Sumeria, led by the legendary Gilgamesh, is a powerhouse civilization uniquely tailored for an aggressive early game that can seamlessly transition into a scientific powerhouse. This guide will delve into the intricate strategies required to leverage Sumeria’s strengths, from the initial moments of the game to securing a decisive victory. By understanding the nuances of Gilgamesh’s abilities, the formidable War-Cart, and the science-boosting Ziggurat, you can establish an unshakeable foundation for dominance.
The Sumerian Advantage: Understanding the Arsenal
To achieve victory with Gilgamesh, a thorough understanding of his unique attributes is paramount. These abilities are not merely passive bonuses; they are the cornerstones of your strategic approach, dictating your early-game priorities and long-term ambitions.
Leader Ability: Adventures with Enkidu
Gilgamesh’s leader ability, “Adventures with Enkidu,” is a multifaceted tool that promotes both aggressive expansion and strategic alliances. This ability has several key components:
- Joint War Benefits: When at war with a common foe alongside an ally, your units share pillage rewards and combat experience with the closest allied unit within five tiles. This encourages coordinated attacks and can rapidly accelerate the promotion of your military units.
- No Warmonger Penalties: You can declare war on any civilization that is at war with one of your allies without incurring warmonger penalties. This is a significant diplomatic advantage, allowing you to engage in opportunistic wars without facing global condemnation.
- Levy City-State Military Discount: Gilgamesh can levy the military of city-states at a 50% reduced cost. This provides a readily available and affordable military force, perfect for bolstering your own army or defending your borders.
Unique Ability: Epic Quest
Sumeria’s unique ability, “Epic Quest,” provides a substantial boost to your early-game development. When you capture a barbarian outpost, you receive a tribal village reward in addition to the usual gold. This can grant you early technologies, civics, population boosts, or even a free builder, dramatically accelerating your initial progress.
Unique Unit: War-Cart
The War-Cart is one of the most formidable unique units in the early game. Available from the very start, it boasts a higher combat strength than the Warrior and suffers no penalty against anti-cavalry units. Its increased movement, especially when starting in open terrain, makes it an exceptional tool for scouting, barbarian hunting, and early-game rushes against unsuspecting neighbors.
Unique Improvement: Ziggurat
The Ziggurat is a powerful unique improvement that provides a direct path to scientific superiority. It can be built by builders from the start of the game and generates +2 Science. If built adjacent to a river, it also provides +1 Culture. This early and consistent source of science is the linchpin of Sumeria’s ability to transition from a military-focused early game to a science-focused mid and late game.
The Dawn of Civilization: An Aggressive Opening Strategy
Your initial turns as Gilgamesh are critical for setting the stage for your eventual victory. The focus should be on immediate and relentless aggression, leveraging your unique advantages to gain an early lead.
Initial Build Order and Exploration
Your first production priority should be a Slinger, followed by a second War-Cart. While the first War-Cart explores the immediate vicinity, the Slinger will provide a crucial ranged attack to support your offensive pushes. Your initial technology research should be focused on Animal Husbandry to reveal horses, which, while not required for War-Carts, are essential for future military endeavors.
Simultaneously, use your first War-Cart to aggressively scout your surroundings. Your primary objectives are to locate barbarian outposts, identify potential city-state allies, and, most importantly, find your nearest civilized neighbors. The information you gather in these early turns will inform your entire early-game strategy.
The Barbarian Hunt: Fueling Your Growth
With your War-Carts and Slinger, actively hunt down barbarian outposts. Each captured outpost will trigger your “Epic Quest” ability, providing you with valuable bonuses. These rewards can be game-changing in the early stages, giving you a significant technological or civic advantage over your opponents. Don’t be afraid to be aggressive; the War-Cart’s superior strength and mobility make it more than capable of handling early barbarian threats.
The War-Cart Rush: Early Domination
Once you have a small force of three to four War-Carts, it’s time to turn your attention to your neighbors. Identify a nearby civilization that appears to be expanding slowly or has a poorly defended capital. The War-Cart’s strength in the Ancient Era is unparalleled, and a well-executed rush can cripple or even eliminate a rival before they have a chance to build up their defenses.
