Top 5 Favorite Overall Civs

So we just finished the UA thread and people started posting their top 5 UA civs in that thread. I was curious to see who everyone's top 5 favorite civs are at the moment.


In no particular order:

Dido of Carthage
UA: Phoenician Heritage. I love a civ that gives me benefits when I control my shores and since I'm big on the coastal game the harbors are a dream come true. The mountains benefit is highly situational but really fun.
UU: African Forest Elephant. An extremely useful unit for the Classical Era. The feared elephant (-10%) is helpful in the early game and the great generals II bonus is really helpful.
UU: Quinquereme. I typically hold off on discovering Sailing. Not with Carthage. If a neighboring civ has a coastal city then these guys can help take it out with ease.

Alexander of Greece
UA: Hellenic League. The strongest diplo civ in my book.
UU: Companion Cavalry. Mobility + GG bonus = one of the best early units in the entire game.
UU: Hoplite. Pretty much guaranteed the strength edge in the early game. The combination of this and Companion Cavalry is filthy.

Pacal of Maya
UA: The Long Count. Early great person from Theology gives you flexibility in any difficult situation.
UU: Atlatlist. Well-suited for the Mayans, allowing you to focus elsewhere early on while still protecting your worker, clearing out barb camps.
UB: Pyramid. Possibly my favorite building. I always build it in my cities as soon as its unlocked.

Kamehameha of Polynesia
UA: Wayfinding. Early exploration is a breath of fresh air and the extra sight is even better. Moai strength bonus (10%) is amazing for defense but only if...
UU: Moari Warrior: ...you pair it with the moari warrior (-10%). That way you can play small and defend. Or, if you want to rapidly expand then...
UI: Moai. ...you can keep up with culture policy costs by lining your entire coastline with moais. Allows you to field a greater army by the time flight comes around because of the extra gold. A civ that truly blends its UA, UU, and UI together well and just a fun and flavorful civ in general.

Sejong of Korea
UA: Scholars of the Jade Hall. Science.
UU: Turtle Ship. Great for defense, although I'll be honest a lot of the time I don't need to use it. Unlike the above four, I'm pretty much choosing Korea just on the ability.
UU: Hwach'a. Amazing for defense as well.

Edit: 'Favorite' civ doesn't just take into account strength and strategy but also puts heavy emphasis on ones you just enjoy - it could be as simple as you like their color combination the best, or their music or historical background - anything that you want

1) Korea. Mainly due to personal bias with the UA being the most complimentary to my tall empire + freedom + statue of liberty approach. Both the UUs are also amazing for defending your empire in a culture game, repelling wave after wave after wave of the AIs attackers with just 3 or 4 Hwachas is super fun, and Turtle Ships make any coastal cities impenetrable in the mid game.

2) Inca. Has the potential to make the most GPT out of any Civ in the game. This combined with a Commerce, Machuj Pichu + Big Ben approach can create the most powerful mid through to end game empire possible, and it works equally well for both tall and wide approach. Not really too fussed about the UU, although it does survive very well, and the UI is very map dependant, but can do some great things with some mountains around.

3) Dido of Carthage. Getting a start location with 3+ sea resources and several more coastal + seafood sites with Carthage provides the most powerful opening. Free harbors are immensely powerful, no need to build roads at all, but you have to stick purely to coastal cities only to make it work so roll an archipelago map.

4) Rakhameng of Siam. I love the extra food from city states, plus getting 4 free Wats from Legalism.

5) Pacal of Maya - Lots of GPs from the UA, extra science and faith from the UB, and a strong early defensive UU. This is my preferred civ for a religious or wide approach.

in no order

Netherlands - can go tall like a madman

Sweden - has great uu and boost to gp

Aztec - action hero's of culture, and they can go tall too

Russia - great for dom, big boarders can field a massive force. whats not to like

Spain - love the way u can play to settle near ww for victory

special mention goes to Rome and Carthage

1. Inca - Amazing UA. Terrace farms are cool. Slingers underwhelming.

2. Egypt - I love wonders so I enjoy the UA. Burial Tombs are okay but War Chariots suck.

3. Spain - I like settling near natural wonders anyway and I like how the UA focuses on exploration. I find both UU's a bit boring though.

