Diplomat ability

We'll wait for the downloadable Gold release of DA and see, but I don't think you'll need to worry. The first reason is, Super Diplomat is a super ability. You SHOULD tech whore. That's what makes it super. The other abilities are each super in their own way, too (well, some aren't...). The second thing is, tech trading has been nerfed in that you can't speak with the races for two months after you make a trade, or 4 months after war breaks out. And that's if tech trading is turned on as an option at all. We should be all right.

Yeah... it's powerful, but so are the other abilities. Even the abilities that people aren't quite as sure of (like super adapter and super trader) give the races a substantial head start, even though the ability isn't useful in late game, when everyone has those techs already.

It makes it so you need to buy everything all at once now too. That should be fun

I think I'll be turning OFF tech trading in DA just like I do in DL.
It makes for a more interesting and believable game for me it everyone doesn't have the same exact techs by midgame.

It makes for a more interesting and believable game for me it everyone doesn't have the same exact techs by midgame.

I haven't noticed anyone put the point just this way. I think I might try my next game with tech trading off, even though I've so far thought turning the option off seemed cheesier than being a "tech whore."

p.s. Y'all's use of this phrase made me spot a gap at Wikipedia, which hasn't happened for me in a long time. They have no entry for "Whore's Rights." Prostitutes gotta earn a living too, and the gods know working conditions almost everywhere beg for unionization.

I haven't noticed anyone put the point just this way. I think I might try my next game with tech trading off, even though I've so far thought turning the option off seemed cheesier than being a "tech whore."

I've always turned off tech trading not so much because I felt that I would be taking advantage of the AI's, but because it's something I never had done and was more concerned that the AI's would take advantage of me.   Actually, my current game is the first that I've left tech trading on. It's still early in the game and I'm playing as the Yor. My diplomacy is so low that most races are willing to give me one tech for every three techs I give them, not too cool.

As far as the other discussion, I remember an old commercial. Look for ... the Union Label ...

I think there should be an option to limit specific techs, I.E: Planetary Improvement techs, Weapon Techs, Diplomacy Techs, and then a general No-Tech Trade thingy.

Make no mistake, a diplo/tech-whore strat is very strong at the moment in DA. As near as I can tell, it is the only strat that people have used to beat suicidal (max) difficulty although perhaps others just aren't posting about their success. I've personally done it twice although it wasn't easy either time. On the other hand, playing the diplo/tech-whore requires a lot of things to make it work (at least at suicidal). It is very map dependent. It also requires a lot of synergy from Bazaar, diplo trans, showcase, and the like. It is also somewhat tedious. You spend a lot of time looking at the diplomatic screen and trying to figure out how to get max value for each trade given what every civ knows.

Athough I don't know for certain, I suspect that it will be weakened in the release version based on the feedback people have given. And of course the game it totally modifiable. If you don't like tech-trading you can just shut it off in the startup window.

Make no mistake, a diplo/tech-whore strat is very strong at the moment in DA. As near as I can tell, it is the only strat that people have used to beat suicidal (max) difficulty

Check my profile and you'll see this is not true