Hello im new - what's the best way to get started?

Civ 5 is my first strategy game after many years of playing mmorpg's online

I enjoy the multiplayer aspect of any game I play.

That said, whats the best way for me to get started in learning the game?

Will I need to play a AI at first?

Any tips would be great.

Also I got the game after not being able to afford it for so long, if anyone is interested Amazon has the Civ 5 GoTY+ Gods and kings for 20 usd. part of there black Friday sale

Moderator Action: Adjusted the thread title.

Hello!

CiV mp plays rather differently from sp, so if it's multiplayer you want I'd maybe do sp a couple of times and then dive right in! don't play any of the deity people though, you'll get creamed

I actually prefer the single player, and am of the opinion that you lose some of the gameplay with multiplayer (though if you're really good it's where you get the most challenge), so it might be a good idea to check out single player for a bit. Up to you of course.

King level, continents, standard everything else. lose, play until you win, move up a level.

IMO playing below king, you will not learn much except for bad habits.

Not sure how much you would learn starting off in MP, this is not like a shooter. I think your playing time would just be too short in MP.

I have done the tutorials and get the idea, going to try mp and see how it goes

Honestly, a lot of what I learned was from LPs on YouTube. Look for MadDjinn'a videos - he does a great job of explaining what he's doing and why he's doing it. Very helpful for trying to move up difficultly levels.

If you can beat immortal you will have some good games into MP. But synchronism is even more important in mp and you need to anticipate human reactions by checking the demographic screen often. Composite Bowmen are often your best friend early on

Win rate is lower than beating deity from sp so you might get frustrated many times. Don't forget that these awesome warfare strategies that we do to the AI will be done against you too

Like every games, experience is important to get an edge over other players. But if you are used to mp games i'm sure that you gonna have a fast learning rate and enjoy these games more sooner than later.

Also, try to join groups of dedicated players that don't quit in the middle of the game and to reload the game when needed too because of possible crashes.

There is civplayers(under my sig) and the NQ(no quitters) group that are very popular.

Well I guess to start off you should play prince just so aren't overhelmed and even if you are just ask everyone here. A good civ to start out with can be picked out of the following via best victory conditions.
Domination: The huns, The Mongols, or Russia.
Scientific: Korea, Maya, Babylon.
Diplomatic: Sweden, Greece, or Siam.
Cultral: Ethiopia or France.
(Is not a vic condition just a way to play)Religious: Ethiopia, Maya, or Celts.

You might be disappointed by the CiV multiplayer if you're used to MMO gaming, CiV isn't famous for its online play.

I suggest u play few single player games before jumping into MP. To have the best experience in MP games, I strongly recommend joining groups like NQ in steam. There is although one major problem with civ5 MP games which is u have to commit 5 or 6 hours of your time for a full game ( if no one kills u).

Do you know anyone else local to you that you can get together for MP? if not then stick to SP until you get a hang of the UI and overall feel for the game.
Then I would play SP until you get to at least Emperor so you have a good bag of tricks you have learned(This will not take to long if you learn fast).

Furthering this, watch Let's Plays from various people not just one person as it will afford you different opinions and methods that work for them, and you can blend what you've learned into your own strategies.

and as a teacher once taught me "The only dumb question is the one not asked" A good thing to go by in the civ universe, so come back here MANY times and ask till it hurts. Lots of good folks here willing to help!

Most importantly DON'T BE DOWNTRODDEN IF YOU LOSE(MANY TIMES) as this is a fact that Civ V has probably 1000 details/Permutations to learn. This is why you should play on a learner level like settler at least once or twice if your not accustomed to strategy games at all(you jump from there WAY up the ladder if you learn quickly).

Above all Have Fun!!

fuzzatron717 said:

Well I guess to start off you should play prince just so aren't overhelmed and even if you are just ask everyone here. A good civ to start out with can be picked out of the following via best victory conditions.
Domination: The huns, The Mongols, or Russia.
Scientific: Korea, Maya, Babylon.
Diplomatic: Sweden, Greece, or Siam.
Cultral: Ethiopia or France.
Religious: Ethiopia, Maya, or Celts.

Click to expand...

I didn't know there was a religious victory- is it in the patch?? (i have the expansion)

Play archipelago with Carthage. You will get a good income which i found as a new player is very useful. Wield a strong military and ALWAYS try to stay at the top of the science demographic. Science and gold are the key

May the Gods of Civilization V give you their blessings

Yes, you should definitely play singleplayer first. Unlike an MMORPG, when your build doesn't stack up to someone else's, you lose the whole game. So if you only play multiplayer from the start, it can take a long time (if not forever) to even see the whole game. And since this is strategy, information and knowledge affect every decision.

You should try the default settings (arguably the most balanced), which is Standard sized Continents with 8 players, 16 city states, standard speed, and none of the special options (though you can disable move and combat animations if you want, that's purely cosmetic).

To learn the general case better, I would recommend starting with a civ that doesn't have any wonky mechanics. Of course every civ will change game mechanics and therefore you will learn something wrong every game, but over a few games with different civs you can learn how to play in general. I would recommend:

France- No core mechanics are changed (just numbers), though Foreign Legion does have a special rule
Greece- No core changes, just numbers.
Russia- Again, just numbers
England- Range 3 Crossbow is weird, but not too drastic
Rome- Legions can build roads.

Many civs are only slightly less normal than these, and as long as you remember what exceptions your civ brings, you can learn the game pretty quickly. Good luck and have fun!

pensivepeppers said:

You might be disappointed by the CiV multiplayer if you're used to MMO gaming, CiV isn't famous for its online play.

Click to expand...

Yeah, CiV's turn-based strategy is about as far from MMO-style play as you can possibly get.

thegingerninja said:

I didn't know there was a religious victory- is it in the patch?? (i have the expansion)

Click to expand...

Religion can help you acheive any victory condition, but there is no stand-alone religious VC.

No religious victory but you can play religiously so I put up religious civs and helps me win quite a bit.

I think their should be some sort of bonus if your religion is world-wide, like science or culture. Can you convince a civ to take your religion if they already have one?

thegingerninja said:

Can you convince a civ to take your religion if they already have one?

Click to expand...

Nope. Not only is there no diplomatic option to even raise the subject, they get irritated (and you suffer a diplo penalty) if you try to convert their citizenry to your religion with missionaries or Great Prophets. The AI does not react as adversely to passive conversions through pressure, but they will try to reconvert their cities with missionaries and GPrs.