The Saharan Spy
Chieftain
- Joined
- May 18, 2013
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- 65
I like peace, but if i have secure a buffer zone, i will go to war
Geez thanks
Best Civilization
- Thread starter The Saharan Spy
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Geez thanks
The Saharan Spy
Chieftain
- Joined
- May 18, 2013
- Messages
- 65
Also, what the best strategy for China
ImperialChaos
President
I'd recommend Ethiopia. With China use those Chu-ko-nu's and your generals for war. Paper maker is also one of the best UB's in my opinion.
ekat2468
Warlord
This is a tough question and requires taking into account three factors:
Map Type
Victory Condition
Play Style
For Science, Korea and Babylon are the winners. Their have been some heated debates about which is better, so I won't try to separate those two here.
For culture, Persia is good for long golden ages, Byzantium is good for World Church + Religious Texts + Itinerant Preachers to easily get your religion in every city on the map, with World Church generating a lot of culture, Egypt is also a strong choice, for the bonus production towards wonders, Ethiopia for the defense when you're going tall.
For Diplomacy, Greece is probably the strongest option, for fairly obvious reasons (UA!!!)
For Domination, Mongolia, which has arguably the best UU in the game, China, they also have also arguably the UU in the game, have one of the best UA's for warmongering, and a good economic boost from the UB, Huns, I have managed to snipe 3-4 capitals before the UU obsoletes, and that gives you a fairly good point to launch off of for Domination victory
Map Type
Victory Condition
Play Style
For Science, Korea and Babylon are the winners. Their have been some heated debates about which is better, so I won't try to separate those two here.
For culture, Persia is good for long golden ages, Byzantium is good for World Church + Religious Texts + Itinerant Preachers to easily get your religion in every city on the map, with World Church generating a lot of culture, Egypt is also a strong choice, for the bonus production towards wonders, Ethiopia for the defense when you're going tall.
For Diplomacy, Greece is probably the strongest option, for fairly obvious reasons (UA!!!)
For Domination, Mongolia, which has arguably the best UU in the game, China, they also have also arguably the UU in the game, have one of the best UA's for warmongering, and a good economic boost from the UB, Huns, I have managed to snipe 3-4 capitals before the UU obsoletes, and that gives you a fairly good point to launch off of for Domination victory
WarriorSaint
Chieftain
- Joined
- May 20, 2013
- Messages
- 9
My personal favourite is Austria.. I love the advantage of Diplomatic Marriage. Best civ in the game of you can use it you its full potential!
Ethiopia is my favourite. With its unique building you will be the first to choose a pantheon and found a religion (unless the celts are on the map). And if you like a tall empire, their UA gives you an extra buff/defense (especially if you choose defender of the faith with your religion)
telekinetic136
Chieftain
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2012
- Messages
- 41
Siam can also be a very powerful civ for culture victories. His UA is very powerful once it gets going, and you can get free wats if you time your social policies right.
For Domination:
Japan. Bushido owns the battlefield. When you hit the late medieval period, start churning out Samurai (without overly neglecting buildings) and take your continent.
China. The Great General bonus is nice, but the real reason I'd go with China is the Cho-ku-no. A crossbow with logistics (2 attacks per turn) out of the gates is devastating.
Germany, Ottomans, Persia, Huns, Mongols, Rome, etc are all good choices too.
For Science:
The Mayans. Free great people are nice, but the real bonus here is the pyramid (I'm assuming you have G+K). +2 science early on is a huge bonus.
I'm sure some will disagree with me here, but I think that Austria is a nice pick. The coffee house helps you churn out Great Scientists quickly, and Diplomatic Marriage lets you pick up some nice high population cities. When you annex a city-state, you get all their units, too, so it's a nice way to ward off AI DoWs and pressure those whom you want to take over (annex a city-state on the other side of a civ while at war, after they've moved their units away, proceed to cause chaos).
To be honest, most civs can pull out a science victory pretty well. I've heard many vouch for Babylon and Korea, but I've never played as them so I can't necessarily say one way or the other. I really liked Sweden as well, for reasons I'll get to later.
For Diplomacy:
Sweden. I thought they'd be a pretty awful civ, but their UA is actually quite useful. Playing Sweden successfully requires some skill, though. You have to set up a moderately wide, very tall empire and focus on churning out great people late game (they are a VERY late game-oriented civ). Fully explore Patronage, and use those great people to ally the world. The only thing I dislike about this is that it will really irritate the AI, so be prepared for war, not just on your own soil but on your city states (you have to protect them from being conquered to get their votes). Keep an eye out for Mongolia... The Carolean is really nice, as well. March is always good.
Greece. I haven't personally played as them, but they are always a supreme pain in the rear mid to late game due to their UA. 100+ influence in 2/3 of the world's city-states? Come on...
