Best UUs in ciV

[Rex_Mundi]

My favorite unit is the Janissary, 25% bonus when attacking, and healing when killing. This is a monster, and they carry over in the main mele line (Rifle, Infantry...)

As an honorable mention I also love the Jaguar. Just because warring with Monty is so fun.

 

[Michl2602]

Top Tier:
Keshiks - ranged mobility ftw, extra great general generation pairs nicely with Mongolia's other UU.
Samurai - tough unit that produces extra great generals is always nice, combined swith japanese ability this unit can be used for kamikaze attacks even when vastly out tech'd
Chu Ko Nu - double the attacks virtually doubles the damage your army can do
Narusan's elephant - much stronger than anything else in it's era, huge bonus vs mounted (the unit it replaces is the mounted knight). doesn't require horses unlike the knight
Longbowman - incredible range, what else can i say?
Ship of the Line - only naval UU makes this a great UU - your rule of the sea will be uncontested, i would put this lower due to pangaea maps, but who the hell picks England and then picks pangaea?
Janissary - healing when destroying another unit is incredibly good, allows you to save promotions for really important things, Riflemen upgraded from these are great
Companion Cavalry - Yup, still got it (even since the horseman/mounted nerf)

Good tier:
Hoplites - bloody strong, straightforward unit
Legion - road building and extra strength for the win
Babylonian Bowman - great early boost to an otherwise non-military civ, bowmen being defense focused helps
Landschnekt - supremely spammable.
Mowhawk Warrior

Mid tier:
Panzer - In itself a good unit but Modern Infantry are just so much more efficient to tech to - tech tree needs rearraging to make these (and tanks in general) more useful.

Crap tier:
Slingers - meh

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Any suggestions guys?

mandekalus (Songhai) are at least 'good tier' also.

 

[Revoran]

Top Tier:
Keshiks - ranged mobility ftw, extra great general generation pairs nicely with Mongolia's other UU.
Samurai - tough unit that produces extra great generals is always nice, combined swith japanese ability this unit can be used for kamikaze attacks even when vastly out tech'd
Chu Ko Nu - double the attacks virtually doubles the damage your army can do
Narusan's elephant - much stronger than anything else in it's era, huge bonus vs mounted (the unit it replaces is the mounted knight). doesn't require horses unlike the knight. Can even be used extremely well against renaissance era mounted units.
Longbowman - incredible range, what else can i say?
Ship of the Line - only naval UU makes this a great UU - your rule of the sea will be uncontested, i would put this lower due to pangaea maps, but who the hell picks England and then picks pangaea?
Janissary - healing when destroying another unit is incredibly good, allows you to save promotions for really important things, Riflemen upgraded from these are great
Companion Cavalry - Yup, still got it (even since the horseman/mounted nerf)

Good tier:
Hoplites - bloody strong, straightforward unit
Legion - road building and extra strength for the win
Babylonian Bowman - great early boost to an otherwise non-military civ, bowmen being defense focused helps
Landschnekt - supremely spammable.
Mowhawk Warrior - When this unit arrives there is still usually a lot of forest on the map especially given the Iroquois start bias, complements them nicely
Khan - great synergy with the Keshik, these two make Mongolia a medieval era power civ. The fact it's not a fighting unit is a strike against it.
Tercio - stronger Musketmen with the bonuses of pikemen and none of the inherent weaknesses of musketmen (to cavalry). What's not to like? Not sure if they keep the +100% vs mounted when upgraded, if not they may get moved down a bit.
Jaguar Warrior - Great bonuses in jungle (aztec start bias) and when killing units which carry on when upgraded, making this early unit worth making despite its early entry. Plus you get a free one at the start of the game.
Mandekalu Cavalry - The only mounted unit with an actual bonus vs cities, combined with the Songhai ability this is a good combination (MOAR gold), these guys actually do pretty well vs cities even walled ones.
B17 - Bombers become pivotal if you have air control late game, and the B17 is very good at what it does.

