Dairuka
Prince
This thread was inspired by this General Forum Discussion Thread.
Note that all of this is speculation. So please input any information you have on the way that certain empires played on your games.
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America -
George Washington: {Financial & Organized}
Probably the weakest early AI in the game. Without a doubt, this man will be the first one to be conquered in most games. Sometimes you won't even see that 8th or 9th civilization on your map, because George Washington got destroyed before you even got the chance to meet him.
This is due to a weak AI trait combo. While in the hands of an intelligent player, this is power, to the computer who seems to favor farms and forests over cottages, and slow expansion over rapid sprawling. These trait combos are absolutely useless.
Later on in the game, hes still very timid. Although the Navy Seals can pose a problem on Island games. Hes been known to sneak attack and take a city using the Navy Seals before you can counter, or defend.
Franklin D Roosevelt - {Industrious & Organized)
A very strong peace-time AI. Although hes practically useless if somebody declares war on him any time before the Industrial Age. If he is left to his own accords, he'll probably be the one to beat you to the construction of The Hanging Gardens, The Great Lighthouse, or The Pyraminds.
This is why hes my least favorite AI to play against. He never falls behind in technology despite not having the same boosts that a player would have.
Thankfully hes one of the least likely people to come up against in a random game. You normally have to directly choose him, otherwise you'll get Washington instead.
Again Navy Seals can pose a problem on Island games. He like Washington been known to sneak attack and take a city using the Navy Seals before you can counter, or defend. He is a lot more aggressive than Washington too. Probably because hes in a better state to actually fight than Washington is by the Modern era.
Arabs -
Saladin - {Philosophical & Spiritual}
The AI does not utilize these traits very well. Although he has the annoying habit of changing his civics every 20 or so turns, which can clutter up your screen with "Saladin has changed to <Who the heck cares!>" messages.
Still, you would expect him to be a powerhouse in pumping out Great Leaders. To the Contrary hes actually very aggressive. More often than not, you'll see him rush you with waves of Musketmen and later on Riflemen.
He is probably the easiest to befriend out of all other AI's. Especially since his favored civic is one that is also very popular for warmongers. {Theocracy}
You should have no problem with him all throughout the game. Hes a pushover.
Aztecs -
Montezuma - {Aggressive & Spiritual}
Thank god this guys UU is useless. Hes probably the hardest person in the game to befriend, and he will attack you the moment you leave any city open. Luckily for you, by the time he gets his Jaguar's, you'll have Axemen which are more than enough of a counter. One Axeman could take out three or four Jaguar's before actually dying. Even if they have the Forest or Jungle bonus up.
He will also be the one to demand the most things from you. Let me make it clear to you. This guy can not be appeased. He will continue to take and take from you until you have nothing left, and then he will attack you. Do not give in to his demands. Instead kill his entire army once in battle, and he'll wuss out for the rest of the game.
It's amazing how intricate the game's AI is in this regard, as during my peaceful games, he always backs down after one major stomping on his army...
Although the game states that he prefers Police State, he is almost always found using Universal Sufferage. Weird huh? You'll also notice his country-side completely covered in cottages more often than not. You know what that means, right? PILLAGE!
Barbarians -
Barbarians are a pushover AI. They're meant to be. I don't think it is possible for them to ever go higher than the Rifleman unit in terms of military technology. Although they can beat you to the construction of the space ship. {Weird huh?}
Barbarians can only be a problem if no civilization in your game expands across the world. Barbarians will start to band together their borders through the use of building Castles for Culture, and when that happens... well, then they act more like a real civilziation on AW.
Still... Even then they're weak. Always with only 3-4 defenders... A cinch to destroy.
China -
Mao Zedong - {Philosophical & Organized}
One of two Isolationists in this game. For some reason he almost never trades with the human player. At least the bugger-ball never traded with me. He also seems to be one of three leaders that almost never get picked in the random civ Generator. Almost always you get Qin Shi Huang instead.
He definitally does not use the Cho-Ku-Nu properly, so you should definitally not worry about a 4+ first strike + collateral damage onslaught if you see a stack coming your way. In fact, you'd have to be playing on Immortal Difficulty, because he rarely attacks. Ever.
I'd state that he is a peace-time AI, but really hes more of a do-nothing AI. Like Tokugawa.