For Culture:
Egypt. In my opinion, Egypt is the best for a cultural victory. You will get most of the wonders, if you play your cards right. Focus on a tall civ, with about 5 core cities. Conquer if you want (I'd take at least 5 more cities), but puppet everything. You don't want a higher social policy cost. Take Tradition, Piety, Patronage, Liberty/Commerce (I prefer the latter), Freedom. Place your cities in positions to be easily defendable, as you will be a target with all those wonders. Cities next to mountains will help you to keep up, or even get ahead in science, but don't sacrifice a fertile area for a mountain. With only 5 cities, you need to make each one count.
I've gotten my best victory with Egypt, winning a cultural victory by 1890 or so.
Ethiopia. Their UA will help you stave off land/wonder-hungry, aggressive AIs.
Siam. Naruesan's Elephants are tanks. Play the city-states; they will help you grow, since you are going to play to a tall civ. Patronage is a requisite here.
Again, most civs can manage a cultural victory moderately well.
That's my two cents. I feel like I'm forgetting some civs, but what's there is pretty good, I think. These are the civs I prefer; others my have different strategies, which may work better or worse than mine. Civ V is very much a personal game; as is often said, there's more than one way to skin a cat.
Japan. Bushido owns the battlefield. When you hit the late medieval period, start churning out Samurai (without overly neglecting buildings) and take your continent.
China. The Great General bonus is nice, but the real reason I'd go with China is the Cho-ku-no. A crossbow with logistics (2 attacks per turn) out of the gates is devastating.
Germany, Ottomans, Persia, Huns, Mongols, Rome, etc are all good choices too.
For Science:
The Mayans. Free great people are nice, but the real bonus here is the pyramid (I'm assuming you have G+K). +2 science early on is a huge bonus.
I'm sure some will disagree with me here, but I think that Austria is a nice pick. The coffee house helps you churn out Great Scientists quickly, and Diplomatic Marriage lets you pick up some nice high population cities. When you annex a city-state, you get all their units, too, so it's a nice way to ward off AI DoWs and pressure those whom you want to take over (annex a city-state on the other side of a civ while at war, after they've moved their units away, proceed to cause chaos).
To be honest, most civs can pull out a science victory pretty well. I've heard many vouch for Babylon and Korea, but I've never played as them so I can't necessarily say one way or the other. I really liked Sweden as well, for reasons I'll get to later.
For Diplomacy:
Sweden. I thought they'd be a pretty awful civ, but their UA is actually quite useful. Playing Sweden successfully requires some skill, though. You have to set up a moderately wide, very tall empire and focus on churning out great people late game (they are a VERY late game-oriented civ). Fully explore Patronage, and use those great people to ally the world. The only thing I dislike about this is that it will really irritate the AI, so be prepared for war, not just on your own soil but on your city states (you have to protect them from being conquered to get their votes). Keep an eye out for Mongolia... The Carolean is really nice, as well. March is always good.
Greece. I haven't personally played as them, but they are always a supreme pain in the rear mid to late game due to their UA. 100+ influence in 2/3 of the world's city-states? Come on...
For Culture:
Egypt. In my opinion, Egypt is the best for a cultural victory. You will get most of the wonders, if you play your cards right. Focus on a tall civ, with about 5 core cities. Conquer if you want (I'd take at least 5 more cities), but puppet everything. You don't want a higher social policy cost. Take Tradition, Piety, Patronage, Liberty/Commerce (I prefer the latter), Freedom. Place your cities in positions to be easily defendable, as you will be a target with all those wonders. Cities next to mountains will help you to keep up, or even get ahead in science, but don't sacrifice a fertile area for a mountain. With only 5 cities, you need to make each one count.
I've gotten my best victory with Egypt, winning a cultural victory by 1890 or so.
Ethiopia. Their UA will help you stave off land/wonder-hungry, aggressive AIs.
Siam. Naruesan's Elephants are tanks. Play the city-states; they will help you grow, since you are going to play to a tall civ. Patronage is a requisite here.
Again, most civs can manage a cultural victory moderately well.
That's my two cents. I feel like I'm forgetting some civs, but what's there is pretty good, I think. These are the civs I prefer; others my have different strategies, which may work better or worse than mine. Civ V is very much a personal game; as is often said, there's more than one way to skin a cat.
Unresolved
King
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2012
- Messages
- 956
If you're talking about the best overall civilization regardless of VC, then I would say that the Inca are the best. They're a top-tier science/diplomatic civ, have a UA that is very good for domination, and have a start bias that is good for culture(for production).
