Best beginner civ/leader

[Minor Annoyance]

I was thinking about what the best civ would be for someone who's just started playing the game. I think Native Americans would be best. They have the best defense because of Sitting Bulls protective trait and the unique building adds exp to archery units. Also the unique unit is an axeman doesn't require copper so if you were lacking it you wouldn't be forced to go on the offensive to get it although if you do for future unit production then you don't have to use archers on offense.

 

[DrewTate]

Gaius Octavian.

 

[Tanktunker]

There is no beginner civ or leader.
Civ is fiendishly hard to learn, and the only way to learn is by playing.
I assume the main force deterring new players from playing civ is that the first few games you have no idea what to do, and you can't see yourself ever understanding what to do.
Those few, or many, stubborn ones that try again and again eventually become good, or sometimes great players, usable for lightbulbing Procrastination, writing a Great Guide(-12000 ) or settling for -6 -1

 

[JujuLautre]

I would first choose a creative leader. Easy to understand, don't have to worry about culture for the beginning of the game.

After this, agressive for a warmonger, financial for a tech, spiritual for testing civics, protective for a turtle. I think all the others require some understanding beyond the one of a beginner to use them effectively.

 

[Underdawg]

Dutch - Wilhelm
Rome - Either one (Praets eat anything for breakfast... at least in their time period and even a further)

You know what... just go read the war academy articles and go to the Strategy forum for additional articles as well as Vel's Strategy thread at Apolypton.

 

[LuKo]

Japan in RFC

 

[Tee Kay]

Well there's really no "beginner" leader (such is teh wonderful complexity of Civ.) Although some leaders are definitely more easy to play than others. A few I can think of: Darius I, Louis XIV, Caesar.

 

[Sarek]

My very first exposure to Civ was Civ4.
I played the tutorial included in the game to get an initial feel for the learning curve then, as pointed out, you just play and develop your own style.
I do find it interesting that they used the Romans as the tutorial Civ?
I would think they're a good start if you're new to the game, especially to learn the basics of knocking off a neighbour early.

 

[dcbandicoot]

When I first started, I used Alex just for simplicity's sake. He's a great warmongering leader with no real early major weaknesses, especially with phalanxes.

 

[SlipperyJim]

Augustus: Industrious to collect all of the Shiny Wonders, and Praetorians to crush a neighbor.

Roosevelt: Industrious to collect all of the Shiny Wonders, and Organized to keep the upkeep costs from bankrupting you. Also, both traits speed up the production of some of the most important buildings in the game (Forges, Courthouses, & Factories).

Darius: Financial + Organized to give you a rock-solid economy, and Immortals to knock off a neighbor.

Lizzy: Financial to boost your economy, Philosophical to give you a good introduction to Great People. Also, Redcoats are pretty solid (not as game-breaking as they used to be, but still good) and the Stock Exchanges will give you some extra cash.

Mansa Musa: Spiritual to give you the freedom to play with your civics, Financial to power your economy. Skirmishers make you all-but-immune to early aggression, and the Mint gives you some extra cash.


Those are the first five that come to mind for me. Tanktunker's point about the complexity of Civ4 is valid, and I agree that the best way to learn is simply to play. That said, I think that some of the traits (Financial, Organized) are a lot easier to play than others (Imperialistic, Aggressive). Still, if you play on Settler, it should be nearly impossible to lose with any leader or strategy....

 

[Öjevind Lång]

I think the best answer is for the beginner to start at a simple level. First play a game on Settler and then move up gradually until you find the level you are comfortable with. Of course, there is absolutely no shame in playing on the easier levels because one isn't interested in getting high scores but simply in having fun. It's a game, not a religion.

That said, I think the Romans are possibly the easiest civ to play as if one is a beginner; I even think they may be intended to function as the learning civ, as it were. Augustus, in particular, is pretty easy to play as, with his Unique Unit, his Unique Building (both early in the game) and his special traits.

 

[ladiesman]

I would defiantly say Romans, as Augustus.

Very well rounded, don't need any "special" strategy. Good traits, good UU, good UB.

 

[Polycrates]

I would say Hatshepsut. Creative is probably the best beginners' trait, and very helpful for not having to worry about border pops, while Spiritual is good for experimenting with all the civic and religion options (though a beginner admittedly won't get the most out of it). A good early UU too.

 

[KaytieKat]

Hi

If someone who never played Civ4 before and just got Civ4 with BtS wanted my advice for a good civ/leader combo to try out here is my choice for nice combo for a civ4 newbie.

