Minou
King
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2013
- Messages
- 822
In my last game I had high production at the start and decided to crank out a Warrior and Archer army to conquer my closest neighbor. Everything seemed to be going according to plan until I found out that was Mapuche. Their special ability of +10 combat against Civs in a Golden Age (stacked with the +4 Combat bonus from Deity) made my army look like a bunch of preschoolers with nerf guns. This got me thinking about which AIs I love/hate to see, so I wrote up a list. This was in the context of violent Space victory, obviously the list would be quite different for other victory types.
Civs I like to see (roughly in order)
1. Sumeria: Gilgabro rules. He's a guaranteed friend which means you are safe if he is your closest neighbor, you are pretty sure to get the Diplomatic Service boost, and you will have a trade partner the whole game.
2. Sweden: They grossly overpay for DF, providing lots of early game cash
3. Georgia: They also overpay for DF. Apparently they favor walls, but in many of my games they fail to get Ancient Walls before a Warrior/Archer rush or Horseman rush.
4. Korea: Yes, I would like to pillage and capture those cheap Campus districts please.
5. Maori: Maybe luck based, but it always seems like they found at least one random isolated city that is super easy to conquer if it shows up near your core. Sometimes it can even by captured with just loyalty! Plus, their preference for Theater Squares is nice.
6. Greece: Mostly because they provide the best route to some early Theater Squares which in turn often means some early Great Writers. Gorgo seems worse than Pericles, but I'd generally be happy to meet either.
7. China: They build lots of early Wonders, which can be really awesome if they are a close neighbor and you get them all for the price of 4 Horsemen. Great Wall is fun to pillage too (not sure how often its actually built though). Often on nice flat land.
8. Scotland: Not sure if it is random chance but in my games they often seem to build several Campus districts and also seem to pay good prices for DF.
9. Mali: Seem to often have a weak army and be on fairly open ground, with plenty of Commercial Hubs and mines to pillage. Desert bias makes their land a little worse, but typically only one or two cities are really surrounded by desert.
10. Canada: They seem to pay more for DF and usually have weak military. The need to denounce is usually not an issue though it sucks when they march an unescorted Settler past and you haven't denounced yet.
11. Russia: Always seem spread out over flat land, absolutely perfect for Horsemen conquest.
12. Kongo: They can't compete for a religion which is a minor bonus, but more importantly they seem to build lots of Campus and Commercial Hubs - I assume this is because they can't built Holy Sites. Their special unit can be annoying but isn't the worst, more irritating is the jungle bias which makes conquest hard.
13. Dutch: Pretty easy to satisfy their trading agenda.
14. India (Ghandi): Have not played against him enough to be sure but he always seems pretty easy to roll over.
15. Norway: Odd reason, but I sometimes meet one of their ships around T50 and it can help illuminate where the other continent is. I might even declare on them just to reveal any City State they control on the other side of the map.
16. Brazil: They seem to build lots of Campuses in the few games I have played against them which is in theory good, but often they end up hogging the early Great People. They can be hard to invade with the jungle start bias, though one marginal trick is that their Appeal boost from jungles crosses borders - in one Teddy game I actually got an extra breathing tile by forward settling them.
Neutral Civs
Australia, England (either), France (Eleanor), Indonesia, Khmer, Poland (would bump them to weakly positive if they pay more for DF, not 100% sure on that), Spain
Civs I don't like to see (least bad to worst):
21. Zulu: I take it they are aggressive, but of maybe just luck the few times I have encountered them as neighbor they did not have a huge army. I am more unexcited to see them because they spam Encampments which both are not so valuable to capture and make invasion a pain due to ZOC (once they get ranged attack I am probably backing off entirely).
20. Germany: Depends where they spawn, but they can be a major annoyance by killing important city states. Ranked least of the "bad" Civs because in some games it actually works out as a net positive, for instance if you are rolling over a new continent with Cavalry and can gain instant Suzerain status by freeing one of their victims.
19. Cree: I just got so annoyed the last two times I attacked them by the endless rows of Mekewap that don't provide any gold or faith from pillaging.
18. Japan: Coastal +5 combat bonus usually is not too big a deal as most cities tend to be off coast, but occasionally causes issues.