BrokTheFanatic
Warlord
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2012
- Messages
- 228
Certain civs lend themselves to certain strategies, as you can tell from the responses. I personally prefer civs that are better at being peaceful early on since I have played a lot and am pretty bored with rushing out early to take some puppets from the closest AI. So I like Austria, Egypt, India and China. Korea and Babylon are great but I feel only worth playing on Immortal or Diety since you can get so far ahead on all other levels that it isn't all that exciting. Island map civs are fun and really take a different plan, one I am still working on.
I have to say that civ5 vanilla was only a so-so game but with G&K and many tweaks, various strategies based on <the map/closeness of enemy civs/and what not> lead to many enjoyable games.
Now, as for America, just make sure its a big map you can scout and hope for many goody huts. I play them for the challenge, they seem to be the weakest civ (other than some island map civs on pangea).
I have to say that civ5 vanilla was only a so-so game but with G&K and many tweaks, various strategies based on <the map/closeness of enemy civs/and what not> lead to many enjoyable games.
Now, as for America, just make sure its a big map you can scout and hope for many goody huts. I play them for the challenge, they seem to be the weakest civ (other than some island map civs on pangea).
Catan_Settler
Prince
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2008
- Messages
- 448
If you want an easy win-- play Babylon or Maya. It really doesn't get much easier than them.
realzhuyi0123
Chieftain
I agree. England have both advantage on both land and sea. Besides its strong ship, the long bowman is marvelous when attacking city due to its extra range, which means your unit can avoid being attacked from city, and the spy (in ENGLAND, you have one more spy than others) can offer your vision when attacking. It is so awesome.
Darth Revan
Chieftain
I think Germany, but as I have read in a previous message, it depends on your gamestyle
I'd like to throw in a bit of a curveball: Arabia and Netherlands. Both are highly capable of churning out huge amounts of gold, which in turn enables you to purchase the buildings you need rather then go through the trouble of hard-building them all. In turn allowing you to turn your production to an army to keep yourself safe. Especially on the difficulties around Prince/King, the AI does tend to have enough gold for you to take advantage of, yet doesn't churn out units so fast it will constantly DOW you. Of the two, Arabia does tend to have more gold, but Netherlands is capable of churning out bigger cities provided you settle some around Flood Plains/Marshes for the amazing Polders (Who are only rivalled by heavily mountain-flanked Terrace Farms, as far as awesomeness is concerned).
Some people say science rules all, thus making the Mayans, Babylon and Korea to be the best. I'd say that while true, the money the Dutch and Arabians bring to the table can definitely even the playing field a fair bit, and I find them more fun to play with (due to heavy diplomatic working vs the more turtling playstyle the Science giants seem to lean towards) to boot.
Some people say science rules all, thus making the Mayans, Babylon and Korea to be the best. I'd say that while true, the money the Dutch and Arabians bring to the table can definitely even the playing field a fair bit, and I find them more fun to play with (due to heavy diplomatic working vs the more turtling playstyle the Science giants seem to lean towards) to boot.
Without taking any specific victory condition into account (since the OP didn't specify it) I would Have to say Korea and Babylon (I cant decide which).
Merely because the game is designed around growth and science output. Cultural victories, diplo victories and to an extend mid/late domination is impossible without good beaker output.
Merely because the game is designed around growth and science output. Cultural victories, diplo victories and to an extend mid/late domination is impossible without good beaker output.
IMO, there is not a "best" civilization to play with, it will always depend on your game style and what kind of victory you want to achieve. For example, many here will say that Austria is OP, which can be true if you are lucky enough to make enough gold for a diplomatic marriage or can deal with the happiness hit of "acquiring" a size 15 CS at once. Spain can be awesome if you manage to find unclaimed natural wonders to settle. If you don't want to expand early in the game, it can be useless. I could go on trying to explain this and that, but this is my first post here and I am sure the other posters have much more to add regarding the specifics of each leader than I do. Anyway, I found out that what works for me is choosing a civilization that somehow balances my weak points. I am not good at war, too many games lost early on because of raging barbarians or Attila. And you know what? Playing as Japan is great, even when you don't want a domination victory, because it allows you to have a decent army without many losses while you concentrate on other important things.
azzaman333
meh
It really depends on map type, game style (tall/wide) and desired victory condition.
Babylon, Arabia, Korea, Maya and to a lesser extent Austria, China, Egypt, Incas and Rome are good versatile civs for almost any situation.
Babylon, Arabia, Korea, Maya and to a lesser extent Austria, China, Egypt, Incas and Rome are good versatile civs for almost any situation.
I rather enjoy playing Byzantium on lower difficulties. If I start in a desert, I can quickly spread my religion and hoard tuns of cash.
Generally speaking though, Arabia is my favorite. I like to play as an economic civ, and they always end with me being incredibly wealthy.
Generally speaking though, Arabia is my favorite. I like to play as an economic civ, and they always end with me being incredibly wealthy.
