Fun Civilization Speculation Time!

[JonoLith]

Hey all,

I thought it might be fun to create a speculative thread about some basic strategies, and thoughts regarding the individual civilizations, mainly just for kicks. Please note, I'm really writing this for fun, and this is, by no means, comprehensive.

All info is coming off of Arioch's Analyst website.

EDIT (Sept 16):Thanks to Itarmstrong3 we’ve got a better picture of what the unique buildings and units are for some of the civilizations. I thought I’d update this with my thoughts on how those units will effect my initial strategic thoughts. Each change will show up under each Civ, nicely labeled with an edit and the date.

EDIT (Sept 5): I've been getting alot of great feedback, as well as some very interesting discussions have been cropping up, so I've decided to keep updating this, for kicks. The purpose of these updates is to facilitate good ideas that come from the community, as well as adding in thoughts that I simply missed. I'll keep in any original posts I've got and just mark the edit.

- Cleaned up the crappy formatting.
- Added in more for the Chinese, Greeks, Russians, and French.

America

When American begins its game, it's going to be able to explore the map more efficiently then any other Civ. The +1 sight bonus will allow them to move to important tiles faster, which will give them access to more goody huts faster then other civs. This is going to give them a small boost as they gather more gold, units, and basic map information faster then their opponents.

That gold their gathering will serve them well as they begin to expand their borders faster then any other civ. I suspect that an American player will want to calculate expansions of both borders and city placement to really maximize their special ability, and their Unique Unit (UU). They'll be able to connect cities through trade routes much faster, and be able to harvest the most
beneficial tiles faster as well.

Once the minute men hit the field, the Americans will truly be able to aggressively expand their cities, taking advantage of the defensive style the unit represents. They'll be able to represent
a passive threat, constantly saying "You're welcome to wage war on me, but it'll be a huge pain for you." The B-52 also represents this passive threat, as it will be able to take
advantage of that sight bonus, and demolishing anything that approaches the American's borders.

The American's have the benefit of not needing to commit to any one strategy. Being able to passively expand borders and play a more set back game will allow an American player to pursue any
victory condition strategy they wish, as it presents itself.

Diplomatic, Space race, Conquest, and cultural victories are all available to a smart American player who remains passive while aggressively defending his borders.

Conclusion: If you like to stay in your own borders while still being versatile enough to be a military threat, America might just be the Civ for You!

EDIT Sept 16: The Minute Men are far more mobile then I had originally believed. This will definitely allow them to take full advantage of their sight bonus and respond to any attack quickly. It will also make them much more potent on the attack then I had first believed. I still believe an American player will want to naturally stay within his own borders, sending out small parties to deal with any threat that might exist just outside them. Once their borders start touching other civ’s borders, then the game becomes interesting.

The really interesting thing about the B-17 is that it’s an incredibly safe unit to use. You can bombard your enemies from afar, and not need to worry so much about whether or not it’s coming back alive. Again, this unit plays directly into the more passive and defensive style of play.


Arabia

It seems to me that the heart of the Arabian strategy will be expansion expansion expansion. Getting extra gold from trade routes will encourage an Arabian player to build more cities then
other civilizations. Then, when the Camel Archer's come into play, the Arabians will be able to consolidate that land grab strategy.

Arabia might just be the weakest civilization in the early game. With a heavy reliance on pillagable roads, with no unique units to back them up, setting up that crucial trade network, defending it, might just be more difficult then it sounds.

However, the moment oil comes into play, it's Arabia's game. Double oil production is nothing to sneeze at, and opens up Arabia to being militarily aggressive, but also keeps them in an
interesting trading position. Being able to give excess oil to friendly civilizations to have them do your dirty work for you seems like an extremely viable strategy for the Arabian player.

Arabia also seems to really benefit from having a fairly flexible victory route. All the sphere's are open to them, if they wish to pursue it. The extra gold they make will flow nicely into any victory condition.

Conclusion: If you're a fan of money and fast early expansion, then maybe you should be checking out the Arabians!

EDIT Sept 16: The Camel Archer will definitely help the Arabian’s finally secure those trade routes and luxury resources they so desperately need. They’re highly mobile, and will be able to respond to any attack quickly and efficiently.

The Bazaar will be a welcome building for the Arabian’s as it will essentially make them one of the most desired civilizations to trade with. Excess of one resource don’t add to happiness (2 ivory gives you as much happiness as 1) so it’s in the interest of the Arabian’s to trade any resource they get from the Bazaar away as quickly as possible, to the highest bidder, of course. This will play in nicely with City State relations as well.