Mid tier:
Panzer - In itself a very good unit but Modern Infantry are just so much better to go for - tech tree needs rearranging to make these (and tanks) more useful. It doesn't make sense that you can get Mechanized Infantry without first researching Tanks and Infantry.
Maori Warrior - I guess these guys have yet to prove themselves, they also come very early before much warfare happens, their haka bonus is kept when leveling up though which is cool and you get a free one at the start of the game.
Ballista - A good unit to back up your legions, but weak to cavalry and it competes with your Legions for precious iron.
Cossack - Virtually the same as the Cavalry but with a nice bonus on flat ground. Comes a little late (mounted units will soon be mostly obsolete by the advent of artillery and armor). At the very least Russia's good ability ensures you won't run out of horses for these guys and Russia's Krepost means he will probably have a free promotion. This unit could do with a little boost (nothing huge).

Crap tier:
Slingers - a very meh unit, at least the Incas have other great abilities to make up for this unit. I realise the devs were probably struggling here for a historical UU
Zero - Not a completely horrible unit, but it comes way too late and has a bonus vs helicopters and other fighters when it would be better (though less historical) to have a bonus vs bombers. Japan's awesome ability (top 5 in the game) and other UU which is also very good make up for this luckily. Another idea would be to give it a 100% bonus vs naval units to simulate Kamikaze attacks.
War Elephant - Probably the most useful of all these, bordering mid tier. This unit's strength makes no sense compared to Narusan's elephant which is a beast. Horsemen come soon after. Not a whole lot of people build chariots anyway, at least this guys doesn't cost you any horses. On the plus side it's a lot more durable than the horse archer and doesnt have the weakness of the wheeled unit.
War Chariot - similar deal to above. except it costs you horses which could be better used on Horsemen.

<<As yet unrated>>
Minuteman
Foreign Legion
Musketeer
Camel Archer
Immortal
Sipahi
Conquistador

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Here is an updated list. I'm particularly not sure about War Chariots, War Elephants.

Any suggestions/dissagreements guys? The newer DLC units (particularly spain's) are a bit unproven. How do you guys find them?

 

[CYZ]

Tercio is very nice. The conquistador can be awesome but is very situational. Then again, being the first to the new world and using it to roll over all the barbs and then setlling next to a natural wonder is very awesome.

 

[Babri]

My slightly changed list of Revoran's version :-

Top tier :-

• Keshliks & Khan
• Narusan's elephant
• Longbowman
• Chu Ko Nu
• Janissary
• Musketeer :Superior strength compared to muskets or longswords easily makes them one of the best UUs. They are quite cheap & don't require iron so they can be created in big numbers easily.
• Legion : Increased strength in the era where capturing cities is quite difficult. Extra strength helps them in surviving. Building roads & Forts is also a very nice ability.
• Babylonian Bowman

Good tier :-

• Mandekalu Cavalry
• Conquistador : A very good unit for establishing oversees colonies. Have extra sight, can defend when embarking & most importantly can create cities oversees. This means that you can safely send them to other continents, kill barbs around & then establish a city.
• Samurai
• Jaguar Warrior
• Landschnekt
• Hoplites
• Panzer
• Ballista
• Immortal
• Camel Archer
• Foreign Legion
• Minuteman : Great units for defence in rough terrain. Can retreat quickly & gain rough terrain promotion from start which quite helps them. They are also cheap. Place them at strategic positions & they'll give a tough time to enemy longswords.

Mid Tier :-

• Maori Warrior
• Cossack
• War Elephant
• War Chariot
• Sipahi

Crap Tier :-

• Slingers : Pretty useless. Upgrading them to crossbows makes them a little better though.

Since I play Thal Balance Combined, I have not included Zero, Shipe of the Line & B17 because they are replaced by a UB.

 

[Mr Jack]

Top tier :-

• Musketeer :Superior strength compared to muskets or longswords easily makes them one of the best UUs. They are quite cheap & don't require iron so they can be created in big numbers easily.

The trouble with musketeers is that they're rapidly replaced by rifleman, meaning that they're only influential for a small part of the game. And they have no special abilities to retain and keep as upgraded units through the later parts of the game.

To my mind this rules them out of the Top Tier.

 

[Keejus]

I'd put the Immortals in middle tier, and Sipahi in good.

Double healing is very good, and it carries on through promotion, but it's very unfortunate that they are obsoleted with Civil Service (Chichan Itza), which is probably the most vital technology for Persia. If you want the promotion on your future units, you're gonna have to train a lot of Immortals early on.

Sipahi make for fantastic scouts, as they get improved move and sight, and I think all of these carry on if promoted to helicopters. Their ability to pillage without losing a move is also sweet, so you can tear up roads and farmlands so swiftly with a couple of these that a nuke might seem more merciful, but like the lancer, their defense is awful. You're either nursing them back to health after every encounter or losing them.

