Kinda slow around here so I thought I'd try something. (haven't seen a recent thread on this)
Who's your favorite Leader?
When I first started playing and didn't really understand the game I thought William Penn with his plus one cross and bell was the no brainer winner.
But having played the game awhile I have changed my mind.
Please keep in mind that after many beat off the king games, I now play more for domination wins on large maps so the game is more focused on war throughout instead of just the mad rush at the end. But a lot of the principles are the same.
My new favorite is Martim Afonso De Sousa of Portugal.
I'll list my reasons so they can be discussed or refuted by others that like other leaders.
Like civ IV the start is the key and the faster start you can get off to will steam roll later.
For that reason the Carrack is big. The extra storage slots lets you really take advantage of trading with the natives on those first few trips to the new world and back. And if by some chance you get the extra immigrant events you can bring them all over in one trip. More good means more money. And money is king.
Another is his starting colonists. One is an expert fisherman. As in Civ IV food is king (along with Money) and your first settlement is going to be along the sea so a fisherman will provide extra food for any strategy and doesn't require the square to be improved by a pioneer.
This extra food is going to allow me to work a Forrest for lumber so I can run a carpenter to build political points. The political points you can generate this way far exceed what you're going to get from a town hall. (if you have a elder statesmen on the bench in europe that's just a bonus) It makes Penn's free bell not necessary.
And once I build a couple of monasteries right next to a few native villages the extra cross isn't really necessary either.
Moving on to traits.
%30 money on villages
Since a lot of your early economy is from huts and native cities, this helps to get the steam roll going. Every early building is being bought not built in my first city so I can amass more political points. So the more money the more early buildings.
10% off tools needed for buildings and
10% off hammers needed for buildings
This makes those building cheaper to buy so it really leverages the extra money your getting.
Now since I'm going for domination the 50% less exp needed for promotions is always a winner. And big when your ships get experience from shipwrecks on top of of double navigation for speed you also get another promotion. Speed and strength will make your navy safer in the long run. GREAT generals get an insane amount of promos. And if you're warring, what's not to like about more promotions.
The final trait also helps in domination wins.
50% of buying land
anything that save you money and keeps the natives happier so you can milk training those natives that you get from all you monasteries and missions so you can hand them guns to conquer is a good thing.
The Russians can be fun for their fast set up with a fur economy but for me nobody beats Martim Afonso De Sousa of Portugal.
How about a little debate to get more participation in this forum?
Who's your favorite Leader?
When I first started playing and didn't really understand the game I thought William Penn with his plus one cross and bell was the no brainer winner.
But having played the game awhile I have changed my mind.
Please keep in mind that after many beat off the king games, I now play more for domination wins on large maps so the game is more focused on war throughout instead of just the mad rush at the end. But a lot of the principles are the same.
My new favorite is Martim Afonso De Sousa of Portugal.
I'll list my reasons so they can be discussed or refuted by others that like other leaders.
Like civ IV the start is the key and the faster start you can get off to will steam roll later.
For that reason the Carrack is big. The extra storage slots lets you really take advantage of trading with the natives on those first few trips to the new world and back. And if by some chance you get the extra immigrant events you can bring them all over in one trip. More good means more money. And money is king.
Another is his starting colonists. One is an expert fisherman. As in Civ IV food is king (along with Money) and your first settlement is going to be along the sea so a fisherman will provide extra food for any strategy and doesn't require the square to be improved by a pioneer.
This extra food is going to allow me to work a Forrest for lumber so I can run a carpenter to build political points. The political points you can generate this way far exceed what you're going to get from a town hall. (if you have a elder statesmen on the bench in europe that's just a bonus) It makes Penn's free bell not necessary.
And once I build a couple of monasteries right next to a few native villages the extra cross isn't really necessary either.
Moving on to traits.
%30 money on villages
Since a lot of your early economy is from huts and native cities, this helps to get the steam roll going. Every early building is being bought not built in my first city so I can amass more political points. So the more money the more early buildings.
10% off tools needed for buildings and
10% off hammers needed for buildings
This makes those building cheaper to buy so it really leverages the extra money your getting.
Now since I'm going for domination the 50% less exp needed for promotions is always a winner. And big when your ships get experience from shipwrecks on top of of double navigation for speed you also get another promotion. Speed and strength will make your navy safer in the long run. GREAT generals get an insane amount of promos. And if you're warring, what's not to like about more promotions.
The final trait also helps in domination wins.
50% of buying land
anything that save you money and keeps the natives happier so you can milk training those natives that you get from all you monasteries and missions so you can hand them guns to conquer is a good thing.
The Russians can be fun for their fast set up with a fur economy but for me nobody beats Martim Afonso De Sousa of Portugal.
How about a little debate to get more participation in this forum?