I will say that I think the Bazaar comes a touch late for the Arabians. Their early game is really horrendous, and they rely so heavily on trade routes and the resources around them that any civ that wants to put a wrench in their plans just needs to learn what the pillage button is.


Aztecs

With a cultural bonus from destroy units, and early game unique buildings and units, it's very clear what the Aztec player's strategy is; war war war. Find the nearest civ, and pick on them until they die, and then move on.

It may be that the Aztecs will really revel in farming civ's units. Rather then outright destroying them, they might simply want to keep a civilization alive simply to destroy their military and gain the culture boost.

Simply put, with that Special Ability, it is always to the benefit of the Aztecs to go to war. They're obviously in the running for a military victory, but also have a pretty nifty leg up in the culture race. Diplomacy will probably not work out for them, and why are you building space ship parts when you could be building tanks?

Conclusion: Do you like killing things? Maybe check out the Aztecs.

EDIT Sept 16: The Jaguar is going to be a fearsome early game unit. It is a bit of a shame that they only get their bonus in Jungles, but we’ll see how prolific that terrain type is. The ability to heal after combat will allow them to continue moving forward faster, and fight longer. (Although healing 2 hp is kinda wimpy.)

The Floating Gardens are far more interesting to me. A food boost is going to give the Aztecs more population then most other civilizations faster. These people will be able to increase the science, production, culture, or gold production much faster then any other civilization, especially in the early game. Most importantly, this will allow the Aztecs to simply field more troops faster, and, combined with their Unique Unit, the Aztecs are certainly the warrior rushing civ.

It will be interesting to see how the Aztecs balance their increased population with their happiness.

China

One of the most tactical special abilities in the game. A Chinese player will want to protect his Generals and use them often and aggressively. Losing a General is not an option for the Chinese players, as that's what they do.

I suspect that the Chinese player's game will be one of slow steady expansion, first through neutral territory, and then into any beneficial enemy territory. Each movement will be a delicate
one, well planned and well thought out, if only that it must be so. Enemies will be chomping at the bit to take out the Chinese player's generals, and losing one will hamstring the larger overall game strategy of the Chinese player.

The Chu-Ko-Nu support this delicate style of tactical play. You can't jam a ton of them into combat and expect success. The Chinese player that will find victory will do so by utilizing all of the pieces of the puzzle to their utmost strength.

All Victory conditions are equally available to the Chinese, but more delicately then other civs. They'll be able to field a mighty military, certainly, but they could use that military to secure borders, rather then aggressively seek the destruction of their enemies. It would be to the benefit of the Chinese to be at war with someone, as that's how you get Generals, but be careful that you don't make too many enemies.

Conclusion: If you seek the most tactical combat experience, perhaps you might find root in the Chinese.

EDIT Sept 16: No surprises with the Chu-Ko-Nu. It’s going to be a welcome force on the tactical front.

The Paper Maker, however, is interesting. Giving early science and gold boosts, it should allow a Chinese player to have enough gold to do whatever he wants with it, as well as faster tech then any other Civilization. The extra gold will give the Chinese more flexibility in his strategies, allowing him to befriend City States, or buy important tiles, or just simply buying more Paper Makers! J The extra science will give China access to techs before other Civs, which will give them the Tactical Edge they want on the field.


-Edit: (Sept 5th) It's been pointed out that the Great Generals of the Chinese will be able to trigger Golden Ages and be turned into Workable Tiles. This will certainly open up the Chinese to other Victory Conditions besides Military. However, it's also been pointed out that to get those Great Generals, you'll need to be engaged in warfare constantly. It truly seems as though the Chinese will really have a tightrope act to walk if they wish to be successful outside of the Military Victory.


Egypt

The Egyptians have a very scary early game Unique Unit which is going to ensure their victory in the early game. They will be able to move where they want, and secure whatever territory they
want almost completely unimpeded.

Once the game moves out of the ancient era, and even into the Classical era, the Egyptian's even out with those around them slightly, and move from being insane destroyers of the landscape, to leaning on their special ability more and more.

I suspect that the Egyptians will have an early burst of expansion, land grabbing wherever they can, and then falling back to a more passive, building style of game play. They'll have a happy populace, and some of the most impressive cities in the game. It's almost a guarantee that the Egyptians will have more wonders then anyone else, which will be the crux of their game play.

