When should i declare war?

[Warlord Gandhi]

So, i looked up on tips for Civilization 5, and one of them was that i shouldn't go around invading civilizations all the time, because you need the other civilizations votes when the world congress starts. The thing is, i don't when i should declare war. I went into less wars in my previous games, but somehow i didn't get any votes just because i declared war a single time. The question is, in which specific circumstances should you go to war?

[TheGaleRider]

You have to be a warmonger if you're pursuing a Domination victory, so try and bomb rush capitals instead and by the Renaissance you should have taken out at least 1.
Another circumstance is appeasing an AI or distracting them from Research and stuff for military.
Other times include attacking their army when it's clear that they're coming for you. This way, you get the first move.
Sometimes a Civ colonizes near you and took up where you were going to settle next, so you should consider taking it for yourself.
War can be necessary when a Civ is poised for a victory. If an opponent is set to win (or is getting close to a victory), then you might need to wipe them out all together or slow their progress.
I usually don't declare war unless the whole world seems to hate that person, but other times I need to take a city they have because they took a spot I was going to settle. On rare occasions, I have to just wipe out civs completely because they were going to win.

[Pancakekitty]

Publicado originalmente por TheGaleRider:

You have to be a warmonger if you're pursuing a Domination victory, so try and bomb rush capitals instead and by the Renaissance you should have taken out at least 1.
Another circumstance is appeasing an AI or distracting them from Research and stuff for military.
Other times include attacking their army when it's clear that they're coming for you. This way, you get the first move.
Sometimes a Civ colonizes near you and took up where you were going to settle next, so you should consider taking it for yourself.
War can be necessary when a Civ is poised for a victory. If an opponent is set to win (or is getting close to a victory), then you might need to wipe them out all together or slow their progress.
I usually don't declare war unless the whole world seems to hate that person, but other times I need to take a city they have because they took a spot I was going to settle. On rare occasions, I have to just wipe out civs completely because they were going to win.

No, you don't. I did the 1 City Challange as Babylon - I rushed tech, and by the time I had an Atomic Bomb, I completely eclipsed everyone in technology. By that point, my technology was so great that I took multiple cities using 3 Foot Soldiers. I then destroyed every civilization and won the game. All without Giant Death Robots. Keep in mind though, I had luck on my side and was very, very isolated - I had no other Civ on the island I occupied. If I was discovered early, I would have had serious problems rushing Science.

[leandrombraz]

It's extremely circunstantial. What is the victory you are aiming at? What is your civ? Who is your neighbor? What are they doing? How it affect you? There isn't a right answer, depend on the match you might need to go to war ASAP or you might need to avoid it at all cost.

Don't worry that much about the world congress, unless you are going for diplomatic. Off course, it's important and it might change the course of the game, but it might have no major effect either. Plus, you can have enough support with city states and going to war doesn't necessarily will affect you, it depend on who you attack and if you will completely wipe out them from the map, which will give you a large warmonger penalty.

[Pancakekitty]

Publicado originalmente por leandrombraz:

It's extremely circunstantial. What is the victory you are aiming at? What is your civ? Who is your neighbor? What are they doing? How it affect you? There isn't a right answer, depend on the match you might need to go to war ASAP or you might need to avoid it at all cost.

Don't worry that much about the world congress, unless you are going for diplomatic. Off course, it's important and it might change the course of the game, but it might have no major effect either. Plus, you can have enough support with city states and going to war doesn't necessarily will affect you, it depend on who you attack and if you will completely wipe out them from the map, which will give you a large warmonger penalty.

Oh yeah, well I was going for a domination victory as my endgoal while progressing as if I were going for a Science victory with Babylon - I figured technological superiority would allow me to easily destroy other Civs with a small army - It actually worked. A-Bombs are your friend... they scare other Civs into not attacking you until your ready to strike...

[leandrombraz]

Just to give an example, I was playing as Assyria, aiming at domination victory, with only Attila as my neighbor and a city state between us. Atilla is a warmonger, so I knew he probably would be trouble, and his territory was my only way to access other Civs. He attacked the city state between us, which was strategic to me, I knew I had to liberate it and put Atilla in his place ASAP, mostly considering that Assyria have a good early game siege unit. So, it was pretty clear to me that attacking him was crucial and should be early.

[Twelvefield]

War and diplomacy are opposites in this game. If you want to be diplomatic, don't go to war. If you don't want to be diplomatic, then attack, attack, attack.

