Joelius Ceasar
Chieftain
I'm trying to find a good trait to play with; so if you could, name your favorite trait and the reasons you like it, I'd be happier than a cat in a bird house.
Favorite Traits
- Thread starter Joelius Ceasar
- Start date
madscientist
RPC Supergenius
OK here are my favorite traits in order, NOTE favorite. In no way do I consider these the best traits in ranking
1) Industrious: Ok I enjoy wonders and I love getting the oracle slingshot for MC and building fast forges very early compared with the AI. A big advantage.
2) Organized: I love being able to control such a large empire without killing the economy. Fats courthouses are great.
3) Agressive. Need I explain.
4) Expansive, the BTS version. YEs an odd choice but I almost never play a poor game with it. fast graneries and harbors, +25% on the worker, and a majot health benefit lduring the inductrial age.
5) Spiritual: No anarchy is great, allowing civic switches as will as well as religion. Got nerfed a bit in BTS due to GAs and CR wonder. Swap position with EXP if playing warlords/vanilla.
6) Creative. border pops without monuments or religion brings out the atheist in me. Cheap libraries are terrific.
7) Philosphical: Gotta love faster GPs butt akes a while to establish and I am already set in the game. I doi like getting education early for fast universities, that is a BIG advantage as the AI takes so long to get that.
8) Financial. Yeah gotta love the extra commerce but it's a rather dull trait, not much to think about. Much more interesting in a water board rather than abusing the cottages.
9) Imperialistic. It has grown on me. Fast settlers and ealrier GGs. Works very well with certain leaders, such as one of my favorites Genghis Kahn.
10) Charismatic: Yes it is powerful but impotent if you got a peaceful game and the extra happiness is prime early but insignificant later once you get monarchy.
11) Protective. It is useful so I do not hate it as much as others. But let's face facts, you cannot leverage it much.
1) Industrious: Ok I enjoy wonders and I love getting the oracle slingshot for MC and building fast forges very early compared with the AI. A big advantage.
2) Organized: I love being able to control such a large empire without killing the economy. Fats courthouses are great.
3) Agressive. Need I explain.
4) Expansive, the BTS version. YEs an odd choice but I almost never play a poor game with it. fast graneries and harbors, +25% on the worker, and a majot health benefit lduring the inductrial age.
5) Spiritual: No anarchy is great, allowing civic switches as will as well as religion. Got nerfed a bit in BTS due to GAs and CR wonder. Swap position with EXP if playing warlords/vanilla.
6) Creative. border pops without monuments or religion brings out the atheist in me. Cheap libraries are terrific.
7) Philosphical: Gotta love faster GPs butt akes a while to establish and I am already set in the game. I doi like getting education early for fast universities, that is a BIG advantage as the AI takes so long to get that.
8) Financial. Yeah gotta love the extra commerce but it's a rather dull trait, not much to think about. Much more interesting in a water board rather than abusing the cottages.
9) Imperialistic. It has grown on me. Fast settlers and ealrier GGs. Works very well with certain leaders, such as one of my favorites Genghis Kahn.
10) Charismatic: Yes it is powerful but impotent if you got a peaceful game and the extra happiness is prime early but insignificant later once you get monarchy.
11) Protective. It is useful so I do not hate it as much as others. But let's face facts, you cannot leverage it much.
Joelius Ceasar
Chieftain
Thanks guys, I'm kind of new at civ and I need all of the help I can get.
TheMeInTeam
If A implies B...
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2008
- Messages
- 27,995
1. Aggressive: It's the kind of player I am. In terms of science, 50% of 100 is more than 80% of 60! Still adjusting to smacking the AI around on higher difficulty levels, but it's just sooooooo fun to look at the minimap and see 2 continents of NOTHING BUT MY CITIES! Hahahahaha.
2. Financial: It tugs me a little to rank this so high. Like madscientist said, it's boring. However, I hate micromanaging very long after the earlygame and this is the trait to leverage thoughtless cottage spam. Even more brainless using the coast. Lets me think about my war and diplomacy.
3a. Spiritual: No anarchy is nice to me, but what spiritual really allows me to do is manipulate the AI. I don't both with religion much other than switching to one to align myself diplomatically...UNLESS I have this trait. Religious diplomatic tactics can be gamebreaking, and have certainly saved me before.