This keeps Egypt in the running for most victory conditions. Rather then finding success in mass production or heavy resources, the Egyptians will look to their massive wonders to provide the empire benefits to win their games.

Conclusions: Do you like wonders? Go Egypt!

EDIT Sept 16: We’ve known about the War Chariot for awhile. It’s fierce. Rawr.

The Burial Tomb is incredibly interesting to me. Taking away Culture, but at the same time giving a HUGE happiness bonus is highly intriguing. I’m a bit of the opinion that, because it’s almost a given that Egypt will be building wonders, Egypt will be able to take that culture loss, but then recoup it with the wonders they build. The extra happiness though is going to let them expand more, either within their own cities, or by building more, and those War Chariots are going to mean that they’ll be able to do it easily, with little trouble from any aggressive neighbours. Just don’t get pillaged or you’re in for a lot of gold loss!


England

I think it's pretty clear that England has the Naval advantage. Just as navies are starting to get truly built, England gets the strongest naval unit, with a special ability that makes it more elusive and mobile then any other naval unit in the game.

This will allow England to become, basically, un-invadable from the sea. If an England player can successfully defend from attacks on the land, they will be basically free to pursue any kind of victory they wish. It strikes me that an English player will really REALLY want to cripple anyone they share a land mass with. If they can manage that, then the game is basically theirs to do with what they will.

Conclusion: Like a big radical navy that no one can stop? Let England take you from sea to shining sea.

EDIT Sept 16: Not much to say here. They get good units when we thought they would and they’ll use them to do what they should with them

 

[JonoLith]

France

The French seem to be one gigantic build-up to a Renaissance military explosion. Beginning by building more cities to really take advantage of the extra culture, and then putting more and more of that culture into military policies seems to be the way of things for the French player.

Once the Foreign Legion comes into play, it's to the French's benefit to take advantage and press the attack. They outright lose their special ability, but it should set them up nicely for an extremely strong military push. They'll have more policies then anyone else, and if those are well spent, the military expansion could be startlingly effective. Be careful to not make the wrong enemies as once the French lose their special unit, they might experience a nasty backlash.

Conclusion: Do you love the idea of winding up the hammer to bring it down hard? Let the French smash down on your enemies with the force of a thousand rising suns!

EDIT Sept 16: Exactly the same as the English here.

-Edit (Sept 5th): It's been pointed out that the Special Ability of the French could very well used to secure them a Cultural Victory. I believe that this could be the case, however I also believe that the French clearly have a moment of military might that should be utilized, if not to secure a Domination Victory, then perhaps to gain a resource advantage, or some other form of border expansion.

Also, I hadn't mentioned that the two culture per turn is going to allow city borders to expand naturally quicker then other Civs. This is going to let the French get earlier access to more resources quicker, which will allow them to expand slightly faster.

Germany

The German player will always want to be aggressive against those pesky barbarians. There will never be a time he will not want to seek out and destroy encampments, earning the respect and
admiration of the surrounding city states, as well as pulling in a nice haul of gold and units.

I suspect that the Germans will play the City-State game very well in the early game, making friends and allies of those who wish to be rid of the barbarians, and launching assaults against the city states that tend to be a problem.

The major aggression against other civilizations doesn't come until the panzer and landsknecht come out, and when they do, it will not pay to share a border with Germany. Having built up an early game advantage, making friends with City States, getting gold boosts, and free units, they'll be able to switch all that over to massive modern armour assaults, all the while having their tiny friends cheer them on.

Conclusion: Are you a fan of aggression that everyone will love you for? Do you like tanks? Maybe Germany is your thing.

EDIT Sept 16: German

The Germans just seem to be the Kings of having Unique properties that seem really wimpy, but most likely aren’t. The Lansknecht seems outright weak, but it does seem to play into the swarming tactic that seems to be built right into the Germans. Lose a pikemen, no biggie, another one will be up shortly.

The Panzer is beefy and is going to make the German Modern warfare be fierce.


Greece

A shoe-in for the diplomatic victory. If Greece is on the board, you know they're angling for it. With fairly strong early game units they'll be able to consolidate their borders, and, much like the Germans, will be able to launch extremely successful attacks against barbarians for neighboring city states. The only difference is that the City states will love Greece for twice as long for doing so.

The Greek player is going to want to protect, and foster relations, between all the city states, working hard to keep them befriended and on their side. Launching wars to free captured city states is going to be key to the Greek victory.