Qin Shi Huang - {Industirous & Financial}
Wow. Definitally in the top ten rivals for the space race. Although he tends to lean towards military technologies. I usually skip Military Tradition in favor of quicker growth, and he'd have communism, military tradition, and rifling, while I in contrast had Rifling, Electricity, etc... Made for some good trades, because this guy will trade almost anything.
Which makes him a great friend to have. The best part is, hes very very easy to befriend.
It seems his prefered civics are Representation, Caste System, Mercantilism, or Representation, Emancipation, and Free Market. I've played against this guy in about 80% of my games, so I can really attest that hes your best bet for an easy bloc alliance partner.
Again, the AI does not know how to use the Cho-Ku-Nu properly, so there is nothing to worry about if you see some headed your way.
Egypt -
Hatshepsut - {Spiritual Creative}
I've had a lot of bad luck when starting near by her. She has the uncanny ability to shove 20 war charriots up my arse whenever I do something even slightly bad to annoy her. It seems the thing she hates the most is when cultural borders impede on her borders. Which is awesome since thats an actual factor in whether the AI decides to declare war or not.
She is very aggressive, but thankfully she is also very easy to appease. If you're on her bad side, just switch to her religion and she'll never bother you again. Just a side-perk of the religion system; but it works best with her.
Shes very timid after the time of the Chariots are over, so if you can weather the storm without too much of a hitch or loss, you could easily counter her with spearmen, or pikemen to dominate her.
In most of my games, she tends to choose Heredity Rule, or Representation accompanied with Nationhood. I guess shes worried about happiness. Weird.
England -
Queen Victoria - {Expansive & Financial}
She shows up a lot less than Elizabeth when you play random games.
She has probably the fastest growing AI of them all. She spreads like a virus across the land. If you start off as her neighbor, I would suggest either blocking her expansion routes by keeping her from an open border, or I would suggest directly attacking her and stalling her growth. You can easily do so just by using one warrior to steal her worker {On harder difficulties}, and then camping that warrior on a nearby high defense tile. She'll waste her time attacking the warrior. When your warrior eventually dies, just declare peace, and your job will be done. You stalled her tremendous growth rate.
Later on, you'll notice shes fallen behind in the technologies, but at the same time has all of her cities litered with Cottages->Towns. If you're an opportunist, I'd suggest taking advantage of this and pillaging a few of those towns for some quick cash.
I just would not suggest doing this during the Industrial Era when she has the Redcoats, unless you yourself have Marines. Redcoats are deadly and in a rush they can do a heck of a lot of damage.
Queen Elizabeth - {Philosophical & Financial}
She does not grow any where nearly as fast as Victoria does, but at the same time, shes a Great Leader producing machine. Shes also one of the ones who you'll be most pressed to keep up with in the space race. On the harder difficulties, I'd like to suggest warring with her if you find yourself in an up coming space race. Because more often than not, she will be one of the ones to snatch victory from you unless you intervene.
Shes probably one of the most Docile AI's in the game. I've never seen her declare war before. It's usually another civilization who declares war on her. She also has the habit of getting Emancipation notoriously early; which really screws you up if you don't have Democracy yet.
France -
Louis XIV - {Creative and Industrious}
Probably the most annoying Civilization AI in the game. At least in terms of difficulty. He has the knack to do the right thing at the right time for his civilization; and the wrong thing at the wrong time for yours. I hate losing cities to this guy because he pumps his border cities full with culture.
I hate it even more when he brings a stack of Musketeer's to pound on the Macemen in a border city defended primarily by Castles and Walls.
I hate it the most when he zooms through the end game to snatch a space race victory from you.
This guy can do it all, and he will make you mad. I suggest early wars on him if you can, that way you at least shut him up.
There are very little flaws in Louis XIV's AI. Easily one of the best, if not the best one in this game.
Napolean - {Aggressive & Industrious}
A warmonger. Not a very good one, but a Warmonger never the less. Hes not smart enough to wait for opportunities by the feel of things. Instead he makes large stacks of Macemen, War Elephants and Catapults and charges for the nearest city. I think hes more like most real life players, in that he never bothers with strategic planniong, relying more on brute force through numbers with whatever technologies and units that are available.
Later on in the game, he loses all of his strength, it's as if he goes imputent in his old age.
Not a very good AI for what should be represented as one of the five greatest warmongers of the past.
