BEST Female Leaders for Civ VII?

[queenpea]

Altogether unrelated, no, but then most everything she did is related since most everything she did had an internal social policy component. There's no implication in the game that she caused, approved or in any way was involved in the SB Massacre.

Yes, she certainly doesn't kill anyone on screen. However, her leader abilities and her in game persona convey subterfuge, distrustfulness, and intrigue. It's kind of her schtick in the game to threaten you softly.

Meanwhile, Eleanor is just hanging out in her garden talking about roses.

 

[Patine]

It's kind of her schtick in the game to threaten you softly.

Xi Jinpeng is notorious for that today, but he could NOT appear in a Civ game, as it stands.

 

[pineappledan]

Still don’t know why you wouldn’t go for the universal spider if you’re going to make France “the spying civ”. Seems a bit weird to make france the espionage civ over perfidious Albion, at any rate.

 

[pineappledan]

Re: CdM, I was a bit surprised she wasn’t some sort of religious defense leader. The only thing I knew about her was that she massacred the French protestants. I was surprised she was picked, not just because she was a foreigner, but she’s sort of like picking Cromwell for England, who is best known for massacring Catholics.

 

[Patine]

Re: CdM, I was a bit surprised she wasn’t some sort of religious defense leader. The only thing I knew about her was that she massacred the French protestants. I was surprised she was picked, not just because she was a foreigner, but she’s sort of like picking Cromwell for England, who is best known for massacring Catholics.

My marital law, she was French.

 

[queenpea]

Re: CdM, I was a bit surprised she wasn’t some sort of religious defense leader. The only thing I knew about her was that she massacred the French protestants. I was surprised she was picked, not just because she was a foreigner, but she’s sort of like picking Cromwell for England, who is best known for massacring Catholics.

Honestly a faith + culture buff would make for a stronger France heading to a culture victory.

I would have changed her UU to Swiss Guard -- something like added defense on home continent, plus added defense when occupying a chateau tile. The Imperial Guard always bothered me--I hate when they blend historical periods.

 

[Alexander's Hetaroi]

Honestly a faith + culture buff would make for a stronger France heading to a culture victory.

I would have changed her UU to Swiss Guard -- something like added defense on home continent, plus added defense when occupying a chateau tile. The Imperial Guard always bothered me--I hate when they blend historical periods.

The Garde Imperiale is France's UU though. They obviously gave that to France to give us Napoleon without actually giving us Napoleon. Otherwise, I would have just gone for the Musketeer again which could have given Great Writers Points for kills.

The best way to play France anyway is with her Magnificence Persona, which are almost literally the bonuses which I would have given Louis XIV, anyways.

 

[queenpea]

The Garde Imperiale is France's UU though. They obviously gave that to France to give us Napoleon without actually giving us Napoleon. Otherwise, I would have just gone for the Musketeer again which could have given Great Writers Points for kills.

The best way to play France anyway is with her Magnificence Persona, which are almost literally the bonuses which I would have given Louis XIV, anyways.

You know how I feel about Napoleon without Napoleon.

Musketeer is good, too, but Swiss Guard adds a bit of unexpected royal flavor to the mix and would be a new UU for France.

 

[Boris Gudenuf]

The Garde Imperiale is France's UU though. They obviously gave that to France to give us Napoleon without actually giving us Napoleon. Otherwise, I would have just gone for the Musketeer again which could have given Great Writers Points for kills.

The best way to play France anyway is with her Magnificence Persona, which are almost literally the bonuses which I would have given Louis XIV, anyways.

I suspect we got the Garde Imperiale is because the graphic of the Grenadiers a'pied of the Old Guard is very distinctive visually. On the other hand, they were only 2 regiments in an army of over 500,000 men, so by no means indicative of Napoleon's real military prowess.
A better 'Napoleonic' UU would have been the Tirailleur: the 'Line Infantry' trained to fight in skirmish formation when appropriate who shot the old armies of Europe to bits from 1797 to 1813, or the System Gribeauval artillery that were more mobile, more accurate, and longer-ranged than anything else in any other army, and that Napoleon was notorious for grouping into Grand Batteries (artillery Corps?) that simply blew away everything in front of them.

And the best thing is that neither one was strictly Napoleonic: the French skirmishing infantry appeared first in the Revolutionary armies before Napoleon even made Captain, and Gribeauval's artillery system was adopted formally in 1765 - 4 years before Napoleon was even born!

 

[Patine]

I hate when they blend historical periods.

I think it's a very good idea. I mean the leader is from one particular era, but the Civ itself, spans a much breaker scope, and should have unique elements that give it a leg-up in several eras, ideally. Like Frederick having Panzers, or Teddy Roosevelt having F-15's, or Elizabeth I having Redcoats. It's quite appropriate in my mind.

 

[Alexander's Hetaroi]

Musketeer is good, too, but Swiss Guard adds a bit of unexpected royal flavor to the mix and would be a new UU for France.