4. Carthage - Free harbors is good and I really enjoy being able to travel through mountains. Not too impressed with either of the UU's.

5. Byzantium - Fun UA and Dromons rock! Cataphracts aren't that great though.

Honorable mentions to: Arabia (for Bazaars) and Sweden (for Great Person bonus from friendships)

1. Babylon - love the UA of course but i also love the early UU/UB. they really help me survive on deity. they were the reason i bought civ 5 when i saw it on steam.
2. Maya - really powerful all around. UU/UA/UB are all very useful. Pyramids are awesome for ICS.
3. England - they are my water civ of choice. i love Ships of the Line and the +1 movement is so awesome that i have a hard time playing any water civ without it. Commerce and the Great Lighthouse makes the mobility so strong. And longbows are nice for defense if you need them. If only you could stow away LBs on the Ships ...
4. Spain - yeah, the wonders are just too fun to abuse with them. plus Conq's are nice for conquest on other continents.
5. Persia - they really let Golden Ages shine. I love it when a civilization is thoroughly happy and strong during war, haha. Immortals are nice too but were more fun in vanilla. But still, i like to see how long of a continuous golden age i can maintain.

honorable mentions - Siam and Ethiopia. I love their UBs and Siam's UA.

Japan, England, Russia, Germany, and China.

1. Rome - The Roman UUs do well together and dominate the battlefield. The UA is also great because it speeds up in both your own cities and puppets. This combination makes Rome strong in any situation and victory routes.

2. England - It has great UUs and they match the play style of England. Sun Never Sets makes amphibious invasion very interesting. England is one of the best condidates for domination victory (Mongolia and Hun perhaps are better but England is much more interesting)

3. Spain - A very fun civ to play. Just send out scouts to find those NW and enjoy the sweet bonus. In most maps, there is a good chance to discover at least one NW in early game. Conquistadors are great in conquest on other continents or you can use them as scout+settler that can spot NW quickly and settle near it. The second UU Tercio is pretty versatile.

4. China - The UA is fair and UB helps a lot with your economy. However, the best thing is Cho-Ko-Nu, which can fire twice during a turn. It is even better when Gatling Guns appear.

5. France - The UA's bonus is awesome in early game and fair in late game. UUs are not game-changing, but still nice and helpful.

Honorable Mentions: America, Songhai, Korea, Babylon and Egypt

Inca, Denmark, Carthage, Korea and Mongols.

America - I like to expand as quickly as possible and attempt to dominate a certain land mass, and than just kind of do my own thing through out the rest of the game. Their +1 sight and 50% discount on purchasing land makes it easier to accomplish.

Austria - I know I should probably use city states far more strategically, but their cost is too high and can often times take up valuable resources that I want/need. So her diplomatic marriage ability allows me to just get them out of the way.

Korea - Always got a kick out of being in the atomic era while rest of the civs are still in medieval, and Korea gives the boost to make something like that possible.

Rome - I just like the roman empire.

Arabia - Really good for late game when it seems like I'm at nothing but war and need to constantly spam units to survive. There was actually a kind of funny point where I was playing as Arabia, and near the end it came down to just me and India. For what ever reason I had tons of oil, but absolutely no uranium. India had tons of uranium, but little oil. In the end Ghandi was slinging nukes at me while I was trying to send in tanks, infantry, etc. I lost, of course, but it I had fun laughing at the situation.

1. Rome - UUs are so fun. You don't even need to upgrade them until gunpowder and they stay effective.
2. Huns - I like being aggressive early. QED.
3. Byzantines - I've always liked the religion mechanic since it was introduced in Civ 4, and Cataphracts are really cool even if they're not that great.
4. Babylonians - I just really like Nebu, the color scheme, and really liked Bowmen pre-G&K. They've lost some of their lustre since Composites though.
5. Greeks - THIS. IS. SPARTA. Also CS minions.