3b. Organized: It's better than it appears, especially with the cheap courthouses (and lighthouses). Add in cheaper civics and you have my #2 favorite brainless warmonger add-on trait.
5. Protective: Note that you will not see it nearly this high on other people's lists. I like it because it lets me play stupidly unorthodox and occasionally get away with it. I'm still refining the archer rush...drill 1 archers with cover might as well be slow chariots...and they come CHEAP and RESOURCE FREE. Helps gunpowder units later, like my favorite infantry. I was inspired by this once after monty flattened me with a stack of archers earlygame. If only its cheap buildings didn't suck...
6. Creative: Border control and a decent boost to earlygame science/culture. What's not to like?
7. Philosophical: I hate SE. I hate micro. A lot. BUT, I do it early-to-mid game. And when I'm whoring out a culture win, I do it the entire time. In skilled, patient hands this is a top tier trait. Right now, my hands are neither, and they'll never be patient. I understand the strength of this trait though.
8. Expansive: I might like it more once I get through Prince and Monarch (I just won my first Prince game today). Workers and granaries are solid. I don't have BTS so i'm jealous of mad up there.
9. Industrious: I should probably have it higher, but it's late and I'm tired. For a noob, I decidedly hate wonder massing...probably because I like to warmonger. The most appealing things to me about this trait are the forges and worker speeds. Very nice, actually, but I'd rather have cheap barracks and the ability to just take the other guy's workers.
10. Charismatic: The way I play leads me to rarely having a tech lead. Promoted units (past what barracks, stables, GGs, and civics give) don't tend to last very long for me. If I'm fighting I'll go aggressive or even protective over this (give me the promotions ASAP gogogogo)
11. Imperialistic: I probably don't utilize it well enough. It certainly seems to have merit. If I played a slower map speed where units didn't obsolete as fast, I'd probably like this more...!
2. Financial: It tugs me a little to rank this so high. Like madscientist said, it's boring. However, I hate micromanaging very long after the earlygame and this is the trait to leverage thoughtless cottage spam. Even more brainless using the coast. Lets me think about my war and diplomacy.
3a. Spiritual: No anarchy is nice to me, but what spiritual really allows me to do is manipulate the AI. I don't both with religion much other than switching to one to align myself diplomatically...UNLESS I have this trait. Religious diplomatic tactics can be gamebreaking, and have certainly saved me before.
3b. Organized: It's better than it appears, especially with the cheap courthouses (and lighthouses). Add in cheaper civics and you have my #2 favorite brainless warmonger add-on trait.
5. Protective: Note that you will not see it nearly this high on other people's lists. I like it because it lets me play stupidly unorthodox and occasionally get away with it. I'm still refining the archer rush...drill 1 archers with cover might as well be slow chariots...and they come CHEAP and RESOURCE FREE. Helps gunpowder units later, like my favorite infantry. I was inspired by this once after monty flattened me with a stack of archers earlygame. If only its cheap buildings didn't suck...
6. Creative: Border control and a decent boost to earlygame science/culture. What's not to like?
7. Philosophical: I hate SE. I hate micro. A lot. BUT, I do it early-to-mid game. And when I'm whoring out a culture win, I do it the entire time. In skilled, patient hands this is a top tier trait. Right now, my hands are neither, and they'll never be patient. I understand the strength of this trait though.
8. Expansive: I might like it more once I get through Prince and Monarch (I just won my first Prince game today). Workers and granaries are solid. I don't have BTS so i'm jealous of mad up there.
9. Industrious: I should probably have it higher, but it's late and I'm tired. For a noob, I decidedly hate wonder massing...probably because I like to warmonger. The most appealing things to me about this trait are the forges and worker speeds. Very nice, actually, but I'd rather have cheap barracks and the ability to just take the other guy's workers.
10. Charismatic: The way I play leads me to rarely having a tech lead. Promoted units (past what barracks, stables, GGs, and civics give) don't tend to last very long for me. If I'm fighting I'll go aggressive or even protective over this (give me the promotions ASAP gogogogo)
11. Imperialistic: I probably don't utilize it well enough. It certainly seems to have merit. If I played a slower map speed where units didn't obsolete as fast, I'd probably like this more...!
BalbanesBeoulve
Emperor
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2008
- Messages
- 1,060
1) Financial - I cottage spam. It's what I do. Cottage economy's served me well up to Emperor difficulty, so so far there's no need to change things.
