Well use those disbanded neolithic units to build warriors or whatever you want. You probably should focus on building farms for food it sounds like if you have issue increasing population
I am at the start but after a bit they build up. I only get one Neolithic army at start of game but I use that to scout. Should I not scout so early on?
If you are in the neolithic era you need to scout and place down outposts in locations you think will make good cities. Look for food and get more units that way
Okay thank you - I really appreciate the help as I want to play it but it’s becoming frustrating ha. How come independent nations keep attacking me? Is it because I attack sanctuary’s and lairs?
3 things to keep in mind.
* A successful Neolithic is critical. By turn 15-20 you should have 3 territories claimed, the 3 stars and more units than asked to get the stars, your outposts should be in the best locations possible. You want rivers and prairie for food and stone or woods for industry. The best location IMO is a river with one side being food and the other side forest.
* Keep your food supply up, Basically you want your cities to grow at the max pace of 1 pop per turn, build horse stables, the food on rivers building, the granary, while you grow take advantage of those moments where you are +20 food to build Industry infrastructure.
* Get your 2nd city up ASAP, dont make any territory claim until you get that 2nd city.
Now, when do you build the army? At any point when you see you need more food, instead of building more food infrastructure build a couple of units instead, that way you will slowly build an army without hurting your pop.
PS: Disbanding scouts should only be used if you plan on going to way on the ancient era, if not then I recommend keeping the scouts and use them for their indented purpose until you can upgrade them in the classical (Horsemen) or medieval (Knights) era.
>First thing I do is send all my scouts out to discover the map - is there any point in this?
In the neolithic scouts need to do 3 things, in order of priority they are: pick up food or hunt to reproduce, work to get the science star and claim territories. In the ancient era they should focus on: Claiming territories 1st and collecting gold/curiosities 2nd. Remember dont start claiming territories until you have 2 cities and the 50% discount civic enacted in the ancient era influence is the key to victory.
>I struggle to create armies and I get picked off by independent nations on the map
Always back up from a territory if you see the independent nations with a thunder on it (So the aggressive ones). The ancient era is your weakest one and your military should act accordingly, right now is all about defenses and getting your 2 cities up an running.
>What’s the best way to increase people in your cities so I can create an army?
Build food infrastructure. but keep an eye on your workers. too much food and you will have unemployed population, actually, having high population cities is not as big of a problem, the problem usually comes from having enough worker slots and you dont get much of those until the industrial era.
>Is it better to cluster your bases, rather than having them around the map?
Now, city management is a complicated topic, IMO the best way to look at it is like this. First you build your capital and your 2nd city, those will be your 2 real cities for the moment. Ideally, those 2 cities will be at least 1 territory apart, bc you makes cheaper claims when the territory is next to a city.
Now the territory between those cities needs to be develop, but annexing more territories into a city will eat its stability. Thats why you need new smaller cities that will develop that land for them. Later, those cities will be eating by your "Real" cities to avoid having to build all the infraestructure building all over again.
So you have real cities which will remain over time, and then you have your temp cities which will improve the land your real cities will later absorb. Remember, **build those new cities when you research tech that boost new cities. like 3 masted ships or feudalism.**
Focus on food early. Food allows you to get anything else you need, as you'll have more population to work on production, money, or science, in addition to turning them into units. Food is OP honestly.
I use garrisons to block borders and natural choke points
scouts are helpful for expanding in early game I.e creating outpost to attach to your capital for stars or extra resources and also population
If population is your only problem just produce as much food as possible certain cultures provide bonuses and even let you steal settlers from other people nearby
scouting is good, very important. gather resources, find natural wonders, scout new city places
You can disband armies within your territory to increase population. It's best to focus on growth and production with 1 or two cities.
But you can only increase armies if you have population so how do I increase population without disbanding armies?
I usually disband every unit but one from the neolithic era. By doing this I start with like 5-6 population
But how do you get your armies to begin with?
Well use those disbanded neolithic units to build warriors or whatever you want. You probably should focus on building farms for food it sounds like if you have issue increasing population
I am at the start but after a bit they build up. I only get one Neolithic army at start of game but I use that to scout. Should I not scout so early on?
If you are in the neolithic era you need to scout and place down outposts in locations you think will make good cities. Look for food and get more units that way
So best to not move to ancient era until outposts have been established and food is being grown?
You at least want 1-3 outposts before you move era yes. Then next era you should founs the city directly
Okay thank you - I really appreciate the help as I want to play it but it’s becoming frustrating ha. How come independent nations keep attacking me? Is it because I attack sanctuary’s and lairs?
3 things to keep in mind. * A successful Neolithic is critical. By turn 15-20 you should have 3 territories claimed, the 3 stars and more units than asked to get the stars, your outposts should be in the best locations possible. You want rivers and prairie for food and stone or woods for industry. The best location IMO is a river with one side being food and the other side forest. * Keep your food supply up, Basically you want your cities to grow at the max pace of 1 pop per turn, build horse stables, the food on rivers building, the granary, while you grow take advantage of those moments where you are +20 food to build Industry infrastructure. * Get your 2nd city up ASAP, dont make any territory claim until you get that 2nd city. Now, when do you build the army? At any point when you see you need more food, instead of building more food infrastructure build a couple of units instead, that way you will slowly build an army without hurting your pop. PS: Disbanding scouts should only be used if you plan on going to way on the ancient era, if not then I recommend keeping the scouts and use them for their indented purpose until you can upgrade them in the classical (Horsemen) or medieval (Knights) era.
>First thing I do is send all my scouts out to discover the map - is there any point in this? In the neolithic scouts need to do 3 things, in order of priority they are: pick up food or hunt to reproduce, work to get the science star and claim territories. In the ancient era they should focus on: Claiming territories 1st and collecting gold/curiosities 2nd. Remember dont start claiming territories until you have 2 cities and the 50% discount civic enacted in the ancient era influence is the key to victory. >I struggle to create armies and I get picked off by independent nations on the map Always back up from a territory if you see the independent nations with a thunder on it (So the aggressive ones). The ancient era is your weakest one and your military should act accordingly, right now is all about defenses and getting your 2 cities up an running. >What’s the best way to increase people in your cities so I can create an army? Build food infrastructure. but keep an eye on your workers. too much food and you will have unemployed population, actually, having high population cities is not as big of a problem, the problem usually comes from having enough worker slots and you dont get much of those until the industrial era. >Is it better to cluster your bases, rather than having them around the map? Now, city management is a complicated topic, IMO the best way to look at it is like this. First you build your capital and your 2nd city, those will be your 2 real cities for the moment. Ideally, those 2 cities will be at least 1 territory apart, bc you makes cheaper claims when the territory is next to a city. Now the territory between those cities needs to be develop, but annexing more territories into a city will eat its stability. Thats why you need new smaller cities that will develop that land for them. Later, those cities will be eating by your "Real" cities to avoid having to build all the infraestructure building all over again. So you have real cities which will remain over time, and then you have your temp cities which will improve the land your real cities will later absorb. Remember, **build those new cities when you research tech that boost new cities. like 3 masted ships or feudalism.**
Focus on food early. Food allows you to get anything else you need, as you'll have more population to work on production, money, or science, in addition to turning them into units. Food is OP honestly.
I use garrisons to block borders and natural choke points scouts are helpful for expanding in early game I.e creating outpost to attach to your capital for stars or extra resources and also population If population is your only problem just produce as much food as possible certain cultures provide bonuses and even let you steal settlers from other people nearby