 

[bhavv]

I try to make best use of slingers when playing as Inca, but they are so unbelievably weak and their withdraw before melee doesnt work enough. Inca have an amazing UA and UI (Unique Improvement lol - Terrace farms are absolutely fantastically powerful).

However, if you can keep them behind spearmen and get them heavily promoted with Barrage III, Logistics and Range, they become super crossbowmen with a withdrawal chance, better than both longbows and chu ko nus, but with the disadvantage of requiring so much investment to do that.

Longbows and Chu ko nus are absolutely terrific and my favorite units. Bowmen are also hugely powerful with 6 STR and 8 Ranged, they can actually survive a lot easier than any other ancient ranged unit, and deal the most ranged damage possible before machinery. Babylons UA is also great, and while the UB may not be so good, just imagine having walls of babylon with a single bowmen garrisoned inside through the ancient era in multiplayer games. No one with a brain will wanting to attack you until your early advantage has passed.

IMO slingers should be buffed to 4 str like a normal archer, and their withdrawal chance should also work against mounted units.

Mid Tier :-

• Babylonian Bowman

No no, these are definitely top tier, its the single most powerful ancient era unit, and in a lot of cases you dont need to need to waste gold upgrading them to crossbows as early as you do with normal archers because they are still strong for a lot longer with 8 ranged strength.

 

[Beef Hammer]

Babylon also has the best sarcher upgrade, getting their UU from a hut on like turn 2-3 is always nice, my record is 3 by turn 20ish. I spam scouts in Babylon games for this exact purpose.

 

[Babri]

No no, these are definitely top tier, its the single most powerful ancient era unit, and in a lot of cases you dont need to need to waste gold upgrading them to crossbows as early as you do with normal archers because they are still strong for a lot longer with 8 ranged strength.

I did not remembered that they had extra ranged attack strength. I'll check it & if so then they are definately in good tier.

 

[Babri]

The trouble with musketeers is that they're rapidly replaced by rifleman, meaning that they're only influential for a small part of the game. And they have no special abilities to retain and keep as upgraded units through the later parts of the game.

To my mind this rules them out of the Top Tier.

True but I am not a fan of beelining techs unless it unlocks my UU/UB.
However I still think that Musketeers are very cost effective & useful.

 

[bhavv]

I did not remembered that they had extra ranged attack strength. I'll check it & if so then they are definately in good tier.

Bowmen have 6 str and 8 ranged str, they are the single most powerful ancient era unit. Good tier is still an understatement for how strong they are prior to Machinery.

 

[Babri]

Bowmen have 6 str and 8 ranged str, they are the single most powerful ancient era unit. Good tier is still an understatement for how strong they are prior to Machinery.

Ok. I've moved them up to Top Tier. Any more suggestions ?

 

[Arilian]

Ok. I've moved them up to Top Tier. Any more suggestions ?

Keshik should have its own tier.

If you Beeline Keshik with RA-s, with 1 city, amory, and you are not playing on quick you won. They will be sson 2 shot 3 range, indirect fire killing machines easily killing even infranty.

 

[Zyxpsilon]

Conquistadors for reasons beyond the Free settler gained with SP_CollectiveRule; doesn't stop (indirectly) city growth, lower cost, still can settle while picking&choosing a few workers on its way to the spot. Top-Tier and maybe more.

Everything else is just a +/- Combat odds in their specific Domains.

 

[Babri]

Keshik should have its own tier.

If you Beeline Keshik with RA-s, with 1 city, amory, and you are not playing on quick you won. They will be sson 2 shot 3 range, indirect fire killing machines easily killing even infranty.

Thats why they are my favourite UUs + coupled with Khan, they can heal quickly if chased down (which is unlikely).

 

[King_Course]

This is the same reason why UU's people don't like much are in fact incredibly good. The Janissary which was mentioned as only 'good' for being a musketman is probably instead 'amazing' because of this. Ottomans can research Gunpowder, create a LOT of Janissaries then beeline Rifling. Because Ottomans are in Civ5 a warmonger civ due to their unique ability and units, they are inherently strong with Honor which means it it highly likely they will have the Professional Army policy at this point and can inexpensively upgrade their huge Janissary force into Riflemen as soon as the tech becomes available. The result? Having vastly superior Riflemen, perhaps before anyone else has the tech (less warlike civs are likely to research Rifling later). Just incredibly powerful.