Halcyan2 said:

1

2. Egypt - I love wonders so I enjoy the UA. Burial Tombs are okay but War Chariots suck.

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i have to defend war chariots here, these are one of the best early rushing units, outshone by the other chariot replacements (horse archer/war elephant) but still very potent. these are early mobile composite bowmen, cheaper to build and no horses required, essentially, which with a bit of flat terrain (which you'll likely have near you thanks to desert bias) you can quickly go after a neighbour before they have composites to defend against you, it's very easy to focus fire and cycle these units with the 5 movement points. i've had great success knocking out several enemies with an army of war chariots, they won't last forever and their upgrade path means lost promotions but you can use them to conquer a decent amount of land early, or alternatively to defend very well.

England, Arabia, Carthage, France and the Netherlands.

Honourable mentions to Babylon, Korea (who I haven't played for ages despite the fact they are awesome), Mongolia and Maya.

Despite having Theo as my avatar I don't actually like playing as Byzantium as much as I want to. Playing on higher difficulties it's not often likely you'll get to found a religion first or even second, making the UA as good as useless.

woodshadows said:

i have to defend war chariots here, these are one of the best early rushing units, outshone by the other chariot replacements (horse archer/war elephant) but still very potent. these are early mobile composite bowmen, cheaper to build and no horses required, essentially, which with a bit of flat terrain (which you'll likely have near you thanks to desert bias) you can quickly go after a neighbour before they have composites to defend against you, it's very easy to focus fire and cycle these units with the 5 movement points. i've had great success knocking out several enemies with an army of war chariots, they won't last forever and their upgrade path means lost promotions but you can use them to conquer a decent amount of land early, or alternatively to defend very well.

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I agree war chariots aren't as bad as people make them out to be but last time I played with Egypt I got a bunch of desert hills and forests and a mountain chain rendering my UU useless.

Also, @woodshadows, what are your top 5? You were a regular on the UA thread and I'm interested what you have to say

In no particular order:

Byzantium: Ahh, that awesome religion. Which shall be my bonus today? That Cataphract is also lovely, amazing for a classical rush - my favourite! - and can be supported by the awesome Dromon. Come on, it sprays fire!

Carthage: Money all the time, ships, water maps, and a big elephant crossing mountains.

Persia: Time your war with your golden ages and you've got a long period of gold, fast and powerful units. The immortal's double heal is great to keep pushing and the Satrap's Court gives happiness AND 2 GOLD (people seem to forget this) to a great building that is generally built in a puppet empire.

Sweden: War machine: gift your GGs and GAs to ally CSs. Peaceful builder: use the friendship bonuses and generate as much GP as you want. Mad Religious Powerhouse: ally religious CSs and pick messiah, boom, insta alliances from those cheap GProphets. The Hakkapellitas are good for stacking a GG for some time and gifting after the war, the Carolean is even better to stand up on the field.

(I can't pick a 5th one, I like Russia, Netherlands, Aztecs and Rome aswell for varied reasons - production + gold + land, happiness + gold + huge cities, culture + war + huge cities, production + puppet empire + war, respectively)

seancolorado said:

I agree war chariots aren't as bad as people make them out to be but last time I played with Egypt I got a bunch of desert hills and forests and a mountain chain rendering my UU useless.

Also, @woodshadows, what are your top 5? You were a regular on the UA thread and I'm interested what you have to say

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in terms of favourite as opposed to purely strength:


1) Aztecs: I love the flavour of this civ, I love that they come with a UU from turn 1 that can be upgraded into a useful unit through every era, I love the jungle start bias which makes amazing tiles later with universities/trading posts/sacred path pantheon and work great on defense with the jaguars. I love civs who have a UI or UB as opposed to two UU's and the floating gardens is very nice, both for it's benefit and for the aesthetic flavour of it, 'floating gardens', it just sounds so much better than 'watermill' or some of the other ubs 'longhouse', 'wat'. I don't care greatly about the UA, the culture killing is a nice bonus but not generally super useful. I also like the civ colour a great deal and music, silly flavourful things which wouldn't matter in a pure assessment of a civs strengths or weaknesses but which on a personal level make an enormous difference for me, really a big reason I never play Persia (hate the mcdonalds colours) or Siam (yellow and red look really ugly together to me), or a lot of the base colours which are white (Ottomans, Japan,Greece, etc?). Fun civ, good enough to win on Deity with (though not the most powerful by far) and a UU, UB and UA which you can pretty much make use of through the entire game (as opposed to a civ whose UU eventually turns into a lancer, or which only comes late in the game, or worse two UU's which come in the same era, or no UB which means once the UU's are gone you're down to playing with nothing but UA, or the worst a UA which either never comes into effect (Patriarchate of Constantinople) or which runs out of steam relatively early (wayfinding, ancien regime), has no human input and just provides a base benefit (ancien regime, long count, etc), or which is only useful in specialised tactics (viking fury, sun never sets, etc). Sacrificial Captives will be there from turn 1 to the last turn in the game since war is very much a part of this game and virtually impossible to avoid and so as long as you kill units you will get something out of your UA, which is nice.

2) Byzantium: Really just for the dromons, I love these things, beside the jaguar they are my favourite unit. With Carthage I dislike the feeling of obligation to build all coastal, but with Byzantium building a purely coastal empire is wonderful, because dromons ensure you can defend incredibly well. I found that getting god of war and then provoking war with a neighbour can be a way to get a religion with Byzantium on higher levels of play, while simultaneously getting your dromons the +1 range and double attack which will be so devastating when upgraded to galleases and later frigates. I don't like the UA of this civ however, it stresses me out, that feeling that I might miss out on using it, who wants that every game? Cataphracts are about as good as a mounted unit can be really.. which is to say, not very good. AI gets civil service so early and pikes rip holes in even companion cavalry, let alone cataphracts.

3) Polynesia: I don't play these guys enough but whenever I do I'm never disappointed, I have surprisingly powerful games and most importantly - fun games. I only regret that the main thrust of their UA loses its uniquess as soon as anyone else gets astronomy, the Maori warrior isnt particularly good and the Moai cause one to suffer some severe production/food shortages.

4) Mongols: I rarely play these guys because they are a bit too easy to win with, the keshiks are just too powerful it feels like hooking up a gamegenie or something and playing in cheatmode. I do love the khan though and really that's my main reason for playing with the Mongols, the Khan + march on some units is so satisfying, I only wish they'd nerf keshiks a bit (camel archers too for that matter) so that a human player couldn't wipe out an entire deity continent in one era (with zero losses), as at present.

5) Japan: Yeah.. Japan isn't very good, I almost never do good when I play Japan, playing Japan pulls me in some weird ways I guess, or I put too much faith in the strength of Bushido, whatever the case I rarely have a good game with them.. but I do like them a lot, I think it has to do more with an admiration for the real life culture of Japan than with the civs incarnation however.


in terms of raw strength:

1) incas
2) korea
3) arabia
4) china
5) iroquois.


wow.. long post, too much caffeine late at night

I am still playing my way through all the Civs, but have found each one so far (a little over half?) offers a unique and incredibly fun experience.

That said, in terms of overall (presumably meaning flexibility for multiple VCs), my picks so far (and I'll limit it to three) have to be:

1) America: Early advantages for expanding cheap and effectively - reinforced by an edge with the first gunpowder unit, and again late game with the B17 which has siege and evasion bonuses up the wazoo. Pretty much the dream "Empire" Civ - flexibility to do with it what you want, but you are set up nicely from beginning to end.

2) England: Perhaps too naval-heavy to be a top "overall" I feel like crossbowmen are a pivitol unit in the game; such has been my experience at least -whether on the offence or the defense, once I upgrade to crossbows I feel like it's a game-changer - the Longbowman take it to the next level, and for that reason alone they get my nod. Ship of the Line is a beast in its own right, but useless unless coastal with lots of seas.

