Good early civ...

[Hybrid-of-One]

:grad: A good early civ that works for me are the Romans. The UU for the Romans easily defeats spearmen so conquering is not a problem. The only down side I see is against the Hoplites of the Greeks. Just thought I let ya know about an early conquering civ.

 

[Themistocles]

Why don' t you try the Persians. Immortals rule. 4-2-1 it' s like the best ancient unit.

 

[antisocialgeek]

The only civilizations that I prefer to use are the Industrialistic societies. Workers complete irrigation and mining projects quicker. Support for more military units is a given with Industrial civs. Like they say, more is better.

 

[bobgote]

i second the persians. If you can get iron (which u need for legionnary anyway) you have the best attacking unit by far in the ancient period (can defend too) easy to take over other civs, + get an early GA!!! also industrious and scientific!!!1

 

[Maple]

Persia is awesome. Scientific! Industrious! Immortals! I have used immortals effectively up to knight times.

 

[TheDS]

Greece!!!

Not only do you get Bronze Working right off, but the Spearman's replacement is the Hoplite. It takes a little while for others to get something that can defeat a 3-defender. Plus, they only cost 20, whereas pikemen cost 30. With no Strategic resource required, these guys can be built anywhere and are useful against even Riflemen.

Being able to built Libraries a little cheaper means you can build one faster than a Temple, and it expands your borders in 4 turns instead of 5. The extra commerce is useful at the beginning to help you make money, and the extra tech you get upon completing an era will keep you ahead at critical times. Getting Riflemen several turns before anyone else is useful!

 

[Moss]

I usually have my best games when I'm using Persia. Immortals are awsome. I don't really like Legionaries, the extra defense point really doesn't help with my startegy of play.

 

[Hybrid-of-One]

Thanks for the input

 

[The Last Conformist]

Never used them yet, but the AI seems to do especially well with the Egyptians. Industrious, Religious (=cheaper Temples) and very early GA should be able to combine to very good start.

 

[punkbass2000]

"The extra commerce is useful at the beginning to help you make money"

Commercial civs do not get extra commerce until the city is size 13+.

 

[Tweedledum]

I guess it depends on how you want to play the game...

For a peaceful strategy, the Greeks (Hoplite) is a good one - the AI seems very wary about attacking them. GA can be a problem, though - you often need a peacetime trigger.

For the "kill-the-bastards" approach (this is usually mine ) the Persians are great, also the Iroquois and don't under-estimate the Aztecs' JagWarrior - they can cause far more havoc than you might imagine...

 

[Mikal]

Greeks, even if the AI attacks early (happens when I expand too quickly next to their borders) they lose and you get your Golden Age. Then the scientific and commerical attributes are magnified.

 

[TheDS]

And of course, the trick is to get as many cities built before the first war as you can, so you can spend your time improving your cities production and defenses, instead of still sending out Settlers all over the place. The more cities you have during GA, the better. A good defender like the Hoplite lets you ignore the enemy until they want peace.

 

[Jamesmor]

see, i use the babylons, scientific and religious, i stay out of early wars as best as i can (bowmen help), but with the scientific advantage, and the one turn gov changing, once i hit the middle/industrious ages i'm unstopable

 

[Chris85]

Persia - Kicks Ass
Egypt - Good for early expansion and production

 

[Graeme the mad]

I cant really cope without expanionist - that keeps me up with the AI in tech (monarch) though I have played aztecs and won - their jag works like a scout sort of

 

[Chief Tain]

For some reason, i just always find it easier with the germans. The militaristic really helps out early, when having 1 extra hit point can make a difference between losing and winning against enemy civ defenders. Also, if i reach the next era by getting techs from other civs, i can usually sell the free tech for a good bit of gold, or some resources that i need. In my current game, playing chieftain to relax a little, i am almost to the modern age at 1600 AD, and no techs take me any longer that 12 turns. It just seems that i always do better with them.