Conclusion: How much do you like city states? If it's alot, maybe the Greeks are for you!

EDIT Sept 16: The Companion Calvary alone just moved the Greeks from being moderately good at early warfare to being the most crushingly scary Civilization in the ancient world. A mobile unit that’s extra strong and produces extra great generals? Sheesh. A Greek player should ALWAYS go on the offensive in the early game with these, as there’s little chance he’ll meet much opposition, with the exception of perhaps Rome.

And hey, beefy spearmen don’t hurt either. A strength 9 spearman is going to be much more effective against strength 11 swordsmen, and they don’t require iron to build.

The Greeks are shaping up to be a terrifying early game foe.

Edit (Sept 5th): An excellent point has been raised about how the Greeks aren't entirely a Diplomatic Victory civ. They'll certainly have access to Military, Cultural, and Space Race victories. However, I believe those victories will be victories of opportunity. That is to say that the Greek player will go for them if he sees that the City states he has access to are mainly cultural, or to put it another way, if he has the opportunity to do so. The Diplomatic Victory will be one that is usually available to the Greek player.

India

The Indian player is going to want less cities with as high a population as he can get. This is going to result in less resources for him, but much more science, gold and culture.

The major concern for the Indian player will always be a military attack. But the new 1upt system will really allow an intelligent Indian player to defend his territory effectively, using war elephants, and the mughal fort to bolster the strength of his defenses. (I assume.)

The Indian player is most likely pushing for the space race victory, or the culture victory. They won't have the raw production necessary to compete for military domination, and they won't be able to embark on city state missions enough to secure the votes for diplomatic victory. It's possible that they could simply spend the money to do so, but more likely that they'd be spending that excess cash on things to increase the awesomeness of their cities.

Conclusion: Do you love the idea of having a few cites that are beacons of amazingness? Perhaps the Indians are for you!

EDIT Sept 16: The War Elephant is certainly powerful, but I can’t shake the feeling that it’ll be best used defensively. The question is will the loss of mobility make them less likely to hang around on the attack? I wouldn’t be too surprised to see an Indian army build these to supplement their defences more then anything. Although they DO get them fairly early. It could be possible we’re seeing an early game warring option for India.

The Mughal Fort is exactly what I expected. A defensive structure that gives a passive bonus to Culture. It’s odd to me that it costs more to maintain, but that’s the price I suppose. If India has one of these in each city, they’ll have a similar bonus to the French’s Special Ability, but then when Flight kicks in, they also receive gold benefits. I’m intrigued by how this building seems to just be very versatile and constantly changing.


Iroquois

My personal favorite, so long as their special ability remains in tact, if not, then I'm less inspired by them.

With an extremely mobile force, as well as a powerful classical unit, the Iroquois early game could be terrifying. The Iroquois player will be less interested in the outright destruction of his enemies and rather will enjoy hamstringing his opponent wherever he can. Appearing at odd angles, and unexpected place, the Iroquois could bring a civilization to it's knees, capturing workers, and settlers, picking off stray military units, and pillaging everything in sight. If there's an Iroquois player gunning for you, you might not have many trade routes left any time soon.

The economic benefits of their ability can't be ignored either. Faster worker movement, faster exploration, faster faster faster. Speed is the name of the Iroquois game, and they'll do it better then anyone else, on land.

Attacking an Iroquois player will be painful. They'll be able to move into positions faster then you, and defend better then you. Retreating a single unit will be a piece of cake for an Iroquois player, as they'll move twice as fast as anything you have. The Iroquois truly seem to make their claim on just being a major nuisance.

Once trees start to fall, however, the Iroquois ability is less useful. However, by then, they should have brought their enemies low, and created a beautiful civilization of their own, that will simply roll over their enemies.

Conclusion: Are you a fan of harassment and marauding? Then the Iroquois might be for you!

EDIT Sept 16 : So it’s clear that they’re not going to be the Marauding force that they once were. The rumours surrounding the change to their Special Ability appear to be true, and, while they certainly will be a powerfully productive Civilization, they’re not the mobile marauding force I was hoping for. *sigh*

That said, the Mohawk Warrior is going to be undefeatable in forests. Already a strength 11 unit, same as a swordsmen, a Mohawk Warrior inside a forest is going to be standing at a strength of 16.5. (I’m not sure how the game deals with decimals.) That’s stronger then a Catapult. These Mohawk Warriors are not to be trifled with. They will tear you apart. Even the Legion, at strength 13, will fall to this unit. And let’s never forget terrain modifiers as well. Even adding a 15% bonus is going to make them nigh-unattackable.

