can make the difference in a tight space race.[NEWLINE]As usual there is also shadow or at least some more things to consider. First of all, don't underestimate the difficulty of spreading religions with missionaries. If there is no or only a single religion present in a city, your chance of success is 100% or slightly below. If there is already a second religion, you might fail; three or more is just pure luck. So the gained extra happiness is usually 2 or 3, unless your are willing to invest vast amount of shields for missionaries (which can be sometimes worth nonetheless, when pursuing a cultural victory for example).[NEWLINE]A second aspect is the loss of state religion. Beside the fact that the Spiral Minaret loses its effect , it has a serious impact on the diplomatic system in Civ4, which can be a boon or bust, depending on your situation. Free Religion both nullifies positive and negative modifiers caused by having the same or a different state religion. You will have no more problems with Isabella or Saladin hunting you for believing in the wrong faith, but you might experience cooled down relations with your former brothers in faith, too. The chance to get backstabbed and attacked is slower, but also the possibilities for trade or interventions on your side.</French>
		<German>[H1]A Guide to Civics[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Pfeffersack[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The intention of this article is to give hints and tips about when and how to use the different Civics in Civilization 4.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For each civic there is a note on availability, followed by a short description of the effects/costs, diplomatic implications, comments on synergy with other game elements (other civics, leader traits, buildings, game settings, common strategies) and a final summary on the usefulness of the civic.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Any Feedback is highly appreciated and the guide will be updated with comments and strategies people post here (credits will be given here in the first post).My (high) aim is to provide a comprehensive database on the complex subject of civics.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Additional Credits for contributing interesting aspects, strategies and correcting inadequate information: genjiboy, Heroes, Krikkitone, Orca, Samson.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Some General Thoughts on Civics in Civ4[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Maintenance[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Note: Roland Johansen has done a great article about civic upkeep (http://www.civfanatics.com/civ4/strategy/civic_upkeep.php).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Civics are divided into 4 upkeep categories: no, low, medium and high. As a very rough rule of thumb you will pay 0 for zero, x for low, 1,5-2x for medium and 2-3x for high upkeep civics.The exact values depend on your number of cities and your population.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With a growing empire and increasing inflation, civic upkeep can really drain from your treasury. If you consider which civics to use, always keep the upkeep as an additional factor in mind - if you are unsure which civic is the better one, then the cheaper one is usually the better idea. Perhaps with the exception of Environmentalism, all the high-upkeep civics offer strong advantages. But if go for them, you should check if you can really use them to a certain extent - running Vassalage only pays if you build enough units, while Organized Religion is a waste if you are busy to build up your army.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Spiritual[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I haven't mentioned spiritual as a factor in most of the strategy/synergy sections (with Slavery and Nationalism as exceptions; for why see the civic article) for one reason - it is just plain useful to civics in general. The smooth government transition without anarchy transforms in two advantages: The freedom to change [BOLD]when[\BOLD] and [BOLD]as often as necessary[\BOLD].[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]When[\BOLD] just means the independence of things as wars, golden age or wonder races. Without interfering anarchy, there is no need to wait with a revolution. If a better option shows up, switch (to be correct, there is still a restriction regarding minimum time between two revolutions, but that's only rarely a real problem).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The second benefit is the fact that you don't have to think about [BOLD]if switching (and eventually switching back again soon) is worth the anarchy[\BOLD]. Without the spiritual trait, you have to keep an eye on the number of switches you make in a game - if you accumulate to many anarchy turns over time, it may hurt your progress. Sometimes the anarchy just eats up the small advantage the new civic would give you, especially if the benefits are needed only temporarily (for example, "hurry civics" as Slavery or Universal Suffrage, the "draft civic" Nationalism or Bureaucracy, if you go for a wonder in your capital) - then you will either drop the switch altogether or at least delay it to make a "big revolution" (see below for this strategy for non-spiritual civs). Spirituals effect also tends to rise in Epic or Marathon games.Not so much by the fact the anarchy period is at minimum 2 turns and can easily scale up to 4 (this is counterbalanced by every turn being "less" valuable), but because unit movement isn't modified - a "quick" switch to Slavery and Nationalism without Spiritual to stop an enemy attack will need three turns(!) to show an effect; three turns in which moreover everything in your empire stands still.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Organized[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The organized trait is the second one which has an direct impact on civics.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Organized shifts the balance towards the civics with (higher) maintenance, which are usually the ones with a greater impact and stronger effect....and those suited for a more aggressive and (regarding your empires population) repressive playing style.If you compare a (war-monger) combination of Police State, Vassalage, Caste System, Mercantilism and Theocracy with for example Universal Suffrage, Free Speech, Emancipation, State Property and Free Religion (large empire going for cottages), you will clearly see the different impact of Organized.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To sum up, the effect here can be significant (if you adopt your general "big plan") to meaningless (if you don't). That's also the reason why Organized is usually rated as the weakest trait - however, if at all, that's only partly true.For the civic effect depending on the playing style yes, but you also get cheaper Lighthouses and more important Courthouses - both directing to faster expansion. Not a bad thing in Civ4.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]When to change?[\BOLD] (applies mainly for non-spiritual civs)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The question is nearly as difficult as the one dealing with what to change. As usually there is not a single correct answer. You have to consider different situations and factors.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First of all it is important to distinguish the first, initial change in a civic column from later changes.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In case of the [BOLD]initial change[\BOLD], the straight advice in most of the cases is simply: Change as soon as it possible without. The initial civics do nothing for you except draining low maintenance. Sure, most of the civics you will get first access to in the different columns (Hereditary Rule, Bureaucracy/Vassalage, Slavery/Caste System, Mercantilism and Organized Religion) have a higher upkeep, but the give you some advantage and the real cost for this advantage is lower (because you have to subtract one maintenance level in your calculation - the level you have to pay for the starters anyway!)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Things are more complicated when [BOLD]changing from a "real" civic to another[\BOLD]. Again, switching ASAP is usually not a bad idea - simply because getting a better civic sooner is better and because in a growing economy a turn of anarchy becomes more and more expensive, if the game progresses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]However, some circumstances might make a delayed revolution a better idea. It is for example not a good idea to switch during a golden age (however, the mistake would rather triggering the Golden Age before the switch in most cases) or when you need every turn in a wonder race or for building units in a case of emergency (of course with the exception of a switch to something which helps especially in those situations).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Even if no such special situation makes waiting worth, the concept of "big revolutions" can do so. Instead of switching only one civic in a revolution, you can change up to 5. The anarchy penalty rises too, but not in linear way. You can switch up to 3 civics at one time and will still suffer only one turn anarchy. So you can minimize the turns lost to anarchy if you wait for example a few turns to get another tech which enables a new civic.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]And last but not least there may be economic reasons - don't underestimate the pressure high cost civics can lay on your economy. Especially when having the concept of a big revolution in mind, it might be tempting to make a big change - for example when going to war, switching from low cost "peace" civics to the repressive ones. Make sure you have a healthy economy, a full treasury or a Great Merchant around. Otherwise you might come into trouble soon. Wars are already expensive in Civ4 without the political dimension (more units to support, units must be supplied in enemy lands, enemies eventually pillaging the land, unit upgrades, bribery for allies etc.), so those extra civic costs might lead to strikes or at least a serious drop in your research efforts. A bad move here can be devastating, since you have to wait a few turns to be able to correct it again.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Government Column[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Special notes: The special thing about this column is that you can get access to all civics very early - if you are willing and lucky enough to build "The Pyramids". The immediate availability of all the civics of course change their relative values, so my rather general advices might fail here.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]And there is a second special thing about it...21 out of 26 leaders have their favorite civic inside this column, so your decision here can have an important influence on how getting along with the other leaders...[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Hereditary Rule[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Monarchy (classic era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +1 happiness per military unit inside a city[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Medium[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Alexander, Catherine, Hatshepsut, Huayna Capac, Kublai Khan and Louis XIV.[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] Organized, Vassalage, Nationalism, Theocracy, OCC, cold or general defensive wars (especially AW), ressource-scarce maps[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] The good old military police and better than ever before. No more upper limit. But it comes now with a hefty price, too. Beside the unit upkeep, the civic itself will cost you a substantial sum to maintain. Nearly every other way to produce happiness will be cheaper, but sometimes there is no other way to stay in the "yellow faces" (mainly because of few religions and/or resources).Then it is the right choice, because avoiding unhappy citizens is a high-priority goal. And unless you own the Pyramids, it is the best what you can get for a long time. Otherwise, try to leave it ASAP...if you get access to a new government civic, check if you really need HR any more. If most of the happiness is lost due overflow, consider switching immediately. Even if you can live with the costs (which indeed tend to become less of a problem, if your cities grow really big), you will at least miss the benefits of Universal Suffrage, as soon as it becomes available.[NEWLINE]On the diplomatic table, the civic puts you at good relations (usually a permanent + of 1-3, depending on how long you are in the civic and on how keen the leader is about foreign politics) with 6 other leaders...that's more than with any other civic![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Representation[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Constitution (renaissance era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] Every specialist (including settled down 'super-specialists') yields 3 extra research; the biggest 5 (or 6...I'm unsure if this a flat number or something dependent on map size) cities in your empire get 3 extra happiness.[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Low[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Bismarck, Cyrus, Caesar, Napoleon, Victoria[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Caste System[\BOLD], [BOLD]Mercantilism[\BOLD], Pacifism, Philosophical, Organized, OCC - FCC, smaller maps(?),GP-based strategies.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Representation is the second available choice in the government column and it can be very useful in different situations. Obviously, if you rely very heavily on specialists (and if you are perhaps running some more pro-specialist-civics) and also if your empire is rather small, because then it is your weapon against unhappiness.[NEWLINE]But even without such special circumstances, it is in most cases superior compared to HR. You pay less maintenance and despite you get the happiness usually where you need it most (=in your big cities).And of course your troops are freed again to do what they should - defend and attack. Even when Universal Suffrage becomes available (a tech later, if you have planned for it), you might be better off with staying in Representation. Unless you have money to burn or you have "cottaged" your land early, Representation will often fit better. You can still switch later if necessary.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Police State[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Fascism (industrial era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] 25% more hammer output, if building military units; -50% war wariness[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] High[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Genghis Khan, Isabella, Montezuma, Peter, Qin Shi Huang[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Jails[\BOLD], [BOLD]Mount Rushmore[\BOLD], [BOLD]Heroic Epic[\BOLD], Extended and bloody offense warfare ([BOLD]especially AW[\BOLD]), Drydocks, Vassalage, Theocracy, Organized, Aggressive[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Well, I don't think there is much to say about when this civic helps you and when it doesn't do you anything good. It you are at peace (and plan to stay here), move long - there is just nothing you will find here except a near-to-useless high maintenance civic. If you are attacked, ask your self: Is the production bonus worth to sacrifice other choices Keep in mind, WW is no longer an issue if you just defend your self! Nationalism will literally cost you much less and might offer a better effect.[NEWLINE]What makes it really shine is the second bonus...war wariness can easily force you to end a war, because it gets more and more difficult to maintain a productive economy, when you try to conquer and things start to get rough. PS puts an end to this. Add jails and the Mount Rushmore wonder...and no unhappy people will stop you from dominating the world with your guns. You will also enjoy better relations with other leaders who like to repress their people in the same manner...[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Universal Suffrage[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Democracy (renaissance era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] The Town improvement yields an extra hammer and you are allowed to rush buildings and units with gold.[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Medium[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Asoka, Frederick, Gandhi, Roosevelt, Washington[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Free Speech[\BOLD], [BOLD]Financial[\BOLD], [BOLD]The Kremlin[\BOLD], Emancipation, Organized, "cottage-strategies"[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] If you have planned ahead with building lots of cottages, you are now able to earn your fruits. Now you will not only get tons of money out of them, but also a hammer on the top. On the financial side, you may you the rushing ability to build commerce and science boosters in those cities quickly. You will get the invested money back soon. To make use of the civic to its full extend, be sure to combine it with Free Speech.[NEWLINE]The importance of commerce in Civ4 cannot be overstated. It is the thriving factor. It is also one of the main points why the AI is a lot tougher now - they now know how important it is, if you look at the sheer number of cottages they build. That's why they stay competitive in the tech race until the end of the game...and it also makes the diplomatic aspect even more important here. The leaders who like Universal Suffrage are often among the successful ones, which means you are likely to have powerful friends.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Legal Column[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Special notes: The action in this column starts fairly late; the offered civics cover in a nice way the different needs of offensive/defensive war and early-/late game economy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Vassalage[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Feudalism (medieval era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +2 exp. for new units, extra free unit support (5 flat + 1 for each 10 population points)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] High[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Mehmed II. (WLs)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Organized[\BOLD](see also text), [BOLD]Aggressive[\BOLD], [BOLD]Charismatic[\BOLD], [BOLD]Protective[\BOLD], [BOLD]anything else what grants free experience to new units[\BOLD] (Barracks, Drydocks, Westpoint, The Pentagon, Theocracy, WLs Military Instructors), Police State, any situation with a need for a lot of new troops[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Depending on your research path, Vassalage will be your first or second legal option. It offers one huge benefit (to be entirely correct there is a second: you get some extra free unit support, but this effect is at best a slight compensation for the maintenance, see end of the paragraph) - every unit you will built starts with two experience points more.[NEWLINE]This guarantees the first promotion; under usual circumstances (barracks are in place), you get access to the second. Taking in account how combat in Civ4 works this is without a doubt a very desirable boost. Usually a small edge is enough to decide a combat and am promotion more or less can make this difference easily. It is also an effect you will feel for sure, as everyone - even the most peaceful player - has an need for a decent army - if just to prevent a nasty AI leader from attacking.[NEWLINE]The only downside of Vassalage is the high maintenance cost. Nonetheless, if Vassalage is your first and therefore only option, switch (unless you really have to count every peace of gold). Whenever you plan to built up your forces, switch. In some games you will stay in vassalage for longer times or even the rest of the game, in others the next options will become one day the better choice. Just make sure to exploit the benefits of Vassalage as much as you can, while running it - the extra support will cover the unit maintenance partly (for Organized civs, this civic is even more interesting, as for the reduced cost, the free support alone is worth the expenses!) and experienced troops will still help you in future, if you have left Vassalage for a more peaceful agenda.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Bureaucracy[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Civil Service (medieval era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +50% production and commerce in capital[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Medium[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Kublai Khan, Peter, Qin Shi Huang[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] Spiritual, [BOLD]Organized[\BOLD], [BOLD]Organized Religion[\BOLD], [BOLD]general strong capital development/focus (f.e. important national wonders in capital placed, any civil or military production boosters)[\BOLD], small maps/empires, [BOLD]OCC[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] To put it in one sentence...it is all about your capital here, which will receive 50% additional production and commerce under this civic. Bureaucracy is always worth a thought, if it comes as first option in the column (even the worst capital has the Palace commerce bonus and likely some hammer sources). How competitive it stays against the other options, depends on location, and constitution of your capital and of course on the future plans you gave with it, too. If it is your unit-factory (high base hammer output, Heroic Epic, etc.), drowning in cottages, your main wonder construction site or even your only city (OCC), than this civic is for you. What makes Bureaucracy so powerful despite the fact that it affects only one of your cities, is Civ4s need for specialization - one specialized city may take the entire needs of your empire in one field (unit production, wonders, research,...). And if you can improve this performance by 50%, than it is usually worth a civic.[NEWLINE]However, Bureaucracy tends to lose steam in later phases of most games. The reasons are quite simple - successful empires tend to expand or growth, which means civics get more expensive. Usually, the civic effects expand in a similar manner. Mercantilism gives you an extra specialist in every city, Hereditary Rule enables MP everywhere. Not so here - your entire empire pays with rising maintenance for a fairly constant reward. Freakenly realistic, if you think about real world bureaucracy and centralization.. The final catch is Free Speech becoming available. Without, Nationhood and Vassalage were the only alternatives - ones which aren't too exciting in peacetimes. But usually the need for money and beakers rises in the endgame - and extra income from the cottages is just too important.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Nationhood[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Nationalism (renaissance era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] Ability to draft up 5 units per turn, +2 happiness from barracks[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] None[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Bismarck, Churchill[BOLD][NEWLINE]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Protective[\BOLD], [BOLD]Aggressive[\BOLD], [BOLD]anything else what grants free experience to new units[\BOLD] (Barracks, Drydocks, Westpoint, The Pentagon, Theocracy, WLs Military Instructors), [BOLD]Spiritual[\BOLD], sneak attacks, huge excess happiness and food without sufficient production[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD]Basically, we have the reincarnation of Civ3s draft button, with happiness boosting barracks as icing on the cake - with no maintenance cost. Nationhood is the kind of civic you don't need very often and long, but if you need it, then you need it dearly and if possible immediately. Ironically, you will use this war civic most likely, if you have planned to play a peaceful game - there is always one Alex or Monty out there which is interested in your cities and wonders.So, in case a nasty AI surprises you, what does Nationhood for you?[NEWLINE]Depending on the map Size, you can draft per turn up to 5 of the most modern defenders available(however, restricted to one per city and turn). The price is unhappiness (+3) and population loss (-1 pop point). The big difference to Civ3 is the training level of your drafted troops - while in Civ3 the recruits had 33%/50% less hit points compared to regular/veteran units (which often doomed them as pure cannon fodder), you get regular troops now - just the starting experience is halved. This means still a promotion from the start if a barrack is in place.[NEWLINE]Without a doubt, Nationhood is no real long term option. +2 happiness is not enough to make it interesting in peacetimes and drafting more than one or two units will bring most cities down to anarchy and resulting starvation. You will likely leave Nationhood as soon as the initial ambush forces a repelled -usually for Vassalage-, even if the war continues. Only if the war goes very bad and you are under constant pressure, you might be forced to stay here. It is also the civic of heroic defeats and fighting to the last man...and even if it helps you to survive, you will need a large recovery period after that.[NEWLINE]Since Nationhood is a mainly stop-gap against an invasion, it is most useful if you can enact it while the enemy is still approaching your city - so a good recon work tremendously increases the efficiency of this civic. Or pick a spiritual leader - always useful regarding civics, but being able to enact and draft in the same turn is something not to underestimate.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Free Speech[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Liberalism (renaissance era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +2 commerce for the town improvement, +100% culture[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Low[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Washington[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Financial[\BOLD], [BOLD]Universal Suffrage[\BOLD], [BOLD]Emancipation[\BOLD], [BOLD]Printing Press[\BOLD], any "cottagemania"-strategy, culture is needed for victory (together with everything else yielding/boosting culture)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] The second "late" option here. The boni speak for themselves: +2 commerce per town and +100% culture, low maintenance.The power and importance of cottages are well known, so it is easy to imagine how much impact the extra commerce has. Free Speech is the dominant peaceful option. This applies especially, if you are going for a cultural victory. Though there is still a niche for Bureaucracy (if your capital is among the three cities and you are racing for an important wonder), doubled culture is worth 6 cathedrals and all the Prerequisite temples, not to speak of the advantage in tech race.[NEWLINE]It offers little direct benefit for the warmongers, but if you are currently not fighting for your life or building up you main attack force, you should consider it despite - maintaining or even upgrading an army is expensive.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Economic Column[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Special notes: It is the column which is enabled latest by far, it contains (IMHO) the weakest and the strongest civic of all and also one of the few with a negative effect.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Mercantilism[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Banking (medieval era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] All foreign trade routes are closed, every city gets a "virtual" specialist (which doesn't drain one citizen from work)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Medium[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Tokugawa[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Representation[\BOLD], [BOLD]Caste System[\BOLD], Organized, Pacifism, Philosophical; AW, warmongering or bad diplomatic relations in general, balanced GP strategies, Parthenon, Sistine Chapel, Statue of Liberty[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Mercantilism will be the first available choice in the economic department, but if planned properly Free Market is only one tech away. So it is kind of different to the other "first" civics, were switching over immediately is usually a no-brainer. Things get even more though to evaluate, when taking in account that Mercantilism has a substantial downside beside the upkeep - you will lose all of your foreign trade routes. Unless special circumstances are in place, I usually do not even think about revolting to Mercantilism, but try to get hands on economics ASAP to use Free Market, which can be shortly described as the complete opposite, if you look at what it does.[NEWLINE]But now the more interesting part...when to use Mercantilism Despite all the negative elements connected to it, in some situations the extra specialist is more useful than an extra foreign trade route:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]a) You are in or near an AW situations or your overall diplomatic are just to worse to allow (m)any active OB-treaties. Obviously, this is what it is made for it. The penalty doesn't hurt you anymore, while Free Market offers you zero compared to a free specialist.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]b) You are pursuing an GP-strategy and maybe you have some of the wonders mentioned under "synergies" around. Of course then every specialist helps. However, think twice before giving in to this temptation - Mercantilism is not perfectly suited for this strategy. The most effective way to get a cabinet full of GP is creating a single city, which accumulates as many points as possible. Mercantilism however tends to add few in this case.Most points will be wasted because of the escalating costs of later GPs. What I described as "balanced"-GP strategy (=distributing the GPP sources between several cities) is less effective from the view of maxing out GP, but often not to avoid (no food-powerhouse, cap of two national wonders per city etc.).In the case, Mercantilism can be indeed a valuable part of the big picture.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]c) You have a lot of low-developed cities. Mercantilism's flat one-specialist-per-city bonus obviously has the biggest value, if a city is small - adding a specialist to a size one city without using the citizen to create it means doubling the number of productive people in the city.If combined with Representation and Caste System, you get at decent boost for research this way, while you are able to use the specialist for what is most important (f.e. getting the first border expansion for a new built or conquered city quick).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Nonetheless (and completely according to real history), Mercantilism is in most games only a temporarily good choice. If not FM means the end for it, then State Property will do this job.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Free Market[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Economy (renaissance era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] All cities get an additional foreign trade route[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Low[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Mansa Musa[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Financial[\BOLD], [BOLD]Bureaucracy[\BOLD], Organized, Harbor + other buildings which give extra routes, many OBs, "big" games (huge maps, many opponents), everything which increases commerce yield in your cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD]Many of what could be said about FM is already noted in the paragraph above, because FM is to a large extend the complete opposite of Mercantilism...and so, no wonder, the best moments to use it are non-isolationistic strategies. In theory, a few OB-treaties will be enough to receive the extra trade route; however, more trading partners tend to give you more lucrative routes (just because there are more possible destinations to choose from!).Also everything which increases commerce (many cottages, buildings, civics, shrines, settled down specialists,...) in your cities, will fuel the effect of FM, because the game "connects" rich cities with other rich cities and calculates the yield of trade routes this way.[NEWLINE]Now, how to rate FM Without a doubt, it is the most flexible and easy-to-use civic in the column. Even if you don't care much about synergies, it is difficult to be completely wrong with it. Except complete AW games, it is very unlikely that you end up without a single OB (at least on bigger maps)...and if you just met this condition, you will get a decent reward out of it. Add low upkeep and you will have a nice civic which gives you extra money. Usually, it is the right choice as soon as it shows up - either for the rest of the game or at least until SP gets available.[NEWLINE]But despite it is the right choice very often, I wouldn't call it the most powerful choice. For the reasons, see the next paragraph...[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]State Property[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Communism (industrial era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] No more distance maintenance in your cities. Watermills and Workshops yield one more unit of food.[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] No[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Mao[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Watermill and Workshop-spam[\BOLD], Games aimed at domination win, early GP-strategies, warmongering, Universal Suffrage, Vassalage, Theocracy, Aggressive, Expansive[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Any rating is always dependent on the playing style to a large degree, so you might differ, if I rate SP as the most powerful civic of all. And even my rating needs further explanation... "most powerful" just means that it is probably the civic which might give you the biggest reward - well, if you are able and willing to invest enough to exploit it to its full extend (that's also the reason, why it isn't overpowered!). I'm not claiming that it is the only viable choice; in fact in most games you will get more out of FM, just because its effects are easier obtain.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]SP offers three pluses:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First of all, it is a zero-cost civic. Normally, I wouldn't emphasize it in this way. But usually it is either the way that there is a direct drawback for zero upkeep (Pacifism: extra upkeep for military units) or it is just offset by the fact that the positive effects of the civic are restricted or hard to get.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For SP however, you will at least (nearly) always save some money from the second advantage. No distance maintenance in your cities. OK, you will smile and move on in an OCC, but apart from that the effect is somewhere between "nice" over "alone enough to switch to SP" to "saves me from bankrupt". An empire similar to the former British or Soviet will cost you dearly without SP.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The third thing is probably the most interesting, but also the one which needs most work: Extra food from the watermill and workshop improvement. While it is just the icing on the cake in case of the watermill (it is already a nice choice without SP), it completely turns the tide for the workshops.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A workshop is a niche improvement under normal circumstances. Unless you locally drown in food, the food penalty hits just to hard. Moreover, mines are a big competitor, because they to do the same without taking away arable land and might even grant you a new resource deposit one day. But under SP, a workshop means simply +3 hammers! Cities with enough hills still do not need them...but all those flatland cities in grassland or near a river can be turned into real factories. 10 citizens can yield 30 base hammers this way... If you are among those who always miss hammers dearly and wish to be back in the Civ3s paradise of mined grassland, then welcome in the realm of State Property! The power of such a factory-wonder is multiplied by the fact you can use it to hit the AI on a weak point - they are famous with everything connected to commerce and research, but they often lack the hammers to build the fancy toys for their army.[NEWLINE]The only downside (of which I'm glad it is in!) it the fact that you need a strong worker force to transform your infrastructure this way. And while it perfectly plays together with an early farm/GP-strategy (don't be shy to replace the farms with workshops - with escalating GP costs, you will usually only sacrifice few GLs from the moment on SP becomes available), it will make you cry to tear down developed cottages. It might still make sense in some cases, but be careful then...if you transform too early, you might fall back in tech because of you depleting income. And with the new combat system, Tank vs. Modern Armour is nothing to search for, even if you have the numerical advantage on your side.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Environmentalism[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Medicine (Industrial Era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +6 health in every city; also +1 happiness per jungle/forest tile inside the city radius[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Medium[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] ---[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] Organized, Expansive, low resource situations, "green strategies" (keeping forests, lumber mills), high unhealthiness through power generation or buildings, wars which disrupt resource trading[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] ***REMOVED for overhaul because of the latest patch changes regarding Environmentalism ***[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Religious Column[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Special notes: Unlike the civics of the other columns, the ones of the religious section need an additional component to work - religion. In case of the first three, you will only reap the benefits inside a city, if you have a state religion AND if this state religion is present in this city. Free Religion abandons the state religion concept and depends instead on having as many different religions as possible inside a city. So the usefulness of all the non-default civics depends highly on the religious situation in your empire and the thump rule "everything is better than the default civic" is not entirely true here. The three state-religion civics (can) cause high direct or indirect costs, so Paganism is indeed a real choice, as long as you don't have established religion in most of your cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Organized Religion[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Monotheism (Ancient Era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +25% speed, when constructing buildings or wonders; training of missionaries is possible without having a monastery[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] High[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] ---[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Wonder/cathedral resources[\BOLD] (Marble, Stone, Copper), [BOLD]Industrious[\BOLD], forest-chopping for building projects, State Property, Universal Suffrage[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Your first option in the religious column. The general note on religious civics applies especially to OR. Unless you have founded one of the early religions yourself, the chance is quite high that you have no access to religion, when the civic becomes available. In this case, wait with a switch. Even if the absolute sum is not much in those early turns, you will need every piece of gold - and paying for getting zero doesn't sound like a good idea, well?[NEWLINE]If religion has spread to your empire and a state religion is declared, a switch makes usually sense. +25% hammers for buildings/wonders are a huge boost in the beginning, where you need to get the stuff out as fast as possible. And not to forget the second advantage - missionaries without monasteries. It makes sure that all your new cities can get the production bonus at once and it allows sending out a lot of those guys to your neighbors to bring them in line. However, if you are involved in serious wars and your cities are busy with pumping units out, OR doesn't help you. It can be also problematic on higher difficulties, because then the high upkeep might lay a heavy burden on your treasury.[NEWLINE]Overall, the usefulness tends to decrease over time. If you weight extra building speed vs. free experience, great people points or extra happiness (that's in short what the alternatives - described in detail below - offer), all of the latter three are usually more important in the later game. However, the second advantage might open another niche for OR later. In the moment you research Scientific Method, you lose the chance to build new monasteries. If you have build enough of the ones you need, you are lucky. If not, you have a problem, when you are pursuing for example a cultural victory, for which are cathedrals extremely helpful. OR eliminates this problem by allowing cities to build missionaries of all the religions they contain, regardless of the presence of monasteries - so this effectively means you can spread every religion over your entire empire, if you just have one city with this certain religion.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Theocracy[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Theology (Medieval Era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +2 EXP for new built units; no spreading of none-state religions[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Medium[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Saladin[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Vassalage[\BOLD], [BOLD]Barracks[\BOLD], [BOLD]The Pentagon[\BOLD], [BOLD]Westpoint[\BOLD], [BOLD]Aggressive[\BOLD], Organized, Nationalism, The Heroic Epic, Police State, any war or cold war situation, domination or conquest victories[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Theocracy is Vassalages little sister - the main effect is the same, units start with 2 experience points extra. Like it is true for most war civics, there is not much to say about when you should use them. If you plan to build a lot of units in the near future (for whatever reason), take this. And if you can, take Vassalage too. The synergy between both is one of the strongest among all civics - both improve exactly the same aspect of the game and in case of experience, a cumulative bonus is especially valuable. Yes, you might argue that one of those civics is enough to reap the second promotion immediately (assuming barracks are in place). That's true and I'm far away from saying they are only worth to be taken together - but you just waste their full potential. Believe me, 6 or 8 exp from the start matters, because your units will likely get the third promotion right after the first fight with 8. Also every new promotion means a kind of instant "medipack" for your unit (wounds are partly healed).It can make the difference between losing or winning a fight in many cases.[NEWLINE]Medium upkeep is an absolutely fair charge for what Theocracy does, especially if you compare it with OR or Pacifism. Until Free Religion shows up (which is a great all-round civic), Theocracy is not only the best, but also the cheapest solution in any game which involves decent military action or just a big standing army to prevent it.[NEWLINE]The second effect of Theocracy (no natural or missionary-caused spread of minor religions in city with your state religion) is a kind of a double-edged sword. It prevents you from reaping the benefits of having several religions in your cities (more happiness, culture, science).But OTOH, you also prevent that a nasty opponent spreads his own founded religion into your city and gains line of sight and shrine income. How strong the impact of both aspects is depends however on the extend minor religions have already spread in your country (because existing ones aren't removed). If nearly all of your cities have already a second or even third religion, Theocracy isn't a big loss anymore - because spreading religions via missionaries in this situation is very cost-intensive anyway. For preventing the enemy from gaining benefits out of his or her mother religion it is just the other way round - if they haven't got their feet in your door yet, it is the best time to close it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Pacifism[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Philosophy (Medieval Era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +100% GPP (=Great People Points)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] no direct civic upkeep, but 1 Gold per military unit[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] ---[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Philosophical[\BOLD], [BOLD]The Parthenon[\BOLD], [BOLD]The National Epic[\BOLD], [BOLD]Caste System[\BOLD], Representation, Mercantilism, Industrious, any major GP-strategies, cultural victories[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] If you are in love with Great People, this civic is for you. Although the doubled amount of GPP [BOLD]does not transform into 100% more great people[\BOLD] (the increase is probably rather 20-30 %), the civic pays out if used properly. The real benefit isn't the pure extra number, but the fact that you will get your GPs earlier - and one of the basic rules of Civilisation is that earlier advantages weight more. So they question is when to use Pacifism?[NEWLINE]If you are running a game heavily leaned towards GP, of course. You might run Pacifism then until the end, but you should still keep in mind that the effect fades the more GPs you have already gotten. Taken to the extreme: At some point, even the 100% increase will not yield to another GP because of the geometrical cost increase.[NEWLINE]If GP are just a (minor) part of your strategy, you might consider a quick switch when it becomes available (to rush out some) and eventually later again, when you desperately need another Great Person, while lacking enough base GPP. In any case, try to max out the synergetic potential of Pacifism. Especially the combination with Caste System can do miracles - there is rarely a better way to get a special GP in a short time.[NEWLINE]Probably not necessary to point out, but for the sake of completeness...if you don't have wonders and specialists around which yield GPP, move along - Pacifism has no second benefit, but a hidden cost trap. Don't be fooled by no upkeep, the extra cost for military units will usually easily turn it into a quasi high-upkeep civic. Yes, in theory all those famous Great People might lead you to a peaceful victory , where you don't need any weaponry and therefore unit maintenance. But the days of no-unit-games are gone.Civ4s diplomacy system relies on relation modifiers and is quite reliable in this part, but you will need the plain cold steel, too. There is always someone out there who is jealous about your wonders and cities. Pacifistic games are best achieved with cold-war strategies - and that's nothing to head for under Pacifism from the view of costs. To sum up the options ...either build up a very healthy economy or use Pacifism only temporarily.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Free Religion[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Liberalism (Renaissance Era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +1 happiness per present religion inside a city; +10% research output; no more state religion and religious diplomacy modifiers[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Low[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Elisabeth; religion has no more impact on diplomacy[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] Organized, Expansive, Environmentalism, luxury resource shortages, peaceful-planned games and situations with high-tension in diplomacy, [BOLD]non[\BOLD]-diplomatic victories (especially space race or cultural)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Your final choice in the religious column. A powerful tool, coming with low costs and offering a simple solution for unhappiness problems and granting a 10% increase in research on top - all you have to do is spreading as many religions as possible in every corner of the empire. Each present religion yields +1 happiness in your cities, before factoring in additional boni you might get out of built temples. Unless you have no happiness problems, because your are drowning in luxuries or your cities are small, you should seriously consider a switch.[NEWLINE]The icing on the cake (the research bonus) is even independent of the number of religions in a city (maybe there must be one religion at all, not sure on this). 10% may not sound to drastic, but if you keep in mind how expensive the late game techs have become with v1.52, you will be happy about every extra beaker.It can make the difference in a tight space race.[NEWLINE]As usual there is also shadow or at least some more things to consider. First of all, don't underestimate the difficulty of spreading religions with missionaries. If there is no or only a single religion present in a city, your chance of success is 100% or slightly below. If there is already a second religion, you might fail; three or more is just pure luck. So the gained extra happiness is usually 2 or 3, unless your are willing to invest vast amount of shields for missionaries (which can be sometimes worth nonetheless, when pursuing a cultural victory for example).[NEWLINE]A second aspect is the loss of state religion. Beside the fact that the Spiral Minaret loses its effect , it has a serious impact on the diplomatic system in Civ4, which can be a boon or bust, depending on your situation. Free Religion both nullifies positive and negative modifiers caused by having the same or a different state religion. You will have no more problems with Isabella or Saladin hunting you for believing in the wrong faith, but you might experience cooled down relations with your former brothers in faith, too. The chance to get backstabbed and attacked is slower, but also the possibilities for trade or interventions on your side.</German>
		<Italian>[H1]A Guide to Civics[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Pfeffersack[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The intention of this article is to give hints and tips about when and how to use the different Civics in Civilization 4.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For each civic there is a note on availability, followed by a short description of the effects/costs, diplomatic implications, comments on synergy with other game elements (other civics, leader traits, buildings, game settings, common strategies) and a final summary on the usefulness of the civic.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Any Feedback is highly appreciated and the guide will be updated with comments and strategies people post here (credits will be given here in the first post).My (high) aim is to provide a comprehensive database on the complex subject of civics.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Additional Credits for contributing interesting aspects, strategies and correcting inadequate information: genjiboy, Heroes, Krikkitone, Orca, Samson.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Some General Thoughts on Civics in Civ4[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Maintenance[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Note: Roland Johansen has done a great article about civic upkeep (http://www.civfanatics.com/civ4/strategy/civic_upkeep.php).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Civics are divided into 4 upkeep categories: no, low, medium and high. As a very rough rule of thumb you will pay 0 for zero, x for low, 1,5-2x for medium and 2-3x for high upkeep civics.The exact values depend on your number of cities and your population.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With a growing empire and increasing inflation, civic upkeep can really drain from your treasury. If you consider which civics to use, always keep the upkeep as an additional factor in mind - if you are unsure which civic is the better one, then the cheaper one is usually the better idea. Perhaps with the exception of Environmentalism, all the high-upkeep civics offer strong advantages. But if go for them, you should check if you can really use them to a certain extent - running Vassalage only pays if you build enough units, while Organized Religion is a waste if you are busy to build up your army.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Spiritual[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I haven't mentioned spiritual as a factor in most of the strategy/synergy sections (with Slavery and Nationalism as exceptions; for why see the civic article) for one reason - it is just plain useful to civics in general. The smooth government transition without anarchy transforms in two advantages: The freedom to change [BOLD]when[\BOLD] and [BOLD]as often as necessary[\BOLD].[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]When[\BOLD] just means the independence of things as wars, golden age or wonder races. Without interfering anarchy, there is no need to wait with a revolution. If a better option shows up, switch (to be correct, there is still a restriction regarding minimum time between two revolutions, but that's only rarely a real problem).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The second benefit is the fact that you don't have to think about [BOLD]if switching (and eventually switching back again soon) is worth the anarchy[\BOLD]. Without the spiritual trait, you have to keep an eye on the number of switches you make in a game - if you accumulate to many anarchy turns over time, it may hurt your progress. Sometimes the anarchy just eats up the small advantage the new civic would give you, especially if the benefits are needed only temporarily (for example, "hurry civics" as Slavery or Universal Suffrage, the "draft civic" Nationalism or Bureaucracy, if you go for a wonder in your capital) - then you will either drop the switch altogether or at least delay it to make a "big revolution" (see below for this strategy for non-spiritual civs). Spirituals effect also tends to rise in Epic or Marathon games.Not so much by the fact the anarchy period is at minimum 2 turns and can easily scale up to 4 (this is counterbalanced by every turn being "less" valuable), but because unit movement isn't modified - a "quick" switch to Slavery and Nationalism without Spiritual to stop an enemy attack will need three turns(!) to show an effect; three turns in which moreover everything in your empire stands still.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Organized[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The organized trait is the second one which has an direct impact on civics.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Organized shifts the balance towards the civics with (higher) maintenance, which are usually the ones with a greater impact and stronger effect....and those suited for a more aggressive and (regarding your empires population) repressive playing style.If you compare a (war-monger) combination of Police State, Vassalage, Caste System, Mercantilism and Theocracy with for example Universal Suffrage, Free Speech, Emancipation, State Property and Free Religion (large empire going for cottages), you will clearly see the different impact of Organized.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To sum up, the effect here can be significant (if you adopt your general "big plan") to meaningless (if you don't). That's also the reason why Organized is usually rated as the weakest trait - however, if at all, that's only partly true.For the civic effect depending on the playing style yes, but you also get cheaper Lighthouses and more important Courthouses - both directing to faster expansion. Not a bad thing in Civ4.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]When to change?[\BOLD] (applies mainly for non-spiritual civs)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The question is nearly as difficult as the one dealing with what to change. As usually there is not a single correct answer. You have to consider different situations and factors.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First of all it is important to distinguish the first, initial change in a civic column from later changes.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In case of the [BOLD]initial change[\BOLD], the straight advice in most of the cases is simply: Change as soon as it possible without. The initial civics do nothing for you except draining low maintenance. Sure, most of the civics you will get first access to in the different columns (Hereditary Rule, Bureaucracy/Vassalage, Slavery/Caste System, Mercantilism and Organized Religion) have a higher upkeep, but the give you some advantage and the real cost for this advantage is lower (because you have to subtract one maintenance level in your calculation - the level you have to pay for the starters anyway!)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Things are more complicated when [BOLD]changing from a "real" civic to another[\BOLD]. Again, switching ASAP is usually not a bad idea - simply because getting a better civic sooner is better and because in a growing economy a turn of anarchy becomes more and more expensive, if the game progresses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]However, some circumstances might make a delayed revolution a better idea. It is for example not a good idea to switch during a golden age (however, the mistake would rather triggering the Golden Age before the switch in most cases) or when you need every turn in a wonder race or for building units in a case of emergency (of course with the exception of a switch to something which helps especially in those situations).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Even if no such special situation makes waiting worth, the concept of "big revolutions" can do so. Instead of switching only one civic in a revolution, you can change up to 5. The anarchy penalty rises too, but not in linear way. You can switch up to 3 civics at one time and will still suffer only one turn anarchy. So you can minimize the turns lost to anarchy if you wait for example a few turns to get another tech which enables a new civic.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]And last but not least there may be economic reasons - don't underestimate the pressure high cost civics can lay on your economy. Especially when having the concept of a big revolution in mind, it might be tempting to make a big change - for example when going to war, switching from low cost "peace" civics to the repressive ones. Make sure you have a healthy economy, a full treasury or a Great Merchant around. Otherwise you might come into trouble soon. Wars are already expensive in Civ4 without the political dimension (more units to support, units must be supplied in enemy lands, enemies eventually pillaging the land, unit upgrades, bribery for allies etc.), so those extra civic costs might lead to strikes or at least a serious drop in your research efforts. A bad move here can be devastating, since you have to wait a few turns to be able to correct it again.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Government Column[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Special notes: The special thing about this column is that you can get access to all civics very early - if you are willing and lucky enough to build "The Pyramids". The immediate availability of all the civics of course change their relative values, so my rather general advices might fail here.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]And there is a second special thing about it...21 out of 26 leaders have their favorite civic inside this column, so your decision here can have an important influence on how getting along with the other leaders...[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Hereditary Rule[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Monarchy (classic era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +1 happiness per military unit inside a city[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Medium[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Alexander, Catherine, Hatshepsut, Huayna Capac, Kublai Khan and Louis XIV.[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] Organized, Vassalage, Nationalism, Theocracy, OCC, cold or general defensive wars (especially AW), ressource-scarce maps[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] The good old military police and better than ever before. No more upper limit. But it comes now with a hefty price, too. Beside the unit upkeep, the civic itself will cost you a substantial sum to maintain. Nearly every other way to produce happiness will be cheaper, but sometimes there is no other way to stay in the "yellow faces" (mainly because of few religions and/or resources).Then it is the right choice, because avoiding unhappy citizens is a high-priority goal. And unless you own the Pyramids, it is the best what you can get for a long time. Otherwise, try to leave it ASAP...if you get access to a new government civic, check if you really need HR any more. If most of the happiness is lost due overflow, consider switching immediately. Even if you can live with the costs (which indeed tend to become less of a problem, if your cities grow really big), you will at least miss the benefits of Universal Suffrage, as soon as it becomes available.[NEWLINE]On the diplomatic table, the civic puts you at good relations (usually a permanent + of 1-3, depending on how long you are in the civic and on how keen the leader is about foreign politics) with 6 other leaders...that's more than with any other civic![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Representation[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Constitution (renaissance era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] Every specialist (including settled down 'super-specialists') yields 3 extra research; the biggest 5 (or 6...I'm unsure if this a flat number or something dependent on map size) cities in your empire get 3 extra happiness.[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Low[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Bismarck, Cyrus, Caesar, Napoleon, Victoria[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Caste System[\BOLD], [BOLD]Mercantilism[\BOLD], Pacifism, Philosophical, Organized, OCC - FCC, smaller maps(?),GP-based strategies.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Representation is the second available choice in the government column and it can be very useful in different situations. Obviously, if you rely very heavily on specialists (and if you are perhaps running some more pro-specialist-civics) and also if your empire is rather small, because then it is your weapon against unhappiness.[NEWLINE]But even without such special circumstances, it is in most cases superior compared to HR. You pay less maintenance and despite you get the happiness usually where you need it most (=in your big cities).And of course your troops are freed again to do what they should - defend and attack. Even when Universal Suffrage becomes available (a tech later, if you have planned for it), you might be better off with staying in Representation. Unless you have money to burn or you have "cottaged" your land early, Representation will often fit better. You can still switch later if necessary.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Police State[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Fascism (industrial era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] 25% more hammer output, if building military units; -50% war wariness[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] High[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Genghis Khan, Isabella, Montezuma, Peter, Qin Shi Huang[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Jails[\BOLD], [BOLD]Mount Rushmore[\BOLD], [BOLD]Heroic Epic[\BOLD], Extended and bloody offense warfare ([BOLD]especially AW[\BOLD]), Drydocks, Vassalage, Theocracy, Organized, Aggressive[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Well, I don't think there is much to say about when this civic helps you and when it doesn't do you anything good. It you are at peace (and plan to stay here), move long - there is just nothing you will find here except a near-to-useless high maintenance civic. If you are attacked, ask your self: Is the production bonus worth to sacrifice other choices Keep in mind, WW is no longer an issue if you just defend your self! Nationalism will literally cost you much less and might offer a better effect.[NEWLINE]What makes it really shine is the second bonus...war wariness can easily force you to end a war, because it gets more and more difficult to maintain a productive economy, when you try to conquer and things start to get rough. PS puts an end to this. Add jails and the Mount Rushmore wonder...and no unhappy people will stop you from dominating the world with your guns. You will also enjoy better relations with other leaders who like to repress their people in the same manner...[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Universal Suffrage[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Democracy (renaissance era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] The Town improvement yields an extra hammer and you are allowed to rush buildings and units with gold.[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Medium[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Asoka, Frederick, Gandhi, Roosevelt, Washington[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Free Speech[\BOLD], [BOLD]Financial[\BOLD], [BOLD]The Kremlin[\BOLD], Emancipation, Organized, "cottage-strategies"[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] If you have planned ahead with building lots of cottages, you are now able to earn your fruits. Now you will not only get tons of money out of them, but also a hammer on the top. On the financial side, you may you the rushing ability to build commerce and science boosters in those cities quickly. You will get the invested money back soon. To make use of the civic to its full extend, be sure to combine it with Free Speech.[NEWLINE]The importance of commerce in Civ4 cannot be overstated. It is the thriving factor. It is also one of the main points why the AI is a lot tougher now - they now know how important it is, if you look at the sheer number of cottages they build. That's why they stay competitive in the tech race until the end of the game...and it also makes the diplomatic aspect even more important here. The leaders who like Universal Suffrage are often among the successful ones, which means you are likely to have powerful friends.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Legal Column[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Special notes: The action in this column starts fairly late; the offered civics cover in a nice way the different needs of offensive/defensive war and early-/late game economy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Vassalage[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Feudalism (medieval era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +2 exp. for new units, extra free unit support (5 flat + 1 for each 10 population points)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] High[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Mehmed II. (WLs)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Organized[\BOLD](see also text), [BOLD]Aggressive[\BOLD], [BOLD]Charismatic[\BOLD], [BOLD]Protective[\BOLD], [BOLD]anything else what grants free experience to new units[\BOLD] (Barracks, Drydocks, Westpoint, The Pentagon, Theocracy, WLs Military Instructors), Police State, any situation with a need for a lot of new troops[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Depending on your research path, Vassalage will be your first or second legal option. It offers one huge benefit (to be entirely correct there is a second: you get some extra free unit support, but this effect is at best a slight compensation for the maintenance, see end of the paragraph) - every unit you will built starts with two experience points more.[NEWLINE]This guarantees the first promotion; under usual circumstances (barracks are in place), you get access to the second. Taking in account how combat in Civ4 works this is without a doubt a very desirable boost. Usually a small edge is enough to decide a combat and am promotion more or less can make this difference easily. It is also an effect you will feel for sure, as everyone - even the most peaceful player - has an need for a decent army - if just to prevent a nasty AI leader from attacking.[NEWLINE]The only downside of Vassalage is the high maintenance cost. Nonetheless, if Vassalage is your first and therefore only option, switch (unless you really have to count every peace of gold). Whenever you plan to built up your forces, switch. In some games you will stay in vassalage for longer times or even the rest of the game, in others the next options will become one day the better choice. Just make sure to exploit the benefits of Vassalage as much as you can, while running it - the extra support will cover the unit maintenance partly (for Organized civs, this civic is even more interesting, as for the reduced cost, the free support alone is worth the expenses!) and experienced troops will still help you in future, if you have left Vassalage for a more peaceful agenda.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Bureaucracy[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Civil Service (medieval era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +50% production and commerce in capital[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Medium[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Kublai Khan, Peter, Qin Shi Huang[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] Spiritual, [BOLD]Organized[\BOLD], [BOLD]Organized Religion[\BOLD], [BOLD]general strong capital development/focus (f.e. important national wonders in capital placed, any civil or military production boosters)[\BOLD], small maps/empires, [BOLD]OCC[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] To put it in one sentence...it is all about your capital here, which will receive 50% additional production and commerce under this civic. Bureaucracy is always worth a thought, if it comes as first option in the column (even the worst capital has the Palace commerce bonus and likely some hammer sources). How competitive it stays against the other options, depends on location, and constitution of your capital and of course on the future plans you gave with it, too. If it is your unit-factory (high base hammer output, Heroic Epic, etc.), drowning in cottages, your main wonder construction site or even your only city (OCC), than this civic is for you. What makes Bureaucracy so powerful despite the fact that it affects only one of your cities, is Civ4s need for specialization - one specialized city may take the entire needs of your empire in one field (unit production, wonders, research,...). And if you can improve this performance by 50%, than it is usually worth a civic.[NEWLINE]However, Bureaucracy tends to lose steam in later phases of most games. The reasons are quite simple - successful empires tend to expand or growth, which means civics get more expensive. Usually, the civic effects expand in a similar manner. Mercantilism gives you an extra specialist in every city, Hereditary Rule enables MP everywhere. Not so here - your entire empire pays with rising maintenance for a fairly constant reward. Freakenly realistic, if you think about real world bureaucracy and centralization.. The final catch is Free Speech becoming available. Without, Nationhood and Vassalage were the only alternatives - ones which aren't too exciting in peacetimes. But usually the need for money and beakers rises in the endgame - and extra income from the cottages is just too important.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Nationhood[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Nationalism (renaissance era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] Ability to draft up 5 units per turn, +2 happiness from barracks[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] None[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Bismarck, Churchill[BOLD][NEWLINE]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Protective[\BOLD], [BOLD]Aggressive[\BOLD], [BOLD]anything else what grants free experience to new units[\BOLD] (Barracks, Drydocks, Westpoint, The Pentagon, Theocracy, WLs Military Instructors), [BOLD]Spiritual[\BOLD], sneak attacks, huge excess happiness and food without sufficient production[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD]Basically, we have the reincarnation of Civ3s draft button, with happiness boosting barracks as icing on the cake - with no maintenance cost. Nationhood is the kind of civic you don't need very often and long, but if you need it, then you need it dearly and if possible immediately. Ironically, you will use this war civic most likely, if you have planned to play a peaceful game - there is always one Alex or Monty out there which is interested in your cities and wonders.So, in case a nasty AI surprises you, what does Nationhood for you?[NEWLINE]Depending on the map Size, you can draft per turn up to 5 of the most modern defenders available(however, restricted to one per city and turn). The price is unhappiness (+3) and population loss (-1 pop point). The big difference to Civ3 is the training level of your drafted troops - while in Civ3 the recruits had 33%/50% less hit points compared to regular/veteran units (which often doomed them as pure cannon fodder), you get regular troops now - just the starting experience is halved. This means still a promotion from the start if a barrack is in place.[NEWLINE]Without a doubt, Nationhood is no real long term option. +2 happiness is not enough to make it interesting in peacetimes and drafting more than one or two units will bring most cities down to anarchy and resulting starvation. You will likely leave Nationhood as soon as the initial ambush forces a repelled -usually for Vassalage-, even if the war continues. Only if the war goes very bad and you are under constant pressure, you might be forced to stay here. It is also the civic of heroic defeats and fighting to the last man...and even if it helps you to survive, you will need a large recovery period after that.[NEWLINE]Since Nationhood is a mainly stop-gap against an invasion, it is most useful if you can enact it while the enemy is still approaching your city - so a good recon work tremendously increases the efficiency of this civic. Or pick a spiritual leader - always useful regarding civics, but being able to enact and draft in the same turn is something not to underestimate.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Free Speech[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Liberalism (renaissance era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +2 commerce for the town improvement, +100% culture[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Low[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Washington[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Financial[\BOLD], [BOLD]Universal Suffrage[\BOLD], [BOLD]Emancipation[\BOLD], [BOLD]Printing Press[\BOLD], any "cottagemania"-strategy, culture is needed for victory (together with everything else yielding/boosting culture)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] The second "late" option here. The boni speak for themselves: +2 commerce per town and +100% culture, low maintenance.The power and importance of cottages are well known, so it is easy to imagine how much impact the extra commerce has. Free Speech is the dominant peaceful option. This applies especially, if you are going for a cultural victory. Though there is still a niche for Bureaucracy (if your capital is among the three cities and you are racing for an important wonder), doubled culture is worth 6 cathedrals and all the Prerequisite temples, not to speak of the advantage in tech race.[NEWLINE]It offers little direct benefit for the warmongers, but if you are currently not fighting for your life or building up you main attack force, you should consider it despite - maintaining or even upgrading an army is expensive.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Economic Column[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Special notes: It is the column which is enabled latest by far, it contains (IMHO) the weakest and the strongest civic of all and also one of the few with a negative effect.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Mercantilism[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Banking (medieval era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] All foreign trade routes are closed, every city gets a "virtual" specialist (which doesn't drain one citizen from work)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Medium[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Tokugawa[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Representation[\BOLD], [BOLD]Caste System[\BOLD], Organized, Pacifism, Philosophical; AW, warmongering or bad diplomatic relations in general, balanced GP strategies, Parthenon, Sistine Chapel, Statue of Liberty[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Mercantilism will be the first available choice in the economic department, but if planned properly Free Market is only one tech away. So it is kind of different to the other "first" civics, were switching over immediately is usually a no-brainer. Things get even more though to evaluate, when taking in account that Mercantilism has a substantial downside beside the upkeep - you will lose all of your foreign trade routes. Unless special circumstances are in place, I usually do not even think about revolting to Mercantilism, but try to get hands on economics ASAP to use Free Market, which can be shortly described as the complete opposite, if you look at what it does.[NEWLINE]But now the more interesting part...when to use Mercantilism Despite all the negative elements connected to it, in some situations the extra specialist is more useful than an extra foreign trade route:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]a) You are in or near an AW situations or your overall diplomatic are just to worse to allow (m)any active OB-treaties. Obviously, this is what it is made for it. The penalty doesn't hurt you anymore, while Free Market offers you zero compared to a free specialist.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]b) You are pursuing an GP-strategy and maybe you have some of the wonders mentioned under "synergies" around. Of course then every specialist helps. However, think twice before giving in to this temptation - Mercantilism is not perfectly suited for this strategy. The most effective way to get a cabinet full of GP is creating a single city, which accumulates as many points as possible. Mercantilism however tends to add few in this case.Most points will be wasted because of the escalating costs of later GPs. What I described as "balanced"-GP strategy (=distributing the GPP sources between several cities) is less effective from the view of maxing out GP, but often not to avoid (no food-powerhouse, cap of two national wonders per city etc.).In the case, Mercantilism can be indeed a valuable part of the big picture.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]c) You have a lot of low-developed cities. Mercantilism's flat one-specialist-per-city bonus obviously has the biggest value, if a city is small - adding a specialist to a size one city without using the citizen to create it means doubling the number of productive people in the city.If combined with Representation and Caste System, you get at decent boost for research this way, while you are able to use the specialist for what is most important (f.e. getting the first border expansion for a new built or conquered city quick).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Nonetheless (and completely according to real history), Mercantilism is in most games only a temporarily good choice. If not FM means the end for it, then State Property will do this job.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Free Market[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Economy (renaissance era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] All cities get an additional foreign trade route[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Low[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Mansa Musa[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Financial[\BOLD], [BOLD]Bureaucracy[\BOLD], Organized, Harbor + other buildings which give extra routes, many OBs, "big" games (huge maps, many opponents), everything which increases commerce yield in your cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD]Many of what could be said about FM is already noted in the paragraph above, because FM is to a large extend the complete opposite of Mercantilism...and so, no wonder, the best moments to use it are non-isolationistic strategies. In theory, a few OB-treaties will be enough to receive the extra trade route; however, more trading partners tend to give you more lucrative routes (just because there are more possible destinations to choose from!).Also everything which increases commerce (many cottages, buildings, civics, shrines, settled down specialists,...) in your cities, will fuel the effect of FM, because the game "connects" rich cities with other rich cities and calculates the yield of trade routes this way.[NEWLINE]Now, how to rate FM Without a doubt, it is the most flexible and easy-to-use civic in the column. Even if you don't care much about synergies, it is difficult to be completely wrong with it. Except complete AW games, it is very unlikely that you end up without a single OB (at least on bigger maps)...and if you just met this condition, you will get a decent reward out of it. Add low upkeep and you will have a nice civic which gives you extra money. Usually, it is the right choice as soon as it shows up - either for the rest of the game or at least until SP gets available.[NEWLINE]But despite it is the right choice very often, I wouldn't call it the most powerful choice. For the reasons, see the next paragraph...[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]State Property[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Communism (industrial era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] No more distance maintenance in your cities. Watermills and Workshops yield one more unit of food.[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] No[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Mao[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Watermill and Workshop-spam[\BOLD], Games aimed at domination win, early GP-strategies, warmongering, Universal Suffrage, Vassalage, Theocracy, Aggressive, Expansive[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Any rating is always dependent on the playing style to a large degree, so you might differ, if I rate SP as the most powerful civic of all. And even my rating needs further explanation... "most powerful" just means that it is probably the civic which might give you the biggest reward - well, if you are able and willing to invest enough to exploit it to its full extend (that's also the reason, why it isn't overpowered!). I'm not claiming that it is the only viable choice; in fact in most games you will get more out of FM, just because its effects are easier obtain.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]SP offers three pluses:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First of all, it is a zero-cost civic. Normally, I wouldn't emphasize it in this way. But usually it is either the way that there is a direct drawback for zero upkeep (Pacifism: extra upkeep for military units) or it is just offset by the fact that the positive effects of the civic are restricted or hard to get.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For SP however, you will at least (nearly) always save some money from the second advantage. No distance maintenance in your cities. OK, you will smile and move on in an OCC, but apart from that the effect is somewhere between "nice" over "alone enough to switch to SP" to "saves me from bankrupt". An empire similar to the former British or Soviet will cost you dearly without SP.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The third thing is probably the most interesting, but also the one which needs most work: Extra food from the watermill and workshop improvement. While it is just the icing on the cake in case of the watermill (it is already a nice choice without SP), it completely turns the tide for the workshops.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A workshop is a niche improvement under normal circumstances. Unless you locally drown in food, the food penalty hits just to hard. Moreover, mines are a big competitor, because they to do the same without taking away arable land and might even grant you a new resource deposit one day. But under SP, a workshop means simply +3 hammers! Cities with enough hills still do not need them...but all those flatland cities in grassland or near a river can be turned into real factories. 10 citizens can yield 30 base hammers this way... If you are among those who always miss hammers dearly and wish to be back in the Civ3s paradise of mined grassland, then welcome in the realm of State Property! The power of such a factory-wonder is multiplied by the fact you can use it to hit the AI on a weak point - they are famous with everything connected to commerce and research, but they often lack the hammers to build the fancy toys for their army.[NEWLINE]The only downside (of which I'm glad it is in!) it the fact that you need a strong worker force to transform your infrastructure this way. And while it perfectly plays together with an early farm/GP-strategy (don't be shy to replace the farms with workshops - with escalating GP costs, you will usually only sacrifice few GLs from the moment on SP becomes available), it will make you cry to tear down developed cottages. It might still make sense in some cases, but be careful then...if you transform too early, you might fall back in tech because of you depleting income. And with the new combat system, Tank vs. Modern Armour is nothing to search for, even if you have the numerical advantage on your side.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Environmentalism[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Medicine (Industrial Era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +6 health in every city; also +1 happiness per jungle/forest tile inside the city radius[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Medium[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] ---[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] Organized, Expansive, low resource situations, "green strategies" (keeping forests, lumber mills), high unhealthiness through power generation or buildings, wars which disrupt resource trading[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] ***REMOVED for overhaul because of the latest patch changes regarding Environmentalism ***[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Religious Column[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Special notes: Unlike the civics of the other columns, the ones of the religious section need an additional component to work - religion. In case of the first three, you will only reap the benefits inside a city, if you have a state religion AND if this state religion is present in this city. Free Religion abandons the state religion concept and depends instead on having as many different religions as possible inside a city. So the usefulness of all the non-default civics depends highly on the religious situation in your empire and the thump rule "everything is better than the default civic" is not entirely true here. The three state-religion civics (can) cause high direct or indirect costs, so Paganism is indeed a real choice, as long as you don't have established religion in most of your cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Organized Religion[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Monotheism (Ancient Era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +25% speed, when constructing buildings or wonders; training of missionaries is possible without having a monastery[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] High[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] ---[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Wonder/cathedral resources[\BOLD] (Marble, Stone, Copper), [BOLD]Industrious[\BOLD], forest-chopping for building projects, State Property, Universal Suffrage[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Your first option in the religious column. The general note on religious civics applies especially to OR. Unless you have founded one of the early religions yourself, the chance is quite high that you have no access to religion, when the civic becomes available. In this case, wait with a switch. Even if the absolute sum is not much in those early turns, you will need every piece of gold - and paying for getting zero doesn't sound like a good idea, well?[NEWLINE]If religion has spread to your empire and a state religion is declared, a switch makes usually sense. +25% hammers for buildings/wonders are a huge boost in the beginning, where you need to get the stuff out as fast as possible. And not to forget the second advantage - missionaries without monasteries. It makes sure that all your new cities can get the production bonus at once and it allows sending out a lot of those guys to your neighbors to bring them in line. However, if you are involved in serious wars and your cities are busy with pumping units out, OR doesn't help you. It can be also problematic on higher difficulties, because then the high upkeep might lay a heavy burden on your treasury.[NEWLINE]Overall, the usefulness tends to decrease over time. If you weight extra building speed vs. free experience, great people points or extra happiness (that's in short what the alternatives - described in detail below - offer), all of the latter three are usually more important in the later game. However, the second advantage might open another niche for OR later. In the moment you research Scientific Method, you lose the chance to build new monasteries. If you have build enough of the ones you need, you are lucky. If not, you have a problem, when you are pursuing for example a cultural victory, for which are cathedrals extremely helpful. OR eliminates this problem by allowing cities to build missionaries of all the religions they contain, regardless of the presence of monasteries - so this effectively means you can spread every religion over your entire empire, if you just have one city with this certain religion.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Theocracy[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Theology (Medieval Era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +2 EXP for new built units; no spreading of none-state religions[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Medium[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Saladin[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Vassalage[\BOLD], [BOLD]Barracks[\BOLD], [BOLD]The Pentagon[\BOLD], [BOLD]Westpoint[\BOLD], [BOLD]Aggressive[\BOLD], Organized, Nationalism, The Heroic Epic, Police State, any war or cold war situation, domination or conquest victories[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Theocracy is Vassalages little sister - the main effect is the same, units start with 2 experience points extra. Like it is true for most war civics, there is not much to say about when you should use them. If you plan to build a lot of units in the near future (for whatever reason), take this. And if you can, take Vassalage too. The synergy between both is one of the strongest among all civics - both improve exactly the same aspect of the game and in case of experience, a cumulative bonus is especially valuable. Yes, you might argue that one of those civics is enough to reap the second promotion immediately (assuming barracks are in place). That's true and I'm far away from saying they are only worth to be taken together - but you just waste their full potential. Believe me, 6 or 8 exp from the start matters, because your units will likely get the third promotion right after the first fight with 8. Also every new promotion means a kind of instant "medipack" for your unit (wounds are partly healed).It can make the difference between losing or winning a fight in many cases.[NEWLINE]Medium upkeep is an absolutely fair charge for what Theocracy does, especially if you compare it with OR or Pacifism. Until Free Religion shows up (which is a great all-round civic), Theocracy is not only the best, but also the cheapest solution in any game which involves decent military action or just a big standing army to prevent it.[NEWLINE]The second effect of Theocracy (no natural or missionary-caused spread of minor religions in city with your state religion) is a kind of a double-edged sword. It prevents you from reaping the benefits of having several religions in your cities (more happiness, culture, science).But OTOH, you also prevent that a nasty opponent spreads his own founded religion into your city and gains line of sight and shrine income. How strong the impact of both aspects is depends however on the extend minor religions have already spread in your country (because existing ones aren't removed). If nearly all of your cities have already a second or even third religion, Theocracy isn't a big loss anymore - because spreading religions via missionaries in this situation is very cost-intensive anyway. For preventing the enemy from gaining benefits out of his or her mother religion it is just the other way round - if they haven't got their feet in your door yet, it is the best time to close it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Pacifism[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Philosophy (Medieval Era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +100% GPP (=Great People Points)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] no direct civic upkeep, but 1 Gold per military unit[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] ---[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Philosophical[\BOLD], [BOLD]The Parthenon[\BOLD], [BOLD]The National Epic[\BOLD], [BOLD]Caste System[\BOLD], Representation, Mercantilism, Industrious, any major GP-strategies, cultural victories[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] If you are in love with Great People, this civic is for you. Although the doubled amount of GPP [BOLD]does not transform into 100% more great people[\BOLD] (the increase is probably rather 20-30 %), the civic pays out if used properly. The real benefit isn't the pure extra number, but the fact that you will get your GPs earlier - and one of the basic rules of Civilisation is that earlier advantages weight more. So they question is when to use Pacifism?[NEWLINE]If you are running a game heavily leaned towards GP, of course. You might run Pacifism then until the end, but you should still keep in mind that the effect fades the more GPs you have already gotten. Taken to the extreme: At some point, even the 100% increase will not yield to another GP because of the geometrical cost increase.[NEWLINE]If GP are just a (minor) part of your strategy, you might consider a quick switch when it becomes available (to rush out some) and eventually later again, when you desperately need another Great Person, while lacking enough base GPP. In any case, try to max out the synergetic potential of Pacifism. Especially the combination with Caste System can do miracles - there is rarely a better way to get a special GP in a short time.[NEWLINE]Probably not necessary to point out, but for the sake of completeness...if you don't have wonders and specialists around which yield GPP, move along - Pacifism has no second benefit, but a hidden cost trap. Don't be fooled by no upkeep, the extra cost for military units will usually easily turn it into a quasi high-upkeep civic. Yes, in theory all those famous Great People might lead you to a peaceful victory , where you don't need any weaponry and therefore unit maintenance. But the days of no-unit-games are gone.Civ4s diplomacy system relies on relation modifiers and is quite reliable in this part, but you will need the plain cold steel, too. There is always someone out there who is jealous about your wonders and cities. Pacifistic games are best achieved with cold-war strategies - and that's nothing to head for under Pacifism from the view of costs. To sum up the options ...either build up a very healthy economy or use Pacifism only temporarily.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Free Religion[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Liberalism (Renaissance Era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +1 happiness per present religion inside a city; +10% research output; no more state religion and religious diplomacy modifiers[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Low[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Elisabeth; religion has no more impact on diplomacy[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] Organized, Expansive, Environmentalism, luxury resource shortages, peaceful-planned games and situations with high-tension in diplomacy, [BOLD]non[\BOLD]-diplomatic victories (especially space race or cultural)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Your final choice in the religious column. A powerful tool, coming with low costs and offering a simple solution for unhappiness problems and granting a 10% increase in research on top - all you have to do is spreading as many religions as possible in every corner of the empire. Each present religion yields +1 happiness in your cities, before factoring in additional boni you might get out of built temples. Unless you have no happiness problems, because your are drowning in luxuries or your cities are small, you should seriously consider a switch.[NEWLINE]The icing on the cake (the research bonus) is even independent of the number of religions in a city (maybe there must be one religion at all, not sure on this). 10% may not sound to drastic, but if you keep in mind how expensive the late game techs have become with v1.52, you will be happy about every extra beaker.It can make the difference in a tight space race.[NEWLINE]As usual there is also shadow or at least some more things to consider. First of all, don't underestimate the difficulty of spreading religions with missionaries. If there is no or only a single religion present in a city, your chance of success is 100% or slightly below. If there is already a second religion, you might fail; three or more is just pure luck. So the gained extra happiness is usually 2 or 3, unless your are willing to invest vast amount of shields for missionaries (which can be sometimes worth nonetheless, when pursuing a cultural victory for example).[NEWLINE]A second aspect is the loss of state religion. Beside the fact that the Spiral Minaret loses its effect , it has a serious impact on the diplomatic system in Civ4, which can be a boon or bust, depending on your situation. Free Religion both nullifies positive and negative modifiers caused by having the same or a different state religion. You will have no more problems with Isabella or Saladin hunting you for believing in the wrong faith, but you might experience cooled down relations with your former brothers in faith, too. The chance to get backstabbed and attacked is slower, but also the possibilities for trade or interventions on your side.</Italian>
		<Spanish>[H1]A Guide to Civics[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Pfeffersack[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The intention of this article is to give hints and tips about when and how to use the different Civics in Civilization 4.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For each civic there is a note on availability, followed by a short description of the effects/costs, diplomatic implications, comments on synergy with other game elements (other civics, leader traits, buildings, game settings, common strategies) and a final summary on the usefulness of the civic.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Any Feedback is highly appreciated and the guide will be updated with comments and strategies people post here (credits will be given here in the first post).My (high) aim is to provide a comprehensive database on the complex subject of civics.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Additional Credits for contributing interesting aspects, strategies and correcting inadequate information: genjiboy, Heroes, Krikkitone, Orca, Samson.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Some General Thoughts on Civics in Civ4[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Maintenance[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Note: Roland Johansen has done a great article about civic upkeep (http://www.civfanatics.com/civ4/strategy/civic_upkeep.php).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Civics are divided into 4 upkeep categories: no, low, medium and high. As a very rough rule of thumb you will pay 0 for zero, x for low, 1,5-2x for medium and 2-3x for high upkeep civics.The exact values depend on your number of cities and your population.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With a growing empire and increasing inflation, civic upkeep can really drain from your treasury. If you consider which civics to use, always keep the upkeep as an additional factor in mind - if you are unsure which civic is the better one, then the cheaper one is usually the better idea. Perhaps with the exception of Environmentalism, all the high-upkeep civics offer strong advantages. But if go for them, you should check if you can really use them to a certain extent - running Vassalage only pays if you build enough units, while Organized Religion is a waste if you are busy to build up your army.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Spiritual[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I haven't mentioned spiritual as a factor in most of the strategy/synergy sections (with Slavery and Nationalism as exceptions; for why see the civic article) for one reason - it is just plain useful to civics in general. The smooth government transition without anarchy transforms in two advantages: The freedom to change [BOLD]when[\BOLD] and [BOLD]as often as necessary[\BOLD].[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]When[\BOLD] just means the independence of things as wars, golden age or wonder races. Without interfering anarchy, there is no need to wait with a revolution. If a better option shows up, switch (to be correct, there is still a restriction regarding minimum time between two revolutions, but that's only rarely a real problem).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The second benefit is the fact that you don't have to think about [BOLD]if switching (and eventually switching back again soon) is worth the anarchy[\BOLD]. Without the spiritual trait, you have to keep an eye on the number of switches you make in a game - if you accumulate to many anarchy turns over time, it may hurt your progress. Sometimes the anarchy just eats up the small advantage the new civic would give you, especially if the benefits are needed only temporarily (for example, "hurry civics" as Slavery or Universal Suffrage, the "draft civic" Nationalism or Bureaucracy, if you go for a wonder in your capital) - then you will either drop the switch altogether or at least delay it to make a "big revolution" (see below for this strategy for non-spiritual civs). Spirituals effect also tends to rise in Epic or Marathon games.Not so much by the fact the anarchy period is at minimum 2 turns and can easily scale up to 4 (this is counterbalanced by every turn being "less" valuable), but because unit movement isn't modified - a "quick" switch to Slavery and Nationalism without Spiritual to stop an enemy attack will need three turns(!) to show an effect; three turns in which moreover everything in your empire stands still.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Organized[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The organized trait is the second one which has an direct impact on civics.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Organized shifts the balance towards the civics with (higher) maintenance, which are usually the ones with a greater impact and stronger effect....and those suited for a more aggressive and (regarding your empires population) repressive playing style.If you compare a (war-monger) combination of Police State, Vassalage, Caste System, Mercantilism and Theocracy with for example Universal Suffrage, Free Speech, Emancipation, State Property and Free Religion (large empire going for cottages), you will clearly see the different impact of Organized.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To sum up, the effect here can be significant (if you adopt your general "big plan") to meaningless (if you don't). That's also the reason why Organized is usually rated as the weakest trait - however, if at all, that's only partly true.For the civic effect depending on the playing style yes, but you also get cheaper Lighthouses and more important Courthouses - both directing to faster expansion. Not a bad thing in Civ4.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]When to change?[\BOLD] (applies mainly for non-spiritual civs)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The question is nearly as difficult as the one dealing with what to change. As usually there is not a single correct answer. You have to consider different situations and factors.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First of all it is important to distinguish the first, initial change in a civic column from later changes.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In case of the [BOLD]initial change[\BOLD], the straight advice in most of the cases is simply: Change as soon as it possible without. The initial civics do nothing for you except draining low maintenance. Sure, most of the civics you will get first access to in the different columns (Hereditary Rule, Bureaucracy/Vassalage, Slavery/Caste System, Mercantilism and Organized Religion) have a higher upkeep, but the give you some advantage and the real cost for this advantage is lower (because you have to subtract one maintenance level in your calculation - the level you have to pay for the starters anyway!)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Things are more complicated when [BOLD]changing from a "real" civic to another[\BOLD]. Again, switching ASAP is usually not a bad idea - simply because getting a better civic sooner is better and because in a growing economy a turn of anarchy becomes more and more expensive, if the game progresses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]However, some circumstances might make a delayed revolution a better idea. It is for example not a good idea to switch during a golden age (however, the mistake would rather triggering the Golden Age before the switch in most cases) or when you need every turn in a wonder race or for building units in a case of emergency (of course with the exception of a switch to something which helps especially in those situations).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Even if no such special situation makes waiting worth, the concept of "big revolutions" can do so. Instead of switching only one civic in a revolution, you can change up to 5. The anarchy penalty rises too, but not in linear way. You can switch up to 3 civics at one time and will still suffer only one turn anarchy. So you can minimize the turns lost to anarchy if you wait for example a few turns to get another tech which enables a new civic.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]And last but not least there may be economic reasons - don't underestimate the pressure high cost civics can lay on your economy. Especially when having the concept of a big revolution in mind, it might be tempting to make a big change - for example when going to war, switching from low cost "peace" civics to the repressive ones. Make sure you have a healthy economy, a full treasury or a Great Merchant around. Otherwise you might come into trouble soon. Wars are already expensive in Civ4 without the political dimension (more units to support, units must be supplied in enemy lands, enemies eventually pillaging the land, unit upgrades, bribery for allies etc.), so those extra civic costs might lead to strikes or at least a serious drop in your research efforts. A bad move here can be devastating, since you have to wait a few turns to be able to correct it again.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Government Column[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Special notes: The special thing about this column is that you can get access to all civics very early - if you are willing and lucky enough to build "The Pyramids". The immediate availability of all the civics of course change their relative values, so my rather general advices might fail here.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]And there is a second special thing about it...21 out of 26 leaders have their favorite civic inside this column, so your decision here can have an important influence on how getting along with the other leaders...[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Hereditary Rule[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Monarchy (classic era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +1 happiness per military unit inside a city[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Medium[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Alexander, Catherine, Hatshepsut, Huayna Capac, Kublai Khan and Louis XIV.[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] Organized, Vassalage, Nationalism, Theocracy, OCC, cold or general defensive wars (especially AW), ressource-scarce maps[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] The good old military police and better than ever before. No more upper limit. But it comes now with a hefty price, too. Beside the unit upkeep, the civic itself will cost you a substantial sum to maintain. Nearly every other way to produce happiness will be cheaper, but sometimes there is no other way to stay in the "yellow faces" (mainly because of few religions and/or resources).Then it is the right choice, because avoiding unhappy citizens is a high-priority goal. And unless you own the Pyramids, it is the best what you can get for a long time. Otherwise, try to leave it ASAP...if you get access to a new government civic, check if you really need HR any more. If most of the happiness is lost due overflow, consider switching immediately. Even if you can live with the costs (which indeed tend to become less of a problem, if your cities grow really big), you will at least miss the benefits of Universal Suffrage, as soon as it becomes available.[NEWLINE]On the diplomatic table, the civic puts you at good relations (usually a permanent + of 1-3, depending on how long you are in the civic and on how keen the leader is about foreign politics) with 6 other leaders...that's more than with any other civic![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Representation[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Constitution (renaissance era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] Every specialist (including settled down 'super-specialists') yields 3 extra research; the biggest 5 (or 6...I'm unsure if this a flat number or something dependent on map size) cities in your empire get 3 extra happiness.[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Low[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Bismarck, Cyrus, Caesar, Napoleon, Victoria[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Caste System[\BOLD], [BOLD]Mercantilism[\BOLD], Pacifism, Philosophical, Organized, OCC - FCC, smaller maps(?),GP-based strategies.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Representation is the second available choice in the government column and it can be very useful in different situations. Obviously, if you rely very heavily on specialists (and if you are perhaps running some more pro-specialist-civics) and also if your empire is rather small, because then it is your weapon against unhappiness.[NEWLINE]But even without such special circumstances, it is in most cases superior compared to HR. You pay less maintenance and despite you get the happiness usually where you need it most (=in your big cities).And of course your troops are freed again to do what they should - defend and attack. Even when Universal Suffrage becomes available (a tech later, if you have planned for it), you might be better off with staying in Representation. Unless you have money to burn or you have "cottaged" your land early, Representation will often fit better. You can still switch later if necessary.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Police State[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Fascism (industrial era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] 25% more hammer output, if building military units; -50% war wariness[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] High[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Genghis Khan, Isabella, Montezuma, Peter, Qin Shi Huang[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Jails[\BOLD], [BOLD]Mount Rushmore[\BOLD], [BOLD]Heroic Epic[\BOLD], Extended and bloody offense warfare ([BOLD]especially AW[\BOLD]), Drydocks, Vassalage, Theocracy, Organized, Aggressive[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Well, I don't think there is much to say about when this civic helps you and when it doesn't do you anything good. It you are at peace (and plan to stay here), move long - there is just nothing you will find here except a near-to-useless high maintenance civic. If you are attacked, ask your self: Is the production bonus worth to sacrifice other choices Keep in mind, WW is no longer an issue if you just defend your self! Nationalism will literally cost you much less and might offer a better effect.[NEWLINE]What makes it really shine is the second bonus...war wariness can easily force you to end a war, because it gets more and more difficult to maintain a productive economy, when you try to conquer and things start to get rough. PS puts an end to this. Add jails and the Mount Rushmore wonder...and no unhappy people will stop you from dominating the world with your guns. You will also enjoy better relations with other leaders who like to repress their people in the same manner...[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Universal Suffrage[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Democracy (renaissance era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] The Town improvement yields an extra hammer and you are allowed to rush buildings and units with gold.[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Medium[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Asoka, Frederick, Gandhi, Roosevelt, Washington[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Free Speech[\BOLD], [BOLD]Financial[\BOLD], [BOLD]The Kremlin[\BOLD], Emancipation, Organized, "cottage-strategies"[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] If you have planned ahead with building lots of cottages, you are now able to earn your fruits. Now you will not only get tons of money out of them, but also a hammer on the top. On the financial side, you may you the rushing ability to build commerce and science boosters in those cities quickly. You will get the invested money back soon. To make use of the civic to its full extend, be sure to combine it with Free Speech.[NEWLINE]The importance of commerce in Civ4 cannot be overstated. It is the thriving factor. It is also one of the main points why the AI is a lot tougher now - they now know how important it is, if you look at the sheer number of cottages they build. That's why they stay competitive in the tech race until the end of the game...and it also makes the diplomatic aspect even more important here. The leaders who like Universal Suffrage are often among the successful ones, which means you are likely to have powerful friends.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Legal Column[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Special notes: The action in this column starts fairly late; the offered civics cover in a nice way the different needs of offensive/defensive war and early-/late game economy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Vassalage[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Feudalism (medieval era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +2 exp. for new units, extra free unit support (5 flat + 1 for each 10 population points)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] High[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Mehmed II. (WLs)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Organized[\BOLD](see also text), [BOLD]Aggressive[\BOLD], [BOLD]Charismatic[\BOLD], [BOLD]Protective[\BOLD], [BOLD]anything else what grants free experience to new units[\BOLD] (Barracks, Drydocks, Westpoint, The Pentagon, Theocracy, WLs Military Instructors), Police State, any situation with a need for a lot of new troops[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Depending on your research path, Vassalage will be your first or second legal option. It offers one huge benefit (to be entirely correct there is a second: you get some extra free unit support, but this effect is at best a slight compensation for the maintenance, see end of the paragraph) - every unit you will built starts with two experience points more.[NEWLINE]This guarantees the first promotion; under usual circumstances (barracks are in place), you get access to the second. Taking in account how combat in Civ4 works this is without a doubt a very desirable boost. Usually a small edge is enough to decide a combat and am promotion more or less can make this difference easily. It is also an effect you will feel for sure, as everyone - even the most peaceful player - has an need for a decent army - if just to prevent a nasty AI leader from attacking.[NEWLINE]The only downside of Vassalage is the high maintenance cost. Nonetheless, if Vassalage is your first and therefore only option, switch (unless you really have to count every peace of gold). Whenever you plan to built up your forces, switch. In some games you will stay in vassalage for longer times or even the rest of the game, in others the next options will become one day the better choice. Just make sure to exploit the benefits of Vassalage as much as you can, while running it - the extra support will cover the unit maintenance partly (for Organized civs, this civic is even more interesting, as for the reduced cost, the free support alone is worth the expenses!) and experienced troops will still help you in future, if you have left Vassalage for a more peaceful agenda.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Bureaucracy[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Civil Service (medieval era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +50% production and commerce in capital[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Medium[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Kublai Khan, Peter, Qin Shi Huang[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] Spiritual, [BOLD]Organized[\BOLD], [BOLD]Organized Religion[\BOLD], [BOLD]general strong capital development/focus (f.e. important national wonders in capital placed, any civil or military production boosters)[\BOLD], small maps/empires, [BOLD]OCC[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] To put it in one sentence...it is all about your capital here, which will receive 50% additional production and commerce under this civic. Bureaucracy is always worth a thought, if it comes as first option in the column (even the worst capital has the Palace commerce bonus and likely some hammer sources). How competitive it stays against the other options, depends on location, and constitution of your capital and of course on the future plans you gave with it, too. If it is your unit-factory (high base hammer output, Heroic Epic, etc.), drowning in cottages, your main wonder construction site or even your only city (OCC), than this civic is for you. What makes Bureaucracy so powerful despite the fact that it affects only one of your cities, is Civ4s need for specialization - one specialized city may take the entire needs of your empire in one field (unit production, wonders, research,...). And if you can improve this performance by 50%, than it is usually worth a civic.[NEWLINE]However, Bureaucracy tends to lose steam in later phases of most games. The reasons are quite simple - successful empires tend to expand or growth, which means civics get more expensive. Usually, the civic effects expand in a similar manner. Mercantilism gives you an extra specialist in every city, Hereditary Rule enables MP everywhere. Not so here - your entire empire pays with rising maintenance for a fairly constant reward. Freakenly realistic, if you think about real world bureaucracy and centralization.. The final catch is Free Speech becoming available. Without, Nationhood and Vassalage were the only alternatives - ones which aren't too exciting in peacetimes. But usually the need for money and beakers rises in the endgame - and extra income from the cottages is just too important.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Nationhood[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Nationalism (renaissance era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] Ability to draft up 5 units per turn, +2 happiness from barracks[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] None[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Bismarck, Churchill[BOLD][NEWLINE]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Protective[\BOLD], [BOLD]Aggressive[\BOLD], [BOLD]anything else what grants free experience to new units[\BOLD] (Barracks, Drydocks, Westpoint, The Pentagon, Theocracy, WLs Military Instructors), [BOLD]Spiritual[\BOLD], sneak attacks, huge excess happiness and food without sufficient production[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD]Basically, we have the reincarnation of Civ3s draft button, with happiness boosting barracks as icing on the cake - with no maintenance cost. Nationhood is the kind of civic you don't need very often and long, but if you need it, then you need it dearly and if possible immediately. Ironically, you will use this war civic most likely, if you have planned to play a peaceful game - there is always one Alex or Monty out there which is interested in your cities and wonders.So, in case a nasty AI surprises you, what does Nationhood for you?[NEWLINE]Depending on the map Size, you can draft per turn up to 5 of the most modern defenders available(however, restricted to one per city and turn). The price is unhappiness (+3) and population loss (-1 pop point). The big difference to Civ3 is the training level of your drafted troops - while in Civ3 the recruits had 33%/50% less hit points compared to regular/veteran units (which often doomed them as pure cannon fodder), you get regular troops now - just the starting experience is halved. This means still a promotion from the start if a barrack is in place.[NEWLINE]Without a doubt, Nationhood is no real long term option. +2 happiness is not enough to make it interesting in peacetimes and drafting more than one or two units will bring most cities down to anarchy and resulting starvation. You will likely leave Nationhood as soon as the initial ambush forces a repelled -usually for Vassalage-, even if the war continues. Only if the war goes very bad and you are under constant pressure, you might be forced to stay here. It is also the civic of heroic defeats and fighting to the last man...and even if it helps you to survive, you will need a large recovery period after that.[NEWLINE]Since Nationhood is a mainly stop-gap against an invasion, it is most useful if you can enact it while the enemy is still approaching your city - so a good recon work tremendously increases the efficiency of this civic. Or pick a spiritual leader - always useful regarding civics, but being able to enact and draft in the same turn is something not to underestimate.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Free Speech[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Liberalism (renaissance era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +2 commerce for the town improvement, +100% culture[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Low[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Washington[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Financial[\BOLD], [BOLD]Universal Suffrage[\BOLD], [BOLD]Emancipation[\BOLD], [BOLD]Printing Press[\BOLD], any "cottagemania"-strategy, culture is needed for victory (together with everything else yielding/boosting culture)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] The second "late" option here. The boni speak for themselves: +2 commerce per town and +100% culture, low maintenance.The power and importance of cottages are well known, so it is easy to imagine how much impact the extra commerce has. Free Speech is the dominant peaceful option. This applies especially, if you are going for a cultural victory. Though there is still a niche for Bureaucracy (if your capital is among the three cities and you are racing for an important wonder), doubled culture is worth 6 cathedrals and all the Prerequisite temples, not to speak of the advantage in tech race.[NEWLINE]It offers little direct benefit for the warmongers, but if you are currently not fighting for your life or building up you main attack force, you should consider it despite - maintaining or even upgrading an army is expensive.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Economic Column[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Special notes: It is the column which is enabled latest by far, it contains (IMHO) the weakest and the strongest civic of all and also one of the few with a negative effect.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Mercantilism[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Banking (medieval era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] All foreign trade routes are closed, every city gets a "virtual" specialist (which doesn't drain one citizen from work)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Medium[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Tokugawa[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Representation[\BOLD], [BOLD]Caste System[\BOLD], Organized, Pacifism, Philosophical; AW, warmongering or bad diplomatic relations in general, balanced GP strategies, Parthenon, Sistine Chapel, Statue of Liberty[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Mercantilism will be the first available choice in the economic department, but if planned properly Free Market is only one tech away. So it is kind of different to the other "first" civics, were switching over immediately is usually a no-brainer. Things get even more though to evaluate, when taking in account that Mercantilism has a substantial downside beside the upkeep - you will lose all of your foreign trade routes. Unless special circumstances are in place, I usually do not even think about revolting to Mercantilism, but try to get hands on economics ASAP to use Free Market, which can be shortly described as the complete opposite, if you look at what it does.[NEWLINE]But now the more interesting part...when to use Mercantilism Despite all the negative elements connected to it, in some situations the extra specialist is more useful than an extra foreign trade route:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]a) You are in or near an AW situations or your overall diplomatic are just to worse to allow (m)any active OB-treaties. Obviously, this is what it is made for it. The penalty doesn't hurt you anymore, while Free Market offers you zero compared to a free specialist.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]b) You are pursuing an GP-strategy and maybe you have some of the wonders mentioned under "synergies" around. Of course then every specialist helps. However, think twice before giving in to this temptation - Mercantilism is not perfectly suited for this strategy. The most effective way to get a cabinet full of GP is creating a single city, which accumulates as many points as possible. Mercantilism however tends to add few in this case.Most points will be wasted because of the escalating costs of later GPs. What I described as "balanced"-GP strategy (=distributing the GPP sources between several cities) is less effective from the view of maxing out GP, but often not to avoid (no food-powerhouse, cap of two national wonders per city etc.).In the case, Mercantilism can be indeed a valuable part of the big picture.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]c) You have a lot of low-developed cities. Mercantilism's flat one-specialist-per-city bonus obviously has the biggest value, if a city is small - adding a specialist to a size one city without using the citizen to create it means doubling the number of productive people in the city.If combined with Representation and Caste System, you get at decent boost for research this way, while you are able to use the specialist for what is most important (f.e. getting the first border expansion for a new built or conquered city quick).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Nonetheless (and completely according to real history), Mercantilism is in most games only a temporarily good choice. If not FM means the end for it, then State Property will do this job.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Free Market[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Economy (renaissance era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] All cities get an additional foreign trade route[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Low[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Mansa Musa[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Financial[\BOLD], [BOLD]Bureaucracy[\BOLD], Organized, Harbor + other buildings which give extra routes, many OBs, "big" games (huge maps, many opponents), everything which increases commerce yield in your cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD]Many of what could be said about FM is already noted in the paragraph above, because FM is to a large extend the complete opposite of Mercantilism...and so, no wonder, the best moments to use it are non-isolationistic strategies. In theory, a few OB-treaties will be enough to receive the extra trade route; however, more trading partners tend to give you more lucrative routes (just because there are more possible destinations to choose from!).Also everything which increases commerce (many cottages, buildings, civics, shrines, settled down specialists,...) in your cities, will fuel the effect of FM, because the game "connects" rich cities with other rich cities and calculates the yield of trade routes this way.[NEWLINE]Now, how to rate FM Without a doubt, it is the most flexible and easy-to-use civic in the column. Even if you don't care much about synergies, it is difficult to be completely wrong with it. Except complete AW games, it is very unlikely that you end up without a single OB (at least on bigger maps)...and if you just met this condition, you will get a decent reward out of it. Add low upkeep and you will have a nice civic which gives you extra money. Usually, it is the right choice as soon as it shows up - either for the rest of the game or at least until SP gets available.[NEWLINE]But despite it is the right choice very often, I wouldn't call it the most powerful choice. For the reasons, see the next paragraph...[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]State Property[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Communism (industrial era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] No more distance maintenance in your cities. Watermills and Workshops yield one more unit of food.[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] No[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Mao[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Watermill and Workshop-spam[\BOLD], Games aimed at domination win, early GP-strategies, warmongering, Universal Suffrage, Vassalage, Theocracy, Aggressive, Expansive[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Any rating is always dependent on the playing style to a large degree, so you might differ, if I rate SP as the most powerful civic of all. And even my rating needs further explanation... "most powerful" just means that it is probably the civic which might give you the biggest reward - well, if you are able and willing to invest enough to exploit it to its full extend (that's also the reason, why it isn't overpowered!). I'm not claiming that it is the only viable choice; in fact in most games you will get more out of FM, just because its effects are easier obtain.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]SP offers three pluses:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First of all, it is a zero-cost civic. Normally, I wouldn't emphasize it in this way. But usually it is either the way that there is a direct drawback for zero upkeep (Pacifism: extra upkeep for military units) or it is just offset by the fact that the positive effects of the civic are restricted or hard to get.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For SP however, you will at least (nearly) always save some money from the second advantage. No distance maintenance in your cities. OK, you will smile and move on in an OCC, but apart from that the effect is somewhere between "nice" over "alone enough to switch to SP" to "saves me from bankrupt". An empire similar to the former British or Soviet will cost you dearly without SP.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The third thing is probably the most interesting, but also the one which needs most work: Extra food from the watermill and workshop improvement. While it is just the icing on the cake in case of the watermill (it is already a nice choice without SP), it completely turns the tide for the workshops.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A workshop is a niche improvement under normal circumstances. Unless you locally drown in food, the food penalty hits just to hard. Moreover, mines are a big competitor, because they to do the same without taking away arable land and might even grant you a new resource deposit one day. But under SP, a workshop means simply +3 hammers! Cities with enough hills still do not need them...but all those flatland cities in grassland or near a river can be turned into real factories. 10 citizens can yield 30 base hammers this way... If you are among those who always miss hammers dearly and wish to be back in the Civ3s paradise of mined grassland, then welcome in the realm of State Property! The power of such a factory-wonder is multiplied by the fact you can use it to hit the AI on a weak point - they are famous with everything connected to commerce and research, but they often lack the hammers to build the fancy toys for their army.[NEWLINE]The only downside (of which I'm glad it is in!) it the fact that you need a strong worker force to transform your infrastructure this way. And while it perfectly plays together with an early farm/GP-strategy (don't be shy to replace the farms with workshops - with escalating GP costs, you will usually only sacrifice few GLs from the moment on SP becomes available), it will make you cry to tear down developed cottages. It might still make sense in some cases, but be careful then...if you transform too early, you might fall back in tech because of you depleting income. And with the new combat system, Tank vs. Modern Armour is nothing to search for, even if you have the numerical advantage on your side.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Environmentalism[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Medicine (Industrial Era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +6 health in every city; also +1 happiness per jungle/forest tile inside the city radius[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Medium[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] ---[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] Organized, Expansive, low resource situations, "green strategies" (keeping forests, lumber mills), high unhealthiness through power generation or buildings, wars which disrupt resource trading[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] ***REMOVED for overhaul because of the latest patch changes regarding Environmentalism ***[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Religious Column[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Special notes: Unlike the civics of the other columns, the ones of the religious section need an additional component to work - religion. In case of the first three, you will only reap the benefits inside a city, if you have a state religion AND if this state religion is present in this city. Free Religion abandons the state religion concept and depends instead on having as many different religions as possible inside a city. So the usefulness of all the non-default civics depends highly on the religious situation in your empire and the thump rule "everything is better than the default civic" is not entirely true here. The three state-religion civics (can) cause high direct or indirect costs, so Paganism is indeed a real choice, as long as you don't have established religion in most of your cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Organized Religion[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Monotheism (Ancient Era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +25% speed, when constructing buildings or wonders; training of missionaries is possible without having a monastery[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] High[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] ---[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Wonder/cathedral resources[\BOLD] (Marble, Stone, Copper), [BOLD]Industrious[\BOLD], forest-chopping for building projects, State Property, Universal Suffrage[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Your first option in the religious column. The general note on religious civics applies especially to OR. Unless you have founded one of the early religions yourself, the chance is quite high that you have no access to religion, when the civic becomes available. In this case, wait with a switch. Even if the absolute sum is not much in those early turns, you will need every piece of gold - and paying for getting zero doesn't sound like a good idea, well?[NEWLINE]If religion has spread to your empire and a state religion is declared, a switch makes usually sense. +25% hammers for buildings/wonders are a huge boost in the beginning, where you need to get the stuff out as fast as possible. And not to forget the second advantage - missionaries without monasteries. It makes sure that all your new cities can get the production bonus at once and it allows sending out a lot of those guys to your neighbors to bring them in line. However, if you are involved in serious wars and your cities are busy with pumping units out, OR doesn't help you. It can be also problematic on higher difficulties, because then the high upkeep might lay a heavy burden on your treasury.[NEWLINE]Overall, the usefulness tends to decrease over time. If you weight extra building speed vs. free experience, great people points or extra happiness (that's in short what the alternatives - described in detail below - offer), all of the latter three are usually more important in the later game. However, the second advantage might open another niche for OR later. In the moment you research Scientific Method, you lose the chance to build new monasteries. If you have build enough of the ones you need, you are lucky. If not, you have a problem, when you are pursuing for example a cultural victory, for which are cathedrals extremely helpful. OR eliminates this problem by allowing cities to build missionaries of all the religions they contain, regardless of the presence of monasteries - so this effectively means you can spread every religion over your entire empire, if you just have one city with this certain religion.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Theocracy[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Theology (Medieval Era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +2 EXP for new built units; no spreading of none-state religions[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Medium[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Saladin[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Vassalage[\BOLD], [BOLD]Barracks[\BOLD], [BOLD]The Pentagon[\BOLD], [BOLD]Westpoint[\BOLD], [BOLD]Aggressive[\BOLD], Organized, Nationalism, The Heroic Epic, Police State, any war or cold war situation, domination or conquest victories[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Theocracy is Vassalages little sister - the main effect is the same, units start with 2 experience points extra. Like it is true for most war civics, there is not much to say about when you should use them. If you plan to build a lot of units in the near future (for whatever reason), take this. And if you can, take Vassalage too. The synergy between both is one of the strongest among all civics - both improve exactly the same aspect of the game and in case of experience, a cumulative bonus is especially valuable. Yes, you might argue that one of those civics is enough to reap the second promotion immediately (assuming barracks are in place). That's true and I'm far away from saying they are only worth to be taken together - but you just waste their full potential. Believe me, 6 or 8 exp from the start matters, because your units will likely get the third promotion right after the first fight with 8. Also every new promotion means a kind of instant "medipack" for your unit (wounds are partly healed).It can make the difference between losing or winning a fight in many cases.[NEWLINE]Medium upkeep is an absolutely fair charge for what Theocracy does, especially if you compare it with OR or Pacifism. Until Free Religion shows up (which is a great all-round civic), Theocracy is not only the best, but also the cheapest solution in any game which involves decent military action or just a big standing army to prevent it.[NEWLINE]The second effect of Theocracy (no natural or missionary-caused spread of minor religions in city with your state religion) is a kind of a double-edged sword. It prevents you from reaping the benefits of having several religions in your cities (more happiness, culture, science).But OTOH, you also prevent that a nasty opponent spreads his own founded religion into your city and gains line of sight and shrine income. How strong the impact of both aspects is depends however on the extend minor religions have already spread in your country (because existing ones aren't removed). If nearly all of your cities have already a second or even third religion, Theocracy isn't a big loss anymore - because spreading religions via missionaries in this situation is very cost-intensive anyway. For preventing the enemy from gaining benefits out of his or her mother religion it is just the other way round - if they haven't got their feet in your door yet, it is the best time to close it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Pacifism[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Philosophy (Medieval Era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +100% GPP (=Great People Points)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] no direct civic upkeep, but 1 Gold per military unit[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] ---[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] [BOLD]Philosophical[\BOLD], [BOLD]The Parthenon[\BOLD], [BOLD]The National Epic[\BOLD], [BOLD]Caste System[\BOLD], Representation, Mercantilism, Industrious, any major GP-strategies, cultural victories[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] If you are in love with Great People, this civic is for you. Although the doubled amount of GPP [BOLD]does not transform into 100% more great people[\BOLD] (the increase is probably rather 20-30 %), the civic pays out if used properly. The real benefit isn't the pure extra number, but the fact that you will get your GPs earlier - and one of the basic rules of Civilisation is that earlier advantages weight more. So they question is when to use Pacifism?[NEWLINE]If you are running a game heavily leaned towards GP, of course. You might run Pacifism then until the end, but you should still keep in mind that the effect fades the more GPs you have already gotten. Taken to the extreme: At some point, even the 100% increase will not yield to another GP because of the geometrical cost increase.[NEWLINE]If GP are just a (minor) part of your strategy, you might consider a quick switch when it becomes available (to rush out some) and eventually later again, when you desperately need another Great Person, while lacking enough base GPP. In any case, try to max out the synergetic potential of Pacifism. Especially the combination with Caste System can do miracles - there is rarely a better way to get a special GP in a short time.[NEWLINE]Probably not necessary to point out, but for the sake of completeness...if you don't have wonders and specialists around which yield GPP, move along - Pacifism has no second benefit, but a hidden cost trap. Don't be fooled by no upkeep, the extra cost for military units will usually easily turn it into a quasi high-upkeep civic. Yes, in theory all those famous Great People might lead you to a peaceful victory , where you don't need any weaponry and therefore unit maintenance. But the days of no-unit-games are gone.Civ4s diplomacy system relies on relation modifiers and is quite reliable in this part, but you will need the plain cold steel, too. There is always someone out there who is jealous about your wonders and cities. Pacifistic games are best achieved with cold-war strategies - and that's nothing to head for under Pacifism from the view of costs. To sum up the options ...either build up a very healthy economy or use Pacifism only temporarily.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Free Religion[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Prerequisite/availability:[\BOLD] Liberalism (Renaissance Era)[NEWLINE][BOLD]Effect:[\BOLD] +1 happiness per present religion inside a city; +10% research output; no more state religion and religious diplomacy modifiers[NEWLINE][BOLD]Upkeep:[\BOLD] Low[NEWLINE][BOLD]Diplomatic relations bonus with:[\BOLD] Elisabeth; religion has no more impact on diplomacy[NEWLINE][BOLD]Synergy/strategies:[\BOLD] Organized, Expansive, Environmentalism, luxury resource shortages, peaceful-planned games and situations with high-tension in diplomacy, [BOLD]non[\BOLD]-diplomatic victories (especially space race or cultural)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] Your final choice in the religious column. A powerful tool, coming with low costs and offering a simple solution for unhappiness problems and granting a 10% increase in research on top - all you have to do is spreading as many religions as possible in every corner of the empire. Each present religion yields +1 happiness in your cities, before factoring in additional boni you might get out of built temples. Unless you have no happiness problems, because your are drowning in luxuries or your cities are small, you should seriously consider a switch.[NEWLINE]The icing on the cake (the research bonus) is even independent of the number of religions in a city (maybe there must be one religion at all, not sure on this). 10% may not sound to drastic, but if you keep in mind how expensive the late game techs have become with v1.52, you will be happy about every extra beaker.It can make the difference in a tight space race.[NEWLINE]As usual there is also shadow or at least some more things to consider. First of all, don't underestimate the difficulty of spreading religions with missionaries. If there is no or only a single religion present in a city, your chance of success is 100% or slightly below. If there is already a second religion, you might fail; three or more is just pure luck. So the gained extra happiness is usually 2 or 3, unless your are willing to invest vast amount of shields for missionaries (which can be sometimes worth nonetheless, when pursuing a cultural victory for example).[NEWLINE]A second aspect is the loss of state religion. Beside the fact that the Spiral Minaret loses its effect , it has a serious impact on the diplomatic system in Civ4, which can be a boon or bust, depending on your situation. Free Religion both nullifies positive and negative modifiers caused by having the same or a different state religion. You will have no more problems with Isabella or Saladin hunting you for believing in the wrong faith, but you might experience cooled down relations with your former brothers in faith, too. The chance to get backstabbed and attacked is slower, but also the possibilities for trade or interventions on your side.</Spanish>
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		<Tag>TXT_KEY_STRATEGY_10_FAQS_PEDIA</Tag>
		<English>[H1]10 FAQs before Declaring a War[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]maltz[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It is really hard to write another article in this forum, as all of the necessary knowledges have been covered in many great guides and analyses. The best I can do is try a summary of a specific topic.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I started playing Civ4 as a peace lover, but now I am clearly a warmonger who is "forced to win early" by the game mechanism. The game really favors a warmonger. So, please allow me to summarize my war experiences into "10 FAQS that I ask myself before declaring a war".[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q1: What do I gain from this war?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Although not every human action carries a purpose, theoretically they should. Contemporary artists paint craps because they want to paint craps to disturb you.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Every war should serve a purpose, too. For example:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]- Secure a large interior of my territory[NEWLINE]- Gain a few precious resources that I don't own[NEWLINE]- Kill off a great threat in the future[NEWLINE]- Put down a warmonger that may backstab me, before it gets a chance[NEWLINE]- Simply expanding my empire[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A competent warhead should have a clear goal in mind. Not just sending out his troops to "punish a bugger". That's what a "jerk" would do.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q2: What do I do AFTER the war?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It never hurts to plan one, a few, or many steps further, if you have extra time before the action is due. What will I do after the war For example:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]- Continue the war on the next target, if I still have the military lead[NEWLINE]- Call it a day and enter a massive 500-year peaceful growth period[NEWLINE]- Give some distant territory to a weak friend to create a buffer[NEWLINE]- Put research to 0% and let scientists to handle "Iron Working".[NEWLINE]- Ask for peace money when my loss is enough, and let Monty continue my war.[NEWLINE]- Remember to put culture slider back to 0%.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are various things to think of, some big, some trivial.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q3: Could I have allies to help me, or the enemy?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Diplomacy usually decides the war outcome. A third party can turn the tide of war completely.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Obviously, you want to have all the help you could obtain, and eliminate all the backstabs you may receive. All of the Civs that are friendly with you are possible helps, and they are usually willing to join your war after you declare it. The aggressive / fanatic ones may start the war for you if your price is right. All of the Civs that are friendly to your enemy are going to do the same for them, though.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Shouldn't you do something to prevent that from happening Actually, the solution is easy. You may bribe another Civ to attack your enemy's potential ally. You may bribe your enemy's potential ally to attack somebody else. Just to keep them busy, and they can't be possibly helping your enemy while they need help themselves. Note that a warmonger can be anybody's friend, so it is especially important to bribe warmongers to go after someone before your war, or simply bribe them to help you. The good thing is that the AIs aren't very smart at bribing others to war, so you don't have to be over-cautious.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you have eliminated all possible helps from your enemy, you already declare the war at the "worst" situation possible, because it can't get worse! If you are already at an advantage at this worst possible situation, then clearly you can't lose - only to win faster by pulling in a friend.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Generally, it is a good practice to stir a world war every time you are going to war. While everybody is busy with everybody, your target losses all potential helps. I am  still attacked when I am weak, but I have never been backstabbed when I am no longer weak, but vulnerable during a war. I always make muscle man show their back to me before I draw my knife.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q4: Could I annoy my friends, or other Civs by this war?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Certainly your target is gonna hate you, but how about your friends and other neutral Civs I have to check the relationship of my targets to other Civs. If they are at Pleased or Friendly, then certainly will get "You declared war to our friend!" modifier. This can potentially spoil a Friendly relationship to Pleased, a Pleased to Cautious, or Cautious to Annoyed. The consequence may be very bad.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To prevent this, you can spoil their relationship first. For example, A is your target, and B is your friend. A and B are friends, too. If you ask A to attack B's friend, C, then B is going to dislike A a little more. If that makes B Cautious to A, then you won't get any white eye from B when you declare war on A.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The good thing is, -1 in most cases doesn't change anything. So you don't have to worry that much.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Some people think they should purposely annoy the enemy so they will declare war on themselves. This usually doesn't work, as the AIs evaluates the power difference pretty much. If you are weak, you don't have to purposely annoy them, and they will come after you. If you are powerful, no matter how many nukes you drop on their head, they swallow the fallout and tears.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Generally speaking, during a conquest it is unavoidable that eventually you will annoy all of the Civs by invading multiple Civs in the past. It is OK. Up to a point, you will be powerful enough that nobody dares to declare war on you. You can also allign your religion with them, sell them your extra resources, and give them little helps to maintain the relationship at Pleased. And, since you still make everybody busy before you draw out your knife, they still can't help each other against you.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q5: Could I have declared this war 100 years earlier?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]My original Q5 was "Could I have avoided this war" but I found it too lame. Of course I want to war in Civ4 because it makes me win much faster! I have to be honest.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Could I have declared this war 100 years earlier Sometimes yes! I am such a chicken that sometimes I want to make sure everything is safe - but by waiting I might make myself less safe. The earlier I become aggressive, the more advantages I get. I don't have to get everything prepared sometimes, because neither is my enemy. At times, I give up the past hour of gameplay, and start the war 100 years ealier. I win; I feel very happy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]***[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In the first 5 FAQs I covered the preparation/abstract aspects of war. In the next 5 FAQs I will get into some practical details.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q6: Is my attack route fool-proof?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]An attack route is the plan of army advance, where my invading stack enters the unfriendly territory, where I camp at each turn, and how I carry on my attack to the next city. A forest, a river, or a hill can all make a huge difference.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It will be the best if I have an active update of what's happening in the enemy's territory. For example, if I own a holy city of a religion, I will probably get an Open Border well beforehand, and spread my "professional" missionaries to my future opponent's cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If I don't have a holy city, I can simply ask for an Open border, and send out many faster, less powerful units (scouts, chariots) for a latest update. As soon as the war is declared, these scouts will be repelled from the enemy territory, so they can either have a free return ticket, or end up in nowhere.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With a significant military advantage, it is usually good to divide your huge army up, plan multiple attack routes from different entries, and devour several AIs cities all at once. However, against smarter human opponents, it is usually wise to have an invincible stack of death. When you enter an enemy's territory, it is possible for your opponent to concentrate their counterattack and eliminate your divided invading forces with their relative mobility. That brings up the next question:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q7: How do I deal with a counterattack stack?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If your target is not too weak, it is very likely that there will be a counterattck stack organized, and heads towards your territory. Even if your target is weak, it might still send out a few horse riders to pillage your improvements to distract you.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Do you have enough home defense to deal with a counterattack stack, even just a few horse archers Do you have fast unit to hunt down their fast unit Do you have spears to poke at the horses In my experience, about 20% of my total mobilized army are actually used for homeland defense / fortify new acquired territory. In multiplayer situations this ratio will go much higher, because smarter human players concentrate their attacks.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Another very common phenomenon is to be showered by a large number of catapults when you advance into enemy territory. There is really no way to prevent this. You need to have more units in that stack to dilute the splash colleteral damage. Some people say you can split your stack, but I don't think it is a good idea. If I am the defender, I can easily concentrate my catapult shower on half your stack, and use all of my defending forces to kill off half of your army. By the time your intact, the-other half arrives at my castle gate, my forces have returned and started healing.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Right after taking a city, it might be worthwhile waiting for the wounded troops to heal, if lots of healing is needed. An army at half of its strength is really inviting a crushing defeat.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Following the catapult bombardment, the enemy might follow up with a mixture of other spare units. You may think AI is stupid to commite suicide this way, but those counter attacks can be devastating if you don't have a balanced stack. If you don't have elephants/spears in your invading stack, your melee units might get slaughtered by horses. It is wise to carry a few defensive units in the same stack, just for the purpose of insurance. Plus, they can help you afterwards...[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q8: Did I forget the garrison troops?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You might be able to take the city, but you will need troops to defend it. Chance is the enemy's culture border still enables them to take the city back in 1 turn, if your new city is not properly defended. You must know by now that good garrison troops are very different from good attack troops. Archery + Spears/Elephant are very good garrison troops; the AI love to have them, too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One of my common mistakes is I "barely made it", so I have one very weak unit in the new city, and I don't have any units that can move in to help. The result is usually I lose the new city and the wounded unit to a very weak counter attack force. The AIs will hunt down each one of your weak units, especially when they can get a city back in the meantime.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You don't want to leave a portion of assault troops in each of your new cities, to weaken your invasion as you go on. It might be too late to start producing garrison troops after your war declaration.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q9: Did I forget to move a unit somewhere?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is more of a gameplay aspect. When a war gets big, it is easy (at least for me) to forget a few units that has been previously assigned on garrison purpose, but no longer needed. When I can locate them (through the military advisor) and pull them to the front, my battle often becomes much easier.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q10: Am I on my way to my next military tech lead?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Not really an FAQ - I just include this for morale boosting purpose. When you hack down archers with maceman, you should be thinking of blasting longbowman with gernadiers. When that comes true, you should be thinking of the cheerful gunpowder explosion echos made by cavalry and cannons. After that, it is probably sniping grenadiers with infatry rifles. You are always creating a military lead, because the AI never stops trying to catch up. After a certain point, you are just going to wipe out the rest of the AIs in a short period of time, if you haven't accidently cross over the domination victory threshold.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]***[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]May I conclude this article with a popular quote from Sun Tze:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]"Knowing your enemy and yourself, you can fight 100 battles without dire danger."[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The key of a war is to avoid losing. If you can smell the war not approaching your victory, then you better quit it as soon as possible. In order to smell it, you need knowledge of the situation. If you don't suffer huge defeat, naturally over time you will get a few chances to crush the enemy. If you succeed at doing that, you win! In Civ4 the wars are much eaiser, so usually you immediately win after a little planning.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A popular misconception of this quote turns the latter part into "you can fight 100 battles without a loss." This is definitely naive. You can still lose,  because there is luck, competent enemy commanders, and endless suicide bombers (catapults). However, with enough knowledge of the situation, you may lose, but you are not exhausted. You can still regroup, tell yourself there are still lots of hope, and come back for the eventual win, while your enemy feels tired and whines "What is war good for? Absolutely nothing!"</English>
		<French>[H1]10 FAQs before Declaring a War[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]maltz[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It is really hard to write another article in this forum, as all of the necessary knowledges have been covered in many great guides and analyses. The best I can do is try a summary of a specific topic.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I started playing Civ4 as a peace lover, but now I am clearly a warmonger who is "forced to win early" by the game mechanism. The game really favors a warmonger. So, please allow me to summarize my war experiences into "10 FAQS that I ask myself before declaring a war".[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q1: What do I gain from this war?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Although not every human action carries a purpose, theoretically they should. Contemporary artists paint craps because they want to paint craps to disturb you.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Every war should serve a purpose, too. For example:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]- Secure a large interior of my territory[NEWLINE]- Gain a few precious resources that I don't own[NEWLINE]- Kill off a great threat in the future[NEWLINE]- Put down a warmonger that may backstab me, before it gets a chance[NEWLINE]- Simply expanding my empire[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A competent warhead should have a clear goal in mind. Not just sending out his troops to "punish a bugger". That's what a "jerk" would do.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q2: What do I do AFTER the war?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It never hurts to plan one, a few, or many steps further, if you have extra time before the action is due. What will I do after the war For example:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]- Continue the war on the next target, if I still have the military lead[NEWLINE]- Call it a day and enter a massive 500-year peaceful growth period[NEWLINE]- Give some distant territory to a weak friend to create a buffer[NEWLINE]- Put research to 0% and let scientists to handle "Iron Working".[NEWLINE]- Ask for peace money when my loss is enough, and let Monty continue my war.[NEWLINE]- Remember to put culture slider back to 0%.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are various things to think of, some big, some trivial.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q3: Could I have allies to help me, or the enemy?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Diplomacy usually decides the war outcome. A third party can turn the tide of war completely.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Obviously, you want to have all the help you could obtain, and eliminate all the backstabs you may receive. All of the Civs that are friendly with you are possible helps, and they are usually willing to join your war after you declare it. The aggressive / fanatic ones may start the war for you if your price is right. All of the Civs that are friendly to your enemy are going to do the same for them, though.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Shouldn't you do something to prevent that from happening Actually, the solution is easy. You may bribe another Civ to attack your enemy's potential ally. You may bribe your enemy's potential ally to attack somebody else. Just to keep them busy, and they can't be possibly helping your enemy while they need help themselves. Note that a warmonger can be anybody's friend, so it is especially important to bribe warmongers to go after someone before your war, or simply bribe them to help you. The good thing is that the AIs aren't very smart at bribing others to war, so you don't have to be over-cautious.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you have eliminated all possible helps from your enemy, you already declare the war at the "worst" situation possible, because it can't get worse! If you are already at an advantage at this worst possible situation, then clearly you can't lose - only to win faster by pulling in a friend.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Generally, it is a good practice to stir a world war every time you are going to war. While everybody is busy with everybody, your target losses all potential helps. I am  still attacked when I am weak, but I have never been backstabbed when I am no longer weak, but vulnerable during a war. I always make muscle man show their back to me before I draw my knife.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q4: Could I annoy my friends, or other Civs by this war?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Certainly your target is gonna hate you, but how about your friends and other neutral Civs I have to check the relationship of my targets to other Civs. If they are at Pleased or Friendly, then certainly will get "You declared war to our friend!" modifier. This can potentially spoil a Friendly relationship to Pleased, a Pleased to Cautious, or Cautious to Annoyed. The consequence may be very bad.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To prevent this, you can spoil their relationship first. For example, A is your target, and B is your friend. A and B are friends, too. If you ask A to attack B's friend, C, then B is going to dislike A a little more. If that makes B Cautious to A, then you won't get any white eye from B when you declare war on A.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The good thing is, -1 in most cases doesn't change anything. So you don't have to worry that much.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Some people think they should purposely annoy the enemy so they will declare war on themselves. This usually doesn't work, as the AIs evaluates the power difference pretty much. If you are weak, you don't have to purposely annoy them, and they will come after you. If you are powerful, no matter how many nukes you drop on their head, they swallow the fallout and tears.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Generally speaking, during a conquest it is unavoidable that eventually you will annoy all of the Civs by invading multiple Civs in the past. It is OK. Up to a point, you will be powerful enough that nobody dares to declare war on you. You can also allign your religion with them, sell them your extra resources, and give them little helps to maintain the relationship at Pleased. And, since you still make everybody busy before you draw out your knife, they still can't help each other against you.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q5: Could I have declared this war 100 years earlier?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]My original Q5 was "Could I have avoided this war" but I found it too lame. Of course I want to war in Civ4 because it makes me win much faster! I have to be honest.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Could I have declared this war 100 years earlier Sometimes yes! I am such a chicken that sometimes I want to make sure everything is safe - but by waiting I might make myself less safe. The earlier I become aggressive, the more advantages I get. I don't have to get everything prepared sometimes, because neither is my enemy. At times, I give up the past hour of gameplay, and start the war 100 years ealier. I win; I feel very happy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]***[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In the first 5 FAQs I covered the preparation/abstract aspects of war. In the next 5 FAQs I will get into some practical details.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q6: Is my attack route fool-proof?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]An attack route is the plan of army advance, where my invading stack enters the unfriendly territory, where I camp at each turn, and how I carry on my attack to the next city. A forest, a river, or a hill can all make a huge difference.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It will be the best if I have an active update of what's happening in the enemy's territory. For example, if I own a holy city of a religion, I will probably get an Open Border well beforehand, and spread my "professional" missionaries to my future opponent's cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If I don't have a holy city, I can simply ask for an Open border, and send out many faster, less powerful units (scouts, chariots) for a latest update. As soon as the war is declared, these scouts will be repelled from the enemy territory, so they can either have a free return ticket, or end up in nowhere.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With a significant military advantage, it is usually good to divide your huge army up, plan multiple attack routes from different entries, and devour several AIs cities all at once. However, against smarter human opponents, it is usually wise to have an invincible stack of death. When you enter an enemy's territory, it is possible for your opponent to concentrate their counterattack and eliminate your divided invading forces with their relative mobility. That brings up the next question:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q7: How do I deal with a counterattack stack?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If your target is not too weak, it is very likely that there will be a counterattck stack organized, and heads towards your territory. Even if your target is weak, it might still send out a few horse riders to pillage your improvements to distract you.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Do you have enough home defense to deal with a counterattack stack, even just a few horse archers Do you have fast unit to hunt down their fast unit Do you have spears to poke at the horses In my experience, about 20% of my total mobilized army are actually used for homeland defense / fortify new acquired territory. In multiplayer situations this ratio will go much higher, because smarter human players concentrate their attacks.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Another very common phenomenon is to be showered by a large number of catapults when you advance into enemy territory. There is really no way to prevent this. You need to have more units in that stack to dilute the splash colleteral damage. Some people say you can split your stack, but I don't think it is a good idea. If I am the defender, I can easily concentrate my catapult shower on half your stack, and use all of my defending forces to kill off half of your army. By the time your intact, the-other half arrives at my castle gate, my forces have returned and started healing.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Right after taking a city, it might be worthwhile waiting for the wounded troops to heal, if lots of healing is needed. An army at half of its strength is really inviting a crushing defeat.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Following the catapult bombardment, the enemy might follow up with a mixture of other spare units. You may think AI is stupid to commite suicide this way, but those counter attacks can be devastating if you don't have a balanced stack. If you don't have elephants/spears in your invading stack, your melee units might get slaughtered by horses. It is wise to carry a few defensive units in the same stack, just for the purpose of insurance. Plus, they can help you afterwards...[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q8: Did I forget the garrison troops?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You might be able to take the city, but you will need troops to defend it. Chance is the enemy's culture border still enables them to take the city back in 1 turn, if your new city is not properly defended. You must know by now that good garrison troops are very different from good attack troops. Archery + Spears/Elephant are very good garrison troops; the AI love to have them, too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One of my common mistakes is I "barely made it", so I have one very weak unit in the new city, and I don't have any units that can move in to help. The result is usually I lose the new city and the wounded unit to a very weak counter attack force. The AIs will hunt down each one of your weak units, especially when they can get a city back in the meantime.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You don't want to leave a portion of assault troops in each of your new cities, to weaken your invasion as you go on. It might be too late to start producing garrison troops after your war declaration.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q9: Did I forget to move a unit somewhere?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is more of a gameplay aspect. When a war gets big, it is easy (at least for me) to forget a few units that has been previously assigned on garrison purpose, but no longer needed. When I can locate them (through the military advisor) and pull them to the front, my battle often becomes much easier.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q10: Am I on my way to my next military tech lead?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Not really an FAQ - I just include this for morale boosting purpose. When you hack down archers with maceman, you should be thinking of blasting longbowman with gernadiers. When that comes true, you should be thinking of the cheerful gunpowder explosion echos made by cavalry and cannons. After that, it is probably sniping grenadiers with infatry rifles. You are always creating a military lead, because the AI never stops trying to catch up. After a certain point, you are just going to wipe out the rest of the AIs in a short period of time, if you haven't accidently cross over the domination victory threshold.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]***[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]May I conclude this article with a popular quote from Sun Tze:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]"Knowing your enemy and yourself, you can fight 100 battles without dire danger."[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The key of a war is to avoid losing. If you can smell the war not approaching your victory, then you better quit it as soon as possible. In order to smell it, you need knowledge of the situation. If you don't suffer huge defeat, naturally over time you will get a few chances to crush the enemy. If you succeed at doing that, you win! In Civ4 the wars are much eaiser, so usually you immediately win after a little planning.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A popular misconception of this quote turns the latter part into "you can fight 100 battles without a loss." This is definitely naive. You can still lose,  because there is luck, competent enemy commanders, and endless suicide bombers (catapults). However, with enough knowledge of the situation, you may lose, but you are not exhausted. You can still regroup, tell yourself there are still lots of hope, and come back for the eventual win, while your enemy feels tired and whines "What is war good for? Absolutely nothing!"</French>
		<German>[H1]10 FAQs before Declaring a War[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]maltz[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It is really hard to write another article in this forum, as all of the necessary knowledges have been covered in many great guides and analyses. The best I can do is try a summary of a specific topic.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I started playing Civ4 as a peace lover, but now I am clearly a warmonger who is "forced to win early" by the game mechanism. The game really favors a warmonger. So, please allow me to summarize my war experiences into "10 FAQS that I ask myself before declaring a war".[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q1: What do I gain from this war?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Although not every human action carries a purpose, theoretically they should. Contemporary artists paint craps because they want to paint craps to disturb you.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Every war should serve a purpose, too. For example:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]- Secure a large interior of my territory[NEWLINE]- Gain a few precious resources that I don't own[NEWLINE]- Kill off a great threat in the future[NEWLINE]- Put down a warmonger that may backstab me, before it gets a chance[NEWLINE]- Simply expanding my empire[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A competent warhead should have a clear goal in mind. Not just sending out his troops to "punish a bugger". That's what a "jerk" would do.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q2: What do I do AFTER the war?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It never hurts to plan one, a few, or many steps further, if you have extra time before the action is due. What will I do after the war For example:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]- Continue the war on the next target, if I still have the military lead[NEWLINE]- Call it a day and enter a massive 500-year peaceful growth period[NEWLINE]- Give some distant territory to a weak friend to create a buffer[NEWLINE]- Put research to 0% and let scientists to handle "Iron Working".[NEWLINE]- Ask for peace money when my loss is enough, and let Monty continue my war.[NEWLINE]- Remember to put culture slider back to 0%.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are various things to think of, some big, some trivial.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q3: Could I have allies to help me, or the enemy?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Diplomacy usually decides the war outcome. A third party can turn the tide of war completely.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Obviously, you want to have all the help you could obtain, and eliminate all the backstabs you may receive. All of the Civs that are friendly with you are possible helps, and they are usually willing to join your war after you declare it. The aggressive / fanatic ones may start the war for you if your price is right. All of the Civs that are friendly to your enemy are going to do the same for them, though.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Shouldn't you do something to prevent that from happening Actually, the solution is easy. You may bribe another Civ to attack your enemy's potential ally. You may bribe your enemy's potential ally to attack somebody else. Just to keep them busy, and they can't be possibly helping your enemy while they need help themselves. Note that a warmonger can be anybody's friend, so it is especially important to bribe warmongers to go after someone before your war, or simply bribe them to help you. The good thing is that the AIs aren't very smart at bribing others to war, so you don't have to be over-cautious.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you have eliminated all possible helps from your enemy, you already declare the war at the "worst" situation possible, because it can't get worse! If you are already at an advantage at this worst possible situation, then clearly you can't lose - only to win faster by pulling in a friend.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Generally, it is a good practice to stir a world war every time you are going to war. While everybody is busy with everybody, your target losses all potential helps. I am  still attacked when I am weak, but I have never been backstabbed when I am no longer weak, but vulnerable during a war. I always make muscle man show their back to me before I draw my knife.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q4: Could I annoy my friends, or other Civs by this war?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Certainly your target is gonna hate you, but how about your friends and other neutral Civs I have to check the relationship of my targets to other Civs. If they are at Pleased or Friendly, then certainly will get "You declared war to our friend!" modifier. This can potentially spoil a Friendly relationship to Pleased, a Pleased to Cautious, or Cautious to Annoyed. The consequence may be very bad.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To prevent this, you can spoil their relationship first. For example, A is your target, and B is your friend. A and B are friends, too. If you ask A to attack B's friend, C, then B is going to dislike A a little more. If that makes B Cautious to A, then you won't get any white eye from B when you declare war on A.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The good thing is, -1 in most cases doesn't change anything. So you don't have to worry that much.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Some people think they should purposely annoy the enemy so they will declare war on themselves. This usually doesn't work, as the AIs evaluates the power difference pretty much. If you are weak, you don't have to purposely annoy them, and they will come after you. If you are powerful, no matter how many nukes you drop on their head, they swallow the fallout and tears.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Generally speaking, during a conquest it is unavoidable that eventually you will annoy all of the Civs by invading multiple Civs in the past. It is OK. Up to a point, you will be powerful enough that nobody dares to declare war on you. You can also allign your religion with them, sell them your extra resources, and give them little helps to maintain the relationship at Pleased. And, since you still make everybody busy before you draw out your knife, they still can't help each other against you.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q5: Could I have declared this war 100 years earlier?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]My original Q5 was "Could I have avoided this war" but I found it too lame. Of course I want to war in Civ4 because it makes me win much faster! I have to be honest.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Could I have declared this war 100 years earlier Sometimes yes! I am such a chicken that sometimes I want to make sure everything is safe - but by waiting I might make myself less safe. The earlier I become aggressive, the more advantages I get. I don't have to get everything prepared sometimes, because neither is my enemy. At times, I give up the past hour of gameplay, and start the war 100 years ealier. I win; I feel very happy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]***[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In the first 5 FAQs I covered the preparation/abstract aspects of war. In the next 5 FAQs I will get into some practical details.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q6: Is my attack route fool-proof?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]An attack route is the plan of army advance, where my invading stack enters the unfriendly territory, where I camp at each turn, and how I carry on my attack to the next city. A forest, a river, or a hill can all make a huge difference.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It will be the best if I have an active update of what's happening in the enemy's territory. For example, if I own a holy city of a religion, I will probably get an Open Border well beforehand, and spread my "professional" missionaries to my future opponent's cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If I don't have a holy city, I can simply ask for an Open border, and send out many faster, less powerful units (scouts, chariots) for a latest update. As soon as the war is declared, these scouts will be repelled from the enemy territory, so they can either have a free return ticket, or end up in nowhere.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With a significant military advantage, it is usually good to divide your huge army up, plan multiple attack routes from different entries, and devour several AIs cities all at once. However, against smarter human opponents, it is usually wise to have an invincible stack of death. When you enter an enemy's territory, it is possible for your opponent to concentrate their counterattack and eliminate your divided invading forces with their relative mobility. That brings up the next question:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q7: How do I deal with a counterattack stack?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If your target is not too weak, it is very likely that there will be a counterattck stack organized, and heads towards your territory. Even if your target is weak, it might still send out a few horse riders to pillage your improvements to distract you.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Do you have enough home defense to deal with a counterattack stack, even just a few horse archers Do you have fast unit to hunt down their fast unit Do you have spears to poke at the horses In my experience, about 20% of my total mobilized army are actually used for homeland defense / fortify new acquired territory. In multiplayer situations this ratio will go much higher, because smarter human players concentrate their attacks.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Another very common phenomenon is to be showered by a large number of catapults when you advance into enemy territory. There is really no way to prevent this. You need to have more units in that stack to dilute the splash colleteral damage. Some people say you can split your stack, but I don't think it is a good idea. If I am the defender, I can easily concentrate my catapult shower on half your stack, and use all of my defending forces to kill off half of your army. By the time your intact, the-other half arrives at my castle gate, my forces have returned and started healing.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Right after taking a city, it might be worthwhile waiting for the wounded troops to heal, if lots of healing is needed. An army at half of its strength is really inviting a crushing defeat.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Following the catapult bombardment, the enemy might follow up with a mixture of other spare units. You may think AI is stupid to commite suicide this way, but those counter attacks can be devastating if you don't have a balanced stack. If you don't have elephants/spears in your invading stack, your melee units might get slaughtered by horses. It is wise to carry a few defensive units in the same stack, just for the purpose of insurance. Plus, they can help you afterwards...[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q8: Did I forget the garrison troops?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You might be able to take the city, but you will need troops to defend it. Chance is the enemy's culture border still enables them to take the city back in 1 turn, if your new city is not properly defended. You must know by now that good garrison troops are very different from good attack troops. Archery + Spears/Elephant are very good garrison troops; the AI love to have them, too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One of my common mistakes is I "barely made it", so I have one very weak unit in the new city, and I don't have any units that can move in to help. The result is usually I lose the new city and the wounded unit to a very weak counter attack force. The AIs will hunt down each one of your weak units, especially when they can get a city back in the meantime.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You don't want to leave a portion of assault troops in each of your new cities, to weaken your invasion as you go on. It might be too late to start producing garrison troops after your war declaration.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q9: Did I forget to move a unit somewhere?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is more of a gameplay aspect. When a war gets big, it is easy (at least for me) to forget a few units that has been previously assigned on garrison purpose, but no longer needed. When I can locate them (through the military advisor) and pull them to the front, my battle often becomes much easier.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q10: Am I on my way to my next military tech lead?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Not really an FAQ - I just include this for morale boosting purpose. When you hack down archers with maceman, you should be thinking of blasting longbowman with gernadiers. When that comes true, you should be thinking of the cheerful gunpowder explosion echos made by cavalry and cannons. After that, it is probably sniping grenadiers with infatry rifles. You are always creating a military lead, because the AI never stops trying to catch up. After a certain point, you are just going to wipe out the rest of the AIs in a short period of time, if you haven't accidently cross over the domination victory threshold.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]***[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]May I conclude this article with a popular quote from Sun Tze:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]"Knowing your enemy and yourself, you can fight 100 battles without dire danger."[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The key of a war is to avoid losing. If you can smell the war not approaching your victory, then you better quit it as soon as possible. In order to smell it, you need knowledge of the situation. If you don't suffer huge defeat, naturally over time you will get a few chances to crush the enemy. If you succeed at doing that, you win! In Civ4 the wars are much eaiser, so usually you immediately win after a little planning.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A popular misconception of this quote turns the latter part into "you can fight 100 battles without a loss." This is definitely naive. You can still lose,  because there is luck, competent enemy commanders, and endless suicide bombers (catapults). However, with enough knowledge of the situation, you may lose, but you are not exhausted. You can still regroup, tell yourself there are still lots of hope, and come back for the eventual win, while your enemy feels tired and whines "What is war good for? Absolutely nothing!"</German>
		<Italian>[H1]10 FAQs before Declaring a War[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]maltz[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It is really hard to write another article in this forum, as all of the necessary knowledges have been covered in many great guides and analyses. The best I can do is try a summary of a specific topic.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I started playing Civ4 as a peace lover, but now I am clearly a warmonger who is "forced to win early" by the game mechanism. The game really favors a warmonger. So, please allow me to summarize my war experiences into "10 FAQS that I ask myself before declaring a war".[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q1: What do I gain from this war?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Although not every human action carries a purpose, theoretically they should. Contemporary artists paint craps because they want to paint craps to disturb you.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Every war should serve a purpose, too. For example:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]- Secure a large interior of my territory[NEWLINE]- Gain a few precious resources that I don't own[NEWLINE]- Kill off a great threat in the future[NEWLINE]- Put down a warmonger that may backstab me, before it gets a chance[NEWLINE]- Simply expanding my empire[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A competent warhead should have a clear goal in mind. Not just sending out his troops to "punish a bugger". That's what a "jerk" would do.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q2: What do I do AFTER the war?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It never hurts to plan one, a few, or many steps further, if you have extra time before the action is due. What will I do after the war For example:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]- Continue the war on the next target, if I still have the military lead[NEWLINE]- Call it a day and enter a massive 500-year peaceful growth period[NEWLINE]- Give some distant territory to a weak friend to create a buffer[NEWLINE]- Put research to 0% and let scientists to handle "Iron Working".[NEWLINE]- Ask for peace money when my loss is enough, and let Monty continue my war.[NEWLINE]- Remember to put culture slider back to 0%.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are various things to think of, some big, some trivial.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q3: Could I have allies to help me, or the enemy?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Diplomacy usually decides the war outcome. A third party can turn the tide of war completely.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Obviously, you want to have all the help you could obtain, and eliminate all the backstabs you may receive. All of the Civs that are friendly with you are possible helps, and they are usually willing to join your war after you declare it. The aggressive / fanatic ones may start the war for you if your price is right. All of the Civs that are friendly to your enemy are going to do the same for them, though.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Shouldn't you do something to prevent that from happening Actually, the solution is easy. You may bribe another Civ to attack your enemy's potential ally. You may bribe your enemy's potential ally to attack somebody else. Just to keep them busy, and they can't be possibly helping your enemy while they need help themselves. Note that a warmonger can be anybody's friend, so it is especially important to bribe warmongers to go after someone before your war, or simply bribe them to help you. The good thing is that the AIs aren't very smart at bribing others to war, so you don't have to be over-cautious.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you have eliminated all possible helps from your enemy, you already declare the war at the "worst" situation possible, because it can't get worse! If you are already at an advantage at this worst possible situation, then clearly you can't lose - only to win faster by pulling in a friend.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Generally, it is a good practice to stir a world war every time you are going to war. While everybody is busy with everybody, your target losses all potential helps. I am  still attacked when I am weak, but I have never been backstabbed when I am no longer weak, but vulnerable during a war. I always make muscle man show their back to me before I draw my knife.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q4: Could I annoy my friends, or other Civs by this war?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Certainly your target is gonna hate you, but how about your friends and other neutral Civs I have to check the relationship of my targets to other Civs. If they are at Pleased or Friendly, then certainly will get "You declared war to our friend!" modifier. This can potentially spoil a Friendly relationship to Pleased, a Pleased to Cautious, or Cautious to Annoyed. The consequence may be very bad.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To prevent this, you can spoil their relationship first. For example, A is your target, and B is your friend. A and B are friends, too. If you ask A to attack B's friend, C, then B is going to dislike A a little more. If that makes B Cautious to A, then you won't get any white eye from B when you declare war on A.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The good thing is, -1 in most cases doesn't change anything. So you don't have to worry that much.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Some people think they should purposely annoy the enemy so they will declare war on themselves. This usually doesn't work, as the AIs evaluates the power difference pretty much. If you are weak, you don't have to purposely annoy them, and they will come after you. If you are powerful, no matter how many nukes you drop on their head, they swallow the fallout and tears.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Generally speaking, during a conquest it is unavoidable that eventually you will annoy all of the Civs by invading multiple Civs in the past. It is OK. Up to a point, you will be powerful enough that nobody dares to declare war on you. You can also allign your religion with them, sell them your extra resources, and give them little helps to maintain the relationship at Pleased. And, since you still make everybody busy before you draw out your knife, they still can't help each other against you.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q5: Could I have declared this war 100 years earlier?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]My original Q5 was "Could I have avoided this war" but I found it too lame. Of course I want to war in Civ4 because it makes me win much faster! I have to be honest.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Could I have declared this war 100 years earlier Sometimes yes! I am such a chicken that sometimes I want to make sure everything is safe - but by waiting I might make myself less safe. The earlier I become aggressive, the more advantages I get. I don't have to get everything prepared sometimes, because neither is my enemy. At times, I give up the past hour of gameplay, and start the war 100 years ealier. I win; I feel very happy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]***[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In the first 5 FAQs I covered the preparation/abstract aspects of war. In the next 5 FAQs I will get into some practical details.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q6: Is my attack route fool-proof?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]An attack route is the plan of army advance, where my invading stack enters the unfriendly territory, where I camp at each turn, and how I carry on my attack to the next city. A forest, a river, or a hill can all make a huge difference.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It will be the best if I have an active update of what's happening in the enemy's territory. For example, if I own a holy city of a religion, I will probably get an Open Border well beforehand, and spread my "professional" missionaries to my future opponent's cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If I don't have a holy city, I can simply ask for an Open border, and send out many faster, less powerful units (scouts, chariots) for a latest update. As soon as the war is declared, these scouts will be repelled from the enemy territory, so they can either have a free return ticket, or end up in nowhere.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With a significant military advantage, it is usually good to divide your huge army up, plan multiple attack routes from different entries, and devour several AIs cities all at once. However, against smarter human opponents, it is usually wise to have an invincible stack of death. When you enter an enemy's territory, it is possible for your opponent to concentrate their counterattack and eliminate your divided invading forces with their relative mobility. That brings up the next question:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q7: How do I deal with a counterattack stack?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If your target is not too weak, it is very likely that there will be a counterattck stack organized, and heads towards your territory. Even if your target is weak, it might still send out a few horse riders to pillage your improvements to distract you.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Do you have enough home defense to deal with a counterattack stack, even just a few horse archers Do you have fast unit to hunt down their fast unit Do you have spears to poke at the horses In my experience, about 20% of my total mobilized army are actually used for homeland defense / fortify new acquired territory. In multiplayer situations this ratio will go much higher, because smarter human players concentrate their attacks.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Another very common phenomenon is to be showered by a large number of catapults when you advance into enemy territory. There is really no way to prevent this. You need to have more units in that stack to dilute the splash colleteral damage. Some people say you can split your stack, but I don't think it is a good idea. If I am the defender, I can easily concentrate my catapult shower on half your stack, and use all of my defending forces to kill off half of your army. By the time your intact, the-other half arrives at my castle gate, my forces have returned and started healing.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Right after taking a city, it might be worthwhile waiting for the wounded troops to heal, if lots of healing is needed. An army at half of its strength is really inviting a crushing defeat.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Following the catapult bombardment, the enemy might follow up with a mixture of other spare units. You may think AI is stupid to commite suicide this way, but those counter attacks can be devastating if you don't have a balanced stack. If you don't have elephants/spears in your invading stack, your melee units might get slaughtered by horses. It is wise to carry a few defensive units in the same stack, just for the purpose of insurance. Plus, they can help you afterwards...[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q8: Did I forget the garrison troops?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You might be able to take the city, but you will need troops to defend it. Chance is the enemy's culture border still enables them to take the city back in 1 turn, if your new city is not properly defended. You must know by now that good garrison troops are very different from good attack troops. Archery + Spears/Elephant are very good garrison troops; the AI love to have them, too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One of my common mistakes is I "barely made it", so I have one very weak unit in the new city, and I don't have any units that can move in to help. The result is usually I lose the new city and the wounded unit to a very weak counter attack force. The AIs will hunt down each one of your weak units, especially when they can get a city back in the meantime.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You don't want to leave a portion of assault troops in each of your new cities, to weaken your invasion as you go on. It might be too late to start producing garrison troops after your war declaration.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q9: Did I forget to move a unit somewhere?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is more of a gameplay aspect. When a war gets big, it is easy (at least for me) to forget a few units that has been previously assigned on garrison purpose, but no longer needed. When I can locate them (through the military advisor) and pull them to the front, my battle often becomes much easier.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q10: Am I on my way to my next military tech lead?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Not really an FAQ - I just include this for morale boosting purpose. When you hack down archers with maceman, you should be thinking of blasting longbowman with gernadiers. When that comes true, you should be thinking of the cheerful gunpowder explosion echos made by cavalry and cannons. After that, it is probably sniping grenadiers with infatry rifles. You are always creating a military lead, because the AI never stops trying to catch up. After a certain point, you are just going to wipe out the rest of the AIs in a short period of time, if you haven't accidently cross over the domination victory threshold.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]***[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]May I conclude this article with a popular quote from Sun Tze:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]"Knowing your enemy and yourself, you can fight 100 battles without dire danger."[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The key of a war is to avoid losing. If you can smell the war not approaching your victory, then you better quit it as soon as possible. In order to smell it, you need knowledge of the situation. If you don't suffer huge defeat, naturally over time you will get a few chances to crush the enemy. If you succeed at doing that, you win! In Civ4 the wars are much eaiser, so usually you immediately win after a little planning.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A popular misconception of this quote turns the latter part into "you can fight 100 battles without a loss." This is definitely naive. You can still lose,  because there is luck, competent enemy commanders, and endless suicide bombers (catapults). However, with enough knowledge of the situation, you may lose, but you are not exhausted. You can still regroup, tell yourself there are still lots of hope, and come back for the eventual win, while your enemy feels tired and whines "What is war good for? Absolutely nothing!"</Italian>
		<Spanish>[H1]10 FAQs before Declaring a War[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]maltz[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It is really hard to write another article in this forum, as all of the necessary knowledges have been covered in many great guides and analyses. The best I can do is try a summary of a specific topic.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I started playing Civ4 as a peace lover, but now I am clearly a warmonger who is "forced to win early" by the game mechanism. The game really favors a warmonger. So, please allow me to summarize my war experiences into "10 FAQS that I ask myself before declaring a war".[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q1: What do I gain from this war?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Although not every human action carries a purpose, theoretically they should. Contemporary artists paint craps because they want to paint craps to disturb you.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Every war should serve a purpose, too. For example:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]- Secure a large interior of my territory[NEWLINE]- Gain a few precious resources that I don't own[NEWLINE]- Kill off a great threat in the future[NEWLINE]- Put down a warmonger that may backstab me, before it gets a chance[NEWLINE]- Simply expanding my empire[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A competent warhead should have a clear goal in mind. Not just sending out his troops to "punish a bugger". That's what a "jerk" would do.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q2: What do I do AFTER the war?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It never hurts to plan one, a few, or many steps further, if you have extra time before the action is due. What will I do after the war For example:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]- Continue the war on the next target, if I still have the military lead[NEWLINE]- Call it a day and enter a massive 500-year peaceful growth period[NEWLINE]- Give some distant territory to a weak friend to create a buffer[NEWLINE]- Put research to 0% and let scientists to handle "Iron Working".[NEWLINE]- Ask for peace money when my loss is enough, and let Monty continue my war.[NEWLINE]- Remember to put culture slider back to 0%.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are various things to think of, some big, some trivial.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q3: Could I have allies to help me, or the enemy?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Diplomacy usually decides the war outcome. A third party can turn the tide of war completely.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Obviously, you want to have all the help you could obtain, and eliminate all the backstabs you may receive. All of the Civs that are friendly with you are possible helps, and they are usually willing to join your war after you declare it. The aggressive / fanatic ones may start the war for you if your price is right. All of the Civs that are friendly to your enemy are going to do the same for them, though.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Shouldn't you do something to prevent that from happening Actually, the solution is easy. You may bribe another Civ to attack your enemy's potential ally. You may bribe your enemy's potential ally to attack somebody else. Just to keep them busy, and they can't be possibly helping your enemy while they need help themselves. Note that a warmonger can be anybody's friend, so it is especially important to bribe warmongers to go after someone before your war, or simply bribe them to help you. The good thing is that the AIs aren't very smart at bribing others to war, so you don't have to be over-cautious.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you have eliminated all possible helps from your enemy, you already declare the war at the "worst" situation possible, because it can't get worse! If you are already at an advantage at this worst possible situation, then clearly you can't lose - only to win faster by pulling in a friend.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Generally, it is a good practice to stir a world war every time you are going to war. While everybody is busy with everybody, your target losses all potential helps. I am  still attacked when I am weak, but I have never been backstabbed when I am no longer weak, but vulnerable during a war. I always make muscle man show their back to me before I draw my knife.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q4: Could I annoy my friends, or other Civs by this war?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Certainly your target is gonna hate you, but how about your friends and other neutral Civs I have to check the relationship of my targets to other Civs. If they are at Pleased or Friendly, then certainly will get "You declared war to our friend!" modifier. This can potentially spoil a Friendly relationship to Pleased, a Pleased to Cautious, or Cautious to Annoyed. The consequence may be very bad.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To prevent this, you can spoil their relationship first. For example, A is your target, and B is your friend. A and B are friends, too. If you ask A to attack B's friend, C, then B is going to dislike A a little more. If that makes B Cautious to A, then you won't get any white eye from B when you declare war on A.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The good thing is, -1 in most cases doesn't change anything. So you don't have to worry that much.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Some people think they should purposely annoy the enemy so they will declare war on themselves. This usually doesn't work, as the AIs evaluates the power difference pretty much. If you are weak, you don't have to purposely annoy them, and they will come after you. If you are powerful, no matter how many nukes you drop on their head, they swallow the fallout and tears.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Generally speaking, during a conquest it is unavoidable that eventually you will annoy all of the Civs by invading multiple Civs in the past. It is OK. Up to a point, you will be powerful enough that nobody dares to declare war on you. You can also allign your religion with them, sell them your extra resources, and give them little helps to maintain the relationship at Pleased. And, since you still make everybody busy before you draw out your knife, they still can't help each other against you.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q5: Could I have declared this war 100 years earlier?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]My original Q5 was "Could I have avoided this war" but I found it too lame. Of course I want to war in Civ4 because it makes me win much faster! I have to be honest.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Could I have declared this war 100 years earlier Sometimes yes! I am such a chicken that sometimes I want to make sure everything is safe - but by waiting I might make myself less safe. The earlier I become aggressive, the more advantages I get. I don't have to get everything prepared sometimes, because neither is my enemy. At times, I give up the past hour of gameplay, and start the war 100 years ealier. I win; I feel very happy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]***[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In the first 5 FAQs I covered the preparation/abstract aspects of war. In the next 5 FAQs I will get into some practical details.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q6: Is my attack route fool-proof?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]An attack route is the plan of army advance, where my invading stack enters the unfriendly territory, where I camp at each turn, and how I carry on my attack to the next city. A forest, a river, or a hill can all make a huge difference.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It will be the best if I have an active update of what's happening in the enemy's territory. For example, if I own a holy city of a religion, I will probably get an Open Border well beforehand, and spread my "professional" missionaries to my future opponent's cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If I don't have a holy city, I can simply ask for an Open border, and send out many faster, less powerful units (scouts, chariots) for a latest update. As soon as the war is declared, these scouts will be repelled from the enemy territory, so they can either have a free return ticket, or end up in nowhere.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With a significant military advantage, it is usually good to divide your huge army up, plan multiple attack routes from different entries, and devour several AIs cities all at once. However, against smarter human opponents, it is usually wise to have an invincible stack of death. When you enter an enemy's territory, it is possible for your opponent to concentrate their counterattack and eliminate your divided invading forces with their relative mobility. That brings up the next question:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q7: How do I deal with a counterattack stack?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If your target is not too weak, it is very likely that there will be a counterattck stack organized, and heads towards your territory. Even if your target is weak, it might still send out a few horse riders to pillage your improvements to distract you.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Do you have enough home defense to deal with a counterattack stack, even just a few horse archers Do you have fast unit to hunt down their fast unit Do you have spears to poke at the horses In my experience, about 20% of my total mobilized army are actually used for homeland defense / fortify new acquired territory. In multiplayer situations this ratio will go much higher, because smarter human players concentrate their attacks.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Another very common phenomenon is to be showered by a large number of catapults when you advance into enemy territory. There is really no way to prevent this. You need to have more units in that stack to dilute the splash colleteral damage. Some people say you can split your stack, but I don't think it is a good idea. If I am the defender, I can easily concentrate my catapult shower on half your stack, and use all of my defending forces to kill off half of your army. By the time your intact, the-other half arrives at my castle gate, my forces have returned and started healing.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Right after taking a city, it might be worthwhile waiting for the wounded troops to heal, if lots of healing is needed. An army at half of its strength is really inviting a crushing defeat.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Following the catapult bombardment, the enemy might follow up with a mixture of other spare units. You may think AI is stupid to commite suicide this way, but those counter attacks can be devastating if you don't have a balanced stack. If you don't have elephants/spears in your invading stack, your melee units might get slaughtered by horses. It is wise to carry a few defensive units in the same stack, just for the purpose of insurance. Plus, they can help you afterwards...[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q8: Did I forget the garrison troops?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You might be able to take the city, but you will need troops to defend it. Chance is the enemy's culture border still enables them to take the city back in 1 turn, if your new city is not properly defended. You must know by now that good garrison troops are very different from good attack troops. Archery + Spears/Elephant are very good garrison troops; the AI love to have them, too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One of my common mistakes is I "barely made it", so I have one very weak unit in the new city, and I don't have any units that can move in to help. The result is usually I lose the new city and the wounded unit to a very weak counter attack force. The AIs will hunt down each one of your weak units, especially when they can get a city back in the meantime.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You don't want to leave a portion of assault troops in each of your new cities, to weaken your invasion as you go on. It might be too late to start producing garrison troops after your war declaration.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q9: Did I forget to move a unit somewhere?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is more of a gameplay aspect. When a war gets big, it is easy (at least for me) to forget a few units that has been previously assigned on garrison purpose, but no longer needed. When I can locate them (through the military advisor) and pull them to the front, my battle often becomes much easier.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Q10: Am I on my way to my next military tech lead?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Not really an FAQ - I just include this for morale boosting purpose. When you hack down archers with maceman, you should be thinking of blasting longbowman with gernadiers. When that comes true, you should be thinking of the cheerful gunpowder explosion echos made by cavalry and cannons. After that, it is probably sniping grenadiers with infatry rifles. You are always creating a military lead, because the AI never stops trying to catch up. After a certain point, you are just going to wipe out the rest of the AIs in a short period of time, if you haven't accidently cross over the domination victory threshold.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]***[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]May I conclude this article with a popular quote from Sun Tze:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]"Knowing your enemy and yourself, you can fight 100 battles without dire danger."[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The key of a war is to avoid losing. If you can smell the war not approaching your victory, then you better quit it as soon as possible. In order to smell it, you need knowledge of the situation. If you don't suffer huge defeat, naturally over time you will get a few chances to crush the enemy. If you succeed at doing that, you win! In Civ4 the wars are much eaiser, so usually you immediately win after a little planning.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A popular misconception of this quote turns the latter part into "you can fight 100 battles without a loss." This is definitely naive. You can still lose,  because there is luck, competent enemy commanders, and endless suicide bombers (catapults). However, with enough knowledge of the situation, you may lose, but you are not exhausted. You can still regroup, tell yourself there are still lots of hope, and come back for the eventual win, while your enemy feels tired and whines "What is war good for? Absolutely nothing!"</Spanish>
	</TEXT>
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		<Tag>TXT_KEY_STRATEGY_GROWTH_WAR_PEDIA</Tag>