As long as i've got financial, the second trait doesn't really matter to me.
As long as i've got financial, the second trait doesn't really matter to me.
Most Liked
Charismatic: The early happiness boost is useful and the boost to unit promotions helps all unit types
Philosophical: Quicker production of great people
Spiritual: Makes changing civics no problem
Least Liked
Imperialistic: Never seems to have much effect
Charismatic: The early happiness boost is useful and the boost to unit promotions helps all unit types
Philosophical: Quicker production of great people
Spiritual: Makes changing civics no problem
Least Liked
Imperialistic: Never seems to have much effect
TM Moot
King
My personal fav is INDUSTRIOUS for those shiny Wonders (& quick forges). But too be fair I think there all have merit and you need to adapt your game style to get the most out of the traits, something I'm just learning to do!
Probably good ones to start with are FINANCIAL and SPIRITUAL.
Probably good ones to start with are FINANCIAL and SPIRITUAL.
braindrain
brainiac
i like finantial because i almost always cottage spam, although i've been trying to get away from it lately...
organized is another favorite of mine....what can i say, i love money!
however-
the traits i miss the most when i'm playing are expansive and charismatic!
i'll get used to those traits and play a game with out them and i get really annoyed when i have good flooplains cities that are bogged down with disease or when that copper pops up just outside of an ideal new city's culture square....
ya, creative and expansive are so-so traits, or so i'm told, but i sure as heck miss them the most when i'm playing without them
organized is another favorite of mine....what can i say, i love money!
however-
the traits i miss the most when i'm playing are expansive and charismatic!
i'll get used to those traits and play a game with out them and i get really annoyed when i have good flooplains cities that are bogged down with disease or when that copper pops up just outside of an ideal new city's culture square....
ya, creative and expansive are so-so traits, or so i'm told, but i sure as heck miss them the most when i'm playing without them
NOTE: These traits are just MY favourites, I'm not trying to list the best traits in the game (which is impossible btw).
1. Philosophical - GPs
2. Spiritual - Free civic changes
3. Creative - Border pops
4. Industrous - Wonders
5. Financial - Bureaucracy cottage capital
6. Expansive - Workers+health
7. Charismatic - Warmongering+happiness
8. Aggressive - Warmongering
9. Organized - Courthouses
10. All the others not listed yet.
1. Philosophical - GPs
2. Spiritual - Free civic changes
3. Creative - Border pops
4. Industrous - Wonders
5. Financial - Bureaucracy cottage capital
6. Expansive - Workers+health
7. Charismatic - Warmongering+happiness
8. Aggressive - Warmongering
9. Organized - Courthouses
10. All the others not listed yet.
Quotey
Emperor
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2006
- Messages
- 1,459
Philosophical (Great people are awesome), Organized (cheap courts? cheap civics? 
), Spiritual (so you need a reason?), Creative (dominates the early game), Charismatic (also awesome for the early game, unfortunately no Cre/Cha leader).
I also like expansive, but not as much as those.
), Spiritual (so you need a reason?), Creative (dominates the early game), Charismatic (also awesome for the early game, unfortunately no Cre/Cha leader).I also like expansive, but not as much as those.
1. Creative - For REXing / nice cheap buildings
2. Philosophical - GPs
3. Spiritual - Diplo / Flexibility / stuff like avoiding Slave revolts
/ Cheap Temples (AP-religion Temples rock (ideal first build in newly founded/captured cities)
4. Organized - Money / Cheap buildings
5. Charismatic - Happy cap / easy accessible Promos (allow fast advance in a war due to Promo - healing
6. Financial - Economy
7. Aggressive - Cheap Barracks / Combat Promo / other Promos like Medic are easily accessible
8. Imperialistic - REXing / GGs
9. Expansive - cheap Granaries / Industrialized cities have less health problems
10. Protective - Free Drill promo
11. Industrious - cheap Forges
2. Philosophical - GPs
3. Spiritual - Diplo / Flexibility / stuff like avoiding Slave revolts
/ Cheap Temples (AP-religion Temples rock (ideal first build in newly founded/captured cities)4. Organized - Money / Cheap buildings
5. Charismatic - Happy cap / easy accessible Promos (allow fast advance in a war due to Promo - healing
6. Financial - Economy
7. Aggressive - Cheap Barracks / Combat Promo / other Promos like Medic are easily accessible
8. Imperialistic - REXing / GGs
9. Expansive - cheap Granaries / Industrialized cities have less health problems
10. Protective - Free Drill promo
11. Industrious - cheap Forges
semirami
The Wolf
1. Industrious
2. Financial
3. HC
2. Financial
3. HC
I like to play se or se/ce games so..
