Archers? I usually just buy those. My armies are usually bought in the beginning while I work on building improvements and such. Then again, I think we're on very different playing fields.

Bought.....what, you mean you have actual gold in the beginning? o.O lol I don''t even remember if gold generation changes based on difficulty level. I usually have a hard time with gold until I get some coastal cities with lucrative trade routes up, because I'm bad at remembering land trade routes. xD

It doesn't change, but I am incredibly economy minded. I generally make enough to hard purchase a much needed building or unit in a pinch if need be. Slow expansion but strong buildup and purchasing power. Venice is generally where I shine the most like that.

Venice was one of the first civs I played, and the first (only? I don't remember) win I ever got on Deity. And I DIDN'T CHEESE THAT WIN I SWEAR I had the proper number of civs on the map and I even went to war three whole times! It was just...an archipelago map...so I had my own landmass....and lots of sea trade routes....

For the most part I get to that financial point where I can buy a single key unit/building by the Renaissance era, and by industrial I can hopefully kick-start each new city by buying a monument, library, and workshop (as long as I'm not putting down cities like crazy).

I generally play on Prince/King and with other people over AI, but my economy usually stays golden. Most likely is a star bias thing, as Russia tends to have tundra and hills, which lends itself to gold/silver/gems and furs. My Korean economy is weakest until I can build tradeposts. Tradeposts are a lifesaver with them.

Yeah, makes sense. Since I random most of the time, I don't automatically get gold-rich starts by virtue of my civ. Also, sometimes I just reroll until I get a sick desert start with tons of river hills for desert folklore/petra. Who can resist that sweet combo.

Mmmm, I used to build trade posts EVERYWHERE all the time, since the automated workers did it so it must be good right? But then I learned that they're not super efficient and now I only put them in every jungle tile or on yucky tundra or desert.