This topic is about the civilizations that make a game easier for the human player if they are present in the game. Feel free to add to the list if you think there's anything I missed or give criticism and stuff.
1. The Netherlands
Reasons:
- When William is in the game, your potential to achieve certain things related to happiness become easier. (trigger We love the king, golden age, complete CS missions, stay positive with happiness, etc)
This is because his UA makes him sell you unique luxuries for half the price compared to any other civilization. You can for example give him 14 gpt or one luxury and only 4 gpt for a luxury that you would normally have to pay 28 gpt or luxury+18 gpt.
- he tends to grow tall because of his terrain and this can make him a good target for stealing techs.
- he has better than average friendship willingness and loyalty so he's great for having as ally.
- he's low in victory competitiveness and wonders so he's not likely to be your main rival on the path to victory.
2. Venice
Reasons:
- Venice usually has a few hundred gold in the early game that you can obtain by a quick declaration of war, and get 275 gold by selling a luxury+embassy, this allows you to buy what you need, faster. He doesn't want to stay at war so he normally accepts peace quickly and doesn't require anything from you.
- Venice is great for you in that you can obtain extra gold either from pillaging his caravans or by getting extra gold/science from his caravans being sent to you.
- Given his UA, he will be much easier to overcome in military strenght compared to any other civ, and this makes him vulnerable to your warmongering. There's little Enrico Dandolo can do if you decide to capture his capital, if you are his neighbour. Best to let him build a few wonders for you, as he usually manages to build a few in the early game. He sometimes likes to start out with Temple of Artemis so watch out for that!
- a great civilization to gift/sell cities that you don't need during the game.
- he is very friendly even if a bit deceptive and not very loyal.
- he is usually the best target to steal techs from, because he will have University+National College built much quicker than other civs and the capital is usually tall enough. It's likely he won't be the tech leader so the spy should be safe, otherwise pick another target until he gets left behind a bit.
3. Mongolia
Reasons:
- At the very least, having Ghenghis in the game is good for you to have a bit of assistance against CSs that you don't like or want taken out of the picture. You can pay him to attack city states that you want to gift units to, so that you receive more influence. You can liberate what he captures at some point and get easy allies.
- With each civilization that doesn't compete with you for CSs influence, your task of having allies becomes automatically easier and given CS importance, having Mongolia in a game is always a plus.
- AI can't efficiently use his UUs so don't worry about Keshiks.
- he tends to expand and he shouldn't be totally underestimated as he can potentially have a strong end-game if he conquers too many cities, but he has lower than average science as a weakness.
4. The Huns
Reasons:
The battering ram is a good unit, but you need only scouts to block it and they are worse units than the normal unit in the hands of the AI. Attila is easier than average to manipulate into going for wars on targets you don't like and he usually lacks the tech pace to become a victory contender. Similarly to Mongolia he can sometimes be used against city states you don't like. Farming XP on battering rams is easier since you don't have to worry about your units remaining on low hp.
When he is immediate neighbour he shouldn't be underestimated and care should be taken to ensure no battering ram gets into city range. Otherwise, one less rival on the path to victory as he lacks the science, with a value of only 3. He isn't likely to compete with you for CS influence or for anything else, in fact. His only hopes rely on capturing his immediate neighbour. If that happens it means there's one civilization waiting to be liberated, so that you can have an easier time for Diplomatic Victory.
5. Morocco
Reasons:
- You can make a few extra gold from sending caravans to Morocco, and you can expect him to send caravans to you to use his UA.
- He starts in desert and is likely to build Petra, maybe a few kasbahs. If he is close to you, capturing him after that happens can give you a very strong advantage, so helping him until then can be a good idea.
- Morocco can be dangerous after he obtains Berber Cavalry, but he should be taken out or weakened before that happens.
- Ahmad al-Mansur is one of the 3 leaders with the highest friendliness in the game so you can expect a DOF with him if you want to, to either get loans or research agreements, should you desire that.
6. Egypt
Reasons:
- There is a high incentive to capture Egypt and the rewards are big, so having Egypt in the game is a plus more often than not. Worth mentioning that when you are Songhai this is of very high importance since you can use the UA for great profits.
- When he is your neighbour or in close range, letting him build a few wonders as you prepare to capture his capital can turn out very beneficial but if he also builds The Great Wall, it's likely to require a very strong militaristic focus before he consolidates his empire.
- Egypt has a very strong diplomatic game and it's amongst the hardest civilizations to manipulate in civ 5. He is likely to compete for victory if he is far away and not kept in check by anybody. His weaknesses are in the form of lower scores for military, war, offense, and air. He has higher than average probability - score 6 - to become afraid and bullied into a friendship or to give in to trade demands. When he is far away he should be treated as the main rival and other civilizations should be manipulated into going against Egypt before they become too strong.
7. India
Reasons:
India has the highest friendship willingness in the game and the lowest boldness and war scores in the game. This means there is one less civilization to challange you militarily. He can't expand well due to his UA so he is vulnerable if you are his neighbour and want to capture his capital.
If he is far away he can be used in the late game for nuking other targets that you don't like.
Even though he's likely to compete for CS influence, India is a civilization that is easier to deal with in most aspects compared to other civilizations. Their UA,UU and UB aren't that good, especially in the hands of the AI, so what remains is a docile civilization with no aspiration for conquest.
Similarly to Venice, India should be open to a quick war & peace in the early game for some trade-for-gold, and the tall indian cities make for good tech stealing targets for the spies.
