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Strategies
and tips
Email
if you have anything you'd like to add.
 Tim
Maurer's FAQ and guide.
Kevin
Allegood's strategy outline.
How
to win with Portugal, by Mike Montgomery .
Inmate
642's strategy outline.
Miscellaneous
tips
In general,
don't bother trying to win over the New World with money or
diplomacy. Instead, be as politically incorrect as possible, and send
in the troops to grab as much territory as possible before the other
great powers can. (Ed: not subtle, this one, but it works. Also:
go for their capitals; that way you get the ports.)
As soon as you
develop rifle technology, turn away from producing expensive cannons
and instead concentrate on infantry. Ten infantry units can take out
a fort as quickly as the cannons, and they're also a lot cheaper to
produce. (Ed: I must remember to try this one.)
Be careful
when it comes to playing power politics. The aim of the game is to
conquer half of Europe, but do not let others benefit from your work.
AI players are more than willing to scoop up major powers that you
have softened up or cut off from the riches of the New World.
Weaken other
empires one after the other, until you are ready to make the big play
and capture those last few crucial provinces.
Cheat
(Balanced resources): Hold [Ctrl] and click on the globe at the
new game screen, then type Pippin. The red country will begin the
game with balanced resources.
The
following are from Michael Rymaszewski's Strategy
Guide. This book is essential reading if you want to get the
most out of Imperialism II. Also, Slap's Imp2 site has
a good tips
page.
What
you have, others may lack. Use the Diplomatic screen and the Deal
Book to identify current and looming shortages. You can make powerful
friends and turn a nice profit at the same time.
It's
a good idea to enter bids and offer even if you have no desire to
trade anything. This lets you examine the current state of the
market; remember that you only receive information on the supply and
demand of the commodities you bid for or offer for sale.
At
the higher difficulty levels, beware of pursuing trade with Minor
Nations too aggressively. When another Great Power has established an
embassy and signed a pact with a Minor Nation, it probably needs the
resources that Minor nation supplies, and will get upset if you barge
in. Monitor the state of your relations with that Power on the
Diplomatic screen.
Portugal
and Holland are the trading experts among the Great Powers. These
two prefer peaceful assimilation to war -- although they won't
hesitate to opt for conquest at the higher difficulty levels.
Workers
don't need to be healthy to acquire new skills. If you have tobacco
but no sugar cane, stock up on paper, then educate your peasants into
journeymen on two consecutive turns.
A
Great Power with plenty of food but little in the way of industrial
resources can be expected to embark on a very aggressive course. It
will have enough food to support a hug army, and will use that army
to acquire territory that contains all the resources it needs.
The
diplomatic attitude of Minor Nations and Tribes is unaffected by the
strength of your military. However, the size of your armed forces
means quite a lot to other Great Powers; weaklings are held in
contempt and are viewed as possible prey.
In war, use
your navy to fake multiple landings. This ruse can help disperse
enemy forces, luring away the defenders of provinces that you intend
to attack for real. Be warned; the other Great Powers do this, too.
To assemble a
fleet of ironclads without pain, continue rapidly expanding your
merchant navy, building many smaller ships rather than fewer larger
ones. Once you discover Advanced Iron Working, you'll be
getting a free Ironclad for every 10 merchant ships you build.
Multiplayer:
Keep a low profile! It is human nature to bind together and topple
the leader, so do your best to maintain the potential for power
without flaunting it. If you maintain a healthy reserve of resources
and population, you can churn out a powerful military force in one turn.
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