Best Civs for Newbie?

[Lord_Dweedle]

Just won a game on Cheiftan as Egypt, cultural victory, but my friend also plays Egypt so when I eventually MP with him I'll need another civ haha.

I'm looking for a civ that can hold alot of territory.. but still be powerful economically and diplomatically.. im not looking to conquer enemys though unless absolutely necessary.

I'm gonna run my next game on Warlord on large map with marathon settings.. I feel like playing a looong game haha.

 

[Aaron90495]

Just won a game on Cheiftan as Egypt, cultural victory, but my friend also plays Egypt so when I eventually MP with him I'll need another civ haha.

I'm looking for a civ that can hold alot of territory.. but still be powerful economically and diplomatically.. im not looking to conquer enemys though unless absolutely necessary.

I'm gonna run my next game on Warlord on large map with marathon settings.. I feel like playing a looong game haha.

IMO, America or China are your best choices. You can buy up a lot of land and find good settling spots with America, or you can get a great economy and defense going with China's Paper Maker and Chu-Ko-Nus. America's Minuteman is an able defender in the late game. Iroquois could also be a good choice, as you will get easy trade routes from the UA (which will make your expansion easier economically), a production bonus from the Longhouse, and the Mohawk Warrior, which is an excellent unit.

 

[Crafty Bison]

I think France and America are the two civs with bonuses easiest to get something out of with a complete beginner. You can do nothing special and still get passabe use out of both UA's, and they both have at least one UU on te standard melee line, with the French ones especially being easy to use. Both are also good for going wide through a REX. If you want a true ICS then you already had it pretty good with Egypt tbh!

edit: If you're not going for domination victory then I'd recommend France over America or China, which are pure domination civs. France does very well at domination too, but can get away with other vc's too. The Iroquois could also cause problems cause they require a fair bit of micrmanaging early with roads. Really if you wanted to be peaceful, again I'd say Egypt is a great choice! (Their UU sucks )

 

[SouljahAtWar]

America for all around uberness,
Greece for warmongering noobs,
Siam or Arabia for building noobs.

 

[joncnunn]

If you have G&K then the Mayans. (Extra science & religion in their UB and a free great person every 394 years when you discover Theology)

Also for science (both are DLC): Babylon and Korea
And (with either G&K or the Spain+Inca DLC combo and also assuming you aren't unlucky and a natural wonder is nearby) : Spain

 

[SnowKomodo]

Well you mention wanting to hold a lot of land so with that in mind I recommend:

-France. A nice passive UA that allows you to focus on learning the game. Pick the Liberty tree and expand relatively quickly. Should you decide to play aggressive then the Foreign Legion comes at a great time after you've established your territory
-Maya. For the Pyramid. Although this is a civ I recommend for literally anybody at any level. Early Atlatlist is great for comfort
-Greece. You mention the desire for a powerful diplomatic game and Greece has a great passive UA for that. Pick the Patronage tree if you are 100% focused in that direction. Their early UUs are powerful, allowing you to experiment without too much of a risk

As for the above recommendations, I actually don't recommend Spain as a "newbie" civ but I know that they are a favorite around these forums

 

[Sire Stroud]

England's Excellent if you're on a ocean-y? map. Longbow's just brilliant, and it keeps it's extra range as you upgrade it. Ship of the lines pretty tough too.

 

[Lord_Dweedle]

thanks for the advice guys. I seen I didn't provide much detail but after my last game I just had I think I understand abit better.

I am playing Gods and Kings and I have, I think, all DLC.

I tried making a land grabbing game but failed miserbaly, yet I found quite abit of success as an Aztec conqueror.. first time ive come close to winning a military victory. Maybe I should stick to conquesting lol.

 

[Petiscator]

If you really want to land grab, pick France, Russia or America: France expands its borders through culture fairly quickly and easily, America has a 50% discount when purchasing tiles and Russia might build the Krepost, a Barrack that provides 25% discount when buying tiles or acquiring them through culture, so all of those civs are good land grabbers. Getting the Angkor Wat world wonder can also help you in this, as it provides the Krepost bonus in every city of your empire.

On the other hand, if you want to grab land as in conquering the other player's territory, warring civs - such as China - could help you a lot.

 

[Remmert]

I think playing as Inca would be a good beginner-civ, just because of the UA.

The (rail)roads are cheaper, free on hills. What saves a lot of gold.
No movement cost on hills makes it easier to explore maps in the beginning of the game,
also it comes handy in combat.

 

[Exchequer]

If you want an easy civ with a large empire I would recommend Rome. The UA is a production bonus for each building already present in your capitol. Furthermore the legionaire is a unit that I personally found to have a nice timing... Just when I am about to get caught up in wars I have unlocked Iron. They can also build roads (!).

 

[Civking5]

I would like to suggest playing as Askia with raging barbs on. All the money that comes from capturing barbarian camps is a game changer and makes the game really easy.

 

[Aaron90495]

I would like to suggest playing as Askia with raging barbs on. All the money that comes from capturing barbarian camps is a game changer and makes the game really easy.

Does that increase encampments or barbs spawned? Always wondered.

 

[Petiscator]

Doing Askia on raging barbs is actually counter productive. It increases the rate at which the barbarians spawn, not the amount of camps, so instead of finding many barbarian encampments, you will find the same amount but with many more barbarians surrounding it and making it difficult to clear.

 

[Civking5]

Doing Askia on raging barbs is actually counter productive. It increases the rate at which the barbarians spawn, not the amount of camps, so instead of finding many barbarian encampments, you will find the same amount but with many more barbarians surrounding it and making it difficult to clear.

Yes, this is correct. Play without raging Barbs. Regardless, playing as Askia can be very fun with the money he gets from the camps. After clearing 3 camps u can buy a worker or units or become friend/ ally with a CS and so on.

 

[Petiscator]

@CivKing: You, sir, made me feel like playing as Askia, which I shall do later in the night My biggest problem, though, is that I'd like to do a Tradition's 4 Cities Opening with them, but the Honor opener could help a lot. It would delay the tree a bit, but perhaps doing a Legalism Abuse with his Mud Pyramid Mosques might be doable with the delay. I'll see this later. Cheers

 

[Pouakai]

Depending on what DLC you have, I would say the Inca or Carthage. Both are able to expand hugely and gain large trade bonuses (Inca get free roads, Carthage free harbours). With certain beliefs / policies Carthage can provide science, happiness and gold upon founding a city, with free trade routes to boot.

 

[Civking5]

@CivKing: You, sir, made me feel like playing as Askia, which I shall do later in the night My biggest problem, though, is that I'd like to do a Tradition's 4 Cities Opening with them, but the Honor opener could help a lot. It would delay the tree a bit, but perhaps doing a Legalism Abuse with his Mud Pyramid Mosques might be doable with the delay. I'll see this later. Cheers

Then play on maps like lakes/ highlands/ boreal / tilted axes to maximize the fun.

 

[drac313]

Neb from Babylon for Science
Ethiopia or India for Culture
China for All around
Huns, America, Greece, Russia for War and Expansionism.

 

[Lord_Dweedle]

was just trying out the huns, i liked their unique units and wow.. I just destroyed a tiny map game, city states were terrified constantly and i took out the other 4 civs quick with horse archers and battering rams. Im gonna practice with the huns more now.