17. Arabia: Makes it a little harder to get a religion. If you have not actually met them this can also be a surprise. I would rank them lower but in many games they just build Holy Sites and get the religion anyway so the ability is often moot.
16. Inca: They land here not so much from any ability but because their mountain bias often makes attacks difficult.
15. Rome: Legions are strong. The monument in every city would make conquest more appealing except it seems like every AI almost always builds one first anyway.
14. Persia: Immortals can make invasions very tough. On the plus side if they are far away and you rush someone, you actually get a diplomatic bonus for the surprise declaration.
13. Ethiopia: Hill combat bonus can be a little annoying. Ideally you are avoiding attacking units on hills anyway, but with their start bias its likely this will come up.
12. Gran Colombia: Maybe they should be ranked worse, have actually only spawned against me once so I don't have a good idea of how effectively they use their combat advantaged.
11. Macedonia: No useful attribute and strong unique units. Hard to make friends with if met early.
10. Maya: Their unique Archer unit is a pain even when Horsemen are loose. On the other hand, they do tend to build more Campus districts,
9. Scythia: Double cavalry makes them a strong opponent. On the plus side, they spam their special improvement which can provide tons of faith.
8. Mongolia: Powerful cavalry but it is sometimes possible to attack before they get enough Horses. The Diplomatic Visibility ability is strong but I have not played around enough to know if they are likely to target the player with Trade Routes.
7. Frances (Catherine): Their extra visibility translates to +3 combat, fairly meaningful in a Warrior/Archer rush.
6. India (Chandragupta): Varus can really be a an invasion-stopper.
5. America (Rough Rider Teddy): The +5 combat is a pain for early conquest.
4. Egypt: Spammed Maryannu Chariot Archers ruin early invasions. On the plus side the bonus to Trade Routes is marginally helpful (would be better but I almost always need my first Trader for an envoy quest).
3. Nubia: Always seem to have a powerful army, boosted by their unique unit.
3. Hungary: I really like cultivating City States and Hungary can make it very hard with their +2 envoy bonus.
2. Aztecs: Really strong Warrior replacement makes them very difficult to attack early game. They also get really mad at you easily for having luxuries (not a big problem at the start, but mid-game when you actually need several to maintain happiness it can be obnoxious).
1. Mapuche: See above!
Civs I like to see (roughly in order)
1. Sumeria: Gilgabro rules. He's a guaranteed friend which means you are safe if he is your closest neighbor, you are pretty sure to get the Diplomatic Service boost, and you will have a trade partner the whole game.
2. Sweden: They grossly overpay for DF, providing lots of early game cash
3. Georgia: They also overpay for DF. Apparently they favor walls, but in many of my games they fail to get Ancient Walls before a Warrior/Archer rush or Horseman rush.
4. Korea: Yes, I would like to pillage and capture those cheap Campus districts please.
5. Maori: Maybe luck based, but it always seems like they found at least one random isolated city that is super easy to conquer if it shows up near your core. Sometimes it can even by captured with just loyalty! Plus, their preference for Theater Squares is nice.
6. Greece: Mostly because they provide the best route to some early Theater Squares which in turn often means some early Great Writers. Gorgo seems worse than Pericles, but I'd generally be happy to meet either.
7. China: They build lots of early Wonders, which can be really awesome if they are a close neighbor and you get them all for the price of 4 Horsemen. Great Wall is fun to pillage too (not sure how often its actually built though). Often on nice flat land.
8. Scotland: Not sure if it is random chance but in my games they often seem to build several Campus districts and also seem to pay good prices for DF.
9. Mali: Seem to often have a weak army and be on fairly open ground, with plenty of Commercial Hubs and mines to pillage. Desert bias makes their land a little worse, but typically only one or two cities are really surrounded by desert.
10. Canada: They seem to pay more for DF and usually have weak military. The need to denounce is usually not an issue though it sucks when they march an unescorted Settler past and you haven't denounced yet.
11. Russia: Always seem spread out over flat land, absolutely perfect for Horsemen conquest.
12. Kongo: They can't compete for a religion which is a minor bonus, but more importantly they seem to build lots of Campus and Commercial Hubs - I assume this is because they can't built Holy Sites. Their special unit can be annoying but isn't the worst, more irritating is the jungle bias which makes conquest hard.