1. The Netherlands
Reasons:
- When William is in the game, your potential to achieve certain things related to happiness become easier. (trigger We love the king, golden age, complete CS missions, stay positive with happiness, etc)
This is because his UA makes him sell you unique luxuries for half the price compared to any other civilization. You can for example give him 14 gpt or one luxury and only 4 gpt for a luxury that you would normally have to pay 28 gpt or luxury+18 gpt.
- he tends to grow tall because of his terrain and this can make him a good target for stealing techs.
- he has better than average friendship willingness and loyalty so he's great for having as ally.
- he's low in victory competitiveness and wonders so he's not likely to be your main rival on the path to victory.
2. Venice
Reasons:
- Venice usually has a few hundred gold in the early game that you can obtain by a quick declaration of war, and get 275 gold by selling a luxury+embassy, this allows you to buy what you need, faster. He doesn't want to stay at war so he normally accepts peace quickly and doesn't require anything from you.
- Venice is great for you in that you can obtain extra gold either from pillaging his caravans or by getting extra gold/science from his caravans being sent to you.
- Given his UA, he will be much easier to overcome in military strenght compared to any other civ, and this makes him vulnerable to your warmongering. There's little Enrico Dandolo can do if you decide to capture his capital, if you are his neighbour. Best to let him build a few wonders for you, as he usually manages to build a few in the early game. He sometimes likes to start out with Temple of Artemis so watch out for that!
- a great civilization to gift/sell cities that you don't need during the game.
- he is very friendly even if a bit deceptive and not very loyal.
- he is usually the best target to steal techs from, because he will have University+National College built much quicker than other civs and the capital is usually tall enough. It's likely he won't be the tech leader so the spy should be safe, otherwise pick another target until he gets left behind a bit.
3. Mongolia
Reasons:
- At the very least, having Ghenghis in the game is good for you to have a bit of assistance against CSs that you don't like or want taken out of the picture. You can pay him to attack city states that you want to gift units to, so that you receive more influence. You can liberate what he captures at some point and get easy allies.
- With each civilization that doesn't compete with you for CSs influence, your task of having allies becomes automatically easier and given CS importance, having Mongolia in a game is always a plus.
- AI can't efficiently use his UUs so don't worry about Keshiks.
- he tends to expand and he shouldn't be totally underestimated as he can potentially have a strong end-game if he conquers too many cities, but he has lower than average science as a weakness.
4. The Huns
Reasons:
The battering ram is a good unit, but you need only scouts to block it and they are worse units than the normal unit in the hands of the AI. Attila is easier than average to manipulate into going for wars on targets you don't like and he usually lacks the tech pace to become a victory contender. Similarly to Mongolia he can sometimes be used against city states you don't like. Farming XP on battering rams is easier since you don't have to worry about your units remaining on low hp.
When he is immediate neighbour he shouldn't be underestimated and care should be taken to ensure no battering ram gets into city range. Otherwise, one less rival on the path to victory as he lacks the science, with a value of only 3. He isn't likely to compete with you for CS influence or for anything else, in fact. His only hopes rely on capturing his immediate neighbour. If that happens it means there's one civilization waiting to be liberated, so that you can have an easier time for Diplomatic Victory.
5. Morocco
Reasons:
- You can make a few extra gold from sending caravans to Morocco, and you can expect him to send caravans to you to use his UA.
- He starts in desert and is likely to build Petra, maybe a few kasbahs. If he is close to you, capturing him after that happens can give you a very strong advantage, so helping him until then can be a good idea.
- Morocco can be dangerous after he obtains Berber Cavalry, but he should be taken out or weakened before that happens.
- Ahmad al-Mansur is one of the 3 leaders with the highest friendliness in the game so you can expect a DOF with him if you want to, to either get loans or research agreements, should you desire that.
6. Egypt
Reasons:
- There is a high incentive to capture Egypt and the rewards are big, so having Egypt in the game is a plus more often than not. Worth mentioning that when you are Songhai this is of very high importance since you can use the UA for great profits.
- When he is your neighbour or in close range, letting him build a few wonders as you prepare to capture his capital can turn out very beneficial but if he also builds The Great Wall, it's likely to require a very strong militaristic focus before he consolidates his empire.
- Egypt has a very strong diplomatic game and it's amongst the hardest civilizations to manipulate in civ 5. He is likely to compete for victory if he is far away and not kept in check by anybody. His weaknesses are in the form of lower scores for military, war, offense, and air. He has higher than average probability - score 6 - to become afraid and bullied into a friendship or to give in to trade demands. When he is far away he should be treated as the main rival and other civilizations should be manipulated into going against Egypt before they become too strong.
7. India
Reasons:
India has the highest friendship willingness in the game and the lowest boldness and war scores in the game. This means there is one less civilization to challange you militarily. He can't expand well due to his UA so he is vulnerable if you are his neighbour and want to capture his capital.
If he is far away he can be used in the late game for nuking other targets that you don't like.
Even though he's likely to compete for CS influence, India is a civilization that is easier to deal with in most aspects compared to other civilizations. Their UA,UU and UB aren't that good, especially in the hands of the AI, so what remains is a docile civilization with no aspiration for conquest.
Similarly to Venice, India should be open to a quick war & peace in the early game for some trade-for-gold, and the tall indian cities make for good tech stealing targets for the spies.
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