It's because Rome is not played. Maybe I'm one of the only ones that like romans and play them.. But I still think Rome can beat chinese, it's difficult to say how, but it's possible. Rome is only harder to play, and modern era by 0-200 AD in every game is like cheating, with tanks
PS: You should see the old leaderboard, I mean the first months. Most of the top players were romans players and it was difficult to beat them.
from what i understand you're saying romans are the most powerful civ because:
- no one uses them hardly, so they catch people off guard, or players aren't as skilled playing against them?
-they can beat the chinese, you think, but you don't know the specifics or can't articulate it.
- rome is hard to play, so most people don't recognize their potential.
- the romans were popular when the game was released (before the mega-city was patched and before they patched the militia defending undefended cities to prevent walkins)
Morte, I'm not trying to argue with you, I owe a lot of my skill to you, and I always respect your opinion. I just don't understand this one.
If you admit the chinese are overpowered and modern by 200AD and tanks about that time too is overpowered, then why again are the romans more powerful than the chinese? Of course the romans can beat the chinese, I've been spanking a lot of top 10 chinese players with the americans and spanish, and a lot easier than i can with the romans.
Is this just a case of you being italian and wanting them to be strong? Especially since they were very strong before the patch? The Romans are a good civ, but they are never mentioned anymore in the overpowered debate since they patched the mega-city.
Honestly, If you were playing a game against yourself, and you controlled the chinese and the romans, who do you think would win? I think you know that answer. The chinese are way more flexible in every area than the romans, except wonder building and road building, neither of which scare me or you.
the chinese expand better, tech better, fight better, and yes they are easier to use, even more easy to use than the zulu. The chinese just have that 50% handicap in their favor for them, so it's like cheating, I agree with that. But it's the developer's choice that made it that way.
Also Morte, I think you are probably more powerful with the Americans as well, from everything you've posted in the past about them....
*I'm sick of trashing the Romans though. I've said my peace. I like the Romans and have used them a lot. I just don't think they are better than a few civs, but they are still fun, powerful, and make me enjoy the game because they do in fact require skill. Not as much skill to use as say playing well with the Indians, but they still require a lot of skill to take down a top player.