		<English>[H1]Balancing Growth and Warfare in Civ IV[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Bogustrumper[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Success in Civilization IV usually involves military conquest, and there are no doubt warmongers out there who like nothing more than spending all their time either waging war or preparing to wage war. Nevertheless, one of the hidden messages in the game is that war is expensive, both in time and material, and should only be waged when the time is ripe. Count me among those who adhere to that strategy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It would be nice if the player could always dictate when and where he would like to go to war. Unfortunately, some of the AI personas do not always allow that luxury. Even the well-defended player will often find himself victim of a sneak attack by Montezuma, Ghenghis Khan, Isabella (or anyone, for that matter)-even if the attacker has no real chance of achieving victory. It therefore behooves the wise player always to be aware of this potential threat, and to take steps to meet it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Nevertheless, the wise player should also never forget that if nothing else, going to war involves at least ten turns (and usually many more) where he will be solely occupied with conducting warfare. I've had wars last well over a century on the Civ calendar, and this expenditure of time cannot be dismissed. While you are warring, your peaceful AI opponents are growing and developing, and unless there are very tangible benefits to be got, the intelligent player should try to truncate his military adventures as soon as he has achieved his aims.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]So what strategy should a player pursue so that he will ultimately be victorious in the game itself, as opposed to just winning wars? The key, I think, is balance.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]So how do you balance growth with warfare, so as to proceed, as much as possible, in an unbroken upward curve toward victory?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One key that seems paramount is possession of river cities. The reason river cities are so precious is two-fold: The first, most obvious benefit of river cities is their ability to spawn farms on many squares. If a river city possesses floodplains, this benefit is enhanced. Farmed floodplains produce a tremendous number of food units, and therefore not only do they allow a city to grow at a rapid rate, they can also be used to quickly produce Settlers and Workers in the early phases of the game without impeding a city's overall growth. Later on, when these units diminish in importance, such cities can easily support a great number of Specialists, which can transform such a city into a "Great People Farm", generating the Great Scientists and Great Engineers so vital to succcess.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The second, and ultimately more important benefit of river cities is that once the player obtains the Machinery tech, he can begin to put Watermills on these critical riverside squares. Watermills are good right off the get-go, but as you acquire the Replaceable Parts tech (plus-1 hammer), and later, the Electricity tech (plus-2 commerce), their value begins to multiply. The final addition of the State Property civic completes their development, adding one additional food production to each Watermill square, and turning them into production powerhouses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Watermills provide another benefit. Most river cities never have to worry about growth. On the upper difficulty levels, however, city growth is always inhibited by either the happiness or health of its citizenry. One concern which remains constant throughout nearly the entire game is the player's struggle to provide enough happiness and health resources to allow his cities to continue to grow. It is a virtual certainty that at many points in the game the player will have to rearrange the squares his citizens are working so as not to outgrow these resources.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Watermills provide a handy place to do this. By transferring production (through the city screen) off Farm squares and onto Watermill squares the player can easily restrict, or even stop altogether the growth of his city (allowing health or happiness to catch up) without sacrificing either overall productivity, or the maintenance of Specialists.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I have often built Watermills on every available square as soon as possible, reasoning that if I run out of food, I can always return the square to farming. In practice, however, this never seems to happen. By the time I'm able to start gowing again, the Watermill squares will have so gained in value (by techs and civics) that they never need to be refarmed. Of course, it isn't wise to say "never," but as a general rule, the above strategy seems to work beautifully.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The goal of first building, and then improving Watermill squares, also seems to dovetail nicely with a good route through the tech tree, i.e., one in which the player can acquire techs that are not only useful to himself, but also can be traded.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It does the player little good to duplicate research efforts by other Civs. He should attempt a route through the tree that gives him unique techs, and the pursuit of Machinery, and later, a beeline to Liberalism (with it's attendant free tech of The Printing Press) provides techs no one else has, and which can also be traded to other civs with little adverse affect. Paper, Liberalism, Education, and so on, are seldom given priority by other Civs, and even though one might despair of ever being the first to gain Electricity or Physics (which the AIs always seem to get first), it's very possible to research Communism and be the first to get the State Property civic, which can also be traded when the time is right.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One of the cardinal rules of Civ IV is that one must never neglect research. One method of doing this, of course, is by building Cottages. As Cottages mature into Towns, they begin to produce great amounts of commerce, which is directly translatable into research. This is a good approach, and in non-river cities, about the only one available. But oddly enough, Civ IV is structured in such a way that a river city, with all its water squares occupied with Watermills, can become a veritable powerhouse of research. The first time I aggressively pursued this strategy, I expected that my overall research would fall off, but instead, the opposite happened. With judicious use of Watermills I discovered that I was usually able to keep my rate of research at 70%, and as my Civ matured, I could even increase it to 80%, and sometimes even 90%. In the critical end game, this is a powerful benefit.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other writers have noted that the true industrial powerhouses-the kind of cities in which you build the Ironworks, National Epic, and Heroic Epic national wonders-usually turn out not to be cities surrounded by hills (with mines and windmills)-but river cities. One cannot stress enough the importance of these cities. Possession of one or two of these sites can easily make the difference between victory and defeat.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Which brings us back to balance. While warmongering may have its benefits, I have found that it is best to have good relations with as many civs as possible so as to keep a more or less good reputation throughout the game. This does not mean you will not be attacked, for it is almost axiomatic that you will-especially in the earlier stages of the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Some players say that they always want to go to war at the time and place of their choosing, and although I agree with them up to a point, I have found that this emphatically does not mean that you have to be the one who starts a war. There is nothing wrong in making preparations for war, whilst at the same time avoiding it as long as possible. When you are not warring, you are growing in both production and science, and ultimately, for all wins except for cultural victories, this will be the weight that will tip the scales in your favor.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One must be vigilant, however. As a Civ grows, the thoughtful player will find himself able to field larger and larger armies without penalty. If you are able to maintain Open Border agreements with your neighbors, you can always visit their cities with either Missionaries or military units (and later, with Spies) to see what they're up to. If you find them building great numbers of Horse Archers, say, you can counter with a force of Spearmen or Pikemen.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I have discovered that in times of peace, if you keep at least three or four military units in readiness in all cities, and five or six in those cities most vulnerable to attack, you should be adequately prepared for most eventualities. [NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In war, the defender always has the advantage over the attacker. Not only can the defender move about his own territory with much more facility than the invader, but his cities themselves offer defense bonuses which any attacker must overcome before he can conquer and occupy them. It is therefore critical than any player establish good internal lines of communication (via roads and later on, railroads), so that he can at first meet, and later overcome, the inroads made by invading armies.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If one makes sure to distribute his forces in a flexible and resiliant fashion, he has no reason to fear attack. He should be able to efficiently direct his military units so as to neutralize, and then destroy, enemy forces.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A word on warfare: When defending, many players like to deploy their forces in "stacks of doom," i.e., a great number of forces occuping a single square. I have found that although this may be an effective tactic when you are besieging cities, in the early stages of a war, when you are still recoiling from your enemy's initial onslaught, it is best to array your troops in smaller groups made up of a mix of units. Each group should consist of at least one or two strong defenders (Pikemen or Spearmen, for defense against mounted units), several mobile attack units (Horse Archers, War Elephants, Knights, Cavalrymen, etc.), a number of units that can both attack and defend (Macemen, Musketeers, Riflemen, etc.), and most important, one or more siege weapons (such as Catapults, Cannon, or Artillery).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once you've got your stacks together, rather than heedlessly attacking everything in sight, it's best to have these smaller mixed stacks occupy strong points along invasion routes (hills, forests, jungles, or, best of all, forested or jungled hills). War in Civ IV should be conducted much like a chess game: Occupy strong squares, block the attacker at as many points as possible, and wait for him to come to you. Only when you have lured him onto weak squares should you choose to attack, and then, it should be an attack to the death.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is why siege weapons are so important. Catapults, Cannon, and Artillery should always be regarded as the sacrificial lambs of warfare. They are easy and cheap to build, and their ability to inflict collateral damage cannot be overstated. After a few blows from siege weapons, the units in a stack of attackers will be so weakened as to be easy prey for your other units.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you mouse over a stack of attackers, you can always see what you're up against. Typically AI attackers will either send out single marauders (usually mobile attack units), which will try to slip into your territory and plunder juicy squares, followed by attack stacks composed of a variety of units. As imposing as these stacks might be, they can be defeated and annihilated by your own attack stacks-as long as you are patient.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A typical problem in defeating these stacks is when they are composed (as they often are with "aggressive" Civs) of units possessing the "immune from first strike" promotion. This is where siege weapons prove so valuable. Although these units are said to be "immune," this does not mean that they cannot be weakened by attack with siege weapons. Neither does it mean that an attacking Catapult or Cannon will necessarily be destroyed by attacking. Often a siege unit will "withdraw" from an attack, and although its own strength may be reduced to almost zero by the attack, it still can survive to fight another day. Such units can either be withdrawn to a safe zone, or joined on a newly occupied square by nearby defensive units. If protected and given a place to heal, they can rejoin the fray later.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is why deploying multiple smaller stacks on adjacent squares can be so valuable. Once an attacking stack is isolated on a vulnerable square, and surrounded by several stacks of defenders on adjacent squares, it is easy to bombard it with siege weapons. Once the enemy units are fatally weakened, you can send in your attack troops to finish them off one by one. That's why patience is so valuable. Because military units heal between turns, it is essential that once you begin to attack a square, you do so with the idea of eliminating ALL the units on that square.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It isn't always easy to wait until you've got overwhelming advantage before commencing an attack, and waiting often means you'll temporarily lose some key production squares to plunderers, but until until you've got your enemy where you want him, you should emphatically NOT attack. There are some exceptions, of course. Sometimes it happens that an enemy poses such a dire threat (i.e., in position to attack and perhaps even capture one of your cities) that you must throw everything but the kitchen sink against him, no matter what the cost-but if you practice the above strategy you can practically eliminate such a scenario.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I try to set up situations so that attacking stacks are so weakened by bombardment that each counterattack by your defending units has at least an 80% or better chance of success. The way to win wars is by keeping your "kill ratio" at 6-1 or better. By doing this you not only preserve your own army (whilst busily promoting your most valorous warriors), you also sap and weaken your enemy so that when the time comes for you to invade his territory and attack his cities, he can do little to stop you.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is how wars usually proceed: Although AIs often signal their intent by massing forces on your borders, or by cancelling open border agreements, they also can attack right out of the blue. No matter what preceeds the opening of hostilities, once a war begins it is essential that the defender immediately switch all his production over to weapons of war. When you fight, you must fight hard, and with all your resources. Unless one of your cities is engaged in building a super-critical Wonder or improvement, you should immediately leave off what your are doing and switch over to war production. You can pick it up later, once the war is over, but during wartime, you neglect armaments production at your own peril.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once war is declared, AI Civs will begin making their way into your territory. The first wave of attack is almost always the strongest, but as the war wears on, and your defensive effort begins to take its toll, you will discover the flow of attackers coming into your territory will begin to weaken, and then dribble to almost nothing. This is what you've been waiting for.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If the strength of your civilization is where it should be, you should now find that not only will you have eliminated all enemy forces from key strong points, but that you now occupy them yourself and can begin to plan how you will invade your enemy's territory.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Your first consideration should be: Where should you attack? Now that your rival has weakened himself so as to be ripe for the taking, how best should you proceed?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Obviously, you should aim to capture one or more of his cities, but which ones? In deciding this you must take into account the all-important issue of cultural control. Virtually any city you capture will incline toward "flipping" back to an enemy's control, simply because right after capture, it is populated almost entirely by enemy citizens. Therefore prime consideration should be given to those cities already besieged by your own cultural boundaries, cities whose capture will result in a rival's cultural boundaries deflating like a punctured balloon.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It does little good to "spearhead" through an enemy's land and capture a far prize (such as his Capital), and try to hold it. Not only will such a city be ripe for insurrection, but your opponent's cultural pressure will tend to surround and stifle such an outpost, making it useless to the invader. Moreover, it is such a thorn in his side, he will move heaven and earth to try and reclaim it. Only those cities which can be captured and held-those in close proximity to your own culture and development-should be considered for conquest.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you can capture one, two, or perhaps even three cities in war during the earlier stages of the game, and by doing so permanently weaken your rival and diminish his cultural realm, you should consider the war a success. Even such modest gains will exact a heavy price in time and production, and once you have obtained them, you should think about making peace.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To that end, here's a simple tip for maximizing your gains: When you've gotten what you wanted, and you sense (by the levels of your own civic unrest) that your citizens have had about all they can stand of war, go ahead and contact your opponent with the idea of ending the conflict.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If he agrees to talk (as he usually will), you'll be presented with a statement from him suggesting directly that you "bury the hatchet," stop all this "pointless fighting," and end the war. Do NOT select this option. Rather, propose a trade. This will bring you into a screen where you can ask your opponent "What is the price for peace?"[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you've exacted a heavy toll, he will often offer techs, world maps, gold, or even one of his cities to get you to cease your attacks. This is obviously a big improvement over simply ending the war, and is how you should always sue for peace. Never just accept a peace offer without demanding tribute. You're leaving money on the table if you do.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once a war is over, you'll often find yourself lousy with military units, and rolling in dough. How you make the transition from war to peace is almost as important as winning the war, and the key here is "redeployment."[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In captured cities, you must maintain a sizeable military presence to protect against revolt. Up until the Industrial Era, I've found that five to seven units, apportioned among siege weapons, mobile attackers, and all-purpose units, is usually sufficient. The remainder of your units should be redeployed back to your other cities, with those cities most vulnerable to attacks from other Civs getting the lion's share of the returnees.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Because wars last so long, you will often discover many obsolete units left over from previous builds still occupying your cities. Some of these units are eligible for modernization, i.e., Catapults can be turned into Cannon, Knights into Cavalrymen, and so forth. Modernization has a price, however, and while some units can be modernized for a very modest expenditure, turning an old Warrior into a Rifleman, say, can be prohibitively expensive.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Maintaining over-large armies costs money, and detracts from the overall growth of a Civ. Therefore, during redeployment I usually select only those units which have gained a number of promotions to be candidates for modernization, and even then, I will consider only those which can be upgraded at modest cost. The remaining obsolete units I immediately disband, and use the war returnees to regarrison these cities. I have found that for cities far removed from the front lines, three units will usually suffice both for protection and for happiness.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Thus, once you have completed redeployment, you should have your most veteran units occupying your furthest outposts in sufficient number to guard against sneak attack, whilst your interior cities are protected by a smaller token force. As peace returns to your land, you will find yourself eminently protected against all current threats, and poised to return to even greater levels of growth and productivity. If you have managed to capture or control additional health resources such as wheat, fish, deer, clams, or whatever, so much the better. You have won the war, and to the victor go the spoils.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]During the course of the game I like to conduct at most three real (i.e., non-barbarian) wars: The first two, I prefer to be the agressee rather than the aggressor. Not only does this strategy preserve my reputation (so as not to become the endless victim of "furious" neighbors and to have to spend precious game turns involved in unwanted warfare), but it provides me with ready candidates for my own aggression when I finally find myself ready to begin taking over the board. The third war is usually for me "the war to end all wars," when I am bent on going for the win.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One more comment on barbarians: In some scenarios you will find yourself in a position to conquer barbarian cities. The "terra" scenario, for example, provides a "New World" occupied by nothing BUT barbarian cities. Barbarian cities provide an avenue for essentially painless warfare. Since none of the AI Civs care a whit for barbarians, you will offend no one by either conquering, or razing, these cities. Also, since barbarians usually trail mightily in the tech race, conquering them is a lot easier than taking Civ cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]While barbarians might not build a lot of buildings (although this is not uniformly true), they do develop their lands and resources. Thus taking these cities offers the conquering player sites where all he has to do is grow in order to work these already-developed squares. This gives his Civ a tremendous lift, because he needn't devote valuable worker time toward improving the sites. Also, because barbarian cities have little culture, the player's own culture rapidly expands to fill the void left by the departed pagans. Again, when conquering barbarian sites, give river cities your highest priority, subject, of course, to normal strategic and tactical considerations.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once peace has returned to your lands, you must not just rest on your laurels, for you can be sure your rivals are not resting on theirs. As you are in the process of developing your culture and growth, you must always keep pace with your rivals. This means that even though your emphasis should be on building Wonders, growing your cities, and adding to your wealth, culture, and science, you must not neglect your military. As new military techs become available, methodically improve your armies, building a few new units, upgrading your best old veterans, all the while keeping a wary eye on your nearest rivals. Right up to the modern era, when navies and air forces begin to dominate the board, you should pay most attention to your immediate neighbors. Plan your builds to deal with them, for they are your most likely adversaries. It is almost impossible for a Civ one or two countries away (or separated by an ocean) to effectively conduct warfare against you, so the liklihood of attack from one of these is slim.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The AI Civs are programmed to look for weakness. If you see a Civ on one of your borders begin to move a lot of powerful forces around his own lands, prepare to meet them. Often positioning a few stacks of countering forces along likely invasion routes (while keeping them safely within your own borders) will cause a greedy AI to think twice about attacking you. The longer you keep that Civ at arm's length, the better off you are. War is NOT the answer.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Until the end, that is. If you have managed your empire efficiently, built Academies in your most productive Science cities, chosen your Civics with care and circumspection, and developed your lands to their utmost potential, by the time the ending arrives you should be well ahead in techs, size, and productive capacity. At this point, you should be making decisions as to how you want to go about winning the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Unless one is pursuing a Cultural or Diplomatic victory (neither of which I know how to do), winning usually boils down to either a space race, or military conquest.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In either scenario, one development which should be pursued at any cost is the construction of the Three Gorges Dam. This powerful Wonder negates the need to construct either Coal Plants or Hydro Plants, for its completion instantly provides power to all Factories on the continent, giving your Civ a productivity boost unmatched by any other single improvement.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Again, the idea of having good river cities pays another benefit, for not only must the Three Gorges be built in a river city and no where else, a properly developed river city equipped with an Ironworks can make short work of building this Wonder. Here's the best way to go about it:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As you approach the time when you can research Plastics (the Three Gorges prerequisite), you should try to array your Specialists in such a way so that one of your cities produces at least one Great Engineer. If you've got a Great Engineer on tap before your begin the Three Gorges, you've already reduced the time it takes to build it by better than a third. As soon as you get Plastics, immediately go to your river city and build a Hydro Plant. If the city has an Ironworks, this won't take but a few turns, and will be richly repaid once you begin the dam itself.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]From then on it's a simple matter of monitoring construction until the Great Engineer can complete the dam in a single turn, and then having him finish it. Once the Three Gorges gets going, you're well on your way to victory.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Which way you go from there depends on the game situation. As a matter of fact, you should have chosen your method of victory well before the dam is completed. If you are completely outstripping your opponents (often I've had a game score double or even triple my nearest rival) then you probably ought to shoot for a "Conquest" or "Domination" victory. If you have a rival close to your own score, then perhaps it's best to go for the Space Victory.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you have chosen the Space Race, then you should have already built the Apollo program, and ideally, some of the Space Ship casings. No matter how productive your Civ may be, you cannot dawdle building the Space Ship. Space Ship components cannot be "hurried," but must be built one hammer at a time. If you fall behind in the Space Race, you may never catch up.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once I played a game where I had everything going my way. I had super productive cities, I had neutralized all military threats, and all I had to do was build the Space Ship to win. But whilst I had been basking in the reflected glory of my incipient victory, Queen Victoria had busily completed a number of low-tech SS components, and was researching new techs at a furious rate. Nevertheless I felt that my productivity edge was so great that I still stood in little danger of losing.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]So there we were, the Queen and I, both building at breakneck pace. Nevertheless, to my mind, there was no way I could lose. With a great deal of satisfaction I installed the final rivet in my very last SS component, clicked the "end of turn" button, and waited for the victory announcement. I got one, all right, but imagine my dismay when I read "Queen Victoria has won a Space Race victory!"[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]NOT me. I was outraged! I'd been robbed! What an insult! What kind of game is this, anyway?...and so on. But I'd been guilty of overconfidence, and this was my payback. I had spent maybe 40 hours playing, only to be greeted by the supreme disappointment of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. But it taught me a lesson: Never dawdle in the Space Race.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you're way ahead of your nearest rival, and he hasn't made any significant progress in the Space Race, then you can go for the Conquest or Domination victory. This is just a matter of assembling a powerful Navy (for amphibious assaults), a powerful air force (consisting ideally of 15-20 Stealth Bombers, maybe 10 jet fighters), a very powerful land army-and then launching a war. Your assault forces should consist primarily of Modern Armor units (unequalled for their mobility and ability to attack multiple times), Gunships, and a large backup contingent of Mechanized Infantry. The Mechanized Infantry support the Armor, and can help in finishing off the last battered inhabitants of a beleagured city-but their primary duty is to occupy conquered cities in the wake of your main assault force.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This kind of a combination is virtually unstoppable, and with it you should be able to overwhelm your more backward rivals with unparalled speed. Once that final assault begins, victory isn't far away.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]By the way, you can specify at the beginning of any game which victories will be allowed-and which will not-by selecting the Custom Game option and checking or unchecking each victory option. For example, if you don't uncheck the Domination Victory option, then you will never be able to win by Conquest, because the Domination rubric will kick in before you've conquered the world. But that's enough for now. The rest you can learn by trial and error, and why should I tell you any more? What I've told you I've never seen anywhere else, not in so many words, anyway, so take this go grab yourself a victory in Civilization IV. Good luck!</English>
		<French>[H1]Balancing Growth and Warfare in Civ IV[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Bogustrumper[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Success in Civilization IV usually involves military conquest, and there are no doubt warmongers out there who like nothing more than spending all their time either waging war or preparing to wage war. Nevertheless, one of the hidden messages in the game is that war is expensive, both in time and material, and should only be waged when the time is ripe. Count me among those who adhere to that strategy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It would be nice if the player could always dictate when and where he would like to go to war. Unfortunately, some of the AI personas do not always allow that luxury. Even the well-defended player will often find himself victim of a sneak attack by Montezuma, Ghenghis Khan, Isabella (or anyone, for that matter)-even if the attacker has no real chance of achieving victory. It therefore behooves the wise player always to be aware of this potential threat, and to take steps to meet it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Nevertheless, the wise player should also never forget that if nothing else, going to war involves at least ten turns (and usually many more) where he will be solely occupied with conducting warfare. I've had wars last well over a century on the Civ calendar, and this expenditure of time cannot be dismissed. While you are warring, your peaceful AI opponents are growing and developing, and unless there are very tangible benefits to be got, the intelligent player should try to truncate his military adventures as soon as he has achieved his aims.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]So what strategy should a player pursue so that he will ultimately be victorious in the game itself, as opposed to just winning wars? The key, I think, is balance.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]So how do you balance growth with warfare, so as to proceed, as much as possible, in an unbroken upward curve toward victory?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One key that seems paramount is possession of river cities. The reason river cities are so precious is two-fold: The first, most obvious benefit of river cities is their ability to spawn farms on many squares. If a river city possesses floodplains, this benefit is enhanced. Farmed floodplains produce a tremendous number of food units, and therefore not only do they allow a city to grow at a rapid rate, they can also be used to quickly produce Settlers and Workers in the early phases of the game without impeding a city's overall growth. Later on, when these units diminish in importance, such cities can easily support a great number of Specialists, which can transform such a city into a "Great People Farm", generating the Great Scientists and Great Engineers so vital to succcess.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The second, and ultimately more important benefit of river cities is that once the player obtains the Machinery tech, he can begin to put Watermills on these critical riverside squares. Watermills are good right off the get-go, but as you acquire the Replaceable Parts tech (plus-1 hammer), and later, the Electricity tech (plus-2 commerce), their value begins to multiply. The final addition of the State Property civic completes their development, adding one additional food production to each Watermill square, and turning them into production powerhouses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Watermills provide another benefit. Most river cities never have to worry about growth. On the upper difficulty levels, however, city growth is always inhibited by either the happiness or health of its citizenry. One concern which remains constant throughout nearly the entire game is the player's struggle to provide enough happiness and health resources to allow his cities to continue to grow. It is a virtual certainty that at many points in the game the player will have to rearrange the squares his citizens are working so as not to outgrow these resources.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Watermills provide a handy place to do this. By transferring production (through the city screen) off Farm squares and onto Watermill squares the player can easily restrict, or even stop altogether the growth of his city (allowing health or happiness to catch up) without sacrificing either overall productivity, or the maintenance of Specialists.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I have often built Watermills on every available square as soon as possible, reasoning that if I run out of food, I can always return the square to farming. In practice, however, this never seems to happen. By the time I'm able to start gowing again, the Watermill squares will have so gained in value (by techs and civics) that they never need to be refarmed. Of course, it isn't wise to say "never," but as a general rule, the above strategy seems to work beautifully.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The goal of first building, and then improving Watermill squares, also seems to dovetail nicely with a good route through the tech tree, i.e., one in which the player can acquire techs that are not only useful to himself, but also can be traded.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It does the player little good to duplicate research efforts by other Civs. He should attempt a route through the tree that gives him unique techs, and the pursuit of Machinery, and later, a beeline to Liberalism (with it's attendant free tech of The Printing Press) provides techs no one else has, and which can also be traded to other civs with little adverse affect. Paper, Liberalism, Education, and so on, are seldom given priority by other Civs, and even though one might despair of ever being the first to gain Electricity or Physics (which the AIs always seem to get first), it's very possible to research Communism and be the first to get the State Property civic, which can also be traded when the time is right.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One of the cardinal rules of Civ IV is that one must never neglect research. One method of doing this, of course, is by building Cottages. As Cottages mature into Towns, they begin to produce great amounts of commerce, which is directly translatable into research. This is a good approach, and in non-river cities, about the only one available. But oddly enough, Civ IV is structured in such a way that a river city, with all its water squares occupied with Watermills, can become a veritable powerhouse of research. The first time I aggressively pursued this strategy, I expected that my overall research would fall off, but instead, the opposite happened. With judicious use of Watermills I discovered that I was usually able to keep my rate of research at 70%, and as my Civ matured, I could even increase it to 80%, and sometimes even 90%. In the critical end game, this is a powerful benefit.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other writers have noted that the true industrial powerhouses-the kind of cities in which you build the Ironworks, National Epic, and Heroic Epic national wonders-usually turn out not to be cities surrounded by hills (with mines and windmills)-but river cities. One cannot stress enough the importance of these cities. Possession of one or two of these sites can easily make the difference between victory and defeat.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Which brings us back to balance. While warmongering may have its benefits, I have found that it is best to have good relations with as many civs as possible so as to keep a more or less good reputation throughout the game. This does not mean you will not be attacked, for it is almost axiomatic that you will-especially in the earlier stages of the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Some players say that they always want to go to war at the time and place of their choosing, and although I agree with them up to a point, I have found that this emphatically does not mean that you have to be the one who starts a war. There is nothing wrong in making preparations for war, whilst at the same time avoiding it as long as possible. When you are not warring, you are growing in both production and science, and ultimately, for all wins except for cultural victories, this will be the weight that will tip the scales in your favor.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One must be vigilant, however. As a Civ grows, the thoughtful player will find himself able to field larger and larger armies without penalty. If you are able to maintain Open Border agreements with your neighbors, you can always visit their cities with either Missionaries or military units (and later, with Spies) to see what they're up to. If you find them building great numbers of Horse Archers, say, you can counter with a force of Spearmen or Pikemen.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I have discovered that in times of peace, if you keep at least three or four military units in readiness in all cities, and five or six in those cities most vulnerable to attack, you should be adequately prepared for most eventualities. [NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In war, the defender always has the advantage over the attacker. Not only can the defender move about his own territory with much more facility than the invader, but his cities themselves offer defense bonuses which any attacker must overcome before he can conquer and occupy them. It is therefore critical than any player establish good internal lines of communication (via roads and later on, railroads), so that he can at first meet, and later overcome, the inroads made by invading armies.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If one makes sure to distribute his forces in a flexible and resiliant fashion, he has no reason to fear attack. He should be able to efficiently direct his military units so as to neutralize, and then destroy, enemy forces.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A word on warfare: When defending, many players like to deploy their forces in "stacks of doom," i.e., a great number of forces occuping a single square. I have found that although this may be an effective tactic when you are besieging cities, in the early stages of a war, when you are still recoiling from your enemy's initial onslaught, it is best to array your troops in smaller groups made up of a mix of units. Each group should consist of at least one or two strong defenders (Pikemen or Spearmen, for defense against mounted units), several mobile attack units (Horse Archers, War Elephants, Knights, Cavalrymen, etc.), a number of units that can both attack and defend (Macemen, Musketeers, Riflemen, etc.), and most important, one or more siege weapons (such as Catapults, Cannon, or Artillery).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once you've got your stacks together, rather than heedlessly attacking everything in sight, it's best to have these smaller mixed stacks occupy strong points along invasion routes (hills, forests, jungles, or, best of all, forested or jungled hills). War in Civ IV should be conducted much like a chess game: Occupy strong squares, block the attacker at as many points as possible, and wait for him to come to you. Only when you have lured him onto weak squares should you choose to attack, and then, it should be an attack to the death.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is why siege weapons are so important. Catapults, Cannon, and Artillery should always be regarded as the sacrificial lambs of warfare. They are easy and cheap to build, and their ability to inflict collateral damage cannot be overstated. After a few blows from siege weapons, the units in a stack of attackers will be so weakened as to be easy prey for your other units.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you mouse over a stack of attackers, you can always see what you're up against. Typically AI attackers will either send out single marauders (usually mobile attack units), which will try to slip into your territory and plunder juicy squares, followed by attack stacks composed of a variety of units. As imposing as these stacks might be, they can be defeated and annihilated by your own attack stacks-as long as you are patient.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A typical problem in defeating these stacks is when they are composed (as they often are with "aggressive" Civs) of units possessing the "immune from first strike" promotion. This is where siege weapons prove so valuable. Although these units are said to be "immune," this does not mean that they cannot be weakened by attack with siege weapons. Neither does it mean that an attacking Catapult or Cannon will necessarily be destroyed by attacking. Often a siege unit will "withdraw" from an attack, and although its own strength may be reduced to almost zero by the attack, it still can survive to fight another day. Such units can either be withdrawn to a safe zone, or joined on a newly occupied square by nearby defensive units. If protected and given a place to heal, they can rejoin the fray later.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is why deploying multiple smaller stacks on adjacent squares can be so valuable. Once an attacking stack is isolated on a vulnerable square, and surrounded by several stacks of defenders on adjacent squares, it is easy to bombard it with siege weapons. Once the enemy units are fatally weakened, you can send in your attack troops to finish them off one by one. That's why patience is so valuable. Because military units heal between turns, it is essential that once you begin to attack a square, you do so with the idea of eliminating ALL the units on that square.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It isn't always easy to wait until you've got overwhelming advantage before commencing an attack, and waiting often means you'll temporarily lose some key production squares to plunderers, but until until you've got your enemy where you want him, you should emphatically NOT attack. There are some exceptions, of course. Sometimes it happens that an enemy poses such a dire threat (i.e., in position to attack and perhaps even capture one of your cities) that you must throw everything but the kitchen sink against him, no matter what the cost-but if you practice the above strategy you can practically eliminate such a scenario.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I try to set up situations so that attacking stacks are so weakened by bombardment that each counterattack by your defending units has at least an 80% or better chance of success. The way to win wars is by keeping your "kill ratio" at 6-1 or better. By doing this you not only preserve your own army (whilst busily promoting your most valorous warriors), you also sap and weaken your enemy so that when the time comes for you to invade his territory and attack his cities, he can do little to stop you.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is how wars usually proceed: Although AIs often signal their intent by massing forces on your borders, or by cancelling open border agreements, they also can attack right out of the blue. No matter what preceeds the opening of hostilities, once a war begins it is essential that the defender immediately switch all his production over to weapons of war. When you fight, you must fight hard, and with all your resources. Unless one of your cities is engaged in building a super-critical Wonder or improvement, you should immediately leave off what your are doing and switch over to war production. You can pick it up later, once the war is over, but during wartime, you neglect armaments production at your own peril.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once war is declared, AI Civs will begin making their way into your territory. The first wave of attack is almost always the strongest, but as the war wears on, and your defensive effort begins to take its toll, you will discover the flow of attackers coming into your territory will begin to weaken, and then dribble to almost nothing. This is what you've been waiting for.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If the strength of your civilization is where it should be, you should now find that not only will you have eliminated all enemy forces from key strong points, but that you now occupy them yourself and can begin to plan how you will invade your enemy's territory.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Your first consideration should be: Where should you attack? Now that your rival has weakened himself so as to be ripe for the taking, how best should you proceed?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Obviously, you should aim to capture one or more of his cities, but which ones? In deciding this you must take into account the all-important issue of cultural control. Virtually any city you capture will incline toward "flipping" back to an enemy's control, simply because right after capture, it is populated almost entirely by enemy citizens. Therefore prime consideration should be given to those cities already besieged by your own cultural boundaries, cities whose capture will result in a rival's cultural boundaries deflating like a punctured balloon.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It does little good to "spearhead" through an enemy's land and capture a far prize (such as his Capital), and try to hold it. Not only will such a city be ripe for insurrection, but your opponent's cultural pressure will tend to surround and stifle such an outpost, making it useless to the invader. Moreover, it is such a thorn in his side, he will move heaven and earth to try and reclaim it. Only those cities which can be captured and held-those in close proximity to your own culture and development-should be considered for conquest.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you can capture one, two, or perhaps even three cities in war during the earlier stages of the game, and by doing so permanently weaken your rival and diminish his cultural realm, you should consider the war a success. Even such modest gains will exact a heavy price in time and production, and once you have obtained them, you should think about making peace.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To that end, here's a simple tip for maximizing your gains: When you've gotten what you wanted, and you sense (by the levels of your own civic unrest) that your citizens have had about all they can stand of war, go ahead and contact your opponent with the idea of ending the conflict.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If he agrees to talk (as he usually will), you'll be presented with a statement from him suggesting directly that you "bury the hatchet," stop all this "pointless fighting," and end the war. Do NOT select this option. Rather, propose a trade. This will bring you into a screen where you can ask your opponent "What is the price for peace?"[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you've exacted a heavy toll, he will often offer techs, world maps, gold, or even one of his cities to get you to cease your attacks. This is obviously a big improvement over simply ending the war, and is how you should always sue for peace. Never just accept a peace offer without demanding tribute. You're leaving money on the table if you do.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once a war is over, you'll often find yourself lousy with military units, and rolling in dough. How you make the transition from war to peace is almost as important as winning the war, and the key here is "redeployment."[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In captured cities, you must maintain a sizeable military presence to protect against revolt. Up until the Industrial Era, I've found that five to seven units, apportioned among siege weapons, mobile attackers, and all-purpose units, is usually sufficient. The remainder of your units should be redeployed back to your other cities, with those cities most vulnerable to attacks from other Civs getting the lion's share of the returnees.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Because wars last so long, you will often discover many obsolete units left over from previous builds still occupying your cities. Some of these units are eligible for modernization, i.e., Catapults can be turned into Cannon, Knights into Cavalrymen, and so forth. Modernization has a price, however, and while some units can be modernized for a very modest expenditure, turning an old Warrior into a Rifleman, say, can be prohibitively expensive.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Maintaining over-large armies costs money, and detracts from the overall growth of a Civ. Therefore, during redeployment I usually select only those units which have gained a number of promotions to be candidates for modernization, and even then, I will consider only those which can be upgraded at modest cost. The remaining obsolete units I immediately disband, and use the war returnees to regarrison these cities. I have found that for cities far removed from the front lines, three units will usually suffice both for protection and for happiness.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Thus, once you have completed redeployment, you should have your most veteran units occupying your furthest outposts in sufficient number to guard against sneak attack, whilst your interior cities are protected by a smaller token force. As peace returns to your land, you will find yourself eminently protected against all current threats, and poised to return to even greater levels of growth and productivity. If you have managed to capture or control additional health resources such as wheat, fish, deer, clams, or whatever, so much the better. You have won the war, and to the victor go the spoils.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]During the course of the game I like to conduct at most three real (i.e., non-barbarian) wars: The first two, I prefer to be the agressee rather than the aggressor. Not only does this strategy preserve my reputation (so as not to become the endless victim of "furious" neighbors and to have to spend precious game turns involved in unwanted warfare), but it provides me with ready candidates for my own aggression when I finally find myself ready to begin taking over the board. The third war is usually for me "the war to end all wars," when I am bent on going for the win.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One more comment on barbarians: In some scenarios you will find yourself in a position to conquer barbarian cities. The "terra" scenario, for example, provides a "New World" occupied by nothing BUT barbarian cities. Barbarian cities provide an avenue for essentially painless warfare. Since none of the AI Civs care a whit for barbarians, you will offend no one by either conquering, or razing, these cities. Also, since barbarians usually trail mightily in the tech race, conquering them is a lot easier than taking Civ cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]While barbarians might not build a lot of buildings (although this is not uniformly true), they do develop their lands and resources. Thus taking these cities offers the conquering player sites where all he has to do is grow in order to work these already-developed squares. This gives his Civ a tremendous lift, because he needn't devote valuable worker time toward improving the sites. Also, because barbarian cities have little culture, the player's own culture rapidly expands to fill the void left by the departed pagans. Again, when conquering barbarian sites, give river cities your highest priority, subject, of course, to normal strategic and tactical considerations.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once peace has returned to your lands, you must not just rest on your laurels, for you can be sure your rivals are not resting on theirs. As you are in the process of developing your culture and growth, you must always keep pace with your rivals. This means that even though your emphasis should be on building Wonders, growing your cities, and adding to your wealth, culture, and science, you must not neglect your military. As new military techs become available, methodically improve your armies, building a few new units, upgrading your best old veterans, all the while keeping a wary eye on your nearest rivals. Right up to the modern era, when navies and air forces begin to dominate the board, you should pay most attention to your immediate neighbors. Plan your builds to deal with them, for they are your most likely adversaries. It is almost impossible for a Civ one or two countries away (or separated by an ocean) to effectively conduct warfare against you, so the liklihood of attack from one of these is slim.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The AI Civs are programmed to look for weakness. If you see a Civ on one of your borders begin to move a lot of powerful forces around his own lands, prepare to meet them. Often positioning a few stacks of countering forces along likely invasion routes (while keeping them safely within your own borders) will cause a greedy AI to think twice about attacking you. The longer you keep that Civ at arm's length, the better off you are. War is NOT the answer.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Until the end, that is. If you have managed your empire efficiently, built Academies in your most productive Science cities, chosen your Civics with care and circumspection, and developed your lands to their utmost potential, by the time the ending arrives you should be well ahead in techs, size, and productive capacity. At this point, you should be making decisions as to how you want to go about winning the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Unless one is pursuing a Cultural or Diplomatic victory (neither of which I know how to do), winning usually boils down to either a space race, or military conquest.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In either scenario, one development which should be pursued at any cost is the construction of the Three Gorges Dam. This powerful Wonder negates the need to construct either Coal Plants or Hydro Plants, for its completion instantly provides power to all Factories on the continent, giving your Civ a productivity boost unmatched by any other single improvement.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Again, the idea of having good river cities pays another benefit, for not only must the Three Gorges be built in a river city and no where else, a properly developed river city equipped with an Ironworks can make short work of building this Wonder. Here's the best way to go about it:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As you approach the time when you can research Plastics (the Three Gorges prerequisite), you should try to array your Specialists in such a way so that one of your cities produces at least one Great Engineer. If you've got a Great Engineer on tap before your begin the Three Gorges, you've already reduced the time it takes to build it by better than a third. As soon as you get Plastics, immediately go to your river city and build a Hydro Plant. If the city has an Ironworks, this won't take but a few turns, and will be richly repaid once you begin the dam itself.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]From then on it's a simple matter of monitoring construction until the Great Engineer can complete the dam in a single turn, and then having him finish it. Once the Three Gorges gets going, you're well on your way to victory.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Which way you go from there depends on the game situation. As a matter of fact, you should have chosen your method of victory well before the dam is completed. If you are completely outstripping your opponents (often I've had a game score double or even triple my nearest rival) then you probably ought to shoot for a "Conquest" or "Domination" victory. If you have a rival close to your own score, then perhaps it's best to go for the Space Victory.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you have chosen the Space Race, then you should have already built the Apollo program, and ideally, some of the Space Ship casings. No matter how productive your Civ may be, you cannot dawdle building the Space Ship. Space Ship components cannot be "hurried," but must be built one hammer at a time. If you fall behind in the Space Race, you may never catch up.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once I played a game where I had everything going my way. I had super productive cities, I had neutralized all military threats, and all I had to do was build the Space Ship to win. But whilst I had been basking in the reflected glory of my incipient victory, Queen Victoria had busily completed a number of low-tech SS components, and was researching new techs at a furious rate. Nevertheless I felt that my productivity edge was so great that I still stood in little danger of losing.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]So there we were, the Queen and I, both building at breakneck pace. Nevertheless, to my mind, there was no way I could lose. With a great deal of satisfaction I installed the final rivet in my very last SS component, clicked the "end of turn" button, and waited for the victory announcement. I got one, all right, but imagine my dismay when I read "Queen Victoria has won a Space Race victory!"[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]NOT me. I was outraged! I'd been robbed! What an insult! What kind of game is this, anyway?...and so on. But I'd been guilty of overconfidence, and this was my payback. I had spent maybe 40 hours playing, only to be greeted by the supreme disappointment of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. But it taught me a lesson: Never dawdle in the Space Race.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you're way ahead of your nearest rival, and he hasn't made any significant progress in the Space Race, then you can go for the Conquest or Domination victory. This is just a matter of assembling a powerful Navy (for amphibious assaults), a powerful air force (consisting ideally of 15-20 Stealth Bombers, maybe 10 jet fighters), a very powerful land army-and then launching a war. Your assault forces should consist primarily of Modern Armor units (unequalled for their mobility and ability to attack multiple times), Gunships, and a large backup contingent of Mechanized Infantry. The Mechanized Infantry support the Armor, and can help in finishing off the last battered inhabitants of a beleagured city-but their primary duty is to occupy conquered cities in the wake of your main assault force.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This kind of a combination is virtually unstoppable, and with it you should be able to overwhelm your more backward rivals with unparalled speed. Once that final assault begins, victory isn't far away.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]By the way, you can specify at the beginning of any game which victories will be allowed-and which will not-by selecting the Custom Game option and checking or unchecking each victory option. For example, if you don't uncheck the Domination Victory option, then you will never be able to win by Conquest, because the Domination rubric will kick in before you've conquered the world. But that's enough for now. The rest you can learn by trial and error, and why should I tell you any more? What I've told you I've never seen anywhere else, not in so many words, anyway, so take this go grab yourself a victory in Civilization IV. Good luck!</French>
		<German>[H1]Balancing Growth and Warfare in Civ IV[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Bogustrumper[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Success in Civilization IV usually involves military conquest, and there are no doubt warmongers out there who like nothing more than spending all their time either waging war or preparing to wage war. Nevertheless, one of the hidden messages in the game is that war is expensive, both in time and material, and should only be waged when the time is ripe. Count me among those who adhere to that strategy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It would be nice if the player could always dictate when and where he would like to go to war. Unfortunately, some of the AI personas do not always allow that luxury. Even the well-defended player will often find himself victim of a sneak attack by Montezuma, Ghenghis Khan, Isabella (or anyone, for that matter)-even if the attacker has no real chance of achieving victory. It therefore behooves the wise player always to be aware of this potential threat, and to take steps to meet it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Nevertheless, the wise player should also never forget that if nothing else, going to war involves at least ten turns (and usually many more) where he will be solely occupied with conducting warfare. I've had wars last well over a century on the Civ calendar, and this expenditure of time cannot be dismissed. While you are warring, your peaceful AI opponents are growing and developing, and unless there are very tangible benefits to be got, the intelligent player should try to truncate his military adventures as soon as he has achieved his aims.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]So what strategy should a player pursue so that he will ultimately be victorious in the game itself, as opposed to just winning wars? The key, I think, is balance.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]So how do you balance growth with warfare, so as to proceed, as much as possible, in an unbroken upward curve toward victory?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One key that seems paramount is possession of river cities. The reason river cities are so precious is two-fold: The first, most obvious benefit of river cities is their ability to spawn farms on many squares. If a river city possesses floodplains, this benefit is enhanced. Farmed floodplains produce a tremendous number of food units, and therefore not only do they allow a city to grow at a rapid rate, they can also be used to quickly produce Settlers and Workers in the early phases of the game without impeding a city's overall growth. Later on, when these units diminish in importance, such cities can easily support a great number of Specialists, which can transform such a city into a "Great People Farm", generating the Great Scientists and Great Engineers so vital to succcess.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The second, and ultimately more important benefit of river cities is that once the player obtains the Machinery tech, he can begin to put Watermills on these critical riverside squares. Watermills are good right off the get-go, but as you acquire the Replaceable Parts tech (plus-1 hammer), and later, the Electricity tech (plus-2 commerce), their value begins to multiply. The final addition of the State Property civic completes their development, adding one additional food production to each Watermill square, and turning them into production powerhouses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Watermills provide another benefit. Most river cities never have to worry about growth. On the upper difficulty levels, however, city growth is always inhibited by either the happiness or health of its citizenry. One concern which remains constant throughout nearly the entire game is the player's struggle to provide enough happiness and health resources to allow his cities to continue to grow. It is a virtual certainty that at many points in the game the player will have to rearrange the squares his citizens are working so as not to outgrow these resources.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Watermills provide a handy place to do this. By transferring production (through the city screen) off Farm squares and onto Watermill squares the player can easily restrict, or even stop altogether the growth of his city (allowing health or happiness to catch up) without sacrificing either overall productivity, or the maintenance of Specialists.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I have often built Watermills on every available square as soon as possible, reasoning that if I run out of food, I can always return the square to farming. In practice, however, this never seems to happen. By the time I'm able to start gowing again, the Watermill squares will have so gained in value (by techs and civics) that they never need to be refarmed. Of course, it isn't wise to say "never," but as a general rule, the above strategy seems to work beautifully.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The goal of first building, and then improving Watermill squares, also seems to dovetail nicely with a good route through the tech tree, i.e., one in which the player can acquire techs that are not only useful to himself, but also can be traded.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It does the player little good to duplicate research efforts by other Civs. He should attempt a route through the tree that gives him unique techs, and the pursuit of Machinery, and later, a beeline to Liberalism (with it's attendant free tech of The Printing Press) provides techs no one else has, and which can also be traded to other civs with little adverse affect. Paper, Liberalism, Education, and so on, are seldom given priority by other Civs, and even though one might despair of ever being the first to gain Electricity or Physics (which the AIs always seem to get first), it's very possible to research Communism and be the first to get the State Property civic, which can also be traded when the time is right.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One of the cardinal rules of Civ IV is that one must never neglect research. One method of doing this, of course, is by building Cottages. As Cottages mature into Towns, they begin to produce great amounts of commerce, which is directly translatable into research. This is a good approach, and in non-river cities, about the only one available. But oddly enough, Civ IV is structured in such a way that a river city, with all its water squares occupied with Watermills, can become a veritable powerhouse of research. The first time I aggressively pursued this strategy, I expected that my overall research would fall off, but instead, the opposite happened. With judicious use of Watermills I discovered that I was usually able to keep my rate of research at 70%, and as my Civ matured, I could even increase it to 80%, and sometimes even 90%. In the critical end game, this is a powerful benefit.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other writers have noted that the true industrial powerhouses-the kind of cities in which you build the Ironworks, National Epic, and Heroic Epic national wonders-usually turn out not to be cities surrounded by hills (with mines and windmills)-but river cities. One cannot stress enough the importance of these cities. Possession of one or two of these sites can easily make the difference between victory and defeat.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Which brings us back to balance. While warmongering may have its benefits, I have found that it is best to have good relations with as many civs as possible so as to keep a more or less good reputation throughout the game. This does not mean you will not be attacked, for it is almost axiomatic that you will-especially in the earlier stages of the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Some players say that they always want to go to war at the time and place of their choosing, and although I agree with them up to a point, I have found that this emphatically does not mean that you have to be the one who starts a war. There is nothing wrong in making preparations for war, whilst at the same time avoiding it as long as possible. When you are not warring, you are growing in both production and science, and ultimately, for all wins except for cultural victories, this will be the weight that will tip the scales in your favor.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One must be vigilant, however. As a Civ grows, the thoughtful player will find himself able to field larger and larger armies without penalty. If you are able to maintain Open Border agreements with your neighbors, you can always visit their cities with either Missionaries or military units (and later, with Spies) to see what they're up to. If you find them building great numbers of Horse Archers, say, you can counter with a force of Spearmen or Pikemen.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I have discovered that in times of peace, if you keep at least three or four military units in readiness in all cities, and five or six in those cities most vulnerable to attack, you should be adequately prepared for most eventualities. [NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In war, the defender always has the advantage over the attacker. Not only can the defender move about his own territory with much more facility than the invader, but his cities themselves offer defense bonuses which any attacker must overcome before he can conquer and occupy them. It is therefore critical than any player establish good internal lines of communication (via roads and later on, railroads), so that he can at first meet, and later overcome, the inroads made by invading armies.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If one makes sure to distribute his forces in a flexible and resiliant fashion, he has no reason to fear attack. He should be able to efficiently direct his military units so as to neutralize, and then destroy, enemy forces.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A word on warfare: When defending, many players like to deploy their forces in "stacks of doom," i.e., a great number of forces occuping a single square. I have found that although this may be an effective tactic when you are besieging cities, in the early stages of a war, when you are still recoiling from your enemy's initial onslaught, it is best to array your troops in smaller groups made up of a mix of units. Each group should consist of at least one or two strong defenders (Pikemen or Spearmen, for defense against mounted units), several mobile attack units (Horse Archers, War Elephants, Knights, Cavalrymen, etc.), a number of units that can both attack and defend (Macemen, Musketeers, Riflemen, etc.), and most important, one or more siege weapons (such as Catapults, Cannon, or Artillery).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once you've got your stacks together, rather than heedlessly attacking everything in sight, it's best to have these smaller mixed stacks occupy strong points along invasion routes (hills, forests, jungles, or, best of all, forested or jungled hills). War in Civ IV should be conducted much like a chess game: Occupy strong squares, block the attacker at as many points as possible, and wait for him to come to you. Only when you have lured him onto weak squares should you choose to attack, and then, it should be an attack to the death.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is why siege weapons are so important. Catapults, Cannon, and Artillery should always be regarded as the sacrificial lambs of warfare. They are easy and cheap to build, and their ability to inflict collateral damage cannot be overstated. After a few blows from siege weapons, the units in a stack of attackers will be so weakened as to be easy prey for your other units.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you mouse over a stack of attackers, you can always see what you're up against. Typically AI attackers will either send out single marauders (usually mobile attack units), which will try to slip into your territory and plunder juicy squares, followed by attack stacks composed of a variety of units. As imposing as these stacks might be, they can be defeated and annihilated by your own attack stacks-as long as you are patient.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A typical problem in defeating these stacks is when they are composed (as they often are with "aggressive" Civs) of units possessing the "immune from first strike" promotion. This is where siege weapons prove so valuable. Although these units are said to be "immune," this does not mean that they cannot be weakened by attack with siege weapons. Neither does it mean that an attacking Catapult or Cannon will necessarily be destroyed by attacking. Often a siege unit will "withdraw" from an attack, and although its own strength may be reduced to almost zero by the attack, it still can survive to fight another day. Such units can either be withdrawn to a safe zone, or joined on a newly occupied square by nearby defensive units. If protected and given a place to heal, they can rejoin the fray later.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is why deploying multiple smaller stacks on adjacent squares can be so valuable. Once an attacking stack is isolated on a vulnerable square, and surrounded by several stacks of defenders on adjacent squares, it is easy to bombard it with siege weapons. Once the enemy units are fatally weakened, you can send in your attack troops to finish them off one by one. That's why patience is so valuable. Because military units heal between turns, it is essential that once you begin to attack a square, you do so with the idea of eliminating ALL the units on that square.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It isn't always easy to wait until you've got overwhelming advantage before commencing an attack, and waiting often means you'll temporarily lose some key production squares to plunderers, but until until you've got your enemy where you want him, you should emphatically NOT attack. There are some exceptions, of course. Sometimes it happens that an enemy poses such a dire threat (i.e., in position to attack and perhaps even capture one of your cities) that you must throw everything but the kitchen sink against him, no matter what the cost-but if you practice the above strategy you can practically eliminate such a scenario.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I try to set up situations so that attacking stacks are so weakened by bombardment that each counterattack by your defending units has at least an 80% or better chance of success. The way to win wars is by keeping your "kill ratio" at 6-1 or better. By doing this you not only preserve your own army (whilst busily promoting your most valorous warriors), you also sap and weaken your enemy so that when the time comes for you to invade his territory and attack his cities, he can do little to stop you.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is how wars usually proceed: Although AIs often signal their intent by massing forces on your borders, or by cancelling open border agreements, they also can attack right out of the blue. No matter what preceeds the opening of hostilities, once a war begins it is essential that the defender immediately switch all his production over to weapons of war. When you fight, you must fight hard, and with all your resources. Unless one of your cities is engaged in building a super-critical Wonder or improvement, you should immediately leave off what your are doing and switch over to war production. You can pick it up later, once the war is over, but during wartime, you neglect armaments production at your own peril.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once war is declared, AI Civs will begin making their way into your territory. The first wave of attack is almost always the strongest, but as the war wears on, and your defensive effort begins to take its toll, you will discover the flow of attackers coming into your territory will begin to weaken, and then dribble to almost nothing. This is what you've been waiting for.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If the strength of your civilization is where it should be, you should now find that not only will you have eliminated all enemy forces from key strong points, but that you now occupy them yourself and can begin to plan how you will invade your enemy's territory.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Your first consideration should be: Where should you attack? Now that your rival has weakened himself so as to be ripe for the taking, how best should you proceed?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Obviously, you should aim to capture one or more of his cities, but which ones? In deciding this you must take into account the all-important issue of cultural control. Virtually any city you capture will incline toward "flipping" back to an enemy's control, simply because right after capture, it is populated almost entirely by enemy citizens. Therefore prime consideration should be given to those cities already besieged by your own cultural boundaries, cities whose capture will result in a rival's cultural boundaries deflating like a punctured balloon.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It does little good to "spearhead" through an enemy's land and capture a far prize (such as his Capital), and try to hold it. Not only will such a city be ripe for insurrection, but your opponent's cultural pressure will tend to surround and stifle such an outpost, making it useless to the invader. Moreover, it is such a thorn in his side, he will move heaven and earth to try and reclaim it. Only those cities which can be captured and held-those in close proximity to your own culture and development-should be considered for conquest.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you can capture one, two, or perhaps even three cities in war during the earlier stages of the game, and by doing so permanently weaken your rival and diminish his cultural realm, you should consider the war a success. Even such modest gains will exact a heavy price in time and production, and once you have obtained them, you should think about making peace.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To that end, here's a simple tip for maximizing your gains: When you've gotten what you wanted, and you sense (by the levels of your own civic unrest) that your citizens have had about all they can stand of war, go ahead and contact your opponent with the idea of ending the conflict.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If he agrees to talk (as he usually will), you'll be presented with a statement from him suggesting directly that you "bury the hatchet," stop all this "pointless fighting," and end the war. Do NOT select this option. Rather, propose a trade. This will bring you into a screen where you can ask your opponent "What is the price for peace?"[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you've exacted a heavy toll, he will often offer techs, world maps, gold, or even one of his cities to get you to cease your attacks. This is obviously a big improvement over simply ending the war, and is how you should always sue for peace. Never just accept a peace offer without demanding tribute. You're leaving money on the table if you do.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once a war is over, you'll often find yourself lousy with military units, and rolling in dough. How you make the transition from war to peace is almost as important as winning the war, and the key here is "redeployment."[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In captured cities, you must maintain a sizeable military presence to protect against revolt. Up until the Industrial Era, I've found that five to seven units, apportioned among siege weapons, mobile attackers, and all-purpose units, is usually sufficient. The remainder of your units should be redeployed back to your other cities, with those cities most vulnerable to attacks from other Civs getting the lion's share of the returnees.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Because wars last so long, you will often discover many obsolete units left over from previous builds still occupying your cities. Some of these units are eligible for modernization, i.e., Catapults can be turned into Cannon, Knights into Cavalrymen, and so forth. Modernization has a price, however, and while some units can be modernized for a very modest expenditure, turning an old Warrior into a Rifleman, say, can be prohibitively expensive.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Maintaining over-large armies costs money, and detracts from the overall growth of a Civ. Therefore, during redeployment I usually select only those units which have gained a number of promotions to be candidates for modernization, and even then, I will consider only those which can be upgraded at modest cost. The remaining obsolete units I immediately disband, and use the war returnees to regarrison these cities. I have found that for cities far removed from the front lines, three units will usually suffice both for protection and for happiness.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Thus, once you have completed redeployment, you should have your most veteran units occupying your furthest outposts in sufficient number to guard against sneak attack, whilst your interior cities are protected by a smaller token force. As peace returns to your land, you will find yourself eminently protected against all current threats, and poised to return to even greater levels of growth and productivity. If you have managed to capture or control additional health resources such as wheat, fish, deer, clams, or whatever, so much the better. You have won the war, and to the victor go the spoils.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]During the course of the game I like to conduct at most three real (i.e., non-barbarian) wars: The first two, I prefer to be the agressee rather than the aggressor. Not only does this strategy preserve my reputation (so as not to become the endless victim of "furious" neighbors and to have to spend precious game turns involved in unwanted warfare), but it provides me with ready candidates for my own aggression when I finally find myself ready to begin taking over the board. The third war is usually for me "the war to end all wars," when I am bent on going for the win.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One more comment on barbarians: In some scenarios you will find yourself in a position to conquer barbarian cities. The "terra" scenario, for example, provides a "New World" occupied by nothing BUT barbarian cities. Barbarian cities provide an avenue for essentially painless warfare. Since none of the AI Civs care a whit for barbarians, you will offend no one by either conquering, or razing, these cities. Also, since barbarians usually trail mightily in the tech race, conquering them is a lot easier than taking Civ cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]While barbarians might not build a lot of buildings (although this is not uniformly true), they do develop their lands and resources. Thus taking these cities offers the conquering player sites where all he has to do is grow in order to work these already-developed squares. This gives his Civ a tremendous lift, because he needn't devote valuable worker time toward improving the sites. Also, because barbarian cities have little culture, the player's own culture rapidly expands to fill the void left by the departed pagans. Again, when conquering barbarian sites, give river cities your highest priority, subject, of course, to normal strategic and tactical considerations.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once peace has returned to your lands, you must not just rest on your laurels, for you can be sure your rivals are not resting on theirs. As you are in the process of developing your culture and growth, you must always keep pace with your rivals. This means that even though your emphasis should be on building Wonders, growing your cities, and adding to your wealth, culture, and science, you must not neglect your military. As new military techs become available, methodically improve your armies, building a few new units, upgrading your best old veterans, all the while keeping a wary eye on your nearest rivals. Right up to the modern era, when navies and air forces begin to dominate the board, you should pay most attention to your immediate neighbors. Plan your builds to deal with them, for they are your most likely adversaries. It is almost impossible for a Civ one or two countries away (or separated by an ocean) to effectively conduct warfare against you, so the liklihood of attack from one of these is slim.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The AI Civs are programmed to look for weakness. If you see a Civ on one of your borders begin to move a lot of powerful forces around his own lands, prepare to meet them. Often positioning a few stacks of countering forces along likely invasion routes (while keeping them safely within your own borders) will cause a greedy AI to think twice about attacking you. The longer you keep that Civ at arm's length, the better off you are. War is NOT the answer.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Until the end, that is. If you have managed your empire efficiently, built Academies in your most productive Science cities, chosen your Civics with care and circumspection, and developed your lands to their utmost potential, by the time the ending arrives you should be well ahead in techs, size, and productive capacity. At this point, you should be making decisions as to how you want to go about winning the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Unless one is pursuing a Cultural or Diplomatic victory (neither of which I know how to do), winning usually boils down to either a space race, or military conquest.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In either scenario, one development which should be pursued at any cost is the construction of the Three Gorges Dam. This powerful Wonder negates the need to construct either Coal Plants or Hydro Plants, for its completion instantly provides power to all Factories on the continent, giving your Civ a productivity boost unmatched by any other single improvement.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Again, the idea of having good river cities pays another benefit, for not only must the Three Gorges be built in a river city and no where else, a properly developed river city equipped with an Ironworks can make short work of building this Wonder. Here's the best way to go about it:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As you approach the time when you can research Plastics (the Three Gorges prerequisite), you should try to array your Specialists in such a way so that one of your cities produces at least one Great Engineer. If you've got a Great Engineer on tap before your begin the Three Gorges, you've already reduced the time it takes to build it by better than a third. As soon as you get Plastics, immediately go to your river city and build a Hydro Plant. If the city has an Ironworks, this won't take but a few turns, and will be richly repaid once you begin the dam itself.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]From then on it's a simple matter of monitoring construction until the Great Engineer can complete the dam in a single turn, and then having him finish it. Once the Three Gorges gets going, you're well on your way to victory.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Which way you go from there depends on the game situation. As a matter of fact, you should have chosen your method of victory well before the dam is completed. If you are completely outstripping your opponents (often I've had a game score double or even triple my nearest rival) then you probably ought to shoot for a "Conquest" or "Domination" victory. If you have a rival close to your own score, then perhaps it's best to go for the Space Victory.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you have chosen the Space Race, then you should have already built the Apollo program, and ideally, some of the Space Ship casings. No matter how productive your Civ may be, you cannot dawdle building the Space Ship. Space Ship components cannot be "hurried," but must be built one hammer at a time. If you fall behind in the Space Race, you may never catch up.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once I played a game where I had everything going my way. I had super productive cities, I had neutralized all military threats, and all I had to do was build the Space Ship to win. But whilst I had been basking in the reflected glory of my incipient victory, Queen Victoria had busily completed a number of low-tech SS components, and was researching new techs at a furious rate. Nevertheless I felt that my productivity edge was so great that I still stood in little danger of losing.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]So there we were, the Queen and I, both building at breakneck pace. Nevertheless, to my mind, there was no way I could lose. With a great deal of satisfaction I installed the final rivet in my very last SS component, clicked the "end of turn" button, and waited for the victory announcement. I got one, all right, but imagine my dismay when I read "Queen Victoria has won a Space Race victory!"[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]NOT me. I was outraged! I'd been robbed! What an insult! What kind of game is this, anyway?...and so on. But I'd been guilty of overconfidence, and this was my payback. I had spent maybe 40 hours playing, only to be greeted by the supreme disappointment of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. But it taught me a lesson: Never dawdle in the Space Race.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you're way ahead of your nearest rival, and he hasn't made any significant progress in the Space Race, then you can go for the Conquest or Domination victory. This is just a matter of assembling a powerful Navy (for amphibious assaults), a powerful air force (consisting ideally of 15-20 Stealth Bombers, maybe 10 jet fighters), a very powerful land army-and then launching a war. Your assault forces should consist primarily of Modern Armor units (unequalled for their mobility and ability to attack multiple times), Gunships, and a large backup contingent of Mechanized Infantry. The Mechanized Infantry support the Armor, and can help in finishing off the last battered inhabitants of a beleagured city-but their primary duty is to occupy conquered cities in the wake of your main assault force.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This kind of a combination is virtually unstoppable, and with it you should be able to overwhelm your more backward rivals with unparalled speed. Once that final assault begins, victory isn't far away.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]By the way, you can specify at the beginning of any game which victories will be allowed-and which will not-by selecting the Custom Game option and checking or unchecking each victory option. For example, if you don't uncheck the Domination Victory option, then you will never be able to win by Conquest, because the Domination rubric will kick in before you've conquered the world. But that's enough for now. The rest you can learn by trial and error, and why should I tell you any more? What I've told you I've never seen anywhere else, not in so many words, anyway, so take this go grab yourself a victory in Civilization IV. Good luck!</German>
		<Italian>[H1]Balancing Growth and Warfare in Civ IV[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Bogustrumper[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Success in Civilization IV usually involves military conquest, and there are no doubt warmongers out there who like nothing more than spending all their time either waging war or preparing to wage war. Nevertheless, one of the hidden messages in the game is that war is expensive, both in time and material, and should only be waged when the time is ripe. Count me among those who adhere to that strategy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It would be nice if the player could always dictate when and where he would like to go to war. Unfortunately, some of the AI personas do not always allow that luxury. Even the well-defended player will often find himself victim of a sneak attack by Montezuma, Ghenghis Khan, Isabella (or anyone, for that matter)-even if the attacker has no real chance of achieving victory. It therefore behooves the wise player always to be aware of this potential threat, and to take steps to meet it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Nevertheless, the wise player should also never forget that if nothing else, going to war involves at least ten turns (and usually many more) where he will be solely occupied with conducting warfare. I've had wars last well over a century on the Civ calendar, and this expenditure of time cannot be dismissed. While you are warring, your peaceful AI opponents are growing and developing, and unless there are very tangible benefits to be got, the intelligent player should try to truncate his military adventures as soon as he has achieved his aims.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]So what strategy should a player pursue so that he will ultimately be victorious in the game itself, as opposed to just winning wars? The key, I think, is balance.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]So how do you balance growth with warfare, so as to proceed, as much as possible, in an unbroken upward curve toward victory?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One key that seems paramount is possession of river cities. The reason river cities are so precious is two-fold: The first, most obvious benefit of river cities is their ability to spawn farms on many squares. If a river city possesses floodplains, this benefit is enhanced. Farmed floodplains produce a tremendous number of food units, and therefore not only do they allow a city to grow at a rapid rate, they can also be used to quickly produce Settlers and Workers in the early phases of the game without impeding a city's overall growth. Later on, when these units diminish in importance, such cities can easily support a great number of Specialists, which can transform such a city into a "Great People Farm", generating the Great Scientists and Great Engineers so vital to succcess.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The second, and ultimately more important benefit of river cities is that once the player obtains the Machinery tech, he can begin to put Watermills on these critical riverside squares. Watermills are good right off the get-go, but as you acquire the Replaceable Parts tech (plus-1 hammer), and later, the Electricity tech (plus-2 commerce), their value begins to multiply. The final addition of the State Property civic completes their development, adding one additional food production to each Watermill square, and turning them into production powerhouses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Watermills provide another benefit. Most river cities never have to worry about growth. On the upper difficulty levels, however, city growth is always inhibited by either the happiness or health of its citizenry. One concern which remains constant throughout nearly the entire game is the player's struggle to provide enough happiness and health resources to allow his cities to continue to grow. It is a virtual certainty that at many points in the game the player will have to rearrange the squares his citizens are working so as not to outgrow these resources.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Watermills provide a handy place to do this. By transferring production (through the city screen) off Farm squares and onto Watermill squares the player can easily restrict, or even stop altogether the growth of his city (allowing health or happiness to catch up) without sacrificing either overall productivity, or the maintenance of Specialists.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I have often built Watermills on every available square as soon as possible, reasoning that if I run out of food, I can always return the square to farming. In practice, however, this never seems to happen. By the time I'm able to start gowing again, the Watermill squares will have so gained in value (by techs and civics) that they never need to be refarmed. Of course, it isn't wise to say "never," but as a general rule, the above strategy seems to work beautifully.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The goal of first building, and then improving Watermill squares, also seems to dovetail nicely with a good route through the tech tree, i.e., one in which the player can acquire techs that are not only useful to himself, but also can be traded.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It does the player little good to duplicate research efforts by other Civs. He should attempt a route through the tree that gives him unique techs, and the pursuit of Machinery, and later, a beeline to Liberalism (with it's attendant free tech of The Printing Press) provides techs no one else has, and which can also be traded to other civs with little adverse affect. Paper, Liberalism, Education, and so on, are seldom given priority by other Civs, and even though one might despair of ever being the first to gain Electricity or Physics (which the AIs always seem to get first), it's very possible to research Communism and be the first to get the State Property civic, which can also be traded when the time is right.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One of the cardinal rules of Civ IV is that one must never neglect research. One method of doing this, of course, is by building Cottages. As Cottages mature into Towns, they begin to produce great amounts of commerce, which is directly translatable into research. This is a good approach, and in non-river cities, about the only one available. But oddly enough, Civ IV is structured in such a way that a river city, with all its water squares occupied with Watermills, can become a veritable powerhouse of research. The first time I aggressively pursued this strategy, I expected that my overall research would fall off, but instead, the opposite happened. With judicious use of Watermills I discovered that I was usually able to keep my rate of research at 70%, and as my Civ matured, I could even increase it to 80%, and sometimes even 90%. In the critical end game, this is a powerful benefit.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other writers have noted that the true industrial powerhouses-the kind of cities in which you build the Ironworks, National Epic, and Heroic Epic national wonders-usually turn out not to be cities surrounded by hills (with mines and windmills)-but river cities. One cannot stress enough the importance of these cities. Possession of one or two of these sites can easily make the difference between victory and defeat.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Which brings us back to balance. While warmongering may have its benefits, I have found that it is best to have good relations with as many civs as possible so as to keep a more or less good reputation throughout the game. This does not mean you will not be attacked, for it is almost axiomatic that you will-especially in the earlier stages of the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Some players say that they always want to go to war at the time and place of their choosing, and although I agree with them up to a point, I have found that this emphatically does not mean that you have to be the one who starts a war. There is nothing wrong in making preparations for war, whilst at the same time avoiding it as long as possible. When you are not warring, you are growing in both production and science, and ultimately, for all wins except for cultural victories, this will be the weight that will tip the scales in your favor.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One must be vigilant, however. As a Civ grows, the thoughtful player will find himself able to field larger and larger armies without penalty. If you are able to maintain Open Border agreements with your neighbors, you can always visit their cities with either Missionaries or military units (and later, with Spies) to see what they're up to. If you find them building great numbers of Horse Archers, say, you can counter with a force of Spearmen or Pikemen.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I have discovered that in times of peace, if you keep at least three or four military units in readiness in all cities, and five or six in those cities most vulnerable to attack, you should be adequately prepared for most eventualities. [NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In war, the defender always has the advantage over the attacker. Not only can the defender move about his own territory with much more facility than the invader, but his cities themselves offer defense bonuses which any attacker must overcome before he can conquer and occupy them. It is therefore critical than any player establish good internal lines of communication (via roads and later on, railroads), so that he can at first meet, and later overcome, the inroads made by invading armies.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If one makes sure to distribute his forces in a flexible and resiliant fashion, he has no reason to fear attack. He should be able to efficiently direct his military units so as to neutralize, and then destroy, enemy forces.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A word on warfare: When defending, many players like to deploy their forces in "stacks of doom," i.e., a great number of forces occuping a single square. I have found that although this may be an effective tactic when you are besieging cities, in the early stages of a war, when you are still recoiling from your enemy's initial onslaught, it is best to array your troops in smaller groups made up of a mix of units. Each group should consist of at least one or two strong defenders (Pikemen or Spearmen, for defense against mounted units), several mobile attack units (Horse Archers, War Elephants, Knights, Cavalrymen, etc.), a number of units that can both attack and defend (Macemen, Musketeers, Riflemen, etc.), and most important, one or more siege weapons (such as Catapults, Cannon, or Artillery).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once you've got your stacks together, rather than heedlessly attacking everything in sight, it's best to have these smaller mixed stacks occupy strong points along invasion routes (hills, forests, jungles, or, best of all, forested or jungled hills). War in Civ IV should be conducted much like a chess game: Occupy strong squares, block the attacker at as many points as possible, and wait for him to come to you. Only when you have lured him onto weak squares should you choose to attack, and then, it should be an attack to the death.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is why siege weapons are so important. Catapults, Cannon, and Artillery should always be regarded as the sacrificial lambs of warfare. They are easy and cheap to build, and their ability to inflict collateral damage cannot be overstated. After a few blows from siege weapons, the units in a stack of attackers will be so weakened as to be easy prey for your other units.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you mouse over a stack of attackers, you can always see what you're up against. Typically AI attackers will either send out single marauders (usually mobile attack units), which will try to slip into your territory and plunder juicy squares, followed by attack stacks composed of a variety of units. As imposing as these stacks might be, they can be defeated and annihilated by your own attack stacks-as long as you are patient.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A typical problem in defeating these stacks is when they are composed (as they often are with "aggressive" Civs) of units possessing the "immune from first strike" promotion. This is where siege weapons prove so valuable. Although these units are said to be "immune," this does not mean that they cannot be weakened by attack with siege weapons. Neither does it mean that an attacking Catapult or Cannon will necessarily be destroyed by attacking. Often a siege unit will "withdraw" from an attack, and although its own strength may be reduced to almost zero by the attack, it still can survive to fight another day. Such units can either be withdrawn to a safe zone, or joined on a newly occupied square by nearby defensive units. If protected and given a place to heal, they can rejoin the fray later.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is why deploying multiple smaller stacks on adjacent squares can be so valuable. Once an attacking stack is isolated on a vulnerable square, and surrounded by several stacks of defenders on adjacent squares, it is easy to bombard it with siege weapons. Once the enemy units are fatally weakened, you can send in your attack troops to finish them off one by one. That's why patience is so valuable. Because military units heal between turns, it is essential that once you begin to attack a square, you do so with the idea of eliminating ALL the units on that square.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It isn't always easy to wait until you've got overwhelming advantage before commencing an attack, and waiting often means you'll temporarily lose some key production squares to plunderers, but until until you've got your enemy where you want him, you should emphatically NOT attack. There are some exceptions, of course. Sometimes it happens that an enemy poses such a dire threat (i.e., in position to attack and perhaps even capture one of your cities) that you must throw everything but the kitchen sink against him, no matter what the cost-but if you practice the above strategy you can practically eliminate such a scenario.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I try to set up situations so that attacking stacks are so weakened by bombardment that each counterattack by your defending units has at least an 80% or better chance of success. The way to win wars is by keeping your "kill ratio" at 6-1 or better. By doing this you not only preserve your own army (whilst busily promoting your most valorous warriors), you also sap and weaken your enemy so that when the time comes for you to invade his territory and attack his cities, he can do little to stop you.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is how wars usually proceed: Although AIs often signal their intent by massing forces on your borders, or by cancelling open border agreements, they also can attack right out of the blue. No matter what preceeds the opening of hostilities, once a war begins it is essential that the defender immediately switch all his production over to weapons of war. When you fight, you must fight hard, and with all your resources. Unless one of your cities is engaged in building a super-critical Wonder or improvement, you should immediately leave off what your are doing and switch over to war production. You can pick it up later, once the war is over, but during wartime, you neglect armaments production at your own peril.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once war is declared, AI Civs will begin making their way into your territory. The first wave of attack is almost always the strongest, but as the war wears on, and your defensive effort begins to take its toll, you will discover the flow of attackers coming into your territory will begin to weaken, and then dribble to almost nothing. This is what you've been waiting for.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If the strength of your civilization is where it should be, you should now find that not only will you have eliminated all enemy forces from key strong points, but that you now occupy them yourself and can begin to plan how you will invade your enemy's territory.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Your first consideration should be: Where should you attack? Now that your rival has weakened himself so as to be ripe for the taking, how best should you proceed?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Obviously, you should aim to capture one or more of his cities, but which ones? In deciding this you must take into account the all-important issue of cultural control. Virtually any city you capture will incline toward "flipping" back to an enemy's control, simply because right after capture, it is populated almost entirely by enemy citizens. Therefore prime consideration should be given to those cities already besieged by your own cultural boundaries, cities whose capture will result in a rival's cultural boundaries deflating like a punctured balloon.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It does little good to "spearhead" through an enemy's land and capture a far prize (such as his Capital), and try to hold it. Not only will such a city be ripe for insurrection, but your opponent's cultural pressure will tend to surround and stifle such an outpost, making it useless to the invader. Moreover, it is such a thorn in his side, he will move heaven and earth to try and reclaim it. Only those cities which can be captured and held-those in close proximity to your own culture and development-should be considered for conquest.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you can capture one, two, or perhaps even three cities in war during the earlier stages of the game, and by doing so permanently weaken your rival and diminish his cultural realm, you should consider the war a success. Even such modest gains will exact a heavy price in time and production, and once you have obtained them, you should think about making peace.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To that end, here's a simple tip for maximizing your gains: When you've gotten what you wanted, and you sense (by the levels of your own civic unrest) that your citizens have had about all they can stand of war, go ahead and contact your opponent with the idea of ending the conflict.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If he agrees to talk (as he usually will), you'll be presented with a statement from him suggesting directly that you "bury the hatchet," stop all this "pointless fighting," and end the war. Do NOT select this option. Rather, propose a trade. This will bring you into a screen where you can ask your opponent "What is the price for peace?"[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you've exacted a heavy toll, he will often offer techs, world maps, gold, or even one of his cities to get you to cease your attacks. This is obviously a big improvement over simply ending the war, and is how you should always sue for peace. Never just accept a peace offer without demanding tribute. You're leaving money on the table if you do.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once a war is over, you'll often find yourself lousy with military units, and rolling in dough. How you make the transition from war to peace is almost as important as winning the war, and the key here is "redeployment."[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In captured cities, you must maintain a sizeable military presence to protect against revolt. Up until the Industrial Era, I've found that five to seven units, apportioned among siege weapons, mobile attackers, and all-purpose units, is usually sufficient. The remainder of your units should be redeployed back to your other cities, with those cities most vulnerable to attacks from other Civs getting the lion's share of the returnees.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Because wars last so long, you will often discover many obsolete units left over from previous builds still occupying your cities. Some of these units are eligible for modernization, i.e., Catapults can be turned into Cannon, Knights into Cavalrymen, and so forth. Modernization has a price, however, and while some units can be modernized for a very modest expenditure, turning an old Warrior into a Rifleman, say, can be prohibitively expensive.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Maintaining over-large armies costs money, and detracts from the overall growth of a Civ. Therefore, during redeployment I usually select only those units which have gained a number of promotions to be candidates for modernization, and even then, I will consider only those which can be upgraded at modest cost. The remaining obsolete units I immediately disband, and use the war returnees to regarrison these cities. I have found that for cities far removed from the front lines, three units will usually suffice both for protection and for happiness.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Thus, once you have completed redeployment, you should have your most veteran units occupying your furthest outposts in sufficient number to guard against sneak attack, whilst your interior cities are protected by a smaller token force. As peace returns to your land, you will find yourself eminently protected against all current threats, and poised to return to even greater levels of growth and productivity. If you have managed to capture or control additional health resources such as wheat, fish, deer, clams, or whatever, so much the better. You have won the war, and to the victor go the spoils.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]During the course of the game I like to conduct at most three real (i.e., non-barbarian) wars: The first two, I prefer to be the agressee rather than the aggressor. Not only does this strategy preserve my reputation (so as not to become the endless victim of "furious" neighbors and to have to spend precious game turns involved in unwanted warfare), but it provides me with ready candidates for my own aggression when I finally find myself ready to begin taking over the board. The third war is usually for me "the war to end all wars," when I am bent on going for the win.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One more comment on barbarians: In some scenarios you will find yourself in a position to conquer barbarian cities. The "terra" scenario, for example, provides a "New World" occupied by nothing BUT barbarian cities. Barbarian cities provide an avenue for essentially painless warfare. Since none of the AI Civs care a whit for barbarians, you will offend no one by either conquering, or razing, these cities. Also, since barbarians usually trail mightily in the tech race, conquering them is a lot easier than taking Civ cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]While barbarians might not build a lot of buildings (although this is not uniformly true), they do develop their lands and resources. Thus taking these cities offers the conquering player sites where all he has to do is grow in order to work these already-developed squares. This gives his Civ a tremendous lift, because he needn't devote valuable worker time toward improving the sites. Also, because barbarian cities have little culture, the player's own culture rapidly expands to fill the void left by the departed pagans. Again, when conquering barbarian sites, give river cities your highest priority, subject, of course, to normal strategic and tactical considerations.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once peace has returned to your lands, you must not just rest on your laurels, for you can be sure your rivals are not resting on theirs. As you are in the process of developing your culture and growth, you must always keep pace with your rivals. This means that even though your emphasis should be on building Wonders, growing your cities, and adding to your wealth, culture, and science, you must not neglect your military. As new military techs become available, methodically improve your armies, building a few new units, upgrading your best old veterans, all the while keeping a wary eye on your nearest rivals. Right up to the modern era, when navies and air forces begin to dominate the board, you should pay most attention to your immediate neighbors. Plan your builds to deal with them, for they are your most likely adversaries. It is almost impossible for a Civ one or two countries away (or separated by an ocean) to effectively conduct warfare against you, so the liklihood of attack from one of these is slim.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The AI Civs are programmed to look for weakness. If you see a Civ on one of your borders begin to move a lot of powerful forces around his own lands, prepare to meet them. Often positioning a few stacks of countering forces along likely invasion routes (while keeping them safely within your own borders) will cause a greedy AI to think twice about attacking you. The longer you keep that Civ at arm's length, the better off you are. War is NOT the answer.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Until the end, that is. If you have managed your empire efficiently, built Academies in your most productive Science cities, chosen your Civics with care and circumspection, and developed your lands to their utmost potential, by the time the ending arrives you should be well ahead in techs, size, and productive capacity. At this point, you should be making decisions as to how you want to go about winning the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Unless one is pursuing a Cultural or Diplomatic victory (neither of which I know how to do), winning usually boils down to either a space race, or military conquest.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In either scenario, one development which should be pursued at any cost is the construction of the Three Gorges Dam. This powerful Wonder negates the need to construct either Coal Plants or Hydro Plants, for its completion instantly provides power to all Factories on the continent, giving your Civ a productivity boost unmatched by any other single improvement.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Again, the idea of having good river cities pays another benefit, for not only must the Three Gorges be built in a river city and no where else, a properly developed river city equipped with an Ironworks can make short work of building this Wonder. Here's the best way to go about it:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As you approach the time when you can research Plastics (the Three Gorges prerequisite), you should try to array your Specialists in such a way so that one of your cities produces at least one Great Engineer. If you've got a Great Engineer on tap before your begin the Three Gorges, you've already reduced the time it takes to build it by better than a third. As soon as you get Plastics, immediately go to your river city and build a Hydro Plant. If the city has an Ironworks, this won't take but a few turns, and will be richly repaid once you begin the dam itself.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]From then on it's a simple matter of monitoring construction until the Great Engineer can complete the dam in a single turn, and then having him finish it. Once the Three Gorges gets going, you're well on your way to victory.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Which way you go from there depends on the game situation. As a matter of fact, you should have chosen your method of victory well before the dam is completed. If you are completely outstripping your opponents (often I've had a game score double or even triple my nearest rival) then you probably ought to shoot for a "Conquest" or "Domination" victory. If you have a rival close to your own score, then perhaps it's best to go for the Space Victory.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you have chosen the Space Race, then you should have already built the Apollo program, and ideally, some of the Space Ship casings. No matter how productive your Civ may be, you cannot dawdle building the Space Ship. Space Ship components cannot be "hurried," but must be built one hammer at a time. If you fall behind in the Space Race, you may never catch up.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once I played a game where I had everything going my way. I had super productive cities, I had neutralized all military threats, and all I had to do was build the Space Ship to win. But whilst I had been basking in the reflected glory of my incipient victory, Queen Victoria had busily completed a number of low-tech SS components, and was researching new techs at a furious rate. Nevertheless I felt that my productivity edge was so great that I still stood in little danger of losing.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]So there we were, the Queen and I, both building at breakneck pace. Nevertheless, to my mind, there was no way I could lose. With a great deal of satisfaction I installed the final rivet in my very last SS component, clicked the "end of turn" button, and waited for the victory announcement. I got one, all right, but imagine my dismay when I read "Queen Victoria has won a Space Race victory!"[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]NOT me. I was outraged! I'd been robbed! What an insult! What kind of game is this, anyway?...and so on. But I'd been guilty of overconfidence, and this was my payback. I had spent maybe 40 hours playing, only to be greeted by the supreme disappointment of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. But it taught me a lesson: Never dawdle in the Space Race.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you're way ahead of your nearest rival, and he hasn't made any significant progress in the Space Race, then you can go for the Conquest or Domination victory. This is just a matter of assembling a powerful Navy (for amphibious assaults), a powerful air force (consisting ideally of 15-20 Stealth Bombers, maybe 10 jet fighters), a very powerful land army-and then launching a war. Your assault forces should consist primarily of Modern Armor units (unequalled for their mobility and ability to attack multiple times), Gunships, and a large backup contingent of Mechanized Infantry. The Mechanized Infantry support the Armor, and can help in finishing off the last battered inhabitants of a beleagured city-but their primary duty is to occupy conquered cities in the wake of your main assault force.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This kind of a combination is virtually unstoppable, and with it you should be able to overwhelm your more backward rivals with unparalled speed. Once that final assault begins, victory isn't far away.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]By the way, you can specify at the beginning of any game which victories will be allowed-and which will not-by selecting the Custom Game option and checking or unchecking each victory option. For example, if you don't uncheck the Domination Victory option, then you will never be able to win by Conquest, because the Domination rubric will kick in before you've conquered the world. But that's enough for now. The rest you can learn by trial and error, and why should I tell you any more? What I've told you I've never seen anywhere else, not in so many words, anyway, so take this go grab yourself a victory in Civilization IV. Good luck!</Italian>
		<Spanish>[H1]Balancing Growth and Warfare in Civ IV[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Bogustrumper[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Success in Civilization IV usually involves military conquest, and there are no doubt warmongers out there who like nothing more than spending all their time either waging war or preparing to wage war. Nevertheless, one of the hidden messages in the game is that war is expensive, both in time and material, and should only be waged when the time is ripe. Count me among those who adhere to that strategy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It would be nice if the player could always dictate when and where he would like to go to war. Unfortunately, some of the AI personas do not always allow that luxury. Even the well-defended player will often find himself victim of a sneak attack by Montezuma, Ghenghis Khan, Isabella (or anyone, for that matter)-even if the attacker has no real chance of achieving victory. It therefore behooves the wise player always to be aware of this potential threat, and to take steps to meet it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Nevertheless, the wise player should also never forget that if nothing else, going to war involves at least ten turns (and usually many more) where he will be solely occupied with conducting warfare. I've had wars last well over a century on the Civ calendar, and this expenditure of time cannot be dismissed. While you are warring, your peaceful AI opponents are growing and developing, and unless there are very tangible benefits to be got, the intelligent player should try to truncate his military adventures as soon as he has achieved his aims.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]So what strategy should a player pursue so that he will ultimately be victorious in the game itself, as opposed to just winning wars? The key, I think, is balance.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]So how do you balance growth with warfare, so as to proceed, as much as possible, in an unbroken upward curve toward victory?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One key that seems paramount is possession of river cities. The reason river cities are so precious is two-fold: The first, most obvious benefit of river cities is their ability to spawn farms on many squares. If a river city possesses floodplains, this benefit is enhanced. Farmed floodplains produce a tremendous number of food units, and therefore not only do they allow a city to grow at a rapid rate, they can also be used to quickly produce Settlers and Workers in the early phases of the game without impeding a city's overall growth. Later on, when these units diminish in importance, such cities can easily support a great number of Specialists, which can transform such a city into a "Great People Farm", generating the Great Scientists and Great Engineers so vital to succcess.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The second, and ultimately more important benefit of river cities is that once the player obtains the Machinery tech, he can begin to put Watermills on these critical riverside squares. Watermills are good right off the get-go, but as you acquire the Replaceable Parts tech (plus-1 hammer), and later, the Electricity tech (plus-2 commerce), their value begins to multiply. The final addition of the State Property civic completes their development, adding one additional food production to each Watermill square, and turning them into production powerhouses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Watermills provide another benefit. Most river cities never have to worry about growth. On the upper difficulty levels, however, city growth is always inhibited by either the happiness or health of its citizenry. One concern which remains constant throughout nearly the entire game is the player's struggle to provide enough happiness and health resources to allow his cities to continue to grow. It is a virtual certainty that at many points in the game the player will have to rearrange the squares his citizens are working so as not to outgrow these resources.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Watermills provide a handy place to do this. By transferring production (through the city screen) off Farm squares and onto Watermill squares the player can easily restrict, or even stop altogether the growth of his city (allowing health or happiness to catch up) without sacrificing either overall productivity, or the maintenance of Specialists.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I have often built Watermills on every available square as soon as possible, reasoning that if I run out of food, I can always return the square to farming. In practice, however, this never seems to happen. By the time I'm able to start gowing again, the Watermill squares will have so gained in value (by techs and civics) that they never need to be refarmed. Of course, it isn't wise to say "never," but as a general rule, the above strategy seems to work beautifully.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The goal of first building, and then improving Watermill squares, also seems to dovetail nicely with a good route through the tech tree, i.e., one in which the player can acquire techs that are not only useful to himself, but also can be traded.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It does the player little good to duplicate research efforts by other Civs. He should attempt a route through the tree that gives him unique techs, and the pursuit of Machinery, and later, a beeline to Liberalism (with it's attendant free tech of The Printing Press) provides techs no one else has, and which can also be traded to other civs with little adverse affect. Paper, Liberalism, Education, and so on, are seldom given priority by other Civs, and even though one might despair of ever being the first to gain Electricity or Physics (which the AIs always seem to get first), it's very possible to research Communism and be the first to get the State Property civic, which can also be traded when the time is right.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One of the cardinal rules of Civ IV is that one must never neglect research. One method of doing this, of course, is by building Cottages. As Cottages mature into Towns, they begin to produce great amounts of commerce, which is directly translatable into research. This is a good approach, and in non-river cities, about the only one available. But oddly enough, Civ IV is structured in such a way that a river city, with all its water squares occupied with Watermills, can become a veritable powerhouse of research. The first time I aggressively pursued this strategy, I expected that my overall research would fall off, but instead, the opposite happened. With judicious use of Watermills I discovered that I was usually able to keep my rate of research at 70%, and as my Civ matured, I could even increase it to 80%, and sometimes even 90%. In the critical end game, this is a powerful benefit.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other writers have noted that the true industrial powerhouses-the kind of cities in which you build the Ironworks, National Epic, and Heroic Epic national wonders-usually turn out not to be cities surrounded by hills (with mines and windmills)-but river cities. One cannot stress enough the importance of these cities. Possession of one or two of these sites can easily make the difference between victory and defeat.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Which brings us back to balance. While warmongering may have its benefits, I have found that it is best to have good relations with as many civs as possible so as to keep a more or less good reputation throughout the game. This does not mean you will not be attacked, for it is almost axiomatic that you will-especially in the earlier stages of the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Some players say that they always want to go to war at the time and place of their choosing, and although I agree with them up to a point, I have found that this emphatically does not mean that you have to be the one who starts a war. There is nothing wrong in making preparations for war, whilst at the same time avoiding it as long as possible. When you are not warring, you are growing in both production and science, and ultimately, for all wins except for cultural victories, this will be the weight that will tip the scales in your favor.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One must be vigilant, however. As a Civ grows, the thoughtful player will find himself able to field larger and larger armies without penalty. If you are able to maintain Open Border agreements with your neighbors, you can always visit their cities with either Missionaries or military units (and later, with Spies) to see what they're up to. If you find them building great numbers of Horse Archers, say, you can counter with a force of Spearmen or Pikemen.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I have discovered that in times of peace, if you keep at least three or four military units in readiness in all cities, and five or six in those cities most vulnerable to attack, you should be adequately prepared for most eventualities. [NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In war, the defender always has the advantage over the attacker. Not only can the defender move about his own territory with much more facility than the invader, but his cities themselves offer defense bonuses which any attacker must overcome before he can conquer and occupy them. It is therefore critical than any player establish good internal lines of communication (via roads and later on, railroads), so that he can at first meet, and later overcome, the inroads made by invading armies.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If one makes sure to distribute his forces in a flexible and resiliant fashion, he has no reason to fear attack. He should be able to efficiently direct his military units so as to neutralize, and then destroy, enemy forces.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A word on warfare: When defending, many players like to deploy their forces in "stacks of doom," i.e., a great number of forces occuping a single square. I have found that although this may be an effective tactic when you are besieging cities, in the early stages of a war, when you are still recoiling from your enemy's initial onslaught, it is best to array your troops in smaller groups made up of a mix of units. Each group should consist of at least one or two strong defenders (Pikemen or Spearmen, for defense against mounted units), several mobile attack units (Horse Archers, War Elephants, Knights, Cavalrymen, etc.), a number of units that can both attack and defend (Macemen, Musketeers, Riflemen, etc.), and most important, one or more siege weapons (such as Catapults, Cannon, or Artillery).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once you've got your stacks together, rather than heedlessly attacking everything in sight, it's best to have these smaller mixed stacks occupy strong points along invasion routes (hills, forests, jungles, or, best of all, forested or jungled hills). War in Civ IV should be conducted much like a chess game: Occupy strong squares, block the attacker at as many points as possible, and wait for him to come to you. Only when you have lured him onto weak squares should you choose to attack, and then, it should be an attack to the death.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is why siege weapons are so important. Catapults, Cannon, and Artillery should always be regarded as the sacrificial lambs of warfare. They are easy and cheap to build, and their ability to inflict collateral damage cannot be overstated. After a few blows from siege weapons, the units in a stack of attackers will be so weakened as to be easy prey for your other units.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you mouse over a stack of attackers, you can always see what you're up against. Typically AI attackers will either send out single marauders (usually mobile attack units), which will try to slip into your territory and plunder juicy squares, followed by attack stacks composed of a variety of units. As imposing as these stacks might be, they can be defeated and annihilated by your own attack stacks-as long as you are patient.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A typical problem in defeating these stacks is when they are composed (as they often are with "aggressive" Civs) of units possessing the "immune from first strike" promotion. This is where siege weapons prove so valuable. Although these units are said to be "immune," this does not mean that they cannot be weakened by attack with siege weapons. Neither does it mean that an attacking Catapult or Cannon will necessarily be destroyed by attacking. Often a siege unit will "withdraw" from an attack, and although its own strength may be reduced to almost zero by the attack, it still can survive to fight another day. Such units can either be withdrawn to a safe zone, or joined on a newly occupied square by nearby defensive units. If protected and given a place to heal, they can rejoin the fray later.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is why deploying multiple smaller stacks on adjacent squares can be so valuable. Once an attacking stack is isolated on a vulnerable square, and surrounded by several stacks of defenders on adjacent squares, it is easy to bombard it with siege weapons. Once the enemy units are fatally weakened, you can send in your attack troops to finish them off one by one. That's why patience is so valuable. Because military units heal between turns, it is essential that once you begin to attack a square, you do so with the idea of eliminating ALL the units on that square.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It isn't always easy to wait until you've got overwhelming advantage before commencing an attack, and waiting often means you'll temporarily lose some key production squares to plunderers, but until until you've got your enemy where you want him, you should emphatically NOT attack. There are some exceptions, of course. Sometimes it happens that an enemy poses such a dire threat (i.e., in position to attack and perhaps even capture one of your cities) that you must throw everything but the kitchen sink against him, no matter what the cost-but if you practice the above strategy you can practically eliminate such a scenario.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I try to set up situations so that attacking stacks are so weakened by bombardment that each counterattack by your defending units has at least an 80% or better chance of success. The way to win wars is by keeping your "kill ratio" at 6-1 or better. By doing this you not only preserve your own army (whilst busily promoting your most valorous warriors), you also sap and weaken your enemy so that when the time comes for you to invade his territory and attack his cities, he can do little to stop you.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is how wars usually proceed: Although AIs often signal their intent by massing forces on your borders, or by cancelling open border agreements, they also can attack right out of the blue. No matter what preceeds the opening of hostilities, once a war begins it is essential that the defender immediately switch all his production over to weapons of war. When you fight, you must fight hard, and with all your resources. Unless one of your cities is engaged in building a super-critical Wonder or improvement, you should immediately leave off what your are doing and switch over to war production. You can pick it up later, once the war is over, but during wartime, you neglect armaments production at your own peril.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once war is declared, AI Civs will begin making their way into your territory. The first wave of attack is almost always the strongest, but as the war wears on, and your defensive effort begins to take its toll, you will discover the flow of attackers coming into your territory will begin to weaken, and then dribble to almost nothing. This is what you've been waiting for.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If the strength of your civilization is where it should be, you should now find that not only will you have eliminated all enemy forces from key strong points, but that you now occupy them yourself and can begin to plan how you will invade your enemy's territory.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Your first consideration should be: Where should you attack? Now that your rival has weakened himself so as to be ripe for the taking, how best should you proceed?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Obviously, you should aim to capture one or more of his cities, but which ones? In deciding this you must take into account the all-important issue of cultural control. Virtually any city you capture will incline toward "flipping" back to an enemy's control, simply because right after capture, it is populated almost entirely by enemy citizens. Therefore prime consideration should be given to those cities already besieged by your own cultural boundaries, cities whose capture will result in a rival's cultural boundaries deflating like a punctured balloon.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It does little good to "spearhead" through an enemy's land and capture a far prize (such as his Capital), and try to hold it. Not only will such a city be ripe for insurrection, but your opponent's cultural pressure will tend to surround and stifle such an outpost, making it useless to the invader. Moreover, it is such a thorn in his side, he will move heaven and earth to try and reclaim it. Only those cities which can be captured and held-those in close proximity to your own culture and development-should be considered for conquest.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you can capture one, two, or perhaps even three cities in war during the earlier stages of the game, and by doing so permanently weaken your rival and diminish his cultural realm, you should consider the war a success. Even such modest gains will exact a heavy price in time and production, and once you have obtained them, you should think about making peace.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To that end, here's a simple tip for maximizing your gains: When you've gotten what you wanted, and you sense (by the levels of your own civic unrest) that your citizens have had about all they can stand of war, go ahead and contact your opponent with the idea of ending the conflict.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If he agrees to talk (as he usually will), you'll be presented with a statement from him suggesting directly that you "bury the hatchet," stop all this "pointless fighting," and end the war. Do NOT select this option. Rather, propose a trade. This will bring you into a screen where you can ask your opponent "What is the price for peace?"[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you've exacted a heavy toll, he will often offer techs, world maps, gold, or even one of his cities to get you to cease your attacks. This is obviously a big improvement over simply ending the war, and is how you should always sue for peace. Never just accept a peace offer without demanding tribute. You're leaving money on the table if you do.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once a war is over, you'll often find yourself lousy with military units, and rolling in dough. How you make the transition from war to peace is almost as important as winning the war, and the key here is "redeployment."[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In captured cities, you must maintain a sizeable military presence to protect against revolt. Up until the Industrial Era, I've found that five to seven units, apportioned among siege weapons, mobile attackers, and all-purpose units, is usually sufficient. The remainder of your units should be redeployed back to your other cities, with those cities most vulnerable to attacks from other Civs getting the lion's share of the returnees.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Because wars last so long, you will often discover many obsolete units left over from previous builds still occupying your cities. Some of these units are eligible for modernization, i.e., Catapults can be turned into Cannon, Knights into Cavalrymen, and so forth. Modernization has a price, however, and while some units can be modernized for a very modest expenditure, turning an old Warrior into a Rifleman, say, can be prohibitively expensive.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Maintaining over-large armies costs money, and detracts from the overall growth of a Civ. Therefore, during redeployment I usually select only those units which have gained a number of promotions to be candidates for modernization, and even then, I will consider only those which can be upgraded at modest cost. The remaining obsolete units I immediately disband, and use the war returnees to regarrison these cities. I have found that for cities far removed from the front lines, three units will usually suffice both for protection and for happiness.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Thus, once you have completed redeployment, you should have your most veteran units occupying your furthest outposts in sufficient number to guard against sneak attack, whilst your interior cities are protected by a smaller token force. As peace returns to your land, you will find yourself eminently protected against all current threats, and poised to return to even greater levels of growth and productivity. If you have managed to capture or control additional health resources such as wheat, fish, deer, clams, or whatever, so much the better. You have won the war, and to the victor go the spoils.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]During the course of the game I like to conduct at most three real (i.e., non-barbarian) wars: The first two, I prefer to be the agressee rather than the aggressor. Not only does this strategy preserve my reputation (so as not to become the endless victim of "furious" neighbors and to have to spend precious game turns involved in unwanted warfare), but it provides me with ready candidates for my own aggression when I finally find myself ready to begin taking over the board. The third war is usually for me "the war to end all wars," when I am bent on going for the win.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One more comment on barbarians: In some scenarios you will find yourself in a position to conquer barbarian cities. The "terra" scenario, for example, provides a "New World" occupied by nothing BUT barbarian cities. Barbarian cities provide an avenue for essentially painless warfare. Since none of the AI Civs care a whit for barbarians, you will offend no one by either conquering, or razing, these cities. Also, since barbarians usually trail mightily in the tech race, conquering them is a lot easier than taking Civ cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]While barbarians might not build a lot of buildings (although this is not uniformly true), they do develop their lands and resources. Thus taking these cities offers the conquering player sites where all he has to do is grow in order to work these already-developed squares. This gives his Civ a tremendous lift, because he needn't devote valuable worker time toward improving the sites. Also, because barbarian cities have little culture, the player's own culture rapidly expands to fill the void left by the departed pagans. Again, when conquering barbarian sites, give river cities your highest priority, subject, of course, to normal strategic and tactical considerations.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once peace has returned to your lands, you must not just rest on your laurels, for you can be sure your rivals are not resting on theirs. As you are in the process of developing your culture and growth, you must always keep pace with your rivals. This means that even though your emphasis should be on building Wonders, growing your cities, and adding to your wealth, culture, and science, you must not neglect your military. As new military techs become available, methodically improve your armies, building a few new units, upgrading your best old veterans, all the while keeping a wary eye on your nearest rivals. Right up to the modern era, when navies and air forces begin to dominate the board, you should pay most attention to your immediate neighbors. Plan your builds to deal with them, for they are your most likely adversaries. It is almost impossible for a Civ one or two countries away (or separated by an ocean) to effectively conduct warfare against you, so the liklihood of attack from one of these is slim.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The AI Civs are programmed to look for weakness. If you see a Civ on one of your borders begin to move a lot of powerful forces around his own lands, prepare to meet them. Often positioning a few stacks of countering forces along likely invasion routes (while keeping them safely within your own borders) will cause a greedy AI to think twice about attacking you. The longer you keep that Civ at arm's length, the better off you are. War is NOT the answer.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Until the end, that is. If you have managed your empire efficiently, built Academies in your most productive Science cities, chosen your Civics with care and circumspection, and developed your lands to their utmost potential, by the time the ending arrives you should be well ahead in techs, size, and productive capacity. At this point, you should be making decisions as to how you want to go about winning the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Unless one is pursuing a Cultural or Diplomatic victory (neither of which I know how to do), winning usually boils down to either a space race, or military conquest.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In either scenario, one development which should be pursued at any cost is the construction of the Three Gorges Dam. This powerful Wonder negates the need to construct either Coal Plants or Hydro Plants, for its completion instantly provides power to all Factories on the continent, giving your Civ a productivity boost unmatched by any other single improvement.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Again, the idea of having good river cities pays another benefit, for not only must the Three Gorges be built in a river city and no where else, a properly developed river city equipped with an Ironworks can make short work of building this Wonder. Here's the best way to go about it:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As you approach the time when you can research Plastics (the Three Gorges prerequisite), you should try to array your Specialists in such a way so that one of your cities produces at least one Great Engineer. If you've got a Great Engineer on tap before your begin the Three Gorges, you've already reduced the time it takes to build it by better than a third. As soon as you get Plastics, immediately go to your river city and build a Hydro Plant. If the city has an Ironworks, this won't take but a few turns, and will be richly repaid once you begin the dam itself.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]From then on it's a simple matter of monitoring construction until the Great Engineer can complete the dam in a single turn, and then having him finish it. Once the Three Gorges gets going, you're well on your way to victory.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Which way you go from there depends on the game situation. As a matter of fact, you should have chosen your method of victory well before the dam is completed. If you are completely outstripping your opponents (often I've had a game score double or even triple my nearest rival) then you probably ought to shoot for a "Conquest" or "Domination" victory. If you have a rival close to your own score, then perhaps it's best to go for the Space Victory.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you have chosen the Space Race, then you should have already built the Apollo program, and ideally, some of the Space Ship casings. No matter how productive your Civ may be, you cannot dawdle building the Space Ship. Space Ship components cannot be "hurried," but must be built one hammer at a time. If you fall behind in the Space Race, you may never catch up.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once I played a game where I had everything going my way. I had super productive cities, I had neutralized all military threats, and all I had to do was build the Space Ship to win. But whilst I had been basking in the reflected glory of my incipient victory, Queen Victoria had busily completed a number of low-tech SS components, and was researching new techs at a furious rate. Nevertheless I felt that my productivity edge was so great that I still stood in little danger of losing.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]So there we were, the Queen and I, both building at breakneck pace. Nevertheless, to my mind, there was no way I could lose. With a great deal of satisfaction I installed the final rivet in my very last SS component, clicked the "end of turn" button, and waited for the victory announcement. I got one, all right, but imagine my dismay when I read "Queen Victoria has won a Space Race victory!"[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]NOT me. I was outraged! I'd been robbed! What an insult! What kind of game is this, anyway?...and so on. But I'd been guilty of overconfidence, and this was my payback. I had spent maybe 40 hours playing, only to be greeted by the supreme disappointment of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. But it taught me a lesson: Never dawdle in the Space Race.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you're way ahead of your nearest rival, and he hasn't made any significant progress in the Space Race, then you can go for the Conquest or Domination victory. This is just a matter of assembling a powerful Navy (for amphibious assaults), a powerful air force (consisting ideally of 15-20 Stealth Bombers, maybe 10 jet fighters), a very powerful land army-and then launching a war. Your assault forces should consist primarily of Modern Armor units (unequalled for their mobility and ability to attack multiple times), Gunships, and a large backup contingent of Mechanized Infantry. The Mechanized Infantry support the Armor, and can help in finishing off the last battered inhabitants of a beleagured city-but their primary duty is to occupy conquered cities in the wake of your main assault force.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This kind of a combination is virtually unstoppable, and with it you should be able to overwhelm your more backward rivals with unparalled speed. Once that final assault begins, victory isn't far away.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]By the way, you can specify at the beginning of any game which victories will be allowed-and which will not-by selecting the Custom Game option and checking or unchecking each victory option. For example, if you don't uncheck the Domination Victory option, then you will never be able to win by Conquest, because the Domination rubric will kick in before you've conquered the world. But that's enough for now. The rest you can learn by trial and error, and why should I tell you any more? What I've told you I've never seen anywhere else, not in so many words, anyway, so take this go grab yourself a victory in Civilization IV. Good luck!</Spanish>
	</TEXT>
	<TEXT>
		<Tag>TXT_KEY_STRATEGY_MONGOL_PEDIA</Tag>
		<English>[H1]Highlands Keshik Konquest[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Almond[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Why Keshiks and why Highland?[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Keshiks are horse archers, a powerful early-game unit, with the special ability to ignore terrain movement costs - they move 2 spaces per turn over hills and forests. Highlands are almost nothing but hills and forests. Your opponents will not receive this movement bonus which leaves you with a huge advantage. Also, early-game defensive units are limited to archers, so you are basically left with a strength 6 unit versus a strength 3 unit for most battles. The final tally of units that I killed was 3 axemen, 3 spearmen, 4 chariots, and 58 archers.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The two major downsides to this strategy is that since a highlands map is full of hills, most of the cities that you conquer will be built on hills thus increasing the defensive bonus of your victims. Also, Keshiks require horses and horses are relatively rare on a Highlands map. For this reason, your first research priority is animal husbandry which reveals the horses resource. If you don't have horses near your starting city, say within 8 spaces, you will need to restart.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Beginning[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You want a Mongol and your choices are either Ghengis or Kublai Khan; select Ghengis. His traits are Aggressive and Expansive, opposed to Aggressive and Creative in Kublai. The Creative trait does you no good in an early-game conquest strategy. Expansive helps with health and Aggressive mostly helps with half-priced barracks'. Keshiks will not receive the promotion from the aggressive trait because they are mounted units and Aggressive only promotes melee and gunpowder units. Still, the half-priced barracks are definitely worth it. Finances in this strategy are simple enough - you'll be conquering enough cities and pillaging enough improvements to fully support your horde and then some. For opponents select any without the Aggressive trait and without early-game unique units. For my game I selected Rooseveldt and Asoka. Rooseveldt's Navy Seals will not be a factor and Asoka's fast workers will only build more improvements for you to pillage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Select the highlands map.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I was aiming to fulfill some HOF requirements for my game so I selected a tiny map of Highlands. This strategy should work for at least 3 rivals, perhaps more for veteran Civ players. Select "scattered" mountains and "dense peaks" and "small lakes." If you select "ridgeline" mountains you'll find your movement difficult. You should select "dense peaks" so that the mountains are spread out and relatively small. Select "marathon" speed so that your Keshik hordes do not risk becoming obsolete before the end-game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Khan starts with the wheel and hunting, so animal husbandry can be researched from the start. Do this so that if the map doesn't generate horses anywhere near your capital you can restart without wasting much time. Next, research archery &gt; horseback riding &gt; mining &gt; bronze working &gt; agriculture. After this it doesn't matter what you research as you should turn your science bar down to zero to collect funds to maintain your hordes. It is a good idea to research archery before horseback riding because you'll need archers to defend against barbarians, and on monarch, at least, the barbarians will be arriving via the express lane.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Set-Up[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Preparing for campaign is almost everything to this strategy. Once you have 4-5 keshik farms the rest is simple military campaigning.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Set your scout out collecting goodies from huts. On a small map size you will always start out near either the east or the west border of the map. Figure out which it is and send your scout in the general direction of the other civs. Your capital and theirs will always be midway between north and south on the map, and will be spread equally east/west from each other. One will be right in the middle and the other on the far side from you. Your scout will earn experience from wolves and bears. Promote him to woodsman II and he can move two spaces in forests even if they are on hills. Always end a turn in a forest for the defensive bonus. Once you discover animal husbandry send your scout back to near your capital and search for horses. If you find no horses near your capital or within the city radius of a suitable site for your second city, restart - and keep in mind that all cities but your capital will only have a 1-space city radius. After the horses are found send the scout back out exploring the map. Don't be surprised if you lose your scout relatively early. You can build more while you're waiting for your pasture to be built or for necessary techs to be researched.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First city build order should be barracks &gt; scout &gt; archer &gt; archer &gt; settler &gt; worker &gt; worker &gt; archer &gt; archer &gt; *keshiks. You will build your barracks before you discover archery so just build another scout in the mean time - he's worth it. Don't bother with warriors. Send one archer to defend your second city. If you opt to build a settler before any archers you greatly risk barbarian destruction of the second city. Workers will have nothing to do at first so don't bother with them until later. Barbs will not invade your capital at first, so go ahead and build a barracks first and get promotions to ALL your units. After you've built your first worker it will be a while before he is able to connect your cities to the horse pasture. In the mean time, build a couple of more archers, or you may opt to build another settler at this point. Once you begin building keshiks it is very important to keep one back to defend your cities and your horse pasture. My pasture was razed twice by barbs before I decided to keep a keshik back for barb defense. Archers won't do the trick. They're fine for city defense but too unreliable for attacking a barb that has moved onto your horse pasture, but a keshik is ample to slay that bugger. I left a barb city in tact near my cities to provide my newly-built keshiks with 'free' experience. As soon as your defensive keshik is promoted with barb experience, wait until a new keshik is built and send the promoted one off to battle with the enemy civs and leave the newbie back for barb defense.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After you've built a worker in your first city immediately send him building a road to your second city, then a road to your horses, and then a pasture to tame those mighty steeds. Now you're in business. After that is completed you should be done researching bronze working set your workers out chopping every forest within your cultural boundaries, then set them to mining a few hills near each city. You're population won't grow beyond 5 citizens, and one of them should be working a food resource, so you only need a few mines - and if you've a mineral resource nearby mine it first and build a road to it. After you've built enough mines to occupy your current citizens, build farms or pastures on food resources, whichever is appropriate. Don't neglect roads to those resources either.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]By the time that you've built your second archer your capital should be at least three citizens and it won't take very long to build that settler. Build your second city near horses if they don't appear within your capital's cultural boundary. Your second city's build order should be barracks &gt; worker &gt; *keshiks (unless the city is built before you're able to produce keshiks, in which case just build archers for defense - you can always send extra ones to future cities for defense. After you've built enough keshiks to defeat your first rival you'll need to build two more settlers for cities to produce keshiks at a faster rate. Your second rival will have built enough cities by the time that you get to him that two keshik farms will not be sufficient.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You may opt to send your first group of keshiks after a nearby barbarian city to capture and use for more keshik production, however, it is probably better to send them after your first rival for defeat before they get spearmen. In my second run-through of the game I practically had to take a barbarian city because it was parked right in the best route west to my first rival, Asoka. With all the mountains and small lakes you'll find that in some parts of the map it is critical to keep a path open through a particular pass. In my first game I was able to defeat my first rival before he got those pesky spearmen but by the time that I got to Rooseveldt he had spearmen but never garrisoned more than one spearman per city. Bring two keshiks for each defender in a city - this is plenty regardless of the composition of the defending units. Send your weakest keshiks in first to weaken the defenses and use your more experienced ones to finish the job. Upgrade to combat II, III, then IV. Once you have combat IV in a unit you may opt to promote to shock for those spearmen, but a unit with combat I and shock is likely to be defended against with archers so the shock promotion is worthless for new units without much experience. I played on monarch and at that level expect to lose units with a 66% chance of victory.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Victims[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]My first victim was Asoka and he had three archers defending in the nearest city. I brought 6 keshiks and lost 2 of them. In my second run-through I opted to keep this city because it was close to my capital. All other cities should be razed as you can't afford them and don't need them. After the battle, pillage improvements with full-health keshiks while the wounded ones heal. Once you have 6 more keshiks ready to go set out for the next city. You may have to search for it. If you are unsure how many cities are left talk to your rival and you can see all but one of his cities in the negotiations screen. From here the strategy is straightforward - kill, kill, kill. Always bring two keshiks for every defender and send in the weakest first. You will have a keshik with 5 promotions in no time.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After you have finished your first victim take a breather. Sign an open borders agreement with your next rival and scout his territory. Use your workers, and you should have captured many in your first campaign, to build roads up to your remaining rival's territory and into it. Amass 10 keshiks, or so, and have at him. Once he's down to one or two cities, send newly-made keshiks the long way around into the wild to search for undiscovered cities and/or a archer/archer/settler stack to kill.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]My first run-through of this strategy I made many mistakes and didn't finish until 1270 AD with a score of 15,000. My second try I finished in 340 AD with a score of 18,000. If you're new to Civ and just want a quick conquest victory on a difficult level, a quechua rush is much more effective. This strategy is aimed for experienced players who want to try something new, and also for ones wishing to fulfill the MapQuest portion of the HOF/Quattromasters competition for the Highlands map. If you try this strategy, or have tried it before, please provide feedback.</English>
		<French>[H1]Highlands Keshik Konquest[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Almond[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Why Keshiks and why Highland?[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Keshiks are horse archers, a powerful early-game unit, with the special ability to ignore terrain movement costs - they move 2 spaces per turn over hills and forests. Highlands are almost nothing but hills and forests. Your opponents will not receive this movement bonus which leaves you with a huge advantage. Also, early-game defensive units are limited to archers, so you are basically left with a strength 6 unit versus a strength 3 unit for most battles. The final tally of units that I killed was 3 axemen, 3 spearmen, 4 chariots, and 58 archers.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The two major downsides to this strategy is that since a highlands map is full of hills, most of the cities that you conquer will be built on hills thus increasing the defensive bonus of your victims. Also, Keshiks require horses and horses are relatively rare on a Highlands map. For this reason, your first research priority is animal husbandry which reveals the horses resource. If you don't have horses near your starting city, say within 8 spaces, you will need to restart.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Beginning[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You want a Mongol and your choices are either Ghengis or Kublai Khan; select Ghengis. His traits are Aggressive and Expansive, opposed to Aggressive and Creative in Kublai. The Creative trait does you no good in an early-game conquest strategy. Expansive helps with health and Aggressive mostly helps with half-priced barracks'. Keshiks will not receive the promotion from the aggressive trait because they are mounted units and Aggressive only promotes melee and gunpowder units. Still, the half-priced barracks are definitely worth it. Finances in this strategy are simple enough - you'll be conquering enough cities and pillaging enough improvements to fully support your horde and then some. For opponents select any without the Aggressive trait and without early-game unique units. For my game I selected Rooseveldt and Asoka. Rooseveldt's Navy Seals will not be a factor and Asoka's fast workers will only build more improvements for you to pillage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Select the highlands map.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I was aiming to fulfill some HOF requirements for my game so I selected a tiny map of Highlands. This strategy should work for at least 3 rivals, perhaps more for veteran Civ players. Select "scattered" mountains and "dense peaks" and "small lakes." If you select "ridgeline" mountains you'll find your movement difficult. You should select "dense peaks" so that the mountains are spread out and relatively small. Select "marathon" speed so that your Keshik hordes do not risk becoming obsolete before the end-game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Khan starts with the wheel and hunting, so animal husbandry can be researched from the start. Do this so that if the map doesn't generate horses anywhere near your capital you can restart without wasting much time. Next, research archery &gt; horseback riding &gt; mining &gt; bronze working &gt; agriculture. After this it doesn't matter what you research as you should turn your science bar down to zero to collect funds to maintain your hordes. It is a good idea to research archery before horseback riding because you'll need archers to defend against barbarians, and on monarch, at least, the barbarians will be arriving via the express lane.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Set-Up[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Preparing for campaign is almost everything to this strategy. Once you have 4-5 keshik farms the rest is simple military campaigning.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Set your scout out collecting goodies from huts. On a small map size you will always start out near either the east or the west border of the map. Figure out which it is and send your scout in the general direction of the other civs. Your capital and theirs will always be midway between north and south on the map, and will be spread equally east/west from each other. One will be right in the middle and the other on the far side from you. Your scout will earn experience from wolves and bears. Promote him to woodsman II and he can move two spaces in forests even if they are on hills. Always end a turn in a forest for the defensive bonus. Once you discover animal husbandry send your scout back to near your capital and search for horses. If you find no horses near your capital or within the city radius of a suitable site for your second city, restart - and keep in mind that all cities but your capital will only have a 1-space city radius. After the horses are found send the scout back out exploring the map. Don't be surprised if you lose your scout relatively early. You can build more while you're waiting for your pasture to be built or for necessary techs to be researched.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First city build order should be barracks &gt; scout &gt; archer &gt; archer &gt; settler &gt; worker &gt; worker &gt; archer &gt; archer &gt; *keshiks. You will build your barracks before you discover archery so just build another scout in the mean time - he's worth it. Don't bother with warriors. Send one archer to defend your second city. If you opt to build a settler before any archers you greatly risk barbarian destruction of the second city. Workers will have nothing to do at first so don't bother with them until later. Barbs will not invade your capital at first, so go ahead and build a barracks first and get promotions to ALL your units. After you've built your first worker it will be a while before he is able to connect your cities to the horse pasture. In the mean time, build a couple of more archers, or you may opt to build another settler at this point. Once you begin building keshiks it is very important to keep one back to defend your cities and your horse pasture. My pasture was razed twice by barbs before I decided to keep a keshik back for barb defense. Archers won't do the trick. They're fine for city defense but too unreliable for attacking a barb that has moved onto your horse pasture, but a keshik is ample to slay that bugger. I left a barb city in tact near my cities to provide my newly-built keshiks with 'free' experience. As soon as your defensive keshik is promoted with barb experience, wait until a new keshik is built and send the promoted one off to battle with the enemy civs and leave the newbie back for barb defense.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After you've built a worker in your first city immediately send him building a road to your second city, then a road to your horses, and then a pasture to tame those mighty steeds. Now you're in business. After that is completed you should be done researching bronze working set your workers out chopping every forest within your cultural boundaries, then set them to mining a few hills near each city. You're population won't grow beyond 5 citizens, and one of them should be working a food resource, so you only need a few mines - and if you've a mineral resource nearby mine it first and build a road to it. After you've built enough mines to occupy your current citizens, build farms or pastures on food resources, whichever is appropriate. Don't neglect roads to those resources either.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]By the time that you've built your second archer your capital should be at least three citizens and it won't take very long to build that settler. Build your second city near horses if they don't appear within your capital's cultural boundary. Your second city's build order should be barracks &gt; worker &gt; *keshiks (unless the city is built before you're able to produce keshiks, in which case just build archers for defense - you can always send extra ones to future cities for defense. After you've built enough keshiks to defeat your first rival you'll need to build two more settlers for cities to produce keshiks at a faster rate. Your second rival will have built enough cities by the time that you get to him that two keshik farms will not be sufficient.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You may opt to send your first group of keshiks after a nearby barbarian city to capture and use for more keshik production, however, it is probably better to send them after your first rival for defeat before they get spearmen. In my second run-through of the game I practically had to take a barbarian city because it was parked right in the best route west to my first rival, Asoka. With all the mountains and small lakes you'll find that in some parts of the map it is critical to keep a path open through a particular pass. In my first game I was able to defeat my first rival before he got those pesky spearmen but by the time that I got to Rooseveldt he had spearmen but never garrisoned more than one spearman per city. Bring two keshiks for each defender in a city - this is plenty regardless of the composition of the defending units. Send your weakest keshiks in first to weaken the defenses and use your more experienced ones to finish the job. Upgrade to combat II, III, then IV. Once you have combat IV in a unit you may opt to promote to shock for those spearmen, but a unit with combat I and shock is likely to be defended against with archers so the shock promotion is worthless for new units without much experience. I played on monarch and at that level expect to lose units with a 66% chance of victory.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Victims[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]My first victim was Asoka and he had three archers defending in the nearest city. I brought 6 keshiks and lost 2 of them. In my second run-through I opted to keep this city because it was close to my capital. All other cities should be razed as you can't afford them and don't need them. After the battle, pillage improvements with full-health keshiks while the wounded ones heal. Once you have 6 more keshiks ready to go set out for the next city. You may have to search for it. If you are unsure how many cities are left talk to your rival and you can see all but one of his cities in the negotiations screen. From here the strategy is straightforward - kill, kill, kill. Always bring two keshiks for every defender and send in the weakest first. You will have a keshik with 5 promotions in no time.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After you have finished your first victim take a breather. Sign an open borders agreement with your next rival and scout his territory. Use your workers, and you should have captured many in your first campaign, to build roads up to your remaining rival's territory and into it. Amass 10 keshiks, or so, and have at him. Once he's down to one or two cities, send newly-made keshiks the long way around into the wild to search for undiscovered cities and/or a archer/archer/settler stack to kill.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]My first run-through of this strategy I made many mistakes and didn't finish until 1270 AD with a score of 15,000. My second try I finished in 340 AD with a score of 18,000. If you're new to Civ and just want a quick conquest victory on a difficult level, a quechua rush is much more effective. This strategy is aimed for experienced players who want to try something new, and also for ones wishing to fulfill the MapQuest portion of the HOF/Quattromasters competition for the Highlands map. If you try this strategy, or have tried it before, please provide feedback.</French>
		<German>[H1]Highlands Keshik Konquest[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Almond[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Why Keshiks and why Highland?[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Keshiks are horse archers, a powerful early-game unit, with the special ability to ignore terrain movement costs - they move 2 spaces per turn over hills and forests. Highlands are almost nothing but hills and forests. Your opponents will not receive this movement bonus which leaves you with a huge advantage. Also, early-game defensive units are limited to archers, so you are basically left with a strength 6 unit versus a strength 3 unit for most battles. The final tally of units that I killed was 3 axemen, 3 spearmen, 4 chariots, and 58 archers.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The two major downsides to this strategy is that since a highlands map is full of hills, most of the cities that you conquer will be built on hills thus increasing the defensive bonus of your victims. Also, Keshiks require horses and horses are relatively rare on a Highlands map. For this reason, your first research priority is animal husbandry which reveals the horses resource. If you don't have horses near your starting city, say within 8 spaces, you will need to restart.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Beginning[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You want a Mongol and your choices are either Ghengis or Kublai Khan; select Ghengis. His traits are Aggressive and Expansive, opposed to Aggressive and Creative in Kublai. The Creative trait does you no good in an early-game conquest strategy. Expansive helps with health and Aggressive mostly helps with half-priced barracks'. Keshiks will not receive the promotion from the aggressive trait because they are mounted units and Aggressive only promotes melee and gunpowder units. Still, the half-priced barracks are definitely worth it. Finances in this strategy are simple enough - you'll be conquering enough cities and pillaging enough improvements to fully support your horde and then some. For opponents select any without the Aggressive trait and without early-game unique units. For my game I selected Rooseveldt and Asoka. Rooseveldt's Navy Seals will not be a factor and Asoka's fast workers will only build more improvements for you to pillage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Select the highlands map.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I was aiming to fulfill some HOF requirements for my game so I selected a tiny map of Highlands. This strategy should work for at least 3 rivals, perhaps more for veteran Civ players. Select "scattered" mountains and "dense peaks" and "small lakes." If you select "ridgeline" mountains you'll find your movement difficult. You should select "dense peaks" so that the mountains are spread out and relatively small. Select "marathon" speed so that your Keshik hordes do not risk becoming obsolete before the end-game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Khan starts with the wheel and hunting, so animal husbandry can be researched from the start. Do this so that if the map doesn't generate horses anywhere near your capital you can restart without wasting much time. Next, research archery &gt; horseback riding &gt; mining &gt; bronze working &gt; agriculture. After this it doesn't matter what you research as you should turn your science bar down to zero to collect funds to maintain your hordes. It is a good idea to research archery before horseback riding because you'll need archers to defend against barbarians, and on monarch, at least, the barbarians will be arriving via the express lane.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Set-Up[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Preparing for campaign is almost everything to this strategy. Once you have 4-5 keshik farms the rest is simple military campaigning.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Set your scout out collecting goodies from huts. On a small map size you will always start out near either the east or the west border of the map. Figure out which it is and send your scout in the general direction of the other civs. Your capital and theirs will always be midway between north and south on the map, and will be spread equally east/west from each other. One will be right in the middle and the other on the far side from you. Your scout will earn experience from wolves and bears. Promote him to woodsman II and he can move two spaces in forests even if they are on hills. Always end a turn in a forest for the defensive bonus. Once you discover animal husbandry send your scout back to near your capital and search for horses. If you find no horses near your capital or within the city radius of a suitable site for your second city, restart - and keep in mind that all cities but your capital will only have a 1-space city radius. After the horses are found send the scout back out exploring the map. Don't be surprised if you lose your scout relatively early. You can build more while you're waiting for your pasture to be built or for necessary techs to be researched.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First city build order should be barracks &gt; scout &gt; archer &gt; archer &gt; settler &gt; worker &gt; worker &gt; archer &gt; archer &gt; *keshiks. You will build your barracks before you discover archery so just build another scout in the mean time - he's worth it. Don't bother with warriors. Send one archer to defend your second city. If you opt to build a settler before any archers you greatly risk barbarian destruction of the second city. Workers will have nothing to do at first so don't bother with them until later. Barbs will not invade your capital at first, so go ahead and build a barracks first and get promotions to ALL your units. After you've built your first worker it will be a while before he is able to connect your cities to the horse pasture. In the mean time, build a couple of more archers, or you may opt to build another settler at this point. Once you begin building keshiks it is very important to keep one back to defend your cities and your horse pasture. My pasture was razed twice by barbs before I decided to keep a keshik back for barb defense. Archers won't do the trick. They're fine for city defense but too unreliable for attacking a barb that has moved onto your horse pasture, but a keshik is ample to slay that bugger. I left a barb city in tact near my cities to provide my newly-built keshiks with 'free' experience. As soon as your defensive keshik is promoted with barb experience, wait until a new keshik is built and send the promoted one off to battle with the enemy civs and leave the newbie back for barb defense.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After you've built a worker in your first city immediately send him building a road to your second city, then a road to your horses, and then a pasture to tame those mighty steeds. Now you're in business. After that is completed you should be done researching bronze working set your workers out chopping every forest within your cultural boundaries, then set them to mining a few hills near each city. You're population won't grow beyond 5 citizens, and one of them should be working a food resource, so you only need a few mines - and if you've a mineral resource nearby mine it first and build a road to it. After you've built enough mines to occupy your current citizens, build farms or pastures on food resources, whichever is appropriate. Don't neglect roads to those resources either.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]By the time that you've built your second archer your capital should be at least three citizens and it won't take very long to build that settler. Build your second city near horses if they don't appear within your capital's cultural boundary. Your second city's build order should be barracks &gt; worker &gt; *keshiks (unless the city is built before you're able to produce keshiks, in which case just build archers for defense - you can always send extra ones to future cities for defense. After you've built enough keshiks to defeat your first rival you'll need to build two more settlers for cities to produce keshiks at a faster rate. Your second rival will have built enough cities by the time that you get to him that two keshik farms will not be sufficient.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You may opt to send your first group of keshiks after a nearby barbarian city to capture and use for more keshik production, however, it is probably better to send them after your first rival for defeat before they get spearmen. In my second run-through of the game I practically had to take a barbarian city because it was parked right in the best route west to my first rival, Asoka. With all the mountains and small lakes you'll find that in some parts of the map it is critical to keep a path open through a particular pass. In my first game I was able to defeat my first rival before he got those pesky spearmen but by the time that I got to Rooseveldt he had spearmen but never garrisoned more than one spearman per city. Bring two keshiks for each defender in a city - this is plenty regardless of the composition of the defending units. Send your weakest keshiks in first to weaken the defenses and use your more experienced ones to finish the job. Upgrade to combat II, III, then IV. Once you have combat IV in a unit you may opt to promote to shock for those spearmen, but a unit with combat I and shock is likely to be defended against with archers so the shock promotion is worthless for new units without much experience. I played on monarch and at that level expect to lose units with a 66% chance of victory.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Victims[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]My first victim was Asoka and he had three archers defending in the nearest city. I brought 6 keshiks and lost 2 of them. In my second run-through I opted to keep this city because it was close to my capital. All other cities should be razed as you can't afford them and don't need them. After the battle, pillage improvements with full-health keshiks while the wounded ones heal. Once you have 6 more keshiks ready to go set out for the next city. You may have to search for it. If you are unsure how many cities are left talk to your rival and you can see all but one of his cities in the negotiations screen. From here the strategy is straightforward - kill, kill, kill. Always bring two keshiks for every defender and send in the weakest first. You will have a keshik with 5 promotions in no time.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After you have finished your first victim take a breather. Sign an open borders agreement with your next rival and scout his territory. Use your workers, and you should have captured many in your first campaign, to build roads up to your remaining rival's territory and into it. Amass 10 keshiks, or so, and have at him. Once he's down to one or two cities, send newly-made keshiks the long way around into the wild to search for undiscovered cities and/or a archer/archer/settler stack to kill.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]My first run-through of this strategy I made many mistakes and didn't finish until 1270 AD with a score of 15,000. My second try I finished in 340 AD with a score of 18,000. If you're new to Civ and just want a quick conquest victory on a difficult level, a quechua rush is much more effective. This strategy is aimed for experienced players who want to try something new, and also for ones wishing to fulfill the MapQuest portion of the HOF/Quattromasters competition for the Highlands map. If you try this strategy, or have tried it before, please provide feedback.</German>
		<Italian>[H1]Highlands Keshik Konquest[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Almond[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Why Keshiks and why Highland?[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Keshiks are horse archers, a powerful early-game unit, with the special ability to ignore terrain movement costs - they move 2 spaces per turn over hills and forests. Highlands are almost nothing but hills and forests. Your opponents will not receive this movement bonus which leaves you with a huge advantage. Also, early-game defensive units are limited to archers, so you are basically left with a strength 6 unit versus a strength 3 unit for most battles. The final tally of units that I killed was 3 axemen, 3 spearmen, 4 chariots, and 58 archers.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The two major downsides to this strategy is that since a highlands map is full of hills, most of the cities that you conquer will be built on hills thus increasing the defensive bonus of your victims. Also, Keshiks require horses and horses are relatively rare on a Highlands map. For this reason, your first research priority is animal husbandry which reveals the horses resource. If you don't have horses near your starting city, say within 8 spaces, you will need to restart.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Beginning[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You want a Mongol and your choices are either Ghengis or Kublai Khan; select Ghengis. His traits are Aggressive and Expansive, opposed to Aggressive and Creative in Kublai. The Creative trait does you no good in an early-game conquest strategy. Expansive helps with health and Aggressive mostly helps with half-priced barracks'. Keshiks will not receive the promotion from the aggressive trait because they are mounted units and Aggressive only promotes melee and gunpowder units. Still, the half-priced barracks are definitely worth it. Finances in this strategy are simple enough - you'll be conquering enough cities and pillaging enough improvements to fully support your horde and then some. For opponents select any without the Aggressive trait and without early-game unique units. For my game I selected Rooseveldt and Asoka. Rooseveldt's Navy Seals will not be a factor and Asoka's fast workers will only build more improvements for you to pillage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Select the highlands map.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I was aiming to fulfill some HOF requirements for my game so I selected a tiny map of Highlands. This strategy should work for at least 3 rivals, perhaps more for veteran Civ players. Select "scattered" mountains and "dense peaks" and "small lakes." If you select "ridgeline" mountains you'll find your movement difficult. You should select "dense peaks" so that the mountains are spread out and relatively small. Select "marathon" speed so that your Keshik hordes do not risk becoming obsolete before the end-game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Khan starts with the wheel and hunting, so animal husbandry can be researched from the start. Do this so that if the map doesn't generate horses anywhere near your capital you can restart without wasting much time. Next, research archery &gt; horseback riding &gt; mining &gt; bronze working &gt; agriculture. After this it doesn't matter what you research as you should turn your science bar down to zero to collect funds to maintain your hordes. It is a good idea to research archery before horseback riding because you'll need archers to defend against barbarians, and on monarch, at least, the barbarians will be arriving via the express lane.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Set-Up[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Preparing for campaign is almost everything to this strategy. Once you have 4-5 keshik farms the rest is simple military campaigning.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Set your scout out collecting goodies from huts. On a small map size you will always start out near either the east or the west border of the map. Figure out which it is and send your scout in the general direction of the other civs. Your capital and theirs will always be midway between north and south on the map, and will be spread equally east/west from each other. One will be right in the middle and the other on the far side from you. Your scout will earn experience from wolves and bears. Promote him to woodsman II and he can move two spaces in forests even if they are on hills. Always end a turn in a forest for the defensive bonus. Once you discover animal husbandry send your scout back to near your capital and search for horses. If you find no horses near your capital or within the city radius of a suitable site for your second city, restart - and keep in mind that all cities but your capital will only have a 1-space city radius. After the horses are found send the scout back out exploring the map. Don't be surprised if you lose your scout relatively early. You can build more while you're waiting for your pasture to be built or for necessary techs to be researched.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First city build order should be barracks &gt; scout &gt; archer &gt; archer &gt; settler &gt; worker &gt; worker &gt; archer &gt; archer &gt; *keshiks. You will build your barracks before you discover archery so just build another scout in the mean time - he's worth it. Don't bother with warriors. Send one archer to defend your second city. If you opt to build a settler before any archers you greatly risk barbarian destruction of the second city. Workers will have nothing to do at first so don't bother with them until later. Barbs will not invade your capital at first, so go ahead and build a barracks first and get promotions to ALL your units. After you've built your first worker it will be a while before he is able to connect your cities to the horse pasture. In the mean time, build a couple of more archers, or you may opt to build another settler at this point. Once you begin building keshiks it is very important to keep one back to defend your cities and your horse pasture. My pasture was razed twice by barbs before I decided to keep a keshik back for barb defense. Archers won't do the trick. They're fine for city defense but too unreliable for attacking a barb that has moved onto your horse pasture, but a keshik is ample to slay that bugger. I left a barb city in tact near my cities to provide my newly-built keshiks with 'free' experience. As soon as your defensive keshik is promoted with barb experience, wait until a new keshik is built and send the promoted one off to battle with the enemy civs and leave the newbie back for barb defense.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After you've built a worker in your first city immediately send him building a road to your second city, then a road to your horses, and then a pasture to tame those mighty steeds. Now you're in business. After that is completed you should be done researching bronze working set your workers out chopping every forest within your cultural boundaries, then set them to mining a few hills near each city. You're population won't grow beyond 5 citizens, and one of them should be working a food resource, so you only need a few mines - and if you've a mineral resource nearby mine it first and build a road to it. After you've built enough mines to occupy your current citizens, build farms or pastures on food resources, whichever is appropriate. Don't neglect roads to those resources either.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]By the time that you've built your second archer your capital should be at least three citizens and it won't take very long to build that settler. Build your second city near horses if they don't appear within your capital's cultural boundary. Your second city's build order should be barracks &gt; worker &gt; *keshiks (unless the city is built before you're able to produce keshiks, in which case just build archers for defense - you can always send extra ones to future cities for defense. After you've built enough keshiks to defeat your first rival you'll need to build two more settlers for cities to produce keshiks at a faster rate. Your second rival will have built enough cities by the time that you get to him that two keshik farms will not be sufficient.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You may opt to send your first group of keshiks after a nearby barbarian city to capture and use for more keshik production, however, it is probably better to send them after your first rival for defeat before they get spearmen. In my second run-through of the game I practically had to take a barbarian city because it was parked right in the best route west to my first rival, Asoka. With all the mountains and small lakes you'll find that in some parts of the map it is critical to keep a path open through a particular pass. In my first game I was able to defeat my first rival before he got those pesky spearmen but by the time that I got to Rooseveldt he had spearmen but never garrisoned more than one spearman per city. Bring two keshiks for each defender in a city - this is plenty regardless of the composition of the defending units. Send your weakest keshiks in first to weaken the defenses and use your more experienced ones to finish the job. Upgrade to combat II, III, then IV. Once you have combat IV in a unit you may opt to promote to shock for those spearmen, but a unit with combat I and shock is likely to be defended against with archers so the shock promotion is worthless for new units without much experience. I played on monarch and at that level expect to lose units with a 66% chance of victory.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Victims[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]My first victim was Asoka and he had three archers defending in the nearest city. I brought 6 keshiks and lost 2 of them. In my second run-through I opted to keep this city because it was close to my capital. All other cities should be razed as you can't afford them and don't need them. After the battle, pillage improvements with full-health keshiks while the wounded ones heal. Once you have 6 more keshiks ready to go set out for the next city. You may have to search for it. If you are unsure how many cities are left talk to your rival and you can see all but one of his cities in the negotiations screen. From here the strategy is straightforward - kill, kill, kill. Always bring two keshiks for every defender and send in the weakest first. You will have a keshik with 5 promotions in no time.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After you have finished your first victim take a breather. Sign an open borders agreement with your next rival and scout his territory. Use your workers, and you should have captured many in your first campaign, to build roads up to your remaining rival's territory and into it. Amass 10 keshiks, or so, and have at him. Once he's down to one or two cities, send newly-made keshiks the long way around into the wild to search for undiscovered cities and/or a archer/archer/settler stack to kill.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]My first run-through of this strategy I made many mistakes and didn't finish until 1270 AD with a score of 15,000. My second try I finished in 340 AD with a score of 18,000. If you're new to Civ and just want a quick conquest victory on a difficult level, a quechua rush is much more effective. This strategy is aimed for experienced players who want to try something new, and also for ones wishing to fulfill the MapQuest portion of the HOF/Quattromasters competition for the Highlands map. If you try this strategy, or have tried it before, please provide feedback.</Italian>
		<Spanish>[H1]Highlands Keshik Konquest[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Almond[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Why Keshiks and why Highland?[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Keshiks are horse archers, a powerful early-game unit, with the special ability to ignore terrain movement costs - they move 2 spaces per turn over hills and forests. Highlands are almost nothing but hills and forests. Your opponents will not receive this movement bonus which leaves you with a huge advantage. Also, early-game defensive units are limited to archers, so you are basically left with a strength 6 unit versus a strength 3 unit for most battles. The final tally of units that I killed was 3 axemen, 3 spearmen, 4 chariots, and 58 archers.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The two major downsides to this strategy is that since a highlands map is full of hills, most of the cities that you conquer will be built on hills thus increasing the defensive bonus of your victims. Also, Keshiks require horses and horses are relatively rare on a Highlands map. For this reason, your first research priority is animal husbandry which reveals the horses resource. If you don't have horses near your starting city, say within 8 spaces, you will need to restart.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Beginning[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You want a Mongol and your choices are either Ghengis or Kublai Khan; select Ghengis. His traits are Aggressive and Expansive, opposed to Aggressive and Creative in Kublai. The Creative trait does you no good in an early-game conquest strategy. Expansive helps with health and Aggressive mostly helps with half-priced barracks'. Keshiks will not receive the promotion from the aggressive trait because they are mounted units and Aggressive only promotes melee and gunpowder units. Still, the half-priced barracks are definitely worth it. Finances in this strategy are simple enough - you'll be conquering enough cities and pillaging enough improvements to fully support your horde and then some. For opponents select any without the Aggressive trait and without early-game unique units. For my game I selected Rooseveldt and Asoka. Rooseveldt's Navy Seals will not be a factor and Asoka's fast workers will only build more improvements for you to pillage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Select the highlands map.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I was aiming to fulfill some HOF requirements for my game so I selected a tiny map of Highlands. This strategy should work for at least 3 rivals, perhaps more for veteran Civ players. Select "scattered" mountains and "dense peaks" and "small lakes." If you select "ridgeline" mountains you'll find your movement difficult. You should select "dense peaks" so that the mountains are spread out and relatively small. Select "marathon" speed so that your Keshik hordes do not risk becoming obsolete before the end-game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Khan starts with the wheel and hunting, so animal husbandry can be researched from the start. Do this so that if the map doesn't generate horses anywhere near your capital you can restart without wasting much time. Next, research archery &gt; horseback riding &gt; mining &gt; bronze working &gt; agriculture. After this it doesn't matter what you research as you should turn your science bar down to zero to collect funds to maintain your hordes. It is a good idea to research archery before horseback riding because you'll need archers to defend against barbarians, and on monarch, at least, the barbarians will be arriving via the express lane.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Set-Up[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Preparing for campaign is almost everything to this strategy. Once you have 4-5 keshik farms the rest is simple military campaigning.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Set your scout out collecting goodies from huts. On a small map size you will always start out near either the east or the west border of the map. Figure out which it is and send your scout in the general direction of the other civs. Your capital and theirs will always be midway between north and south on the map, and will be spread equally east/west from each other. One will be right in the middle and the other on the far side from you. Your scout will earn experience from wolves and bears. Promote him to woodsman II and he can move two spaces in forests even if they are on hills. Always end a turn in a forest for the defensive bonus. Once you discover animal husbandry send your scout back to near your capital and search for horses. If you find no horses near your capital or within the city radius of a suitable site for your second city, restart - and keep in mind that all cities but your capital will only have a 1-space city radius. After the horses are found send the scout back out exploring the map. Don't be surprised if you lose your scout relatively early. You can build more while you're waiting for your pasture to be built or for necessary techs to be researched.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First city build order should be barracks &gt; scout &gt; archer &gt; archer &gt; settler &gt; worker &gt; worker &gt; archer &gt; archer &gt; *keshiks. You will build your barracks before you discover archery so just build another scout in the mean time - he's worth it. Don't bother with warriors. Send one archer to defend your second city. If you opt to build a settler before any archers you greatly risk barbarian destruction of the second city. Workers will have nothing to do at first so don't bother with them until later. Barbs will not invade your capital at first, so go ahead and build a barracks first and get promotions to ALL your units. After you've built your first worker it will be a while before he is able to connect your cities to the horse pasture. In the mean time, build a couple of more archers, or you may opt to build another settler at this point. Once you begin building keshiks it is very important to keep one back to defend your cities and your horse pasture. My pasture was razed twice by barbs before I decided to keep a keshik back for barb defense. Archers won't do the trick. They're fine for city defense but too unreliable for attacking a barb that has moved onto your horse pasture, but a keshik is ample to slay that bugger. I left a barb city in tact near my cities to provide my newly-built keshiks with 'free' experience. As soon as your defensive keshik is promoted with barb experience, wait until a new keshik is built and send the promoted one off to battle with the enemy civs and leave the newbie back for barb defense.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After you've built a worker in your first city immediately send him building a road to your second city, then a road to your horses, and then a pasture to tame those mighty steeds. Now you're in business. After that is completed you should be done researching bronze working set your workers out chopping every forest within your cultural boundaries, then set them to mining a few hills near each city. You're population won't grow beyond 5 citizens, and one of them should be working a food resource, so you only need a few mines - and if you've a mineral resource nearby mine it first and build a road to it. After you've built enough mines to occupy your current citizens, build farms or pastures on food resources, whichever is appropriate. Don't neglect roads to those resources either.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]By the time that you've built your second archer your capital should be at least three citizens and it won't take very long to build that settler. Build your second city near horses if they don't appear within your capital's cultural boundary. Your second city's build order should be barracks &gt; worker &gt; *keshiks (unless the city is built before you're able to produce keshiks, in which case just build archers for defense - you can always send extra ones to future cities for defense. After you've built enough keshiks to defeat your first rival you'll need to build two more settlers for cities to produce keshiks at a faster rate. Your second rival will have built enough cities by the time that you get to him that two keshik farms will not be sufficient.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You may opt to send your first group of keshiks after a nearby barbarian city to capture and use for more keshik production, however, it is probably better to send them after your first rival for defeat before they get spearmen. In my second run-through of the game I practically had to take a barbarian city because it was parked right in the best route west to my first rival, Asoka. With all the mountains and small lakes you'll find that in some parts of the map it is critical to keep a path open through a particular pass. In my first game I was able to defeat my first rival before he got those pesky spearmen but by the time that I got to Rooseveldt he had spearmen but never garrisoned more than one spearman per city. Bring two keshiks for each defender in a city - this is plenty regardless of the composition of the defending units. Send your weakest keshiks in first to weaken the defenses and use your more experienced ones to finish the job. Upgrade to combat II, III, then IV. Once you have combat IV in a unit you may opt to promote to shock for those spearmen, but a unit with combat I and shock is likely to be defended against with archers so the shock promotion is worthless for new units without much experience. I played on monarch and at that level expect to lose units with a 66% chance of victory.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Victims[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]My first victim was Asoka and he had three archers defending in the nearest city. I brought 6 keshiks and lost 2 of them. In my second run-through I opted to keep this city because it was close to my capital. All other cities should be razed as you can't afford them and don't need them. After the battle, pillage improvements with full-health keshiks while the wounded ones heal. Once you have 6 more keshiks ready to go set out for the next city. You may have to search for it. If you are unsure how many cities are left talk to your rival and you can see all but one of his cities in the negotiations screen. From here the strategy is straightforward - kill, kill, kill. Always bring two keshiks for every defender and send in the weakest first. You will have a keshik with 5 promotions in no time.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After you have finished your first victim take a breather. Sign an open borders agreement with your next rival and scout his territory. Use your workers, and you should have captured many in your first campaign, to build roads up to your remaining rival's territory and into it. Amass 10 keshiks, or so, and have at him. Once he's down to one or two cities, send newly-made keshiks the long way around into the wild to search for undiscovered cities and/or a archer/archer/settler stack to kill.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]My first run-through of this strategy I made many mistakes and didn't finish until 1270 AD with a score of 15,000. My second try I finished in 340 AD with a score of 18,000. If you're new to Civ and just want a quick conquest victory on a difficult level, a quechua rush is much more effective. This strategy is aimed for experienced players who want to try something new, and also for ones wishing to fulfill the MapQuest portion of the HOF/Quattromasters competition for the Highlands map. If you try this strategy, or have tried it before, please provide feedback.</Spanish>
	</TEXT>
	<TEXT>
		<Tag>TXT_KEY_STRATEGY_ROME_PEDIA</Tag>
		<English>[H1]Deity Introduction Guide for Julius Caesar[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Moonsinger[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Though I have had Civ4 ever since it was released, it has been sitting on my shelf collecting dirt. Until recently a few days after patch 1.52 was released, Julius Caesar came to me in a dream begging me to command his praetorians on grand conquest. I told him that I'm not really interested. The city maintenance cost would tie me up in the ancient age forever. If I can't assimilate new cities and Great Wonders, what else can I do? Burn them down? I have no choice to spill the enemy blood on the battlefield, but burning down their home cities and killing innocent civilians is a crime against humanity and everything I believe in. Therefore, I have no desire of taming this world. I waked up and for some reason decided to give Civ4 another chance. Therefore, I came up with this strategy to save all cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]My civ: Roman[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Level: Deity (lower level means easier, of course)[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Map type: Random Standard "Pangaea" World (smaller map size means easier, of course)[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Climate: Temperate[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Optional check boxes: No barbarian, [BOLD]No city razing[\BOLD], and No cheating. Default settings for the rest. (After you have won your first Deity game, you can move up a level by turning on barbarian setting)[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Epic or Marathon game speed[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Minimum of 4 AI players. My favorite adversaries are Spain, Russia, Egypt, England, and America.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Game version: Patch 1.52 or later[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Before I begin, there are a few things you need to know. This is a step by step introduction guide written for those who have never won nor attempted a Deity game. This may not be an optimal guide or a best Deity strategy, but it's a guarantee to score you a Deity win. You are not just simply winning a Deity game, but win it with a really big score too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #1: Building your first city[NEWLINE]I recommend building Rome right on the spot. The map generator god has been working hard to ensure a balance starting position for everyone. To move the settler away from the given starting position is not recommended. Since the Roman starting out with Fishing and Mining, 100% research on Bronze Working immediately and set to build a warrior in Rome.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #2: Use your starting warrior to explore the world, to meet the tribal villages and other civilizations. Don't expect to learn any new tech from goodie huts, but once in a while you may get lucky with something. The most important task here is to map the shape of the world and study the boundary of the AI players.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #3: Rome has finished building a warrior. Set to build a barracks while waiting for your city to grow to at least size 2. After it has growth to size 2, set to build a worker on top of building a barracks. Basically, you delay the production of the barracks and focus on building a worker. Btw, send your second warrior to explore the surrounding a little bit then call him back before Rome about to grow to size 4.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #4: If Rome finish building the worker before you discover Bronze Working, have your worker to Mine a near by hill (once Rome has grown to size 4, these hills will come in handy). There is nothing else the worker can do at the moment.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #5: You should discover Bronze Working about now. Set to search for The Wheel next. Road is very important. At this point, Rome should still be building a barracks (assuming that it has already finished the worker; if not, it's still building your first worker at this point).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #6: Once your city has grown to size 3, chop more forests to rush at least 3 more workers and 2 settlers. When chopping down the forests, I usually chop the furthest ones first. I recommend chopping the forests near the AI border first.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #7: Place your second city wisely. Whenever possible, place your second city to block off AI access to your unclaimed land. Set your second city to build a barracks and allow it to grow.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #8: You should discover The Wheel by now. Set research for Iron Working next. You may also want to adjust the slider slightly to keep your research at maximum with your income at zero or slightly on the negative size if you still have money to cover it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #9: If you don't have bronze within your boundary, use one of your standing by settler and have your workers focus on hooking up bronze. If you already have bronze and there is gold or silver resource near by, build your third city there. I usually will hold off building my third city for as long as I can. I want to allocate as much money to search for Iron Working. If you see Ivory and Furs, just ignore them. You really don't have time to search for hunting anyway.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #10: It will take a long time to finish up Iron Working. In the mean time, allow Rome to grow into size 4 then have it producing more axemans. Also have your people work the tile that yield the most gold so that you can research Iron Working faster.[NEWLINE]Tip: Did you know that you can pre-chop the forests. For example, at the Marathon speed, it takes 8 turns to chop a forest; if I don't really need the shield right way, I would chop each forest for 6 turns, then move on to the next. This mean, when it time to come back finishing the job, my worker would need only 1 more turns to finish chopping them.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #11: After hooking up bronze, if your first and second cities haven't yet finished their barracks, chop some forests to finish them, and then start building some Axemans. Note, take your time with the axemans; try not expanding too fast or you would slow down your research on Iron Working. You may want to go easy on the chopping for while. Now, may be a good time to do some pre-chopping the forests.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #12: Finally, you have discovered Iron Working. Your research quota has been met. The Wheel and Iron Working are the only two techs that you really need. From now on, you can research any tech you like, and I won't talk about research no more. However, I do recommend searching for Mysticism next. Btw, I almost forget...whenever possible, adopt slavery to save 1 gold per turn.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #13: Hooking up iron and start chopping all the surrounding forests for rushing as many praetorians as fast as you can. If you don't have iron within your boundary (this is rarely happened), use your third settler for this task (or start a new game). In the worst case, use your axemans to get some iron. This rarely happen because irons are plentiful on a "temperate" world. At this point, you should have around 3 cities. If you have to build a fourth city in order to hook up iron, it's ok. I usually just build two cities and save a settler to build the third city after I discover iron.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #14: Once you have around a dozen praetorians under your command, pick your nearest victim. By now, one of the AI has already built the Great Pyramid. Hit F9 to see who has the Great Pyramid. If your nearest civ has it, then that is your first target. If not, that will be your second target. Therefore, always plan your path toward the Great Pyramid.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #15: Declare war and start eliminating your nearest civ. Unless they have axemans (they rarely do at this point), you should conquer them without any problem. I usually have a couple axemans escorting my praetorians, just in case. My axeman usually get Strength and Shock promotion while my praetorians always get City Raider and Strength promotion. Those silly archers won't stand a chance against your praetorians with at least Raider I promotion. Since you will be keeping all conquered city, you will run into a negative income pretty soon now. Don't panic! Since you get at least 100 gold for each city you capture, you can afford to run on negative income for awhile. You should set your research to 0% now. Chances are, you haven't yet discovered Mysticism, but that's ok. Like I said before, you need only The Wheel and Iron Working to tame the world.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #15: If your citizens complain, ignore them. If your enemy begs for peace, ignore them. Keeps the war going until they are eliminated? In the mean time, continue to rush more praetorians by chopping down the forests. If you run out of your own forests, move to the new recently captured city forests. Don't bother rushing the barracks any more. I'm sure there are plenty of easy target out there for your troop promotion.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #16: You should have successfully conquered at least a half dozen cities by now and have control of the Great Pyramid. Here comes my ultimate secret weapon: Start a revolution right away and put your government in Anarchy for as long as you can. Always chose a combination of options that would yield the longest period of time in Anarchy. I usually spend at least 3 turns in anarchy each time. Note: there is a minimum of 4 turns between each revolution. If you spend 3 turns in anarchy, you will have to spend 1 normal turn before you can start another revolution. In the mean time, keep on chopping your forests and keep on capturing new cities. The more cities you capture, the more time you will get to spend in anarchy. Soon, you will find out that you will have to spend at least 5 turns minimum in anarchy which is perfect (this mean you can start another revolution immediately right after your government emerges from anarchy). The bad news is that you don't earn any money, culture, and production during anarchy. The good news is that you don't loss any money either. Best of all, all the shield you gain from chopping the forests will stack up on the building queue which means you just need to spend at least 1 turn every now and then in order to mass producing new units.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #17: That's it! Isn't that easy? You should have no problem eliminate all of the other civs on the planet and win by either conquests or domination. Note: I haven't yet seen a lot of axemans, but if you do, remember to run for cover. Unless they are desperately defending their cities, leave them alone. Just fortify your troops on the hills and wait for them to come to you. Other than axeman, there is no other units that can really withstand the charge of your praetorians. You should be ruling the world long before the next age.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you play this game on a dual map, you should earn a score of at least 120,000 points, at least 130,000 points for a tiny map, at least 200,000 points for a small map, at least 250,000 points for a standard map, and at least 300,000 points for a large map. I haven't yet tried it on a huge map. Congrats! Now, you can tell all your friends that you have won a Deity game. It's really that simple. I have never lost a game using this tactic. My current high HOF score for a standard map is over 280,000 points. If you happens to beat it, please remember to submit it to the CivFanatics HoF. Last but not least, I do seriously hope for world peace.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD](Apr 15, 2006) Note for Patch 1.61[\BOLD]:[NEWLINE]In patch 1.61, there is a 5 turns wait at the end of each the anarchy period. Therefore, perpetual anarchy may not possible. The number of production gain from chopping the forests has also been reduced; therefore, an early rush is now some what less effective.</English>