1. Philosophical: The faster those gp's come, the better. I prefer it over industrious since it's more versatile when it comes to getting gp's.
2. Organized: I usually don't cottage much so this one helps to keep the economy going. Cheap court/lighthouse is an extra.
3. Spiritual: Allows you to switch civics/religion a lot.
4. Creative: Early land grabbing/blocking and cheap libraries.
5. Industrious: Grabs me more wonders = more gpp = faster gp.
All in all traits that don't dictate a certain strategy are great imho. Industrious is the odd one out, since it pretty much forces you to wonderhog. Still, if it works out it's a very strong trait.
1. Philosophical: The faster those gp's come, the better. I prefer it over industrious since it's more versatile when it comes to getting gp's.
2. Organized: I usually don't cottage much so this one helps to keep the economy going. Cheap court/lighthouse is an extra.
3. Spiritual: Allows you to switch civics/religion a lot.
4. Creative: Early land grabbing/blocking and cheap libraries.
5. Industrious: Grabs me more wonders = more gpp = faster gp.
All in all traits that don't dictate a certain strategy are great imho. Industrious is the odd one out, since it pretty much forces you to wonderhog. Still, if it works out it's a very strong trait.
Pikkis
Prince
Where would you rate "old Expansive" with 50% bonus for building Workers? Btw, I don't think it's an odd choice. It's one of my favourites too.
My list:
1) Philosophical - I like SE very much and DPS Universities are just great.
2) Spiritual - No anarchy is nice and DPS Temples and Cristo Redentor make this trait even better.
3) Charismatic - Especially as Hannibal with a great seafood-madness start the extra-happiness is something incredibly strong.
4) Expansive - Extra healthiness helps in start game and in industrial age. Fast Granaries, Workers and Harbors make this one of my favourites.
5) Creative - I wasn't a fan of Creative trait, until it got DPS Libraries. Since then it's been very high on my list, as a Library is usually the first building I build in a new city. Extra culture points are also critical when expanding fast. Why can't Augustus still have Cre/Org combo?
6) Industrious - I like cultural wins, so Industrious could be considered as the best trait for my tactics, but I still prefer Philosophical with one of the traits above, as I can get almost every wonder and win the game without Industrious trait.
7) Organized - I rarely try to build a big empire, but when I do so, I almost always take a leader with Organized trait, as civic upkeep costs can be really high in a big empire, especially when running my favourite civic, Bureaucracy.
8) Financial - I rarely use CE, so I mainly use mainly Financial trait as Hannibal trying to combine CE tactics and capital with lots of seafood.
9) Imperialistic - With my peaceful strategies I usually don't get any GGs. But when I'm involved in a defence war, I can get one with Imperialistic trait and The Great Wall (sometimes even one of them is enough). With Representation from The Pyramids a settled GMI (GG) can make a serious difference in the early game, especially in an Academy city. I also like faster Settlers very much.
10) Protective - I think this can't be considered as one of the best traits with any strategy, unless when using unrestricted leaders and Spain, which could make DPS Citadels worthy.
11) Aggressive - I'm usually a very peaceful player, so my only benefit from Aggressive, unless I get into a defence war, is getting faster Barracks and Drydocks, which I only need for getting my defence forces experienced.
As everyone can guess, my favourite leader is Gandhi (Phi/Spi).
It depends on what's the trait combo and the UU and UB. But my favorites are:
1. Financial
2. Industrious
3. Philosophical
4. Creative
(IMHO these are the top 4)
5. Expansive
6. Organized
7. Spiritual
8. Charismatic
9. Imperialistic
10. Aggressive
11. Protective
1. Financial
2. Industrious
3. Philosophical
4. Creative
(IMHO these are the top 4)
5. Expansive
6. Organized
7. Spiritual
8. Charismatic
9. Imperialistic
10. Aggressive
11. Protective
DigitalBoy
Emperor
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2006
- Messages
- 1,347
Favorite traits
Philosophical: The +100% GPP bonus has a huge affect on the way you generate and use great people. Great people are fun to get, fun to use, and very powerful. Because of this, Philosophical is both a powerful trait but also very fun to use and be creative with.
