Top 3 Leaders to play

[xfactor99]

Elizabeth - Both Philosophical and Financial are strong traits, and allow a lot of economic flexibility. The UB has been hugely strengthened with the advent of corporations.

Hannibal - Financial always makes a first class leader, and Charismatic is handy at high levels. Not quite as clearly the best as he used to be, now happiness is less of a problem at high levels, but still in the top three.

William of Oranje - Financial... you've got the idea by now. Creative isn't exceptional, but with the addition of cheap libraries it's well worth having. The UB on many map types is ludicrously strong - Moai statues everywhere with a river.

I agree with this guy, and wish to add Darius. Personally, I love Pericles, Mansa Musa, and Gandhi as well, but those financial leaders completely dominate.

And then there are the Roman leaders, but they are much more a product of their UU than their traits.

 

[KaytieKat]

Everyone overlooks roosevelt, Industrious organized, but hes the only leader I ever managed a Diety domination with. Great for early wonders and running expensive civics(organized religion). The UU and UB come late, but the navy seal is actually quite effective at keeping a drive going. With organized you can slave courthouses as soon as you capture a city, and still have room to slave more infastructure, especially a factory/forge with the industrious trait. I haven't tried him in bts yet, but definately an early wonder machine, who turns into a quick marching assault champion really easily.

Hi

I love FDR too and SEALs are my fave UU. In vanilla and Warlords I usually played the Americans. And in BtS it is soo cool 2 try em with different civs and leaders. I tried FDR with holy romans and it was very nice. Between organized and that UU courthouse with 75% lowered costs I was able 2 get a HUGE empire going early and I was able to use industrous LOTS because I had a BEAUTIFUL starting roll. It was mostly water with just 7 land squares in its fatcross but it had 3 clams and 1 fish on the water in its cross and the 5 land squares 3 where hills and 2 were forests and one was cows and even the only flat square was a floodplains on a river. It was one of the best starts I ever got if I ever got better I dont remember it. Plus holy romans start out with hunting so that meant a scout 2 get come goody hut gold while I belined fishing then pumped out workboats then settlers 2 get going fast one fo the huts gave me masonry so I was even able to chop out great wall so the barbies never bothered me. By time my empire got big enuff that the costs was getting more than organized could handle had CoL all down and started builing the Rathas. It was lots of fun to be able to build very early and spread out fast but gold still be not a big deal so I could keep teching with the other civs. And by time I did go to war I was big enuff that other civs couldnt handle the numbers or the combo of units. I didnt have horses hooked up by then but I had iron and ivory with construction all done so I sent out armies of swordsman cats and elephants and even Rome and its prats went down pretty easy. I was able to win that game with a apostlic palce victory.

I also love SEALs I just like all the mods they can get so easy. So 1 game just for fun I played America led by Tokagowa. I planted a city that I planned to be my special forces boot camp so it would have lots of hills for mi9nes and rest framable land so I could work all the hills since this city wouldnt use any industry boost national wonders so it would need to make lots of hammers without any boost. By time it was all ready to make SEALs late in game it had westpoint, red cross, and academy, a barracks and 3 advisors. I didnt put HE there cuz I wanted room for westpoint and red cross in same city just for the fun of it hehe . My civ also got pentagon so between the wonders and the leader traits and UU traits that city wa spumping 17 exp SEAls so coming out of the box they had March, Amphibious, City Garrison 1, Medic 1, Combat 1, Combat 2, Drill 1 Drill2 Drill 3 and Drill 4. All those drills plus thier own built in strikes gave em 4-8 1st strikes. It was FUN they were tuff enuff to take out cities and hold the cities if I wanted to keep em and they would just keep going. They healed while they walked and even when they did pause it only meant they healed even faster. About the only thing that made it kind of a pain was to work it out I had 2 be a builder with a leader with absolutely NO building traits but even that was kinda fun.

I also learned privateers are VERY helpful. Since Toki has absolutely NO traits to help maintain an empire at all and I was kinda holding back a little so there would be a a few civs left big enuff to make it fun 2 send my SEALs after em. I pumped LOTS of privateers and blockaded everything I could. That gave enough gold to help me keep my tech up without going bankrupt plus all those privateers hunting the waters meant LOTS peacetime navy fights which kept the great general points going even in peacetime. I swear all those privateer battles gave me enuff great general points that all by themselves they helped me get about 2 and half generals or so. (it makes me wonder what they would do with a imperialistic leader hehe )

Toki may not be the most effcient leader his traits r even kind of opposite. one made for warring and the other more for building. But waring just with agressive or building just with protective and nothing else to synergize with it is a pain. BUT he does end up with nice gunpowder units if you have the patience to work him that far. It makes me want to try him out with Red coats or even musketeers now hehe

Kaytie

 

[azzaman333]

Mansa Musa is still favourite. Skirmisher gives you huge defenses, to build up the cottages, Spiritual allows you to change civics every 10-20 turns depending on what you need at the time, Financial is extra money and the Mint is even more money.