		<French>[H1]Deity Introduction Guide for Julius Caesar[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Moonsinger[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Though I have had Civ4 ever since it was released, it has been sitting on my shelf collecting dirt. Until recently a few days after patch 1.52 was released, Julius Caesar came to me in a dream begging me to command his praetorians on grand conquest. I told him that I'm not really interested. The city maintenance cost would tie me up in the ancient age forever. If I can't assimilate new cities and Great Wonders, what else can I do? Burn them down? I have no choice to spill the enemy blood on the battlefield, but burning down their home cities and killing innocent civilians is a crime against humanity and everything I believe in. Therefore, I have no desire of taming this world. I waked up and for some reason decided to give Civ4 another chance. Therefore, I came up with this strategy to save all cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]My civ: Roman[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Level: Deity (lower level means easier, of course)[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Map type: Random Standard "Pangaea" World (smaller map size means easier, of course)[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Climate: Temperate[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Optional check boxes: No barbarian, [BOLD]No city razing[\BOLD], and No cheating. Default settings for the rest. (After you have won your first Deity game, you can move up a level by turning on barbarian setting)[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Epic or Marathon game speed[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Minimum of 4 AI players. My favorite adversaries are Spain, Russia, Egypt, England, and America.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Game version: Patch 1.52 or later[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Before I begin, there are a few things you need to know. This is a step by step introduction guide written for those who have never won nor attempted a Deity game. This may not be an optimal guide or a best Deity strategy, but it's a guarantee to score you a Deity win. You are not just simply winning a Deity game, but win it with a really big score too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #1: Building your first city[NEWLINE]I recommend building Rome right on the spot. The map generator god has been working hard to ensure a balance starting position for everyone. To move the settler away from the given starting position is not recommended. Since the Roman starting out with Fishing and Mining, 100% research on Bronze Working immediately and set to build a warrior in Rome.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #2: Use your starting warrior to explore the world, to meet the tribal villages and other civilizations. Don't expect to learn any new tech from goodie huts, but once in a while you may get lucky with something. The most important task here is to map the shape of the world and study the boundary of the AI players.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #3: Rome has finished building a warrior. Set to build a barracks while waiting for your city to grow to at least size 2. After it has growth to size 2, set to build a worker on top of building a barracks. Basically, you delay the production of the barracks and focus on building a worker. Btw, send your second warrior to explore the surrounding a little bit then call him back before Rome about to grow to size 4.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #4: If Rome finish building the worker before you discover Bronze Working, have your worker to Mine a near by hill (once Rome has grown to size 4, these hills will come in handy). There is nothing else the worker can do at the moment.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #5: You should discover Bronze Working about now. Set to search for The Wheel next. Road is very important. At this point, Rome should still be building a barracks (assuming that it has already finished the worker; if not, it's still building your first worker at this point).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #6: Once your city has grown to size 3, chop more forests to rush at least 3 more workers and 2 settlers. When chopping down the forests, I usually chop the furthest ones first. I recommend chopping the forests near the AI border first.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #7: Place your second city wisely. Whenever possible, place your second city to block off AI access to your unclaimed land. Set your second city to build a barracks and allow it to grow.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #8: You should discover The Wheel by now. Set research for Iron Working next. You may also want to adjust the slider slightly to keep your research at maximum with your income at zero or slightly on the negative size if you still have money to cover it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #9: If you don't have bronze within your boundary, use one of your standing by settler and have your workers focus on hooking up bronze. If you already have bronze and there is gold or silver resource near by, build your third city there. I usually will hold off building my third city for as long as I can. I want to allocate as much money to search for Iron Working. If you see Ivory and Furs, just ignore them. You really don't have time to search for hunting anyway.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #10: It will take a long time to finish up Iron Working. In the mean time, allow Rome to grow into size 4 then have it producing more axemans. Also have your people work the tile that yield the most gold so that you can research Iron Working faster.[NEWLINE]Tip: Did you know that you can pre-chop the forests. For example, at the Marathon speed, it takes 8 turns to chop a forest; if I don't really need the shield right way, I would chop each forest for 6 turns, then move on to the next. This mean, when it time to come back finishing the job, my worker would need only 1 more turns to finish chopping them.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #11: After hooking up bronze, if your first and second cities haven't yet finished their barracks, chop some forests to finish them, and then start building some Axemans. Note, take your time with the axemans; try not expanding too fast or you would slow down your research on Iron Working. You may want to go easy on the chopping for while. Now, may be a good time to do some pre-chopping the forests.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #12: Finally, you have discovered Iron Working. Your research quota has been met. The Wheel and Iron Working are the only two techs that you really need. From now on, you can research any tech you like, and I won't talk about research no more. However, I do recommend searching for Mysticism next. Btw, I almost forget...whenever possible, adopt slavery to save 1 gold per turn.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #13: Hooking up iron and start chopping all the surrounding forests for rushing as many praetorians as fast as you can. If you don't have iron within your boundary (this is rarely happened), use your third settler for this task (or start a new game). In the worst case, use your axemans to get some iron. This rarely happen because irons are plentiful on a "temperate" world. At this point, you should have around 3 cities. If you have to build a fourth city in order to hook up iron, it's ok. I usually just build two cities and save a settler to build the third city after I discover iron.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #14: Once you have around a dozen praetorians under your command, pick your nearest victim. By now, one of the AI has already built the Great Pyramid. Hit F9 to see who has the Great Pyramid. If your nearest civ has it, then that is your first target. If not, that will be your second target. Therefore, always plan your path toward the Great Pyramid.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #15: Declare war and start eliminating your nearest civ. Unless they have axemans (they rarely do at this point), you should conquer them without any problem. I usually have a couple axemans escorting my praetorians, just in case. My axeman usually get Strength and Shock promotion while my praetorians always get City Raider and Strength promotion. Those silly archers won't stand a chance against your praetorians with at least Raider I promotion. Since you will be keeping all conquered city, you will run into a negative income pretty soon now. Don't panic! Since you get at least 100 gold for each city you capture, you can afford to run on negative income for awhile. You should set your research to 0% now. Chances are, you haven't yet discovered Mysticism, but that's ok. Like I said before, you need only The Wheel and Iron Working to tame the world.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #15: If your citizens complain, ignore them. If your enemy begs for peace, ignore them. Keeps the war going until they are eliminated? In the mean time, continue to rush more praetorians by chopping down the forests. If you run out of your own forests, move to the new recently captured city forests. Don't bother rushing the barracks any more. I'm sure there are plenty of easy target out there for your troop promotion.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #16: You should have successfully conquered at least a half dozen cities by now and have control of the Great Pyramid. Here comes my ultimate secret weapon: Start a revolution right away and put your government in Anarchy for as long as you can. Always chose a combination of options that would yield the longest period of time in Anarchy. I usually spend at least 3 turns in anarchy each time. Note: there is a minimum of 4 turns between each revolution. If you spend 3 turns in anarchy, you will have to spend 1 normal turn before you can start another revolution. In the mean time, keep on chopping your forests and keep on capturing new cities. The more cities you capture, the more time you will get to spend in anarchy. Soon, you will find out that you will have to spend at least 5 turns minimum in anarchy which is perfect (this mean you can start another revolution immediately right after your government emerges from anarchy). The bad news is that you don't earn any money, culture, and production during anarchy. The good news is that you don't loss any money either. Best of all, all the shield you gain from chopping the forests will stack up on the building queue which means you just need to spend at least 1 turn every now and then in order to mass producing new units.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #17: That's it! Isn't that easy? You should have no problem eliminate all of the other civs on the planet and win by either conquests or domination. Note: I haven't yet seen a lot of axemans, but if you do, remember to run for cover. Unless they are desperately defending their cities, leave them alone. Just fortify your troops on the hills and wait for them to come to you. Other than axeman, there is no other units that can really withstand the charge of your praetorians. You should be ruling the world long before the next age.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you play this game on a dual map, you should earn a score of at least 120,000 points, at least 130,000 points for a tiny map, at least 200,000 points for a small map, at least 250,000 points for a standard map, and at least 300,000 points for a large map. I haven't yet tried it on a huge map. Congrats! Now, you can tell all your friends that you have won a Deity game. It's really that simple. I have never lost a game using this tactic. My current high HOF score for a standard map is over 280,000 points. If you happens to beat it, please remember to submit it to the CivFanatics HoF. Last but not least, I do seriously hope for world peace.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD](Apr 15, 2006) Note for Patch 1.61[\BOLD]:[NEWLINE]In patch 1.61, there is a 5 turns wait at the end of each the anarchy period. Therefore, perpetual anarchy may not possible. The number of production gain from chopping the forests has also been reduced; therefore, an early rush is now some what less effective.</French>
		<German>[H1]Deity Introduction Guide for Julius Caesar[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Moonsinger[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Though I have had Civ4 ever since it was released, it has been sitting on my shelf collecting dirt. Until recently a few days after patch 1.52 was released, Julius Caesar came to me in a dream begging me to command his praetorians on grand conquest. I told him that I'm not really interested. The city maintenance cost would tie me up in the ancient age forever. If I can't assimilate new cities and Great Wonders, what else can I do? Burn them down? I have no choice to spill the enemy blood on the battlefield, but burning down their home cities and killing innocent civilians is a crime against humanity and everything I believe in. Therefore, I have no desire of taming this world. I waked up and for some reason decided to give Civ4 another chance. Therefore, I came up with this strategy to save all cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]My civ: Roman[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Level: Deity (lower level means easier, of course)[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Map type: Random Standard "Pangaea" World (smaller map size means easier, of course)[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Climate: Temperate[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Optional check boxes: No barbarian, [BOLD]No city razing[\BOLD], and No cheating. Default settings for the rest. (After you have won your first Deity game, you can move up a level by turning on barbarian setting)[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Epic or Marathon game speed[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Minimum of 4 AI players. My favorite adversaries are Spain, Russia, Egypt, England, and America.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Game version: Patch 1.52 or later[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Before I begin, there are a few things you need to know. This is a step by step introduction guide written for those who have never won nor attempted a Deity game. This may not be an optimal guide or a best Deity strategy, but it's a guarantee to score you a Deity win. You are not just simply winning a Deity game, but win it with a really big score too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #1: Building your first city[NEWLINE]I recommend building Rome right on the spot. The map generator god has been working hard to ensure a balance starting position for everyone. To move the settler away from the given starting position is not recommended. Since the Roman starting out with Fishing and Mining, 100% research on Bronze Working immediately and set to build a warrior in Rome.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #2: Use your starting warrior to explore the world, to meet the tribal villages and other civilizations. Don't expect to learn any new tech from goodie huts, but once in a while you may get lucky with something. The most important task here is to map the shape of the world and study the boundary of the AI players.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #3: Rome has finished building a warrior. Set to build a barracks while waiting for your city to grow to at least size 2. After it has growth to size 2, set to build a worker on top of building a barracks. Basically, you delay the production of the barracks and focus on building a worker. Btw, send your second warrior to explore the surrounding a little bit then call him back before Rome about to grow to size 4.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #4: If Rome finish building the worker before you discover Bronze Working, have your worker to Mine a near by hill (once Rome has grown to size 4, these hills will come in handy). There is nothing else the worker can do at the moment.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #5: You should discover Bronze Working about now. Set to search for The Wheel next. Road is very important. At this point, Rome should still be building a barracks (assuming that it has already finished the worker; if not, it's still building your first worker at this point).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #6: Once your city has grown to size 3, chop more forests to rush at least 3 more workers and 2 settlers. When chopping down the forests, I usually chop the furthest ones first. I recommend chopping the forests near the AI border first.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #7: Place your second city wisely. Whenever possible, place your second city to block off AI access to your unclaimed land. Set your second city to build a barracks and allow it to grow.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #8: You should discover The Wheel by now. Set research for Iron Working next. You may also want to adjust the slider slightly to keep your research at maximum with your income at zero or slightly on the negative size if you still have money to cover it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #9: If you don't have bronze within your boundary, use one of your standing by settler and have your workers focus on hooking up bronze. If you already have bronze and there is gold or silver resource near by, build your third city there. I usually will hold off building my third city for as long as I can. I want to allocate as much money to search for Iron Working. If you see Ivory and Furs, just ignore them. You really don't have time to search for hunting anyway.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #10: It will take a long time to finish up Iron Working. In the mean time, allow Rome to grow into size 4 then have it producing more axemans. Also have your people work the tile that yield the most gold so that you can research Iron Working faster.[NEWLINE]Tip: Did you know that you can pre-chop the forests. For example, at the Marathon speed, it takes 8 turns to chop a forest; if I don't really need the shield right way, I would chop each forest for 6 turns, then move on to the next. This mean, when it time to come back finishing the job, my worker would need only 1 more turns to finish chopping them.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #11: After hooking up bronze, if your first and second cities haven't yet finished their barracks, chop some forests to finish them, and then start building some Axemans. Note, take your time with the axemans; try not expanding too fast or you would slow down your research on Iron Working. You may want to go easy on the chopping for while. Now, may be a good time to do some pre-chopping the forests.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #12: Finally, you have discovered Iron Working. Your research quota has been met. The Wheel and Iron Working are the only two techs that you really need. From now on, you can research any tech you like, and I won't talk about research no more. However, I do recommend searching for Mysticism next. Btw, I almost forget...whenever possible, adopt slavery to save 1 gold per turn.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #13: Hooking up iron and start chopping all the surrounding forests for rushing as many praetorians as fast as you can. If you don't have iron within your boundary (this is rarely happened), use your third settler for this task (or start a new game). In the worst case, use your axemans to get some iron. This rarely happen because irons are plentiful on a "temperate" world. At this point, you should have around 3 cities. If you have to build a fourth city in order to hook up iron, it's ok. I usually just build two cities and save a settler to build the third city after I discover iron.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #14: Once you have around a dozen praetorians under your command, pick your nearest victim. By now, one of the AI has already built the Great Pyramid. Hit F9 to see who has the Great Pyramid. If your nearest civ has it, then that is your first target. If not, that will be your second target. Therefore, always plan your path toward the Great Pyramid.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #15: Declare war and start eliminating your nearest civ. Unless they have axemans (they rarely do at this point), you should conquer them without any problem. I usually have a couple axemans escorting my praetorians, just in case. My axeman usually get Strength and Shock promotion while my praetorians always get City Raider and Strength promotion. Those silly archers won't stand a chance against your praetorians with at least Raider I promotion. Since you will be keeping all conquered city, you will run into a negative income pretty soon now. Don't panic! Since you get at least 100 gold for each city you capture, you can afford to run on negative income for awhile. You should set your research to 0% now. Chances are, you haven't yet discovered Mysticism, but that's ok. Like I said before, you need only The Wheel and Iron Working to tame the world.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #15: If your citizens complain, ignore them. If your enemy begs for peace, ignore them. Keeps the war going until they are eliminated? In the mean time, continue to rush more praetorians by chopping down the forests. If you run out of your own forests, move to the new recently captured city forests. Don't bother rushing the barracks any more. I'm sure there are plenty of easy target out there for your troop promotion.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #16: You should have successfully conquered at least a half dozen cities by now and have control of the Great Pyramid. Here comes my ultimate secret weapon: Start a revolution right away and put your government in Anarchy for as long as you can. Always chose a combination of options that would yield the longest period of time in Anarchy. I usually spend at least 3 turns in anarchy each time. Note: there is a minimum of 4 turns between each revolution. If you spend 3 turns in anarchy, you will have to spend 1 normal turn before you can start another revolution. In the mean time, keep on chopping your forests and keep on capturing new cities. The more cities you capture, the more time you will get to spend in anarchy. Soon, you will find out that you will have to spend at least 5 turns minimum in anarchy which is perfect (this mean you can start another revolution immediately right after your government emerges from anarchy). The bad news is that you don't earn any money, culture, and production during anarchy. The good news is that you don't loss any money either. Best of all, all the shield you gain from chopping the forests will stack up on the building queue which means you just need to spend at least 1 turn every now and then in order to mass producing new units.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #17: That's it! Isn't that easy? You should have no problem eliminate all of the other civs on the planet and win by either conquests or domination. Note: I haven't yet seen a lot of axemans, but if you do, remember to run for cover. Unless they are desperately defending their cities, leave them alone. Just fortify your troops on the hills and wait for them to come to you. Other than axeman, there is no other units that can really withstand the charge of your praetorians. You should be ruling the world long before the next age.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you play this game on a dual map, you should earn a score of at least 120,000 points, at least 130,000 points for a tiny map, at least 200,000 points for a small map, at least 250,000 points for a standard map, and at least 300,000 points for a large map. I haven't yet tried it on a huge map. Congrats! Now, you can tell all your friends that you have won a Deity game. It's really that simple. I have never lost a game using this tactic. My current high HOF score for a standard map is over 280,000 points. If you happens to beat it, please remember to submit it to the CivFanatics HoF. Last but not least, I do seriously hope for world peace.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD](Apr 15, 2006) Note for Patch 1.61[\BOLD]:[NEWLINE]In patch 1.61, there is a 5 turns wait at the end of each the anarchy period. Therefore, perpetual anarchy may not possible. The number of production gain from chopping the forests has also been reduced; therefore, an early rush is now some what less effective.</German>
		<Italian>[H1]Deity Introduction Guide for Julius Caesar[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Moonsinger[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Though I have had Civ4 ever since it was released, it has been sitting on my shelf collecting dirt. Until recently a few days after patch 1.52 was released, Julius Caesar came to me in a dream begging me to command his praetorians on grand conquest. I told him that I'm not really interested. The city maintenance cost would tie me up in the ancient age forever. If I can't assimilate new cities and Great Wonders, what else can I do? Burn them down? I have no choice to spill the enemy blood on the battlefield, but burning down their home cities and killing innocent civilians is a crime against humanity and everything I believe in. Therefore, I have no desire of taming this world. I waked up and for some reason decided to give Civ4 another chance. Therefore, I came up with this strategy to save all cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]My civ: Roman[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Level: Deity (lower level means easier, of course)[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Map type: Random Standard "Pangaea" World (smaller map size means easier, of course)[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Climate: Temperate[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Optional check boxes: No barbarian, [BOLD]No city razing[\BOLD], and No cheating. Default settings for the rest. (After you have won your first Deity game, you can move up a level by turning on barbarian setting)[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Epic or Marathon game speed[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Minimum of 4 AI players. My favorite adversaries are Spain, Russia, Egypt, England, and America.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Game version: Patch 1.52 or later[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Before I begin, there are a few things you need to know. This is a step by step introduction guide written for those who have never won nor attempted a Deity game. This may not be an optimal guide or a best Deity strategy, but it's a guarantee to score you a Deity win. You are not just simply winning a Deity game, but win it with a really big score too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #1: Building your first city[NEWLINE]I recommend building Rome right on the spot. The map generator god has been working hard to ensure a balance starting position for everyone. To move the settler away from the given starting position is not recommended. Since the Roman starting out with Fishing and Mining, 100% research on Bronze Working immediately and set to build a warrior in Rome.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #2: Use your starting warrior to explore the world, to meet the tribal villages and other civilizations. Don't expect to learn any new tech from goodie huts, but once in a while you may get lucky with something. The most important task here is to map the shape of the world and study the boundary of the AI players.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #3: Rome has finished building a warrior. Set to build a barracks while waiting for your city to grow to at least size 2. After it has growth to size 2, set to build a worker on top of building a barracks. Basically, you delay the production of the barracks and focus on building a worker. Btw, send your second warrior to explore the surrounding a little bit then call him back before Rome about to grow to size 4.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #4: If Rome finish building the worker before you discover Bronze Working, have your worker to Mine a near by hill (once Rome has grown to size 4, these hills will come in handy). There is nothing else the worker can do at the moment.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #5: You should discover Bronze Working about now. Set to search for The Wheel next. Road is very important. At this point, Rome should still be building a barracks (assuming that it has already finished the worker; if not, it's still building your first worker at this point).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #6: Once your city has grown to size 3, chop more forests to rush at least 3 more workers and 2 settlers. When chopping down the forests, I usually chop the furthest ones first. I recommend chopping the forests near the AI border first.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #7: Place your second city wisely. Whenever possible, place your second city to block off AI access to your unclaimed land. Set your second city to build a barracks and allow it to grow.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #8: You should discover The Wheel by now. Set research for Iron Working next. You may also want to adjust the slider slightly to keep your research at maximum with your income at zero or slightly on the negative size if you still have money to cover it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #9: If you don't have bronze within your boundary, use one of your standing by settler and have your workers focus on hooking up bronze. If you already have bronze and there is gold or silver resource near by, build your third city there. I usually will hold off building my third city for as long as I can. I want to allocate as much money to search for Iron Working. If you see Ivory and Furs, just ignore them. You really don't have time to search for hunting anyway.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #10: It will take a long time to finish up Iron Working. In the mean time, allow Rome to grow into size 4 then have it producing more axemans. Also have your people work the tile that yield the most gold so that you can research Iron Working faster.[NEWLINE]Tip: Did you know that you can pre-chop the forests. For example, at the Marathon speed, it takes 8 turns to chop a forest; if I don't really need the shield right way, I would chop each forest for 6 turns, then move on to the next. This mean, when it time to come back finishing the job, my worker would need only 1 more turns to finish chopping them.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #11: After hooking up bronze, if your first and second cities haven't yet finished their barracks, chop some forests to finish them, and then start building some Axemans. Note, take your time with the axemans; try not expanding too fast or you would slow down your research on Iron Working. You may want to go easy on the chopping for while. Now, may be a good time to do some pre-chopping the forests.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #12: Finally, you have discovered Iron Working. Your research quota has been met. The Wheel and Iron Working are the only two techs that you really need. From now on, you can research any tech you like, and I won't talk about research no more. However, I do recommend searching for Mysticism next. Btw, I almost forget...whenever possible, adopt slavery to save 1 gold per turn.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #13: Hooking up iron and start chopping all the surrounding forests for rushing as many praetorians as fast as you can. If you don't have iron within your boundary (this is rarely happened), use your third settler for this task (or start a new game). In the worst case, use your axemans to get some iron. This rarely happen because irons are plentiful on a "temperate" world. At this point, you should have around 3 cities. If you have to build a fourth city in order to hook up iron, it's ok. I usually just build two cities and save a settler to build the third city after I discover iron.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #14: Once you have around a dozen praetorians under your command, pick your nearest victim. By now, one of the AI has already built the Great Pyramid. Hit F9 to see who has the Great Pyramid. If your nearest civ has it, then that is your first target. If not, that will be your second target. Therefore, always plan your path toward the Great Pyramid.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #15: Declare war and start eliminating your nearest civ. Unless they have axemans (they rarely do at this point), you should conquer them without any problem. I usually have a couple axemans escorting my praetorians, just in case. My axeman usually get Strength and Shock promotion while my praetorians always get City Raider and Strength promotion. Those silly archers won't stand a chance against your praetorians with at least Raider I promotion. Since you will be keeping all conquered city, you will run into a negative income pretty soon now. Don't panic! Since you get at least 100 gold for each city you capture, you can afford to run on negative income for awhile. You should set your research to 0% now. Chances are, you haven't yet discovered Mysticism, but that's ok. Like I said before, you need only The Wheel and Iron Working to tame the world.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #15: If your citizens complain, ignore them. If your enemy begs for peace, ignore them. Keeps the war going until they are eliminated? In the mean time, continue to rush more praetorians by chopping down the forests. If you run out of your own forests, move to the new recently captured city forests. Don't bother rushing the barracks any more. I'm sure there are plenty of easy target out there for your troop promotion.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #16: You should have successfully conquered at least a half dozen cities by now and have control of the Great Pyramid. Here comes my ultimate secret weapon: Start a revolution right away and put your government in Anarchy for as long as you can. Always chose a combination of options that would yield the longest period of time in Anarchy. I usually spend at least 3 turns in anarchy each time. Note: there is a minimum of 4 turns between each revolution. If you spend 3 turns in anarchy, you will have to spend 1 normal turn before you can start another revolution. In the mean time, keep on chopping your forests and keep on capturing new cities. The more cities you capture, the more time you will get to spend in anarchy. Soon, you will find out that you will have to spend at least 5 turns minimum in anarchy which is perfect (this mean you can start another revolution immediately right after your government emerges from anarchy). The bad news is that you don't earn any money, culture, and production during anarchy. The good news is that you don't loss any money either. Best of all, all the shield you gain from chopping the forests will stack up on the building queue which means you just need to spend at least 1 turn every now and then in order to mass producing new units.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #17: That's it! Isn't that easy? You should have no problem eliminate all of the other civs on the planet and win by either conquests or domination. Note: I haven't yet seen a lot of axemans, but if you do, remember to run for cover. Unless they are desperately defending their cities, leave them alone. Just fortify your troops on the hills and wait for them to come to you. Other than axeman, there is no other units that can really withstand the charge of your praetorians. You should be ruling the world long before the next age.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you play this game on a dual map, you should earn a score of at least 120,000 points, at least 130,000 points for a tiny map, at least 200,000 points for a small map, at least 250,000 points for a standard map, and at least 300,000 points for a large map. I haven't yet tried it on a huge map. Congrats! Now, you can tell all your friends that you have won a Deity game. It's really that simple. I have never lost a game using this tactic. My current high HOF score for a standard map is over 280,000 points. If you happens to beat it, please remember to submit it to the CivFanatics HoF. Last but not least, I do seriously hope for world peace.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD](Apr 15, 2006) Note for Patch 1.61[\BOLD]:[NEWLINE]In patch 1.61, there is a 5 turns wait at the end of each the anarchy period. Therefore, perpetual anarchy may not possible. The number of production gain from chopping the forests has also been reduced; therefore, an early rush is now some what less effective.</Italian>
		<Spanish>[H1]Deity Introduction Guide for Julius Caesar[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Moonsinger[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Though I have had Civ4 ever since it was released, it has been sitting on my shelf collecting dirt. Until recently a few days after patch 1.52 was released, Julius Caesar came to me in a dream begging me to command his praetorians on grand conquest. I told him that I'm not really interested. The city maintenance cost would tie me up in the ancient age forever. If I can't assimilate new cities and Great Wonders, what else can I do? Burn them down? I have no choice to spill the enemy blood on the battlefield, but burning down their home cities and killing innocent civilians is a crime against humanity and everything I believe in. Therefore, I have no desire of taming this world. I waked up and for some reason decided to give Civ4 another chance. Therefore, I came up with this strategy to save all cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]My civ: Roman[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Level: Deity (lower level means easier, of course)[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Map type: Random Standard "Pangaea" World (smaller map size means easier, of course)[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Climate: Temperate[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Optional check boxes: No barbarian, [BOLD]No city razing[\BOLD], and No cheating. Default settings for the rest. (After you have won your first Deity game, you can move up a level by turning on barbarian setting)[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Epic or Marathon game speed[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Minimum of 4 AI players. My favorite adversaries are Spain, Russia, Egypt, England, and America.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Game version: Patch 1.52 or later[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Before I begin, there are a few things you need to know. This is a step by step introduction guide written for those who have never won nor attempted a Deity game. This may not be an optimal guide or a best Deity strategy, but it's a guarantee to score you a Deity win. You are not just simply winning a Deity game, but win it with a really big score too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #1: Building your first city[NEWLINE]I recommend building Rome right on the spot. The map generator god has been working hard to ensure a balance starting position for everyone. To move the settler away from the given starting position is not recommended. Since the Roman starting out with Fishing and Mining, 100% research on Bronze Working immediately and set to build a warrior in Rome.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #2: Use your starting warrior to explore the world, to meet the tribal villages and other civilizations. Don't expect to learn any new tech from goodie huts, but once in a while you may get lucky with something. The most important task here is to map the shape of the world and study the boundary of the AI players.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #3: Rome has finished building a warrior. Set to build a barracks while waiting for your city to grow to at least size 2. After it has growth to size 2, set to build a worker on top of building a barracks. Basically, you delay the production of the barracks and focus on building a worker. Btw, send your second warrior to explore the surrounding a little bit then call him back before Rome about to grow to size 4.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #4: If Rome finish building the worker before you discover Bronze Working, have your worker to Mine a near by hill (once Rome has grown to size 4, these hills will come in handy). There is nothing else the worker can do at the moment.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #5: You should discover Bronze Working about now. Set to search for The Wheel next. Road is very important. At this point, Rome should still be building a barracks (assuming that it has already finished the worker; if not, it's still building your first worker at this point).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #6: Once your city has grown to size 3, chop more forests to rush at least 3 more workers and 2 settlers. When chopping down the forests, I usually chop the furthest ones first. I recommend chopping the forests near the AI border first.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #7: Place your second city wisely. Whenever possible, place your second city to block off AI access to your unclaimed land. Set your second city to build a barracks and allow it to grow.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #8: You should discover The Wheel by now. Set research for Iron Working next. You may also want to adjust the slider slightly to keep your research at maximum with your income at zero or slightly on the negative size if you still have money to cover it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #9: If you don't have bronze within your boundary, use one of your standing by settler and have your workers focus on hooking up bronze. If you already have bronze and there is gold or silver resource near by, build your third city there. I usually will hold off building my third city for as long as I can. I want to allocate as much money to search for Iron Working. If you see Ivory and Furs, just ignore them. You really don't have time to search for hunting anyway.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #10: It will take a long time to finish up Iron Working. In the mean time, allow Rome to grow into size 4 then have it producing more axemans. Also have your people work the tile that yield the most gold so that you can research Iron Working faster.[NEWLINE]Tip: Did you know that you can pre-chop the forests. For example, at the Marathon speed, it takes 8 turns to chop a forest; if I don't really need the shield right way, I would chop each forest for 6 turns, then move on to the next. This mean, when it time to come back finishing the job, my worker would need only 1 more turns to finish chopping them.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #11: After hooking up bronze, if your first and second cities haven't yet finished their barracks, chop some forests to finish them, and then start building some Axemans. Note, take your time with the axemans; try not expanding too fast or you would slow down your research on Iron Working. You may want to go easy on the chopping for while. Now, may be a good time to do some pre-chopping the forests.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #12: Finally, you have discovered Iron Working. Your research quota has been met. The Wheel and Iron Working are the only two techs that you really need. From now on, you can research any tech you like, and I won't talk about research no more. However, I do recommend searching for Mysticism next. Btw, I almost forget...whenever possible, adopt slavery to save 1 gold per turn.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #13: Hooking up iron and start chopping all the surrounding forests for rushing as many praetorians as fast as you can. If you don't have iron within your boundary (this is rarely happened), use your third settler for this task (or start a new game). In the worst case, use your axemans to get some iron. This rarely happen because irons are plentiful on a "temperate" world. At this point, you should have around 3 cities. If you have to build a fourth city in order to hook up iron, it's ok. I usually just build two cities and save a settler to build the third city after I discover iron.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #14: Once you have around a dozen praetorians under your command, pick your nearest victim. By now, one of the AI has already built the Great Pyramid. Hit F9 to see who has the Great Pyramid. If your nearest civ has it, then that is your first target. If not, that will be your second target. Therefore, always plan your path toward the Great Pyramid.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #15: Declare war and start eliminating your nearest civ. Unless they have axemans (they rarely do at this point), you should conquer them without any problem. I usually have a couple axemans escorting my praetorians, just in case. My axeman usually get Strength and Shock promotion while my praetorians always get City Raider and Strength promotion. Those silly archers won't stand a chance against your praetorians with at least Raider I promotion. Since you will be keeping all conquered city, you will run into a negative income pretty soon now. Don't panic! Since you get at least 100 gold for each city you capture, you can afford to run on negative income for awhile. You should set your research to 0% now. Chances are, you haven't yet discovered Mysticism, but that's ok. Like I said before, you need only The Wheel and Iron Working to tame the world.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #15: If your citizens complain, ignore them. If your enemy begs for peace, ignore them. Keeps the war going until they are eliminated? In the mean time, continue to rush more praetorians by chopping down the forests. If you run out of your own forests, move to the new recently captured city forests. Don't bother rushing the barracks any more. I'm sure there are plenty of easy target out there for your troop promotion.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #16: You should have successfully conquered at least a half dozen cities by now and have control of the Great Pyramid. Here comes my ultimate secret weapon: Start a revolution right away and put your government in Anarchy for as long as you can. Always chose a combination of options that would yield the longest period of time in Anarchy. I usually spend at least 3 turns in anarchy each time. Note: there is a minimum of 4 turns between each revolution. If you spend 3 turns in anarchy, you will have to spend 1 normal turn before you can start another revolution. In the mean time, keep on chopping your forests and keep on capturing new cities. The more cities you capture, the more time you will get to spend in anarchy. Soon, you will find out that you will have to spend at least 5 turns minimum in anarchy which is perfect (this mean you can start another revolution immediately right after your government emerges from anarchy). The bad news is that you don't earn any money, culture, and production during anarchy. The good news is that you don't loss any money either. Best of all, all the shield you gain from chopping the forests will stack up on the building queue which means you just need to spend at least 1 turn every now and then in order to mass producing new units.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Step #17: That's it! Isn't that easy? You should have no problem eliminate all of the other civs on the planet and win by either conquests or domination. Note: I haven't yet seen a lot of axemans, but if you do, remember to run for cover. Unless they are desperately defending their cities, leave them alone. Just fortify your troops on the hills and wait for them to come to you. Other than axeman, there is no other units that can really withstand the charge of your praetorians. You should be ruling the world long before the next age.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you play this game on a dual map, you should earn a score of at least 120,000 points, at least 130,000 points for a tiny map, at least 200,000 points for a small map, at least 250,000 points for a standard map, and at least 300,000 points for a large map. I haven't yet tried it on a huge map. Congrats! Now, you can tell all your friends that you have won a Deity game. It's really that simple. I have never lost a game using this tactic. My current high HOF score for a standard map is over 280,000 points. If you happens to beat it, please remember to submit it to the CivFanatics HoF. Last but not least, I do seriously hope for world peace.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD](Apr 15, 2006) Note for Patch 1.61[\BOLD]:[NEWLINE]In patch 1.61, there is a 5 turns wait at the end of each the anarchy period. Therefore, perpetual anarchy may not possible. The number of production gain from chopping the forests has also been reduced; therefore, an early rush is now some what less effective.</Spanish>
	</TEXT>
	<TEXT>
		<Tag>TXT_KEY_STRATEGY_PRINCE_DIFFICULTY_PEDIA</Tag>
		<English>[H1]Getting Your First Win on Prince: A Guide and Tips[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Jonezee[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]I. A Guide for those who have trouble winning on prince.[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Just to be clear, this guide is written for those who are trying to make the jump from Noble to Prince, and hare having trouble compensating for the AI bonuses. I came here looking for a guide on this subject, and didn't find one.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I should also state that this guide is by no means an end all guide. Other strategies will work too. It's intended to provide you with useful experience you can use on Prince games on normal maps. The same strategies will work, but you'll have less control over the variables. That being said, on with the guide.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One thing above all else. Be more aggressive. Keep military pressure on other Civs to keep their research down.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This guide is geared towards getting your first win on Prince for those who have struggled with it. If you're anything like me when you tried to make the jump, you found yourself horribly behind in technology, and felt a financial squeeze when you tried expanding like you would on Noble. By getting your first win, you learn a whole bunch that can be applied in later games. And this guide should help you get the first one. By no means is this the only way to get a win. Just a method I had consistent success with.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]II. The Guide[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]A: The Early Game[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First, start up a custom game. Choose Pangaea, with high sea levels. This should give you some thin strips of land that will serve as chokepoints and thus make defense much easier. Go with three or four opponents. Whatever civilization you choose is up to you. The first time I used this strategy I went with random and got Victoria.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First, plop your settler down in the most advantageous place. Start building a warrior. Look at other guides regarding early moves for more help here. I went warrior-worker-building/wonder. Take your warrior and go exploring. Knowing the immediate lay of the land is incredibly important, as you need to discover any and all and nearby chokepoints, as you will be building cities here. Hooking up key resources like copper or horses should take first priority, but these are second. They'll serve as your defensive cities, and should block off the AI from land. You can build cities here straight away if you want.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you're lucky enough to stumble across an enemy civilization, and try finding a hill you can stand on top of, or a lake to look across to see if they have any defenders yet. If not, take them out. (You also can just march right into their territory to see, and reload if they have a defender, but some frown on that). But if you can, destroy them. They'll just be a problem later. And in this, you'll see a hint of what's necessary to win on higher difficulties: more aggression.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You can completely forget about trying to found any early religions. They aren't necessary. You should not focus on wonders either. Starting to build them is great. You'll want to get some, but ideally you'll get beat to the punch on a couple and should get a bunch of gold out of the deal (think of it like an early form of wealth). You'll be needing gold too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]But you do want at least one early wonder. I won my first game having only constructed Stonehenge. You'll want to try to get one of the cheap early wonders for the Great Person points. Prophets are the best, as super citizens they provide a solid financial and production boost. Again, forget about founding religions. They can be more trouble than they're worth. Once you've mastered Prince, you can try founding one, but don't do it while you're still new to it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As for your research, go straight for bronze working. It gives you a great early edge. You need to know where copper is ASAP. If you have some already in your borders, forget archery for awhile and build exclusively axemen. You also get the ability to chop forests for their hammers. Use this for rushing settlers, and your early wonder(s). Then go for the worker techs you need to exploit your resources. Then beeline to Alphabet. Alphabet will let you trade for techs, and you should be able to pick up a lot of the older, cheaper techs if you're the first to get Alphabet. After alphabet, the important techs are currency, code of laws, iron working, and construction. These give you money, and boost your military. Don't be shy about chopping forests to rush courthouses or markets either, as they're worth it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As for your economy, cottages are your best friend. Don't automate your workers, as they'll build more farms then you could ever need. Have them build cottages after you hook up your resources. Try to get your cities to work these cottages, as they'll expand and give you much needed money.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As for religion, do what the AI does and convert to the first one you get for the bonuses. Ideally this will be the one the most powerful Civ has, and will help keep them off your back. If it's not, switch to match the most powerful Civ when possible.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You're going to want to start building up your military throughout early game. Build walls in whatever chokepoint border cities you've set up, and guard them with multiple axemen if possible, archers if not. Axemen are great on offense and defense, so if you have copper in your borders, forgo archers altogether until the tech is really cheap.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]B. The First War[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Take the time to expand to three, four, or maybe even five cities (depending on your land and budget) and secure all the useful resources behind your chokepoints. At the same time, you should start to build a military. Once you've got your core cities up and running and have a sizable military, go on the offensive. Ideally you'll have catapults to start the war. As long as your enemy is still using archers when you start the war, you'll be fine. Overwhelming numbers is the key to victory here. Archers fall pretty easily to just axes and swords, and you can easily bring down long bowman and crossbowman with axemen, swordsmen, and catapults if it ever comes to that. Once the war starts, you produce exclusively military units until peace breaks out. While at war, you only produce units, and lots and lots of catapults.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Choose your victim carefully. Go for your most powerful direct neighbor. Not the top dog in the world, but the next step down. Ideally they'll have a good holy city or useful wonder like the Pyramids. You won't win the war right away, so make sure you can retain all the cities you capture. And do capture all of them, as the AI will just rebuild the ones you raze anyway, and you'll have to take them again. Only take weaker out cities until you have catapults. Once you do (or if you did from the start) go straight for the core of their empire, as once you destroy/capture their most productive area, they're totally crippled.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The war will not end quickly, and you should call for a cease fire (NOT peace treaties unless you get useful tech out of them) multiple times throughout to regain your strength. I often found myself taking one after I take a couple of weaker out cities and defeat their standing army, another after I take a couple of cores and/or the capital, and another during cleanup. You don't need catapults to take the outlying cities, but make sure you have them for your assault on the core cities. Use catapults to bombard defenses down to zero, then throw a few into a city to soften the defenders for your soldiers. Once you gain a noticeable upper hand, try to sue for tech. Wait for the turns to expire, and repeat until they are finished. It's fine if you run a huge deficit during the war, as taking cities nets you plenty of gold. But try to never let your research drop below 70% for prolonged periods. If you can't do this, you probably don't have enough cottages. Also, if you can exploit your unique unit during the war, then by all means do so. It's there so you can have an advantage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]C. The Endgame[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once your enemy is gone, solidify your new empire. The war should end well before gunpowder. Place what is left of your army on your new borders, and build infrastructure and culture. From here, you should be in good position for the rest of the game to pursue whatever strategy you like. You should be pretty close to the remaining Civs in tech, close enough to be in good shape to pursue whatever victory condition you like. From here, games play much like they do on lower difficulties. You'll end the war behind in tech, but with your new cities, you should be able to build up a sizable science base that will allow you to catch up and eventually surpass them.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With the cities you captured from your enemy, you'll easily have the resources necessary to win the game however you want. If you pursue Domination, remember to always use siege weapons to reduce any city's defenses to zero. If you pursue a Space Race, make sure you keep constant military pressure on your rivals. You don't need to be at war with them, but someone should. As long as the AI is on a war footing, it keeps their tech spending down. Remember that, and you'll be fine.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Good luck, and I hope this guide was useful.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]---[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Copyright 2006 Jonezee</English>
		<French>[H1]Getting Your First Win on Prince: A Guide and Tips[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Jonezee[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]I. A Guide for those who have trouble winning on prince.[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Just to be clear, this guide is written for those who are trying to make the jump from Noble to Prince, and hare having trouble compensating for the AI bonuses. I came here looking for a guide on this subject, and didn't find one.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I should also state that this guide is by no means an end all guide. Other strategies will work too. It's intended to provide you with useful experience you can use on Prince games on normal maps. The same strategies will work, but you'll have less control over the variables. That being said, on with the guide.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One thing above all else. Be more aggressive. Keep military pressure on other Civs to keep their research down.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This guide is geared towards getting your first win on Prince for those who have struggled with it. If you're anything like me when you tried to make the jump, you found yourself horribly behind in technology, and felt a financial squeeze when you tried expanding like you would on Noble. By getting your first win, you learn a whole bunch that can be applied in later games. And this guide should help you get the first one. By no means is this the only way to get a win. Just a method I had consistent success with.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]II. The Guide[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]A: The Early Game[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First, start up a custom game. Choose Pangaea, with high sea levels. This should give you some thin strips of land that will serve as chokepoints and thus make defense much easier. Go with three or four opponents. Whatever civilization you choose is up to you. The first time I used this strategy I went with random and got Victoria.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First, plop your settler down in the most advantageous place. Start building a warrior. Look at other guides regarding early moves for more help here. I went warrior-worker-building/wonder. Take your warrior and go exploring. Knowing the immediate lay of the land is incredibly important, as you need to discover any and all and nearby chokepoints, as you will be building cities here. Hooking up key resources like copper or horses should take first priority, but these are second. They'll serve as your defensive cities, and should block off the AI from land. You can build cities here straight away if you want.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you're lucky enough to stumble across an enemy civilization, and try finding a hill you can stand on top of, or a lake to look across to see if they have any defenders yet. If not, take them out. (You also can just march right into their territory to see, and reload if they have a defender, but some frown on that). But if you can, destroy them. They'll just be a problem later. And in this, you'll see a hint of what's necessary to win on higher difficulties: more aggression.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You can completely forget about trying to found any early religions. They aren't necessary. You should not focus on wonders either. Starting to build them is great. You'll want to get some, but ideally you'll get beat to the punch on a couple and should get a bunch of gold out of the deal (think of it like an early form of wealth). You'll be needing gold too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]But you do want at least one early wonder. I won my first game having only constructed Stonehenge. You'll want to try to get one of the cheap early wonders for the Great Person points. Prophets are the best, as super citizens they provide a solid financial and production boost. Again, forget about founding religions. They can be more trouble than they're worth. Once you've mastered Prince, you can try founding one, but don't do it while you're still new to it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As for your research, go straight for bronze working. It gives you a great early edge. You need to know where copper is ASAP. If you have some already in your borders, forget archery for awhile and build exclusively axemen. You also get the ability to chop forests for their hammers. Use this for rushing settlers, and your early wonder(s). Then go for the worker techs you need to exploit your resources. Then beeline to Alphabet. Alphabet will let you trade for techs, and you should be able to pick up a lot of the older, cheaper techs if you're the first to get Alphabet. After alphabet, the important techs are currency, code of laws, iron working, and construction. These give you money, and boost your military. Don't be shy about chopping forests to rush courthouses or markets either, as they're worth it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As for your economy, cottages are your best friend. Don't automate your workers, as they'll build more farms then you could ever need. Have them build cottages after you hook up your resources. Try to get your cities to work these cottages, as they'll expand and give you much needed money.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As for religion, do what the AI does and convert to the first one you get for the bonuses. Ideally this will be the one the most powerful Civ has, and will help keep them off your back. If it's not, switch to match the most powerful Civ when possible.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You're going to want to start building up your military throughout early game. Build walls in whatever chokepoint border cities you've set up, and guard them with multiple axemen if possible, archers if not. Axemen are great on offense and defense, so if you have copper in your borders, forgo archers altogether until the tech is really cheap.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]B. The First War[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Take the time to expand to three, four, or maybe even five cities (depending on your land and budget) and secure all the useful resources behind your chokepoints. At the same time, you should start to build a military. Once you've got your core cities up and running and have a sizable military, go on the offensive. Ideally you'll have catapults to start the war. As long as your enemy is still using archers when you start the war, you'll be fine. Overwhelming numbers is the key to victory here. Archers fall pretty easily to just axes and swords, and you can easily bring down long bowman and crossbowman with axemen, swordsmen, and catapults if it ever comes to that. Once the war starts, you produce exclusively military units until peace breaks out. While at war, you only produce units, and lots and lots of catapults.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Choose your victim carefully. Go for your most powerful direct neighbor. Not the top dog in the world, but the next step down. Ideally they'll have a good holy city or useful wonder like the Pyramids. You won't win the war right away, so make sure you can retain all the cities you capture. And do capture all of them, as the AI will just rebuild the ones you raze anyway, and you'll have to take them again. Only take weaker out cities until you have catapults. Once you do (or if you did from the start) go straight for the core of their empire, as once you destroy/capture their most productive area, they're totally crippled.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The war will not end quickly, and you should call for a cease fire (NOT peace treaties unless you get useful tech out of them) multiple times throughout to regain your strength. I often found myself taking one after I take a couple of weaker out cities and defeat their standing army, another after I take a couple of cores and/or the capital, and another during cleanup. You don't need catapults to take the outlying cities, but make sure you have them for your assault on the core cities. Use catapults to bombard defenses down to zero, then throw a few into a city to soften the defenders for your soldiers. Once you gain a noticeable upper hand, try to sue for tech. Wait for the turns to expire, and repeat until they are finished. It's fine if you run a huge deficit during the war, as taking cities nets you plenty of gold. But try to never let your research drop below 70% for prolonged periods. If you can't do this, you probably don't have enough cottages. Also, if you can exploit your unique unit during the war, then by all means do so. It's there so you can have an advantage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]C. The Endgame[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once your enemy is gone, solidify your new empire. The war should end well before gunpowder. Place what is left of your army on your new borders, and build infrastructure and culture. From here, you should be in good position for the rest of the game to pursue whatever strategy you like. You should be pretty close to the remaining Civs in tech, close enough to be in good shape to pursue whatever victory condition you like. From here, games play much like they do on lower difficulties. You'll end the war behind in tech, but with your new cities, you should be able to build up a sizable science base that will allow you to catch up and eventually surpass them.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With the cities you captured from your enemy, you'll easily have the resources necessary to win the game however you want. If you pursue Domination, remember to always use siege weapons to reduce any city's defenses to zero. If you pursue a Space Race, make sure you keep constant military pressure on your rivals. You don't need to be at war with them, but someone should. As long as the AI is on a war footing, it keeps their tech spending down. Remember that, and you'll be fine.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Good luck, and I hope this guide was useful.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]---[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Copyright 2006 Jonezee</French>
		<German>[H1]Getting Your First Win on Prince: A Guide and Tips[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Jonezee[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]I. A Guide for those who have trouble winning on prince.[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Just to be clear, this guide is written for those who are trying to make the jump from Noble to Prince, and hare having trouble compensating for the AI bonuses. I came here looking for a guide on this subject, and didn't find one.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I should also state that this guide is by no means an end all guide. Other strategies will work too. It's intended to provide you with useful experience you can use on Prince games on normal maps. The same strategies will work, but you'll have less control over the variables. That being said, on with the guide.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One thing above all else. Be more aggressive. Keep military pressure on other Civs to keep their research down.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This guide is geared towards getting your first win on Prince for those who have struggled with it. If you're anything like me when you tried to make the jump, you found yourself horribly behind in technology, and felt a financial squeeze when you tried expanding like you would on Noble. By getting your first win, you learn a whole bunch that can be applied in later games. And this guide should help you get the first one. By no means is this the only way to get a win. Just a method I had consistent success with.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]II. The Guide[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]A: The Early Game[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First, start up a custom game. Choose Pangaea, with high sea levels. This should give you some thin strips of land that will serve as chokepoints and thus make defense much easier. Go with three or four opponents. Whatever civilization you choose is up to you. The first time I used this strategy I went with random and got Victoria.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First, plop your settler down in the most advantageous place. Start building a warrior. Look at other guides regarding early moves for more help here. I went warrior-worker-building/wonder. Take your warrior and go exploring. Knowing the immediate lay of the land is incredibly important, as you need to discover any and all and nearby chokepoints, as you will be building cities here. Hooking up key resources like copper or horses should take first priority, but these are second. They'll serve as your defensive cities, and should block off the AI from land. You can build cities here straight away if you want.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you're lucky enough to stumble across an enemy civilization, and try finding a hill you can stand on top of, or a lake to look across to see if they have any defenders yet. If not, take them out. (You also can just march right into their territory to see, and reload if they have a defender, but some frown on that). But if you can, destroy them. They'll just be a problem later. And in this, you'll see a hint of what's necessary to win on higher difficulties: more aggression.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You can completely forget about trying to found any early religions. They aren't necessary. You should not focus on wonders either. Starting to build them is great. You'll want to get some, but ideally you'll get beat to the punch on a couple and should get a bunch of gold out of the deal (think of it like an early form of wealth). You'll be needing gold too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]But you do want at least one early wonder. I won my first game having only constructed Stonehenge. You'll want to try to get one of the cheap early wonders for the Great Person points. Prophets are the best, as super citizens they provide a solid financial and production boost. Again, forget about founding religions. They can be more trouble than they're worth. Once you've mastered Prince, you can try founding one, but don't do it while you're still new to it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As for your research, go straight for bronze working. It gives you a great early edge. You need to know where copper is ASAP. If you have some already in your borders, forget archery for awhile and build exclusively axemen. You also get the ability to chop forests for their hammers. Use this for rushing settlers, and your early wonder(s). Then go for the worker techs you need to exploit your resources. Then beeline to Alphabet. Alphabet will let you trade for techs, and you should be able to pick up a lot of the older, cheaper techs if you're the first to get Alphabet. After alphabet, the important techs are currency, code of laws, iron working, and construction. These give you money, and boost your military. Don't be shy about chopping forests to rush courthouses or markets either, as they're worth it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As for your economy, cottages are your best friend. Don't automate your workers, as they'll build more farms then you could ever need. Have them build cottages after you hook up your resources. Try to get your cities to work these cottages, as they'll expand and give you much needed money.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As for religion, do what the AI does and convert to the first one you get for the bonuses. Ideally this will be the one the most powerful Civ has, and will help keep them off your back. If it's not, switch to match the most powerful Civ when possible.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You're going to want to start building up your military throughout early game. Build walls in whatever chokepoint border cities you've set up, and guard them with multiple axemen if possible, archers if not. Axemen are great on offense and defense, so if you have copper in your borders, forgo archers altogether until the tech is really cheap.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]B. The First War[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Take the time to expand to three, four, or maybe even five cities (depending on your land and budget) and secure all the useful resources behind your chokepoints. At the same time, you should start to build a military. Once you've got your core cities up and running and have a sizable military, go on the offensive. Ideally you'll have catapults to start the war. As long as your enemy is still using archers when you start the war, you'll be fine. Overwhelming numbers is the key to victory here. Archers fall pretty easily to just axes and swords, and you can easily bring down long bowman and crossbowman with axemen, swordsmen, and catapults if it ever comes to that. Once the war starts, you produce exclusively military units until peace breaks out. While at war, you only produce units, and lots and lots of catapults.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Choose your victim carefully. Go for your most powerful direct neighbor. Not the top dog in the world, but the next step down. Ideally they'll have a good holy city or useful wonder like the Pyramids. You won't win the war right away, so make sure you can retain all the cities you capture. And do capture all of them, as the AI will just rebuild the ones you raze anyway, and you'll have to take them again. Only take weaker out cities until you have catapults. Once you do (or if you did from the start) go straight for the core of their empire, as once you destroy/capture their most productive area, they're totally crippled.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The war will not end quickly, and you should call for a cease fire (NOT peace treaties unless you get useful tech out of them) multiple times throughout to regain your strength. I often found myself taking one after I take a couple of weaker out cities and defeat their standing army, another after I take a couple of cores and/or the capital, and another during cleanup. You don't need catapults to take the outlying cities, but make sure you have them for your assault on the core cities. Use catapults to bombard defenses down to zero, then throw a few into a city to soften the defenders for your soldiers. Once you gain a noticeable upper hand, try to sue for tech. Wait for the turns to expire, and repeat until they are finished. It's fine if you run a huge deficit during the war, as taking cities nets you plenty of gold. But try to never let your research drop below 70% for prolonged periods. If you can't do this, you probably don't have enough cottages. Also, if you can exploit your unique unit during the war, then by all means do so. It's there so you can have an advantage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]C. The Endgame[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once your enemy is gone, solidify your new empire. The war should end well before gunpowder. Place what is left of your army on your new borders, and build infrastructure and culture. From here, you should be in good position for the rest of the game to pursue whatever strategy you like. You should be pretty close to the remaining Civs in tech, close enough to be in good shape to pursue whatever victory condition you like. From here, games play much like they do on lower difficulties. You'll end the war behind in tech, but with your new cities, you should be able to build up a sizable science base that will allow you to catch up and eventually surpass them.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With the cities you captured from your enemy, you'll easily have the resources necessary to win the game however you want. If you pursue Domination, remember to always use siege weapons to reduce any city's defenses to zero. If you pursue a Space Race, make sure you keep constant military pressure on your rivals. You don't need to be at war with them, but someone should. As long as the AI is on a war footing, it keeps their tech spending down. Remember that, and you'll be fine.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Good luck, and I hope this guide was useful.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]---[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Copyright 2006 Jonezee</German>
		<Italian>[H1]Getting Your First Win on Prince: A Guide and Tips[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Jonezee[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]I. A Guide for those who have trouble winning on prince.[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Just to be clear, this guide is written for those who are trying to make the jump from Noble to Prince, and hare having trouble compensating for the AI bonuses. I came here looking for a guide on this subject, and didn't find one.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I should also state that this guide is by no means an end all guide. Other strategies will work too. It's intended to provide you with useful experience you can use on Prince games on normal maps. The same strategies will work, but you'll have less control over the variables. That being said, on with the guide.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One thing above all else. Be more aggressive. Keep military pressure on other Civs to keep their research down.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This guide is geared towards getting your first win on Prince for those who have struggled with it. If you're anything like me when you tried to make the jump, you found yourself horribly behind in technology, and felt a financial squeeze when you tried expanding like you would on Noble. By getting your first win, you learn a whole bunch that can be applied in later games. And this guide should help you get the first one. By no means is this the only way to get a win. Just a method I had consistent success with.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]II. The Guide[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]A: The Early Game[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First, start up a custom game. Choose Pangaea, with high sea levels. This should give you some thin strips of land that will serve as chokepoints and thus make defense much easier. Go with three or four opponents. Whatever civilization you choose is up to you. The first time I used this strategy I went with random and got Victoria.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First, plop your settler down in the most advantageous place. Start building a warrior. Look at other guides regarding early moves for more help here. I went warrior-worker-building/wonder. Take your warrior and go exploring. Knowing the immediate lay of the land is incredibly important, as you need to discover any and all and nearby chokepoints, as you will be building cities here. Hooking up key resources like copper or horses should take first priority, but these are second. They'll serve as your defensive cities, and should block off the AI from land. You can build cities here straight away if you want.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you're lucky enough to stumble across an enemy civilization, and try finding a hill you can stand on top of, or a lake to look across to see if they have any defenders yet. If not, take them out. (You also can just march right into their territory to see, and reload if they have a defender, but some frown on that). But if you can, destroy them. They'll just be a problem later. And in this, you'll see a hint of what's necessary to win on higher difficulties: more aggression.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You can completely forget about trying to found any early religions. They aren't necessary. You should not focus on wonders either. Starting to build them is great. You'll want to get some, but ideally you'll get beat to the punch on a couple and should get a bunch of gold out of the deal (think of it like an early form of wealth). You'll be needing gold too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]But you do want at least one early wonder. I won my first game having only constructed Stonehenge. You'll want to try to get one of the cheap early wonders for the Great Person points. Prophets are the best, as super citizens they provide a solid financial and production boost. Again, forget about founding religions. They can be more trouble than they're worth. Once you've mastered Prince, you can try founding one, but don't do it while you're still new to it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As for your research, go straight for bronze working. It gives you a great early edge. You need to know where copper is ASAP. If you have some already in your borders, forget archery for awhile and build exclusively axemen. You also get the ability to chop forests for their hammers. Use this for rushing settlers, and your early wonder(s). Then go for the worker techs you need to exploit your resources. Then beeline to Alphabet. Alphabet will let you trade for techs, and you should be able to pick up a lot of the older, cheaper techs if you're the first to get Alphabet. After alphabet, the important techs are currency, code of laws, iron working, and construction. These give you money, and boost your military. Don't be shy about chopping forests to rush courthouses or markets either, as they're worth it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As for your economy, cottages are your best friend. Don't automate your workers, as they'll build more farms then you could ever need. Have them build cottages after you hook up your resources. Try to get your cities to work these cottages, as they'll expand and give you much needed money.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As for religion, do what the AI does and convert to the first one you get for the bonuses. Ideally this will be the one the most powerful Civ has, and will help keep them off your back. If it's not, switch to match the most powerful Civ when possible.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You're going to want to start building up your military throughout early game. Build walls in whatever chokepoint border cities you've set up, and guard them with multiple axemen if possible, archers if not. Axemen are great on offense and defense, so if you have copper in your borders, forgo archers altogether until the tech is really cheap.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]B. The First War[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Take the time to expand to three, four, or maybe even five cities (depending on your land and budget) and secure all the useful resources behind your chokepoints. At the same time, you should start to build a military. Once you've got your core cities up and running and have a sizable military, go on the offensive. Ideally you'll have catapults to start the war. As long as your enemy is still using archers when you start the war, you'll be fine. Overwhelming numbers is the key to victory here. Archers fall pretty easily to just axes and swords, and you can easily bring down long bowman and crossbowman with axemen, swordsmen, and catapults if it ever comes to that. Once the war starts, you produce exclusively military units until peace breaks out. While at war, you only produce units, and lots and lots of catapults.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Choose your victim carefully. Go for your most powerful direct neighbor. Not the top dog in the world, but the next step down. Ideally they'll have a good holy city or useful wonder like the Pyramids. You won't win the war right away, so make sure you can retain all the cities you capture. And do capture all of them, as the AI will just rebuild the ones you raze anyway, and you'll have to take them again. Only take weaker out cities until you have catapults. Once you do (or if you did from the start) go straight for the core of their empire, as once you destroy/capture their most productive area, they're totally crippled.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The war will not end quickly, and you should call for a cease fire (NOT peace treaties unless you get useful tech out of them) multiple times throughout to regain your strength. I often found myself taking one after I take a couple of weaker out cities and defeat their standing army, another after I take a couple of cores and/or the capital, and another during cleanup. You don't need catapults to take the outlying cities, but make sure you have them for your assault on the core cities. Use catapults to bombard defenses down to zero, then throw a few into a city to soften the defenders for your soldiers. Once you gain a noticeable upper hand, try to sue for tech. Wait for the turns to expire, and repeat until they are finished. It's fine if you run a huge deficit during the war, as taking cities nets you plenty of gold. But try to never let your research drop below 70% for prolonged periods. If you can't do this, you probably don't have enough cottages. Also, if you can exploit your unique unit during the war, then by all means do so. It's there so you can have an advantage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]C. The Endgame[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once your enemy is gone, solidify your new empire. The war should end well before gunpowder. Place what is left of your army on your new borders, and build infrastructure and culture. From here, you should be in good position for the rest of the game to pursue whatever strategy you like. You should be pretty close to the remaining Civs in tech, close enough to be in good shape to pursue whatever victory condition you like. From here, games play much like they do on lower difficulties. You'll end the war behind in tech, but with your new cities, you should be able to build up a sizable science base that will allow you to catch up and eventually surpass them.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With the cities you captured from your enemy, you'll easily have the resources necessary to win the game however you want. If you pursue Domination, remember to always use siege weapons to reduce any city's defenses to zero. If you pursue a Space Race, make sure you keep constant military pressure on your rivals. You don't need to be at war with them, but someone should. As long as the AI is on a war footing, it keeps their tech spending down. Remember that, and you'll be fine.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Good luck, and I hope this guide was useful.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]---[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Copyright 2006 Jonezee</Italian>
		<Spanish>[H1]Getting Your First Win on Prince: A Guide and Tips[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Jonezee[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]I. A Guide for those who have trouble winning on prince.[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Just to be clear, this guide is written for those who are trying to make the jump from Noble to Prince, and hare having trouble compensating for the AI bonuses. I came here looking for a guide on this subject, and didn't find one.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I should also state that this guide is by no means an end all guide. Other strategies will work too. It's intended to provide you with useful experience you can use on Prince games on normal maps. The same strategies will work, but you'll have less control over the variables. That being said, on with the guide.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One thing above all else. Be more aggressive. Keep military pressure on other Civs to keep their research down.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This guide is geared towards getting your first win on Prince for those who have struggled with it. If you're anything like me when you tried to make the jump, you found yourself horribly behind in technology, and felt a financial squeeze when you tried expanding like you would on Noble. By getting your first win, you learn a whole bunch that can be applied in later games. And this guide should help you get the first one. By no means is this the only way to get a win. Just a method I had consistent success with.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]II. The Guide[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]A: The Early Game[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First, start up a custom game. Choose Pangaea, with high sea levels. This should give you some thin strips of land that will serve as chokepoints and thus make defense much easier. Go with three or four opponents. Whatever civilization you choose is up to you. The first time I used this strategy I went with random and got Victoria.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First, plop your settler down in the most advantageous place. Start building a warrior. Look at other guides regarding early moves for more help here. I went warrior-worker-building/wonder. Take your warrior and go exploring. Knowing the immediate lay of the land is incredibly important, as you need to discover any and all and nearby chokepoints, as you will be building cities here. Hooking up key resources like copper or horses should take first priority, but these are second. They'll serve as your defensive cities, and should block off the AI from land. You can build cities here straight away if you want.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you're lucky enough to stumble across an enemy civilization, and try finding a hill you can stand on top of, or a lake to look across to see if they have any defenders yet. If not, take them out. (You also can just march right into their territory to see, and reload if they have a defender, but some frown on that). But if you can, destroy them. They'll just be a problem later. And in this, you'll see a hint of what's necessary to win on higher difficulties: more aggression.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You can completely forget about trying to found any early religions. They aren't necessary. You should not focus on wonders either. Starting to build them is great. You'll want to get some, but ideally you'll get beat to the punch on a couple and should get a bunch of gold out of the deal (think of it like an early form of wealth). You'll be needing gold too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]But you do want at least one early wonder. I won my first game having only constructed Stonehenge. You'll want to try to get one of the cheap early wonders for the Great Person points. Prophets are the best, as super citizens they provide a solid financial and production boost. Again, forget about founding religions. They can be more trouble than they're worth. Once you've mastered Prince, you can try founding one, but don't do it while you're still new to it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As for your research, go straight for bronze working. It gives you a great early edge. You need to know where copper is ASAP. If you have some already in your borders, forget archery for awhile and build exclusively axemen. You also get the ability to chop forests for their hammers. Use this for rushing settlers, and your early wonder(s). Then go for the worker techs you need to exploit your resources. Then beeline to Alphabet. Alphabet will let you trade for techs, and you should be able to pick up a lot of the older, cheaper techs if you're the first to get Alphabet. After alphabet, the important techs are currency, code of laws, iron working, and construction. These give you money, and boost your military. Don't be shy about chopping forests to rush courthouses or markets either, as they're worth it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As for your economy, cottages are your best friend. Don't automate your workers, as they'll build more farms then you could ever need. Have them build cottages after you hook up your resources. Try to get your cities to work these cottages, as they'll expand and give you much needed money.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As for religion, do what the AI does and convert to the first one you get for the bonuses. Ideally this will be the one the most powerful Civ has, and will help keep them off your back. If it's not, switch to match the most powerful Civ when possible.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You're going to want to start building up your military throughout early game. Build walls in whatever chokepoint border cities you've set up, and guard them with multiple axemen if possible, archers if not. Axemen are great on offense and defense, so if you have copper in your borders, forgo archers altogether until the tech is really cheap.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]B. The First War[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Take the time to expand to three, four, or maybe even five cities (depending on your land and budget) and secure all the useful resources behind your chokepoints. At the same time, you should start to build a military. Once you've got your core cities up and running and have a sizable military, go on the offensive. Ideally you'll have catapults to start the war. As long as your enemy is still using archers when you start the war, you'll be fine. Overwhelming numbers is the key to victory here. Archers fall pretty easily to just axes and swords, and you can easily bring down long bowman and crossbowman with axemen, swordsmen, and catapults if it ever comes to that. Once the war starts, you produce exclusively military units until peace breaks out. While at war, you only produce units, and lots and lots of catapults.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Choose your victim carefully. Go for your most powerful direct neighbor. Not the top dog in the world, but the next step down. Ideally they'll have a good holy city or useful wonder like the Pyramids. You won't win the war right away, so make sure you can retain all the cities you capture. And do capture all of them, as the AI will just rebuild the ones you raze anyway, and you'll have to take them again. Only take weaker out cities until you have catapults. Once you do (or if you did from the start) go straight for the core of their empire, as once you destroy/capture their most productive area, they're totally crippled.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The war will not end quickly, and you should call for a cease fire (NOT peace treaties unless you get useful tech out of them) multiple times throughout to regain your strength. I often found myself taking one after I take a couple of weaker out cities and defeat their standing army, another after I take a couple of cores and/or the capital, and another during cleanup. You don't need catapults to take the outlying cities, but make sure you have them for your assault on the core cities. Use catapults to bombard defenses down to zero, then throw a few into a city to soften the defenders for your soldiers. Once you gain a noticeable upper hand, try to sue for tech. Wait for the turns to expire, and repeat until they are finished. It's fine if you run a huge deficit during the war, as taking cities nets you plenty of gold. But try to never let your research drop below 70% for prolonged periods. If you can't do this, you probably don't have enough cottages. Also, if you can exploit your unique unit during the war, then by all means do so. It's there so you can have an advantage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]C. The Endgame[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once your enemy is gone, solidify your new empire. The war should end well before gunpowder. Place what is left of your army on your new borders, and build infrastructure and culture. From here, you should be in good position for the rest of the game to pursue whatever strategy you like. You should be pretty close to the remaining Civs in tech, close enough to be in good shape to pursue whatever victory condition you like. From here, games play much like they do on lower difficulties. You'll end the war behind in tech, but with your new cities, you should be able to build up a sizable science base that will allow you to catch up and eventually surpass them.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With the cities you captured from your enemy, you'll easily have the resources necessary to win the game however you want. If you pursue Domination, remember to always use siege weapons to reduce any city's defenses to zero. If you pursue a Space Race, make sure you keep constant military pressure on your rivals. You don't need to be at war with them, but someone should. As long as the AI is on a war footing, it keeps their tech spending down. Remember that, and you'll be fine.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Good luck, and I hope this guide was useful.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]---[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Copyright 2006 Jonezee</Spanish>
	</TEXT>
	<TEXT>
		<Tag>TXT_KEY_STRATEGY_MONARCH_DIFFICULTY_PEDIA</Tag>
		<English>[H1]Monarch Strategy -- Condensed[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]eben[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Ok, I'm feeling all validated from the quick responses to my new threads (I'm new to the forum) so I've decided to try something a bit more extensive. I spent the entire day at work yesterday working my way through all 14 pages of this forum and gleaned everything I could pertaining to monarch- or similar-level games. (you can tell how much my job motivates me. fortunately my boss is in another city). the results are below, with a focus on the early game and a special mention for cultural victories. all of this material is entirely other people's...I came up with nothing on my own, I only interpreted it. I'd love to hear feedback, critiques or rants.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]1. Early expansion[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]2. City planning[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]3. Early wonders[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]4. Religion spread[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]5. Diplomacy[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]6. Island games[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]7. Cultural victories[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]BONUS: the Killer Kremlin[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]1. Early expansion[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One no-brainer here is forest chopping. I don't think anyone will dispute that at Monarch and higher some chopping is necessary. The big decision is how far to take it: go for the big land grab and end up with a lot of tiny cities and high maintenance cost, or stop after setting up a core 3 to 4 and concentrate on building your heavy-hitting cities. I found that chopping heavily with 2 to 3 workers per city until 3 or 4 good starting locations are settled worked extremely well. I saved a few forests for wonders, and because I chopped them in my core cities I was able to start out with a very strong triumvirate of production, commerce and Great Person farming. The one thing to prioritize, of course, is resources. If you're going to stay relatively small at the beginning, you need bronze or preferably iron for expanding further into enemy territory when your economy and production's going. Stone and marble make a huge difference as well, as they usually determine whether you'll go for the early wonders or not.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once the core cities are in place, I prefer to settle 2 to 3 more in an "outer ring", leaving room for further cities in the middle. This way you push the borders out as far as possible and then back-fill the space that's left. This is assuming an ideal starting area--it rarely pans out exactly that way. I rarely chop rush expansion at this stage, but will if I'm racing for a critical spot. Maintenance cost is the decision-maker here. I believe it's a judgment call, based on where your tech is at and how well you need to defend your border cities. If your army is significantly weaker or out-dated compared to the enemies on the border, holding back is probably wiser until you have a stronger military/tech position.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]2. City Planning[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The biggest thing I learned from all my post-crawling is the value of specializing cities. I believe a good general ratio is: 1 GP farm, 2 production cities, 3 commerce cities. The GP farm needs heaps of food to allow for specialists, and ideally a couple of hills to allow ongoing production--little else. Production cities should have several mined hills and enough farms to keep them going. Commerce cities focus on cottages, of course--ideally on tiles that already have a commerce point if you're a Financial civ. I like to lay out enough farms to keep the food level at +3.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once you've decided on these, build national and great wonders in them accordingly. Add great people to boost finance and research (and culture, if you're playing for that victory). Use great engineers to build wonders.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]3. Early Wonders[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It's all about stone and marble. If you don't have either of these, the value of building early wonders at this difficulty level becomes questionable. Conversely, if you have both, you're set for some big advantages.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Stonehenge is so easy to get, even without stone, it's crazy to pass up. The AI doesn't seem to make it a big priority, but it's invaluable in blocking off your territory and keeping the expanding enemy at bay. It also means you can access the juicy land tiles in your newest cities very early, without having to spend time on obelisks; this is a big, big advantage in those last-built, vulnerable border towns.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you have stone, the Pyramids are hard to pass up, even with a lot of chopping. I always save forest for this, as it's big and easy to lose to the AI. The benefit of switching to Representation once you get it is huge: the added happiness means your core cities will grow unimpeded throughout the early game, allowing you to beef up production and, consequently, research and military. The added science bonus for specialists (and you should have some in your GP farm by now) also goes a long way to gaining a strong tech foothold. If you manage the Great Library down the road, and/or the Mercantilism civic, it really takes off.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Finally, another favorite is the Oracle. Marble makes it easy to build in your production city, hopefully with a few forests to chop held for the occasion. Oracle gives you a free tech and, depending on where your opponents' tech is at, possibly the founding of a religion. You're given the opportunity to choose the most expensive bonus tech as well, so you can't lose.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In my last game I managed to build all three of these before I settled my third city. I was extremely lucky, and had marble and stone close by. I started alone on an island, so this might have something to do with it (I believe the AI compensates you for island starts with better starting resources/map tiles). I was wary of sacrificing so much expansion to building these, but the results more than paid off. By the time the other civs found my island, I was in first place.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]4. Religion Spread[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Spreading religion is good for a bunch of reasons:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]If you found your own, it means big money. even if you didn't, you may capture a holy city (or two, or more!) and still get the cash bonus.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Diplomacy! alliances almost always stack up along religious lines, so plan to be pals with at least one of the strongest opponents. Switching religions to match an opponent is painless if you spread it first to all your own cities, and they'll love you for it.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Espionage: successful missionaries provide a view of the city's forces and the surrounding area. (they may also allow you to view the city screen--I've actually forgotten to try this! somebody help me out, here).[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Culture: spreading three religions within your borders is key to a cultural win (see the Cultural Win section below).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]5. Diplomacy[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There aren't a lot of surprises here. Align your religion with the heavy hitters, keep trades going continuously (even at a loss), give them what they want in tribute as often as you can (without giving away important techs) and try to build up a heavy cash reserve for instigating wars and other deviousness. My impression is that a diplomatic victory at monarch or higher is extremely difficult, but I'm starting a thread on this to find out.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]6. Island Games[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I used to restart whenever I found myself alone on an island. No more. Being alone on an island gives you two big advantages: you don't have to spend money or research on military, other than to defend against and eventually conquer the barbarians, and you don't need to expand quickly. I didn't realize how advantageous it is to expand slowly until I tried it. It means you can keep your tech level at 70-80% until your entire island is filled. This goes a long way in making up for the lack of early tech trading.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The disadvantages are (as I just mentioned) a total lack of early tech and resource trading with the AI players, and hitting a brick wall expansion-wise when your island's filled.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For these two reasons, I think islands are custom-made for cultural wins. You can specialize your technology to focus on culture, civics and key wonder building since you don't need any military defense, and you don't need to be a contender in the tech race since you'll switch to 90-100% culture 2/3rds of the way through anyway. Which brings us to the next section:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]7. Cultural Victories[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I didn't think cultural victories were even feasible at higher levels, and had no idea how fun they are to play until I came across an excellent post on the strategy behind them. Sorry to the author...you deserve heaps of credit for this one. In a nutshell:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Plan on having nine cities or more. some can be crap. more on this later.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Go for Drama early so you can start out with theatres quickly for a big long-running bonus.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET] Gear at least one GP farm to spit out almost nothing but great artists (building 1 or 2 appropriate wonders there will accomplish this).[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET] Choose three cities from the beginning that will be your cultural winners, and build national/great wonders to maximize their culture. My three winning cities were production, commerce and GP-oriented, respectively. My GP farm had heaps of cultural specialists--you need the specialists here anyway to pump up the GP output. My production city built wonders to raise the culture rating, and I money-rushed and great-engineer-rushed wonders in my commerce city to raise ITS culture rating.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET] Join a few great artists to your culture cities early on to even out the rate at which they climb, but hold back at least half a dozen or so for endgame culture-bombs. They provide less culture overall, but it's not always easy to predict which cities will need the boost.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET] Spread at least two other non-state religions to all 9 cities. there is an "advanced" religious building for each religion that gives a 50% bonus to a city's culture. the trick is that you can build 1 for every 3 temples of the corresponding religion you own. This is why 9 cities are optimal. 12 is likely too high in maintenance. A couple of the nine can be paltry, and settled late. All they really need to do is build a temple! Nine temples of each religion will allow you to build all three advanced religious buildings in each of your cultural cities.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET] Once you get to riflemen, set your research to 0% (or 10%, if you have to) and max out the culture. If you're at a decent spot in the tech race, by the time the AI players have infantry and tanks it will be too late. If you're on an island, it's even safer. Build wealth in as many of your other cities as is feasible to help keep the culture slider high.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This formula worked perfectly for me in an island start on monarch. I finished around 1950AD, while the AI was still several big pieces away from finishing the spaceship. A couple of the weaker AIs attacked me, but I easily repelled their landing parties until I could sue for peace. (Interestingly, the only civs to declare war on me were Jewish and I was the founder of Islam. Coincidence?). The biggest problems I had were gearing the GP farm to spit out only great artists (there were a few scientists, prophets and engineers before I could get a culture-generating wonder built there), and my inability to spread non-state religions until the other civs found me.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Elizabeth is tailor-made for a cultural win. Financial means you can get the techs you need at a decent rate and get massive culture when you max out the slider in the endgame. Philosophical means heaps of great artists (and other GPs to ramp up the tech level and rush cultural wonders). And her UU is redcoat (rifleman). Perfect--it's the last and best unit you need![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I really loved playing a game with minimal war and no ulcers over the mid to late game tech race. It was fast because there were no military units and wars to contend with, and it wasn't boring because the building, research and GP placement is so strategic. The score is abysmal--because you stop researching 2/3rds of the way through the game--but there's nothing wrong with being the underdog![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]BONUS: The Killer Kremlin[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I had to include this in the post, just because it sounded so cool. I've never tried it, but the original poster used it consistently on Emperor level.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Make a bee-line for Communism as soon as you can. Make sure your bank account's fat by the time you get there (keep the slider down a bit the last few turns to make sure you have heaps of money when you get the tech). Rush the Kremlin when you get it, and set your research to 0% the next turn. Set all your cities to start building financial buildings, and on the following turn rush those too, taking advantage of the new cheaper cost. Keep the tech slider at 0% for as long as you're comfortable to maximize your cash and buy, buy, buy![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, that's my epic. I'd love to hear feedback on it, and anything critical I may have missed. Hope you enjoyed it!</English>
		<French>[H1]Monarch Strategy -- Condensed[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]eben[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Ok, I'm feeling all validated from the quick responses to my new threads (I'm new to the forum) so I've decided to try something a bit more extensive. I spent the entire day at work yesterday working my way through all 14 pages of this forum and gleaned everything I could pertaining to monarch- or similar-level games. (you can tell how much my job motivates me. fortunately my boss is in another city). the results are below, with a focus on the early game and a special mention for cultural victories. all of this material is entirely other people's...I came up with nothing on my own, I only interpreted it. I'd love to hear feedback, critiques or rants.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]1. Early expansion[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]2. City planning[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]3. Early wonders[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]4. Religion spread[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]5. Diplomacy[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]6. Island games[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]7. Cultural victories[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]BONUS: the Killer Kremlin[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]1. Early expansion[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One no-brainer here is forest chopping. I don't think anyone will dispute that at Monarch and higher some chopping is necessary. The big decision is how far to take it: go for the big land grab and end up with a lot of tiny cities and high maintenance cost, or stop after setting up a core 3 to 4 and concentrate on building your heavy-hitting cities. I found that chopping heavily with 2 to 3 workers per city until 3 or 4 good starting locations are settled worked extremely well. I saved a few forests for wonders, and because I chopped them in my core cities I was able to start out with a very strong triumvirate of production, commerce and Great Person farming. The one thing to prioritize, of course, is resources. If you're going to stay relatively small at the beginning, you need bronze or preferably iron for expanding further into enemy territory when your economy and production's going. Stone and marble make a huge difference as well, as they usually determine whether you'll go for the early wonders or not.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once the core cities are in place, I prefer to settle 2 to 3 more in an "outer ring", leaving room for further cities in the middle. This way you push the borders out as far as possible and then back-fill the space that's left. This is assuming an ideal starting area--it rarely pans out exactly that way. I rarely chop rush expansion at this stage, but will if I'm racing for a critical spot. Maintenance cost is the decision-maker here. I believe it's a judgment call, based on where your tech is at and how well you need to defend your border cities. If your army is significantly weaker or out-dated compared to the enemies on the border, holding back is probably wiser until you have a stronger military/tech position.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]2. City Planning[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The biggest thing I learned from all my post-crawling is the value of specializing cities. I believe a good general ratio is: 1 GP farm, 2 production cities, 3 commerce cities. The GP farm needs heaps of food to allow for specialists, and ideally a couple of hills to allow ongoing production--little else. Production cities should have several mined hills and enough farms to keep them going. Commerce cities focus on cottages, of course--ideally on tiles that already have a commerce point if you're a Financial civ. I like to lay out enough farms to keep the food level at +3.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once you've decided on these, build national and great wonders in them accordingly. Add great people to boost finance and research (and culture, if you're playing for that victory). Use great engineers to build wonders.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]3. Early Wonders[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It's all about stone and marble. If you don't have either of these, the value of building early wonders at this difficulty level becomes questionable. Conversely, if you have both, you're set for some big advantages.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Stonehenge is so easy to get, even without stone, it's crazy to pass up. The AI doesn't seem to make it a big priority, but it's invaluable in blocking off your territory and keeping the expanding enemy at bay. It also means you can access the juicy land tiles in your newest cities very early, without having to spend time on obelisks; this is a big, big advantage in those last-built, vulnerable border towns.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you have stone, the Pyramids are hard to pass up, even with a lot of chopping. I always save forest for this, as it's big and easy to lose to the AI. The benefit of switching to Representation once you get it is huge: the added happiness means your core cities will grow unimpeded throughout the early game, allowing you to beef up production and, consequently, research and military. The added science bonus for specialists (and you should have some in your GP farm by now) also goes a long way to gaining a strong tech foothold. If you manage the Great Library down the road, and/or the Mercantilism civic, it really takes off.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Finally, another favorite is the Oracle. Marble makes it easy to build in your production city, hopefully with a few forests to chop held for the occasion. Oracle gives you a free tech and, depending on where your opponents' tech is at, possibly the founding of a religion. You're given the opportunity to choose the most expensive bonus tech as well, so you can't lose.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In my last game I managed to build all three of these before I settled my third city. I was extremely lucky, and had marble and stone close by. I started alone on an island, so this might have something to do with it (I believe the AI compensates you for island starts with better starting resources/map tiles). I was wary of sacrificing so much expansion to building these, but the results more than paid off. By the time the other civs found my island, I was in first place.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]4. Religion Spread[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Spreading religion is good for a bunch of reasons:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]If you found your own, it means big money. even if you didn't, you may capture a holy city (or two, or more!) and still get the cash bonus.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Diplomacy! alliances almost always stack up along religious lines, so plan to be pals with at least one of the strongest opponents. Switching religions to match an opponent is painless if you spread it first to all your own cities, and they'll love you for it.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Espionage: successful missionaries provide a view of the city's forces and the surrounding area. (they may also allow you to view the city screen--I've actually forgotten to try this! somebody help me out, here).[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Culture: spreading three religions within your borders is key to a cultural win (see the Cultural Win section below).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]5. Diplomacy[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There aren't a lot of surprises here. Align your religion with the heavy hitters, keep trades going continuously (even at a loss), give them what they want in tribute as often as you can (without giving away important techs) and try to build up a heavy cash reserve for instigating wars and other deviousness. My impression is that a diplomatic victory at monarch or higher is extremely difficult, but I'm starting a thread on this to find out.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]6. Island Games[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I used to restart whenever I found myself alone on an island. No more. Being alone on an island gives you two big advantages: you don't have to spend money or research on military, other than to defend against and eventually conquer the barbarians, and you don't need to expand quickly. I didn't realize how advantageous it is to expand slowly until I tried it. It means you can keep your tech level at 70-80% until your entire island is filled. This goes a long way in making up for the lack of early tech trading.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The disadvantages are (as I just mentioned) a total lack of early tech and resource trading with the AI players, and hitting a brick wall expansion-wise when your island's filled.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For these two reasons, I think islands are custom-made for cultural wins. You can specialize your technology to focus on culture, civics and key wonder building since you don't need any military defense, and you don't need to be a contender in the tech race since you'll switch to 90-100% culture 2/3rds of the way through anyway. Which brings us to the next section:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]7. Cultural Victories[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I didn't think cultural victories were even feasible at higher levels, and had no idea how fun they are to play until I came across an excellent post on the strategy behind them. Sorry to the author...you deserve heaps of credit for this one. In a nutshell:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Plan on having nine cities or more. some can be crap. more on this later.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Go for Drama early so you can start out with theatres quickly for a big long-running bonus.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET] Gear at least one GP farm to spit out almost nothing but great artists (building 1 or 2 appropriate wonders there will accomplish this).[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET] Choose three cities from the beginning that will be your cultural winners, and build national/great wonders to maximize their culture. My three winning cities were production, commerce and GP-oriented, respectively. My GP farm had heaps of cultural specialists--you need the specialists here anyway to pump up the GP output. My production city built wonders to raise the culture rating, and I money-rushed and great-engineer-rushed wonders in my commerce city to raise ITS culture rating.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET] Join a few great artists to your culture cities early on to even out the rate at which they climb, but hold back at least half a dozen or so for endgame culture-bombs. They provide less culture overall, but it's not always easy to predict which cities will need the boost.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET] Spread at least two other non-state religions to all 9 cities. there is an "advanced" religious building for each religion that gives a 50% bonus to a city's culture. the trick is that you can build 1 for every 3 temples of the corresponding religion you own. This is why 9 cities are optimal. 12 is likely too high in maintenance. A couple of the nine can be paltry, and settled late. All they really need to do is build a temple! Nine temples of each religion will allow you to build all three advanced religious buildings in each of your cultural cities.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET] Once you get to riflemen, set your research to 0% (or 10%, if you have to) and max out the culture. If you're at a decent spot in the tech race, by the time the AI players have infantry and tanks it will be too late. If you're on an island, it's even safer. Build wealth in as many of your other cities as is feasible to help keep the culture slider high.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This formula worked perfectly for me in an island start on monarch. I finished around 1950AD, while the AI was still several big pieces away from finishing the spaceship. A couple of the weaker AIs attacked me, but I easily repelled their landing parties until I could sue for peace. (Interestingly, the only civs to declare war on me were Jewish and I was the founder of Islam. Coincidence?). The biggest problems I had were gearing the GP farm to spit out only great artists (there were a few scientists, prophets and engineers before I could get a culture-generating wonder built there), and my inability to spread non-state religions until the other civs found me.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Elizabeth is tailor-made for a cultural win. Financial means you can get the techs you need at a decent rate and get massive culture when you max out the slider in the endgame. Philosophical means heaps of great artists (and other GPs to ramp up the tech level and rush cultural wonders). And her UU is redcoat (rifleman). Perfect--it's the last and best unit you need![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I really loved playing a game with minimal war and no ulcers over the mid to late game tech race. It was fast because there were no military units and wars to contend with, and it wasn't boring because the building, research and GP placement is so strategic. The score is abysmal--because you stop researching 2/3rds of the way through the game--but there's nothing wrong with being the underdog![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]BONUS: The Killer Kremlin[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I had to include this in the post, just because it sounded so cool. I've never tried it, but the original poster used it consistently on Emperor level.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Make a bee-line for Communism as soon as you can. Make sure your bank account's fat by the time you get there (keep the slider down a bit the last few turns to make sure you have heaps of money when you get the tech). Rush the Kremlin when you get it, and set your research to 0% the next turn. Set all your cities to start building financial buildings, and on the following turn rush those too, taking advantage of the new cheaper cost. Keep the tech slider at 0% for as long as you're comfortable to maximize your cash and buy, buy, buy![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, that's my epic. I'd love to hear feedback on it, and anything critical I may have missed. Hope you enjoyed it!</French>
		<German>[H1]Monarch Strategy -- Condensed[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]eben[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Ok, I'm feeling all validated from the quick responses to my new threads (I'm new to the forum) so I've decided to try something a bit more extensive. I spent the entire day at work yesterday working my way through all 14 pages of this forum and gleaned everything I could pertaining to monarch- or similar-level games. (you can tell how much my job motivates me. fortunately my boss is in another city). the results are below, with a focus on the early game and a special mention for cultural victories. all of this material is entirely other people's...I came up with nothing on my own, I only interpreted it. I'd love to hear feedback, critiques or rants.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]1. Early expansion[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]2. City planning[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]3. Early wonders[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]4. Religion spread[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]5. Diplomacy[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]6. Island games[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]7. Cultural victories[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]BONUS: the Killer Kremlin[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]1. Early expansion[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One no-brainer here is forest chopping. I don't think anyone will dispute that at Monarch and higher some chopping is necessary. The big decision is how far to take it: go for the big land grab and end up with a lot of tiny cities and high maintenance cost, or stop after setting up a core 3 to 4 and concentrate on building your heavy-hitting cities. I found that chopping heavily with 2 to 3 workers per city until 3 or 4 good starting locations are settled worked extremely well. I saved a few forests for wonders, and because I chopped them in my core cities I was able to start out with a very strong triumvirate of production, commerce and Great Person farming. The one thing to prioritize, of course, is resources. If you're going to stay relatively small at the beginning, you need bronze or preferably iron for expanding further into enemy territory when your economy and production's going. Stone and marble make a huge difference as well, as they usually determine whether you'll go for the early wonders or not.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once the core cities are in place, I prefer to settle 2 to 3 more in an "outer ring", leaving room for further cities in the middle. This way you push the borders out as far as possible and then back-fill the space that's left. This is assuming an ideal starting area--it rarely pans out exactly that way. I rarely chop rush expansion at this stage, but will if I'm racing for a critical spot. Maintenance cost is the decision-maker here. I believe it's a judgment call, based on where your tech is at and how well you need to defend your border cities. If your army is significantly weaker or out-dated compared to the enemies on the border, holding back is probably wiser until you have a stronger military/tech position.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]2. City Planning[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The biggest thing I learned from all my post-crawling is the value of specializing cities. I believe a good general ratio is: 1 GP farm, 2 production cities, 3 commerce cities. The GP farm needs heaps of food to allow for specialists, and ideally a couple of hills to allow ongoing production--little else. Production cities should have several mined hills and enough farms to keep them going. Commerce cities focus on cottages, of course--ideally on tiles that already have a commerce point if you're a Financial civ. I like to lay out enough farms to keep the food level at +3.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once you've decided on these, build national and great wonders in them accordingly. Add great people to boost finance and research (and culture, if you're playing for that victory). Use great engineers to build wonders.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]3. Early Wonders[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It's all about stone and marble. If you don't have either of these, the value of building early wonders at this difficulty level becomes questionable. Conversely, if you have both, you're set for some big advantages.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Stonehenge is so easy to get, even without stone, it's crazy to pass up. The AI doesn't seem to make it a big priority, but it's invaluable in blocking off your territory and keeping the expanding enemy at bay. It also means you can access the juicy land tiles in your newest cities very early, without having to spend time on obelisks; this is a big, big advantage in those last-built, vulnerable border towns.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you have stone, the Pyramids are hard to pass up, even with a lot of chopping. I always save forest for this, as it's big and easy to lose to the AI. The benefit of switching to Representation once you get it is huge: the added happiness means your core cities will grow unimpeded throughout the early game, allowing you to beef up production and, consequently, research and military. The added science bonus for specialists (and you should have some in your GP farm by now) also goes a long way to gaining a strong tech foothold. If you manage the Great Library down the road, and/or the Mercantilism civic, it really takes off.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Finally, another favorite is the Oracle. Marble makes it easy to build in your production city, hopefully with a few forests to chop held for the occasion. Oracle gives you a free tech and, depending on where your opponents' tech is at, possibly the founding of a religion. You're given the opportunity to choose the most expensive bonus tech as well, so you can't lose.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In my last game I managed to build all three of these before I settled my third city. I was extremely lucky, and had marble and stone close by. I started alone on an island, so this might have something to do with it (I believe the AI compensates you for island starts with better starting resources/map tiles). I was wary of sacrificing so much expansion to building these, but the results more than paid off. By the time the other civs found my island, I was in first place.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]4. Religion Spread[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Spreading religion is good for a bunch of reasons:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]If you found your own, it means big money. even if you didn't, you may capture a holy city (or two, or more!) and still get the cash bonus.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Diplomacy! alliances almost always stack up along religious lines, so plan to be pals with at least one of the strongest opponents. Switching religions to match an opponent is painless if you spread it first to all your own cities, and they'll love you for it.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Espionage: successful missionaries provide a view of the city's forces and the surrounding area. (they may also allow you to view the city screen--I've actually forgotten to try this! somebody help me out, here).[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Culture: spreading three religions within your borders is key to a cultural win (see the Cultural Win section below).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]5. Diplomacy[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There aren't a lot of surprises here. Align your religion with the heavy hitters, keep trades going continuously (even at a loss), give them what they want in tribute as often as you can (without giving away important techs) and try to build up a heavy cash reserve for instigating wars and other deviousness. My impression is that a diplomatic victory at monarch or higher is extremely difficult, but I'm starting a thread on this to find out.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]6. Island Games[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I used to restart whenever I found myself alone on an island. No more. Being alone on an island gives you two big advantages: you don't have to spend money or research on military, other than to defend against and eventually conquer the barbarians, and you don't need to expand quickly. I didn't realize how advantageous it is to expand slowly until I tried it. It means you can keep your tech level at 70-80% until your entire island is filled. This goes a long way in making up for the lack of early tech trading.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The disadvantages are (as I just mentioned) a total lack of early tech and resource trading with the AI players, and hitting a brick wall expansion-wise when your island's filled.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For these two reasons, I think islands are custom-made for cultural wins. You can specialize your technology to focus on culture, civics and key wonder building since you don't need any military defense, and you don't need to be a contender in the tech race since you'll switch to 90-100% culture 2/3rds of the way through anyway. Which brings us to the next section:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]7. Cultural Victories[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I didn't think cultural victories were even feasible at higher levels, and had no idea how fun they are to play until I came across an excellent post on the strategy behind them. Sorry to the author...you deserve heaps of credit for this one. In a nutshell:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Plan on having nine cities or more. some can be crap. more on this later.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Go for Drama early so you can start out with theatres quickly for a big long-running bonus.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET] Gear at least one GP farm to spit out almost nothing but great artists (building 1 or 2 appropriate wonders there will accomplish this).[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET] Choose three cities from the beginning that will be your cultural winners, and build national/great wonders to maximize their culture. My three winning cities were production, commerce and GP-oriented, respectively. My GP farm had heaps of cultural specialists--you need the specialists here anyway to pump up the GP output. My production city built wonders to raise the culture rating, and I money-rushed and great-engineer-rushed wonders in my commerce city to raise ITS culture rating.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET] Join a few great artists to your culture cities early on to even out the rate at which they climb, but hold back at least half a dozen or so for endgame culture-bombs. They provide less culture overall, but it's not always easy to predict which cities will need the boost.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET] Spread at least two other non-state religions to all 9 cities. there is an "advanced" religious building for each religion that gives a 50% bonus to a city's culture. the trick is that you can build 1 for every 3 temples of the corresponding religion you own. This is why 9 cities are optimal. 12 is likely too high in maintenance. A couple of the nine can be paltry, and settled late. All they really need to do is build a temple! Nine temples of each religion will allow you to build all three advanced religious buildings in each of your cultural cities.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET] Once you get to riflemen, set your research to 0% (or 10%, if you have to) and max out the culture. If you're at a decent spot in the tech race, by the time the AI players have infantry and tanks it will be too late. If you're on an island, it's even safer. Build wealth in as many of your other cities as is feasible to help keep the culture slider high.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This formula worked perfectly for me in an island start on monarch. I finished around 1950AD, while the AI was still several big pieces away from finishing the spaceship. A couple of the weaker AIs attacked me, but I easily repelled their landing parties until I could sue for peace. (Interestingly, the only civs to declare war on me were Jewish and I was the founder of Islam. Coincidence?). The biggest problems I had were gearing the GP farm to spit out only great artists (there were a few scientists, prophets and engineers before I could get a culture-generating wonder built there), and my inability to spread non-state religions until the other civs found me.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Elizabeth is tailor-made for a cultural win. Financial means you can get the techs you need at a decent rate and get massive culture when you max out the slider in the endgame. Philosophical means heaps of great artists (and other GPs to ramp up the tech level and rush cultural wonders). And her UU is redcoat (rifleman). Perfect--it's the last and best unit you need![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I really loved playing a game with minimal war and no ulcers over the mid to late game tech race. It was fast because there were no military units and wars to contend with, and it wasn't boring because the building, research and GP placement is so strategic. The score is abysmal--because you stop researching 2/3rds of the way through the game--but there's nothing wrong with being the underdog![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]BONUS: The Killer Kremlin[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I had to include this in the post, just because it sounded so cool. I've never tried it, but the original poster used it consistently on Emperor level.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Make a bee-line for Communism as soon as you can. Make sure your bank account's fat by the time you get there (keep the slider down a bit the last few turns to make sure you have heaps of money when you get the tech). Rush the Kremlin when you get it, and set your research to 0% the next turn. Set all your cities to start building financial buildings, and on the following turn rush those too, taking advantage of the new cheaper cost. Keep the tech slider at 0% for as long as you're comfortable to maximize your cash and buy, buy, buy![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, that's my epic. I'd love to hear feedback on it, and anything critical I may have missed. Hope you enjoyed it!</German>
		<Italian>[H1]Monarch Strategy -- Condensed[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]eben[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Ok, I'm feeling all validated from the quick responses to my new threads (I'm new to the forum) so I've decided to try something a bit more extensive. I spent the entire day at work yesterday working my way through all 14 pages of this forum and gleaned everything I could pertaining to monarch- or similar-level games. (you can tell how much my job motivates me. fortunately my boss is in another city). the results are below, with a focus on the early game and a special mention for cultural victories. all of this material is entirely other people's...I came up with nothing on my own, I only interpreted it. I'd love to hear feedback, critiques or rants.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]1. Early expansion[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]2. City planning[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]3. Early wonders[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]4. Religion spread[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]5. Diplomacy[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]6. Island games[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]7. Cultural victories[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]BONUS: the Killer Kremlin[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]1. Early expansion[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One no-brainer here is forest chopping. I don't think anyone will dispute that at Monarch and higher some chopping is necessary. The big decision is how far to take it: go for the big land grab and end up with a lot of tiny cities and high maintenance cost, or stop after setting up a core 3 to 4 and concentrate on building your heavy-hitting cities. I found that chopping heavily with 2 to 3 workers per city until 3 or 4 good starting locations are settled worked extremely well. I saved a few forests for wonders, and because I chopped them in my core cities I was able to start out with a very strong triumvirate of production, commerce and Great Person farming. The one thing to prioritize, of course, is resources. If you're going to stay relatively small at the beginning, you need bronze or preferably iron for expanding further into enemy territory when your economy and production's going. Stone and marble make a huge difference as well, as they usually determine whether you'll go for the early wonders or not.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once the core cities are in place, I prefer to settle 2 to 3 more in an "outer ring", leaving room for further cities in the middle. This way you push the borders out as far as possible and then back-fill the space that's left. This is assuming an ideal starting area--it rarely pans out exactly that way. I rarely chop rush expansion at this stage, but will if I'm racing for a critical spot. Maintenance cost is the decision-maker here. I believe it's a judgment call, based on where your tech is at and how well you need to defend your border cities. If your army is significantly weaker or out-dated compared to the enemies on the border, holding back is probably wiser until you have a stronger military/tech position.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]2. City Planning[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The biggest thing I learned from all my post-crawling is the value of specializing cities. I believe a good general ratio is: 1 GP farm, 2 production cities, 3 commerce cities. The GP farm needs heaps of food to allow for specialists, and ideally a couple of hills to allow ongoing production--little else. Production cities should have several mined hills and enough farms to keep them going. Commerce cities focus on cottages, of course--ideally on tiles that already have a commerce point if you're a Financial civ. I like to lay out enough farms to keep the food level at +3.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once you've decided on these, build national and great wonders in them accordingly. Add great people to boost finance and research (and culture, if you're playing for that victory). Use great engineers to build wonders.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]3. Early Wonders[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It's all about stone and marble. If you don't have either of these, the value of building early wonders at this difficulty level becomes questionable. Conversely, if you have both, you're set for some big advantages.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Stonehenge is so easy to get, even without stone, it's crazy to pass up. The AI doesn't seem to make it a big priority, but it's invaluable in blocking off your territory and keeping the expanding enemy at bay. It also means you can access the juicy land tiles in your newest cities very early, without having to spend time on obelisks; this is a big, big advantage in those last-built, vulnerable border towns.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you have stone, the Pyramids are hard to pass up, even with a lot of chopping. I always save forest for this, as it's big and easy to lose to the AI. The benefit of switching to Representation once you get it is huge: the added happiness means your core cities will grow unimpeded throughout the early game, allowing you to beef up production and, consequently, research and military. The added science bonus for specialists (and you should have some in your GP farm by now) also goes a long way to gaining a strong tech foothold. If you manage the Great Library down the road, and/or the Mercantilism civic, it really takes off.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Finally, another favorite is the Oracle. Marble makes it easy to build in your production city, hopefully with a few forests to chop held for the occasion. Oracle gives you a free tech and, depending on where your opponents' tech is at, possibly the founding of a religion. You're given the opportunity to choose the most expensive bonus tech as well, so you can't lose.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In my last game I managed to build all three of these before I settled my third city. I was extremely lucky, and had marble and stone close by. I started alone on an island, so this might have something to do with it (I believe the AI compensates you for island starts with better starting resources/map tiles). I was wary of sacrificing so much expansion to building these, but the results more than paid off. By the time the other civs found my island, I was in first place.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]4. Religion Spread[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Spreading religion is good for a bunch of reasons:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]If you found your own, it means big money. even if you didn't, you may capture a holy city (or two, or more!) and still get the cash bonus.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Diplomacy! alliances almost always stack up along religious lines, so plan to be pals with at least one of the strongest opponents. Switching religions to match an opponent is painless if you spread it first to all your own cities, and they'll love you for it.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Espionage: successful missionaries provide a view of the city's forces and the surrounding area. (they may also allow you to view the city screen--I've actually forgotten to try this! somebody help me out, here).[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Culture: spreading three religions within your borders is key to a cultural win (see the Cultural Win section below).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]5. Diplomacy[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There aren't a lot of surprises here. Align your religion with the heavy hitters, keep trades going continuously (even at a loss), give them what they want in tribute as often as you can (without giving away important techs) and try to build up a heavy cash reserve for instigating wars and other deviousness. My impression is that a diplomatic victory at monarch or higher is extremely difficult, but I'm starting a thread on this to find out.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]6. Island Games[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I used to restart whenever I found myself alone on an island. No more. Being alone on an island gives you two big advantages: you don't have to spend money or research on military, other than to defend against and eventually conquer the barbarians, and you don't need to expand quickly. I didn't realize how advantageous it is to expand slowly until I tried it. It means you can keep your tech level at 70-80% until your entire island is filled. This goes a long way in making up for the lack of early tech trading.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The disadvantages are (as I just mentioned) a total lack of early tech and resource trading with the AI players, and hitting a brick wall expansion-wise when your island's filled.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For these two reasons, I think islands are custom-made for cultural wins. You can specialize your technology to focus on culture, civics and key wonder building since you don't need any military defense, and you don't need to be a contender in the tech race since you'll switch to 90-100% culture 2/3rds of the way through anyway. Which brings us to the next section:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]7. Cultural Victories[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I didn't think cultural victories were even feasible at higher levels, and had no idea how fun they are to play until I came across an excellent post on the strategy behind them. Sorry to the author...you deserve heaps of credit for this one. In a nutshell:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Plan on having nine cities or more. some can be crap. more on this later.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Go for Drama early so you can start out with theatres quickly for a big long-running bonus.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET] Gear at least one GP farm to spit out almost nothing but great artists (building 1 or 2 appropriate wonders there will accomplish this).[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET] Choose three cities from the beginning that will be your cultural winners, and build national/great wonders to maximize their culture. My three winning cities were production, commerce and GP-oriented, respectively. My GP farm had heaps of cultural specialists--you need the specialists here anyway to pump up the GP output. My production city built wonders to raise the culture rating, and I money-rushed and great-engineer-rushed wonders in my commerce city to raise ITS culture rating.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET] Join a few great artists to your culture cities early on to even out the rate at which they climb, but hold back at least half a dozen or so for endgame culture-bombs. They provide less culture overall, but it's not always easy to predict which cities will need the boost.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET] Spread at least two other non-state religions to all 9 cities. there is an "advanced" religious building for each religion that gives a 50% bonus to a city's culture. the trick is that you can build 1 for every 3 temples of the corresponding religion you own. This is why 9 cities are optimal. 12 is likely too high in maintenance. A couple of the nine can be paltry, and settled late. All they really need to do is build a temple! Nine temples of each religion will allow you to build all three advanced religious buildings in each of your cultural cities.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET] Once you get to riflemen, set your research to 0% (or 10%, if you have to) and max out the culture. If you're at a decent spot in the tech race, by the time the AI players have infantry and tanks it will be too late. If you're on an island, it's even safer. Build wealth in as many of your other cities as is feasible to help keep the culture slider high.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This formula worked perfectly for me in an island start on monarch. I finished around 1950AD, while the AI was still several big pieces away from finishing the spaceship. A couple of the weaker AIs attacked me, but I easily repelled their landing parties until I could sue for peace. (Interestingly, the only civs to declare war on me were Jewish and I was the founder of Islam. Coincidence?). The biggest problems I had were gearing the GP farm to spit out only great artists (there were a few scientists, prophets and engineers before I could get a culture-generating wonder built there), and my inability to spread non-state religions until the other civs found me.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Elizabeth is tailor-made for a cultural win. Financial means you can get the techs you need at a decent rate and get massive culture when you max out the slider in the endgame. Philosophical means heaps of great artists (and other GPs to ramp up the tech level and rush cultural wonders). And her UU is redcoat (rifleman). Perfect--it's the last and best unit you need![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I really loved playing a game with minimal war and no ulcers over the mid to late game tech race. It was fast because there were no military units and wars to contend with, and it wasn't boring because the building, research and GP placement is so strategic. The score is abysmal--because you stop researching 2/3rds of the way through the game--but there's nothing wrong with being the underdog![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]BONUS: The Killer Kremlin[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I had to include this in the post, just because it sounded so cool. I've never tried it, but the original poster used it consistently on Emperor level.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Make a bee-line for Communism as soon as you can. Make sure your bank account's fat by the time you get there (keep the slider down a bit the last few turns to make sure you have heaps of money when you get the tech). Rush the Kremlin when you get it, and set your research to 0% the next turn. Set all your cities to start building financial buildings, and on the following turn rush those too, taking advantage of the new cheaper cost. Keep the tech slider at 0% for as long as you're comfortable to maximize your cash and buy, buy, buy![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, that's my epic. I'd love to hear feedback on it, and anything critical I may have missed. Hope you enjoyed it!</Italian>
		<Spanish>[H1]Monarch Strategy -- Condensed[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]eben[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Ok, I'm feeling all validated from the quick responses to my new threads (I'm new to the forum) so I've decided to try something a bit more extensive. I spent the entire day at work yesterday working my way through all 14 pages of this forum and gleaned everything I could pertaining to monarch- or similar-level games. (you can tell how much my job motivates me. fortunately my boss is in another city). the results are below, with a focus on the early game and a special mention for cultural victories. all of this material is entirely other people's...I came up with nothing on my own, I only interpreted it. I'd love to hear feedback, critiques or rants.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]1. Early expansion[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]2. City planning[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]3. Early wonders[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]4. Religion spread[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]5. Diplomacy[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]6. Island games[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]7. Cultural victories[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]BONUS: the Killer Kremlin[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]1. Early expansion[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One no-brainer here is forest chopping. I don't think anyone will dispute that at Monarch and higher some chopping is necessary. The big decision is how far to take it: go for the big land grab and end up with a lot of tiny cities and high maintenance cost, or stop after setting up a core 3 to 4 and concentrate on building your heavy-hitting cities. I found that chopping heavily with 2 to 3 workers per city until 3 or 4 good starting locations are settled worked extremely well. I saved a few forests for wonders, and because I chopped them in my core cities I was able to start out with a very strong triumvirate of production, commerce and Great Person farming. The one thing to prioritize, of course, is resources. If you're going to stay relatively small at the beginning, you need bronze or preferably iron for expanding further into enemy territory when your economy and production's going. Stone and marble make a huge difference as well, as they usually determine whether you'll go for the early wonders or not.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once the core cities are in place, I prefer to settle 2 to 3 more in an "outer ring", leaving room for further cities in the middle. This way you push the borders out as far as possible and then back-fill the space that's left. This is assuming an ideal starting area--it rarely pans out exactly that way. I rarely chop rush expansion at this stage, but will if I'm racing for a critical spot. Maintenance cost is the decision-maker here. I believe it's a judgment call, based on where your tech is at and how well you need to defend your border cities. If your army is significantly weaker or out-dated compared to the enemies on the border, holding back is probably wiser until you have a stronger military/tech position.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]2. City Planning[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The biggest thing I learned from all my post-crawling is the value of specializing cities. I believe a good general ratio is: 1 GP farm, 2 production cities, 3 commerce cities. The GP farm needs heaps of food to allow for specialists, and ideally a couple of hills to allow ongoing production--little else. Production cities should have several mined hills and enough farms to keep them going. Commerce cities focus on cottages, of course--ideally on tiles that already have a commerce point if you're a Financial civ. I like to lay out enough farms to keep the food level at +3.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Once you've decided on these, build national and great wonders in them accordingly. Add great people to boost finance and research (and culture, if you're playing for that victory). Use great engineers to build wonders.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]3. Early Wonders[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It's all about stone and marble. If you don't have either of these, the value of building early wonders at this difficulty level becomes questionable. Conversely, if you have both, you're set for some big advantages.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Stonehenge is so easy to get, even without stone, it's crazy to pass up. The AI doesn't seem to make it a big priority, but it's invaluable in blocking off your territory and keeping the expanding enemy at bay. It also means you can access the juicy land tiles in your newest cities very early, without having to spend time on obelisks; this is a big, big advantage in those last-built, vulnerable border towns.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you have stone, the Pyramids are hard to pass up, even with a lot of chopping. I always save forest for this, as it's big and easy to lose to the AI. The benefit of switching to Representation once you get it is huge: the added happiness means your core cities will grow unimpeded throughout the early game, allowing you to beef up production and, consequently, research and military. The added science bonus for specialists (and you should have some in your GP farm by now) also goes a long way to gaining a strong tech foothold. If you manage the Great Library down the road, and/or the Mercantilism civic, it really takes off.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Finally, another favorite is the Oracle. Marble makes it easy to build in your production city, hopefully with a few forests to chop held for the occasion. Oracle gives you a free tech and, depending on where your opponents' tech is at, possibly the founding of a religion. You're given the opportunity to choose the most expensive bonus tech as well, so you can't lose.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In my last game I managed to build all three of these before I settled my third city. I was extremely lucky, and had marble and stone close by. I started alone on an island, so this might have something to do with it (I believe the AI compensates you for island starts with better starting resources/map tiles). I was wary of sacrificing so much expansion to building these, but the results more than paid off. By the time the other civs found my island, I was in first place.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]4. Religion Spread[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Spreading religion is good for a bunch of reasons:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]If you found your own, it means big money. even if you didn't, you may capture a holy city (or two, or more!) and still get the cash bonus.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Diplomacy! alliances almost always stack up along religious lines, so plan to be pals with at least one of the strongest opponents. Switching religions to match an opponent is painless if you spread it first to all your own cities, and they'll love you for it.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Espionage: successful missionaries provide a view of the city's forces and the surrounding area. (they may also allow you to view the city screen--I've actually forgotten to try this! somebody help me out, here).[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Culture: spreading three religions within your borders is key to a cultural win (see the Cultural Win section below).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]5. Diplomacy[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There aren't a lot of surprises here. Align your religion with the heavy hitters, keep trades going continuously (even at a loss), give them what they want in tribute as often as you can (without giving away important techs) and try to build up a heavy cash reserve for instigating wars and other deviousness. My impression is that a diplomatic victory at monarch or higher is extremely difficult, but I'm starting a thread on this to find out.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]6. Island Games[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I used to restart whenever I found myself alone on an island. No more. Being alone on an island gives you two big advantages: you don't have to spend money or research on military, other than to defend against and eventually conquer the barbarians, and you don't need to expand quickly. I didn't realize how advantageous it is to expand slowly until I tried it. It means you can keep your tech level at 70-80% until your entire island is filled. This goes a long way in making up for the lack of early tech trading.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The disadvantages are (as I just mentioned) a total lack of early tech and resource trading with the AI players, and hitting a brick wall expansion-wise when your island's filled.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For these two reasons, I think islands are custom-made for cultural wins. You can specialize your technology to focus on culture, civics and key wonder building since you don't need any military defense, and you don't need to be a contender in the tech race since you'll switch to 90-100% culture 2/3rds of the way through anyway. Which brings us to the next section:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]7. Cultural Victories[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I didn't think cultural victories were even feasible at higher levels, and had no idea how fun they are to play until I came across an excellent post on the strategy behind them. Sorry to the author...you deserve heaps of credit for this one. In a nutshell:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Plan on having nine cities or more. some can be crap. more on this later.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]Go for Drama early so you can start out with theatres quickly for a big long-running bonus.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET] Gear at least one GP farm to spit out almost nothing but great artists (building 1 or 2 appropriate wonders there will accomplish this).[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET] Choose three cities from the beginning that will be your cultural winners, and build national/great wonders to maximize their culture. My three winning cities were production, commerce and GP-oriented, respectively. My GP farm had heaps of cultural specialists--you need the specialists here anyway to pump up the GP output. My production city built wonders to raise the culture rating, and I money-rushed and great-engineer-rushed wonders in my commerce city to raise ITS culture rating.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET] Join a few great artists to your culture cities early on to even out the rate at which they climb, but hold back at least half a dozen or so for endgame culture-bombs. They provide less culture overall, but it's not always easy to predict which cities will need the boost.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET] Spread at least two other non-state religions to all 9 cities. there is an "advanced" religious building for each religion that gives a 50% bonus to a city's culture. the trick is that you can build 1 for every 3 temples of the corresponding religion you own. This is why 9 cities are optimal. 12 is likely too high in maintenance. A couple of the nine can be paltry, and settled late. All they really need to do is build a temple! Nine temples of each religion will allow you to build all three advanced religious buildings in each of your cultural cities.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET] Once you get to riflemen, set your research to 0% (or 10%, if you have to) and max out the culture. If you're at a decent spot in the tech race, by the time the AI players have infantry and tanks it will be too late. If you're on an island, it's even safer. Build wealth in as many of your other cities as is feasible to help keep the culture slider high.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This formula worked perfectly for me in an island start on monarch. I finished around 1950AD, while the AI was still several big pieces away from finishing the spaceship. A couple of the weaker AIs attacked me, but I easily repelled their landing parties until I could sue for peace. (Interestingly, the only civs to declare war on me were Jewish and I was the founder of Islam. Coincidence?). The biggest problems I had were gearing the GP farm to spit out only great artists (there were a few scientists, prophets and engineers before I could get a culture-generating wonder built there), and my inability to spread non-state religions until the other civs found me.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Elizabeth is tailor-made for a cultural win. Financial means you can get the techs you need at a decent rate and get massive culture when you max out the slider in the endgame. Philosophical means heaps of great artists (and other GPs to ramp up the tech level and rush cultural wonders). And her UU is redcoat (rifleman). Perfect--it's the last and best unit you need![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I really loved playing a game with minimal war and no ulcers over the mid to late game tech race. It was fast because there were no military units and wars to contend with, and it wasn't boring because the building, research and GP placement is so strategic. The score is abysmal--because you stop researching 2/3rds of the way through the game--but there's nothing wrong with being the underdog![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]BONUS: The Killer Kremlin[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I had to include this in the post, just because it sounded so cool. I've never tried it, but the original poster used it consistently on Emperor level.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Make a bee-line for Communism as soon as you can. Make sure your bank account's fat by the time you get there (keep the slider down a bit the last few turns to make sure you have heaps of money when you get the tech). Rush the Kremlin when you get it, and set your research to 0% the next turn. Set all your cities to start building financial buildings, and on the following turn rush those too, taking advantage of the new cheaper cost. Keep the tech slider at 0% for as long as you're comfortable to maximize your cash and buy, buy, buy![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, that's my epic. I'd love to hear feedback on it, and anything critical I may have missed. Hope you enjoyed it!</Spanish>
	</TEXT>
	<TEXT>
		<Tag>TXT_KEY_STRATEGY_EMPEROR_DIFFICULTY_PEDIA</Tag>
		<English>[H1]Pete's Guide to Emperor Level Domination Wins[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Pete2006[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I'm starting to win on Emperor pretty regularly so I thought I'd post this. I've played standard maps and won but I find small maps more enjoyable since the game can be finished faster.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]1. Civ Choice[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I usually choose a Financial civ that starts with mining so I can research BW immediately to chop and find copper. This means I play with Catherine, Victoria or Mansa Musa. My favorite is Victoria since the expansive trait is so nice in high level play. Industrious is weak since only a couple wonders are necessary and you only need to build one or two. GW is great in the latter parts of the game but since he lacks mining and mysticism, that's at least one extra tech you need right off the bat to chop and expand borders. Catherine has mining and doesn't need mysticism so that's quite a starting advantage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]2. Starting Position[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you are new to Emperor, there is no shame in regenerating your map to get a good spot. It doesn't always work for the best though. I've had a two gold, two crab start but my next 5 cities were near or in ice. Gold/gems + a food resource is the best starting position.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]3. Opening Sequence[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First techs researched should be BW - Wheel - Masonry/Mysticism - Animal Husbandry/Pottery - Writing then depending on your situation IW/Alphabet/Math. Alphabet if you need to immediately trade for the worker/religious techs you skipped. IW to mine the jungle covered gems or math if everything is going great and you want currency to finance your expansion.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]4. Initial Cities[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Use your initial guy to pop some huts and scout your first 2-3 settler sites. Do not let him wander and get killed. You need him for barb protection. -2g means you need cash infusion immediately. Look for sites that can pay for themselves. Do not plop your settler down in jungle if you can get a river somewhere else. Conquer that beautiful jungle area later after you have IW. You want 1. food. 2. gems/gold/ivory/furs/silver 3. metal/horses. (Ex. City 2 with fish + gold and City 3 with wheat + copper) A gold mine with no food source really sucks because you won't be able to work it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you get boxed in and can only build 1-2 cities then immediately change strategies and go to war or the game will be lost.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]5. Initial Build Sequence[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Worker - Settler - Settler. New city builds Worker first. Chop the settlers. Do not overbuild unless you have gems/gold/silver and enough food to work them. 10% research has never worked for me. Build new cities close to home to save on maintenance costs. Do not build 12 squares away to get the stone. It isn't worth it and another AI will settle 3 turns before your settler gets there anyway. If barbs are an issue, build warriors before workers in your new cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]6. Initial Worker Actions[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build roads. If your cities are all on the same river (never happens) then you automatically get trade routes. Otherwise, you must build them. Build them to bring your science back up 10%. Hook up your food and resources and build cottages on all grassland/flood plains.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]7. Initial Wonders[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you do not choose Catherine, you're going to need culture. You need Stonehenge. Plus, it only costs 3 chops. Very cheap. Nothing is worse than Hatty or Cyrus building 3 squares away and stealing your cows/copper. Build Stonehenge in a city close to an AI city so you can culture steal their land and make later invasion easier. Stonehenge should be complete around 1500 BC or AI will get it. Then if you have Stone or enough forest, build Pyramids for Representation. Otherwise, skip it and try to get it later by conquest. Later use the GE from the Pyramids to rush the Great Library. No other wonders necessary.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]8. Early Religion[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you research Math - Currency - COL, 5 out of 10 times, you'll end up founding Confucianism. Do not convert. The rest of the world will be hindu/jewish/buddha. Do not make enemies. +1 happy isn't worth getting killed. Org religion is very nice but you can switch over later but not with your founded religion. Do not convert (in the early game) to anything unless Isabella or Monty is nearby and you are unprepared for a very early attack. You can still build the Confucian shrine and spread the religion for the money but I rather conquer shrines and focus my hammers on military.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]9. Early Research Trading[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you missed out on the pyramids then trade for Monarchy for hereditary rule. Trade for Calendar if you have calendar resources nearby. Victoria + Pyramids + Calendar = multiple early pop 10 cities and practically seals the victory. Most AI will not have currency or COL before you. Get currency before your first prolonged war. Be researching CoL during your first attack. Waiting just allows the AI to catch up to you or leapfrog you to feudalism. Attack while they only have archers or archers + spears.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]10. Pick Your First Opponent. Know Thy Enemy[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Your first war is really just a skirmish for 1-2 cities. Get open borders and scout them before attacking. See what they have defending their border cities. Chariots or axes are good enough for the first city. You can build Swords if they only have archers/spears. Otherwise, axes are probably the best choice. Expect to lose 1/2 your invasion force. You must attack a neighbor because cities too far away will kill your economy. Who to attack?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I like to attack financial or aggressive civs first. These types have the ability to beat you and should be eliminated while you are on equal tech footing. Monty with a tech lead or parity in the mid - late is hard to beat. Other considerations are who can you attack without making other AI enemies. Get peace after the first war then build replacements and go for the kill. Some civs are dumb enough to agree to open borders after you've already attacked (Egypt will love you until they are exterminated). Keep scouting.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Non aggressive civs will usually only have a handful of defenders per city and no roaming units. Monty/Khan/Capac will have units attack you before you even get to their cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]11. New cities[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build Courthouse - Forge - Library in new cities. Do not switch into builder mode after your first victory. They will want revenge. Keep building units and war until you finish them off (2nd attack phase usually requires cats) or at least until you take the cities worth taking. They'll be furious the next 2000 years but most will never research past CoL and will never be a threat again.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]12. Mid Game Research[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Get Literature for the Great Library and rush it with your Pyramids GE or build it (in your GP farm). Research bureaucracy - Machinery for macemen. Use bureaucracy and build Heroic epic in your capital. Research Guilds - Banks and then beeline (open the tech tree and click on Rifling or Military Tradition) to your UU be it Riflemen or Cossacks. These will allow you to eliminate the tech leader when behind or even on tech. Make some trades. Never trade military techs unless they are out of date. Focus on researching military techs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]13. Mid Game War[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you aren't strong enough to take on the leader now, take out the rest of your rivals with macemen + cats. (Check the Info screen to see how you match up on production, GNP and troops) Be sure to vary your attack force and throw in some elephants/pikes/knights to defend your attacking stack. You will be taking cities with the macemen and cats so focus on them. Throw in a medical explorer. If the tech leader is Monty/Khan or other aggressive, you're in for a tough end game. Try to stay on decent terms with them until it's time to eliminate them.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]14. Mid Game Building[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build banks in all your commerce cities. Build harbors in your coastal cities. You get Education about the same time as Rifles/Cavalry so I usually skip the Universities as I need all production focused on military towards the end. Science will usually be around 60-70% unless I am blessed with great land or have stolen some nice shrines and then it'll be 80-90%[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]15. Mid Game Workers and Cities[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I usually automate the workers around this time. Too tedious to tend to everything after you have 30-50% landmass. I like to finish my games in one sitting. You should have done most of the work already so as long as you have production cities with lots of farms/mines and commerce cities with grassland cottages, you should be fine. Be sure to build the Forbidden Palace in the middle of your new land. It will raise your science bar at least 10%.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]16. End Game Research[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Beeline for your UU. You should get Redcoats around 1000-1100 AD. Then beeline for Democracy. Switch to Emancipation during your end game war. Unhappiness will cripple the AI and the AI never researches Democracy before you unless you are very behind them. If this happens, switch to Space Race mode. You'll probably lose anyway but if you can raze 1-2 of their production cities, you'll have a chance. Pure peace/Space Race is usually a loser unless you have the tech/production advantage but if you have the advantage you wouldn't be building the ship. Only other way is to have friends you can bribe into a war and if you've been following my guide, there's no one left.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]17. End Game War[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you weren't the tech leader then your final opponent will have rifles and cavalry slightly before you or around the same time. If you chose Catherine or England, this is not a problem. Cossacks v. Cavalry = ~90% win ratio. Redcoats v. Rifles or cavalry = ~75% win ratio. An end game against Mansa is a breeze because he may be up in tech but he doesn't build an army. Amass troops and go for the kill. Monty/Huana is different. They will have a troop advantage. I have won games where my army was listed as 500,000 and Monty was rate 850,000. I still won. The key is winning 5-1 or better and that is very doable.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You must declare war first so the war is fought on your terms. Usually they have a very profitable buddha/hindu shrine. If that city is close, take that one first. If the culture is too strong then raze it and get peace quickly. It will seriously cripple his economy. Put 5-7 rifles in your border cities and keep 5 or so in your capital in case of a sneak attack. Do not pillage. You do not want your guys out in the open.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The AI will slam your border cities with troops. Let them attack you. Let them pillage. They're border cities, they suck anyway. After their units are injured, finish them off but leave the last catapult in the stack so your units do leave the safety of the city. After you fight off the first and second waves, dangle a worker out in the field. They will send in a lone cavalry or rifle to take your worker. Then take out their rifle with your cossack and move back into the city. Repeat. Eventually you will lead the troop category or at least be even. When this happens you can attack with impunity. They will keep 95% of their troops in cities on defense. Go on a rampage. Turn your culture up as high as you can afford to seal the domination win. You should get a victory around 1100 to 1300 AD.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]18. Slam your flag into the ground and watch the world turn red[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Diplomacy: The key to the military win is to fight wars on your terms. Always be the attacker, never the attackee. This is accomplished by being strong and making friends. Except for morons like Alex, civs will not attack you if you have a high % land/pop, share a religion or a military tech advantage. Share a religion with the civ you fear. Give them tribute whenever they ask. Just be sure to cancel the one way Gold trade after 10 turns. Stay on the warpath and you will only have 1-2 civs to fear and one will be an enemy of the other. Turn one against the other and profit.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You can bribe Alex to attack his "friend" Monty. Then wait 5 turns and back stab Alex. Alex will hate you but your relations with Monty will go up. (-1 war ally, +4 mutual enemy). You can take Alex's established cities which are immediately profitable while Alex pillages and razes Monty's cities. Both enemies get weak and you win.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Pyramids: If you lose out on the pyramids and they are built on the other side of the world, don't quit the game. Use hereditary rule for the +happiness. It is very satisfying to miss out on them and still win. It's much, much harder but it can be done.</English>
		<French>[H1]Pete's Guide to Emperor Level Domination Wins[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Pete2006[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I'm starting to win on Emperor pretty regularly so I thought I'd post this. I've played standard maps and won but I find small maps more enjoyable since the game can be finished faster.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]1. Civ Choice[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I usually choose a Financial civ that starts with mining so I can research BW immediately to chop and find copper. This means I play with Catherine, Victoria or Mansa Musa. My favorite is Victoria since the expansive trait is so nice in high level play. Industrious is weak since only a couple wonders are necessary and you only need to build one or two. GW is great in the latter parts of the game but since he lacks mining and mysticism, that's at least one extra tech you need right off the bat to chop and expand borders. Catherine has mining and doesn't need mysticism so that's quite a starting advantage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]2. Starting Position[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you are new to Emperor, there is no shame in regenerating your map to get a good spot. It doesn't always work for the best though. I've had a two gold, two crab start but my next 5 cities were near or in ice. Gold/gems + a food resource is the best starting position.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]3. Opening Sequence[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First techs researched should be BW - Wheel - Masonry/Mysticism - Animal Husbandry/Pottery - Writing then depending on your situation IW/Alphabet/Math. Alphabet if you need to immediately trade for the worker/religious techs you skipped. IW to mine the jungle covered gems or math if everything is going great and you want currency to finance your expansion.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]4. Initial Cities[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Use your initial guy to pop some huts and scout your first 2-3 settler sites. Do not let him wander and get killed. You need him for barb protection. -2g means you need cash infusion immediately. Look for sites that can pay for themselves. Do not plop your settler down in jungle if you can get a river somewhere else. Conquer that beautiful jungle area later after you have IW. You want 1. food. 2. gems/gold/ivory/furs/silver 3. metal/horses. (Ex. City 2 with fish + gold and City 3 with wheat + copper) A gold mine with no food source really sucks because you won't be able to work it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you get boxed in and can only build 1-2 cities then immediately change strategies and go to war or the game will be lost.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]5. Initial Build Sequence[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Worker - Settler - Settler. New city builds Worker first. Chop the settlers. Do not overbuild unless you have gems/gold/silver and enough food to work them. 10% research has never worked for me. Build new cities close to home to save on maintenance costs. Do not build 12 squares away to get the stone. It isn't worth it and another AI will settle 3 turns before your settler gets there anyway. If barbs are an issue, build warriors before workers in your new cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]6. Initial Worker Actions[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build roads. If your cities are all on the same river (never happens) then you automatically get trade routes. Otherwise, you must build them. Build them to bring your science back up 10%. Hook up your food and resources and build cottages on all grassland/flood plains.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]7. Initial Wonders[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you do not choose Catherine, you're going to need culture. You need Stonehenge. Plus, it only costs 3 chops. Very cheap. Nothing is worse than Hatty or Cyrus building 3 squares away and stealing your cows/copper. Build Stonehenge in a city close to an AI city so you can culture steal their land and make later invasion easier. Stonehenge should be complete around 1500 BC or AI will get it. Then if you have Stone or enough forest, build Pyramids for Representation. Otherwise, skip it and try to get it later by conquest. Later use the GE from the Pyramids to rush the Great Library. No other wonders necessary.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]8. Early Religion[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you research Math - Currency - COL, 5 out of 10 times, you'll end up founding Confucianism. Do not convert. The rest of the world will be hindu/jewish/buddha. Do not make enemies. +1 happy isn't worth getting killed. Org religion is very nice but you can switch over later but not with your founded religion. Do not convert (in the early game) to anything unless Isabella or Monty is nearby and you are unprepared for a very early attack. You can still build the Confucian shrine and spread the religion for the money but I rather conquer shrines and focus my hammers on military.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]9. Early Research Trading[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you missed out on the pyramids then trade for Monarchy for hereditary rule. Trade for Calendar if you have calendar resources nearby. Victoria + Pyramids + Calendar = multiple early pop 10 cities and practically seals the victory. Most AI will not have currency or COL before you. Get currency before your first prolonged war. Be researching CoL during your first attack. Waiting just allows the AI to catch up to you or leapfrog you to feudalism. Attack while they only have archers or archers + spears.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]10. Pick Your First Opponent. Know Thy Enemy[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Your first war is really just a skirmish for 1-2 cities. Get open borders and scout them before attacking. See what they have defending their border cities. Chariots or axes are good enough for the first city. You can build Swords if they only have archers/spears. Otherwise, axes are probably the best choice. Expect to lose 1/2 your invasion force. You must attack a neighbor because cities too far away will kill your economy. Who to attack?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I like to attack financial or aggressive civs first. These types have the ability to beat you and should be eliminated while you are on equal tech footing. Monty with a tech lead or parity in the mid - late is hard to beat. Other considerations are who can you attack without making other AI enemies. Get peace after the first war then build replacements and go for the kill. Some civs are dumb enough to agree to open borders after you've already attacked (Egypt will love you until they are exterminated). Keep scouting.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Non aggressive civs will usually only have a handful of defenders per city and no roaming units. Monty/Khan/Capac will have units attack you before you even get to their cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]11. New cities[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build Courthouse - Forge - Library in new cities. Do not switch into builder mode after your first victory. They will want revenge. Keep building units and war until you finish them off (2nd attack phase usually requires cats) or at least until you take the cities worth taking. They'll be furious the next 2000 years but most will never research past CoL and will never be a threat again.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]12. Mid Game Research[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Get Literature for the Great Library and rush it with your Pyramids GE or build it (in your GP farm). Research bureaucracy - Machinery for macemen. Use bureaucracy and build Heroic epic in your capital. Research Guilds - Banks and then beeline (open the tech tree and click on Rifling or Military Tradition) to your UU be it Riflemen or Cossacks. These will allow you to eliminate the tech leader when behind or even on tech. Make some trades. Never trade military techs unless they are out of date. Focus on researching military techs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]13. Mid Game War[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you aren't strong enough to take on the leader now, take out the rest of your rivals with macemen + cats. (Check the Info screen to see how you match up on production, GNP and troops) Be sure to vary your attack force and throw in some elephants/pikes/knights to defend your attacking stack. You will be taking cities with the macemen and cats so focus on them. Throw in a medical explorer. If the tech leader is Monty/Khan or other aggressive, you're in for a tough end game. Try to stay on decent terms with them until it's time to eliminate them.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]14. Mid Game Building[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build banks in all your commerce cities. Build harbors in your coastal cities. You get Education about the same time as Rifles/Cavalry so I usually skip the Universities as I need all production focused on military towards the end. Science will usually be around 60-70% unless I am blessed with great land or have stolen some nice shrines and then it'll be 80-90%[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]15. Mid Game Workers and Cities[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I usually automate the workers around this time. Too tedious to tend to everything after you have 30-50% landmass. I like to finish my games in one sitting. You should have done most of the work already so as long as you have production cities with lots of farms/mines and commerce cities with grassland cottages, you should be fine. Be sure to build the Forbidden Palace in the middle of your new land. It will raise your science bar at least 10%.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]16. End Game Research[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Beeline for your UU. You should get Redcoats around 1000-1100 AD. Then beeline for Democracy. Switch to Emancipation during your end game war. Unhappiness will cripple the AI and the AI never researches Democracy before you unless you are very behind them. If this happens, switch to Space Race mode. You'll probably lose anyway but if you can raze 1-2 of their production cities, you'll have a chance. Pure peace/Space Race is usually a loser unless you have the tech/production advantage but if you have the advantage you wouldn't be building the ship. Only other way is to have friends you can bribe into a war and if you've been following my guide, there's no one left.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]17. End Game War[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you weren't the tech leader then your final opponent will have rifles and cavalry slightly before you or around the same time. If you chose Catherine or England, this is not a problem. Cossacks v. Cavalry = ~90% win ratio. Redcoats v. Rifles or cavalry = ~75% win ratio. An end game against Mansa is a breeze because he may be up in tech but he doesn't build an army. Amass troops and go for the kill. Monty/Huana is different. They will have a troop advantage. I have won games where my army was listed as 500,000 and Monty was rate 850,000. I still won. The key is winning 5-1 or better and that is very doable.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You must declare war first so the war is fought on your terms. Usually they have a very profitable buddha/hindu shrine. If that city is close, take that one first. If the culture is too strong then raze it and get peace quickly. It will seriously cripple his economy. Put 5-7 rifles in your border cities and keep 5 or so in your capital in case of a sneak attack. Do not pillage. You do not want your guys out in the open.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The AI will slam your border cities with troops. Let them attack you. Let them pillage. They're border cities, they suck anyway. After their units are injured, finish them off but leave the last catapult in the stack so your units do leave the safety of the city. After you fight off the first and second waves, dangle a worker out in the field. They will send in a lone cavalry or rifle to take your worker. Then take out their rifle with your cossack and move back into the city. Repeat. Eventually you will lead the troop category or at least be even. When this happens you can attack with impunity. They will keep 95% of their troops in cities on defense. Go on a rampage. Turn your culture up as high as you can afford to seal the domination win. You should get a victory around 1100 to 1300 AD.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]18. Slam your flag into the ground and watch the world turn red[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Diplomacy: The key to the military win is to fight wars on your terms. Always be the attacker, never the attackee. This is accomplished by being strong and making friends. Except for morons like Alex, civs will not attack you if you have a high % land/pop, share a religion or a military tech advantage. Share a religion with the civ you fear. Give them tribute whenever they ask. Just be sure to cancel the one way Gold trade after 10 turns. Stay on the warpath and you will only have 1-2 civs to fear and one will be an enemy of the other. Turn one against the other and profit.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You can bribe Alex to attack his "friend" Monty. Then wait 5 turns and back stab Alex. Alex will hate you but your relations with Monty will go up. (-1 war ally, +4 mutual enemy). You can take Alex's established cities which are immediately profitable while Alex pillages and razes Monty's cities. Both enemies get weak and you win.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Pyramids: If you lose out on the pyramids and they are built on the other side of the world, don't quit the game. Use hereditary rule for the +happiness. It is very satisfying to miss out on them and still win. It's much, much harder but it can be done.</French>
		<German>[H1]Pete's Guide to Emperor Level Domination Wins[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Pete2006[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I'm starting to win on Emperor pretty regularly so I thought I'd post this. I've played standard maps and won but I find small maps more enjoyable since the game can be finished faster.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]1. Civ Choice[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I usually choose a Financial civ that starts with mining so I can research BW immediately to chop and find copper. This means I play with Catherine, Victoria or Mansa Musa. My favorite is Victoria since the expansive trait is so nice in high level play. Industrious is weak since only a couple wonders are necessary and you only need to build one or two. GW is great in the latter parts of the game but since he lacks mining and mysticism, that's at least one extra tech you need right off the bat to chop and expand borders. Catherine has mining and doesn't need mysticism so that's quite a starting advantage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]2. Starting Position[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you are new to Emperor, there is no shame in regenerating your map to get a good spot. It doesn't always work for the best though. I've had a two gold, two crab start but my next 5 cities were near or in ice. Gold/gems + a food resource is the best starting position.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]3. Opening Sequence[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First techs researched should be BW - Wheel - Masonry/Mysticism - Animal Husbandry/Pottery - Writing then depending on your situation IW/Alphabet/Math. Alphabet if you need to immediately trade for the worker/religious techs you skipped. IW to mine the jungle covered gems or math if everything is going great and you want currency to finance your expansion.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]4. Initial Cities[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Use your initial guy to pop some huts and scout your first 2-3 settler sites. Do not let him wander and get killed. You need him for barb protection. -2g means you need cash infusion immediately. Look for sites that can pay for themselves. Do not plop your settler down in jungle if you can get a river somewhere else. Conquer that beautiful jungle area later after you have IW. You want 1. food. 2. gems/gold/ivory/furs/silver 3. metal/horses. (Ex. City 2 with fish + gold and City 3 with wheat + copper) A gold mine with no food source really sucks because you won't be able to work it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you get boxed in and can only build 1-2 cities then immediately change strategies and go to war or the game will be lost.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]5. Initial Build Sequence[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Worker - Settler - Settler. New city builds Worker first. Chop the settlers. Do not overbuild unless you have gems/gold/silver and enough food to work them. 10% research has never worked for me. Build new cities close to home to save on maintenance costs. Do not build 12 squares away to get the stone. It isn't worth it and another AI will settle 3 turns before your settler gets there anyway. If barbs are an issue, build warriors before workers in your new cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]6. Initial Worker Actions[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build roads. If your cities are all on the same river (never happens) then you automatically get trade routes. Otherwise, you must build them. Build them to bring your science back up 10%. Hook up your food and resources and build cottages on all grassland/flood plains.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]7. Initial Wonders[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you do not choose Catherine, you're going to need culture. You need Stonehenge. Plus, it only costs 3 chops. Very cheap. Nothing is worse than Hatty or Cyrus building 3 squares away and stealing your cows/copper. Build Stonehenge in a city close to an AI city so you can culture steal their land and make later invasion easier. Stonehenge should be complete around 1500 BC or AI will get it. Then if you have Stone or enough forest, build Pyramids for Representation. Otherwise, skip it and try to get it later by conquest. Later use the GE from the Pyramids to rush the Great Library. No other wonders necessary.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]8. Early Religion[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you research Math - Currency - COL, 5 out of 10 times, you'll end up founding Confucianism. Do not convert. The rest of the world will be hindu/jewish/buddha. Do not make enemies. +1 happy isn't worth getting killed. Org religion is very nice but you can switch over later but not with your founded religion. Do not convert (in the early game) to anything unless Isabella or Monty is nearby and you are unprepared for a very early attack. You can still build the Confucian shrine and spread the religion for the money but I rather conquer shrines and focus my hammers on military.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]9. Early Research Trading[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you missed out on the pyramids then trade for Monarchy for hereditary rule. Trade for Calendar if you have calendar resources nearby. Victoria + Pyramids + Calendar = multiple early pop 10 cities and practically seals the victory. Most AI will not have currency or COL before you. Get currency before your first prolonged war. Be researching CoL during your first attack. Waiting just allows the AI to catch up to you or leapfrog you to feudalism. Attack while they only have archers or archers + spears.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]10. Pick Your First Opponent. Know Thy Enemy[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Your first war is really just a skirmish for 1-2 cities. Get open borders and scout them before attacking. See what they have defending their border cities. Chariots or axes are good enough for the first city. You can build Swords if they only have archers/spears. Otherwise, axes are probably the best choice. Expect to lose 1/2 your invasion force. You must attack a neighbor because cities too far away will kill your economy. Who to attack?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I like to attack financial or aggressive civs first. These types have the ability to beat you and should be eliminated while you are on equal tech footing. Monty with a tech lead or parity in the mid - late is hard to beat. Other considerations are who can you attack without making other AI enemies. Get peace after the first war then build replacements and go for the kill. Some civs are dumb enough to agree to open borders after you've already attacked (Egypt will love you until they are exterminated). Keep scouting.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Non aggressive civs will usually only have a handful of defenders per city and no roaming units. Monty/Khan/Capac will have units attack you before you even get to their cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]11. New cities[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build Courthouse - Forge - Library in new cities. Do not switch into builder mode after your first victory. They will want revenge. Keep building units and war until you finish them off (2nd attack phase usually requires cats) or at least until you take the cities worth taking. They'll be furious the next 2000 years but most will never research past CoL and will never be a threat again.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]12. Mid Game Research[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Get Literature for the Great Library and rush it with your Pyramids GE or build it (in your GP farm). Research bureaucracy - Machinery for macemen. Use bureaucracy and build Heroic epic in your capital. Research Guilds - Banks and then beeline (open the tech tree and click on Rifling or Military Tradition) to your UU be it Riflemen or Cossacks. These will allow you to eliminate the tech leader when behind or even on tech. Make some trades. Never trade military techs unless they are out of date. Focus on researching military techs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]13. Mid Game War[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you aren't strong enough to take on the leader now, take out the rest of your rivals with macemen + cats. (Check the Info screen to see how you match up on production, GNP and troops) Be sure to vary your attack force and throw in some elephants/pikes/knights to defend your attacking stack. You will be taking cities with the macemen and cats so focus on them. Throw in a medical explorer. If the tech leader is Monty/Khan or other aggressive, you're in for a tough end game. Try to stay on decent terms with them until it's time to eliminate them.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]14. Mid Game Building[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build banks in all your commerce cities. Build harbors in your coastal cities. You get Education about the same time as Rifles/Cavalry so I usually skip the Universities as I need all production focused on military towards the end. Science will usually be around 60-70% unless I am blessed with great land or have stolen some nice shrines and then it'll be 80-90%[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]15. Mid Game Workers and Cities[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I usually automate the workers around this time. Too tedious to tend to everything after you have 30-50% landmass. I like to finish my games in one sitting. You should have done most of the work already so as long as you have production cities with lots of farms/mines and commerce cities with grassland cottages, you should be fine. Be sure to build the Forbidden Palace in the middle of your new land. It will raise your science bar at least 10%.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]16. End Game Research[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Beeline for your UU. You should get Redcoats around 1000-1100 AD. Then beeline for Democracy. Switch to Emancipation during your end game war. Unhappiness will cripple the AI and the AI never researches Democracy before you unless you are very behind them. If this happens, switch to Space Race mode. You'll probably lose anyway but if you can raze 1-2 of their production cities, you'll have a chance. Pure peace/Space Race is usually a loser unless you have the tech/production advantage but if you have the advantage you wouldn't be building the ship. Only other way is to have friends you can bribe into a war and if you've been following my guide, there's no one left.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]17. End Game War[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you weren't the tech leader then your final opponent will have rifles and cavalry slightly before you or around the same time. If you chose Catherine or England, this is not a problem. Cossacks v. Cavalry = ~90% win ratio. Redcoats v. Rifles or cavalry = ~75% win ratio. An end game against Mansa is a breeze because he may be up in tech but he doesn't build an army. Amass troops and go for the kill. Monty/Huana is different. They will have a troop advantage. I have won games where my army was listed as 500,000 and Monty was rate 850,000. I still won. The key is winning 5-1 or better and that is very doable.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You must declare war first so the war is fought on your terms. Usually they have a very profitable buddha/hindu shrine. If that city is close, take that one first. If the culture is too strong then raze it and get peace quickly. It will seriously cripple his economy. Put 5-7 rifles in your border cities and keep 5 or so in your capital in case of a sneak attack. Do not pillage. You do not want your guys out in the open.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The AI will slam your border cities with troops. Let them attack you. Let them pillage. They're border cities, they suck anyway. After their units are injured, finish them off but leave the last catapult in the stack so your units do leave the safety of the city. After you fight off the first and second waves, dangle a worker out in the field. They will send in a lone cavalry or rifle to take your worker. Then take out their rifle with your cossack and move back into the city. Repeat. Eventually you will lead the troop category or at least be even. When this happens you can attack with impunity. They will keep 95% of their troops in cities on defense. Go on a rampage. Turn your culture up as high as you can afford to seal the domination win. You should get a victory around 1100 to 1300 AD.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]18. Slam your flag into the ground and watch the world turn red[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Diplomacy: The key to the military win is to fight wars on your terms. Always be the attacker, never the attackee. This is accomplished by being strong and making friends. Except for morons like Alex, civs will not attack you if you have a high % land/pop, share a religion or a military tech advantage. Share a religion with the civ you fear. Give them tribute whenever they ask. Just be sure to cancel the one way Gold trade after 10 turns. Stay on the warpath and you will only have 1-2 civs to fear and one will be an enemy of the other. Turn one against the other and profit.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You can bribe Alex to attack his "friend" Monty. Then wait 5 turns and back stab Alex. Alex will hate you but your relations with Monty will go up. (-1 war ally, +4 mutual enemy). You can take Alex's established cities which are immediately profitable while Alex pillages and razes Monty's cities. Both enemies get weak and you win.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Pyramids: If you lose out on the pyramids and they are built on the other side of the world, don't quit the game. Use hereditary rule for the +happiness. It is very satisfying to miss out on them and still win. It's much, much harder but it can be done.</German>
		<Italian>[H1]Pete's Guide to Emperor Level Domination Wins[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Pete2006[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I'm starting to win on Emperor pretty regularly so I thought I'd post this. I've played standard maps and won but I find small maps more enjoyable since the game can be finished faster.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]1. Civ Choice[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I usually choose a Financial civ that starts with mining so I can research BW immediately to chop and find copper. This means I play with Catherine, Victoria or Mansa Musa. My favorite is Victoria since the expansive trait is so nice in high level play. Industrious is weak since only a couple wonders are necessary and you only need to build one or two. GW is great in the latter parts of the game but since he lacks mining and mysticism, that's at least one extra tech you need right off the bat to chop and expand borders. Catherine has mining and doesn't need mysticism so that's quite a starting advantage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]2. Starting Position[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you are new to Emperor, there is no shame in regenerating your map to get a good spot. It doesn't always work for the best though. I've had a two gold, two crab start but my next 5 cities were near or in ice. Gold/gems + a food resource is the best starting position.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]3. Opening Sequence[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First techs researched should be BW - Wheel - Masonry/Mysticism - Animal Husbandry/Pottery - Writing then depending on your situation IW/Alphabet/Math. Alphabet if you need to immediately trade for the worker/religious techs you skipped. IW to mine the jungle covered gems or math if everything is going great and you want currency to finance your expansion.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]4. Initial Cities[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Use your initial guy to pop some huts and scout your first 2-3 settler sites. Do not let him wander and get killed. You need him for barb protection. -2g means you need cash infusion immediately. Look for sites that can pay for themselves. Do not plop your settler down in jungle if you can get a river somewhere else. Conquer that beautiful jungle area later after you have IW. You want 1. food. 2. gems/gold/ivory/furs/silver 3. metal/horses. (Ex. City 2 with fish + gold and City 3 with wheat + copper) A gold mine with no food source really sucks because you won't be able to work it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you get boxed in and can only build 1-2 cities then immediately change strategies and go to war or the game will be lost.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]5. Initial Build Sequence[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Worker - Settler - Settler. New city builds Worker first. Chop the settlers. Do not overbuild unless you have gems/gold/silver and enough food to work them. 10% research has never worked for me. Build new cities close to home to save on maintenance costs. Do not build 12 squares away to get the stone. It isn't worth it and another AI will settle 3 turns before your settler gets there anyway. If barbs are an issue, build warriors before workers in your new cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]6. Initial Worker Actions[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build roads. If your cities are all on the same river (never happens) then you automatically get trade routes. Otherwise, you must build them. Build them to bring your science back up 10%. Hook up your food and resources and build cottages on all grassland/flood plains.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]7. Initial Wonders[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you do not choose Catherine, you're going to need culture. You need Stonehenge. Plus, it only costs 3 chops. Very cheap. Nothing is worse than Hatty or Cyrus building 3 squares away and stealing your cows/copper. Build Stonehenge in a city close to an AI city so you can culture steal their land and make later invasion easier. Stonehenge should be complete around 1500 BC or AI will get it. Then if you have Stone or enough forest, build Pyramids for Representation. Otherwise, skip it and try to get it later by conquest. Later use the GE from the Pyramids to rush the Great Library. No other wonders necessary.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]8. Early Religion[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you research Math - Currency - COL, 5 out of 10 times, you'll end up founding Confucianism. Do not convert. The rest of the world will be hindu/jewish/buddha. Do not make enemies. +1 happy isn't worth getting killed. Org religion is very nice but you can switch over later but not with your founded religion. Do not convert (in the early game) to anything unless Isabella or Monty is nearby and you are unprepared for a very early attack. You can still build the Confucian shrine and spread the religion for the money but I rather conquer shrines and focus my hammers on military.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]9. Early Research Trading[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you missed out on the pyramids then trade for Monarchy for hereditary rule. Trade for Calendar if you have calendar resources nearby. Victoria + Pyramids + Calendar = multiple early pop 10 cities and practically seals the victory. Most AI will not have currency or COL before you. Get currency before your first prolonged war. Be researching CoL during your first attack. Waiting just allows the AI to catch up to you or leapfrog you to feudalism. Attack while they only have archers or archers + spears.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]10. Pick Your First Opponent. Know Thy Enemy[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Your first war is really just a skirmish for 1-2 cities. Get open borders and scout them before attacking. See what they have defending their border cities. Chariots or axes are good enough for the first city. You can build Swords if they only have archers/spears. Otherwise, axes are probably the best choice. Expect to lose 1/2 your invasion force. You must attack a neighbor because cities too far away will kill your economy. Who to attack?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I like to attack financial or aggressive civs first. These types have the ability to beat you and should be eliminated while you are on equal tech footing. Monty with a tech lead or parity in the mid - late is hard to beat. Other considerations are who can you attack without making other AI enemies. Get peace after the first war then build replacements and go for the kill. Some civs are dumb enough to agree to open borders after you've already attacked (Egypt will love you until they are exterminated). Keep scouting.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Non aggressive civs will usually only have a handful of defenders per city and no roaming units. Monty/Khan/Capac will have units attack you before you even get to their cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]11. New cities[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build Courthouse - Forge - Library in new cities. Do not switch into builder mode after your first victory. They will want revenge. Keep building units and war until you finish them off (2nd attack phase usually requires cats) or at least until you take the cities worth taking. They'll be furious the next 2000 years but most will never research past CoL and will never be a threat again.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]12. Mid Game Research[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Get Literature for the Great Library and rush it with your Pyramids GE or build it (in your GP farm). Research bureaucracy - Machinery for macemen. Use bureaucracy and build Heroic epic in your capital. Research Guilds - Banks and then beeline (open the tech tree and click on Rifling or Military Tradition) to your UU be it Riflemen or Cossacks. These will allow you to eliminate the tech leader when behind or even on tech. Make some trades. Never trade military techs unless they are out of date. Focus on researching military techs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]13. Mid Game War[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you aren't strong enough to take on the leader now, take out the rest of your rivals with macemen + cats. (Check the Info screen to see how you match up on production, GNP and troops) Be sure to vary your attack force and throw in some elephants/pikes/knights to defend your attacking stack. You will be taking cities with the macemen and cats so focus on them. Throw in a medical explorer. If the tech leader is Monty/Khan or other aggressive, you're in for a tough end game. Try to stay on decent terms with them until it's time to eliminate them.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]14. Mid Game Building[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build banks in all your commerce cities. Build harbors in your coastal cities. You get Education about the same time as Rifles/Cavalry so I usually skip the Universities as I need all production focused on military towards the end. Science will usually be around 60-70% unless I am blessed with great land or have stolen some nice shrines and then it'll be 80-90%[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]15. Mid Game Workers and Cities[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I usually automate the workers around this time. Too tedious to tend to everything after you have 30-50% landmass. I like to finish my games in one sitting. You should have done most of the work already so as long as you have production cities with lots of farms/mines and commerce cities with grassland cottages, you should be fine. Be sure to build the Forbidden Palace in the middle of your new land. It will raise your science bar at least 10%.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]16. End Game Research[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Beeline for your UU. You should get Redcoats around 1000-1100 AD. Then beeline for Democracy. Switch to Emancipation during your end game war. Unhappiness will cripple the AI and the AI never researches Democracy before you unless you are very behind them. If this happens, switch to Space Race mode. You'll probably lose anyway but if you can raze 1-2 of their production cities, you'll have a chance. Pure peace/Space Race is usually a loser unless you have the tech/production advantage but if you have the advantage you wouldn't be building the ship. Only other way is to have friends you can bribe into a war and if you've been following my guide, there's no one left.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]17. End Game War[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you weren't the tech leader then your final opponent will have rifles and cavalry slightly before you or around the same time. If you chose Catherine or England, this is not a problem. Cossacks v. Cavalry = ~90% win ratio. Redcoats v. Rifles or cavalry = ~75% win ratio. An end game against Mansa is a breeze because he may be up in tech but he doesn't build an army. Amass troops and go for the kill. Monty/Huana is different. They will have a troop advantage. I have won games where my army was listed as 500,000 and Monty was rate 850,000. I still won. The key is winning 5-1 or better and that is very doable.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You must declare war first so the war is fought on your terms. Usually they have a very profitable buddha/hindu shrine. If that city is close, take that one first. If the culture is too strong then raze it and get peace quickly. It will seriously cripple his economy. Put 5-7 rifles in your border cities and keep 5 or so in your capital in case of a sneak attack. Do not pillage. You do not want your guys out in the open.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The AI will slam your border cities with troops. Let them attack you. Let them pillage. They're border cities, they suck anyway. After their units are injured, finish them off but leave the last catapult in the stack so your units do leave the safety of the city. After you fight off the first and second waves, dangle a worker out in the field. They will send in a lone cavalry or rifle to take your worker. Then take out their rifle with your cossack and move back into the city. Repeat. Eventually you will lead the troop category or at least be even. When this happens you can attack with impunity. They will keep 95% of their troops in cities on defense. Go on a rampage. Turn your culture up as high as you can afford to seal the domination win. You should get a victory around 1100 to 1300 AD.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]18. Slam your flag into the ground and watch the world turn red[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Diplomacy: The key to the military win is to fight wars on your terms. Always be the attacker, never the attackee. This is accomplished by being strong and making friends. Except for morons like Alex, civs will not attack you if you have a high % land/pop, share a religion or a military tech advantage. Share a religion with the civ you fear. Give them tribute whenever they ask. Just be sure to cancel the one way Gold trade after 10 turns. Stay on the warpath and you will only have 1-2 civs to fear and one will be an enemy of the other. Turn one against the other and profit.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You can bribe Alex to attack his "friend" Monty. Then wait 5 turns and back stab Alex. Alex will hate you but your relations with Monty will go up. (-1 war ally, +4 mutual enemy). You can take Alex's established cities which are immediately profitable while Alex pillages and razes Monty's cities. Both enemies get weak and you win.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Pyramids: If you lose out on the pyramids and they are built on the other side of the world, don't quit the game. Use hereditary rule for the +happiness. It is very satisfying to miss out on them and still win. It's much, much harder but it can be done.</Italian>