Basically any civ which has a relatively early unit which can be upgraded and carry over the special promotion is a beast. The earlier the unit, the better. Rome is sadly lacking in this regard because their UU simply have superior base strength. Quite the design mistake there IMO but I guess they had a different vision for Rome than I do (I believe Rome should be able to field a powerful military throughout the game and not just during the classical era).

I don´t think the Roman legions should be given a sidekick besides the roadbuilding ability. I like that some units have a long term strength, while others are meant to dominate while they are on the field with brute force. Another example, which is even more difficult to use to it's fullest, is the french musketeers. Like the Legion they are stronger than their counterpart, and all minutemen can do is use their ability to run away.

But when you hit Infantry the French get their Foreign Legion, and return to a UU that you will want to keep and upgrade. And will need to replace all your infantry with, late in the game.

So is the musketeer useless? No it's a different kind of challenge. Instead of the strategy of nursing your units, you will want to build and throw headon into battle. Use the strength while it's in your hand. And create a military momentum that will pickup again as you start to build and field Foreign Legionairs in you campaign. No weak tide of war by any means.

Now I too like the American side and the upgraded Minutmen approach, but it also has me picking fights like a schoolgirl at times, dancing left and right as a a cheap fronline unit isn't allowed to die. So the Americans become the Iroqui, and excell in guerilla warfare. But when I attack with Musketeers, it is headon in force, all the front moves forward together and casualties will be replaced as I keep em coming and reap a heavy toll on the opposition.

 

[Kevin J]

Crap tier:

War Elephant - Probably the most useful of all these, bordering mid tier. This unit's strength makes no sense compared to Narusan's elephant which is a beast. Horsemen come soon after. Not a whole lot of people build chariots anyway, at least this guys doesn't cost you any horses. On the plus side it's a lot more durable than the horse archer and doesnt have the weakness of the wheeled unit.


Any suggestions/dissagreements guys? The newer DLC units (particularly spain's) are a bit unproven. How do you guys find them?

Definitely disagree with the assessment of War Elephants. IMO, it's the single most dominant *early* unit (emphasis on early).

It takes two techs to get, takes no resources (meaning, you can get this unit out before most other units) , has the base combat strength of a warrior (6), 3 movement (without slowing down in rough terrain like a chariot archer), and a ranged combat strength of 8.

Try going AH->Wheel, then building two of these. You'll conquer your entire continent on anything up to immortal with just those two units and your initial warrior (marathon or epic speed).

 

[Kevin J]

Bowmen have 6 str and 8 ranged str, they are the single most powerful ancient era unit. Good tier is still an understatement for how strong they are prior to Machinery.

Same ranged / base strength as the War Elephant, which is also resourceless, but has 3 movement - albeit at a higher production cost and requiring 2 techs instead of 1. But both are very dominant early game.

I think people just assume a war elephant is like a chariot archer (which is a useless unit for the most part). Really, it's a balanced army all on its own - mobile, durable, and packing a big punch for the time it's available. I would place them as "Good Tier" rather than Top Tier, however, due to the lack of a viable upgrade path.

 

[MasterMishi]

I play MP almost exclusively so based on the last month's post patch games and some pre patch....

Why all this keshik love? I have never seen them used in a MP game. Yeah onthe scenario they rule, but double moves in MP make them and ranged in generel way too hard to keep safe.

Longbows, camel archers ditto, the war is usually won or lost by the time they come.

Chokonus are good support, but I dont see them making the difference enough, due to late medievil. Also they dont get used enough to get upgraded much in my experience.

Ship of the line? you have to be joking, too situational to be top tier.

For me the units ive seen turn the tide ofthe war....

Ballista: almost as good as trebs. Buy one in city and they make great defense.

Legions: in the sword iron rush turn 30-50 the extra strength turns the tide.

Musketeers: They hold up well even against rifles. They have been the unit that has stopped me so many times.

Jannisary: Time a golden age and spam them and steam roll the map, upgrade to rifle, rinse and repeat.

Hoplite: No iron? Spam these and you are fine.

Companion Cavs: good with hoplites if no iron.

Mandekalu Cavs: extra strength.

Siam Eles: My massive longsword invasion was put to an abrupt halt by these. Spam them and you are safe. Good defense by attacking within border.