Simply put. Do not mess with these guys.

The Longhouse is a fantastic building as well, as it really emphasises the trees. Once lumber mills start getting built on forested tiles, the Iroquois are just going to be production powerhouses, being able to produce buildings and units at a rate that other civs will just not be able to keep up with.


Japan

The Epitome of Kamikaze. Everything about this Civilization shouts "Go for the throat at all costs." If a Japanese player goes to war, it is in their best interest to ram units down the enemies throat as fast as they can, charging in headlong to massacre anything they can.

While other players will retreat units back when they are injured, there will certainly be times when a Japanese player will simply want to press the attack, content in the knowledge that for every unit they lose, they'll bring two of their enemies down.

Of course, the Japanese don't need to go to war to be a threat. Simply seeing that army on their border will be threat enough for any player. The initial push will be the worst for any defending player, as bringing a Japanese army that is at full health down will never be an easy task. Even the weakest unit still represents a full unit's threat.

It should be pointed out that the Japanese really do not get an economic benefit at all. They rely very strongly on having a powerful army that can bend nations to their will. Anyone playing as the Japanese will always need to be aware that wile their military can be terrifying, their culture might not be.

Conclusion: Kamikaze? Japan.

EDIT Sept 16 : Pretty much nothing new here in terms of strategy. Although finding out that the Samurai give extra great generals is extremely interesting.

The zero will be able to control the skies though. Which might just be key to victory. Taking out enemy fighters so you can bombard might just win wars.



Ottomans

The ottoman ability takes alot of flak for being too specialized and kind of sucky, but it cannot be ignored that this is going to give the ottoman empire an early naval advantage, even earlier than England. It's going to allow the Ottoman player to be more successful attacking from odd angles, and taking out opposing player's navy entirely at a very early phase. For every Barbarian Ship the Ottomans gain, that is a ship their opponent simply does not have. Entire wars could be won based on this, if the Ottomans play their cards right.

Once the Ottoman have the ship advantage, they are free to press in with their Sipahi and Janissary, which are terrifying units in their own right.

And let's not forget that destroying Barbarians makes everyone happy. City states really go for that kind of thing, and if you want to invade barbarian encampments that are on the coast, you'll need to be dealing with their bombarding ships.

Just like the Japanese though, the Ottomans have no economic bonuses, and will have to rely on clever tactics and well timed pushes and attacks to secure total victory.

Conclusion: Want to get the earliest naval advantage possible? Otto-what? Ottomans!

EDIT Sept 16 :Again, not much change here for me. They’ll have their push, and they’ll do it well.

Persia

The Persians are the ultimate in timing attacks. The Persian player will want to have his units at the ready for when that golden age starts so he can quickly and efficiently make the most of it. The extra movement will get Persian troops where they need to be, and the extra strength will allow Persian troops to secure victory more readily.

I suspect that the Persians will be the swingiest civilization in the game, moving from peace to war like the tides on the shore. But, unless the player makes a foolish attack, most military excursions should come up one the side of the Persian army.

The thing that makes the most sense for the Persians is to use their Golden Ages to secure territory while enjoying a boost in production and gold, and then, during none golden ages, use the resources collected to consolidate and prepare for the next golden age.

Conclusion: Are you a fan of attacking, then building, then attacking, then building? Perhaps Persia will be for you!

EDIT Sept 16: The Persian Immortal seems like it'll be more of a supplemental unit then anything. I'm not convinced you'll want to build it before you build a Swordsman, for instance. If these guys are running around during a golden age, they'll be nice, and healing faster means less turns wasted during that golden age!

The Statrap's Court is perfect for Persia. It's basically just free happiness which means those Golden Ages are going to happen more often for you. I'm a big curious why it comes out so late, but there you have it.

Rome

I'll get this out of the way first. Rome is scary in the Classical Era. Two extremely complimentary units will allow Rome to bring down cities like mad-hatters. The Legion can build forts along the way as well, so any retreat that needs to happen willbe augmented by having a defensive position already to go. Rome will definitely enjoy a very powerful early game to set them up for a winning late game.


The long term benefits of their special ability will be the defining feature of Rome, however. Being able to bring a city from freshly built to production/science/gold/culture behemoth will be much easier with this Civilization. Captured cities will be able to brought in line with the Roman way of thinking faster, and will be less of a hindrance to Roman Expansion.

