Difficulty Level

[pdv_417]

Just thought it was an interesting question to see what level most people play on..
Im resonably new to Civ 5 and pay around half and half just to get the hang of it, but find after a while it becomes to easy, Though when i set to the maximum i find myself getting frustraited that i can never seem to get the wonders i want etc though the fact there is more than a challenge isnt a bad thing.

Like i said was just curious to see others perspectives or experiences with difficulty level...

[OwlsNSpace]

For leaders and civs I've never played before, Warlord. Higher difficulties than that are reserved for civs to whom I've grown accustomed. Anything below Warlord is uselessly easy.

[Ryika]

Mostly Emperor. Not as restrictive as Deity, but the AI is able to keep up relatively reasonably.

[Matthew]

Immortal with the occasional Emperor or Deity game.

I wouldn't worry too much about wonders. They are mostly just for fun and not needed to beat the game. Once you get the basics of the game down, you should have no problem playing on Emperor.

It is kind of like Settler through King are the tutorials and/or role-playing sandbox difficulties. From there it is essentially:

Emperor: Easy
Immortal: Medium
Deity: Hard

[Victim of the Demiurge]

I play on prince cause i don't like me or ai having some huge advantages in game, so it would be a fair and relaxing game,

though prince also gives ai advantage,
for me best was noble difficulity on previous civs

[Mazey]

I like to plya on Prince as, although I've beaten most of the higher difficulties, I don't enjoy them. I perfer to feel like I'm racing to get religion and wonders, rather than given up on those features because I know the AI is going to beat me to them.

Автор сообщения: matthewameluxen

It is kind of like Settler through King are the tutorials and/or role-playing sandbox difficulties. From there it is essentially:

Emperor: Easy
Immortal: Medium
Deity: Hard

You've said that more than once on these forums and I would request that you stop. It's probably rather discouraging to people who aren't able to beat those levels and, as such, not a very nice thing to keep bringing up.

[Burbot]

I don't bother with early wonders on Emporer unless I get a good wonder start. Marble, hills on rivers and can steal a worker. Once/if I can get a tech lead I'll chase a few. Worst case is that you get some gold, so as long as you know it's going to happen it shouldn't get frustrating.

Keep an eye on the diplomacy window to see what policies they are choosing. Not only will it give a hint on what wonders they are after, but you know the policy specific wonders that only you are likely to get if you want them.

I like to play Standard sized maps. On Emporer I found my loses coming from runaway civs. Just run out of time to stop them so I switched to Epic speed. King/Epic feels like a Prince/Standard, so I may move up to Immortal/Epic after I get a better handle on the pacing.

My personal scale using normal speed
Emporer: Hard
Immortal: Very Hard
Diety: Impossible

[Matthew]

Uhh... what? I shouldn't point out that the lower difficulties are easy after learning the basics... because it *may* hurt someones feelings? Really?

Yes, I've posted similar things before. I've never made any claims of tying someone's self-worth to the difficulty they play on. If someone is finding King and below difficult, they just don't understand the basics. Nothing to get offended by.

Sorry, going to have to ignore your request.

If anyone out there is somehow offended by not being able to beat King or below easily and would like to, I am always willing to give advice.

[Buz]

Yeah a lot of the appeal of the game is in overcoming challenges. It's good to have high standards. The game gets really boring if you know it's in the bag 20 mins in.

[Ryika]

Автор сообщения: matthewameluxen

Uhh... what? I shouldn't point out that the lower difficulties are easy after learning the basics... because it *may* hurt someones feelings? Really?

So what are the "basics"? I really don't think Emporer is "easy" when you don't know about enhanced gameplay mechanics like specialists and the general build orders/priorities. And I don't think you'll really learn about these things - and how much you should invest into them - by just playing the lower difficulties. So calling Emporer "easy" is really a strange thing to do. Yes, for people like us that know all the gameplay mechanics it becomes quite easy, but from a "I'm just playing the game."-gamer point of view, that's a really strange thing to say. Emporer isn't easy, it starts hard and gets easier as you get better - so scaling the game from an experienced players' point of view and then putting that opinion into a generalized statement, that's... well... kind of stupid. Imho.

