[PB63 Spoilers] Ginger and Lazteuq find a way to peace

[civac2]

The ORG discount should be stronger in almost all circumstances.

[Charriu]

AGG maintenance bonus usually does not outshine ORG maintenance bonus. You would need to build a lot of units, while also keeping your population low to get a similar effect. One of the "problems" that the AGG maintenance bonus has is that it competes with the maintenance bonus on units provided by bigger pop numbers.

[Miguelito]

Btw a lot of games see galleons being used, so Dutch isn't that unreasonable, although I would not necessarily recommend them for your first PB

[Charriu]

As usual I recommend to use civs and leaders, with which you are very comfortable for your very first PB. There will be quiet a lot of new things due to mod and the fact that this is your first MP game.

[Ginger()]

Btw a lot of games see galleons being used,  so Dutch isn't that unreasonable, although I would not necessarily recommend them for your first PB

Oh I wasn’t seriously considering them. They’re just my favorite Civ for singleplayer when I play a chill passive game on fractal or the likes. I was poking fun at the late coming UB to ask Charriu to mod it in earlier in the tech tree :D

I’ll probably try some more ‘vanilla’ civs first or if it’s a combo, a combo that comes early like FDR Sumeria, or expansive Ottomans. Not sure what economic trait to pair with EXP, FINancial probably gets picked iff rivers in cap. Time to twiddle thumbs until the map screenshot like Cornflake’s title suggests

I noticed in the CtH stats that Khmer is commonly picked, but Ballistaphants suffered the same strength nerf. The Baray is a respectable UB (though I’d pick Hamman), and Hunting/Mining is middle of the road, so I have to assume that the targeting ability of the Ballistaphants actually comes into play and is considered valuable. How is this used? I imagine it just selects opposing elephants to fight, or knights, is that that good? Also I’m curious if Landesknechts see any use as a nearly one-stop-shop for stack defense (sprinkle in mounted for Siege/Xbow defense). Singleplayer and multiplayer AW teamers have different criteria for what makes a unit valuable, and I imagine pitboss-verse has its own take on them

[civac2]

Khmer used to be the only Civ in CTH with 8 strength war elephants. That's why they were picked so much.

The targeting ability is interesting. Mixed knight/infantry/siege stacks are absolutely something you may face. In that case the ability is probably pretty good. But it is a pure deterrent and does not help you win the game directly.

[Tarkeel]

Speaking from experience with them in 58, the targeting ability can also be horrible. In our case they ate the (relatively harmless) chariots instead of more pressing praetorians. On the flip side, if that had been a GG medic 3 chariot....

The cookie-cutter starting tech choice is to go for the basic food resource your start requires (agriculture/fishing/hunting) paired with mining for early bronze working, and Khmer is one of the better hunting/mining civs.

[Ginger()]

Now that pick order dropped, some more thoughts to be immediately scrapped once the map arrives :D
If there is a fishing start I want to grab Rome or Carthage on the first pass, highly doubting they’ll wheel.
If I see a hunting-generous start like Vanrober’s in PB61, I’ll probably pick Organized and expect HRE to wheel
If there is floodplains, I’ll try for Ottomans with Pacal (Pacal on the first pass)
If any unirrigated grain visible, Incas is the fav should they reach me. For Incan leader, heavily considering Hannibal for the synergy between fast growth, happy cap, and more pops working cottages. I’m also very open to suggestions about a replacement for Hanni, as it’s not considered a powerful pick in RB and I should respect the PB meta.

On a side note, I had no idea the FOMO of being unable to read the map or fellow player’s threads would be so crippling I guess I got too used to and comfortable with lurker omnipresence

[Charriu]

What will you do if the start has:
- a fish
- generous hunting resource
- floodplains and
- an unirrigated grain

[Ginger()]

What will you do if the start has:
- a fish
- generous hunting resource
- floodplains and
- an unirrigated grain

 
cry and mine the pigs fish.

In truth, I'd probably pick a reasonably powerful or self-synergistic leader like Gandhi or Suryavarman or the new CtH Charlemagne and wait and see what civs come to me on the wheel. I'm itching to try out Nebu's trait combo but I guarantee I get eaten like that.