It's bad to go to war if your people are unhappy. Your troops will not fight very well, you risk further unhappiness, and you cannot capture cities without becoming very unhappy. On the other hand, attacking unhappy civs means that they will weaken faster.

I prefer getting my wars out of the way mid-game, from when I can build catapults until the end of the age of sail. It's usually bad to be in a war in the early game, and I just don't like end-game wars. Unless you are unstoppable, don't let wars drag on for more than ten turns. Take your objective and make your peace.

Otherwise, when you choose to go to war is your business. If someone invites you into a war, you don't suffer severe diplomatic penalties. Also, you can bribe your friends to go to war for you. They do the heavy lifting, and you clean up the goodies.

[lepurcon]

Declare war when you are stronger than your oponent by a good margin.

[5n4k3d0cToR]

Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women!
That my friend is total war right from the start & it will keep the challenge going throughout the ages.

[5n4k3d0cToR]

Publicado originalmente por lepurcon:

Declare war when you are stronger than your oponent by a good margin.

I find this takes away from the challenge. I usually take on stronger oponents, or those on equal footing. That way its all about strategy/tactics and skill, not just numbers or tech superiority.

[TheGaleRider]

Publicado originalmente por RussianKitty:

Publicado originalmente por TheGaleRider:

You have to be a warmonger if you're pursuing a Domination victory, so try and bomb rush capitals instead and by the Renaissance you should have taken out at least 1.
Another circumstance is appeasing an AI or distracting them from Research and stuff for military.
Other times include attacking their army when it's clear that they're coming for you. This way, you get the first move.
Sometimes a Civ colonizes near you and took up where you were going to settle next, so you should consider taking it for yourself.
War can be necessary when a Civ is poised for a victory. If an opponent is set to win (or is getting close to a victory), then you might need to wipe them out all together or slow their progress.
I usually don't declare war unless the whole world seems to hate that person, but other times I need to take a city they have because they took a spot I was going to settle. On rare occasions, I have to just wipe out civs completely because they were going to win.

No, you don't. I did the 1 City Challange as Babylon - I rushed tech, and by the time I had an Atomic Bomb, I completely eclipsed everyone in technology. By that point, my technology was so great that I took multiple cities using 3 Foot Soldiers. I then destroyed every civilization and won the game. All without Giant Death Robots. Keep in mind though, I had luck on my side and was very, very isolated - I had no other Civ on the island I occupied. If I was discovered early, I would have had serious problems rushing Science.

Well I guess you have a point there. Staying the tech leader and beelining good military techs is crucial in war. But Babylon is very OP with their unique ability regarding science. I have to warmonger because I usually have more civs in the game and I'm a complete sucker for peace deals involving cities.

[D3bs]

It's the holiday season; give peace a chance..... I never play an agresssive game but I will provoke other Civ's to go to war with me when needed.

[Pancakekitty]

Publicado originalmente por sl3bs:

It's the holiday season; give peace a chance..... I never play an agresssive game but I will provoke other Civ's to go to war with me when needed.

I envy you... I'm never aggressive, yet Civs declare war on me and backstab me even if I always agree to all their deals...

[Warlord Gandhi]

Publicado originalmente por sl3bs:

It's the holiday season; give peace a chance..... I never play an agresssive game but I will provoke other Civ's to go to war with me when needed.

I think i'll never give peace a chance...

[DaHispanicNinja]

Publicado originalmente por leandrombraz:

It's extremely circunstantial. What is the victory you are aiming at? What is your civ? Who is your neighbor? What are they doing? How it affect you? There isn't a right answer, depend on the match you might need to go to war ASAP or you might need to avoid it at all cost.

Don't worry that much about the world congress, unless you are going for diplomatic. Off course, it's important and it might change the course of the game, but it might have no major effect either. Plus, you can have enough support with city states and going to war doesn't necessarily will affect you, it depend on who you attack and if you will completely wipe out them from the map, which will give you a large warmonger penalty.

I would agree, it's circumstatial, that is kind of what makes it a great strategy ame.

[Frigid Knight]

Votes in the world congress only matter if you're going for a diplomatic victory. However, if there's still a lot of city-states around by that point in the game, you can just raise influence with them to win the vote. As for how to get influence, I recommend raising up as much gold as you can. To borrow a line from "A Short History of the World: Part 1", the World Congress has the best government money can buy.

As for when to declare war against someone, my advice is simple, only do so if you have an advantage in production or technology, preferably both.