His main strength is his ability to keep up with technology. He could steal the Space Victory if you're not looking. However, don't count on him to beat you to any wonders though. He never bothers. Even with his Industrious trait.
Germany -
Frederick - {Creative & Philosophical}
I never get this guy. I always get Bismark. In all of my games, I've never ONCE gotten Frederick in the random rolls. The only time I ever played against him was when I chose the leaders of whom I have yet to face off against.
In my 'one' game against him, I'd say hes an isolationist peace keeper. He rarely makes enough money to keep his cities afloat, let alone keep up with the technology. He makes a fair ammount of Great Prophets, but I'd definitally rank his AI along the, "Iffy" area. Although, it might have just been his starting location. This is the only leader I have no experience in fighting against.
Bismark - {Expansive & Industrious}
This guy is a monster when he gets his Panzers. Make sure to cripple him long before he gets the chance to reach this point in the game with a good financial foundation and production output.
Scary part is, it's difficult to war against him in the Medieval ages, due to the fact that hes one of very few enemy AI's that actually bother to get Metal Casting before they enter the Classical Era. Those forges give him a very nice production boost which can help him defend himself if you're not smart.
The worst part about him is hes a fast expander. I imagine thats why it brings up his key flaw. His slow research. Because he researches Metal Working, and over-expands, hes wasting alot of time due to having very little beakers on a high cost technology, when he could have been grabbing Writing, or the Alphabet.
Greece -
Alexander - {Aggressive & Philosophical}
The biggest opportunist in the game. This bastard will take every chance that you give him, and he will do it with a vengeance. When you reach the higher difficulty levels, he will be one of your two mortal enemies.
His biggest strength is the Phalanx, which compliments his stack of combined arms perfectly. I'd vote him, "Most likely to steal a city early on and make you restart."
Unlike Caeser, he runs out of steam once the Industrial Era comes. Probably because the increased production other civilizations enjoy make his traits obselete. Aggressive and Philosophical just don't mix. =/
Inca -
Huayna Capac - {Aggressive & Financial}
A fly in the ointment. The nuisance that you just swat away. His AI is hamstrung by indecisiveness. He should do what every real person who plays as the Inca's does, and attack the nearest neighbour to steal a worker, and a city or two! The Quechua doesn't last very long, and without it, the Inca's aren't a warmonger, they're a kitten with a tuba. Their existance makes no sense.
Another gripe is that they rarely take advantage of the Financial Trait. He rarely builds cottages, and when he does, it's usually on plains without a river adjacent. The ******ed AI should put it by rivers for the extra commerce bonus...
Just a very bad AI all together. I rate it as one of the worst.
India -
Mahatma Gandhi - {Industrious & Spiritual}
Bastard. This is the guy who makes all the religions behind your back. If he starts with a gold, gems, silver or any other form of precious metal which gives +commerce right away in his city tiles, then he will be the one to get all three of the early religions. Always. Doesn't matter what difficulty. It just happens this way.
He will also be the one who steals away The Parthenon, the Pyramids, the Oracle, The Hanging Gardens, The Versailles... pretty much every wonder up until the end of the game. Which by then you should be foaming at the mouth looking for his blood.
His big weakness is the same weakness that most builder players have. His military is weak as he rarely works on it. He almost never adopts Theocracy or Vassalage. Rarely builds Barracks... Good thing too, because it makes taking him over out of spite that much easier on you.
Definitally one of the best Peace-time AI's.
Asoka - {Organized & Spiritual}
Geeze does this guy ever expand. He usually has 6-7 cities by the time you have 3 on Monarch difficulty. He really makes good use of his traits too, as he likes to micromanage between civics to get the best possible result at the best time. This really boosts him up the ranks by grabbing easy technology very quickly. Throw in his love for Universal Sufferage, Free Speech, Emancipation, Free Religion, Free Market, and lots and LOTS of Cottages/Towns, and you got a money making, tech researching Machine.
He'll definitally be one of the guys who will steal the space race from you if you're not looking. So keep an eye out for him.
Another great peace-time AI.
Japan -
Tokugawa - {Aggressive & Organized}
Bad trait combination. Bad UU. Bad starting technologies. Bad choice in civics. Horrible case of doesn't-invade syndrome. A severe case of xenophobia.