Pacal II is my 2nd favourite, again early UU with no resources required = easy defence. Plus Financial, and expansive and the ball court large money making cities can easily be supported earlier than other civs.

Without having played as him, Gilgamesh is my hypothetical 3rd favourite as I can never be bothered researching to CoL to get a courthouse.

 

[Fookison]

Stalin, Genghis Khan, Augustus Caeser

 

[PimpyMicPimp]

Darius I- Oh so much money!
Boudica- Oh so much death!
Stalin- Oh so much satisfaction when I rename a city to 'Pimpingrad'

 

[ATopic22]

My top choice is Hanibal. Particulary for military reasons. His Numidian cavalry can (in my experiences) dominate over the spearman gaining fast promotions and strength. His financial trait can support a large army as well as a large civilization and and can get you ahead in the Tech race. On top of that for some reason he always starts out on a coastal square allowing for a lott of commerce early in the game before your cottages have developed. His financial trait does this by adding 1 more gold to tiles with 2. His charismatic trait can also alow for a great slavery whip which is especialy good in mp games. On top of all this, he was the greatest General of all time.


Genghis Khan- I think he's the best warmonger as he's got keshiks that can be trained even further with the GER. Add a couple of civics like vassalage and theocracy and youve got some very powerfull keshiks. His aggresive trait is good for early rushes and the imperialistic trait is great for getting out cities fast and getting out great generals.

Lastly is Shaka. Who can forget those fast impi. The agresive trait goes perfectly with his UU as well as his UB which further makes impi the greatest early unit. I forgot his other trait so i cant say anything about that.

 

[BYC]

Shaka, nuff said.
Caesar, nuff said.

Fredrick. For me, I really get orgasmic when I get those German Assembly Plants up in about 6 turns or so (reduced cost from coal, and Organized trait). One time, I was way behind until I hit the modern era, and then I spammed Assembly Plants. I ended up easily winning the Space race. Also, I'm a big fan of SE, so I like his Philosophical trait for that.

 

[Via]

1. Elizabeth - best traits, superb UU Redcoat, very good UB
2. Huyana Capac - superb traits, I love both Quechas and Terraces(top5UB)
3. Darius - another financial monster with superb early UU and very good UB

 

[Withouthatred]

How dare you insult the ottoman unique unit..........with gunpowder and nationhood, it's a beast.

 

[sucinum]

Charlemange
Brennus
Ashoka
Versatile leaders who can adapt to everything, i'm always glad when i get one of those. I play random civ and shuffle or fractal maps, so versatility counts most.

 

[Littlelisa]

Elizabeth is my current choice

Cause i like playing English, Red coats look so much nicer, and on marathon i have to look at riflemen for hours

 

[Ozbenno]

Darius - The combo of Financial and Organised are great the higher the level you play, allowing you to keep the research rate and total beakers up. UU can be effective for early rushes at a pinch and the UB gives extra health which is important in BtS.

Elizabeth - Financial and Philsophical give you the best of both worlds for mixing CE and SE. Rocking UU as well.

Gandhi - The king of SE, Spiritual and Philosophical allow so much flexibility in how you approach the game. UU is superb, gives a wonderful advantage early on (the best time to get one).

 

[meatwad4289]

I normally play as either Washignton or Roosevelt.. But recently I've been playing as Brennus and found the game to be alot easier i nbthe sense that Brennus is everything I need in a leader lol..

He's perfect for building an Empire. With a little hard work, he can generate 800+ gold per turn, and still have all his cities producing miltiary. I did perfectly fien with him til i went to war with zululand and got screwed over by colonial costs. since Zululand is over half my size i can't exactly give it independence. But he still good leader.


Washington is also a good leader, can quickly expand i nthe begining and build a decent military, however empire building takes more time.


Roosevelt has been my favorite since warlords but now has been replaced by Brennus. I played roosevelt(and pretended he was Teddy instead cause Teddy was so much better) The thing I liked about Roosevelt was that every game I played I would get a HUUGE amoutn of gold per a turn, or atleast i tohught 120 per turn was huge. however it was difficult and tricky to get this good economy with him, and production would slip, My military wouldn't be as powerful as I'd like. He was very much a default leader, one of the ones you start out on, but as time goes on you grow beyond them. I played as Julius Caesar in almost every game of Civ3, because with Caesar nothing could stop me, i was hoping Roosevelt would be this, but he wasnt. Now im Brennus.

The best tho was a mod for Vanilla. it was the confederacy mod, General Robert E Lee greatest leader of all time.

 

[kakitadairu]

1) Augustus Caesar: Best UU no questions. Starts with mining which IMO is the best starting tech. Forum with a good chance of completing Parthenon is almost as good as Philosophical, so he is almost philosophical + industrious. Settled Great Generals help make Rome/ Oxford the best tech city, very easy to get 10+ settled great generals each making 9 beakers since with the Praets you will want to always be at war.