13. Dutch: Pretty easy to satisfy their trading agenda.
14. India (Ghandi): Have not played against him enough to be sure but he always seems pretty easy to roll over.
15. Norway: Odd reason, but I sometimes meet one of their ships around T50 and it can help illuminate where the other continent is. I might even declare on them just to reveal any City State they control on the other side of the map.
16. Brazil: They seem to build lots of Campuses in the few games I have played against them which is in theory good, but often they end up hogging the early Great People. They can be hard to invade with the jungle start bias, though one marginal trick is that their Appeal boost from jungles crosses borders - in one Teddy game I actually got an extra breathing tile by forward settling them.
Neutral Civs
Australia, England (either), France (Eleanor), Indonesia, Khmer, Poland (would bump them to weakly positive if they pay more for DF, not 100% sure on that), Spain
Civs I don't like to see (least bad to worst):
21. Zulu: I take it they are aggressive, but of maybe just luck the few times I have encountered them as neighbor they did not have a huge army. I am more unexcited to see them because they spam Encampments which both are not so valuable to capture and make invasion a pain due to ZOC (once they get ranged attack I am probably backing off entirely).
20. Germany: Depends where they spawn, but they can be a major annoyance by killing important city states. Ranked least of the "bad" Civs because in some games it actually works out as a net positive, for instance if you are rolling over a new continent with Cavalry and can gain instant Suzerain status by freeing one of their victims.
19. Cree: I just got so annoyed the last two times I attacked them by the endless rows of Mekewap that don't provide any gold or faith from pillaging.
18. Japan: Coastal +5 combat bonus usually is not too big a deal as most cities tend to be off coast, but occasionally causes issues.
17. Arabia: Makes it a little harder to get a religion. If you have not actually met them this can also be a surprise. I would rank them lower but in many games they just build Holy Sites and get the religion anyway so the ability is often moot.
16. Inca: They land here not so much from any ability but because their mountain bias often makes attacks difficult.
15. Rome: Legions are strong. The monument in every city would make conquest more appealing except it seems like every AI almost always builds one first anyway.
14. Persia: Immortals can make invasions very tough. On the plus side if they are far away and you rush someone, you actually get a diplomatic bonus for the surprise declaration.
13. Ethiopia: Hill combat bonus can be a little annoying. Ideally you are avoiding attacking units on hills anyway, but with their start bias its likely this will come up.
12. Gran Colombia: Maybe they should be ranked worse, have actually only spawned against me once so I don't have a good idea of how effectively they use their combat advantaged.
11. Macedonia: No useful attribute and strong unique units. Hard to make friends with if met early.
10. Maya: Their unique Archer unit is a pain even when Horsemen are loose. On the other hand, they do tend to build more Campus districts,
9. Scythia: Double cavalry makes them a strong opponent. On the plus side, they spam their special improvement which can provide tons of faith.
8. Mongolia: Powerful cavalry but it is sometimes possible to attack before they get enough Horses. The Diplomatic Visibility ability is strong but I have not played around enough to know if they are likely to target the player with Trade Routes.
7. Frances (Catherine): Their extra visibility translates to +3 combat, fairly meaningful in a Warrior/Archer rush.
6. India (Chandragupta): Varus can really be a an invasion-stopper.
5. America (Rough Rider Teddy): The +5 combat is a pain for early conquest.
4. Egypt: Spammed Maryannu Chariot Archers ruin early invasions. On the plus side the bonus to Trade Routes is marginally helpful (would be better but I almost always need my first Trader for an envoy quest).
3. Nubia: Always seem to have a powerful army, boosted by their unique unit.
3. Hungary: I really like cultivating City States and Hungary can make it very hard with their +2 envoy bonus.
2. Aztecs: Really strong Warrior replacement makes them very difficult to attack early game. They also get really mad at you easily for having luxuries (not a big problem at the start, but mid-game when you actually need several to maintain happiness it can be obnoxious).
1. Mapuche: See above!
" -- Lord Lakely, in 8/10 of his recent Civ VI games.
