trying to get a Vaulters science win

[battl3hamm3r]

Contrary to Civ5 (havent played 6 yet), I've been really struggling to get good at this game, im 43h in and no wins yet and playing on Hard

Currently running with Vaulters, I'm trying to get a science win and at the same time i was trying to do the quest, but I gave that up because one part of the quest requires me to get the last skill of a tree I havent touched

At Era 5, I got a new tech every 3-4 turns because my science is very high, but now that I went into Era 6, the tech jumped to 25 turns per, I obviously took the 100% science first... but is that normal the requirement jumped that much ?

[LeaderEnemyBoss]

Yes that is normal. Keep in mind that every tech you research increases the research cost. So do avoid researching more techs than is absolutely necessary to get to era 6, and get most of the science techs on the way.

You also want both of the stockpile techs, this allows you basically to use your city industry output to produce more science (you can also buy stockpiles from the market, but that source is finite).

Furthermore, try to keep the happiness level in your empire at fervent (dont expand too much!), and get the important luxuries like Moonleaf, Dust Orchid (and basicaslly everytrhing else that gives you any kind of resource, it all helps).

Diplomacy is a powerful tool! Get certain techs faster or trade for luxuries you cant get your hands on. Dont be afraid to trade your techs away to get the luxuries you need. If the other empire is technologically behind you, it doesnt hurt you at all to give them something.

Oh, and dont forget your holy resource!

[Gilmoy]

Look at the tech costs. Era V techs cost about 8k each by the time you get to them.
Era VI techs cost nearly 100k each, or 12x as much. So they take about 12x the time, and go up from there as you complete more of them.

Scientific Victory is actually quite demanding. Supremacy is the easiest: you need to capture only N-1 other capitals. The Vaulters quest naturally leads you into 1 ground war to capture an AI city, so you've done that. Stick with governor heroes: recruit several heroes for your several cities, level them all up to Cold Operator. You basically want to do that for every city, in any game, with any faction, for any win condition. High-level governors on every city can massively boost your empire's output. And hire even more general heroes to lead your armies in the field: nothing boosts your combat power like a high-level hero with good skills and good accessories.

43 hours is still part of your extended tutorial 4 turns per Era V tech is pretty good for your first deep playthrough, but with proper empire building your power curve (on every metric) is a parabola, and so eventually you should be researching all Era IV and V techs in 1 turn each.

[battl3hamm3r]

Thanks for the replies, how long did it take you guys to get your first win ?

Note that part of the 43h is many many rerolls when I spawn at a horrible location, trying different factions or if I make a big mistake in the first 20-30 turns! lol

I havent really read any guides, I go on the web when a mechanic is not explained or does not make sense to me

[LeaderEnemyBoss]

Depends, do you play Vanilla or with ELCP? The difference is quite huge.

[Gilmoy]

In hours of game play, or in months of owning the game?
Either way, I can't even remember my 1st win, it was so long ago.

It did take me about 20 restarts to learn how to survive vs. 7 Endless AI (before ELCP), and maybe 10 more before I finally won. A full game vs. 7 Endless AI takes me about 100 hours total, so I don't start a new game lightly. I hate turtling and waiting for action, so I usually win by rampaging over the map and conquering everything in sight. Vanilla Endless AIs hit a ceiling after they fill up their starting continents, whereas a human player's power curve is a parabola, so you eventually overtake them all. I've never beaten ELCP on Serious, so it's that much stronger than the stock AI.

My ~1100 hours in the game is only about eight wins total

[Groo the one]

Originally posted by Gilmoy:

It did take me about 20 restarts to learn how to survive vs. 7 Endless AI (before ELCP), and maybe 10 more before I finally won.

Originally posted by Gilmoy:

A full game vs. 7 Endless AI takes me about 100 hours total, so I don't start a new game lightly.

Did you choose Endless AI and same time Endless game speed?

[Gilmoy]

Normal game speed only. I micromanage every city, and play every tactical combat like a small game of chess. It's the most time-consuming way to play, but I think it squeezes out the most efficiency.

Many continents, or a few large continents. Against 7 Endless AIs, I must be alone on 1 continent, or have only 1 neighbor, to have a chance.

Also, my 2x13 stick must fit my starting region on turn 1. If I can't see a good fit, I quickly restart.

Even with all of the above, Serious ELCP will just cross the oceans and beat me anyways