watabeasty
Chieftain
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2014
- Messages
- 7
I'm a bit weird in that Sweden is actually one of my favorite civs, if not my absolute favorite civ, in the game. I'm just wondering what you guys think about Sweden. This tends to be a civ that gets beat up a lot in forums for being "terrible" or is at best called "average", but I do not find this to be the case. Here is my analysis/brief strategy guide of them:
Nobel Prize:
Sweden essentially gets a double-UA, with one giving you 90 influence with a city-state when you gift it a great person, and the other giving you a 10% boost to great person generation for every DoF you have. People complain that your "friends" also get the 10% boost, but a sole 10% does not do that much. The first part of their UA is situational in that it is not overly common for you to use it, but it can definitely be used two or three times a game at least. This is best used to gift a great prophet which only has one spread religion use left, or for excess great generals and admirals you have. These gifts are essentially worth 1000 gold in gifts to city-states, and provide an insta-alliance in the early game. With this part of their UA in mind, it is almost essential to found a religion at least as Sweden. Dance of the Aurora is the best to take due to their tundra start bias, and will provide a lot of faith which can be used to generate more great prophets. Other beliefs really depend on the game you are playing and do not matter much, except for the enhancer. Fro the enhancer, take the one that makes prophets 25% stronger and makes them require 25% less faith. This allows you to generate more great prophets, as well as get good use out of them for the fewer spread religion uses you will have before you gift them. The Hagia Sophia is a good wonder as Sweden, as it can basically provide 90 influence with a city-state. The other part though, is where Sweden really shines. I played a game once, on deity difficulty as Sweden, where I got 7 DoFs. That was +70% generation of great people. If you are at least half-decent at diplomacy and have at least a few neutral civs (meaning they aren't overly aggressive or friendly) in your game you can get around 4 DoFs. That is still +40% of scientists and can go higher. This is extremely powerful. They are in this way good in any victory condition, with a slight lean towards a culture victory, which is based on great people generation. While in an average game of +40% great person production they are overshadowed by Babylon, they can still be very good at science. They can also be quite good at diplomatic victories due to the other part of their UA and the surprising speed at which they can generate great merchants. Domination victories require a little of all, which they have no problem doing, and their UUs help a lot in this department.
Hakkapeliitta:
This unit tends to receive quite a beating. While this unit most definitely is not one of the best units in the game, I would say it is far from the worst (I'm looking at you, Slinger). This unit tends to be misinterpreted. People tend to only value units on their stand-alone value, and those that are strong all by themselves tend to be called the best. These replace an already supportive unit and add on to that support by giving a specialization with great generals. Lancers were already supposed to be a unit fighting in the sides of your formations, using hit-and-run tactics like horseback units should, and by chasing down knights and later cavalry. Now they allow your great generals to be really mobile on the battlefield, helping to keep that combat bonus on the areas of your army that need it, and helping to keep it out of harm's way. This is especially true since these units receive a 15% combat bonus (effectively doubling the effects of the great general) on these units so that they are hard to kill and so that you don't lose your great general.
Carolean:
Now that foreign legions aren't a "true" UU, I'd say these are my favorite UU in the warrior-swordsmen line. The only thing they get over the normal rifleman is the march promotion, but this is more than enough. These units are very strong as they can continually attack without stopping to heal. Although these are already strong by themselves, it isn't a bad idea to through in a Hakkapeliitta or two as well.
Other:
One of the main problems people have with Sweden is that they have a tundra start bias. Just like with Russia, their UA actually works with this bias, although the Russian one works to fix it while the Swedish one synergizes with it and uses it to better itself. Their start bias actually synergizes by allowing more DoFs. Nobody wants tundra, so nobody wants your land. This removes a major early game penalty, and allows you to get those DoFs quicker so you can develop relationships so that you can keep those DoFs. Besides, tundra has a shocking number of iron and oil resources, as well as the fact that it seems like natural wonders spawn there more often. Also, it provides for a great pantheon that works with their UA. Lastly, Sweden has arguably one of the best color schemes in the game for their borders. Royal blue + gold = amazing. And the music is good. The only major problem I have with Sweden is the AI. AI Gustav is an and never wants to accept DoFs even though is UA is dependent on them. He is like a less severe William as the AI, where the UA does not get used.