When sieging a city, utilize the War-Cart’s mobility to surround it and cut off any potential reinforcements. Your Slinger, upgraded to an Archer, can provide essential ranged support to wear down the city’s defenses. Focus on capturing the capital first, as this will deal a significant blow to their morale and production capabilities.
The Pivot to Science: Building a Technological Empire
After your initial wave of aggression has secured you a larger territory and weakened your immediate rivals, it’s time to transition into the second phase of your strategy: building a scientific powerhouse. The early conquests have provided you with the space and resources necessary to fuel your technological ambitions.
The Power of the Ziggurat
Now is the time to fully leverage the power of the Ziggurat. Instruct your builders to construct Ziggurats on as many flat-land tiles as possible, prioritizing those adjacent to rivers for the added culture bonus. The massive influx of science from these improvements will allow you to rapidly advance through the technology tree, outpacing your competitors.
Place your cities in locations with access to rivers and ample flat terrain to maximize the number of Ziggurats you can build. While you should still prioritize strategic resources and high-yield tiles, the Ziggurat should be a primary consideration in your city planning.
District Placement and Scientific Focus
As your cities grow, prioritize the construction of Campuses. Look for locations that offer high adjacency bonuses from mountains and geothermal fissures. The combination of your Ziggurats and well-placed Campuses will create an unstoppable engine of scientific progress.
In your government, prioritize policies that boost science and production. The Natural Philosophy and Rationalism policy cards are essential for maximizing the output of your Campuses. As you progress through the civics tree, aim for governments that offer additional policy slots, allowing you to further specialize your empire for scientific advancement.
Leveraging Alliances for Scientific Gain
Don’t neglect Gilgamesh’s diplomatic abilities during this phase. Form alliances with civilizations that are also focused on science. These alliances can provide you with valuable research agreements, further accelerating your technological progress. Additionally, maintaining a friendly diplomatic stance with some of your neighbors will reduce the likelihood of being drawn into unnecessary wars, allowing you to focus on your scientific goals.
You can also leverage your “Adventures with Enkidu” ability in a more subtle way. If an ally is at war, you can join the conflict without penalty and use the shared experience to level up your defensive units, making your empire a harder target for any would-be aggressors.
The Path to the Stars: Securing a Science Victory
With your scientific infrastructure in place and your technological lead established, the final phase of the game is to secure a Science Victory. This requires a focused and efficient approach to completing the necessary space race projects.
The Spaceport and Its Projects
The key to a Science Victory is the Spaceport district. Construct this district in your city with the highest production output. This city will become the heart of your space program, responsible for completing the various projects required to win the game.
The path to a Science Victory involves a series of sequential projects:
- Launch Earth Satellite: This is the first step and requires the Rocketry technology.
- Launch Moon Landing: This project becomes available after researching the Satellites technology.
- Launch Mars Colony: This requires the Nanotechnology technology and is a significant production investment.
- Launch Exoplanet Expedition: The final and most production-intensive project, requiring the Offworld Mission technology.
Optimizing Production for the Space Race
To complete these projects in a timely manner, you’ll need to maximize your production. Utilize policies that boost production towards space race projects, such as Integrated Space Cell. Great Engineers like Sergei Korolev and Wernher von Braun can provide significant boosts to your spaceport projects.
Consider dedicating one or two of your cities to be pure production powerhouses. Build Industrial Zones and Factories in these cities and use trade routes to further boost their production. These cities will be instrumental in completing the final, most costly stages of the space race.
Defending Your Scientific Endeavors
As you close in on a Science Victory, your rivals will likely become more hostile. They may attempt to sabotage your spaceports or even launch a full-scale invasion to stop you. It’s crucial to maintain a technologically advanced and well-positioned military to defend your empire.
Your scientific advantage should translate into a military advantage. Units like Jet Bombers and Giant Death Robots can be used to devastating effect against less advanced armies. Position your forces strategically to protect your spaceport cities and be prepared to repel any last-ditch efforts to deny you your victory.
By following this comprehensive strategy, you can guide Gilgamesh and the Sumerian civilization from an era of early conquest to the dawn of a new age among the stars. The key is to embrace their aggressive early-game potential and then seamlessly transition that momentum into an unstoppable scientific force. Your journey from the cradle of civilization to the final frontier awaits.