3) Persia: If you gear your game to Golden Ages I think Persia can out endurance everyone.

woodshadows said:

in terms of favourite as opposed to purely strength:


1) Aztecs: I love the flavour of this civ, I love that they come with a UU from turn 1 that can be upgraded into a useful unit through every era, I love the jungle start bias which makes amazing tiles later with universities/trading posts/sacred path pantheon and work great on defense with the jaguars. I love civs who have a UI or UB as opposed to two UU's and the floating gardens is very nice, both for it's benefit and for the aesthetic flavour of it, 'floating gardens', it just sounds so much better than 'watermill' or some of the other ubs 'longhouse', 'wat'. I don't care greatly about the UA, the culture killing is a nice bonus but not generally super useful. I also like the civ colour a great deal and music, silly flavourful things which wouldn't matter in a pure assessment of a civs strengths or weaknesses but which on a personal level make an enormous difference for me, really a big reason I never play Persia (hate the mcdonalds colours) or Siam (yellow and red look really ugly together to me), or a lot of the base colours which are white (Ottomans, Japan,Greece, etc?). Fun civ, good enough to win on Deity with (though not the most powerful by far) and a UU, UB and UA which you can pretty much make use of through the entire game (as opposed to a civ whose UU eventually turns into a lancer, or which only comes late in the game, or worse two UU's which come in the same era, or no UB which means once the UU's are gone you're down to playing with nothing but UA, or the worst a UA which either never comes into effect (Patriarchate of Constantinople) or which runs out of steam relatively early (wayfinding, ancien regime), has no human input and just provides a base benefit (ancien regime, long count, etc), or which is only useful in specialised tactics (viking fury, sun never sets, etc). Sacrificial Captives will be there from turn 1 to the last turn in the game since war is very much a part of this game and virtually impossible to avoid and so as long as you kill units you will get something out of your UA, which is nice.

2) Byzantium: Really just for the dromons, I love these things, beside the jaguar they are my favourite unit. With Carthage I dislike the feeling of obligation to build all coastal, but with Byzantium building a purely coastal empire is wonderful, because dromons ensure you can defend incredibly well. I found that getting god of war and then provoking war with a neighbour can be a way to get a religion with Byzantium on higher levels of play, while simultaneously getting your dromons the +1 range and double attack which will be so devastating when upgraded to galleases and later frigates. I don't like the UA of this civ however, it stresses me out, that feeling that I might miss out on using it, who wants that every game? Cataphracts are about as good as a mounted unit can be really.. which is to say, not very good. AI gets civil service so early and pikes rip holes in even companion cavalry, let alone cataphracts.

3) Polynesia: I don't play these guys enough but whenever I do I'm never disappointed, I have surprisingly powerful games and most importantly - fun games. I only regret that the main thrust of their UA loses its uniquess as soon as anyone else gets astronomy, the Maori warrior isnt particularly good and the Moai cause one to suffer some severe production/food shortages.

4) Mongols: I rarely play these guys because they are a bit too easy to win with, the keshiks are just too powerful it feels like hooking up a gamegenie or something and playing in cheatmode. I do love the khan though and really that's my main reason for playing with the Mongols, the Khan + march on some units is so satisfying, I only wish they'd nerf keshiks a bit (camel archers too for that matter) so that a human player couldn't wipe out an entire deity continent in one era (with zero losses), as at present.

5) Japan: Yeah.. Japan isn't very good, I almost never do good when I play Japan, playing Japan pulls me in some weird ways I guess, or I put too much faith in the strength of Bushido, whatever the case I rarely have a good game with them.. but I do like them a lot, I think it has to do more with an admiration for the real life culture of Japan than with the civs incarnation however.

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Colors: I, too, don't enjoy playing a specific civ as much if I don't like their colors. That's why I can't stand Persia. The McDonalds colors. Ugh. Video games are not video games if you boil it down to just strategy and tactics, which is why I love the UI's from the Incas, Dutch and Polynesians - they are pleasing to the eye.