Charismatic: Unhappiness is annoying and damaging to your game, and there aren't many ways to deal with it in the very early game. The reduced XP requirement also lets your elite units have more promotions, and promotions are shiny and are ergo good.
Aggressive: Melee and gunpowder units often form the backbone of a large war-ready army, and giving them all a free combat promotion gives your military a significant edge. Cheap barracks are great for early rushes and for spamming across your empire if you plan on using the Nationhood civic.
Creative: The free culture is pretty huge in the early game, where you get your fat cross (the border a city has once it has 10
) faster than other civs and don't need a monument or religion to do so. If you and a rival have two cities that are very close to each other, your culture will usually gain control of any contested tiles. Fast libraries help research and culture.
Philosophical: The +100% GPP bonus has a huge affect on the way you generate and use great people. Great people are fun to get, fun to use, and very powerful. Because of this, Philosophical is both a powerful trait but also very fun to use and be creative with.
Charismatic: Unhappiness is annoying and damaging to your game, and there aren't many ways to deal with it in the very early game. The reduced XP requirement also lets your elite units have more promotions, and promotions are shiny and are ergo good.
Aggressive: Melee and gunpowder units often form the backbone of a large war-ready army, and giving them all a free combat promotion gives your military a significant edge. Cheap barracks are great for early rushes and for spamming across your empire if you plan on using the Nationhood civic.
Creative: The free culture is pretty huge in the early game, where you get your fat cross (the border a city has once it has 10
) faster than other civs and don't need a monument or religion to do so. If you and a rival have two cities that are very close to each other, your culture will usually gain control of any contested tiles. Fast libraries help research and culture.
Bleys
Deity
CRE for me, I love popping borders. I am not big on religions, so not having to worry about them is key. Without it, I almost always find myself building a Monument first thing in new cities, JUST for the border pops.
I am also a wonder-addict, so IND is also a favorite. I am still learning the SE style, but being IND helps that a lot, since so many wonders are good for SEs.
FIN is awesome, but suffers from the "almost cheating" issue others mentioned. Using it in different ways can be a blast though, Trade Economies are super strong.
I am gaining respect for CHA, havent had BTS that long, but I am enjoying playing Hannibal. I dont care for Monarchy as a civic, and prefer Rep or US, but when I miss the Mids, I CHA can keep me plenty happy without feeling forced into Monarchy.
EXP is also good, because my FAVORITE part of the game is "early expansion" and this trait allows a heckuva lot more flexibility in city placement. Without it, I feel like I am forced to place my cities on fresh water, which can be a PITA.
My fav Vanilla civ was Cyrus, CRE/EXP. He is so strong, top 5 UU, great on Pangaea maps since the borders pop FAST and you can really use his EXP trait to block off AIs without fear of health issues.
Great topic. I have seen many threads on issues like this, but its worth repeating often because peoples opinions change. Its also worth noting which traits have the strongest synergy when paired as well. I notice there is no CRE/CHA leader, which is a shame, I would like to try those two together.
I am also a wonder-addict, so IND is also a favorite. I am still learning the SE style, but being IND helps that a lot, since so many wonders are good for SEs.
FIN is awesome, but suffers from the "almost cheating" issue others mentioned. Using it in different ways can be a blast though, Trade Economies are super strong.
I am gaining respect for CHA, havent had BTS that long, but I am enjoying playing Hannibal. I dont care for Monarchy as a civic, and prefer Rep or US, but when I miss the Mids, I CHA can keep me plenty happy without feeling forced into Monarchy.
EXP is also good, because my FAVORITE part of the game is "early expansion" and this trait allows a heckuva lot more flexibility in city placement. Without it, I feel like I am forced to place my cities on fresh water, which can be a PITA.
My fav Vanilla civ was Cyrus, CRE/EXP. He is so strong, top 5 UU, great on Pangaea maps since the borders pop FAST and you can really use his EXP trait to block off AIs without fear of health issues.
Great topic. I have seen many threads on issues like this, but its worth repeating often because peoples opinions change. Its also worth noting which traits have the strongest synergy when paired as well. I notice there is no CRE/CHA leader, which is a shame, I would like to try those two together.
