[SPOILERS] How do you make this thing work: Krill randomly mashes some buttons

[suboptimal]

The good news is that you're not next door to Rome (as far as we know), so in the immediate future they're someone else's problem.

We seem to be close to parity with Jester for the time being, the difference perhaps being a single unit's strength. However, upgrading the slingers to archers would put you a bit higher in that department. That score is worth watching as if it ramps up suddenly then the rush is on. You had a pin for a potential 3rd archer location at the top of this page -- is the promoted archer showing a +2 or +4 support bonus (if you don't know how to find that out, click one of your units and hover over the "target" - all the combat bonuses are listed)? If it's a +2 bonus then we see all there is to see over there and the potential 3rd archer doesn't exist or went elsewhere.

Walls in VV will definitely blunt any attacks.

[Krill]

The pin is a hold over from the previous turn, there are only 2 archers there.

Bluntly, unless Jester builds a project right now, and then rushes a third one, I should get the GG if I run a single project. And unless Jester shoves out 3 strong units and a ram I will have enough time to do that. The units he has aren't enough to threaten VV now, and the terrain will make it difficult for him to get any closer once the walls are up.

Do archers benefit from the GG? Or are they ancient era units?

[Krill]

Just to expand on what Jester seems to have done...because it's quite interesting...he built a project for GG points. So when he sees how few points it gives him, he has to question if he should try for another project. Does he know I have a completed encampment? If he knows I have an encampment then he knows I can build a project which makes his project meaningless unless he harvests hammers into it and if he doesn't build another project he has given up on the GG and forces himself to fight in a window that he can't lengthen.

So next turn he logs in and moves the archers...where? He moves them forward, he attacks the encampment...but no power increase? He is trying to force me to put production into units and not a project. What happens when I don't chop anything and continue to commit to the slinger? If there is no further power increase I have the option to just chop the slinger and then slide.in the project, completing that on T46. But if I do that I might actually force Jesters hand, force him to give up the GG and invade without having an adequate defence in place.

What happens if he leaves the archers in place, or retreats them? Again, that doesn't seem to matter because if he retreats them but has a large power increase then he is rushing for the kill and has given up on the GG. So throw down the walls.

The real question if have is about how I manipulate Jester into doing what is best for me. And that has to be this: I want Jester to invest as much production into GG projects as possible, and to then lose the points when I grab the GG right before he does. And I do that by making him thinking he has a chance, by finishing the project about T50. I do not want him building horsemen or swords because they are going to be a pain to deal with.

[suboptimal]

Archers are ancient era units and do not benefit from a GG last I checked.

Jester knows you have a completed Encampment because his warrior was standing next to it on Turn 44.

He could position the Archers across the river and then potshot the Encampment from there. However, that would be counterproductive for him, imho. His archers are better off where they are as they have defensive terrain. You can see 70/115 of his strength. If he's got a slinger, warrior and a scout that's the other 45.

If he's dumping production into projects, that's production not going into military or infrastructure, and if he's chopping them out that's a waste of resources. If he's doing that of his own accord then he's doing what you want and there's no need to manipulate. Two things you need to be aware of about GPs if you're not already:

- You don't lose your Great People points if someone beats you to it. You keep all of them and they apply to the next one in line. You lose 20% of your current total if you pass on a GP.
- GP costs are by era. If you take the first one while still in the Ancient era it's not going to slow him down in getting a GG at all. He'll be thisclose to getting the GG you poached and he'll get the next one a couple of turns after you.

If he's that focused on getting a GG then you might want to continue unit builds (or possibly a wall) at VV and I'd consider skipping a builder at CS and getting the Campus built for a bit more science (but that's the builder in me talking). If you can get one Iron Working done along with some warrior & slinger upgrades you can take the fight to him with advanced units before he has anything the GG can boost.

[Krill]

I thought there was only one ancient era GG?

[suboptimal]

There are no ancient Great People - they all start out as Classical era. The GP cost for Great is determined by their eras:

Classical: 60
Medieval: 120
Renaissance: 240
Industrial: 420
Modern: 660
Atomic: 960
Information: 1320

GP cost is increased ~30% if all GP from the current era have been taken and the world is now claiming "future era" GP's. There are three GP in each era.

The current GP era is based upon the game era +1. For example, right now everyone's in the Ancient era so Classical GP are available (except for Engineers, whose tech doesn't arrive until the early Medieval). The current game era is determined by tech/civic advancement. Once 50% of the civs in a game reach the Classical era in either techs or civics the world era will advance. The world era will also advance if one civ is two eras ahead of anyone else (not likely in MP). One other note: once the era advances all GP from previous eras are unavailable (except for the current one).

If you and Jester race for the first GG and the world era doesn't change before you grab the GG the cost for the second one will remain at 60. If the world era changes before the first one is grabbed the second one will cost 120.

[Krill]

Well that's interesting. I get the feeling that Barca is perhaps best given up then, and take either the culture of Sun Tzu or harvest the barb camp next to VV for a few spears...

[suboptimal]

The problem with passing on a great person is that you can no longer recruit a great person of that type until someone else comes along and recruits the GP that's available. If you skip Barca you wouldn't get Boudica or Sun Tzu until another player claimed Barca first. Apparently the 20% of the points you lose for passing are distributed amongst your opponents.

A viable strategy here would be to pass only if Japper is quite close to getting a GG and you won't be that far behind him. You're going to lose 12 GG points if you pass.

The GG will boost units for their current age and the one following it, so they retain their utility for some time. Recruiting and immediately retiring one is probably not ideal even if the short-term benefit is significant (as in the case of Sun Tzu's culture).

[Krill]

4 turns delay on a GG? Really that bad? Just don't build any projects if it's not a race and build military instead.

[suboptimal]

Ah, good point...I had forgotten what the current GGP generation rate was.