Swiss Guard to me is weird because it's not necessarily just unique to France. When I think of the Swiss Guard, the first thing that comes to mind is I think of the Papal States.

 

[Alashiya]

Phoenicians don't really represent North Africans

true. They originated in the Levant, and Carthage was a colony of Tyre. as I enjoy playing as Phoenicea (despite not being a fan of Purple) I've been inspired to read up on them and I'm pretty sure Dido did exist I never knew Pygmalion was her brother. Also as a 40k reader it was interesting to find out Asdrubel was a relation of Hannibal (Uncle I think, though it appears to be a recurring name amongst the Phoenician elite)

 

[pineappledan]

This is why every civ should have 2 UU slots: one for a famous civ unit and 1 for a unit associated with the leader’s period.

 

[queenpea]

I think it's a very good idea. I mean the leader is from one particular era, but the Civ itself, spans a much breaker scope, and should have unique elements that give it a leg-up in several eras, ideally. Like Frederick having Panzers, or Teddy Roosevelt having F-15's, or Elizabeth I having Redcoats. It's quite appropriate in my mind.

I understand that this is how many civs are designed, but it's not my preference.

Barbarossa's U-boats are jarring to me. In Civ 5, Bismarck's landsknechts and panzers were equally jarring to me (Bismarck, having never commanded hoards of pikemen or tank batallions), though panzers are always jarring to me.

In my ideal game design, I would prefer each leader to be completely unique with bonuses, tile improvements, units, etc. Understood that this would double or triple the work for Firaxis, but, hey, variety is the spice of life.

 

[queenpea]

Swiss Guard to me is weird because it's not necessarily just unique to France. When I think of the Swiss Guard, the first thing that comes to mind is I think of the Papal States.

That's a fair point, but I think it would be an interesting unit in game, and if you are going to put it somewhere, why not France? They have played an interesting role in certain aspects of French history, to be sure.

We have also seen musketeers before, and this would be an interesting opportunity to introduce a new idea.

Hey, when we have leaders at the top of multiple civs, anything goes. Though I hope that the Papal States (or Switzerland for that matter) are not playable civs in VII, or, ever.

 

[Patine]

I understand that this is how many civs are designed, but it's not my preference.

Barbarossa's U-boats are jarring to me. In Civ 5, Bismarck's landsknechts and panzers were equally jarring to me (Bismarck, having never commanded hoards of pikemen or tank batallions), though panzers are always jarring to me.

In my ideal game design, I would prefer each leader to be completely unique with bonuses, tile improvements, units, etc. Understood that this would double or triple the work for Firaxis, but, hey, variety is the spice of life.

Except that this is Civilization. Yes, it may have immortal rulers, but the leader should not hold the whole civ to their era and historical reign, other than racking up techs and generic units and improvements. The Civilization is paramount to the leader, when push comes to shove. The Arthurian motto is not what's really implied in the game, as much as they put a lot into colourful (and sometimes cartoonish and caricatured) leaders.

 

[Alexander's Hetaroi]

Hey, when we have leaders at the top of multiple civs, anything goes. Though I hope that the Papal States (or Switzerland for that matter) are not playable civs in VII, or, ever.

I think that makes them the perfect unit to possibly go to those particular city-states though (Vatican City, or any Swisss one) to be able to hire as mercenaries if they are allied with you. That's just my personal preference.

 

[queenpea]

Except that this is Civilization. Yes, it may have immortal rulers, but the leader should not hold the whole civ to their era and historical reign, other than racking up techs and generic units and improvements. The Civilization is paramount to the leader, when push comes to shove. The Arthurian motto is not what's really implied in the game, as much as they put a lot into colourful (and sometimes cartoonish and caricatured) leaders.

I’ve played since Civ III, so I know how it goes.

The views expressed in my posts are my own. I am merely talking about my fantasy game design, which is why this is the ideas and suggestions forum.

It’s fine if you don’t want to buy my game.

 

[pineappledan]

This is going off track now, but my 2 cents is that France should have a medieval (Milite) or renaissance (Gendarme) heavy cavalry unit for their UU, if they are only going to have 1. France was a successful cavalry power for most of its history, not an infantry power. Yet they have only ever had infantry UUs. Musketeer 3 times, the Garde Imperiale in civ 6, and the Foreign Legion in civ 5, until it was replaced by the chateau in an expansion pack.

 

[Patine]

This is going off track now, but my 2 cents is that France should have a medieval (Milite) or renaissance (Gendarme) heavy cavalry unit for their UU, if they are only going to have 1. France was a successful cavalry power for most of its history, not an infantry power. Yet they have only ever had infantry UUs. Musketeer 3 times, the Garde Imperiale in civ 6, and the Foreign Legion in civ 5, until it was replaced by the chateau in an expansion pack.

The Foreign Legion is quite iconic of France, and probably better to most than the ones you stated. And, they've had the majority of their history as an organization Post-WW1, when most people weren't using equestrian cavalry. And the whole concept around them is unique. I wouldn't mind them appearing.