		<Spanish>[H1]Pete's Guide to Emperor Level Domination Wins[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Pete2006[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I'm starting to win on Emperor pretty regularly so I thought I'd post this. I've played standard maps and won but I find small maps more enjoyable since the game can be finished faster.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]1. Civ Choice[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I usually choose a Financial civ that starts with mining so I can research BW immediately to chop and find copper. This means I play with Catherine, Victoria or Mansa Musa. My favorite is Victoria since the expansive trait is so nice in high level play. Industrious is weak since only a couple wonders are necessary and you only need to build one or two. GW is great in the latter parts of the game but since he lacks mining and mysticism, that's at least one extra tech you need right off the bat to chop and expand borders. Catherine has mining and doesn't need mysticism so that's quite a starting advantage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]2. Starting Position[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you are new to Emperor, there is no shame in regenerating your map to get a good spot. It doesn't always work for the best though. I've had a two gold, two crab start but my next 5 cities were near or in ice. Gold/gems + a food resource is the best starting position.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]3. Opening Sequence[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First techs researched should be BW - Wheel - Masonry/Mysticism - Animal Husbandry/Pottery - Writing then depending on your situation IW/Alphabet/Math. Alphabet if you need to immediately trade for the worker/religious techs you skipped. IW to mine the jungle covered gems or math if everything is going great and you want currency to finance your expansion.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]4. Initial Cities[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Use your initial guy to pop some huts and scout your first 2-3 settler sites. Do not let him wander and get killed. You need him for barb protection. -2g means you need cash infusion immediately. Look for sites that can pay for themselves. Do not plop your settler down in jungle if you can get a river somewhere else. Conquer that beautiful jungle area later after you have IW. You want 1. food. 2. gems/gold/ivory/furs/silver 3. metal/horses. (Ex. City 2 with fish + gold and City 3 with wheat + copper) A gold mine with no food source really sucks because you won't be able to work it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you get boxed in and can only build 1-2 cities then immediately change strategies and go to war or the game will be lost.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]5. Initial Build Sequence[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Worker - Settler - Settler. New city builds Worker first. Chop the settlers. Do not overbuild unless you have gems/gold/silver and enough food to work them. 10% research has never worked for me. Build new cities close to home to save on maintenance costs. Do not build 12 squares away to get the stone. It isn't worth it and another AI will settle 3 turns before your settler gets there anyway. If barbs are an issue, build warriors before workers in your new cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]6. Initial Worker Actions[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build roads. If your cities are all on the same river (never happens) then you automatically get trade routes. Otherwise, you must build them. Build them to bring your science back up 10%. Hook up your food and resources and build cottages on all grassland/flood plains.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]7. Initial Wonders[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you do not choose Catherine, you're going to need culture. You need Stonehenge. Plus, it only costs 3 chops. Very cheap. Nothing is worse than Hatty or Cyrus building 3 squares away and stealing your cows/copper. Build Stonehenge in a city close to an AI city so you can culture steal their land and make later invasion easier. Stonehenge should be complete around 1500 BC or AI will get it. Then if you have Stone or enough forest, build Pyramids for Representation. Otherwise, skip it and try to get it later by conquest. Later use the GE from the Pyramids to rush the Great Library. No other wonders necessary.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]8. Early Religion[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you research Math - Currency - COL, 5 out of 10 times, you'll end up founding Confucianism. Do not convert. The rest of the world will be hindu/jewish/buddha. Do not make enemies. +1 happy isn't worth getting killed. Org religion is very nice but you can switch over later but not with your founded religion. Do not convert (in the early game) to anything unless Isabella or Monty is nearby and you are unprepared for a very early attack. You can still build the Confucian shrine and spread the religion for the money but I rather conquer shrines and focus my hammers on military.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]9. Early Research Trading[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you missed out on the pyramids then trade for Monarchy for hereditary rule. Trade for Calendar if you have calendar resources nearby. Victoria + Pyramids + Calendar = multiple early pop 10 cities and practically seals the victory. Most AI will not have currency or COL before you. Get currency before your first prolonged war. Be researching CoL during your first attack. Waiting just allows the AI to catch up to you or leapfrog you to feudalism. Attack while they only have archers or archers + spears.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]10. Pick Your First Opponent. Know Thy Enemy[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Your first war is really just a skirmish for 1-2 cities. Get open borders and scout them before attacking. See what they have defending their border cities. Chariots or axes are good enough for the first city. You can build Swords if they only have archers/spears. Otherwise, axes are probably the best choice. Expect to lose 1/2 your invasion force. You must attack a neighbor because cities too far away will kill your economy. Who to attack?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I like to attack financial or aggressive civs first. These types have the ability to beat you and should be eliminated while you are on equal tech footing. Monty with a tech lead or parity in the mid - late is hard to beat. Other considerations are who can you attack without making other AI enemies. Get peace after the first war then build replacements and go for the kill. Some civs are dumb enough to agree to open borders after you've already attacked (Egypt will love you until they are exterminated). Keep scouting.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Non aggressive civs will usually only have a handful of defenders per city and no roaming units. Monty/Khan/Capac will have units attack you before you even get to their cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]11. New cities[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build Courthouse - Forge - Library in new cities. Do not switch into builder mode after your first victory. They will want revenge. Keep building units and war until you finish them off (2nd attack phase usually requires cats) or at least until you take the cities worth taking. They'll be furious the next 2000 years but most will never research past CoL and will never be a threat again.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]12. Mid Game Research[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Get Literature for the Great Library and rush it with your Pyramids GE or build it (in your GP farm). Research bureaucracy - Machinery for macemen. Use bureaucracy and build Heroic epic in your capital. Research Guilds - Banks and then beeline (open the tech tree and click on Rifling or Military Tradition) to your UU be it Riflemen or Cossacks. These will allow you to eliminate the tech leader when behind or even on tech. Make some trades. Never trade military techs unless they are out of date. Focus on researching military techs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]13. Mid Game War[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you aren't strong enough to take on the leader now, take out the rest of your rivals with macemen + cats. (Check the Info screen to see how you match up on production, GNP and troops) Be sure to vary your attack force and throw in some elephants/pikes/knights to defend your attacking stack. You will be taking cities with the macemen and cats so focus on them. Throw in a medical explorer. If the tech leader is Monty/Khan or other aggressive, you're in for a tough end game. Try to stay on decent terms with them until it's time to eliminate them.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]14. Mid Game Building[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build banks in all your commerce cities. Build harbors in your coastal cities. You get Education about the same time as Rifles/Cavalry so I usually skip the Universities as I need all production focused on military towards the end. Science will usually be around 60-70% unless I am blessed with great land or have stolen some nice shrines and then it'll be 80-90%[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]15. Mid Game Workers and Cities[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I usually automate the workers around this time. Too tedious to tend to everything after you have 30-50% landmass. I like to finish my games in one sitting. You should have done most of the work already so as long as you have production cities with lots of farms/mines and commerce cities with grassland cottages, you should be fine. Be sure to build the Forbidden Palace in the middle of your new land. It will raise your science bar at least 10%.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]16. End Game Research[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Beeline for your UU. You should get Redcoats around 1000-1100 AD. Then beeline for Democracy. Switch to Emancipation during your end game war. Unhappiness will cripple the AI and the AI never researches Democracy before you unless you are very behind them. If this happens, switch to Space Race mode. You'll probably lose anyway but if you can raze 1-2 of their production cities, you'll have a chance. Pure peace/Space Race is usually a loser unless you have the tech/production advantage but if you have the advantage you wouldn't be building the ship. Only other way is to have friends you can bribe into a war and if you've been following my guide, there's no one left.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]17. End Game War[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you weren't the tech leader then your final opponent will have rifles and cavalry slightly before you or around the same time. If you chose Catherine or England, this is not a problem. Cossacks v. Cavalry = ~90% win ratio. Redcoats v. Rifles or cavalry = ~75% win ratio. An end game against Mansa is a breeze because he may be up in tech but he doesn't build an army. Amass troops and go for the kill. Monty/Huana is different. They will have a troop advantage. I have won games where my army was listed as 500,000 and Monty was rate 850,000. I still won. The key is winning 5-1 or better and that is very doable.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You must declare war first so the war is fought on your terms. Usually they have a very profitable buddha/hindu shrine. If that city is close, take that one first. If the culture is too strong then raze it and get peace quickly. It will seriously cripple his economy. Put 5-7 rifles in your border cities and keep 5 or so in your capital in case of a sneak attack. Do not pillage. You do not want your guys out in the open.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The AI will slam your border cities with troops. Let them attack you. Let them pillage. They're border cities, they suck anyway. After their units are injured, finish them off but leave the last catapult in the stack so your units do leave the safety of the city. After you fight off the first and second waves, dangle a worker out in the field. They will send in a lone cavalry or rifle to take your worker. Then take out their rifle with your cossack and move back into the city. Repeat. Eventually you will lead the troop category or at least be even. When this happens you can attack with impunity. They will keep 95% of their troops in cities on defense. Go on a rampage. Turn your culture up as high as you can afford to seal the domination win. You should get a victory around 1100 to 1300 AD.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]18. Slam your flag into the ground and watch the world turn red[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Diplomacy: The key to the military win is to fight wars on your terms. Always be the attacker, never the attackee. This is accomplished by being strong and making friends. Except for morons like Alex, civs will not attack you if you have a high % land/pop, share a religion or a military tech advantage. Share a religion with the civ you fear. Give them tribute whenever they ask. Just be sure to cancel the one way Gold trade after 10 turns. Stay on the warpath and you will only have 1-2 civs to fear and one will be an enemy of the other. Turn one against the other and profit.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You can bribe Alex to attack his "friend" Monty. Then wait 5 turns and back stab Alex. Alex will hate you but your relations with Monty will go up. (-1 war ally, +4 mutual enemy). You can take Alex's established cities which are immediately profitable while Alex pillages and razes Monty's cities. Both enemies get weak and you win.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Pyramids: If you lose out on the pyramids and they are built on the other side of the world, don't quit the game. Use hereditary rule for the +happiness. It is very satisfying to miss out on them and still win. It's much, much harder but it can be done.</Spanish>
	</TEXT>
	<TEXT>
		<Tag>TXT_KEY_STRATEGY_GODOTNUT_PEDIA</Tag>
		<English>[H1]Godotnut's Guide to Totally Peaceful Deity Cultural Victory[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]godotnut[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]At the request of some of you fine Civfanatics, I've finally gotten off my lazy butt to do a write-up on how I won my six HOF Deity games (three on Beta, three on the new one). Be warned--it's still quite a challenge with this strategy, but it works fairly often for me, proving that contrary to the conventional wisdom, it's quite possible to achieve a totally peaceful builder's win on the highest settings. In fact, it's only really challenging on Deity. So this one goes out to all you builders out there: peace wins.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Settings[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I'm going to explain how to do this using strategic settings, but it DOES work with organic settings--it's just harder, and it may be impossible with some types of maps and/or sets of opponents. You [BOLD]do[\BOLD] need one thing for this to work, especially with chopping having been nerfed: you need stone in your starting city to build the Pyramids, and you must have the Pyramids to win before the AI launches the ship. I have done this without starting stone before the patch, but have found it impossible with 1.61. So if you don't find stone in your starting position, regenerate the map until you do.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Disclaimer:[\BOLD] this strategy borrows bit and pieces from many others' strategies and tips. I am especially indebted to the excellent players, who contributed to the conversations in the Beta Gauntlet III (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=153233).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For a peaceful win, I'm convinced that Elizabeth is the best cultural victor, hands down. The combination of financial (for cottage spamming) and philosophical (for the great artists) can't be beat. The next best cultural leader is Mansa (half priced temples plus financial). Also, the slower game speed the better for faster wins.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]EDIT: Huyana also excels at this strategy, but with some modifications (not all peace). For more, see the conversation in the thread below.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Maps:[\BOLD] smaller is easier but larger offers the opportunity for faster wins. Why? Because the more opponents you have, the harder it is to keep the peace and to build the Pyramids on Deity. But more opponents also means more tech trades and so a faster win.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The easiest map allowed by the HOF is Pangaea on smaller maps, and Pang ea or Continents on Standard and larger. The easiest map, period, is Balanced, because it offers great resources, and it is the largest map, but the new HOF doesn't allow this map type. Water means slower contact with the AI, which means no early tech trades. Yes, it's easier to expand with a continent all to yourself, but it's nearly impossible to tech fast enough to win without trades.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Opponents:[\BOLD] You want peace. This is easier with Peacemonger opponents, but it can be done with more warlike opposition (though with Izzy in the game, it may be impossible). This strategy guide assumes that you already know how to use diplomacy to keep the peace. That's a whole topic in itself and deserving of its own thread. If you really want to win though, here are the peacemongers, in approximate order of peace-lovingness: Mansa, Cyrus, Hatshepsut, Asoka, Gandhi, Catherine, Frederick, Louis. Also, this strategy assumes you know how to cottage spam.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]More settings:[\BOLD] low sea level helps A LOT to expand to the requisite six cities. If using Pang ea, a "pressed" coastline, as I understand it, presents "sub-continents" (which = good! cut off your opponents!) but without a lot of islands (which require naval investment = a waste); but I personally enjoy "random" -- call me sentimental. (Temperate or Tropical both work fine.)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are three main obstacles to a peaceful cultural win on Deity: building the Pyramids before the AI, expanding fast enough to get six cities, and achieving legendary culture before the AI launches the ship. Seldom will the AI win by any other means using this strategy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]First City Build Order[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This all depends on a successful start. It's pretty easy after that. The challenge is to both build the Pyramids and not get boxed in. It's not easy, but this seems to work best: Worker &gt; expand to population size two while building a warrior (you can finish him later) &gt; as soon as size two, switch to Settler &gt; expand to size three while finishing the warrior/starting new one &gt; Worker #2 &gt; Pyramids. After that, I build whatever seems most necessary until the "temple spam" stage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I never build any barracks or any troops other than one warrior per city. I don't hook up with copper until I've built six warriors, so that the option is present to build warriors and not the more expensive axemen or spearmen. If diplomacy fails and someone invades (rarely happens), retire, rinse, and repeat.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Starting Research Path[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Bronze &gt; Masonry &gt; Wheel &gt; Agriculture &gt; Pottery &gt; Writing &gt; Alphabet[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Teching after that is a matter of researching techs that the AI is slow to attack, so that you can use them to trade. So, for example, I never research Calendar or Mathematics, because the AI always researches them, and I can trade for them, whereas if I research them, I can't trade anything for them because the AI already has them. So techs like Paper for example that aren't a big deal in most games become important to research relatively early, because the AI researches them late, and you can trade them for others. You need to make early contact with all or most of the AI to establish tech trades so you can win.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]What to Do[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First of all, be aware that in a peaceful world on Deity, the AI will launch their rocket any time between 1500 and 1850 (or even earlier perhaps on larger maps). The more opponents you have, the faster the AI launches the ship. On a standard map with six opponents, expect 1500-1700. The AI finishes faster on larger maps. You will need to finish early to win peacefully, and sometimes, the AI just outraces you. If you can manipulate them into war with each other diplomatically, that's a good thing.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]At first, micromanage your capital with an emphasis on food and growth if not building a worker or settler. Don't worry about defense. Even if you play with barbarians turned on, the land gets settled so fast that the fog of war vaporizes, along with the barbs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Use your first worker to chop two or three forests to accelerate Settler spawning. As soon as you finish Masonry, quit chopping and improve the stone square. In addition to being required for the Pyramids, this helps a ton with speeding up settler production. You don't need roads until just before switching to Pyramid building, and if you're lucky and both the stone and your first city are on a river, you don't need roads at all until much later.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]By now you've finished the first settler. Settle in a spot that will allow you to cottage spam later and which blocks off and claims potential territory from your nearest opponent the most effectively. Build another settler right away. Move worker number one with settler number two, as soon as the worker finishes its task when settler two is spawned. Improve one food square if in cultural boundaries and then chop until the second worker is about done in the first city. Time your first worker's arrival back to your capital with the production of worker number two. Hook up to stone using both workers. Switch to Pyramids the second the stone is hooked up and don't stop until you finish it. If the AI beats you to the Pyramids, rinse and repeat. After the stone is hooked up, have one worker mine all of your hills while the other chops everything in sight. You want to be as large as happiness allows to occupy those mines. You may need to improve a food resource to have enough food to support your miners. Put everything you've got into finishing the Pyramids, because if you don't, it's over.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The reason you need the Pyramids isn't so much for the happiness boost from Representation (though it's nice)--it's so you can buy religious buildings later, without having to tech all the way to universal suffrage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Meanwhile, city number two needs to produce settler(s) ASAP. You need six cities to win, but only three of them need to be good cities. A "good" city in this strategy is one that you can cottage spam with and which is connected to fresh water. Health resources are more important than luxury resources. All of the general resources are useless except stone, marble, and copper. Stone you absolutely must have to build the Pyramids. Stone, marble, and copper are the resources that double production speed of the major religious buildings like Cathedrals, Academies, and Mandirs, which is why they are nice to have. Only stone is essential, though. After building the Pyramids and establishing three cities that you can cottage spam with, you're over the hump.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It's a challenge on Deity even to get three decent and three marginal cities without war, but it can be done. Really once you get that third one, you're usually home free, because you can often squeeze three more cities in around the edges of your cultural borders somewhere. Don't worry if your opponent's borders encroach upon your marginal cities. Believe, me you will beat their borders back big time in the end and before they flip you. In fact, if an opponent builds close to your capital or one of your three culture cities, you can usually flip it by the end game, which sometimes has provided me with my sixth requisite city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Try to cut off your opponents from access to a peninsula, even if there are no resources on it. You can use it later to place those marginal cities. And don't worry if your three other cities occupy crummy positions. In the end, it really doesn't matter that much. Only the cultural cities matter in the end.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You will almost always receive at least two engineers from the Pyramids if you don't dilute the engineer gene pool. Use the first one on the Great Library, and use the second one on either the Sistine Chapel or the Taj Mahal. Don't build the Great Library in the city you want to use to spawn Great Artists later.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In a perfect world, you will manage your great people production so that you receive exactly three scientists from the Great Library before your Great Artist farm overwhelms it. Use all of your scientists to build academies in your three cultural cities. The cultural bonus they provide is just as valuable as the science boost. An academy in each cultural city provides [BOLD]double[\BOLD] the value of being a civ with the cultural trait.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After building the Pyramids, focus on cottage spamming, occupying as many cottaged tiles as possible continually while growing. Don't worry about amassing culture in your beginning game. Almost all of it will come in your end game, when you turn your culture bar up all the way.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The overall plan is: cottage spam and tech as fast as possible; shut off all technology at a certain point (more on this later) and keep the culture bar as low as possible without having unhappy citizens, maximizing your gold input; meanwhile buy religious buildings; then crank up the culture bar. I know this part of the game plan is familiar to many of you, and I certainly don't claim originality here.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After other civs switch to Emancipation, you will probably have to turn up the culture a little to maintain happiness. Remember, the idea is to increase commerce and BUY all the religious buildings, so it's fine to not have much culture until the end. After you quit researching, the AI will gift you some techs, often good ones. That's the bonus of being a "backwards people."[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I struggle with the question of when to quit teching. It seems to me the options are, in successive order: right after liberalism (for Free Speech), after Nationalism (for the Hermitage), or after Printing Press (for the bonus gold). My best game was when quitting after Printing Press, but I got some lucky gift techs in that game. Still, I'm leaning toward thinking that is best.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If possible, one of your cities that is not producing culture needs irrigated farms and food resources to be your Great Artist factory (you usually need caste system too). Any artists produced up until about 400-500 AD I add to one of my cultural cities (usually the slowest one). After that, save them for a big round of culture bombs at the end. The culture bombs are great at helping overcome discrepancies between culture levels in your three cultural cities. Everyone who is serious about their cultural games will be interested in O.H. Dog's superb Civ IV Culture Calculator Spreadsheet (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=141740). It really helps in planning out your end game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I never try to found early religions, and I am seldom able to found the late ones. But getting them to spread is usually not a problem in the end. You don't need all the religions, but the more the better. The fewest number I have won with is three religions. Whatever you do, NEVER use Theocracy. You MUST let those religions in! It's much easier for religions to spread on land maps. Trade routes also seem to help.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If there is one overriding world religion, obviously I switch to it, but if there is even one nearby country of an alternate religion, I remain without. I switch to Pacifism only when: a) my neighbors are so pleased with me that the "heathen religion" factor doesn't matter; or b) late in the game when the AI starts switching [BOLD]en masse[\BOLD] to Free Religion. Remember: only cities with your state religion receive the great people bonus under Pacifism.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I buy or build every possible major religious building in my three cultural cities. For those who don't know, the six city requirement results from the temple building factor. On small and tiny maps, [BOLD]six[\BOLD] temples in any one religion allows you to build [BOLD]three[\BOLD] major religious buildings (cathedrals, etc.), and each major religious building provides a 50% bonus to your cultural production. On standard maps, [BOLD]six[\BOLD] temples allows you two build [BOLD]two[\BOLD] major religious buildings, and if there is a change in this on the larger maps, I'm not aware of it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Switch to all culture, no income as you approach the end of building your major religious buildings. You don't want to waste your end game production in your cities, so it's OK to finish the last major building in each city with hammers, as opposed to buying it. If you want to estimate what your cities' cultural rates will be when you switch into all-culture mode, turn the culture slider up all the way for a second and check them out on the city screen. Don't forget to slide it back down after you've checked. This will help you to plan ahead. Or for a more precise and sophisticated look: use the culture counter spreadsheet I mentioned earlier.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The major religious buildings are what wins the game. So let's imagine that you receive a modest four religions with six cities on a small map. That means you can buy or build FOUR major religious buildings in EACH cultural city, providing a total plus 200% culture bonus in each of them. One will usually get the Hermitage, too. Combine this with cottage spamming, the other culture producing buildings, any added great artists, and perhaps a wonder; and you can easily create cities that produce 600-800 points of culture per turn by the end game. It doesn't take long to win at that rate.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]EDIT: That was a conservative estimate on culture rate. My last Deity game, I had a city amassing culture at 1,080 / turn as I approached victory.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are many other nuances, but this post is getting long-winded already, so I'll leave it at that for now. Maybe we can use this thread to elaborate on the strategy and improve it. I would love to hear your questions, advice, criticism, etc.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Good luck peacemongers! Someday, we take over the world.</English>
		<French>[H1]Godotnut's Guide to Totally Peaceful Deity Cultural Victory[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]godotnut[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]At the request of some of you fine Civfanatics, I've finally gotten off my lazy butt to do a write-up on how I won my six HOF Deity games (three on Beta, three on the new one). Be warned--it's still quite a challenge with this strategy, but it works fairly often for me, proving that contrary to the conventional wisdom, it's quite possible to achieve a totally peaceful builder's win on the highest settings. In fact, it's only really challenging on Deity. So this one goes out to all you builders out there: peace wins.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Settings[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I'm going to explain how to do this using strategic settings, but it DOES work with organic settings--it's just harder, and it may be impossible with some types of maps and/or sets of opponents. You [BOLD]do[\BOLD] need one thing for this to work, especially with chopping having been nerfed: you need stone in your starting city to build the Pyramids, and you must have the Pyramids to win before the AI launches the ship. I have done this without starting stone before the patch, but have found it impossible with 1.61. So if you don't find stone in your starting position, regenerate the map until you do.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Disclaimer:[\BOLD] this strategy borrows bit and pieces from many others' strategies and tips. I am especially indebted to the excellent players, who contributed to the conversations in the Beta Gauntlet III (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=153233).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For a peaceful win, I'm convinced that Elizabeth is the best cultural victor, hands down. The combination of financial (for cottage spamming) and philosophical (for the great artists) can't be beat. The next best cultural leader is Mansa (half priced temples plus financial). Also, the slower game speed the better for faster wins.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]EDIT: Huyana also excels at this strategy, but with some modifications (not all peace). For more, see the conversation in the thread below.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Maps:[\BOLD] smaller is easier but larger offers the opportunity for faster wins. Why? Because the more opponents you have, the harder it is to keep the peace and to build the Pyramids on Deity. But more opponents also means more tech trades and so a faster win.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The easiest map allowed by the HOF is Pangaea on smaller maps, and Pang ea or Continents on Standard and larger. The easiest map, period, is Balanced, because it offers great resources, and it is the largest map, but the new HOF doesn't allow this map type. Water means slower contact with the AI, which means no early tech trades. Yes, it's easier to expand with a continent all to yourself, but it's nearly impossible to tech fast enough to win without trades.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Opponents:[\BOLD] You want peace. This is easier with Peacemonger opponents, but it can be done with more warlike opposition (though with Izzy in the game, it may be impossible). This strategy guide assumes that you already know how to use diplomacy to keep the peace. That's a whole topic in itself and deserving of its own thread. If you really want to win though, here are the peacemongers, in approximate order of peace-lovingness: Mansa, Cyrus, Hatshepsut, Asoka, Gandhi, Catherine, Frederick, Louis. Also, this strategy assumes you know how to cottage spam.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]More settings:[\BOLD] low sea level helps A LOT to expand to the requisite six cities. If using Pang ea, a "pressed" coastline, as I understand it, presents "sub-continents" (which = good! cut off your opponents!) but without a lot of islands (which require naval investment = a waste); but I personally enjoy "random" -- call me sentimental. (Temperate or Tropical both work fine.)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are three main obstacles to a peaceful cultural win on Deity: building the Pyramids before the AI, expanding fast enough to get six cities, and achieving legendary culture before the AI launches the ship. Seldom will the AI win by any other means using this strategy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]First City Build Order[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This all depends on a successful start. It's pretty easy after that. The challenge is to both build the Pyramids and not get boxed in. It's not easy, but this seems to work best: Worker &gt; expand to population size two while building a warrior (you can finish him later) &gt; as soon as size two, switch to Settler &gt; expand to size three while finishing the warrior/starting new one &gt; Worker #2 &gt; Pyramids. After that, I build whatever seems most necessary until the "temple spam" stage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I never build any barracks or any troops other than one warrior per city. I don't hook up with copper until I've built six warriors, so that the option is present to build warriors and not the more expensive axemen or spearmen. If diplomacy fails and someone invades (rarely happens), retire, rinse, and repeat.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Starting Research Path[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Bronze &gt; Masonry &gt; Wheel &gt; Agriculture &gt; Pottery &gt; Writing &gt; Alphabet[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Teching after that is a matter of researching techs that the AI is slow to attack, so that you can use them to trade. So, for example, I never research Calendar or Mathematics, because the AI always researches them, and I can trade for them, whereas if I research them, I can't trade anything for them because the AI already has them. So techs like Paper for example that aren't a big deal in most games become important to research relatively early, because the AI researches them late, and you can trade them for others. You need to make early contact with all or most of the AI to establish tech trades so you can win.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]What to Do[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First of all, be aware that in a peaceful world on Deity, the AI will launch their rocket any time between 1500 and 1850 (or even earlier perhaps on larger maps). The more opponents you have, the faster the AI launches the ship. On a standard map with six opponents, expect 1500-1700. The AI finishes faster on larger maps. You will need to finish early to win peacefully, and sometimes, the AI just outraces you. If you can manipulate them into war with each other diplomatically, that's a good thing.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]At first, micromanage your capital with an emphasis on food and growth if not building a worker or settler. Don't worry about defense. Even if you play with barbarians turned on, the land gets settled so fast that the fog of war vaporizes, along with the barbs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Use your first worker to chop two or three forests to accelerate Settler spawning. As soon as you finish Masonry, quit chopping and improve the stone square. In addition to being required for the Pyramids, this helps a ton with speeding up settler production. You don't need roads until just before switching to Pyramid building, and if you're lucky and both the stone and your first city are on a river, you don't need roads at all until much later.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]By now you've finished the first settler. Settle in a spot that will allow you to cottage spam later and which blocks off and claims potential territory from your nearest opponent the most effectively. Build another settler right away. Move worker number one with settler number two, as soon as the worker finishes its task when settler two is spawned. Improve one food square if in cultural boundaries and then chop until the second worker is about done in the first city. Time your first worker's arrival back to your capital with the production of worker number two. Hook up to stone using both workers. Switch to Pyramids the second the stone is hooked up and don't stop until you finish it. If the AI beats you to the Pyramids, rinse and repeat. After the stone is hooked up, have one worker mine all of your hills while the other chops everything in sight. You want to be as large as happiness allows to occupy those mines. You may need to improve a food resource to have enough food to support your miners. Put everything you've got into finishing the Pyramids, because if you don't, it's over.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The reason you need the Pyramids isn't so much for the happiness boost from Representation (though it's nice)--it's so you can buy religious buildings later, without having to tech all the way to universal suffrage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Meanwhile, city number two needs to produce settler(s) ASAP. You need six cities to win, but only three of them need to be good cities. A "good" city in this strategy is one that you can cottage spam with and which is connected to fresh water. Health resources are more important than luxury resources. All of the general resources are useless except stone, marble, and copper. Stone you absolutely must have to build the Pyramids. Stone, marble, and copper are the resources that double production speed of the major religious buildings like Cathedrals, Academies, and Mandirs, which is why they are nice to have. Only stone is essential, though. After building the Pyramids and establishing three cities that you can cottage spam with, you're over the hump.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It's a challenge on Deity even to get three decent and three marginal cities without war, but it can be done. Really once you get that third one, you're usually home free, because you can often squeeze three more cities in around the edges of your cultural borders somewhere. Don't worry if your opponent's borders encroach upon your marginal cities. Believe, me you will beat their borders back big time in the end and before they flip you. In fact, if an opponent builds close to your capital or one of your three culture cities, you can usually flip it by the end game, which sometimes has provided me with my sixth requisite city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Try to cut off your opponents from access to a peninsula, even if there are no resources on it. You can use it later to place those marginal cities. And don't worry if your three other cities occupy crummy positions. In the end, it really doesn't matter that much. Only the cultural cities matter in the end.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You will almost always receive at least two engineers from the Pyramids if you don't dilute the engineer gene pool. Use the first one on the Great Library, and use the second one on either the Sistine Chapel or the Taj Mahal. Don't build the Great Library in the city you want to use to spawn Great Artists later.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In a perfect world, you will manage your great people production so that you receive exactly three scientists from the Great Library before your Great Artist farm overwhelms it. Use all of your scientists to build academies in your three cultural cities. The cultural bonus they provide is just as valuable as the science boost. An academy in each cultural city provides [BOLD]double[\BOLD] the value of being a civ with the cultural trait.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After building the Pyramids, focus on cottage spamming, occupying as many cottaged tiles as possible continually while growing. Don't worry about amassing culture in your beginning game. Almost all of it will come in your end game, when you turn your culture bar up all the way.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The overall plan is: cottage spam and tech as fast as possible; shut off all technology at a certain point (more on this later) and keep the culture bar as low as possible without having unhappy citizens, maximizing your gold input; meanwhile buy religious buildings; then crank up the culture bar. I know this part of the game plan is familiar to many of you, and I certainly don't claim originality here.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After other civs switch to Emancipation, you will probably have to turn up the culture a little to maintain happiness. Remember, the idea is to increase commerce and BUY all the religious buildings, so it's fine to not have much culture until the end. After you quit researching, the AI will gift you some techs, often good ones. That's the bonus of being a "backwards people."[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I struggle with the question of when to quit teching. It seems to me the options are, in successive order: right after liberalism (for Free Speech), after Nationalism (for the Hermitage), or after Printing Press (for the bonus gold). My best game was when quitting after Printing Press, but I got some lucky gift techs in that game. Still, I'm leaning toward thinking that is best.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If possible, one of your cities that is not producing culture needs irrigated farms and food resources to be your Great Artist factory (you usually need caste system too). Any artists produced up until about 400-500 AD I add to one of my cultural cities (usually the slowest one). After that, save them for a big round of culture bombs at the end. The culture bombs are great at helping overcome discrepancies between culture levels in your three cultural cities. Everyone who is serious about their cultural games will be interested in O.H. Dog's superb Civ IV Culture Calculator Spreadsheet (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=141740). It really helps in planning out your end game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I never try to found early religions, and I am seldom able to found the late ones. But getting them to spread is usually not a problem in the end. You don't need all the religions, but the more the better. The fewest number I have won with is three religions. Whatever you do, NEVER use Theocracy. You MUST let those religions in! It's much easier for religions to spread on land maps. Trade routes also seem to help.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If there is one overriding world religion, obviously I switch to it, but if there is even one nearby country of an alternate religion, I remain without. I switch to Pacifism only when: a) my neighbors are so pleased with me that the "heathen religion" factor doesn't matter; or b) late in the game when the AI starts switching [BOLD]en masse[\BOLD] to Free Religion. Remember: only cities with your state religion receive the great people bonus under Pacifism.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I buy or build every possible major religious building in my three cultural cities. For those who don't know, the six city requirement results from the temple building factor. On small and tiny maps, [BOLD]six[\BOLD] temples in any one religion allows you to build [BOLD]three[\BOLD] major religious buildings (cathedrals, etc.), and each major religious building provides a 50% bonus to your cultural production. On standard maps, [BOLD]six[\BOLD] temples allows you two build [BOLD]two[\BOLD] major religious buildings, and if there is a change in this on the larger maps, I'm not aware of it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Switch to all culture, no income as you approach the end of building your major religious buildings. You don't want to waste your end game production in your cities, so it's OK to finish the last major building in each city with hammers, as opposed to buying it. If you want to estimate what your cities' cultural rates will be when you switch into all-culture mode, turn the culture slider up all the way for a second and check them out on the city screen. Don't forget to slide it back down after you've checked. This will help you to plan ahead. Or for a more precise and sophisticated look: use the culture counter spreadsheet I mentioned earlier.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The major religious buildings are what wins the game. So let's imagine that you receive a modest four religions with six cities on a small map. That means you can buy or build FOUR major religious buildings in EACH cultural city, providing a total plus 200% culture bonus in each of them. One will usually get the Hermitage, too. Combine this with cottage spamming, the other culture producing buildings, any added great artists, and perhaps a wonder; and you can easily create cities that produce 600-800 points of culture per turn by the end game. It doesn't take long to win at that rate.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]EDIT: That was a conservative estimate on culture rate. My last Deity game, I had a city amassing culture at 1,080 / turn as I approached victory.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are many other nuances, but this post is getting long-winded already, so I'll leave it at that for now. Maybe we can use this thread to elaborate on the strategy and improve it. I would love to hear your questions, advice, criticism, etc.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Good luck peacemongers! Someday, we take over the world.</French>
		<German>[H1]Godotnut's Guide to Totally Peaceful Deity Cultural Victory[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]godotnut[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]At the request of some of you fine Civfanatics, I've finally gotten off my lazy butt to do a write-up on how I won my six HOF Deity games (three on Beta, three on the new one). Be warned--it's still quite a challenge with this strategy, but it works fairly often for me, proving that contrary to the conventional wisdom, it's quite possible to achieve a totally peaceful builder's win on the highest settings. In fact, it's only really challenging on Deity. So this one goes out to all you builders out there: peace wins.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Settings[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I'm going to explain how to do this using strategic settings, but it DOES work with organic settings--it's just harder, and it may be impossible with some types of maps and/or sets of opponents. You [BOLD]do[\BOLD] need one thing for this to work, especially with chopping having been nerfed: you need stone in your starting city to build the Pyramids, and you must have the Pyramids to win before the AI launches the ship. I have done this without starting stone before the patch, but have found it impossible with 1.61. So if you don't find stone in your starting position, regenerate the map until you do.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Disclaimer:[\BOLD] this strategy borrows bit and pieces from many others' strategies and tips. I am especially indebted to the excellent players, who contributed to the conversations in the Beta Gauntlet III (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=153233).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For a peaceful win, I'm convinced that Elizabeth is the best cultural victor, hands down. The combination of financial (for cottage spamming) and philosophical (for the great artists) can't be beat. The next best cultural leader is Mansa (half priced temples plus financial). Also, the slower game speed the better for faster wins.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]EDIT: Huyana also excels at this strategy, but with some modifications (not all peace). For more, see the conversation in the thread below.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Maps:[\BOLD] smaller is easier but larger offers the opportunity for faster wins. Why? Because the more opponents you have, the harder it is to keep the peace and to build the Pyramids on Deity. But more opponents also means more tech trades and so a faster win.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The easiest map allowed by the HOF is Pangaea on smaller maps, and Pang ea or Continents on Standard and larger. The easiest map, period, is Balanced, because it offers great resources, and it is the largest map, but the new HOF doesn't allow this map type. Water means slower contact with the AI, which means no early tech trades. Yes, it's easier to expand with a continent all to yourself, but it's nearly impossible to tech fast enough to win without trades.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Opponents:[\BOLD] You want peace. This is easier with Peacemonger opponents, but it can be done with more warlike opposition (though with Izzy in the game, it may be impossible). This strategy guide assumes that you already know how to use diplomacy to keep the peace. That's a whole topic in itself and deserving of its own thread. If you really want to win though, here are the peacemongers, in approximate order of peace-lovingness: Mansa, Cyrus, Hatshepsut, Asoka, Gandhi, Catherine, Frederick, Louis. Also, this strategy assumes you know how to cottage spam.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]More settings:[\BOLD] low sea level helps A LOT to expand to the requisite six cities. If using Pang ea, a "pressed" coastline, as I understand it, presents "sub-continents" (which = good! cut off your opponents!) but without a lot of islands (which require naval investment = a waste); but I personally enjoy "random" -- call me sentimental. (Temperate or Tropical both work fine.)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are three main obstacles to a peaceful cultural win on Deity: building the Pyramids before the AI, expanding fast enough to get six cities, and achieving legendary culture before the AI launches the ship. Seldom will the AI win by any other means using this strategy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]First City Build Order[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This all depends on a successful start. It's pretty easy after that. The challenge is to both build the Pyramids and not get boxed in. It's not easy, but this seems to work best: Worker &gt; expand to population size two while building a warrior (you can finish him later) &gt; as soon as size two, switch to Settler &gt; expand to size three while finishing the warrior/starting new one &gt; Worker #2 &gt; Pyramids. After that, I build whatever seems most necessary until the "temple spam" stage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I never build any barracks or any troops other than one warrior per city. I don't hook up with copper until I've built six warriors, so that the option is present to build warriors and not the more expensive axemen or spearmen. If diplomacy fails and someone invades (rarely happens), retire, rinse, and repeat.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Starting Research Path[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Bronze &gt; Masonry &gt; Wheel &gt; Agriculture &gt; Pottery &gt; Writing &gt; Alphabet[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Teching after that is a matter of researching techs that the AI is slow to attack, so that you can use them to trade. So, for example, I never research Calendar or Mathematics, because the AI always researches them, and I can trade for them, whereas if I research them, I can't trade anything for them because the AI already has them. So techs like Paper for example that aren't a big deal in most games become important to research relatively early, because the AI researches them late, and you can trade them for others. You need to make early contact with all or most of the AI to establish tech trades so you can win.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]What to Do[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First of all, be aware that in a peaceful world on Deity, the AI will launch their rocket any time between 1500 and 1850 (or even earlier perhaps on larger maps). The more opponents you have, the faster the AI launches the ship. On a standard map with six opponents, expect 1500-1700. The AI finishes faster on larger maps. You will need to finish early to win peacefully, and sometimes, the AI just outraces you. If you can manipulate them into war with each other diplomatically, that's a good thing.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]At first, micromanage your capital with an emphasis on food and growth if not building a worker or settler. Don't worry about defense. Even if you play with barbarians turned on, the land gets settled so fast that the fog of war vaporizes, along with the barbs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Use your first worker to chop two or three forests to accelerate Settler spawning. As soon as you finish Masonry, quit chopping and improve the stone square. In addition to being required for the Pyramids, this helps a ton with speeding up settler production. You don't need roads until just before switching to Pyramid building, and if you're lucky and both the stone and your first city are on a river, you don't need roads at all until much later.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]By now you've finished the first settler. Settle in a spot that will allow you to cottage spam later and which blocks off and claims potential territory from your nearest opponent the most effectively. Build another settler right away. Move worker number one with settler number two, as soon as the worker finishes its task when settler two is spawned. Improve one food square if in cultural boundaries and then chop until the second worker is about done in the first city. Time your first worker's arrival back to your capital with the production of worker number two. Hook up to stone using both workers. Switch to Pyramids the second the stone is hooked up and don't stop until you finish it. If the AI beats you to the Pyramids, rinse and repeat. After the stone is hooked up, have one worker mine all of your hills while the other chops everything in sight. You want to be as large as happiness allows to occupy those mines. You may need to improve a food resource to have enough food to support your miners. Put everything you've got into finishing the Pyramids, because if you don't, it's over.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The reason you need the Pyramids isn't so much for the happiness boost from Representation (though it's nice)--it's so you can buy religious buildings later, without having to tech all the way to universal suffrage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Meanwhile, city number two needs to produce settler(s) ASAP. You need six cities to win, but only three of them need to be good cities. A "good" city in this strategy is one that you can cottage spam with and which is connected to fresh water. Health resources are more important than luxury resources. All of the general resources are useless except stone, marble, and copper. Stone you absolutely must have to build the Pyramids. Stone, marble, and copper are the resources that double production speed of the major religious buildings like Cathedrals, Academies, and Mandirs, which is why they are nice to have. Only stone is essential, though. After building the Pyramids and establishing three cities that you can cottage spam with, you're over the hump.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It's a challenge on Deity even to get three decent and three marginal cities without war, but it can be done. Really once you get that third one, you're usually home free, because you can often squeeze three more cities in around the edges of your cultural borders somewhere. Don't worry if your opponent's borders encroach upon your marginal cities. Believe, me you will beat their borders back big time in the end and before they flip you. In fact, if an opponent builds close to your capital or one of your three culture cities, you can usually flip it by the end game, which sometimes has provided me with my sixth requisite city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Try to cut off your opponents from access to a peninsula, even if there are no resources on it. You can use it later to place those marginal cities. And don't worry if your three other cities occupy crummy positions. In the end, it really doesn't matter that much. Only the cultural cities matter in the end.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You will almost always receive at least two engineers from the Pyramids if you don't dilute the engineer gene pool. Use the first one on the Great Library, and use the second one on either the Sistine Chapel or the Taj Mahal. Don't build the Great Library in the city you want to use to spawn Great Artists later.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In a perfect world, you will manage your great people production so that you receive exactly three scientists from the Great Library before your Great Artist farm overwhelms it. Use all of your scientists to build academies in your three cultural cities. The cultural bonus they provide is just as valuable as the science boost. An academy in each cultural city provides [BOLD]double[\BOLD] the value of being a civ with the cultural trait.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After building the Pyramids, focus on cottage spamming, occupying as many cottaged tiles as possible continually while growing. Don't worry about amassing culture in your beginning game. Almost all of it will come in your end game, when you turn your culture bar up all the way.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The overall plan is: cottage spam and tech as fast as possible; shut off all technology at a certain point (more on this later) and keep the culture bar as low as possible without having unhappy citizens, maximizing your gold input; meanwhile buy religious buildings; then crank up the culture bar. I know this part of the game plan is familiar to many of you, and I certainly don't claim originality here.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After other civs switch to Emancipation, you will probably have to turn up the culture a little to maintain happiness. Remember, the idea is to increase commerce and BUY all the religious buildings, so it's fine to not have much culture until the end. After you quit researching, the AI will gift you some techs, often good ones. That's the bonus of being a "backwards people."[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I struggle with the question of when to quit teching. It seems to me the options are, in successive order: right after liberalism (for Free Speech), after Nationalism (for the Hermitage), or after Printing Press (for the bonus gold). My best game was when quitting after Printing Press, but I got some lucky gift techs in that game. Still, I'm leaning toward thinking that is best.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If possible, one of your cities that is not producing culture needs irrigated farms and food resources to be your Great Artist factory (you usually need caste system too). Any artists produced up until about 400-500 AD I add to one of my cultural cities (usually the slowest one). After that, save them for a big round of culture bombs at the end. The culture bombs are great at helping overcome discrepancies between culture levels in your three cultural cities. Everyone who is serious about their cultural games will be interested in O.H. Dog's superb Civ IV Culture Calculator Spreadsheet (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=141740). It really helps in planning out your end game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I never try to found early religions, and I am seldom able to found the late ones. But getting them to spread is usually not a problem in the end. You don't need all the religions, but the more the better. The fewest number I have won with is three religions. Whatever you do, NEVER use Theocracy. You MUST let those religions in! It's much easier for religions to spread on land maps. Trade routes also seem to help.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If there is one overriding world religion, obviously I switch to it, but if there is even one nearby country of an alternate religion, I remain without. I switch to Pacifism only when: a) my neighbors are so pleased with me that the "heathen religion" factor doesn't matter; or b) late in the game when the AI starts switching [BOLD]en masse[\BOLD] to Free Religion. Remember: only cities with your state religion receive the great people bonus under Pacifism.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I buy or build every possible major religious building in my three cultural cities. For those who don't know, the six city requirement results from the temple building factor. On small and tiny maps, [BOLD]six[\BOLD] temples in any one religion allows you to build [BOLD]three[\BOLD] major religious buildings (cathedrals, etc.), and each major religious building provides a 50% bonus to your cultural production. On standard maps, [BOLD]six[\BOLD] temples allows you two build [BOLD]two[\BOLD] major religious buildings, and if there is a change in this on the larger maps, I'm not aware of it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Switch to all culture, no income as you approach the end of building your major religious buildings. You don't want to waste your end game production in your cities, so it's OK to finish the last major building in each city with hammers, as opposed to buying it. If you want to estimate what your cities' cultural rates will be when you switch into all-culture mode, turn the culture slider up all the way for a second and check them out on the city screen. Don't forget to slide it back down after you've checked. This will help you to plan ahead. Or for a more precise and sophisticated look: use the culture counter spreadsheet I mentioned earlier.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The major religious buildings are what wins the game. So let's imagine that you receive a modest four religions with six cities on a small map. That means you can buy or build FOUR major religious buildings in EACH cultural city, providing a total plus 200% culture bonus in each of them. One will usually get the Hermitage, too. Combine this with cottage spamming, the other culture producing buildings, any added great artists, and perhaps a wonder; and you can easily create cities that produce 600-800 points of culture per turn by the end game. It doesn't take long to win at that rate.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]EDIT: That was a conservative estimate on culture rate. My last Deity game, I had a city amassing culture at 1,080 / turn as I approached victory.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are many other nuances, but this post is getting long-winded already, so I'll leave it at that for now. Maybe we can use this thread to elaborate on the strategy and improve it. I would love to hear your questions, advice, criticism, etc.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Good luck peacemongers! Someday, we take over the world.</German>
		<Italian>[H1]Godotnut's Guide to Totally Peaceful Deity Cultural Victory[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]godotnut[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]At the request of some of you fine Civfanatics, I've finally gotten off my lazy butt to do a write-up on how I won my six HOF Deity games (three on Beta, three on the new one). Be warned--it's still quite a challenge with this strategy, but it works fairly often for me, proving that contrary to the conventional wisdom, it's quite possible to achieve a totally peaceful builder's win on the highest settings. In fact, it's only really challenging on Deity. So this one goes out to all you builders out there: peace wins.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Settings[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I'm going to explain how to do this using strategic settings, but it DOES work with organic settings--it's just harder, and it may be impossible with some types of maps and/or sets of opponents. You [BOLD]do[\BOLD] need one thing for this to work, especially with chopping having been nerfed: you need stone in your starting city to build the Pyramids, and you must have the Pyramids to win before the AI launches the ship. I have done this without starting stone before the patch, but have found it impossible with 1.61. So if you don't find stone in your starting position, regenerate the map until you do.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Disclaimer:[\BOLD] this strategy borrows bit and pieces from many others' strategies and tips. I am especially indebted to the excellent players, who contributed to the conversations in the Beta Gauntlet III (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=153233).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For a peaceful win, I'm convinced that Elizabeth is the best cultural victor, hands down. The combination of financial (for cottage spamming) and philosophical (for the great artists) can't be beat. The next best cultural leader is Mansa (half priced temples plus financial). Also, the slower game speed the better for faster wins.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]EDIT: Huyana also excels at this strategy, but with some modifications (not all peace). For more, see the conversation in the thread below.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Maps:[\BOLD] smaller is easier but larger offers the opportunity for faster wins. Why? Because the more opponents you have, the harder it is to keep the peace and to build the Pyramids on Deity. But more opponents also means more tech trades and so a faster win.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The easiest map allowed by the HOF is Pangaea on smaller maps, and Pang ea or Continents on Standard and larger. The easiest map, period, is Balanced, because it offers great resources, and it is the largest map, but the new HOF doesn't allow this map type. Water means slower contact with the AI, which means no early tech trades. Yes, it's easier to expand with a continent all to yourself, but it's nearly impossible to tech fast enough to win without trades.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Opponents:[\BOLD] You want peace. This is easier with Peacemonger opponents, but it can be done with more warlike opposition (though with Izzy in the game, it may be impossible). This strategy guide assumes that you already know how to use diplomacy to keep the peace. That's a whole topic in itself and deserving of its own thread. If you really want to win though, here are the peacemongers, in approximate order of peace-lovingness: Mansa, Cyrus, Hatshepsut, Asoka, Gandhi, Catherine, Frederick, Louis. Also, this strategy assumes you know how to cottage spam.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]More settings:[\BOLD] low sea level helps A LOT to expand to the requisite six cities. If using Pang ea, a "pressed" coastline, as I understand it, presents "sub-continents" (which = good! cut off your opponents!) but without a lot of islands (which require naval investment = a waste); but I personally enjoy "random" -- call me sentimental. (Temperate or Tropical both work fine.)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are three main obstacles to a peaceful cultural win on Deity: building the Pyramids before the AI, expanding fast enough to get six cities, and achieving legendary culture before the AI launches the ship. Seldom will the AI win by any other means using this strategy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]First City Build Order[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This all depends on a successful start. It's pretty easy after that. The challenge is to both build the Pyramids and not get boxed in. It's not easy, but this seems to work best: Worker &gt; expand to population size two while building a warrior (you can finish him later) &gt; as soon as size two, switch to Settler &gt; expand to size three while finishing the warrior/starting new one &gt; Worker #2 &gt; Pyramids. After that, I build whatever seems most necessary until the "temple spam" stage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I never build any barracks or any troops other than one warrior per city. I don't hook up with copper until I've built six warriors, so that the option is present to build warriors and not the more expensive axemen or spearmen. If diplomacy fails and someone invades (rarely happens), retire, rinse, and repeat.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Starting Research Path[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Bronze &gt; Masonry &gt; Wheel &gt; Agriculture &gt; Pottery &gt; Writing &gt; Alphabet[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Teching after that is a matter of researching techs that the AI is slow to attack, so that you can use them to trade. So, for example, I never research Calendar or Mathematics, because the AI always researches them, and I can trade for them, whereas if I research them, I can't trade anything for them because the AI already has them. So techs like Paper for example that aren't a big deal in most games become important to research relatively early, because the AI researches them late, and you can trade them for others. You need to make early contact with all or most of the AI to establish tech trades so you can win.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]What to Do[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First of all, be aware that in a peaceful world on Deity, the AI will launch their rocket any time between 1500 and 1850 (or even earlier perhaps on larger maps). The more opponents you have, the faster the AI launches the ship. On a standard map with six opponents, expect 1500-1700. The AI finishes faster on larger maps. You will need to finish early to win peacefully, and sometimes, the AI just outraces you. If you can manipulate them into war with each other diplomatically, that's a good thing.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]At first, micromanage your capital with an emphasis on food and growth if not building a worker or settler. Don't worry about defense. Even if you play with barbarians turned on, the land gets settled so fast that the fog of war vaporizes, along with the barbs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Use your first worker to chop two or three forests to accelerate Settler spawning. As soon as you finish Masonry, quit chopping and improve the stone square. In addition to being required for the Pyramids, this helps a ton with speeding up settler production. You don't need roads until just before switching to Pyramid building, and if you're lucky and both the stone and your first city are on a river, you don't need roads at all until much later.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]By now you've finished the first settler. Settle in a spot that will allow you to cottage spam later and which blocks off and claims potential territory from your nearest opponent the most effectively. Build another settler right away. Move worker number one with settler number two, as soon as the worker finishes its task when settler two is spawned. Improve one food square if in cultural boundaries and then chop until the second worker is about done in the first city. Time your first worker's arrival back to your capital with the production of worker number two. Hook up to stone using both workers. Switch to Pyramids the second the stone is hooked up and don't stop until you finish it. If the AI beats you to the Pyramids, rinse and repeat. After the stone is hooked up, have one worker mine all of your hills while the other chops everything in sight. You want to be as large as happiness allows to occupy those mines. You may need to improve a food resource to have enough food to support your miners. Put everything you've got into finishing the Pyramids, because if you don't, it's over.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The reason you need the Pyramids isn't so much for the happiness boost from Representation (though it's nice)--it's so you can buy religious buildings later, without having to tech all the way to universal suffrage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Meanwhile, city number two needs to produce settler(s) ASAP. You need six cities to win, but only three of them need to be good cities. A "good" city in this strategy is one that you can cottage spam with and which is connected to fresh water. Health resources are more important than luxury resources. All of the general resources are useless except stone, marble, and copper. Stone you absolutely must have to build the Pyramids. Stone, marble, and copper are the resources that double production speed of the major religious buildings like Cathedrals, Academies, and Mandirs, which is why they are nice to have. Only stone is essential, though. After building the Pyramids and establishing three cities that you can cottage spam with, you're over the hump.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It's a challenge on Deity even to get three decent and three marginal cities without war, but it can be done. Really once you get that third one, you're usually home free, because you can often squeeze three more cities in around the edges of your cultural borders somewhere. Don't worry if your opponent's borders encroach upon your marginal cities. Believe, me you will beat their borders back big time in the end and before they flip you. In fact, if an opponent builds close to your capital or one of your three culture cities, you can usually flip it by the end game, which sometimes has provided me with my sixth requisite city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Try to cut off your opponents from access to a peninsula, even if there are no resources on it. You can use it later to place those marginal cities. And don't worry if your three other cities occupy crummy positions. In the end, it really doesn't matter that much. Only the cultural cities matter in the end.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You will almost always receive at least two engineers from the Pyramids if you don't dilute the engineer gene pool. Use the first one on the Great Library, and use the second one on either the Sistine Chapel or the Taj Mahal. Don't build the Great Library in the city you want to use to spawn Great Artists later.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In a perfect world, you will manage your great people production so that you receive exactly three scientists from the Great Library before your Great Artist farm overwhelms it. Use all of your scientists to build academies in your three cultural cities. The cultural bonus they provide is just as valuable as the science boost. An academy in each cultural city provides [BOLD]double[\BOLD] the value of being a civ with the cultural trait.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After building the Pyramids, focus on cottage spamming, occupying as many cottaged tiles as possible continually while growing. Don't worry about amassing culture in your beginning game. Almost all of it will come in your end game, when you turn your culture bar up all the way.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The overall plan is: cottage spam and tech as fast as possible; shut off all technology at a certain point (more on this later) and keep the culture bar as low as possible without having unhappy citizens, maximizing your gold input; meanwhile buy religious buildings; then crank up the culture bar. I know this part of the game plan is familiar to many of you, and I certainly don't claim originality here.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After other civs switch to Emancipation, you will probably have to turn up the culture a little to maintain happiness. Remember, the idea is to increase commerce and BUY all the religious buildings, so it's fine to not have much culture until the end. After you quit researching, the AI will gift you some techs, often good ones. That's the bonus of being a "backwards people."[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I struggle with the question of when to quit teching. It seems to me the options are, in successive order: right after liberalism (for Free Speech), after Nationalism (for the Hermitage), or after Printing Press (for the bonus gold). My best game was when quitting after Printing Press, but I got some lucky gift techs in that game. Still, I'm leaning toward thinking that is best.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If possible, one of your cities that is not producing culture needs irrigated farms and food resources to be your Great Artist factory (you usually need caste system too). Any artists produced up until about 400-500 AD I add to one of my cultural cities (usually the slowest one). After that, save them for a big round of culture bombs at the end. The culture bombs are great at helping overcome discrepancies between culture levels in your three cultural cities. Everyone who is serious about their cultural games will be interested in O.H. Dog's superb Civ IV Culture Calculator Spreadsheet (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=141740). It really helps in planning out your end game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I never try to found early religions, and I am seldom able to found the late ones. But getting them to spread is usually not a problem in the end. You don't need all the religions, but the more the better. The fewest number I have won with is three religions. Whatever you do, NEVER use Theocracy. You MUST let those religions in! It's much easier for religions to spread on land maps. Trade routes also seem to help.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If there is one overriding world religion, obviously I switch to it, but if there is even one nearby country of an alternate religion, I remain without. I switch to Pacifism only when: a) my neighbors are so pleased with me that the "heathen religion" factor doesn't matter; or b) late in the game when the AI starts switching [BOLD]en masse[\BOLD] to Free Religion. Remember: only cities with your state religion receive the great people bonus under Pacifism.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I buy or build every possible major religious building in my three cultural cities. For those who don't know, the six city requirement results from the temple building factor. On small and tiny maps, [BOLD]six[\BOLD] temples in any one religion allows you to build [BOLD]three[\BOLD] major religious buildings (cathedrals, etc.), and each major religious building provides a 50% bonus to your cultural production. On standard maps, [BOLD]six[\BOLD] temples allows you two build [BOLD]two[\BOLD] major religious buildings, and if there is a change in this on the larger maps, I'm not aware of it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Switch to all culture, no income as you approach the end of building your major religious buildings. You don't want to waste your end game production in your cities, so it's OK to finish the last major building in each city with hammers, as opposed to buying it. If you want to estimate what your cities' cultural rates will be when you switch into all-culture mode, turn the culture slider up all the way for a second and check them out on the city screen. Don't forget to slide it back down after you've checked. This will help you to plan ahead. Or for a more precise and sophisticated look: use the culture counter spreadsheet I mentioned earlier.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The major religious buildings are what wins the game. So let's imagine that you receive a modest four religions with six cities on a small map. That means you can buy or build FOUR major religious buildings in EACH cultural city, providing a total plus 200% culture bonus in each of them. One will usually get the Hermitage, too. Combine this with cottage spamming, the other culture producing buildings, any added great artists, and perhaps a wonder; and you can easily create cities that produce 600-800 points of culture per turn by the end game. It doesn't take long to win at that rate.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]EDIT: That was a conservative estimate on culture rate. My last Deity game, I had a city amassing culture at 1,080 / turn as I approached victory.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are many other nuances, but this post is getting long-winded already, so I'll leave it at that for now. Maybe we can use this thread to elaborate on the strategy and improve it. I would love to hear your questions, advice, criticism, etc.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Good luck peacemongers! Someday, we take over the world.</Italian>
		<Spanish>[H1]Godotnut's Guide to Totally Peaceful Deity Cultural Victory[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]godotnut[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]At the request of some of you fine Civfanatics, I've finally gotten off my lazy butt to do a write-up on how I won my six HOF Deity games (three on Beta, three on the new one). Be warned--it's still quite a challenge with this strategy, but it works fairly often for me, proving that contrary to the conventional wisdom, it's quite possible to achieve a totally peaceful builder's win on the highest settings. In fact, it's only really challenging on Deity. So this one goes out to all you builders out there: peace wins.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Settings[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I'm going to explain how to do this using strategic settings, but it DOES work with organic settings--it's just harder, and it may be impossible with some types of maps and/or sets of opponents. You [BOLD]do[\BOLD] need one thing for this to work, especially with chopping having been nerfed: you need stone in your starting city to build the Pyramids, and you must have the Pyramids to win before the AI launches the ship. I have done this without starting stone before the patch, but have found it impossible with 1.61. So if you don't find stone in your starting position, regenerate the map until you do.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Disclaimer:[\BOLD] this strategy borrows bit and pieces from many others' strategies and tips. I am especially indebted to the excellent players, who contributed to the conversations in the Beta Gauntlet III (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=153233).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For a peaceful win, I'm convinced that Elizabeth is the best cultural victor, hands down. The combination of financial (for cottage spamming) and philosophical (for the great artists) can't be beat. The next best cultural leader is Mansa (half priced temples plus financial). Also, the slower game speed the better for faster wins.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]EDIT: Huyana also excels at this strategy, but with some modifications (not all peace). For more, see the conversation in the thread below.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Maps:[\BOLD] smaller is easier but larger offers the opportunity for faster wins. Why? Because the more opponents you have, the harder it is to keep the peace and to build the Pyramids on Deity. But more opponents also means more tech trades and so a faster win.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The easiest map allowed by the HOF is Pangaea on smaller maps, and Pang ea or Continents on Standard and larger. The easiest map, period, is Balanced, because it offers great resources, and it is the largest map, but the new HOF doesn't allow this map type. Water means slower contact with the AI, which means no early tech trades. Yes, it's easier to expand with a continent all to yourself, but it's nearly impossible to tech fast enough to win without trades.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Opponents:[\BOLD] You want peace. This is easier with Peacemonger opponents, but it can be done with more warlike opposition (though with Izzy in the game, it may be impossible). This strategy guide assumes that you already know how to use diplomacy to keep the peace. That's a whole topic in itself and deserving of its own thread. If you really want to win though, here are the peacemongers, in approximate order of peace-lovingness: Mansa, Cyrus, Hatshepsut, Asoka, Gandhi, Catherine, Frederick, Louis. Also, this strategy assumes you know how to cottage spam.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]More settings:[\BOLD] low sea level helps A LOT to expand to the requisite six cities. If using Pang ea, a "pressed" coastline, as I understand it, presents "sub-continents" (which = good! cut off your opponents!) but without a lot of islands (which require naval investment = a waste); but I personally enjoy "random" -- call me sentimental. (Temperate or Tropical both work fine.)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are three main obstacles to a peaceful cultural win on Deity: building the Pyramids before the AI, expanding fast enough to get six cities, and achieving legendary culture before the AI launches the ship. Seldom will the AI win by any other means using this strategy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]First City Build Order[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This all depends on a successful start. It's pretty easy after that. The challenge is to both build the Pyramids and not get boxed in. It's not easy, but this seems to work best: Worker &gt; expand to population size two while building a warrior (you can finish him later) &gt; as soon as size two, switch to Settler &gt; expand to size three while finishing the warrior/starting new one &gt; Worker #2 &gt; Pyramids. After that, I build whatever seems most necessary until the "temple spam" stage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I never build any barracks or any troops other than one warrior per city. I don't hook up with copper until I've built six warriors, so that the option is present to build warriors and not the more expensive axemen or spearmen. If diplomacy fails and someone invades (rarely happens), retire, rinse, and repeat.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Starting Research Path[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Bronze &gt; Masonry &gt; Wheel &gt; Agriculture &gt; Pottery &gt; Writing &gt; Alphabet[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Teching after that is a matter of researching techs that the AI is slow to attack, so that you can use them to trade. So, for example, I never research Calendar or Mathematics, because the AI always researches them, and I can trade for them, whereas if I research them, I can't trade anything for them because the AI already has them. So techs like Paper for example that aren't a big deal in most games become important to research relatively early, because the AI researches them late, and you can trade them for others. You need to make early contact with all or most of the AI to establish tech trades so you can win.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]What to Do[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First of all, be aware that in a peaceful world on Deity, the AI will launch their rocket any time between 1500 and 1850 (or even earlier perhaps on larger maps). The more opponents you have, the faster the AI launches the ship. On a standard map with six opponents, expect 1500-1700. The AI finishes faster on larger maps. You will need to finish early to win peacefully, and sometimes, the AI just outraces you. If you can manipulate them into war with each other diplomatically, that's a good thing.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]At first, micromanage your capital with an emphasis on food and growth if not building a worker or settler. Don't worry about defense. Even if you play with barbarians turned on, the land gets settled so fast that the fog of war vaporizes, along with the barbs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Use your first worker to chop two or three forests to accelerate Settler spawning. As soon as you finish Masonry, quit chopping and improve the stone square. In addition to being required for the Pyramids, this helps a ton with speeding up settler production. You don't need roads until just before switching to Pyramid building, and if you're lucky and both the stone and your first city are on a river, you don't need roads at all until much later.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]By now you've finished the first settler. Settle in a spot that will allow you to cottage spam later and which blocks off and claims potential territory from your nearest opponent the most effectively. Build another settler right away. Move worker number one with settler number two, as soon as the worker finishes its task when settler two is spawned. Improve one food square if in cultural boundaries and then chop until the second worker is about done in the first city. Time your first worker's arrival back to your capital with the production of worker number two. Hook up to stone using both workers. Switch to Pyramids the second the stone is hooked up and don't stop until you finish it. If the AI beats you to the Pyramids, rinse and repeat. After the stone is hooked up, have one worker mine all of your hills while the other chops everything in sight. You want to be as large as happiness allows to occupy those mines. You may need to improve a food resource to have enough food to support your miners. Put everything you've got into finishing the Pyramids, because if you don't, it's over.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The reason you need the Pyramids isn't so much for the happiness boost from Representation (though it's nice)--it's so you can buy religious buildings later, without having to tech all the way to universal suffrage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Meanwhile, city number two needs to produce settler(s) ASAP. You need six cities to win, but only three of them need to be good cities. A "good" city in this strategy is one that you can cottage spam with and which is connected to fresh water. Health resources are more important than luxury resources. All of the general resources are useless except stone, marble, and copper. Stone you absolutely must have to build the Pyramids. Stone, marble, and copper are the resources that double production speed of the major religious buildings like Cathedrals, Academies, and Mandirs, which is why they are nice to have. Only stone is essential, though. After building the Pyramids and establishing three cities that you can cottage spam with, you're over the hump.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It's a challenge on Deity even to get three decent and three marginal cities without war, but it can be done. Really once you get that third one, you're usually home free, because you can often squeeze three more cities in around the edges of your cultural borders somewhere. Don't worry if your opponent's borders encroach upon your marginal cities. Believe, me you will beat their borders back big time in the end and before they flip you. In fact, if an opponent builds close to your capital or one of your three culture cities, you can usually flip it by the end game, which sometimes has provided me with my sixth requisite city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Try to cut off your opponents from access to a peninsula, even if there are no resources on it. You can use it later to place those marginal cities. And don't worry if your three other cities occupy crummy positions. In the end, it really doesn't matter that much. Only the cultural cities matter in the end.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You will almost always receive at least two engineers from the Pyramids if you don't dilute the engineer gene pool. Use the first one on the Great Library, and use the second one on either the Sistine Chapel or the Taj Mahal. Don't build the Great Library in the city you want to use to spawn Great Artists later.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In a perfect world, you will manage your great people production so that you receive exactly three scientists from the Great Library before your Great Artist farm overwhelms it. Use all of your scientists to build academies in your three cultural cities. The cultural bonus they provide is just as valuable as the science boost. An academy in each cultural city provides [BOLD]double[\BOLD] the value of being a civ with the cultural trait.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After building the Pyramids, focus on cottage spamming, occupying as many cottaged tiles as possible continually while growing. Don't worry about amassing culture in your beginning game. Almost all of it will come in your end game, when you turn your culture bar up all the way.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The overall plan is: cottage spam and tech as fast as possible; shut off all technology at a certain point (more on this later) and keep the culture bar as low as possible without having unhappy citizens, maximizing your gold input; meanwhile buy religious buildings; then crank up the culture bar. I know this part of the game plan is familiar to many of you, and I certainly don't claim originality here.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After other civs switch to Emancipation, you will probably have to turn up the culture a little to maintain happiness. Remember, the idea is to increase commerce and BUY all the religious buildings, so it's fine to not have much culture until the end. After you quit researching, the AI will gift you some techs, often good ones. That's the bonus of being a "backwards people."[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I struggle with the question of when to quit teching. It seems to me the options are, in successive order: right after liberalism (for Free Speech), after Nationalism (for the Hermitage), or after Printing Press (for the bonus gold). My best game was when quitting after Printing Press, but I got some lucky gift techs in that game. Still, I'm leaning toward thinking that is best.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If possible, one of your cities that is not producing culture needs irrigated farms and food resources to be your Great Artist factory (you usually need caste system too). Any artists produced up until about 400-500 AD I add to one of my cultural cities (usually the slowest one). After that, save them for a big round of culture bombs at the end. The culture bombs are great at helping overcome discrepancies between culture levels in your three cultural cities. Everyone who is serious about their cultural games will be interested in O.H. Dog's superb Civ IV Culture Calculator Spreadsheet (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=141740). It really helps in planning out your end game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I never try to found early religions, and I am seldom able to found the late ones. But getting them to spread is usually not a problem in the end. You don't need all the religions, but the more the better. The fewest number I have won with is three religions. Whatever you do, NEVER use Theocracy. You MUST let those religions in! It's much easier for religions to spread on land maps. Trade routes also seem to help.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If there is one overriding world religion, obviously I switch to it, but if there is even one nearby country of an alternate religion, I remain without. I switch to Pacifism only when: a) my neighbors are so pleased with me that the "heathen religion" factor doesn't matter; or b) late in the game when the AI starts switching [BOLD]en masse[\BOLD] to Free Religion. Remember: only cities with your state religion receive the great people bonus under Pacifism.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I buy or build every possible major religious building in my three cultural cities. For those who don't know, the six city requirement results from the temple building factor. On small and tiny maps, [BOLD]six[\BOLD] temples in any one religion allows you to build [BOLD]three[\BOLD] major religious buildings (cathedrals, etc.), and each major religious building provides a 50% bonus to your cultural production. On standard maps, [BOLD]six[\BOLD] temples allows you two build [BOLD]two[\BOLD] major religious buildings, and if there is a change in this on the larger maps, I'm not aware of it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Switch to all culture, no income as you approach the end of building your major religious buildings. You don't want to waste your end game production in your cities, so it's OK to finish the last major building in each city with hammers, as opposed to buying it. If you want to estimate what your cities' cultural rates will be when you switch into all-culture mode, turn the culture slider up all the way for a second and check them out on the city screen. Don't forget to slide it back down after you've checked. This will help you to plan ahead. Or for a more precise and sophisticated look: use the culture counter spreadsheet I mentioned earlier.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The major religious buildings are what wins the game. So let's imagine that you receive a modest four religions with six cities on a small map. That means you can buy or build FOUR major religious buildings in EACH cultural city, providing a total plus 200% culture bonus in each of them. One will usually get the Hermitage, too. Combine this with cottage spamming, the other culture producing buildings, any added great artists, and perhaps a wonder; and you can easily create cities that produce 600-800 points of culture per turn by the end game. It doesn't take long to win at that rate.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]EDIT: That was a conservative estimate on culture rate. My last Deity game, I had a city amassing culture at 1,080 / turn as I approached victory.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are many other nuances, but this post is getting long-winded already, so I'll leave it at that for now. Maybe we can use this thread to elaborate on the strategy and improve it. I would love to hear your questions, advice, criticism, etc.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Good luck peacemongers! Someday, we take over the world.</Spanish>
	</TEXT>
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		<Tag>TXT_KEY_STRATEGY_UB_PEDIA</Tag>
		<English>[H1]Comprehensive Unique Building Guide (BTS)[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]WilliamOfOrange[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is a my first attempt at a strategy guide given that most of the players with more skill/talent/time usually write up some beauties, but I have been inspried to contribute something about my favourite part of the Warlords expansion: the Unique Building.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I often load up the game and civilopedia just to see which UBs might match the victory condition that I feel like going for. I appreciate reading peoples' work, so I hope I can return the favour here in bringing this strategy article to you. The great thing about this game is the many different strategies and uses for things like leader traits, UUs and UBs. And what is truly great about the UBs is the flexibility and choices most of them give the player so ratings are not necessary; only strategies and synergies need be discussed. What makes a UB (or UU) great is how it is used the most effectively. With the new combinations that Beyond the Sword offers, this could get quite complicated, however I will only focus on the standard and normal civilization UB combinations here.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Here we go:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]American Mall (Supermarket):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I have only played the Americans in a Gauntlet with a Future start going for Space Race, but I have to say the building was a nice boost. It is a good choice for an American UB, I feel. For the same price as a supermarket (which provides extra health from cow, deer, pig and sheep) you also get happiness from the three late "entertainment/culture wonders" or ECWs; musicals from Broadway, singles from Rock n' Roll and movies from Hollywood, and now with the patch, plus 20% gold in the city to boot! For a future era start, maybe not needed right away, but if in a long game where your population is reaching health and happiness limits, its a great building to have even if it does come late in the game. That alone is enough, but the +20% gold can be nice too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Building one or all of those happiness/culture wonders mentioned above would add 3 happiness points like that and the added health means larger cities as well. What is your pleasure, GP farming or warmongering? Either way, I think it helps out. Not sure about using it with Washington, who is charismatic and expansive, so the +2 health means the health bonus from the mall maybe isn't so big. Then again, you can afford to build polution causing, production buildings with all that extra health. Also the +1 happiness in all cities and from monuments or broadcast towers (which is great if you build the Eiffel Tower) seems to negate the happiness from the mall too. But, if you were to play as the industrious and organized Roosevelt, then you could get some of the benefits of Washington at the same time if you build malls.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It seems that the extra health and happiness could really give Lincoln a nice late game edge when large, polluting cities needs extra [ICON_HEALTHY] and [ICON_HAPPY]. Given his philosophical trait, he is a great candidate for space race because of the Mall's bonuses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, it does come late and requires a grocer to be built. Given that the grocer gives +1 health from bananas, wine, sugar and spice, that might solve your health problems already. Grocers also give +25 wealth and can turn two citizens into Merchants. Maybe you don't need the health, but the money is always nice. With Grocer, Market, Bank and Mall that is 120% increase in income. Yay, Capitalism![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With a granary, a grocer and the supermarket/mall you get health from rice, corn, wheat, bananas, wine, sugar, spice, deer, cow, pig and sheep. That's 11 health points! So as stated above, that means the ability to build forges, factories and other polluting buildings. It would all depend on your civics (environmentalism), if you have FP or trees and jungle in your fat cross and your goals (production, warmongering, space race, etc)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As for the happiness, with charismatic trait, you get +1 per city, and ignoring any happiness from temples, theatres, coliseums look at what building one of the three ECWs gives you once you have a mall and broadcast tower, (either by it self, or the much better option of the Eiffel Tower). For example you build Hollywood, +1 [ICON_HAPPY]and with mall and broacast tower, another +2 [ICON_HAPPY]for a total of +3 for the same resource!! If you build all three ECWs and the Eiffel Tower, you are looking at +9 happiness for three resources not to mention that you can trade your extra singles, movies and musicals to other civs for resources you may not have, like Aluminum or Iron or Oil. Add in the fact that you likely have temples, theatres or whatever other happiness producing buildings and the fact that the broadcast tower (along with threatres and coliseums) will give +1 happiness for every 10% culture. If you have all three in a city, then that means +3 [ICON_HAPPY] for only raising the culture setting up by 10%. For warmongering this is huge![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Warmongering seems to fit America as a charismatic Washington or Lincoln also gets quicker promotions and you will have more money coming in to support a large army and upgrade your troops. The Mall is a Cottage Economy UB, but Lincoln is a Specialist Economy Leader, so there may be some mismatch here.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Although some may feel that is comes too late or when the game is pretty much finished and you are either milking the score or just mopping up, it seems to me that given a large varied collection of resources, the Mall gives the American player the ability and flexibilty to trade extra health/happiness resources away and not suffer their loss, or to exploit them and kick into high production/war monger gear and not look back. Lincoln is a bonafide space contender, quite a deal over Washington and Roosevelt.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Arabian Madrassa (Library - double production for Creative leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If the Chinese Pavilion is the "Big Daddy" of culture UBs, then the Madrassa is the "Big Momma". With a whopping +4 culture per turn is lends itself to a culture victory. Given that Writing is an early tech and you would likely build a library anyway, it's a no-brainer to place Writing higher up in your tech queue. In fact, I have experiemented with beelining for it and not worrying about early religions for cultural games. Libraries cost the same, but in addition to assigning to scientists, you can [BOLD]also[\BOLD] assign two prophets.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The culture route is likely the biggest draw for this one, but you could also concentrate on farming GP and GS only if you like. Lightbulbing to get ahead in tech and maybe settling some of them as well so that you could build the UN quickly. The big culture ensures that you have the resources if you join/start the space race or just own all the land around you for domination victories. Farming GPs will help you progress nicely through the religious tech and that means more religions, holy cities, shrines and mo' money, mo' money, mo' money! And it can also help you control religion spreading for diplomatic manipulation.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other then the danger of polluting your GP pool if you are not careful and don't want that for a cultural victory, I can't think of any problems.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] All-round, early UB with simple bonuses, but powerful if used to their strengths.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Aztec Sacrificial Altar (Courthouse - double production for Organized leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I just realized that these badboys are only 90 shields compared to the 120 needed for a courthouse! In addition to halving maintenaince costs in the city it also halves the anger caused by whipping buildings in the city. I have not played many Aztec games but I recall reading about a false OCC on another forum where the Aztecs started on a Plains/Hill island and needed to wait until Optics to get across the ocean. The prospect of rushing buildings through slavery seemed to make the task more managable. I had played as the Incas one time on the 1000 AD Earth map and I never left slavery until I had emancipation. I wonder about the same strategy with the Aztecs, seems to be far more effective. Finally, everything gets the discounted unhappiness from rushing (amazing what nice people can point out and you can verify by playing the game and testing). Holy Quetzalcoatl! That changes everything![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Like the courthouse, it also gives +2 Espionage points and allows you to turn one citizen into a Spy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One could whip their hands bloody, but to what advantage? Fast culture, fast science/research or fast infrastructure like banks, grocers, etc. Space race might benefit from this strategy, but can projects be whipped? Once you whip production buildings, you can pump out units and dominate/conquer the world. Or just whip the units out and slay everything in your path.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A large spanning empire through conquest would be able to build cheaper courthouses and then whip some culture and happiness buildings to help keep maintenance costs down and develop captured cities into productive contributors more quickly. In war times you could have the possibility of both drafting and then whipping units. Finally, you can finish off a wonder earlier and perhaps beat the AI to a few depending on difficulty level.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In terms of Bts, we have also only begun to explore the mechanics of espionage, but giving +2 espionage points and the ability to turn a citizen into this new type of GP is almost a throw in after the whipping unhappiness reduction. As a warmonger, this new feature of producing great spies has some definite synergy. The courthouse is likely not always the first items in a build queue, but I feel the Altar has two things that make it a higher priority.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Altars come too late to help whip barracks and the aggressive Monty gets cheaper barracks anyway. But, now that I know the reduced penalty for whipping [BOLD]does[\BOLD] apply to units, a quick ASAP conquest victory is likely not going to be done with CoL and the Altar. This is one of the reasons I have used this technique very little but am more open to trying mid-game conquests. If you are on a large map with many civs, this UB makes more sense. You could be pumping out settlers and workers and units and scouts or even missionaries. However, continuing whipping will keep the population low in those cities if you want to be economical since larger cities taker longer to get back up to that high population and having low populated cities would mean that perhaps you are not utilizing all of the good tiles available to be worked in the fat cross. Having low population might result in slower teching, but if you are whipping settlers and workers and the Altars help lower maintainence then having many small cities might offset that. Eventually, the unhappiness will catch up however, but I am sure that there are plenty of savvy players out there that have slavery fine tuned to both an art and science.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]An appropriately related UB for the Aztecs, but not the culture bomb like in Civ 3 and not as powerful as could be due its somewhat late appearance. That being said, an Oracle slingshot could give you it quicker and then it might be worth more, but a slingshot solely to use this UB doesn't really merit the risk, especially on higher levels and needing Math too. It can be effective for starting out and if it is the first thing build/whipped in a newly captured city, then it will become a contributing city soon enough. I owe this UB an apology for not originally realizing the full potential and the ability to whip units. I has been fun using when playing as the Aztecs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Babylonian Garden (Colosseum - double production for Creative leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]How cute, a UB named for their Hanging Gardens. The building gives extra +2 [ICON_HEALTHY] and this UB is much like the Ottoman Hammam except the Babylonians getting a health bonus on the Colosseum rather than a happiness bonus on the Aqueduct. This UB will give health bonuses independent of what food resources their may be. It also has it's happiness linked to the culture slider and costs 80 hammers, just like the Colosseum.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Being aggressive and organized as well as the Babylonian UU might make Hammurabi a warmonger candidate. Assuming more cities earlier on, perhaps one could make use of the the extra health. Certainly high polluting cities for a warmonger or space race could use it. Organized gets cheap lighthouses (more food), courthouses (faster expansion) and factories for more production. High production with extra health could mean some good warring possibilities with his Aggression or it could mean space race contention.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It comes with Construction and is 20 hammers less expensive than an Aqueduct. A Theatre is still a cheaper option for happiness if you don't need the health. Later in the game, when high production is needed, but unhealthy, this UB will give a slight health advantage, but the beauty is that is comes so early that you would not have to stop producing military units or spaceship components to build it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]This UB will have to be thoroughly tested before evaluation can be made.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Byzantine Hippodrome (Theatre - double production for Creative leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Hippodrome is like a super Theatre. Sure, you get +3 [ICON_CULTURE], the two Artists to assign and the bonus for dyes, but you also get one for horses, hence the name HIPPOdrome. It also has a base happiness of +1, but it that wasn't enough (and it never is), you also get +1 [ICON_HAPPY]for every 5% culture on your slider, instead of the normal 10%. This essentially doubles that ability of the building to give happiness from culture.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Where to begin? Well the extra happiness from a smaller culture slider means more money devoted to maintenance of cities for your expanding empire, more military units and upgrades, more research, you name it. Justinian I is Imperialistic and you will have more money available to take advantage of your fast settler production. Since the Cataphract UU is dependent on horses, it is a no brainer to try and connect the horses ASAP. Being religious gives the flexibility of fast settlement and then gearing up for war or space exploration or anything else. Running Serfdom and OR and than switching to Feudalism and Theocracy. The extra happiness is great and also leads to a economic advantage which is up to your imagination to exploit. This UB is a far better choice than building a Colosseum for the Byzantines.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Extra happiness is never a drawback, and as stated earlier, this leads to an economically advantage. Even without horses or dyes, there is still the +1 base [ICON_HAPPY].[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]While not overpowered on paper, it remains to be seen how useful this UB actually will be. So far, it looks very promising.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Carthaginian Cothon (Harbour - double production for expansive leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]So, a harbour which gives +1 trade routes to a coastal city to Hannibal, a financial leader who starts with fishing. What is the catch, you ask? I can't think of any. I have only played a game or two with Carthage, but you gotta love their chances.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First off, Financial and Fishing is already great. Find some coastal tiles with food sources and settle down. In fact when I play as Carthage (or the Vikings for that matter) it's nothing but coastal cities if I can help it. Your income will give a fast tech pace and you can plan for diplomatic or space victories, although I am not sure about others. I guess being ahead in tech will help keeping a more advanced army.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The base number of trade routes for a city is one, but if you have discovered Currency and build a castle or run the Free Market civic in [BOLD]addition[\BOLD] to your Cothons, that means 3 trade routes. (You can't do both since Economic obsoletes the castle.) The Colossus adds +1 gold in [BOLD]all[\BOLD] water tiles and the Great Lighthouse adds [BOLD]+2 trade routes in [BOLD]all[\BOLD] coastal cities.[\BOLD] If you have a map with many civs, and nice silver or gold or calendar enabling resources which gives you huge coin besides your financial bonus you will have some rich cities. If you are around late enough and make an early move for flight and the UN, the Airport and the Common Currency Resolution give you [BOLD]another[\BOLD] 2 trade routes![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Didn't talk about cottage spamming yet, so there. I said it. Cottage Spamming. Now, need I mention the +50% trade route yield? That +50% on your 7 trade routes! Don't forget the additional 100% from the Temple of Artemis. Add markets, banks and Wall Street and you will be using C-notes for TP.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Compass can come pretty late, but a beeline or slingshot or a combo of both to iron working could land you your cothons earlier than you might think. The tech or time lost getting your UB will be made up for when you have +1 trade routes in your lucrative coastal cities even if they cost an extra 20 hammers. And that may be the only drawback, you need to have coastal cities. If you want to reign supreme with Hannibal, you need high sea levels and likely some sort of Archipelago map[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other than being map dependent, this UB is quite possibly the best matched with the civs leader traits and starting techs. With more money you can support a larger army/empire or research faster.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Celtic Dun (Walls - double production for Protective leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Walls that produce units with a free Guerrilla I promotion for +20% defense on hills. In a discussion about the best UUs I read that Swordmen or Melee units can't get the Guerrilla promotion. This would explain both why the UU starts with it and why the UB gives it to units produced in that city. Only Archery and Gunpowder units can get the promotion. Siege, Melee, Mounted and Armoured don't.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It is important to remember that the G3 30 Hills Attack bonus only coming when attcking [BOLD]into[\BOLD] Hills and not from them. Still, the 30% withdrawal is also handy and has helped out greatly in games I have played, so whether you have hills or not thw withdrawal is worth it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I am not sure whether or not holding off researching Rifling, the obsoleting tech matters because any musketmen or grenadiers that you build will have the Guerrilla I, but once you have riflemen with a strength of 14, maybe grenadiers with 12 don't look so good. Perhaps if your opponents have rifling you would hold off on getting it yourself as the bonus grenadiers have against rifles and their Guerrilla bonus might prove worth keeping for a bit or at least until you have a good amount of them. It would all depend on the other promotions they have and your opponents. Upgrading your Gallic Swordsman to Macemen you do not lose the Guerrilla I. Even if they were given Guerrilla II or even III [BOLD]before[\BOLD] being upgraded then they keep it. Some shrewd manipulation of the promotion chart would prove most rewarding. Build your archery and gunpowder units, give them the G2 promotion and then discover Rifling. Upgrade your archery units and musketmen to riflemen, remembering that only Grenadiers can be promoted to Machine Gunners (considered siege unit). Your G2 or G3 Gallic Warriors becomes Macemen and then either Riflemen or Grenadiers. Riflemen and Machine Gunners can both be promoted to Mechanized Infantry (gunpowder unit), while only Riflemen can be upgraded to SAM Infantry. Below is a crude flowchart:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_COMMERCE]Gallic Warrior[COLOR_REVERT] --&gt; [COLOR_YIELD_COMMERCE]Maceman[COLOR_REVERT] -----\[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]   \__ [COLOR_BLUE]Grenadier[COLOR_REVERT] --&gt; [COLOR_RED]Machine Gun[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB]/--&gt; [COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Crossbowman[COLOR_REVERT] _/\[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]\[NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Archer[COLOR_REVERT] -----/[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]   \_\[COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT] --&gt; [COLOR_BLUE]Infantry[COLOR_REVERT] --&gt; [COLOR_BLUE]Mechanized Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB]\--&gt;  [COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Longbowman[COLOR_REVERT] ___/[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]  \[NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Musketman[COLOR_REVERT]___________________/[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]   \___[COLOR_BLUE]SAM Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Unit[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][ICON_PRODUCTION][TAB][ICON_STRENGTH][TAB][ICON_MOVES][TAB][TAB]Bonuses[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Upgrade[\BOLD][NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Archer[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]25[TAB]3[TAB]1[TAB]1st Strike,[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Longbowman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+50% City &amp; +25% Hills Defense[TAB][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Crossbowman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_COMMERCE]Gallic Warrior[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]60[TAB]6[TAB]1[TAB]+10% City Attack[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_YIELD_COMMERCE]Maceman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Starts with Guerrilla I[NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Longbowman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]50[TAB]6[TAB]1[TAB]1st Strike[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+25% City &amp; +25% Hills Defense[NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Crossbowman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]60[TAB]6[TAB]1[TAB]1st Strike,[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Grenadier[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+50% vs. Melee Units[TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_COMMERCE]Maceman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]80[TAB]8[TAB]1[TAB]+50% vs. Melee Units[TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Grenadier[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Musketman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]80[TAB]9[TAB]1[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Grenadier[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]100[TAB]12[TAB]1[TAB]+50% vs. Riflemen[TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_RED]Machine Gun[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]110[TAB]14[TAB]1[TAB]+25% vs. Mounted Units[TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Machine Gun[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]125[TAB]18[TAB]1[TAB]Can only defend, 1st Strike[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+25% vs. Gunpowder Units[TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Mech Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]140[TAB]20[TAB]1[TAB]+25% vs. Gunpowder Units[TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]SAM Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Mech Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]SAM Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]150[TAB]18[TAB]1[TAB]40% Intercept Chance[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+50% vs. Helicopter Units[NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Mech Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]200[TAB]32[TAB]2[TAB]20% Intercept Chance[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Starts with March[NEWLINE]*Beyond the Sword[NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Archery Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_COMMERCE]Melee Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Gunpowder Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Siege Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Who wouldn't want these Mech or SAM Infantry units with double movement on Hills, +30% Defence, +25% Hill Attack and 30% chance of Withdrawal? Most players sadly undervalue what this UB can do for you later in the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Being charismatic, both Brennus and new-comer Boudica give quicker promotions and if you wanted the Guerrilla I promotion anyway then you are free to choose something else. Don't forget the extra +1 happiness per city and the +1 happiness from the Monument: early happiness for warring or ignoring temple for other more important buildings such as courthourse, forges, libraries, etc. Warring on a hilly or highlands type map seems a good strategy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You could build a stack of any units and upgrade them with the G1 promotion remaining. This bonus makes you just one closer to G2 which gives another 30% defense in Hills and well as double movement on Hills, making hilly maps such as highlands easier to navigate. Remember that with the patch the G3 promotion gives the +25% attack bonus [BOLD]and[\BOLD]a 30% chance of withdrawal! With a charismatic leader you could easily get both of those either out of the barracks and with one fight or from a GG, but don't forget the +4 from running Theocracy and Feudalism. Running both of those and having a barracks means units made will have 7/8 XP to start. Finally, Boudica is aggressive so not only does this mean the Combat I promotion for free, but also cheaper barracks. This means building barracks [BOLD]and[\BOLD] a Dun just got more practical even or especially without stone. But a free Combat I is nothing to sneeze at if you are promoting up the Guerrilla line.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One might build the Great Wall and "trick" the AI to try and fight you in your backyard. Your Guerrilla resistance troops will protect any hill resource and if you give them Woodsman I or higher or even more Guerrilla, you will give them a heck of a time trying to dislodge you. They would defend any cats or trebs or whatever you bring along if you fight on their turf too. Giving unit both Guerrilla II and Woodsman II means a versatile unit capable of sneak attacks on weaker units or maybe even an invaluable resource pillager.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I would suggest delaying Rifling until you have upgraded all your G1 units into musketman or grenadiers, maybe a 50-50 mix. Discover Rifling, but then upgrade them into Riflemen, and from their you can have Infantry, SAM Infantry [BOLD]and[\BOLD] Mechanized Infantry with this defensive bonus. Going in pillaging the AI resources for space race or preventing them from building nukes can be done with these expert pillagers.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It's a nice bonus, but not really any drawbacks. In fact now that walls and duns give +25% bombardment protection (about time) and castles do too, one might be more likely to build castles if they didn't before, especially since in BtS they also give +25% espionage points. With both a Dun and Castle one gets +100% defense and +50% bombardment defense from non-gunpowder units. The extra trade route from the castle and the espionage points are throw-ins.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For warmongering or pillaging/protecting resources no matter what the goal this UB can provide you with units that will have an advantage on hills. How you use those units, promote or upgrade them will depend on your goals, immediate and future needs and terrain/resources. The strength in this UB is the versatility it provides. I predict that Boudica's traits will make the Celts a more attractive Civ to play as. She will be a warmonger's dream and possibly one of the most fierce of opponents. Outside of warmongering, there is not much this UB can do other than help one explore a hilly map more quickly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Chinese Pavlion (Theatre - double production for Creative civ):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The undisputed culture building king and "Big Daddy" of the cultural UBs. Cultural victory fans must have thought they hit the bigtime when they saw this beauty. Aside from the +3 culture the it gives +25% for culture in the city. Building the pavilion alone gives a culture per turn of 3.75, slightly less than the Madrassa, but this will double after 1000 years, but more importantly the 25% is added to everything.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]What makes the pavilion the culture champion is the +25% bonus continues throughout the game and so the quicker the culture from other buildings can be added to the city, the better. Imagine a few early wonders with their culture doubling and then the added 25%. Sure, it's not game breaking, but one might not feel as obligated to crank the culture switch or convert to Free Speech as quickly with the bonus this UB gives.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The traits of the leaders don't really work that well with this building, but it does ensure no matter what that nearby resources our yours. This allows you to persue the late game win conditions such as diplomatic, space race or a late conquest. Or more likely, early in the game you will have more resources than otherwise and you can dictate the trade terms and stifle the AI by denying them that one precious iron or uranium or oil or aluminum as the case may be.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Although not able to overly accelerate the cultural win time frame, this building I have found to be quite amazing for domination games. With a few founded religions and no state religion and a pavilion, you just keep pumping out settlers and units and let the borders expand like your waistline after college.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other than persuing a cultural/domination victory or claiming resources, there in not much extra outside of the normal theatre uses/features. Even in a cultural game, it is not enough to be a real advantage because of China's leader traits or strating techs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] What you see is what you get. Nothing to really want to you play China any more than you normally would, except maybe for a quicker domination win or being a resource hog and super businessman/diplomat.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Dutch Dike (Levee):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Dutch UB, the Dike replaces the Levee which itself, is a new building introduced in Beyond the Sword. The Levee is available with Steam Power and gives +1 hammer on every river tile and costs 180 hammers. It brings up some interesting choices regarding tiles improvements to say the least. Meanwhile, the Dike also gives the +1 production boost to all water tiles as well. Any coastal city will greatly benefit and the great thing is that it does not need to be a coastal city either. Therefore even cities one tile in from the coast or with small lakes will still have water tiles gaining the bonus.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With Willem being Financial, the choice to build cottages on river tiles might appear to be a no-brainer, but often players will want increased production and build watermills, windmills or lumbermills in their place. The great thing about the Dike or Levee for that matter, is that it gives a production bonus to the tiles regardless of improvement. Now, imagine a Dutch coastal city on a river with cottages, a Dike, Universal Sufferage, Organized Religion and in a Golden Age. Imagine the Bureaucracy bonus on that too. As a Dutchie, I can hardly wait to see that! Some late wonders and project races just got a little easier to win. As this is a BtS civ, let us not forget the tweak on State Property and also the Moai Statues which are like a Dike, but a wonder which does not expire. Some great production synergy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Being financial, building on rivers would be your goal anyway, but any city without rivers or water tiles will have absolutely no use for this UB and therefore it will likely be quite map dependent in its effectiveness. Even if they have 2-4 tiles that would benefit, you might want to weigh the 180 hammer cost before putting them everywhere. Also, the UB does come quite late, of course later in the game is when things start to cost more hammers too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The only thing better than extra happiness is extra production, so if your map allows for this opportunity, any goal whether it be pumping out military units, settlers and workers, wonders or spaceship parts. While both Levees and Dikes will only be of use to cities with river tiles, to take full advantage of this UB, one would need to build more coastal cities or at least not be in the middle of the continent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Egyptian Obelisk (Monument):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This Egyptian monument can turn two citizens into priests. Pretty powerful for early in the game. Even if Egypt doesn't start with Mysticism, they have the ability to build the very first building with the ability to assign specialists. You could use the GPs produced to techbulb (TM ) yourself to whatever your little heart desires.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One could argue that with Hatshepsut, the creative +2 culture bonus would negate the +1 culture from the obelisk, but you could also spin it to being equivalent to a theatre culture-wise. Then again, with cheap temples, theatres, and libraries why else would you play her without going for cultural victory? With cheap colosseums too, you now have two buildings which will give you +1 happiness for every 10% culture. Once you hit that culture switch, you needn't worry about happiness resources, except maybe incense and dyes.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As Illithid has so eloquently put it:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]"The fact that it obsoletes fairly early is really not much of an issue for the purpose it serves. Both leaders can benefit from this. For the most part it really only takes one city with one, though using Stonehenge to put it in multiple cities isn't bad at all. The great prophets that you can generate quickly from the priest specialists allow you to claim several of the mid to late religions. This is one of the key features you tend to want to accomplish when going for a culture victory. Once you get 2-3 religions you don't really care to much about making this building go obsolete and switching to temples to support any other priest specialists if you still need to grab the rest of the religions or if you want holy shrines.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The obelisk might better complement the industrious and spiritual Rameses II. He can build quick wonders like Oracle and Stonehenge and maybe a cultural victory could be sought since you could really crank out Great Prophets. One further thing could be to settle those prophets and once you have Angkor Wat and cheap forges from industrious Ramses, you have a great chance for the space race victory or just high production warmongering. Even if you don't go those routes, the extra production for other things can work well like buildings wonders for cultural (with either leader) or building the UN. Both leaders could definitely could try for a domination win as well with the quick culture boost from Stonehenge."[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great Prophets will only techbulb (TM ) you to the mostly religious techs and that might not always be the way to go.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Most UBs don't get obsoleted. The earlist possible one to build is also the first one obsoleted. Although one can ignore Calendar, the obsoleting tech for the UB for some time, eventually you may want/need to develop those sugar, spices and incense tiles. In Beyond the Sword, it becomes obsoleted with Astronomy, so it is possible depending on one's strategies and goals to avoid that tech all together. If you have many religions and temples as a result of your early GPs then you can obsolete the Obelisk and still gain GPPs for more GPs later. It's what you choose to do with those priests you assign, that really affects the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Obsoleting Stonehenge means the Obelisks not physically built a city will disappear, whereas building them all by hand means they stay and continue to stand and have their base culture of 1 double to 2 over time. It is not a great deal for some victory conditions such as space or diplomatic, but domination and cultural might need to consider this.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great Prophets early, can be a tech boost, but unless you are surrounded by food bonuses, you won't be able to assign those priests anyway. With practice, it could be used quite effectively.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Ethiopian Stele (Monument):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This Ethiopian monument can give +25% culture in addition to the +1.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This UB probably screams cultural victory, but the 25% bonus won't really matter until much later in the game. Also, in BtS the obsoleting tech is Astronomy which can be avoided for some time so long as you don't plan on colonizing another continent. One can play a cultural victory without ever researching and discovering or trading for it, so this bonus would be added for the entire game. Being Organized, the ability to settle new cities more quicker would be helped by any additional cultural boundaries pushing further out. With key resources claimed, his cheap factories will use the resources to build spaceship components or military units much more quickly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Furthermore, let's not ignore the fact that like the Egyptians, building Stonehenge will put this UB in every one of your cities. Now, this is truly a thing not to miss if you want to try for a domination victory. Especially when you consider the Organized trait of the Ethiopian leader. Again, ignoring Astronomy would likely need to be done as well, but your domination victory might not take that long.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Remember, Zara Yaqob in Creative so the 25% in the beginning is not that big of the deal, but with the cheap libraries and theatres in no time it will have an impact.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Zara Yaqob does not start with Mysticism, the prerequisite tech. Most UBs don't get obsoleted. The earliest possible one to build could have it's lifespan shortened depending on your tech path. Losing out on the culture bonus it not a big loss in another victory condition, but the quick land grab would be a huge boost. Of course, one requires religions or other cultural building to really benefit from the UB. Although one can ignore Astronomy, the obsoleting tech for the UB for some time, eventually you may want/need to expand to other continents or build observatories to boost your science level. For other victories, the UB is still perhaps needed as the cultrual trait gives you the resources you want early, but in the face of other cultural powerhouses, it might be helpful to retain or even capture resources culturally.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Obsoleting Stonehenge means the Stelae not physically built a city will disappear, whereas building them all by hand means they stay and continue to stand and have their base culture of 1 double to 2 over time. Not only that, but you have now lost the 25% culture boost in those cities. It is not a great deal for some victory conditions such as space or dipolmatic, but domination and cultural might need to consider this.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The true strength of this UB depends on what else is build in the city, but with a few ancient wonders, library, temples and other with the doubled culture for their age, the Stele alone would have quite an impact.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][u][BOLD]English Stock Exchange (Bank):[/b][\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wow, I really see why Liz is a fan favourite for some. The Stock Exchange gives the an extra 15% gold bonus to what a bank normally does (50%) for a total of +65%. With two financial leaders to choose from this is a very versatile UB. You can go Philosophical with Liz or Imperialistic with Vicky.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]No matter what you chose for your victory path, commerce drives research and things are great. Add markets and grocers means a total 115% gold increase. Even warmonger Churchill will benefit, but financial really exploits this UB. What is great about this UB compared to the Carthaginian Cothon is that you needn't only build on the coast and so you can use this on any map and whereas the Cothon only give +50% bonus to the trade routes the 65% bonus from the SE is cumulative with other buildings. I suppose the math would work out depending on many factors, but it suffices to say the stock exchange can be build anywhere. Even so, you likely want most if not all of your cities on the coast, as there is usually more lucrative tiles in the water (outside of FP cottages) especially if you build the Colossus and Great Lighthouse, but a few gold or silver mines or luxuries resources are great too. Up to Airports and the right civics and you can have 7 trade routes in a city and Wall Street. Cottage spam and run Emancipation, Universal Suffrage and Free Market and you will be laughing all the way to the bank! Er, make that all the way to the Stock Exchange.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This can be used to keep the tech slider higher and tech faster to get your space race/diplo win started early or you can keep a larger empire and army with upgrades when you want and need without waiting to save the money.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Um, how about "no?" Money makes the world go 'round![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]England starts with fishing and mining, so look out. Not sure what else can be said here. I think ABBA said it best: "Money, Money, Money" $$$$[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]French Salon (Observatory):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Salon is an observatory which gives a free artist. It might not seem like much, but for cultrual victories it can be quite nice.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Okay, first of all, with the patch, Louis can now build cheap theatres and libraries! He is creative and the +2 culture is only a small amount, but the cheap buildings is great. In fact, Louis gets libraries, theatres, coliseums and forges at half production cost. Not too shabby.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Given the anarchy caused by switching to Mercantilism perhaps going from liberalism to astronomy makes sense. With a little wait to Astronomy, you can built your UB which gives a free Great Artist, rather than going through anarchy to get it. Of course you have to build these Salons, but they are cheaper than universities and with the Sistine Chapel the free Great Artist gives more culture for the same amount of science boost (+25%). But, maybe you do want to switch to Mercantilism so you can have another free type of GP. If not, then you have got two free artists with the library, salon, (and university) and the Statue of Liberty is not that far away with his cheap forge and quicker building of the Statue of Liberty. Either way you could have 2-3 free artists, not to mention the others you could assign. This means you can run something other than Caste System. And speaking of science boost, why not run Representation with those free artists? Use the library, salon and uni to beeline for the ECWs and you are laughing. C'est formidable! C'est magnifique! D'accord?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Running representation with Salon' free artists as either Louis XIV or de Gaulle could be a strategy for space race victories.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Not sure what Napoleon would do with the free artist other than maintain culture borders on resources on a crowded map, but then again you could build a cheap theatre in the likely small city first. The Salon is like an observatory, so keeping up the tech pace to have more advanced troops might be desirable. You could however have your larger cities with these GAs and go and culture bomb you new acquisitions. If you want other GPs, then perhaps the Salon will pollute your GPPs, so beware.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Charles de Gaulle is charismatic and industrious, like a hybrid of Louis and Napoleon. He has extra happiness resources and can promote units faster, making him a warmonger equal to Napoleon, except where Napoleon's Organization might let him keep a larger empire, de Gaulle would have more production strengths in cheaper forges and wonders.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are likely some other possibilities to be discussed as there seems to be lacking a certain "je ne sais quoi?", but this UB should not be taken lightly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]German Assembly Plant (Factory - double production for Organized leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Assembly Plant is a factory which can change 4 citizens into engineers instead of just two. It also has double production speed with coal. I haven't tried Germany out yet, but this is a mouth watering temptation. Die Fragen ist: "Welchen F'hrer m'chten Sie spielen?"[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Which leader? Well, take your pick. This UB complements both leaders very, very nicely and is the most synergistic combo of both leaders and[NEWLINE]their UB of all the civs in the game (with apologies to the two Queens of England). This UB is all about output, production and power. Was sind St'rken jedes F'hrers? What are each leader's strengths?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Otto von Bismarck: Expansive and Industrious. Sure, there is only +2 health with the patch, but health will be needed to offset production buildings that cause pollution. Later in the game every health counts and is needed. Bismarck can be a warmonger with a huge empire and pumping out units like nobody's business or cranking out spaceship parts while eying Alpha Centauri. Bizzy gets granary, harbour and forge at double production speed so a fast build for forge and the Plant and two cheap health providing buildings to offset the pollution.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Frederick: Organized and Philosophical. With cheap lighthouses, courthouses, universities and cheap factories...or in this case these very Assembly Plants also double production with coal, Freddy is a powerhouse! There hasn't been a German industrial influence like this since Kraftwerk! I say span out, get the economy/research going and prepare for the space age! With the Assembly Plant costing 250 hammers and having two double speeds bonuses, it would be like building these babies for 62 hammers! The reason space age would be so synergistic is the 100% increase in GPs being produced. So you could be farming scientists and engineers on your GP farm and building your high production cities elsewhere. Ideally, if you had 2-4 food sources with some production bonuses, you would be in good shape. Ich denke das ich spiele gern mit Freddy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To a total of 50% hammer increase from buildings (forge and factory), you can add +50% from power (supplied by the either hydro, coal or nuclear plants, but the Three Gorges Dam can be more economical), +100% from the Ironworks (+50% each for iron and coal), +50% from Bureaucracy. With some good food sources you will max out your six engineers and likely have some priests too. If you settled some Great Engineers or Prophets, good for you! Don't forget the +25 bonus for OR and the +100% for having a special resource when building buildings. You can also have a laboratory that gives +50% bonus in addition to +100% again for having a resource. So a basic bonus of +250% in your capital (+200% out of capital) with +125% to +150% when building buildings or projects respectively for a total of around +385% or +410%. Depending on your base production, things can be quite productive and your leader choice for this doesn't matter other than which buildings you can build cheaper or the resources to which you have access.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Any other victory condition other than space or conquest don't seem to fully utilize this late game UB. Peace-mongering can leave it pretty much not even worth building. With a lack of health resources having a forge, this UB and Ironworks or other powerplants might not be feasible.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Given the right conditions and goals, this UB is quite useful and as stated before is a perfect match for not just one leader, but both of them. Freddy gets the slight edge thusfar, if it is indeed possible to build it for a quarter of the cost. If you are playing games that end early, this UB doesn't matter, same as their UU. The plan with Germany is perhaps to maximize the leader traits to set up an 'berstrong infrastructure and then once the UUs and UBs can be built later in the game, go hog-wild and blitzkrieg them all! Wunderbar![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Greek Odeon (Colosseum - double production for Creative leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In addition to the +1 happiness per 20% culture and for the same price as a coliseum, this UB gives +3 culture, an additional +1 happiness, can turn 2 citizens into artists and gives +1 happiness for hit singles.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Basically this means this is a more expensive theatre even with the patch dropping the cost 80 hammers. The extra price for admission compared to theatres is the hit single happiness, which in short games won't matter, but if you have the culture slider up to even 20% with this and a theatre built, the city already has +3 happiness, +4 with dyes. As with the Mall, I like the idea of killing two birds with one stone. Because it is 10% for theatres and 20% for the colosseum/odeon, that means if you raise the culture slider the happiness is increased by 3 for every 20%. With broadcast towers it is another +1 happy for every 10%, but also +1 for those hit singles again. If you have the three buildings, dyes and hit singles (either import or export) we are talking +7 happiness for a mere 20% culture.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The extra 3 culture is the big deal. Greece now instantly becomes a cultural victory contender with the price of the Colosseum/Odeon dropped and Alex building cheap universities in addition to this new +3 culture building which together with theatres might be built early enough to get +6 culture and make a nice impact once multipliers are added.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Using either Pericles' or Alex's philosophical trait, you can farm your Great Artists (my best is 16), lending again to a cultural or perhaps a domination victory more easily as Bassist2119 has reminded us in another post of the ability of the UB to assign two more GAs in addition to the 2 from the Theatre. This leaves you free to run Slavery a little longer or Serfdom since you don't really need Caste System.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For the warmonger in all of us, Construction might be more attractive than drama as it also gives War Elephants and leads to Engineering. However you would need Drama to activate the culture slider eventually once the happiness limit is hit. The hit singles don't kick in until later, but it's nice to have that as a back up. With big happiness possibilities early and late, you can run Representation or Universal Suffrage and not worry about War Weariness. The Odeon can give newly captured cities the same affect of culture and happiness from the theatres without researching a tech which is not on any warmonger things-to-do-lists.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Let's talk about Pericles now. He's Creative and Philosophical, making him the only leader to have cheap libraries and universities, not to mention theatres. He is biggest cultural contender of the BtS leaders introduced as his Odeon and traits are an even better combination than Alexander's. Everything said above for Alex holds true for Pericles, however he is a much better choice for the Greeks to win a space race or diplomatic game, at least in a more peaceful way. His cheap libraries and universities make him a true philosopher (Philosophy, from Greek: lover of knowledge/wisdom) for a tech pace. A tech lead can be useful for anything victory sought.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, why not just build a theatre (50) for slight more than half the price (80)? Drama comes right after Alphabet, a useful tech, whereas you need math and then construction for the odeon and they can be slightly most expensive to research. Well, as stated above the warmonger might like this route. Slingshotting for Construction just for the UB is a waste, unless you plan on used it to it's fullest. This means its units, as a step to Engineering and trading. Trade away any extra happiness resources to form alliances or get other resources you want like production or strategic ones. For a cultural victory it might be better pursuing after getting your GA from Music if you want to better the AI since you would already have math, but I won't try it the other way around on higher levels if you want the free GA.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Makes Greece go from non-contender culturally to a interesting choice for experimenting. Domination wins are looking good too, but space and conquest really are not affected on lower levels. The Odeon does little to complement Alexander's traits unless on high levels with more unhappiness to be offset from buildings. Remember the +6 swing with theatre/dyes, odeon, broadcast tower and hit singles. Makes Eiffel Tower's broadcast tower in every city more appealing and extra happiness can be converted into flexibility in trades, more whipping and warring.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Holy Roman Empire Rathaus (Courthouse - double production for Organized leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This UB is a courthouse with a total of 75% reduction in maintenance costs. It also allows you to build the Forbidden Palace with only 4 cities on a standard map. It also gives +2 Espionage points and allows you to turn one citizen into a Spy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Charlemagne is Imperialistic, which means quicker settler production. Not much better synergy than a UB which allows for more cities sooner without hurting your economy, since he is not Organized. It also means greater chance of GG appearances. Couple that with the protective trait and he will be in position to either maintain a large empire and pursue more peaceful victories or, be a major warmonger. The protective trait gives cheaper walls and castles and just imagine those beefed up Pikemen, the Landskneckt, with their +100% vs Mounted Units and Melee units behind them. On a hill even![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]We have also only begun to explore the mechanics of espionage, but giving +2 espionage points and the ability to turn a citizen into this new type of GP is almost a throw in after the increased maintenance reduction. As a warmonger, this new feature of producing great spies has some definite synergy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The ability for rapid expansion and a much sooner available Forbidden Palace does not conjure up any real disadvantages as Charlemagne's traits and the Empire's UU really complement each other.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The ability to have a larger empire give the flexibility to settle near important resources and map locations and strive for any victory condition.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Incan Terrace (Granary - double production for Expansive leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A granary that gives culture. Quite a cool UB, nothing special on the surface but is even more of an impact than one might suspect. Why?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, you likely would build a granary anyway especially if whipping. I had mentioned in the original writeup about playing as the Incas on the 1000AD map, and I whipping buildings like there was no tomorrow as they start on as isolated strip west of the Andes and wouldn't grow that large anyway. Granaries help with whipping; more on that later. Secondly, it is available with pottery and for financial Huayna Capac, the cottage spamming and culture producing terrace from this tech is a great choice for the first thing to research. The Terrace will accumulate enough culture from an early building to give +4 culture per turn very early in the game. So cultural victories look great. In fact, one of my earliest finish for a cultural victory is with the Incas. The financial trait allows for faster teching and for cultural games where I am almost there (lower levels) at around scientific method or astronomy, with the Incas I have sometimes discovered Electricity and built Broadway to help the last city get over. For longer games this bonus is carried further.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Building a culture producing granary, means you can concentrate totally on growing and expansion and not worry about other border encroaching your resources, you will get them back or never even lose them. You will get the fast cross much faster and not have to rush monuments or temples/theatres until later, once you have larger cities from the granaries stored food. In fact, Stonehenge is now practically useless, except for the GPP it helps you get. No need to avoid Calendar in order to keep the culture from brand new cities right off the bat. You don't want to delay the chance to build plantations or wineries as those babies are what the Financial trait thrives on. In BtS, Stonehenge and monuments expire with Astronomy, so that may be moot now.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]When you capture a city normally, what do you do? Build a theatre for culture (maybe happiness, but you should have some plantations for that) and the granary takes a back seat. For small cities this means delaying growth which hurts you later on. So, building the terrace gives you the culture and the growth increase. Even if you built a granary first, you would still have to build something to get the first eight tiles around your new city, let alone the fat cross. You want the choice of which tiles to worker with your citizens, because you are financial and any cottages--&gt;towns, plantations or mines you can work ASAP are gold in your pocket. You use it to support/upgrade your forces or increase research/trade for resources. Basically, building/rushing a terrace first makes whipping other more important buildings like those cheap forges or walls, barracks, libraries, temples, etc. easier and more economical. Here's more detail on that from Bovinespy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]"This is a GREAT UB for late-Ancient through ealy-Industrial era warmongering. It really speeds up your rate of assimilation of newly-conquered lands. The crucial point lies in the pop-rushing.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In your earliest wars, the populations of conquered cities will tend to be in the 3 to 5 range. If you pop-rush a monument and a granary (esp. if you're Expansive), the population of the city will recover fairly quickly (assuming decent food resources available/not-plundered). However, later in the game, usually about the time catapults show up, the AI has usually developed urban pop levels so that core cities you capture routinely have pops of 8 to 10.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is where the Terrace really shines: it saves you from having to pop-rush a granary and a culture building. This point is particularly important if you're not playing a Creative leader. Mind you, it's a subtle difference between having a captured city with a pop of 8 or 9 instead of 6 or 7. However, a crucial point to remember is that the higher the pop level, the longer it takes to recover a pop point.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Say you conquer and absorb a well-developed empire of around 6 or 8 cities (a not-unlikely scenario on Standard maps). Now imagine an extra tile or two of production from each of those cities. If you had to rush both buildings, you would be dozens of turns behind, relatively speaking, in production compared to the Incan. This is huge! Properly played, the snowball-effect of swallowing a rival empire or two in the mid-game is significantly more noticeable when you play Huayna."[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Need we mention that conquering a city that already has a granary turns it into a terrace? Due to some sort of oversight, that granaries age contributes to the culture of your new terrace and could even generate 4 per turn![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Not really any since as Huyana Capac you likely want to have pottery ASAP anyway.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As outlined above, this UB offers some great opportunities for expansion and is flexible for what you want to do with it. I have not warmongered much with the Incas, so I thank Bovinespy for his input and explaining in greater detail what I alluded to earlier and also for showing me how powerful this UB can really be. Maybe playing with it in peaceful games I took it for granted earlier. Is a great UB for early claiming of land while growing and improving infrastructure by shortcutting build queues and allowing faster restoration of captured cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Dutch Dike (Levee):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Dutch UB, the Dike replaces the Levee which itself, is a new building introduced in Beyond the Sword. The Levee is available with Steam Power and gives +1 [ICON_PRODUCTION] on every river tile and costs 180 [ICON_PRODUCTION]s. It brings up some interesting choices regarding tiles improvements to say the least. Meanwhile, the Dike also gives the +1 production boost to all water tiles as well. Any coastal city will greatly benefit and the great thing is that it does not need to be a coastal city either. Therefore even cities one tile in from the coast or with small lakes will still have water tiles gaining the bonus.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With Willem being Financial, the choice to build cottages on river tiles might appear to be a no-brainer, but often players will want increased production and build watermills, windmills or lumbermills in their place. The great thing about the Dike or Levee for that matter, is that it gives a production bonus to the tiles regardless of improvement. Now, imagine a Dutch coastal city on a river with cottages, a Dike, Universal Sufferage, Organized Religion and in a Golden Age. Imagine the Bureaucracy bonus on that too. As a Dutchie, I can hardly wait to see that! Some late wonders and project races just got a little easier to win. As this is a BtS civ, let us not forget the tweak on State Property and also the Moai Statues which are like a Dike, but a wonder which does not expire. Some great production synergy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Being financial, building on rivers would be your goal anyway, but any city without rivers or water tiles will have absolutely no use for this UB and therefore it will likely be quite map dependent in its effectiveness. Even if they have 2-4 tiles that would benefit, you might want to weigh the 180 hammer cost before putting them everywhere. Also, the UB does come quite late, of course later in the game is when things start to cost more hammers too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The only thing better than extra happiness is extra production, so if your map allows for this opportunity, any goal whether it be pumping out military units, settlers and workers, wonders or spaceship parts. While both Levees and Dikes will only be of use to cities with river tiles, to take full advantage of this UB, one would need to build more coastal cities or at least not be in the middle of the continent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Egyptian Obelisk (Monument):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This Egyptian monument can turn [BOLD]two[\BOLD] citizens into priests. Pretty powerful for early in the game. Even if Egypt doesn't start with Mysticism, they have the ability to build the very first building with the ability to assign specialists. You could use the GPs produced to techbulb (TM ) yourself to whatever your little heart desires.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One could argue that with Hatshepsut, the creative +2 culture bonus would negate the +1 culture from the obelisk, but you could also spin it to being equivalent to a theatre culture-wise. Then again, with cheap temples, theatres, and libraries why else would you play her without going for cultural victory? With cheap colosseums too, you now have two buildings which will give you +1 happiness for every 10% culture. Once you hit that culture switch, you needn't worry about happiness resources, except maybe incense and dyes.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As Illithid has so eloquently put it:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The obelisk might better complement the industrious and spiritual Rameses II. He can build quick wonders like Oracle and Stonehenge and maybe a cultural victory could be sought since you could really crank out Great Prophets. One further thing could be to settle those prophets and once you have Angkor Wat and cheap forges from industrious Ramses, you have a great chance for the space race victory or just high production warmongering. Even if you don't go those routes, the extra production for other things can work well like buildings wonders for cultural (with either leader) or building the UN. Both leaders could definitely could try for a domination win as well with the quick culture boost from Stonehenge.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great Prophets will only techbulb (TM ) you to the mostly religious techs and that might not always be the way to go.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Most UBs don't get obsoleted. The earlist possible one to build is also the first one obsoleted. Although one can ignore Calendar, the obsoleting tech for the UB for some time, eventually you may want/need to develop those sugar, spices and incense tiles. In Beyond the Sword, it becomes obsoleted with Astronomy, so it is possible depending on one's strategies and goals to avoid that tech all together. If you have many religions and temples as a result of your early GPs then you can obsolete the Obelisk and still gain GPPs for more GPs later. It's what you choose to do with those priests you assign, that really affects the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Obsoleting Stonehenge means the Obelisks not physically built a city will disappear, whereas building them all by hand means they stay and continue to stand and have their base culture of 1 double to 2 over time. It is not a great deal for some victory conditions such as space or diplomatic, but domination and cultural might need to consider this.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great Prophets early, can be a tech boost, but unless you are surrounded by food bonuses, you won't be able to assign those priests anyway. With practice, it could be used quite effectively.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Ethiopian Stele (Monument):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This Ethiopian monument can give +25% culture in addition to the +1.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This UB probably screams cultural victory, but the 25% bonus won't really matter until much later in the game. Also, in BtS the obsoleting tech is Astronomy which can be avoided for some time so long as you don't plan on colonizing another continent. One can play a cultural victory without ever researching and discovering or trading for it, so this bonus would be added for the entire game. Being Organized, the ability to settle new cities more quicker would be helped by any additional cultural boundaries pushing further out. With key resources claimed, his cheap factories will use the resources to build spaceship components or military units much more quickly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Furthermore, let's not ignore the fact that like the Egyptians, building Stonehenge will put this UB in every one of your cities. Now, this is truly a thing not to miss if you want to try for a domination victory. Especially when you consider the Organized trait of the Ethiopian leader. Again, ignoring Astronomy would likely need to be done as well, but your domination victory might not take that long.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Remember, Zara Yaqob in Creative so the 25% in the beginning is not that big of the deal, but with the cheap libraries and theatres in no time it [BOLD]will[\BOLD] have an impact.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Zara Yaqob does not start with Mysticism, the prerequisite tech. Most UBs don't get obsoleted. The earliest possible one to build could have it's lifespan shortened depending on your tech path. Losing out on the culture bonus it not a big loss in another victory condition, but the quick land grab would be a huge boost. Of course, one requires religions or other cultural building to really benefit from the UB. Although one can ignore Astronomy, the obsoleting tech for the UB for some time, eventually you may want/need to expand to other continents or build observatories to boost your science level. For other victories, the UB is still perhaps needed as the cultrual trait gives you the resources you want early, but in the face of other cultural powerhouses, it might be helpful to retain or even capture resources culturally.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Obsoleting Stonehenge means the Stelae not physically built a city will disappear, whereas building them all by hand means they stay and continue to stand and have their base culture of 1 double to 2 over time. Not only that, but you have now lost the 25% culture boost in those cities. It is not a great deal for some victory conditions such as space or dipolmatic, but domination and cultural might need to consider this.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The true strength of this UB depends on what else is build in the city, but with a few ancient wonders, library, temples and other with the doubled culture for their age, the Stele alone would have quite an impact.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]English Stock Exchange (Bank):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wow, I really see why Liz is a fan favourite for some. The Stock Exchange gives the an extra 15% gold bonus to what a bank normally does (50%) for a total of +65%. With two financial leaders to choose from this is a very versatile UB. You can go Philosophical with Liz or Imperialistic with Vicky.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]No matter what you chose for your victory path, commerce drives research and things are great. Add markets and grocers means a total 115% gold increase. Even warmonger Churchill will benefit, but financial really exploits this UB. What is great about this UB compared to the Carthaginian Cothon is that you needn't only build on the coast and so you can use this on any map and whereas the Cothon only give +50% bonus to the trade routes the 65% bonus from the SE is cumulative with other buildings. I suppose the math would work out depending on many factors, but it suffices to say the stock exchange can be build anywhere. Even so, you likely want most if not all of your cities on the coast, as there is usually more lucrative tiles in the water (outside of FP cottages) especially if you build the Colossus and Great Lighthouse, but a few gold or silver mines or luxuries resources are great too. Up to Airports and the right civics and you can have 7 trade routes in a city and Wall Street. Cottage spam and run Emancipation, Universal Suffrage and Free Market and you will be laughing all the way to the bank! Er, make that all the way to the Stock Exchange.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This can be used to keep the tech slider higher and tech faster to get your space race/diplo win started early or you can keep a larger empire and army with upgrades when you want and need without waiting to save the money.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Um, how about "no?" Money makes the world go 'round![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]England starts with fishing and mining, so look out. Not sure what else can be said here. I think ABBA said it best: "Money, Money, Money" $$$$[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]French Salon (Observatory):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Salon is an observatory which gives a free artist. It might not seem like much, but for cultrual victories it can be quite nice.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Okay, first of all, with the patch, Louis can now build cheap theatres [BOLD]and[\BOLD] libraries! He is creative and the +2 culture is only a small amount, but the cheap buildings is great. In fact, Louis gets libraries, theatres, coliseums and forges at half production cost. Not too shabby.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Given the anarchy caused by switching to Mercantilism perhaps going from liberalism to astronomy makes sense. With a little wait to Astronomy, you can built your UB which gives a free Great Artist, rather than going through anarchy to get it. Of course you have to build these Salons, but they are cheaper than universities and with the Sistine Chapel the free Great Artist gives more culture for the same amount of science boost (+25%). But, maybe you do want to switch to Mercantilism so you can have another free type of GP. If not, then you have got two free artists with the library, salon, (and university) and the Statue of Liberty is not that far away with his cheap forge and quicker building of the Statue of Liberty. Either way you could have 2-3 free artists, not to mention the others you could assign. This means you can run something other than Caste System. And speaking of science boost, why not run Representation with those free artists? Use the library, salon and uni to beeline for the ECWs and you are laughing. C'est formidable! C'est magnifique! D'accord?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Running representation with Salon' free artists as either Louis XIV or de Gaulle could be a strategy for space race victories.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Not sure what Napoleon would do with the free artist other than maintain culture borders on resources on a crowded map, but then again you could build a cheap theatre in the likely small city first. The Salon is like an observatory, so keeping up the tech pace to have more advanced troops might be desirable. You [BOLD]could[\BOLD] however have your larger cities with these GAs and go and culture bomb you new acquisitions. If you want other GPs, then perhaps the Salon will pollute your GPPs, so beware.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Charles de Gaulle is charismatic and industrious, like a hybrid of Louis and Napoleon. He has extra happiness resources and can promote units faster, making him a warmonger equal to Napoleon, except where Napoleon's Organization might let him keep a larger empire, de Gaulle would have more production strengths in cheaper forges and wonders.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are likely some other possibilities to be discussed as there seems to be lacking a certain "je ne sais quoi?", but this UB should not be taken lightly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]German Assembly Plant (Factory - double production for Organized leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Assembly Plant is a factory which can change 4 citizens into engineers instead of just two. It [BOLD]also[\BOLD] has double production speed with coal. I haven't tried Germany out yet, but this is a mouth watering temptation. Die Fragen ist: "Welchen F'hrer m'chten Sie spielen?"[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Which leader? Well, take your pick. This UB complements both leaders very, very nicely and is [BOLD]the[\BOLD] most synergistic combo of [BOLD]both[\BOLD] leaders and[NEWLINE]their UB of all the civs in the game (with apologies to the two Queens of England). This UB is all about output, production and power. Was sind St'rken jedes F'hrers? What are each leader's strengths?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Otto von Bismarck: Expansive and Industrious. Sure, there is only +2 health with the patch, but health will be needed to offset production buildings that cause pollution. Later in the game every health counts and is needed. Bismarck can be a warmonger with a huge empire and pumping out units like nobody's business or cranking out spaceship parts while eying Alpha Centauri. Bizzy gets granary, harbour and forge at double production speed so a fast build for forge and the Plant and two cheap health providing buildings to offset the pollution.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Frederick: Organized and Philosophical. With cheap lighthouses, courthouses, universities [BOLD]and[\BOLD] cheap factories...or in this case these very Assembly Plants [BOLD]also[\BOLD] double production with coal, Freddy is a powerhouse! There hasn't been a German industrial influence like this since Kraftwerk! I say span out, get the economy/research going and prepare for the space age! With the Assembly Plant costing 250 hammers and having two double speeds bonuses, it would be like building these babies for 62 hammers! The reason space age would be so synergistic is the 100% increase in GPs being produced. So you could be farming scientists and engineers on your GP farm and building your high production cities elsewhere. Ideally, if you had 2-4 food sources with some production bonuses, you would be in good shape. Ich denke das ich spiele gern mit Freddy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To a total of 50% hammer increase from buildings (forge and factory), you can add +50% from power (supplied by the either hydro, coal or nuclear plants, but the Three Gorges Dam can be more economical), +100% from the Ironworks (+50% each for iron and coal), +50% from Bureaucracy. With some good food sources you will max out your six engineers and likely have some priests too. If you settled some Great Engineers or Prophets, good for you! Don't forget the +25 bonus for OR and the +100% for having a special resource when building buildings. You can also have a laboratory that gives +50% bonus in addition to +100% again for having a resource. So a basic bonus of +250% in your capital (+200% out of capital) with +125% to +150% when building buildings or projects respectively for a total of around +385% or +410%. Depending on your base production, things can be quite productive and your leader choice for this doesn't matter other than which buildings you can build cheaper or the resources to which you have access.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Any other victory condition other than space or conquest don't seem to fully utilize this late game UB. Peace-mongering can leave it pretty much not even worth building. With a lack of health resources having a forge, this UB and Ironworks or other powerplants might not be feasible.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Given the right conditions and goals, this UB is quite useful and as stated before is a perfect match for not just one leader, but both of them. Freddy gets the slight edge thusfar, if it is indeed possible to build it for a quarter of the cost. If you are playing games that end early, this UB doesn't matter, same as their UU. The plan with Germany is perhaps to maximize the leader traits to set up an 'berstrong infrastructure and then once the UUs and UBs can be built later in the game, go hog-wild and blitzkrieg them all! Wunderbar![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Greek Odeon (Colosseum - double production for Creative leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In addition to the +1 happiness per 20% culture and for the same price as a coliseum, this UB gives +3 culture, an additional +1 happiness, can turn 2 citizens into artists [BOLD]and[\BOLD] gives +1 happiness for hit singles.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Basically this means this is a more expensive theatre even with the patch dropping the cost 80 hammers. The extra price for admission compared to theatres is the hit single happiness, which in short games won't matter, but if you have the culture slider up to even 20% with this and a theatre built, the city already has +3 happiness, +4 with dyes. As with the Mall, I like the idea of killing two birds with one stone. Because it is 10% for theatres and 20% for the colosseum/odeon, that means if you raise the culture slider the happiness is increased by 3 for every 20%. With broadcast towers it is another +1 happy for every 10%, but also +1 for those hit singles again. If you have the three buildings, dyes and hit singles (either import or export) we are talking +7 happiness for a mere 20% culture.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The extra 3 culture is the big deal. Greece now instantly becomes a cultural victory contender with the price of the Colosseum/Odeon dropped and Alex building cheap universities in addition to this new +3 culture building which together with theatres might be built early enough to get +6 culture and make a nice impact once multipliers are added.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Using either Pericles' or Alex's philosophical trait, you can farm your Great Artists (my best is 16), lending again to a cultural or perhaps a domination victory more easily as Bassist2119 has reminded us in another post of the ability of the UB to assign two [BOLD]more[\BOLD] GAs in addition to the 2 from the Theatre. This leaves you free to run Slavery a little longer or Serfdom since you don't really need Caste System.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For the warmonger in all of us, Construction might be more attractive than drama as it also gives War Elephants and leads to Engineering. However you would need Drama to activate the culture slider eventually once the happiness limit is hit. The hit singles don't kick in until later, but it's nice to have that as a back up. With big happiness possibilities early and late, you can run Representation or Universal Suffrage and not worry about War Weariness. The Odeon can give newly captured cities the same affect of culture and happiness from the theatres without researching a tech which is not on any warmonger things-to-do-lists.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Let's talk about Pericles now. He's Creative and Philosophical, making him the only leader to have cheap libraries [BOLD]and[\BOLD] universities, not to mention theatres. He is biggest cultural contender of the BtS leaders introduced as his Odeon and traits are an even better combination than Alexander's. Everything said above for Alex holds true for Pericles, however he is a much better choice for the Greeks to win a space race or diplomatic game, at least in a more peaceful way. His cheap libraries and universities make him a true philosopher (Philosophy, from Greek: lover of knowledge/wisdom) for a tech pace. A tech lead can be useful for anything victory sought.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, why not just build a theatre (50) for slight more than half the price (80)? Drama comes right after Alphabet, a useful tech, whereas you need math and then construction for the odeon and they can be slightly most expensive to research. Well, as stated above the warmonger might like this route. Slingshotting for Construction just for the UB is a waste, unless you plan on used it to it's fullest. This means its units, as a step to Engineering and trading. Trade away any extra happiness resources to form alliances or get other resources you want like production or strategic ones. For a cultural victory it might be better pursuing after getting your GA from Music if you want to better the AI since you would already have math, but I won't try it the other way around on higher levels if you want the free GA.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Makes Greece go from non-contender culturally to a interesting choice for experimenting. Domination wins are looking good too, but space and conquest really are not affected on lower levels. The Odeon does little to complement Alexander's traits unless on high levels with more unhappiness to be offset from buildings. Remember the +6 swing with theatre/dyes, odeon, broadcast tower and hit singles. Makes Eiffel Tower's broadcast tower in every city more appealing and extra happiness can be converted into flexibility in trades, more whipping and warring.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Holy Roman Empire Rathaus (Courthouse - double production for Organized leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This UB is a courthouse with a total of 75% reduction in maintenance costs. It also allows you to build the Forbidden Palace with only 4 cities on a standard map. It also gives +2 Espionage points and allows you to turn one citizen into a Spy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Charlemagne is Imperialistic, which means quicker settler production. Not much better synergy than a UB which allows for more cities sooner without hurting your economy, since he is not Organized. It also means greater chance of GG appearances. Couple that with the protective trait and he will be in position to either maintain a large empire and pursue more peaceful victories or, be a major warmonger. The protective trait gives cheaper walls and castles and just imagine those beefed up Pikemen, the Landskneckt, with their +100% vs Mounted Units [BOLD]and[\BOLD] Melee units behind them. On a hill even![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]We have also only begun to explore the mechanics of espionage, but giving +2 espionage points and the ability to turn a citizen into this new type of GP is almost a throw in after the increased maintenance reduction. As a warmonger, this new feature of producing great spies has some definite synergy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The ability for rapid expansion and a much sooner available Forbidden Palace does not conjure up any real disadvantages as Charlemagne's traits and the Empire's UU really complement each other.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The ability to have a larger empire give the flexibility to settle near important resources and map locations and strive for any victory condition.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Incan Terrace (Granary - double production for Expansive leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A granary that gives culture. Quite a cool UB, nothing special on the surface but is even more of an impact than one might suspect. Why?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, you likely would build a granary anyway especially if whipping. I had mentioned in the original writeup about playing as the Incas on the 1000AD map, and I whipping buildings like there was no tomorrow as they start on as isolated strip west of the Andes and wouldn't grow that large anyway. Granaries help with whipping; more on that later. Secondly, it is available with pottery and for financial Huayna Capac, the cottage spamming and culture producing terrace from this tech is a great choice for the first thing to research. The Terrace will accumulate enough culture from an early building to give +4 culture per turn very early in the game. So cultural victories look great. In fact, one of my earliest finish for a cultural victory is with the Incas. The financial trait allows for faster teching and for cultural games where I am almost there (lower levels) at around scientific method or astronomy, with the Incas I have sometimes discovered Electricity and built Broadway to help the last city get over. For longer games this bonus is carried further.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Building a culture producing granary, means you can concentrate totally on growing and expansion and not worry about other border encroaching your resources, you will get them back or never even lose them. You will get the fast cross much faster and not have to rush monuments or temples/theatres until later, once you have larger cities from the granaries stored food. In fact, Stonehenge is now practically useless, except for the GPP it helps you get. No need to avoid Calendar in order to keep the culture from brand new cities right off the bat. You don't want to delay the chance to build plantations or wineries as those babies are what the Financial trait thrives on. In BtS, Stonehenge and monuments expire with Astronomy, so that may be moot now.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]When you capture a city normally, what do you do? Build a theatre for culture (maybe happiness, but you should have some plantations for that) and the granary takes a back seat. For small cities this means delaying growth which hurts you later on. So, building the terrace gives you the culture [BOLD]and [\BOLD]the growth increase. Even if you built a granary [BOLD]first[\BOLD], you would still have to build something to get the first eight tiles around your new city, let alone the fat cross. You want the choice of which tiles to worker with your citizens, because you are financial and any cottages--&gt;towns, plantations or mines you can work ASAP are gold in your pocket. You use it to support/upgrade your forces or increase research/trade for resources. Basically, building/rushing a terrace first makes whipping other more important buildings like those cheap forges or walls, barracks, libraries, temples, etc. easier and more economical. Here's more detail on that from Bovinespy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Need we mention that conquering a city that already has a granary turns it into a terrace? Due to some sort of oversight, that granaries age contributes to the culture of your new terrace and could even generate 4 [ICON_CULTURE] per turn![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Not really any since as Huyana Capac you likely want to have pottery ASAP anyway.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As outlined above, this UB offers some great opportunities for expansion and is flexible for what you want to do with it. I have not warmongered much with the Incas, so I thank Bovinespy for his input and explaining in greater detail what I alluded to earlier and also for showing me how powerful this UB can really be. Maybe playing with it in peaceful games I took it for granted earlier. Is a great UB for early claiming of land while growing and improving infrastructure by shortcutting build queues and allowing faster restoration of captured cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Indian Mausoleum (Jail):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Mausoleum UB comes with Constitution like its Jail counterpart with -25% WW but it also gives +2 happiness. The manual states it gives +1 GPP and is more likely to produce a Great Prophet, but in playing Warlords, this is not true. In Beyond the Sword, both the jail and the mausoleum give +4 espionage points and increase espionage point production by 50%, in addition allowing one to assign two Spy specialists.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well the jail is high on a warmonger's wish list and the BtS version is sure to be even higher. I can see on higher levels how the happiness cap can be raised and WW reduced. As I don't usually have long wars I don't really know how high the WW can get, but I imagine on higher levels it is quite a bit. If you have Police State this is a total of 75% reduction in WW, which is nothing to sneeze at if WW problems got you down.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]We have also only begun to explore the mechanics of espionage, but giving +4 espionage points and the ability to turn two citizens into this new type of GP is almost a throw in after the reduced war weariness. Running Nationhood now has the added bonus of another +25% espionage point production for a total of 75% with the jail/mausoleum, in addition to barracks giving +2 happiness and being able to draft 3 units per turn. As a warmonger, this new feature of producing great spies has some definite synergy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Both are spiritual. Organized Asoka can build larger empires early on and Philosophical Gandhi can pop GPs and build cheaper universities. These combos don't necessarily screa for warmonger, especially given their Fast Worker UU, a decidedly unwarlike unit, however the extra spying power could be used to ensure that you are not beaten in the space race or the diplomatic arena. Then again, it's a free way to protect your nation no matter what.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I don't read much about people playing as India to conquer the world and wage war. This UB is still like a normal jail, except for the +2 happiness. I am not sure how many players will build them in BtS, but in Warlords they are n[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I will reserve judgement for others to add their input, but for now, this UB seems out of place and not very useful or synergistic.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Japanese Shale Plant (Coal Plant):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A coal plant gives power (electricity) to the city which adds to the factory production bonus of 25% an additional 50% at a cost of +2 [ICON_UNHEALTHY]. You need a factory for the coal plant or the Japanese Shale Plant, however the Shale Plant itself gives its own +10% production as well. This means a 60% bonus with the two buildings for the same price. The real bonus however is that while Coal Plants requires coal to produce this power, the Shale Plant does not. Both the Factory and Shale Plant can be built once you have discovered Assmebly Line.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To a total of 60% hammer increase from buildings (forge, factory and shale plant), you can add +50% from power (supplied by the Shale Plant), +100% from the Ironworks (+50% each for iron and coal), +50% from Bureaucracy. With some good food sources you will max out your six engineers and likely have some priests too. If you settled some Great Engineers or Prophets, good for you! Don't forget the +25 bonus for OR and the +100% for having a special resource when building buildings/wonders. You can also have a laboratory that gives +50% bonus in addition to +100% again for having a resource when building a spaceship component. The Space Ladder gives another 50% increase. So a basic bonus of +185% in your capital (+135% out of capital) with a bonus of +125% or 200% respectively, when building buildings/wonders or projects. Add in the Iron Works and non-Captial cities are between +360% or +435%. Depending on your base production, things can get quite a productive boost, but if you were to whip or buy these buildings into a low production city it might make a huge difference as well.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Being Aggressive and Protective, Tokugawa's units start off well promoted and this makes warring an attractive choice. For late game wars, there likely isn't a unit that can't be pumped out in 1 or 2 turns. And space race can be just as great a goal. Diplomatic you want to beeline for MM and wouldn't sidetrack yourself for this building.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other than having little health resources, which doesn't seem too likely by the time you research Assembly Line, not much of a reason not to build this is you aren't wanting to be a powerhouse. That being said, the leader traits are not that complementary with it. Not only that, it is a late game UB and some games you would not get the chance to build it. Given that it is a late game UB, it is quite useful for the fact that coal is not required to get the +60% production, while other civs need coal to get their +50%. Than again, you likely want coal so that you can railroad your mines, quarries and lumbermills. Not much of a benefit if you look at it that way, but until you do get coal, you have +60% production boost, that other civs would not have had.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Although not as overall synergistic as the German Assembly Plant when it comes to leader traits, this UB serves a similar purpose and makes it hard not to compare. This one is a little more map dependent (due to the +10% hammer as apposed to 2 extra engineers assigned) and that means that doing the math to see which advantage is greater is not so easy or relevant. Again for a late wonder, space race and conquest victories greatly benefit.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Khymer Baray (Aqueduct):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Baray UB comes with Mathematics and is an Aqueduct which gives 1 extra food.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Extra food helps any leader, regardless of their traits, however, Suryavarman is expansive which means extra health. Building this UB would cause a double-whammy if you will. Not only will increased health reduce any wasted food, but allow for more growth which is possible by the Baray's bonus. The expansive trait only adds to the possibility that the city will grow larger as it has a higher health cap. More food also means taking advantage of the faster worker production, which is only a 25% bonus in BtS, but still greatly helped out with the UB. Being creative means claiming food resources to get the whole this going. Talk about cyclic benefits.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Extra food, a disadvantage? One could even use the cereal mills corporation and trade away food if not needed. I have had cities grow too fast and not have enough things to build to keep them happy. Slavery fans would do well to exploit this extra growth and convert it into production.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After extra happiness and production, extra food is nothing to complain about and ranks with them and some great bonuses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Korean Seowon (University - double production for Philosophical leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This building costs the same and gives the same culture as a university, but it gives an extra +10% research.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wang Kon is financial and so you can maximize this UB's use by making sure you do all the things you would have done with Korea anyway. That means, cottage spamming and getting other high income tiles from plantations and mines and coasts. You have the income boosting building and wonders and the science ones as well. Simply this building just gives another 10%, so take the advantage and go for a diplomatic or space win or keep you army further ahead in tech to protect your empire or add to it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]More science can't ever be bad can it? It comes early/mid-game, but it's on the way to the Liberalism bee-line.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great advantage assuming you can build a nice SSC or several ones. You would usually build a university anyway, maybe now just a little sooner to really add to the tech lead (or perhaps a little later in the queue, knowing that you have the extra boost once it is built).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Malinese Mint (Forge - double production for Industrious leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is a forge with an added 10% wealth increase and yet another UB for a financial that has some great synergy. I would say that a lot of the strategies used with England's financial leaders would be used here, but with a slight change.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This building can come pretty early and Mansa Musa has a reputation for being a tech-whore as an AI. I like settling on the west side of the GP map and mine everything in site. There is also dyes, furs and incense too! What is great about the boost is that even though it is only 10%, it is still an increase and once you tech your way to new civics, as a spiritual leader, you can totally take advantage immediately and not wait until you can switch 2 or 3 at a time.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Because it is a production building as well, and you would naturally build it early for the gold bonus, you will have a higher production than maybe another civ with just a forge. It is more appealing, plus it is needed for many wonders, not the least of which is the Colossus giving +1 gold in [BOLD]all[\BOLD] cities water tiles. If you have trade routes going, as many as possible, markets, grocers, banks and Wall Street a rich city is made richer than another civ would be with the same city. Not only because of the wealth bonus, but because the forge means building all of the other wealth increasing building faster. It never goes obsolete either.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]More money, means faster discoveries, and diplomatic and space wins are the popular targets, however the Skirmisher can be a pretty good UU and even later, the extra wealth can be parlayed into better unit support and more/quicker upgrades. Even on higher levels, if you are lagging in the tech race, you will have more money to buy them, or more money to bribe the AI to do your bidding.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With 7 trade routes (as outlined earlier with Carthage), all the wealth buildings, great base tiles and maybe even some merchants or Great Merchants, you have plenty of money and if running the Universal Suffrage civic, you can rush buy more quickly/often than otherwise.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This UB doesn't expire, so it will continue to be useful and becomes more powerful as the game progresses because cities will grow and more lucrative routs determined for the AI.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A money boosting UB is a good one and can really help out early. You can afford to expand a little quicker if you bankroll allows it. You would need to have some big cash tiles or plenty of cottages, but then again, you would build those anyway.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Mayan Ball Court (Colosseum - double production for Creative leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Ball Court gives +3 [ICON_HAPPY](instead of the Colosseum's +1) and the +1 [ICON_HAPPY]per 20% culture.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The extra happiness could be used to full effectiveness as a warmonger by skipping Drama and going for Construction, much like Alexander might do in using his Odeon. Having happy people means more tiles being worked for the financial Pacal II.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]More research needed, but a Theatre with dyes for 50 [ICON_PRODUCTION] over an 80 [ICON_PRODUCTION] Ball Court might do the trick. Of course as the city grows and war weariness sets in or you have limited resources, this UB will make people happy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Extra happiness is always good, because it lets you pursue any victory you desire. You can combat war weariness or have large producing cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Mongolian Ger (Stable):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The stable introduced in Warlords gives +2 XP for Mounted units build in the city and the Mongolian Ger gives +4 points. This UB is very appropriate and the affects are cumulative with Barracks, the Pentagon and other XP bonuses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, both Mongolian leader start are Aggressive which means cheaper barracks. We are already looking at +7 XP, then if you factor in Theocracy and Vassalage, that's +11 all together. That is enough for 3 promotions before seeing any combat and any GG you settle and the Pentagon are just a bonus. Upgrading all the way through up to Calvary would be the idea and with the right promotions you should be able to keep most of your troops up until Rocketry. You could plan for the future and give promotions that complement your gunships, or use the advantage to conquer early. In BtS, the Stable is made obsolete with Advanced Flight, thereby lengthening the use of this UB. The fact that Genghis Khan is also imperialistic means more GGs as long as you are warmongering.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This UB complements the UU, the Keshik and the civ itself unlike any other UB for the other civs. To build a Keshik you need Archery, Horseback Riding - which you need to build the Ger anyway - and of course Horses revealed by Animal Husbandry. The Mongol starting techs are Hunting and the Wheel. Hunting is the prereq for both AH and Archery. Your mounted units all benefit, but lets look more closely at why. The keshik starts with some of the better bonuses. Let's analyze the mounted units that the Mongols can build below and remember that none of them get defensive bonuses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Unit[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][ICON_PRODUCTION][TAB][ICON_STRENGTH][TAB][ICON_MOVES][TAB][TAB]Bonuses[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Upgrade[\BOLD][NEWLINE][COLOR_GREEN]Chariot[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]25[TAB]4[TAB]2[TAB]10% Withdrawal, 100% vs. Axemen[TAB][COLOR_GREEN]Knight[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_GREEN]Keshik[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]50[TAB]6[TAB]2[TAB]20% Withdrawal, 1st Strike[TAB][TAB][COLOR_GREEN]Knight[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Ignore move cost, -10% vs. City[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+50% vs. Cats &amp; Trebs[NEWLINE][COLOR_GREEN]War Elephant[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]60[TAB]8[TAB]1[TAB]+50% vs. Mounted Units[TAB][TAB][COLOR_GREEN]Calvary[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_GREEN]Knight[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]90[TAB]10[TAB]2[TAB]Immune to 1st Strike[TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_GREEN]Calvary[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Flank Attack vs Cats &amp; Trebs*[TAB][TAB][COLOR_GREEN]Cuirassier[COLOR_REVERT]*[NEWLINE][COLOR_GREEN]Cuirassier[COLOR_REVERT]*[TAB][TAB]100[TAB]12[TAB]2[TAB]15% Withdrawal, Immune to 1st Strike[TAB][COLOR_GREEN]Calvary[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Flank Attack vs Cannon[NEWLINE][COLOR_GREEN]Calvary[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]120[TAB]15[TAB]2[TAB]30% Withdrawal, +50% vs. Cannon[TAB][COLOR_BLACK]Gunship[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLACK]Gunship[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]160[TAB]24[TAB]4[TAB]25% Withdrawal, +100% vs. Armoured[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Ignore move cost, Cannot capture City[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Flank Artillery &amp; Mobile Artillery*[NEWLINE]*Beyond the Sword[NEWLINE][COLOR_GREEN]Mounted Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLACK]Helicopter Unit [COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]None of these units can take Cover, Drill or CR promotions, but the mounted ones can get Amphibious, Charge, Formation, Pinch and Shock. If you were to give Flanking I and II to your Keshik for +30% withdrawal, that is a total of 50% and when it's upgraded to Calvary or Gunships it still adds to their intrinsic withdrawal abilities. Giving Charge to a Keshik means +75% versus their Cats and Trebs, and as a Knight it will have +75% against cannons. A Chariot with Shock will have +125% versus Axemen but only +25% with the more advanced units, but it might be a great boost. Then again you likely skip chariots and go straight to Keshiks. With the right promotions, the Keshiks might even be better than Knights especially if you don't have iron available and the fact they ignore terrain costs. A Keshik with C3 and Formation is just as good as a unpromoted Knight and as can be seen above, the Keshik has much more intrinsic abilities than a Knight such as withdrawal, bonus against cats and trebs and 1st Strike chance. Although the Knight is immune to 1st strikes and doesn't have the 10% city attack penalty. Clearly, the key is to use the XP bonus to promote according to your needs and strength based on the situation, the opponent, the map, etc. It remains to be seen how the Charge promotions for upgraded units will work with the new system of mounted units having a flank attack versus siege units.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Mounted units are a large part of a balanced army, and the UB lasts fairly long, even longer in BtS. If other civs couldn't build stables this might be overpowering, which is likely why the stable was added as well. This UB maybe isn't as synergistic with Kubla, but it still gives an increases in GGPs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Having the extra XPs out of the gate helps to earn GG points faster and build wonders like the Heroic Epic and West Point. For warmongering this is a great UB, for other victory conditions, it would help one war early to collect more land and resources and then settle down into a more peaceful victory, or at least keep a stronger army than without the UB for protecting cities while pursuing a peaceful victory. (But that is not why one plays the Mongols) War, what is it good for? Huh! Building Gers.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Native American (Totem Pole):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Another UB which replaces the Monument. This one gives +3 XPs to Archer units.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Sitting Bull does not start with Archery, but that is often traded for or even found from goody huts. The big deal is that he is Protective, giving his archers Drill I and City Garrison I [BOLD]before[\BOLD] adding the +3 XP bonus from the Totem Pole. Much like the Dun, this UB will offer some flexiblity and unique possiblity in upgrading units. More research will need to be done, but it suffices to say that this UB will make the Native Americans particularly difficult to conquer. Like the Egyptians, building Stonehenge will put the UB in every one of your cities which is bascially an archer Barracks in every city. This means an effective early archer rush, without wasting time to build the Barracks as Totem are much cheaper. With the Barracks, however, every archery unit built there will be very tough to kill on a hill behind those walls and castles that Protective Sitting Bull can cheaply build, never mind when they get upgraded to gunpowder units! His Philosophical trait might mean that a few GA culture bombs give him some more defense or he is free to use them for whatever he wishes seeing as no one is going to stop him.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Let's not forget the Dog Soldier UU (Axeman) with its strengths against melee units and also not requiring copper or iron. This UB practically gives two UUs to the Native Americans. Whether warmongering or trying to hang on against the AI on higher difficulty levels, this UB would be a key part of any strategy. Holding off on discovering Astronomy might be a prudent strategy if you are running into trouble. Imagine pumping out archer and longbowman early game with the bonuses and then upgrading them to stronger units. They will have a slight XP advantage with all over factors equal, meaning they will promote earlier. Let's imagine the +6 with Totem and Barracks and then running Feudalism and Theocracy for a 10 XPs off the bat. That is enough for 3 promotions to start, never mind fighting off barbs (although I think barb battles will only take you up to 10 XP anyway) or lone, weakened enemy units. Any Great General settled in a city takes you that much closer to a fourth promotion and your Heroic Epic. Let's analyze what Sitting Bull's archers will be able to do and what promotions will carry into the gunpowder age.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Unit[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][ICON_PRODUCTION][TAB][ICON_STRENGTH][TAB][ICON_MOVES][TAB][TAB]Bonuses[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Upgrade[\BOLD][NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Archer[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]25[TAB]3[TAB]1[TAB]1st Strike,[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Longbowman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+50% City &amp; +25% Hills Defense[TAB][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Crossbowman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Longbowman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]50[TAB]6[TAB]1[TAB]1st Strike[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+25% City &amp; +25% Hills Defense[NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Crossbowman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]60[TAB]6[TAB]1[TAB]1st Strike,[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Grenadier[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+50% vs. Melee Units[TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Grenadier[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]100[TAB]12[TAB]1[TAB]+50% vs. Riflemen[TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_RED]Machine Gun[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]110[TAB]14[TAB]1[TAB]+25% vs. Mounted Units[TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Machine Gun[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]125[TAB]18[TAB]1[TAB]Can only defend, 1st Strike[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+25% vs. Gunpowder Units[TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Mech Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]140[TAB]20[TAB]1[TAB]+25% vs. Gunpowder Units[TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]SAM Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Mech Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]SAM Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]150[TAB]18[TAB]1[TAB]40% Intercept Chance[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+50% vs. Helicopter Units[NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Mech Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]200[TAB]32[TAB]2[TAB]20% Intercept Chance[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Starts with March[NEWLINE]*Beyond the Sword[NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Archery Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Gunpowder Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Siege Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Remember that Protective Sitting Bull will have his archery and gunpowder units start with Drill I and City Garrison I, meaning they can already get Cover, Shock or Pinch (once gunpowder is discovered) on their first promotion out of the Totem. With barracks and the others bonuses mentioned, a second promotion could be Formation (bonus against mounted units) or get up to City Garrison III with one promotion to spare! The beauty of this UB compared to say, the Dun is the versatility of the promotions one can pursue, not necessarily being guilted into Guerrilla II and III. Then again, G3 archery units holding on for gunpowder promotions (see Celts) would not be such a terrible thing would it? Note too, that the Machine Gun is a siege unit and cannot receive Guerrilla or City Garrison promotions, however it is upgraded from Grenadiers which are upgraded from your G3 or CG3 archers. Interesting, no?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Sitting Bull does not start with Mysticism, the prerequisite tech. Most UBs don't get obsoleted. The earliest possible one to build can also be one of the first ones obsoleted, maybe it is not that much of a big deal if you play your cards right. Although one can ignore Astronomy, the obsoleting tech for the UB for some time, eventually you may want/need to explore and colonize other continents. By then you would have to have built all the archery units you anticipate needing and then work on upgrading them.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I think building cheap archery units with promotions not available to gunpowder or siege units (machine gun) can pay dividends given the right military and geo-political considerations. Like the Mongols, outside of warmongering or building a military to protect your empire, this UB does not hold many other uses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Ottoman Hammam (Aqueduct):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Does this UB have Expansion written all over it or what? One can really concentrate on building a large empire with large cities a lot sooner with the extra 2 happiness this building supplies in addition to the +2 health. No need to worry about religions if you miss them or drama if you prefer other techs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I feel Mehmed has the potential to be the best expansive leader as he is organized which means cheap lighthouses, courthouses [BOLD]and[\BOLD] cheap factories too. This means more food, less upkeep and more production, respectively from those buildings. This resultant larger population and therefore greater production, which leads to quicker unhappiness and pollution is further complemented by his Expansive trait which, in addition to +2 health per city, gives cheaper granaries and harbours which help reduce pollution and improve growth and economy. Those of you upset that the expansive trait was nerfed to only +2 health stop your whining because this guy has [BOLD]5[\BOLD], count'em [BOLD][BOLD]five[\BOLD][\BOLD] buildings to build cheaper and they [BOLD]all[\BOLD] mean larger and more productive cities. The happiness cap needs to be much higher for the Ottomans, and this is where the Hammam really shines, because it helps keep these larger cities happy and therefore more productive. If that is not enough, the faster worker production means an earlier hook up of resources for [BOLD]more[\BOLD] production, happiness and health bonuses. But also remember the less time building workers, means more time growing in population, which means more reason for a Hammam. This buiding does not expire either.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As for newcomer, Suleiman, who is Imperialistic and Philosophical, making cities healthy and happy at the same time is great for the GP farming you might do with him. He doesn't have all the cheap buliding that Mehmed II has and his two traits sort of conflict when it comes to warmongering; GP farming versus the increased GG appearance. But faster setter production is also a great thing for domination victories and that is what the Hammam can give. Havving many cities sooner and popping out GPs means a larger empire with abilities to conquer space or the world. He will have more cities, and larger, happier, cleaner ones at that.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It might not seem as powerful as other UBs, but you eventually build one anyway, at least in your larger, more polluted cities. This just makes them happy so you can concentrate on building more units or science/production buildings. Let's face it: it's a drag to have to stop building units or wonders because of the unhappiness or health. Kill two birds with one stone with the Hammam. Cultural games where happiness is not much of an issue are still advantaged especially at higher levels. In fact, this building really makes a difference in higher levels where happiness [BOLD]and[\BOLD] health caps are lower or on maps where happiness resources are not readily available to you. Further to that, you could delay discovering Calendar as you might not need the happiness immediately and that means culture from monuments or Stonehenge will last you a little longer.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A strong UB which helps with supporting large cities for whatever reasons you may have: military powerhouse, GP farm, etc. If this was Civ3 where the Aqueduct was need to grow past size 6, this would be huge, but even though it is not needed for that, I really can't think of any drawbacks with this UB. Quite an excellent UB.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Persian Apothecary (Grocer):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Apothecary, besides being the most difficult UB to pronounce, is a grocer that gives an additional +2 [ICON_HEALTHY] to the city. That is on top of the health from plantation resources. With a granary, harbour, apothecary and the supermarket you get health from rice, corn, wheat, clam, crab, fish, bananas, wine, sugar, spice, deer, cow, pig and sheep. So, for those of you counting at home, that's 16 [ICON_HEALTHY] points! So that means the ability to build production-boosting, pollution-causing buildings. Late in the game with high populations and those buildings or even on higher levels, this can be useful. However, you may not be looking to have a late finishing game or even want to detour for the late tech Refrigeration, especially if the Apothecary gives an intrinsic +2 health even without resources and so Supermarkets are not a necessity. That is pretty nice, no matter what level one plays on. You are afforded the option to trade away health resources for more important ones, such as: uranium, oil, iron, aluminum, etc.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Being Imperialistic, Cyrus has faster settler production and this means more cities quicker. As a result there is likely to be more health resources claimed more quickly. Happiness is not the problem with this charismatic leader either, so where can this health bonus be applied the best? Well, highly populated and production oriented cities will benefit so that means space race or conquest/domination victories and/or GP farming.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Like Churchill or Tokagawa, Cyrus might be one of the ultimate warmongers with his traits. They allow faster XP accumulation [BOLD]and[\BOLD] faster GG appearance! Late game wars which require forges, factories, etc to really pump out the expensive units will have a higher health cap. This makes more of a difference the higher the difficulty, but on quicker or lower setting, perhaps not as much.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As for Darius I, with Vanilla Washington's traits of Financial and Organized, the extra health from the UB will complement both the food from cheap lighthouses and the production from cheap factories. Financial seems handy in teching towards a space or diplomatic finish. More will need to be seen from Darius.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Apothecary needs both Currency and Guilds to build it, and guilds can come quite late, but then again guilds also gives Knights and a warmonger might like to upgrade his highly promoted Immortals. Some slingshotting could get you there faster, but maybe more needed in higher levels although I don't know exactly since the tech pace is likely quicker.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For Cyrus, faster GG emergence and quicker promotion ability means that the game is more likely won early with a conquest/domination goal and maybe the health bonuses is not so well-exploited because pollution might not be as high for one reason or another. For a fast teching Darius with an ability to maintain a large empire the extra health might benefit him more in the long run.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This building seems more suited for higher levels, but can make an impact late game with high pollution problems. Environmentalism can be avoided/delayed and chopping could be done without fear of health-induced starvation or founding a city near many FPs. Again without health resources it becomes very useful and for that reason the ability to trade away extra health resources for more strategic ones could be very useful as well.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Portuguese Feitoria (Customs House):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Feitoria replaces another new building, the Customs House. You need Economics and a Harbour to build it and it grants a 50% boost to all [BOLD]foreign[\BOLD] trade coming in from [BOLD]overseas[\BOLD]. The Portuguese Feitoria gives one extra commerce in all water tiles, making coastal cities seem like you are a financial leader.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is a very interesting UB to say the least. First off, it acts like a Colossus in each city that builds it, giving the extra commerce and a little like the Temple of Artemis without the Priest. If you were to have a large coastal city, some sea resources, a harbour, a lighthouse, and the Feitoria, that would really be a great city. Now imagine the Colossus and the Great Lighthouse in this city. Let's go a little further with it being a capital running Bureaucracy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Given the new concept of colonies in the game, it is likely that the AI will use this UB to its full advantage. More research will be needed, but Expansive and Imperialistic Joao will be able to build settlers [BOLD]and[\BOLD] workers more quickly. He is the only one, which is interesting enough. Starting with fishing will mean access to food resources to even more quickly pump those guys out. He seems flexible in pursuing either conquest/domination or space/cultural victories. It seems the AI like human player swill try for colonial expansion early and often to make use of this UB and the UU.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It is assumed that the UB and the Customs House can only be built on a coastal city given that it requires a harbour. Furthermore, the Customs House would be useless if running Mercantilism, thereby closing all foreign trade routes. It seems the Free Market, with the +1 trade route would really be the choice civic for this building. However, the Feitoria also gets +1 commerce in all water tiles, remember. Joao II could run which ever civic he wants and still get the commerce bonus. I would still recommend Free Market for the larger benefit.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It remaining to be seen how effective this UB will be. It is definitely map dependent, but if you have a few coastal cities and are up to the 6-7 possible trades routes in them, then this UB in only a few cities would still be an impact.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Roman Forum (Market):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wow, a UB that gives +25 GP birth rate! This is likely to become a favourite. There are no philosophical Roman leaders, but running Pacifism with the Forum and National Epic would still give +225%, not too shabby. Maybe with just the 125% you feel that you can delay the revolution/anarchy until you have other civics you want too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Julius Caesar is Organized and has -50% maintenance costs, but with this UB being much more attractive than a normal Market perhaps one builds it sooner and the +25% wealth in the city and the reduced maintenance costs really go together nicely much earlier in the game. In addition to his cheaper lighthouse, his cheap factories give a nice later in game production boost for military or spaceship ventures. Besides the Merchants assigned from the Forum, he has no cheap buildings which benefit from the extra GPP until factories. Augustus is no longer creative, but is Industrious. So his cheap forges could mean quicker GE production if that is your desire. This can be helpful in wonder or space races and so the extra GPP can go towards GEs or GSs or pumping out Praetorians.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Both Roman leaders are Imperialistic and have greater GG production and likely to help warmongering. Luring your enemy into your Great Wall trap, could mean 200% greater chance of GG appearance.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The extra the GPs from the Forums could be used to founded religions or techbulb (TM ) you faster through the tech tree for more military/scientific advances. There is real flexibility for both the Roman leaders. They have the fast settler production to really expand and set up an empire with the strength of their Praetorians pushing back the barbarians (er, that is, the other civs). Julius will have a better economy and ability to support his empire, while Augustus will churn out units and wonders and do the same using brute force. The GPPs can be used for whichever purpose is decided.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, running a SE seems to be necessary to maximize this UB's bonus, but not vital. Polluted GPP pools might cause some disappointment for some.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In a game where GP production is a main focus for some players, this building is likely a candidate for having no drawbacks whatsoever. Regardless of victory goal, difficulty setting, map/terrain, resources, opponents or even your own leader selection, this UB is very useful and versatile, making it one of the best.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Russian Research Institute (Laboratory):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Laboratory or Research Institute comes at a time in the game where technologies start to get much more expensive. In addition to the +50% spaceship construction, +25% [ICON_RESEARCH], and assigning one citizen as a Scientist (and +1 unhealthiness), the Russian UB gives [BOLD]two free[\BOLD] scientists! This means you can remove forced scientists and change them to GAs for a cultural win or engineers for space race or keep the scientist and head for future tech.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Representation seems like a no-brainer here, but Russia is one of the only civs in the game (with England) that has three leaders and they each have two different traits so let's examine them more closely:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Catherine: Creative and Imperialistic. She is able to quickly build settlers and the creative trait ensures quick access to fat cross resources. I like her for domination wins for those reasons. Stonehenge can add to the culture growth as well as religions. Cheap libraries can be used in conjunction with cheap theatres to build to a cultural victory. It costs less to build settlers and so fast expansion can lead to more cathedrals build. The extra scientists will lead to faster techs and so if culture is not your thing, the space race gets a nice boost both for the UB's science [BOLD]and[\BOLD] part production. Might not be a high priority especially if near your health cap.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Peter: Expansive and Philosophical. An excellent candidate for Space Race. His +2 health and cheap granaries and harbours will help offset pollution/unhealthiness from production buildings while cheap universities and +100% GP birth rate means more Scientists and Engineers to help techbulbing and wonder building. Remember the faster production of workers from any time in the game should make quite an impact too as they will be out to connect resources much sooner.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Stalin: Aggressive and Industrious. In the few games I have played with Stalin, I have been impressed with his space race potential. Cheap forges and beelining science helped. The UB really made a big impact I felt. Again cultural games leave this UB pretty much obsolete, but with Stalin, his wonder building boost leads to more research with wonders like GL, University of Sankore, Spiral Minaret, Oxford, etc. And then we have the Ironworks and GE produced wonders which are also helpful on the way. He can also be quite the military force early in the game and throughout.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]What is the trade off between Peter's ability to generate GP quicker or Stalin's wonders appearing faster to giving GPPs much sooner? That is open for debate, but both seem great cosmonauts. And I wouldn't rule out Cathy in that department either. With her cheap libraries, quick settler production for greater early expansion complemented by quick cultural border growth she could just as likely be able to use the UB and pull another Yuri Gagarin or, make that Valentina Tereshkova.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Observatories are needed to build the Institute, and although you will already have that tech, they can be more expensive to build for all three leaders compared to cheap libraries or universities. Only Stalin with his industrious trait might have a quicker build given his cheap forges and getter ability to settle GEs, although Peter might too. In Beyond the Sword, with the restructured modern age tech tree, it may require a slightly longer wait before one can build the Research Institute, plus the choices late in the game seem to be more complex and difficult than they were previously.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Diplomatic victories would mean you research Mass Media instead of Computers and therefore not a factor. For cultural wins, you likely have the culture switch on at this point and these buildings therefore can be useful in giving back some lost research, but it will matter very little. Mass Media gives Hollywood which is much more important in that case.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For being at war the research boost could be handy for building more advanced units, but likely if you need a research boost that badly you probably can't afford to be building RIs in all or most of your high production cities, likely only in your SCC which could also be your unit factory too. By the time you build it, you still have to research those new techs for the improved units. With a little planning it could work out in your favour.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To quote Boney M, "Oh, those Russians!" It seems this UB is destined to help with the Space Race and help get Sputnik launched much sooner rather than any other victory, with a possible exception for conquest. Depending on your usual teching order, you might make some adjustments to maximize the benefit of the Research Institute. Time/score victory goals can be helped by the accumulation of future tech perhaps.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Spanish Citadel (Castle - double production for Protective leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Patched Warlords made Castles more useful by giving them +1 trade route and -25% damage from bombardment from non-gunpowder units in addition to the +50% defense vs. non-gunpowder units and +1 culture. Cumulative with the prerequisite Walls, that means +100 defence from non-GP units and -50% from non-GP bombardment. In BtS, they also give an extra 25% espionage points. Maybe, [BOLD]now[\BOLD] players will build them![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Citadel gives an additional 25% bombardment protection for a total of -75% [BOLD]and[\BOLD] gives 5XP to Siege units produced in the city. From the +3XP barracks and the Citadel that is 8XP already, but Thoecracy and Vassalge give 12XP from the start enough for 3 promotions. The bonus is applied to Trebuchets, Catapults and if you can avoid the obsoleting tech, Economics (which restores the lost trade route, 1st to discover gets a GM) you can have Cannons, Artillery and even machine guns with this bonus as well.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The strength of the UB lies in how one promotes their siege weapons most effectively. A warmonger or early-war-to-to-claim-land strategy uses it to it's full advantage, but just protecting your cities becomes much easier now too. In Beyond the Sword, there is a new system for siege weapons, so more remains to be seen. Let's take a look at the Siege Units assuming that they follow the path below and remember they cannot receive defensive bonuses and they all cause collateral damage:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Catapult[COLOR_REVERT] ---\[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB]\___ [COLOR_RED]Cannon[COLOR_REVERT] ---&gt; [COLOR_RED]Artillery[COLOR_REVERT] ---&gt; [COLOR_RED]Mobile Artillery[COLOR_REVERT]*[NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Trebuchet[COLOR_REVERT] -/[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLACK]Grenadier[COLOR_REVERT] --&gt; [COLOR_RED]Machine Gun[COLOR_REVERT] --&gt; [COLOR_BLACK]Mechanized Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Unit[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][ICON_PRODUCTION][TAB][ICON_STRENGTH][TAB][ICON_MOVES][TAB][TAB]Bonuses[\BOLD][NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Catapult[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB][TAB]40[TAB]5[TAB]1[TAB]25% Withdrawal,[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Bombard City Defences (-15%/turn)[NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Trebuchet[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB][TAB]60[TAB]4[TAB]1[TAB]25% Withdrawal, +100% vs. City[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Bombard City Defences (-25%/turn)[NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Cannon[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB][TAB]100[TAB]12[TAB]1[TAB]25% Withdrawal,[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Bombard City Defences (-20%/turn)[NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Machine Gun[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]120[TAB]18[TAB]1[TAB]1st Strike, Defend Only, +50% vs. GP Units[NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Artillery[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB][TAB]100[TAB]18[TAB]1[TAB]25% Withdrawal, +50% vs. Siege[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Bombard City Defences (-25%/turn)[NEWLINE][COLOR_BLACK]Mechanized Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]200[TAB]32[TAB]2[TAB]20% Aircraft Intercept, Starts with March[NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Mobile Artillery[COLOR_REVERT]*[TAB][TAB]200[TAB]26[TAB]2[TAB]Max 85% Attack Damage, +50% vs. Siege[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Immune to Siege Collateral Damage[NEWLINE]*Beyond the Sword[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]All these units receive Barrage, Drill, Shock, Ambush, and City Raider (except Machine Gun who only defends) as well as the Combat and Medic promotions. Any Grenadiers promoted to Machine Gun will not gain any XPs if ungraded in a Citadel, but any you build there will. None of these units can receive City Garrison, Cover, Pinch, Formation, Charge or (Guerilla or Woodsman), but it is possible to have your Grenadier or Melee Units promoted into Grenadiers and give [BOLD]them[\BOLD] any of those promotions and then upgrade them into Machine Gunners. You could for example create G2 or G3 Machine Gunners with Ambush and CG promotions to defend a Hill city from Tanks or you could have Woodsman Machine Gunners with Pinch and Medic/Charge defending your SoD on route through a forest to attack an enemy city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Options for your other Siege units are even more numerours. Except for the Machine Gun, all the Siege units have a 25% withdrawal chance, if you add a GG to it, you can it 55% as well as making it a nice Siege Weapon from other promotions. Remember that upgrades are [BOLD]free[\BOLD] when attached to a Warlord, so you could have some expert Machine Gun defenders or great Cannons/Artillery once the competition gets a little tougher and the AI has more advanced units. One other thing that really stood out to me in trying the UB out, was that Siege Units are immune to collateral damage, so having plenty of them in your stack means you will have some to attack with while other units might need to heal. You can give them medic promotions too remember.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As for synergy with the Conquistador, it is a knight with +50% vs. melee units. Many different civs have melee units for their UU, which comes in handy. With a few correctly promoted Conquistadors and Siege weapons the two should complement each other nicely. Don't forget to balance out your forces, using more than just these two.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This UB doesn't really do anything for the Expansive trait or the Spanish starting tech of fishing and mysticism, however being religious does offer advantages to being able to switch to new civics immediately and not waiting until others are discovered. A switch to Theocracy before you wait to get Vassalage could mean the difference between producing units with an extra +2 XPs and for the siege units with the Citadel, that is enough to put them over the top for a third promotion.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you want to avoid Economics, the obsoleting tech, you only really miss out on a Great Merchant. You could conceivably hold out for some super artillery and machine gunners if you wanted. This UB allows for some interesting warfare capabilities. Although it doesn't immediately lend it self to anything other than conquest/domination, the extra territory and cities gained or even the ability to better protect one's own cities and territory is nothing to take lightly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Sumerian Ziggurat (Courthouse - double production for Organized leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]While the Rathaus of the Holy Roman Empire gives a larger maintenence bonus, it takes just as long to build. Neither them, nor the Sumerians are Organized, but the Sumerian Ziggurat is 30 [ICON_PRODUCTION] cheaper, only costing 90, meaning that it will be built more quickly even if not more powerful. I feel the quicker it is build the better; one of the reasons the Zulu Ikhanda is so effective as well (although for Zulu, it is both cheaper and quicker, but not as powerful). Also, only four are required to build the Forbidden Palace. It also gives +2 espionage points and allow you to assign a citizen as a Spy, but that is a normal courthouse feature for Beyond the Sword.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Okay, major props going out to Bovinespy again for pointing out my huge oversight (I don't have the game yet). This UB is like a courthouse, but you only need Priesthood to build it thereby delaying Code of Laws or passing it all together. This will mean a much earlier clamp down on maintenance costs. While others may have a larger bonus (Rathaus), Gilgamesh, like Shaka, will have a head start. This means the Forbidden Palace is built much sooner as well.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Building the FP quicker, could help culturally for a victory, however it also means a faster expanding empire. Creative and Protective Gilgamesh will need be to be further studied, but the culture boost from borders will help the settlers claim land and the quicker and earlier built courthouses will help keep the economy going. Being protective as well, means maintaining the empire while under attack. Cheap walls and castles will make Sumeria a tough foe to topple.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This did not jump out as being a strong UB until I realized it comes with Priesthood. This is something I am sure some players will use it to maximum advantage. Really, a cheaper courthouse is nothing to complain about and now, one does not have to wait as long to build it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]. Um yeah, that was before I realized you don't need CoL. Priesthood is such a cheap tech, it could be beelined for maximum exploitation here. I love the prereq tech as it is both unique and very appropriate when you think about what Ziggurats really were. This UB is just oozing flavour and possibilities. More to come I am sure; I just can not wait to play these guys![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Viking Trading Post (Lighthouse double production for Organized leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Another coastal UB for a financial leader, the Trading Post gives a free Navigation 1 promotion to ships build there in addition to the extra food in each sea tile.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There is some definite synergies here, firstly the UB being required for the Great Lighthouse which gives all coastal cities +2 trade routes. Ragnar starts with fishing and so the prereq tech, Sailing is not far away. As with the Carthaginian Cothon, it makes sense to build many coastal cities to maximize this affect. Now, it's true that not all your cities will be building ships [BOLD]all[\BOLD] the time, so it is your choice, but of the achipelago maps I have played with them, most if not all of them have been. Harbours, Colossus also add to the wealth, remembering that Ragnar is financial, coastal tiles are great if you have few FP cottages, gems, gold, silver or plantation resources[NEWLINE]around you.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]So, the bonus itself, one extra movement for sea units does not include work boats. On a map with plenty of water this is helpful to let you discover other civs earlier and trade tech with them. Between your financial coastal cities raking in money for a high research rate, you will also be trading for other techs of lower priority when you meet the others. From here you can go one step further and let the extra movement of your powerful navy work for you. Drydocks come with Steel and give your sea units an extra +4 XPs and are produced 50% faster. Your navy would quite literally have an extra step, but there is more. The +1 movement also helps you to circumnavigate the globe faster and hopefully beat out other civs in doing so. Either you trade for maps as you meet new civs or you do it the old fashioned way. It might be tough with a lot of ocean, but as soon as you get ships which can enter the ocean you still have the +1 movement from navigation. The +1 movement from circumnavigating the globe [BOLD]does[\BOLD] apply to your work boats![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Now let us consider the Bersek, the Viking UU which is a Maceman with the Amphibious promotion and an intrinsic +10% City Attack. Adding the CR1 and you are already at +30%. Being Aggressive, you only start with Combat 1 for an extra 10% unit strength and the unit itself has +50% vs. Melee Units. So for a CR Berserk against a melee defender in a coastal city we are talking +80% strength for nearly double the 8 [ICON_STRENGTH], more like 15.2 [ICON_STRENGTH]. If you can meet some civs while they still have only archers (11.2 [ICON_STRENGTH], or even better, Warriors (or Axemen), their cities become yours very easily. On an achipelago map, most if not all of their cities will be coastal and that is what a financial leader with the Colossus and GL wants right? With the patch, the Civil Service or CoL slingshot might be harder to do, but if you concentrate on the money, research can go quicker for you, plus a GP could help you out along the way too. Berserks can be built with Copper or Iron, so if you have researched for copper and have none, trade for IW or research it and try again.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]On Great Plains, Oasis or other maps with little coastal tiles, this building is very useless. It really shines in the water maps although the Berserk can still be useful for attacking across rivers.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Whether for meeting tech trading partners earlier or wiping out some rivals early the Trading Post gives a nice bonus. One could go on to eliminate everyone rather quickly or if not take some prime real estate to help with a culture/space/diplomatic victory. For full blown conquest or domination, this building can be helpful on the right map. It would be nice to see +10% trade route or commerce in the city as well, but it still nicely complements the amphibious Berserk. If not on a archipelago or lakes map it value is greatly reduced however.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Zulu Ikhanda (Barracks - double production for Aggressive leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Barracks that act as a mini-courthouse by giving -20% maintnance costs. This means you can wait for CoL a little later and still expand reasonable quicker than your rivals.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This building greatly complements the expansive and aggressive Shaka because he gets double production speed. He is one of two leaders (the other being Frederick) who gets their UB at half the building cost. Barracks cost 50 [ICON_PRODUCTION] while the Ikhanda costs 60 [ICON_PRODUCTION] so the double production bonus still a big factor. Patched Warlords and BtS only gives +3 XPs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Expanding out is aided with reduced costs and whether you warmonger or not it's a nice bonus. Couple it with the courhouse and that is -70% maintenance costs, not bad at all. If taking over cities, this UB is cheaper to build than a courthouse (80 [ICON_PRODUCTION] and don't forget the double production) In a large, productive city taken from the enemy, this building will let it start contributing to the war machine.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I would not put the Zulu as a culture contender with no cheap culture buildings to build, but diplomatic, domination, space race and conquest all seem possibilities because the benefits of reduced maintenance can be used for any means. I have actually seen some comments that cultural was easy with Shaka. Perhaps the extra maintenance reduction allows for more cities and more cathedrals.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In Beyond the Sword, they have fixed the problem that the Ikhanda had in Warlords and it now like the Barracks, it also receives +2 happiness when running the Nationhood civic. So, quicker expansion and extra happiness from a building which is meant to produce units with +3 XPs. Remembering the synergy with Fuedalism and Theocracy that is +8 XPs and while other civs get that and the barrcks happiness too, they do not get the lower maintenance costs while growing their empires through conquest.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You might not build barracks in every city, at higher level especially, but this UB can pay dividends by being in every city. It's so cheaper, why would one not even bother? The synergy with the courthouse can be nice.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Probably a building best used to expand as quickly as allowed. Domination or conquest or large number of cities to help with research/spaceship construction. Finally, if this UB makes you more likely to build barracks straight away, your military will benefit, but should it be first in the build queue?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]That is the rundown of the Unique Buildings. I would like to thank everyone for their input and support.</English>
