Learning to play Civilization-type games.

[Gourmandise]

I bought Civ V: Complete Edition a long time ago through steam when it was on sale for only 10 or so dollars. I've always liked the concept of this kind of game but don't know where to start because although I have played for a bit I feel like I barely know anything(and am pretty shit). I feel overwhelmed on difficulty 3 and above :/

What are some good ways to learn the game? Should I be playing on small maps 1v1 to start? Is one of the victory conditions easier to get to than the others? What about the game speed, or anything else!

[Deleted]

First, you have to realize that the AI cheats. It does it on all difficulty levels (like, gold upkeep does not affect their units, so they can sit at 0 gold and negative income while still having an army, something you cannot do, at least for more than a few turns because they WILL die)

The higher the difficulty, the more they cheat.

I'd suggest starting at difficulty level 2 or 3, with a bigger map and many factions. chances are that they will keep each other busy while you play nice and prepare an army. It's up to you if you want to use it for offence or defence, just know that a big army may make the AI reconsider attacking you.

Oh, and if you start close to a very aggressive AI, you are basically fucked because they will build an unfeasably large army (larger than you could with his economy) and they will attack you.

Other than that, play away and find out how the game works best for you, build a strong economy, don't neglect research and find out when to best expand, and where to.

I think game speed is up to your preference, I always use marathon because I like my games to take a long time.

[Kasierith]

Start slow, build up slowly. Learn how happiness mechanics work, how to advance rapidly, how to scout out the best spots, the mechanics of each level. If you have a thorough victory at prince level for your first game, don't move up; stick around and get adjusted to how the bonuses have shifted from your previously established point.

Learning civ is basically around understanding all of the smaller concepts and how they change as they increase in difficulty. The changes are what get a lot of people, because ultimately while the AI is slightly scaled the changes are in the mechanics not in the difficulty of the opponent's ability.

I'd start with research oriented civilizations, because ultimately they give you the biggest buffer for advancing in the game and allow you more flexibility in what you do. Korea is a great starter nation, imo, for this reason. The militant factions like England, Germany, and the Mongols are inherently harder as you go up in the game because you have to be a master at outsmarting the enemy AI to keep up with their larger armies.. but are also the easiest to get deity with because at deity, winning scientifically or politically is essentially impossible outside of a lot of special circumstances.

As for the AI cheating? It's not cheating if it's build into the game, imo. The higher difficulties have the bonuses weighted towards the AI (unlike lower difficulties weighted towards the player). Apart from deity, it's basically the reverse of the benefits you got when you were starting out, to account for the disparity in tactics because ultimately the military AI in civ is very bad.

As for game speed, go with normal or marathon to learn. It's about learning, and then pushing what you can do at higher levels. You don't learn that much running through the game at a rapid pace, ESPECIALLY since shorter games are tech oriented and longer games are military oriented and if your end goal is to conquer deity you absolutely have to nail the military aspects of the game.

-- Victor of deity level games with Venice, Russia, Songhai, Korea, and Mongols.

- - - Updated - - -

Good summary of the advancing difficulty settings here - http://civilization.wikia.com/wiki/Difficulty_level_(Civ5)

[Rukh]

I bought Civ V: Complete Edition a long time ago through steam when it was on sale for only 10 or so dollars. I've always liked the concept of this kind of game but don't know where to start because although I have played for a bit I feel like I barely know anything(and am pretty shit). I feel overwhelmed on difficulty 3 and above :/

What are some good ways to learn the game? Should I be playing on small maps 1v1 to start? Is one of the victory conditions easier to get to than the others? What about the game speed, or anything else!

You could watch Quill18 play some games to get an idea of what's going on. He even has a Civ V tutorial series.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...04LZ7HjayX9I11

[Gourmandise]

Thanks for all the feedback! I would have never thought to do the longest pace to learn.
Thanks for the tutorial playlist too!

[Halicia]

If you're pretty much new to the genre, go with the easiest difficulty level. Period.

Once you're comfortable with your winrate at that difficulty, then go to the next one, but its not about 'beating the game' (at least in singleplayer), its about finding the right level of challenge that you find enjoyable.

Second, figure out what playstyle you like, and then find a civilization that supports it. Do you like to turtle up with a few cities and get a huge tech advantage ? do you like to conquer your neighbors as early as possible and cow them into submission ? do you like to focus on great works & monuments and spread your faith & culture ?

If you're still in the learning phases, don't be afraid to just hit random civilization.

In general I'd recommend 'standard' settings for maps, speed, and civilizations. while its a learning experience, if the map is too big, or the turns too slow, then its easy to make huge mistakes early, but not realize them until several hours (days?) of gameplay later once you realize just how far behind you are.

with a fast game, small map, or few civilizations... every choice becomes MUCH more critical. one war can monopolize a quarter of the gameplay, so a lost battle or two makes you lose the whole game, even if it was just a bad roll of the dice.

above all, i'd avoid multiplayer. I've been playing the franchise since Civ1, and while multiplayer has gotten better, it still ruins my enjoyment for the game by forcing you to min/max or cheese the gameplay. and it still takes forever. at least in singleplayer you can pause the game or quit whenever you feel like, too.