2) Pericles: Well the starting techs are mediocre but you research mining first anyway. He gets double production on so many buildings though: Library AND University, Theater *and* his UB Odeon! Odeon is 40 hammers for +2 smiley face, +3 (+6 ancient culture). I think Phalanx is horrid: the computer doesn't seem to build Chariots. But the computer for some reason always gives me elephants to go with Hunting so beeline to War Elephant makes that my UU. War Elephants are like Praetorians... So just like Augie you have a great builder with a respectable war machine. Creative isn't awesome but it's better than it looks on paper, larger borders is a nice edge in war i.e. harder for the enemy to reach your cities, faster for you to get to their's.

3) De Gaulle: Well I really love Industrious. I play on Immortal, not Diety so with Industrious you can get some Wonders. Unfortunately French don't start with mining but they get to beeline to Writing through cottage which gives De Gaulle the tech edge needed to finish the key wonders first. De Gaulle's Charismatic has a lot of synergy: the extra smiley faces are good because France hooks up food and health quickly, and whipping helps pay for Wonders. I like Charismatic better than Aggressive because Ch. is like a free promotion for all types of Units, not just melee/ gunpowder.

Out of the loop: Elizabeth. Philosophical and Financial are top traits, but they work against each other. Philosophical wants specialists and Financial only helps when working the land. At the start of the game, the majority of your tech is from your Palace and Gold mines, the +1/+2 you might get from Financial only matters if you were racing for a religion which Elizabeth can't do. Stock Exchange is rather weak and Cavalry >> Redcoat. At least she starts with Mining.

Almost: The Chinese leaders. China is the only Civ that starts Mining/ Agriculture which you can't go wrong with: any land tile can be improved and you get bread bonuses, hammer bonuses and commerce bonuses. CNK isn't a spam unit but it's interesting tactically and is great synergy with protective. The Pavillion is lackluster, about the same as Stock Exchange. Qi is an Auggie wannabe, but really no advantage over Auggie besides Agriculture over Fishing to start.

Cheers,

Dai

 

[Neo Guderian]

Charlemagne and the HRE. If you like building a massive empire, not even Fin leaders can compare to the sick bonsues of the UB. 25% -maint is better than an extra commerce.

The HRE synergizes sooo well. Imp gets out a spam of early cities, Protective guards newly won territories. The UU dominates the middle Ages, and i've already mentioned the Rathaus.

I gota go play them now.

 

[afa2000]

1. Elizabeth - best traits, superb UU Redcoat, very good UB
2. Huyana Capac - superb traits, I love both Quechas and Terraces(top5UB)
3. Darius - another financial monster with superb early UU and very good UB

Same here. I like also Hannibal and Pericles.

Best civ so far = HRE, followed by dutchs.

 

[Daiyoukai Ramza]

Hrm... my top 3 leaders are...

Hannibal - He's been my favorite Civ IV leader since I first bought Warlords. Nice traits, nice UU... plus, he's freakin' Hannibal.

Willem van Oranje - I've been playing as the Dutch for the past few games... I'm enjoying them VERY much. I'm very impressed with the Dutch.

Hammurabi - Hammurabi was my favorite leader in Civ III... it's only natural that I'd enjoy playing as him again. If not for the Dutch, I'd be playing Hammy A LOT.

 

[sneaky]

My favorite leaders:

Ragnar: Great traits, Financial and Aggresive, a nice UB and a very good UU. You can go the warmonger route but also have a nice financial empire.
Willem van Oranje: I love the Creative, it allows much better city placement and fast culture pressing. Financial obviously is great. The Dike is just too much fun and boosts production all over your empire.
Shaka Zulu: Nice traits, a fantastic UU and a wonderful UB. Warmongering and domination made easy.

Other favorites: Augustus (expecially pre-bts), Tokugawa (Pre-Warlords), Sladin (Pre-Warlords), Ramsus, Pericles.

EDIT: The variety of choses in this thread shows that CIV IV really has a leader for everything and that most leaders seem to be very balanced.

 

[Hawe Hawe]

absolute Nr. 1: Ashoka! He is so flexible, because spiritual and organized lets you run every government you like and change whenever you like. He can be a better warmonger than standard aggressive leaders in one moment but also a better builder than an industrial leader in the next turn. The Worker-UU is nice too, and with warlords even the mausoleum has become better (espionage).
Nr. 2: Dareios(in theory because I haven't tried him yet) Because of the immortal, the best UU in the game in my opinion. Early wars are the most effective wars and this UU is made for it. I imagine his traits to be perfect to transform your early conquests to a technology and builder oriented game.
Nr. 3: Ramses: Strong UU for the same reasons as persia. With the monument UB you will get religions and shrines nearly simultanously and some other manufactured wonders can't harm. And spiritual is my prefered trait anyway.
Early war and then a cultural victory is a nice way to go with him.

 

[RockTheCazbah87]

Top 3:

Gandhi: Philosophical, 'cos GP are awesome and Spiritual, useful 'cos of the Anarchy loss and the temple prod. boost. Handy for you religious nuts out there

Darius: Financial & Organized - two great traits. Handy to keep a tech lead with.

And either Lincoln or Hannibal: Charismatic for both, always a nice trait, Financial for Hannibal (we always need dosh, no?) and Philosophical is one of my favourite traits.