Worker Stealing Guide

Learn the art of slave labour! Why build what you can just take?

Why steal workers?

Building workers is actually a really big handicap, especially in the early game. The time you use to build a worker, can be used to build wonders/building which can greatly benefit you.

Usually after I build monument, I rush for a wonder if Im on a difficulty below immortal. On Immortal/deity, I dont even bother with wonders, and I go for my shrine, then my water mill. Usually by then, I straight away start churning out settlers. If you build a worker in this time, you're setting yourself back by that number of turns you take to build it! Its a big opportunity cost, and its pretty big to me.

On most games, once I get my great library, I build oracle/national college next, and I just jump ahead of everyone with all the wonders. On immortal/deity, I get lots of settlers, and my 6,7 cities are up asap so that there is time for them to grow huge populations.

This whole working stealing concepts works especially well on high difficulty levels. On low ones, well, just wait a while longer. The benefit of having wonders outweighs the worker that you get.

Historically, the concept of slave labour has always greatly benefited nations who employed it. Personally, I dont ever build my own workers in the early game, no matter what type of game I play. Whether at low difficulties or in multiplayer... I just steal all of them. As a result in all my multiplayer games, Im always the first to build the great library, because I beeline straight for that. Scout, Scout, Monument, then great library. Once I get great library, with that free tech, I go for oracle/national college, and I secure a big headstart.

How to steal effectively?

2 sources of workers.

1) CIty states. Usually the safest, least risky. Well, stealing from them is pretty easy. Need I say more? haha. Try not to do it too much though or city states will be wary. Just steal 1 or 2. Take the rest from countries.

2) Other countries. Now this gets a little more tricky. But if done right, is an excellent strategy to cripple them also. When you send your scouts, look out for where their nearby luxury resources are. If their only resources are just one tile away, dont expect an easy time stealing the worker. If its 2,3 tiles away, send your warrior there immediately.

On deity, the AI starts off with a worker, so you can take it straight away. Once you succeed, that civilisation usually ends up lagging behind everyone else permanently. If the worker isnt there yet, just send your warrior to that city and hover that, wait patiently for their worker to spawn.

But understand that once you do steal the worker, dont expect to be friends with that civilisation. So, try to avoid the nearest civilisation just because its convenient. Try to go for the warmonger civilisations. They're gonna kill you anyway, so might as well hit them first right?

If they have no units nearby, just take the worker and run away from range of the city defences. Avoid damage so that you can pillage their lands, or steal something else. I usually like to use both my scout and warrior to move in together. Did that to korea once. Took BOTH their settler and worker at the same time.

If they have a unit guarding it, try declaring war with your scout on the opposite end of the city where the worker is, with your warrior a few squares from the worker, so the dumb AI doesnt think of your warrior as a threat. Lure his units towards your scout, then move in and capture the worker with your warrior. This one takes practice.

In the worst case scenario where the worker has units nearby, just be prepared to sacrifice a scout if it means that worker can run away. If you're done scouting the area, trading a scout for a worker is more worth it.

When To Steal?

Steal as soon as possible! In the early game, your scout can at least withstand a few hits! In the later part of the early game your scout gets killed in 1 hit.

The worker handicap is most effective in the early game. If the AI decided to put its initial production into the worker, it loses a lot when you take it. As the game progresses, stealing workers isnt effective at all since they can produce one in a few turns.

If you have more than enough workers, just keep stealing in the early game if you can, but dont make too many enemies. Its a really good way to cripple opponents. Just steal and delete the unit.

Multiplayer

When up against humans, it becomes a lot harder to do. However, it brings in another new element of strategy.

Other human players would probably expect you to steal their workers. So, when your warrior hovers near their boundary, they'll pull their worker away.
If they have to work on the further tiles, they'll make sure their worker is well guarded.
Thats just the logical thing to do!

You hope that their worker is there for you to steal. However, if you cant do so, you can always make them waste resources by building extra units to defend their worker(s). In that time they use to build their extra warrior/archer, they would be doing a lot less scouting/building of other things, while your 1 warrior is at their border taunting them, you're working on your great library, and getting ahead with more ancient ruins.

They'll also not be working on the tiles further away from them, and that'll slow them down depending on what that tile is.

Maybe you'll ask: What if his warrior is just right there, protecting his worker when you visit him?