The worst AI in the game. The WORST AI in the game. Nothing compares to this brand of crappiness.
He will always be the one at the bottom of your ranking scores. Even on Always War hes useless. Because even though he builds up a huge army, he rarely uses the damn thing.
Just a bad AI. Nothing else can be said about how bad this AI is, except that it's the worst.
Mali -
Mansa Musa - {Financial & Spiritual}
This guy makes perfect use of his traits. He like Asoka likes to micromanage his civics at every possible opportunity. He'll also find a liking towards Universal Sufferage, Freedom of Speech, Emancipation, Free Trade, and Free Religion. Throw in the huge ammounts of cottages he likes to build, with the Financial attribute, and you'll get the guy who is usually #1 in the space race game if France or India is not there.
Hes not very aggressive though, and he tends to have a very weak army after the Skirmishers become obselete. I wouldn't suggest an early war with him due to the Skirmishers. They're simply too tough to crack through without War Elephants.
A great peace-time AI.
Mongolia -
Genghis Khan - {Aggressive & Expansive}
Pretty helpful trait combination. The AI utilizes it well 'when' the mongolians actually bother to go through with an attack. They like to declare war, but they rarely ever war. When they do, it's usually a miniature stack of obselete units. How boring.
The only time the Mongolian's are really dangerous are when they try the Keshik rush, but... again, they rarely attack. Let alone actually declare war in the early era.
Genghis overall do very little special, and do a lot very poorly.
Not a very good war-time AI. They feel like a place-filler.
Kublai Khan - {Aggressive & Creative}
I don't really consider him a war-mongering AI. Hes much more of a peace time AI who knows how to defend himself. A VERY good AI when it comes to keeping it's own arse out of a sling. It's probably the only one with enough brains to combine arms in defense. It's not rare to see Two Axemen, Two Archers, and Two Spearmen defending only one city.
Still. Kublai suffers from the same issues that Genghis does. They rarely attack. Let alone actually declare war in the ancient era when they have their Keshiks. The Keshiks are an awesome UU and they just waste them!
Kublai is nothing to worry about. Unless you try to take him over. Then you better bring lots of suicide catapults.
Note that all of this is speculation. So please input any information you have on the way that certain empires played on your games.
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America -
George Washington: {Financial & Organized}
Probably the weakest early AI in the game. Without a doubt, this man will be the first one to be conquered in most games. Sometimes you won't even see that 8th or 9th civilization on your map, because George Washington got destroyed before you even got the chance to meet him.
This is due to a weak AI trait combo. While in the hands of an intelligent player, this is power, to the computer who seems to favor farms and forests over cottages, and slow expansion over rapid sprawling. These trait combos are absolutely useless.
Later on in the game, hes still very timid. Although the Navy Seals can pose a problem on Island games. Hes been known to sneak attack and take a city using the Navy Seals before you can counter, or defend.
Franklin D Roosevelt - {Industrious & Organized)
A very strong peace-time AI. Although hes practically useless if somebody declares war on him any time before the Industrial Age. If he is left to his own accords, he'll probably be the one to beat you to the construction of The Hanging Gardens, The Great Lighthouse, or The Pyraminds.
This is why hes my least favorite AI to play against. He never falls behind in technology despite not having the same boosts that a player would have.
Thankfully hes one of the least likely people to come up against in a random game. You normally have to directly choose him, otherwise you'll get Washington instead.
Again Navy Seals can pose a problem on Island games. He like Washington been known to sneak attack and take a city using the Navy Seals before you can counter, or defend. He is a lot more aggressive than Washington too. Probably because hes in a better state to actually fight than Washington is by the Modern era.
Arabs -
Saladin - {Philosophical & Spiritual}
The AI does not utilize these traits very well. Although he has the annoying habit of changing his civics every 20 or so turns, which can clutter up your screen with "Saladin has changed to <Who the heck cares!>" messages.
Still, you would expect him to be a powerhouse in pumping out Great Leaders. To the Contrary hes actually very aggressive. More often than not, you'll see him rush you with waves of Musketmen and later on Riflemen.
He is probably the easiest to befriend out of all other AI's. Especially since his favored civic is one that is also very popular for warmongers. {Theocracy}
You should have no problem with him all throughout the game. Hes a pushover.
