Is fighting for resources actually worth it?

[pulli23]

Well I wonder constantly, given the always lots of metal and stone in the base: is fighting over resources worth it? I find that the moment I expand beyond my initial base I get "rushed" by several ais, and  it's much easier to bunker down  and depend on that lone ai to trade with. And then break out with rams quite late when town centers are no longer expensive at all.

[Loki1950]

In the late game stages metal becomes critical.

Enjoy the Choice

[Boudica]

Hello there! A badly planned expansion can really cost you the game. In biomes with lower tree count, you'll be forced to to expand for wood. Specific civs also depend a lot on metal (Ptolemies) or stone (Athens). It is very often enough to have one extra mine of those, so if you do, and if wood isn't the issue either, it might work well to only expand later (and attack the enemy expansion first).

If you play with the AI, trading is a good alternative. In games against real players, it's harder to keep trade protected though. You might not have enough time for the investment to return either.

One other thing to consider is what kind of expansion you go for. If the goal is to acquire extra resources, then you're playing the long game. You should probably play it more defensively after that because time is your friend in that case. You can also make a more aggressive expansion, which lets you disable some of the enemy resources with towers, and it can give you a good starting point for an attack. This can work well when the enemy thinks he doesn't need extra resources, but you make them need some.

Losing the only CC you have makes your buildings convert to Gaia, which makes all your eco stop for a long time. Also it possibly allows the enemy to steal all your buildings, which makes you almost certainly lose. One reason for the expansion might be to provide a nearby backup CC if your main one becomes endangered.

[pulli23]

3 hours ago, Boudica said:

Hello there! A badly planned expansion can really cost you the game. In biomes with lower tree count, you'll be forced to to expand for wood. Specific civs also depend a lot on metal (Ptolemies) or stone (Athens). It is very often enough to have one extra mine of those, so if you do, and if wood isn't the issue either, it might work well to only expand later (and attack the enemy expansion first).

If you play with the AI, trading is a good alternative. In games against real players, it's harder to keep trade protected though. You might not have enough time for the investment to return either.

One other thing to consider is what kind of expansion you go for. If the goal is to acquire extra resources, then you're playing the long game. You should probably play it more defensively after that because time is your friend in that case. You can also make a more aggressive expansion, which lets you disable some of the enemy resources with towers, and it can give you a good starting point for an attack. This can work well when the enemy thinks he doesn't need extra resources, but you make them need some.

Losing the only CC you have makes your buildings convert to Gaia, which makes all your eco stop for a long time. Also it possibly allows the enemy to steal all your buildings, which makes you almost certainly lose. One reason for the expansion might be to provide a nearby backup CC if your main one becomes endangered.

Well when I take some ground I typically get attacked by multiple ais at once and just get overwhelmed. While if I stay in my own little corner I can easily pick the opponents one by one.

[Boudica]

You might better notice the flaws with this strategy when you play against good human players.