Nobel Prize:
Sweden essentially gets a double-UA, with one giving you 90 influence with a city-state when you gift it a great person, and the other giving you a 10% boost to great person generation for every DoF you have. People complain that your "friends" also get the 10% boost, but a sole 10% does not do that much. The first part of their UA is situational in that it is not overly common for you to use it, but it can definitely be used two or three times a game at least. This is best used to gift a great prophet which only has one spread religion use left, or for excess great generals and admirals you have. These gifts are essentially worth 1000 gold in gifts to city-states, and provide an insta-alliance in the early game. With this part of their UA in mind, it is almost essential to found a religion at least as Sweden. Dance of the Aurora is the best to take due to their tundra start bias, and will provide a lot of faith which can be used to generate more great prophets. Other beliefs really depend on the game you are playing and do not matter much, except for the enhancer. Fro the enhancer, take the one that makes prophets 25% stronger and makes them require 25% less faith. This allows you to generate more great prophets, as well as get good use out of them for the fewer spread religion uses you will have before you gift them. The Hagia Sophia is a good wonder as Sweden, as it can basically provide 90 influence with a city-state. The other part though, is where Sweden really shines. I played a game once, on deity difficulty as Sweden, where I got 7 DoFs. That was +70% generation of great people. If you are at least half-decent at diplomacy and have at least a few neutral civs (meaning they aren't overly aggressive or friendly) in your game you can get around 4 DoFs. That is still +40% of scientists and can go higher. This is extremely powerful. They are in this way good in any victory condition, with a slight lean towards a culture victory, which is based on great people generation. While in an average game of +40% great person production they are overshadowed by Babylon, they can still be very good at science. They can also be quite good at diplomatic victories due to the other part of their UA and the surprising speed at which they can generate great merchants. Domination victories require a little of all, which they have no problem doing, and their UUs help a lot in this department.
Hakkapeliitta:
This unit tends to receive quite a beating. While this unit most definitely is not one of the best units in the game, I would say it is far from the worst (I'm looking at you, Slinger). This unit tends to be misinterpreted. People tend to only value units on their stand-alone value, and those that are strong all by themselves tend to be called the best. These replace an already supportive unit and add on to that support by giving a specialization with great generals. Lancers were already supposed to be a unit fighting in the sides of your formations, using hit-and-run tactics like horseback units should, and by chasing down knights and later cavalry. Now they allow your great generals to be really mobile on the battlefield, helping to keep that combat bonus on the areas of your army that need it, and helping to keep it out of harm's way. This is especially true since these units receive a 15% combat bonus (effectively doubling the effects of the great general) on these units so that they are hard to kill and so that you don't lose your great general.
Carolean:
Now that foreign legions aren't a "true" UU, I'd say these are my favorite UU in the warrior-swordsmen line. The only thing they get over the normal rifleman is the march promotion, but this is more than enough. These units are very strong as they can continually attack without stopping to heal. Although these are already strong by themselves, it isn't a bad idea to through in a Hakkapeliitta or two as well.
Other:
One of the main problems people have with Sweden is that they have a tundra start bias. Just like with Russia, their UA actually works with this bias, although the Russian one works to fix it while the Swedish one synergizes with it and uses it to better itself. Their start bias actually synergizes by allowing more DoFs. Nobody wants tundra, so nobody wants your land. This removes a major early game penalty, and allows you to get those DoFs quicker so you can develop relationships so that you can keep those DoFs. Besides, tundra has a shocking number of iron and oil resources, as well as the fact that it seems like natural wonders spawn there more often. Also, it provides for a great pantheon that works with their UA. Lastly, Sweden has arguably one of the best color schemes in the game for their borders. Royal blue + gold = amazing. And the music is good. The only major problem I have with Sweden is the AI. AI Gustav is an and never wants to accept DoFs even though is UA is dependent on them. He is like a less severe William as the AI, where the UA does not get used.
