Best leader

[Percile]

Who is the best leader in the vannilla civ 4

 

[pollock]

Im not sure of the concensus. Some of my favourite leaders are Elizabeth, Darius, Ragnar and Montezuma Im unsure if all are in vanilla hehe.

 

[jeffah3539]

There is no absolute best leader. It all depends on your strategy and what victory you are going for. Going for a peaceful culture victory with Genghis Khan makes no sense, and going for a Conquest victory with Gandhi would be a bit odd. Both leaders have their uses. Huayna Capac of the Inca is generally regarded very highly because he has a great UU and the financial trait which gives him a lot of versatility.

 

[iggymnrr]

Perhaps HC? Washington is good and Betsy is still Betsy.

 

[michalbulhakov]

Give me Gandhi any day of the week
But seriously, there is no such thing as 'the best' leader in the game. It all depends on player's skills - just look at forum games by Kossin, Rusten, or other high level player, these guys get the job done on deity playing many different leaders.

 

[Metzi]

Indeed.
You can win a game as Saladin, but just as easily loose a game with Hunya Capac.
Sometimes the RNG despises you, thus making it hard to conquest.
You can be isolated.
Your neighboors may decide to advance menacingly towards you, thus stopping your expansion.

Playing the map is the strongest trait of any leader, and as they all have that you can win with every leader.

 

[Percile]

Im not sure of the concensus. Some of my favourite leaders are Elizabeth, Darius, Ragnar and Montezuma Im unsure if all are in vanilla hehe.

Darius and Ragnar are not is vanilla

 

[Agramon]

My favourite is Gandhi.
Catherine has been nerfed for being too easy for conquest.
China used to be decent.
Gengis still is cool.
Huayna pretty good and versatile, still is.
England good UU and good UB.

 

[Khongdo]

I'm a fan of Lizzy , Financial is a great trait for keeping my economy afloat. Also like having Redcoats to crush the backwards natives

 

[itg]

Julius Caesar

 

[Spectrite]

If you are considering the civilization (UU, starting techs) Julius Caesar, Elizabeth, and Catherine are pretty good. Vanilla Redcoats and Cossacks are very strong.

 

[lasombra1984]

I vote for vanilla Toku & Julius.
Organized+UU=good warmonger with stable economy
Especially Expansive+Organized Julius)

 

[Tristan_C]

On a scale, this question is rated Troll/10 IMO.

The map and starts determine the best leader outright, and it would be a major design flaw indeed that created a "top of the heap" for all circumstances.

 

[michmbk]

Totally depends on the map and your playstyle. I remember Cathy being ridiculous in vanilla though, with those 18 STR cossacks and CRE/FIN.

 

[i_imperator]

No leader or civ is the best or worst, any game can be won by any leader no matter what traits or UU they have, if you keep thinking that you'll start to become bored with the game by picking the same leader or group of leaders over and over again. Sure have some favourites but try and play with a bit of variety. Go into custom game and play a game with random leaders (including yours). If you pick different leaders you'll learn more tactics as well.