So leaders: I think I'm not able to really value the leader traits for this start. I need to understand what other players have picked to have a better grasp of what is going to work best. I'm fairly sure that I want AGG, disregarding everything about the map as this will be a tight. So for AGG:
What I know is that I do not value EXP at all, and IMP would be a risky pick (I think I'd have to grab Mids to really make it work, but I am certain I can do it pre-T80 without Maths or OR in the capital with two settlers and two workers pre-T30). Essentially, there are so many forests that have to get chopped anyway that I can go bankrupt by T40 if I'm not careful here, most of those forests should not be pushing expansion. I'm tempted by IND, but...I need to go through Masonry anyway, so IND only helps with Henge, and GLH is junk on a Pangaea map. So it would be the forge bonus at 60 saved hammers and -20% civic maintenance versus 45 hammers on the SA and -50% civic maintenance. Obviously IND could help with other choices (Theo bulb opens up the AP, but I get no cheap religious buildings, but we have marble for all the Aesthetics line wonders anyway). Mids is the most interesting option and IND doesn't help with that.
I don't want to pick SPI, I don't see the game going long enough to really make it work, and ORG does the same thing in terms of saying "I have a late game advantage, give up now" to the other players if I can pull off that effective early war. And helps make new areas...affordable. I can't really justify PHI unless I wanted to be able to force a shrine (bulb Theo into shrine), but it's a small map, a shrine is a nice to have, not a must have, feature if we are rocking -62% city maintenance at Monotheism. Religion for Theo is the more important point.
I'm a little tempted to go with PRO (30 hammers saved on granaries and free D1+D2) over ORG (45 hammers saved on SA and -50% civic maintenance), yet at the same time if no one else picks any form of an economic trait I can probably force open a window with ORG/Aztecs for a Medieval era war at a time of my choosing.
OTOH, I don't have to pick AGG. If I think the game ends around Gunpowder, I could just say "fuck it" and still pick CHM, but I would need to find a way to pop borders (oh look, religion! And passive spread from a shrine makes a shrine seem slightly more worthwhile and Theo less so until can be paired with Vassalage. Or use the billion forests to chop Henge and look at De Gaulle?) Really, it's 40 hammers per city, or a Theo bulb and civic revolt for the second promo. The downside is the core city requirements (Granary, Barracks, SA) are all full price, so adding on those extra 40 hammers per city is a real cost. And Cairo is probably going to pick Churchill so I'd be stuck with Nappy (OTOH, Nappy isn't exactly bad and without AGG city maintenance reduction I would really want the easier SA).
Eh, I'm not sure I want to pick CHM when I have it in PB46. Let's see if Rome gets picked, other than dealing with Rome AGG is going to be useful for enabling a rush but I'm looking at Monotheism, so do I really value that aspect of AGG? Yes the barracks culture is helpful, and allows me to delay spreading religion, but is that an effective point?
What I know is that I do not value EXP at all, and IMP would be a risky pick (I think I'd have to grab Mids to really make it work, but I am certain I can do it pre-T80 without Maths or OR in the capital with two settlers and two workers pre-T30). Essentially, there are so many forests that have to get chopped anyway that I can go bankrupt by T40 if I'm not careful here, most of those forests should not be pushing expansion. I'm tempted by IND, but...I need to go through Masonry anyway, so IND only helps with Henge, and GLH is junk on a Pangaea map. So it would be the forge bonus at 60 saved hammers and -20% civic maintenance versus 45 hammers on the SA and -50% civic maintenance. Obviously IND could help with other choices (Theo bulb opens up the AP, but I get no cheap religious buildings, but we have marble for all the Aesthetics line wonders anyway). Mids is the most interesting option and IND doesn't help with that.
I don't want to pick SPI, I don't see the game going long enough to really make it work, and ORG does the same thing in terms of saying "I have a late game advantage, give up now" to the other players if I can pull off that effective early war. And helps make new areas...affordable. I can't really justify PHI unless I wanted to be able to force a shrine (bulb Theo into shrine), but it's a small map, a shrine is a nice to have, not a must have, feature if we are rocking -62% city maintenance at Monotheism. Religion for Theo is the more important point.
I'm a little tempted to go with PRO (30 hammers saved on granaries and free D1+D2) over ORG (45 hammers saved on SA and -50% civic maintenance), yet at the same time if no one else picks any form of an economic trait I can probably force open a window with ORG/Aztecs for a Medieval era war at a time of my choosing.
OTOH, I don't have to pick AGG. If I think the game ends around Gunpowder, I could just say "fuck it" and still pick CHM, but I would need to find a way to pop borders (oh look, religion! And passive spread from a shrine makes a shrine seem slightly more worthwhile and Theo less so until can be paired with Vassalage. Or use the billion forests to chop Henge and look at De Gaulle?) Really, it's 40 hammers per city, or a Theo bulb and civic revolt for the second promo. The downside is the core city requirements (Granary, Barracks, SA) are all full price, so adding on those extra 40 hammers per city is a real cost. And Cairo is probably going to pick Churchill so I'd be stuck with Nappy (OTOH, Nappy isn't exactly bad and without AGG city maintenance reduction I would really want the easier SA).
Eh, I'm not sure I want to pick CHM when I have it in PB46. Let's see if Rome gets picked, other than dealing with Rome AGG is going to be useful for enabling a rush but I'm looking at Monotheism, so do I really value that aspect of AGG? Yes the barracks culture is helpful, and allows me to delay spreading religion, but is that an effective point?