Aztecs -
Montezuma - {Aggressive & Spiritual}
Thank god this guys UU is useless. Hes probably the hardest person in the game to befriend, and he will attack you the moment you leave any city open. Luckily for you, by the time he gets his Jaguar's, you'll have Axemen which are more than enough of a counter. One Axeman could take out three or four Jaguar's before actually dying. Even if they have the Forest or Jungle bonus up.
He will also be the one to demand the most things from you. Let me make it clear to you. This guy can not be appeased. He will continue to take and take from you until you have nothing left, and then he will attack you. Do not give in to his demands. Instead kill his entire army once in battle, and he'll wuss out for the rest of the game.
It's amazing how intricate the game's AI is in this regard, as during my peaceful games, he always backs down after one major stomping on his army...
Although the game states that he prefers Police State, he is almost always found using Universal Sufferage. Weird huh? You'll also notice his country-side completely covered in cottages more often than not. You know what that means, right? PILLAGE!
Barbarians -
Barbarians are a pushover AI. They're meant to be. I don't think it is possible for them to ever go higher than the Rifleman unit in terms of military technology. Although they can beat you to the construction of the space ship. {Weird huh?}
Barbarians can only be a problem if no civilization in your game expands across the world. Barbarians will start to band together their borders through the use of building Castles for Culture, and when that happens... well, then they act more like a real civilziation on AW.
Still... Even then they're weak. Always with only 3-4 defenders... A cinch to destroy.
China -
Mao Zedong - {Philosophical & Organized}
One of two Isolationists in this game. For some reason he almost never trades with the human player. At least the bugger-ball never traded with me. He also seems to be one of three leaders that almost never get picked in the random civ Generator. Almost always you get Qin Shi Huang instead.
He definitally does not use the Cho-Ku-Nu properly, so you should definitally not worry about a 4+ first strike + collateral damage onslaught if you see a stack coming your way. In fact, you'd have to be playing on Immortal Difficulty, because he rarely attacks. Ever.
I'd state that he is a peace-time AI, but really hes more of a do-nothing AI. Like Tokugawa.
Qin Shi Huang - {Industirous & Financial}
Wow. Definitally in the top ten rivals for the space race. Although he tends to lean towards military technologies. I usually skip Military Tradition in favor of quicker growth, and he'd have communism, military tradition, and rifling, while I in contrast had Rifling, Electricity, etc... Made for some good trades, because this guy will trade almost anything.
Which makes him a great friend to have. The best part is, hes very very easy to befriend.
It seems his prefered civics are Representation, Caste System, Mercantilism, or Representation, Emancipation, and Free Market. I've played against this guy in about 80% of my games, so I can really attest that hes your best bet for an easy bloc alliance partner.
Again, the AI does not know how to use the Cho-Ku-Nu properly, so there is nothing to worry about if you see some headed your way.
Egypt -
Hatshepsut - {Spiritual Creative}
I've had a lot of bad luck when starting near by her. She has the uncanny ability to shove 20 war charriots up my arse whenever I do something even slightly bad to annoy her. It seems the thing she hates the most is when cultural borders impede on her borders. Which is awesome since thats an actual factor in whether the AI decides to declare war or not.
She is very aggressive, but thankfully she is also very easy to appease. If you're on her bad side, just switch to her religion and she'll never bother you again. Just a side-perk of the religion system; but it works best with her.
Shes very timid after the time of the Chariots are over, so if you can weather the storm without too much of a hitch or loss, you could easily counter her with spearmen, or pikemen to dominate her.
In most of my games, she tends to choose Heredity Rule, or Representation accompanied with Nationhood. I guess shes worried about happiness. Weird.
England -
Queen Victoria - {Expansive & Financial}
She shows up a lot less than Elizabeth when you play random games.
She has probably the fastest growing AI of them all. She spreads like a virus across the land. If you start off as her neighbor, I would suggest either blocking her expansion routes by keeping her from an open border, or I would suggest directly attacking her and stalling her growth. You can easily do so just by using one warrior to steal her worker {On harder difficulties}, and then camping that warrior on a nearby high defense tile. She'll waste her time attacking the warrior. When your warrior eventually dies, just declare peace, and your job will be done. You stalled her tremendous growth rate.
Later on, you'll notice shes fallen behind in the technologies, but at the same time has all of her cities litered with Cottages->Towns. If you're an opportunist, I'd suggest taking advantage of this and pillaging a few of those towns for some quick cash.