		<French>[H1]Comprehensive Unique Building Guide (BTS)[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]WilliamOfOrange[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is a my first attempt at a strategy guide given that most of the players with more skill/talent/time usually write up some beauties, but I have been inspried to contribute something about my favourite part of the Warlords expansion: the Unique Building.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I often load up the game and civilopedia just to see which UBs might match the victory condition that I feel like going for. I appreciate reading peoples' work, so I hope I can return the favour here in bringing this strategy article to you. The great thing about this game is the many different strategies and uses for things like leader traits, UUs and UBs. And what is truly great about the UBs is the flexibility and choices most of them give the player so ratings are not necessary; only strategies and synergies need be discussed. What makes a UB (or UU) great is how it is used the most effectively. With the new combinations that Beyond the Sword offers, this could get quite complicated, however I will only focus on the standard and normal civilization UB combinations here.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Here we go:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]American Mall (Supermarket):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I have only played the Americans in a Gauntlet with a Future start going for Space Race, but I have to say the building was a nice boost. It is a good choice for an American UB, I feel. For the same price as a supermarket (which provides extra health from cow, deer, pig and sheep) you also get happiness from the three late "entertainment/culture wonders" or ECWs; musicals from Broadway, singles from Rock n' Roll and movies from Hollywood, and now with the patch, plus 20% gold in the city to boot! For a future era start, maybe not needed right away, but if in a long game where your population is reaching health and happiness limits, its a great building to have even if it does come late in the game. That alone is enough, but the +20% gold can be nice too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Building one or all of those happiness/culture wonders mentioned above would add 3 happiness points like that and the added health means larger cities as well. What is your pleasure, GP farming or warmongering? Either way, I think it helps out. Not sure about using it with Washington, who is charismatic and expansive, so the +2 health means the health bonus from the mall maybe isn't so big. Then again, you can afford to build polution causing, production buildings with all that extra health. Also the +1 happiness in all cities and from monuments or broadcast towers (which is great if you build the Eiffel Tower) seems to negate the happiness from the mall too. But, if you were to play as the industrious and organized Roosevelt, then you could get some of the benefits of Washington at the same time if you build malls.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It seems that the extra health and happiness could really give Lincoln a nice late game edge when large, polluting cities needs extra [ICON_HEALTHY] and [ICON_HAPPY]. Given his philosophical trait, he is a great candidate for space race because of the Mall's bonuses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, it does come late and requires a grocer to be built. Given that the grocer gives +1 health from bananas, wine, sugar and spice, that might solve your health problems already. Grocers also give +25 wealth and can turn two citizens into Merchants. Maybe you don't need the health, but the money is always nice. With Grocer, Market, Bank and Mall that is 120% increase in income. Yay, Capitalism![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With a granary, a grocer and the supermarket/mall you get health from rice, corn, wheat, bananas, wine, sugar, spice, deer, cow, pig and sheep. That's 11 health points! So as stated above, that means the ability to build forges, factories and other polluting buildings. It would all depend on your civics (environmentalism), if you have FP or trees and jungle in your fat cross and your goals (production, warmongering, space race, etc)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As for the happiness, with charismatic trait, you get +1 per city, and ignoring any happiness from temples, theatres, coliseums look at what building one of the three ECWs gives you once you have a mall and broadcast tower, (either by it self, or the much better option of the Eiffel Tower). For example you build Hollywood, +1 [ICON_HAPPY]and with mall and broacast tower, another +2 [ICON_HAPPY]for a total of +3 for the same resource!! If you build all three ECWs and the Eiffel Tower, you are looking at +9 happiness for three resources not to mention that you can trade your extra singles, movies and musicals to other civs for resources you may not have, like Aluminum or Iron or Oil. Add in the fact that you likely have temples, theatres or whatever other happiness producing buildings and the fact that the broadcast tower (along with threatres and coliseums) will give +1 happiness for every 10% culture. If you have all three in a city, then that means +3 [ICON_HAPPY] for only raising the culture setting up by 10%. For warmongering this is huge![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Warmongering seems to fit America as a charismatic Washington or Lincoln also gets quicker promotions and you will have more money coming in to support a large army and upgrade your troops. The Mall is a Cottage Economy UB, but Lincoln is a Specialist Economy Leader, so there may be some mismatch here.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Although some may feel that is comes too late or when the game is pretty much finished and you are either milking the score or just mopping up, it seems to me that given a large varied collection of resources, the Mall gives the American player the ability and flexibilty to trade extra health/happiness resources away and not suffer their loss, or to exploit them and kick into high production/war monger gear and not look back. Lincoln is a bonafide space contender, quite a deal over Washington and Roosevelt.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Arabian Madrassa (Library - double production for Creative leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If the Chinese Pavilion is the "Big Daddy" of culture UBs, then the Madrassa is the "Big Momma". With a whopping +4 culture per turn is lends itself to a culture victory. Given that Writing is an early tech and you would likely build a library anyway, it's a no-brainer to place Writing higher up in your tech queue. In fact, I have experiemented with beelining for it and not worrying about early religions for cultural games. Libraries cost the same, but in addition to assigning to scientists, you can [BOLD]also[\BOLD] assign two prophets.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The culture route is likely the biggest draw for this one, but you could also concentrate on farming GP and GS only if you like. Lightbulbing to get ahead in tech and maybe settling some of them as well so that you could build the UN quickly. The big culture ensures that you have the resources if you join/start the space race or just own all the land around you for domination victories. Farming GPs will help you progress nicely through the religious tech and that means more religions, holy cities, shrines and mo' money, mo' money, mo' money! And it can also help you control religion spreading for diplomatic manipulation.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other then the danger of polluting your GP pool if you are not careful and don't want that for a cultural victory, I can't think of any problems.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] All-round, early UB with simple bonuses, but powerful if used to their strengths.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Aztec Sacrificial Altar (Courthouse - double production for Organized leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I just realized that these badboys are only 90 shields compared to the 120 needed for a courthouse! In addition to halving maintenaince costs in the city it also halves the anger caused by whipping buildings in the city. I have not played many Aztec games but I recall reading about a false OCC on another forum where the Aztecs started on a Plains/Hill island and needed to wait until Optics to get across the ocean. The prospect of rushing buildings through slavery seemed to make the task more managable. I had played as the Incas one time on the 1000 AD Earth map and I never left slavery until I had emancipation. I wonder about the same strategy with the Aztecs, seems to be far more effective. Finally, everything gets the discounted unhappiness from rushing (amazing what nice people can point out and you can verify by playing the game and testing). Holy Quetzalcoatl! That changes everything![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Like the courthouse, it also gives +2 Espionage points and allows you to turn one citizen into a Spy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One could whip their hands bloody, but to what advantage? Fast culture, fast science/research or fast infrastructure like banks, grocers, etc. Space race might benefit from this strategy, but can projects be whipped? Once you whip production buildings, you can pump out units and dominate/conquer the world. Or just whip the units out and slay everything in your path.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A large spanning empire through conquest would be able to build cheaper courthouses and then whip some culture and happiness buildings to help keep maintenance costs down and develop captured cities into productive contributors more quickly. In war times you could have the possibility of both drafting and then whipping units. Finally, you can finish off a wonder earlier and perhaps beat the AI to a few depending on difficulty level.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In terms of Bts, we have also only begun to explore the mechanics of espionage, but giving +2 espionage points and the ability to turn a citizen into this new type of GP is almost a throw in after the whipping unhappiness reduction. As a warmonger, this new feature of producing great spies has some definite synergy. The courthouse is likely not always the first items in a build queue, but I feel the Altar has two things that make it a higher priority.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Altars come too late to help whip barracks and the aggressive Monty gets cheaper barracks anyway. But, now that I know the reduced penalty for whipping [BOLD]does[\BOLD] apply to units, a quick ASAP conquest victory is likely not going to be done with CoL and the Altar. This is one of the reasons I have used this technique very little but am more open to trying mid-game conquests. If you are on a large map with many civs, this UB makes more sense. You could be pumping out settlers and workers and units and scouts or even missionaries. However, continuing whipping will keep the population low in those cities if you want to be economical since larger cities taker longer to get back up to that high population and having low populated cities would mean that perhaps you are not utilizing all of the good tiles available to be worked in the fat cross. Having low population might result in slower teching, but if you are whipping settlers and workers and the Altars help lower maintainence then having many small cities might offset that. Eventually, the unhappiness will catch up however, but I am sure that there are plenty of savvy players out there that have slavery fine tuned to both an art and science.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]An appropriately related UB for the Aztecs, but not the culture bomb like in Civ 3 and not as powerful as could be due its somewhat late appearance. That being said, an Oracle slingshot could give you it quicker and then it might be worth more, but a slingshot solely to use this UB doesn't really merit the risk, especially on higher levels and needing Math too. It can be effective for starting out and if it is the first thing build/whipped in a newly captured city, then it will become a contributing city soon enough. I owe this UB an apology for not originally realizing the full potential and the ability to whip units. I has been fun using when playing as the Aztecs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Babylonian Garden (Colosseum - double production for Creative leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]How cute, a UB named for their Hanging Gardens. The building gives extra +2 [ICON_HEALTHY] and this UB is much like the Ottoman Hammam except the Babylonians getting a health bonus on the Colosseum rather than a happiness bonus on the Aqueduct. This UB will give health bonuses independent of what food resources their may be. It also has it's happiness linked to the culture slider and costs 80 hammers, just like the Colosseum.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Being aggressive and organized as well as the Babylonian UU might make Hammurabi a warmonger candidate. Assuming more cities earlier on, perhaps one could make use of the the extra health. Certainly high polluting cities for a warmonger or space race could use it. Organized gets cheap lighthouses (more food), courthouses (faster expansion) and factories for more production. High production with extra health could mean some good warring possibilities with his Aggression or it could mean space race contention.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It comes with Construction and is 20 hammers less expensive than an Aqueduct. A Theatre is still a cheaper option for happiness if you don't need the health. Later in the game, when high production is needed, but unhealthy, this UB will give a slight health advantage, but the beauty is that is comes so early that you would not have to stop producing military units or spaceship components to build it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]This UB will have to be thoroughly tested before evaluation can be made.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Byzantine Hippodrome (Theatre - double production for Creative leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Hippodrome is like a super Theatre. Sure, you get +3 [ICON_CULTURE], the two Artists to assign and the bonus for dyes, but you also get one for horses, hence the name HIPPOdrome. It also has a base happiness of +1, but it that wasn't enough (and it never is), you also get +1 [ICON_HAPPY]for every 5% culture on your slider, instead of the normal 10%. This essentially doubles that ability of the building to give happiness from culture.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Where to begin? Well the extra happiness from a smaller culture slider means more money devoted to maintenance of cities for your expanding empire, more military units and upgrades, more research, you name it. Justinian I is Imperialistic and you will have more money available to take advantage of your fast settler production. Since the Cataphract UU is dependent on horses, it is a no brainer to try and connect the horses ASAP. Being religious gives the flexibility of fast settlement and then gearing up for war or space exploration or anything else. Running Serfdom and OR and than switching to Feudalism and Theocracy. The extra happiness is great and also leads to a economic advantage which is up to your imagination to exploit. This UB is a far better choice than building a Colosseum for the Byzantines.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Extra happiness is never a drawback, and as stated earlier, this leads to an economically advantage. Even without horses or dyes, there is still the +1 base [ICON_HAPPY].[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]While not overpowered on paper, it remains to be seen how useful this UB actually will be. So far, it looks very promising.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Carthaginian Cothon (Harbour - double production for expansive leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]So, a harbour which gives +1 trade routes to a coastal city to Hannibal, a financial leader who starts with fishing. What is the catch, you ask? I can't think of any. I have only played a game or two with Carthage, but you gotta love their chances.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First off, Financial and Fishing is already great. Find some coastal tiles with food sources and settle down. In fact when I play as Carthage (or the Vikings for that matter) it's nothing but coastal cities if I can help it. Your income will give a fast tech pace and you can plan for diplomatic or space victories, although I am not sure about others. I guess being ahead in tech will help keeping a more advanced army.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The base number of trade routes for a city is one, but if you have discovered Currency and build a castle or run the Free Market civic in [BOLD]addition[\BOLD] to your Cothons, that means 3 trade routes. (You can't do both since Economic obsoletes the castle.) The Colossus adds +1 gold in [BOLD]all[\BOLD] water tiles and the Great Lighthouse adds [BOLD]+2 trade routes in [BOLD]all[\BOLD] coastal cities.[\BOLD] If you have a map with many civs, and nice silver or gold or calendar enabling resources which gives you huge coin besides your financial bonus you will have some rich cities. If you are around late enough and make an early move for flight and the UN, the Airport and the Common Currency Resolution give you [BOLD]another[\BOLD] 2 trade routes![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Didn't talk about cottage spamming yet, so there. I said it. Cottage Spamming. Now, need I mention the +50% trade route yield? That +50% on your 7 trade routes! Don't forget the additional 100% from the Temple of Artemis. Add markets, banks and Wall Street and you will be using C-notes for TP.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Compass can come pretty late, but a beeline or slingshot or a combo of both to iron working could land you your cothons earlier than you might think. The tech or time lost getting your UB will be made up for when you have +1 trade routes in your lucrative coastal cities even if they cost an extra 20 hammers. And that may be the only drawback, you need to have coastal cities. If you want to reign supreme with Hannibal, you need high sea levels and likely some sort of Archipelago map[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other than being map dependent, this UB is quite possibly the best matched with the civs leader traits and starting techs. With more money you can support a larger army/empire or research faster.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Celtic Dun (Walls - double production for Protective leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Walls that produce units with a free Guerrilla I promotion for +20% defense on hills. In a discussion about the best UUs I read that Swordmen or Melee units can't get the Guerrilla promotion. This would explain both why the UU starts with it and why the UB gives it to units produced in that city. Only Archery and Gunpowder units can get the promotion. Siege, Melee, Mounted and Armoured don't.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It is important to remember that the G3 30 Hills Attack bonus only coming when attcking [BOLD]into[\BOLD] Hills and not from them. Still, the 30% withdrawal is also handy and has helped out greatly in games I have played, so whether you have hills or not thw withdrawal is worth it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I am not sure whether or not holding off researching Rifling, the obsoleting tech matters because any musketmen or grenadiers that you build will have the Guerrilla I, but once you have riflemen with a strength of 14, maybe grenadiers with 12 don't look so good. Perhaps if your opponents have rifling you would hold off on getting it yourself as the bonus grenadiers have against rifles and their Guerrilla bonus might prove worth keeping for a bit or at least until you have a good amount of them. It would all depend on the other promotions they have and your opponents. Upgrading your Gallic Swordsman to Macemen you do not lose the Guerrilla I. Even if they were given Guerrilla II or even III [BOLD]before[\BOLD] being upgraded then they keep it. Some shrewd manipulation of the promotion chart would prove most rewarding. Build your archery and gunpowder units, give them the G2 promotion and then discover Rifling. Upgrade your archery units and musketmen to riflemen, remembering that only Grenadiers can be promoted to Machine Gunners (considered siege unit). Your G2 or G3 Gallic Warriors becomes Macemen and then either Riflemen or Grenadiers. Riflemen and Machine Gunners can both be promoted to Mechanized Infantry (gunpowder unit), while only Riflemen can be upgraded to SAM Infantry. Below is a crude flowchart:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_COMMERCE]Gallic Warrior[COLOR_REVERT] --&gt; [COLOR_YIELD_COMMERCE]Maceman[COLOR_REVERT] -----\[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]   \__ [COLOR_BLUE]Grenadier[COLOR_REVERT] --&gt; [COLOR_RED]Machine Gun[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB]/--&gt; [COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Crossbowman[COLOR_REVERT] _/\[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]\[NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Archer[COLOR_REVERT] -----/[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]   \_\[COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT] --&gt; [COLOR_BLUE]Infantry[COLOR_REVERT] --&gt; [COLOR_BLUE]Mechanized Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB]\--&gt;  [COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Longbowman[COLOR_REVERT] ___/[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]  \[NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Musketman[COLOR_REVERT]___________________/[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]   \___[COLOR_BLUE]SAM Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Unit[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][ICON_PRODUCTION][TAB][ICON_STRENGTH][TAB][ICON_MOVES][TAB][TAB]Bonuses[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Upgrade[\BOLD][NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Archer[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]25[TAB]3[TAB]1[TAB]1st Strike,[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Longbowman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+50% City &amp; +25% Hills Defense[TAB][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Crossbowman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_COMMERCE]Gallic Warrior[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]60[TAB]6[TAB]1[TAB]+10% City Attack[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_YIELD_COMMERCE]Maceman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Starts with Guerrilla I[NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Longbowman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]50[TAB]6[TAB]1[TAB]1st Strike[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+25% City &amp; +25% Hills Defense[NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Crossbowman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]60[TAB]6[TAB]1[TAB]1st Strike,[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Grenadier[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+50% vs. Melee Units[TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_COMMERCE]Maceman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]80[TAB]8[TAB]1[TAB]+50% vs. Melee Units[TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Grenadier[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Musketman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]80[TAB]9[TAB]1[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Grenadier[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]100[TAB]12[TAB]1[TAB]+50% vs. Riflemen[TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_RED]Machine Gun[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]110[TAB]14[TAB]1[TAB]+25% vs. Mounted Units[TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Machine Gun[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]125[TAB]18[TAB]1[TAB]Can only defend, 1st Strike[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+25% vs. Gunpowder Units[TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Mech Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]140[TAB]20[TAB]1[TAB]+25% vs. Gunpowder Units[TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]SAM Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Mech Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]SAM Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]150[TAB]18[TAB]1[TAB]40% Intercept Chance[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+50% vs. Helicopter Units[NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Mech Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]200[TAB]32[TAB]2[TAB]20% Intercept Chance[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Starts with March[NEWLINE]*Beyond the Sword[NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Archery Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_COMMERCE]Melee Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Gunpowder Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Siege Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Who wouldn't want these Mech or SAM Infantry units with double movement on Hills, +30% Defence, +25% Hill Attack and 30% chance of Withdrawal? Most players sadly undervalue what this UB can do for you later in the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Being charismatic, both Brennus and new-comer Boudica give quicker promotions and if you wanted the Guerrilla I promotion anyway then you are free to choose something else. Don't forget the extra +1 happiness per city and the +1 happiness from the Monument: early happiness for warring or ignoring temple for other more important buildings such as courthourse, forges, libraries, etc. Warring on a hilly or highlands type map seems a good strategy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You could build a stack of any units and upgrade them with the G1 promotion remaining. This bonus makes you just one closer to G2 which gives another 30% defense in Hills and well as double movement on Hills, making hilly maps such as highlands easier to navigate. Remember that with the patch the G3 promotion gives the +25% attack bonus [BOLD]and[\BOLD]a 30% chance of withdrawal! With a charismatic leader you could easily get both of those either out of the barracks and with one fight or from a GG, but don't forget the +4 from running Theocracy and Feudalism. Running both of those and having a barracks means units made will have 7/8 XP to start. Finally, Boudica is aggressive so not only does this mean the Combat I promotion for free, but also cheaper barracks. This means building barracks [BOLD]and[\BOLD] a Dun just got more practical even or especially without stone. But a free Combat I is nothing to sneeze at if you are promoting up the Guerrilla line.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One might build the Great Wall and "trick" the AI to try and fight you in your backyard. Your Guerrilla resistance troops will protect any hill resource and if you give them Woodsman I or higher or even more Guerrilla, you will give them a heck of a time trying to dislodge you. They would defend any cats or trebs or whatever you bring along if you fight on their turf too. Giving unit both Guerrilla II and Woodsman II means a versatile unit capable of sneak attacks on weaker units or maybe even an invaluable resource pillager.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I would suggest delaying Rifling until you have upgraded all your G1 units into musketman or grenadiers, maybe a 50-50 mix. Discover Rifling, but then upgrade them into Riflemen, and from their you can have Infantry, SAM Infantry [BOLD]and[\BOLD] Mechanized Infantry with this defensive bonus. Going in pillaging the AI resources for space race or preventing them from building nukes can be done with these expert pillagers.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It's a nice bonus, but not really any drawbacks. In fact now that walls and duns give +25% bombardment protection (about time) and castles do too, one might be more likely to build castles if they didn't before, especially since in BtS they also give +25% espionage points. With both a Dun and Castle one gets +100% defense and +50% bombardment defense from non-gunpowder units. The extra trade route from the castle and the espionage points are throw-ins.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For warmongering or pillaging/protecting resources no matter what the goal this UB can provide you with units that will have an advantage on hills. How you use those units, promote or upgrade them will depend on your goals, immediate and future needs and terrain/resources. The strength in this UB is the versatility it provides. I predict that Boudica's traits will make the Celts a more attractive Civ to play as. She will be a warmonger's dream and possibly one of the most fierce of opponents. Outside of warmongering, there is not much this UB can do other than help one explore a hilly map more quickly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Chinese Pavlion (Theatre - double production for Creative civ):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The undisputed culture building king and "Big Daddy" of the cultural UBs. Cultural victory fans must have thought they hit the bigtime when they saw this beauty. Aside from the +3 culture the it gives +25% for culture in the city. Building the pavilion alone gives a culture per turn of 3.75, slightly less than the Madrassa, but this will double after 1000 years, but more importantly the 25% is added to everything.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]What makes the pavilion the culture champion is the +25% bonus continues throughout the game and so the quicker the culture from other buildings can be added to the city, the better. Imagine a few early wonders with their culture doubling and then the added 25%. Sure, it's not game breaking, but one might not feel as obligated to crank the culture switch or convert to Free Speech as quickly with the bonus this UB gives.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The traits of the leaders don't really work that well with this building, but it does ensure no matter what that nearby resources our yours. This allows you to persue the late game win conditions such as diplomatic, space race or a late conquest. Or more likely, early in the game you will have more resources than otherwise and you can dictate the trade terms and stifle the AI by denying them that one precious iron or uranium or oil or aluminum as the case may be.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Although not able to overly accelerate the cultural win time frame, this building I have found to be quite amazing for domination games. With a few founded religions and no state religion and a pavilion, you just keep pumping out settlers and units and let the borders expand like your waistline after college.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other than persuing a cultural/domination victory or claiming resources, there in not much extra outside of the normal theatre uses/features. Even in a cultural game, it is not enough to be a real advantage because of China's leader traits or strating techs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] What you see is what you get. Nothing to really want to you play China any more than you normally would, except maybe for a quicker domination win or being a resource hog and super businessman/diplomat.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Dutch Dike (Levee):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Dutch UB, the Dike replaces the Levee which itself, is a new building introduced in Beyond the Sword. The Levee is available with Steam Power and gives +1 hammer on every river tile and costs 180 hammers. It brings up some interesting choices regarding tiles improvements to say the least. Meanwhile, the Dike also gives the +1 production boost to all water tiles as well. Any coastal city will greatly benefit and the great thing is that it does not need to be a coastal city either. Therefore even cities one tile in from the coast or with small lakes will still have water tiles gaining the bonus.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With Willem being Financial, the choice to build cottages on river tiles might appear to be a no-brainer, but often players will want increased production and build watermills, windmills or lumbermills in their place. The great thing about the Dike or Levee for that matter, is that it gives a production bonus to the tiles regardless of improvement. Now, imagine a Dutch coastal city on a river with cottages, a Dike, Universal Sufferage, Organized Religion and in a Golden Age. Imagine the Bureaucracy bonus on that too. As a Dutchie, I can hardly wait to see that! Some late wonders and project races just got a little easier to win. As this is a BtS civ, let us not forget the tweak on State Property and also the Moai Statues which are like a Dike, but a wonder which does not expire. Some great production synergy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Being financial, building on rivers would be your goal anyway, but any city without rivers or water tiles will have absolutely no use for this UB and therefore it will likely be quite map dependent in its effectiveness. Even if they have 2-4 tiles that would benefit, you might want to weigh the 180 hammer cost before putting them everywhere. Also, the UB does come quite late, of course later in the game is when things start to cost more hammers too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The only thing better than extra happiness is extra production, so if your map allows for this opportunity, any goal whether it be pumping out military units, settlers and workers, wonders or spaceship parts. While both Levees and Dikes will only be of use to cities with river tiles, to take full advantage of this UB, one would need to build more coastal cities or at least not be in the middle of the continent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Egyptian Obelisk (Monument):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This Egyptian monument can turn two citizens into priests. Pretty powerful for early in the game. Even if Egypt doesn't start with Mysticism, they have the ability to build the very first building with the ability to assign specialists. You could use the GPs produced to techbulb (TM ) yourself to whatever your little heart desires.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One could argue that with Hatshepsut, the creative +2 culture bonus would negate the +1 culture from the obelisk, but you could also spin it to being equivalent to a theatre culture-wise. Then again, with cheap temples, theatres, and libraries why else would you play her without going for cultural victory? With cheap colosseums too, you now have two buildings which will give you +1 happiness for every 10% culture. Once you hit that culture switch, you needn't worry about happiness resources, except maybe incense and dyes.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As Illithid has so eloquently put it:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]"The fact that it obsoletes fairly early is really not much of an issue for the purpose it serves. Both leaders can benefit from this. For the most part it really only takes one city with one, though using Stonehenge to put it in multiple cities isn't bad at all. The great prophets that you can generate quickly from the priest specialists allow you to claim several of the mid to late religions. This is one of the key features you tend to want to accomplish when going for a culture victory. Once you get 2-3 religions you don't really care to much about making this building go obsolete and switching to temples to support any other priest specialists if you still need to grab the rest of the religions or if you want holy shrines.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The obelisk might better complement the industrious and spiritual Rameses II. He can build quick wonders like Oracle and Stonehenge and maybe a cultural victory could be sought since you could really crank out Great Prophets. One further thing could be to settle those prophets and once you have Angkor Wat and cheap forges from industrious Ramses, you have a great chance for the space race victory or just high production warmongering. Even if you don't go those routes, the extra production for other things can work well like buildings wonders for cultural (with either leader) or building the UN. Both leaders could definitely could try for a domination win as well with the quick culture boost from Stonehenge."[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great Prophets will only techbulb (TM ) you to the mostly religious techs and that might not always be the way to go.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Most UBs don't get obsoleted. The earlist possible one to build is also the first one obsoleted. Although one can ignore Calendar, the obsoleting tech for the UB for some time, eventually you may want/need to develop those sugar, spices and incense tiles. In Beyond the Sword, it becomes obsoleted with Astronomy, so it is possible depending on one's strategies and goals to avoid that tech all together. If you have many religions and temples as a result of your early GPs then you can obsolete the Obelisk and still gain GPPs for more GPs later. It's what you choose to do with those priests you assign, that really affects the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Obsoleting Stonehenge means the Obelisks not physically built a city will disappear, whereas building them all by hand means they stay and continue to stand and have their base culture of 1 double to 2 over time. It is not a great deal for some victory conditions such as space or diplomatic, but domination and cultural might need to consider this.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great Prophets early, can be a tech boost, but unless you are surrounded by food bonuses, you won't be able to assign those priests anyway. With practice, it could be used quite effectively.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Ethiopian Stele (Monument):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This Ethiopian monument can give +25% culture in addition to the +1.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This UB probably screams cultural victory, but the 25% bonus won't really matter until much later in the game. Also, in BtS the obsoleting tech is Astronomy which can be avoided for some time so long as you don't plan on colonizing another continent. One can play a cultural victory without ever researching and discovering or trading for it, so this bonus would be added for the entire game. Being Organized, the ability to settle new cities more quicker would be helped by any additional cultural boundaries pushing further out. With key resources claimed, his cheap factories will use the resources to build spaceship components or military units much more quickly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Furthermore, let's not ignore the fact that like the Egyptians, building Stonehenge will put this UB in every one of your cities. Now, this is truly a thing not to miss if you want to try for a domination victory. Especially when you consider the Organized trait of the Ethiopian leader. Again, ignoring Astronomy would likely need to be done as well, but your domination victory might not take that long.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Remember, Zara Yaqob in Creative so the 25% in the beginning is not that big of the deal, but with the cheap libraries and theatres in no time it will have an impact.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Zara Yaqob does not start with Mysticism, the prerequisite tech. Most UBs don't get obsoleted. The earliest possible one to build could have it's lifespan shortened depending on your tech path. Losing out on the culture bonus it not a big loss in another victory condition, but the quick land grab would be a huge boost. Of course, one requires religions or other cultural building to really benefit from the UB. Although one can ignore Astronomy, the obsoleting tech for the UB for some time, eventually you may want/need to expand to other continents or build observatories to boost your science level. For other victories, the UB is still perhaps needed as the cultrual trait gives you the resources you want early, but in the face of other cultural powerhouses, it might be helpful to retain or even capture resources culturally.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Obsoleting Stonehenge means the Stelae not physically built a city will disappear, whereas building them all by hand means they stay and continue to stand and have their base culture of 1 double to 2 over time. Not only that, but you have now lost the 25% culture boost in those cities. It is not a great deal for some victory conditions such as space or dipolmatic, but domination and cultural might need to consider this.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The true strength of this UB depends on what else is build in the city, but with a few ancient wonders, library, temples and other with the doubled culture for their age, the Stele alone would have quite an impact.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][u][BOLD]English Stock Exchange (Bank):[/b][\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wow, I really see why Liz is a fan favourite for some. The Stock Exchange gives the an extra 15% gold bonus to what a bank normally does (50%) for a total of +65%. With two financial leaders to choose from this is a very versatile UB. You can go Philosophical with Liz or Imperialistic with Vicky.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]No matter what you chose for your victory path, commerce drives research and things are great. Add markets and grocers means a total 115% gold increase. Even warmonger Churchill will benefit, but financial really exploits this UB. What is great about this UB compared to the Carthaginian Cothon is that you needn't only build on the coast and so you can use this on any map and whereas the Cothon only give +50% bonus to the trade routes the 65% bonus from the SE is cumulative with other buildings. I suppose the math would work out depending on many factors, but it suffices to say the stock exchange can be build anywhere. Even so, you likely want most if not all of your cities on the coast, as there is usually more lucrative tiles in the water (outside of FP cottages) especially if you build the Colossus and Great Lighthouse, but a few gold or silver mines or luxuries resources are great too. Up to Airports and the right civics and you can have 7 trade routes in a city and Wall Street. Cottage spam and run Emancipation, Universal Suffrage and Free Market and you will be laughing all the way to the bank! Er, make that all the way to the Stock Exchange.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This can be used to keep the tech slider higher and tech faster to get your space race/diplo win started early or you can keep a larger empire and army with upgrades when you want and need without waiting to save the money.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Um, how about "no?" Money makes the world go 'round![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]England starts with fishing and mining, so look out. Not sure what else can be said here. I think ABBA said it best: "Money, Money, Money" $$$$[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]French Salon (Observatory):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Salon is an observatory which gives a free artist. It might not seem like much, but for cultrual victories it can be quite nice.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Okay, first of all, with the patch, Louis can now build cheap theatres and libraries! He is creative and the +2 culture is only a small amount, but the cheap buildings is great. In fact, Louis gets libraries, theatres, coliseums and forges at half production cost. Not too shabby.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Given the anarchy caused by switching to Mercantilism perhaps going from liberalism to astronomy makes sense. With a little wait to Astronomy, you can built your UB which gives a free Great Artist, rather than going through anarchy to get it. Of course you have to build these Salons, but they are cheaper than universities and with the Sistine Chapel the free Great Artist gives more culture for the same amount of science boost (+25%). But, maybe you do want to switch to Mercantilism so you can have another free type of GP. If not, then you have got two free artists with the library, salon, (and university) and the Statue of Liberty is not that far away with his cheap forge and quicker building of the Statue of Liberty. Either way you could have 2-3 free artists, not to mention the others you could assign. This means you can run something other than Caste System. And speaking of science boost, why not run Representation with those free artists? Use the library, salon and uni to beeline for the ECWs and you are laughing. C'est formidable! C'est magnifique! D'accord?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Running representation with Salon' free artists as either Louis XIV or de Gaulle could be a strategy for space race victories.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Not sure what Napoleon would do with the free artist other than maintain culture borders on resources on a crowded map, but then again you could build a cheap theatre in the likely small city first. The Salon is like an observatory, so keeping up the tech pace to have more advanced troops might be desirable. You could however have your larger cities with these GAs and go and culture bomb you new acquisitions. If you want other GPs, then perhaps the Salon will pollute your GPPs, so beware.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Charles de Gaulle is charismatic and industrious, like a hybrid of Louis and Napoleon. He has extra happiness resources and can promote units faster, making him a warmonger equal to Napoleon, except where Napoleon's Organization might let him keep a larger empire, de Gaulle would have more production strengths in cheaper forges and wonders.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are likely some other possibilities to be discussed as there seems to be lacking a certain "je ne sais quoi?", but this UB should not be taken lightly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]German Assembly Plant (Factory - double production for Organized leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Assembly Plant is a factory which can change 4 citizens into engineers instead of just two. It also has double production speed with coal. I haven't tried Germany out yet, but this is a mouth watering temptation. Die Fragen ist: "Welchen F'hrer m'chten Sie spielen?"[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Which leader? Well, take your pick. This UB complements both leaders very, very nicely and is the most synergistic combo of both leaders and[NEWLINE]their UB of all the civs in the game (with apologies to the two Queens of England). This UB is all about output, production and power. Was sind St'rken jedes F'hrers? What are each leader's strengths?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Otto von Bismarck: Expansive and Industrious. Sure, there is only +2 health with the patch, but health will be needed to offset production buildings that cause pollution. Later in the game every health counts and is needed. Bismarck can be a warmonger with a huge empire and pumping out units like nobody's business or cranking out spaceship parts while eying Alpha Centauri. Bizzy gets granary, harbour and forge at double production speed so a fast build for forge and the Plant and two cheap health providing buildings to offset the pollution.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Frederick: Organized and Philosophical. With cheap lighthouses, courthouses, universities and cheap factories...or in this case these very Assembly Plants also double production with coal, Freddy is a powerhouse! There hasn't been a German industrial influence like this since Kraftwerk! I say span out, get the economy/research going and prepare for the space age! With the Assembly Plant costing 250 hammers and having two double speeds bonuses, it would be like building these babies for 62 hammers! The reason space age would be so synergistic is the 100% increase in GPs being produced. So you could be farming scientists and engineers on your GP farm and building your high production cities elsewhere. Ideally, if you had 2-4 food sources with some production bonuses, you would be in good shape. Ich denke das ich spiele gern mit Freddy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To a total of 50% hammer increase from buildings (forge and factory), you can add +50% from power (supplied by the either hydro, coal or nuclear plants, but the Three Gorges Dam can be more economical), +100% from the Ironworks (+50% each for iron and coal), +50% from Bureaucracy. With some good food sources you will max out your six engineers and likely have some priests too. If you settled some Great Engineers or Prophets, good for you! Don't forget the +25 bonus for OR and the +100% for having a special resource when building buildings. You can also have a laboratory that gives +50% bonus in addition to +100% again for having a resource. So a basic bonus of +250% in your capital (+200% out of capital) with +125% to +150% when building buildings or projects respectively for a total of around +385% or +410%. Depending on your base production, things can be quite productive and your leader choice for this doesn't matter other than which buildings you can build cheaper or the resources to which you have access.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Any other victory condition other than space or conquest don't seem to fully utilize this late game UB. Peace-mongering can leave it pretty much not even worth building. With a lack of health resources having a forge, this UB and Ironworks or other powerplants might not be feasible.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Given the right conditions and goals, this UB is quite useful and as stated before is a perfect match for not just one leader, but both of them. Freddy gets the slight edge thusfar, if it is indeed possible to build it for a quarter of the cost. If you are playing games that end early, this UB doesn't matter, same as their UU. The plan with Germany is perhaps to maximize the leader traits to set up an 'berstrong infrastructure and then once the UUs and UBs can be built later in the game, go hog-wild and blitzkrieg them all! Wunderbar![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Greek Odeon (Colosseum - double production for Creative leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In addition to the +1 happiness per 20% culture and for the same price as a coliseum, this UB gives +3 culture, an additional +1 happiness, can turn 2 citizens into artists and gives +1 happiness for hit singles.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Basically this means this is a more expensive theatre even with the patch dropping the cost 80 hammers. The extra price for admission compared to theatres is the hit single happiness, which in short games won't matter, but if you have the culture slider up to even 20% with this and a theatre built, the city already has +3 happiness, +4 with dyes. As with the Mall, I like the idea of killing two birds with one stone. Because it is 10% for theatres and 20% for the colosseum/odeon, that means if you raise the culture slider the happiness is increased by 3 for every 20%. With broadcast towers it is another +1 happy for every 10%, but also +1 for those hit singles again. If you have the three buildings, dyes and hit singles (either import or export) we are talking +7 happiness for a mere 20% culture.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The extra 3 culture is the big deal. Greece now instantly becomes a cultural victory contender with the price of the Colosseum/Odeon dropped and Alex building cheap universities in addition to this new +3 culture building which together with theatres might be built early enough to get +6 culture and make a nice impact once multipliers are added.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Using either Pericles' or Alex's philosophical trait, you can farm your Great Artists (my best is 16), lending again to a cultural or perhaps a domination victory more easily as Bassist2119 has reminded us in another post of the ability of the UB to assign two more GAs in addition to the 2 from the Theatre. This leaves you free to run Slavery a little longer or Serfdom since you don't really need Caste System.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For the warmonger in all of us, Construction might be more attractive than drama as it also gives War Elephants and leads to Engineering. However you would need Drama to activate the culture slider eventually once the happiness limit is hit. The hit singles don't kick in until later, but it's nice to have that as a back up. With big happiness possibilities early and late, you can run Representation or Universal Suffrage and not worry about War Weariness. The Odeon can give newly captured cities the same affect of culture and happiness from the theatres without researching a tech which is not on any warmonger things-to-do-lists.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Let's talk about Pericles now. He's Creative and Philosophical, making him the only leader to have cheap libraries and universities, not to mention theatres. He is biggest cultural contender of the BtS leaders introduced as his Odeon and traits are an even better combination than Alexander's. Everything said above for Alex holds true for Pericles, however he is a much better choice for the Greeks to win a space race or diplomatic game, at least in a more peaceful way. His cheap libraries and universities make him a true philosopher (Philosophy, from Greek: lover of knowledge/wisdom) for a tech pace. A tech lead can be useful for anything victory sought.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, why not just build a theatre (50) for slight more than half the price (80)? Drama comes right after Alphabet, a useful tech, whereas you need math and then construction for the odeon and they can be slightly most expensive to research. Well, as stated above the warmonger might like this route. Slingshotting for Construction just for the UB is a waste, unless you plan on used it to it's fullest. This means its units, as a step to Engineering and trading. Trade away any extra happiness resources to form alliances or get other resources you want like production or strategic ones. For a cultural victory it might be better pursuing after getting your GA from Music if you want to better the AI since you would already have math, but I won't try it the other way around on higher levels if you want the free GA.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Makes Greece go from non-contender culturally to a interesting choice for experimenting. Domination wins are looking good too, but space and conquest really are not affected on lower levels. The Odeon does little to complement Alexander's traits unless on high levels with more unhappiness to be offset from buildings. Remember the +6 swing with theatre/dyes, odeon, broadcast tower and hit singles. Makes Eiffel Tower's broadcast tower in every city more appealing and extra happiness can be converted into flexibility in trades, more whipping and warring.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Holy Roman Empire Rathaus (Courthouse - double production for Organized leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This UB is a courthouse with a total of 75% reduction in maintenance costs. It also allows you to build the Forbidden Palace with only 4 cities on a standard map. It also gives +2 Espionage points and allows you to turn one citizen into a Spy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Charlemagne is Imperialistic, which means quicker settler production. Not much better synergy than a UB which allows for more cities sooner without hurting your economy, since he is not Organized. It also means greater chance of GG appearances. Couple that with the protective trait and he will be in position to either maintain a large empire and pursue more peaceful victories or, be a major warmonger. The protective trait gives cheaper walls and castles and just imagine those beefed up Pikemen, the Landskneckt, with their +100% vs Mounted Units and Melee units behind them. On a hill even![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]We have also only begun to explore the mechanics of espionage, but giving +2 espionage points and the ability to turn a citizen into this new type of GP is almost a throw in after the increased maintenance reduction. As a warmonger, this new feature of producing great spies has some definite synergy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The ability for rapid expansion and a much sooner available Forbidden Palace does not conjure up any real disadvantages as Charlemagne's traits and the Empire's UU really complement each other.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The ability to have a larger empire give the flexibility to settle near important resources and map locations and strive for any victory condition.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Incan Terrace (Granary - double production for Expansive leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A granary that gives culture. Quite a cool UB, nothing special on the surface but is even more of an impact than one might suspect. Why?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, you likely would build a granary anyway especially if whipping. I had mentioned in the original writeup about playing as the Incas on the 1000AD map, and I whipping buildings like there was no tomorrow as they start on as isolated strip west of the Andes and wouldn't grow that large anyway. Granaries help with whipping; more on that later. Secondly, it is available with pottery and for financial Huayna Capac, the cottage spamming and culture producing terrace from this tech is a great choice for the first thing to research. The Terrace will accumulate enough culture from an early building to give +4 culture per turn very early in the game. So cultural victories look great. In fact, one of my earliest finish for a cultural victory is with the Incas. The financial trait allows for faster teching and for cultural games where I am almost there (lower levels) at around scientific method or astronomy, with the Incas I have sometimes discovered Electricity and built Broadway to help the last city get over. For longer games this bonus is carried further.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Building a culture producing granary, means you can concentrate totally on growing and expansion and not worry about other border encroaching your resources, you will get them back or never even lose them. You will get the fast cross much faster and not have to rush monuments or temples/theatres until later, once you have larger cities from the granaries stored food. In fact, Stonehenge is now practically useless, except for the GPP it helps you get. No need to avoid Calendar in order to keep the culture from brand new cities right off the bat. You don't want to delay the chance to build plantations or wineries as those babies are what the Financial trait thrives on. In BtS, Stonehenge and monuments expire with Astronomy, so that may be moot now.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]When you capture a city normally, what do you do? Build a theatre for culture (maybe happiness, but you should have some plantations for that) and the granary takes a back seat. For small cities this means delaying growth which hurts you later on. So, building the terrace gives you the culture and the growth increase. Even if you built a granary first, you would still have to build something to get the first eight tiles around your new city, let alone the fat cross. You want the choice of which tiles to worker with your citizens, because you are financial and any cottages--&gt;towns, plantations or mines you can work ASAP are gold in your pocket. You use it to support/upgrade your forces or increase research/trade for resources. Basically, building/rushing a terrace first makes whipping other more important buildings like those cheap forges or walls, barracks, libraries, temples, etc. easier and more economical. Here's more detail on that from Bovinespy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]"This is a GREAT UB for late-Ancient through ealy-Industrial era warmongering. It really speeds up your rate of assimilation of newly-conquered lands. The crucial point lies in the pop-rushing.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In your earliest wars, the populations of conquered cities will tend to be in the 3 to 5 range. If you pop-rush a monument and a granary (esp. if you're Expansive), the population of the city will recover fairly quickly (assuming decent food resources available/not-plundered). However, later in the game, usually about the time catapults show up, the AI has usually developed urban pop levels so that core cities you capture routinely have pops of 8 to 10.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is where the Terrace really shines: it saves you from having to pop-rush a granary and a culture building. This point is particularly important if you're not playing a Creative leader. Mind you, it's a subtle difference between having a captured city with a pop of 8 or 9 instead of 6 or 7. However, a crucial point to remember is that the higher the pop level, the longer it takes to recover a pop point.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Say you conquer and absorb a well-developed empire of around 6 or 8 cities (a not-unlikely scenario on Standard maps). Now imagine an extra tile or two of production from each of those cities. If you had to rush both buildings, you would be dozens of turns behind, relatively speaking, in production compared to the Incan. This is huge! Properly played, the snowball-effect of swallowing a rival empire or two in the mid-game is significantly more noticeable when you play Huayna."[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Need we mention that conquering a city that already has a granary turns it into a terrace? Due to some sort of oversight, that granaries age contributes to the culture of your new terrace and could even generate 4 per turn![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Not really any since as Huyana Capac you likely want to have pottery ASAP anyway.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As outlined above, this UB offers some great opportunities for expansion and is flexible for what you want to do with it. I have not warmongered much with the Incas, so I thank Bovinespy for his input and explaining in greater detail what I alluded to earlier and also for showing me how powerful this UB can really be. Maybe playing with it in peaceful games I took it for granted earlier. Is a great UB for early claiming of land while growing and improving infrastructure by shortcutting build queues and allowing faster restoration of captured cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Dutch Dike (Levee):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Dutch UB, the Dike replaces the Levee which itself, is a new building introduced in Beyond the Sword. The Levee is available with Steam Power and gives +1 [ICON_PRODUCTION] on every river tile and costs 180 [ICON_PRODUCTION]s. It brings up some interesting choices regarding tiles improvements to say the least. Meanwhile, the Dike also gives the +1 production boost to all water tiles as well. Any coastal city will greatly benefit and the great thing is that it does not need to be a coastal city either. Therefore even cities one tile in from the coast or with small lakes will still have water tiles gaining the bonus.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With Willem being Financial, the choice to build cottages on river tiles might appear to be a no-brainer, but often players will want increased production and build watermills, windmills or lumbermills in their place. The great thing about the Dike or Levee for that matter, is that it gives a production bonus to the tiles regardless of improvement. Now, imagine a Dutch coastal city on a river with cottages, a Dike, Universal Sufferage, Organized Religion and in a Golden Age. Imagine the Bureaucracy bonus on that too. As a Dutchie, I can hardly wait to see that! Some late wonders and project races just got a little easier to win. As this is a BtS civ, let us not forget the tweak on State Property and also the Moai Statues which are like a Dike, but a wonder which does not expire. Some great production synergy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Being financial, building on rivers would be your goal anyway, but any city without rivers or water tiles will have absolutely no use for this UB and therefore it will likely be quite map dependent in its effectiveness. Even if they have 2-4 tiles that would benefit, you might want to weigh the 180 hammer cost before putting them everywhere. Also, the UB does come quite late, of course later in the game is when things start to cost more hammers too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The only thing better than extra happiness is extra production, so if your map allows for this opportunity, any goal whether it be pumping out military units, settlers and workers, wonders or spaceship parts. While both Levees and Dikes will only be of use to cities with river tiles, to take full advantage of this UB, one would need to build more coastal cities or at least not be in the middle of the continent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Egyptian Obelisk (Monument):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This Egyptian monument can turn [BOLD]two[\BOLD] citizens into priests. Pretty powerful for early in the game. Even if Egypt doesn't start with Mysticism, they have the ability to build the very first building with the ability to assign specialists. You could use the GPs produced to techbulb (TM ) yourself to whatever your little heart desires.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One could argue that with Hatshepsut, the creative +2 culture bonus would negate the +1 culture from the obelisk, but you could also spin it to being equivalent to a theatre culture-wise. Then again, with cheap temples, theatres, and libraries why else would you play her without going for cultural victory? With cheap colosseums too, you now have two buildings which will give you +1 happiness for every 10% culture. Once you hit that culture switch, you needn't worry about happiness resources, except maybe incense and dyes.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As Illithid has so eloquently put it:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The obelisk might better complement the industrious and spiritual Rameses II. He can build quick wonders like Oracle and Stonehenge and maybe a cultural victory could be sought since you could really crank out Great Prophets. One further thing could be to settle those prophets and once you have Angkor Wat and cheap forges from industrious Ramses, you have a great chance for the space race victory or just high production warmongering. Even if you don't go those routes, the extra production for other things can work well like buildings wonders for cultural (with either leader) or building the UN. Both leaders could definitely could try for a domination win as well with the quick culture boost from Stonehenge.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great Prophets will only techbulb (TM ) you to the mostly religious techs and that might not always be the way to go.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Most UBs don't get obsoleted. The earlist possible one to build is also the first one obsoleted. Although one can ignore Calendar, the obsoleting tech for the UB for some time, eventually you may want/need to develop those sugar, spices and incense tiles. In Beyond the Sword, it becomes obsoleted with Astronomy, so it is possible depending on one's strategies and goals to avoid that tech all together. If you have many religions and temples as a result of your early GPs then you can obsolete the Obelisk and still gain GPPs for more GPs later. It's what you choose to do with those priests you assign, that really affects the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Obsoleting Stonehenge means the Obelisks not physically built a city will disappear, whereas building them all by hand means they stay and continue to stand and have their base culture of 1 double to 2 over time. It is not a great deal for some victory conditions such as space or diplomatic, but domination and cultural might need to consider this.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great Prophets early, can be a tech boost, but unless you are surrounded by food bonuses, you won't be able to assign those priests anyway. With practice, it could be used quite effectively.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Ethiopian Stele (Monument):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This Ethiopian monument can give +25% culture in addition to the +1.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This UB probably screams cultural victory, but the 25% bonus won't really matter until much later in the game. Also, in BtS the obsoleting tech is Astronomy which can be avoided for some time so long as you don't plan on colonizing another continent. One can play a cultural victory without ever researching and discovering or trading for it, so this bonus would be added for the entire game. Being Organized, the ability to settle new cities more quicker would be helped by any additional cultural boundaries pushing further out. With key resources claimed, his cheap factories will use the resources to build spaceship components or military units much more quickly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Furthermore, let's not ignore the fact that like the Egyptians, building Stonehenge will put this UB in every one of your cities. Now, this is truly a thing not to miss if you want to try for a domination victory. Especially when you consider the Organized trait of the Ethiopian leader. Again, ignoring Astronomy would likely need to be done as well, but your domination victory might not take that long.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Remember, Zara Yaqob in Creative so the 25% in the beginning is not that big of the deal, but with the cheap libraries and theatres in no time it [BOLD]will[\BOLD] have an impact.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Zara Yaqob does not start with Mysticism, the prerequisite tech. Most UBs don't get obsoleted. The earliest possible one to build could have it's lifespan shortened depending on your tech path. Losing out on the culture bonus it not a big loss in another victory condition, but the quick land grab would be a huge boost. Of course, one requires religions or other cultural building to really benefit from the UB. Although one can ignore Astronomy, the obsoleting tech for the UB for some time, eventually you may want/need to expand to other continents or build observatories to boost your science level. For other victories, the UB is still perhaps needed as the cultrual trait gives you the resources you want early, but in the face of other cultural powerhouses, it might be helpful to retain or even capture resources culturally.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Obsoleting Stonehenge means the Stelae not physically built a city will disappear, whereas building them all by hand means they stay and continue to stand and have their base culture of 1 double to 2 over time. Not only that, but you have now lost the 25% culture boost in those cities. It is not a great deal for some victory conditions such as space or dipolmatic, but domination and cultural might need to consider this.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The true strength of this UB depends on what else is build in the city, but with a few ancient wonders, library, temples and other with the doubled culture for their age, the Stele alone would have quite an impact.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]English Stock Exchange (Bank):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wow, I really see why Liz is a fan favourite for some. The Stock Exchange gives the an extra 15% gold bonus to what a bank normally does (50%) for a total of +65%. With two financial leaders to choose from this is a very versatile UB. You can go Philosophical with Liz or Imperialistic with Vicky.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]No matter what you chose for your victory path, commerce drives research and things are great. Add markets and grocers means a total 115% gold increase. Even warmonger Churchill will benefit, but financial really exploits this UB. What is great about this UB compared to the Carthaginian Cothon is that you needn't only build on the coast and so you can use this on any map and whereas the Cothon only give +50% bonus to the trade routes the 65% bonus from the SE is cumulative with other buildings. I suppose the math would work out depending on many factors, but it suffices to say the stock exchange can be build anywhere. Even so, you likely want most if not all of your cities on the coast, as there is usually more lucrative tiles in the water (outside of FP cottages) especially if you build the Colossus and Great Lighthouse, but a few gold or silver mines or luxuries resources are great too. Up to Airports and the right civics and you can have 7 trade routes in a city and Wall Street. Cottage spam and run Emancipation, Universal Suffrage and Free Market and you will be laughing all the way to the bank! Er, make that all the way to the Stock Exchange.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This can be used to keep the tech slider higher and tech faster to get your space race/diplo win started early or you can keep a larger empire and army with upgrades when you want and need without waiting to save the money.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Um, how about "no?" Money makes the world go 'round![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]England starts with fishing and mining, so look out. Not sure what else can be said here. I think ABBA said it best: "Money, Money, Money" $$$$[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]French Salon (Observatory):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Salon is an observatory which gives a free artist. It might not seem like much, but for cultrual victories it can be quite nice.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Okay, first of all, with the patch, Louis can now build cheap theatres [BOLD]and[\BOLD] libraries! He is creative and the +2 culture is only a small amount, but the cheap buildings is great. In fact, Louis gets libraries, theatres, coliseums and forges at half production cost. Not too shabby.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Given the anarchy caused by switching to Mercantilism perhaps going from liberalism to astronomy makes sense. With a little wait to Astronomy, you can built your UB which gives a free Great Artist, rather than going through anarchy to get it. Of course you have to build these Salons, but they are cheaper than universities and with the Sistine Chapel the free Great Artist gives more culture for the same amount of science boost (+25%). But, maybe you do want to switch to Mercantilism so you can have another free type of GP. If not, then you have got two free artists with the library, salon, (and university) and the Statue of Liberty is not that far away with his cheap forge and quicker building of the Statue of Liberty. Either way you could have 2-3 free artists, not to mention the others you could assign. This means you can run something other than Caste System. And speaking of science boost, why not run Representation with those free artists? Use the library, salon and uni to beeline for the ECWs and you are laughing. C'est formidable! C'est magnifique! D'accord?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Running representation with Salon' free artists as either Louis XIV or de Gaulle could be a strategy for space race victories.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Not sure what Napoleon would do with the free artist other than maintain culture borders on resources on a crowded map, but then again you could build a cheap theatre in the likely small city first. The Salon is like an observatory, so keeping up the tech pace to have more advanced troops might be desirable. You [BOLD]could[\BOLD] however have your larger cities with these GAs and go and culture bomb you new acquisitions. If you want other GPs, then perhaps the Salon will pollute your GPPs, so beware.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Charles de Gaulle is charismatic and industrious, like a hybrid of Louis and Napoleon. He has extra happiness resources and can promote units faster, making him a warmonger equal to Napoleon, except where Napoleon's Organization might let him keep a larger empire, de Gaulle would have more production strengths in cheaper forges and wonders.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are likely some other possibilities to be discussed as there seems to be lacking a certain "je ne sais quoi?", but this UB should not be taken lightly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]German Assembly Plant (Factory - double production for Organized leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Assembly Plant is a factory which can change 4 citizens into engineers instead of just two. It [BOLD]also[\BOLD] has double production speed with coal. I haven't tried Germany out yet, but this is a mouth watering temptation. Die Fragen ist: "Welchen F'hrer m'chten Sie spielen?"[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Which leader? Well, take your pick. This UB complements both leaders very, very nicely and is [BOLD]the[\BOLD] most synergistic combo of [BOLD]both[\BOLD] leaders and[NEWLINE]their UB of all the civs in the game (with apologies to the two Queens of England). This UB is all about output, production and power. Was sind St'rken jedes F'hrers? What are each leader's strengths?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Otto von Bismarck: Expansive and Industrious. Sure, there is only +2 health with the patch, but health will be needed to offset production buildings that cause pollution. Later in the game every health counts and is needed. Bismarck can be a warmonger with a huge empire and pumping out units like nobody's business or cranking out spaceship parts while eying Alpha Centauri. Bizzy gets granary, harbour and forge at double production speed so a fast build for forge and the Plant and two cheap health providing buildings to offset the pollution.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Frederick: Organized and Philosophical. With cheap lighthouses, courthouses, universities [BOLD]and[\BOLD] cheap factories...or in this case these very Assembly Plants [BOLD]also[\BOLD] double production with coal, Freddy is a powerhouse! There hasn't been a German industrial influence like this since Kraftwerk! I say span out, get the economy/research going and prepare for the space age! With the Assembly Plant costing 250 hammers and having two double speeds bonuses, it would be like building these babies for 62 hammers! The reason space age would be so synergistic is the 100% increase in GPs being produced. So you could be farming scientists and engineers on your GP farm and building your high production cities elsewhere. Ideally, if you had 2-4 food sources with some production bonuses, you would be in good shape. Ich denke das ich spiele gern mit Freddy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To a total of 50% hammer increase from buildings (forge and factory), you can add +50% from power (supplied by the either hydro, coal or nuclear plants, but the Three Gorges Dam can be more economical), +100% from the Ironworks (+50% each for iron and coal), +50% from Bureaucracy. With some good food sources you will max out your six engineers and likely have some priests too. If you settled some Great Engineers or Prophets, good for you! Don't forget the +25 bonus for OR and the +100% for having a special resource when building buildings. You can also have a laboratory that gives +50% bonus in addition to +100% again for having a resource. So a basic bonus of +250% in your capital (+200% out of capital) with +125% to +150% when building buildings or projects respectively for a total of around +385% or +410%. Depending on your base production, things can be quite productive and your leader choice for this doesn't matter other than which buildings you can build cheaper or the resources to which you have access.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Any other victory condition other than space or conquest don't seem to fully utilize this late game UB. Peace-mongering can leave it pretty much not even worth building. With a lack of health resources having a forge, this UB and Ironworks or other powerplants might not be feasible.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Given the right conditions and goals, this UB is quite useful and as stated before is a perfect match for not just one leader, but both of them. Freddy gets the slight edge thusfar, if it is indeed possible to build it for a quarter of the cost. If you are playing games that end early, this UB doesn't matter, same as their UU. The plan with Germany is perhaps to maximize the leader traits to set up an 'berstrong infrastructure and then once the UUs and UBs can be built later in the game, go hog-wild and blitzkrieg them all! Wunderbar![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Greek Odeon (Colosseum - double production for Creative leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In addition to the +1 happiness per 20% culture and for the same price as a coliseum, this UB gives +3 culture, an additional +1 happiness, can turn 2 citizens into artists [BOLD]and[\BOLD] gives +1 happiness for hit singles.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Basically this means this is a more expensive theatre even with the patch dropping the cost 80 hammers. The extra price for admission compared to theatres is the hit single happiness, which in short games won't matter, but if you have the culture slider up to even 20% with this and a theatre built, the city already has +3 happiness, +4 with dyes. As with the Mall, I like the idea of killing two birds with one stone. Because it is 10% for theatres and 20% for the colosseum/odeon, that means if you raise the culture slider the happiness is increased by 3 for every 20%. With broadcast towers it is another +1 happy for every 10%, but also +1 for those hit singles again. If you have the three buildings, dyes and hit singles (either import or export) we are talking +7 happiness for a mere 20% culture.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The extra 3 culture is the big deal. Greece now instantly becomes a cultural victory contender with the price of the Colosseum/Odeon dropped and Alex building cheap universities in addition to this new +3 culture building which together with theatres might be built early enough to get +6 culture and make a nice impact once multipliers are added.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Using either Pericles' or Alex's philosophical trait, you can farm your Great Artists (my best is 16), lending again to a cultural or perhaps a domination victory more easily as Bassist2119 has reminded us in another post of the ability of the UB to assign two [BOLD]more[\BOLD] GAs in addition to the 2 from the Theatre. This leaves you free to run Slavery a little longer or Serfdom since you don't really need Caste System.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For the warmonger in all of us, Construction might be more attractive than drama as it also gives War Elephants and leads to Engineering. However you would need Drama to activate the culture slider eventually once the happiness limit is hit. The hit singles don't kick in until later, but it's nice to have that as a back up. With big happiness possibilities early and late, you can run Representation or Universal Suffrage and not worry about War Weariness. The Odeon can give newly captured cities the same affect of culture and happiness from the theatres without researching a tech which is not on any warmonger things-to-do-lists.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Let's talk about Pericles now. He's Creative and Philosophical, making him the only leader to have cheap libraries [BOLD]and[\BOLD] universities, not to mention theatres. He is biggest cultural contender of the BtS leaders introduced as his Odeon and traits are an even better combination than Alexander's. Everything said above for Alex holds true for Pericles, however he is a much better choice for the Greeks to win a space race or diplomatic game, at least in a more peaceful way. His cheap libraries and universities make him a true philosopher (Philosophy, from Greek: lover of knowledge/wisdom) for a tech pace. A tech lead can be useful for anything victory sought.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, why not just build a theatre (50) for slight more than half the price (80)? Drama comes right after Alphabet, a useful tech, whereas you need math and then construction for the odeon and they can be slightly most expensive to research. Well, as stated above the warmonger might like this route. Slingshotting for Construction just for the UB is a waste, unless you plan on used it to it's fullest. This means its units, as a step to Engineering and trading. Trade away any extra happiness resources to form alliances or get other resources you want like production or strategic ones. For a cultural victory it might be better pursuing after getting your GA from Music if you want to better the AI since you would already have math, but I won't try it the other way around on higher levels if you want the free GA.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Makes Greece go from non-contender culturally to a interesting choice for experimenting. Domination wins are looking good too, but space and conquest really are not affected on lower levels. The Odeon does little to complement Alexander's traits unless on high levels with more unhappiness to be offset from buildings. Remember the +6 swing with theatre/dyes, odeon, broadcast tower and hit singles. Makes Eiffel Tower's broadcast tower in every city more appealing and extra happiness can be converted into flexibility in trades, more whipping and warring.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Holy Roman Empire Rathaus (Courthouse - double production for Organized leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This UB is a courthouse with a total of 75% reduction in maintenance costs. It also allows you to build the Forbidden Palace with only 4 cities on a standard map. It also gives +2 Espionage points and allows you to turn one citizen into a Spy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Charlemagne is Imperialistic, which means quicker settler production. Not much better synergy than a UB which allows for more cities sooner without hurting your economy, since he is not Organized. It also means greater chance of GG appearances. Couple that with the protective trait and he will be in position to either maintain a large empire and pursue more peaceful victories or, be a major warmonger. The protective trait gives cheaper walls and castles and just imagine those beefed up Pikemen, the Landskneckt, with their +100% vs Mounted Units [BOLD]and[\BOLD] Melee units behind them. On a hill even![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]We have also only begun to explore the mechanics of espionage, but giving +2 espionage points and the ability to turn a citizen into this new type of GP is almost a throw in after the increased maintenance reduction. As a warmonger, this new feature of producing great spies has some definite synergy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The ability for rapid expansion and a much sooner available Forbidden Palace does not conjure up any real disadvantages as Charlemagne's traits and the Empire's UU really complement each other.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The ability to have a larger empire give the flexibility to settle near important resources and map locations and strive for any victory condition.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Incan Terrace (Granary - double production for Expansive leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A granary that gives culture. Quite a cool UB, nothing special on the surface but is even more of an impact than one might suspect. Why?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, you likely would build a granary anyway especially if whipping. I had mentioned in the original writeup about playing as the Incas on the 1000AD map, and I whipping buildings like there was no tomorrow as they start on as isolated strip west of the Andes and wouldn't grow that large anyway. Granaries help with whipping; more on that later. Secondly, it is available with pottery and for financial Huayna Capac, the cottage spamming and culture producing terrace from this tech is a great choice for the first thing to research. The Terrace will accumulate enough culture from an early building to give +4 culture per turn very early in the game. So cultural victories look great. In fact, one of my earliest finish for a cultural victory is with the Incas. The financial trait allows for faster teching and for cultural games where I am almost there (lower levels) at around scientific method or astronomy, with the Incas I have sometimes discovered Electricity and built Broadway to help the last city get over. For longer games this bonus is carried further.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Building a culture producing granary, means you can concentrate totally on growing and expansion and not worry about other border encroaching your resources, you will get them back or never even lose them. You will get the fast cross much faster and not have to rush monuments or temples/theatres until later, once you have larger cities from the granaries stored food. In fact, Stonehenge is now practically useless, except for the GPP it helps you get. No need to avoid Calendar in order to keep the culture from brand new cities right off the bat. You don't want to delay the chance to build plantations or wineries as those babies are what the Financial trait thrives on. In BtS, Stonehenge and monuments expire with Astronomy, so that may be moot now.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]When you capture a city normally, what do you do? Build a theatre for culture (maybe happiness, but you should have some plantations for that) and the granary takes a back seat. For small cities this means delaying growth which hurts you later on. So, building the terrace gives you the culture [BOLD]and [\BOLD]the growth increase. Even if you built a granary [BOLD]first[\BOLD], you would still have to build something to get the first eight tiles around your new city, let alone the fat cross. You want the choice of which tiles to worker with your citizens, because you are financial and any cottages--&gt;towns, plantations or mines you can work ASAP are gold in your pocket. You use it to support/upgrade your forces or increase research/trade for resources. Basically, building/rushing a terrace first makes whipping other more important buildings like those cheap forges or walls, barracks, libraries, temples, etc. easier and more economical. Here's more detail on that from Bovinespy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Need we mention that conquering a city that already has a granary turns it into a terrace? Due to some sort of oversight, that granaries age contributes to the culture of your new terrace and could even generate 4 [ICON_CULTURE] per turn![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Not really any since as Huyana Capac you likely want to have pottery ASAP anyway.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As outlined above, this UB offers some great opportunities for expansion and is flexible for what you want to do with it. I have not warmongered much with the Incas, so I thank Bovinespy for his input and explaining in greater detail what I alluded to earlier and also for showing me how powerful this UB can really be. Maybe playing with it in peaceful games I took it for granted earlier. Is a great UB for early claiming of land while growing and improving infrastructure by shortcutting build queues and allowing faster restoration of captured cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Indian Mausoleum (Jail):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Mausoleum UB comes with Constitution like its Jail counterpart with -25% WW but it also gives +2 happiness. The manual states it gives +1 GPP and is more likely to produce a Great Prophet, but in playing Warlords, this is not true. In Beyond the Sword, both the jail and the mausoleum give +4 espionage points and increase espionage point production by 50%, in addition allowing one to assign two Spy specialists.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well the jail is high on a warmonger's wish list and the BtS version is sure to be even higher. I can see on higher levels how the happiness cap can be raised and WW reduced. As I don't usually have long wars I don't really know how high the WW can get, but I imagine on higher levels it is quite a bit. If you have Police State this is a total of 75% reduction in WW, which is nothing to sneeze at if WW problems got you down.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]We have also only begun to explore the mechanics of espionage, but giving +4 espionage points and the ability to turn two citizens into this new type of GP is almost a throw in after the reduced war weariness. Running Nationhood now has the added bonus of another +25% espionage point production for a total of 75% with the jail/mausoleum, in addition to barracks giving +2 happiness and being able to draft 3 units per turn. As a warmonger, this new feature of producing great spies has some definite synergy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Both are spiritual. Organized Asoka can build larger empires early on and Philosophical Gandhi can pop GPs and build cheaper universities. These combos don't necessarily screa for warmonger, especially given their Fast Worker UU, a decidedly unwarlike unit, however the extra spying power could be used to ensure that you are not beaten in the space race or the diplomatic arena. Then again, it's a free way to protect your nation no matter what.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I don't read much about people playing as India to conquer the world and wage war. This UB is still like a normal jail, except for the +2 happiness. I am not sure how many players will build them in BtS, but in Warlords they are n[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I will reserve judgement for others to add their input, but for now, this UB seems out of place and not very useful or synergistic.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Japanese Shale Plant (Coal Plant):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A coal plant gives power (electricity) to the city which adds to the factory production bonus of 25% an additional 50% at a cost of +2 [ICON_UNHEALTHY]. You need a factory for the coal plant or the Japanese Shale Plant, however the Shale Plant itself gives its own +10% production as well. This means a 60% bonus with the two buildings for the same price. The real bonus however is that while Coal Plants requires coal to produce this power, the Shale Plant does not. Both the Factory and Shale Plant can be built once you have discovered Assmebly Line.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To a total of 60% hammer increase from buildings (forge, factory and shale plant), you can add +50% from power (supplied by the Shale Plant), +100% from the Ironworks (+50% each for iron and coal), +50% from Bureaucracy. With some good food sources you will max out your six engineers and likely have some priests too. If you settled some Great Engineers or Prophets, good for you! Don't forget the +25 bonus for OR and the +100% for having a special resource when building buildings/wonders. You can also have a laboratory that gives +50% bonus in addition to +100% again for having a resource when building a spaceship component. The Space Ladder gives another 50% increase. So a basic bonus of +185% in your capital (+135% out of capital) with a bonus of +125% or 200% respectively, when building buildings/wonders or projects. Add in the Iron Works and non-Captial cities are between +360% or +435%. Depending on your base production, things can get quite a productive boost, but if you were to whip or buy these buildings into a low production city it might make a huge difference as well.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Being Aggressive and Protective, Tokugawa's units start off well promoted and this makes warring an attractive choice. For late game wars, there likely isn't a unit that can't be pumped out in 1 or 2 turns. And space race can be just as great a goal. Diplomatic you want to beeline for MM and wouldn't sidetrack yourself for this building.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other than having little health resources, which doesn't seem too likely by the time you research Assembly Line, not much of a reason not to build this is you aren't wanting to be a powerhouse. That being said, the leader traits are not that complementary with it. Not only that, it is a late game UB and some games you would not get the chance to build it. Given that it is a late game UB, it is quite useful for the fact that coal is not required to get the +60% production, while other civs need coal to get their +50%. Than again, you likely want coal so that you can railroad your mines, quarries and lumbermills. Not much of a benefit if you look at it that way, but until you do get coal, you have +60% production boost, that other civs would not have had.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Although not as overall synergistic as the German Assembly Plant when it comes to leader traits, this UB serves a similar purpose and makes it hard not to compare. This one is a little more map dependent (due to the +10% hammer as apposed to 2 extra engineers assigned) and that means that doing the math to see which advantage is greater is not so easy or relevant. Again for a late wonder, space race and conquest victories greatly benefit.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Khymer Baray (Aqueduct):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Baray UB comes with Mathematics and is an Aqueduct which gives 1 extra food.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Extra food helps any leader, regardless of their traits, however, Suryavarman is expansive which means extra health. Building this UB would cause a double-whammy if you will. Not only will increased health reduce any wasted food, but allow for more growth which is possible by the Baray's bonus. The expansive trait only adds to the possibility that the city will grow larger as it has a higher health cap. More food also means taking advantage of the faster worker production, which is only a 25% bonus in BtS, but still greatly helped out with the UB. Being creative means claiming food resources to get the whole this going. Talk about cyclic benefits.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Extra food, a disadvantage? One could even use the cereal mills corporation and trade away food if not needed. I have had cities grow too fast and not have enough things to build to keep them happy. Slavery fans would do well to exploit this extra growth and convert it into production.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After extra happiness and production, extra food is nothing to complain about and ranks with them and some great bonuses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Korean Seowon (University - double production for Philosophical leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This building costs the same and gives the same culture as a university, but it gives an extra +10% research.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wang Kon is financial and so you can maximize this UB's use by making sure you do all the things you would have done with Korea anyway. That means, cottage spamming and getting other high income tiles from plantations and mines and coasts. You have the income boosting building and wonders and the science ones as well. Simply this building just gives another 10%, so take the advantage and go for a diplomatic or space win or keep you army further ahead in tech to protect your empire or add to it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]More science can't ever be bad can it? It comes early/mid-game, but it's on the way to the Liberalism bee-line.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great advantage assuming you can build a nice SSC or several ones. You would usually build a university anyway, maybe now just a little sooner to really add to the tech lead (or perhaps a little later in the queue, knowing that you have the extra boost once it is built).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Malinese Mint (Forge - double production for Industrious leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is a forge with an added 10% wealth increase and yet another UB for a financial that has some great synergy. I would say that a lot of the strategies used with England's financial leaders would be used here, but with a slight change.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This building can come pretty early and Mansa Musa has a reputation for being a tech-whore as an AI. I like settling on the west side of the GP map and mine everything in site. There is also dyes, furs and incense too! What is great about the boost is that even though it is only 10%, it is still an increase and once you tech your way to new civics, as a spiritual leader, you can totally take advantage immediately and not wait until you can switch 2 or 3 at a time.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Because it is a production building as well, and you would naturally build it early for the gold bonus, you will have a higher production than maybe another civ with just a forge. It is more appealing, plus it is needed for many wonders, not the least of which is the Colossus giving +1 gold in [BOLD]all[\BOLD] cities water tiles. If you have trade routes going, as many as possible, markets, grocers, banks and Wall Street a rich city is made richer than another civ would be with the same city. Not only because of the wealth bonus, but because the forge means building all of the other wealth increasing building faster. It never goes obsolete either.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]More money, means faster discoveries, and diplomatic and space wins are the popular targets, however the Skirmisher can be a pretty good UU and even later, the extra wealth can be parlayed into better unit support and more/quicker upgrades. Even on higher levels, if you are lagging in the tech race, you will have more money to buy them, or more money to bribe the AI to do your bidding.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With 7 trade routes (as outlined earlier with Carthage), all the wealth buildings, great base tiles and maybe even some merchants or Great Merchants, you have plenty of money and if running the Universal Suffrage civic, you can rush buy more quickly/often than otherwise.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This UB doesn't expire, so it will continue to be useful and becomes more powerful as the game progresses because cities will grow and more lucrative routs determined for the AI.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A money boosting UB is a good one and can really help out early. You can afford to expand a little quicker if you bankroll allows it. You would need to have some big cash tiles or plenty of cottages, but then again, you would build those anyway.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Mayan Ball Court (Colosseum - double production for Creative leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Ball Court gives +3 [ICON_HAPPY](instead of the Colosseum's +1) and the +1 [ICON_HAPPY]per 20% culture.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The extra happiness could be used to full effectiveness as a warmonger by skipping Drama and going for Construction, much like Alexander might do in using his Odeon. Having happy people means more tiles being worked for the financial Pacal II.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]More research needed, but a Theatre with dyes for 50 [ICON_PRODUCTION] over an 80 [ICON_PRODUCTION] Ball Court might do the trick. Of course as the city grows and war weariness sets in or you have limited resources, this UB will make people happy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Extra happiness is always good, because it lets you pursue any victory you desire. You can combat war weariness or have large producing cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Mongolian Ger (Stable):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The stable introduced in Warlords gives +2 XP for Mounted units build in the city and the Mongolian Ger gives +4 points. This UB is very appropriate and the affects are cumulative with Barracks, the Pentagon and other XP bonuses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, both Mongolian leader start are Aggressive which means cheaper barracks. We are already looking at +7 XP, then if you factor in Theocracy and Vassalage, that's +11 all together. That is enough for 3 promotions before seeing any combat and any GG you settle and the Pentagon are just a bonus. Upgrading all the way through up to Calvary would be the idea and with the right promotions you should be able to keep most of your troops up until Rocketry. You could plan for the future and give promotions that complement your gunships, or use the advantage to conquer early. In BtS, the Stable is made obsolete with Advanced Flight, thereby lengthening the use of this UB. The fact that Genghis Khan is also imperialistic means more GGs as long as you are warmongering.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This UB complements the UU, the Keshik and the civ itself unlike any other UB for the other civs. To build a Keshik you need Archery, Horseback Riding - which you need to build the Ger anyway - and of course Horses revealed by Animal Husbandry. The Mongol starting techs are Hunting and the Wheel. Hunting is the prereq for both AH and Archery. Your mounted units all benefit, but lets look more closely at why. The keshik starts with some of the better bonuses. Let's analyze the mounted units that the Mongols can build below and remember that none of them get defensive bonuses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Unit[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][ICON_PRODUCTION][TAB][ICON_STRENGTH][TAB][ICON_MOVES][TAB][TAB]Bonuses[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Upgrade[\BOLD][NEWLINE][COLOR_GREEN]Chariot[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]25[TAB]4[TAB]2[TAB]10% Withdrawal, 100% vs. Axemen[TAB][COLOR_GREEN]Knight[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_GREEN]Keshik[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]50[TAB]6[TAB]2[TAB]20% Withdrawal, 1st Strike[TAB][TAB][COLOR_GREEN]Knight[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Ignore move cost, -10% vs. City[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+50% vs. Cats &amp; Trebs[NEWLINE][COLOR_GREEN]War Elephant[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]60[TAB]8[TAB]1[TAB]+50% vs. Mounted Units[TAB][TAB][COLOR_GREEN]Calvary[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_GREEN]Knight[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]90[TAB]10[TAB]2[TAB]Immune to 1st Strike[TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_GREEN]Calvary[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Flank Attack vs Cats &amp; Trebs*[TAB][TAB][COLOR_GREEN]Cuirassier[COLOR_REVERT]*[NEWLINE][COLOR_GREEN]Cuirassier[COLOR_REVERT]*[TAB][TAB]100[TAB]12[TAB]2[TAB]15% Withdrawal, Immune to 1st Strike[TAB][COLOR_GREEN]Calvary[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Flank Attack vs Cannon[NEWLINE][COLOR_GREEN]Calvary[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]120[TAB]15[TAB]2[TAB]30% Withdrawal, +50% vs. Cannon[TAB][COLOR_BLACK]Gunship[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLACK]Gunship[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]160[TAB]24[TAB]4[TAB]25% Withdrawal, +100% vs. Armoured[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Ignore move cost, Cannot capture City[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Flank Artillery &amp; Mobile Artillery*[NEWLINE]*Beyond the Sword[NEWLINE][COLOR_GREEN]Mounted Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLACK]Helicopter Unit [COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]None of these units can take Cover, Drill or CR promotions, but the mounted ones can get Amphibious, Charge, Formation, Pinch and Shock. If you were to give Flanking I and II to your Keshik for +30% withdrawal, that is a total of 50% and when it's upgraded to Calvary or Gunships it still adds to their intrinsic withdrawal abilities. Giving Charge to a Keshik means +75% versus their Cats and Trebs, and as a Knight it will have +75% against cannons. A Chariot with Shock will have +125% versus Axemen but only +25% with the more advanced units, but it might be a great boost. Then again you likely skip chariots and go straight to Keshiks. With the right promotions, the Keshiks might even be better than Knights especially if you don't have iron available and the fact they ignore terrain costs. A Keshik with C3 and Formation is just as good as a unpromoted Knight and as can be seen above, the Keshik has much more intrinsic abilities than a Knight such as withdrawal, bonus against cats and trebs and 1st Strike chance. Although the Knight is immune to 1st strikes and doesn't have the 10% city attack penalty. Clearly, the key is to use the XP bonus to promote according to your needs and strength based on the situation, the opponent, the map, etc. It remains to be seen how the Charge promotions for upgraded units will work with the new system of mounted units having a flank attack versus siege units.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Mounted units are a large part of a balanced army, and the UB lasts fairly long, even longer in BtS. If other civs couldn't build stables this might be overpowering, which is likely why the stable was added as well. This UB maybe isn't as synergistic with Kubla, but it still gives an increases in GGPs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Having the extra XPs out of the gate helps to earn GG points faster and build wonders like the Heroic Epic and West Point. For warmongering this is a great UB, for other victory conditions, it would help one war early to collect more land and resources and then settle down into a more peaceful victory, or at least keep a stronger army than without the UB for protecting cities while pursuing a peaceful victory. (But that is not why one plays the Mongols) War, what is it good for? Huh! Building Gers.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Native American (Totem Pole):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Another UB which replaces the Monument. This one gives +3 XPs to Archer units.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Sitting Bull does not start with Archery, but that is often traded for or even found from goody huts. The big deal is that he is Protective, giving his archers Drill I and City Garrison I [BOLD]before[\BOLD] adding the +3 XP bonus from the Totem Pole. Much like the Dun, this UB will offer some flexiblity and unique possiblity in upgrading units. More research will need to be done, but it suffices to say that this UB will make the Native Americans particularly difficult to conquer. Like the Egyptians, building Stonehenge will put the UB in every one of your cities which is bascially an archer Barracks in every city. This means an effective early archer rush, without wasting time to build the Barracks as Totem are much cheaper. With the Barracks, however, every archery unit built there will be very tough to kill on a hill behind those walls and castles that Protective Sitting Bull can cheaply build, never mind when they get upgraded to gunpowder units! His Philosophical trait might mean that a few GA culture bombs give him some more defense or he is free to use them for whatever he wishes seeing as no one is going to stop him.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Let's not forget the Dog Soldier UU (Axeman) with its strengths against melee units and also not requiring copper or iron. This UB practically gives two UUs to the Native Americans. Whether warmongering or trying to hang on against the AI on higher difficulty levels, this UB would be a key part of any strategy. Holding off on discovering Astronomy might be a prudent strategy if you are running into trouble. Imagine pumping out archer and longbowman early game with the bonuses and then upgrading them to stronger units. They will have a slight XP advantage with all over factors equal, meaning they will promote earlier. Let's imagine the +6 with Totem and Barracks and then running Feudalism and Theocracy for a 10 XPs off the bat. That is enough for 3 promotions to start, never mind fighting off barbs (although I think barb battles will only take you up to 10 XP anyway) or lone, weakened enemy units. Any Great General settled in a city takes you that much closer to a fourth promotion and your Heroic Epic. Let's analyze what Sitting Bull's archers will be able to do and what promotions will carry into the gunpowder age.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Unit[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][ICON_PRODUCTION][TAB][ICON_STRENGTH][TAB][ICON_MOVES][TAB][TAB]Bonuses[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Upgrade[\BOLD][NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Archer[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]25[TAB]3[TAB]1[TAB]1st Strike,[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Longbowman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+50% City &amp; +25% Hills Defense[TAB][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Crossbowman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Longbowman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]50[TAB]6[TAB]1[TAB]1st Strike[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+25% City &amp; +25% Hills Defense[NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Crossbowman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]60[TAB]6[TAB]1[TAB]1st Strike,[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Grenadier[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+50% vs. Melee Units[TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Grenadier[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]100[TAB]12[TAB]1[TAB]+50% vs. Riflemen[TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_RED]Machine Gun[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]110[TAB]14[TAB]1[TAB]+25% vs. Mounted Units[TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Machine Gun[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]125[TAB]18[TAB]1[TAB]Can only defend, 1st Strike[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+25% vs. Gunpowder Units[TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Mech Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]140[TAB]20[TAB]1[TAB]+25% vs. Gunpowder Units[TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]SAM Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Mech Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]SAM Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]150[TAB]18[TAB]1[TAB]40% Intercept Chance[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+50% vs. Helicopter Units[NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Mech Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]200[TAB]32[TAB]2[TAB]20% Intercept Chance[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Starts with March[NEWLINE]*Beyond the Sword[NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Archery Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Gunpowder Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Siege Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Remember that Protective Sitting Bull will have his archery and gunpowder units start with Drill I and City Garrison I, meaning they can already get Cover, Shock or Pinch (once gunpowder is discovered) on their first promotion out of the Totem. With barracks and the others bonuses mentioned, a second promotion could be Formation (bonus against mounted units) or get up to City Garrison III with one promotion to spare! The beauty of this UB compared to say, the Dun is the versatility of the promotions one can pursue, not necessarily being guilted into Guerrilla II and III. Then again, G3 archery units holding on for gunpowder promotions (see Celts) would not be such a terrible thing would it? Note too, that the Machine Gun is a siege unit and cannot receive Guerrilla or City Garrison promotions, however it is upgraded from Grenadiers which are upgraded from your G3 or CG3 archers. Interesting, no?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Sitting Bull does not start with Mysticism, the prerequisite tech. Most UBs don't get obsoleted. The earliest possible one to build can also be one of the first ones obsoleted, maybe it is not that much of a big deal if you play your cards right. Although one can ignore Astronomy, the obsoleting tech for the UB for some time, eventually you may want/need to explore and colonize other continents. By then you would have to have built all the archery units you anticipate needing and then work on upgrading them.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I think building cheap archery units with promotions not available to gunpowder or siege units (machine gun) can pay dividends given the right military and geo-political considerations. Like the Mongols, outside of warmongering or building a military to protect your empire, this UB does not hold many other uses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Ottoman Hammam (Aqueduct):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Does this UB have Expansion written all over it or what? One can really concentrate on building a large empire with large cities a lot sooner with the extra 2 happiness this building supplies in addition to the +2 health. No need to worry about religions if you miss them or drama if you prefer other techs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I feel Mehmed has the potential to be the best expansive leader as he is organized which means cheap lighthouses, courthouses [BOLD]and[\BOLD] cheap factories too. This means more food, less upkeep and more production, respectively from those buildings. This resultant larger population and therefore greater production, which leads to quicker unhappiness and pollution is further complemented by his Expansive trait which, in addition to +2 health per city, gives cheaper granaries and harbours which help reduce pollution and improve growth and economy. Those of you upset that the expansive trait was nerfed to only +2 health stop your whining because this guy has [BOLD]5[\BOLD], count'em [BOLD][BOLD]five[\BOLD][\BOLD] buildings to build cheaper and they [BOLD]all[\BOLD] mean larger and more productive cities. The happiness cap needs to be much higher for the Ottomans, and this is where the Hammam really shines, because it helps keep these larger cities happy and therefore more productive. If that is not enough, the faster worker production means an earlier hook up of resources for [BOLD]more[\BOLD] production, happiness and health bonuses. But also remember the less time building workers, means more time growing in population, which means more reason for a Hammam. This buiding does not expire either.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As for newcomer, Suleiman, who is Imperialistic and Philosophical, making cities healthy and happy at the same time is great for the GP farming you might do with him. He doesn't have all the cheap buliding that Mehmed II has and his two traits sort of conflict when it comes to warmongering; GP farming versus the increased GG appearance. But faster setter production is also a great thing for domination victories and that is what the Hammam can give. Havving many cities sooner and popping out GPs means a larger empire with abilities to conquer space or the world. He will have more cities, and larger, happier, cleaner ones at that.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It might not seem as powerful as other UBs, but you eventually build one anyway, at least in your larger, more polluted cities. This just makes them happy so you can concentrate on building more units or science/production buildings. Let's face it: it's a drag to have to stop building units or wonders because of the unhappiness or health. Kill two birds with one stone with the Hammam. Cultural games where happiness is not much of an issue are still advantaged especially at higher levels. In fact, this building really makes a difference in higher levels where happiness [BOLD]and[\BOLD] health caps are lower or on maps where happiness resources are not readily available to you. Further to that, you could delay discovering Calendar as you might not need the happiness immediately and that means culture from monuments or Stonehenge will last you a little longer.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A strong UB which helps with supporting large cities for whatever reasons you may have: military powerhouse, GP farm, etc. If this was Civ3 where the Aqueduct was need to grow past size 6, this would be huge, but even though it is not needed for that, I really can't think of any drawbacks with this UB. Quite an excellent UB.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Persian Apothecary (Grocer):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Apothecary, besides being the most difficult UB to pronounce, is a grocer that gives an additional +2 [ICON_HEALTHY] to the city. That is on top of the health from plantation resources. With a granary, harbour, apothecary and the supermarket you get health from rice, corn, wheat, clam, crab, fish, bananas, wine, sugar, spice, deer, cow, pig and sheep. So, for those of you counting at home, that's 16 [ICON_HEALTHY] points! So that means the ability to build production-boosting, pollution-causing buildings. Late in the game with high populations and those buildings or even on higher levels, this can be useful. However, you may not be looking to have a late finishing game or even want to detour for the late tech Refrigeration, especially if the Apothecary gives an intrinsic +2 health even without resources and so Supermarkets are not a necessity. That is pretty nice, no matter what level one plays on. You are afforded the option to trade away health resources for more important ones, such as: uranium, oil, iron, aluminum, etc.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Being Imperialistic, Cyrus has faster settler production and this means more cities quicker. As a result there is likely to be more health resources claimed more quickly. Happiness is not the problem with this charismatic leader either, so where can this health bonus be applied the best? Well, highly populated and production oriented cities will benefit so that means space race or conquest/domination victories and/or GP farming.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Like Churchill or Tokagawa, Cyrus might be one of the ultimate warmongers with his traits. They allow faster XP accumulation [BOLD]and[\BOLD] faster GG appearance! Late game wars which require forges, factories, etc to really pump out the expensive units will have a higher health cap. This makes more of a difference the higher the difficulty, but on quicker or lower setting, perhaps not as much.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As for Darius I, with Vanilla Washington's traits of Financial and Organized, the extra health from the UB will complement both the food from cheap lighthouses and the production from cheap factories. Financial seems handy in teching towards a space or diplomatic finish. More will need to be seen from Darius.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Apothecary needs both Currency and Guilds to build it, and guilds can come quite late, but then again guilds also gives Knights and a warmonger might like to upgrade his highly promoted Immortals. Some slingshotting could get you there faster, but maybe more needed in higher levels although I don't know exactly since the tech pace is likely quicker.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For Cyrus, faster GG emergence and quicker promotion ability means that the game is more likely won early with a conquest/domination goal and maybe the health bonuses is not so well-exploited because pollution might not be as high for one reason or another. For a fast teching Darius with an ability to maintain a large empire the extra health might benefit him more in the long run.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This building seems more suited for higher levels, but can make an impact late game with high pollution problems. Environmentalism can be avoided/delayed and chopping could be done without fear of health-induced starvation or founding a city near many FPs. Again without health resources it becomes very useful and for that reason the ability to trade away extra health resources for more strategic ones could be very useful as well.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Portuguese Feitoria (Customs House):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Feitoria replaces another new building, the Customs House. You need Economics and a Harbour to build it and it grants a 50% boost to all [BOLD]foreign[\BOLD] trade coming in from [BOLD]overseas[\BOLD]. The Portuguese Feitoria gives one extra commerce in all water tiles, making coastal cities seem like you are a financial leader.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is a very interesting UB to say the least. First off, it acts like a Colossus in each city that builds it, giving the extra commerce and a little like the Temple of Artemis without the Priest. If you were to have a large coastal city, some sea resources, a harbour, a lighthouse, and the Feitoria, that would really be a great city. Now imagine the Colossus and the Great Lighthouse in this city. Let's go a little further with it being a capital running Bureaucracy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Given the new concept of colonies in the game, it is likely that the AI will use this UB to its full advantage. More research will be needed, but Expansive and Imperialistic Joao will be able to build settlers [BOLD]and[\BOLD] workers more quickly. He is the only one, which is interesting enough. Starting with fishing will mean access to food resources to even more quickly pump those guys out. He seems flexible in pursuing either conquest/domination or space/cultural victories. It seems the AI like human player swill try for colonial expansion early and often to make use of this UB and the UU.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It is assumed that the UB and the Customs House can only be built on a coastal city given that it requires a harbour. Furthermore, the Customs House would be useless if running Mercantilism, thereby closing all foreign trade routes. It seems the Free Market, with the +1 trade route would really be the choice civic for this building. However, the Feitoria also gets +1 commerce in all water tiles, remember. Joao II could run which ever civic he wants and still get the commerce bonus. I would still recommend Free Market for the larger benefit.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It remaining to be seen how effective this UB will be. It is definitely map dependent, but if you have a few coastal cities and are up to the 6-7 possible trades routes in them, then this UB in only a few cities would still be an impact.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Roman Forum (Market):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wow, a UB that gives +25 GP birth rate! This is likely to become a favourite. There are no philosophical Roman leaders, but running Pacifism with the Forum and National Epic would still give +225%, not too shabby. Maybe with just the 125% you feel that you can delay the revolution/anarchy until you have other civics you want too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Julius Caesar is Organized and has -50% maintenance costs, but with this UB being much more attractive than a normal Market perhaps one builds it sooner and the +25% wealth in the city and the reduced maintenance costs really go together nicely much earlier in the game. In addition to his cheaper lighthouse, his cheap factories give a nice later in game production boost for military or spaceship ventures. Besides the Merchants assigned from the Forum, he has no cheap buildings which benefit from the extra GPP until factories. Augustus is no longer creative, but is Industrious. So his cheap forges could mean quicker GE production if that is your desire. This can be helpful in wonder or space races and so the extra GPP can go towards GEs or GSs or pumping out Praetorians.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Both Roman leaders are Imperialistic and have greater GG production and likely to help warmongering. Luring your enemy into your Great Wall trap, could mean 200% greater chance of GG appearance.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The extra the GPs from the Forums could be used to founded religions or techbulb (TM ) you faster through the tech tree for more military/scientific advances. There is real flexibility for both the Roman leaders. They have the fast settler production to really expand and set up an empire with the strength of their Praetorians pushing back the barbarians (er, that is, the other civs). Julius will have a better economy and ability to support his empire, while Augustus will churn out units and wonders and do the same using brute force. The GPPs can be used for whichever purpose is decided.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, running a SE seems to be necessary to maximize this UB's bonus, but not vital. Polluted GPP pools might cause some disappointment for some.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In a game where GP production is a main focus for some players, this building is likely a candidate for having no drawbacks whatsoever. Regardless of victory goal, difficulty setting, map/terrain, resources, opponents or even your own leader selection, this UB is very useful and versatile, making it one of the best.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Russian Research Institute (Laboratory):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Laboratory or Research Institute comes at a time in the game where technologies start to get much more expensive. In addition to the +50% spaceship construction, +25% [ICON_RESEARCH], and assigning one citizen as a Scientist (and +1 unhealthiness), the Russian UB gives [BOLD]two free[\BOLD] scientists! This means you can remove forced scientists and change them to GAs for a cultural win or engineers for space race or keep the scientist and head for future tech.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Representation seems like a no-brainer here, but Russia is one of the only civs in the game (with England) that has three leaders and they each have two different traits so let's examine them more closely:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Catherine: Creative and Imperialistic. She is able to quickly build settlers and the creative trait ensures quick access to fat cross resources. I like her for domination wins for those reasons. Stonehenge can add to the culture growth as well as religions. Cheap libraries can be used in conjunction with cheap theatres to build to a cultural victory. It costs less to build settlers and so fast expansion can lead to more cathedrals build. The extra scientists will lead to faster techs and so if culture is not your thing, the space race gets a nice boost both for the UB's science [BOLD]and[\BOLD] part production. Might not be a high priority especially if near your health cap.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Peter: Expansive and Philosophical. An excellent candidate for Space Race. His +2 health and cheap granaries and harbours will help offset pollution/unhealthiness from production buildings while cheap universities and +100% GP birth rate means more Scientists and Engineers to help techbulbing and wonder building. Remember the faster production of workers from any time in the game should make quite an impact too as they will be out to connect resources much sooner.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Stalin: Aggressive and Industrious. In the few games I have played with Stalin, I have been impressed with his space race potential. Cheap forges and beelining science helped. The UB really made a big impact I felt. Again cultural games leave this UB pretty much obsolete, but with Stalin, his wonder building boost leads to more research with wonders like GL, University of Sankore, Spiral Minaret, Oxford, etc. And then we have the Ironworks and GE produced wonders which are also helpful on the way. He can also be quite the military force early in the game and throughout.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]What is the trade off between Peter's ability to generate GP quicker or Stalin's wonders appearing faster to giving GPPs much sooner? That is open for debate, but both seem great cosmonauts. And I wouldn't rule out Cathy in that department either. With her cheap libraries, quick settler production for greater early expansion complemented by quick cultural border growth she could just as likely be able to use the UB and pull another Yuri Gagarin or, make that Valentina Tereshkova.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Observatories are needed to build the Institute, and although you will already have that tech, they can be more expensive to build for all three leaders compared to cheap libraries or universities. Only Stalin with his industrious trait might have a quicker build given his cheap forges and getter ability to settle GEs, although Peter might too. In Beyond the Sword, with the restructured modern age tech tree, it may require a slightly longer wait before one can build the Research Institute, plus the choices late in the game seem to be more complex and difficult than they were previously.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Diplomatic victories would mean you research Mass Media instead of Computers and therefore not a factor. For cultural wins, you likely have the culture switch on at this point and these buildings therefore can be useful in giving back some lost research, but it will matter very little. Mass Media gives Hollywood which is much more important in that case.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For being at war the research boost could be handy for building more advanced units, but likely if you need a research boost that badly you probably can't afford to be building RIs in all or most of your high production cities, likely only in your SCC which could also be your unit factory too. By the time you build it, you still have to research those new techs for the improved units. With a little planning it could work out in your favour.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To quote Boney M, "Oh, those Russians!" It seems this UB is destined to help with the Space Race and help get Sputnik launched much sooner rather than any other victory, with a possible exception for conquest. Depending on your usual teching order, you might make some adjustments to maximize the benefit of the Research Institute. Time/score victory goals can be helped by the accumulation of future tech perhaps.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Spanish Citadel (Castle - double production for Protective leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Patched Warlords made Castles more useful by giving them +1 trade route and -25% damage from bombardment from non-gunpowder units in addition to the +50% defense vs. non-gunpowder units and +1 culture. Cumulative with the prerequisite Walls, that means +100 defence from non-GP units and -50% from non-GP bombardment. In BtS, they also give an extra 25% espionage points. Maybe, [BOLD]now[\BOLD] players will build them![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Citadel gives an additional 25% bombardment protection for a total of -75% [BOLD]and[\BOLD] gives 5XP to Siege units produced in the city. From the +3XP barracks and the Citadel that is 8XP already, but Thoecracy and Vassalge give 12XP from the start enough for 3 promotions. The bonus is applied to Trebuchets, Catapults and if you can avoid the obsoleting tech, Economics (which restores the lost trade route, 1st to discover gets a GM) you can have Cannons, Artillery and even machine guns with this bonus as well.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The strength of the UB lies in how one promotes their siege weapons most effectively. A warmonger or early-war-to-to-claim-land strategy uses it to it's full advantage, but just protecting your cities becomes much easier now too. In Beyond the Sword, there is a new system for siege weapons, so more remains to be seen. Let's take a look at the Siege Units assuming that they follow the path below and remember they cannot receive defensive bonuses and they all cause collateral damage:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Catapult[COLOR_REVERT] ---\[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB]\___ [COLOR_RED]Cannon[COLOR_REVERT] ---&gt; [COLOR_RED]Artillery[COLOR_REVERT] ---&gt; [COLOR_RED]Mobile Artillery[COLOR_REVERT]*[NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Trebuchet[COLOR_REVERT] -/[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLACK]Grenadier[COLOR_REVERT] --&gt; [COLOR_RED]Machine Gun[COLOR_REVERT] --&gt; [COLOR_BLACK]Mechanized Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Unit[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][ICON_PRODUCTION][TAB][ICON_STRENGTH][TAB][ICON_MOVES][TAB][TAB]Bonuses[\BOLD][NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Catapult[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB][TAB]40[TAB]5[TAB]1[TAB]25% Withdrawal,[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Bombard City Defences (-15%/turn)[NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Trebuchet[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB][TAB]60[TAB]4[TAB]1[TAB]25% Withdrawal, +100% vs. City[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Bombard City Defences (-25%/turn)[NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Cannon[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB][TAB]100[TAB]12[TAB]1[TAB]25% Withdrawal,[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Bombard City Defences (-20%/turn)[NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Machine Gun[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]120[TAB]18[TAB]1[TAB]1st Strike, Defend Only, +50% vs. GP Units[NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Artillery[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB][TAB]100[TAB]18[TAB]1[TAB]25% Withdrawal, +50% vs. Siege[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Bombard City Defences (-25%/turn)[NEWLINE][COLOR_BLACK]Mechanized Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]200[TAB]32[TAB]2[TAB]20% Aircraft Intercept, Starts with March[NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Mobile Artillery[COLOR_REVERT]*[TAB][TAB]200[TAB]26[TAB]2[TAB]Max 85% Attack Damage, +50% vs. Siege[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Immune to Siege Collateral Damage[NEWLINE]*Beyond the Sword[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]All these units receive Barrage, Drill, Shock, Ambush, and City Raider (except Machine Gun who only defends) as well as the Combat and Medic promotions. Any Grenadiers promoted to Machine Gun will not gain any XPs if ungraded in a Citadel, but any you build there will. None of these units can receive City Garrison, Cover, Pinch, Formation, Charge or (Guerilla or Woodsman), but it is possible to have your Grenadier or Melee Units promoted into Grenadiers and give [BOLD]them[\BOLD] any of those promotions and then upgrade them into Machine Gunners. You could for example create G2 or G3 Machine Gunners with Ambush and CG promotions to defend a Hill city from Tanks or you could have Woodsman Machine Gunners with Pinch and Medic/Charge defending your SoD on route through a forest to attack an enemy city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Options for your other Siege units are even more numerours. Except for the Machine Gun, all the Siege units have a 25% withdrawal chance, if you add a GG to it, you can it 55% as well as making it a nice Siege Weapon from other promotions. Remember that upgrades are [BOLD]free[\BOLD] when attached to a Warlord, so you could have some expert Machine Gun defenders or great Cannons/Artillery once the competition gets a little tougher and the AI has more advanced units. One other thing that really stood out to me in trying the UB out, was that Siege Units are immune to collateral damage, so having plenty of them in your stack means you will have some to attack with while other units might need to heal. You can give them medic promotions too remember.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As for synergy with the Conquistador, it is a knight with +50% vs. melee units. Many different civs have melee units for their UU, which comes in handy. With a few correctly promoted Conquistadors and Siege weapons the two should complement each other nicely. Don't forget to balance out your forces, using more than just these two.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This UB doesn't really do anything for the Expansive trait or the Spanish starting tech of fishing and mysticism, however being religious does offer advantages to being able to switch to new civics immediately and not waiting until others are discovered. A switch to Theocracy before you wait to get Vassalage could mean the difference between producing units with an extra +2 XPs and for the siege units with the Citadel, that is enough to put them over the top for a third promotion.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you want to avoid Economics, the obsoleting tech, you only really miss out on a Great Merchant. You could conceivably hold out for some super artillery and machine gunners if you wanted. This UB allows for some interesting warfare capabilities. Although it doesn't immediately lend it self to anything other than conquest/domination, the extra territory and cities gained or even the ability to better protect one's own cities and territory is nothing to take lightly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Sumerian Ziggurat (Courthouse - double production for Organized leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]While the Rathaus of the Holy Roman Empire gives a larger maintenence bonus, it takes just as long to build. Neither them, nor the Sumerians are Organized, but the Sumerian Ziggurat is 30 [ICON_PRODUCTION] cheaper, only costing 90, meaning that it will be built more quickly even if not more powerful. I feel the quicker it is build the better; one of the reasons the Zulu Ikhanda is so effective as well (although for Zulu, it is both cheaper and quicker, but not as powerful). Also, only four are required to build the Forbidden Palace. It also gives +2 espionage points and allow you to assign a citizen as a Spy, but that is a normal courthouse feature for Beyond the Sword.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Okay, major props going out to Bovinespy again for pointing out my huge oversight (I don't have the game yet). This UB is like a courthouse, but you only need Priesthood to build it thereby delaying Code of Laws or passing it all together. This will mean a much earlier clamp down on maintenance costs. While others may have a larger bonus (Rathaus), Gilgamesh, like Shaka, will have a head start. This means the Forbidden Palace is built much sooner as well.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Building the FP quicker, could help culturally for a victory, however it also means a faster expanding empire. Creative and Protective Gilgamesh will need be to be further studied, but the culture boost from borders will help the settlers claim land and the quicker and earlier built courthouses will help keep the economy going. Being protective as well, means maintaining the empire while under attack. Cheap walls and castles will make Sumeria a tough foe to topple.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This did not jump out as being a strong UB until I realized it comes with Priesthood. This is something I am sure some players will use it to maximum advantage. Really, a cheaper courthouse is nothing to complain about and now, one does not have to wait as long to build it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]. Um yeah, that was before I realized you don't need CoL. Priesthood is such a cheap tech, it could be beelined for maximum exploitation here. I love the prereq tech as it is both unique and very appropriate when you think about what Ziggurats really were. This UB is just oozing flavour and possibilities. More to come I am sure; I just can not wait to play these guys![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Viking Trading Post (Lighthouse double production for Organized leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Another coastal UB for a financial leader, the Trading Post gives a free Navigation 1 promotion to ships build there in addition to the extra food in each sea tile.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There is some definite synergies here, firstly the UB being required for the Great Lighthouse which gives all coastal cities +2 trade routes. Ragnar starts with fishing and so the prereq tech, Sailing is not far away. As with the Carthaginian Cothon, it makes sense to build many coastal cities to maximize this affect. Now, it's true that not all your cities will be building ships [BOLD]all[\BOLD] the time, so it is your choice, but of the achipelago maps I have played with them, most if not all of them have been. Harbours, Colossus also add to the wealth, remembering that Ragnar is financial, coastal tiles are great if you have few FP cottages, gems, gold, silver or plantation resources[NEWLINE]around you.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]So, the bonus itself, one extra movement for sea units does not include work boats. On a map with plenty of water this is helpful to let you discover other civs earlier and trade tech with them. Between your financial coastal cities raking in money for a high research rate, you will also be trading for other techs of lower priority when you meet the others. From here you can go one step further and let the extra movement of your powerful navy work for you. Drydocks come with Steel and give your sea units an extra +4 XPs and are produced 50% faster. Your navy would quite literally have an extra step, but there is more. The +1 movement also helps you to circumnavigate the globe faster and hopefully beat out other civs in doing so. Either you trade for maps as you meet new civs or you do it the old fashioned way. It might be tough with a lot of ocean, but as soon as you get ships which can enter the ocean you still have the +1 movement from navigation. The +1 movement from circumnavigating the globe [BOLD]does[\BOLD] apply to your work boats![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Now let us consider the Bersek, the Viking UU which is a Maceman with the Amphibious promotion and an intrinsic +10% City Attack. Adding the CR1 and you are already at +30%. Being Aggressive, you only start with Combat 1 for an extra 10% unit strength and the unit itself has +50% vs. Melee Units. So for a CR Berserk against a melee defender in a coastal city we are talking +80% strength for nearly double the 8 [ICON_STRENGTH], more like 15.2 [ICON_STRENGTH]. If you can meet some civs while they still have only archers (11.2 [ICON_STRENGTH], or even better, Warriors (or Axemen), their cities become yours very easily. On an achipelago map, most if not all of their cities will be coastal and that is what a financial leader with the Colossus and GL wants right? With the patch, the Civil Service or CoL slingshot might be harder to do, but if you concentrate on the money, research can go quicker for you, plus a GP could help you out along the way too. Berserks can be built with Copper or Iron, so if you have researched for copper and have none, trade for IW or research it and try again.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]On Great Plains, Oasis or other maps with little coastal tiles, this building is very useless. It really shines in the water maps although the Berserk can still be useful for attacking across rivers.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Whether for meeting tech trading partners earlier or wiping out some rivals early the Trading Post gives a nice bonus. One could go on to eliminate everyone rather quickly or if not take some prime real estate to help with a culture/space/diplomatic victory. For full blown conquest or domination, this building can be helpful on the right map. It would be nice to see +10% trade route or commerce in the city as well, but it still nicely complements the amphibious Berserk. If not on a archipelago or lakes map it value is greatly reduced however.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Zulu Ikhanda (Barracks - double production for Aggressive leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Barracks that act as a mini-courthouse by giving -20% maintnance costs. This means you can wait for CoL a little later and still expand reasonable quicker than your rivals.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This building greatly complements the expansive and aggressive Shaka because he gets double production speed. He is one of two leaders (the other being Frederick) who gets their UB at half the building cost. Barracks cost 50 [ICON_PRODUCTION] while the Ikhanda costs 60 [ICON_PRODUCTION] so the double production bonus still a big factor. Patched Warlords and BtS only gives +3 XPs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Expanding out is aided with reduced costs and whether you warmonger or not it's a nice bonus. Couple it with the courhouse and that is -70% maintenance costs, not bad at all. If taking over cities, this UB is cheaper to build than a courthouse (80 [ICON_PRODUCTION] and don't forget the double production) In a large, productive city taken from the enemy, this building will let it start contributing to the war machine.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I would not put the Zulu as a culture contender with no cheap culture buildings to build, but diplomatic, domination, space race and conquest all seem possibilities because the benefits of reduced maintenance can be used for any means. I have actually seen some comments that cultural was easy with Shaka. Perhaps the extra maintenance reduction allows for more cities and more cathedrals.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In Beyond the Sword, they have fixed the problem that the Ikhanda had in Warlords and it now like the Barracks, it also receives +2 happiness when running the Nationhood civic. So, quicker expansion and extra happiness from a building which is meant to produce units with +3 XPs. Remembering the synergy with Fuedalism and Theocracy that is +8 XPs and while other civs get that and the barrcks happiness too, they do not get the lower maintenance costs while growing their empires through conquest.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You might not build barracks in every city, at higher level especially, but this UB can pay dividends by being in every city. It's so cheaper, why would one not even bother? The synergy with the courthouse can be nice.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Probably a building best used to expand as quickly as allowed. Domination or conquest or large number of cities to help with research/spaceship construction. Finally, if this UB makes you more likely to build barracks straight away, your military will benefit, but should it be first in the build queue?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]That is the rundown of the Unique Buildings. I would like to thank everyone for their input and support.</French>
		<German>[H1]Comprehensive Unique Building Guide (BTS)[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]WilliamOfOrange[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is a my first attempt at a strategy guide given that most of the players with more skill/talent/time usually write up some beauties, but I have been inspried to contribute something about my favourite part of the Warlords expansion: the Unique Building.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I often load up the game and civilopedia just to see which UBs might match the victory condition that I feel like going for. I appreciate reading peoples' work, so I hope I can return the favour here in bringing this strategy article to you. The great thing about this game is the many different strategies and uses for things like leader traits, UUs and UBs. And what is truly great about the UBs is the flexibility and choices most of them give the player so ratings are not necessary; only strategies and synergies need be discussed. What makes a UB (or UU) great is how it is used the most effectively. With the new combinations that Beyond the Sword offers, this could get quite complicated, however I will only focus on the standard and normal civilization UB combinations here.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Here we go:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]American Mall (Supermarket):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I have only played the Americans in a Gauntlet with a Future start going for Space Race, but I have to say the building was a nice boost. It is a good choice for an American UB, I feel. For the same price as a supermarket (which provides extra health from cow, deer, pig and sheep) you also get happiness from the three late "entertainment/culture wonders" or ECWs; musicals from Broadway, singles from Rock n' Roll and movies from Hollywood, and now with the patch, plus 20% gold in the city to boot! For a future era start, maybe not needed right away, but if in a long game where your population is reaching health and happiness limits, its a great building to have even if it does come late in the game. That alone is enough, but the +20% gold can be nice too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Building one or all of those happiness/culture wonders mentioned above would add 3 happiness points like that and the added health means larger cities as well. What is your pleasure, GP farming or warmongering? Either way, I think it helps out. Not sure about using it with Washington, who is charismatic and expansive, so the +2 health means the health bonus from the mall maybe isn't so big. Then again, you can afford to build polution causing, production buildings with all that extra health. Also the +1 happiness in all cities and from monuments or broadcast towers (which is great if you build the Eiffel Tower) seems to negate the happiness from the mall too. But, if you were to play as the industrious and organized Roosevelt, then you could get some of the benefits of Washington at the same time if you build malls.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It seems that the extra health and happiness could really give Lincoln a nice late game edge when large, polluting cities needs extra [ICON_HEALTHY] and [ICON_HAPPY]. Given his philosophical trait, he is a great candidate for space race because of the Mall's bonuses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, it does come late and requires a grocer to be built. Given that the grocer gives +1 health from bananas, wine, sugar and spice, that might solve your health problems already. Grocers also give +25 wealth and can turn two citizens into Merchants. Maybe you don't need the health, but the money is always nice. With Grocer, Market, Bank and Mall that is 120% increase in income. Yay, Capitalism![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With a granary, a grocer and the supermarket/mall you get health from rice, corn, wheat, bananas, wine, sugar, spice, deer, cow, pig and sheep. That's 11 health points! So as stated above, that means the ability to build forges, factories and other polluting buildings. It would all depend on your civics (environmentalism), if you have FP or trees and jungle in your fat cross and your goals (production, warmongering, space race, etc)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As for the happiness, with charismatic trait, you get +1 per city, and ignoring any happiness from temples, theatres, coliseums look at what building one of the three ECWs gives you once you have a mall and broadcast tower, (either by it self, or the much better option of the Eiffel Tower). For example you build Hollywood, +1 [ICON_HAPPY]and with mall and broacast tower, another +2 [ICON_HAPPY]for a total of +3 for the same resource!! If you build all three ECWs and the Eiffel Tower, you are looking at +9 happiness for three resources not to mention that you can trade your extra singles, movies and musicals to other civs for resources you may not have, like Aluminum or Iron or Oil. Add in the fact that you likely have temples, theatres or whatever other happiness producing buildings and the fact that the broadcast tower (along with threatres and coliseums) will give +1 happiness for every 10% culture. If you have all three in a city, then that means +3 [ICON_HAPPY] for only raising the culture setting up by 10%. For warmongering this is huge![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Warmongering seems to fit America as a charismatic Washington or Lincoln also gets quicker promotions and you will have more money coming in to support a large army and upgrade your troops. The Mall is a Cottage Economy UB, but Lincoln is a Specialist Economy Leader, so there may be some mismatch here.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Although some may feel that is comes too late or when the game is pretty much finished and you are either milking the score or just mopping up, it seems to me that given a large varied collection of resources, the Mall gives the American player the ability and flexibilty to trade extra health/happiness resources away and not suffer their loss, or to exploit them and kick into high production/war monger gear and not look back. Lincoln is a bonafide space contender, quite a deal over Washington and Roosevelt.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Arabian Madrassa (Library - double production for Creative leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If the Chinese Pavilion is the "Big Daddy" of culture UBs, then the Madrassa is the "Big Momma". With a whopping +4 culture per turn is lends itself to a culture victory. Given that Writing is an early tech and you would likely build a library anyway, it's a no-brainer to place Writing higher up in your tech queue. In fact, I have experiemented with beelining for it and not worrying about early religions for cultural games. Libraries cost the same, but in addition to assigning to scientists, you can [BOLD]also[\BOLD] assign two prophets.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The culture route is likely the biggest draw for this one, but you could also concentrate on farming GP and GS only if you like. Lightbulbing to get ahead in tech and maybe settling some of them as well so that you could build the UN quickly. The big culture ensures that you have the resources if you join/start the space race or just own all the land around you for domination victories. Farming GPs will help you progress nicely through the religious tech and that means more religions, holy cities, shrines and mo' money, mo' money, mo' money! And it can also help you control religion spreading for diplomatic manipulation.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other then the danger of polluting your GP pool if you are not careful and don't want that for a cultural victory, I can't think of any problems.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] All-round, early UB with simple bonuses, but powerful if used to their strengths.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Aztec Sacrificial Altar (Courthouse - double production for Organized leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I just realized that these badboys are only 90 shields compared to the 120 needed for a courthouse! In addition to halving maintenaince costs in the city it also halves the anger caused by whipping buildings in the city. I have not played many Aztec games but I recall reading about a false OCC on another forum where the Aztecs started on a Plains/Hill island and needed to wait until Optics to get across the ocean. The prospect of rushing buildings through slavery seemed to make the task more managable. I had played as the Incas one time on the 1000 AD Earth map and I never left slavery until I had emancipation. I wonder about the same strategy with the Aztecs, seems to be far more effective. Finally, everything gets the discounted unhappiness from rushing (amazing what nice people can point out and you can verify by playing the game and testing). Holy Quetzalcoatl! That changes everything![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Like the courthouse, it also gives +2 Espionage points and allows you to turn one citizen into a Spy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One could whip their hands bloody, but to what advantage? Fast culture, fast science/research or fast infrastructure like banks, grocers, etc. Space race might benefit from this strategy, but can projects be whipped? Once you whip production buildings, you can pump out units and dominate/conquer the world. Or just whip the units out and slay everything in your path.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A large spanning empire through conquest would be able to build cheaper courthouses and then whip some culture and happiness buildings to help keep maintenance costs down and develop captured cities into productive contributors more quickly. In war times you could have the possibility of both drafting and then whipping units. Finally, you can finish off a wonder earlier and perhaps beat the AI to a few depending on difficulty level.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In terms of Bts, we have also only begun to explore the mechanics of espionage, but giving +2 espionage points and the ability to turn a citizen into this new type of GP is almost a throw in after the whipping unhappiness reduction. As a warmonger, this new feature of producing great spies has some definite synergy. The courthouse is likely not always the first items in a build queue, but I feel the Altar has two things that make it a higher priority.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Altars come too late to help whip barracks and the aggressive Monty gets cheaper barracks anyway. But, now that I know the reduced penalty for whipping [BOLD]does[\BOLD] apply to units, a quick ASAP conquest victory is likely not going to be done with CoL and the Altar. This is one of the reasons I have used this technique very little but am more open to trying mid-game conquests. If you are on a large map with many civs, this UB makes more sense. You could be pumping out settlers and workers and units and scouts or even missionaries. However, continuing whipping will keep the population low in those cities if you want to be economical since larger cities taker longer to get back up to that high population and having low populated cities would mean that perhaps you are not utilizing all of the good tiles available to be worked in the fat cross. Having low population might result in slower teching, but if you are whipping settlers and workers and the Altars help lower maintainence then having many small cities might offset that. Eventually, the unhappiness will catch up however, but I am sure that there are plenty of savvy players out there that have slavery fine tuned to both an art and science.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]An appropriately related UB for the Aztecs, but not the culture bomb like in Civ 3 and not as powerful as could be due its somewhat late appearance. That being said, an Oracle slingshot could give you it quicker and then it might be worth more, but a slingshot solely to use this UB doesn't really merit the risk, especially on higher levels and needing Math too. It can be effective for starting out and if it is the first thing build/whipped in a newly captured city, then it will become a contributing city soon enough. I owe this UB an apology for not originally realizing the full potential and the ability to whip units. I has been fun using when playing as the Aztecs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Babylonian Garden (Colosseum - double production for Creative leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]How cute, a UB named for their Hanging Gardens. The building gives extra +2 [ICON_HEALTHY] and this UB is much like the Ottoman Hammam except the Babylonians getting a health bonus on the Colosseum rather than a happiness bonus on the Aqueduct. This UB will give health bonuses independent of what food resources their may be. It also has it's happiness linked to the culture slider and costs 80 hammers, just like the Colosseum.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Being aggressive and organized as well as the Babylonian UU might make Hammurabi a warmonger candidate. Assuming more cities earlier on, perhaps one could make use of the the extra health. Certainly high polluting cities for a warmonger or space race could use it. Organized gets cheap lighthouses (more food), courthouses (faster expansion) and factories for more production. High production with extra health could mean some good warring possibilities with his Aggression or it could mean space race contention.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It comes with Construction and is 20 hammers less expensive than an Aqueduct. A Theatre is still a cheaper option for happiness if you don't need the health. Later in the game, when high production is needed, but unhealthy, this UB will give a slight health advantage, but the beauty is that is comes so early that you would not have to stop producing military units or spaceship components to build it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]This UB will have to be thoroughly tested before evaluation can be made.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Byzantine Hippodrome (Theatre - double production for Creative leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Hippodrome is like a super Theatre. Sure, you get +3 [ICON_CULTURE], the two Artists to assign and the bonus for dyes, but you also get one for horses, hence the name HIPPOdrome. It also has a base happiness of +1, but it that wasn't enough (and it never is), you also get +1 [ICON_HAPPY]for every 5% culture on your slider, instead of the normal 10%. This essentially doubles that ability of the building to give happiness from culture.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Where to begin? Well the extra happiness from a smaller culture slider means more money devoted to maintenance of cities for your expanding empire, more military units and upgrades, more research, you name it. Justinian I is Imperialistic and you will have more money available to take advantage of your fast settler production. Since the Cataphract UU is dependent on horses, it is a no brainer to try and connect the horses ASAP. Being religious gives the flexibility of fast settlement and then gearing up for war or space exploration or anything else. Running Serfdom and OR and than switching to Feudalism and Theocracy. The extra happiness is great and also leads to a economic advantage which is up to your imagination to exploit. This UB is a far better choice than building a Colosseum for the Byzantines.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Extra happiness is never a drawback, and as stated earlier, this leads to an economically advantage. Even without horses or dyes, there is still the +1 base [ICON_HAPPY].[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]While not overpowered on paper, it remains to be seen how useful this UB actually will be. So far, it looks very promising.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Carthaginian Cothon (Harbour - double production for expansive leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]So, a harbour which gives +1 trade routes to a coastal city to Hannibal, a financial leader who starts with fishing. What is the catch, you ask? I can't think of any. I have only played a game or two with Carthage, but you gotta love their chances.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First off, Financial and Fishing is already great. Find some coastal tiles with food sources and settle down. In fact when I play as Carthage (or the Vikings for that matter) it's nothing but coastal cities if I can help it. Your income will give a fast tech pace and you can plan for diplomatic or space victories, although I am not sure about others. I guess being ahead in tech will help keeping a more advanced army.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The base number of trade routes for a city is one, but if you have discovered Currency and build a castle or run the Free Market civic in [BOLD]addition[\BOLD] to your Cothons, that means 3 trade routes. (You can't do both since Economic obsoletes the castle.) The Colossus adds +1 gold in [BOLD]all[\BOLD] water tiles and the Great Lighthouse adds [BOLD]+2 trade routes in [BOLD]all[\BOLD] coastal cities.[\BOLD] If you have a map with many civs, and nice silver or gold or calendar enabling resources which gives you huge coin besides your financial bonus you will have some rich cities. If you are around late enough and make an early move for flight and the UN, the Airport and the Common Currency Resolution give you [BOLD]another[\BOLD] 2 trade routes![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Didn't talk about cottage spamming yet, so there. I said it. Cottage Spamming. Now, need I mention the +50% trade route yield? That +50% on your 7 trade routes! Don't forget the additional 100% from the Temple of Artemis. Add markets, banks and Wall Street and you will be using C-notes for TP.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Compass can come pretty late, but a beeline or slingshot or a combo of both to iron working could land you your cothons earlier than you might think. The tech or time lost getting your UB will be made up for when you have +1 trade routes in your lucrative coastal cities even if they cost an extra 20 hammers. And that may be the only drawback, you need to have coastal cities. If you want to reign supreme with Hannibal, you need high sea levels and likely some sort of Archipelago map[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other than being map dependent, this UB is quite possibly the best matched with the civs leader traits and starting techs. With more money you can support a larger army/empire or research faster.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Celtic Dun (Walls - double production for Protective leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Walls that produce units with a free Guerrilla I promotion for +20% defense on hills. In a discussion about the best UUs I read that Swordmen or Melee units can't get the Guerrilla promotion. This would explain both why the UU starts with it and why the UB gives it to units produced in that city. Only Archery and Gunpowder units can get the promotion. Siege, Melee, Mounted and Armoured don't.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It is important to remember that the G3 30 Hills Attack bonus only coming when attcking [BOLD]into[\BOLD] Hills and not from them. Still, the 30% withdrawal is also handy and has helped out greatly in games I have played, so whether you have hills or not thw withdrawal is worth it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I am not sure whether or not holding off researching Rifling, the obsoleting tech matters because any musketmen or grenadiers that you build will have the Guerrilla I, but once you have riflemen with a strength of 14, maybe grenadiers with 12 don't look so good. Perhaps if your opponents have rifling you would hold off on getting it yourself as the bonus grenadiers have against rifles and their Guerrilla bonus might prove worth keeping for a bit or at least until you have a good amount of them. It would all depend on the other promotions they have and your opponents. Upgrading your Gallic Swordsman to Macemen you do not lose the Guerrilla I. Even if they were given Guerrilla II or even III [BOLD]before[\BOLD] being upgraded then they keep it. Some shrewd manipulation of the promotion chart would prove most rewarding. Build your archery and gunpowder units, give them the G2 promotion and then discover Rifling. Upgrade your archery units and musketmen to riflemen, remembering that only Grenadiers can be promoted to Machine Gunners (considered siege unit). Your G2 or G3 Gallic Warriors becomes Macemen and then either Riflemen or Grenadiers. Riflemen and Machine Gunners can both be promoted to Mechanized Infantry (gunpowder unit), while only Riflemen can be upgraded to SAM Infantry. Below is a crude flowchart:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_COMMERCE]Gallic Warrior[COLOR_REVERT] --&gt; [COLOR_YIELD_COMMERCE]Maceman[COLOR_REVERT] -----\[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]   \__ [COLOR_BLUE]Grenadier[COLOR_REVERT] --&gt; [COLOR_RED]Machine Gun[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB]/--&gt; [COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Crossbowman[COLOR_REVERT] _/\[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]\[NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Archer[COLOR_REVERT] -----/[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]   \_\[COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT] --&gt; [COLOR_BLUE]Infantry[COLOR_REVERT] --&gt; [COLOR_BLUE]Mechanized Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB]\--&gt;  [COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Longbowman[COLOR_REVERT] ___/[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]  \[NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Musketman[COLOR_REVERT]___________________/[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]   \___[COLOR_BLUE]SAM Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Unit[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][ICON_PRODUCTION][TAB][ICON_STRENGTH][TAB][ICON_MOVES][TAB][TAB]Bonuses[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Upgrade[\BOLD][NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Archer[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]25[TAB]3[TAB]1[TAB]1st Strike,[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Longbowman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+50% City &amp; +25% Hills Defense[TAB][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Crossbowman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_COMMERCE]Gallic Warrior[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]60[TAB]6[TAB]1[TAB]+10% City Attack[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_YIELD_COMMERCE]Maceman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Starts with Guerrilla I[NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Longbowman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]50[TAB]6[TAB]1[TAB]1st Strike[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+25% City &amp; +25% Hills Defense[NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Crossbowman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]60[TAB]6[TAB]1[TAB]1st Strike,[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Grenadier[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+50% vs. Melee Units[TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_COMMERCE]Maceman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]80[TAB]8[TAB]1[TAB]+50% vs. Melee Units[TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Grenadier[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Musketman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]80[TAB]9[TAB]1[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Grenadier[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]100[TAB]12[TAB]1[TAB]+50% vs. Riflemen[TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_RED]Machine Gun[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]110[TAB]14[TAB]1[TAB]+25% vs. Mounted Units[TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Machine Gun[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]125[TAB]18[TAB]1[TAB]Can only defend, 1st Strike[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+25% vs. Gunpowder Units[TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Mech Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]140[TAB]20[TAB]1[TAB]+25% vs. Gunpowder Units[TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]SAM Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Mech Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]SAM Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]150[TAB]18[TAB]1[TAB]40% Intercept Chance[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+50% vs. Helicopter Units[NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Mech Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]200[TAB]32[TAB]2[TAB]20% Intercept Chance[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Starts with March[NEWLINE]*Beyond the Sword[NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Archery Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_COMMERCE]Melee Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Gunpowder Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Siege Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Who wouldn't want these Mech or SAM Infantry units with double movement on Hills, +30% Defence, +25% Hill Attack and 30% chance of Withdrawal? Most players sadly undervalue what this UB can do for you later in the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Being charismatic, both Brennus and new-comer Boudica give quicker promotions and if you wanted the Guerrilla I promotion anyway then you are free to choose something else. Don't forget the extra +1 happiness per city and the +1 happiness from the Monument: early happiness for warring or ignoring temple for other more important buildings such as courthourse, forges, libraries, etc. Warring on a hilly or highlands type map seems a good strategy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You could build a stack of any units and upgrade them with the G1 promotion remaining. This bonus makes you just one closer to G2 which gives another 30% defense in Hills and well as double movement on Hills, making hilly maps such as highlands easier to navigate. Remember that with the patch the G3 promotion gives the +25% attack bonus [BOLD]and[\BOLD]a 30% chance of withdrawal! With a charismatic leader you could easily get both of those either out of the barracks and with one fight or from a GG, but don't forget the +4 from running Theocracy and Feudalism. Running both of those and having a barracks means units made will have 7/8 XP to start. Finally, Boudica is aggressive so not only does this mean the Combat I promotion for free, but also cheaper barracks. This means building barracks [BOLD]and[\BOLD] a Dun just got more practical even or especially without stone. But a free Combat I is nothing to sneeze at if you are promoting up the Guerrilla line.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One might build the Great Wall and "trick" the AI to try and fight you in your backyard. Your Guerrilla resistance troops will protect any hill resource and if you give them Woodsman I or higher or even more Guerrilla, you will give them a heck of a time trying to dislodge you. They would defend any cats or trebs or whatever you bring along if you fight on their turf too. Giving unit both Guerrilla II and Woodsman II means a versatile unit capable of sneak attacks on weaker units or maybe even an invaluable resource pillager.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I would suggest delaying Rifling until you have upgraded all your G1 units into musketman or grenadiers, maybe a 50-50 mix. Discover Rifling, but then upgrade them into Riflemen, and from their you can have Infantry, SAM Infantry [BOLD]and[\BOLD] Mechanized Infantry with this defensive bonus. Going in pillaging the AI resources for space race or preventing them from building nukes can be done with these expert pillagers.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It's a nice bonus, but not really any drawbacks. In fact now that walls and duns give +25% bombardment protection (about time) and castles do too, one might be more likely to build castles if they didn't before, especially since in BtS they also give +25% espionage points. With both a Dun and Castle one gets +100% defense and +50% bombardment defense from non-gunpowder units. The extra trade route from the castle and the espionage points are throw-ins.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For warmongering or pillaging/protecting resources no matter what the goal this UB can provide you with units that will have an advantage on hills. How you use those units, promote or upgrade them will depend on your goals, immediate and future needs and terrain/resources. The strength in this UB is the versatility it provides. I predict that Boudica's traits will make the Celts a more attractive Civ to play as. She will be a warmonger's dream and possibly one of the most fierce of opponents. Outside of warmongering, there is not much this UB can do other than help one explore a hilly map more quickly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Chinese Pavlion (Theatre - double production for Creative civ):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The undisputed culture building king and "Big Daddy" of the cultural UBs. Cultural victory fans must have thought they hit the bigtime when they saw this beauty. Aside from the +3 culture the it gives +25% for culture in the city. Building the pavilion alone gives a culture per turn of 3.75, slightly less than the Madrassa, but this will double after 1000 years, but more importantly the 25% is added to everything.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]What makes the pavilion the culture champion is the +25% bonus continues throughout the game and so the quicker the culture from other buildings can be added to the city, the better. Imagine a few early wonders with their culture doubling and then the added 25%. Sure, it's not game breaking, but one might not feel as obligated to crank the culture switch or convert to Free Speech as quickly with the bonus this UB gives.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The traits of the leaders don't really work that well with this building, but it does ensure no matter what that nearby resources our yours. This allows you to persue the late game win conditions such as diplomatic, space race or a late conquest. Or more likely, early in the game you will have more resources than otherwise and you can dictate the trade terms and stifle the AI by denying them that one precious iron or uranium or oil or aluminum as the case may be.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Although not able to overly accelerate the cultural win time frame, this building I have found to be quite amazing for domination games. With a few founded religions and no state religion and a pavilion, you just keep pumping out settlers and units and let the borders expand like your waistline after college.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other than persuing a cultural/domination victory or claiming resources, there in not much extra outside of the normal theatre uses/features. Even in a cultural game, it is not enough to be a real advantage because of China's leader traits or strating techs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] What you see is what you get. Nothing to really want to you play China any more than you normally would, except maybe for a quicker domination win or being a resource hog and super businessman/diplomat.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Dutch Dike (Levee):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Dutch UB, the Dike replaces the Levee which itself, is a new building introduced in Beyond the Sword. The Levee is available with Steam Power and gives +1 hammer on every river tile and costs 180 hammers. It brings up some interesting choices regarding tiles improvements to say the least. Meanwhile, the Dike also gives the +1 production boost to all water tiles as well. Any coastal city will greatly benefit and the great thing is that it does not need to be a coastal city either. Therefore even cities one tile in from the coast or with small lakes will still have water tiles gaining the bonus.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With Willem being Financial, the choice to build cottages on river tiles might appear to be a no-brainer, but often players will want increased production and build watermills, windmills or lumbermills in their place. The great thing about the Dike or Levee for that matter, is that it gives a production bonus to the tiles regardless of improvement. Now, imagine a Dutch coastal city on a river with cottages, a Dike, Universal Sufferage, Organized Religion and in a Golden Age. Imagine the Bureaucracy bonus on that too. As a Dutchie, I can hardly wait to see that! Some late wonders and project races just got a little easier to win. As this is a BtS civ, let us not forget the tweak on State Property and also the Moai Statues which are like a Dike, but a wonder which does not expire. Some great production synergy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Being financial, building on rivers would be your goal anyway, but any city without rivers or water tiles will have absolutely no use for this UB and therefore it will likely be quite map dependent in its effectiveness. Even if they have 2-4 tiles that would benefit, you might want to weigh the 180 hammer cost before putting them everywhere. Also, the UB does come quite late, of course later in the game is when things start to cost more hammers too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The only thing better than extra happiness is extra production, so if your map allows for this opportunity, any goal whether it be pumping out military units, settlers and workers, wonders or spaceship parts. While both Levees and Dikes will only be of use to cities with river tiles, to take full advantage of this UB, one would need to build more coastal cities or at least not be in the middle of the continent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Egyptian Obelisk (Monument):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This Egyptian monument can turn two citizens into priests. Pretty powerful for early in the game. Even if Egypt doesn't start with Mysticism, they have the ability to build the very first building with the ability to assign specialists. You could use the GPs produced to techbulb (TM ) yourself to whatever your little heart desires.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One could argue that with Hatshepsut, the creative +2 culture bonus would negate the +1 culture from the obelisk, but you could also spin it to being equivalent to a theatre culture-wise. Then again, with cheap temples, theatres, and libraries why else would you play her without going for cultural victory? With cheap colosseums too, you now have two buildings which will give you +1 happiness for every 10% culture. Once you hit that culture switch, you needn't worry about happiness resources, except maybe incense and dyes.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As Illithid has so eloquently put it:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]"The fact that it obsoletes fairly early is really not much of an issue for the purpose it serves. Both leaders can benefit from this. For the most part it really only takes one city with one, though using Stonehenge to put it in multiple cities isn't bad at all. The great prophets that you can generate quickly from the priest specialists allow you to claim several of the mid to late religions. This is one of the key features you tend to want to accomplish when going for a culture victory. Once you get 2-3 religions you don't really care to much about making this building go obsolete and switching to temples to support any other priest specialists if you still need to grab the rest of the religions or if you want holy shrines.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The obelisk might better complement the industrious and spiritual Rameses II. He can build quick wonders like Oracle and Stonehenge and maybe a cultural victory could be sought since you could really crank out Great Prophets. One further thing could be to settle those prophets and once you have Angkor Wat and cheap forges from industrious Ramses, you have a great chance for the space race victory or just high production warmongering. Even if you don't go those routes, the extra production for other things can work well like buildings wonders for cultural (with either leader) or building the UN. Both leaders could definitely could try for a domination win as well with the quick culture boost from Stonehenge."[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great Prophets will only techbulb (TM ) you to the mostly religious techs and that might not always be the way to go.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Most UBs don't get obsoleted. The earlist possible one to build is also the first one obsoleted. Although one can ignore Calendar, the obsoleting tech for the UB for some time, eventually you may want/need to develop those sugar, spices and incense tiles. In Beyond the Sword, it becomes obsoleted with Astronomy, so it is possible depending on one's strategies and goals to avoid that tech all together. If you have many religions and temples as a result of your early GPs then you can obsolete the Obelisk and still gain GPPs for more GPs later. It's what you choose to do with those priests you assign, that really affects the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Obsoleting Stonehenge means the Obelisks not physically built a city will disappear, whereas building them all by hand means they stay and continue to stand and have their base culture of 1 double to 2 over time. It is not a great deal for some victory conditions such as space or diplomatic, but domination and cultural might need to consider this.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great Prophets early, can be a tech boost, but unless you are surrounded by food bonuses, you won't be able to assign those priests anyway. With practice, it could be used quite effectively.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Ethiopian Stele (Monument):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This Ethiopian monument can give +25% culture in addition to the +1.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This UB probably screams cultural victory, but the 25% bonus won't really matter until much later in the game. Also, in BtS the obsoleting tech is Astronomy which can be avoided for some time so long as you don't plan on colonizing another continent. One can play a cultural victory without ever researching and discovering or trading for it, so this bonus would be added for the entire game. Being Organized, the ability to settle new cities more quicker would be helped by any additional cultural boundaries pushing further out. With key resources claimed, his cheap factories will use the resources to build spaceship components or military units much more quickly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Furthermore, let's not ignore the fact that like the Egyptians, building Stonehenge will put this UB in every one of your cities. Now, this is truly a thing not to miss if you want to try for a domination victory. Especially when you consider the Organized trait of the Ethiopian leader. Again, ignoring Astronomy would likely need to be done as well, but your domination victory might not take that long.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Remember, Zara Yaqob in Creative so the 25% in the beginning is not that big of the deal, but with the cheap libraries and theatres in no time it will have an impact.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Zara Yaqob does not start with Mysticism, the prerequisite tech. Most UBs don't get obsoleted. The earliest possible one to build could have it's lifespan shortened depending on your tech path. Losing out on the culture bonus it not a big loss in another victory condition, but the quick land grab would be a huge boost. Of course, one requires religions or other cultural building to really benefit from the UB. Although one can ignore Astronomy, the obsoleting tech for the UB for some time, eventually you may want/need to expand to other continents or build observatories to boost your science level. For other victories, the UB is still perhaps needed as the cultrual trait gives you the resources you want early, but in the face of other cultural powerhouses, it might be helpful to retain or even capture resources culturally.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Obsoleting Stonehenge means the Stelae not physically built a city will disappear, whereas building them all by hand means they stay and continue to stand and have their base culture of 1 double to 2 over time. Not only that, but you have now lost the 25% culture boost in those cities. It is not a great deal for some victory conditions such as space or dipolmatic, but domination and cultural might need to consider this.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The true strength of this UB depends on what else is build in the city, but with a few ancient wonders, library, temples and other with the doubled culture for their age, the Stele alone would have quite an impact.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][u][BOLD]English Stock Exchange (Bank):[/b][\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wow, I really see why Liz is a fan favourite for some. The Stock Exchange gives the an extra 15% gold bonus to what a bank normally does (50%) for a total of +65%. With two financial leaders to choose from this is a very versatile UB. You can go Philosophical with Liz or Imperialistic with Vicky.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]No matter what you chose for your victory path, commerce drives research and things are great. Add markets and grocers means a total 115% gold increase. Even warmonger Churchill will benefit, but financial really exploits this UB. What is great about this UB compared to the Carthaginian Cothon is that you needn't only build on the coast and so you can use this on any map and whereas the Cothon only give +50% bonus to the trade routes the 65% bonus from the SE is cumulative with other buildings. I suppose the math would work out depending on many factors, but it suffices to say the stock exchange can be build anywhere. Even so, you likely want most if not all of your cities on the coast, as there is usually more lucrative tiles in the water (outside of FP cottages) especially if you build the Colossus and Great Lighthouse, but a few gold or silver mines or luxuries resources are great too. Up to Airports and the right civics and you can have 7 trade routes in a city and Wall Street. Cottage spam and run Emancipation, Universal Suffrage and Free Market and you will be laughing all the way to the bank! Er, make that all the way to the Stock Exchange.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This can be used to keep the tech slider higher and tech faster to get your space race/diplo win started early or you can keep a larger empire and army with upgrades when you want and need without waiting to save the money.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Um, how about "no?" Money makes the world go 'round![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]England starts with fishing and mining, so look out. Not sure what else can be said here. I think ABBA said it best: "Money, Money, Money" $$$$[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]French Salon (Observatory):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Salon is an observatory which gives a free artist. It might not seem like much, but for cultrual victories it can be quite nice.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Okay, first of all, with the patch, Louis can now build cheap theatres and libraries! He is creative and the +2 culture is only a small amount, but the cheap buildings is great. In fact, Louis gets libraries, theatres, coliseums and forges at half production cost. Not too shabby.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Given the anarchy caused by switching to Mercantilism perhaps going from liberalism to astronomy makes sense. With a little wait to Astronomy, you can built your UB which gives a free Great Artist, rather than going through anarchy to get it. Of course you have to build these Salons, but they are cheaper than universities and with the Sistine Chapel the free Great Artist gives more culture for the same amount of science boost (+25%). But, maybe you do want to switch to Mercantilism so you can have another free type of GP. If not, then you have got two free artists with the library, salon, (and university) and the Statue of Liberty is not that far away with his cheap forge and quicker building of the Statue of Liberty. Either way you could have 2-3 free artists, not to mention the others you could assign. This means you can run something other than Caste System. And speaking of science boost, why not run Representation with those free artists? Use the library, salon and uni to beeline for the ECWs and you are laughing. C'est formidable! C'est magnifique! D'accord?