As cities are built, more of them will become useful faster, which will allow Rome to really get ahead of any kind of goal they want to pursue.

Conclusion: Do you like building faster then anyone else? Perhaps you're dreaming of Roman Rule!

EDIT Sept 16: Looks like the Legion doesn't build roads or forts after all. Still. The Legion and Ballista combination is going to be deadly, as we always knew it would.

Russia

The Russians have an incredible special ability. They'll be able to have double the swordsmen, horsemen, and production bonuses, not to mention double nukes. The Russian army is going to be big and scary, no matter what.

The interesting thing to note is that the Russians seem to always maintain a fairly reasonable threat throughout the game. Just as iron becomes outdated, the Cossack is there to pick up the slack. And even though they don't have a true modern era benefit, being able to swing back hard with Uranium is nothing to sneeze at.

To put it bluntly, the Russians are just always going to have alot of stuff. They build faster, and build strong. They're not going to have much in the way of economic boosts, but they'll be able to hammer down any door they want to with a superior amount of superior troops.

Conclusion: Do you like lots and lots and lots of good units? Return to the Motherland. Return to Russia!

EDIT Sept 16: The Krepost is going to really help Russia secure those resources that it desperately needs to keep the ship afloat. I predict that many people are going to compare this building to the American's Special Ability saying things like "It's twice as good!" But remember, it's a decrease in the amount of time taken to get those tiles, not a reduction in gold cost for those tiles. It's a subtle difference, but an extremely important one.

The Cossack getting a bonus from attacking damaged units is fun. Hit him with archers, and bring the cossack in.

-Edit (Sept 5th): It's been pointed out that the Russian special ability doesn't affect how many troops they have, but how good those troops can be. This is entirely true. It seems as though the Russians will always have the potential to field the most effective raw army, not the largest.

Siam

The Siamese player will always want to foster relationship with Maritime and Cultured city states. Interestingly, they receive no extra benefit from Militaristic City States. What this means is that if there is a conflict between two city states, it's more to the benefit of the Siamese player to choose the one that isn't militaristic.

The Siamese player should be working harder to secure city states then other civs, but isn't quite the shoe-in for a diplomatic victory as the Greeks. Interestingly, if these two civilizations spawn near each other, it may be entirely necessary for Siam to start a war with Greece, or vice versa.

The Siamese player is looking to expand faster, and get more culture then his neighbours. A cultural victory seems likely, but don't count them out for the others as well.

Conclusion: Do you like the idea of playing with the city states, but not necessarily going diplomatic? Siam might be your shtick!

EDIT Sept 16: Looks like the Siamese got an anti-cavalry unit in the form of Naresuan's Elephants. The decrease in mobility will most likely mean that they'll try to defensively supplement any other standing army that exists.

The Wat is where they're at. An increase in culture per city by 3? That's even better then the French Special Ability, and, with the help of City State Relations, could really push them into the Cultural lead quite quickly.

Songhai

Another Civilization that benefits from always being at war.Getting those barbarian encampments is key to Songhai's success, and if there's a German player nearby who's snagging them first, then going to war with Germany will benefit the Songhai player just as much.

The Songhai player really wants to get into an area, and take out encampments and cities quickly. The longer a conflict drags out, and the more units that get involved, the less beneficial it is for Songhai.

Having embarked units that can defend themselves will mean two things. First, they'll be able to more successfully land and attack, but more importantly, they'll be able to retreat more successfully as well. They'll take damage, to be sure, but they'll be a tougher opponent to bring down.

Much like the Aztecs, if you've got Songhai on your borders, expect warfare to occur.

Conclusion: If you like the idea of burning cities to the ground, and being rewarded heavily for doing so, then Songhai is all up ons your grill.

EDIT Sept 16: The Mandekalu Calvary is perfect for Songhai. A bonus to cities will make their pillaging easier, and faster, allowing them to strike in quickly from an unusual angle, and escape just as quickly.

I must admit, I'm slightly confused by the Mud Pyramid Mosque. The bonus to culture is always welcome, and it seems to simply be for free, but it doesn't quite fit in with the rest of the Civilization's picture. Ever expanding those borders and getting Warring Social Policies will be key, and this building will certainly help. I really look forward to seeing people try and play Songhai by getting a cultural victory just because of this building.

So, what do you think?