Music: I love the music for Carthage, it's exotic yet relaxing. And Polynesia, I really love the music. There is one track where it's literally just traditional drums and nothing else and there is sort of an light echo effect to it and it's sooo relaxing to listen to.

Polynesia: Part of the reason I play them more than any other civ has to do with what I just mentioned (colors, music, aesthetic, flavor) but it also has to do with history. Reading about Kamehameha is pretty interesting (I checked out a book the other day beyond civ). I'm fully aware they are not the strongest civ but that doesn't stop me from playing them. On the other end, they are definitely not a weak civ. I would argue no civs are weak if you play them until you find out what works.

But for archipelago empire I wish they went with Majapahit/Srivijaya of Indonesia. It's borderline ridiculous that they have zero civs covering that area of Southeast Asia. It's not just about geography but they were incredibly powerful and influential. A lot of civs are not covered but this one by a good 10 miles really seems like a missed opportunity.

woodshadows said:

wow.. long post, too much caffeine late at night

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I like long posts.

My list has changed slightly since the last favorite civs thread, so I guess I'll update it:

5th favorite: songhai- I haven't played them in a while, and have only played them with G+K once, but they sill can bring quite a bit of power to a fight. The ambhibious mandekalu can nab you a nice ring of puppets to defend your cultural empire. Also this is the first civ I ever won a game of Civ5 with, so they hold a very special place in my heart.

4th: netherlands- Selling that early lux for a new settler or worker and not getting unhappy is a huge bonus, and this ability never goes out of style. The seabegger is a butcher and can nab a small fortune per war if you farm the AI. The polder is good in its own right, but not the biggest selling point for Netherlands.

3rd: Aztecs- all of there items mesh perfectly, and with how warmoungering the AI is on higher levels, you can continue to get sizable culture even while on the defensive, which I love being on.

2nd: Polynesia- I HATE YOU!!! Why does all your stuff fit my playstyle, yet none of your civ makes any sense?! (moari kamehameha? Maoi when only one tile island of them existed? TOO MANY CULTURES MESHED INTO ONE?! AAARGH!!!) I love them though, as the early naval dominence (really, unquestionable total control of the waters until renniasance) and embarkation, AND defensive bonus, AND late gold, AND upgraded Moari, give them enough tools to build power on all continents quickly and hold it for the game.

Favorite: Etheopia- defensive power? Check. Nice frontline unit? Check. Culture building? Check. Faith? Double check. They have everything I like in a side and do well in the "power projecting puppeteer" strategy that I usually employ.

Sweden
UA: Love stacking GP generation to get more artists and scientists.
UU: Hakkas are Lancers with some boost, and I actually might use lancers more than most. I love pillaging behind enemy lines. Caroleans fit Sweden's play style so well. Turtle until Caroleans, make a lot of friends, then build an army and bust out, conquering all your neighbors.

Persia
UA: The most powerful UA in the game, imo. Think of all the extra gold, culture, and hammers you get over the course of a game. Add to that +1 movement, allowing your seige to move, set up, and attack in one turn. Add to that +10% attack for good measure. Beast Mode.
UB: Satrap is so nice. Extra happiness will get you more golden ages, and help keep you in the positive happy after you conquer.
UU: Immortal is decent. On slower speeds they can be used for ancient invasions to great effect.

Netherlands
UA: Fantastic to get 4 cities up ASAP. Coupled with the commerce tree happy, lets you go conquer the world in the late renaissance.
UI: POLDERS FTW. Flood plain polders are so damn good... and look great, too. Adds so much uniqueness to the game.
UU: Love Sea beggars. Instant navy once you research these badass ships.

Aztecs
UA: Great.
UB: Phenomenal. You can go so tall.
UU: Decent, lasts all game. I always struggle to build more than 4-5.

China
UA: Helps so much in war... especially in multiplayer.
UB: My favorite UB. More money and more science, what more could you want?
UU: CHU KO NU... you already know why.