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Running representation with Salon' free artists as either Louis XIV or de Gaulle could be a strategy for space race victories.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Not sure what Napoleon would do with the free artist other than maintain culture borders on resources on a crowded map, but then again you could build a cheap theatre in the likely small city first. The Salon is like an observatory, so keeping up the tech pace to have more advanced troops might be desirable. You could however have your larger cities with these GAs and go and culture bomb you new acquisitions. If you want other GPs, then perhaps the Salon will pollute your GPPs, so beware.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Charles de Gaulle is charismatic and industrious, like a hybrid of Louis and Napoleon. He has extra happiness resources and can promote units faster, making him a warmonger equal to Napoleon, except where Napoleon's Organization might let him keep a larger empire, de Gaulle would have more production strengths in cheaper forges and wonders.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are likely some other possibilities to be discussed as there seems to be lacking a certain "je ne sais quoi?", but this UB should not be taken lightly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]German Assembly Plant (Factory - double production for Organized leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Assembly Plant is a factory which can change 4 citizens into engineers instead of just two. It also has double production speed with coal. I haven't tried Germany out yet, but this is a mouth watering temptation. Die Fragen ist: "Welchen F'hrer m'chten Sie spielen?"[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Which leader? Well, take your pick. This UB complements both leaders very, very nicely and is the most synergistic combo of both leaders and[NEWLINE]their UB of all the civs in the game (with apologies to the two Queens of England). This UB is all about output, production and power. Was sind St'rken jedes F'hrers? What are each leader's strengths?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Otto von Bismarck: Expansive and Industrious. Sure, there is only +2 health with the patch, but health will be needed to offset production buildings that cause pollution. Later in the game every health counts and is needed. Bismarck can be a warmonger with a huge empire and pumping out units like nobody's business or cranking out spaceship parts while eying Alpha Centauri. Bizzy gets granary, harbour and forge at double production speed so a fast build for forge and the Plant and two cheap health providing buildings to offset the pollution.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Frederick: Organized and Philosophical. With cheap lighthouses, courthouses, universities and cheap factories...or in this case these very Assembly Plants also double production with coal, Freddy is a powerhouse! There hasn't been a German industrial influence like this since Kraftwerk! I say span out, get the economy/research going and prepare for the space age! With the Assembly Plant costing 250 hammers and having two double speeds bonuses, it would be like building these babies for 62 hammers! The reason space age would be so synergistic is the 100% increase in GPs being produced. So you could be farming scientists and engineers on your GP farm and building your high production cities elsewhere. Ideally, if you had 2-4 food sources with some production bonuses, you would be in good shape. Ich denke das ich spiele gern mit Freddy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To a total of 50% hammer increase from buildings (forge and factory), you can add +50% from power (supplied by the either hydro, coal or nuclear plants, but the Three Gorges Dam can be more economical), +100% from the Ironworks (+50% each for iron and coal), +50% from Bureaucracy. With some good food sources you will max out your six engineers and likely have some priests too. If you settled some Great Engineers or Prophets, good for you! Don't forget the +25 bonus for OR and the +100% for having a special resource when building buildings. You can also have a laboratory that gives +50% bonus in addition to +100% again for having a resource. So a basic bonus of +250% in your capital (+200% out of capital) with +125% to +150% when building buildings or projects respectively for a total of around +385% or +410%. Depending on your base production, things can be quite productive and your leader choice for this doesn't matter other than which buildings you can build cheaper or the resources to which you have access.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Any other victory condition other than space or conquest don't seem to fully utilize this late game UB. Peace-mongering can leave it pretty much not even worth building. With a lack of health resources having a forge, this UB and Ironworks or other powerplants might not be feasible.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Given the right conditions and goals, this UB is quite useful and as stated before is a perfect match for not just one leader, but both of them. Freddy gets the slight edge thusfar, if it is indeed possible to build it for a quarter of the cost. If you are playing games that end early, this UB doesn't matter, same as their UU. The plan with Germany is perhaps to maximize the leader traits to set up an 'berstrong infrastructure and then once the UUs and UBs can be built later in the game, go hog-wild and blitzkrieg them all! Wunderbar![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Greek Odeon (Colosseum - double production for Creative leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In addition to the +1 happiness per 20% culture and for the same price as a coliseum, this UB gives +3 culture, an additional +1 happiness, can turn 2 citizens into artists and gives +1 happiness for hit singles.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Basically this means this is a more expensive theatre even with the patch dropping the cost 80 hammers. The extra price for admission compared to theatres is the hit single happiness, which in short games won't matter, but if you have the culture slider up to even 20% with this and a theatre built, the city already has +3 happiness, +4 with dyes. As with the Mall, I like the idea of killing two birds with one stone. Because it is 10% for theatres and 20% for the colosseum/odeon, that means if you raise the culture slider the happiness is increased by 3 for every 20%. With broadcast towers it is another +1 happy for every 10%, but also +1 for those hit singles again. If you have the three buildings, dyes and hit singles (either import or export) we are talking +7 happiness for a mere 20% culture.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The extra 3 culture is the big deal. Greece now instantly becomes a cultural victory contender with the price of the Colosseum/Odeon dropped and Alex building cheap universities in addition to this new +3 culture building which together with theatres might be built early enough to get +6 culture and make a nice impact once multipliers are added.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Using either Pericles' or Alex's philosophical trait, you can farm your Great Artists (my best is 16), lending again to a cultural or perhaps a domination victory more easily as Bassist2119 has reminded us in another post of the ability of the UB to assign two more GAs in addition to the 2 from the Theatre. This leaves you free to run Slavery a little longer or Serfdom since you don't really need Caste System.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For the warmonger in all of us, Construction might be more attractive than drama as it also gives War Elephants and leads to Engineering. However you would need Drama to activate the culture slider eventually once the happiness limit is hit. The hit singles don't kick in until later, but it's nice to have that as a back up. With big happiness possibilities early and late, you can run Representation or Universal Suffrage and not worry about War Weariness. The Odeon can give newly captured cities the same affect of culture and happiness from the theatres without researching a tech which is not on any warmonger things-to-do-lists.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Let's talk about Pericles now. He's Creative and Philosophical, making him the only leader to have cheap libraries and universities, not to mention theatres. He is biggest cultural contender of the BtS leaders introduced as his Odeon and traits are an even better combination than Alexander's. Everything said above for Alex holds true for Pericles, however he is a much better choice for the Greeks to win a space race or diplomatic game, at least in a more peaceful way. His cheap libraries and universities make him a true philosopher (Philosophy, from Greek: lover of knowledge/wisdom) for a tech pace. A tech lead can be useful for anything victory sought.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, why not just build a theatre (50) for slight more than half the price (80)? Drama comes right after Alphabet, a useful tech, whereas you need math and then construction for the odeon and they can be slightly most expensive to research. Well, as stated above the warmonger might like this route. Slingshotting for Construction just for the UB is a waste, unless you plan on used it to it's fullest. This means its units, as a step to Engineering and trading. Trade away any extra happiness resources to form alliances or get other resources you want like production or strategic ones. For a cultural victory it might be better pursuing after getting your GA from Music if you want to better the AI since you would already have math, but I won't try it the other way around on higher levels if you want the free GA.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Makes Greece go from non-contender culturally to a interesting choice for experimenting. Domination wins are looking good too, but space and conquest really are not affected on lower levels. The Odeon does little to complement Alexander's traits unless on high levels with more unhappiness to be offset from buildings. Remember the +6 swing with theatre/dyes, odeon, broadcast tower and hit singles. Makes Eiffel Tower's broadcast tower in every city more appealing and extra happiness can be converted into flexibility in trades, more whipping and warring.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Holy Roman Empire Rathaus (Courthouse - double production for Organized leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This UB is a courthouse with a total of 75% reduction in maintenance costs. It also allows you to build the Forbidden Palace with only 4 cities on a standard map. It also gives +2 Espionage points and allows you to turn one citizen into a Spy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Charlemagne is Imperialistic, which means quicker settler production. Not much better synergy than a UB which allows for more cities sooner without hurting your economy, since he is not Organized. It also means greater chance of GG appearances. Couple that with the protective trait and he will be in position to either maintain a large empire and pursue more peaceful victories or, be a major warmonger. The protective trait gives cheaper walls and castles and just imagine those beefed up Pikemen, the Landskneckt, with their +100% vs Mounted Units and Melee units behind them. On a hill even![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]We have also only begun to explore the mechanics of espionage, but giving +2 espionage points and the ability to turn a citizen into this new type of GP is almost a throw in after the increased maintenance reduction. As a warmonger, this new feature of producing great spies has some definite synergy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The ability for rapid expansion and a much sooner available Forbidden Palace does not conjure up any real disadvantages as Charlemagne's traits and the Empire's UU really complement each other.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The ability to have a larger empire give the flexibility to settle near important resources and map locations and strive for any victory condition.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Incan Terrace (Granary - double production for Expansive leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A granary that gives culture. Quite a cool UB, nothing special on the surface but is even more of an impact than one might suspect. Why?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, you likely would build a granary anyway especially if whipping. I had mentioned in the original writeup about playing as the Incas on the 1000AD map, and I whipping buildings like there was no tomorrow as they start on as isolated strip west of the Andes and wouldn't grow that large anyway. Granaries help with whipping; more on that later. Secondly, it is available with pottery and for financial Huayna Capac, the cottage spamming and culture producing terrace from this tech is a great choice for the first thing to research. The Terrace will accumulate enough culture from an early building to give +4 culture per turn very early in the game. So cultural victories look great. In fact, one of my earliest finish for a cultural victory is with the Incas. The financial trait allows for faster teching and for cultural games where I am almost there (lower levels) at around scientific method or astronomy, with the Incas I have sometimes discovered Electricity and built Broadway to help the last city get over. For longer games this bonus is carried further.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Building a culture producing granary, means you can concentrate totally on growing and expansion and not worry about other border encroaching your resources, you will get them back or never even lose them. You will get the fast cross much faster and not have to rush monuments or temples/theatres until later, once you have larger cities from the granaries stored food. In fact, Stonehenge is now practically useless, except for the GPP it helps you get. No need to avoid Calendar in order to keep the culture from brand new cities right off the bat. You don't want to delay the chance to build plantations or wineries as those babies are what the Financial trait thrives on. In BtS, Stonehenge and monuments expire with Astronomy, so that may be moot now.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]When you capture a city normally, what do you do? Build a theatre for culture (maybe happiness, but you should have some plantations for that) and the granary takes a back seat. For small cities this means delaying growth which hurts you later on. So, building the terrace gives you the culture and the growth increase. Even if you built a granary first, you would still have to build something to get the first eight tiles around your new city, let alone the fat cross. You want the choice of which tiles to worker with your citizens, because you are financial and any cottages--&gt;towns, plantations or mines you can work ASAP are gold in your pocket. You use it to support/upgrade your forces or increase research/trade for resources. Basically, building/rushing a terrace first makes whipping other more important buildings like those cheap forges or walls, barracks, libraries, temples, etc. easier and more economical. Here's more detail on that from Bovinespy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]"This is a GREAT UB for late-Ancient through ealy-Industrial era warmongering. It really speeds up your rate of assimilation of newly-conquered lands. The crucial point lies in the pop-rushing.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In your earliest wars, the populations of conquered cities will tend to be in the 3 to 5 range. If you pop-rush a monument and a granary (esp. if you're Expansive), the population of the city will recover fairly quickly (assuming decent food resources available/not-plundered). However, later in the game, usually about the time catapults show up, the AI has usually developed urban pop levels so that core cities you capture routinely have pops of 8 to 10.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is where the Terrace really shines: it saves you from having to pop-rush a granary and a culture building. This point is particularly important if you're not playing a Creative leader. Mind you, it's a subtle difference between having a captured city with a pop of 8 or 9 instead of 6 or 7. However, a crucial point to remember is that the higher the pop level, the longer it takes to recover a pop point.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Say you conquer and absorb a well-developed empire of around 6 or 8 cities (a not-unlikely scenario on Standard maps). Now imagine an extra tile or two of production from each of those cities. If you had to rush both buildings, you would be dozens of turns behind, relatively speaking, in production compared to the Incan. This is huge! Properly played, the snowball-effect of swallowing a rival empire or two in the mid-game is significantly more noticeable when you play Huayna."[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Need we mention that conquering a city that already has a granary turns it into a terrace? Due to some sort of oversight, that granaries age contributes to the culture of your new terrace and could even generate 4 per turn![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Not really any since as Huyana Capac you likely want to have pottery ASAP anyway.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As outlined above, this UB offers some great opportunities for expansion and is flexible for what you want to do with it. I have not warmongered much with the Incas, so I thank Bovinespy for his input and explaining in greater detail what I alluded to earlier and also for showing me how powerful this UB can really be. Maybe playing with it in peaceful games I took it for granted earlier. Is a great UB for early claiming of land while growing and improving infrastructure by shortcutting build queues and allowing faster restoration of captured cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Dutch Dike (Levee):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Dutch UB, the Dike replaces the Levee which itself, is a new building introduced in Beyond the Sword. The Levee is available with Steam Power and gives +1 [ICON_PRODUCTION] on every river tile and costs 180 [ICON_PRODUCTION]s. It brings up some interesting choices regarding tiles improvements to say the least. Meanwhile, the Dike also gives the +1 production boost to all water tiles as well. Any coastal city will greatly benefit and the great thing is that it does not need to be a coastal city either. Therefore even cities one tile in from the coast or with small lakes will still have water tiles gaining the bonus.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With Willem being Financial, the choice to build cottages on river tiles might appear to be a no-brainer, but often players will want increased production and build watermills, windmills or lumbermills in their place. The great thing about the Dike or Levee for that matter, is that it gives a production bonus to the tiles regardless of improvement. Now, imagine a Dutch coastal city on a river with cottages, a Dike, Universal Sufferage, Organized Religion and in a Golden Age. Imagine the Bureaucracy bonus on that too. As a Dutchie, I can hardly wait to see that! Some late wonders and project races just got a little easier to win. As this is a BtS civ, let us not forget the tweak on State Property and also the Moai Statues which are like a Dike, but a wonder which does not expire. Some great production synergy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Being financial, building on rivers would be your goal anyway, but any city without rivers or water tiles will have absolutely no use for this UB and therefore it will likely be quite map dependent in its effectiveness. Even if they have 2-4 tiles that would benefit, you might want to weigh the 180 hammer cost before putting them everywhere. Also, the UB does come quite late, of course later in the game is when things start to cost more hammers too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The only thing better than extra happiness is extra production, so if your map allows for this opportunity, any goal whether it be pumping out military units, settlers and workers, wonders or spaceship parts. While both Levees and Dikes will only be of use to cities with river tiles, to take full advantage of this UB, one would need to build more coastal cities or at least not be in the middle of the continent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Egyptian Obelisk (Monument):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This Egyptian monument can turn [BOLD]two[\BOLD] citizens into priests. Pretty powerful for early in the game. Even if Egypt doesn't start with Mysticism, they have the ability to build the very first building with the ability to assign specialists. You could use the GPs produced to techbulb (TM ) yourself to whatever your little heart desires.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One could argue that with Hatshepsut, the creative +2 culture bonus would negate the +1 culture from the obelisk, but you could also spin it to being equivalent to a theatre culture-wise. Then again, with cheap temples, theatres, and libraries why else would you play her without going for cultural victory? With cheap colosseums too, you now have two buildings which will give you +1 happiness for every 10% culture. Once you hit that culture switch, you needn't worry about happiness resources, except maybe incense and dyes.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As Illithid has so eloquently put it:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The obelisk might better complement the industrious and spiritual Rameses II. He can build quick wonders like Oracle and Stonehenge and maybe a cultural victory could be sought since you could really crank out Great Prophets. One further thing could be to settle those prophets and once you have Angkor Wat and cheap forges from industrious Ramses, you have a great chance for the space race victory or just high production warmongering. Even if you don't go those routes, the extra production for other things can work well like buildings wonders for cultural (with either leader) or building the UN. Both leaders could definitely could try for a domination win as well with the quick culture boost from Stonehenge.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great Prophets will only techbulb (TM ) you to the mostly religious techs and that might not always be the way to go.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Most UBs don't get obsoleted. The earlist possible one to build is also the first one obsoleted. Although one can ignore Calendar, the obsoleting tech for the UB for some time, eventually you may want/need to develop those sugar, spices and incense tiles. In Beyond the Sword, it becomes obsoleted with Astronomy, so it is possible depending on one's strategies and goals to avoid that tech all together. If you have many religions and temples as a result of your early GPs then you can obsolete the Obelisk and still gain GPPs for more GPs later. It's what you choose to do with those priests you assign, that really affects the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Obsoleting Stonehenge means the Obelisks not physically built a city will disappear, whereas building them all by hand means they stay and continue to stand and have their base culture of 1 double to 2 over time. It is not a great deal for some victory conditions such as space or diplomatic, but domination and cultural might need to consider this.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great Prophets early, can be a tech boost, but unless you are surrounded by food bonuses, you won't be able to assign those priests anyway. With practice, it could be used quite effectively.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Ethiopian Stele (Monument):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This Ethiopian monument can give +25% culture in addition to the +1.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This UB probably screams cultural victory, but the 25% bonus won't really matter until much later in the game. Also, in BtS the obsoleting tech is Astronomy which can be avoided for some time so long as you don't plan on colonizing another continent. One can play a cultural victory without ever researching and discovering or trading for it, so this bonus would be added for the entire game. Being Organized, the ability to settle new cities more quicker would be helped by any additional cultural boundaries pushing further out. With key resources claimed, his cheap factories will use the resources to build spaceship components or military units much more quickly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Furthermore, let's not ignore the fact that like the Egyptians, building Stonehenge will put this UB in every one of your cities. Now, this is truly a thing not to miss if you want to try for a domination victory. Especially when you consider the Organized trait of the Ethiopian leader. Again, ignoring Astronomy would likely need to be done as well, but your domination victory might not take that long.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Remember, Zara Yaqob in Creative so the 25% in the beginning is not that big of the deal, but with the cheap libraries and theatres in no time it [BOLD]will[\BOLD] have an impact.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Zara Yaqob does not start with Mysticism, the prerequisite tech. Most UBs don't get obsoleted. The earliest possible one to build could have it's lifespan shortened depending on your tech path. Losing out on the culture bonus it not a big loss in another victory condition, but the quick land grab would be a huge boost. Of course, one requires religions or other cultural building to really benefit from the UB. Although one can ignore Astronomy, the obsoleting tech for the UB for some time, eventually you may want/need to expand to other continents or build observatories to boost your science level. For other victories, the UB is still perhaps needed as the cultrual trait gives you the resources you want early, but in the face of other cultural powerhouses, it might be helpful to retain or even capture resources culturally.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Obsoleting Stonehenge means the Stelae not physically built a city will disappear, whereas building them all by hand means they stay and continue to stand and have their base culture of 1 double to 2 over time. Not only that, but you have now lost the 25% culture boost in those cities. It is not a great deal for some victory conditions such as space or dipolmatic, but domination and cultural might need to consider this.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The true strength of this UB depends on what else is build in the city, but with a few ancient wonders, library, temples and other with the doubled culture for their age, the Stele alone would have quite an impact.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]English Stock Exchange (Bank):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wow, I really see why Liz is a fan favourite for some. The Stock Exchange gives the an extra 15% gold bonus to what a bank normally does (50%) for a total of +65%. With two financial leaders to choose from this is a very versatile UB. You can go Philosophical with Liz or Imperialistic with Vicky.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]No matter what you chose for your victory path, commerce drives research and things are great. Add markets and grocers means a total 115% gold increase. Even warmonger Churchill will benefit, but financial really exploits this UB. What is great about this UB compared to the Carthaginian Cothon is that you needn't only build on the coast and so you can use this on any map and whereas the Cothon only give +50% bonus to the trade routes the 65% bonus from the SE is cumulative with other buildings. I suppose the math would work out depending on many factors, but it suffices to say the stock exchange can be build anywhere. Even so, you likely want most if not all of your cities on the coast, as there is usually more lucrative tiles in the water (outside of FP cottages) especially if you build the Colossus and Great Lighthouse, but a few gold or silver mines or luxuries resources are great too. Up to Airports and the right civics and you can have 7 trade routes in a city and Wall Street. Cottage spam and run Emancipation, Universal Suffrage and Free Market and you will be laughing all the way to the bank! Er, make that all the way to the Stock Exchange.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This can be used to keep the tech slider higher and tech faster to get your space race/diplo win started early or you can keep a larger empire and army with upgrades when you want and need without waiting to save the money.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Um, how about "no?" Money makes the world go 'round![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]England starts with fishing and mining, so look out. Not sure what else can be said here. I think ABBA said it best: "Money, Money, Money" $$$$[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]French Salon (Observatory):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Salon is an observatory which gives a free artist. It might not seem like much, but for cultrual victories it can be quite nice.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Okay, first of all, with the patch, Louis can now build cheap theatres [BOLD]and[\BOLD] libraries! He is creative and the +2 culture is only a small amount, but the cheap buildings is great. In fact, Louis gets libraries, theatres, coliseums and forges at half production cost. Not too shabby.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Given the anarchy caused by switching to Mercantilism perhaps going from liberalism to astronomy makes sense. With a little wait to Astronomy, you can built your UB which gives a free Great Artist, rather than going through anarchy to get it. Of course you have to build these Salons, but they are cheaper than universities and with the Sistine Chapel the free Great Artist gives more culture for the same amount of science boost (+25%). But, maybe you do want to switch to Mercantilism so you can have another free type of GP. If not, then you have got two free artists with the library, salon, (and university) and the Statue of Liberty is not that far away with his cheap forge and quicker building of the Statue of Liberty. Either way you could have 2-3 free artists, not to mention the others you could assign. This means you can run something other than Caste System. And speaking of science boost, why not run Representation with those free artists? Use the library, salon and uni to beeline for the ECWs and you are laughing. C'est formidable! C'est magnifique! D'accord?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Running representation with Salon' free artists as either Louis XIV or de Gaulle could be a strategy for space race victories.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Not sure what Napoleon would do with the free artist other than maintain culture borders on resources on a crowded map, but then again you could build a cheap theatre in the likely small city first. The Salon is like an observatory, so keeping up the tech pace to have more advanced troops might be desirable. You [BOLD]could[\BOLD] however have your larger cities with these GAs and go and culture bomb you new acquisitions. If you want other GPs, then perhaps the Salon will pollute your GPPs, so beware.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Charles de Gaulle is charismatic and industrious, like a hybrid of Louis and Napoleon. He has extra happiness resources and can promote units faster, making him a warmonger equal to Napoleon, except where Napoleon's Organization might let him keep a larger empire, de Gaulle would have more production strengths in cheaper forges and wonders.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are likely some other possibilities to be discussed as there seems to be lacking a certain "je ne sais quoi?", but this UB should not be taken lightly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]German Assembly Plant (Factory - double production for Organized leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Assembly Plant is a factory which can change 4 citizens into engineers instead of just two. It [BOLD]also[\BOLD] has double production speed with coal. I haven't tried Germany out yet, but this is a mouth watering temptation. Die Fragen ist: "Welchen F'hrer m'chten Sie spielen?"[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Which leader? Well, take your pick. This UB complements both leaders very, very nicely and is [BOLD]the[\BOLD] most synergistic combo of [BOLD]both[\BOLD] leaders and[NEWLINE]their UB of all the civs in the game (with apologies to the two Queens of England). This UB is all about output, production and power. Was sind St'rken jedes F'hrers? What are each leader's strengths?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Otto von Bismarck: Expansive and Industrious. Sure, there is only +2 health with the patch, but health will be needed to offset production buildings that cause pollution. Later in the game every health counts and is needed. Bismarck can be a warmonger with a huge empire and pumping out units like nobody's business or cranking out spaceship parts while eying Alpha Centauri. Bizzy gets granary, harbour and forge at double production speed so a fast build for forge and the Plant and two cheap health providing buildings to offset the pollution.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Frederick: Organized and Philosophical. With cheap lighthouses, courthouses, universities [BOLD]and[\BOLD] cheap factories...or in this case these very Assembly Plants [BOLD]also[\BOLD] double production with coal, Freddy is a powerhouse! There hasn't been a German industrial influence like this since Kraftwerk! I say span out, get the economy/research going and prepare for the space age! With the Assembly Plant costing 250 hammers and having two double speeds bonuses, it would be like building these babies for 62 hammers! The reason space age would be so synergistic is the 100% increase in GPs being produced. So you could be farming scientists and engineers on your GP farm and building your high production cities elsewhere. Ideally, if you had 2-4 food sources with some production bonuses, you would be in good shape. Ich denke das ich spiele gern mit Freddy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To a total of 50% hammer increase from buildings (forge and factory), you can add +50% from power (supplied by the either hydro, coal or nuclear plants, but the Three Gorges Dam can be more economical), +100% from the Ironworks (+50% each for iron and coal), +50% from Bureaucracy. With some good food sources you will max out your six engineers and likely have some priests too. If you settled some Great Engineers or Prophets, good for you! Don't forget the +25 bonus for OR and the +100% for having a special resource when building buildings. You can also have a laboratory that gives +50% bonus in addition to +100% again for having a resource. So a basic bonus of +250% in your capital (+200% out of capital) with +125% to +150% when building buildings or projects respectively for a total of around +385% or +410%. Depending on your base production, things can be quite productive and your leader choice for this doesn't matter other than which buildings you can build cheaper or the resources to which you have access.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Any other victory condition other than space or conquest don't seem to fully utilize this late game UB. Peace-mongering can leave it pretty much not even worth building. With a lack of health resources having a forge, this UB and Ironworks or other powerplants might not be feasible.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Given the right conditions and goals, this UB is quite useful and as stated before is a perfect match for not just one leader, but both of them. Freddy gets the slight edge thusfar, if it is indeed possible to build it for a quarter of the cost. If you are playing games that end early, this UB doesn't matter, same as their UU. The plan with Germany is perhaps to maximize the leader traits to set up an 'berstrong infrastructure and then once the UUs and UBs can be built later in the game, go hog-wild and blitzkrieg them all! Wunderbar![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Greek Odeon (Colosseum - double production for Creative leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In addition to the +1 happiness per 20% culture and for the same price as a coliseum, this UB gives +3 culture, an additional +1 happiness, can turn 2 citizens into artists [BOLD]and[\BOLD] gives +1 happiness for hit singles.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Basically this means this is a more expensive theatre even with the patch dropping the cost 80 hammers. The extra price for admission compared to theatres is the hit single happiness, which in short games won't matter, but if you have the culture slider up to even 20% with this and a theatre built, the city already has +3 happiness, +4 with dyes. As with the Mall, I like the idea of killing two birds with one stone. Because it is 10% for theatres and 20% for the colosseum/odeon, that means if you raise the culture slider the happiness is increased by 3 for every 20%. With broadcast towers it is another +1 happy for every 10%, but also +1 for those hit singles again. If you have the three buildings, dyes and hit singles (either import or export) we are talking +7 happiness for a mere 20% culture.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The extra 3 culture is the big deal. Greece now instantly becomes a cultural victory contender with the price of the Colosseum/Odeon dropped and Alex building cheap universities in addition to this new +3 culture building which together with theatres might be built early enough to get +6 culture and make a nice impact once multipliers are added.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Using either Pericles' or Alex's philosophical trait, you can farm your Great Artists (my best is 16), lending again to a cultural or perhaps a domination victory more easily as Bassist2119 has reminded us in another post of the ability of the UB to assign two [BOLD]more[\BOLD] GAs in addition to the 2 from the Theatre. This leaves you free to run Slavery a little longer or Serfdom since you don't really need Caste System.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For the warmonger in all of us, Construction might be more attractive than drama as it also gives War Elephants and leads to Engineering. However you would need Drama to activate the culture slider eventually once the happiness limit is hit. The hit singles don't kick in until later, but it's nice to have that as a back up. With big happiness possibilities early and late, you can run Representation or Universal Suffrage and not worry about War Weariness. The Odeon can give newly captured cities the same affect of culture and happiness from the theatres without researching a tech which is not on any warmonger things-to-do-lists.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Let's talk about Pericles now. He's Creative and Philosophical, making him the only leader to have cheap libraries [BOLD]and[\BOLD] universities, not to mention theatres. He is biggest cultural contender of the BtS leaders introduced as his Odeon and traits are an even better combination than Alexander's. Everything said above for Alex holds true for Pericles, however he is a much better choice for the Greeks to win a space race or diplomatic game, at least in a more peaceful way. His cheap libraries and universities make him a true philosopher (Philosophy, from Greek: lover of knowledge/wisdom) for a tech pace. A tech lead can be useful for anything victory sought.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, why not just build a theatre (50) for slight more than half the price (80)? Drama comes right after Alphabet, a useful tech, whereas you need math and then construction for the odeon and they can be slightly most expensive to research. Well, as stated above the warmonger might like this route. Slingshotting for Construction just for the UB is a waste, unless you plan on used it to it's fullest. This means its units, as a step to Engineering and trading. Trade away any extra happiness resources to form alliances or get other resources you want like production or strategic ones. For a cultural victory it might be better pursuing after getting your GA from Music if you want to better the AI since you would already have math, but I won't try it the other way around on higher levels if you want the free GA.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Makes Greece go from non-contender culturally to a interesting choice for experimenting. Domination wins are looking good too, but space and conquest really are not affected on lower levels. The Odeon does little to complement Alexander's traits unless on high levels with more unhappiness to be offset from buildings. Remember the +6 swing with theatre/dyes, odeon, broadcast tower and hit singles. Makes Eiffel Tower's broadcast tower in every city more appealing and extra happiness can be converted into flexibility in trades, more whipping and warring.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Holy Roman Empire Rathaus (Courthouse - double production for Organized leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This UB is a courthouse with a total of 75% reduction in maintenance costs. It also allows you to build the Forbidden Palace with only 4 cities on a standard map. It also gives +2 Espionage points and allows you to turn one citizen into a Spy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Charlemagne is Imperialistic, which means quicker settler production. Not much better synergy than a UB which allows for more cities sooner without hurting your economy, since he is not Organized. It also means greater chance of GG appearances. Couple that with the protective trait and he will be in position to either maintain a large empire and pursue more peaceful victories or, be a major warmonger. The protective trait gives cheaper walls and castles and just imagine those beefed up Pikemen, the Landskneckt, with their +100% vs Mounted Units [BOLD]and[\BOLD] Melee units behind them. On a hill even![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]We have also only begun to explore the mechanics of espionage, but giving +2 espionage points and the ability to turn a citizen into this new type of GP is almost a throw in after the increased maintenance reduction. As a warmonger, this new feature of producing great spies has some definite synergy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The ability for rapid expansion and a much sooner available Forbidden Palace does not conjure up any real disadvantages as Charlemagne's traits and the Empire's UU really complement each other.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The ability to have a larger empire give the flexibility to settle near important resources and map locations and strive for any victory condition.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Incan Terrace (Granary - double production for Expansive leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A granary that gives culture. Quite a cool UB, nothing special on the surface but is even more of an impact than one might suspect. Why?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, you likely would build a granary anyway especially if whipping. I had mentioned in the original writeup about playing as the Incas on the 1000AD map, and I whipping buildings like there was no tomorrow as they start on as isolated strip west of the Andes and wouldn't grow that large anyway. Granaries help with whipping; more on that later. Secondly, it is available with pottery and for financial Huayna Capac, the cottage spamming and culture producing terrace from this tech is a great choice for the first thing to research. The Terrace will accumulate enough culture from an early building to give +4 culture per turn very early in the game. So cultural victories look great. In fact, one of my earliest finish for a cultural victory is with the Incas. The financial trait allows for faster teching and for cultural games where I am almost there (lower levels) at around scientific method or astronomy, with the Incas I have sometimes discovered Electricity and built Broadway to help the last city get over. For longer games this bonus is carried further.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Building a culture producing granary, means you can concentrate totally on growing and expansion and not worry about other border encroaching your resources, you will get them back or never even lose them. You will get the fast cross much faster and not have to rush monuments or temples/theatres until later, once you have larger cities from the granaries stored food. In fact, Stonehenge is now practically useless, except for the GPP it helps you get. No need to avoid Calendar in order to keep the culture from brand new cities right off the bat. You don't want to delay the chance to build plantations or wineries as those babies are what the Financial trait thrives on. In BtS, Stonehenge and monuments expire with Astronomy, so that may be moot now.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]When you capture a city normally, what do you do? Build a theatre for culture (maybe happiness, but you should have some plantations for that) and the granary takes a back seat. For small cities this means delaying growth which hurts you later on. So, building the terrace gives you the culture [BOLD]and [\BOLD]the growth increase. Even if you built a granary [BOLD]first[\BOLD], you would still have to build something to get the first eight tiles around your new city, let alone the fat cross. You want the choice of which tiles to worker with your citizens, because you are financial and any cottages--&gt;towns, plantations or mines you can work ASAP are gold in your pocket. You use it to support/upgrade your forces or increase research/trade for resources. Basically, building/rushing a terrace first makes whipping other more important buildings like those cheap forges or walls, barracks, libraries, temples, etc. easier and more economical. Here's more detail on that from Bovinespy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Need we mention that conquering a city that already has a granary turns it into a terrace? Due to some sort of oversight, that granaries age contributes to the culture of your new terrace and could even generate 4 [ICON_CULTURE] per turn![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Not really any since as Huyana Capac you likely want to have pottery ASAP anyway.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As outlined above, this UB offers some great opportunities for expansion and is flexible for what you want to do with it. I have not warmongered much with the Incas, so I thank Bovinespy for his input and explaining in greater detail what I alluded to earlier and also for showing me how powerful this UB can really be. Maybe playing with it in peaceful games I took it for granted earlier. Is a great UB for early claiming of land while growing and improving infrastructure by shortcutting build queues and allowing faster restoration of captured cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Indian Mausoleum (Jail):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Mausoleum UB comes with Constitution like its Jail counterpart with -25% WW but it also gives +2 happiness. The manual states it gives +1 GPP and is more likely to produce a Great Prophet, but in playing Warlords, this is not true. In Beyond the Sword, both the jail and the mausoleum give +4 espionage points and increase espionage point production by 50%, in addition allowing one to assign two Spy specialists.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well the jail is high on a warmonger's wish list and the BtS version is sure to be even higher. I can see on higher levels how the happiness cap can be raised and WW reduced. As I don't usually have long wars I don't really know how high the WW can get, but I imagine on higher levels it is quite a bit. If you have Police State this is a total of 75% reduction in WW, which is nothing to sneeze at if WW problems got you down.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]We have also only begun to explore the mechanics of espionage, but giving +4 espionage points and the ability to turn two citizens into this new type of GP is almost a throw in after the reduced war weariness. Running Nationhood now has the added bonus of another +25% espionage point production for a total of 75% with the jail/mausoleum, in addition to barracks giving +2 happiness and being able to draft 3 units per turn. As a warmonger, this new feature of producing great spies has some definite synergy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Both are spiritual. Organized Asoka can build larger empires early on and Philosophical Gandhi can pop GPs and build cheaper universities. These combos don't necessarily screa for warmonger, especially given their Fast Worker UU, a decidedly unwarlike unit, however the extra spying power could be used to ensure that you are not beaten in the space race or the diplomatic arena. Then again, it's a free way to protect your nation no matter what.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I don't read much about people playing as India to conquer the world and wage war. This UB is still like a normal jail, except for the +2 happiness. I am not sure how many players will build them in BtS, but in Warlords they are n[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I will reserve judgement for others to add their input, but for now, this UB seems out of place and not very useful or synergistic.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Japanese Shale Plant (Coal Plant):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A coal plant gives power (electricity) to the city which adds to the factory production bonus of 25% an additional 50% at a cost of +2 [ICON_UNHEALTHY]. You need a factory for the coal plant or the Japanese Shale Plant, however the Shale Plant itself gives its own +10% production as well. This means a 60% bonus with the two buildings for the same price. The real bonus however is that while Coal Plants requires coal to produce this power, the Shale Plant does not. Both the Factory and Shale Plant can be built once you have discovered Assmebly Line.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To a total of 60% hammer increase from buildings (forge, factory and shale plant), you can add +50% from power (supplied by the Shale Plant), +100% from the Ironworks (+50% each for iron and coal), +50% from Bureaucracy. With some good food sources you will max out your six engineers and likely have some priests too. If you settled some Great Engineers or Prophets, good for you! Don't forget the +25 bonus for OR and the +100% for having a special resource when building buildings/wonders. You can also have a laboratory that gives +50% bonus in addition to +100% again for having a resource when building a spaceship component. The Space Ladder gives another 50% increase. So a basic bonus of +185% in your capital (+135% out of capital) with a bonus of +125% or 200% respectively, when building buildings/wonders or projects. Add in the Iron Works and non-Captial cities are between +360% or +435%. Depending on your base production, things can get quite a productive boost, but if you were to whip or buy these buildings into a low production city it might make a huge difference as well.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Being Aggressive and Protective, Tokugawa's units start off well promoted and this makes warring an attractive choice. For late game wars, there likely isn't a unit that can't be pumped out in 1 or 2 turns. And space race can be just as great a goal. Diplomatic you want to beeline for MM and wouldn't sidetrack yourself for this building.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other than having little health resources, which doesn't seem too likely by the time you research Assembly Line, not much of a reason not to build this is you aren't wanting to be a powerhouse. That being said, the leader traits are not that complementary with it. Not only that, it is a late game UB and some games you would not get the chance to build it. Given that it is a late game UB, it is quite useful for the fact that coal is not required to get the +60% production, while other civs need coal to get their +50%. Than again, you likely want coal so that you can railroad your mines, quarries and lumbermills. Not much of a benefit if you look at it that way, but until you do get coal, you have +60% production boost, that other civs would not have had.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Although not as overall synergistic as the German Assembly Plant when it comes to leader traits, this UB serves a similar purpose and makes it hard not to compare. This one is a little more map dependent (due to the +10% hammer as apposed to 2 extra engineers assigned) and that means that doing the math to see which advantage is greater is not so easy or relevant. Again for a late wonder, space race and conquest victories greatly benefit.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Khymer Baray (Aqueduct):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Baray UB comes with Mathematics and is an Aqueduct which gives 1 extra food.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Extra food helps any leader, regardless of their traits, however, Suryavarman is expansive which means extra health. Building this UB would cause a double-whammy if you will. Not only will increased health reduce any wasted food, but allow for more growth which is possible by the Baray's bonus. The expansive trait only adds to the possibility that the city will grow larger as it has a higher health cap. More food also means taking advantage of the faster worker production, which is only a 25% bonus in BtS, but still greatly helped out with the UB. Being creative means claiming food resources to get the whole this going. Talk about cyclic benefits.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Extra food, a disadvantage? One could even use the cereal mills corporation and trade away food if not needed. I have had cities grow too fast and not have enough things to build to keep them happy. Slavery fans would do well to exploit this extra growth and convert it into production.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After extra happiness and production, extra food is nothing to complain about and ranks with them and some great bonuses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Korean Seowon (University - double production for Philosophical leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This building costs the same and gives the same culture as a university, but it gives an extra +10% research.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wang Kon is financial and so you can maximize this UB's use by making sure you do all the things you would have done with Korea anyway. That means, cottage spamming and getting other high income tiles from plantations and mines and coasts. You have the income boosting building and wonders and the science ones as well. Simply this building just gives another 10%, so take the advantage and go for a diplomatic or space win or keep you army further ahead in tech to protect your empire or add to it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]More science can't ever be bad can it? It comes early/mid-game, but it's on the way to the Liberalism bee-line.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great advantage assuming you can build a nice SSC or several ones. You would usually build a university anyway, maybe now just a little sooner to really add to the tech lead (or perhaps a little later in the queue, knowing that you have the extra boost once it is built).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Malinese Mint (Forge - double production for Industrious leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is a forge with an added 10% wealth increase and yet another UB for a financial that has some great synergy. I would say that a lot of the strategies used with England's financial leaders would be used here, but with a slight change.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This building can come pretty early and Mansa Musa has a reputation for being a tech-whore as an AI. I like settling on the west side of the GP map and mine everything in site. There is also dyes, furs and incense too! What is great about the boost is that even though it is only 10%, it is still an increase and once you tech your way to new civics, as a spiritual leader, you can totally take advantage immediately and not wait until you can switch 2 or 3 at a time.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Because it is a production building as well, and you would naturally build it early for the gold bonus, you will have a higher production than maybe another civ with just a forge. It is more appealing, plus it is needed for many wonders, not the least of which is the Colossus giving +1 gold in [BOLD]all[\BOLD] cities water tiles. If you have trade routes going, as many as possible, markets, grocers, banks and Wall Street a rich city is made richer than another civ would be with the same city. Not only because of the wealth bonus, but because the forge means building all of the other wealth increasing building faster. It never goes obsolete either.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]More money, means faster discoveries, and diplomatic and space wins are the popular targets, however the Skirmisher can be a pretty good UU and even later, the extra wealth can be parlayed into better unit support and more/quicker upgrades. Even on higher levels, if you are lagging in the tech race, you will have more money to buy them, or more money to bribe the AI to do your bidding.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With 7 trade routes (as outlined earlier with Carthage), all the wealth buildings, great base tiles and maybe even some merchants or Great Merchants, you have plenty of money and if running the Universal Suffrage civic, you can rush buy more quickly/often than otherwise.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This UB doesn't expire, so it will continue to be useful and becomes more powerful as the game progresses because cities will grow and more lucrative routs determined for the AI.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A money boosting UB is a good one and can really help out early. You can afford to expand a little quicker if you bankroll allows it. You would need to have some big cash tiles or plenty of cottages, but then again, you would build those anyway.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Mayan Ball Court (Colosseum - double production for Creative leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Ball Court gives +3 [ICON_HAPPY](instead of the Colosseum's +1) and the +1 [ICON_HAPPY]per 20% culture.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The extra happiness could be used to full effectiveness as a warmonger by skipping Drama and going for Construction, much like Alexander might do in using his Odeon. Having happy people means more tiles being worked for the financial Pacal II.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]More research needed, but a Theatre with dyes for 50 [ICON_PRODUCTION] over an 80 [ICON_PRODUCTION] Ball Court might do the trick. Of course as the city grows and war weariness sets in or you have limited resources, this UB will make people happy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Extra happiness is always good, because it lets you pursue any victory you desire. You can combat war weariness or have large producing cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Mongolian Ger (Stable):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The stable introduced in Warlords gives +2 XP for Mounted units build in the city and the Mongolian Ger gives +4 points. This UB is very appropriate and the affects are cumulative with Barracks, the Pentagon and other XP bonuses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, both Mongolian leader start are Aggressive which means cheaper barracks. We are already looking at +7 XP, then if you factor in Theocracy and Vassalage, that's +11 all together. That is enough for 3 promotions before seeing any combat and any GG you settle and the Pentagon are just a bonus. Upgrading all the way through up to Calvary would be the idea and with the right promotions you should be able to keep most of your troops up until Rocketry. You could plan for the future and give promotions that complement your gunships, or use the advantage to conquer early. In BtS, the Stable is made obsolete with Advanced Flight, thereby lengthening the use of this UB. The fact that Genghis Khan is also imperialistic means more GGs as long as you are warmongering.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This UB complements the UU, the Keshik and the civ itself unlike any other UB for the other civs. To build a Keshik you need Archery, Horseback Riding - which you need to build the Ger anyway - and of course Horses revealed by Animal Husbandry. The Mongol starting techs are Hunting and the Wheel. Hunting is the prereq for both AH and Archery. Your mounted units all benefit, but lets look more closely at why. The keshik starts with some of the better bonuses. Let's analyze the mounted units that the Mongols can build below and remember that none of them get defensive bonuses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Unit[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][ICON_PRODUCTION][TAB][ICON_STRENGTH][TAB][ICON_MOVES][TAB][TAB]Bonuses[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Upgrade[\BOLD][NEWLINE][COLOR_GREEN]Chariot[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]25[TAB]4[TAB]2[TAB]10% Withdrawal, 100% vs. Axemen[TAB][COLOR_GREEN]Knight[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_GREEN]Keshik[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]50[TAB]6[TAB]2[TAB]20% Withdrawal, 1st Strike[TAB][TAB][COLOR_GREEN]Knight[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Ignore move cost, -10% vs. City[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+50% vs. Cats &amp; Trebs[NEWLINE][COLOR_GREEN]War Elephant[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]60[TAB]8[TAB]1[TAB]+50% vs. Mounted Units[TAB][TAB][COLOR_GREEN]Calvary[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_GREEN]Knight[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]90[TAB]10[TAB]2[TAB]Immune to 1st Strike[TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_GREEN]Calvary[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Flank Attack vs Cats &amp; Trebs*[TAB][TAB][COLOR_GREEN]Cuirassier[COLOR_REVERT]*[NEWLINE][COLOR_GREEN]Cuirassier[COLOR_REVERT]*[TAB][TAB]100[TAB]12[TAB]2[TAB]15% Withdrawal, Immune to 1st Strike[TAB][COLOR_GREEN]Calvary[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Flank Attack vs Cannon[NEWLINE][COLOR_GREEN]Calvary[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]120[TAB]15[TAB]2[TAB]30% Withdrawal, +50% vs. Cannon[TAB][COLOR_BLACK]Gunship[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLACK]Gunship[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]160[TAB]24[TAB]4[TAB]25% Withdrawal, +100% vs. Armoured[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Ignore move cost, Cannot capture City[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Flank Artillery &amp; Mobile Artillery*[NEWLINE]*Beyond the Sword[NEWLINE][COLOR_GREEN]Mounted Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLACK]Helicopter Unit [COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]None of these units can take Cover, Drill or CR promotions, but the mounted ones can get Amphibious, Charge, Formation, Pinch and Shock. If you were to give Flanking I and II to your Keshik for +30% withdrawal, that is a total of 50% and when it's upgraded to Calvary or Gunships it still adds to their intrinsic withdrawal abilities. Giving Charge to a Keshik means +75% versus their Cats and Trebs, and as a Knight it will have +75% against cannons. A Chariot with Shock will have +125% versus Axemen but only +25% with the more advanced units, but it might be a great boost. Then again you likely skip chariots and go straight to Keshiks. With the right promotions, the Keshiks might even be better than Knights especially if you don't have iron available and the fact they ignore terrain costs. A Keshik with C3 and Formation is just as good as a unpromoted Knight and as can be seen above, the Keshik has much more intrinsic abilities than a Knight such as withdrawal, bonus against cats and trebs and 1st Strike chance. Although the Knight is immune to 1st strikes and doesn't have the 10% city attack penalty. Clearly, the key is to use the XP bonus to promote according to your needs and strength based on the situation, the opponent, the map, etc. It remains to be seen how the Charge promotions for upgraded units will work with the new system of mounted units having a flank attack versus siege units.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Mounted units are a large part of a balanced army, and the UB lasts fairly long, even longer in BtS. If other civs couldn't build stables this might be overpowering, which is likely why the stable was added as well. This UB maybe isn't as synergistic with Kubla, but it still gives an increases in GGPs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Having the extra XPs out of the gate helps to earn GG points faster and build wonders like the Heroic Epic and West Point. For warmongering this is a great UB, for other victory conditions, it would help one war early to collect more land and resources and then settle down into a more peaceful victory, or at least keep a stronger army than without the UB for protecting cities while pursuing a peaceful victory. (But that is not why one plays the Mongols) War, what is it good for? Huh! Building Gers.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Native American (Totem Pole):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Another UB which replaces the Monument. This one gives +3 XPs to Archer units.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Sitting Bull does not start with Archery, but that is often traded for or even found from goody huts. The big deal is that he is Protective, giving his archers Drill I and City Garrison I [BOLD]before[\BOLD] adding the +3 XP bonus from the Totem Pole. Much like the Dun, this UB will offer some flexiblity and unique possiblity in upgrading units. More research will need to be done, but it suffices to say that this UB will make the Native Americans particularly difficult to conquer. Like the Egyptians, building Stonehenge will put the UB in every one of your cities which is bascially an archer Barracks in every city. This means an effective early archer rush, without wasting time to build the Barracks as Totem are much cheaper. With the Barracks, however, every archery unit built there will be very tough to kill on a hill behind those walls and castles that Protective Sitting Bull can cheaply build, never mind when they get upgraded to gunpowder units! His Philosophical trait might mean that a few GA culture bombs give him some more defense or he is free to use them for whatever he wishes seeing as no one is going to stop him.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Let's not forget the Dog Soldier UU (Axeman) with its strengths against melee units and also not requiring copper or iron. This UB practically gives two UUs to the Native Americans. Whether warmongering or trying to hang on against the AI on higher difficulty levels, this UB would be a key part of any strategy. Holding off on discovering Astronomy might be a prudent strategy if you are running into trouble. Imagine pumping out archer and longbowman early game with the bonuses and then upgrading them to stronger units. They will have a slight XP advantage with all over factors equal, meaning they will promote earlier. Let's imagine the +6 with Totem and Barracks and then running Feudalism and Theocracy for a 10 XPs off the bat. That is enough for 3 promotions to start, never mind fighting off barbs (although I think barb battles will only take you up to 10 XP anyway) or lone, weakened enemy units. Any Great General settled in a city takes you that much closer to a fourth promotion and your Heroic Epic. Let's analyze what Sitting Bull's archers will be able to do and what promotions will carry into the gunpowder age.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Unit[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][ICON_PRODUCTION][TAB][ICON_STRENGTH][TAB][ICON_MOVES][TAB][TAB]Bonuses[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Upgrade[\BOLD][NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Archer[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]25[TAB]3[TAB]1[TAB]1st Strike,[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Longbowman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+50% City &amp; +25% Hills Defense[TAB][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Crossbowman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Longbowman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]50[TAB]6[TAB]1[TAB]1st Strike[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+25% City &amp; +25% Hills Defense[NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Crossbowman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]60[TAB]6[TAB]1[TAB]1st Strike,[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Grenadier[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+50% vs. Melee Units[TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Grenadier[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]100[TAB]12[TAB]1[TAB]+50% vs. Riflemen[TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_RED]Machine Gun[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]110[TAB]14[TAB]1[TAB]+25% vs. Mounted Units[TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Machine Gun[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]125[TAB]18[TAB]1[TAB]Can only defend, 1st Strike[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+25% vs. Gunpowder Units[TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Mech Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]140[TAB]20[TAB]1[TAB]+25% vs. Gunpowder Units[TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]SAM Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Mech Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]SAM Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]150[TAB]18[TAB]1[TAB]40% Intercept Chance[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+50% vs. Helicopter Units[NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Mech Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]200[TAB]32[TAB]2[TAB]20% Intercept Chance[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Starts with March[NEWLINE]*Beyond the Sword[NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Archery Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Gunpowder Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Siege Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Remember that Protective Sitting Bull will have his archery and gunpowder units start with Drill I and City Garrison I, meaning they can already get Cover, Shock or Pinch (once gunpowder is discovered) on their first promotion out of the Totem. With barracks and the others bonuses mentioned, a second promotion could be Formation (bonus against mounted units) or get up to City Garrison III with one promotion to spare! The beauty of this UB compared to say, the Dun is the versatility of the promotions one can pursue, not necessarily being guilted into Guerrilla II and III. Then again, G3 archery units holding on for gunpowder promotions (see Celts) would not be such a terrible thing would it? Note too, that the Machine Gun is a siege unit and cannot receive Guerrilla or City Garrison promotions, however it is upgraded from Grenadiers which are upgraded from your G3 or CG3 archers. Interesting, no?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Sitting Bull does not start with Mysticism, the prerequisite tech. Most UBs don't get obsoleted. The earliest possible one to build can also be one of the first ones obsoleted, maybe it is not that much of a big deal if you play your cards right. Although one can ignore Astronomy, the obsoleting tech for the UB for some time, eventually you may want/need to explore and colonize other continents. By then you would have to have built all the archery units you anticipate needing and then work on upgrading them.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I think building cheap archery units with promotions not available to gunpowder or siege units (machine gun) can pay dividends given the right military and geo-political considerations. Like the Mongols, outside of warmongering or building a military to protect your empire, this UB does not hold many other uses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Ottoman Hammam (Aqueduct):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Does this UB have Expansion written all over it or what? One can really concentrate on building a large empire with large cities a lot sooner with the extra 2 happiness this building supplies in addition to the +2 health. No need to worry about religions if you miss them or drama if you prefer other techs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I feel Mehmed has the potential to be the best expansive leader as he is organized which means cheap lighthouses, courthouses [BOLD]and[\BOLD] cheap factories too. This means more food, less upkeep and more production, respectively from those buildings. This resultant larger population and therefore greater production, which leads to quicker unhappiness and pollution is further complemented by his Expansive trait which, in addition to +2 health per city, gives cheaper granaries and harbours which help reduce pollution and improve growth and economy. Those of you upset that the expansive trait was nerfed to only +2 health stop your whining because this guy has [BOLD]5[\BOLD], count'em [BOLD][BOLD]five[\BOLD][\BOLD] buildings to build cheaper and they [BOLD]all[\BOLD] mean larger and more productive cities. The happiness cap needs to be much higher for the Ottomans, and this is where the Hammam really shines, because it helps keep these larger cities happy and therefore more productive. If that is not enough, the faster worker production means an earlier hook up of resources for [BOLD]more[\BOLD] production, happiness and health bonuses. But also remember the less time building workers, means more time growing in population, which means more reason for a Hammam. This buiding does not expire either.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As for newcomer, Suleiman, who is Imperialistic and Philosophical, making cities healthy and happy at the same time is great for the GP farming you might do with him. He doesn't have all the cheap buliding that Mehmed II has and his two traits sort of conflict when it comes to warmongering; GP farming versus the increased GG appearance. But faster setter production is also a great thing for domination victories and that is what the Hammam can give. Havving many cities sooner and popping out GPs means a larger empire with abilities to conquer space or the world. He will have more cities, and larger, happier, cleaner ones at that.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It might not seem as powerful as other UBs, but you eventually build one anyway, at least in your larger, more polluted cities. This just makes them happy so you can concentrate on building more units or science/production buildings. Let's face it: it's a drag to have to stop building units or wonders because of the unhappiness or health. Kill two birds with one stone with the Hammam. Cultural games where happiness is not much of an issue are still advantaged especially at higher levels. In fact, this building really makes a difference in higher levels where happiness [BOLD]and[\BOLD] health caps are lower or on maps where happiness resources are not readily available to you. Further to that, you could delay discovering Calendar as you might not need the happiness immediately and that means culture from monuments or Stonehenge will last you a little longer.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A strong UB which helps with supporting large cities for whatever reasons you may have: military powerhouse, GP farm, etc. If this was Civ3 where the Aqueduct was need to grow past size 6, this would be huge, but even though it is not needed for that, I really can't think of any drawbacks with this UB. Quite an excellent UB.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Persian Apothecary (Grocer):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Apothecary, besides being the most difficult UB to pronounce, is a grocer that gives an additional +2 [ICON_HEALTHY] to the city. That is on top of the health from plantation resources. With a granary, harbour, apothecary and the supermarket you get health from rice, corn, wheat, clam, crab, fish, bananas, wine, sugar, spice, deer, cow, pig and sheep. So, for those of you counting at home, that's 16 [ICON_HEALTHY] points! So that means the ability to build production-boosting, pollution-causing buildings. Late in the game with high populations and those buildings or even on higher levels, this can be useful. However, you may not be looking to have a late finishing game or even want to detour for the late tech Refrigeration, especially if the Apothecary gives an intrinsic +2 health even without resources and so Supermarkets are not a necessity. That is pretty nice, no matter what level one plays on. You are afforded the option to trade away health resources for more important ones, such as: uranium, oil, iron, aluminum, etc.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Being Imperialistic, Cyrus has faster settler production and this means more cities quicker. As a result there is likely to be more health resources claimed more quickly. Happiness is not the problem with this charismatic leader either, so where can this health bonus be applied the best? Well, highly populated and production oriented cities will benefit so that means space race or conquest/domination victories and/or GP farming.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Like Churchill or Tokagawa, Cyrus might be one of the ultimate warmongers with his traits. They allow faster XP accumulation [BOLD]and[\BOLD] faster GG appearance! Late game wars which require forges, factories, etc to really pump out the expensive units will have a higher health cap. This makes more of a difference the higher the difficulty, but on quicker or lower setting, perhaps not as much.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As for Darius I, with Vanilla Washington's traits of Financial and Organized, the extra health from the UB will complement both the food from cheap lighthouses and the production from cheap factories. Financial seems handy in teching towards a space or diplomatic finish. More will need to be seen from Darius.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Apothecary needs both Currency and Guilds to build it, and guilds can come quite late, but then again guilds also gives Knights and a warmonger might like to upgrade his highly promoted Immortals. Some slingshotting could get you there faster, but maybe more needed in higher levels although I don't know exactly since the tech pace is likely quicker.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For Cyrus, faster GG emergence and quicker promotion ability means that the game is more likely won early with a conquest/domination goal and maybe the health bonuses is not so well-exploited because pollution might not be as high for one reason or another. For a fast teching Darius with an ability to maintain a large empire the extra health might benefit him more in the long run.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This building seems more suited for higher levels, but can make an impact late game with high pollution problems. Environmentalism can be avoided/delayed and chopping could be done without fear of health-induced starvation or founding a city near many FPs. Again without health resources it becomes very useful and for that reason the ability to trade away extra health resources for more strategic ones could be very useful as well.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Portuguese Feitoria (Customs House):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Feitoria replaces another new building, the Customs House. You need Economics and a Harbour to build it and it grants a 50% boost to all [BOLD]foreign[\BOLD] trade coming in from [BOLD]overseas[\BOLD]. The Portuguese Feitoria gives one extra commerce in all water tiles, making coastal cities seem like you are a financial leader.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is a very interesting UB to say the least. First off, it acts like a Colossus in each city that builds it, giving the extra commerce and a little like the Temple of Artemis without the Priest. If you were to have a large coastal city, some sea resources, a harbour, a lighthouse, and the Feitoria, that would really be a great city. Now imagine the Colossus and the Great Lighthouse in this city. Let's go a little further with it being a capital running Bureaucracy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Given the new concept of colonies in the game, it is likely that the AI will use this UB to its full advantage. More research will be needed, but Expansive and Imperialistic Joao will be able to build settlers [BOLD]and[\BOLD] workers more quickly. He is the only one, which is interesting enough. Starting with fishing will mean access to food resources to even more quickly pump those guys out. He seems flexible in pursuing either conquest/domination or space/cultural victories. It seems the AI like human player swill try for colonial expansion early and often to make use of this UB and the UU.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It is assumed that the UB and the Customs House can only be built on a coastal city given that it requires a harbour. Furthermore, the Customs House would be useless if running Mercantilism, thereby closing all foreign trade routes. It seems the Free Market, with the +1 trade route would really be the choice civic for this building. However, the Feitoria also gets +1 commerce in all water tiles, remember. Joao II could run which ever civic he wants and still get the commerce bonus. I would still recommend Free Market for the larger benefit.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It remaining to be seen how effective this UB will be. It is definitely map dependent, but if you have a few coastal cities and are up to the 6-7 possible trades routes in them, then this UB in only a few cities would still be an impact.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Roman Forum (Market):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wow, a UB that gives +25 GP birth rate! This is likely to become a favourite. There are no philosophical Roman leaders, but running Pacifism with the Forum and National Epic would still give +225%, not too shabby. Maybe with just the 125% you feel that you can delay the revolution/anarchy until you have other civics you want too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Julius Caesar is Organized and has -50% maintenance costs, but with this UB being much more attractive than a normal Market perhaps one builds it sooner and the +25% wealth in the city and the reduced maintenance costs really go together nicely much earlier in the game. In addition to his cheaper lighthouse, his cheap factories give a nice later in game production boost for military or spaceship ventures. Besides the Merchants assigned from the Forum, he has no cheap buildings which benefit from the extra GPP until factories. Augustus is no longer creative, but is Industrious. So his cheap forges could mean quicker GE production if that is your desire. This can be helpful in wonder or space races and so the extra GPP can go towards GEs or GSs or pumping out Praetorians.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Both Roman leaders are Imperialistic and have greater GG production and likely to help warmongering. Luring your enemy into your Great Wall trap, could mean 200% greater chance of GG appearance.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The extra the GPs from the Forums could be used to founded religions or techbulb (TM ) you faster through the tech tree for more military/scientific advances. There is real flexibility for both the Roman leaders. They have the fast settler production to really expand and set up an empire with the strength of their Praetorians pushing back the barbarians (er, that is, the other civs). Julius will have a better economy and ability to support his empire, while Augustus will churn out units and wonders and do the same using brute force. The GPPs can be used for whichever purpose is decided.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, running a SE seems to be necessary to maximize this UB's bonus, but not vital. Polluted GPP pools might cause some disappointment for some.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In a game where GP production is a main focus for some players, this building is likely a candidate for having no drawbacks whatsoever. Regardless of victory goal, difficulty setting, map/terrain, resources, opponents or even your own leader selection, this UB is very useful and versatile, making it one of the best.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Russian Research Institute (Laboratory):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Laboratory or Research Institute comes at a time in the game where technologies start to get much more expensive. In addition to the +50% spaceship construction, +25% [ICON_RESEARCH], and assigning one citizen as a Scientist (and +1 unhealthiness), the Russian UB gives [BOLD]two free[\BOLD] scientists! This means you can remove forced scientists and change them to GAs for a cultural win or engineers for space race or keep the scientist and head for future tech.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Representation seems like a no-brainer here, but Russia is one of the only civs in the game (with England) that has three leaders and they each have two different traits so let's examine them more closely:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Catherine: Creative and Imperialistic. She is able to quickly build settlers and the creative trait ensures quick access to fat cross resources. I like her for domination wins for those reasons. Stonehenge can add to the culture growth as well as religions. Cheap libraries can be used in conjunction with cheap theatres to build to a cultural victory. It costs less to build settlers and so fast expansion can lead to more cathedrals build. The extra scientists will lead to faster techs and so if culture is not your thing, the space race gets a nice boost both for the UB's science [BOLD]and[\BOLD] part production. Might not be a high priority especially if near your health cap.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Peter: Expansive and Philosophical. An excellent candidate for Space Race. His +2 health and cheap granaries and harbours will help offset pollution/unhealthiness from production buildings while cheap universities and +100% GP birth rate means more Scientists and Engineers to help techbulbing and wonder building. Remember the faster production of workers from any time in the game should make quite an impact too as they will be out to connect resources much sooner.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Stalin: Aggressive and Industrious. In the few games I have played with Stalin, I have been impressed with his space race potential. Cheap forges and beelining science helped. The UB really made a big impact I felt. Again cultural games leave this UB pretty much obsolete, but with Stalin, his wonder building boost leads to more research with wonders like GL, University of Sankore, Spiral Minaret, Oxford, etc. And then we have the Ironworks and GE produced wonders which are also helpful on the way. He can also be quite the military force early in the game and throughout.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]What is the trade off between Peter's ability to generate GP quicker or Stalin's wonders appearing faster to giving GPPs much sooner? That is open for debate, but both seem great cosmonauts. And I wouldn't rule out Cathy in that department either. With her cheap libraries, quick settler production for greater early expansion complemented by quick cultural border growth she could just as likely be able to use the UB and pull another Yuri Gagarin or, make that Valentina Tereshkova.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Observatories are needed to build the Institute, and although you will already have that tech, they can be more expensive to build for all three leaders compared to cheap libraries or universities. Only Stalin with his industrious trait might have a quicker build given his cheap forges and getter ability to settle GEs, although Peter might too. In Beyond the Sword, with the restructured modern age tech tree, it may require a slightly longer wait before one can build the Research Institute, plus the choices late in the game seem to be more complex and difficult than they were previously.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Diplomatic victories would mean you research Mass Media instead of Computers and therefore not a factor. For cultural wins, you likely have the culture switch on at this point and these buildings therefore can be useful in giving back some lost research, but it will matter very little. Mass Media gives Hollywood which is much more important in that case.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For being at war the research boost could be handy for building more advanced units, but likely if you need a research boost that badly you probably can't afford to be building RIs in all or most of your high production cities, likely only in your SCC which could also be your unit factory too. By the time you build it, you still have to research those new techs for the improved units. With a little planning it could work out in your favour.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To quote Boney M, "Oh, those Russians!" It seems this UB is destined to help with the Space Race and help get Sputnik launched much sooner rather than any other victory, with a possible exception for conquest. Depending on your usual teching order, you might make some adjustments to maximize the benefit of the Research Institute. Time/score victory goals can be helped by the accumulation of future tech perhaps.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Spanish Citadel (Castle - double production for Protective leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Patched Warlords made Castles more useful by giving them +1 trade route and -25% damage from bombardment from non-gunpowder units in addition to the +50% defense vs. non-gunpowder units and +1 culture. Cumulative with the prerequisite Walls, that means +100 defence from non-GP units and -50% from non-GP bombardment. In BtS, they also give an extra 25% espionage points. Maybe, [BOLD]now[\BOLD] players will build them![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Citadel gives an additional 25% bombardment protection for a total of -75% [BOLD]and[\BOLD] gives 5XP to Siege units produced in the city. From the +3XP barracks and the Citadel that is 8XP already, but Thoecracy and Vassalge give 12XP from the start enough for 3 promotions. The bonus is applied to Trebuchets, Catapults and if you can avoid the obsoleting tech, Economics (which restores the lost trade route, 1st to discover gets a GM) you can have Cannons, Artillery and even machine guns with this bonus as well.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The strength of the UB lies in how one promotes their siege weapons most effectively. A warmonger or early-war-to-to-claim-land strategy uses it to it's full advantage, but just protecting your cities becomes much easier now too. In Beyond the Sword, there is a new system for siege weapons, so more remains to be seen. Let's take a look at the Siege Units assuming that they follow the path below and remember they cannot receive defensive bonuses and they all cause collateral damage:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Catapult[COLOR_REVERT] ---\[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB]\___ [COLOR_RED]Cannon[COLOR_REVERT] ---&gt; [COLOR_RED]Artillery[COLOR_REVERT] ---&gt; [COLOR_RED]Mobile Artillery[COLOR_REVERT]*[NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Trebuchet[COLOR_REVERT] -/[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLACK]Grenadier[COLOR_REVERT] --&gt; [COLOR_RED]Machine Gun[COLOR_REVERT] --&gt; [COLOR_BLACK]Mechanized Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Unit[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][ICON_PRODUCTION][TAB][ICON_STRENGTH][TAB][ICON_MOVES][TAB][TAB]Bonuses[\BOLD][NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Catapult[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB][TAB]40[TAB]5[TAB]1[TAB]25% Withdrawal,[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Bombard City Defences (-15%/turn)[NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Trebuchet[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB][TAB]60[TAB]4[TAB]1[TAB]25% Withdrawal, +100% vs. City[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Bombard City Defences (-25%/turn)[NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Cannon[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB][TAB]100[TAB]12[TAB]1[TAB]25% Withdrawal,[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Bombard City Defences (-20%/turn)[NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Machine Gun[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]120[TAB]18[TAB]1[TAB]1st Strike, Defend Only, +50% vs. GP Units[NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Artillery[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB][TAB]100[TAB]18[TAB]1[TAB]25% Withdrawal, +50% vs. Siege[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Bombard City Defences (-25%/turn)[NEWLINE][COLOR_BLACK]Mechanized Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]200[TAB]32[TAB]2[TAB]20% Aircraft Intercept, Starts with March[NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Mobile Artillery[COLOR_REVERT]*[TAB][TAB]200[TAB]26[TAB]2[TAB]Max 85% Attack Damage, +50% vs. Siege[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Immune to Siege Collateral Damage[NEWLINE]*Beyond the Sword[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]All these units receive Barrage, Drill, Shock, Ambush, and City Raider (except Machine Gun who only defends) as well as the Combat and Medic promotions. Any Grenadiers promoted to Machine Gun will not gain any XPs if ungraded in a Citadel, but any you build there will. None of these units can receive City Garrison, Cover, Pinch, Formation, Charge or (Guerilla or Woodsman), but it is possible to have your Grenadier or Melee Units promoted into Grenadiers and give [BOLD]them[\BOLD] any of those promotions and then upgrade them into Machine Gunners. You could for example create G2 or G3 Machine Gunners with Ambush and CG promotions to defend a Hill city from Tanks or you could have Woodsman Machine Gunners with Pinch and Medic/Charge defending your SoD on route through a forest to attack an enemy city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Options for your other Siege units are even more numerours. Except for the Machine Gun, all the Siege units have a 25% withdrawal chance, if you add a GG to it, you can it 55% as well as making it a nice Siege Weapon from other promotions. Remember that upgrades are [BOLD]free[\BOLD] when attached to a Warlord, so you could have some expert Machine Gun defenders or great Cannons/Artillery once the competition gets a little tougher and the AI has more advanced units. One other thing that really stood out to me in trying the UB out, was that Siege Units are immune to collateral damage, so having plenty of them in your stack means you will have some to attack with while other units might need to heal. You can give them medic promotions too remember.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As for synergy with the Conquistador, it is a knight with +50% vs. melee units. Many different civs have melee units for their UU, which comes in handy. With a few correctly promoted Conquistadors and Siege weapons the two should complement each other nicely. Don't forget to balance out your forces, using more than just these two.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This UB doesn't really do anything for the Expansive trait or the Spanish starting tech of fishing and mysticism, however being religious does offer advantages to being able to switch to new civics immediately and not waiting until others are discovered. A switch to Theocracy before you wait to get Vassalage could mean the difference between producing units with an extra +2 XPs and for the siege units with the Citadel, that is enough to put them over the top for a third promotion.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you want to avoid Economics, the obsoleting tech, you only really miss out on a Great Merchant. You could conceivably hold out for some super artillery and machine gunners if you wanted. This UB allows for some interesting warfare capabilities. Although it doesn't immediately lend it self to anything other than conquest/domination, the extra territory and cities gained or even the ability to better protect one's own cities and territory is nothing to take lightly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Sumerian Ziggurat (Courthouse - double production for Organized leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]While the Rathaus of the Holy Roman Empire gives a larger maintenence bonus, it takes just as long to build. Neither them, nor the Sumerians are Organized, but the Sumerian Ziggurat is 30 [ICON_PRODUCTION] cheaper, only costing 90, meaning that it will be built more quickly even if not more powerful. I feel the quicker it is build the better; one of the reasons the Zulu Ikhanda is so effective as well (although for Zulu, it is both cheaper and quicker, but not as powerful). Also, only four are required to build the Forbidden Palace. It also gives +2 espionage points and allow you to assign a citizen as a Spy, but that is a normal courthouse feature for Beyond the Sword.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Okay, major props going out to Bovinespy again for pointing out my huge oversight (I don't have the game yet). This UB is like a courthouse, but you only need Priesthood to build it thereby delaying Code of Laws or passing it all together. This will mean a much earlier clamp down on maintenance costs. While others may have a larger bonus (Rathaus), Gilgamesh, like Shaka, will have a head start. This means the Forbidden Palace is built much sooner as well.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Building the FP quicker, could help culturally for a victory, however it also means a faster expanding empire. Creative and Protective Gilgamesh will need be to be further studied, but the culture boost from borders will help the settlers claim land and the quicker and earlier built courthouses will help keep the economy going. Being protective as well, means maintaining the empire while under attack. Cheap walls and castles will make Sumeria a tough foe to topple.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This did not jump out as being a strong UB until I realized it comes with Priesthood. This is something I am sure some players will use it to maximum advantage. Really, a cheaper courthouse is nothing to complain about and now, one does not have to wait as long to build it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]. Um yeah, that was before I realized you don't need CoL. Priesthood is such a cheap tech, it could be beelined for maximum exploitation here. I love the prereq tech as it is both unique and very appropriate when you think about what Ziggurats really were. This UB is just oozing flavour and possibilities. More to come I am sure; I just can not wait to play these guys![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Viking Trading Post (Lighthouse double production for Organized leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Another coastal UB for a financial leader, the Trading Post gives a free Navigation 1 promotion to ships build there in addition to the extra food in each sea tile.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There is some definite synergies here, firstly the UB being required for the Great Lighthouse which gives all coastal cities +2 trade routes. Ragnar starts with fishing and so the prereq tech, Sailing is not far away. As with the Carthaginian Cothon, it makes sense to build many coastal cities to maximize this affect. Now, it's true that not all your cities will be building ships [BOLD]all[\BOLD] the time, so it is your choice, but of the achipelago maps I have played with them, most if not all of them have been. Harbours, Colossus also add to the wealth, remembering that Ragnar is financial, coastal tiles are great if you have few FP cottages, gems, gold, silver or plantation resources[NEWLINE]around you.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]So, the bonus itself, one extra movement for sea units does not include work boats. On a map with plenty of water this is helpful to let you discover other civs earlier and trade tech with them. Between your financial coastal cities raking in money for a high research rate, you will also be trading for other techs of lower priority when you meet the others. From here you can go one step further and let the extra movement of your powerful navy work for you. Drydocks come with Steel and give your sea units an extra +4 XPs and are produced 50% faster. Your navy would quite literally have an extra step, but there is more. The +1 movement also helps you to circumnavigate the globe faster and hopefully beat out other civs in doing so. Either you trade for maps as you meet new civs or you do it the old fashioned way. It might be tough with a lot of ocean, but as soon as you get ships which can enter the ocean you still have the +1 movement from navigation. The +1 movement from circumnavigating the globe [BOLD]does[\BOLD] apply to your work boats![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Now let us consider the Bersek, the Viking UU which is a Maceman with the Amphibious promotion and an intrinsic +10% City Attack. Adding the CR1 and you are already at +30%. Being Aggressive, you only start with Combat 1 for an extra 10% unit strength and the unit itself has +50% vs. Melee Units. So for a CR Berserk against a melee defender in a coastal city we are talking +80% strength for nearly double the 8 [ICON_STRENGTH], more like 15.2 [ICON_STRENGTH]. If you can meet some civs while they still have only archers (11.2 [ICON_STRENGTH], or even better, Warriors (or Axemen), their cities become yours very easily. On an achipelago map, most if not all of their cities will be coastal and that is what a financial leader with the Colossus and GL wants right? With the patch, the Civil Service or CoL slingshot might be harder to do, but if you concentrate on the money, research can go quicker for you, plus a GP could help you out along the way too. Berserks can be built with Copper or Iron, so if you have researched for copper and have none, trade for IW or research it and try again.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]On Great Plains, Oasis or other maps with little coastal tiles, this building is very useless. It really shines in the water maps although the Berserk can still be useful for attacking across rivers.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Whether for meeting tech trading partners earlier or wiping out some rivals early the Trading Post gives a nice bonus. One could go on to eliminate everyone rather quickly or if not take some prime real estate to help with a culture/space/diplomatic victory. For full blown conquest or domination, this building can be helpful on the right map. It would be nice to see +10% trade route or commerce in the city as well, but it still nicely complements the amphibious Berserk. If not on a archipelago or lakes map it value is greatly reduced however.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Zulu Ikhanda (Barracks - double production for Aggressive leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Barracks that act as a mini-courthouse by giving -20% maintnance costs. This means you can wait for CoL a little later and still expand reasonable quicker than your rivals.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This building greatly complements the expansive and aggressive Shaka because he gets double production speed. He is one of two leaders (the other being Frederick) who gets their UB at half the building cost. Barracks cost 50 [ICON_PRODUCTION] while the Ikhanda costs 60 [ICON_PRODUCTION] so the double production bonus still a big factor. Patched Warlords and BtS only gives +3 XPs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Expanding out is aided with reduced costs and whether you warmonger or not it's a nice bonus. Couple it with the courhouse and that is -70% maintenance costs, not bad at all. If taking over cities, this UB is cheaper to build than a courthouse (80 [ICON_PRODUCTION] and don't forget the double production) In a large, productive city taken from the enemy, this building will let it start contributing to the war machine.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I would not put the Zulu as a culture contender with no cheap culture buildings to build, but diplomatic, domination, space race and conquest all seem possibilities because the benefits of reduced maintenance can be used for any means. I have actually seen some comments that cultural was easy with Shaka. Perhaps the extra maintenance reduction allows for more cities and more cathedrals.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In Beyond the Sword, they have fixed the problem that the Ikhanda had in Warlords and it now like the Barracks, it also receives +2 happiness when running the Nationhood civic. So, quicker expansion and extra happiness from a building which is meant to produce units with +3 XPs. Remembering the synergy with Fuedalism and Theocracy that is +8 XPs and while other civs get that and the barrcks happiness too, they do not get the lower maintenance costs while growing their empires through conquest.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You might not build barracks in every city, at higher level especially, but this UB can pay dividends by being in every city. It's so cheaper, why would one not even bother? The synergy with the courthouse can be nice.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Probably a building best used to expand as quickly as allowed. Domination or conquest or large number of cities to help with research/spaceship construction. Finally, if this UB makes you more likely to build barracks straight away, your military will benefit, but should it be first in the build queue?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]That is the rundown of the Unique Buildings. I would like to thank everyone for their input and support.</German>
		<Italian>[H1]Comprehensive Unique Building Guide (BTS)[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]WilliamOfOrange[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is a my first attempt at a strategy guide given that most of the players with more skill/talent/time usually write up some beauties, but I have been inspried to contribute something about my favourite part of the Warlords expansion: the Unique Building.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I often load up the game and civilopedia just to see which UBs might match the victory condition that I feel like going for. I appreciate reading peoples' work, so I hope I can return the favour here in bringing this strategy article to you. The great thing about this game is the many different strategies and uses for things like leader traits, UUs and UBs. And what is truly great about the UBs is the flexibility and choices most of them give the player so ratings are not necessary; only strategies and synergies need be discussed. What makes a UB (or UU) great is how it is used the most effectively. With the new combinations that Beyond the Sword offers, this could get quite complicated, however I will only focus on the standard and normal civilization UB combinations here.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Here we go:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]American Mall (Supermarket):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I have only played the Americans in a Gauntlet with a Future start going for Space Race, but I have to say the building was a nice boost. It is a good choice for an American UB, I feel. For the same price as a supermarket (which provides extra health from cow, deer, pig and sheep) you also get happiness from the three late "entertainment/culture wonders" or ECWs; musicals from Broadway, singles from Rock n' Roll and movies from Hollywood, and now with the patch, plus 20% gold in the city to boot! For a future era start, maybe not needed right away, but if in a long game where your population is reaching health and happiness limits, its a great building to have even if it does come late in the game. That alone is enough, but the +20% gold can be nice too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Building one or all of those happiness/culture wonders mentioned above would add 3 happiness points like that and the added health means larger cities as well. What is your pleasure, GP farming or warmongering? Either way, I think it helps out. Not sure about using it with Washington, who is charismatic and expansive, so the +2 health means the health bonus from the mall maybe isn't so big. Then again, you can afford to build polution causing, production buildings with all that extra health. Also the +1 happiness in all cities and from monuments or broadcast towers (which is great if you build the Eiffel Tower) seems to negate the happiness from the mall too. But, if you were to play as the industrious and organized Roosevelt, then you could get some of the benefits of Washington at the same time if you build malls.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It seems that the extra health and happiness could really give Lincoln a nice late game edge when large, polluting cities needs extra [ICON_HEALTHY] and [ICON_HAPPY]. Given his philosophical trait, he is a great candidate for space race because of the Mall's bonuses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, it does come late and requires a grocer to be built. Given that the grocer gives +1 health from bananas, wine, sugar and spice, that might solve your health problems already. Grocers also give +25 wealth and can turn two citizens into Merchants. Maybe you don't need the health, but the money is always nice. With Grocer, Market, Bank and Mall that is 120% increase in income. Yay, Capitalism![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With a granary, a grocer and the supermarket/mall you get health from rice, corn, wheat, bananas, wine, sugar, spice, deer, cow, pig and sheep. That's 11 health points! So as stated above, that means the ability to build forges, factories and other polluting buildings. It would all depend on your civics (environmentalism), if you have FP or trees and jungle in your fat cross and your goals (production, warmongering, space race, etc)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As for the happiness, with charismatic trait, you get +1 per city, and ignoring any happiness from temples, theatres, coliseums look at what building one of the three ECWs gives you once you have a mall and broadcast tower, (either by it self, or the much better option of the Eiffel Tower). For example you build Hollywood, +1 [ICON_HAPPY]and with mall and broacast tower, another +2 [ICON_HAPPY]for a total of +3 for the same resource!! If you build all three ECWs and the Eiffel Tower, you are looking at +9 happiness for three resources not to mention that you can trade your extra singles, movies and musicals to other civs for resources you may not have, like Aluminum or Iron or Oil. Add in the fact that you likely have temples, theatres or whatever other happiness producing buildings and the fact that the broadcast tower (along with threatres and coliseums) will give +1 happiness for every 10% culture. If you have all three in a city, then that means +3 [ICON_HAPPY] for only raising the culture setting up by 10%. For warmongering this is huge![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Warmongering seems to fit America as a charismatic Washington or Lincoln also gets quicker promotions and you will have more money coming in to support a large army and upgrade your troops. The Mall is a Cottage Economy UB, but Lincoln is a Specialist Economy Leader, so there may be some mismatch here.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Although some may feel that is comes too late or when the game is pretty much finished and you are either milking the score or just mopping up, it seems to me that given a large varied collection of resources, the Mall gives the American player the ability and flexibilty to trade extra health/happiness resources away and not suffer their loss, or to exploit them and kick into high production/war monger gear and not look back. Lincoln is a bonafide space contender, quite a deal over Washington and Roosevelt.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Arabian Madrassa (Library - double production for Creative leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If the Chinese Pavilion is the "Big Daddy" of culture UBs, then the Madrassa is the "Big Momma". With a whopping +4 culture per turn is lends itself to a culture victory. Given that Writing is an early tech and you would likely build a library anyway, it's a no-brainer to place Writing higher up in your tech queue. In fact, I have experiemented with beelining for it and not worrying about early religions for cultural games. Libraries cost the same, but in addition to assigning to scientists, you can [BOLD]also[\BOLD] assign two prophets.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The culture route is likely the biggest draw for this one, but you could also concentrate on farming GP and GS only if you like. Lightbulbing to get ahead in tech and maybe settling some of them as well so that you could build the UN quickly. The big culture ensures that you have the resources if you join/start the space race or just own all the land around you for domination victories. Farming GPs will help you progress nicely through the religious tech and that means more religions, holy cities, shrines and mo' money, mo' money, mo' money! And it can also help you control religion spreading for diplomatic manipulation.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other then the danger of polluting your GP pool if you are not careful and don't want that for a cultural victory, I can't think of any problems.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] All-round, early UB with simple bonuses, but powerful if used to their strengths.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Aztec Sacrificial Altar (Courthouse - double production for Organized leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I just realized that these badboys are only 90 shields compared to the 120 needed for a courthouse! In addition to halving maintenaince costs in the city it also halves the anger caused by whipping buildings in the city. I have not played many Aztec games but I recall reading about a false OCC on another forum where the Aztecs started on a Plains/Hill island and needed to wait until Optics to get across the ocean. The prospect of rushing buildings through slavery seemed to make the task more managable. I had played as the Incas one time on the 1000 AD Earth map and I never left slavery until I had emancipation. I wonder about the same strategy with the Aztecs, seems to be far more effective. Finally, everything gets the discounted unhappiness from rushing (amazing what nice people can point out and you can verify by playing the game and testing). Holy Quetzalcoatl! That changes everything![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Like the courthouse, it also gives +2 Espionage points and allows you to turn one citizen into a Spy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One could whip their hands bloody, but to what advantage? Fast culture, fast science/research or fast infrastructure like banks, grocers, etc. Space race might benefit from this strategy, but can projects be whipped? Once you whip production buildings, you can pump out units and dominate/conquer the world. Or just whip the units out and slay everything in your path.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A large spanning empire through conquest would be able to build cheaper courthouses and then whip some culture and happiness buildings to help keep maintenance costs down and develop captured cities into productive contributors more quickly. In war times you could have the possibility of both drafting and then whipping units. Finally, you can finish off a wonder earlier and perhaps beat the AI to a few depending on difficulty level.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In terms of Bts, we have also only begun to explore the mechanics of espionage, but giving +2 espionage points and the ability to turn a citizen into this new type of GP is almost a throw in after the whipping unhappiness reduction. As a warmonger, this new feature of producing great spies has some definite synergy. The courthouse is likely not always the first items in a build queue, but I feel the Altar has two things that make it a higher priority.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Altars come too late to help whip barracks and the aggressive Monty gets cheaper barracks anyway. But, now that I know the reduced penalty for whipping [BOLD]does[\BOLD] apply to units, a quick ASAP conquest victory is likely not going to be done with CoL and the Altar. This is one of the reasons I have used this technique very little but am more open to trying mid-game conquests. If you are on a large map with many civs, this UB makes more sense. You could be pumping out settlers and workers and units and scouts or even missionaries. However, continuing whipping will keep the population low in those cities if you want to be economical since larger cities taker longer to get back up to that high population and having low populated cities would mean that perhaps you are not utilizing all of the good tiles available to be worked in the fat cross. Having low population might result in slower teching, but if you are whipping settlers and workers and the Altars help lower maintainence then having many small cities might offset that. Eventually, the unhappiness will catch up however, but I am sure that there are plenty of savvy players out there that have slavery fine tuned to both an art and science.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]An appropriately related UB for the Aztecs, but not the culture bomb like in Civ 3 and not as powerful as could be due its somewhat late appearance. That being said, an Oracle slingshot could give you it quicker and then it might be worth more, but a slingshot solely to use this UB doesn't really merit the risk, especially on higher levels and needing Math too. It can be effective for starting out and if it is the first thing build/whipped in a newly captured city, then it will become a contributing city soon enough. I owe this UB an apology for not originally realizing the full potential and the ability to whip units. I has been fun using when playing as the Aztecs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Babylonian Garden (Colosseum - double production for Creative leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]How cute, a UB named for their Hanging Gardens. The building gives extra +2 [ICON_HEALTHY] and this UB is much like the Ottoman Hammam except the Babylonians getting a health bonus on the Colosseum rather than a happiness bonus on the Aqueduct. This UB will give health bonuses independent of what food resources their may be. It also has it's happiness linked to the culture slider and costs 80 hammers, just like the Colosseum.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Being aggressive and organized as well as the Babylonian UU might make Hammurabi a warmonger candidate. Assuming more cities earlier on, perhaps one could make use of the the extra health. Certainly high polluting cities for a warmonger or space race could use it. Organized gets cheap lighthouses (more food), courthouses (faster expansion) and factories for more production. High production with extra health could mean some good warring possibilities with his Aggression or it could mean space race contention.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It comes with Construction and is 20 hammers less expensive than an Aqueduct. A Theatre is still a cheaper option for happiness if you don't need the health. Later in the game, when high production is needed, but unhealthy, this UB will give a slight health advantage, but the beauty is that is comes so early that you would not have to stop producing military units or spaceship components to build it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]This UB will have to be thoroughly tested before evaluation can be made.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Byzantine Hippodrome (Theatre - double production for Creative leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Hippodrome is like a super Theatre. Sure, you get +3 [ICON_CULTURE], the two Artists to assign and the bonus for dyes, but you also get one for horses, hence the name HIPPOdrome. It also has a base happiness of +1, but it that wasn't enough (and it never is), you also get +1 [ICON_HAPPY]for every 5% culture on your slider, instead of the normal 10%. This essentially doubles that ability of the building to give happiness from culture.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Where to begin? Well the extra happiness from a smaller culture slider means more money devoted to maintenance of cities for your expanding empire, more military units and upgrades, more research, you name it. Justinian I is Imperialistic and you will have more money available to take advantage of your fast settler production. Since the Cataphract UU is dependent on horses, it is a no brainer to try and connect the horses ASAP. Being religious gives the flexibility of fast settlement and then gearing up for war or space exploration or anything else. Running Serfdom and OR and than switching to Feudalism and Theocracy. The extra happiness is great and also leads to a economic advantage which is up to your imagination to exploit. This UB is a far better choice than building a Colosseum for the Byzantines.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Extra happiness is never a drawback, and as stated earlier, this leads to an economically advantage. Even without horses or dyes, there is still the +1 base [ICON_HAPPY].[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]While not overpowered on paper, it remains to be seen how useful this UB actually will be. So far, it looks very promising.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Carthaginian Cothon (Harbour - double production for expansive leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]So, a harbour which gives +1 trade routes to a coastal city to Hannibal, a financial leader who starts with fishing. What is the catch, you ask? I can't think of any. I have only played a game or two with Carthage, but you gotta love their chances.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First off, Financial and Fishing is already great. Find some coastal tiles with food sources and settle down. In fact when I play as Carthage (or the Vikings for that matter) it's nothing but coastal cities if I can help it. Your income will give a fast tech pace and you can plan for diplomatic or space victories, although I am not sure about others. I guess being ahead in tech will help keeping a more advanced army.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The base number of trade routes for a city is one, but if you have discovered Currency and build a castle or run the Free Market civic in [BOLD]addition[\BOLD] to your Cothons, that means 3 trade routes. (You can't do both since Economic obsoletes the castle.) The Colossus adds +1 gold in [BOLD]all[\BOLD] water tiles and the Great Lighthouse adds [BOLD]+2 trade routes in [BOLD]all[\BOLD] coastal cities.[\BOLD] If you have a map with many civs, and nice silver or gold or calendar enabling resources which gives you huge coin besides your financial bonus you will have some rich cities. If you are around late enough and make an early move for flight and the UN, the Airport and the Common Currency Resolution give you [BOLD]another[\BOLD] 2 trade routes![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Didn't talk about cottage spamming yet, so there. I said it. Cottage Spamming. Now, need I mention the +50% trade route yield? That +50% on your 7 trade routes! Don't forget the additional 100% from the Temple of Artemis. Add markets, banks and Wall Street and you will be using C-notes for TP.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Compass can come pretty late, but a beeline or slingshot or a combo of both to iron working could land you your cothons earlier than you might think. The tech or time lost getting your UB will be made up for when you have +1 trade routes in your lucrative coastal cities even if they cost an extra 20 hammers. And that may be the only drawback, you need to have coastal cities. If you want to reign supreme with Hannibal, you need high sea levels and likely some sort of Archipelago map[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other than being map dependent, this UB is quite possibly the best matched with the civs leader traits and starting techs. With more money you can support a larger army/empire or research faster.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Celtic Dun (Walls - double production for Protective leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Walls that produce units with a free Guerrilla I promotion for +20% defense on hills. In a discussion about the best UUs I read that Swordmen or Melee units can't get the Guerrilla promotion. This would explain both why the UU starts with it and why the UB gives it to units produced in that city. Only Archery and Gunpowder units can get the promotion. Siege, Melee, Mounted and Armoured don't.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It is important to remember that the G3 30 Hills Attack bonus only coming when attcking [BOLD]into[\BOLD] Hills and not from them. Still, the 30% withdrawal is also handy and has helped out greatly in games I have played, so whether you have hills or not thw withdrawal is worth it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I am not sure whether or not holding off researching Rifling, the obsoleting tech matters because any musketmen or grenadiers that you build will have the Guerrilla I, but once you have riflemen with a strength of 14, maybe grenadiers with 12 don't look so good. Perhaps if your opponents have rifling you would hold off on getting it yourself as the bonus grenadiers have against rifles and their Guerrilla bonus might prove worth keeping for a bit or at least until you have a good amount of them. It would all depend on the other promotions they have and your opponents. Upgrading your Gallic Swordsman to Macemen you do not lose the Guerrilla I. Even if they were given Guerrilla II or even III [BOLD]before[\BOLD] being upgraded then they keep it. Some shrewd manipulation of the promotion chart would prove most rewarding. Build your archery and gunpowder units, give them the G2 promotion and then discover Rifling. Upgrade your archery units and musketmen to riflemen, remembering that only Grenadiers can be promoted to Machine Gunners (considered siege unit). Your G2 or G3 Gallic Warriors becomes Macemen and then either Riflemen or Grenadiers. Riflemen and Machine Gunners can both be promoted to Mechanized Infantry (gunpowder unit), while only Riflemen can be upgraded to SAM Infantry. Below is a crude flowchart:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_COMMERCE]Gallic Warrior[COLOR_REVERT] --&gt; [COLOR_YIELD_COMMERCE]Maceman[COLOR_REVERT] -----\[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]   \__ [COLOR_BLUE]Grenadier[COLOR_REVERT] --&gt; [COLOR_RED]Machine Gun[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB]/--&gt; [COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Crossbowman[COLOR_REVERT] _/\[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]\[NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Archer[COLOR_REVERT] -----/[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]   \_\[COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT] --&gt; [COLOR_BLUE]Infantry[COLOR_REVERT] --&gt; [COLOR_BLUE]Mechanized Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB]\--&gt;  [COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Longbowman[COLOR_REVERT] ___/[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]  \[NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Musketman[COLOR_REVERT]___________________/[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]   \___[COLOR_BLUE]SAM Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Unit[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][ICON_PRODUCTION][TAB][ICON_STRENGTH][TAB][ICON_MOVES][TAB][TAB]Bonuses[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Upgrade[\BOLD][NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Archer[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]25[TAB]3[TAB]1[TAB]1st Strike,[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Longbowman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+50% City &amp; +25% Hills Defense[TAB][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Crossbowman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_COMMERCE]Gallic Warrior[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]60[TAB]6[TAB]1[TAB]+10% City Attack[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_YIELD_COMMERCE]Maceman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Starts with Guerrilla I[NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Longbowman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]50[TAB]6[TAB]1[TAB]1st Strike[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+25% City &amp; +25% Hills Defense[NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Crossbowman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]60[TAB]6[TAB]1[TAB]1st Strike,[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Grenadier[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+50% vs. Melee Units[TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_COMMERCE]Maceman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]80[TAB]8[TAB]1[TAB]+50% vs. Melee Units[TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Grenadier[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Musketman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]80[TAB]9[TAB]1[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Grenadier[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]100[TAB]12[TAB]1[TAB]+50% vs. Riflemen[TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_RED]Machine Gun[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]110[TAB]14[TAB]1[TAB]+25% vs. Mounted Units[TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Machine Gun[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]125[TAB]18[TAB]1[TAB]Can only defend, 1st Strike[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+25% vs. Gunpowder Units[TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Mech Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]140[TAB]20[TAB]1[TAB]+25% vs. Gunpowder Units[TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]SAM Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Mech Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]SAM Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]150[TAB]18[TAB]1[TAB]40% Intercept Chance[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+50% vs. Helicopter Units[NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Mech Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]200[TAB]32[TAB]2[TAB]20% Intercept Chance[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Starts with March[NEWLINE]*Beyond the Sword[NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Archery Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_COMMERCE]Melee Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Gunpowder Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Siege Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Who wouldn't want these Mech or SAM Infantry units with double movement on Hills, +30% Defence, +25% Hill Attack and 30% chance of Withdrawal? Most players sadly undervalue what this UB can do for you later in the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Being charismatic, both Brennus and new-comer Boudica give quicker promotions and if you wanted the Guerrilla I promotion anyway then you are free to choose something else. Don't forget the extra +1 happiness per city and the +1 happiness from the Monument: early happiness for warring or ignoring temple for other more important buildings such as courthourse, forges, libraries, etc. Warring on a hilly or highlands type map seems a good strategy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You could build a stack of any units and upgrade them with the G1 promotion remaining. This bonus makes you just one closer to G2 which gives another 30% defense in Hills and well as double movement on Hills, making hilly maps such as highlands easier to navigate. Remember that with the patch the G3 promotion gives the +25% attack bonus [BOLD]and[\BOLD]a 30% chance of withdrawal! With a charismatic leader you could easily get both of those either out of the barracks and with one fight or from a GG, but don't forget the +4 from running Theocracy and Feudalism. Running both of those and having a barracks means units made will have 7/8 XP to start. Finally, Boudica is aggressive so not only does this mean the Combat I promotion for free, but also cheaper barracks. This means building barracks [BOLD]and[\BOLD] a Dun just got more practical even or especially without stone. But a free Combat I is nothing to sneeze at if you are promoting up the Guerrilla line.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One might build the Great Wall and "trick" the AI to try and fight you in your backyard. Your Guerrilla resistance troops will protect any hill resource and if you give them Woodsman I or higher or even more Guerrilla, you will give them a heck of a time trying to dislodge you. They would defend any cats or trebs or whatever you bring along if you fight on their turf too. Giving unit both Guerrilla II and Woodsman II means a versatile unit capable of sneak attacks on weaker units or maybe even an invaluable resource pillager.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I would suggest delaying Rifling until you have upgraded all your G1 units into musketman or grenadiers, maybe a 50-50 mix. Discover Rifling, but then upgrade them into Riflemen, and from their you can have Infantry, SAM Infantry [BOLD]and[\BOLD] Mechanized Infantry with this defensive bonus. Going in pillaging the AI resources for space race or preventing them from building nukes can be done with these expert pillagers.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It's a nice bonus, but not really any drawbacks. In fact now that walls and duns give +25% bombardment protection (about time) and castles do too, one might be more likely to build castles if they didn't before, especially since in BtS they also give +25% espionage points. With both a Dun and Castle one gets +100% defense and +50% bombardment defense from non-gunpowder units. The extra trade route from the castle and the espionage points are throw-ins.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For warmongering or pillaging/protecting resources no matter what the goal this UB can provide you with units that will have an advantage on hills. How you use those units, promote or upgrade them will depend on your goals, immediate and future needs and terrain/resources. The strength in this UB is the versatility it provides. I predict that Boudica's traits will make the Celts a more attractive Civ to play as. She will be a warmonger's dream and possibly one of the most fierce of opponents. Outside of warmongering, there is not much this UB can do other than help one explore a hilly map more quickly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Chinese Pavlion (Theatre - double production for Creative civ):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The undisputed culture building king and "Big Daddy" of the cultural UBs. Cultural victory fans must have thought they hit the bigtime when they saw this beauty. Aside from the +3 culture the it gives +25% for culture in the city. Building the pavilion alone gives a culture per turn of 3.75, slightly less than the Madrassa, but this will double after 1000 years, but more importantly the 25% is added to everything.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]What makes the pavilion the culture champion is the +25% bonus continues throughout the game and so the quicker the culture from other buildings can be added to the city, the better. Imagine a few early wonders with their culture doubling and then the added 25%. Sure, it's not game breaking, but one might not feel as obligated to crank the culture switch or convert to Free Speech as quickly with the bonus this UB gives.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The traits of the leaders don't really work that well with this building, but it does ensure no matter what that nearby resources our yours. This allows you to persue the late game win conditions such as diplomatic, space race or a late conquest. Or more likely, early in the game you will have more resources than otherwise and you can dictate the trade terms and stifle the AI by denying them that one precious iron or uranium or oil or aluminum as the case may be.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Although not able to overly accelerate the cultural win time frame, this building I have found to be quite amazing for domination games. With a few founded religions and no state religion and a pavilion, you just keep pumping out settlers and units and let the borders expand like your waistline after college.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other than persuing a cultural/domination victory or claiming resources, there in not much extra outside of the normal theatre uses/features. Even in a cultural game, it is not enough to be a real advantage because of China's leader traits or strating techs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] What you see is what you get. Nothing to really want to you play China any more than you normally would, except maybe for a quicker domination win or being a resource hog and super businessman/diplomat.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Dutch Dike (Levee):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Dutch UB, the Dike replaces the Levee which itself, is a new building introduced in Beyond the Sword. The Levee is available with Steam Power and gives +1 hammer on every river tile and costs 180 hammers. It brings up some interesting choices regarding tiles improvements to say the least. Meanwhile, the Dike also gives the +1 production boost to all water tiles as well. Any coastal city will greatly benefit and the great thing is that it does not need to be a coastal city either. Therefore even cities one tile in from the coast or with small lakes will still have water tiles gaining the bonus.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With Willem being Financial, the choice to build cottages on river tiles might appear to be a no-brainer, but often players will want increased production and build watermills, windmills or lumbermills in their place. The great thing about the Dike or Levee for that matter, is that it gives a production bonus to the tiles regardless of improvement. Now, imagine a Dutch coastal city on a river with cottages, a Dike, Universal Sufferage, Organized Religion and in a Golden Age. Imagine the Bureaucracy bonus on that too. As a Dutchie, I can hardly wait to see that! Some late wonders and project races just got a little easier to win. As this is a BtS civ, let us not forget the tweak on State Property and also the Moai Statues which are like a Dike, but a wonder which does not expire. Some great production synergy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Being financial, building on rivers would be your goal anyway, but any city without rivers or water tiles will have absolutely no use for this UB and therefore it will likely be quite map dependent in its effectiveness. Even if they have 2-4 tiles that would benefit, you might want to weigh the 180 hammer cost before putting them everywhere. Also, the UB does come quite late, of course later in the game is when things start to cost more hammers too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The only thing better than extra happiness is extra production, so if your map allows for this opportunity, any goal whether it be pumping out military units, settlers and workers, wonders or spaceship parts. While both Levees and Dikes will only be of use to cities with river tiles, to take full advantage of this UB, one would need to build more coastal cities or at least not be in the middle of the continent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Egyptian Obelisk (Monument):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This Egyptian monument can turn two citizens into priests. Pretty powerful for early in the game. Even if Egypt doesn't start with Mysticism, they have the ability to build the very first building with the ability to assign specialists. You could use the GPs produced to techbulb (TM ) yourself to whatever your little heart desires.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One could argue that with Hatshepsut, the creative +2 culture bonus would negate the +1 culture from the obelisk, but you could also spin it to being equivalent to a theatre culture-wise. Then again, with cheap temples, theatres, and libraries why else would you play her without going for cultural victory? With cheap colosseums too, you now have two buildings which will give you +1 happiness for every 10% culture. Once you hit that culture switch, you needn't worry about happiness resources, except maybe incense and dyes.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As Illithid has so eloquently put it:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]"The fact that it obsoletes fairly early is really not much of an issue for the purpose it serves. Both leaders can benefit from this. For the most part it really only takes one city with one, though using Stonehenge to put it in multiple cities isn't bad at all. The great prophets that you can generate quickly from the priest specialists allow you to claim several of the mid to late religions. This is one of the key features you tend to want to accomplish when going for a culture victory. Once you get 2-3 religions you don't really care to much about making this building go obsolete and switching to temples to support any other priest specialists if you still need to grab the rest of the religions or if you want holy shrines.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The obelisk might better complement the industrious and spiritual Rameses II. He can build quick wonders like Oracle and Stonehenge and maybe a cultural victory could be sought since you could really crank out Great Prophets. One further thing could be to settle those prophets and once you have Angkor Wat and cheap forges from industrious Ramses, you have a great chance for the space race victory or just high production warmongering. Even if you don't go those routes, the extra production for other things can work well like buildings wonders for cultural (with either leader) or building the UN. Both leaders could definitely could try for a domination win as well with the quick culture boost from Stonehenge."[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great Prophets will only techbulb (TM ) you to the mostly religious techs and that might not always be the way to go.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Most UBs don't get obsoleted. The earlist possible one to build is also the first one obsoleted. Although one can ignore Calendar, the obsoleting tech for the UB for some time, eventually you may want/need to develop those sugar, spices and incense tiles. In Beyond the Sword, it becomes obsoleted with Astronomy, so it is possible depending on one's strategies and goals to avoid that tech all together. If you have many religions and temples as a result of your early GPs then you can obsolete the Obelisk and still gain GPPs for more GPs later. It's what you choose to do with those priests you assign, that really affects the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Obsoleting Stonehenge means the Obelisks not physically built a city will disappear, whereas building them all by hand means they stay and continue to stand and have their base culture of 1 double to 2 over time. It is not a great deal for some victory conditions such as space or diplomatic, but domination and cultural might need to consider this.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great Prophets early, can be a tech boost, but unless you are surrounded by food bonuses, you won't be able to assign those priests anyway. With practice, it could be used quite effectively.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Ethiopian Stele (Monument):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This Ethiopian monument can give +25% culture in addition to the +1.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This UB probably screams cultural victory, but the 25% bonus won't really matter until much later in the game. Also, in BtS the obsoleting tech is Astronomy which can be avoided for some time so long as you don't plan on colonizing another continent. One can play a cultural victory without ever researching and discovering or trading for it, so this bonus would be added for the entire game. Being Organized, the ability to settle new cities more quicker would be helped by any additional cultural boundaries pushing further out. With key resources claimed, his cheap factories will use the resources to build spaceship components or military units much more quickly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Furthermore, let's not ignore the fact that like the Egyptians, building Stonehenge will put this UB in every one of your cities. Now, this is truly a thing not to miss if you want to try for a domination victory. Especially when you consider the Organized trait of the Ethiopian leader. Again, ignoring Astronomy would likely need to be done as well, but your domination victory might not take that long.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Remember, Zara Yaqob in Creative so the 25% in the beginning is not that big of the deal, but with the cheap libraries and theatres in no time it will have an impact.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Zara Yaqob does not start with Mysticism, the prerequisite tech. Most UBs don't get obsoleted. The earliest possible one to build could have it's lifespan shortened depending on your tech path. Losing out on the culture bonus it not a big loss in another victory condition, but the quick land grab would be a huge boost. Of course, one requires religions or other cultural building to really benefit from the UB. Although one can ignore Astronomy, the obsoleting tech for the UB for some time, eventually you may want/need to expand to other continents or build observatories to boost your science level. For other victories, the UB is still perhaps needed as the cultrual trait gives you the resources you want early, but in the face of other cultural powerhouses, it might be helpful to retain or even capture resources culturally.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Obsoleting Stonehenge means the Stelae not physically built a city will disappear, whereas building them all by hand means they stay and continue to stand and have their base culture of 1 double to 2 over time. Not only that, but you have now lost the 25% culture boost in those cities. It is not a great deal for some victory conditions such as space or dipolmatic, but domination and cultural might need to consider this.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The true strength of this UB depends on what else is build in the city, but with a few ancient wonders, library, temples and other with the doubled culture for their age, the Stele alone would have quite an impact.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][u][BOLD]English Stock Exchange (Bank):[/b][\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wow, I really see why Liz is a fan favourite for some. The Stock Exchange gives the an extra 15% gold bonus to what a bank normally does (50%) for a total of +65%. With two financial leaders to choose from this is a very versatile UB. You can go Philosophical with Liz or Imperialistic with Vicky.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]No matter what you chose for your victory path, commerce drives research and things are great. Add markets and grocers means a total 115% gold increase. Even warmonger Churchill will benefit, but financial really exploits this UB. What is great about this UB compared to the Carthaginian Cothon is that you needn't only build on the coast and so you can use this on any map and whereas the Cothon only give +50% bonus to the trade routes the 65% bonus from the SE is cumulative with other buildings. I suppose the math would work out depending on many factors, but it suffices to say the stock exchange can be build anywhere. Even so, you likely want most if not all of your cities on the coast, as there is usually more lucrative tiles in the water (outside of FP cottages) especially if you build the Colossus and Great Lighthouse, but a few gold or silver mines or luxuries resources are great too. Up to Airports and the right civics and you can have 7 trade routes in a city and Wall Street. Cottage spam and run Emancipation, Universal Suffrage and Free Market and you will be laughing all the way to the bank! Er, make that all the way to the Stock Exchange.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This can be used to keep the tech slider higher and tech faster to get your space race/diplo win started early or you can keep a larger empire and army with upgrades when you want and need without waiting to save the money.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Um, how about "no?" Money makes the world go 'round![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]England starts with fishing and mining, so look out. Not sure what else can be said here. I think ABBA said it best: "Money, Money, Money" $$$$[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]French Salon (Observatory):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Salon is an observatory which gives a free artist. It might not seem like much, but for cultrual victories it can be quite nice.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Okay, first of all, with the patch, Louis can now build cheap theatres and libraries! He is creative and the +2 culture is only a small amount, but the cheap buildings is great. In fact, Louis gets libraries, theatres, coliseums and forges at half production cost. Not too shabby.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Given the anarchy caused by switching to Mercantilism perhaps going from liberalism to astronomy makes sense. With a little wait to Astronomy, you can built your UB which gives a free Great Artist, rather than going through anarchy to get it. Of course you have to build these Salons, but they are cheaper than universities and with the Sistine Chapel the free Great Artist gives more culture for the same amount of science boost (+25%). But, maybe you do want to switch to Mercantilism so you can have another free type of GP. If not, then you have got two free artists with the library, salon, (and university) and the Statue of Liberty is not that far away with his cheap forge and quicker building of the Statue of Liberty. Either way you could have 2-3 free artists, not to mention the others you could assign. This means you can run something other than Caste System. And speaking of science boost, why not run Representation with those free artists? Use the library, salon and uni to beeline for the ECWs and you are laughing. C'est formidable! C'est magnifique! D'accord?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Running representation with Salon' free artists as either Louis XIV or de Gaulle could be a strategy for space race victories.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Not sure what Napoleon would do with the free artist other than maintain culture borders on resources on a crowded map, but then again you could build a cheap theatre in the likely small city first. The Salon is like an observatory, so keeping up the tech pace to have more advanced troops might be desirable. You could however have your larger cities with these GAs and go and culture bomb you new acquisitions. If you want other GPs, then perhaps the Salon will pollute your GPPs, so beware.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Charles de Gaulle is charismatic and industrious, like a hybrid of Louis and Napoleon. He has extra happiness resources and can promote units faster, making him a warmonger equal to Napoleon, except where Napoleon's Organization might let him keep a larger empire, de Gaulle would have more production strengths in cheaper forges and wonders.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are likely some other possibilities to be discussed as there seems to be lacking a certain "je ne sais quoi?", but this UB should not be taken lightly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]German Assembly Plant (Factory - double production for Organized leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Assembly Plant is a factory which can change 4 citizens into engineers instead of just two. It also has double production speed with coal. I haven't tried Germany out yet, but this is a mouth watering temptation. Die Fragen ist: "Welchen F'hrer m'chten Sie spielen?"[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Which leader? Well, take your pick. This UB complements both leaders very, very nicely and is the most synergistic combo of both leaders and[NEWLINE]their UB of all the civs in the game (with apologies to the two Queens of England). This UB is all about output, production and power. Was sind St'rken jedes F'hrers? What are each leader's strengths?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Otto von Bismarck: Expansive and Industrious. Sure, there is only +2 health with the patch, but health will be needed to offset production buildings that cause pollution. Later in the game every health counts and is needed. Bismarck can be a warmonger with a huge empire and pumping out units like nobody's business or cranking out spaceship parts while eying Alpha Centauri. Bizzy gets granary, harbour and forge at double production speed so a fast build for forge and the Plant and two cheap health providing buildings to offset the pollution.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Frederick: Organized and Philosophical. With cheap lighthouses, courthouses, universities and cheap factories...or in this case these very Assembly Plants also double production with coal, Freddy is a powerhouse! There hasn't been a German industrial influence like this since Kraftwerk! I say span out, get the economy/research going and prepare for the space age! With the Assembly Plant costing 250 hammers and having two double speeds bonuses, it would be like building these babies for 62 hammers! The reason space age would be so synergistic is the 100% increase in GPs being produced. So you could be farming scientists and engineers on your GP farm and building your high production cities elsewhere. Ideally, if you had 2-4 food sources with some production bonuses, you would be in good shape. Ich denke das ich spiele gern mit Freddy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To a total of 50% hammer increase from buildings (forge and factory), you can add +50% from power (supplied by the either hydro, coal or nuclear plants, but the Three Gorges Dam can be more economical), +100% from the Ironworks (+50% each for iron and coal), +50% from Bureaucracy. With some good food sources you will max out your six engineers and likely have some priests too. If you settled some Great Engineers or Prophets, good for you! Don't forget the +25 bonus for OR and the +100% for having a special resource when building buildings. You can also have a laboratory that gives +50% bonus in addition to +100% again for having a resource. So a basic bonus of +250% in your capital (+200% out of capital) with +125% to +150% when building buildings or projects respectively for a total of around +385% or +410%. Depending on your base production, things can be quite productive and your leader choice for this doesn't matter other than which buildings you can build cheaper or the resources to which you have access.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Any other victory condition other than space or conquest don't seem to fully utilize this late game UB. Peace-mongering can leave it pretty much not even worth building. With a lack of health resources having a forge, this UB and Ironworks or other powerplants might not be feasible.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Given the right conditions and goals, this UB is quite useful and as stated before is a perfect match for not just one leader, but both of them. Freddy gets the slight edge thusfar, if it is indeed possible to build it for a quarter of the cost. If you are playing games that end early, this UB doesn't matter, same as their UU. The plan with Germany is perhaps to maximize the leader traits to set up an 'berstrong infrastructure and then once the UUs and UBs can be built later in the game, go hog-wild and blitzkrieg them all! Wunderbar![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Greek Odeon (Colosseum - double production for Creative leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In addition to the +1 happiness per 20% culture and for the same price as a coliseum, this UB gives +3 culture, an additional +1 happiness, can turn 2 citizens into artists and gives +1 happiness for hit singles.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Basically this means this is a more expensive theatre even with the patch dropping the cost 80 hammers. The extra price for admission compared to theatres is the hit single happiness, which in short games won't matter, but if you have the culture slider up to even 20% with this and a theatre built, the city already has +3 happiness, +4 with dyes. As with the Mall, I like the idea of killing two birds with one stone. Because it is 10% for theatres and 20% for the colosseum/odeon, that means if you raise the culture slider the happiness is increased by 3 for every 20%. With broadcast towers it is another +1 happy for every 10%, but also +1 for those hit singles again. If you have the three buildings, dyes and hit singles (either import or export) we are talking +7 happiness for a mere 20% culture.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The extra 3 culture is the big deal. Greece now instantly becomes a cultural victory contender with the price of the Colosseum/Odeon dropped and Alex building cheap universities in addition to this new +3 culture building which together with theatres might be built early enough to get +6 culture and make a nice impact once multipliers are added.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Using either Pericles' or Alex's philosophical trait, you can farm your Great Artists (my best is 16), lending again to a cultural or perhaps a domination victory more easily as Bassist2119 has reminded us in another post of the ability of the UB to assign two more GAs in addition to the 2 from the Theatre. This leaves you free to run Slavery a little longer or Serfdom since you don't really need Caste System.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For the warmonger in all of us, Construction might be more attractive than drama as it also gives War Elephants and leads to Engineering. However you would need Drama to activate the culture slider eventually once the happiness limit is hit. The hit singles don't kick in until later, but it's nice to have that as a back up. With big happiness possibilities early and late, you can run Representation or Universal Suffrage and not worry about War Weariness. The Odeon can give newly captured cities the same affect of culture and happiness from the theatres without researching a tech which is not on any warmonger things-to-do-lists.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Let's talk about Pericles now. He's Creative and Philosophical, making him the only leader to have cheap libraries and universities, not to mention theatres. He is biggest cultural contender of the BtS leaders introduced as his Odeon and traits are an even better combination than Alexander's. Everything said above for Alex holds true for Pericles, however he is a much better choice for the Greeks to win a space race or diplomatic game, at least in a more peaceful way. His cheap libraries and universities make him a true philosopher (Philosophy, from Greek: lover of knowledge/wisdom) for a tech pace. A tech lead can be useful for anything victory sought.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, why not just build a theatre (50) for slight more than half the price (80)? Drama comes right after Alphabet, a useful tech, whereas you need math and then construction for the odeon and they can be slightly most expensive to research. Well, as stated above the warmonger might like this route. Slingshotting for Construction just for the UB is a waste, unless you plan on used it to it's fullest. This means its units, as a step to Engineering and trading. Trade away any extra happiness resources to form alliances or get other resources you want like production or strategic ones. For a cultural victory it might be better pursuing after getting your GA from Music if you want to better the AI since you would already have math, but I won't try it the other way around on higher levels if you want the free GA.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Makes Greece go from non-contender culturally to a interesting choice for experimenting. Domination wins are looking good too, but space and conquest really are not affected on lower levels. The Odeon does little to complement Alexander's traits unless on high levels with more unhappiness to be offset from buildings. Remember the +6 swing with theatre/dyes, odeon, broadcast tower and hit singles. Makes Eiffel Tower's broadcast tower in every city more appealing and extra happiness can be converted into flexibility in trades, more whipping and warring.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Holy Roman Empire Rathaus (Courthouse - double production for Organized leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This UB is a courthouse with a total of 75% reduction in maintenance costs. It also allows you to build the Forbidden Palace with only 4 cities on a standard map. It also gives +2 Espionage points and allows you to turn one citizen into a Spy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Charlemagne is Imperialistic, which means quicker settler production. Not much better synergy than a UB which allows for more cities sooner without hurting your economy, since he is not Organized. It also means greater chance of GG appearances. Couple that with the protective trait and he will be in position to either maintain a large empire and pursue more peaceful victories or, be a major warmonger. The protective trait gives cheaper walls and castles and just imagine those beefed up Pikemen, the Landskneckt, with their +100% vs Mounted Units and Melee units behind them. On a hill even![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]We have also only begun to explore the mechanics of espionage, but giving +2 espionage points and the ability to turn a citizen into this new type of GP is almost a throw in after the increased maintenance reduction. As a warmonger, this new feature of producing great spies has some definite synergy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The ability for rapid expansion and a much sooner available Forbidden Palace does not conjure up any real disadvantages as Charlemagne's traits and the Empire's UU really complement each other.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The ability to have a larger empire give the flexibility to settle near important resources and map locations and strive for any victory condition.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Incan Terrace (Granary - double production for Expansive leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A granary that gives culture. Quite a cool UB, nothing special on the surface but is even more of an impact than one might suspect. Why?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, you likely would build a granary anyway especially if whipping. I had mentioned in the original writeup about playing as the Incas on the 1000AD map, and I whipping buildings like there was no tomorrow as they start on as isolated strip west of the Andes and wouldn't grow that large anyway. Granaries help with whipping; more on that later. Secondly, it is available with pottery and for financial Huayna Capac, the cottage spamming and culture producing terrace from this tech is a great choice for the first thing to research. The Terrace will accumulate enough culture from an early building to give +4 culture per turn very early in the game. So cultural victories look great. In fact, one of my earliest finish for a cultural victory is with the Incas. The financial trait allows for faster teching and for cultural games where I am almost there (lower levels) at around scientific method or astronomy, with the Incas I have sometimes discovered Electricity and built Broadway to help the last city get over. For longer games this bonus is carried further.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Building a culture producing granary, means you can concentrate totally on growing and expansion and not worry about other border encroaching your resources, you will get them back or never even lose them. You will get the fast cross much faster and not have to rush monuments or temples/theatres until later, once you have larger cities from the granaries stored food. In fact, Stonehenge is now practically useless, except for the GPP it helps you get. No need to avoid Calendar in order to keep the culture from brand new cities right off the bat. You don't want to delay the chance to build plantations or wineries as those babies are what the Financial trait thrives on. In BtS, Stonehenge and monuments expire with Astronomy, so that may be moot now.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]When you capture a city normally, what do you do? Build a theatre for culture (maybe happiness, but you should have some plantations for that) and the granary takes a back seat. For small cities this means delaying growth which hurts you later on. So, building the terrace gives you the culture and the growth increase. Even if you built a granary first, you would still have to build something to get the first eight tiles around your new city, let alone the fat cross. You want the choice of which tiles to worker with your citizens, because you are financial and any cottages--&gt;towns, plantations or mines you can work ASAP are gold in your pocket. You use it to support/upgrade your forces or increase research/trade for resources. Basically, building/rushing a terrace first makes whipping other more important buildings like those cheap forges or walls, barracks, libraries, temples, etc. easier and more economical. Here's more detail on that from Bovinespy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]"This is a GREAT UB for late-Ancient through ealy-Industrial era warmongering. It really speeds up your rate of assimilation of newly-conquered lands. The crucial point lies in the pop-rushing.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In your earliest wars, the populations of conquered cities will tend to be in the 3 to 5 range. If you pop-rush a monument and a granary (esp. if you're Expansive), the population of the city will recover fairly quickly (assuming decent food resources available/not-plundered). However, later in the game, usually about the time catapults show up, the AI has usually developed urban pop levels so that core cities you capture routinely have pops of 8 to 10.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is where the Terrace really shines: it saves you from having to pop-rush a granary and a culture building. This point is particularly important if you're not playing a Creative leader. Mind you, it's a subtle difference between having a captured city with a pop of 8 or 9 instead of 6 or 7. However, a crucial point to remember is that the higher the pop level, the longer it takes to recover a pop point.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Say you conquer and absorb a well-developed empire of around 6 or 8 cities (a not-unlikely scenario on Standard maps). Now imagine an extra tile or two of production from each of those cities. If you had to rush both buildings, you would be dozens of turns behind, relatively speaking, in production compared to the Incan. This is huge! Properly played, the snowball-effect of swallowing a rival empire or two in the mid-game is significantly more noticeable when you play Huayna."[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Need we mention that conquering a city that already has a granary turns it into a terrace? Due to some sort of oversight, that granaries age contributes to the culture of your new terrace and could even generate 4 per turn![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Not really any since as Huyana Capac you likely want to have pottery ASAP anyway.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As outlined above, this UB offers some great opportunities for expansion and is flexible for what you want to do with it. I have not warmongered much with the Incas, so I thank Bovinespy for his input and explaining in greater detail what I alluded to earlier and also for showing me how powerful this UB can really be. Maybe playing with it in peaceful games I took it for granted earlier. Is a great UB for early claiming of land while growing and improving infrastructure by shortcutting build queues and allowing faster restoration of captured cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Dutch Dike (Levee):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Dutch UB, the Dike replaces the Levee which itself, is a new building introduced in Beyond the Sword. The Levee is available with Steam Power and gives +1 [ICON_PRODUCTION] on every river tile and costs 180 [ICON_PRODUCTION]s. It brings up some interesting choices regarding tiles improvements to say the least. Meanwhile, the Dike also gives the +1 production boost to all water tiles as well. Any coastal city will greatly benefit and the great thing is that it does not need to be a coastal city either. Therefore even cities one tile in from the coast or with small lakes will still have water tiles gaining the bonus.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With Willem being Financial, the choice to build cottages on river tiles might appear to be a no-brainer, but often players will want increased production and build watermills, windmills or lumbermills in their place. The great thing about the Dike or Levee for that matter, is that it gives a production bonus to the tiles regardless of improvement. Now, imagine a Dutch coastal city on a river with cottages, a Dike, Universal Sufferage, Organized Religion and in a Golden Age. Imagine the Bureaucracy bonus on that too. As a Dutchie, I can hardly wait to see that! Some late wonders and project races just got a little easier to win. As this is a BtS civ, let us not forget the tweak on State Property and also the Moai Statues which are like a Dike, but a wonder which does not expire. Some great production synergy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Being financial, building on rivers would be your goal anyway, but any city without rivers or water tiles will have absolutely no use for this UB and therefore it will likely be quite map dependent in its effectiveness. Even if they have 2-4 tiles that would benefit, you might want to weigh the 180 hammer cost before putting them everywhere. Also, the UB does come quite late, of course later in the game is when things start to cost more hammers too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The only thing better than extra happiness is extra production, so if your map allows for this opportunity, any goal whether it be pumping out military units, settlers and workers, wonders or spaceship parts. While both Levees and Dikes will only be of use to cities with river tiles, to take full advantage of this UB, one would need to build more coastal cities or at least not be in the middle of the continent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Egyptian Obelisk (Monument):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This Egyptian monument can turn [BOLD]two[\BOLD] citizens into priests. Pretty powerful for early in the game. Even if Egypt doesn't start with Mysticism, they have the ability to build the very first building with the ability to assign specialists. You could use the GPs produced to techbulb (TM ) yourself to whatever your little heart desires.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One could argue that with Hatshepsut, the creative +2 culture bonus would negate the +1 culture from the obelisk, but you could also spin it to being equivalent to a theatre culture-wise. Then again, with cheap temples, theatres, and libraries why else would you play her without going for cultural victory? With cheap colosseums too, you now have two buildings which will give you +1 happiness for every 10% culture. Once you hit that culture switch, you needn't worry about happiness resources, except maybe incense and dyes.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As Illithid has so eloquently put it:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The obelisk might better complement the industrious and spiritual Rameses II. He can build quick wonders like Oracle and Stonehenge and maybe a cultural victory could be sought since you could really crank out Great Prophets. One further thing could be to settle those prophets and once you have Angkor Wat and cheap forges from industrious Ramses, you have a great chance for the space race victory or just high production warmongering. Even if you don't go those routes, the extra production for other things can work well like buildings wonders for cultural (with either leader) or building the UN. Both leaders could definitely could try for a domination win as well with the quick culture boost from Stonehenge.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great Prophets will only techbulb (TM ) you to the mostly religious techs and that might not always be the way to go.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Most UBs don't get obsoleted. The earlist possible one to build is also the first one obsoleted. Although one can ignore Calendar, the obsoleting tech for the UB for some time, eventually you may want/need to develop those sugar, spices and incense tiles. In Beyond the Sword, it becomes obsoleted with Astronomy, so it is possible depending on one's strategies and goals to avoid that tech all together. If you have many religions and temples as a result of your early GPs then you can obsolete the Obelisk and still gain GPPs for more GPs later. It's what you choose to do with those priests you assign, that really affects the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Obsoleting Stonehenge means the Obelisks not physically built a city will disappear, whereas building them all by hand means they stay and continue to stand and have their base culture of 1 double to 2 over time. It is not a great deal for some victory conditions such as space or diplomatic, but domination and cultural might need to consider this.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great Prophets early, can be a tech boost, but unless you are surrounded by food bonuses, you won't be able to assign those priests anyway. With practice, it could be used quite effectively.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Ethiopian Stele (Monument):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This Ethiopian monument can give +25% culture in addition to the +1.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This UB probably screams cultural victory, but the 25% bonus won't really matter until much later in the game. Also, in BtS the obsoleting tech is Astronomy which can be avoided for some time so long as you don't plan on colonizing another continent. One can play a cultural victory without ever researching and discovering or trading for it, so this bonus would be added for the entire game. Being Organized, the ability to settle new cities more quicker would be helped by any additional cultural boundaries pushing further out. With key resources claimed, his cheap factories will use the resources to build spaceship components or military units much more quickly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Furthermore, let's not ignore the fact that like the Egyptians, building Stonehenge will put this UB in every one of your cities. Now, this is truly a thing not to miss if you want to try for a domination victory. Especially when you consider the Organized trait of the Ethiopian leader. Again, ignoring Astronomy would likely need to be done as well, but your domination victory might not take that long.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Remember, Zara Yaqob in Creative so the 25% in the beginning is not that big of the deal, but with the cheap libraries and theatres in no time it [BOLD]will[\BOLD] have an impact.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Zara Yaqob does not start with Mysticism, the prerequisite tech. Most UBs don't get obsoleted. The earliest possible one to build could have it's lifespan shortened depending on your tech path. Losing out on the culture bonus it not a big loss in another victory condition, but the quick land grab would be a huge boost. Of course, one requires religions or other cultural building to really benefit from the UB. Although one can ignore Astronomy, the obsoleting tech for the UB for some time, eventually you may want/need to expand to other continents or build observatories to boost your science level. For other victories, the UB is still perhaps needed as the cultrual trait gives you the resources you want early, but in the face of other cultural powerhouses, it might be helpful to retain or even capture resources culturally.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Obsoleting Stonehenge means the Stelae not physically built a city will disappear, whereas building them all by hand means they stay and continue to stand and have their base culture of 1 double to 2 over time. Not only that, but you have now lost the 25% culture boost in those cities. It is not a great deal for some victory conditions such as space or dipolmatic, but domination and cultural might need to consider this.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The true strength of this UB depends on what else is build in the city, but with a few ancient wonders, library, temples and other with the doubled culture for their age, the Stele alone would have quite an impact.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]English Stock Exchange (Bank):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wow, I really see why Liz is a fan favourite for some. The Stock Exchange gives the an extra 15% gold bonus to what a bank normally does (50%) for a total of +65%. With two financial leaders to choose from this is a very versatile UB. You can go Philosophical with Liz or Imperialistic with Vicky.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]No matter what you chose for your victory path, commerce drives research and things are great. Add markets and grocers means a total 115% gold increase. Even warmonger Churchill will benefit, but financial really exploits this UB. What is great about this UB compared to the Carthaginian Cothon is that you needn't only build on the coast and so you can use this on any map and whereas the Cothon only give +50% bonus to the trade routes the 65% bonus from the SE is cumulative with other buildings. I suppose the math would work out depending on many factors, but it suffices to say the stock exchange can be build anywhere. Even so, you likely want most if not all of your cities on the coast, as there is usually more lucrative tiles in the water (outside of FP cottages) especially if you build the Colossus and Great Lighthouse, but a few gold or silver mines or luxuries resources are great too. Up to Airports and the right civics and you can have 7 trade routes in a city and Wall Street. Cottage spam and run Emancipation, Universal Suffrage and Free Market and you will be laughing all the way to the bank! Er, make that all the way to the Stock Exchange.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This can be used to keep the tech slider higher and tech faster to get your space race/diplo win started early or you can keep a larger empire and army with upgrades when you want and need without waiting to save the money.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Um, how about "no?" Money makes the world go 'round![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]England starts with fishing and mining, so look out. Not sure what else can be said here. I think ABBA said it best: "Money, Money, Money" $$$$[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]French Salon (Observatory):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Salon is an observatory which gives a free artist. It might not seem like much, but for cultrual victories it can be quite nice.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Okay, first of all, with the patch, Louis can now build cheap theatres [BOLD]and[\BOLD] libraries! He is creative and the +2 culture is only a small amount, but the cheap buildings is great. In fact, Louis gets libraries, theatres, coliseums and forges at half production cost. Not too shabby.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Given the anarchy caused by switching to Mercantilism perhaps going from liberalism to astronomy makes sense. With a little wait to Astronomy, you can built your UB which gives a free Great Artist, rather than going through anarchy to get it. Of course you have to build these Salons, but they are cheaper than universities and with the Sistine Chapel the free Great Artist gives more culture for the same amount of science boost (+25%). But, maybe you do want to switch to Mercantilism so you can have another free type of GP. If not, then you have got two free artists with the library, salon, (and university) and the Statue of Liberty is not that far away with his cheap forge and quicker building of the Statue of Liberty. Either way you could have 2-3 free artists, not to mention the others you could assign. This means you can run something other than Caste System. And speaking of science boost, why not run Representation with those free artists? Use the library, salon and uni to beeline for the ECWs and you are laughing. C'est formidable! C'est magnifique! D'accord?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Running representation with Salon' free artists as either Louis XIV or de Gaulle could be a strategy for space race victories.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Not sure what Napoleon would do with the free artist other than maintain culture borders on resources on a crowded map, but then again you could build a cheap theatre in the likely small city first. The Salon is like an observatory, so keeping up the tech pace to have more advanced troops might be desirable. You [BOLD]could[\BOLD] however have your larger cities with these GAs and go and culture bomb you new acquisitions. If you want other GPs, then perhaps the Salon will pollute your GPPs, so beware.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Charles de Gaulle is charismatic and industrious, like a hybrid of Louis and Napoleon. He has extra happiness resources and can promote units faster, making him a warmonger equal to Napoleon, except where Napoleon's Organization might let him keep a larger empire, de Gaulle would have more production strengths in cheaper forges and wonders.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are likely some other possibilities to be discussed as there seems to be lacking a certain "je ne sais quoi?", but this UB should not be taken lightly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]German Assembly Plant (Factory - double production for Organized leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Assembly Plant is a factory which can change 4 citizens into engineers instead of just two. It [BOLD]also[\BOLD] has double production speed with coal. I haven't tried Germany out yet, but this is a mouth watering temptation. Die Fragen ist: "Welchen F'hrer m'chten Sie spielen?"[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Which leader? Well, take your pick. This UB complements both leaders very, very nicely and is [BOLD]the[\BOLD] most synergistic combo of [BOLD]both[\BOLD] leaders and[NEWLINE]their UB of all the civs in the game (with apologies to the two Queens of England). This UB is all about output, production and power. Was sind St'rken jedes F'hrers? What are each leader's strengths?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Otto von Bismarck: Expansive and Industrious. Sure, there is only +2 health with the patch, but health will be needed to offset production buildings that cause pollution. Later in the game every health counts and is needed. Bismarck can be a warmonger with a huge empire and pumping out units like nobody's business or cranking out spaceship parts while eying Alpha Centauri. Bizzy gets granary, harbour and forge at double production speed so a fast build for forge and the Plant and two cheap health providing buildings to offset the pollution.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Frederick: Organized and Philosophical. With cheap lighthouses, courthouses, universities [BOLD]and[\BOLD] cheap factories...or in this case these very Assembly Plants [BOLD]also[\BOLD] double production with coal, Freddy is a powerhouse! There hasn't been a German industrial influence like this since Kraftwerk! I say span out, get the economy/research going and prepare for the space age! With the Assembly Plant costing 250 hammers and having two double speeds bonuses, it would be like building these babies for 62 hammers! The reason space age would be so synergistic is the 100% increase in GPs being produced. So you could be farming scientists and engineers on your GP farm and building your high production cities elsewhere. Ideally, if you had 2-4 food sources with some production bonuses, you would be in good shape. Ich denke das ich spiele gern mit Freddy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To a total of 50% hammer increase from buildings (forge and factory), you can add +50% from power (supplied by the either hydro, coal or nuclear plants, but the Three Gorges Dam can be more economical), +100% from the Ironworks (+50% each for iron and coal), +50% from Bureaucracy. With some good food sources you will max out your six engineers and likely have some priests too. If you settled some Great Engineers or Prophets, good for you! Don't forget the +25 bonus for OR and the +100% for having a special resource when building buildings. You can also have a laboratory that gives +50% bonus in addition to +100% again for having a resource. So a basic bonus of +250% in your capital (+200% out of capital) with +125% to +150% when building buildings or projects respectively for a total of around +385% or +410%. Depending on your base production, things can be quite productive and your leader choice for this doesn't matter other than which buildings you can build cheaper or the resources to which you have access.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Any other victory condition other than space or conquest don't seem to fully utilize this late game UB. Peace-mongering can leave it pretty much not even worth building. With a lack of health resources having a forge, this UB and Ironworks or other powerplants might not be feasible.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Given the right conditions and goals, this UB is quite useful and as stated before is a perfect match for not just one leader, but both of them. Freddy gets the slight edge thusfar, if it is indeed possible to build it for a quarter of the cost. If you are playing games that end early, this UB doesn't matter, same as their UU. The plan with Germany is perhaps to maximize the leader traits to set up an 'berstrong infrastructure and then once the UUs and UBs can be built later in the game, go hog-wild and blitzkrieg them all! Wunderbar![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Greek Odeon (Colosseum - double production for Creative leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In addition to the +1 happiness per 20% culture and for the same price as a coliseum, this UB gives +3 culture, an additional +1 happiness, can turn 2 citizens into artists [BOLD]and[\BOLD] gives +1 happiness for hit singles.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Basically this means this is a more expensive theatre even with the patch dropping the cost 80 hammers. The extra price for admission compared to theatres is the hit single happiness, which in short games won't matter, but if you have the culture slider up to even 20% with this and a theatre built, the city already has +3 happiness, +4 with dyes. As with the Mall, I like the idea of killing two birds with one stone. Because it is 10% for theatres and 20% for the colosseum/odeon, that means if you raise the culture slider the happiness is increased by 3 for every 20%. With broadcast towers it is another +1 happy for every 10%, but also +1 for those hit singles again. If you have the three buildings, dyes and hit singles (either import or export) we are talking +7 happiness for a mere 20% culture.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The extra 3 culture is the big deal. Greece now instantly becomes a cultural victory contender with the price of the Colosseum/Odeon dropped and Alex building cheap universities in addition to this new +3 culture building which together with theatres might be built early enough to get +6 culture and make a nice impact once multipliers are added.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Using either Pericles' or Alex's philosophical trait, you can farm your Great Artists (my best is 16), lending again to a cultural or perhaps a domination victory more easily as Bassist2119 has reminded us in another post of the ability of the UB to assign two [BOLD]more[\BOLD] GAs in addition to the 2 from the Theatre. This leaves you free to run Slavery a little longer or Serfdom since you don't really need Caste System.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For the warmonger in all of us, Construction might be more attractive than drama as it also gives War Elephants and leads to Engineering. However you would need Drama to activate the culture slider eventually once the happiness limit is hit. The hit singles don't kick in until later, but it's nice to have that as a back up. With big happiness possibilities early and late, you can run Representation or Universal Suffrage and not worry about War Weariness. The Odeon can give newly captured cities the same affect of culture and happiness from the theatres without researching a tech which is not on any warmonger things-to-do-lists.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Let's talk about Pericles now. He's Creative and Philosophical, making him the only leader to have cheap libraries [BOLD]and[\BOLD] universities, not to mention theatres. He is biggest cultural contender of the BtS leaders introduced as his Odeon and traits are an even better combination than Alexander's. Everything said above for Alex holds true for Pericles, however he is a much better choice for the Greeks to win a space race or diplomatic game, at least in a more peaceful way. His cheap libraries and universities make him a true philosopher (Philosophy, from Greek: lover of knowledge/wisdom) for a tech pace. A tech lead can be useful for anything victory sought.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, why not just build a theatre (50) for slight more than half the price (80)? Drama comes right after Alphabet, a useful tech, whereas you need math and then construction for the odeon and they can be slightly most expensive to research. Well, as stated above the warmonger might like this route. Slingshotting for Construction just for the UB is a waste, unless you plan on used it to it's fullest. This means its units, as a step to Engineering and trading. Trade away any extra happiness resources to form alliances or get other resources you want like production or strategic ones. For a cultural victory it might be better pursuing after getting your GA from Music if you want to better the AI since you would already have math, but I won't try it the other way around on higher levels if you want the free GA.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Makes Greece go from non-contender culturally to a interesting choice for experimenting. Domination wins are looking good too, but space and conquest really are not affected on lower levels. The Odeon does little to complement Alexander's traits unless on high levels with more unhappiness to be offset from buildings. Remember the +6 swing with theatre/dyes, odeon, broadcast tower and hit singles. Makes Eiffel Tower's broadcast tower in every city more appealing and extra happiness can be converted into flexibility in trades, more whipping and warring.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Holy Roman Empire Rathaus (Courthouse - double production for Organized leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This UB is a courthouse with a total of 75% reduction in maintenance costs. It also allows you to build the Forbidden Palace with only 4 cities on a standard map. It also gives +2 Espionage points and allows you to turn one citizen into a Spy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Charlemagne is Imperialistic, which means quicker settler production. Not much better synergy than a UB which allows for more cities sooner without hurting your economy, since he is not Organized. It also means greater chance of GG appearances. Couple that with the protective trait and he will be in position to either maintain a large empire and pursue more peaceful victories or, be a major warmonger. The protective trait gives cheaper walls and castles and just imagine those beefed up Pikemen, the Landskneckt, with their +100% vs Mounted Units [BOLD]and[\BOLD] Melee units behind them. On a hill even![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]We have also only begun to explore the mechanics of espionage, but giving +2 espionage points and the ability to turn a citizen into this new type of GP is almost a throw in after the increased maintenance reduction. As a warmonger, this new feature of producing great spies has some definite synergy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The ability for rapid expansion and a much sooner available Forbidden Palace does not conjure up any real disadvantages as Charlemagne's traits and the Empire's UU really complement each other.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The ability to have a larger empire give the flexibility to settle near important resources and map locations and strive for any victory condition.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Incan Terrace (Granary - double production for Expansive leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A granary that gives culture. Quite a cool UB, nothing special on the surface but is even more of an impact than one might suspect. Why?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, you likely would build a granary anyway especially if whipping. I had mentioned in the original writeup about playing as the Incas on the 1000AD map, and I whipping buildings like there was no tomorrow as they start on as isolated strip west of the Andes and wouldn't grow that large anyway. Granaries help with whipping; more on that later. Secondly, it is available with pottery and for financial Huayna Capac, the cottage spamming and culture producing terrace from this tech is a great choice for the first thing to research. The Terrace will accumulate enough culture from an early building to give +4 culture per turn very early in the game. So cultural victories look great. In fact, one of my earliest finish for a cultural victory is with the Incas. The financial trait allows for faster teching and for cultural games where I am almost there (lower levels) at around scientific method or astronomy, with the Incas I have sometimes discovered Electricity and built Broadway to help the last city get over. For longer games this bonus is carried further.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Building a culture producing granary, means you can concentrate totally on growing and expansion and not worry about other border encroaching your resources, you will get them back or never even lose them. You will get the fast cross much faster and not have to rush monuments or temples/theatres until later, once you have larger cities from the granaries stored food. In fact, Stonehenge is now practically useless, except for the GPP it helps you get. No need to avoid Calendar in order to keep the culture from brand new cities right off the bat. You don't want to delay the chance to build plantations or wineries as those babies are what the Financial trait thrives on. In BtS, Stonehenge and monuments expire with Astronomy, so that may be moot now.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]When you capture a city normally, what do you do? Build a theatre for culture (maybe happiness, but you should have some plantations for that) and the granary takes a back seat. For small cities this means delaying growth which hurts you later on. So, building the terrace gives you the culture [BOLD]and [\BOLD]the growth increase. Even if you built a granary [BOLD]first[\BOLD], you would still have to build something to get the first eight tiles around your new city, let alone the fat cross. You want the choice of which tiles to worker with your citizens, because you are financial and any cottages--&gt;towns, plantations or mines you can work ASAP are gold in your pocket. You use it to support/upgrade your forces or increase research/trade for resources. Basically, building/rushing a terrace first makes whipping other more important buildings like those cheap forges or walls, barracks, libraries, temples, etc. easier and more economical. Here's more detail on that from Bovinespy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Need we mention that conquering a city that already has a granary turns it into a terrace? Due to some sort of oversight, that granaries age contributes to the culture of your new terrace and could even generate 4 [ICON_CULTURE] per turn![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Not really any since as Huyana Capac you likely want to have pottery ASAP anyway.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As outlined above, this UB offers some great opportunities for expansion and is flexible for what you want to do with it. I have not warmongered much with the Incas, so I thank Bovinespy for his input and explaining in greater detail what I alluded to earlier and also for showing me how powerful this UB can really be. Maybe playing with it in peaceful games I took it for granted earlier. Is a great UB for early claiming of land while growing and improving infrastructure by shortcutting build queues and allowing faster restoration of captured cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Indian Mausoleum (Jail):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Mausoleum UB comes with Constitution like its Jail counterpart with -25% WW but it also gives +2 happiness. The manual states it gives +1 GPP and is more likely to produce a Great Prophet, but in playing Warlords, this is not true. In Beyond the Sword, both the jail and the mausoleum give +4 espionage points and increase espionage point production by 50%, in addition allowing one to assign two Spy specialists.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well the jail is high on a warmonger's wish list and the BtS version is sure to be even higher. I can see on higher levels how the happiness cap can be raised and WW reduced. As I don't usually have long wars I don't really know how high the WW can get, but I imagine on higher levels it is quite a bit. If you have Police State this is a total of 75% reduction in WW, which is nothing to sneeze at if WW problems got you down.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]We have also only begun to explore the mechanics of espionage, but giving +4 espionage points and the ability to turn two citizens into this new type of GP is almost a throw in after the reduced war weariness. Running Nationhood now has the added bonus of another +25% espionage point production for a total of 75% with the jail/mausoleum, in addition to barracks giving +2 happiness and being able to draft 3 units per turn. As a warmonger, this new feature of producing great spies has some definite synergy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Both are spiritual. Organized Asoka can build larger empires early on and Philosophical Gandhi can pop GPs and build cheaper universities. These combos don't necessarily screa for warmonger, especially given their Fast Worker UU, a decidedly unwarlike unit, however the extra spying power could be used to ensure that you are not beaten in the space race or the diplomatic arena. Then again, it's a free way to protect your nation no matter what.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I don't read much about people playing as India to conquer the world and wage war. This UB is still like a normal jail, except for the +2 happiness. I am not sure how many players will build them in BtS, but in Warlords they are n[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I will reserve judgement for others to add their input, but for now, this UB seems out of place and not very useful or synergistic.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Japanese Shale Plant (Coal Plant):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A coal plant gives power (electricity) to the city which adds to the factory production bonus of 25% an additional 50% at a cost of +2 [ICON_UNHEALTHY]. You need a factory for the coal plant or the Japanese Shale Plant, however the Shale Plant itself gives its own +10% production as well. This means a 60% bonus with the two buildings for the same price. The real bonus however is that while Coal Plants requires coal to produce this power, the Shale Plant does not. Both the Factory and Shale Plant can be built once you have discovered Assmebly Line.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To a total of 60% hammer increase from buildings (forge, factory and shale plant), you can add +50% from power (supplied by the Shale Plant), +100% from the Ironworks (+50% each for iron and coal), +50% from Bureaucracy. With some good food sources you will max out your six engineers and likely have some priests too. If you settled some Great Engineers or Prophets, good for you! Don't forget the +25 bonus for OR and the +100% for having a special resource when building buildings/wonders. You can also have a laboratory that gives +50% bonus in addition to +100% again for having a resource when building a spaceship component. The Space Ladder gives another 50% increase. So a basic bonus of +185% in your capital (+135% out of capital) with a bonus of +125% or 200% respectively, when building buildings/wonders or projects. Add in the Iron Works and non-Captial cities are between +360% or +435%. Depending on your base production, things can get quite a productive boost, but if you were to whip or buy these buildings into a low production city it might make a huge difference as well.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Being Aggressive and Protective, Tokugawa's units start off well promoted and this makes warring an attractive choice. For late game wars, there likely isn't a unit that can't be pumped out in 1 or 2 turns. And space race can be just as great a goal. Diplomatic you want to beeline for MM and wouldn't sidetrack yourself for this building.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other than having little health resources, which doesn't seem too likely by the time you research Assembly Line, not much of a reason not to build this is you aren't wanting to be a powerhouse. That being said, the leader traits are not that complementary with it. Not only that, it is a late game UB and some games you would not get the chance to build it. Given that it is a late game UB, it is quite useful for the fact that coal is not required to get the +60% production, while other civs need coal to get their +50%. Than again, you likely want coal so that you can railroad your mines, quarries and lumbermills. Not much of a benefit if you look at it that way, but until you do get coal, you have +60% production boost, that other civs would not have had.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Although not as overall synergistic as the German Assembly Plant when it comes to leader traits, this UB serves a similar purpose and makes it hard not to compare. This one is a little more map dependent (due to the +10% hammer as apposed to 2 extra engineers assigned) and that means that doing the math to see which advantage is greater is not so easy or relevant. Again for a late wonder, space race and conquest victories greatly benefit.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Khymer Baray (Aqueduct):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Baray UB comes with Mathematics and is an Aqueduct which gives 1 extra food.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Extra food helps any leader, regardless of their traits, however, Suryavarman is expansive which means extra health. Building this UB would cause a double-whammy if you will. Not only will increased health reduce any wasted food, but allow for more growth which is possible by the Baray's bonus. The expansive trait only adds to the possibility that the city will grow larger as it has a higher health cap. More food also means taking advantage of the faster worker production, which is only a 25% bonus in BtS, but still greatly helped out with the UB. Being creative means claiming food resources to get the whole this going. Talk about cyclic benefits.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Extra food, a disadvantage? One could even use the cereal mills corporation and trade away food if not needed. I have had cities grow too fast and not have enough things to build to keep them happy. Slavery fans would do well to exploit this extra growth and convert it into production.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After extra happiness and production, extra food is nothing to complain about and ranks with them and some great bonuses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Korean Seowon (University - double production for Philosophical leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This building costs the same and gives the same culture as a university, but it gives an extra +10% research.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wang Kon is financial and so you can maximize this UB's use by making sure you do all the things you would have done with Korea anyway. That means, cottage spamming and getting other high income tiles from plantations and mines and coasts. You have the income boosting building and wonders and the science ones as well. Simply this building just gives another 10%, so take the advantage and go for a diplomatic or space win or keep you army further ahead in tech to protect your empire or add to it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]More science can't ever be bad can it? It comes early/mid-game, but it's on the way to the Liberalism bee-line.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great advantage assuming you can build a nice SSC or several ones. You would usually build a university anyway, maybe now just a little sooner to really add to the tech lead (or perhaps a little later in the queue, knowing that you have the extra boost once it is built).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Malinese Mint (Forge - double production for Industrious leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is a forge with an added 10% wealth increase and yet another UB for a financial that has some great synergy. I would say that a lot of the strategies used with England's financial leaders would be used here, but with a slight change.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This building can come pretty early and Mansa Musa has a reputation for being a tech-whore as an AI. I like settling on the west side of the GP map and mine everything in site. There is also dyes, furs and incense too! What is great about the boost is that even though it is only 10%, it is still an increase and once you tech your way to new civics, as a spiritual leader, you can totally take advantage immediately and not wait until you can switch 2 or 3 at a time.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Because it is a production building as well, and you would naturally build it early for the gold bonus, you will have a higher production than maybe another civ with just a forge. It is more appealing, plus it is needed for many wonders, not the least of which is the Colossus giving +1 gold in [BOLD]all[\BOLD] cities water tiles. If you have trade routes going, as many as possible, markets, grocers, banks and Wall Street a rich city is made richer than another civ would be with the same city. Not only because of the wealth bonus, but because the forge means building all of the other wealth increasing building faster. It never goes obsolete either.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]More money, means faster discoveries, and diplomatic and space wins are the popular targets, however the Skirmisher can be a pretty good UU and even later, the extra wealth can be parlayed into better unit support and more/quicker upgrades. Even on higher levels, if you are lagging in the tech race, you will have more money to buy them, or more money to bribe the AI to do your bidding.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With 7 trade routes (as outlined earlier with Carthage), all the wealth buildings, great base tiles and maybe even some merchants or Great Merchants, you have plenty of money and if running the Universal Suffrage civic, you can rush buy more quickly/often than otherwise.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This UB doesn't expire, so it will continue to be useful and becomes more powerful as the game progresses because cities will grow and more lucrative routs determined for the AI.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A money boosting UB is a good one and can really help out early. You can afford to expand a little quicker if you bankroll allows it. You would need to have some big cash tiles or plenty of cottages, but then again, you would build those anyway.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Mayan Ball Court (Colosseum - double production for Creative leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Ball Court gives +3 [ICON_HAPPY](instead of the Colosseum's +1) and the +1 [ICON_HAPPY]per 20% culture.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The extra happiness could be used to full effectiveness as a warmonger by skipping Drama and going for Construction, much like Alexander might do in using his Odeon. Having happy people means more tiles being worked for the financial Pacal II.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]More research needed, but a Theatre with dyes for 50 [ICON_PRODUCTION] over an 80 [ICON_PRODUCTION] Ball Court might do the trick. Of course as the city grows and war weariness sets in or you have limited resources, this UB will make people happy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Extra happiness is always good, because it lets you pursue any victory you desire. You can combat war weariness or have large producing cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Mongolian Ger (Stable):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The stable introduced in Warlords gives +2 XP for Mounted units build in the city and the Mongolian Ger gives +4 points. This UB is very appropriate and the affects are cumulative with Barracks, the Pentagon and other XP bonuses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, both Mongolian leader start are Aggressive which means cheaper barracks. We are already looking at +7 XP, then if you factor in Theocracy and Vassalage, that's +11 all together. That is enough for 3 promotions before seeing any combat and any GG you settle and the Pentagon are just a bonus. Upgrading all the way through up to Calvary would be the idea and with the right promotions you should be able to keep most of your troops up until Rocketry. You could plan for the future and give promotions that complement your gunships, or use the advantage to conquer early. In BtS, the Stable is made obsolete with Advanced Flight, thereby lengthening the use of this UB. The fact that Genghis Khan is also imperialistic means more GGs as long as you are warmongering.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This UB complements the UU, the Keshik and the civ itself unlike any other UB for the other civs. To build a Keshik you need Archery, Horseback Riding - which you need to build the Ger anyway - and of course Horses revealed by Animal Husbandry. The Mongol starting techs are Hunting and the Wheel. Hunting is the prereq for both AH and Archery. Your mounted units all benefit, but lets look more closely at why. The keshik starts with some of the better bonuses. Let's analyze the mounted units that the Mongols can build below and remember that none of them get defensive bonuses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Unit[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][ICON_PRODUCTION][TAB][ICON_STRENGTH][TAB][ICON_MOVES][TAB][TAB]Bonuses[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Upgrade[\BOLD][NEWLINE][COLOR_GREEN]Chariot[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]25[TAB]4[TAB]2[TAB]10% Withdrawal, 100% vs. Axemen[TAB][COLOR_GREEN]Knight[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_GREEN]Keshik[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]50[TAB]6[TAB]2[TAB]20% Withdrawal, 1st Strike[TAB][TAB][COLOR_GREEN]Knight[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Ignore move cost, -10% vs. City[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+50% vs. Cats &amp; Trebs[NEWLINE][COLOR_GREEN]War Elephant[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]60[TAB]8[TAB]1[TAB]+50% vs. Mounted Units[TAB][TAB][COLOR_GREEN]Calvary[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_GREEN]Knight[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]90[TAB]10[TAB]2[TAB]Immune to 1st Strike[TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_GREEN]Calvary[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Flank Attack vs Cats &amp; Trebs*[TAB][TAB][COLOR_GREEN]Cuirassier[COLOR_REVERT]*[NEWLINE][COLOR_GREEN]Cuirassier[COLOR_REVERT]*[TAB][TAB]100[TAB]12[TAB]2[TAB]15% Withdrawal, Immune to 1st Strike[TAB][COLOR_GREEN]Calvary[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Flank Attack vs Cannon[NEWLINE][COLOR_GREEN]Calvary[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]120[TAB]15[TAB]2[TAB]30% Withdrawal, +50% vs. Cannon[TAB][COLOR_BLACK]Gunship[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLACK]Gunship[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]160[TAB]24[TAB]4[TAB]25% Withdrawal, +100% vs. Armoured[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Ignore move cost, Cannot capture City[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Flank Artillery &amp; Mobile Artillery*[NEWLINE]*Beyond the Sword[NEWLINE][COLOR_GREEN]Mounted Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLACK]Helicopter Unit [COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]None of these units can take Cover, Drill or CR promotions, but the mounted ones can get Amphibious, Charge, Formation, Pinch and Shock. If you were to give Flanking I and II to your Keshik for +30% withdrawal, that is a total of 50% and when it's upgraded to Calvary or Gunships it still adds to their intrinsic withdrawal abilities. Giving Charge to a Keshik means +75% versus their Cats and Trebs, and as a Knight it will have +75% against cannons. A Chariot with Shock will have +125% versus Axemen but only +25% with the more advanced units, but it might be a great boost. Then again you likely skip chariots and go straight to Keshiks. With the right promotions, the Keshiks might even be better than Knights especially if you don't have iron available and the fact they ignore terrain costs. A Keshik with C3 and Formation is just as good as a unpromoted Knight and as can be seen above, the Keshik has much more intrinsic abilities than a Knight such as withdrawal, bonus against cats and trebs and 1st Strike chance. Although the Knight is immune to 1st strikes and doesn't have the 10% city attack penalty. Clearly, the key is to use the XP bonus to promote according to your needs and strength based on the situation, the opponent, the map, etc. It remains to be seen how the Charge promotions for upgraded units will work with the new system of mounted units having a flank attack versus siege units.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Mounted units are a large part of a balanced army, and the UB lasts fairly long, even longer in BtS. If other civs couldn't build stables this might be overpowering, which is likely why the stable was added as well. This UB maybe isn't as synergistic with Kubla, but it still gives an increases in GGPs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Having the extra XPs out of the gate helps to earn GG points faster and build wonders like the Heroic Epic and West Point. For warmongering this is a great UB, for other victory conditions, it would help one war early to collect more land and resources and then settle down into a more peaceful victory, or at least keep a stronger army than without the UB for protecting cities while pursuing a peaceful victory. (But that is not why one plays the Mongols) War, what is it good for? Huh! Building Gers.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Native American (Totem Pole):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Another UB which replaces the Monument. This one gives +3 XPs to Archer units.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Sitting Bull does not start with Archery, but that is often traded for or even found from goody huts. The big deal is that he is Protective, giving his archers Drill I and City Garrison I [BOLD]before[\BOLD] adding the +3 XP bonus from the Totem Pole. Much like the Dun, this UB will offer some flexiblity and unique possiblity in upgrading units. More research will need to be done, but it suffices to say that this UB will make the Native Americans particularly difficult to conquer. Like the Egyptians, building Stonehenge will put the UB in every one of your cities which is bascially an archer Barracks in every city. This means an effective early archer rush, without wasting time to build the Barracks as Totem are much cheaper. With the Barracks, however, every archery unit built there will be very tough to kill on a hill behind those walls and castles that Protective Sitting Bull can cheaply build, never mind when they get upgraded to gunpowder units! His Philosophical trait might mean that a few GA culture bombs give him some more defense or he is free to use them for whatever he wishes seeing as no one is going to stop him.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Let's not forget the Dog Soldier UU (Axeman) with its strengths against melee units and also not requiring copper or iron. This UB practically gives two UUs to the Native Americans. Whether warmongering or trying to hang on against the AI on higher difficulty levels, this UB would be a key part of any strategy. Holding off on discovering Astronomy might be a prudent strategy if you are running into trouble. Imagine pumping out archer and longbowman early game with the bonuses and then upgrading them to stronger units. They will have a slight XP advantage with all over factors equal, meaning they will promote earlier. Let's imagine the +6 with Totem and Barracks and then running Feudalism and Theocracy for a 10 XPs off the bat. That is enough for 3 promotions to start, never mind fighting off barbs (although I think barb battles will only take you up to 10 XP anyway) or lone, weakened enemy units. Any Great General settled in a city takes you that much closer to a fourth promotion and your Heroic Epic. Let's analyze what Sitting Bull's archers will be able to do and what promotions will carry into the gunpowder age.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Unit[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][ICON_PRODUCTION][TAB][ICON_STRENGTH][TAB][ICON_MOVES][TAB][TAB]Bonuses[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Upgrade[\BOLD][NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Archer[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]25[TAB]3[TAB]1[TAB]1st Strike,[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Longbowman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+50% City &amp; +25% Hills Defense[TAB][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Crossbowman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Longbowman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]50[TAB]6[TAB]1[TAB]1st Strike[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+25% City &amp; +25% Hills Defense[NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Crossbowman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]60[TAB]6[TAB]1[TAB]1st Strike,[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Grenadier[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+50% vs. Melee Units[TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Grenadier[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]100[TAB]12[TAB]1[TAB]+50% vs. Riflemen[TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_RED]Machine Gun[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]110[TAB]14[TAB]1[TAB]+25% vs. Mounted Units[TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Machine Gun[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]125[TAB]18[TAB]1[TAB]Can only defend, 1st Strike[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+25% vs. Gunpowder Units[TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Mech Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]140[TAB]20[TAB]1[TAB]+25% vs. Gunpowder Units[TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]SAM Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Mech Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]SAM Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]150[TAB]18[TAB]1[TAB]40% Intercept Chance[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+50% vs. Helicopter Units[NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Mech Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]200[TAB]32[TAB]2[TAB]20% Intercept Chance[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Starts with March[NEWLINE]*Beyond the Sword[NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Archery Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Gunpowder Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Siege Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Remember that Protective Sitting Bull will have his archery and gunpowder units start with Drill I and City Garrison I, meaning they can already get Cover, Shock or Pinch (once gunpowder is discovered) on their first promotion out of the Totem. With barracks and the others bonuses mentioned, a second promotion could be Formation (bonus against mounted units) or get up to City Garrison III with one promotion to spare! The beauty of this UB compared to say, the Dun is the versatility of the promotions one can pursue, not necessarily being guilted into Guerrilla II and III. Then again, G3 archery units holding on for gunpowder promotions (see Celts) would not be such a terrible thing would it? Note too, that the Machine Gun is a siege unit and cannot receive Guerrilla or City Garrison promotions, however it is upgraded from Grenadiers which are upgraded from your G3 or CG3 archers. Interesting, no?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Sitting Bull does not start with Mysticism, the prerequisite tech. Most UBs don't get obsoleted. The earliest possible one to build can also be one of the first ones obsoleted, maybe it is not that much of a big deal if you play your cards right. Although one can ignore Astronomy, the obsoleting tech for the UB for some time, eventually you may want/need to explore and colonize other continents. By then you would have to have built all the archery units you anticipate needing and then work on upgrading them.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I think building cheap archery units with promotions not available to gunpowder or siege units (machine gun) can pay dividends given the right military and geo-political considerations. Like the Mongols, outside of warmongering or building a military to protect your empire, this UB does not hold many other uses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Ottoman Hammam (Aqueduct):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Does this UB have Expansion written all over it or what? One can really concentrate on building a large empire with large cities a lot sooner with the extra 2 happiness this building supplies in addition to the +2 health. No need to worry about religions if you miss them or drama if you prefer other techs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I feel Mehmed has the potential to be the best expansive leader as he is organized which means cheap lighthouses, courthouses [BOLD]and[\BOLD] cheap factories too. This means more food, less upkeep and more production, respectively from those buildings. This resultant larger population and therefore greater production, which leads to quicker unhappiness and pollution is further complemented by his Expansive trait which, in addition to +2 health per city, gives cheaper granaries and harbours which help reduce pollution and improve growth and economy. Those of you upset that the expansive trait was nerfed to only +2 health stop your whining because this guy has [BOLD]5[\BOLD], count'em [BOLD][BOLD]five[\BOLD][\BOLD] buildings to build cheaper and they [BOLD]all[\BOLD] mean larger and more productive cities. The happiness cap needs to be much higher for the Ottomans, and this is where the Hammam really shines, because it helps keep these larger cities happy and therefore more productive. If that is not enough, the faster worker production means an earlier hook up of resources for [BOLD]more[\BOLD] production, happiness and health bonuses. But also remember the less time building workers, means more time growing in population, which means more reason for a Hammam. This buiding does not expire either.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As for newcomer, Suleiman, who is Imperialistic and Philosophical, making cities healthy and happy at the same time is great for the GP farming you might do with him. He doesn't have all the cheap buliding that Mehmed II has and his two traits sort of conflict when it comes to warmongering; GP farming versus the increased GG appearance. But faster setter production is also a great thing for domination victories and that is what the Hammam can give. Havving many cities sooner and popping out GPs means a larger empire with abilities to conquer space or the world. He will have more cities, and larger, happier, cleaner ones at that.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It might not seem as powerful as other UBs, but you eventually build one anyway, at least in your larger, more polluted cities. This just makes them happy so you can concentrate on building more units or science/production buildings. Let's face it: it's a drag to have to stop building units or wonders because of the unhappiness or health. Kill two birds with one stone with the Hammam. Cultural games where happiness is not much of an issue are still advantaged especially at higher levels. In fact, this building really makes a difference in higher levels where happiness [BOLD]and[\BOLD] health caps are lower or on maps where happiness resources are not readily available to you. Further to that, you could delay discovering Calendar as you might not need the happiness immediately and that means culture from monuments or Stonehenge will last you a little longer.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A strong UB which helps with supporting large cities for whatever reasons you may have: military powerhouse, GP farm, etc. If this was Civ3 where the Aqueduct was need to grow past size 6, this would be huge, but even though it is not needed for that, I really can't think of any drawbacks with this UB. Quite an excellent UB.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Persian Apothecary (Grocer):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Apothecary, besides being the most difficult UB to pronounce, is a grocer that gives an additional +2 [ICON_HEALTHY] to the city. That is on top of the health from plantation resources. With a granary, harbour, apothecary and the supermarket you get health from rice, corn, wheat, clam, crab, fish, bananas, wine, sugar, spice, deer, cow, pig and sheep. So, for those of you counting at home, that's 16 [ICON_HEALTHY] points! So that means the ability to build production-boosting, pollution-causing buildings. Late in the game with high populations and those buildings or even on higher levels, this can be useful. However, you may not be looking to have a late finishing game or even want to detour for the late tech Refrigeration, especially if the Apothecary gives an intrinsic +2 health even without resources and so Supermarkets are not a necessity. That is pretty nice, no matter what level one plays on. You are afforded the option to trade away health resources for more important ones, such as: uranium, oil, iron, aluminum, etc.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Being Imperialistic, Cyrus has faster settler production and this means more cities quicker. As a result there is likely to be more health resources claimed more quickly. Happiness is not the problem with this charismatic leader either, so where can this health bonus be applied the best? Well, highly populated and production oriented cities will benefit so that means space race or conquest/domination victories and/or GP farming.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Like Churchill or Tokagawa, Cyrus might be one of the ultimate warmongers with his traits. They allow faster XP accumulation [BOLD]and[\BOLD] faster GG appearance! Late game wars which require forges, factories, etc to really pump out the expensive units will have a higher health cap. This makes more of a difference the higher the difficulty, but on quicker or lower setting, perhaps not as much.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As for Darius I, with Vanilla Washington's traits of Financial and Organized, the extra health from the UB will complement both the food from cheap lighthouses and the production from cheap factories. Financial seems handy in teching towards a space or diplomatic finish. More will need to be seen from Darius.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Apothecary needs both Currency and Guilds to build it, and guilds can come quite late, but then again guilds also gives Knights and a warmonger might like to upgrade his highly promoted Immortals. Some slingshotting could get you there faster, but maybe more needed in higher levels although I don't know exactly since the tech pace is likely quicker.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For Cyrus, faster GG emergence and quicker promotion ability means that the game is more likely won early with a conquest/domination goal and maybe the health bonuses is not so well-exploited because pollution might not be as high for one reason or another. For a fast teching Darius with an ability to maintain a large empire the extra health might benefit him more in the long run.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This building seems more suited for higher levels, but can make an impact late game with high pollution problems. Environmentalism can be avoided/delayed and chopping could be done without fear of health-induced starvation or founding a city near many FPs. Again without health resources it becomes very useful and for that reason the ability to trade away extra health resources for more strategic ones could be very useful as well.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Portuguese Feitoria (Customs House):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Feitoria replaces another new building, the Customs House. You need Economics and a Harbour to build it and it grants a 50% boost to all [BOLD]foreign[\BOLD] trade coming in from [BOLD]overseas[\BOLD]. The Portuguese Feitoria gives one extra commerce in all water tiles, making coastal cities seem like you are a financial leader.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is a very interesting UB to say the least. First off, it acts like a Colossus in each city that builds it, giving the extra commerce and a little like the Temple of Artemis without the Priest. If you were to have a large coastal city, some sea resources, a harbour, a lighthouse, and the Feitoria, that would really be a great city. Now imagine the Colossus and the Great Lighthouse in this city. Let's go a little further with it being a capital running Bureaucracy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Given the new concept of colonies in the game, it is likely that the AI will use this UB to its full advantage. More research will be needed, but Expansive and Imperialistic Joao will be able to build settlers [BOLD]and[\BOLD] workers more quickly. He is the only one, which is interesting enough. Starting with fishing will mean access to food resources to even more quickly pump those guys out. He seems flexible in pursuing either conquest/domination or space/cultural victories. It seems the AI like human player swill try for colonial expansion early and often to make use of this UB and the UU.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It is assumed that the UB and the Customs House can only be built on a coastal city given that it requires a harbour. Furthermore, the Customs House would be useless if running Mercantilism, thereby closing all foreign trade routes. It seems the Free Market, with the +1 trade route would really be the choice civic for this building. However, the Feitoria also gets +1 commerce in all water tiles, remember. Joao II could run which ever civic he wants and still get the commerce bonus. I would still recommend Free Market for the larger benefit.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It remaining to be seen how effective this UB will be. It is definitely map dependent, but if you have a few coastal cities and are up to the 6-7 possible trades routes in them, then this UB in only a few cities would still be an impact.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Roman Forum (Market):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wow, a UB that gives +25 GP birth rate! This is likely to become a favourite. There are no philosophical Roman leaders, but running Pacifism with the Forum and National Epic would still give +225%, not too shabby. Maybe with just the 125% you feel that you can delay the revolution/anarchy until you have other civics you want too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Julius Caesar is Organized and has -50% maintenance costs, but with this UB being much more attractive than a normal Market perhaps one builds it sooner and the +25% wealth in the city and the reduced maintenance costs really go together nicely much earlier in the game. In addition to his cheaper lighthouse, his cheap factories give a nice later in game production boost for military or spaceship ventures. Besides the Merchants assigned from the Forum, he has no cheap buildings which benefit from the extra GPP until factories. Augustus is no longer creative, but is Industrious. So his cheap forges could mean quicker GE production if that is your desire. This can be helpful in wonder or space races and so the extra GPP can go towards GEs or GSs or pumping out Praetorians.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Both Roman leaders are Imperialistic and have greater GG production and likely to help warmongering. Luring your enemy into your Great Wall trap, could mean 200% greater chance of GG appearance.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The extra the GPs from the Forums could be used to founded religions or techbulb (TM ) you faster through the tech tree for more military/scientific advances. There is real flexibility for both the Roman leaders. They have the fast settler production to really expand and set up an empire with the strength of their Praetorians pushing back the barbarians (er, that is, the other civs). Julius will have a better economy and ability to support his empire, while Augustus will churn out units and wonders and do the same using brute force. The GPPs can be used for whichever purpose is decided.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, running a SE seems to be necessary to maximize this UB's bonus, but not vital. Polluted GPP pools might cause some disappointment for some.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In a game where GP production is a main focus for some players, this building is likely a candidate for having no drawbacks whatsoever. Regardless of victory goal, difficulty setting, map/terrain, resources, opponents or even your own leader selection, this UB is very useful and versatile, making it one of the best.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Russian Research Institute (Laboratory):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Laboratory or Research Institute comes at a time in the game where technologies start to get much more expensive. In addition to the +50% spaceship construction, +25% [ICON_RESEARCH], and assigning one citizen as a Scientist (and +1 unhealthiness), the Russian UB gives [BOLD]two free[\BOLD] scientists! This means you can remove forced scientists and change them to GAs for a cultural win or engineers for space race or keep the scientist and head for future tech.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Representation seems like a no-brainer here, but Russia is one of the only civs in the game (with England) that has three leaders and they each have two different traits so let's examine them more closely:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Catherine: Creative and Imperialistic. She is able to quickly build settlers and the creative trait ensures quick access to fat cross resources. I like her for domination wins for those reasons. Stonehenge can add to the culture growth as well as religions. Cheap libraries can be used in conjunction with cheap theatres to build to a cultural victory. It costs less to build settlers and so fast expansion can lead to more cathedrals build. The extra scientists will lead to faster techs and so if culture is not your thing, the space race gets a nice boost both for the UB's science [BOLD]and[\BOLD] part production. Might not be a high priority especially if near your health cap.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Peter: Expansive and Philosophical. An excellent candidate for Space Race. His +2 health and cheap granaries and harbours will help offset pollution/unhealthiness from production buildings while cheap universities and +100% GP birth rate means more Scientists and Engineers to help techbulbing and wonder building. Remember the faster production of workers from any time in the game should make quite an impact too as they will be out to connect resources much sooner.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Stalin: Aggressive and Industrious. In the few games I have played with Stalin, I have been impressed with his space race potential. Cheap forges and beelining science helped. The UB really made a big impact I felt. Again cultural games leave this UB pretty much obsolete, but with Stalin, his wonder building boost leads to more research with wonders like GL, University of Sankore, Spiral Minaret, Oxford, etc. And then we have the Ironworks and GE produced wonders which are also helpful on the way. He can also be quite the military force early in the game and throughout.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]What is the trade off between Peter's ability to generate GP quicker or Stalin's wonders appearing faster to giving GPPs much sooner? That is open for debate, but both seem great cosmonauts. And I wouldn't rule out Cathy in that department either. With her cheap libraries, quick settler production for greater early expansion complemented by quick cultural border growth she could just as likely be able to use the UB and pull another Yuri Gagarin or, make that Valentina Tereshkova.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Observatories are needed to build the Institute, and although you will already have that tech, they can be more expensive to build for all three leaders compared to cheap libraries or universities. Only Stalin with his industrious trait might have a quicker build given his cheap forges and getter ability to settle GEs, although Peter might too. In Beyond the Sword, with the restructured modern age tech tree, it may require a slightly longer wait before one can build the Research Institute, plus the choices late in the game seem to be more complex and difficult than they were previously.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Diplomatic victories would mean you research Mass Media instead of Computers and therefore not a factor. For cultural wins, you likely have the culture switch on at this point and these buildings therefore can be useful in giving back some lost research, but it will matter very little. Mass Media gives Hollywood which is much more important in that case.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For being at war the research boost could be handy for building more advanced units, but likely if you need a research boost that badly you probably can't afford to be building RIs in all or most of your high production cities, likely only in your SCC which could also be your unit factory too. By the time you build it, you still have to research those new techs for the improved units. With a little planning it could work out in your favour.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To quote Boney M, "Oh, those Russians!" It seems this UB is destined to help with the Space Race and help get Sputnik launched much sooner rather than any other victory, with a possible exception for conquest. Depending on your usual teching order, you might make some adjustments to maximize the benefit of the Research Institute. Time/score victory goals can be helped by the accumulation of future tech perhaps.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Spanish Citadel (Castle - double production for Protective leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Patched Warlords made Castles more useful by giving them +1 trade route and -25% damage from bombardment from non-gunpowder units in addition to the +50% defense vs. non-gunpowder units and +1 culture. Cumulative with the prerequisite Walls, that means +100 defence from non-GP units and -50% from non-GP bombardment. In BtS, they also give an extra 25% espionage points. Maybe, [BOLD]now[\BOLD] players will build them![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Citadel gives an additional 25% bombardment protection for a total of -75% [BOLD]and[\BOLD] gives 5XP to Siege units produced in the city. From the +3XP barracks and the Citadel that is 8XP already, but Thoecracy and Vassalge give 12XP from the start enough for 3 promotions. The bonus is applied to Trebuchets, Catapults and if you can avoid the obsoleting tech, Economics (which restores the lost trade route, 1st to discover gets a GM) you can have Cannons, Artillery and even machine guns with this bonus as well.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The strength of the UB lies in how one promotes their siege weapons most effectively. A warmonger or early-war-to-to-claim-land strategy uses it to it's full advantage, but just protecting your cities becomes much easier now too. In Beyond the Sword, there is a new system for siege weapons, so more remains to be seen. Let's take a look at the Siege Units assuming that they follow the path below and remember they cannot receive defensive bonuses and they all cause collateral damage:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Catapult[COLOR_REVERT] ---\[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB]\___ [COLOR_RED]Cannon[COLOR_REVERT] ---&gt; [COLOR_RED]Artillery[COLOR_REVERT] ---&gt; [COLOR_RED]Mobile Artillery[COLOR_REVERT]*[NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Trebuchet[COLOR_REVERT] -/[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLACK]Grenadier[COLOR_REVERT] --&gt; [COLOR_RED]Machine Gun[COLOR_REVERT] --&gt; [COLOR_BLACK]Mechanized Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Unit[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][ICON_PRODUCTION][TAB][ICON_STRENGTH][TAB][ICON_MOVES][TAB][TAB]Bonuses[\BOLD][NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Catapult[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB][TAB]40[TAB]5[TAB]1[TAB]25% Withdrawal,[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Bombard City Defences (-15%/turn)[NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Trebuchet[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB][TAB]60[TAB]4[TAB]1[TAB]25% Withdrawal, +100% vs. City[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Bombard City Defences (-25%/turn)[NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Cannon[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB][TAB]100[TAB]12[TAB]1[TAB]25% Withdrawal,[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Bombard City Defences (-20%/turn)[NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Machine Gun[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]120[TAB]18[TAB]1[TAB]1st Strike, Defend Only, +50% vs. GP Units[NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Artillery[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB][TAB]100[TAB]18[TAB]1[TAB]25% Withdrawal, +50% vs. Siege[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Bombard City Defences (-25%/turn)[NEWLINE][COLOR_BLACK]Mechanized Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]200[TAB]32[TAB]2[TAB]20% Aircraft Intercept, Starts with March[NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Mobile Artillery[COLOR_REVERT]*[TAB][TAB]200[TAB]26[TAB]2[TAB]Max 85% Attack Damage, +50% vs. Siege[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Immune to Siege Collateral Damage[NEWLINE]*Beyond the Sword[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]All these units receive Barrage, Drill, Shock, Ambush, and City Raider (except Machine Gun who only defends) as well as the Combat and Medic promotions. Any Grenadiers promoted to Machine Gun will not gain any XPs if ungraded in a Citadel, but any you build there will. None of these units can receive City Garrison, Cover, Pinch, Formation, Charge or (Guerilla or Woodsman), but it is possible to have your Grenadier or Melee Units promoted into Grenadiers and give [BOLD]them[\BOLD] any of those promotions and then upgrade them into Machine Gunners. You could for example create G2 or G3 Machine Gunners with Ambush and CG promotions to defend a Hill city from Tanks or you could have Woodsman Machine Gunners with Pinch and Medic/Charge defending your SoD on route through a forest to attack an enemy city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Options for your other Siege units are even more numerours. Except for the Machine Gun, all the Siege units have a 25% withdrawal chance, if you add a GG to it, you can it 55% as well as making it a nice Siege Weapon from other promotions. Remember that upgrades are [BOLD]free[\BOLD] when attached to a Warlord, so you could have some expert Machine Gun defenders or great Cannons/Artillery once the competition gets a little tougher and the AI has more advanced units. One other thing that really stood out to me in trying the UB out, was that Siege Units are immune to collateral damage, so having plenty of them in your stack means you will have some to attack with while other units might need to heal. You can give them medic promotions too remember.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As for synergy with the Conquistador, it is a knight with +50% vs. melee units. Many different civs have melee units for their UU, which comes in handy. With a few correctly promoted Conquistadors and Siege weapons the two should complement each other nicely. Don't forget to balance out your forces, using more than just these two.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This UB doesn't really do anything for the Expansive trait or the Spanish starting tech of fishing and mysticism, however being religious does offer advantages to being able to switch to new civics immediately and not waiting until others are discovered. A switch to Theocracy before you wait to get Vassalage could mean the difference between producing units with an extra +2 XPs and for the siege units with the Citadel, that is enough to put them over the top for a third promotion.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you want to avoid Economics, the obsoleting tech, you only really miss out on a Great Merchant. You could conceivably hold out for some super artillery and machine gunners if you wanted. This UB allows for some interesting warfare capabilities. Although it doesn't immediately lend it self to anything other than conquest/domination, the extra territory and cities gained or even the ability to better protect one's own cities and territory is nothing to take lightly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Sumerian Ziggurat (Courthouse - double production for Organized leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]While the Rathaus of the Holy Roman Empire gives a larger maintenence bonus, it takes just as long to build. Neither them, nor the Sumerians are Organized, but the Sumerian Ziggurat is 30 [ICON_PRODUCTION] cheaper, only costing 90, meaning that it will be built more quickly even if not more powerful. I feel the quicker it is build the better; one of the reasons the Zulu Ikhanda is so effective as well (although for Zulu, it is both cheaper and quicker, but not as powerful). Also, only four are required to build the Forbidden Palace. It also gives +2 espionage points and allow you to assign a citizen as a Spy, but that is a normal courthouse feature for Beyond the Sword.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Okay, major props going out to Bovinespy again for pointing out my huge oversight (I don't have the game yet). This UB is like a courthouse, but you only need Priesthood to build it thereby delaying Code of Laws or passing it all together. This will mean a much earlier clamp down on maintenance costs. While others may have a larger bonus (Rathaus), Gilgamesh, like Shaka, will have a head start. This means the Forbidden Palace is built much sooner as well.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Building the FP quicker, could help culturally for a victory, however it also means a faster expanding empire. Creative and Protective Gilgamesh will need be to be further studied, but the culture boost from borders will help the settlers claim land and the quicker and earlier built courthouses will help keep the economy going. Being protective as well, means maintaining the empire while under attack. Cheap walls and castles will make Sumeria a tough foe to topple.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This did not jump out as being a strong UB until I realized it comes with Priesthood. This is something I am sure some players will use it to maximum advantage. Really, a cheaper courthouse is nothing to complain about and now, one does not have to wait as long to build it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]. Um yeah, that was before I realized you don't need CoL. Priesthood is such a cheap tech, it could be beelined for maximum exploitation here. I love the prereq tech as it is both unique and very appropriate when you think about what Ziggurats really were. This UB is just oozing flavour and possibilities. More to come I am sure; I just can not wait to play these guys![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Viking Trading Post (Lighthouse double production for Organized leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Another coastal UB for a financial leader, the Trading Post gives a free Navigation 1 promotion to ships build there in addition to the extra food in each sea tile.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There is some definite synergies here, firstly the UB being required for the Great Lighthouse which gives all coastal cities +2 trade routes. Ragnar starts with fishing and so the prereq tech, Sailing is not far away. As with the Carthaginian Cothon, it makes sense to build many coastal cities to maximize this affect. Now, it's true that not all your cities will be building ships [BOLD]all[\BOLD] the time, so it is your choice, but of the achipelago maps I have played with them, most if not all of them have been. Harbours, Colossus also add to the wealth, remembering that Ragnar is financial, coastal tiles are great if you have few FP cottages, gems, gold, silver or plantation resources[NEWLINE]around you.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]So, the bonus itself, one extra movement for sea units does not include work boats. On a map with plenty of water this is helpful to let you discover other civs earlier and trade tech with them. Between your financial coastal cities raking in money for a high research rate, you will also be trading for other techs of lower priority when you meet the others. From here you can go one step further and let the extra movement of your powerful navy work for you. Drydocks come with Steel and give your sea units an extra +4 XPs and are produced 50% faster. Your navy would quite literally have an extra step, but there is more. The +1 movement also helps you to circumnavigate the globe faster and hopefully beat out other civs in doing so. Either you trade for maps as you meet new civs or you do it the old fashioned way. It might be tough with a lot of ocean, but as soon as you get ships which can enter the ocean you still have the +1 movement from navigation. The +1 movement from circumnavigating the globe [BOLD]does[\BOLD] apply to your work boats![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Now let us consider the Bersek, the Viking UU which is a Maceman with the Amphibious promotion and an intrinsic +10% City Attack. Adding the CR1 and you are already at +30%. Being Aggressive, you only start with Combat 1 for an extra 10% unit strength and the unit itself has +50% vs. Melee Units. So for a CR Berserk against a melee defender in a coastal city we are talking +80% strength for nearly double the 8 [ICON_STRENGTH], more like 15.2 [ICON_STRENGTH]. If you can meet some civs while they still have only archers (11.2 [ICON_STRENGTH], or even better, Warriors (or Axemen), their cities become yours very easily. On an achipelago map, most if not all of their cities will be coastal and that is what a financial leader with the Colossus and GL wants right? With the patch, the Civil Service or CoL slingshot might be harder to do, but if you concentrate on the money, research can go quicker for you, plus a GP could help you out along the way too. Berserks can be built with Copper or Iron, so if you have researched for copper and have none, trade for IW or research it and try again.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]On Great Plains, Oasis or other maps with little coastal tiles, this building is very useless. It really shines in the water maps although the Berserk can still be useful for attacking across rivers.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Whether for meeting tech trading partners earlier or wiping out some rivals early the Trading Post gives a nice bonus. One could go on to eliminate everyone rather quickly or if not take some prime real estate to help with a culture/space/diplomatic victory. For full blown conquest or domination, this building can be helpful on the right map. It would be nice to see +10% trade route or commerce in the city as well, but it still nicely complements the amphibious Berserk. If not on a archipelago or lakes map it value is greatly reduced however.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Zulu Ikhanda (Barracks - double production for Aggressive leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Barracks that act as a mini-courthouse by giving -20% maintnance costs. This means you can wait for CoL a little later and still expand reasonable quicker than your rivals.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This building greatly complements the expansive and aggressive Shaka because he gets double production speed. He is one of two leaders (the other being Frederick) who gets their UB at half the building cost. Barracks cost 50 [ICON_PRODUCTION] while the Ikhanda costs 60 [ICON_PRODUCTION] so the double production bonus still a big factor. Patched Warlords and BtS only gives +3 XPs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Expanding out is aided with reduced costs and whether you warmonger or not it's a nice bonus. Couple it with the courhouse and that is -70% maintenance costs, not bad at all. If taking over cities, this UB is cheaper to build than a courthouse (80 [ICON_PRODUCTION] and don't forget the double production) In a large, productive city taken from the enemy, this building will let it start contributing to the war machine.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I would not put the Zulu as a culture contender with no cheap culture buildings to build, but diplomatic, domination, space race and conquest all seem possibilities because the benefits of reduced maintenance can be used for any means. I have actually seen some comments that cultural was easy with Shaka. Perhaps the extra maintenance reduction allows for more cities and more cathedrals.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In Beyond the Sword, they have fixed the problem that the Ikhanda had in Warlords and it now like the Barracks, it also receives +2 happiness when running the Nationhood civic. So, quicker expansion and extra happiness from a building which is meant to produce units with +3 XPs. Remembering the synergy with Fuedalism and Theocracy that is +8 XPs and while other civs get that and the barrcks happiness too, they do not get the lower maintenance costs while growing their empires through conquest.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You might not build barracks in every city, at higher level especially, but this UB can pay dividends by being in every city. It's so cheaper, why would one not even bother? The synergy with the courthouse can be nice.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Probably a building best used to expand as quickly as allowed. Domination or conquest or large number of cities to help with research/spaceship construction. Finally, if this UB makes you more likely to build barracks straight away, your military will benefit, but should it be first in the build queue?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]That is the rundown of the Unique Buildings. I would like to thank everyone for their input and support.</Italian>
