Darius - The One Nobody Wants

[Jon the Bastard]

I was just wondering if I am the only one here that finds Darius completely useless. I have tried to play as him twice and each time I found it so very difficult to expand - also, it is so hard to culture the man up. What do you all think about him?

 

[AfterShafter]

Most people think he's one of the most powerful leaders in the game... And I agree! *Incredible* economic game, powerful rush game with the excellent Immortals, solid UB... He's not any harder to "culture up" than any other non-creative/industrious leader, but he has bar none the most potential for a non-specialist economy in the game. Pair this with an excellent military UU and you've got yourself one heck of a player.

I remember a thread a while back asking what we thought the most powerful civ/leader combinations were. Of course there was stuff like Boudica of the Romans popping up. I jokingly put in "Darius of the Persians" - to this day, I don't think I was that far off.

 

[Ghpstage]

He's probably the games best leader, Organised and Financial are easily 2 of the games best traits, together they give him one of the strongest economies possible
His UU is in the same category as Praetorians for insane expansion possibilities and his UB is pretty good too.

 

[Jon the Bastard]

I guess I have always found his unique unit to be average. I have always been able to counter them pretty easily with regular ol' spearman - plus it always seems that because his unique unit comes so early in the game - much like the Incans does - it is out-teched militarily by other civlizations UU much too quickly. The one thing that I did find about him though was his versatility in economy, which is something that you referenced. I guess he just doesn't fit my playing style because I find it very difficult to play as him.

 

[AfterShafter]

To use his UU, you basically have to rush early. They do not do well VS spearmen, but the thing is, with forest rushing, you can build tons of them fast. The AI doesn't tend to build a ton of spearmen, and they do well VS archers and slaughter axes. What's more, since they are fast movers, they are ideal for wiping out enemy copper mines, which cuts off enemy spear supply. Lastly, they get defensive bonuses - something no other mounted unit in this time frame gets.

So yeah, if you aren't a fan of the early rush, they won't do much for you. But as early rushers, Immortals are spectacular. Pair this with a breakneck economy and a solid UU, and Darius is a stellar leader. And while he's not for everyone, if you like a cottage economy, his will blow anyone elses' out of the water.

 

[Lemon Merchant]

My game has improved quite a bit lately, and I think after reading this thread it might be time to give poor Darius another try. I had a disastrous game a few months back with him, but I didn't really have the science of rushing down too well. Now that I can do it, this might be fun, and ORG/FIN is a big bonus in the bargain!

Ooh, the possibilities!

 

[Iranon]

Even if you don't wish to rush, wiping the floor with archers is very useful to keep you safe from barbarians in high-level games. Also, they remain a cost-effective attacker against Longbows... if you can disconnect an opponent's metal, Immortals have a very long shelf life.
Also: You can bait spearmen with Flanking Horse Archers for semi-decent survival rates, then mop up the archers/axemen with Immortals.

Two awesome economy traits... generally I'd prefer one of them coupled with something for production, but given the ability to get an impressive ancient/classical-age war going the 'big $$$' setup works just fine.

He's certainly in the top quarter for me... even competing for the number 2 spot against the two Romans (Huayna Capac being quite a bit ahead of all of them).

 

[Xellos-_^]

Darius makes sense even if you are not a early rusher. On a huge map with a lot of room. His trait can easily establish you as a major power

and if you like unrestrict leaders.

try play Darius with the English and their Stock exchange.

 

[AfterShafter]

try play Darius with the English and their Stock exchange.

The mint works well for this too. The bonus is only 10% rather than 15%, but you have it running for a good portion longer, so I'd say they at least even out. Org/Fin helps research buildings as much as cash buildings too, so the Koreans with the Seowon aren't a bad pick either...

 

[arikajohnson]

Well, I noticed Darius is pretty good when he is the AI leader, so, I don't know. He is kinda aggressive when I played and he was on my map. Which leads me to a tip: I observe how the AI leaders play to see how I could play as that specific leader.

 

[Matthew5117]

Darius is the best!

 

[Crusher1]

Darius is easily the strongest leader in the game and to my knowledge is the only Leader people have scored over 1,000,000 points in a game.

How is it hard to expand? He has ORG for early reduced civic cost which can easily be 25-30% or 2-3 clicks on the research slider, plus he has financial to help pay for maintenance even more. Most people I know tend to think he makes whatever level you are playing at least 1 full level easier.

3 immortals is only 90 hammers which can usually take out a city with 3 archers or less. Cost effective wise, I.E. hammers cost ratio, building immortals and conquering is the best approach because with a new city you get conquered gold, improvements, a 100 hammer settler/city, workers, and more resources.

 

[fed1943]

Darius and Capac are the stronger,IMO.
They are not easy to play with, because they are very versatile.
That means the player has a lot of choices to do, as the terrain asks,
but also a lot of chances to make the wrong ones...
Best regards,

 

[swineflu]

Who is this Nobody you speak of? I know I guy named everybody who simply loves Darius! lol

Immortals are great for an early rush. They are cheap, they move fast and are effective versus most anything you will find if you rush early enough.

Darius' economic triats make him able to recover from the early rush and easily outpace the AI's economies in the later part of the game.

So basically if you want to see Darius shine early rush to create room for yourself then build up that economy and chose your path to victory.

 

[mechaerik]

The only reason I don't want Darius is because he makes it almost too easy. If I want to play the Persians, I'll chose Cyrus.

 

[Rusty Edge]

I think it was better balanced when Washington was Financial/Organized, because his UU and UB came late in the game. I think Darius is overpowered.

 

[dirtyparrot]

I guess I have always found his unique unit to be average. I have always been able to counter them pretty easily with regular ol' spearman - plus it always seems that because his unique unit comes so early in the game - much like the Incans does - it is out-teched militarily by other civlizations UU much too quickly. The one thing that I did find about him though was his versatility in economy, which is something that you referenced. I guess he just doesn't fit my playing style because I find it very difficult to play as him.

Maybe to the AI he's not that useful, but in the hands the human player, his UU can be pretty damn good. The AI tends to under build spears. Immortals can be used to take out a couple AI's off the bat, thereby allowing you plenty of land to expand and practically winning the game. Plus, IIRC (I haven't played Persia for a really long time), they get defensive bonuses too. In the early part of the game, early advantages tend to snowball into larger advantages down the road.

 

[sydhe]

Darius of the Dutch is one of the most powerful combinations you can have (assuming a map with lots of coastline, that is).