I just would not suggest doing this during the Industrial Era when she has the Redcoats, unless you yourself have Marines. Redcoats are deadly and in a rush they can do a heck of a lot of damage.
Queen Elizabeth - {Philosophical & Financial}
She does not grow any where nearly as fast as Victoria does, but at the same time, shes a Great Leader producing machine. Shes also one of the ones who you'll be most pressed to keep up with in the space race. On the harder difficulties, I'd like to suggest warring with her if you find yourself in an up coming space race. Because more often than not, she will be one of the ones to snatch victory from you unless you intervene.
Shes probably one of the most Docile AI's in the game. I've never seen her declare war before. It's usually another civilization who declares war on her. She also has the habit of getting Emancipation notoriously early; which really screws you up if you don't have Democracy yet.
France -
Louis XIV - {Creative and Industrious}
Probably the most annoying Civilization AI in the game. At least in terms of difficulty. He has the knack to do the right thing at the right time for his civilization; and the wrong thing at the wrong time for yours. I hate losing cities to this guy because he pumps his border cities full with culture.
I hate it even more when he brings a stack of Musketeer's to pound on the Macemen in a border city defended primarily by Castles and Walls.
I hate it the most when he zooms through the end game to snatch a space race victory from you.
This guy can do it all, and he will make you mad. I suggest early wars on him if you can, that way you at least shut him up.
There are very little flaws in Louis XIV's AI. Easily one of the best, if not the best one in this game.
Napolean - {Aggressive & Industrious}
A warmonger. Not a very good one, but a Warmonger never the less. Hes not smart enough to wait for opportunities by the feel of things. Instead he makes large stacks of Macemen, War Elephants and Catapults and charges for the nearest city. I think hes more like most real life players, in that he never bothers with strategic planniong, relying more on brute force through numbers with whatever technologies and units that are available.
Later on in the game, he loses all of his strength, it's as if he goes imputent in his old age.
Not a very good AI for what should be represented as one of the five greatest warmongers of the past.
His main strength is his ability to keep up with technology. He could steal the Space Victory if you're not looking. However, don't count on him to beat you to any wonders though. He never bothers. Even with his Industrious trait.
Germany -
Frederick - {Creative & Philosophical}
I never get this guy. I always get Bismark. In all of my games, I've never ONCE gotten Frederick in the random rolls. The only time I ever played against him was when I chose the leaders of whom I have yet to face off against.
In my 'one' game against him, I'd say hes an isolationist peace keeper. He rarely makes enough money to keep his cities afloat, let alone keep up with the technology. He makes a fair ammount of Great Prophets, but I'd definitally rank his AI along the, "Iffy" area. Although, it might have just been his starting location. This is the only leader I have no experience in fighting against.
Bismark - {Expansive & Industrious}
This guy is a monster when he gets his Panzers. Make sure to cripple him long before he gets the chance to reach this point in the game with a good financial foundation and production output.
Scary part is, it's difficult to war against him in the Medieval ages, due to the fact that hes one of very few enemy AI's that actually bother to get Metal Casting before they enter the Classical Era. Those forges give him a very nice production boost which can help him defend himself if you're not smart.
The worst part about him is hes a fast expander. I imagine thats why it brings up his key flaw. His slow research. Because he researches Metal Working, and over-expands, hes wasting alot of time due to having very little beakers on a high cost technology, when he could have been grabbing Writing, or the Alphabet.
Greece -
Alexander - {Aggressive & Philosophical}
The biggest opportunist in the game. This bastard will take every chance that you give him, and he will do it with a vengeance. When you reach the higher difficulty levels, he will be one of your two mortal enemies.
His biggest strength is the Phalanx, which compliments his stack of combined arms perfectly. I'd vote him, "Most likely to steal a city early on and make you restart."
Unlike Caeser, he runs out of steam once the Industrial Era comes. Probably because the increased production other civilizations enjoy make his traits obselete. Aggressive and Philosophical just don't mix. =/
Inca -
Huayna Capac - {Aggressive & Financial}
A fly in the ointment. The nuisance that you just swat away. His AI is hamstrung by indecisiveness. He should do what every real person who plays as the Inca's does, and attack the nearest neighbour to steal a worker, and a city or two! The Quechua doesn't last very long, and without it, the Inca's aren't a warmonger, they're a kitten with a tuba. Their existance makes no sense.