		<Spanish>[H1]Comprehensive Unique Building Guide (BTS)[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]WilliamOfOrange[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is a my first attempt at a strategy guide given that most of the players with more skill/talent/time usually write up some beauties, but I have been inspried to contribute something about my favourite part of the Warlords expansion: the Unique Building.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I often load up the game and civilopedia just to see which UBs might match the victory condition that I feel like going for. I appreciate reading peoples' work, so I hope I can return the favour here in bringing this strategy article to you. The great thing about this game is the many different strategies and uses for things like leader traits, UUs and UBs. And what is truly great about the UBs is the flexibility and choices most of them give the player so ratings are not necessary; only strategies and synergies need be discussed. What makes a UB (or UU) great is how it is used the most effectively. With the new combinations that Beyond the Sword offers, this could get quite complicated, however I will only focus on the standard and normal civilization UB combinations here.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Here we go:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]American Mall (Supermarket):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I have only played the Americans in a Gauntlet with a Future start going for Space Race, but I have to say the building was a nice boost. It is a good choice for an American UB, I feel. For the same price as a supermarket (which provides extra health from cow, deer, pig and sheep) you also get happiness from the three late "entertainment/culture wonders" or ECWs; musicals from Broadway, singles from Rock n' Roll and movies from Hollywood, and now with the patch, plus 20% gold in the city to boot! For a future era start, maybe not needed right away, but if in a long game where your population is reaching health and happiness limits, its a great building to have even if it does come late in the game. That alone is enough, but the +20% gold can be nice too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Building one or all of those happiness/culture wonders mentioned above would add 3 happiness points like that and the added health means larger cities as well. What is your pleasure, GP farming or warmongering? Either way, I think it helps out. Not sure about using it with Washington, who is charismatic and expansive, so the +2 health means the health bonus from the mall maybe isn't so big. Then again, you can afford to build polution causing, production buildings with all that extra health. Also the +1 happiness in all cities and from monuments or broadcast towers (which is great if you build the Eiffel Tower) seems to negate the happiness from the mall too. But, if you were to play as the industrious and organized Roosevelt, then you could get some of the benefits of Washington at the same time if you build malls.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It seems that the extra health and happiness could really give Lincoln a nice late game edge when large, polluting cities needs extra [ICON_HEALTHY] and [ICON_HAPPY]. Given his philosophical trait, he is a great candidate for space race because of the Mall's bonuses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, it does come late and requires a grocer to be built. Given that the grocer gives +1 health from bananas, wine, sugar and spice, that might solve your health problems already. Grocers also give +25 wealth and can turn two citizens into Merchants. Maybe you don't need the health, but the money is always nice. With Grocer, Market, Bank and Mall that is 120% increase in income. Yay, Capitalism![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With a granary, a grocer and the supermarket/mall you get health from rice, corn, wheat, bananas, wine, sugar, spice, deer, cow, pig and sheep. That's 11 health points! So as stated above, that means the ability to build forges, factories and other polluting buildings. It would all depend on your civics (environmentalism), if you have FP or trees and jungle in your fat cross and your goals (production, warmongering, space race, etc)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As for the happiness, with charismatic trait, you get +1 per city, and ignoring any happiness from temples, theatres, coliseums look at what building one of the three ECWs gives you once you have a mall and broadcast tower, (either by it self, or the much better option of the Eiffel Tower). For example you build Hollywood, +1 [ICON_HAPPY]and with mall and broacast tower, another +2 [ICON_HAPPY]for a total of +3 for the same resource!! If you build all three ECWs and the Eiffel Tower, you are looking at +9 happiness for three resources not to mention that you can trade your extra singles, movies and musicals to other civs for resources you may not have, like Aluminum or Iron or Oil. Add in the fact that you likely have temples, theatres or whatever other happiness producing buildings and the fact that the broadcast tower (along with threatres and coliseums) will give +1 happiness for every 10% culture. If you have all three in a city, then that means +3 [ICON_HAPPY] for only raising the culture setting up by 10%. For warmongering this is huge![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Warmongering seems to fit America as a charismatic Washington or Lincoln also gets quicker promotions and you will have more money coming in to support a large army and upgrade your troops. The Mall is a Cottage Economy UB, but Lincoln is a Specialist Economy Leader, so there may be some mismatch here.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Although some may feel that is comes too late or when the game is pretty much finished and you are either milking the score or just mopping up, it seems to me that given a large varied collection of resources, the Mall gives the American player the ability and flexibilty to trade extra health/happiness resources away and not suffer their loss, or to exploit them and kick into high production/war monger gear and not look back. Lincoln is a bonafide space contender, quite a deal over Washington and Roosevelt.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Arabian Madrassa (Library - double production for Creative leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If the Chinese Pavilion is the "Big Daddy" of culture UBs, then the Madrassa is the "Big Momma". With a whopping +4 culture per turn is lends itself to a culture victory. Given that Writing is an early tech and you would likely build a library anyway, it's a no-brainer to place Writing higher up in your tech queue. In fact, I have experiemented with beelining for it and not worrying about early religions for cultural games. Libraries cost the same, but in addition to assigning to scientists, you can [BOLD]also[\BOLD] assign two prophets.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The culture route is likely the biggest draw for this one, but you could also concentrate on farming GP and GS only if you like. Lightbulbing to get ahead in tech and maybe settling some of them as well so that you could build the UN quickly. The big culture ensures that you have the resources if you join/start the space race or just own all the land around you for domination victories. Farming GPs will help you progress nicely through the religious tech and that means more religions, holy cities, shrines and mo' money, mo' money, mo' money! And it can also help you control religion spreading for diplomatic manipulation.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other then the danger of polluting your GP pool if you are not careful and don't want that for a cultural victory, I can't think of any problems.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] All-round, early UB with simple bonuses, but powerful if used to their strengths.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Aztec Sacrificial Altar (Courthouse - double production for Organized leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I just realized that these badboys are only 90 shields compared to the 120 needed for a courthouse! In addition to halving maintenaince costs in the city it also halves the anger caused by whipping buildings in the city. I have not played many Aztec games but I recall reading about a false OCC on another forum where the Aztecs started on a Plains/Hill island and needed to wait until Optics to get across the ocean. The prospect of rushing buildings through slavery seemed to make the task more managable. I had played as the Incas one time on the 1000 AD Earth map and I never left slavery until I had emancipation. I wonder about the same strategy with the Aztecs, seems to be far more effective. Finally, everything gets the discounted unhappiness from rushing (amazing what nice people can point out and you can verify by playing the game and testing). Holy Quetzalcoatl! That changes everything![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Like the courthouse, it also gives +2 Espionage points and allows you to turn one citizen into a Spy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One could whip their hands bloody, but to what advantage? Fast culture, fast science/research or fast infrastructure like banks, grocers, etc. Space race might benefit from this strategy, but can projects be whipped? Once you whip production buildings, you can pump out units and dominate/conquer the world. Or just whip the units out and slay everything in your path.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A large spanning empire through conquest would be able to build cheaper courthouses and then whip some culture and happiness buildings to help keep maintenance costs down and develop captured cities into productive contributors more quickly. In war times you could have the possibility of both drafting and then whipping units. Finally, you can finish off a wonder earlier and perhaps beat the AI to a few depending on difficulty level.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In terms of Bts, we have also only begun to explore the mechanics of espionage, but giving +2 espionage points and the ability to turn a citizen into this new type of GP is almost a throw in after the whipping unhappiness reduction. As a warmonger, this new feature of producing great spies has some definite synergy. The courthouse is likely not always the first items in a build queue, but I feel the Altar has two things that make it a higher priority.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Altars come too late to help whip barracks and the aggressive Monty gets cheaper barracks anyway. But, now that I know the reduced penalty for whipping [BOLD]does[\BOLD] apply to units, a quick ASAP conquest victory is likely not going to be done with CoL and the Altar. This is one of the reasons I have used this technique very little but am more open to trying mid-game conquests. If you are on a large map with many civs, this UB makes more sense. You could be pumping out settlers and workers and units and scouts or even missionaries. However, continuing whipping will keep the population low in those cities if you want to be economical since larger cities taker longer to get back up to that high population and having low populated cities would mean that perhaps you are not utilizing all of the good tiles available to be worked in the fat cross. Having low population might result in slower teching, but if you are whipping settlers and workers and the Altars help lower maintainence then having many small cities might offset that. Eventually, the unhappiness will catch up however, but I am sure that there are plenty of savvy players out there that have slavery fine tuned to both an art and science.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]An appropriately related UB for the Aztecs, but not the culture bomb like in Civ 3 and not as powerful as could be due its somewhat late appearance. That being said, an Oracle slingshot could give you it quicker and then it might be worth more, but a slingshot solely to use this UB doesn't really merit the risk, especially on higher levels and needing Math too. It can be effective for starting out and if it is the first thing build/whipped in a newly captured city, then it will become a contributing city soon enough. I owe this UB an apology for not originally realizing the full potential and the ability to whip units. I has been fun using when playing as the Aztecs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Babylonian Garden (Colosseum - double production for Creative leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]How cute, a UB named for their Hanging Gardens. The building gives extra +2 [ICON_HEALTHY] and this UB is much like the Ottoman Hammam except the Babylonians getting a health bonus on the Colosseum rather than a happiness bonus on the Aqueduct. This UB will give health bonuses independent of what food resources their may be. It also has it's happiness linked to the culture slider and costs 80 hammers, just like the Colosseum.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Being aggressive and organized as well as the Babylonian UU might make Hammurabi a warmonger candidate. Assuming more cities earlier on, perhaps one could make use of the the extra health. Certainly high polluting cities for a warmonger or space race could use it. Organized gets cheap lighthouses (more food), courthouses (faster expansion) and factories for more production. High production with extra health could mean some good warring possibilities with his Aggression or it could mean space race contention.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It comes with Construction and is 20 hammers less expensive than an Aqueduct. A Theatre is still a cheaper option for happiness if you don't need the health. Later in the game, when high production is needed, but unhealthy, this UB will give a slight health advantage, but the beauty is that is comes so early that you would not have to stop producing military units or spaceship components to build it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]This UB will have to be thoroughly tested before evaluation can be made.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Byzantine Hippodrome (Theatre - double production for Creative leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Hippodrome is like a super Theatre. Sure, you get +3 [ICON_CULTURE], the two Artists to assign and the bonus for dyes, but you also get one for horses, hence the name HIPPOdrome. It also has a base happiness of +1, but it that wasn't enough (and it never is), you also get +1 [ICON_HAPPY]for every 5% culture on your slider, instead of the normal 10%. This essentially doubles that ability of the building to give happiness from culture.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Where to begin? Well the extra happiness from a smaller culture slider means more money devoted to maintenance of cities for your expanding empire, more military units and upgrades, more research, you name it. Justinian I is Imperialistic and you will have more money available to take advantage of your fast settler production. Since the Cataphract UU is dependent on horses, it is a no brainer to try and connect the horses ASAP. Being religious gives the flexibility of fast settlement and then gearing up for war or space exploration or anything else. Running Serfdom and OR and than switching to Feudalism and Theocracy. The extra happiness is great and also leads to a economic advantage which is up to your imagination to exploit. This UB is a far better choice than building a Colosseum for the Byzantines.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Extra happiness is never a drawback, and as stated earlier, this leads to an economically advantage. Even without horses or dyes, there is still the +1 base [ICON_HAPPY].[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]While not overpowered on paper, it remains to be seen how useful this UB actually will be. So far, it looks very promising.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Carthaginian Cothon (Harbour - double production for expansive leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]So, a harbour which gives +1 trade routes to a coastal city to Hannibal, a financial leader who starts with fishing. What is the catch, you ask? I can't think of any. I have only played a game or two with Carthage, but you gotta love their chances.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]First off, Financial and Fishing is already great. Find some coastal tiles with food sources and settle down. In fact when I play as Carthage (or the Vikings for that matter) it's nothing but coastal cities if I can help it. Your income will give a fast tech pace and you can plan for diplomatic or space victories, although I am not sure about others. I guess being ahead in tech will help keeping a more advanced army.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The base number of trade routes for a city is one, but if you have discovered Currency and build a castle or run the Free Market civic in [BOLD]addition[\BOLD] to your Cothons, that means 3 trade routes. (You can't do both since Economic obsoletes the castle.) The Colossus adds +1 gold in [BOLD]all[\BOLD] water tiles and the Great Lighthouse adds [BOLD]+2 trade routes in [BOLD]all[\BOLD] coastal cities.[\BOLD] If you have a map with many civs, and nice silver or gold or calendar enabling resources which gives you huge coin besides your financial bonus you will have some rich cities. If you are around late enough and make an early move for flight and the UN, the Airport and the Common Currency Resolution give you [BOLD]another[\BOLD] 2 trade routes![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Didn't talk about cottage spamming yet, so there. I said it. Cottage Spamming. Now, need I mention the +50% trade route yield? That +50% on your 7 trade routes! Don't forget the additional 100% from the Temple of Artemis. Add markets, banks and Wall Street and you will be using C-notes for TP.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Compass can come pretty late, but a beeline or slingshot or a combo of both to iron working could land you your cothons earlier than you might think. The tech or time lost getting your UB will be made up for when you have +1 trade routes in your lucrative coastal cities even if they cost an extra 20 hammers. And that may be the only drawback, you need to have coastal cities. If you want to reign supreme with Hannibal, you need high sea levels and likely some sort of Archipelago map[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other than being map dependent, this UB is quite possibly the best matched with the civs leader traits and starting techs. With more money you can support a larger army/empire or research faster.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Celtic Dun (Walls - double production for Protective leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Walls that produce units with a free Guerrilla I promotion for +20% defense on hills. In a discussion about the best UUs I read that Swordmen or Melee units can't get the Guerrilla promotion. This would explain both why the UU starts with it and why the UB gives it to units produced in that city. Only Archery and Gunpowder units can get the promotion. Siege, Melee, Mounted and Armoured don't.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It is important to remember that the G3 30 Hills Attack bonus only coming when attcking [BOLD]into[\BOLD] Hills and not from them. Still, the 30% withdrawal is also handy and has helped out greatly in games I have played, so whether you have hills or not thw withdrawal is worth it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I am not sure whether or not holding off researching Rifling, the obsoleting tech matters because any musketmen or grenadiers that you build will have the Guerrilla I, but once you have riflemen with a strength of 14, maybe grenadiers with 12 don't look so good. Perhaps if your opponents have rifling you would hold off on getting it yourself as the bonus grenadiers have against rifles and their Guerrilla bonus might prove worth keeping for a bit or at least until you have a good amount of them. It would all depend on the other promotions they have and your opponents. Upgrading your Gallic Swordsman to Macemen you do not lose the Guerrilla I. Even if they were given Guerrilla II or even III [BOLD]before[\BOLD] being upgraded then they keep it. Some shrewd manipulation of the promotion chart would prove most rewarding. Build your archery and gunpowder units, give them the G2 promotion and then discover Rifling. Upgrade your archery units and musketmen to riflemen, remembering that only Grenadiers can be promoted to Machine Gunners (considered siege unit). Your G2 or G3 Gallic Warriors becomes Macemen and then either Riflemen or Grenadiers. Riflemen and Machine Gunners can both be promoted to Mechanized Infantry (gunpowder unit), while only Riflemen can be upgraded to SAM Infantry. Below is a crude flowchart:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_COMMERCE]Gallic Warrior[COLOR_REVERT] --&gt; [COLOR_YIELD_COMMERCE]Maceman[COLOR_REVERT] -----\[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]   \__ [COLOR_BLUE]Grenadier[COLOR_REVERT] --&gt; [COLOR_RED]Machine Gun[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB]/--&gt; [COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Crossbowman[COLOR_REVERT] _/\[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]\[NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Archer[COLOR_REVERT] -----/[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]   \_\[COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT] --&gt; [COLOR_BLUE]Infantry[COLOR_REVERT] --&gt; [COLOR_BLUE]Mechanized Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB]\--&gt;  [COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Longbowman[COLOR_REVERT] ___/[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]  \[NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Musketman[COLOR_REVERT]___________________/[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]   \___[COLOR_BLUE]SAM Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Unit[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][ICON_PRODUCTION][TAB][ICON_STRENGTH][TAB][ICON_MOVES][TAB][TAB]Bonuses[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Upgrade[\BOLD][NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Archer[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]25[TAB]3[TAB]1[TAB]1st Strike,[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Longbowman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+50% City &amp; +25% Hills Defense[TAB][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Crossbowman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_COMMERCE]Gallic Warrior[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]60[TAB]6[TAB]1[TAB]+10% City Attack[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_YIELD_COMMERCE]Maceman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Starts with Guerrilla I[NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Longbowman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]50[TAB]6[TAB]1[TAB]1st Strike[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+25% City &amp; +25% Hills Defense[NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Crossbowman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]60[TAB]6[TAB]1[TAB]1st Strike,[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Grenadier[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+50% vs. Melee Units[TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_COMMERCE]Maceman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]80[TAB]8[TAB]1[TAB]+50% vs. Melee Units[TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Grenadier[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Musketman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]80[TAB]9[TAB]1[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Grenadier[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]100[TAB]12[TAB]1[TAB]+50% vs. Riflemen[TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_RED]Machine Gun[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]110[TAB]14[TAB]1[TAB]+25% vs. Mounted Units[TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Machine Gun[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]125[TAB]18[TAB]1[TAB]Can only defend, 1st Strike[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+25% vs. Gunpowder Units[TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Mech Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]140[TAB]20[TAB]1[TAB]+25% vs. Gunpowder Units[TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]SAM Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Mech Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]SAM Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]150[TAB]18[TAB]1[TAB]40% Intercept Chance[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+50% vs. Helicopter Units[NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Mech Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]200[TAB]32[TAB]2[TAB]20% Intercept Chance[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Starts with March[NEWLINE]*Beyond the Sword[NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Archery Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_COMMERCE]Melee Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Gunpowder Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Siege Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Who wouldn't want these Mech or SAM Infantry units with double movement on Hills, +30% Defence, +25% Hill Attack and 30% chance of Withdrawal? Most players sadly undervalue what this UB can do for you later in the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Being charismatic, both Brennus and new-comer Boudica give quicker promotions and if you wanted the Guerrilla I promotion anyway then you are free to choose something else. Don't forget the extra +1 happiness per city and the +1 happiness from the Monument: early happiness for warring or ignoring temple for other more important buildings such as courthourse, forges, libraries, etc. Warring on a hilly or highlands type map seems a good strategy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You could build a stack of any units and upgrade them with the G1 promotion remaining. This bonus makes you just one closer to G2 which gives another 30% defense in Hills and well as double movement on Hills, making hilly maps such as highlands easier to navigate. Remember that with the patch the G3 promotion gives the +25% attack bonus [BOLD]and[\BOLD]a 30% chance of withdrawal! With a charismatic leader you could easily get both of those either out of the barracks and with one fight or from a GG, but don't forget the +4 from running Theocracy and Feudalism. Running both of those and having a barracks means units made will have 7/8 XP to start. Finally, Boudica is aggressive so not only does this mean the Combat I promotion for free, but also cheaper barracks. This means building barracks [BOLD]and[\BOLD] a Dun just got more practical even or especially without stone. But a free Combat I is nothing to sneeze at if you are promoting up the Guerrilla line.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One might build the Great Wall and "trick" the AI to try and fight you in your backyard. Your Guerrilla resistance troops will protect any hill resource and if you give them Woodsman I or higher or even more Guerrilla, you will give them a heck of a time trying to dislodge you. They would defend any cats or trebs or whatever you bring along if you fight on their turf too. Giving unit both Guerrilla II and Woodsman II means a versatile unit capable of sneak attacks on weaker units or maybe even an invaluable resource pillager.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I would suggest delaying Rifling until you have upgraded all your G1 units into musketman or grenadiers, maybe a 50-50 mix. Discover Rifling, but then upgrade them into Riflemen, and from their you can have Infantry, SAM Infantry [BOLD]and[\BOLD] Mechanized Infantry with this defensive bonus. Going in pillaging the AI resources for space race or preventing them from building nukes can be done with these expert pillagers.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It's a nice bonus, but not really any drawbacks. In fact now that walls and duns give +25% bombardment protection (about time) and castles do too, one might be more likely to build castles if they didn't before, especially since in BtS they also give +25% espionage points. With both a Dun and Castle one gets +100% defense and +50% bombardment defense from non-gunpowder units. The extra trade route from the castle and the espionage points are throw-ins.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For warmongering or pillaging/protecting resources no matter what the goal this UB can provide you with units that will have an advantage on hills. How you use those units, promote or upgrade them will depend on your goals, immediate and future needs and terrain/resources. The strength in this UB is the versatility it provides. I predict that Boudica's traits will make the Celts a more attractive Civ to play as. She will be a warmonger's dream and possibly one of the most fierce of opponents. Outside of warmongering, there is not much this UB can do other than help one explore a hilly map more quickly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Chinese Pavlion (Theatre - double production for Creative civ):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The undisputed culture building king and "Big Daddy" of the cultural UBs. Cultural victory fans must have thought they hit the bigtime when they saw this beauty. Aside from the +3 culture the it gives +25% for culture in the city. Building the pavilion alone gives a culture per turn of 3.75, slightly less than the Madrassa, but this will double after 1000 years, but more importantly the 25% is added to everything.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]What makes the pavilion the culture champion is the +25% bonus continues throughout the game and so the quicker the culture from other buildings can be added to the city, the better. Imagine a few early wonders with their culture doubling and then the added 25%. Sure, it's not game breaking, but one might not feel as obligated to crank the culture switch or convert to Free Speech as quickly with the bonus this UB gives.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The traits of the leaders don't really work that well with this building, but it does ensure no matter what that nearby resources our yours. This allows you to persue the late game win conditions such as diplomatic, space race or a late conquest. Or more likely, early in the game you will have more resources than otherwise and you can dictate the trade terms and stifle the AI by denying them that one precious iron or uranium or oil or aluminum as the case may be.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Although not able to overly accelerate the cultural win time frame, this building I have found to be quite amazing for domination games. With a few founded religions and no state religion and a pavilion, you just keep pumping out settlers and units and let the borders expand like your waistline after college.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other than persuing a cultural/domination victory or claiming resources, there in not much extra outside of the normal theatre uses/features. Even in a cultural game, it is not enough to be a real advantage because of China's leader traits or strating techs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD] What you see is what you get. Nothing to really want to you play China any more than you normally would, except maybe for a quicker domination win or being a resource hog and super businessman/diplomat.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Dutch Dike (Levee):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Dutch UB, the Dike replaces the Levee which itself, is a new building introduced in Beyond the Sword. The Levee is available with Steam Power and gives +1 hammer on every river tile and costs 180 hammers. It brings up some interesting choices regarding tiles improvements to say the least. Meanwhile, the Dike also gives the +1 production boost to all water tiles as well. Any coastal city will greatly benefit and the great thing is that it does not need to be a coastal city either. Therefore even cities one tile in from the coast or with small lakes will still have water tiles gaining the bonus.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With Willem being Financial, the choice to build cottages on river tiles might appear to be a no-brainer, but often players will want increased production and build watermills, windmills or lumbermills in their place. The great thing about the Dike or Levee for that matter, is that it gives a production bonus to the tiles regardless of improvement. Now, imagine a Dutch coastal city on a river with cottages, a Dike, Universal Sufferage, Organized Religion and in a Golden Age. Imagine the Bureaucracy bonus on that too. As a Dutchie, I can hardly wait to see that! Some late wonders and project races just got a little easier to win. As this is a BtS civ, let us not forget the tweak on State Property and also the Moai Statues which are like a Dike, but a wonder which does not expire. Some great production synergy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Being financial, building on rivers would be your goal anyway, but any city without rivers or water tiles will have absolutely no use for this UB and therefore it will likely be quite map dependent in its effectiveness. Even if they have 2-4 tiles that would benefit, you might want to weigh the 180 hammer cost before putting them everywhere. Also, the UB does come quite late, of course later in the game is when things start to cost more hammers too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The only thing better than extra happiness is extra production, so if your map allows for this opportunity, any goal whether it be pumping out military units, settlers and workers, wonders or spaceship parts. While both Levees and Dikes will only be of use to cities with river tiles, to take full advantage of this UB, one would need to build more coastal cities or at least not be in the middle of the continent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Egyptian Obelisk (Monument):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This Egyptian monument can turn two citizens into priests. Pretty powerful for early in the game. Even if Egypt doesn't start with Mysticism, they have the ability to build the very first building with the ability to assign specialists. You could use the GPs produced to techbulb (TM ) yourself to whatever your little heart desires.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One could argue that with Hatshepsut, the creative +2 culture bonus would negate the +1 culture from the obelisk, but you could also spin it to being equivalent to a theatre culture-wise. Then again, with cheap temples, theatres, and libraries why else would you play her without going for cultural victory? With cheap colosseums too, you now have two buildings which will give you +1 happiness for every 10% culture. Once you hit that culture switch, you needn't worry about happiness resources, except maybe incense and dyes.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As Illithid has so eloquently put it:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]"The fact that it obsoletes fairly early is really not much of an issue for the purpose it serves. Both leaders can benefit from this. For the most part it really only takes one city with one, though using Stonehenge to put it in multiple cities isn't bad at all. The great prophets that you can generate quickly from the priest specialists allow you to claim several of the mid to late religions. This is one of the key features you tend to want to accomplish when going for a culture victory. Once you get 2-3 religions you don't really care to much about making this building go obsolete and switching to temples to support any other priest specialists if you still need to grab the rest of the religions or if you want holy shrines.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The obelisk might better complement the industrious and spiritual Rameses II. He can build quick wonders like Oracle and Stonehenge and maybe a cultural victory could be sought since you could really crank out Great Prophets. One further thing could be to settle those prophets and once you have Angkor Wat and cheap forges from industrious Ramses, you have a great chance for the space race victory or just high production warmongering. Even if you don't go those routes, the extra production for other things can work well like buildings wonders for cultural (with either leader) or building the UN. Both leaders could definitely could try for a domination win as well with the quick culture boost from Stonehenge."[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great Prophets will only techbulb (TM ) you to the mostly religious techs and that might not always be the way to go.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Most UBs don't get obsoleted. The earlist possible one to build is also the first one obsoleted. Although one can ignore Calendar, the obsoleting tech for the UB for some time, eventually you may want/need to develop those sugar, spices and incense tiles. In Beyond the Sword, it becomes obsoleted with Astronomy, so it is possible depending on one's strategies and goals to avoid that tech all together. If you have many religions and temples as a result of your early GPs then you can obsolete the Obelisk and still gain GPPs for more GPs later. It's what you choose to do with those priests you assign, that really affects the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Obsoleting Stonehenge means the Obelisks not physically built a city will disappear, whereas building them all by hand means they stay and continue to stand and have their base culture of 1 double to 2 over time. It is not a great deal for some victory conditions such as space or diplomatic, but domination and cultural might need to consider this.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great Prophets early, can be a tech boost, but unless you are surrounded by food bonuses, you won't be able to assign those priests anyway. With practice, it could be used quite effectively.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Ethiopian Stele (Monument):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This Ethiopian monument can give +25% culture in addition to the +1.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This UB probably screams cultural victory, but the 25% bonus won't really matter until much later in the game. Also, in BtS the obsoleting tech is Astronomy which can be avoided for some time so long as you don't plan on colonizing another continent. One can play a cultural victory without ever researching and discovering or trading for it, so this bonus would be added for the entire game. Being Organized, the ability to settle new cities more quicker would be helped by any additional cultural boundaries pushing further out. With key resources claimed, his cheap factories will use the resources to build spaceship components or military units much more quickly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Furthermore, let's not ignore the fact that like the Egyptians, building Stonehenge will put this UB in every one of your cities. Now, this is truly a thing not to miss if you want to try for a domination victory. Especially when you consider the Organized trait of the Ethiopian leader. Again, ignoring Astronomy would likely need to be done as well, but your domination victory might not take that long.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Remember, Zara Yaqob in Creative so the 25% in the beginning is not that big of the deal, but with the cheap libraries and theatres in no time it will have an impact.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Zara Yaqob does not start with Mysticism, the prerequisite tech. Most UBs don't get obsoleted. The earliest possible one to build could have it's lifespan shortened depending on your tech path. Losing out on the culture bonus it not a big loss in another victory condition, but the quick land grab would be a huge boost. Of course, one requires religions or other cultural building to really benefit from the UB. Although one can ignore Astronomy, the obsoleting tech for the UB for some time, eventually you may want/need to expand to other continents or build observatories to boost your science level. For other victories, the UB is still perhaps needed as the cultrual trait gives you the resources you want early, but in the face of other cultural powerhouses, it might be helpful to retain or even capture resources culturally.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Obsoleting Stonehenge means the Stelae not physically built a city will disappear, whereas building them all by hand means they stay and continue to stand and have their base culture of 1 double to 2 over time. Not only that, but you have now lost the 25% culture boost in those cities. It is not a great deal for some victory conditions such as space or dipolmatic, but domination and cultural might need to consider this.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The true strength of this UB depends on what else is build in the city, but with a few ancient wonders, library, temples and other with the doubled culture for their age, the Stele alone would have quite an impact.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][u][BOLD]English Stock Exchange (Bank):[/b][\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wow, I really see why Liz is a fan favourite for some. The Stock Exchange gives the an extra 15% gold bonus to what a bank normally does (50%) for a total of +65%. With two financial leaders to choose from this is a very versatile UB. You can go Philosophical with Liz or Imperialistic with Vicky.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]No matter what you chose for your victory path, commerce drives research and things are great. Add markets and grocers means a total 115% gold increase. Even warmonger Churchill will benefit, but financial really exploits this UB. What is great about this UB compared to the Carthaginian Cothon is that you needn't only build on the coast and so you can use this on any map and whereas the Cothon only give +50% bonus to the trade routes the 65% bonus from the SE is cumulative with other buildings. I suppose the math would work out depending on many factors, but it suffices to say the stock exchange can be build anywhere. Even so, you likely want most if not all of your cities on the coast, as there is usually more lucrative tiles in the water (outside of FP cottages) especially if you build the Colossus and Great Lighthouse, but a few gold or silver mines or luxuries resources are great too. Up to Airports and the right civics and you can have 7 trade routes in a city and Wall Street. Cottage spam and run Emancipation, Universal Suffrage and Free Market and you will be laughing all the way to the bank! Er, make that all the way to the Stock Exchange.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This can be used to keep the tech slider higher and tech faster to get your space race/diplo win started early or you can keep a larger empire and army with upgrades when you want and need without waiting to save the money.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Um, how about "no?" Money makes the world go 'round![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]England starts with fishing and mining, so look out. Not sure what else can be said here. I think ABBA said it best: "Money, Money, Money" $$$$[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]French Salon (Observatory):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Salon is an observatory which gives a free artist. It might not seem like much, but for cultrual victories it can be quite nice.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Okay, first of all, with the patch, Louis can now build cheap theatres and libraries! He is creative and the +2 culture is only a small amount, but the cheap buildings is great. In fact, Louis gets libraries, theatres, coliseums and forges at half production cost. Not too shabby.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Given the anarchy caused by switching to Mercantilism perhaps going from liberalism to astronomy makes sense. With a little wait to Astronomy, you can built your UB which gives a free Great Artist, rather than going through anarchy to get it. Of course you have to build these Salons, but they are cheaper than universities and with the Sistine Chapel the free Great Artist gives more culture for the same amount of science boost (+25%). But, maybe you do want to switch to Mercantilism so you can have another free type of GP. If not, then you have got two free artists with the library, salon, (and university) and the Statue of Liberty is not that far away with his cheap forge and quicker building of the Statue of Liberty. Either way you could have 2-3 free artists, not to mention the others you could assign. This means you can run something other than Caste System. And speaking of science boost, why not run Representation with those free artists? Use the library, salon and uni to beeline for the ECWs and you are laughing. C'est formidable! C'est magnifique! D'accord?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Running representation with Salon' free artists as either Louis XIV or de Gaulle could be a strategy for space race victories.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Not sure what Napoleon would do with the free artist other than maintain culture borders on resources on a crowded map, but then again you could build a cheap theatre in the likely small city first. The Salon is like an observatory, so keeping up the tech pace to have more advanced troops might be desirable. You could however have your larger cities with these GAs and go and culture bomb you new acquisitions. If you want other GPs, then perhaps the Salon will pollute your GPPs, so beware.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Charles de Gaulle is charismatic and industrious, like a hybrid of Louis and Napoleon. He has extra happiness resources and can promote units faster, making him a warmonger equal to Napoleon, except where Napoleon's Organization might let him keep a larger empire, de Gaulle would have more production strengths in cheaper forges and wonders.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are likely some other possibilities to be discussed as there seems to be lacking a certain "je ne sais quoi?", but this UB should not be taken lightly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]German Assembly Plant (Factory - double production for Organized leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Assembly Plant is a factory which can change 4 citizens into engineers instead of just two. It also has double production speed with coal. I haven't tried Germany out yet, but this is a mouth watering temptation. Die Fragen ist: "Welchen F'hrer m'chten Sie spielen?"[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Which leader? Well, take your pick. This UB complements both leaders very, very nicely and is the most synergistic combo of both leaders and[NEWLINE]their UB of all the civs in the game (with apologies to the two Queens of England). This UB is all about output, production and power. Was sind St'rken jedes F'hrers? What are each leader's strengths?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Otto von Bismarck: Expansive and Industrious. Sure, there is only +2 health with the patch, but health will be needed to offset production buildings that cause pollution. Later in the game every health counts and is needed. Bismarck can be a warmonger with a huge empire and pumping out units like nobody's business or cranking out spaceship parts while eying Alpha Centauri. Bizzy gets granary, harbour and forge at double production speed so a fast build for forge and the Plant and two cheap health providing buildings to offset the pollution.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Frederick: Organized and Philosophical. With cheap lighthouses, courthouses, universities and cheap factories...or in this case these very Assembly Plants also double production with coal, Freddy is a powerhouse! There hasn't been a German industrial influence like this since Kraftwerk! I say span out, get the economy/research going and prepare for the space age! With the Assembly Plant costing 250 hammers and having two double speeds bonuses, it would be like building these babies for 62 hammers! The reason space age would be so synergistic is the 100% increase in GPs being produced. So you could be farming scientists and engineers on your GP farm and building your high production cities elsewhere. Ideally, if you had 2-4 food sources with some production bonuses, you would be in good shape. Ich denke das ich spiele gern mit Freddy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To a total of 50% hammer increase from buildings (forge and factory), you can add +50% from power (supplied by the either hydro, coal or nuclear plants, but the Three Gorges Dam can be more economical), +100% from the Ironworks (+50% each for iron and coal), +50% from Bureaucracy. With some good food sources you will max out your six engineers and likely have some priests too. If you settled some Great Engineers or Prophets, good for you! Don't forget the +25 bonus for OR and the +100% for having a special resource when building buildings. You can also have a laboratory that gives +50% bonus in addition to +100% again for having a resource. So a basic bonus of +250% in your capital (+200% out of capital) with +125% to +150% when building buildings or projects respectively for a total of around +385% or +410%. Depending on your base production, things can be quite productive and your leader choice for this doesn't matter other than which buildings you can build cheaper or the resources to which you have access.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Any other victory condition other than space or conquest don't seem to fully utilize this late game UB. Peace-mongering can leave it pretty much not even worth building. With a lack of health resources having a forge, this UB and Ironworks or other powerplants might not be feasible.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Given the right conditions and goals, this UB is quite useful and as stated before is a perfect match for not just one leader, but both of them. Freddy gets the slight edge thusfar, if it is indeed possible to build it for a quarter of the cost. If you are playing games that end early, this UB doesn't matter, same as their UU. The plan with Germany is perhaps to maximize the leader traits to set up an 'berstrong infrastructure and then once the UUs and UBs can be built later in the game, go hog-wild and blitzkrieg them all! Wunderbar![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Greek Odeon (Colosseum - double production for Creative leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In addition to the +1 happiness per 20% culture and for the same price as a coliseum, this UB gives +3 culture, an additional +1 happiness, can turn 2 citizens into artists and gives +1 happiness for hit singles.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Basically this means this is a more expensive theatre even with the patch dropping the cost 80 hammers. The extra price for admission compared to theatres is the hit single happiness, which in short games won't matter, but if you have the culture slider up to even 20% with this and a theatre built, the city already has +3 happiness, +4 with dyes. As with the Mall, I like the idea of killing two birds with one stone. Because it is 10% for theatres and 20% for the colosseum/odeon, that means if you raise the culture slider the happiness is increased by 3 for every 20%. With broadcast towers it is another +1 happy for every 10%, but also +1 for those hit singles again. If you have the three buildings, dyes and hit singles (either import or export) we are talking +7 happiness for a mere 20% culture.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The extra 3 culture is the big deal. Greece now instantly becomes a cultural victory contender with the price of the Colosseum/Odeon dropped and Alex building cheap universities in addition to this new +3 culture building which together with theatres might be built early enough to get +6 culture and make a nice impact once multipliers are added.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Using either Pericles' or Alex's philosophical trait, you can farm your Great Artists (my best is 16), lending again to a cultural or perhaps a domination victory more easily as Bassist2119 has reminded us in another post of the ability of the UB to assign two more GAs in addition to the 2 from the Theatre. This leaves you free to run Slavery a little longer or Serfdom since you don't really need Caste System.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For the warmonger in all of us, Construction might be more attractive than drama as it also gives War Elephants and leads to Engineering. However you would need Drama to activate the culture slider eventually once the happiness limit is hit. The hit singles don't kick in until later, but it's nice to have that as a back up. With big happiness possibilities early and late, you can run Representation or Universal Suffrage and not worry about War Weariness. The Odeon can give newly captured cities the same affect of culture and happiness from the theatres without researching a tech which is not on any warmonger things-to-do-lists.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Let's talk about Pericles now. He's Creative and Philosophical, making him the only leader to have cheap libraries and universities, not to mention theatres. He is biggest cultural contender of the BtS leaders introduced as his Odeon and traits are an even better combination than Alexander's. Everything said above for Alex holds true for Pericles, however he is a much better choice for the Greeks to win a space race or diplomatic game, at least in a more peaceful way. His cheap libraries and universities make him a true philosopher (Philosophy, from Greek: lover of knowledge/wisdom) for a tech pace. A tech lead can be useful for anything victory sought.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, why not just build a theatre (50) for slight more than half the price (80)? Drama comes right after Alphabet, a useful tech, whereas you need math and then construction for the odeon and they can be slightly most expensive to research. Well, as stated above the warmonger might like this route. Slingshotting for Construction just for the UB is a waste, unless you plan on used it to it's fullest. This means its units, as a step to Engineering and trading. Trade away any extra happiness resources to form alliances or get other resources you want like production or strategic ones. For a cultural victory it might be better pursuing after getting your GA from Music if you want to better the AI since you would already have math, but I won't try it the other way around on higher levels if you want the free GA.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Makes Greece go from non-contender culturally to a interesting choice for experimenting. Domination wins are looking good too, but space and conquest really are not affected on lower levels. The Odeon does little to complement Alexander's traits unless on high levels with more unhappiness to be offset from buildings. Remember the +6 swing with theatre/dyes, odeon, broadcast tower and hit singles. Makes Eiffel Tower's broadcast tower in every city more appealing and extra happiness can be converted into flexibility in trades, more whipping and warring.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Holy Roman Empire Rathaus (Courthouse - double production for Organized leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This UB is a courthouse with a total of 75% reduction in maintenance costs. It also allows you to build the Forbidden Palace with only 4 cities on a standard map. It also gives +2 Espionage points and allows you to turn one citizen into a Spy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Charlemagne is Imperialistic, which means quicker settler production. Not much better synergy than a UB which allows for more cities sooner without hurting your economy, since he is not Organized. It also means greater chance of GG appearances. Couple that with the protective trait and he will be in position to either maintain a large empire and pursue more peaceful victories or, be a major warmonger. The protective trait gives cheaper walls and castles and just imagine those beefed up Pikemen, the Landskneckt, with their +100% vs Mounted Units and Melee units behind them. On a hill even![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]We have also only begun to explore the mechanics of espionage, but giving +2 espionage points and the ability to turn a citizen into this new type of GP is almost a throw in after the increased maintenance reduction. As a warmonger, this new feature of producing great spies has some definite synergy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The ability for rapid expansion and a much sooner available Forbidden Palace does not conjure up any real disadvantages as Charlemagne's traits and the Empire's UU really complement each other.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The ability to have a larger empire give the flexibility to settle near important resources and map locations and strive for any victory condition.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Incan Terrace (Granary - double production for Expansive leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A granary that gives culture. Quite a cool UB, nothing special on the surface but is even more of an impact than one might suspect. Why?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, you likely would build a granary anyway especially if whipping. I had mentioned in the original writeup about playing as the Incas on the 1000AD map, and I whipping buildings like there was no tomorrow as they start on as isolated strip west of the Andes and wouldn't grow that large anyway. Granaries help with whipping; more on that later. Secondly, it is available with pottery and for financial Huayna Capac, the cottage spamming and culture producing terrace from this tech is a great choice for the first thing to research. The Terrace will accumulate enough culture from an early building to give +4 culture per turn very early in the game. So cultural victories look great. In fact, one of my earliest finish for a cultural victory is with the Incas. The financial trait allows for faster teching and for cultural games where I am almost there (lower levels) at around scientific method or astronomy, with the Incas I have sometimes discovered Electricity and built Broadway to help the last city get over. For longer games this bonus is carried further.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Building a culture producing granary, means you can concentrate totally on growing and expansion and not worry about other border encroaching your resources, you will get them back or never even lose them. You will get the fast cross much faster and not have to rush monuments or temples/theatres until later, once you have larger cities from the granaries stored food. In fact, Stonehenge is now practically useless, except for the GPP it helps you get. No need to avoid Calendar in order to keep the culture from brand new cities right off the bat. You don't want to delay the chance to build plantations or wineries as those babies are what the Financial trait thrives on. In BtS, Stonehenge and monuments expire with Astronomy, so that may be moot now.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]When you capture a city normally, what do you do? Build a theatre for culture (maybe happiness, but you should have some plantations for that) and the granary takes a back seat. For small cities this means delaying growth which hurts you later on. So, building the terrace gives you the culture and the growth increase. Even if you built a granary first, you would still have to build something to get the first eight tiles around your new city, let alone the fat cross. You want the choice of which tiles to worker with your citizens, because you are financial and any cottages--&gt;towns, plantations or mines you can work ASAP are gold in your pocket. You use it to support/upgrade your forces or increase research/trade for resources. Basically, building/rushing a terrace first makes whipping other more important buildings like those cheap forges or walls, barracks, libraries, temples, etc. easier and more economical. Here's more detail on that from Bovinespy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]"This is a GREAT UB for late-Ancient through ealy-Industrial era warmongering. It really speeds up your rate of assimilation of newly-conquered lands. The crucial point lies in the pop-rushing.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In your earliest wars, the populations of conquered cities will tend to be in the 3 to 5 range. If you pop-rush a monument and a granary (esp. if you're Expansive), the population of the city will recover fairly quickly (assuming decent food resources available/not-plundered). However, later in the game, usually about the time catapults show up, the AI has usually developed urban pop levels so that core cities you capture routinely have pops of 8 to 10.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is where the Terrace really shines: it saves you from having to pop-rush a granary and a culture building. This point is particularly important if you're not playing a Creative leader. Mind you, it's a subtle difference between having a captured city with a pop of 8 or 9 instead of 6 or 7. However, a crucial point to remember is that the higher the pop level, the longer it takes to recover a pop point.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Say you conquer and absorb a well-developed empire of around 6 or 8 cities (a not-unlikely scenario on Standard maps). Now imagine an extra tile or two of production from each of those cities. If you had to rush both buildings, you would be dozens of turns behind, relatively speaking, in production compared to the Incan. This is huge! Properly played, the snowball-effect of swallowing a rival empire or two in the mid-game is significantly more noticeable when you play Huayna."[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Need we mention that conquering a city that already has a granary turns it into a terrace? Due to some sort of oversight, that granaries age contributes to the culture of your new terrace and could even generate 4 per turn![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Not really any since as Huyana Capac you likely want to have pottery ASAP anyway.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As outlined above, this UB offers some great opportunities for expansion and is flexible for what you want to do with it. I have not warmongered much with the Incas, so I thank Bovinespy for his input and explaining in greater detail what I alluded to earlier and also for showing me how powerful this UB can really be. Maybe playing with it in peaceful games I took it for granted earlier. Is a great UB for early claiming of land while growing and improving infrastructure by shortcutting build queues and allowing faster restoration of captured cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Dutch Dike (Levee):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Dutch UB, the Dike replaces the Levee which itself, is a new building introduced in Beyond the Sword. The Levee is available with Steam Power and gives +1 [ICON_PRODUCTION] on every river tile and costs 180 [ICON_PRODUCTION]s. It brings up some interesting choices regarding tiles improvements to say the least. Meanwhile, the Dike also gives the +1 production boost to all water tiles as well. Any coastal city will greatly benefit and the great thing is that it does not need to be a coastal city either. Therefore even cities one tile in from the coast or with small lakes will still have water tiles gaining the bonus.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With Willem being Financial, the choice to build cottages on river tiles might appear to be a no-brainer, but often players will want increased production and build watermills, windmills or lumbermills in their place. The great thing about the Dike or Levee for that matter, is that it gives a production bonus to the tiles regardless of improvement. Now, imagine a Dutch coastal city on a river with cottages, a Dike, Universal Sufferage, Organized Religion and in a Golden Age. Imagine the Bureaucracy bonus on that too. As a Dutchie, I can hardly wait to see that! Some late wonders and project races just got a little easier to win. As this is a BtS civ, let us not forget the tweak on State Property and also the Moai Statues which are like a Dike, but a wonder which does not expire. Some great production synergy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Being financial, building on rivers would be your goal anyway, but any city without rivers or water tiles will have absolutely no use for this UB and therefore it will likely be quite map dependent in its effectiveness. Even if they have 2-4 tiles that would benefit, you might want to weigh the 180 hammer cost before putting them everywhere. Also, the UB does come quite late, of course later in the game is when things start to cost more hammers too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The only thing better than extra happiness is extra production, so if your map allows for this opportunity, any goal whether it be pumping out military units, settlers and workers, wonders or spaceship parts. While both Levees and Dikes will only be of use to cities with river tiles, to take full advantage of this UB, one would need to build more coastal cities or at least not be in the middle of the continent.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Egyptian Obelisk (Monument):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This Egyptian monument can turn [BOLD]two[\BOLD] citizens into priests. Pretty powerful for early in the game. Even if Egypt doesn't start with Mysticism, they have the ability to build the very first building with the ability to assign specialists. You could use the GPs produced to techbulb (TM ) yourself to whatever your little heart desires.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One could argue that with Hatshepsut, the creative +2 culture bonus would negate the +1 culture from the obelisk, but you could also spin it to being equivalent to a theatre culture-wise. Then again, with cheap temples, theatres, and libraries why else would you play her without going for cultural victory? With cheap colosseums too, you now have two buildings which will give you +1 happiness for every 10% culture. Once you hit that culture switch, you needn't worry about happiness resources, except maybe incense and dyes.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As Illithid has so eloquently put it:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The obelisk might better complement the industrious and spiritual Rameses II. He can build quick wonders like Oracle and Stonehenge and maybe a cultural victory could be sought since you could really crank out Great Prophets. One further thing could be to settle those prophets and once you have Angkor Wat and cheap forges from industrious Ramses, you have a great chance for the space race victory or just high production warmongering. Even if you don't go those routes, the extra production for other things can work well like buildings wonders for cultural (with either leader) or building the UN. Both leaders could definitely could try for a domination win as well with the quick culture boost from Stonehenge.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great Prophets will only techbulb (TM ) you to the mostly religious techs and that might not always be the way to go.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Most UBs don't get obsoleted. The earlist possible one to build is also the first one obsoleted. Although one can ignore Calendar, the obsoleting tech for the UB for some time, eventually you may want/need to develop those sugar, spices and incense tiles. In Beyond the Sword, it becomes obsoleted with Astronomy, so it is possible depending on one's strategies and goals to avoid that tech all together. If you have many religions and temples as a result of your early GPs then you can obsolete the Obelisk and still gain GPPs for more GPs later. It's what you choose to do with those priests you assign, that really affects the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Obsoleting Stonehenge means the Obelisks not physically built a city will disappear, whereas building them all by hand means they stay and continue to stand and have their base culture of 1 double to 2 over time. It is not a great deal for some victory conditions such as space or diplomatic, but domination and cultural might need to consider this.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great Prophets early, can be a tech boost, but unless you are surrounded by food bonuses, you won't be able to assign those priests anyway. With practice, it could be used quite effectively.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Ethiopian Stele (Monument):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This Ethiopian monument can give +25% culture in addition to the +1.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This UB probably screams cultural victory, but the 25% bonus won't really matter until much later in the game. Also, in BtS the obsoleting tech is Astronomy which can be avoided for some time so long as you don't plan on colonizing another continent. One can play a cultural victory without ever researching and discovering or trading for it, so this bonus would be added for the entire game. Being Organized, the ability to settle new cities more quicker would be helped by any additional cultural boundaries pushing further out. With key resources claimed, his cheap factories will use the resources to build spaceship components or military units much more quickly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Furthermore, let's not ignore the fact that like the Egyptians, building Stonehenge will put this UB in every one of your cities. Now, this is truly a thing not to miss if you want to try for a domination victory. Especially when you consider the Organized trait of the Ethiopian leader. Again, ignoring Astronomy would likely need to be done as well, but your domination victory might not take that long.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Remember, Zara Yaqob in Creative so the 25% in the beginning is not that big of the deal, but with the cheap libraries and theatres in no time it [BOLD]will[\BOLD] have an impact.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Zara Yaqob does not start with Mysticism, the prerequisite tech. Most UBs don't get obsoleted. The earliest possible one to build could have it's lifespan shortened depending on your tech path. Losing out on the culture bonus it not a big loss in another victory condition, but the quick land grab would be a huge boost. Of course, one requires religions or other cultural building to really benefit from the UB. Although one can ignore Astronomy, the obsoleting tech for the UB for some time, eventually you may want/need to expand to other continents or build observatories to boost your science level. For other victories, the UB is still perhaps needed as the cultrual trait gives you the resources you want early, but in the face of other cultural powerhouses, it might be helpful to retain or even capture resources culturally.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Obsoleting Stonehenge means the Stelae not physically built a city will disappear, whereas building them all by hand means they stay and continue to stand and have their base culture of 1 double to 2 over time. Not only that, but you have now lost the 25% culture boost in those cities. It is not a great deal for some victory conditions such as space or dipolmatic, but domination and cultural might need to consider this.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The true strength of this UB depends on what else is build in the city, but with a few ancient wonders, library, temples and other with the doubled culture for their age, the Stele alone would have quite an impact.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]English Stock Exchange (Bank):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wow, I really see why Liz is a fan favourite for some. The Stock Exchange gives the an extra 15% gold bonus to what a bank normally does (50%) for a total of +65%. With two financial leaders to choose from this is a very versatile UB. You can go Philosophical with Liz or Imperialistic with Vicky.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]No matter what you chose for your victory path, commerce drives research and things are great. Add markets and grocers means a total 115% gold increase. Even warmonger Churchill will benefit, but financial really exploits this UB. What is great about this UB compared to the Carthaginian Cothon is that you needn't only build on the coast and so you can use this on any map and whereas the Cothon only give +50% bonus to the trade routes the 65% bonus from the SE is cumulative with other buildings. I suppose the math would work out depending on many factors, but it suffices to say the stock exchange can be build anywhere. Even so, you likely want most if not all of your cities on the coast, as there is usually more lucrative tiles in the water (outside of FP cottages) especially if you build the Colossus and Great Lighthouse, but a few gold or silver mines or luxuries resources are great too. Up to Airports and the right civics and you can have 7 trade routes in a city and Wall Street. Cottage spam and run Emancipation, Universal Suffrage and Free Market and you will be laughing all the way to the bank! Er, make that all the way to the Stock Exchange.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This can be used to keep the tech slider higher and tech faster to get your space race/diplo win started early or you can keep a larger empire and army with upgrades when you want and need without waiting to save the money.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Um, how about "no?" Money makes the world go 'round![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]England starts with fishing and mining, so look out. Not sure what else can be said here. I think ABBA said it best: "Money, Money, Money" $$$$[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]French Salon (Observatory):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Salon is an observatory which gives a free artist. It might not seem like much, but for cultrual victories it can be quite nice.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Okay, first of all, with the patch, Louis can now build cheap theatres [BOLD]and[\BOLD] libraries! He is creative and the +2 culture is only a small amount, but the cheap buildings is great. In fact, Louis gets libraries, theatres, coliseums and forges at half production cost. Not too shabby.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Given the anarchy caused by switching to Mercantilism perhaps going from liberalism to astronomy makes sense. With a little wait to Astronomy, you can built your UB which gives a free Great Artist, rather than going through anarchy to get it. Of course you have to build these Salons, but they are cheaper than universities and with the Sistine Chapel the free Great Artist gives more culture for the same amount of science boost (+25%). But, maybe you do want to switch to Mercantilism so you can have another free type of GP. If not, then you have got two free artists with the library, salon, (and university) and the Statue of Liberty is not that far away with his cheap forge and quicker building of the Statue of Liberty. Either way you could have 2-3 free artists, not to mention the others you could assign. This means you can run something other than Caste System. And speaking of science boost, why not run Representation with those free artists? Use the library, salon and uni to beeline for the ECWs and you are laughing. C'est formidable! C'est magnifique! D'accord?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Running representation with Salon' free artists as either Louis XIV or de Gaulle could be a strategy for space race victories.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Not sure what Napoleon would do with the free artist other than maintain culture borders on resources on a crowded map, but then again you could build a cheap theatre in the likely small city first. The Salon is like an observatory, so keeping up the tech pace to have more advanced troops might be desirable. You [BOLD]could[\BOLD] however have your larger cities with these GAs and go and culture bomb you new acquisitions. If you want other GPs, then perhaps the Salon will pollute your GPPs, so beware.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Charles de Gaulle is charismatic and industrious, like a hybrid of Louis and Napoleon. He has extra happiness resources and can promote units faster, making him a warmonger equal to Napoleon, except where Napoleon's Organization might let him keep a larger empire, de Gaulle would have more production strengths in cheaper forges and wonders.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are likely some other possibilities to be discussed as there seems to be lacking a certain "je ne sais quoi?", but this UB should not be taken lightly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]German Assembly Plant (Factory - double production for Organized leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Assembly Plant is a factory which can change 4 citizens into engineers instead of just two. It [BOLD]also[\BOLD] has double production speed with coal. I haven't tried Germany out yet, but this is a mouth watering temptation. Die Fragen ist: "Welchen F'hrer m'chten Sie spielen?"[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Which leader? Well, take your pick. This UB complements both leaders very, very nicely and is [BOLD]the[\BOLD] most synergistic combo of [BOLD]both[\BOLD] leaders and[NEWLINE]their UB of all the civs in the game (with apologies to the two Queens of England). This UB is all about output, production and power. Was sind St'rken jedes F'hrers? What are each leader's strengths?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Otto von Bismarck: Expansive and Industrious. Sure, there is only +2 health with the patch, but health will be needed to offset production buildings that cause pollution. Later in the game every health counts and is needed. Bismarck can be a warmonger with a huge empire and pumping out units like nobody's business or cranking out spaceship parts while eying Alpha Centauri. Bizzy gets granary, harbour and forge at double production speed so a fast build for forge and the Plant and two cheap health providing buildings to offset the pollution.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Frederick: Organized and Philosophical. With cheap lighthouses, courthouses, universities [BOLD]and[\BOLD] cheap factories...or in this case these very Assembly Plants [BOLD]also[\BOLD] double production with coal, Freddy is a powerhouse! There hasn't been a German industrial influence like this since Kraftwerk! I say span out, get the economy/research going and prepare for the space age! With the Assembly Plant costing 250 hammers and having two double speeds bonuses, it would be like building these babies for 62 hammers! The reason space age would be so synergistic is the 100% increase in GPs being produced. So you could be farming scientists and engineers on your GP farm and building your high production cities elsewhere. Ideally, if you had 2-4 food sources with some production bonuses, you would be in good shape. Ich denke das ich spiele gern mit Freddy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To a total of 50% hammer increase from buildings (forge and factory), you can add +50% from power (supplied by the either hydro, coal or nuclear plants, but the Three Gorges Dam can be more economical), +100% from the Ironworks (+50% each for iron and coal), +50% from Bureaucracy. With some good food sources you will max out your six engineers and likely have some priests too. If you settled some Great Engineers or Prophets, good for you! Don't forget the +25 bonus for OR and the +100% for having a special resource when building buildings. You can also have a laboratory that gives +50% bonus in addition to +100% again for having a resource. So a basic bonus of +250% in your capital (+200% out of capital) with +125% to +150% when building buildings or projects respectively for a total of around +385% or +410%. Depending on your base production, things can be quite productive and your leader choice for this doesn't matter other than which buildings you can build cheaper or the resources to which you have access.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Any other victory condition other than space or conquest don't seem to fully utilize this late game UB. Peace-mongering can leave it pretty much not even worth building. With a lack of health resources having a forge, this UB and Ironworks or other powerplants might not be feasible.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Given the right conditions and goals, this UB is quite useful and as stated before is a perfect match for not just one leader, but both of them. Freddy gets the slight edge thusfar, if it is indeed possible to build it for a quarter of the cost. If you are playing games that end early, this UB doesn't matter, same as their UU. The plan with Germany is perhaps to maximize the leader traits to set up an 'berstrong infrastructure and then once the UUs and UBs can be built later in the game, go hog-wild and blitzkrieg them all! Wunderbar![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Greek Odeon (Colosseum - double production for Creative leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In addition to the +1 happiness per 20% culture and for the same price as a coliseum, this UB gives +3 culture, an additional +1 happiness, can turn 2 citizens into artists [BOLD]and[\BOLD] gives +1 happiness for hit singles.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Basically this means this is a more expensive theatre even with the patch dropping the cost 80 hammers. The extra price for admission compared to theatres is the hit single happiness, which in short games won't matter, but if you have the culture slider up to even 20% with this and a theatre built, the city already has +3 happiness, +4 with dyes. As with the Mall, I like the idea of killing two birds with one stone. Because it is 10% for theatres and 20% for the colosseum/odeon, that means if you raise the culture slider the happiness is increased by 3 for every 20%. With broadcast towers it is another +1 happy for every 10%, but also +1 for those hit singles again. If you have the three buildings, dyes and hit singles (either import or export) we are talking +7 happiness for a mere 20% culture.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The extra 3 culture is the big deal. Greece now instantly becomes a cultural victory contender with the price of the Colosseum/Odeon dropped and Alex building cheap universities in addition to this new +3 culture building which together with theatres might be built early enough to get +6 culture and make a nice impact once multipliers are added.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Using either Pericles' or Alex's philosophical trait, you can farm your Great Artists (my best is 16), lending again to a cultural or perhaps a domination victory more easily as Bassist2119 has reminded us in another post of the ability of the UB to assign two [BOLD]more[\BOLD] GAs in addition to the 2 from the Theatre. This leaves you free to run Slavery a little longer or Serfdom since you don't really need Caste System.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For the warmonger in all of us, Construction might be more attractive than drama as it also gives War Elephants and leads to Engineering. However you would need Drama to activate the culture slider eventually once the happiness limit is hit. The hit singles don't kick in until later, but it's nice to have that as a back up. With big happiness possibilities early and late, you can run Representation or Universal Suffrage and not worry about War Weariness. The Odeon can give newly captured cities the same affect of culture and happiness from the theatres without researching a tech which is not on any warmonger things-to-do-lists.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Let's talk about Pericles now. He's Creative and Philosophical, making him the only leader to have cheap libraries [BOLD]and[\BOLD] universities, not to mention theatres. He is biggest cultural contender of the BtS leaders introduced as his Odeon and traits are an even better combination than Alexander's. Everything said above for Alex holds true for Pericles, however he is a much better choice for the Greeks to win a space race or diplomatic game, at least in a more peaceful way. His cheap libraries and universities make him a true philosopher (Philosophy, from Greek: lover of knowledge/wisdom) for a tech pace. A tech lead can be useful for anything victory sought.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, why not just build a theatre (50) for slight more than half the price (80)? Drama comes right after Alphabet, a useful tech, whereas you need math and then construction for the odeon and they can be slightly most expensive to research. Well, as stated above the warmonger might like this route. Slingshotting for Construction just for the UB is a waste, unless you plan on used it to it's fullest. This means its units, as a step to Engineering and trading. Trade away any extra happiness resources to form alliances or get other resources you want like production or strategic ones. For a cultural victory it might be better pursuing after getting your GA from Music if you want to better the AI since you would already have math, but I won't try it the other way around on higher levels if you want the free GA.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Makes Greece go from non-contender culturally to a interesting choice for experimenting. Domination wins are looking good too, but space and conquest really are not affected on lower levels. The Odeon does little to complement Alexander's traits unless on high levels with more unhappiness to be offset from buildings. Remember the +6 swing with theatre/dyes, odeon, broadcast tower and hit singles. Makes Eiffel Tower's broadcast tower in every city more appealing and extra happiness can be converted into flexibility in trades, more whipping and warring.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Holy Roman Empire Rathaus (Courthouse - double production for Organized leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This UB is a courthouse with a total of 75% reduction in maintenance costs. It also allows you to build the Forbidden Palace with only 4 cities on a standard map. It also gives +2 Espionage points and allows you to turn one citizen into a Spy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Charlemagne is Imperialistic, which means quicker settler production. Not much better synergy than a UB which allows for more cities sooner without hurting your economy, since he is not Organized. It also means greater chance of GG appearances. Couple that with the protective trait and he will be in position to either maintain a large empire and pursue more peaceful victories or, be a major warmonger. The protective trait gives cheaper walls and castles and just imagine those beefed up Pikemen, the Landskneckt, with their +100% vs Mounted Units [BOLD]and[\BOLD] Melee units behind them. On a hill even![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]We have also only begun to explore the mechanics of espionage, but giving +2 espionage points and the ability to turn a citizen into this new type of GP is almost a throw in after the increased maintenance reduction. As a warmonger, this new feature of producing great spies has some definite synergy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The ability for rapid expansion and a much sooner available Forbidden Palace does not conjure up any real disadvantages as Charlemagne's traits and the Empire's UU really complement each other.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The ability to have a larger empire give the flexibility to settle near important resources and map locations and strive for any victory condition.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Incan Terrace (Granary - double production for Expansive leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A granary that gives culture. Quite a cool UB, nothing special on the surface but is even more of an impact than one might suspect. Why?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, you likely would build a granary anyway especially if whipping. I had mentioned in the original writeup about playing as the Incas on the 1000AD map, and I whipping buildings like there was no tomorrow as they start on as isolated strip west of the Andes and wouldn't grow that large anyway. Granaries help with whipping; more on that later. Secondly, it is available with pottery and for financial Huayna Capac, the cottage spamming and culture producing terrace from this tech is a great choice for the first thing to research. The Terrace will accumulate enough culture from an early building to give +4 culture per turn very early in the game. So cultural victories look great. In fact, one of my earliest finish for a cultural victory is with the Incas. The financial trait allows for faster teching and for cultural games where I am almost there (lower levels) at around scientific method or astronomy, with the Incas I have sometimes discovered Electricity and built Broadway to help the last city get over. For longer games this bonus is carried further.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Building a culture producing granary, means you can concentrate totally on growing and expansion and not worry about other border encroaching your resources, you will get them back or never even lose them. You will get the fast cross much faster and not have to rush monuments or temples/theatres until later, once you have larger cities from the granaries stored food. In fact, Stonehenge is now practically useless, except for the GPP it helps you get. No need to avoid Calendar in order to keep the culture from brand new cities right off the bat. You don't want to delay the chance to build plantations or wineries as those babies are what the Financial trait thrives on. In BtS, Stonehenge and monuments expire with Astronomy, so that may be moot now.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]When you capture a city normally, what do you do? Build a theatre for culture (maybe happiness, but you should have some plantations for that) and the granary takes a back seat. For small cities this means delaying growth which hurts you later on. So, building the terrace gives you the culture [BOLD]and [\BOLD]the growth increase. Even if you built a granary [BOLD]first[\BOLD], you would still have to build something to get the first eight tiles around your new city, let alone the fat cross. You want the choice of which tiles to worker with your citizens, because you are financial and any cottages--&gt;towns, plantations or mines you can work ASAP are gold in your pocket. You use it to support/upgrade your forces or increase research/trade for resources. Basically, building/rushing a terrace first makes whipping other more important buildings like those cheap forges or walls, barracks, libraries, temples, etc. easier and more economical. Here's more detail on that from Bovinespy:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Need we mention that conquering a city that already has a granary turns it into a terrace? Due to some sort of oversight, that granaries age contributes to the culture of your new terrace and could even generate 4 [ICON_CULTURE] per turn![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Not really any since as Huyana Capac you likely want to have pottery ASAP anyway.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As outlined above, this UB offers some great opportunities for expansion and is flexible for what you want to do with it. I have not warmongered much with the Incas, so I thank Bovinespy for his input and explaining in greater detail what I alluded to earlier and also for showing me how powerful this UB can really be. Maybe playing with it in peaceful games I took it for granted earlier. Is a great UB for early claiming of land while growing and improving infrastructure by shortcutting build queues and allowing faster restoration of captured cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Indian Mausoleum (Jail):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Mausoleum UB comes with Constitution like its Jail counterpart with -25% WW but it also gives +2 happiness. The manual states it gives +1 GPP and is more likely to produce a Great Prophet, but in playing Warlords, this is not true. In Beyond the Sword, both the jail and the mausoleum give +4 espionage points and increase espionage point production by 50%, in addition allowing one to assign two Spy specialists.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well the jail is high on a warmonger's wish list and the BtS version is sure to be even higher. I can see on higher levels how the happiness cap can be raised and WW reduced. As I don't usually have long wars I don't really know how high the WW can get, but I imagine on higher levels it is quite a bit. If you have Police State this is a total of 75% reduction in WW, which is nothing to sneeze at if WW problems got you down.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]We have also only begun to explore the mechanics of espionage, but giving +4 espionage points and the ability to turn two citizens into this new type of GP is almost a throw in after the reduced war weariness. Running Nationhood now has the added bonus of another +25% espionage point production for a total of 75% with the jail/mausoleum, in addition to barracks giving +2 happiness and being able to draft 3 units per turn. As a warmonger, this new feature of producing great spies has some definite synergy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Both are spiritual. Organized Asoka can build larger empires early on and Philosophical Gandhi can pop GPs and build cheaper universities. These combos don't necessarily screa for warmonger, especially given their Fast Worker UU, a decidedly unwarlike unit, however the extra spying power could be used to ensure that you are not beaten in the space race or the diplomatic arena. Then again, it's a free way to protect your nation no matter what.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I don't read much about people playing as India to conquer the world and wage war. This UB is still like a normal jail, except for the +2 happiness. I am not sure how many players will build them in BtS, but in Warlords they are n[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I will reserve judgement for others to add their input, but for now, this UB seems out of place and not very useful or synergistic.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Japanese Shale Plant (Coal Plant):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A coal plant gives power (electricity) to the city which adds to the factory production bonus of 25% an additional 50% at a cost of +2 [ICON_UNHEALTHY]. You need a factory for the coal plant or the Japanese Shale Plant, however the Shale Plant itself gives its own +10% production as well. This means a 60% bonus with the two buildings for the same price. The real bonus however is that while Coal Plants requires coal to produce this power, the Shale Plant does not. Both the Factory and Shale Plant can be built once you have discovered Assmebly Line.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To a total of 60% hammer increase from buildings (forge, factory and shale plant), you can add +50% from power (supplied by the Shale Plant), +100% from the Ironworks (+50% each for iron and coal), +50% from Bureaucracy. With some good food sources you will max out your six engineers and likely have some priests too. If you settled some Great Engineers or Prophets, good for you! Don't forget the +25 bonus for OR and the +100% for having a special resource when building buildings/wonders. You can also have a laboratory that gives +50% bonus in addition to +100% again for having a resource when building a spaceship component. The Space Ladder gives another 50% increase. So a basic bonus of +185% in your capital (+135% out of capital) with a bonus of +125% or 200% respectively, when building buildings/wonders or projects. Add in the Iron Works and non-Captial cities are between +360% or +435%. Depending on your base production, things can get quite a productive boost, but if you were to whip or buy these buildings into a low production city it might make a huge difference as well.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Being Aggressive and Protective, Tokugawa's units start off well promoted and this makes warring an attractive choice. For late game wars, there likely isn't a unit that can't be pumped out in 1 or 2 turns. And space race can be just as great a goal. Diplomatic you want to beeline for MM and wouldn't sidetrack yourself for this building.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Other than having little health resources, which doesn't seem too likely by the time you research Assembly Line, not much of a reason not to build this is you aren't wanting to be a powerhouse. That being said, the leader traits are not that complementary with it. Not only that, it is a late game UB and some games you would not get the chance to build it. Given that it is a late game UB, it is quite useful for the fact that coal is not required to get the +60% production, while other civs need coal to get their +50%. Than again, you likely want coal so that you can railroad your mines, quarries and lumbermills. Not much of a benefit if you look at it that way, but until you do get coal, you have +60% production boost, that other civs would not have had.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Although not as overall synergistic as the German Assembly Plant when it comes to leader traits, this UB serves a similar purpose and makes it hard not to compare. This one is a little more map dependent (due to the +10% hammer as apposed to 2 extra engineers assigned) and that means that doing the math to see which advantage is greater is not so easy or relevant. Again for a late wonder, space race and conquest victories greatly benefit.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Khymer Baray (Aqueduct):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Baray UB comes with Mathematics and is an Aqueduct which gives 1 extra food.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Extra food helps any leader, regardless of their traits, however, Suryavarman is expansive which means extra health. Building this UB would cause a double-whammy if you will. Not only will increased health reduce any wasted food, but allow for more growth which is possible by the Baray's bonus. The expansive trait only adds to the possibility that the city will grow larger as it has a higher health cap. More food also means taking advantage of the faster worker production, which is only a 25% bonus in BtS, but still greatly helped out with the UB. Being creative means claiming food resources to get the whole this going. Talk about cyclic benefits.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Extra food, a disadvantage? One could even use the cereal mills corporation and trade away food if not needed. I have had cities grow too fast and not have enough things to build to keep them happy. Slavery fans would do well to exploit this extra growth and convert it into production.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After extra happiness and production, extra food is nothing to complain about and ranks with them and some great bonuses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Korean Seowon (University - double production for Philosophical leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This building costs the same and gives the same culture as a university, but it gives an extra +10% research.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wang Kon is financial and so you can maximize this UB's use by making sure you do all the things you would have done with Korea anyway. That means, cottage spamming and getting other high income tiles from plantations and mines and coasts. You have the income boosting building and wonders and the science ones as well. Simply this building just gives another 10%, so take the advantage and go for a diplomatic or space win or keep you army further ahead in tech to protect your empire or add to it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]More science can't ever be bad can it? It comes early/mid-game, but it's on the way to the Liberalism bee-line.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Great advantage assuming you can build a nice SSC or several ones. You would usually build a university anyway, maybe now just a little sooner to really add to the tech lead (or perhaps a little later in the queue, knowing that you have the extra boost once it is built).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Malinese Mint (Forge - double production for Industrious leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is a forge with an added 10% wealth increase and yet another UB for a financial that has some great synergy. I would say that a lot of the strategies used with England's financial leaders would be used here, but with a slight change.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This building can come pretty early and Mansa Musa has a reputation for being a tech-whore as an AI. I like settling on the west side of the GP map and mine everything in site. There is also dyes, furs and incense too! What is great about the boost is that even though it is only 10%, it is still an increase and once you tech your way to new civics, as a spiritual leader, you can totally take advantage immediately and not wait until you can switch 2 or 3 at a time.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Because it is a production building as well, and you would naturally build it early for the gold bonus, you will have a higher production than maybe another civ with just a forge. It is more appealing, plus it is needed for many wonders, not the least of which is the Colossus giving +1 gold in [BOLD]all[\BOLD] cities water tiles. If you have trade routes going, as many as possible, markets, grocers, banks and Wall Street a rich city is made richer than another civ would be with the same city. Not only because of the wealth bonus, but because the forge means building all of the other wealth increasing building faster. It never goes obsolete either.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]More money, means faster discoveries, and diplomatic and space wins are the popular targets, however the Skirmisher can be a pretty good UU and even later, the extra wealth can be parlayed into better unit support and more/quicker upgrades. Even on higher levels, if you are lagging in the tech race, you will have more money to buy them, or more money to bribe the AI to do your bidding.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With 7 trade routes (as outlined earlier with Carthage), all the wealth buildings, great base tiles and maybe even some merchants or Great Merchants, you have plenty of money and if running the Universal Suffrage civic, you can rush buy more quickly/often than otherwise.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This UB doesn't expire, so it will continue to be useful and becomes more powerful as the game progresses because cities will grow and more lucrative routs determined for the AI.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A money boosting UB is a good one and can really help out early. You can afford to expand a little quicker if you bankroll allows it. You would need to have some big cash tiles or plenty of cottages, but then again, you would build those anyway.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Mayan Ball Court (Colosseum - double production for Creative leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Ball Court gives +3 [ICON_HAPPY](instead of the Colosseum's +1) and the +1 [ICON_HAPPY]per 20% culture.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The extra happiness could be used to full effectiveness as a warmonger by skipping Drama and going for Construction, much like Alexander might do in using his Odeon. Having happy people means more tiles being worked for the financial Pacal II.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]More research needed, but a Theatre with dyes for 50 [ICON_PRODUCTION] over an 80 [ICON_PRODUCTION] Ball Court might do the trick. Of course as the city grows and war weariness sets in or you have limited resources, this UB will make people happy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Extra happiness is always good, because it lets you pursue any victory you desire. You can combat war weariness or have large producing cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Mongolian Ger (Stable):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The stable introduced in Warlords gives +2 XP for Mounted units build in the city and the Mongolian Ger gives +4 points. This UB is very appropriate and the affects are cumulative with Barracks, the Pentagon and other XP bonuses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, both Mongolian leader start are Aggressive which means cheaper barracks. We are already looking at +7 XP, then if you factor in Theocracy and Vassalage, that's +11 all together. That is enough for 3 promotions before seeing any combat and any GG you settle and the Pentagon are just a bonus. Upgrading all the way through up to Calvary would be the idea and with the right promotions you should be able to keep most of your troops up until Rocketry. You could plan for the future and give promotions that complement your gunships, or use the advantage to conquer early. In BtS, the Stable is made obsolete with Advanced Flight, thereby lengthening the use of this UB. The fact that Genghis Khan is also imperialistic means more GGs as long as you are warmongering.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This UB complements the UU, the Keshik and the civ itself unlike any other UB for the other civs. To build a Keshik you need Archery, Horseback Riding - which you need to build the Ger anyway - and of course Horses revealed by Animal Husbandry. The Mongol starting techs are Hunting and the Wheel. Hunting is the prereq for both AH and Archery. Your mounted units all benefit, but lets look more closely at why. The keshik starts with some of the better bonuses. Let's analyze the mounted units that the Mongols can build below and remember that none of them get defensive bonuses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Unit[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][ICON_PRODUCTION][TAB][ICON_STRENGTH][TAB][ICON_MOVES][TAB][TAB]Bonuses[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Upgrade[\BOLD][NEWLINE][COLOR_GREEN]Chariot[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]25[TAB]4[TAB]2[TAB]10% Withdrawal, 100% vs. Axemen[TAB][COLOR_GREEN]Knight[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_GREEN]Keshik[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]50[TAB]6[TAB]2[TAB]20% Withdrawal, 1st Strike[TAB][TAB][COLOR_GREEN]Knight[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Ignore move cost, -10% vs. City[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+50% vs. Cats &amp; Trebs[NEWLINE][COLOR_GREEN]War Elephant[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]60[TAB]8[TAB]1[TAB]+50% vs. Mounted Units[TAB][TAB][COLOR_GREEN]Calvary[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_GREEN]Knight[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]90[TAB]10[TAB]2[TAB]Immune to 1st Strike[TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_GREEN]Calvary[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Flank Attack vs Cats &amp; Trebs*[TAB][TAB][COLOR_GREEN]Cuirassier[COLOR_REVERT]*[NEWLINE][COLOR_GREEN]Cuirassier[COLOR_REVERT]*[TAB][TAB]100[TAB]12[TAB]2[TAB]15% Withdrawal, Immune to 1st Strike[TAB][COLOR_GREEN]Calvary[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Flank Attack vs Cannon[NEWLINE][COLOR_GREEN]Calvary[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]120[TAB]15[TAB]2[TAB]30% Withdrawal, +50% vs. Cannon[TAB][COLOR_BLACK]Gunship[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLACK]Gunship[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]160[TAB]24[TAB]4[TAB]25% Withdrawal, +100% vs. Armoured[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Ignore move cost, Cannot capture City[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Flank Artillery &amp; Mobile Artillery*[NEWLINE]*Beyond the Sword[NEWLINE][COLOR_GREEN]Mounted Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLACK]Helicopter Unit [COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]None of these units can take Cover, Drill or CR promotions, but the mounted ones can get Amphibious, Charge, Formation, Pinch and Shock. If you were to give Flanking I and II to your Keshik for +30% withdrawal, that is a total of 50% and when it's upgraded to Calvary or Gunships it still adds to their intrinsic withdrawal abilities. Giving Charge to a Keshik means +75% versus their Cats and Trebs, and as a Knight it will have +75% against cannons. A Chariot with Shock will have +125% versus Axemen but only +25% with the more advanced units, but it might be a great boost. Then again you likely skip chariots and go straight to Keshiks. With the right promotions, the Keshiks might even be better than Knights especially if you don't have iron available and the fact they ignore terrain costs. A Keshik with C3 and Formation is just as good as a unpromoted Knight and as can be seen above, the Keshik has much more intrinsic abilities than a Knight such as withdrawal, bonus against cats and trebs and 1st Strike chance. Although the Knight is immune to 1st strikes and doesn't have the 10% city attack penalty. Clearly, the key is to use the XP bonus to promote according to your needs and strength based on the situation, the opponent, the map, etc. It remains to be seen how the Charge promotions for upgraded units will work with the new system of mounted units having a flank attack versus siege units.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Mounted units are a large part of a balanced army, and the UB lasts fairly long, even longer in BtS. If other civs couldn't build stables this might be overpowering, which is likely why the stable was added as well. This UB maybe isn't as synergistic with Kubla, but it still gives an increases in GGPs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Having the extra XPs out of the gate helps to earn GG points faster and build wonders like the Heroic Epic and West Point. For warmongering this is a great UB, for other victory conditions, it would help one war early to collect more land and resources and then settle down into a more peaceful victory, or at least keep a stronger army than without the UB for protecting cities while pursuing a peaceful victory. (But that is not why one plays the Mongols) War, what is it good for? Huh! Building Gers.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Native American (Totem Pole):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Another UB which replaces the Monument. This one gives +3 XPs to Archer units.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Sitting Bull does not start with Archery, but that is often traded for or even found from goody huts. The big deal is that he is Protective, giving his archers Drill I and City Garrison I [BOLD]before[\BOLD] adding the +3 XP bonus from the Totem Pole. Much like the Dun, this UB will offer some flexiblity and unique possiblity in upgrading units. More research will need to be done, but it suffices to say that this UB will make the Native Americans particularly difficult to conquer. Like the Egyptians, building Stonehenge will put the UB in every one of your cities which is bascially an archer Barracks in every city. This means an effective early archer rush, without wasting time to build the Barracks as Totem are much cheaper. With the Barracks, however, every archery unit built there will be very tough to kill on a hill behind those walls and castles that Protective Sitting Bull can cheaply build, never mind when they get upgraded to gunpowder units! His Philosophical trait might mean that a few GA culture bombs give him some more defense or he is free to use them for whatever he wishes seeing as no one is going to stop him.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Let's not forget the Dog Soldier UU (Axeman) with its strengths against melee units and also not requiring copper or iron. This UB practically gives two UUs to the Native Americans. Whether warmongering or trying to hang on against the AI on higher difficulty levels, this UB would be a key part of any strategy. Holding off on discovering Astronomy might be a prudent strategy if you are running into trouble. Imagine pumping out archer and longbowman early game with the bonuses and then upgrading them to stronger units. They will have a slight XP advantage with all over factors equal, meaning they will promote earlier. Let's imagine the +6 with Totem and Barracks and then running Feudalism and Theocracy for a 10 XPs off the bat. That is enough for 3 promotions to start, never mind fighting off barbs (although I think barb battles will only take you up to 10 XP anyway) or lone, weakened enemy units. Any Great General settled in a city takes you that much closer to a fourth promotion and your Heroic Epic. Let's analyze what Sitting Bull's archers will be able to do and what promotions will carry into the gunpowder age.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Unit[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][ICON_PRODUCTION][TAB][ICON_STRENGTH][TAB][ICON_MOVES][TAB][TAB]Bonuses[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Upgrade[\BOLD][NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Archer[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]25[TAB]3[TAB]1[TAB]1st Strike,[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Longbowman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+50% City &amp; +25% Hills Defense[TAB][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Crossbowman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Longbowman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]50[TAB]6[TAB]1[TAB]1st Strike[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+25% City &amp; +25% Hills Defense[NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Crossbowman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]60[TAB]6[TAB]1[TAB]1st Strike,[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Grenadier[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+50% vs. Melee Units[TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Grenadier[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]100[TAB]12[TAB]1[TAB]+50% vs. Riflemen[TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_RED]Machine Gun[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Rifleman[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]110[TAB]14[TAB]1[TAB]+25% vs. Mounted Units[TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Machine Gun[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]125[TAB]18[TAB]1[TAB]Can only defend, 1st Strike[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+25% vs. Gunpowder Units[TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Mech Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]140[TAB]20[TAB]1[TAB]+25% vs. Gunpowder Units[TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]SAM Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][COLOR_BLUE]Mech Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]SAM Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]150[TAB]18[TAB]1[TAB]40% Intercept Chance[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]+50% vs. Helicopter Units[NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Mech Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]200[TAB]32[TAB]2[TAB]20% Intercept Chance[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Starts with March[NEWLINE]*Beyond the Sword[NEWLINE][COLOR_YIELD_FOOD]Archery Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLUE]Gunpowder Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Siege Unit[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Remember that Protective Sitting Bull will have his archery and gunpowder units start with Drill I and City Garrison I, meaning they can already get Cover, Shock or Pinch (once gunpowder is discovered) on their first promotion out of the Totem. With barracks and the others bonuses mentioned, a second promotion could be Formation (bonus against mounted units) or get up to City Garrison III with one promotion to spare! The beauty of this UB compared to say, the Dun is the versatility of the promotions one can pursue, not necessarily being guilted into Guerrilla II and III. Then again, G3 archery units holding on for gunpowder promotions (see Celts) would not be such a terrible thing would it? Note too, that the Machine Gun is a siege unit and cannot receive Guerrilla or City Garrison promotions, however it is upgraded from Grenadiers which are upgraded from your G3 or CG3 archers. Interesting, no?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Sitting Bull does not start with Mysticism, the prerequisite tech. Most UBs don't get obsoleted. The earliest possible one to build can also be one of the first ones obsoleted, maybe it is not that much of a big deal if you play your cards right. Although one can ignore Astronomy, the obsoleting tech for the UB for some time, eventually you may want/need to explore and colonize other continents. By then you would have to have built all the archery units you anticipate needing and then work on upgrading them.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I think building cheap archery units with promotions not available to gunpowder or siege units (machine gun) can pay dividends given the right military and geo-political considerations. Like the Mongols, outside of warmongering or building a military to protect your empire, this UB does not hold many other uses.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Ottoman Hammam (Aqueduct):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Does this UB have Expansion written all over it or what? One can really concentrate on building a large empire with large cities a lot sooner with the extra 2 happiness this building supplies in addition to the +2 health. No need to worry about religions if you miss them or drama if you prefer other techs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I feel Mehmed has the potential to be the best expansive leader as he is organized which means cheap lighthouses, courthouses [BOLD]and[\BOLD] cheap factories too. This means more food, less upkeep and more production, respectively from those buildings. This resultant larger population and therefore greater production, which leads to quicker unhappiness and pollution is further complemented by his Expansive trait which, in addition to +2 health per city, gives cheaper granaries and harbours which help reduce pollution and improve growth and economy. Those of you upset that the expansive trait was nerfed to only +2 health stop your whining because this guy has [BOLD]5[\BOLD], count'em [BOLD][BOLD]five[\BOLD][\BOLD] buildings to build cheaper and they [BOLD]all[\BOLD] mean larger and more productive cities. The happiness cap needs to be much higher for the Ottomans, and this is where the Hammam really shines, because it helps keep these larger cities happy and therefore more productive. If that is not enough, the faster worker production means an earlier hook up of resources for [BOLD]more[\BOLD] production, happiness and health bonuses. But also remember the less time building workers, means more time growing in population, which means more reason for a Hammam. This buiding does not expire either.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As for newcomer, Suleiman, who is Imperialistic and Philosophical, making cities healthy and happy at the same time is great for the GP farming you might do with him. He doesn't have all the cheap buliding that Mehmed II has and his two traits sort of conflict when it comes to warmongering; GP farming versus the increased GG appearance. But faster setter production is also a great thing for domination victories and that is what the Hammam can give. Havving many cities sooner and popping out GPs means a larger empire with abilities to conquer space or the world. He will have more cities, and larger, happier, cleaner ones at that.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It might not seem as powerful as other UBs, but you eventually build one anyway, at least in your larger, more polluted cities. This just makes them happy so you can concentrate on building more units or science/production buildings. Let's face it: it's a drag to have to stop building units or wonders because of the unhappiness or health. Kill two birds with one stone with the Hammam. Cultural games where happiness is not much of an issue are still advantaged especially at higher levels. In fact, this building really makes a difference in higher levels where happiness [BOLD]and[\BOLD] health caps are lower or on maps where happiness resources are not readily available to you. Further to that, you could delay discovering Calendar as you might not need the happiness immediately and that means culture from monuments or Stonehenge will last you a little longer.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A strong UB which helps with supporting large cities for whatever reasons you may have: military powerhouse, GP farm, etc. If this was Civ3 where the Aqueduct was need to grow past size 6, this would be huge, but even though it is not needed for that, I really can't think of any drawbacks with this UB. Quite an excellent UB.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Persian Apothecary (Grocer):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Apothecary, besides being the most difficult UB to pronounce, is a grocer that gives an additional +2 [ICON_HEALTHY] to the city. That is on top of the health from plantation resources. With a granary, harbour, apothecary and the supermarket you get health from rice, corn, wheat, clam, crab, fish, bananas, wine, sugar, spice, deer, cow, pig and sheep. So, for those of you counting at home, that's 16 [ICON_HEALTHY] points! So that means the ability to build production-boosting, pollution-causing buildings. Late in the game with high populations and those buildings or even on higher levels, this can be useful. However, you may not be looking to have a late finishing game or even want to detour for the late tech Refrigeration, especially if the Apothecary gives an intrinsic +2 health even without resources and so Supermarkets are not a necessity. That is pretty nice, no matter what level one plays on. You are afforded the option to trade away health resources for more important ones, such as: uranium, oil, iron, aluminum, etc.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Being Imperialistic, Cyrus has faster settler production and this means more cities quicker. As a result there is likely to be more health resources claimed more quickly. Happiness is not the problem with this charismatic leader either, so where can this health bonus be applied the best? Well, highly populated and production oriented cities will benefit so that means space race or conquest/domination victories and/or GP farming.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Like Churchill or Tokagawa, Cyrus might be one of the ultimate warmongers with his traits. They allow faster XP accumulation [BOLD]and[\BOLD] faster GG appearance! Late game wars which require forges, factories, etc to really pump out the expensive units will have a higher health cap. This makes more of a difference the higher the difficulty, but on quicker or lower setting, perhaps not as much.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As for Darius I, with Vanilla Washington's traits of Financial and Organized, the extra health from the UB will complement both the food from cheap lighthouses and the production from cheap factories. Financial seems handy in teching towards a space or diplomatic finish. More will need to be seen from Darius.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Apothecary needs both Currency and Guilds to build it, and guilds can come quite late, but then again guilds also gives Knights and a warmonger might like to upgrade his highly promoted Immortals. Some slingshotting could get you there faster, but maybe more needed in higher levels although I don't know exactly since the tech pace is likely quicker.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For Cyrus, faster GG emergence and quicker promotion ability means that the game is more likely won early with a conquest/domination goal and maybe the health bonuses is not so well-exploited because pollution might not be as high for one reason or another. For a fast teching Darius with an ability to maintain a large empire the extra health might benefit him more in the long run.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This building seems more suited for higher levels, but can make an impact late game with high pollution problems. Environmentalism can be avoided/delayed and chopping could be done without fear of health-induced starvation or founding a city near many FPs. Again without health resources it becomes very useful and for that reason the ability to trade away extra health resources for more strategic ones could be very useful as well.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Portuguese Feitoria (Customs House):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Feitoria replaces another new building, the Customs House. You need Economics and a Harbour to build it and it grants a 50% boost to all [BOLD]foreign[\BOLD] trade coming in from [BOLD]overseas[\BOLD]. The Portuguese Feitoria gives one extra commerce in all water tiles, making coastal cities seem like you are a financial leader.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is a very interesting UB to say the least. First off, it acts like a Colossus in each city that builds it, giving the extra commerce and a little like the Temple of Artemis without the Priest. If you were to have a large coastal city, some sea resources, a harbour, a lighthouse, and the Feitoria, that would really be a great city. Now imagine the Colossus and the Great Lighthouse in this city. Let's go a little further with it being a capital running Bureaucracy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Given the new concept of colonies in the game, it is likely that the AI will use this UB to its full advantage. More research will be needed, but Expansive and Imperialistic Joao will be able to build settlers [BOLD]and[\BOLD] workers more quickly. He is the only one, which is interesting enough. Starting with fishing will mean access to food resources to even more quickly pump those guys out. He seems flexible in pursuing either conquest/domination or space/cultural victories. It seems the AI like human player swill try for colonial expansion early and often to make use of this UB and the UU.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It is assumed that the UB and the Customs House can only be built on a coastal city given that it requires a harbour. Furthermore, the Customs House would be useless if running Mercantilism, thereby closing all foreign trade routes. It seems the Free Market, with the +1 trade route would really be the choice civic for this building. However, the Feitoria also gets +1 commerce in all water tiles, remember. Joao II could run which ever civic he wants and still get the commerce bonus. I would still recommend Free Market for the larger benefit.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It remaining to be seen how effective this UB will be. It is definitely map dependent, but if you have a few coastal cities and are up to the 6-7 possible trades routes in them, then this UB in only a few cities would still be an impact.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Roman Forum (Market):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wow, a UB that gives +25 GP birth rate! This is likely to become a favourite. There are no philosophical Roman leaders, but running Pacifism with the Forum and National Epic would still give +225%, not too shabby. Maybe with just the 125% you feel that you can delay the revolution/anarchy until you have other civics you want too.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Julius Caesar is Organized and has -50% maintenance costs, but with this UB being much more attractive than a normal Market perhaps one builds it sooner and the +25% wealth in the city and the reduced maintenance costs really go together nicely much earlier in the game. In addition to his cheaper lighthouse, his cheap factories give a nice later in game production boost for military or spaceship ventures. Besides the Merchants assigned from the Forum, he has no cheap buildings which benefit from the extra GPP until factories. Augustus is no longer creative, but is Industrious. So his cheap forges could mean quicker GE production if that is your desire. This can be helpful in wonder or space races and so the extra GPP can go towards GEs or GSs or pumping out Praetorians.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Both Roman leaders are Imperialistic and have greater GG production and likely to help warmongering. Luring your enemy into your Great Wall trap, could mean 200% greater chance of GG appearance.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The extra the GPs from the Forums could be used to founded religions or techbulb (TM ) you faster through the tech tree for more military/scientific advances. There is real flexibility for both the Roman leaders. They have the fast settler production to really expand and set up an empire with the strength of their Praetorians pushing back the barbarians (er, that is, the other civs). Julius will have a better economy and ability to support his empire, while Augustus will churn out units and wonders and do the same using brute force. The GPPs can be used for whichever purpose is decided.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Well, running a SE seems to be necessary to maximize this UB's bonus, but not vital. Polluted GPP pools might cause some disappointment for some.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In a game where GP production is a main focus for some players, this building is likely a candidate for having no drawbacks whatsoever. Regardless of victory goal, difficulty setting, map/terrain, resources, opponents or even your own leader selection, this UB is very useful and versatile, making it one of the best.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Russian Research Institute (Laboratory):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Laboratory or Research Institute comes at a time in the game where technologies start to get much more expensive. In addition to the +50% spaceship construction, +25% [ICON_RESEARCH], and assigning one citizen as a Scientist (and +1 unhealthiness), the Russian UB gives [BOLD]two free[\BOLD] scientists! This means you can remove forced scientists and change them to GAs for a cultural win or engineers for space race or keep the scientist and head for future tech.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Representation seems like a no-brainer here, but Russia is one of the only civs in the game (with England) that has three leaders and they each have two different traits so let's examine them more closely:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Catherine: Creative and Imperialistic. She is able to quickly build settlers and the creative trait ensures quick access to fat cross resources. I like her for domination wins for those reasons. Stonehenge can add to the culture growth as well as religions. Cheap libraries can be used in conjunction with cheap theatres to build to a cultural victory. It costs less to build settlers and so fast expansion can lead to more cathedrals build. The extra scientists will lead to faster techs and so if culture is not your thing, the space race gets a nice boost both for the UB's science [BOLD]and[\BOLD] part production. Might not be a high priority especially if near your health cap.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Peter: Expansive and Philosophical. An excellent candidate for Space Race. His +2 health and cheap granaries and harbours will help offset pollution/unhealthiness from production buildings while cheap universities and +100% GP birth rate means more Scientists and Engineers to help techbulbing and wonder building. Remember the faster production of workers from any time in the game should make quite an impact too as they will be out to connect resources much sooner.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Stalin: Aggressive and Industrious. In the few games I have played with Stalin, I have been impressed with his space race potential. Cheap forges and beelining science helped. The UB really made a big impact I felt. Again cultural games leave this UB pretty much obsolete, but with Stalin, his wonder building boost leads to more research with wonders like GL, University of Sankore, Spiral Minaret, Oxford, etc. And then we have the Ironworks and GE produced wonders which are also helpful on the way. He can also be quite the military force early in the game and throughout.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]What is the trade off between Peter's ability to generate GP quicker or Stalin's wonders appearing faster to giving GPPs much sooner? That is open for debate, but both seem great cosmonauts. And I wouldn't rule out Cathy in that department either. With her cheap libraries, quick settler production for greater early expansion complemented by quick cultural border growth she could just as likely be able to use the UB and pull another Yuri Gagarin or, make that Valentina Tereshkova.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Observatories are needed to build the Institute, and although you will already have that tech, they can be more expensive to build for all three leaders compared to cheap libraries or universities. Only Stalin with his industrious trait might have a quicker build given his cheap forges and getter ability to settle GEs, although Peter might too. In Beyond the Sword, with the restructured modern age tech tree, it may require a slightly longer wait before one can build the Research Institute, plus the choices late in the game seem to be more complex and difficult than they were previously.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Diplomatic victories would mean you research Mass Media instead of Computers and therefore not a factor. For cultural wins, you likely have the culture switch on at this point and these buildings therefore can be useful in giving back some lost research, but it will matter very little. Mass Media gives Hollywood which is much more important in that case.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]For being at war the research boost could be handy for building more advanced units, but likely if you need a research boost that badly you probably can't afford to be building RIs in all or most of your high production cities, likely only in your SCC which could also be your unit factory too. By the time you build it, you still have to research those new techs for the improved units. With a little planning it could work out in your favour.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]To quote Boney M, "Oh, those Russians!" It seems this UB is destined to help with the Space Race and help get Sputnik launched much sooner rather than any other victory, with a possible exception for conquest. Depending on your usual teching order, you might make some adjustments to maximize the benefit of the Research Institute. Time/score victory goals can be helped by the accumulation of future tech perhaps.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Spanish Citadel (Castle - double production for Protective leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Patched Warlords made Castles more useful by giving them +1 trade route and -25% damage from bombardment from non-gunpowder units in addition to the +50% defense vs. non-gunpowder units and +1 culture. Cumulative with the prerequisite Walls, that means +100 defence from non-GP units and -50% from non-GP bombardment. In BtS, they also give an extra 25% espionage points. Maybe, [BOLD]now[\BOLD] players will build them![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Citadel gives an additional 25% bombardment protection for a total of -75% [BOLD]and[\BOLD] gives 5XP to Siege units produced in the city. From the +3XP barracks and the Citadel that is 8XP already, but Thoecracy and Vassalge give 12XP from the start enough for 3 promotions. The bonus is applied to Trebuchets, Catapults and if you can avoid the obsoleting tech, Economics (which restores the lost trade route, 1st to discover gets a GM) you can have Cannons, Artillery and even machine guns with this bonus as well.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The strength of the UB lies in how one promotes their siege weapons most effectively. A warmonger or early-war-to-to-claim-land strategy uses it to it's full advantage, but just protecting your cities becomes much easier now too. In Beyond the Sword, there is a new system for siege weapons, so more remains to be seen. Let's take a look at the Siege Units assuming that they follow the path below and remember they cannot receive defensive bonuses and they all cause collateral damage:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Catapult[COLOR_REVERT] ---\[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB]\___ [COLOR_RED]Cannon[COLOR_REVERT] ---&gt; [COLOR_RED]Artillery[COLOR_REVERT] ---&gt; [COLOR_RED]Mobile Artillery[COLOR_REVERT]*[NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Trebuchet[COLOR_REVERT] -/[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][COLOR_BLACK]Grenadier[COLOR_REVERT] --&gt; [COLOR_RED]Machine Gun[COLOR_REVERT] --&gt; [COLOR_BLACK]Mechanized Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Unit[TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][ICON_PRODUCTION][TAB][ICON_STRENGTH][TAB][ICON_MOVES][TAB][TAB]Bonuses[\BOLD][NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Catapult[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB][TAB]40[TAB]5[TAB]1[TAB]25% Withdrawal,[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Bombard City Defences (-15%/turn)[NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Trebuchet[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB][TAB]60[TAB]4[TAB]1[TAB]25% Withdrawal, +100% vs. City[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Bombard City Defences (-25%/turn)[NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Cannon[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB][TAB]100[TAB]12[TAB]1[TAB]25% Withdrawal,[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Bombard City Defences (-20%/turn)[NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Machine Gun[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB]120[TAB]18[TAB]1[TAB]1st Strike, Defend Only, +50% vs. GP Units[NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Artillery[COLOR_REVERT][TAB][TAB][TAB]100[TAB]18[TAB]1[TAB]25% Withdrawal, +50% vs. Siege[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Bombard City Defences (-25%/turn)[NEWLINE][COLOR_BLACK]Mechanized Infantry[COLOR_REVERT][TAB]200[TAB]32[TAB]2[TAB]20% Aircraft Intercept, Starts with March[NEWLINE][COLOR_RED]Mobile Artillery[COLOR_REVERT]*[TAB][TAB]200[TAB]26[TAB]2[TAB]Max 85% Attack Damage, +50% vs. Siege[NEWLINE][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB][TAB]Immune to Siege Collateral Damage[NEWLINE]*Beyond the Sword[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]All these units receive Barrage, Drill, Shock, Ambush, and City Raider (except Machine Gun who only defends) as well as the Combat and Medic promotions. Any Grenadiers promoted to Machine Gun will not gain any XPs if ungraded in a Citadel, but any you build there will. None of these units can receive City Garrison, Cover, Pinch, Formation, Charge or (Guerilla or Woodsman), but it is possible to have your Grenadier or Melee Units promoted into Grenadiers and give [BOLD]them[\BOLD] any of those promotions and then upgrade them into Machine Gunners. You could for example create G2 or G3 Machine Gunners with Ambush and CG promotions to defend a Hill city from Tanks or you could have Woodsman Machine Gunners with Pinch and Medic/Charge defending your SoD on route through a forest to attack an enemy city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Options for your other Siege units are even more numerours. Except for the Machine Gun, all the Siege units have a 25% withdrawal chance, if you add a GG to it, you can it 55% as well as making it a nice Siege Weapon from other promotions. Remember that upgrades are [BOLD]free[\BOLD] when attached to a Warlord, so you could have some expert Machine Gun defenders or great Cannons/Artillery once the competition gets a little tougher and the AI has more advanced units. One other thing that really stood out to me in trying the UB out, was that Siege Units are immune to collateral damage, so having plenty of them in your stack means you will have some to attack with while other units might need to heal. You can give them medic promotions too remember.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]As for synergy with the Conquistador, it is a knight with +50% vs. melee units. Many different civs have melee units for their UU, which comes in handy. With a few correctly promoted Conquistadors and Siege weapons the two should complement each other nicely. Don't forget to balance out your forces, using more than just these two.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This UB doesn't really do anything for the Expansive trait or the Spanish starting tech of fishing and mysticism, however being religious does offer advantages to being able to switch to new civics immediately and not waiting until others are discovered. A switch to Theocracy before you wait to get Vassalage could mean the difference between producing units with an extra +2 XPs and for the siege units with the Citadel, that is enough to put them over the top for a third promotion.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you want to avoid Economics, the obsoleting tech, you only really miss out on a Great Merchant. You could conceivably hold out for some super artillery and machine gunners if you wanted. This UB allows for some interesting warfare capabilities. Although it doesn't immediately lend it self to anything other than conquest/domination, the extra territory and cities gained or even the ability to better protect one's own cities and territory is nothing to take lightly.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Sumerian Ziggurat (Courthouse - double production for Organized leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]While the Rathaus of the Holy Roman Empire gives a larger maintenence bonus, it takes just as long to build. Neither them, nor the Sumerians are Organized, but the Sumerian Ziggurat is 30 [ICON_PRODUCTION] cheaper, only costing 90, meaning that it will be built more quickly even if not more powerful. I feel the quicker it is build the better; one of the reasons the Zulu Ikhanda is so effective as well (although for Zulu, it is both cheaper and quicker, but not as powerful). Also, only four are required to build the Forbidden Palace. It also gives +2 espionage points and allow you to assign a citizen as a Spy, but that is a normal courthouse feature for Beyond the Sword.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Okay, major props going out to Bovinespy again for pointing out my huge oversight (I don't have the game yet). This UB is like a courthouse, but you only need Priesthood to build it thereby delaying Code of Laws or passing it all together. This will mean a much earlier clamp down on maintenance costs. While others may have a larger bonus (Rathaus), Gilgamesh, like Shaka, will have a head start. This means the Forbidden Palace is built much sooner as well.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Building the FP quicker, could help culturally for a victory, however it also means a faster expanding empire. Creative and Protective Gilgamesh will need be to be further studied, but the culture boost from borders will help the settlers claim land and the quicker and earlier built courthouses will help keep the economy going. Being protective as well, means maintaining the empire while under attack. Cheap walls and castles will make Sumeria a tough foe to topple.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This did not jump out as being a strong UB until I realized it comes with Priesthood. This is something I am sure some players will use it to maximum advantage. Really, a cheaper courthouse is nothing to complain about and now, one does not have to wait as long to build it.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]. Um yeah, that was before I realized you don't need CoL. Priesthood is such a cheap tech, it could be beelined for maximum exploitation here. I love the prereq tech as it is both unique and very appropriate when you think about what Ziggurats really were. This UB is just oozing flavour and possibilities. More to come I am sure; I just can not wait to play these guys![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Viking Trading Post (Lighthouse double production for Organized leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Another coastal UB for a financial leader, the Trading Post gives a free Navigation 1 promotion to ships build there in addition to the extra food in each sea tile.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There is some definite synergies here, firstly the UB being required for the Great Lighthouse which gives all coastal cities +2 trade routes. Ragnar starts with fishing and so the prereq tech, Sailing is not far away. As with the Carthaginian Cothon, it makes sense to build many coastal cities to maximize this affect. Now, it's true that not all your cities will be building ships [BOLD]all[\BOLD] the time, so it is your choice, but of the achipelago maps I have played with them, most if not all of them have been. Harbours, Colossus also add to the wealth, remembering that Ragnar is financial, coastal tiles are great if you have few FP cottages, gems, gold, silver or plantation resources[NEWLINE]around you.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]So, the bonus itself, one extra movement for sea units does not include work boats. On a map with plenty of water this is helpful to let you discover other civs earlier and trade tech with them. Between your financial coastal cities raking in money for a high research rate, you will also be trading for other techs of lower priority when you meet the others. From here you can go one step further and let the extra movement of your powerful navy work for you. Drydocks come with Steel and give your sea units an extra +4 XPs and are produced 50% faster. Your navy would quite literally have an extra step, but there is more. The +1 movement also helps you to circumnavigate the globe faster and hopefully beat out other civs in doing so. Either you trade for maps as you meet new civs or you do it the old fashioned way. It might be tough with a lot of ocean, but as soon as you get ships which can enter the ocean you still have the +1 movement from navigation. The +1 movement from circumnavigating the globe [BOLD]does[\BOLD] apply to your work boats![NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Now let us consider the Bersek, the Viking UU which is a Maceman with the Amphibious promotion and an intrinsic +10% City Attack. Adding the CR1 and you are already at +30%. Being Aggressive, you only start with Combat 1 for an extra 10% unit strength and the unit itself has +50% vs. Melee Units. So for a CR Berserk against a melee defender in a coastal city we are talking +80% strength for nearly double the 8 [ICON_STRENGTH], more like 15.2 [ICON_STRENGTH]. If you can meet some civs while they still have only archers (11.2 [ICON_STRENGTH], or even better, Warriors (or Axemen), their cities become yours very easily. On an achipelago map, most if not all of their cities will be coastal and that is what a financial leader with the Colossus and GL wants right? With the patch, the Civil Service or CoL slingshot might be harder to do, but if you concentrate on the money, research can go quicker for you, plus a GP could help you out along the way too. Berserks can be built with Copper or Iron, so if you have researched for copper and have none, trade for IW or research it and try again.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]On Great Plains, Oasis or other maps with little coastal tiles, this building is very useless. It really shines in the water maps although the Berserk can still be useful for attacking across rivers.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Whether for meeting tech trading partners earlier or wiping out some rivals early the Trading Post gives a nice bonus. One could go on to eliminate everyone rather quickly or if not take some prime real estate to help with a culture/space/diplomatic victory. For full blown conquest or domination, this building can be helpful on the right map. It would be nice to see +10% trade route or commerce in the city as well, but it still nicely complements the amphibious Berserk. If not on a archipelago or lakes map it value is greatly reduced however.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Zulu Ikhanda (Barracks - double production for Aggressive leader):[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Barracks that act as a mini-courthouse by giving -20% maintnance costs. This means you can wait for CoL a little later and still expand reasonable quicker than your rivals.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Synergies:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This building greatly complements the expansive and aggressive Shaka because he gets double production speed. He is one of two leaders (the other being Frederick) who gets their UB at half the building cost. Barracks cost 50 [ICON_PRODUCTION] while the Ikhanda costs 60 [ICON_PRODUCTION] so the double production bonus still a big factor. Patched Warlords and BtS only gives +3 XPs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Expanding out is aided with reduced costs and whether you warmonger or not it's a nice bonus. Couple it with the courhouse and that is -70% maintenance costs, not bad at all. If taking over cities, this UB is cheaper to build than a courthouse (80 [ICON_PRODUCTION] and don't forget the double production) In a large, productive city taken from the enemy, this building will let it start contributing to the war machine.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I would not put the Zulu as a culture contender with no cheap culture buildings to build, but diplomatic, domination, space race and conquest all seem possibilities because the benefits of reduced maintenance can be used for any means. I have actually seen some comments that cultural was easy with Shaka. Perhaps the extra maintenance reduction allows for more cities and more cathedrals.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In Beyond the Sword, they have fixed the problem that the Ikhanda had in Warlords and it now like the Barracks, it also receives +2 happiness when running the Nationhood civic. So, quicker expansion and extra happiness from a building which is meant to produce units with +3 XPs. Remembering the synergy with Fuedalism and Theocracy that is +8 XPs and while other civs get that and the barrcks happiness too, they do not get the lower maintenance costs while growing their empires through conquest.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Possible Drawbacks?[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You might not build barracks in every city, at higher level especially, but this UB can pay dividends by being in every city. It's so cheaper, why would one not even bother? The synergy with the courthouse can be nice.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Summary:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Probably a building best used to expand as quickly as allowed. Domination or conquest or large number of cities to help with research/spaceship construction. Finally, if this UB makes you more likely to build barracks straight away, your military will benefit, but should it be first in the build queue?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]That is the rundown of the Unique Buildings. I would like to thank everyone for their input and support.</Spanish>
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		<Tag>TXT_KEY_STRATEGY_EARLY_GROWTH_PEDIA</Tag>
		<English>[H1]Optimum Early Growth Strategy[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]ohioastronomy[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This article is intended to determine the optimum strategy for maximizing production in the first 40 turns of the game. My intention is to quantify the advantages of chopping down forest and to compare different tactical paths in the early game. Tactics to be discussed include the relative advantages of growing your initial city, building workers, improvements, founding your second city, chop-rushing, and queue shuffling. I chose a 40 turn window because in this time it is possible to have two solid cities, with workers improving both, and to be in position to develop a third city if you desire. Over longer periods the mix of tiles, external threats, and other priorities (such as road building and military development) complicate the situation. I'll contend that the following general conclusions apply for normal speed games:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]1. Building worker/worker/settler is optimal for early growth.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]2. If you can either build a mine or farm a special resource before chopping you end up equal to straight chopping at turn 40. This implies that you do not need to research Bronze Working first (but do need to have it completed by turn 20).[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]3. Limited chopping (3 trees) is a key to getting your initial cities set up.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]4. Growing your city to size 2 before building a worker carries a significant production penalty.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]5. Queue switching will be discussed in a followup post, as will the develop-one-big-city first approach.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Commerce is omitted here, but I contend that is actually reasonable, since significant commerce usually requires worker improvements and thus typically takes off later than this period. As you will see below, any commerce advantage from early growth would have to be balanced against the rather substantial production disadvantage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I'll begin with some basics. A size one city has 3 free production and each additional population point (PP) can generate 3 more production (if there are forests or flood plains) before improvements. Each PP uses 2F. Before improvements, this means that[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A size 1 city has 4 production[NEWLINE]Growing a city by one PP adds 1 production[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Chopping trees yields 30P (at normal) and takes 4 turns including travel time.[NEWLINE]Costs for a warrior, worker, and settler are 15, 60, and 100 respectively. I'll discuss epic speed separately, but tree-chopping is even more favored there (45 yield for a forest, workers and settlers are 75 and 125 respectively).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Farms and mines improve basic production, and building them takes a minimum of 5 turns including travel time.[NEWLINE]Wheat and corn (with agriculture) and copper (with BW) add 3 production.[NEWLINE]Mines add 2 production, as do deer camps (but the base is low on tundra and build times are longer). However, mines clear forests, so the maximum production from a mined tile without a special resource is 4 (gain of +1 over a forest or flood plain).[NEWLINE]Normal farms add 1 production - but only on base 2 production sites or flood plains. Creating a farm on a flood plain also takes longer. For this reason I'll only include the +1P (floodplain+farm and grass/hills+mine) and +3P cases for improvements.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You can already see from the above that starting a second city adds much more production than growing the first city, and that the best improvements are almost as valuable in the short run as founding a second city. Normal improvements increase total production modestly, but only on certain tiles.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]No growth cases: in this model the first city build is a worker, usually coupled with researching bronze working. On turn 15 the first worker appears. I then compared the following strategies, all ending with 2 workers, and one settler. I also compared the lucky +3 production improvements and the more typical +1 production improvements. Here are the cases:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]A. Chop worker 2, both workers chop settler, improve[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]B. Chop settler, chop worker2, improve[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]C. Improve city(+3), chop worker 2, chop settler[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]D. Improve city (+1), chop worker 2, chop settler[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]E. Improve city (+3), settler with no chop, worker 2 with no chop.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]F. Improve city (+1), settler with no chop, worker 2 with no chop.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Here are the results. Worker turns is the number of turns that you would have workers available to do things by turn 40 other than chop settlers/workers and build the first improvement:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Case A: Worker2 T23, Settler T27, Imp T32, 21 worker turns, 8 overflow[NEWLINE](12 x 4P + 120 from 4 trees = 168)[NEWLINE]Case B: Settler T25, Worker2 T31, Imp T36, 13 worker turns, 24 overflow[NEWLINE](16 x 4P + 120 from 4 trees = 184)[NEWLINE]Case C: Imp T20, Worker2 T24, Settler T28, 24 worker turns, 6 overflow[NEWLINE](5 x 4P + 8 x 7P + 90 from 3 trees = 166)[NEWLINE]Case D: Imp T20, Worker2 T24, Settler T30, 24 worker turns[NEWLINE](5 x 4P + 10 x 5P + 90 from 3 trees = 160)[NEWLINE]Case E: Imp T20, Settler T32, Worker2 T40, 15 worker turns[NEWLINE](5 x 4P + 20 x 7P = 160)[NEWLINE]Case F: Imp T20, Settler T36, Worker2 T48, 7 worker turns[NEWLINE](5 x 4P + 28 x 5P = 160)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Now, to put these all onto a common metric:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The earliest completion of all workers and settlers is T27. After this point the main city can grow. Later starts are penalized 10P per turn of delay (4P in direct cost and 2P in delayed production from population points 2,3,4 each). Beyond that point the happiness and health limits can be relevant.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The earliest settler is T25. Later starting cities are penalized 10P per turn of delay for the same reason.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Every worker turn that is available after the base tasks above are completed is worth 7.5P (chopping trees; could also be improving for future growth, but that is tile-dependent).[NEWLINE]Production overflow is credited to each case as available.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Case A: +145.5 (4 trees)[NEWLINE]Case B: +81.5 (4 trees)[NEWLINE]Case C: +146 (3 trees)[NEWLINE]Case D: +100 (3 trees)[NEWLINE]Case E: -87.5 ( 0 trees)[NEWLINE]Case F: -307.5 (0 trees)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There is also a difference in the improved city production after the workers and settlers are produced. This is significant for cases A, B, C, E (where there is a good special available).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]These cases get stronger production released after turns 32, 36, 28, 40. When this effect is accounted for, Case C (improve a +3P special before chopping) saves a tree and gets the highest yield. Cases A and C are thus very close).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Chopping is strongly favored, and building a second worker before a settler is favored. Improving a special resource is a wash with chopping first, and building a 4 production tile before chopping is disfavored. You don't need to clearcut for a solid start.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]What about growing first? If you have the right tiles available you can grow to size 2 and put out a warrior by turn 10. How does this compare with building a worker first? We'll focus on Case A above (worker/worker/settler), as it doesn't rely on a handy wheat or corn. In this case:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Size 2 turn 10, worker 1 T22, worker 2 T28, Settler T34, Imp T37, 10 worker turns, 20 overflow. In all the other cases we assumed the city would start growing on turn 27, while in this case 10 turns of early growth went to the city+unit and it is free to grow again after turn 34. As a result, I give this case 30 extra production for a growth head start (it gets 10 turns of growth by turn 34 while the other cities get 7), and add 24 for the extra production in turns 11 through 34. In effect, the worker-first cities catch up in size while the grow-first city is catching up in workers and settlers. This setup has a rating of +36, e.g. significantly worse than the build-worker first case. In terms of the land grab, it also postpones founding the second city by a potentially crucial 9 turns.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]An early delay in building workers (without growing to size 2) costs 25 production/turn: a one turn delay in founding a city and two lost worker turns chopping trees. I hope this is useful; comments/questions most welcome.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Queue swapping is an interesting tactic to combine early growth and tree-chopping. It starts the same as the worker-first strategy, producing a worker on turn 15. On turns 16, 17, 18 the city grows and builds a warrior. On turn 19 the city switches to a worker, with 34 production (4 basic plus 30 from chopping a forest). The second worker appears on turn 23, both chop on turn 27, and one chops on turn 31 while the other produces an improvement on turn 32 (6 overflow). Relative to case A, the founding of the second city is delayed 4 turns, and 4 turns of worker action are lost; this is a 70 production penalty. However, the main city has had 12 extra turns of growth (a 120 production edge.) As a result, queue swapping is a net +193.5 on the original scale, but does burn 5 forests. There is some opportunity cost in losing resources that could be used later (for wonders, barracks, granaries, etc.)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There is also a trick to use only the chopped timber for settlers and workers (extreme queue swapping). Essentially, you set production to settler on the turn the chop is due, manually make the worker chop, and then set production back to warrior. This is more competitive at epic speed, but is an expensive idea on normal speed: settlers cost 100 and forests yield 30, so you would have to chop 6 forests (with 20 overflow) by turn 31 to get out the settler. Relative to normal queue swapping, this method loses 4 worker turns (30 penalty) and gains 4 turns of growth (40 benefit) with 14 extra overflow. The overall net is +217.5, so it scores highest on an absolute scale. If you subtract the opportunity cost of the forests used, however, the relative rankings are different:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]No queue swapping +63.5[NEWLINE]Normal queue swapping +43.5[NEWLINE]Aggressive queue swapping +37.5[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Whether you use this technique or not therefore depends in part on how many forests you can use and what else you might do with them.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]An alternate approach is to build a large city first and then use the enhanced production to churn out units later. An additional advantage is that such a city produces more early commerce. However, this strategy is significantly weaker in production (and, over the long term, not as strong in commerce as it might appear) because of the power of chopping and improvements. Assume the most favorable case for growth, namely 5 good food resources or flood plains on a river. In this case the capital will grow to size 2,3,4,5 after 8, 14, 19, and 24 turns respectively. By occasionally swapping in some grass/hills/forest it is possible to build 2 warriors and grow to the prince capital happiness limit (5) in 25 turns. The larger city will have 8 production, and if you follow up with worker/worker/settler then you can have worker1(33 turns), worker2(37 turns), and settler (42 turns). There is a commerce edge until the initially smaller capital catches up in size (108), and a production edge (95), assuming the growth pattern is the same. However, there is a 16 turn delay in founding city 2 and you need 9 worker turns past turn 40 to finish the initial builds. The net effect is -132.5 on the original scale, or almost 300 production behind emphasizing settlers and workers early. If anything, this understates the disadvantage of growing onto unimproved tiles. A size 1 city working an improved wheat has almost the same production (7) as a size 5 city working 5 unimproved tiles (8). By the time the big city has produced its first settler, you could have had two medium cities (size 2-3) working improved tiles and could have even founded a third city with supporting worker. Even the commerce edge (roughly one good tech) has to be kept in perspective; a single gold mine has a much bigger long-term yield.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You could get better results by building two workers and then using them to improve tiles while letting the city grow to the happiness limit, then building a settler. The exact results are more complicated to compute because they depend on what tiles are available. In my view, this actually confirms the idea that building a worker first is optimal for a variety of play styles.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Different game speeds can significantly change the benefits of different strategies. The key thing to understand is the different way that units and tech/forests/growth/production scale with speed. As you go from Quick-Normal-Epic-Marathon (Q-N-E-M) the costs for a unit scale as[NEWLINE]Q 4/5 - N 1 - E 5/4 - M 2[NEWLINE](for example, the respective costs for a settler are 80, 100, 125, 200).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]However, tech costs, city growth, improvement builds, and forests change more quickly with speed. They scale as[NEWLINE]Q 2/3 - N 1 - E 3/2 - M 3[NEWLINE](for example, the respective yields for forests and the turns to clear including travel are[NEWLINE]Q 20 (3) - N 30 (4) - E 45 (5) - M 90 (9)[NEWLINE]This means that Stonehenge always can be gotten with 4 forest (2 with stone) at all speeds,[NEWLINE]but the cost in forests for a settler is[NEWLINE]Q=4 N=3.33 E=2.78 M=2.22[NEWLINE]and the time to build a settler with the basic 4 production of a city is[NEWLINE]Q=20 N=25 E=32 M=50[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With an important exception for technology speed at high difficulty levels and marathon, you can therefore expect the following[NEWLINE]relative trends. I'll post details for other speeds if people are interested.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]1) In quick games cities grow rapidly and the yield from tree-cutting is smaller. The rapid pace of technology also means that workers are more flexible - it is very likely that you can improve special resources immediately upon founding a new city. This makes improvements more powerful, and dramatically reduces the differential impact of chopping on early production. If you start with good special resources you can do better by improving the first one (after you have a worker) than you can by focusing on tree-cutting (an improved wheat has a higher return than a forest cut after 7 turns). Worker-worker-settler is still the preferred sequence, but clearcutters will quickly run out of forests. Building a big city before a settler still fares worse than building a worker first, since once the tiles are improved the capital will grow to the happiness/health limit almost immediately. Note that because cities grow very fast (as quickly as three turns per population), having extra workers in the early game will have a large impact on production; you'll benefit from hooking up special resources to raise the health and happiness caps. Peaceful builders and tree-huggers will probably like this speed.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]2) In epic games the technology speed is still fast enough that it doesn't play the huge role that it will at marathon. Worker-worker-settler is strongly preferred to other build sequences. Trees provide so many hammers that queue swapping is extremely effective, and can be used to put out early warriors, etc. without a large production penalty. You may even want to do a reverse queue swap, putting a warrior in the build queue when you want to get it out quickly and then crediting the overflow to the worker or settler. Remember that the costs are not exact multiples of timber yields, so that you want 200 production going to your second worker+settler, not the 180 you'd get just from cutting four trees (so you will want to have 5 turns of native production applied to units, not growth, to avoid using up too many of your valuable forests.)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]3) In principle you might expect marathon games to be a simple extension of the above trends, and a theoretical analysis supports that. But the glacial pace of research has interesting consequences - especially at high difficulty levels. When you found your first city and choose your first tech on a normal start, you'll see something like the following for bronze working (BW) and a Worker(W) at Prince:[NEWLINE]Quick BW=9,W=12 turns[NEWLINE]Normal BW=13, W=15 turns[NEWLINE]Epic BW=21, W=19 turns[NEWLINE]Marathon BW=49, W=30 turns. At Marathon/Deity, it take 67 turns to get bronze working....[NEWLINE](If you have a special start tile the worker time will be less, and if you have commerce on your second tile the tech time will be less. You can usually shuffle the worked tile in that case so that the arrival of the first worker and getting BW happens at the same time on epic).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]What this means is that unless you either prioritize commerce or are extremely careful you will have extended stretches where your workers, and cities, have absolutely nothing useful to do. It is entirely plausible that it will take you 150+ turns before you can actually use that pig next to your starting city, and even improvement build times are long (15 turns for farm, etc.) As a result, financial leaders have a significant production edge, and coastal production, specials with commerce, etc. will dramatically speed up city development.[NEWLINE]Timber is useful for a lot of things, and you should think carefully about how you want to spend it. The AIs don't tend to use it for wonders, for instance, and it does save a lot of time for buildings as well. Unless you can speed up the tech, there is no gain in starting with a worker until you can time their arrival to coincide with a useful task - you might as well spend the first 20 turns getting a warrior out, unless there is a lovely gold mine next door.</English>
		<French>[H1]Optimum Early Growth Strategy[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]ohioastronomy[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This article is intended to determine the optimum strategy for maximizing production in the first 40 turns of the game. My intention is to quantify the advantages of chopping down forest and to compare different tactical paths in the early game. Tactics to be discussed include the relative advantages of growing your initial city, building workers, improvements, founding your second city, chop-rushing, and queue shuffling. I chose a 40 turn window because in this time it is possible to have two solid cities, with workers improving both, and to be in position to develop a third city if you desire. Over longer periods the mix of tiles, external threats, and other priorities (such as road building and military development) complicate the situation. I'll contend that the following general conclusions apply for normal speed games:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]1. Building worker/worker/settler is optimal for early growth.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]2. If you can either build a mine or farm a special resource before chopping you end up equal to straight chopping at turn 40. This implies that you do not need to research Bronze Working first (but do need to have it completed by turn 20).[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]3. Limited chopping (3 trees) is a key to getting your initial cities set up.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]4. Growing your city to size 2 before building a worker carries a significant production penalty.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]5. Queue switching will be discussed in a followup post, as will the develop-one-big-city first approach.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Commerce is omitted here, but I contend that is actually reasonable, since significant commerce usually requires worker improvements and thus typically takes off later than this period. As you will see below, any commerce advantage from early growth would have to be balanced against the rather substantial production disadvantage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I'll begin with some basics. A size one city has 3 free production and each additional population point (PP) can generate 3 more production (if there are forests or flood plains) before improvements. Each PP uses 2F. Before improvements, this means that[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A size 1 city has 4 production[NEWLINE]Growing a city by one PP adds 1 production[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Chopping trees yields 30P (at normal) and takes 4 turns including travel time.[NEWLINE]Costs for a warrior, worker, and settler are 15, 60, and 100 respectively. I'll discuss epic speed separately, but tree-chopping is even more favored there (45 yield for a forest, workers and settlers are 75 and 125 respectively).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Farms and mines improve basic production, and building them takes a minimum of 5 turns including travel time.[NEWLINE]Wheat and corn (with agriculture) and copper (with BW) add 3 production.[NEWLINE]Mines add 2 production, as do deer camps (but the base is low on tundra and build times are longer). However, mines clear forests, so the maximum production from a mined tile without a special resource is 4 (gain of +1 over a forest or flood plain).[NEWLINE]Normal farms add 1 production - but only on base 2 production sites or flood plains. Creating a farm on a flood plain also takes longer. For this reason I'll only include the +1P (floodplain+farm and grass/hills+mine) and +3P cases for improvements.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You can already see from the above that starting a second city adds much more production than growing the first city, and that the best improvements are almost as valuable in the short run as founding a second city. Normal improvements increase total production modestly, but only on certain tiles.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]No growth cases: in this model the first city build is a worker, usually coupled with researching bronze working. On turn 15 the first worker appears. I then compared the following strategies, all ending with 2 workers, and one settler. I also compared the lucky +3 production improvements and the more typical +1 production improvements. Here are the cases:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]A. Chop worker 2, both workers chop settler, improve[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]B. Chop settler, chop worker2, improve[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]C. Improve city(+3), chop worker 2, chop settler[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]D. Improve city (+1), chop worker 2, chop settler[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]E. Improve city (+3), settler with no chop, worker 2 with no chop.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]F. Improve city (+1), settler with no chop, worker 2 with no chop.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Here are the results. Worker turns is the number of turns that you would have workers available to do things by turn 40 other than chop settlers/workers and build the first improvement:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Case A: Worker2 T23, Settler T27, Imp T32, 21 worker turns, 8 overflow[NEWLINE](12 x 4P + 120 from 4 trees = 168)[NEWLINE]Case B: Settler T25, Worker2 T31, Imp T36, 13 worker turns, 24 overflow[NEWLINE](16 x 4P + 120 from 4 trees = 184)[NEWLINE]Case C: Imp T20, Worker2 T24, Settler T28, 24 worker turns, 6 overflow[NEWLINE](5 x 4P + 8 x 7P + 90 from 3 trees = 166)[NEWLINE]Case D: Imp T20, Worker2 T24, Settler T30, 24 worker turns[NEWLINE](5 x 4P + 10 x 5P + 90 from 3 trees = 160)[NEWLINE]Case E: Imp T20, Settler T32, Worker2 T40, 15 worker turns[NEWLINE](5 x 4P + 20 x 7P = 160)[NEWLINE]Case F: Imp T20, Settler T36, Worker2 T48, 7 worker turns[NEWLINE](5 x 4P + 28 x 5P = 160)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Now, to put these all onto a common metric:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The earliest completion of all workers and settlers is T27. After this point the main city can grow. Later starts are penalized 10P per turn of delay (4P in direct cost and 2P in delayed production from population points 2,3,4 each). Beyond that point the happiness and health limits can be relevant.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The earliest settler is T25. Later starting cities are penalized 10P per turn of delay for the same reason.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Every worker turn that is available after the base tasks above are completed is worth 7.5P (chopping trees; could also be improving for future growth, but that is tile-dependent).[NEWLINE]Production overflow is credited to each case as available.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Case A: +145.5 (4 trees)[NEWLINE]Case B: +81.5 (4 trees)[NEWLINE]Case C: +146 (3 trees)[NEWLINE]Case D: +100 (3 trees)[NEWLINE]Case E: -87.5 ( 0 trees)[NEWLINE]Case F: -307.5 (0 trees)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There is also a difference in the improved city production after the workers and settlers are produced. This is significant for cases A, B, C, E (where there is a good special available).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]These cases get stronger production released after turns 32, 36, 28, 40. When this effect is accounted for, Case C (improve a +3P special before chopping) saves a tree and gets the highest yield. Cases A and C are thus very close).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Chopping is strongly favored, and building a second worker before a settler is favored. Improving a special resource is a wash with chopping first, and building a 4 production tile before chopping is disfavored. You don't need to clearcut for a solid start.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]What about growing first? If you have the right tiles available you can grow to size 2 and put out a warrior by turn 10. How does this compare with building a worker first? We'll focus on Case A above (worker/worker/settler), as it doesn't rely on a handy wheat or corn. In this case:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Size 2 turn 10, worker 1 T22, worker 2 T28, Settler T34, Imp T37, 10 worker turns, 20 overflow. In all the other cases we assumed the city would start growing on turn 27, while in this case 10 turns of early growth went to the city+unit and it is free to grow again after turn 34. As a result, I give this case 30 extra production for a growth head start (it gets 10 turns of growth by turn 34 while the other cities get 7), and add 24 for the extra production in turns 11 through 34. In effect, the worker-first cities catch up in size while the grow-first city is catching up in workers and settlers. This setup has a rating of +36, e.g. significantly worse than the build-worker first case. In terms of the land grab, it also postpones founding the second city by a potentially crucial 9 turns.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]An early delay in building workers (without growing to size 2) costs 25 production/turn: a one turn delay in founding a city and two lost worker turns chopping trees. I hope this is useful; comments/questions most welcome.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Queue swapping is an interesting tactic to combine early growth and tree-chopping. It starts the same as the worker-first strategy, producing a worker on turn 15. On turns 16, 17, 18 the city grows and builds a warrior. On turn 19 the city switches to a worker, with 34 production (4 basic plus 30 from chopping a forest). The second worker appears on turn 23, both chop on turn 27, and one chops on turn 31 while the other produces an improvement on turn 32 (6 overflow). Relative to case A, the founding of the second city is delayed 4 turns, and 4 turns of worker action are lost; this is a 70 production penalty. However, the main city has had 12 extra turns of growth (a 120 production edge.) As a result, queue swapping is a net +193.5 on the original scale, but does burn 5 forests. There is some opportunity cost in losing resources that could be used later (for wonders, barracks, granaries, etc.)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There is also a trick to use only the chopped timber for settlers and workers (extreme queue swapping). Essentially, you set production to settler on the turn the chop is due, manually make the worker chop, and then set production back to warrior. This is more competitive at epic speed, but is an expensive idea on normal speed: settlers cost 100 and forests yield 30, so you would have to chop 6 forests (with 20 overflow) by turn 31 to get out the settler. Relative to normal queue swapping, this method loses 4 worker turns (30 penalty) and gains 4 turns of growth (40 benefit) with 14 extra overflow. The overall net is +217.5, so it scores highest on an absolute scale. If you subtract the opportunity cost of the forests used, however, the relative rankings are different:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]No queue swapping +63.5[NEWLINE]Normal queue swapping +43.5[NEWLINE]Aggressive queue swapping +37.5[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Whether you use this technique or not therefore depends in part on how many forests you can use and what else you might do with them.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]An alternate approach is to build a large city first and then use the enhanced production to churn out units later. An additional advantage is that such a city produces more early commerce. However, this strategy is significantly weaker in production (and, over the long term, not as strong in commerce as it might appear) because of the power of chopping and improvements. Assume the most favorable case for growth, namely 5 good food resources or flood plains on a river. In this case the capital will grow to size 2,3,4,5 after 8, 14, 19, and 24 turns respectively. By occasionally swapping in some grass/hills/forest it is possible to build 2 warriors and grow to the prince capital happiness limit (5) in 25 turns. The larger city will have 8 production, and if you follow up with worker/worker/settler then you can have worker1(33 turns), worker2(37 turns), and settler (42 turns). There is a commerce edge until the initially smaller capital catches up in size (108), and a production edge (95), assuming the growth pattern is the same. However, there is a 16 turn delay in founding city 2 and you need 9 worker turns past turn 40 to finish the initial builds. The net effect is -132.5 on the original scale, or almost 300 production behind emphasizing settlers and workers early. If anything, this understates the disadvantage of growing onto unimproved tiles. A size 1 city working an improved wheat has almost the same production (7) as a size 5 city working 5 unimproved tiles (8). By the time the big city has produced its first settler, you could have had two medium cities (size 2-3) working improved tiles and could have even founded a third city with supporting worker. Even the commerce edge (roughly one good tech) has to be kept in perspective; a single gold mine has a much bigger long-term yield.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You could get better results by building two workers and then using them to improve tiles while letting the city grow to the happiness limit, then building a settler. The exact results are more complicated to compute because they depend on what tiles are available. In my view, this actually confirms the idea that building a worker first is optimal for a variety of play styles.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Different game speeds can significantly change the benefits of different strategies. The key thing to understand is the different way that units and tech/forests/growth/production scale with speed. As you go from Quick-Normal-Epic-Marathon (Q-N-E-M) the costs for a unit scale as[NEWLINE]Q 4/5 - N 1 - E 5/4 - M 2[NEWLINE](for example, the respective costs for a settler are 80, 100, 125, 200).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]However, tech costs, city growth, improvement builds, and forests change more quickly with speed. They scale as[NEWLINE]Q 2/3 - N 1 - E 3/2 - M 3[NEWLINE](for example, the respective yields for forests and the turns to clear including travel are[NEWLINE]Q 20 (3) - N 30 (4) - E 45 (5) - M 90 (9)[NEWLINE]This means that Stonehenge always can be gotten with 4 forest (2 with stone) at all speeds,[NEWLINE]but the cost in forests for a settler is[NEWLINE]Q=4 N=3.33 E=2.78 M=2.22[NEWLINE]and the time to build a settler with the basic 4 production of a city is[NEWLINE]Q=20 N=25 E=32 M=50[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With an important exception for technology speed at high difficulty levels and marathon, you can therefore expect the following[NEWLINE]relative trends. I'll post details for other speeds if people are interested.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]1) In quick games cities grow rapidly and the yield from tree-cutting is smaller. The rapid pace of technology also means that workers are more flexible - it is very likely that you can improve special resources immediately upon founding a new city. This makes improvements more powerful, and dramatically reduces the differential impact of chopping on early production. If you start with good special resources you can do better by improving the first one (after you have a worker) than you can by focusing on tree-cutting (an improved wheat has a higher return than a forest cut after 7 turns). Worker-worker-settler is still the preferred sequence, but clearcutters will quickly run out of forests. Building a big city before a settler still fares worse than building a worker first, since once the tiles are improved the capital will grow to the happiness/health limit almost immediately. Note that because cities grow very fast (as quickly as three turns per population), having extra workers in the early game will have a large impact on production; you'll benefit from hooking up special resources to raise the health and happiness caps. Peaceful builders and tree-huggers will probably like this speed.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]2) In epic games the technology speed is still fast enough that it doesn't play the huge role that it will at marathon. Worker-worker-settler is strongly preferred to other build sequences. Trees provide so many hammers that queue swapping is extremely effective, and can be used to put out early warriors, etc. without a large production penalty. You may even want to do a reverse queue swap, putting a warrior in the build queue when you want to get it out quickly and then crediting the overflow to the worker or settler. Remember that the costs are not exact multiples of timber yields, so that you want 200 production going to your second worker+settler, not the 180 you'd get just from cutting four trees (so you will want to have 5 turns of native production applied to units, not growth, to avoid using up too many of your valuable forests.)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]3) In principle you might expect marathon games to be a simple extension of the above trends, and a theoretical analysis supports that. But the glacial pace of research has interesting consequences - especially at high difficulty levels. When you found your first city and choose your first tech on a normal start, you'll see something like the following for bronze working (BW) and a Worker(W) at Prince:[NEWLINE]Quick BW=9,W=12 turns[NEWLINE]Normal BW=13, W=15 turns[NEWLINE]Epic BW=21, W=19 turns[NEWLINE]Marathon BW=49, W=30 turns. At Marathon/Deity, it take 67 turns to get bronze working....[NEWLINE](If you have a special start tile the worker time will be less, and if you have commerce on your second tile the tech time will be less. You can usually shuffle the worked tile in that case so that the arrival of the first worker and getting BW happens at the same time on epic).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]What this means is that unless you either prioritize commerce or are extremely careful you will have extended stretches where your workers, and cities, have absolutely nothing useful to do. It is entirely plausible that it will take you 150+ turns before you can actually use that pig next to your starting city, and even improvement build times are long (15 turns for farm, etc.) As a result, financial leaders have a significant production edge, and coastal production, specials with commerce, etc. will dramatically speed up city development.[NEWLINE]Timber is useful for a lot of things, and you should think carefully about how you want to spend it. The AIs don't tend to use it for wonders, for instance, and it does save a lot of time for buildings as well. Unless you can speed up the tech, there is no gain in starting with a worker until you can time their arrival to coincide with a useful task - you might as well spend the first 20 turns getting a warrior out, unless there is a lovely gold mine next door.</French>