But yeah... I don't really think there's any reason to "protect" new players from that - at least... If I was in that position, I would probably just think you're a cocky jerk and don't give a damn about your opinion - or try to get better as fast as possible. ;)

[mss73055]

If you play below Prince level the other civs will only occupy land. They will be neighter a help nor a threat.

Prince / King gives me the most fun. The other civs are on par with your civ and you got freedom to play around.

Emperor and higher you're forced into a niche.

[Danny]

Its called having a thickskin and being able to rise up to the challenge. Its more for a community within the community of players, mostly known as elitests in games. I agree most of them are lame but because this ai in the game is very easy to read after playing emperor as a regular difficulty for a while it is clear it actually is easy. That is of course if you are having a set plan on what to go for. Which is why I like king because you can sorta be everywhere and still be ahead of the ai. Really "feeling bad" is mostly of the part of the players fault for being a n00b.

I thought I sucked when I saw people beating diety and I didnt care, its called just playing the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ game and having fun and eventually, slowly, but eventually raising the difficulty. Next thing you know you realize the AI is ezpz if you go naval power and then need to take it to the next stage (usually multiplayer) but this game isnt really that great for multiplayer unless you have longtime friends willing to put in the time and not quit once something doesnt go their way ( this happens often).

Oh btw, staying quiet but keeping your foot down till hitting frigates, then come at everyones coastlines and win is one of the best strats in the game on any difficulty. Only requirement is getting some coastline cities for said coastline wreckage possibilities.

[Danny]

Автор сообщения: mss73055

If you play below Prince level the other civs will only occupy land. They will be neighter a help nor a threat.

Prince / King gives me the most fun. The other civs are on par with your civ and you got freedom to play around.

Emperor and higher you're forced into a niche.

I agree on the niche thing, I really thought at first the AI got better each difficulty but then I found out they only get bonuses and really limits the game on higher difficulties.

[Matthew]

Автор сообщения: Ryika

Автор сообщения: matthewameluxen

Uhh... what? I shouldn't point out that the lower difficulties are easy after learning the basics... because it *may* hurt someones feelings? Really?

So what are the "basics"? I really don't think Emporer is "easy" when you don't know about enhanced gameplay mechanics like specialists and the general build orders/priorities.

You can keep a tech lead over Emperor AI by only having a capital, putting it on food focus, and clicking next turn a few hundred times. Also the additional effort of manually selecting Great Scientist slots. Don't even need to be by a mountain or river or even have that great of a city location.

1. High food in capital
2. Work Great Scientist slots.

That is it. No fancy micro-managing, ideal number of cities, specific policies, nothing. About as basic as the game gets.

By the way, this is zero wonders needed. On Emperor you can actually grab most of the wonders.

If you actually add a few more cities, grab key wonders, and have a decent location for the capital, you blow right past the AI with zero issues. Hence "easy".

Perhaps I am just "arrogant and cocky" but I don't think having a half-assed capital and making a small effort to prioritize growth and science is anywhere near "top-level play", but that is all you need to keep pace with Emperor AI.

[Savageneil1]

Play where you are most comfortable and enjoy it the most. Personally I Find higher difficulties frustrating because of the AI cheats. Id much prefer a Galactic Civilization system where higher Difficulties unlocked more AI algorhythms and made them even more "human"

[Techclerk]

Not really answering your question as you asked it, but I have fun playing at the upper levels with maxed out city states and only one other civilation run by AI. You might enjoy disabling every victory condition except domination. You might want to disable barbarians and the goody huts. Playing at a high level against only one AI player will help you get a broad perspective that once mastered you could start again with more than one AI civ.