Another gripe is that they rarely take advantage of the Financial Trait. He rarely builds cottages, and when he does, it's usually on plains without a river adjacent. The ******ed AI should put it by rivers for the extra commerce bonus...
Just a very bad AI all together. I rate it as one of the worst.
India -
Mahatma Gandhi - {Industrious & Spiritual}
Bastard. This is the guy who makes all the religions behind your back. If he starts with a gold, gems, silver or any other form of precious metal which gives +commerce right away in his city tiles, then he will be the one to get all three of the early religions. Always. Doesn't matter what difficulty. It just happens this way.
He will also be the one who steals away The Parthenon, the Pyramids, the Oracle, The Hanging Gardens, The Versailles... pretty much every wonder up until the end of the game. Which by then you should be foaming at the mouth looking for his blood.
His big weakness is the same weakness that most builder players have. His military is weak as he rarely works on it. He almost never adopts Theocracy or Vassalage. Rarely builds Barracks... Good thing too, because it makes taking him over out of spite that much easier on you.
Definitally one of the best Peace-time AI's.
Asoka - {Organized & Spiritual}
Geeze does this guy ever expand. He usually has 6-7 cities by the time you have 3 on Monarch difficulty. He really makes good use of his traits too, as he likes to micromanage between civics to get the best possible result at the best time. This really boosts him up the ranks by grabbing easy technology very quickly. Throw in his love for Universal Sufferage, Free Speech, Emancipation, Free Religion, Free Market, and lots and LOTS of Cottages/Towns, and you got a money making, tech researching Machine.
He'll definitally be one of the guys who will steal the space race from you if you're not looking. So keep an eye out for him.
Another great peace-time AI.
Japan -
Tokugawa - {Aggressive & Organized}
Bad trait combination. Bad UU. Bad starting technologies. Bad choice in civics. Horrible case of doesn't-invade syndrome. A severe case of xenophobia.
The worst AI in the game. The WORST AI in the game. Nothing compares to this brand of crappiness.
He will always be the one at the bottom of your ranking scores. Even on Always War hes useless. Because even though he builds up a huge army, he rarely uses the damn thing.
Just a bad AI. Nothing else can be said about how bad this AI is, except that it's the worst.
Mali -
Mansa Musa - {Financial & Spiritual}
This guy makes perfect use of his traits. He like Asoka likes to micromanage his civics at every possible opportunity. He'll also find a liking towards Universal Sufferage, Freedom of Speech, Emancipation, Free Trade, and Free Religion. Throw in the huge ammounts of cottages he likes to build, with the Financial attribute, and you'll get the guy who is usually #1 in the space race game if France or India is not there.
Hes not very aggressive though, and he tends to have a very weak army after the Skirmishers become obselete. I wouldn't suggest an early war with him due to the Skirmishers. They're simply too tough to crack through without War Elephants.
A great peace-time AI.
Mongolia -
Genghis Khan - {Aggressive & Expansive}
Pretty helpful trait combination. The AI utilizes it well 'when' the mongolians actually bother to go through with an attack. They like to declare war, but they rarely ever war. When they do, it's usually a miniature stack of obselete units. How boring.
The only time the Mongolian's are really dangerous are when they try the Keshik rush, but... again, they rarely attack. Let alone actually declare war in the early era.
Genghis overall do very little special, and do a lot very poorly.
Not a very good war-time AI. They feel like a place-filler.
Kublai Khan - {Aggressive & Creative}
I don't really consider him a war-mongering AI. Hes much more of a peace time AI who knows how to defend himself. A VERY good AI when it comes to keeping it's own arse out of a sling. It's probably the only one with enough brains to combine arms in defense. It's not rare to see Two Axemen, Two Archers, and Two Spearmen defending only one city.
Still. Kublai suffers from the same issues that Genghis does. They rarely attack. Let alone actually declare war in the ancient era when they have their Keshiks. The Keshiks are an awesome UU and they just waste them!
Kublai is nothing to worry about. Unless you try to take him over. Then you better bring lots of suicide catapults.
). He never caused any problems to me - always a few or more techs behind (except until middle ages). To me he seems like no threat and I only get a good "shield" before other AIs can get to my borders... And I did beat him to Hanging Gardens in both games.