 

[Lyoncet]

Very nice and fun writeup! I disagree on a few points, but the only one where I think our opinions diverge significantly is on Arabia. It looks like the commerce bonus from Trade Caravans is pretty poor (1 gold per turn per route seems to be a pittance in CiV). Still, I do agree that they'll be an economic powerhouse between that little bit of help, the extra oil, and what we can assume is a commerce boost from the Bazaar UB. Plus Camel Archers are so far probably my favorite UU in the game, since they are one of two units we know of (three if you count both Chariots and War Chariots) that can bombard and then move away. I don't think I have to explain how powerful that could be.

So again, similar conclusion, but differing methodology. Call it a concurring opinion I guess.

 

[DalekDavros]

I'd say that the main benefit of the extra gpt for Arabian trade routes will be making roads economical earlier on. Late game, the extra oil is going to dwarf the extra gold, but early on (when gold may be fairly scarce) the ability to afford more roads could give Arabia a useful mobility bonus--maybe not quite as useful as the Iroquois bonus, but that's why the oil is there too. Also, keep in mind that we don't know what the UB (Bazaar) does yet, and it could very well have synergy with the trade route bonus.

 

[Thyrwyn]

I still think India is going to have more cities than everyone else, not less. A size 4 city normally costs 5 unhappiness - it only costs India 4; a size 10 city normally costs 11 unhappy - it only costs India 7. So India will have more happy room early, and that will only continue as their cities continue to grow; they will be able to afford another city sooner. Also, smaller cities grow faster, and as they do, India will feel the pinch less.

 

[KrikkitTwo]

I still think India is going to have more cities than everyone else, not less. A size 4 city normally costs 5 unhappiness - it only costs India 4; a size 10 city normally costs 11 unhappy - it only costs India 7. So India will have more happy room early, and that will only continue as their cities continue to grow; they will be able to afford another city sooner. Also, smaller cities grow faster, and as they do, India will feel the pinch less.

Well tha's assuming that City unhappiness=# of cities

its probably not

your 20th city Probably causes more unhappiness than your 3rd.

In which case you still want a small # of cities for a specific amount of territory.

 

[CleverFool]

Very good write up overall, especially with earlier game civilizations. I see them making aggressive moves towards the beginning of the game, eking out a decent empire, then sitting back and letting their Wonder Production win the game though peaceful means. The Aztecs will most likely expand as fast as they can for as long as they can and try to gain a leg up with the Social Policies. While the Germans may not be as warlike, but will still actively seek out as many barbs as possible to field a strong army.

It will be interesting to see how these all fare later on. For the most part other Civs have stronger advantages later, so the ultimate question is whether the early game boost can last long enough to counterbalance later game Civs.

Personally I find Persia might be the most intriguing of the bunch. If they play like you might suggest, I could see them hitting real hard and being very active throughout the entire game. It could take a lot of skill (and luck) determining when to use those Golden Ages.

 

[Szpilman]

Next time I'm taking a flight I'll be sure to read your posts, OP! Seriously!

 

[Eagle Pursuit]

The Aztecs will be super fun if you liek warrior rushes. The Jaguars heal when they kill, and gain xp at the same time. Send a load of them in with a few archers for support, and you can be the only civ on a small continent by the end of the classical era. The Jaguars will be useful in successive eras too, as recyclable cannon-fodder.

The Egyptians are the same way. Having a bunch of highly mobile ranged units within a few techs of the start will be too cool.

I may be the only one who sees the Ottomans as a huge dual threat. A player playing as the Ottomans should aggressively patrol the coasts with triaremes early-on to collect as many barb ships as possible, then send them home for upgrades. When war starts you can raze your enemies coastal improvements, bombarb their coastal cities, and dump a few embarked land units right on the city's doorstep under the watchful eye of your massive navy.

 

[Xeribulos]

Next time I'm taking a flight I'll be sure to read your posts, OP! Seriously!

This.
I really enjoyed the reading. JonoLith, you deserve a compliment for your writing skills.

 

[playshogi]

Regardless of the civ, worker first seems the way to go. The first social policy should be the one providing extra food for the capital.

 

[bjbrains]

With more benefits for exploration, scout or warrior first seem like very viable options as well - barbarian camps, ancient ruins, city-state discovery and national wonders.

 

[Snoopaloop]

Very fun and interesting read on your perspectives, thanks JonoLith

My favorite conclusion...

Conclusion: Do you like killing things? Maybe check out the
Aztecs.