		<German>[H1]Optimum Early Growth Strategy[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]ohioastronomy[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This article is intended to determine the optimum strategy for maximizing production in the first 40 turns of the game. My intention is to quantify the advantages of chopping down forest and to compare different tactical paths in the early game. Tactics to be discussed include the relative advantages of growing your initial city, building workers, improvements, founding your second city, chop-rushing, and queue shuffling. I chose a 40 turn window because in this time it is possible to have two solid cities, with workers improving both, and to be in position to develop a third city if you desire. Over longer periods the mix of tiles, external threats, and other priorities (such as road building and military development) complicate the situation. I'll contend that the following general conclusions apply for normal speed games:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]1. Building worker/worker/settler is optimal for early growth.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]2. If you can either build a mine or farm a special resource before chopping you end up equal to straight chopping at turn 40. This implies that you do not need to research Bronze Working first (but do need to have it completed by turn 20).[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]3. Limited chopping (3 trees) is a key to getting your initial cities set up.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]4. Growing your city to size 2 before building a worker carries a significant production penalty.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]5. Queue switching will be discussed in a followup post, as will the develop-one-big-city first approach.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Commerce is omitted here, but I contend that is actually reasonable, since significant commerce usually requires worker improvements and thus typically takes off later than this period. As you will see below, any commerce advantage from early growth would have to be balanced against the rather substantial production disadvantage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I'll begin with some basics. A size one city has 3 free production and each additional population point (PP) can generate 3 more production (if there are forests or flood plains) before improvements. Each PP uses 2F. Before improvements, this means that[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A size 1 city has 4 production[NEWLINE]Growing a city by one PP adds 1 production[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Chopping trees yields 30P (at normal) and takes 4 turns including travel time.[NEWLINE]Costs for a warrior, worker, and settler are 15, 60, and 100 respectively. I'll discuss epic speed separately, but tree-chopping is even more favored there (45 yield for a forest, workers and settlers are 75 and 125 respectively).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Farms and mines improve basic production, and building them takes a minimum of 5 turns including travel time.[NEWLINE]Wheat and corn (with agriculture) and copper (with BW) add 3 production.[NEWLINE]Mines add 2 production, as do deer camps (but the base is low on tundra and build times are longer). However, mines clear forests, so the maximum production from a mined tile without a special resource is 4 (gain of +1 over a forest or flood plain).[NEWLINE]Normal farms add 1 production - but only on base 2 production sites or flood plains. Creating a farm on a flood plain also takes longer. For this reason I'll only include the +1P (floodplain+farm and grass/hills+mine) and +3P cases for improvements.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You can already see from the above that starting a second city adds much more production than growing the first city, and that the best improvements are almost as valuable in the short run as founding a second city. Normal improvements increase total production modestly, but only on certain tiles.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]No growth cases: in this model the first city build is a worker, usually coupled with researching bronze working. On turn 15 the first worker appears. I then compared the following strategies, all ending with 2 workers, and one settler. I also compared the lucky +3 production improvements and the more typical +1 production improvements. Here are the cases:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]A. Chop worker 2, both workers chop settler, improve[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]B. Chop settler, chop worker2, improve[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]C. Improve city(+3), chop worker 2, chop settler[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]D. Improve city (+1), chop worker 2, chop settler[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]E. Improve city (+3), settler with no chop, worker 2 with no chop.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]F. Improve city (+1), settler with no chop, worker 2 with no chop.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Here are the results. Worker turns is the number of turns that you would have workers available to do things by turn 40 other than chop settlers/workers and build the first improvement:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Case A: Worker2 T23, Settler T27, Imp T32, 21 worker turns, 8 overflow[NEWLINE](12 x 4P + 120 from 4 trees = 168)[NEWLINE]Case B: Settler T25, Worker2 T31, Imp T36, 13 worker turns, 24 overflow[NEWLINE](16 x 4P + 120 from 4 trees = 184)[NEWLINE]Case C: Imp T20, Worker2 T24, Settler T28, 24 worker turns, 6 overflow[NEWLINE](5 x 4P + 8 x 7P + 90 from 3 trees = 166)[NEWLINE]Case D: Imp T20, Worker2 T24, Settler T30, 24 worker turns[NEWLINE](5 x 4P + 10 x 5P + 90 from 3 trees = 160)[NEWLINE]Case E: Imp T20, Settler T32, Worker2 T40, 15 worker turns[NEWLINE](5 x 4P + 20 x 7P = 160)[NEWLINE]Case F: Imp T20, Settler T36, Worker2 T48, 7 worker turns[NEWLINE](5 x 4P + 28 x 5P = 160)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Now, to put these all onto a common metric:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The earliest completion of all workers and settlers is T27. After this point the main city can grow. Later starts are penalized 10P per turn of delay (4P in direct cost and 2P in delayed production from population points 2,3,4 each). Beyond that point the happiness and health limits can be relevant.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The earliest settler is T25. Later starting cities are penalized 10P per turn of delay for the same reason.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Every worker turn that is available after the base tasks above are completed is worth 7.5P (chopping trees; could also be improving for future growth, but that is tile-dependent).[NEWLINE]Production overflow is credited to each case as available.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Case A: +145.5 (4 trees)[NEWLINE]Case B: +81.5 (4 trees)[NEWLINE]Case C: +146 (3 trees)[NEWLINE]Case D: +100 (3 trees)[NEWLINE]Case E: -87.5 ( 0 trees)[NEWLINE]Case F: -307.5 (0 trees)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There is also a difference in the improved city production after the workers and settlers are produced. This is significant for cases A, B, C, E (where there is a good special available).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]These cases get stronger production released after turns 32, 36, 28, 40. When this effect is accounted for, Case C (improve a +3P special before chopping) saves a tree and gets the highest yield. Cases A and C are thus very close).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Chopping is strongly favored, and building a second worker before a settler is favored. Improving a special resource is a wash with chopping first, and building a 4 production tile before chopping is disfavored. You don't need to clearcut for a solid start.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]What about growing first? If you have the right tiles available you can grow to size 2 and put out a warrior by turn 10. How does this compare with building a worker first? We'll focus on Case A above (worker/worker/settler), as it doesn't rely on a handy wheat or corn. In this case:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Size 2 turn 10, worker 1 T22, worker 2 T28, Settler T34, Imp T37, 10 worker turns, 20 overflow. In all the other cases we assumed the city would start growing on turn 27, while in this case 10 turns of early growth went to the city+unit and it is free to grow again after turn 34. As a result, I give this case 30 extra production for a growth head start (it gets 10 turns of growth by turn 34 while the other cities get 7), and add 24 for the extra production in turns 11 through 34. In effect, the worker-first cities catch up in size while the grow-first city is catching up in workers and settlers. This setup has a rating of +36, e.g. significantly worse than the build-worker first case. In terms of the land grab, it also postpones founding the second city by a potentially crucial 9 turns.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]An early delay in building workers (without growing to size 2) costs 25 production/turn: a one turn delay in founding a city and two lost worker turns chopping trees. I hope this is useful; comments/questions most welcome.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Queue swapping is an interesting tactic to combine early growth and tree-chopping. It starts the same as the worker-first strategy, producing a worker on turn 15. On turns 16, 17, 18 the city grows and builds a warrior. On turn 19 the city switches to a worker, with 34 production (4 basic plus 30 from chopping a forest). The second worker appears on turn 23, both chop on turn 27, and one chops on turn 31 while the other produces an improvement on turn 32 (6 overflow). Relative to case A, the founding of the second city is delayed 4 turns, and 4 turns of worker action are lost; this is a 70 production penalty. However, the main city has had 12 extra turns of growth (a 120 production edge.) As a result, queue swapping is a net +193.5 on the original scale, but does burn 5 forests. There is some opportunity cost in losing resources that could be used later (for wonders, barracks, granaries, etc.)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There is also a trick to use only the chopped timber for settlers and workers (extreme queue swapping). Essentially, you set production to settler on the turn the chop is due, manually make the worker chop, and then set production back to warrior. This is more competitive at epic speed, but is an expensive idea on normal speed: settlers cost 100 and forests yield 30, so you would have to chop 6 forests (with 20 overflow) by turn 31 to get out the settler. Relative to normal queue swapping, this method loses 4 worker turns (30 penalty) and gains 4 turns of growth (40 benefit) with 14 extra overflow. The overall net is +217.5, so it scores highest on an absolute scale. If you subtract the opportunity cost of the forests used, however, the relative rankings are different:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]No queue swapping +63.5[NEWLINE]Normal queue swapping +43.5[NEWLINE]Aggressive queue swapping +37.5[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Whether you use this technique or not therefore depends in part on how many forests you can use and what else you might do with them.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]An alternate approach is to build a large city first and then use the enhanced production to churn out units later. An additional advantage is that such a city produces more early commerce. However, this strategy is significantly weaker in production (and, over the long term, not as strong in commerce as it might appear) because of the power of chopping and improvements. Assume the most favorable case for growth, namely 5 good food resources or flood plains on a river. In this case the capital will grow to size 2,3,4,5 after 8, 14, 19, and 24 turns respectively. By occasionally swapping in some grass/hills/forest it is possible to build 2 warriors and grow to the prince capital happiness limit (5) in 25 turns. The larger city will have 8 production, and if you follow up with worker/worker/settler then you can have worker1(33 turns), worker2(37 turns), and settler (42 turns). There is a commerce edge until the initially smaller capital catches up in size (108), and a production edge (95), assuming the growth pattern is the same. However, there is a 16 turn delay in founding city 2 and you need 9 worker turns past turn 40 to finish the initial builds. The net effect is -132.5 on the original scale, or almost 300 production behind emphasizing settlers and workers early. If anything, this understates the disadvantage of growing onto unimproved tiles. A size 1 city working an improved wheat has almost the same production (7) as a size 5 city working 5 unimproved tiles (8). By the time the big city has produced its first settler, you could have had two medium cities (size 2-3) working improved tiles and could have even founded a third city with supporting worker. Even the commerce edge (roughly one good tech) has to be kept in perspective; a single gold mine has a much bigger long-term yield.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You could get better results by building two workers and then using them to improve tiles while letting the city grow to the happiness limit, then building a settler. The exact results are more complicated to compute because they depend on what tiles are available. In my view, this actually confirms the idea that building a worker first is optimal for a variety of play styles.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Different game speeds can significantly change the benefits of different strategies. The key thing to understand is the different way that units and tech/forests/growth/production scale with speed. As you go from Quick-Normal-Epic-Marathon (Q-N-E-M) the costs for a unit scale as[NEWLINE]Q 4/5 - N 1 - E 5/4 - M 2[NEWLINE](for example, the respective costs for a settler are 80, 100, 125, 200).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]However, tech costs, city growth, improvement builds, and forests change more quickly with speed. They scale as[NEWLINE]Q 2/3 - N 1 - E 3/2 - M 3[NEWLINE](for example, the respective yields for forests and the turns to clear including travel are[NEWLINE]Q 20 (3) - N 30 (4) - E 45 (5) - M 90 (9)[NEWLINE]This means that Stonehenge always can be gotten with 4 forest (2 with stone) at all speeds,[NEWLINE]but the cost in forests for a settler is[NEWLINE]Q=4 N=3.33 E=2.78 M=2.22[NEWLINE]and the time to build a settler with the basic 4 production of a city is[NEWLINE]Q=20 N=25 E=32 M=50[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With an important exception for technology speed at high difficulty levels and marathon, you can therefore expect the following[NEWLINE]relative trends. I'll post details for other speeds if people are interested.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]1) In quick games cities grow rapidly and the yield from tree-cutting is smaller. The rapid pace of technology also means that workers are more flexible - it is very likely that you can improve special resources immediately upon founding a new city. This makes improvements more powerful, and dramatically reduces the differential impact of chopping on early production. If you start with good special resources you can do better by improving the first one (after you have a worker) than you can by focusing on tree-cutting (an improved wheat has a higher return than a forest cut after 7 turns). Worker-worker-settler is still the preferred sequence, but clearcutters will quickly run out of forests. Building a big city before a settler still fares worse than building a worker first, since once the tiles are improved the capital will grow to the happiness/health limit almost immediately. Note that because cities grow very fast (as quickly as three turns per population), having extra workers in the early game will have a large impact on production; you'll benefit from hooking up special resources to raise the health and happiness caps. Peaceful builders and tree-huggers will probably like this speed.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]2) In epic games the technology speed is still fast enough that it doesn't play the huge role that it will at marathon. Worker-worker-settler is strongly preferred to other build sequences. Trees provide so many hammers that queue swapping is extremely effective, and can be used to put out early warriors, etc. without a large production penalty. You may even want to do a reverse queue swap, putting a warrior in the build queue when you want to get it out quickly and then crediting the overflow to the worker or settler. Remember that the costs are not exact multiples of timber yields, so that you want 200 production going to your second worker+settler, not the 180 you'd get just from cutting four trees (so you will want to have 5 turns of native production applied to units, not growth, to avoid using up too many of your valuable forests.)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]3) In principle you might expect marathon games to be a simple extension of the above trends, and a theoretical analysis supports that. But the glacial pace of research has interesting consequences - especially at high difficulty levels. When you found your first city and choose your first tech on a normal start, you'll see something like the following for bronze working (BW) and a Worker(W) at Prince:[NEWLINE]Quick BW=9,W=12 turns[NEWLINE]Normal BW=13, W=15 turns[NEWLINE]Epic BW=21, W=19 turns[NEWLINE]Marathon BW=49, W=30 turns. At Marathon/Deity, it take 67 turns to get bronze working....[NEWLINE](If you have a special start tile the worker time will be less, and if you have commerce on your second tile the tech time will be less. You can usually shuffle the worked tile in that case so that the arrival of the first worker and getting BW happens at the same time on epic).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]What this means is that unless you either prioritize commerce or are extremely careful you will have extended stretches where your workers, and cities, have absolutely nothing useful to do. It is entirely plausible that it will take you 150+ turns before you can actually use that pig next to your starting city, and even improvement build times are long (15 turns for farm, etc.) As a result, financial leaders have a significant production edge, and coastal production, specials with commerce, etc. will dramatically speed up city development.[NEWLINE]Timber is useful for a lot of things, and you should think carefully about how you want to spend it. The AIs don't tend to use it for wonders, for instance, and it does save a lot of time for buildings as well. Unless you can speed up the tech, there is no gain in starting with a worker until you can time their arrival to coincide with a useful task - you might as well spend the first 20 turns getting a warrior out, unless there is a lovely gold mine next door.</German>
		<Italian>[H1]Optimum Early Growth Strategy[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]ohioastronomy[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This article is intended to determine the optimum strategy for maximizing production in the first 40 turns of the game. My intention is to quantify the advantages of chopping down forest and to compare different tactical paths in the early game. Tactics to be discussed include the relative advantages of growing your initial city, building workers, improvements, founding your second city, chop-rushing, and queue shuffling. I chose a 40 turn window because in this time it is possible to have two solid cities, with workers improving both, and to be in position to develop a third city if you desire. Over longer periods the mix of tiles, external threats, and other priorities (such as road building and military development) complicate the situation. I'll contend that the following general conclusions apply for normal speed games:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]1. Building worker/worker/settler is optimal for early growth.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]2. If you can either build a mine or farm a special resource before chopping you end up equal to straight chopping at turn 40. This implies that you do not need to research Bronze Working first (but do need to have it completed by turn 20).[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]3. Limited chopping (3 trees) is a key to getting your initial cities set up.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]4. Growing your city to size 2 before building a worker carries a significant production penalty.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]5. Queue switching will be discussed in a followup post, as will the develop-one-big-city first approach.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Commerce is omitted here, but I contend that is actually reasonable, since significant commerce usually requires worker improvements and thus typically takes off later than this period. As you will see below, any commerce advantage from early growth would have to be balanced against the rather substantial production disadvantage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I'll begin with some basics. A size one city has 3 free production and each additional population point (PP) can generate 3 more production (if there are forests or flood plains) before improvements. Each PP uses 2F. Before improvements, this means that[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A size 1 city has 4 production[NEWLINE]Growing a city by one PP adds 1 production[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Chopping trees yields 30P (at normal) and takes 4 turns including travel time.[NEWLINE]Costs for a warrior, worker, and settler are 15, 60, and 100 respectively. I'll discuss epic speed separately, but tree-chopping is even more favored there (45 yield for a forest, workers and settlers are 75 and 125 respectively).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Farms and mines improve basic production, and building them takes a minimum of 5 turns including travel time.[NEWLINE]Wheat and corn (with agriculture) and copper (with BW) add 3 production.[NEWLINE]Mines add 2 production, as do deer camps (but the base is low on tundra and build times are longer). However, mines clear forests, so the maximum production from a mined tile without a special resource is 4 (gain of +1 over a forest or flood plain).[NEWLINE]Normal farms add 1 production - but only on base 2 production sites or flood plains. Creating a farm on a flood plain also takes longer. For this reason I'll only include the +1P (floodplain+farm and grass/hills+mine) and +3P cases for improvements.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You can already see from the above that starting a second city adds much more production than growing the first city, and that the best improvements are almost as valuable in the short run as founding a second city. Normal improvements increase total production modestly, but only on certain tiles.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]No growth cases: in this model the first city build is a worker, usually coupled with researching bronze working. On turn 15 the first worker appears. I then compared the following strategies, all ending with 2 workers, and one settler. I also compared the lucky +3 production improvements and the more typical +1 production improvements. Here are the cases:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]A. Chop worker 2, both workers chop settler, improve[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]B. Chop settler, chop worker2, improve[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]C. Improve city(+3), chop worker 2, chop settler[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]D. Improve city (+1), chop worker 2, chop settler[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]E. Improve city (+3), settler with no chop, worker 2 with no chop.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]F. Improve city (+1), settler with no chop, worker 2 with no chop.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Here are the results. Worker turns is the number of turns that you would have workers available to do things by turn 40 other than chop settlers/workers and build the first improvement:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Case A: Worker2 T23, Settler T27, Imp T32, 21 worker turns, 8 overflow[NEWLINE](12 x 4P + 120 from 4 trees = 168)[NEWLINE]Case B: Settler T25, Worker2 T31, Imp T36, 13 worker turns, 24 overflow[NEWLINE](16 x 4P + 120 from 4 trees = 184)[NEWLINE]Case C: Imp T20, Worker2 T24, Settler T28, 24 worker turns, 6 overflow[NEWLINE](5 x 4P + 8 x 7P + 90 from 3 trees = 166)[NEWLINE]Case D: Imp T20, Worker2 T24, Settler T30, 24 worker turns[NEWLINE](5 x 4P + 10 x 5P + 90 from 3 trees = 160)[NEWLINE]Case E: Imp T20, Settler T32, Worker2 T40, 15 worker turns[NEWLINE](5 x 4P + 20 x 7P = 160)[NEWLINE]Case F: Imp T20, Settler T36, Worker2 T48, 7 worker turns[NEWLINE](5 x 4P + 28 x 5P = 160)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Now, to put these all onto a common metric:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The earliest completion of all workers and settlers is T27. After this point the main city can grow. Later starts are penalized 10P per turn of delay (4P in direct cost and 2P in delayed production from population points 2,3,4 each). Beyond that point the happiness and health limits can be relevant.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The earliest settler is T25. Later starting cities are penalized 10P per turn of delay for the same reason.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Every worker turn that is available after the base tasks above are completed is worth 7.5P (chopping trees; could also be improving for future growth, but that is tile-dependent).[NEWLINE]Production overflow is credited to each case as available.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Case A: +145.5 (4 trees)[NEWLINE]Case B: +81.5 (4 trees)[NEWLINE]Case C: +146 (3 trees)[NEWLINE]Case D: +100 (3 trees)[NEWLINE]Case E: -87.5 ( 0 trees)[NEWLINE]Case F: -307.5 (0 trees)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There is also a difference in the improved city production after the workers and settlers are produced. This is significant for cases A, B, C, E (where there is a good special available).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]These cases get stronger production released after turns 32, 36, 28, 40. When this effect is accounted for, Case C (improve a +3P special before chopping) saves a tree and gets the highest yield. Cases A and C are thus very close).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Chopping is strongly favored, and building a second worker before a settler is favored. Improving a special resource is a wash with chopping first, and building a 4 production tile before chopping is disfavored. You don't need to clearcut for a solid start.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]What about growing first? If you have the right tiles available you can grow to size 2 and put out a warrior by turn 10. How does this compare with building a worker first? We'll focus on Case A above (worker/worker/settler), as it doesn't rely on a handy wheat or corn. In this case:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Size 2 turn 10, worker 1 T22, worker 2 T28, Settler T34, Imp T37, 10 worker turns, 20 overflow. In all the other cases we assumed the city would start growing on turn 27, while in this case 10 turns of early growth went to the city+unit and it is free to grow again after turn 34. As a result, I give this case 30 extra production for a growth head start (it gets 10 turns of growth by turn 34 while the other cities get 7), and add 24 for the extra production in turns 11 through 34. In effect, the worker-first cities catch up in size while the grow-first city is catching up in workers and settlers. This setup has a rating of +36, e.g. significantly worse than the build-worker first case. In terms of the land grab, it also postpones founding the second city by a potentially crucial 9 turns.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]An early delay in building workers (without growing to size 2) costs 25 production/turn: a one turn delay in founding a city and two lost worker turns chopping trees. I hope this is useful; comments/questions most welcome.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Queue swapping is an interesting tactic to combine early growth and tree-chopping. It starts the same as the worker-first strategy, producing a worker on turn 15. On turns 16, 17, 18 the city grows and builds a warrior. On turn 19 the city switches to a worker, with 34 production (4 basic plus 30 from chopping a forest). The second worker appears on turn 23, both chop on turn 27, and one chops on turn 31 while the other produces an improvement on turn 32 (6 overflow). Relative to case A, the founding of the second city is delayed 4 turns, and 4 turns of worker action are lost; this is a 70 production penalty. However, the main city has had 12 extra turns of growth (a 120 production edge.) As a result, queue swapping is a net +193.5 on the original scale, but does burn 5 forests. There is some opportunity cost in losing resources that could be used later (for wonders, barracks, granaries, etc.)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There is also a trick to use only the chopped timber for settlers and workers (extreme queue swapping). Essentially, you set production to settler on the turn the chop is due, manually make the worker chop, and then set production back to warrior. This is more competitive at epic speed, but is an expensive idea on normal speed: settlers cost 100 and forests yield 30, so you would have to chop 6 forests (with 20 overflow) by turn 31 to get out the settler. Relative to normal queue swapping, this method loses 4 worker turns (30 penalty) and gains 4 turns of growth (40 benefit) with 14 extra overflow. The overall net is +217.5, so it scores highest on an absolute scale. If you subtract the opportunity cost of the forests used, however, the relative rankings are different:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]No queue swapping +63.5[NEWLINE]Normal queue swapping +43.5[NEWLINE]Aggressive queue swapping +37.5[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Whether you use this technique or not therefore depends in part on how many forests you can use and what else you might do with them.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]An alternate approach is to build a large city first and then use the enhanced production to churn out units later. An additional advantage is that such a city produces more early commerce. However, this strategy is significantly weaker in production (and, over the long term, not as strong in commerce as it might appear) because of the power of chopping and improvements. Assume the most favorable case for growth, namely 5 good food resources or flood plains on a river. In this case the capital will grow to size 2,3,4,5 after 8, 14, 19, and 24 turns respectively. By occasionally swapping in some grass/hills/forest it is possible to build 2 warriors and grow to the prince capital happiness limit (5) in 25 turns. The larger city will have 8 production, and if you follow up with worker/worker/settler then you can have worker1(33 turns), worker2(37 turns), and settler (42 turns). There is a commerce edge until the initially smaller capital catches up in size (108), and a production edge (95), assuming the growth pattern is the same. However, there is a 16 turn delay in founding city 2 and you need 9 worker turns past turn 40 to finish the initial builds. The net effect is -132.5 on the original scale, or almost 300 production behind emphasizing settlers and workers early. If anything, this understates the disadvantage of growing onto unimproved tiles. A size 1 city working an improved wheat has almost the same production (7) as a size 5 city working 5 unimproved tiles (8). By the time the big city has produced its first settler, you could have had two medium cities (size 2-3) working improved tiles and could have even founded a third city with supporting worker. Even the commerce edge (roughly one good tech) has to be kept in perspective; a single gold mine has a much bigger long-term yield.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You could get better results by building two workers and then using them to improve tiles while letting the city grow to the happiness limit, then building a settler. The exact results are more complicated to compute because they depend on what tiles are available. In my view, this actually confirms the idea that building a worker first is optimal for a variety of play styles.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Different game speeds can significantly change the benefits of different strategies. The key thing to understand is the different way that units and tech/forests/growth/production scale with speed. As you go from Quick-Normal-Epic-Marathon (Q-N-E-M) the costs for a unit scale as[NEWLINE]Q 4/5 - N 1 - E 5/4 - M 2[NEWLINE](for example, the respective costs for a settler are 80, 100, 125, 200).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]However, tech costs, city growth, improvement builds, and forests change more quickly with speed. They scale as[NEWLINE]Q 2/3 - N 1 - E 3/2 - M 3[NEWLINE](for example, the respective yields for forests and the turns to clear including travel are[NEWLINE]Q 20 (3) - N 30 (4) - E 45 (5) - M 90 (9)[NEWLINE]This means that Stonehenge always can be gotten with 4 forest (2 with stone) at all speeds,[NEWLINE]but the cost in forests for a settler is[NEWLINE]Q=4 N=3.33 E=2.78 M=2.22[NEWLINE]and the time to build a settler with the basic 4 production of a city is[NEWLINE]Q=20 N=25 E=32 M=50[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With an important exception for technology speed at high difficulty levels and marathon, you can therefore expect the following[NEWLINE]relative trends. I'll post details for other speeds if people are interested.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]1) In quick games cities grow rapidly and the yield from tree-cutting is smaller. The rapid pace of technology also means that workers are more flexible - it is very likely that you can improve special resources immediately upon founding a new city. This makes improvements more powerful, and dramatically reduces the differential impact of chopping on early production. If you start with good special resources you can do better by improving the first one (after you have a worker) than you can by focusing on tree-cutting (an improved wheat has a higher return than a forest cut after 7 turns). Worker-worker-settler is still the preferred sequence, but clearcutters will quickly run out of forests. Building a big city before a settler still fares worse than building a worker first, since once the tiles are improved the capital will grow to the happiness/health limit almost immediately. Note that because cities grow very fast (as quickly as three turns per population), having extra workers in the early game will have a large impact on production; you'll benefit from hooking up special resources to raise the health and happiness caps. Peaceful builders and tree-huggers will probably like this speed.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]2) In epic games the technology speed is still fast enough that it doesn't play the huge role that it will at marathon. Worker-worker-settler is strongly preferred to other build sequences. Trees provide so many hammers that queue swapping is extremely effective, and can be used to put out early warriors, etc. without a large production penalty. You may even want to do a reverse queue swap, putting a warrior in the build queue when you want to get it out quickly and then crediting the overflow to the worker or settler. Remember that the costs are not exact multiples of timber yields, so that you want 200 production going to your second worker+settler, not the 180 you'd get just from cutting four trees (so you will want to have 5 turns of native production applied to units, not growth, to avoid using up too many of your valuable forests.)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]3) In principle you might expect marathon games to be a simple extension of the above trends, and a theoretical analysis supports that. But the glacial pace of research has interesting consequences - especially at high difficulty levels. When you found your first city and choose your first tech on a normal start, you'll see something like the following for bronze working (BW) and a Worker(W) at Prince:[NEWLINE]Quick BW=9,W=12 turns[NEWLINE]Normal BW=13, W=15 turns[NEWLINE]Epic BW=21, W=19 turns[NEWLINE]Marathon BW=49, W=30 turns. At Marathon/Deity, it take 67 turns to get bronze working....[NEWLINE](If you have a special start tile the worker time will be less, and if you have commerce on your second tile the tech time will be less. You can usually shuffle the worked tile in that case so that the arrival of the first worker and getting BW happens at the same time on epic).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]What this means is that unless you either prioritize commerce or are extremely careful you will have extended stretches where your workers, and cities, have absolutely nothing useful to do. It is entirely plausible that it will take you 150+ turns before you can actually use that pig next to your starting city, and even improvement build times are long (15 turns for farm, etc.) As a result, financial leaders have a significant production edge, and coastal production, specials with commerce, etc. will dramatically speed up city development.[NEWLINE]Timber is useful for a lot of things, and you should think carefully about how you want to spend it. The AIs don't tend to use it for wonders, for instance, and it does save a lot of time for buildings as well. Unless you can speed up the tech, there is no gain in starting with a worker until you can time their arrival to coincide with a useful task - you might as well spend the first 20 turns getting a warrior out, unless there is a lovely gold mine next door.</Italian>
		<Spanish>[H1]Optimum Early Growth Strategy[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]ohioastronomy[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This article is intended to determine the optimum strategy for maximizing production in the first 40 turns of the game. My intention is to quantify the advantages of chopping down forest and to compare different tactical paths in the early game. Tactics to be discussed include the relative advantages of growing your initial city, building workers, improvements, founding your second city, chop-rushing, and queue shuffling. I chose a 40 turn window because in this time it is possible to have two solid cities, with workers improving both, and to be in position to develop a third city if you desire. Over longer periods the mix of tiles, external threats, and other priorities (such as road building and military development) complicate the situation. I'll contend that the following general conclusions apply for normal speed games:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]1. Building worker/worker/settler is optimal for early growth.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]2. If you can either build a mine or farm a special resource before chopping you end up equal to straight chopping at turn 40. This implies that you do not need to research Bronze Working first (but do need to have it completed by turn 20).[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]3. Limited chopping (3 trees) is a key to getting your initial cities set up.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]4. Growing your city to size 2 before building a worker carries a significant production penalty.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]5. Queue switching will be discussed in a followup post, as will the develop-one-big-city first approach.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Commerce is omitted here, but I contend that is actually reasonable, since significant commerce usually requires worker improvements and thus typically takes off later than this period. As you will see below, any commerce advantage from early growth would have to be balanced against the rather substantial production disadvantage.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I'll begin with some basics. A size one city has 3 free production and each additional population point (PP) can generate 3 more production (if there are forests or flood plains) before improvements. Each PP uses 2F. Before improvements, this means that[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A size 1 city has 4 production[NEWLINE]Growing a city by one PP adds 1 production[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Chopping trees yields 30P (at normal) and takes 4 turns including travel time.[NEWLINE]Costs for a warrior, worker, and settler are 15, 60, and 100 respectively. I'll discuss epic speed separately, but tree-chopping is even more favored there (45 yield for a forest, workers and settlers are 75 and 125 respectively).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Farms and mines improve basic production, and building them takes a minimum of 5 turns including travel time.[NEWLINE]Wheat and corn (with agriculture) and copper (with BW) add 3 production.[NEWLINE]Mines add 2 production, as do deer camps (but the base is low on tundra and build times are longer). However, mines clear forests, so the maximum production from a mined tile without a special resource is 4 (gain of +1 over a forest or flood plain).[NEWLINE]Normal farms add 1 production - but only on base 2 production sites or flood plains. Creating a farm on a flood plain also takes longer. For this reason I'll only include the +1P (floodplain+farm and grass/hills+mine) and +3P cases for improvements.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You can already see from the above that starting a second city adds much more production than growing the first city, and that the best improvements are almost as valuable in the short run as founding a second city. Normal improvements increase total production modestly, but only on certain tiles.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]No growth cases: in this model the first city build is a worker, usually coupled with researching bronze working. On turn 15 the first worker appears. I then compared the following strategies, all ending with 2 workers, and one settler. I also compared the lucky +3 production improvements and the more typical +1 production improvements. Here are the cases:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]A. Chop worker 2, both workers chop settler, improve[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]B. Chop settler, chop worker2, improve[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]C. Improve city(+3), chop worker 2, chop settler[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]D. Improve city (+1), chop worker 2, chop settler[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]E. Improve city (+3), settler with no chop, worker 2 with no chop.[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]F. Improve city (+1), settler with no chop, worker 2 with no chop.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Here are the results. Worker turns is the number of turns that you would have workers available to do things by turn 40 other than chop settlers/workers and build the first improvement:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Case A: Worker2 T23, Settler T27, Imp T32, 21 worker turns, 8 overflow[NEWLINE](12 x 4P + 120 from 4 trees = 168)[NEWLINE]Case B: Settler T25, Worker2 T31, Imp T36, 13 worker turns, 24 overflow[NEWLINE](16 x 4P + 120 from 4 trees = 184)[NEWLINE]Case C: Imp T20, Worker2 T24, Settler T28, 24 worker turns, 6 overflow[NEWLINE](5 x 4P + 8 x 7P + 90 from 3 trees = 166)[NEWLINE]Case D: Imp T20, Worker2 T24, Settler T30, 24 worker turns[NEWLINE](5 x 4P + 10 x 5P + 90 from 3 trees = 160)[NEWLINE]Case E: Imp T20, Settler T32, Worker2 T40, 15 worker turns[NEWLINE](5 x 4P + 20 x 7P = 160)[NEWLINE]Case F: Imp T20, Settler T36, Worker2 T48, 7 worker turns[NEWLINE](5 x 4P + 28 x 5P = 160)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Now, to put these all onto a common metric:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The earliest completion of all workers and settlers is T27. After this point the main city can grow. Later starts are penalized 10P per turn of delay (4P in direct cost and 2P in delayed production from population points 2,3,4 each). Beyond that point the happiness and health limits can be relevant.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The earliest settler is T25. Later starting cities are penalized 10P per turn of delay for the same reason.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Every worker turn that is available after the base tasks above are completed is worth 7.5P (chopping trees; could also be improving for future growth, but that is tile-dependent).[NEWLINE]Production overflow is credited to each case as available.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Case A: +145.5 (4 trees)[NEWLINE]Case B: +81.5 (4 trees)[NEWLINE]Case C: +146 (3 trees)[NEWLINE]Case D: +100 (3 trees)[NEWLINE]Case E: -87.5 ( 0 trees)[NEWLINE]Case F: -307.5 (0 trees)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There is also a difference in the improved city production after the workers and settlers are produced. This is significant for cases A, B, C, E (where there is a good special available).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]These cases get stronger production released after turns 32, 36, 28, 40. When this effect is accounted for, Case C (improve a +3P special before chopping) saves a tree and gets the highest yield. Cases A and C are thus very close).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Chopping is strongly favored, and building a second worker before a settler is favored. Improving a special resource is a wash with chopping first, and building a 4 production tile before chopping is disfavored. You don't need to clearcut for a solid start.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]What about growing first? If you have the right tiles available you can grow to size 2 and put out a warrior by turn 10. How does this compare with building a worker first? We'll focus on Case A above (worker/worker/settler), as it doesn't rely on a handy wheat or corn. In this case:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Size 2 turn 10, worker 1 T22, worker 2 T28, Settler T34, Imp T37, 10 worker turns, 20 overflow. In all the other cases we assumed the city would start growing on turn 27, while in this case 10 turns of early growth went to the city+unit and it is free to grow again after turn 34. As a result, I give this case 30 extra production for a growth head start (it gets 10 turns of growth by turn 34 while the other cities get 7), and add 24 for the extra production in turns 11 through 34. In effect, the worker-first cities catch up in size while the grow-first city is catching up in workers and settlers. This setup has a rating of +36, e.g. significantly worse than the build-worker first case. In terms of the land grab, it also postpones founding the second city by a potentially crucial 9 turns.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]An early delay in building workers (without growing to size 2) costs 25 production/turn: a one turn delay in founding a city and two lost worker turns chopping trees. I hope this is useful; comments/questions most welcome.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Queue swapping is an interesting tactic to combine early growth and tree-chopping. It starts the same as the worker-first strategy, producing a worker on turn 15. On turns 16, 17, 18 the city grows and builds a warrior. On turn 19 the city switches to a worker, with 34 production (4 basic plus 30 from chopping a forest). The second worker appears on turn 23, both chop on turn 27, and one chops on turn 31 while the other produces an improvement on turn 32 (6 overflow). Relative to case A, the founding of the second city is delayed 4 turns, and 4 turns of worker action are lost; this is a 70 production penalty. However, the main city has had 12 extra turns of growth (a 120 production edge.) As a result, queue swapping is a net +193.5 on the original scale, but does burn 5 forests. There is some opportunity cost in losing resources that could be used later (for wonders, barracks, granaries, etc.)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There is also a trick to use only the chopped timber for settlers and workers (extreme queue swapping). Essentially, you set production to settler on the turn the chop is due, manually make the worker chop, and then set production back to warrior. This is more competitive at epic speed, but is an expensive idea on normal speed: settlers cost 100 and forests yield 30, so you would have to chop 6 forests (with 20 overflow) by turn 31 to get out the settler. Relative to normal queue swapping, this method loses 4 worker turns (30 penalty) and gains 4 turns of growth (40 benefit) with 14 extra overflow. The overall net is +217.5, so it scores highest on an absolute scale. If you subtract the opportunity cost of the forests used, however, the relative rankings are different:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]No queue swapping +63.5[NEWLINE]Normal queue swapping +43.5[NEWLINE]Aggressive queue swapping +37.5[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Whether you use this technique or not therefore depends in part on how many forests you can use and what else you might do with them.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]An alternate approach is to build a large city first and then use the enhanced production to churn out units later. An additional advantage is that such a city produces more early commerce. However, this strategy is significantly weaker in production (and, over the long term, not as strong in commerce as it might appear) because of the power of chopping and improvements. Assume the most favorable case for growth, namely 5 good food resources or flood plains on a river. In this case the capital will grow to size 2,3,4,5 after 8, 14, 19, and 24 turns respectively. By occasionally swapping in some grass/hills/forest it is possible to build 2 warriors and grow to the prince capital happiness limit (5) in 25 turns. The larger city will have 8 production, and if you follow up with worker/worker/settler then you can have worker1(33 turns), worker2(37 turns), and settler (42 turns). There is a commerce edge until the initially smaller capital catches up in size (108), and a production edge (95), assuming the growth pattern is the same. However, there is a 16 turn delay in founding city 2 and you need 9 worker turns past turn 40 to finish the initial builds. The net effect is -132.5 on the original scale, or almost 300 production behind emphasizing settlers and workers early. If anything, this understates the disadvantage of growing onto unimproved tiles. A size 1 city working an improved wheat has almost the same production (7) as a size 5 city working 5 unimproved tiles (8). By the time the big city has produced its first settler, you could have had two medium cities (size 2-3) working improved tiles and could have even founded a third city with supporting worker. Even the commerce edge (roughly one good tech) has to be kept in perspective; a single gold mine has a much bigger long-term yield.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You could get better results by building two workers and then using them to improve tiles while letting the city grow to the happiness limit, then building a settler. The exact results are more complicated to compute because they depend on what tiles are available. In my view, this actually confirms the idea that building a worker first is optimal for a variety of play styles.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Different game speeds can significantly change the benefits of different strategies. The key thing to understand is the different way that units and tech/forests/growth/production scale with speed. As you go from Quick-Normal-Epic-Marathon (Q-N-E-M) the costs for a unit scale as[NEWLINE]Q 4/5 - N 1 - E 5/4 - M 2[NEWLINE](for example, the respective costs for a settler are 80, 100, 125, 200).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]However, tech costs, city growth, improvement builds, and forests change more quickly with speed. They scale as[NEWLINE]Q 2/3 - N 1 - E 3/2 - M 3[NEWLINE](for example, the respective yields for forests and the turns to clear including travel are[NEWLINE]Q 20 (3) - N 30 (4) - E 45 (5) - M 90 (9)[NEWLINE]This means that Stonehenge always can be gotten with 4 forest (2 with stone) at all speeds,[NEWLINE]but the cost in forests for a settler is[NEWLINE]Q=4 N=3.33 E=2.78 M=2.22[NEWLINE]and the time to build a settler with the basic 4 production of a city is[NEWLINE]Q=20 N=25 E=32 M=50[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]With an important exception for technology speed at high difficulty levels and marathon, you can therefore expect the following[NEWLINE]relative trends. I'll post details for other speeds if people are interested.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]1) In quick games cities grow rapidly and the yield from tree-cutting is smaller. The rapid pace of technology also means that workers are more flexible - it is very likely that you can improve special resources immediately upon founding a new city. This makes improvements more powerful, and dramatically reduces the differential impact of chopping on early production. If you start with good special resources you can do better by improving the first one (after you have a worker) than you can by focusing on tree-cutting (an improved wheat has a higher return than a forest cut after 7 turns). Worker-worker-settler is still the preferred sequence, but clearcutters will quickly run out of forests. Building a big city before a settler still fares worse than building a worker first, since once the tiles are improved the capital will grow to the happiness/health limit almost immediately. Note that because cities grow very fast (as quickly as three turns per population), having extra workers in the early game will have a large impact on production; you'll benefit from hooking up special resources to raise the health and happiness caps. Peaceful builders and tree-huggers will probably like this speed.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]2) In epic games the technology speed is still fast enough that it doesn't play the huge role that it will at marathon. Worker-worker-settler is strongly preferred to other build sequences. Trees provide so many hammers that queue swapping is extremely effective, and can be used to put out early warriors, etc. without a large production penalty. You may even want to do a reverse queue swap, putting a warrior in the build queue when you want to get it out quickly and then crediting the overflow to the worker or settler. Remember that the costs are not exact multiples of timber yields, so that you want 200 production going to your second worker+settler, not the 180 you'd get just from cutting four trees (so you will want to have 5 turns of native production applied to units, not growth, to avoid using up too many of your valuable forests.)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]3) In principle you might expect marathon games to be a simple extension of the above trends, and a theoretical analysis supports that. But the glacial pace of research has interesting consequences - especially at high difficulty levels. When you found your first city and choose your first tech on a normal start, you'll see something like the following for bronze working (BW) and a Worker(W) at Prince:[NEWLINE]Quick BW=9,W=12 turns[NEWLINE]Normal BW=13, W=15 turns[NEWLINE]Epic BW=21, W=19 turns[NEWLINE]Marathon BW=49, W=30 turns. At Marathon/Deity, it take 67 turns to get bronze working....[NEWLINE](If you have a special start tile the worker time will be less, and if you have commerce on your second tile the tech time will be less. You can usually shuffle the worked tile in that case so that the arrival of the first worker and getting BW happens at the same time on epic).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]What this means is that unless you either prioritize commerce or are extremely careful you will have extended stretches where your workers, and cities, have absolutely nothing useful to do. It is entirely plausible that it will take you 150+ turns before you can actually use that pig next to your starting city, and even improvement build times are long (15 turns for farm, etc.) As a result, financial leaders have a significant production edge, and coastal production, specials with commerce, etc. will dramatically speed up city development.[NEWLINE]Timber is useful for a lot of things, and you should think carefully about how you want to spend it. The AIs don't tend to use it for wonders, for instance, and it does save a lot of time for buildings as well. Unless you can speed up the tech, there is no gain in starting with a worker until you can time their arrival to coincide with a useful task - you might as well spend the first 20 turns getting a warrior out, unless there is a lovely gold mine next door.</Spanish>
	</TEXT>
	<TEXT>
		<Tag>TXT_KEY_STRATEGY_HYBRID_PEDIA</Tag>
		<English>[H1]The Hybrid Economy[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Darkfyre99[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Overview[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Hybrid Economy is a type of economy that combines the best elements of the Specialist Economy and the Cottage Economy, while minimizing the disadvantages of both types of economies. This article assumes use of the Beyond the Sword expansion, but it should be easily adapted to both Warlords and Vanilla Civilization IV. Like a Specialist Economy, a Hybrid Economy's cities are highly specialised. Like a Cottage Economy, a Hybrid Economy relies on cottages as it's primary source of beakers. Unlike either a Cottage or Specialist economy, the goal of a Hybrid Economy is to keep the science slider at 100%.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Characteristics[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Attributes[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]most common improvements: farms and cottages[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]beaker source: primarily commerce, some specialists[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]espionage source: specialists[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]gold source: specialists[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]optimal slider position: 100% science[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]best civics: Representation, Free Speech, Caste System[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]best traits: Financial, Philosophical[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Advantages[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]high degree of city specialization[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]no economic crash with switch to Emancipation[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]high GPP production[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]not as much micromanaging as a Specialist Economy[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]high degree of predictability in Great People produced[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Disadvantages[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]using the culture for happiness causes research to slow down, but not as much as a Cottage Economy[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]more micromanaging than a Cottage Economy[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]unable to use Slavery Civic after Caste System to boost production[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Cities in a Hybrid Economy[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Cities in a Hybrid Economy are heavily specialized, just as in a Specialist Economy. Few buildings are constructed beyond the necessary ones, allowing the greatest number of specialists or cottages to be worked for the longest period of time. The city types are:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Capital[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This city tends to become a "Jack 0f All Trades" city, usually having ample commerce as well as production, additional happiness, which often makes Bureaucracy attractive mid-game. Of course, if you start with Mysticism and you have a lot of extra food in your capital, you might want to consider founding an early religion, making it your Wall Street city, and running some other legal civic instead. Or moving your Palace to better location.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Production Cities[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Production Cities produce your military and construct most of the wonders your empire needs. Most empires need only two or three. Improvements are mines and other hammer producers, plus the necessary farms to support the citizens to work the hammer tiles. Buildings are, naturally, hammer multipliers. National Wonders are Heroic Epic, West Point, and Ironworks.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Wealth Cities[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Wealth cities produce the gold necessary to pay for costs of your empire, whether it is maintenance for your cities, civics upkeep, or pay for your military. Small empires only need one. Improvements are farms to support merchants. Buildings are, naturally, gold multipliers. The city with the highest food output gets Wall-Street. Ideally, this should also be a Shrine city. These cities produce a lot of Great Merchants, which should be settled in the Wall-Street city so you can keep that science slider at 100% for most of the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Science Cities[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Science cities produce the beakers your empire needs to research new technologies. These cities make up the majority of your empire. Improvements are cottages and other commerce producers. Buildings are, naturally, beaker multipliers. The city with the second highest food production will eventually get Oxford University, and gets farms to support scientist specialists.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Espionage Cities[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Espionage cities produce the espionage points your empire needs to conduct espionage missions, both active and passive. You really only need one in your empire. Improvements are farms to support spy specialists. Buildings are, naturally, espionage buildings. Due to the lateness of most espionage buildings, this is a good candidate for a late game forested tundra/National Park city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Strategy by Age[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Classical Age[\BOLD][NEWLINE]The classical age is when you'll be getting your core cities established. By the end of this era, your HE city will be churning out units, your future Wall-Street city will be churning out gold and Great Merchants, and the rest of your cities will producing beakers, primarily through cottages. Civics would be slavery and organized religion, and Hereditary Rule, or perhaps Representation if you snagged the Pyramids. Hopefully, you'll be able to snag The Great Library in your future Oxford University city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Middle Ages[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Congratulations, you've just made the switch to Caste System. Get used to it, because you'll be sticking with it for a while. By now, you'll have enough improved tiles to switch citizens to hammer tiles while building infrastructure, and back to cottages or specialists the rest of the time.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]During this age, your science cities should be slowly building banks after they've finished their Universities, so you'll be able to build Wall-Street as soon as possible. Needless to say, you probably won't have to build any unnecessary Universities in your wealth cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Renaissance[\BOLD][NEWLINE]With Liberalism comes Free Speech, and with Democracy comes Emancipation, so it's time to start prepping your Wall-Street and Oxford University cities for the post-Caste System era. Start building cottages until one-turn from completion over your farms, and do the same with windmills over any mines. Once another Empire switches to Emancipation, it's time to do likewise, before unhappiness cripples your Empire. Switch as many farms to cottages as possible, and mines as windmills, until your city is growing while still running seven specialists.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Industrial Age[\BOLD][NEWLINE]With Caste System no longer viable, you're going to get some beakers in your wealth cities, so it's time to build some libraries and observatories in your wealth cities. If you've been expanding aggressively, you might want to build some grocers in your science cities as well, since your science slider might have to drop below 100%. Fortunately, you already built all those banks.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is also the Era of the Corporation, and you've been producing a lot of Great Merchants, so you should save one to found one of the Food Corporations in your Wall Street city. Spread it to your Oxford University, your production cities, and your capital. If you're lucky, you've saved a Great Engineer to found Mining Inc. in Wall Street, which you can then spread to your production cities and capital as well.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Modern Age[\BOLD][NEWLINE]You haven't won yet? Then what are you waiting for? Build whatever you need to reach whatever victory condition you've been aiming for.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Other Issues[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]The National Epic[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Unlike a Specialist Economy, which relies on Great Scientists to suppliment your beaker production, or a Cottage Economy, which uses this National Wonder to create a GP farm, you get to decide which Great People you want the most of. If you want a lot of Great Merchants, build it in your future Wall Street city. If you want a lot of Great Scientists, build it in your future Oxford University city. Maybe you'd like a lot of Great Spies late in the game, so hold onto it until your Espionage city is up and running, or Ironworks to get some Great Engineers to found Mining Inc. and rush some late-game wonders. Or pair it with National Park and get a super GP farm up and running. The choice is yours![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]The Caste System -&gt; Emancipation Switch[\BOLD][NEWLINE]If your game runs long enough, sooner or later you'll have to switch out of Caste System and start running Emancipation simply to deal with all the happiness caused by other Empires running that civic. In a Specialist Economy, this causes your research to crash, because there are no mature cottages to take up the slack for all those out of work scientists. It takes 35 turns (normal, Emancipation) to mature a cottage into a town, and since you've been relying on cottages to produce most of your gold, you probably won't be able to run your science slider at anything over 60% until they're fully mature. That means 35 turns before your economy recovers back to its pre-Caste System state... and those cottages need to be built first.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Since a hybrid economy means you're getting most of your science from mature towns anyways, this switch doesn't cause your research to crash. Only two cities are primarily affected: Your Wall Street City, and your Oxford City. These are the only two cities that need to be cottaged, which can be done very quickly if you prebuilt them before the switch. Furthermore, since your science slider is set at 90-100%, your Oxford city recovers after only fifteen turns.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Care and Feeding of your Wall Street and Oxford Cities[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]These two cities are your primary Great People producers throughout the game. So the name of the game is to run as many specialists as possible, for as many turns as possible, while working as few tiles as possible. Because these are the cities most similar to a Specialist Economy's normal city, they also require the most micromanagement in the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]The Wall Street City[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Early game, this city is quite simple. You want to build this city in an area that can produce a lot of food early, which means a lot of food resources and hopefully a lot of rivers or flood plains. Having a shrine in this city is a bonus, but not absolutely necessary. An enemy's capital that holds the shrine to Buddhism or Hinduism is ideal, allowing [BOLD]you[\BOLD] to cottage your capital to take advantage of Bureaucracy's bonuses later.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Focus on building farms to support more merchants later, and build or whip the necessary infrastructure, including granaries and courthouses. Build some mines or workshops so you can build more infrastructure later. Settle any Great Merchants that emerge from this city back into the city. They'll help keep your tech rate at 100% [BOLD]plus[\BOLD] produce extra food.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]During the Middle Ages, with the switch to Caste System, you're going to want to keep an eye on this city. You want to grow the city as large as the happiness cap allows, while running as many merchant specialists as possible. When you get more happiness, send a few your merchants into the fields to grow the population. There are also two important buildings that will need to be built: a grocer and a bank. Immediately when grocers become available, set all those merchants to work in the mines and the workshops to build those buildings ASAP. Repeat this procedure with the bank. Don't be afraid to starve your citizens a little in order to do so, you can always produce more food later. Plus they're getting fat from laying around and counting money. Great Merchants still get settled back into the city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Renaissance signals the approach of the end of the Caste System Era. Sooner or later, you'll have to make the switch to Emancipation, so it's time to start pre-building some cottages. Don't complete them, simply build them until one turn from completion. It'll save time later.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Industrial Age will likely see the end of Caste System. It also signals the approach of Corporations and Biology, so it's time to consider the Switch. After the Emancipation Switch, your city needs, at most, a population of 27, so it's time to consider slowing or halting its growth. During this age, you'll stop settling Great Merchants in this city. You need one to found one of the food corporations, after all. Check how many turns it is until the next Great Merchant (don't forget to check your Oxford city' it may produce a Great Scientist before Wall Street does) and compare it to how many turns it'll take to get the tech for your chosen Food Corporation. If one will emerge before you research the tech, then settle that Great Merchant. Otherwise, save it to found the corporation. After that, send those Great Merchants on Trade Missions.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Industrial Age also gives you levees, so if you placed your Wall Street city in an area with a lot of rivers (which seems likely), then you might want to send a few of those farmers to the mines and workshops to build them whenever you need to stunt your growth due to the happiness cap. The Industrial Age is also when you give your Wall Street city [BOLD]finally[\BOLD] lives up to its name, and you build Wall Street. Building Levees will help you with that.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Hopefully, Wall Street will be complete [BOLD]before[\BOLD] you have to switch to Emancipation. But after the switch, you'll need to cottage as many farms as possible until you're running food neutral while running seven merchants. With the extra hammers, you can start building science infrastructure. When you found a Food Corporation in this city, you'll be able to cottage even more farms. Build about four so you can spread the Corporation to your Oxford city, your production cities, and your capital.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you make it this far, the modern age is pretty much the same as a Cottage Economy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]The Oxford University City[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The same strategy used with the Wall Street city works well with the Oxford University City... only you build science infrastructure buildings rather than wealth infrastructure. The main difference with this city is what you do with the Great Scientists the city produces. Settling a Great Scientist in Oxford rarely produces as much a benefit as building an academy in one of your science city, or rushing a tech.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In addition, unlike Wall Street, Oxford usually doesn't need wealth infrastructure late in the game... though building a bank in the city makes sense, since you need a few of them to build Wall Street.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Edited to expand upon the idea behind Oxford and Wall Street, especially post Caste System.[\BOLD]</English>
		<French>[H1]The Hybrid Economy[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Darkfyre99[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Overview[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Hybrid Economy is a type of economy that combines the best elements of the Specialist Economy and the Cottage Economy, while minimizing the disadvantages of both types of economies. This article assumes use of the Beyond the Sword expansion, but it should be easily adapted to both Warlords and Vanilla Civilization IV. Like a Specialist Economy, a Hybrid Economy's cities are highly specialised. Like a Cottage Economy, a Hybrid Economy relies on cottages as it's primary source of beakers. Unlike either a Cottage or Specialist economy, the goal of a Hybrid Economy is to keep the science slider at 100%.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Characteristics[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Attributes[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]most common improvements: farms and cottages[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]beaker source: primarily commerce, some specialists[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]espionage source: specialists[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]gold source: specialists[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]optimal slider position: 100% science[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]best civics: Representation, Free Speech, Caste System[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]best traits: Financial, Philosophical[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Advantages[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]high degree of city specialization[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]no economic crash with switch to Emancipation[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]high GPP production[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]not as much micromanaging as a Specialist Economy[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]high degree of predictability in Great People produced[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Disadvantages[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]using the culture for happiness causes research to slow down, but not as much as a Cottage Economy[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]more micromanaging than a Cottage Economy[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]unable to use Slavery Civic after Caste System to boost production[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Cities in a Hybrid Economy[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Cities in a Hybrid Economy are heavily specialized, just as in a Specialist Economy. Few buildings are constructed beyond the necessary ones, allowing the greatest number of specialists or cottages to be worked for the longest period of time. The city types are:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Capital[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This city tends to become a "Jack 0f All Trades" city, usually having ample commerce as well as production, additional happiness, which often makes Bureaucracy attractive mid-game. Of course, if you start with Mysticism and you have a lot of extra food in your capital, you might want to consider founding an early religion, making it your Wall Street city, and running some other legal civic instead. Or moving your Palace to better location.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Production Cities[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Production Cities produce your military and construct most of the wonders your empire needs. Most empires need only two or three. Improvements are mines and other hammer producers, plus the necessary farms to support the citizens to work the hammer tiles. Buildings are, naturally, hammer multipliers. National Wonders are Heroic Epic, West Point, and Ironworks.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Wealth Cities[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Wealth cities produce the gold necessary to pay for costs of your empire, whether it is maintenance for your cities, civics upkeep, or pay for your military. Small empires only need one. Improvements are farms to support merchants. Buildings are, naturally, gold multipliers. The city with the highest food output gets Wall-Street. Ideally, this should also be a Shrine city. These cities produce a lot of Great Merchants, which should be settled in the Wall-Street city so you can keep that science slider at 100% for most of the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Science Cities[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Science cities produce the beakers your empire needs to research new technologies. These cities make up the majority of your empire. Improvements are cottages and other commerce producers. Buildings are, naturally, beaker multipliers. The city with the second highest food production will eventually get Oxford University, and gets farms to support scientist specialists.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Espionage Cities[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Espionage cities produce the espionage points your empire needs to conduct espionage missions, both active and passive. You really only need one in your empire. Improvements are farms to support spy specialists. Buildings are, naturally, espionage buildings. Due to the lateness of most espionage buildings, this is a good candidate for a late game forested tundra/National Park city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Strategy by Age[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Classical Age[\BOLD][NEWLINE]The classical age is when you'll be getting your core cities established. By the end of this era, your HE city will be churning out units, your future Wall-Street city will be churning out gold and Great Merchants, and the rest of your cities will producing beakers, primarily through cottages. Civics would be slavery and organized religion, and Hereditary Rule, or perhaps Representation if you snagged the Pyramids. Hopefully, you'll be able to snag The Great Library in your future Oxford University city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Middle Ages[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Congratulations, you've just made the switch to Caste System. Get used to it, because you'll be sticking with it for a while. By now, you'll have enough improved tiles to switch citizens to hammer tiles while building infrastructure, and back to cottages or specialists the rest of the time.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]During this age, your science cities should be slowly building banks after they've finished their Universities, so you'll be able to build Wall-Street as soon as possible. Needless to say, you probably won't have to build any unnecessary Universities in your wealth cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Renaissance[\BOLD][NEWLINE]With Liberalism comes Free Speech, and with Democracy comes Emancipation, so it's time to start prepping your Wall-Street and Oxford University cities for the post-Caste System era. Start building cottages until one-turn from completion over your farms, and do the same with windmills over any mines. Once another Empire switches to Emancipation, it's time to do likewise, before unhappiness cripples your Empire. Switch as many farms to cottages as possible, and mines as windmills, until your city is growing while still running seven specialists.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Industrial Age[\BOLD][NEWLINE]With Caste System no longer viable, you're going to get some beakers in your wealth cities, so it's time to build some libraries and observatories in your wealth cities. If you've been expanding aggressively, you might want to build some grocers in your science cities as well, since your science slider might have to drop below 100%. Fortunately, you already built all those banks.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is also the Era of the Corporation, and you've been producing a lot of Great Merchants, so you should save one to found one of the Food Corporations in your Wall Street city. Spread it to your Oxford University, your production cities, and your capital. If you're lucky, you've saved a Great Engineer to found Mining Inc. in Wall Street, which you can then spread to your production cities and capital as well.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Modern Age[\BOLD][NEWLINE]You haven't won yet? Then what are you waiting for? Build whatever you need to reach whatever victory condition you've been aiming for.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Other Issues[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]The National Epic[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Unlike a Specialist Economy, which relies on Great Scientists to suppliment your beaker production, or a Cottage Economy, which uses this National Wonder to create a GP farm, you get to decide which Great People you want the most of. If you want a lot of Great Merchants, build it in your future Wall Street city. If you want a lot of Great Scientists, build it in your future Oxford University city. Maybe you'd like a lot of Great Spies late in the game, so hold onto it until your Espionage city is up and running, or Ironworks to get some Great Engineers to found Mining Inc. and rush some late-game wonders. Or pair it with National Park and get a super GP farm up and running. The choice is yours![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]The Caste System -&gt; Emancipation Switch[\BOLD][NEWLINE]If your game runs long enough, sooner or later you'll have to switch out of Caste System and start running Emancipation simply to deal with all the happiness caused by other Empires running that civic. In a Specialist Economy, this causes your research to crash, because there are no mature cottages to take up the slack for all those out of work scientists. It takes 35 turns (normal, Emancipation) to mature a cottage into a town, and since you've been relying on cottages to produce most of your gold, you probably won't be able to run your science slider at anything over 60% until they're fully mature. That means 35 turns before your economy recovers back to its pre-Caste System state... and those cottages need to be built first.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Since a hybrid economy means you're getting most of your science from mature towns anyways, this switch doesn't cause your research to crash. Only two cities are primarily affected: Your Wall Street City, and your Oxford City. These are the only two cities that need to be cottaged, which can be done very quickly if you prebuilt them before the switch. Furthermore, since your science slider is set at 90-100%, your Oxford city recovers after only fifteen turns.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Care and Feeding of your Wall Street and Oxford Cities[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]These two cities are your primary Great People producers throughout the game. So the name of the game is to run as many specialists as possible, for as many turns as possible, while working as few tiles as possible. Because these are the cities most similar to a Specialist Economy's normal city, they also require the most micromanagement in the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]The Wall Street City[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Early game, this city is quite simple. You want to build this city in an area that can produce a lot of food early, which means a lot of food resources and hopefully a lot of rivers or flood plains. Having a shrine in this city is a bonus, but not absolutely necessary. An enemy's capital that holds the shrine to Buddhism or Hinduism is ideal, allowing [BOLD]you[\BOLD] to cottage your capital to take advantage of Bureaucracy's bonuses later.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Focus on building farms to support more merchants later, and build or whip the necessary infrastructure, including granaries and courthouses. Build some mines or workshops so you can build more infrastructure later. Settle any Great Merchants that emerge from this city back into the city. They'll help keep your tech rate at 100% [BOLD]plus[\BOLD] produce extra food.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]During the Middle Ages, with the switch to Caste System, you're going to want to keep an eye on this city. You want to grow the city as large as the happiness cap allows, while running as many merchant specialists as possible. When you get more happiness, send a few your merchants into the fields to grow the population. There are also two important buildings that will need to be built: a grocer and a bank. Immediately when grocers become available, set all those merchants to work in the mines and the workshops to build those buildings ASAP. Repeat this procedure with the bank. Don't be afraid to starve your citizens a little in order to do so, you can always produce more food later. Plus they're getting fat from laying around and counting money. Great Merchants still get settled back into the city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Renaissance signals the approach of the end of the Caste System Era. Sooner or later, you'll have to make the switch to Emancipation, so it's time to start pre-building some cottages. Don't complete them, simply build them until one turn from completion. It'll save time later.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Industrial Age will likely see the end of Caste System. It also signals the approach of Corporations and Biology, so it's time to consider the Switch. After the Emancipation Switch, your city needs, at most, a population of 27, so it's time to consider slowing or halting its growth. During this age, you'll stop settling Great Merchants in this city. You need one to found one of the food corporations, after all. Check how many turns it is until the next Great Merchant (don't forget to check your Oxford city' it may produce a Great Scientist before Wall Street does) and compare it to how many turns it'll take to get the tech for your chosen Food Corporation. If one will emerge before you research the tech, then settle that Great Merchant. Otherwise, save it to found the corporation. After that, send those Great Merchants on Trade Missions.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Industrial Age also gives you levees, so if you placed your Wall Street city in an area with a lot of rivers (which seems likely), then you might want to send a few of those farmers to the mines and workshops to build them whenever you need to stunt your growth due to the happiness cap. The Industrial Age is also when you give your Wall Street city [BOLD]finally[\BOLD] lives up to its name, and you build Wall Street. Building Levees will help you with that.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Hopefully, Wall Street will be complete [BOLD]before[\BOLD] you have to switch to Emancipation. But after the switch, you'll need to cottage as many farms as possible until you're running food neutral while running seven merchants. With the extra hammers, you can start building science infrastructure. When you found a Food Corporation in this city, you'll be able to cottage even more farms. Build about four so you can spread the Corporation to your Oxford city, your production cities, and your capital.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you make it this far, the modern age is pretty much the same as a Cottage Economy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]The Oxford University City[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The same strategy used with the Wall Street city works well with the Oxford University City... only you build science infrastructure buildings rather than wealth infrastructure. The main difference with this city is what you do with the Great Scientists the city produces. Settling a Great Scientist in Oxford rarely produces as much a benefit as building an academy in one of your science city, or rushing a tech.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In addition, unlike Wall Street, Oxford usually doesn't need wealth infrastructure late in the game... though building a bank in the city makes sense, since you need a few of them to build Wall Street.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Edited to expand upon the idea behind Oxford and Wall Street, especially post Caste System.[\BOLD]</French>
		<German>[H1]The Hybrid Economy[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Darkfyre99[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Overview[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Hybrid Economy is a type of economy that combines the best elements of the Specialist Economy and the Cottage Economy, while minimizing the disadvantages of both types of economies. This article assumes use of the Beyond the Sword expansion, but it should be easily adapted to both Warlords and Vanilla Civilization IV. Like a Specialist Economy, a Hybrid Economy's cities are highly specialised. Like a Cottage Economy, a Hybrid Economy relies on cottages as it's primary source of beakers. Unlike either a Cottage or Specialist economy, the goal of a Hybrid Economy is to keep the science slider at 100%.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Characteristics[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Attributes[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]most common improvements: farms and cottages[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]beaker source: primarily commerce, some specialists[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]espionage source: specialists[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]gold source: specialists[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]optimal slider position: 100% science[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]best civics: Representation, Free Speech, Caste System[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]best traits: Financial, Philosophical[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Advantages[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]high degree of city specialization[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]no economic crash with switch to Emancipation[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]high GPP production[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]not as much micromanaging as a Specialist Economy[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]high degree of predictability in Great People produced[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Disadvantages[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]using the culture for happiness causes research to slow down, but not as much as a Cottage Economy[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]more micromanaging than a Cottage Economy[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]unable to use Slavery Civic after Caste System to boost production[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Cities in a Hybrid Economy[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Cities in a Hybrid Economy are heavily specialized, just as in a Specialist Economy. Few buildings are constructed beyond the necessary ones, allowing the greatest number of specialists or cottages to be worked for the longest period of time. The city types are:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Capital[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This city tends to become a "Jack 0f All Trades" city, usually having ample commerce as well as production, additional happiness, which often makes Bureaucracy attractive mid-game. Of course, if you start with Mysticism and you have a lot of extra food in your capital, you might want to consider founding an early religion, making it your Wall Street city, and running some other legal civic instead. Or moving your Palace to better location.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Production Cities[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Production Cities produce your military and construct most of the wonders your empire needs. Most empires need only two or three. Improvements are mines and other hammer producers, plus the necessary farms to support the citizens to work the hammer tiles. Buildings are, naturally, hammer multipliers. National Wonders are Heroic Epic, West Point, and Ironworks.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Wealth Cities[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Wealth cities produce the gold necessary to pay for costs of your empire, whether it is maintenance for your cities, civics upkeep, or pay for your military. Small empires only need one. Improvements are farms to support merchants. Buildings are, naturally, gold multipliers. The city with the highest food output gets Wall-Street. Ideally, this should also be a Shrine city. These cities produce a lot of Great Merchants, which should be settled in the Wall-Street city so you can keep that science slider at 100% for most of the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Science Cities[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Science cities produce the beakers your empire needs to research new technologies. These cities make up the majority of your empire. Improvements are cottages and other commerce producers. Buildings are, naturally, beaker multipliers. The city with the second highest food production will eventually get Oxford University, and gets farms to support scientist specialists.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Espionage Cities[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Espionage cities produce the espionage points your empire needs to conduct espionage missions, both active and passive. You really only need one in your empire. Improvements are farms to support spy specialists. Buildings are, naturally, espionage buildings. Due to the lateness of most espionage buildings, this is a good candidate for a late game forested tundra/National Park city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Strategy by Age[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Classical Age[\BOLD][NEWLINE]The classical age is when you'll be getting your core cities established. By the end of this era, your HE city will be churning out units, your future Wall-Street city will be churning out gold and Great Merchants, and the rest of your cities will producing beakers, primarily through cottages. Civics would be slavery and organized religion, and Hereditary Rule, or perhaps Representation if you snagged the Pyramids. Hopefully, you'll be able to snag The Great Library in your future Oxford University city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Middle Ages[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Congratulations, you've just made the switch to Caste System. Get used to it, because you'll be sticking with it for a while. By now, you'll have enough improved tiles to switch citizens to hammer tiles while building infrastructure, and back to cottages or specialists the rest of the time.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]During this age, your science cities should be slowly building banks after they've finished their Universities, so you'll be able to build Wall-Street as soon as possible. Needless to say, you probably won't have to build any unnecessary Universities in your wealth cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Renaissance[\BOLD][NEWLINE]With Liberalism comes Free Speech, and with Democracy comes Emancipation, so it's time to start prepping your Wall-Street and Oxford University cities for the post-Caste System era. Start building cottages until one-turn from completion over your farms, and do the same with windmills over any mines. Once another Empire switches to Emancipation, it's time to do likewise, before unhappiness cripples your Empire. Switch as many farms to cottages as possible, and mines as windmills, until your city is growing while still running seven specialists.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Industrial Age[\BOLD][NEWLINE]With Caste System no longer viable, you're going to get some beakers in your wealth cities, so it's time to build some libraries and observatories in your wealth cities. If you've been expanding aggressively, you might want to build some grocers in your science cities as well, since your science slider might have to drop below 100%. Fortunately, you already built all those banks.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is also the Era of the Corporation, and you've been producing a lot of Great Merchants, so you should save one to found one of the Food Corporations in your Wall Street city. Spread it to your Oxford University, your production cities, and your capital. If you're lucky, you've saved a Great Engineer to found Mining Inc. in Wall Street, which you can then spread to your production cities and capital as well.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Modern Age[\BOLD][NEWLINE]You haven't won yet? Then what are you waiting for? Build whatever you need to reach whatever victory condition you've been aiming for.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Other Issues[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]The National Epic[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Unlike a Specialist Economy, which relies on Great Scientists to suppliment your beaker production, or a Cottage Economy, which uses this National Wonder to create a GP farm, you get to decide which Great People you want the most of. If you want a lot of Great Merchants, build it in your future Wall Street city. If you want a lot of Great Scientists, build it in your future Oxford University city. Maybe you'd like a lot of Great Spies late in the game, so hold onto it until your Espionage city is up and running, or Ironworks to get some Great Engineers to found Mining Inc. and rush some late-game wonders. Or pair it with National Park and get a super GP farm up and running. The choice is yours![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]The Caste System -&gt; Emancipation Switch[\BOLD][NEWLINE]If your game runs long enough, sooner or later you'll have to switch out of Caste System and start running Emancipation simply to deal with all the happiness caused by other Empires running that civic. In a Specialist Economy, this causes your research to crash, because there are no mature cottages to take up the slack for all those out of work scientists. It takes 35 turns (normal, Emancipation) to mature a cottage into a town, and since you've been relying on cottages to produce most of your gold, you probably won't be able to run your science slider at anything over 60% until they're fully mature. That means 35 turns before your economy recovers back to its pre-Caste System state... and those cottages need to be built first.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Since a hybrid economy means you're getting most of your science from mature towns anyways, this switch doesn't cause your research to crash. Only two cities are primarily affected: Your Wall Street City, and your Oxford City. These are the only two cities that need to be cottaged, which can be done very quickly if you prebuilt them before the switch. Furthermore, since your science slider is set at 90-100%, your Oxford city recovers after only fifteen turns.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Care and Feeding of your Wall Street and Oxford Cities[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]These two cities are your primary Great People producers throughout the game. So the name of the game is to run as many specialists as possible, for as many turns as possible, while working as few tiles as possible. Because these are the cities most similar to a Specialist Economy's normal city, they also require the most micromanagement in the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]The Wall Street City[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Early game, this city is quite simple. You want to build this city in an area that can produce a lot of food early, which means a lot of food resources and hopefully a lot of rivers or flood plains. Having a shrine in this city is a bonus, but not absolutely necessary. An enemy's capital that holds the shrine to Buddhism or Hinduism is ideal, allowing [BOLD]you[\BOLD] to cottage your capital to take advantage of Bureaucracy's bonuses later.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Focus on building farms to support more merchants later, and build or whip the necessary infrastructure, including granaries and courthouses. Build some mines or workshops so you can build more infrastructure later. Settle any Great Merchants that emerge from this city back into the city. They'll help keep your tech rate at 100% [BOLD]plus[\BOLD] produce extra food.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]During the Middle Ages, with the switch to Caste System, you're going to want to keep an eye on this city. You want to grow the city as large as the happiness cap allows, while running as many merchant specialists as possible. When you get more happiness, send a few your merchants into the fields to grow the population. There are also two important buildings that will need to be built: a grocer and a bank. Immediately when grocers become available, set all those merchants to work in the mines and the workshops to build those buildings ASAP. Repeat this procedure with the bank. Don't be afraid to starve your citizens a little in order to do so, you can always produce more food later. Plus they're getting fat from laying around and counting money. Great Merchants still get settled back into the city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Renaissance signals the approach of the end of the Caste System Era. Sooner or later, you'll have to make the switch to Emancipation, so it's time to start pre-building some cottages. Don't complete them, simply build them until one turn from completion. It'll save time later.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Industrial Age will likely see the end of Caste System. It also signals the approach of Corporations and Biology, so it's time to consider the Switch. After the Emancipation Switch, your city needs, at most, a population of 27, so it's time to consider slowing or halting its growth. During this age, you'll stop settling Great Merchants in this city. You need one to found one of the food corporations, after all. Check how many turns it is until the next Great Merchant (don't forget to check your Oxford city' it may produce a Great Scientist before Wall Street does) and compare it to how many turns it'll take to get the tech for your chosen Food Corporation. If one will emerge before you research the tech, then settle that Great Merchant. Otherwise, save it to found the corporation. After that, send those Great Merchants on Trade Missions.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Industrial Age also gives you levees, so if you placed your Wall Street city in an area with a lot of rivers (which seems likely), then you might want to send a few of those farmers to the mines and workshops to build them whenever you need to stunt your growth due to the happiness cap. The Industrial Age is also when you give your Wall Street city [BOLD]finally[\BOLD] lives up to its name, and you build Wall Street. Building Levees will help you with that.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Hopefully, Wall Street will be complete [BOLD]before[\BOLD] you have to switch to Emancipation. But after the switch, you'll need to cottage as many farms as possible until you're running food neutral while running seven merchants. With the extra hammers, you can start building science infrastructure. When you found a Food Corporation in this city, you'll be able to cottage even more farms. Build about four so you can spread the Corporation to your Oxford city, your production cities, and your capital.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you make it this far, the modern age is pretty much the same as a Cottage Economy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]The Oxford University City[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The same strategy used with the Wall Street city works well with the Oxford University City... only you build science infrastructure buildings rather than wealth infrastructure. The main difference with this city is what you do with the Great Scientists the city produces. Settling a Great Scientist in Oxford rarely produces as much a benefit as building an academy in one of your science city, or rushing a tech.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In addition, unlike Wall Street, Oxford usually doesn't need wealth infrastructure late in the game... though building a bank in the city makes sense, since you need a few of them to build Wall Street.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Edited to expand upon the idea behind Oxford and Wall Street, especially post Caste System.[\BOLD]</German>
		<Italian>[H1]The Hybrid Economy[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Darkfyre99[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Overview[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Hybrid Economy is a type of economy that combines the best elements of the Specialist Economy and the Cottage Economy, while minimizing the disadvantages of both types of economies. This article assumes use of the Beyond the Sword expansion, but it should be easily adapted to both Warlords and Vanilla Civilization IV. Like a Specialist Economy, a Hybrid Economy's cities are highly specialised. Like a Cottage Economy, a Hybrid Economy relies on cottages as it's primary source of beakers. Unlike either a Cottage or Specialist economy, the goal of a Hybrid Economy is to keep the science slider at 100%.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Characteristics[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Attributes[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]most common improvements: farms and cottages[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]beaker source: primarily commerce, some specialists[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]espionage source: specialists[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]gold source: specialists[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]optimal slider position: 100% science[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]best civics: Representation, Free Speech, Caste System[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]best traits: Financial, Philosophical[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Advantages[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]high degree of city specialization[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]no economic crash with switch to Emancipation[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]high GPP production[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]not as much micromanaging as a Specialist Economy[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]high degree of predictability in Great People produced[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Disadvantages[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]using the culture for happiness causes research to slow down, but not as much as a Cottage Economy[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]more micromanaging than a Cottage Economy[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]unable to use Slavery Civic after Caste System to boost production[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Cities in a Hybrid Economy[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Cities in a Hybrid Economy are heavily specialized, just as in a Specialist Economy. Few buildings are constructed beyond the necessary ones, allowing the greatest number of specialists or cottages to be worked for the longest period of time. The city types are:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Capital[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This city tends to become a "Jack 0f All Trades" city, usually having ample commerce as well as production, additional happiness, which often makes Bureaucracy attractive mid-game. Of course, if you start with Mysticism and you have a lot of extra food in your capital, you might want to consider founding an early religion, making it your Wall Street city, and running some other legal civic instead. Or moving your Palace to better location.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Production Cities[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Production Cities produce your military and construct most of the wonders your empire needs. Most empires need only two or three. Improvements are mines and other hammer producers, plus the necessary farms to support the citizens to work the hammer tiles. Buildings are, naturally, hammer multipliers. National Wonders are Heroic Epic, West Point, and Ironworks.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Wealth Cities[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Wealth cities produce the gold necessary to pay for costs of your empire, whether it is maintenance for your cities, civics upkeep, or pay for your military. Small empires only need one. Improvements are farms to support merchants. Buildings are, naturally, gold multipliers. The city with the highest food output gets Wall-Street. Ideally, this should also be a Shrine city. These cities produce a lot of Great Merchants, which should be settled in the Wall-Street city so you can keep that science slider at 100% for most of the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Science Cities[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Science cities produce the beakers your empire needs to research new technologies. These cities make up the majority of your empire. Improvements are cottages and other commerce producers. Buildings are, naturally, beaker multipliers. The city with the second highest food production will eventually get Oxford University, and gets farms to support scientist specialists.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Espionage Cities[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Espionage cities produce the espionage points your empire needs to conduct espionage missions, both active and passive. You really only need one in your empire. Improvements are farms to support spy specialists. Buildings are, naturally, espionage buildings. Due to the lateness of most espionage buildings, this is a good candidate for a late game forested tundra/National Park city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Strategy by Age[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Classical Age[\BOLD][NEWLINE]The classical age is when you'll be getting your core cities established. By the end of this era, your HE city will be churning out units, your future Wall-Street city will be churning out gold and Great Merchants, and the rest of your cities will producing beakers, primarily through cottages. Civics would be slavery and organized religion, and Hereditary Rule, or perhaps Representation if you snagged the Pyramids. Hopefully, you'll be able to snag The Great Library in your future Oxford University city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Middle Ages[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Congratulations, you've just made the switch to Caste System. Get used to it, because you'll be sticking with it for a while. By now, you'll have enough improved tiles to switch citizens to hammer tiles while building infrastructure, and back to cottages or specialists the rest of the time.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]During this age, your science cities should be slowly building banks after they've finished their Universities, so you'll be able to build Wall-Street as soon as possible. Needless to say, you probably won't have to build any unnecessary Universities in your wealth cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Renaissance[\BOLD][NEWLINE]With Liberalism comes Free Speech, and with Democracy comes Emancipation, so it's time to start prepping your Wall-Street and Oxford University cities for the post-Caste System era. Start building cottages until one-turn from completion over your farms, and do the same with windmills over any mines. Once another Empire switches to Emancipation, it's time to do likewise, before unhappiness cripples your Empire. Switch as many farms to cottages as possible, and mines as windmills, until your city is growing while still running seven specialists.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Industrial Age[\BOLD][NEWLINE]With Caste System no longer viable, you're going to get some beakers in your wealth cities, so it's time to build some libraries and observatories in your wealth cities. If you've been expanding aggressively, you might want to build some grocers in your science cities as well, since your science slider might have to drop below 100%. Fortunately, you already built all those banks.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is also the Era of the Corporation, and you've been producing a lot of Great Merchants, so you should save one to found one of the Food Corporations in your Wall Street city. Spread it to your Oxford University, your production cities, and your capital. If you're lucky, you've saved a Great Engineer to found Mining Inc. in Wall Street, which you can then spread to your production cities and capital as well.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Modern Age[\BOLD][NEWLINE]You haven't won yet? Then what are you waiting for? Build whatever you need to reach whatever victory condition you've been aiming for.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Other Issues[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]The National Epic[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Unlike a Specialist Economy, which relies on Great Scientists to suppliment your beaker production, or a Cottage Economy, which uses this National Wonder to create a GP farm, you get to decide which Great People you want the most of. If you want a lot of Great Merchants, build it in your future Wall Street city. If you want a lot of Great Scientists, build it in your future Oxford University city. Maybe you'd like a lot of Great Spies late in the game, so hold onto it until your Espionage city is up and running, or Ironworks to get some Great Engineers to found Mining Inc. and rush some late-game wonders. Or pair it with National Park and get a super GP farm up and running. The choice is yours![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]The Caste System -&gt; Emancipation Switch[\BOLD][NEWLINE]If your game runs long enough, sooner or later you'll have to switch out of Caste System and start running Emancipation simply to deal with all the happiness caused by other Empires running that civic. In a Specialist Economy, this causes your research to crash, because there are no mature cottages to take up the slack for all those out of work scientists. It takes 35 turns (normal, Emancipation) to mature a cottage into a town, and since you've been relying on cottages to produce most of your gold, you probably won't be able to run your science slider at anything over 60% until they're fully mature. That means 35 turns before your economy recovers back to its pre-Caste System state... and those cottages need to be built first.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Since a hybrid economy means you're getting most of your science from mature towns anyways, this switch doesn't cause your research to crash. Only two cities are primarily affected: Your Wall Street City, and your Oxford City. These are the only two cities that need to be cottaged, which can be done very quickly if you prebuilt them before the switch. Furthermore, since your science slider is set at 90-100%, your Oxford city recovers after only fifteen turns.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Care and Feeding of your Wall Street and Oxford Cities[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]These two cities are your primary Great People producers throughout the game. So the name of the game is to run as many specialists as possible, for as many turns as possible, while working as few tiles as possible. Because these are the cities most similar to a Specialist Economy's normal city, they also require the most micromanagement in the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]The Wall Street City[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Early game, this city is quite simple. You want to build this city in an area that can produce a lot of food early, which means a lot of food resources and hopefully a lot of rivers or flood plains. Having a shrine in this city is a bonus, but not absolutely necessary. An enemy's capital that holds the shrine to Buddhism or Hinduism is ideal, allowing [BOLD]you[\BOLD] to cottage your capital to take advantage of Bureaucracy's bonuses later.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Focus on building farms to support more merchants later, and build or whip the necessary infrastructure, including granaries and courthouses. Build some mines or workshops so you can build more infrastructure later. Settle any Great Merchants that emerge from this city back into the city. They'll help keep your tech rate at 100% [BOLD]plus[\BOLD] produce extra food.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]During the Middle Ages, with the switch to Caste System, you're going to want to keep an eye on this city. You want to grow the city as large as the happiness cap allows, while running as many merchant specialists as possible. When you get more happiness, send a few your merchants into the fields to grow the population. There are also two important buildings that will need to be built: a grocer and a bank. Immediately when grocers become available, set all those merchants to work in the mines and the workshops to build those buildings ASAP. Repeat this procedure with the bank. Don't be afraid to starve your citizens a little in order to do so, you can always produce more food later. Plus they're getting fat from laying around and counting money. Great Merchants still get settled back into the city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Renaissance signals the approach of the end of the Caste System Era. Sooner or later, you'll have to make the switch to Emancipation, so it's time to start pre-building some cottages. Don't complete them, simply build them until one turn from completion. It'll save time later.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Industrial Age will likely see the end of Caste System. It also signals the approach of Corporations and Biology, so it's time to consider the Switch. After the Emancipation Switch, your city needs, at most, a population of 27, so it's time to consider slowing or halting its growth. During this age, you'll stop settling Great Merchants in this city. You need one to found one of the food corporations, after all. Check how many turns it is until the next Great Merchant (don't forget to check your Oxford city' it may produce a Great Scientist before Wall Street does) and compare it to how many turns it'll take to get the tech for your chosen Food Corporation. If one will emerge before you research the tech, then settle that Great Merchant. Otherwise, save it to found the corporation. After that, send those Great Merchants on Trade Missions.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Industrial Age also gives you levees, so if you placed your Wall Street city in an area with a lot of rivers (which seems likely), then you might want to send a few of those farmers to the mines and workshops to build them whenever you need to stunt your growth due to the happiness cap. The Industrial Age is also when you give your Wall Street city [BOLD]finally[\BOLD] lives up to its name, and you build Wall Street. Building Levees will help you with that.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Hopefully, Wall Street will be complete [BOLD]before[\BOLD] you have to switch to Emancipation. But after the switch, you'll need to cottage as many farms as possible until you're running food neutral while running seven merchants. With the extra hammers, you can start building science infrastructure. When you found a Food Corporation in this city, you'll be able to cottage even more farms. Build about four so you can spread the Corporation to your Oxford city, your production cities, and your capital.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you make it this far, the modern age is pretty much the same as a Cottage Economy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]The Oxford University City[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The same strategy used with the Wall Street city works well with the Oxford University City... only you build science infrastructure buildings rather than wealth infrastructure. The main difference with this city is what you do with the Great Scientists the city produces. Settling a Great Scientist in Oxford rarely produces as much a benefit as building an academy in one of your science city, or rushing a tech.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In addition, unlike Wall Street, Oxford usually doesn't need wealth infrastructure late in the game... though building a bank in the city makes sense, since you need a few of them to build Wall Street.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Edited to expand upon the idea behind Oxford and Wall Street, especially post Caste System.[\BOLD]</Italian>
		<Spanish>[H1]The Hybrid Economy[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]Darkfyre99[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Overview[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Hybrid Economy is a type of economy that combines the best elements of the Specialist Economy and the Cottage Economy, while minimizing the disadvantages of both types of economies. This article assumes use of the Beyond the Sword expansion, but it should be easily adapted to both Warlords and Vanilla Civilization IV. Like a Specialist Economy, a Hybrid Economy's cities are highly specialised. Like a Cottage Economy, a Hybrid Economy relies on cottages as it's primary source of beakers. Unlike either a Cottage or Specialist economy, the goal of a Hybrid Economy is to keep the science slider at 100%.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Characteristics[\H2][NEWLINE][BOLD]Attributes[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]most common improvements: farms and cottages[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]beaker source: primarily commerce, some specialists[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]espionage source: specialists[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]gold source: specialists[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]optimal slider position: 100% science[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]best civics: Representation, Free Speech, Caste System[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]best traits: Financial, Philosophical[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Advantages[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]high degree of city specialization[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]no economic crash with switch to Emancipation[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]high GPP production[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]not as much micromanaging as a Specialist Economy[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]high degree of predictability in Great People produced[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Disadvantages[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]using the culture for happiness causes research to slow down, but not as much as a Cottage Economy[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]more micromanaging than a Cottage Economy[NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]unable to use Slavery Civic after Caste System to boost production[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Cities in a Hybrid Economy[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Cities in a Hybrid Economy are heavily specialized, just as in a Specialist Economy. Few buildings are constructed beyond the necessary ones, allowing the greatest number of specialists or cottages to be worked for the longest period of time. The city types are:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Capital[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This city tends to become a "Jack 0f All Trades" city, usually having ample commerce as well as production, additional happiness, which often makes Bureaucracy attractive mid-game. Of course, if you start with Mysticism and you have a lot of extra food in your capital, you might want to consider founding an early religion, making it your Wall Street city, and running some other legal civic instead. Or moving your Palace to better location.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Production Cities[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Production Cities produce your military and construct most of the wonders your empire needs. Most empires need only two or three. Improvements are mines and other hammer producers, plus the necessary farms to support the citizens to work the hammer tiles. Buildings are, naturally, hammer multipliers. National Wonders are Heroic Epic, West Point, and Ironworks.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Wealth Cities[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Wealth cities produce the gold necessary to pay for costs of your empire, whether it is maintenance for your cities, civics upkeep, or pay for your military. Small empires only need one. Improvements are farms to support merchants. Buildings are, naturally, gold multipliers. The city with the highest food output gets Wall-Street. Ideally, this should also be a Shrine city. These cities produce a lot of Great Merchants, which should be settled in the Wall-Street city so you can keep that science slider at 100% for most of the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Science Cities[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Science cities produce the beakers your empire needs to research new technologies. These cities make up the majority of your empire. Improvements are cottages and other commerce producers. Buildings are, naturally, beaker multipliers. The city with the second highest food production will eventually get Oxford University, and gets farms to support scientist specialists.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Espionage Cities[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Espionage cities produce the espionage points your empire needs to conduct espionage missions, both active and passive. You really only need one in your empire. Improvements are farms to support spy specialists. Buildings are, naturally, espionage buildings. Due to the lateness of most espionage buildings, this is a good candidate for a late game forested tundra/National Park city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Strategy by Age[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Classical Age[\BOLD][NEWLINE]The classical age is when you'll be getting your core cities established. By the end of this era, your HE city will be churning out units, your future Wall-Street city will be churning out gold and Great Merchants, and the rest of your cities will producing beakers, primarily through cottages. Civics would be slavery and organized religion, and Hereditary Rule, or perhaps Representation if you snagged the Pyramids. Hopefully, you'll be able to snag The Great Library in your future Oxford University city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Middle Ages[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Congratulations, you've just made the switch to Caste System. Get used to it, because you'll be sticking with it for a while. By now, you'll have enough improved tiles to switch citizens to hammer tiles while building infrastructure, and back to cottages or specialists the rest of the time.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]During this age, your science cities should be slowly building banks after they've finished their Universities, so you'll be able to build Wall-Street as soon as possible. Needless to say, you probably won't have to build any unnecessary Universities in your wealth cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Renaissance[\BOLD][NEWLINE]With Liberalism comes Free Speech, and with Democracy comes Emancipation, so it's time to start prepping your Wall-Street and Oxford University cities for the post-Caste System era. Start building cottages until one-turn from completion over your farms, and do the same with windmills over any mines. Once another Empire switches to Emancipation, it's time to do likewise, before unhappiness cripples your Empire. Switch as many farms to cottages as possible, and mines as windmills, until your city is growing while still running seven specialists.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Industrial Age[\BOLD][NEWLINE]With Caste System no longer viable, you're going to get some beakers in your wealth cities, so it's time to build some libraries and observatories in your wealth cities. If you've been expanding aggressively, you might want to build some grocers in your science cities as well, since your science slider might have to drop below 100%. Fortunately, you already built all those banks.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]This is also the Era of the Corporation, and you've been producing a lot of Great Merchants, so you should save one to found one of the Food Corporations in your Wall Street city. Spread it to your Oxford University, your production cities, and your capital. If you're lucky, you've saved a Great Engineer to found Mining Inc. in Wall Street, which you can then spread to your production cities and capital as well.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Modern Age[\BOLD][NEWLINE]You haven't won yet? Then what are you waiting for? Build whatever you need to reach whatever victory condition you've been aiming for.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]Other Issues[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]The National Epic[\BOLD][NEWLINE]Unlike a Specialist Economy, which relies on Great Scientists to suppliment your beaker production, or a Cottage Economy, which uses this National Wonder to create a GP farm, you get to decide which Great People you want the most of. If you want a lot of Great Merchants, build it in your future Wall Street city. If you want a lot of Great Scientists, build it in your future Oxford University city. Maybe you'd like a lot of Great Spies late in the game, so hold onto it until your Espionage city is up and running, or Ironworks to get some Great Engineers to found Mining Inc. and rush some late-game wonders. Or pair it with National Park and get a super GP farm up and running. The choice is yours![NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]The Caste System -&gt; Emancipation Switch[\BOLD][NEWLINE]If your game runs long enough, sooner or later you'll have to switch out of Caste System and start running Emancipation simply to deal with all the happiness caused by other Empires running that civic. In a Specialist Economy, this causes your research to crash, because there are no mature cottages to take up the slack for all those out of work scientists. It takes 35 turns (normal, Emancipation) to mature a cottage into a town, and since you've been relying on cottages to produce most of your gold, you probably won't be able to run your science slider at anything over 60% until they're fully mature. That means 35 turns before your economy recovers back to its pre-Caste System state... and those cottages need to be built first.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Since a hybrid economy means you're getting most of your science from mature towns anyways, this switch doesn't cause your research to crash. Only two cities are primarily affected: Your Wall Street City, and your Oxford City. These are the only two cities that need to be cottaged, which can be done very quickly if you prebuilt them before the switch. Furthermore, since your science slider is set at 90-100%, your Oxford city recovers after only fifteen turns.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][NEWLINE][H2]The Care and Feeding of your Wall Street and Oxford Cities[\H2][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]These two cities are your primary Great People producers throughout the game. So the name of the game is to run as many specialists as possible, for as many turns as possible, while working as few tiles as possible. Because these are the cities most similar to a Specialist Economy's normal city, they also require the most micromanagement in the game.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]The Wall Street City[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Early game, this city is quite simple. You want to build this city in an area that can produce a lot of food early, which means a lot of food resources and hopefully a lot of rivers or flood plains. Having a shrine in this city is a bonus, but not absolutely necessary. An enemy's capital that holds the shrine to Buddhism or Hinduism is ideal, allowing [BOLD]you[\BOLD] to cottage your capital to take advantage of Bureaucracy's bonuses later.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Focus on building farms to support more merchants later, and build or whip the necessary infrastructure, including granaries and courthouses. Build some mines or workshops so you can build more infrastructure later. Settle any Great Merchants that emerge from this city back into the city. They'll help keep your tech rate at 100% [BOLD]plus[\BOLD] produce extra food.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]During the Middle Ages, with the switch to Caste System, you're going to want to keep an eye on this city. You want to grow the city as large as the happiness cap allows, while running as many merchant specialists as possible. When you get more happiness, send a few your merchants into the fields to grow the population. There are also two important buildings that will need to be built: a grocer and a bank. Immediately when grocers become available, set all those merchants to work in the mines and the workshops to build those buildings ASAP. Repeat this procedure with the bank. Don't be afraid to starve your citizens a little in order to do so, you can always produce more food later. Plus they're getting fat from laying around and counting money. Great Merchants still get settled back into the city.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Renaissance signals the approach of the end of the Caste System Era. Sooner or later, you'll have to make the switch to Emancipation, so it's time to start pre-building some cottages. Don't complete them, simply build them until one turn from completion. It'll save time later.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Industrial Age will likely see the end of Caste System. It also signals the approach of Corporations and Biology, so it's time to consider the Switch. After the Emancipation Switch, your city needs, at most, a population of 27, so it's time to consider slowing or halting its growth. During this age, you'll stop settling Great Merchants in this city. You need one to found one of the food corporations, after all. Check how many turns it is until the next Great Merchant (don't forget to check your Oxford city' it may produce a Great Scientist before Wall Street does) and compare it to how many turns it'll take to get the tech for your chosen Food Corporation. If one will emerge before you research the tech, then settle that Great Merchant. Otherwise, save it to found the corporation. After that, send those Great Merchants on Trade Missions.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The Industrial Age also gives you levees, so if you placed your Wall Street city in an area with a lot of rivers (which seems likely), then you might want to send a few of those farmers to the mines and workshops to build them whenever you need to stunt your growth due to the happiness cap. The Industrial Age is also when you give your Wall Street city [BOLD]finally[\BOLD] lives up to its name, and you build Wall Street. Building Levees will help you with that.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Hopefully, Wall Street will be complete [BOLD]before[\BOLD] you have to switch to Emancipation. But after the switch, you'll need to cottage as many farms as possible until you're running food neutral while running seven merchants. With the extra hammers, you can start building science infrastructure. When you found a Food Corporation in this city, you'll be able to cottage even more farms. Build about four so you can spread the Corporation to your Oxford city, your production cities, and your capital.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]If you make it this far, the modern age is pretty much the same as a Cottage Economy.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]The Oxford University City[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The same strategy used with the Wall Street city works well with the Oxford University City... only you build science infrastructure buildings rather than wealth infrastructure. The main difference with this city is what you do with the Great Scientists the city produces. Settling a Great Scientist in Oxford rarely produces as much a benefit as building an academy in one of your science city, or rushing a tech.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In addition, unlike Wall Street, Oxford usually doesn't need wealth infrastructure late in the game... though building a bank in the city makes sense, since you need a few of them to build Wall Street.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Edited to expand upon the idea behind Oxford and Wall Street, especially post Caste System.[\BOLD]</Spanish>
	</TEXT>
	<TEXT>
		<Tag>TXT_KEY_STRATEGY_SE_PEDIA</Tag>
		<English>[H1]A Beginner's Guide to the Specialist Economy (SE)[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]JackofClubs[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In just about every thread in which the topic is discussed, someone asks for a strategy guide to creating a Specialist Economy. Wodan gives some general principles (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=180077) but it is still not a step-by-step guide. I do not consider myself an expert, but in attempting to teach myself to master this important style of play, I took several notes from the various threads on the subject and combined them with my own experience. Adding a bit of polish to make them fit for public consumption, I submit them for comments by the true experts.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Please note that this thread is an attempt to tell the beginner HOW to run a Specialist Economy and therefore assumes that you actually want to try the SE for whatever reason. Maybe you think it is a good strategy, maybe you are bored with your current games and wish to try something new, maybe you think the SE sucks and are just a masochist. I don't care. Just keep the comments helpful and save tha advocacy for another thread.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The actual guide will be in the second post. Here are some other links that I found helpful in filling in the gaps and getting my thinking in order on the topic:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]iamdanthemansta (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=179925)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]futurehermit (This is where I got the basic outline for this guide as well as Average Tech Cost and Optimal Number of Science Cities data (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=177506). He makes an error in his calculations that he notes at the bottom of the first post, which I have corrected in this guide.)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]acidsatyr (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=190690)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]UncleJJ (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=4897981&amp;postcount=11)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are lots more, but I can't remember all of them. A search for threads with "Spcialist Economy" in the title is a good place to start for more info.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Edit: I should mention that I don't play the Warlords expansion so I have limited information on that. Anyone that can make suggestions on that score or on anything else I've left out, please feel free.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Definition of Specialist Economy:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A civilization in which the majority of research is funded by Scientist specialists supported by 1-2 farms or other high food resources. Since this approach tends to generate Great Scientists more quickly than other economies, another source of research is the lightbulb option.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Benefits[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]1. Optimized regrowth of population from slavery/drafting. (Note: this sacrifices research until regrowth is complete.)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]2. Less danger from pillaging since farms are much easier to rebuild than cottages which have matured to towns.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]3. Independence from the [ICON_RESEARCH]-Slider increases flexibility to divert commerce directly to gold for upgrades or to Culture/Happiness if the [ICON_CULTURE]-Slider is used.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]4. More effective at higher difficulty levels (Emperor and above).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Limitations[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]1. May require more micromanaging compared to Cottage Economy (CE).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]2. Specialists require supporting food resources or farms. In cases where food resources or fresh water for farms are unavailable this may be a limitation on early city placement. After Civil Service this becomes less of a consideration.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]3. Specialists can only be assigned if certain buildings exist (e.g. Library enables two Scientists).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]4. Caste System eliminates the restrictions for item 3, but conflicts with Slavery as well as other labor civics. This may later become critical if Emancipation is adopted by another civ, since the unhappiness generated by failing to adopt Emancipation can be a serious drain on productivity.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]General Tips and Advice[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]1. Prioritize food resources and farms in new cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]2. New cities only need Granary, Library and possibly Courthouse. Any other buildings are secondary. (This doesn't apply to Production cities which will be the same as for CE).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]3. You may drop the [ICON_RESEARCH]-Slider to 0 when Alphabet has been researched and trade for any techs you do not yet know. This is to maximize cash for other purposes -- usually military upgrades or high maintenance costs due to conquests. However, it may be wise to keep the [ICON_RESEARCH]-Slider up at the maximum that is still generating a positive income for certain critical techs such as Literature and the Paper-Education-Library sequence (if there is no GS available for lightbulbing these).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]4. Alternatively, if dropping the [ICON_RESEARCH]-Slider from 100% to 0% results in only a factor of 2 or 3 increase in the number of turns for your current tech, then it is about time to drop it. If it is much more than 3, you probably need to focus on getting more scientists up.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]5. Philosophy, Paper and Education are prerequisites for Liberalism and can be lightbulbed by a Great Scientist. Consider saving a GS or three for these techs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Pre-Game Considerations:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Leader Characteristics: Philosophical is generally considered to be very important (for the double Great Person Points (GPP) and also for the cheaper University). Industrious is a good second choice at lower difficulty levels, but note that you can't be both. For a second trait, Spiritual is good for rapid civic shifts, Expansive is good for the health bonus, Creative for cheaper libraries (Warlords expansion), and Aggressive because of the general synergy between SE and warfare (See Benefits section above).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]City Order: This guide assumes that the capital city will be used primarily for wealth production to take advantage of the Bureaucracy civic. No other city should generate wealth in a Specialist Economy, unless there is no way to farm it (which will be rare, especially post-Biology). I generally find it useful to make the second city a Production Facility and will not found the Super Science City (which also winds up being a GP Farm) until at least the 3rd city. At higher levels of difficulty, however, it may not be beneficial to build the Academy or settle scientists. This is due to the much faster tech rate of the AI and the need to use every scientist to lightbulb a tech. So the Super Science City may not be the way to go at these levels, but that discussion is more appropriate for Intermediate and Advanced guides.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You will probably want at least one other high-production city by mid-game and others as necessary. Also don't get into the mindset that all cities need to be research oriented. The SE is a method of acquiring research in those cities dedicated to the task, but Civ IV is a game of balance and tradeoffs. This isn't limited to the SE, but the lesson to bear in mind is not to sacrifice military preparedness for research.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The following Age-by-Age guidelines are offered as a preliminary base for experimentation. Obviously any of the recommendations made can be rebutted, but I prefer to err on the side of structure vs. flexibility, since too many options can be confusing to a novice. Once people have tried the recommended format, they will be in a position to decide for themselves what works for their style of game play.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I have used the following principles in determining how many Great Scientists should be settled versus used to lightbulb technologies (based on futurehermit's analysis in (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=177506)this thread): There are no settled GS listed in the Classical era because you are still setting up Libraries and the GP farm. The first spare GS is used for the Academy and each era gets another settled scientist. The exception is the Industrial Age, in which Scientific Method eliminates the two free scientists from the Great Library, so an additional parked scientist is added in that era. The objective is to sustain a rate of science with an average of 5 turns per tech. This requires either the addition of settled scientists or an increased number of cities with 2 or more specialists each.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Note that some people object to settling any scientist or building an Academy, preferring to use Great Scientists solely for lightbulbing techs. The rationale is that, although the former use produces more total research over time, lightbulbing produces the techs earlier which can be more important. I consider this to be more of an intermediate or advanced topic, but I note it here so that the beginner will be aware of the issue. Advocates for the lightbulb theory admit that the SE tends to falter after the late Renaissance or early Industrial eras (about the time Democracy and Scientific Method start eroding some of the SE-friendly benefits). My intention in this guide is to provide a long-term strategy for SE that is sustainable throughout even a long game. But I must also note that these advocates are also much more experienced than I so at least be aware of the controversy. Also, at higher difficulties the lightbulb method may be the only way to stay competitive, but -- again -- that is an intermediate or advance consideration.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Classical Age[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Research Priorities: Masonry, Writing, Alphabet, Literature, (Polytheism, Meditation?)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build Priorities: Libraries, (Monasteries?)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Optimal Number of Science Cities: 3 (including SSC)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Scientists per city: 2[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Super Science City has: Great Library[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wonder Priorities: Great Library, (Pyramid, Parthenon?)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Civic Priorities: Representation[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Notes: Pyramids is somewhat optional and many feel that the time spent on building this wonder can be better used to expand your empire. Likewise with the Parthenon. I recommend building these, but you may need to reconsider if stone or marble is not near the capital. The Great Library, however, is very important and is usually achievable but is much more valuable if you have access to Representation (from the Pyramids). I put a question mark by monasteries since they may not be possible to build if you didn't found a religion. This period should be characterized by expansion more than research.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Medieval Age [\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Research Priorities: Meditation, Code of Laws, Civil Service[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build Priorities: Libraries, Monasteries[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Optimal Number of Science Cities: 6 (including SSC)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Scientists per city: 2+ (Library allows 2, Caste System allows indefinite)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Super Science City has: Great Library, Academy, 1 Settled GS[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wonder Priorities: Academy[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Civic Priorities: Representation, Caste System, Bureaucracy[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Notes: There is some debate as to whether Caste System is more beneficial than Slavery. I include the former since Slavery is not specific to the Specialist Economy but use your own judgment here. Make sure that you have at least 6 libraries by the end of this period. This figure includes extra cities to prepare for building Oxford in Renaissance which requires 6 universities (which, in turn, cannot be built in a city without a library).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Renaissance Age[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Research Priorities: Education, Liberalism, Astronomy, Banking[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build Priorities: University, Observatory[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Optimal Number of Science Cities: 4 (including SSC)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Scientists per city: 3+[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Super Science City has: Great Library, Academy, 2 Settled GS, Oxford[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wonder Priorities: Oxford[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Civic Priorities: Representation, Caste System, Bureaucracy, Mercantilism[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Notes: Mercantilism is also controversial and is included here for similar reasons to Caste System noted above. The usual caveats apply. You need 6 Universities to build Oxford which will use the 'extra' cities built in the Medieval period. Also, if you don't have a reliable source of copper for the Statue of Liberty in the next era, this would be a good time to start thinking about capturing one.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Industrial Age [\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Research Priorities: Democracy, Physics, Biology[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build Priorities: ?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Optimal Number of Science Cities: 6 (including SSC)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Scientists per city: 5+[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Super Science City has: Great Library???, Academy, 4 Settled GS, Oxford[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wonder Priorities: Statue of Liberty[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Civic Priorities: Representation, Caste System, Bureaucracy, Mercantilism[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Notes: Statue of Liberty is huge (unless you are on an Archipelago map) so make sure you get it. This is doubly important since you lose the Great Library about this time due to Scientific Method.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Modern Age[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Research Priorities: Computers, (Fiber Optics?)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build Priorities: Laboratory[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Optimal Number of Science Cities: 8 (including SSC)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Scientists per city: 6+[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Super Science City has: Academy, 5 Settled GS, Oxford[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wonder Priorities: (Internet?)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Civic Priorities: Representation, Caste System, Bureaucracy, Mercantilism[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Notes: This era is a bit less well researched since many SE games have been won by this point. I will update this if anyone has any further suggestions.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Sample Games:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Frederick ALC - Prince (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=178995)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]LotR18 No Cottage Challenge - Prince (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=145463)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Louis XIV - Monarch (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=171597)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Isabella No Cottages - Emperor (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=175281)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Saladin No cottages - Immortal (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=178607)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Acknowledgements:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]The following threads/posts were invaluable in forming my early versions of this guide. The discussion thread for this guide can be found here: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=197818[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]acidsatyr (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=190690)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]futurehermit (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=177506)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]iamdanthemansta (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=179925)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]UncleJJ (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=4897981&amp;postcount=11)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wodan (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=180077)</English>
		<French>[H1]A Beginner's Guide to the Specialist Economy (SE)[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]JackofClubs[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In just about every thread in which the topic is discussed, someone asks for a strategy guide to creating a Specialist Economy. Wodan gives some general principles (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=180077) but it is still not a step-by-step guide. I do not consider myself an expert, but in attempting to teach myself to master this important style of play, I took several notes from the various threads on the subject and combined them with my own experience. Adding a bit of polish to make them fit for public consumption, I submit them for comments by the true experts.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Please note that this thread is an attempt to tell the beginner HOW to run a Specialist Economy and therefore assumes that you actually want to try the SE for whatever reason. Maybe you think it is a good strategy, maybe you are bored with your current games and wish to try something new, maybe you think the SE sucks and are just a masochist. I don't care. Just keep the comments helpful and save tha advocacy for another thread.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The actual guide will be in the second post. Here are some other links that I found helpful in filling in the gaps and getting my thinking in order on the topic:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]iamdanthemansta (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=179925)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]futurehermit (This is where I got the basic outline for this guide as well as Average Tech Cost and Optimal Number of Science Cities data (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=177506). He makes an error in his calculations that he notes at the bottom of the first post, which I have corrected in this guide.)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]acidsatyr (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=190690)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]UncleJJ (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=4897981&amp;postcount=11)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are lots more, but I can't remember all of them. A search for threads with "Spcialist Economy" in the title is a good place to start for more info.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Edit: I should mention that I don't play the Warlords expansion so I have limited information on that. Anyone that can make suggestions on that score or on anything else I've left out, please feel free.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Definition of Specialist Economy:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A civilization in which the majority of research is funded by Scientist specialists supported by 1-2 farms or other high food resources. Since this approach tends to generate Great Scientists more quickly than other economies, another source of research is the lightbulb option.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Benefits[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]1. Optimized regrowth of population from slavery/drafting. (Note: this sacrifices research until regrowth is complete.)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]2. Less danger from pillaging since farms are much easier to rebuild than cottages which have matured to towns.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]3. Independence from the [ICON_RESEARCH]-Slider increases flexibility to divert commerce directly to gold for upgrades or to Culture/Happiness if the [ICON_CULTURE]-Slider is used.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]4. More effective at higher difficulty levels (Emperor and above).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Limitations[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]1. May require more micromanaging compared to Cottage Economy (CE).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]2. Specialists require supporting food resources or farms. In cases where food resources or fresh water for farms are unavailable this may be a limitation on early city placement. After Civil Service this becomes less of a consideration.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]3. Specialists can only be assigned if certain buildings exist (e.g. Library enables two Scientists).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]4. Caste System eliminates the restrictions for item 3, but conflicts with Slavery as well as other labor civics. This may later become critical if Emancipation is adopted by another civ, since the unhappiness generated by failing to adopt Emancipation can be a serious drain on productivity.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]General Tips and Advice[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]1. Prioritize food resources and farms in new cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]2. New cities only need Granary, Library and possibly Courthouse. Any other buildings are secondary. (This doesn't apply to Production cities which will be the same as for CE).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]3. You may drop the [ICON_RESEARCH]-Slider to 0 when Alphabet has been researched and trade for any techs you do not yet know. This is to maximize cash for other purposes -- usually military upgrades or high maintenance costs due to conquests. However, it may be wise to keep the [ICON_RESEARCH]-Slider up at the maximum that is still generating a positive income for certain critical techs such as Literature and the Paper-Education-Library sequence (if there is no GS available for lightbulbing these).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]4. Alternatively, if dropping the [ICON_RESEARCH]-Slider from 100% to 0% results in only a factor of 2 or 3 increase in the number of turns for your current tech, then it is about time to drop it. If it is much more than 3, you probably need to focus on getting more scientists up.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]5. Philosophy, Paper and Education are prerequisites for Liberalism and can be lightbulbed by a Great Scientist. Consider saving a GS or three for these techs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Pre-Game Considerations:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Leader Characteristics: Philosophical is generally considered to be very important (for the double Great Person Points (GPP) and also for the cheaper University). Industrious is a good second choice at lower difficulty levels, but note that you can't be both. For a second trait, Spiritual is good for rapid civic shifts, Expansive is good for the health bonus, Creative for cheaper libraries (Warlords expansion), and Aggressive because of the general synergy between SE and warfare (See Benefits section above).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]City Order: This guide assumes that the capital city will be used primarily for wealth production to take advantage of the Bureaucracy civic. No other city should generate wealth in a Specialist Economy, unless there is no way to farm it (which will be rare, especially post-Biology). I generally find it useful to make the second city a Production Facility and will not found the Super Science City (which also winds up being a GP Farm) until at least the 3rd city. At higher levels of difficulty, however, it may not be beneficial to build the Academy or settle scientists. This is due to the much faster tech rate of the AI and the need to use every scientist to lightbulb a tech. So the Super Science City may not be the way to go at these levels, but that discussion is more appropriate for Intermediate and Advanced guides.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You will probably want at least one other high-production city by mid-game and others as necessary. Also don't get into the mindset that all cities need to be research oriented. The SE is a method of acquiring research in those cities dedicated to the task, but Civ IV is a game of balance and tradeoffs. This isn't limited to the SE, but the lesson to bear in mind is not to sacrifice military preparedness for research.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The following Age-by-Age guidelines are offered as a preliminary base for experimentation. Obviously any of the recommendations made can be rebutted, but I prefer to err on the side of structure vs. flexibility, since too many options can be confusing to a novice. Once people have tried the recommended format, they will be in a position to decide for themselves what works for their style of game play.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I have used the following principles in determining how many Great Scientists should be settled versus used to lightbulb technologies (based on futurehermit's analysis in (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=177506)this thread): There are no settled GS listed in the Classical era because you are still setting up Libraries and the GP farm. The first spare GS is used for the Academy and each era gets another settled scientist. The exception is the Industrial Age, in which Scientific Method eliminates the two free scientists from the Great Library, so an additional parked scientist is added in that era. The objective is to sustain a rate of science with an average of 5 turns per tech. This requires either the addition of settled scientists or an increased number of cities with 2 or more specialists each.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Note that some people object to settling any scientist or building an Academy, preferring to use Great Scientists solely for lightbulbing techs. The rationale is that, although the former use produces more total research over time, lightbulbing produces the techs earlier which can be more important. I consider this to be more of an intermediate or advanced topic, but I note it here so that the beginner will be aware of the issue. Advocates for the lightbulb theory admit that the SE tends to falter after the late Renaissance or early Industrial eras (about the time Democracy and Scientific Method start eroding some of the SE-friendly benefits). My intention in this guide is to provide a long-term strategy for SE that is sustainable throughout even a long game. But I must also note that these advocates are also much more experienced than I so at least be aware of the controversy. Also, at higher difficulties the lightbulb method may be the only way to stay competitive, but -- again -- that is an intermediate or advance consideration.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Classical Age[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Research Priorities: Masonry, Writing, Alphabet, Literature, (Polytheism, Meditation?)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build Priorities: Libraries, (Monasteries?)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Optimal Number of Science Cities: 3 (including SSC)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Scientists per city: 2[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Super Science City has: Great Library[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wonder Priorities: Great Library, (Pyramid, Parthenon?)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Civic Priorities: Representation[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Notes: Pyramids is somewhat optional and many feel that the time spent on building this wonder can be better used to expand your empire. Likewise with the Parthenon. I recommend building these, but you may need to reconsider if stone or marble is not near the capital. The Great Library, however, is very important and is usually achievable but is much more valuable if you have access to Representation (from the Pyramids). I put a question mark by monasteries since they may not be possible to build if you didn't found a religion. This period should be characterized by expansion more than research.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Medieval Age [\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Research Priorities: Meditation, Code of Laws, Civil Service[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build Priorities: Libraries, Monasteries[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Optimal Number of Science Cities: 6 (including SSC)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Scientists per city: 2+ (Library allows 2, Caste System allows indefinite)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Super Science City has: Great Library, Academy, 1 Settled GS[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wonder Priorities: Academy[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Civic Priorities: Representation, Caste System, Bureaucracy[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Notes: There is some debate as to whether Caste System is more beneficial than Slavery. I include the former since Slavery is not specific to the Specialist Economy but use your own judgment here. Make sure that you have at least 6 libraries by the end of this period. This figure includes extra cities to prepare for building Oxford in Renaissance which requires 6 universities (which, in turn, cannot be built in a city without a library).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Renaissance Age[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Research Priorities: Education, Liberalism, Astronomy, Banking[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build Priorities: University, Observatory[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Optimal Number of Science Cities: 4 (including SSC)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Scientists per city: 3+[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Super Science City has: Great Library, Academy, 2 Settled GS, Oxford[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wonder Priorities: Oxford[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Civic Priorities: Representation, Caste System, Bureaucracy, Mercantilism[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Notes: Mercantilism is also controversial and is included here for similar reasons to Caste System noted above. The usual caveats apply. You need 6 Universities to build Oxford which will use the 'extra' cities built in the Medieval period. Also, if you don't have a reliable source of copper for the Statue of Liberty in the next era, this would be a good time to start thinking about capturing one.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Industrial Age [\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Research Priorities: Democracy, Physics, Biology[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build Priorities: ?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Optimal Number of Science Cities: 6 (including SSC)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Scientists per city: 5+[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Super Science City has: Great Library???, Academy, 4 Settled GS, Oxford[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wonder Priorities: Statue of Liberty[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Civic Priorities: Representation, Caste System, Bureaucracy, Mercantilism[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Notes: Statue of Liberty is huge (unless you are on an Archipelago map) so make sure you get it. This is doubly important since you lose the Great Library about this time due to Scientific Method.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Modern Age[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Research Priorities: Computers, (Fiber Optics?)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build Priorities: Laboratory[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Optimal Number of Science Cities: 8 (including SSC)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Scientists per city: 6+[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Super Science City has: Academy, 5 Settled GS, Oxford[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wonder Priorities: (Internet?)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Civic Priorities: Representation, Caste System, Bureaucracy, Mercantilism[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Notes: This era is a bit less well researched since many SE games have been won by this point. I will update this if anyone has any further suggestions.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Sample Games:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Frederick ALC - Prince (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=178995)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]LotR18 No Cottage Challenge - Prince (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=145463)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Louis XIV - Monarch (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=171597)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Isabella No Cottages - Emperor (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=175281)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Saladin No cottages - Immortal (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=178607)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Acknowledgements:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]The following threads/posts were invaluable in forming my early versions of this guide. The discussion thread for this guide can be found here: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=197818[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]acidsatyr (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=190690)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]futurehermit (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=177506)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]iamdanthemansta (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=179925)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]UncleJJ (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=4897981&amp;postcount=11)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wodan (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=180077)</French>
		<German>[H1]A Beginner's Guide to the Specialist Economy (SE)[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]JackofClubs[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In just about every thread in which the topic is discussed, someone asks for a strategy guide to creating a Specialist Economy. Wodan gives some general principles (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=180077) but it is still not a step-by-step guide. I do not consider myself an expert, but in attempting to teach myself to master this important style of play, I took several notes from the various threads on the subject and combined them with my own experience. Adding a bit of polish to make them fit for public consumption, I submit them for comments by the true experts.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Please note that this thread is an attempt to tell the beginner HOW to run a Specialist Economy and therefore assumes that you actually want to try the SE for whatever reason. Maybe you think it is a good strategy, maybe you are bored with your current games and wish to try something new, maybe you think the SE sucks and are just a masochist. I don't care. Just keep the comments helpful and save tha advocacy for another thread.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The actual guide will be in the second post. Here are some other links that I found helpful in filling in the gaps and getting my thinking in order on the topic:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]iamdanthemansta (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=179925)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]futurehermit (This is where I got the basic outline for this guide as well as Average Tech Cost and Optimal Number of Science Cities data (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=177506). He makes an error in his calculations that he notes at the bottom of the first post, which I have corrected in this guide.)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]acidsatyr (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=190690)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]UncleJJ (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=4897981&amp;postcount=11)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are lots more, but I can't remember all of them. A search for threads with "Spcialist Economy" in the title is a good place to start for more info.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Edit: I should mention that I don't play the Warlords expansion so I have limited information on that. Anyone that can make suggestions on that score or on anything else I've left out, please feel free.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Definition of Specialist Economy:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A civilization in which the majority of research is funded by Scientist specialists supported by 1-2 farms or other high food resources. Since this approach tends to generate Great Scientists more quickly than other economies, another source of research is the lightbulb option.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Benefits[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]1. Optimized regrowth of population from slavery/drafting. (Note: this sacrifices research until regrowth is complete.)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]2. Less danger from pillaging since farms are much easier to rebuild than cottages which have matured to towns.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]3. Independence from the [ICON_RESEARCH]-Slider increases flexibility to divert commerce directly to gold for upgrades or to Culture/Happiness if the [ICON_CULTURE]-Slider is used.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]4. More effective at higher difficulty levels (Emperor and above).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Limitations[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]1. May require more micromanaging compared to Cottage Economy (CE).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]2. Specialists require supporting food resources or farms. In cases where food resources or fresh water for farms are unavailable this may be a limitation on early city placement. After Civil Service this becomes less of a consideration.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]3. Specialists can only be assigned if certain buildings exist (e.g. Library enables two Scientists).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]4. Caste System eliminates the restrictions for item 3, but conflicts with Slavery as well as other labor civics. This may later become critical if Emancipation is adopted by another civ, since the unhappiness generated by failing to adopt Emancipation can be a serious drain on productivity.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]General Tips and Advice[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]1. Prioritize food resources and farms in new cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]2. New cities only need Granary, Library and possibly Courthouse. Any other buildings are secondary. (This doesn't apply to Production cities which will be the same as for CE).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]3. You may drop the [ICON_RESEARCH]-Slider to 0 when Alphabet has been researched and trade for any techs you do not yet know. This is to maximize cash for other purposes -- usually military upgrades or high maintenance costs due to conquests. However, it may be wise to keep the [ICON_RESEARCH]-Slider up at the maximum that is still generating a positive income for certain critical techs such as Literature and the Paper-Education-Library sequence (if there is no GS available for lightbulbing these).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]4. Alternatively, if dropping the [ICON_RESEARCH]-Slider from 100% to 0% results in only a factor of 2 or 3 increase in the number of turns for your current tech, then it is about time to drop it. If it is much more than 3, you probably need to focus on getting more scientists up.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]5. Philosophy, Paper and Education are prerequisites for Liberalism and can be lightbulbed by a Great Scientist. Consider saving a GS or three for these techs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Pre-Game Considerations:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Leader Characteristics: Philosophical is generally considered to be very important (for the double Great Person Points (GPP) and also for the cheaper University). Industrious is a good second choice at lower difficulty levels, but note that you can't be both. For a second trait, Spiritual is good for rapid civic shifts, Expansive is good for the health bonus, Creative for cheaper libraries (Warlords expansion), and Aggressive because of the general synergy between SE and warfare (See Benefits section above).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]City Order: This guide assumes that the capital city will be used primarily for wealth production to take advantage of the Bureaucracy civic. No other city should generate wealth in a Specialist Economy, unless there is no way to farm it (which will be rare, especially post-Biology). I generally find it useful to make the second city a Production Facility and will not found the Super Science City (which also winds up being a GP Farm) until at least the 3rd city. At higher levels of difficulty, however, it may not be beneficial to build the Academy or settle scientists. This is due to the much faster tech rate of the AI and the need to use every scientist to lightbulb a tech. So the Super Science City may not be the way to go at these levels, but that discussion is more appropriate for Intermediate and Advanced guides.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You will probably want at least one other high-production city by mid-game and others as necessary. Also don't get into the mindset that all cities need to be research oriented. The SE is a method of acquiring research in those cities dedicated to the task, but Civ IV is a game of balance and tradeoffs. This isn't limited to the SE, but the lesson to bear in mind is not to sacrifice military preparedness for research.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The following Age-by-Age guidelines are offered as a preliminary base for experimentation. Obviously any of the recommendations made can be rebutted, but I prefer to err on the side of structure vs. flexibility, since too many options can be confusing to a novice. Once people have tried the recommended format, they will be in a position to decide for themselves what works for their style of game play.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I have used the following principles in determining how many Great Scientists should be settled versus used to lightbulb technologies (based on futurehermit's analysis in (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=177506)this thread): There are no settled GS listed in the Classical era because you are still setting up Libraries and the GP farm. The first spare GS is used for the Academy and each era gets another settled scientist. The exception is the Industrial Age, in which Scientific Method eliminates the two free scientists from the Great Library, so an additional parked scientist is added in that era. The objective is to sustain a rate of science with an average of 5 turns per tech. This requires either the addition of settled scientists or an increased number of cities with 2 or more specialists each.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Note that some people object to settling any scientist or building an Academy, preferring to use Great Scientists solely for lightbulbing techs. The rationale is that, although the former use produces more total research over time, lightbulbing produces the techs earlier which can be more important. I consider this to be more of an intermediate or advanced topic, but I note it here so that the beginner will be aware of the issue. Advocates for the lightbulb theory admit that the SE tends to falter after the late Renaissance or early Industrial eras (about the time Democracy and Scientific Method start eroding some of the SE-friendly benefits). My intention in this guide is to provide a long-term strategy for SE that is sustainable throughout even a long game. But I must also note that these advocates are also much more experienced than I so at least be aware of the controversy. Also, at higher difficulties the lightbulb method may be the only way to stay competitive, but -- again -- that is an intermediate or advance consideration.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Classical Age[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Research Priorities: Masonry, Writing, Alphabet, Literature, (Polytheism, Meditation?)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build Priorities: Libraries, (Monasteries?)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Optimal Number of Science Cities: 3 (including SSC)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Scientists per city: 2[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Super Science City has: Great Library[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wonder Priorities: Great Library, (Pyramid, Parthenon?)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Civic Priorities: Representation[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Notes: Pyramids is somewhat optional and many feel that the time spent on building this wonder can be better used to expand your empire. Likewise with the Parthenon. I recommend building these, but you may need to reconsider if stone or marble is not near the capital. The Great Library, however, is very important and is usually achievable but is much more valuable if you have access to Representation (from the Pyramids). I put a question mark by monasteries since they may not be possible to build if you didn't found a religion. This period should be characterized by expansion more than research.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Medieval Age [\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Research Priorities: Meditation, Code of Laws, Civil Service[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build Priorities: Libraries, Monasteries[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Optimal Number of Science Cities: 6 (including SSC)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Scientists per city: 2+ (Library allows 2, Caste System allows indefinite)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Super Science City has: Great Library, Academy, 1 Settled GS[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wonder Priorities: Academy[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Civic Priorities: Representation, Caste System, Bureaucracy[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Notes: There is some debate as to whether Caste System is more beneficial than Slavery. I include the former since Slavery is not specific to the Specialist Economy but use your own judgment here. Make sure that you have at least 6 libraries by the end of this period. This figure includes extra cities to prepare for building Oxford in Renaissance which requires 6 universities (which, in turn, cannot be built in a city without a library).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Renaissance Age[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Research Priorities: Education, Liberalism, Astronomy, Banking[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build Priorities: University, Observatory[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Optimal Number of Science Cities: 4 (including SSC)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Scientists per city: 3+[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Super Science City has: Great Library, Academy, 2 Settled GS, Oxford[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wonder Priorities: Oxford[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Civic Priorities: Representation, Caste System, Bureaucracy, Mercantilism[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Notes: Mercantilism is also controversial and is included here for similar reasons to Caste System noted above. The usual caveats apply. You need 6 Universities to build Oxford which will use the 'extra' cities built in the Medieval period. Also, if you don't have a reliable source of copper for the Statue of Liberty in the next era, this would be a good time to start thinking about capturing one.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Industrial Age [\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Research Priorities: Democracy, Physics, Biology[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build Priorities: ?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Optimal Number of Science Cities: 6 (including SSC)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Scientists per city: 5+[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Super Science City has: Great Library???, Academy, 4 Settled GS, Oxford[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wonder Priorities: Statue of Liberty[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Civic Priorities: Representation, Caste System, Bureaucracy, Mercantilism[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Notes: Statue of Liberty is huge (unless you are on an Archipelago map) so make sure you get it. This is doubly important since you lose the Great Library about this time due to Scientific Method.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Modern Age[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Research Priorities: Computers, (Fiber Optics?)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build Priorities: Laboratory[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Optimal Number of Science Cities: 8 (including SSC)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Scientists per city: 6+[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Super Science City has: Academy, 5 Settled GS, Oxford[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wonder Priorities: (Internet?)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Civic Priorities: Representation, Caste System, Bureaucracy, Mercantilism[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Notes: This era is a bit less well researched since many SE games have been won by this point. I will update this if anyone has any further suggestions.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Sample Games:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Frederick ALC - Prince (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=178995)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]LotR18 No Cottage Challenge - Prince (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=145463)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Louis XIV - Monarch (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=171597)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Isabella No Cottages - Emperor (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=175281)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Saladin No cottages - Immortal (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=178607)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Acknowledgements:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]The following threads/posts were invaluable in forming my early versions of this guide. The discussion thread for this guide can be found here: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=197818[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]acidsatyr (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=190690)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]futurehermit (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=177506)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]iamdanthemansta (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=179925)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]UncleJJ (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=4897981&amp;postcount=11)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wodan (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=180077)</German>
		<Italian>[H1]A Beginner's Guide to the Specialist Economy (SE)[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]JackofClubs[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In just about every thread in which the topic is discussed, someone asks for a strategy guide to creating a Specialist Economy. Wodan gives some general principles (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=180077) but it is still not a step-by-step guide. I do not consider myself an expert, but in attempting to teach myself to master this important style of play, I took several notes from the various threads on the subject and combined them with my own experience. Adding a bit of polish to make them fit for public consumption, I submit them for comments by the true experts.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Please note that this thread is an attempt to tell the beginner HOW to run a Specialist Economy and therefore assumes that you actually want to try the SE for whatever reason. Maybe you think it is a good strategy, maybe you are bored with your current games and wish to try something new, maybe you think the SE sucks and are just a masochist. I don't care. Just keep the comments helpful and save tha advocacy for another thread.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The actual guide will be in the second post. Here are some other links that I found helpful in filling in the gaps and getting my thinking in order on the topic:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]iamdanthemansta (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=179925)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]futurehermit (This is where I got the basic outline for this guide as well as Average Tech Cost and Optimal Number of Science Cities data (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=177506). He makes an error in his calculations that he notes at the bottom of the first post, which I have corrected in this guide.)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]acidsatyr (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=190690)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]UncleJJ (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=4897981&amp;postcount=11)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are lots more, but I can't remember all of them. A search for threads with "Spcialist Economy" in the title is a good place to start for more info.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Edit: I should mention that I don't play the Warlords expansion so I have limited information on that. Anyone that can make suggestions on that score or on anything else I've left out, please feel free.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Definition of Specialist Economy:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A civilization in which the majority of research is funded by Scientist specialists supported by 1-2 farms or other high food resources. Since this approach tends to generate Great Scientists more quickly than other economies, another source of research is the lightbulb option.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Benefits[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]1. Optimized regrowth of population from slavery/drafting. (Note: this sacrifices research until regrowth is complete.)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]2. Less danger from pillaging since farms are much easier to rebuild than cottages which have matured to towns.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]3. Independence from the [ICON_RESEARCH]-Slider increases flexibility to divert commerce directly to gold for upgrades or to Culture/Happiness if the [ICON_CULTURE]-Slider is used.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]4. More effective at higher difficulty levels (Emperor and above).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Limitations[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]1. May require more micromanaging compared to Cottage Economy (CE).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]2. Specialists require supporting food resources or farms. In cases where food resources or fresh water for farms are unavailable this may be a limitation on early city placement. After Civil Service this becomes less of a consideration.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]3. Specialists can only be assigned if certain buildings exist (e.g. Library enables two Scientists).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]4. Caste System eliminates the restrictions for item 3, but conflicts with Slavery as well as other labor civics. This may later become critical if Emancipation is adopted by another civ, since the unhappiness generated by failing to adopt Emancipation can be a serious drain on productivity.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]General Tips and Advice[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]1. Prioritize food resources and farms in new cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]2. New cities only need Granary, Library and possibly Courthouse. Any other buildings are secondary. (This doesn't apply to Production cities which will be the same as for CE).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]3. You may drop the [ICON_RESEARCH]-Slider to 0 when Alphabet has been researched and trade for any techs you do not yet know. This is to maximize cash for other purposes -- usually military upgrades or high maintenance costs due to conquests. However, it may be wise to keep the [ICON_RESEARCH]-Slider up at the maximum that is still generating a positive income for certain critical techs such as Literature and the Paper-Education-Library sequence (if there is no GS available for lightbulbing these).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]4. Alternatively, if dropping the [ICON_RESEARCH]-Slider from 100% to 0% results in only a factor of 2 or 3 increase in the number of turns for your current tech, then it is about time to drop it. If it is much more than 3, you probably need to focus on getting more scientists up.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]5. Philosophy, Paper and Education are prerequisites for Liberalism and can be lightbulbed by a Great Scientist. Consider saving a GS or three for these techs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Pre-Game Considerations:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Leader Characteristics: Philosophical is generally considered to be very important (for the double Great Person Points (GPP) and also for the cheaper University). Industrious is a good second choice at lower difficulty levels, but note that you can't be both. For a second trait, Spiritual is good for rapid civic shifts, Expansive is good for the health bonus, Creative for cheaper libraries (Warlords expansion), and Aggressive because of the general synergy between SE and warfare (See Benefits section above).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]City Order: This guide assumes that the capital city will be used primarily for wealth production to take advantage of the Bureaucracy civic. No other city should generate wealth in a Specialist Economy, unless there is no way to farm it (which will be rare, especially post-Biology). I generally find it useful to make the second city a Production Facility and will not found the Super Science City (which also winds up being a GP Farm) until at least the 3rd city. At higher levels of difficulty, however, it may not be beneficial to build the Academy or settle scientists. This is due to the much faster tech rate of the AI and the need to use every scientist to lightbulb a tech. So the Super Science City may not be the way to go at these levels, but that discussion is more appropriate for Intermediate and Advanced guides.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You will probably want at least one other high-production city by mid-game and others as necessary. Also don't get into the mindset that all cities need to be research oriented. The SE is a method of acquiring research in those cities dedicated to the task, but Civ IV is a game of balance and tradeoffs. This isn't limited to the SE, but the lesson to bear in mind is not to sacrifice military preparedness for research.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The following Age-by-Age guidelines are offered as a preliminary base for experimentation. Obviously any of the recommendations made can be rebutted, but I prefer to err on the side of structure vs. flexibility, since too many options can be confusing to a novice. Once people have tried the recommended format, they will be in a position to decide for themselves what works for their style of game play.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I have used the following principles in determining how many Great Scientists should be settled versus used to lightbulb technologies (based on futurehermit's analysis in (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=177506)this thread): There are no settled GS listed in the Classical era because you are still setting up Libraries and the GP farm. The first spare GS is used for the Academy and each era gets another settled scientist. The exception is the Industrial Age, in which Scientific Method eliminates the two free scientists from the Great Library, so an additional parked scientist is added in that era. The objective is to sustain a rate of science with an average of 5 turns per tech. This requires either the addition of settled scientists or an increased number of cities with 2 or more specialists each.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Note that some people object to settling any scientist or building an Academy, preferring to use Great Scientists solely for lightbulbing techs. The rationale is that, although the former use produces more total research over time, lightbulbing produces the techs earlier which can be more important. I consider this to be more of an intermediate or advanced topic, but I note it here so that the beginner will be aware of the issue. Advocates for the lightbulb theory admit that the SE tends to falter after the late Renaissance or early Industrial eras (about the time Democracy and Scientific Method start eroding some of the SE-friendly benefits). My intention in this guide is to provide a long-term strategy for SE that is sustainable throughout even a long game. But I must also note that these advocates are also much more experienced than I so at least be aware of the controversy. Also, at higher difficulties the lightbulb method may be the only way to stay competitive, but -- again -- that is an intermediate or advance consideration.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Classical Age[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Research Priorities: Masonry, Writing, Alphabet, Literature, (Polytheism, Meditation?)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build Priorities: Libraries, (Monasteries?)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Optimal Number of Science Cities: 3 (including SSC)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Scientists per city: 2[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Super Science City has: Great Library[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wonder Priorities: Great Library, (Pyramid, Parthenon?)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Civic Priorities: Representation[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Notes: Pyramids is somewhat optional and many feel that the time spent on building this wonder can be better used to expand your empire. Likewise with the Parthenon. I recommend building these, but you may need to reconsider if stone or marble is not near the capital. The Great Library, however, is very important and is usually achievable but is much more valuable if you have access to Representation (from the Pyramids). I put a question mark by monasteries since they may not be possible to build if you didn't found a religion. This period should be characterized by expansion more than research.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Medieval Age [\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Research Priorities: Meditation, Code of Laws, Civil Service[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build Priorities: Libraries, Monasteries[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Optimal Number of Science Cities: 6 (including SSC)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Scientists per city: 2+ (Library allows 2, Caste System allows indefinite)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Super Science City has: Great Library, Academy, 1 Settled GS[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wonder Priorities: Academy[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Civic Priorities: Representation, Caste System, Bureaucracy[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Notes: There is some debate as to whether Caste System is more beneficial than Slavery. I include the former since Slavery is not specific to the Specialist Economy but use your own judgment here. Make sure that you have at least 6 libraries by the end of this period. This figure includes extra cities to prepare for building Oxford in Renaissance which requires 6 universities (which, in turn, cannot be built in a city without a library).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Renaissance Age[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Research Priorities: Education, Liberalism, Astronomy, Banking[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build Priorities: University, Observatory[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Optimal Number of Science Cities: 4 (including SSC)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Scientists per city: 3+[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Super Science City has: Great Library, Academy, 2 Settled GS, Oxford[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wonder Priorities: Oxford[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Civic Priorities: Representation, Caste System, Bureaucracy, Mercantilism[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Notes: Mercantilism is also controversial and is included here for similar reasons to Caste System noted above. The usual caveats apply. You need 6 Universities to build Oxford which will use the 'extra' cities built in the Medieval period. Also, if you don't have a reliable source of copper for the Statue of Liberty in the next era, this would be a good time to start thinking about capturing one.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Industrial Age [\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Research Priorities: Democracy, Physics, Biology[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build Priorities: ?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Optimal Number of Science Cities: 6 (including SSC)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Scientists per city: 5+[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Super Science City has: Great Library???, Academy, 4 Settled GS, Oxford[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wonder Priorities: Statue of Liberty[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Civic Priorities: Representation, Caste System, Bureaucracy, Mercantilism[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Notes: Statue of Liberty is huge (unless you are on an Archipelago map) so make sure you get it. This is doubly important since you lose the Great Library about this time due to Scientific Method.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Modern Age[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Research Priorities: Computers, (Fiber Optics?)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build Priorities: Laboratory[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Optimal Number of Science Cities: 8 (including SSC)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Scientists per city: 6+[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Super Science City has: Academy, 5 Settled GS, Oxford[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wonder Priorities: (Internet?)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Civic Priorities: Representation, Caste System, Bureaucracy, Mercantilism[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Notes: This era is a bit less well researched since many SE games have been won by this point. I will update this if anyone has any further suggestions.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Sample Games:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Frederick ALC - Prince (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=178995)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]LotR18 No Cottage Challenge - Prince (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=145463)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Louis XIV - Monarch (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=171597)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Isabella No Cottages - Emperor (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=175281)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Saladin No cottages - Immortal (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=178607)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Acknowledgements:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]The following threads/posts were invaluable in forming my early versions of this guide. The discussion thread for this guide can be found here: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=197818[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]acidsatyr (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=190690)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]futurehermit (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=177506)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]iamdanthemansta (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=179925)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]UncleJJ (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=4897981&amp;postcount=11)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wodan (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=180077)</Italian>
		<Spanish>[H1]A Beginner's Guide to the Specialist Economy (SE)[\H1][PARAGRAPH:1]- by [BOLD]JackofClubs[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]In just about every thread in which the topic is discussed, someone asks for a strategy guide to creating a Specialist Economy. Wodan gives some general principles (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=180077) but it is still not a step-by-step guide. I do not consider myself an expert, but in attempting to teach myself to master this important style of play, I took several notes from the various threads on the subject and combined them with my own experience. Adding a bit of polish to make them fit for public consumption, I submit them for comments by the true experts.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Please note that this thread is an attempt to tell the beginner HOW to run a Specialist Economy and therefore assumes that you actually want to try the SE for whatever reason. Maybe you think it is a good strategy, maybe you are bored with your current games and wish to try something new, maybe you think the SE sucks and are just a masochist. I don't care. Just keep the comments helpful and save tha advocacy for another thread.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The actual guide will be in the second post. Here are some other links that I found helpful in filling in the gaps and getting my thinking in order on the topic:[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]iamdanthemansta (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=179925)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]futurehermit (This is where I got the basic outline for this guide as well as Average Tech Cost and Optimal Number of Science Cities data (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=177506). He makes an error in his calculations that he notes at the bottom of the first post, which I have corrected in this guide.)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]acidsatyr (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=190690)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]UncleJJ (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=4897981&amp;postcount=11)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]There are lots more, but I can't remember all of them. A search for threads with "Spcialist Economy" in the title is a good place to start for more info.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Edit: I should mention that I don't play the Warlords expansion so I have limited information on that. Anyone that can make suggestions on that score or on anything else I've left out, please feel free.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Definition of Specialist Economy:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]A civilization in which the majority of research is funded by Scientist specialists supported by 1-2 farms or other high food resources. Since this approach tends to generate Great Scientists more quickly than other economies, another source of research is the lightbulb option.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Benefits[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]1. Optimized regrowth of population from slavery/drafting. (Note: this sacrifices research until regrowth is complete.)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]2. Less danger from pillaging since farms are much easier to rebuild than cottages which have matured to towns.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]3. Independence from the [ICON_RESEARCH]-Slider increases flexibility to divert commerce directly to gold for upgrades or to Culture/Happiness if the [ICON_CULTURE]-Slider is used.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]4. More effective at higher difficulty levels (Emperor and above).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Limitations[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]1. May require more micromanaging compared to Cottage Economy (CE).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]2. Specialists require supporting food resources or farms. In cases where food resources or fresh water for farms are unavailable this may be a limitation on early city placement. After Civil Service this becomes less of a consideration.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]3. Specialists can only be assigned if certain buildings exist (e.g. Library enables two Scientists).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]4. Caste System eliminates the restrictions for item 3, but conflicts with Slavery as well as other labor civics. This may later become critical if Emancipation is adopted by another civ, since the unhappiness generated by failing to adopt Emancipation can be a serious drain on productivity.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]General Tips and Advice[\BOLD][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]1. Prioritize food resources and farms in new cities.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]2. New cities only need Granary, Library and possibly Courthouse. Any other buildings are secondary. (This doesn't apply to Production cities which will be the same as for CE).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]3. You may drop the [ICON_RESEARCH]-Slider to 0 when Alphabet has been researched and trade for any techs you do not yet know. This is to maximize cash for other purposes -- usually military upgrades or high maintenance costs due to conquests. However, it may be wise to keep the [ICON_RESEARCH]-Slider up at the maximum that is still generating a positive income for certain critical techs such as Literature and the Paper-Education-Library sequence (if there is no GS available for lightbulbing these).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]4. Alternatively, if dropping the [ICON_RESEARCH]-Slider from 100% to 0% results in only a factor of 2 or 3 increase in the number of turns for your current tech, then it is about time to drop it. If it is much more than 3, you probably need to focus on getting more scientists up.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][ICON_BULLET]5. Philosophy, Paper and Education are prerequisites for Liberalism and can be lightbulbed by a Great Scientist. Consider saving a GS or three for these techs.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Pre-Game Considerations:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Leader Characteristics: Philosophical is generally considered to be very important (for the double Great Person Points (GPP) and also for the cheaper University). Industrious is a good second choice at lower difficulty levels, but note that you can't be both. For a second trait, Spiritual is good for rapid civic shifts, Expansive is good for the health bonus, Creative for cheaper libraries (Warlords expansion), and Aggressive because of the general synergy between SE and warfare (See Benefits section above).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]City Order: This guide assumes that the capital city will be used primarily for wealth production to take advantage of the Bureaucracy civic. No other city should generate wealth in a Specialist Economy, unless there is no way to farm it (which will be rare, especially post-Biology). I generally find it useful to make the second city a Production Facility and will not found the Super Science City (which also winds up being a GP Farm) until at least the 3rd city. At higher levels of difficulty, however, it may not be beneficial to build the Academy or settle scientists. This is due to the much faster tech rate of the AI and the need to use every scientist to lightbulb a tech. So the Super Science City may not be the way to go at these levels, but that discussion is more appropriate for Intermediate and Advanced guides.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You will probably want at least one other high-production city by mid-game and others as necessary. Also don't get into the mindset that all cities need to be research oriented. The SE is a method of acquiring research in those cities dedicated to the task, but Civ IV is a game of balance and tradeoffs. This isn't limited to the SE, but the lesson to bear in mind is not to sacrifice military preparedness for research.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The following Age-by-Age guidelines are offered as a preliminary base for experimentation. Obviously any of the recommendations made can be rebutted, but I prefer to err on the side of structure vs. flexibility, since too many options can be confusing to a novice. Once people have tried the recommended format, they will be in a position to decide for themselves what works for their style of game play.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]I have used the following principles in determining how many Great Scientists should be settled versus used to lightbulb technologies (based on futurehermit's analysis in (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=177506)this thread): There are no settled GS listed in the Classical era because you are still setting up Libraries and the GP farm. The first spare GS is used for the Academy and each era gets another settled scientist. The exception is the Industrial Age, in which Scientific Method eliminates the two free scientists from the Great Library, so an additional parked scientist is added in that era. The objective is to sustain a rate of science with an average of 5 turns per tech. This requires either the addition of settled scientists or an increased number of cities with 2 or more specialists each.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Note that some people object to settling any scientist or building an Academy, preferring to use Great Scientists solely for lightbulbing techs. The rationale is that, although the former use produces more total research over time, lightbulbing produces the techs earlier which can be more important. I consider this to be more of an intermediate or advanced topic, but I note it here so that the beginner will be aware of the issue. Advocates for the lightbulb theory admit that the SE tends to falter after the late Renaissance or early Industrial eras (about the time Democracy and Scientific Method start eroding some of the SE-friendly benefits). My intention in this guide is to provide a long-term strategy for SE that is sustainable throughout even a long game. But I must also note that these advocates are also much more experienced than I so at least be aware of the controversy. Also, at higher difficulties the lightbulb method may be the only way to stay competitive, but -- again -- that is an intermediate or advance consideration.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Classical Age[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Research Priorities: Masonry, Writing, Alphabet, Literature, (Polytheism, Meditation?)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build Priorities: Libraries, (Monasteries?)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Optimal Number of Science Cities: 3 (including SSC)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Scientists per city: 2[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Super Science City has: Great Library[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wonder Priorities: Great Library, (Pyramid, Parthenon?)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Civic Priorities: Representation[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Notes: Pyramids is somewhat optional and many feel that the time spent on building this wonder can be better used to expand your empire. Likewise with the Parthenon. I recommend building these, but you may need to reconsider if stone or marble is not near the capital. The Great Library, however, is very important and is usually achievable but is much more valuable if you have access to Representation (from the Pyramids). I put a question mark by monasteries since they may not be possible to build if you didn't found a religion. This period should be characterized by expansion more than research.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Medieval Age [\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Research Priorities: Meditation, Code of Laws, Civil Service[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build Priorities: Libraries, Monasteries[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Optimal Number of Science Cities: 6 (including SSC)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Scientists per city: 2+ (Library allows 2, Caste System allows indefinite)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Super Science City has: Great Library, Academy, 1 Settled GS[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wonder Priorities: Academy[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Civic Priorities: Representation, Caste System, Bureaucracy[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Notes: There is some debate as to whether Caste System is more beneficial than Slavery. I include the former since Slavery is not specific to the Specialist Economy but use your own judgment here. Make sure that you have at least 6 libraries by the end of this period. This figure includes extra cities to prepare for building Oxford in Renaissance which requires 6 universities (which, in turn, cannot be built in a city without a library).[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Renaissance Age[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Research Priorities: Education, Liberalism, Astronomy, Banking[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build Priorities: University, Observatory[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Optimal Number of Science Cities: 4 (including SSC)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Scientists per city: 3+[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Super Science City has: Great Library, Academy, 2 Settled GS, Oxford[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wonder Priorities: Oxford[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Civic Priorities: Representation, Caste System, Bureaucracy, Mercantilism[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Notes: Mercantilism is also controversial and is included here for similar reasons to Caste System noted above. The usual caveats apply. You need 6 Universities to build Oxford which will use the 'extra' cities built in the Medieval period. Also, if you don't have a reliable source of copper for the Statue of Liberty in the next era, this would be a good time to start thinking about capturing one.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Industrial Age [\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Research Priorities: Democracy, Physics, Biology[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build Priorities: ?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Optimal Number of Science Cities: 6 (including SSC)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Scientists per city: 5+[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Super Science City has: Great Library???, Academy, 4 Settled GS, Oxford[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wonder Priorities: Statue of Liberty[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Civic Priorities: Representation, Caste System, Bureaucracy, Mercantilism[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Notes: Statue of Liberty is huge (unless you are on an Archipelago map) so make sure you get it. This is doubly important since you lose the Great Library about this time due to Scientific Method.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Modern Age[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Research Priorities: Computers, (Fiber Optics?)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Build Priorities: Laboratory[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Optimal Number of Science Cities: 8 (including SSC)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Scientists per city: 6+[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Super Science City has: Academy, 5 Settled GS, Oxford[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wonder Priorities: (Internet?)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Civic Priorities: Representation, Caste System, Bureaucracy, Mercantilism[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Notes: This era is a bit less well researched since many SE games have been won by this point. I will update this if anyone has any further suggestions.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Sample Games:[\BOLD][NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Frederick ALC - Prince (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=178995)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]LotR18 No Cottage Challenge - Prince (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=145463)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Louis XIV - Monarch (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=171597)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Isabella No Cottages - Emperor (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=175281)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Saladin No cottages - Immortal (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=178607)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE][BOLD]Acknowledgements:[\BOLD][NEWLINE]The following threads/posts were invaluable in forming my early versions of this guide. The discussion thread for this guide can be found here: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=197818[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]acidsatyr (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=190690)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]futurehermit (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=177506)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]iamdanthemansta (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=179925)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]UncleJJ (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=4897981&amp;postcount=11)[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Wodan (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=180077)</Spanish>
	</TEXT>
</Civ4GameText>
