November 28th, 2025, 03:28
Posts: 4,610
Threads: 32
Joined: Nov 2016
Some thoughts on the map and starts, since thety are more or less the same.
* Distances are pretty large, so it should be possible to get second and possibly third ring cities before conflict, unless your neighbor is a psycho. I don't see any of them in this game?
* While distances are large, I think it's still possible to pull of a dedicated Holkan-rush to kill one neighbor, mainly because you get to know exactly where they are. It's probably not worth it, but someone picks Maya I might settle the capital on the copper.
* The starts are pretty tech heavy with wheat, deer, clams and sheep. Fishing and workboat first are not an option with clams, so optimal starting techs are probably agriculture and mining (as usual).
* Monarch costs aren't going to make ORG mandatory which is welcome.
Thoughts on particular civs:
* China (agriculture/mining) is probably once again the strongest civ, and if Bing somehow doesn't pick it I'm sure Xist will.
* Zulu (hunting/agriculture) is a civ I've long wanted to try and the first I pitched to my companions. While I don't expect anyone to win with a chariot rush, it's qutie likely to get some value out of harassment. Ikhanda's are also great, and it looks like we'll have quite a few cities here.
* Maya isn't unlikely to be picked for the Holkan-rush, but I'm not interested in that.
* The usual suspects are also in play of course; I would be surprised if Rome goes unpicked. Mongolia might shine in the right timeframe, and Byzantium might have the time and distance to come online.
Leader wise I prefer to pick something that has synergy with our civ, and for Zulu I believe the best pick is actually Shaka. Will mostly likely pick civ first here.