Unlikely, unless you already alerted him, or its coincidence. Everyone tries to scout as much as they can, so that they can get the ancient ruins. When you visit him, you need to know where his luxuries are, so the next time you visit him, you aim straight for that area. The first thing everyone uses their workers is to improve luxuries. Well, at least for most people. Since everyone's production time is about the same, you can roughly calculate how long his worker will come out. Most would build a worker after a scout and a monument. Just visit him at the right times to see if his worker is out. DO NOT hover for more than a turn or else your intention becomes painfully obvious. You have a MUCH better chance of getting it you catch him by surprise.


Against humans, I'll advice just stealing more workers from city states. Not that easy to do. But you can still cripple them nonetheless. Building extra military units in the early game is gonna hurt your long term progress.

Additional pointers/ opinions / discussions

So yeah, all debate about this issue is welcome! Feel free to comment if you disagree with something, or have another strategy to add!

Final thoughts: worker stealing is your choice for most games, but in my opinion, it has to be done on deity. The AI is granted one worker at the start... so you can grab it within the first 20 - 30 turns.

Worker stealing was something that gave me an invaluable edge for my own deity win. Although in that game my stealing was just from city states and barbarian camps, because the rest were too far away.
*link to my forum post about my deity win*
http://steamcommunity.com/app/8930/discussions/0/622954302100515991/

All the best my fellow slave traders, and enjoy civ 5! haha. Spent 200 hours on this awesome game, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

[LastCell]

you steal worker from other players and after that they build chariots and all they do is aimed to destroy your game. Dont do that (except situations when this player is very close to you and you know for sure that you will both fight for land)

[krawiecalex]

Yea that clears it up a little. I thought you were shadowing by staying by there terriroty to steal the worker instead of using it to clear your borders of barbs and stuff. If you just go and see if they have an unprotected worker then this is exactly what I do.

[The Joker]

Good point! In your case, I also wouldnt bother stealing workers for personal use. Probably just steal and delete, pillage his lands if I want to slow that civilisation down.

I've never experienced having the nearest neighbours being at least 20 tiles away, because personally, I dont play huge maps. Slows down conquest.

However, I have experienced a few times when I dont even have a worker up by turn 30+, or even 40+. I believe that the benefit of building wonders outweighs the benefit of having a worker, especially the benefit of great library, or oracle(that extra social policy on liberty gives me one worker anyway). Especially on multiplayer.

At the end of the day, theres no hard and fast rule to it. All down to personal discretion when evaluating the situation.
Cheers!

[dasaard200]

I use huge maps, and in the last 15-20 games, my NEAR neighbor, CS or AI, has been 16-24 tiles away . Your idea DOES work, IF the target workers are close enough to your city, in terms of time between capture and putting that worker to work; vs. the time to build one . By the time it gets back to your city, a second worker may already be working those vital tiles .

[WarpcircuitX]

In Diety/Immortal I only got GL once because of Liberty Tree rush with poland (Great Engineer) so I find it only important to steal them from Zululand or Attila (Warmonger Civs) for that extra little bump. Making enemies early game only really pays off in quick games.

[The Joker]

@krawie. The main thing you should be doing at the start is getting your great library asap.
Its not that wise to use your warrior to scout if you have built 2 other scouts instead. Scouts are much more effective for that purpose. Personally I use my warrior for destroying barbarian camps most of the time.

And your warrior shadowing would USUALLY happen at about turn 30 on standard pace, since thats about the time a worker is built by a player. By then most of the nearby areas of the map would already have been scouted.

Furthermore, shadowing doesnt make sense if they have no troops. If they don't, you ll just go in and grab the worker already. Of all the multiplayer matches I played, usually when your warrior starts moving towards them, the player would start to build an archer already. If he doesnt, good for you! Go in and grab that worker!

I hope that answers your doubt!

[anders１３３７]

Thanks for this guide, I didn't think about the handicap. Then again, I've only played Civ V for a mere 39 hours, so I have much to learn still.

[Abu Hajaar]

you can also steal settlers and enslave them

[krawiecalex]

Just wondering. How are you getting ahead by making them make an extra warrior? The entire time you warrior is shadowing their borders you won't be getting any runes or scouting at all with it so you're just disadvantaging yourself until they decide to create one.

[SapphicKerfuffle]

stealing workers depends on location as well but in general it is a nessecity on diety