 

[SalmonSoil]

Indeed, a lot of people underestimate the Ottomans, but just think. Embarked units are likely to have a faster move speed than non embarked, thus using the coast to move armies early seems like the best idea. Ottomans gain an advantage at early grand strategy.

 

[kaltorak]

Cool post

 

[generalwar]

Really nice write up. I'm glad that finally someone recognized Persia's petencial .

 

[stealth_nsk]

Comments:

America:
- Bonuses play their role with militaristic playstyle mostly, while they could target any victory conditions.

Aztecs:
- I think they should start as barb hunters, rather than starting early war.
- Should get Honor SP ASAP.
- They should target cultural victory.
- They shouldn't expand too much to keep SP cost low and leave enemies strong enough.

China:
- Great generals could be used for gaining Golden ages.
- They should be active militarists to gain their generals.

Egypt:
- It's strength is an ability to pick one early wonder and build it without competition, so they could use wonder-based strategies.

German:
- They could be aggressive to barbarians, but rather peaceful with others (at least before panzers). Researching Landsknechts from peaceful branch allows them to delay military branch research in favor of development techs.

India:
- They may have the same amount of cities as anyone else, they just need them to be developed.
- They could use their advantage in various way, for example building less happiness buildings (saving hammers and money), or gaining more golden ages.

Iroquois:
- Latest reports say they use forests as roads for connecting cities as well, so they gain direct economic bonus.
- Trees will last till the end of the game, since chopping-rush seems to be out and lumber mill is much earlier.

Ottomans:
- Able to create island barbarian farms.

Russia:
- Suggest they'll trade resources quite actively to gain economic advantage.

Siam
- Being not military, it would be extremely difficult for them to protect far city-states, so I suggest they should maintain relationships with small number of nearby city-states.
- Military city-states will be very useful too, since you'll need to adopt patronage anyway.

 

[Twahn]

Comments:

Aztecs:
- I think they should start as barb hunters, rather than starting early war.
- Should get Honor SP ASAP.
- They should target cultural victory.
- They shouldn't expand too much to keep SP cost low and leave enemies strong enough.

Russia:
- Suggest they'll trade resources quite actively to gain economic advantage.

Aztecs:
Exactly what I was thinking with the barb hunting. Or barb farming even... depending how much culture they actually get from this I suppose...

Russia:
I'd assume that Russia can't trade their double strategic resources away and still keep the bonuses, if you get my meaning?
So if they have 2 horses, doubled for 4, they wouldn't be able to trade 2 away and keep 2. If they traded 2 they'd have none. Yeah?
I don't know if you're suggesting otherwise, but I'd assume it'd work this way We don't actually know of course... as far as I know?
Your comment still hold true however, even if it's how I expect it to be they still have trading power... good point.

 

[stealth_nsk]

So if they have 2 horses, doubled for 4, they wouldn't be able to trade 2 away and keep 2. If they traded 2 they'd have none. Yeah?
I don't know if you're suggesting otherwise, but I'd assume it'd work this way We don't actually know of course... as far as I know?

That would be quite illogical. If you look from the other side, you suggest when Russian trade resources, their partner receives only half of the resources traded? That would be weird.

I think Russian if Russian gain 4 resources instead of regular 2, they'll be able to trade away 1 and live with 3 rest.

 

[Szpilman]

That would be quite illogical. If you look from the other side, you suggest when Russian trade resources, their partner receives only half of the resources traded? That would be weird.

I think Russian if Russian gain 4 resources instead of regular 2, they'll be able to trade away 1 and live with 3 rest.

You mean live with the remaining 2, right? If Russia has 2 horses, each giving 10 units/buildings, they could trade one away and still have 10 units/buildings, as much any other civ would have with 2 horses.

Edit: I get what you mean now. I don't think it works like that, yielding two resources out of a single plot. I think they yield one resource as everyone else, but for them it gives 10 unints/buildings instead of 5. The difference is when they have an odd number of resources, since they can't trade half a resource. Otherwise, just trade half the resources and the remaining 'make up' for them (if you compare to how other civs have it). And an even bigger advantage for the Russian, is that if they want more horses, they get twice as much bang for the buck for trading with others, since the other civs shouldn't really value a resource more just because Russians get more out of it.

I mean, I understand that Siberian Riches makes more sense to yield twice the resources, but what if they don't have any in their territory? Their whole SA is suddenly worth nothing. Also, if it were a terrain feature, someone capturing a russian resource plot should also get twice yield from it, if you really read into what 'Siberian Riches' should represent. But gameplay > realism