I would suggest playing a custom game with unrestricted leaders. Choose Zara Yaqob as leader and Romans as civ on pangea map.

Zara Taqob is creative and organized the two best no brainer traits in the game. They start off strong early and you don't really need to do ANYthing special to get the most out of em as you would with traits like Financial or Spiritual or Industrial etc.

He starts with hunting so you get a scout off the bat as well. A newbie can take thier time exploring, getting goodie huts and get 4 or 5 nice cities going covering TONS of area before they will start feeling pressure from other civs getting close to em.

By then they have VERY good odds of having iron in their borders somewhere. Then they can use Prats. They are a very nice nobrainer unit. They can out class any unit in their era no problem. It pretty much doesnt matter what mods you give em. Their base strength is their power and if you make a mistake in promting one like say giving him woodsman when you meant city raider (which I have done especially before I got used to it they side by side and look enough alike that someone new who not being very carefful about where they clicking can do) or cover when not many archers around or something it doesnt hurt em they are still very strong. And if you give em nice promotions then it just makes an easy time even easier. Even unpromoted they still gonna outshine anything in their era and by time you are ready for em you should have one or two barracks. So they give a newbie chance to play with promotions with no penalty. They can go safe with like combat 1 or city raider 1 or just experiment and they wont be hindering their units at all not matter what they do.

Prats dont need any back up at all unless you let a civ get walls and longbowmen but that shouldnt happen especially on lower diffs from like say Noble on down and if it does then just send a few catapults along with em. But they can still get by with just making stacks of prats and get feel for combat before needing to worry about combined forces which is nice situation for a newbie.

Pangea Map means they dont really need to mess with navies yet or colonies and it a map that plays into strength of their civ/leader combo so they should have a nice game with not too much frustration and if they make a mistake about a city placement here or there or something this civ/leader/ map combo very forgiving about something like that.

So bottom line I guess is it is a combo that doesnt take a lot of work or planning to get going strong and is forgiving of mistakes so would give a newbie a nice feel for game without many headaches.

Kaytie

 

[Molybdeus]

Huayna Capac gets my vote. He is stupid good, and can be used for very quick wars (especially worker stealing) at the beginning of the game and is an economic powerhouse at the end. He also begins with Mysticism without having Spiritual, which is a huge advantage. Buddhism Shrine + Monasteries + Financial Trait = you are the tech leader.

 

[bonafide11]

Yeah Huayna Capac is definitely made for beginners. He's the ideal leader for anyone just learning to play.

 

[gettingfat]

Yeah Huayna Capac is definitely made for beginners. He's the ideal leader for anyone just learning to play.

I agree. Financial is easy to get benefit (even you don't do anything you still get something out of it). Industrious makes wonder building a more enjoyable experience, which makes the game more fun (losing all wonder races is not very appealing to a beginner). Quecha help fan off the barbarians for longer period, which can kill a beginner easily. Terrace is a good UB as well. Assuming playing at lower level, you can always get early religion using HC.

Darius is a good choice as well. No money issue, no overexpansion problem. Easy to use UU. No health problem after the UB is built.

 

[MarkM]

oops duplicate post ...

 

[MarkM]

Huayna Capac gets my vote. He is stupid good, and can be used for very quick wars (especially worker stealing) at the beginning of the game and is an economic powerhouse at the end. He also begins with Mysticism without having Spiritual, which is a huge advantage. Buddhism Shrine + Monasteries + Financial Trait = you are the tech leader.

Uh ... none of these things (quick wars, worker stealing, knowing to build shrines and monestaries to leverage financial) sound like things a beginner would know how to do! An early war usualy means chopping or whipping or both to work, come on now how many beginners know how to do that the first time they sit down to play??? I didn't.

Zara Taqob is creative and organized the two best no brainer traits in the game. They start off strong early and you don't really need to do ANYthing special to get the most out of em as you would with traits like Financial or Spiritual or Industrial etc.

This is exactly the leader I recommended my 9 yo son try (he is not a beginner, has played civ, but struggles a lot with long term planning issues like building borders and keeping costs down ... with other leaders his costs just stall his teching & his borders get pressed by AI, and dealing with logistics like that is a sure way to kill excitement for the game).

 

[PimpyMicPimp]

I'd say Daruius I would be a decent choice, for the simple reason that he is an amazing money making machine.