I see a lot of threads about "What's the best UU?" and "What's the best UA?", but that's not the whole story. Every civ has a UU + UA + UI combo. So what if one UA is stronger than another, if the other 2 unique items aren't up to par. (I will call a UI = Unique Item: a Unique Unit or Unique Building.)
So, let's talk holistic about the civs. Which do you enjoy and why?
For my play style, Babylonians are awesome. UU and UB are both defensive in nature, though, so achieving dominion with them would be difficult. (Bowman has increased defense versus regular archer, so that's why it counts as defensive.) That said, I went for culture victory and got it handily because I could beat civs to wonders due to all the science. I expect Babylon to be nerfed though...their power is stronger than it was in Civ 3! Still, don't expect to go on the offensive with any great advantage though.
I also am finding the Americans quite enjoyable. I thought meh when I saw their bonuses, and they still are probably mid-level, but if you survive long enough the Minutemen are probably the most improved UU versus their counterparts. So much of Civ 5 combat is tactical, having a unit that can run circles around the others regardless of terrain is awesome. I also have a new respect for their UA. The increased sight for land units means discovering more ancient ruins, meeting city-states and civs an extra tile out, and general exploratory yumminess (easier to explore the map, find natural wonders, etc). Granted this is biggest at the beginning of the game when you want to gobble up ancient ruins...but I think versus other civ games, America's been improved. Don't knock it until you try it! (Again, they aren't one of the best all-around, but they aren't one of the worst either, and have greatly improved in unqiue stuff when compared to Civ 3 and Civ 4, while still preserving theme.)
Suleiman has the worst UA in my opinion. But to compensate, he has 2 killer Unique Items. Is this enough to balance the drawback? One thing to keep in mind with UUs is that they are more temporary than UBs...so maybe it isn't enough to compensate, maybe it is. He'll be interesting to play.
Greece is very well-rounded, seems like one of the top-tier to me.
Russia seems to be my favorite, though. So why haven't I played them? I will next game, but I dinked around with a Settler game to try for Culture victory since it changed so much, and now dinking around with America to see if their traits make them at least somewhat better than previous civ games, and they do. (This game on Chieftain.) My first serious game will be with Russia, who I think has the most enjoyable (not to be confused with "best") combination all-around.
So, let's talk holistic about the civs. Which do you enjoy and why?
For my play style, Babylonians are awesome. UU and UB are both defensive in nature, though, so achieving dominion with them would be difficult. (Bowman has increased defense versus regular archer, so that's why it counts as defensive.) That said, I went for culture victory and got it handily because I could beat civs to wonders due to all the science. I expect Babylon to be nerfed though...their power is stronger than it was in Civ 3! Still, don't expect to go on the offensive with any great advantage though.
I also am finding the Americans quite enjoyable. I thought meh when I saw their bonuses, and they still are probably mid-level, but if you survive long enough the Minutemen are probably the most improved UU versus their counterparts. So much of Civ 5 combat is tactical, having a unit that can run circles around the others regardless of terrain is awesome. I also have a new respect for their UA. The increased sight for land units means discovering more ancient ruins, meeting city-states and civs an extra tile out, and general exploratory yumminess (easier to explore the map, find natural wonders, etc). Granted this is biggest at the beginning of the game when you want to gobble up ancient ruins...but I think versus other civ games, America's been improved. Don't knock it until you try it! (Again, they aren't one of the best all-around, but they aren't one of the worst either, and have greatly improved in unqiue stuff when compared to Civ 3 and Civ 4, while still preserving theme.)
Suleiman has the worst UA in my opinion. But to compensate, he has 2 killer Unique Items. Is this enough to balance the drawback? One thing to keep in mind with UUs is that they are more temporary than UBs...so maybe it isn't enough to compensate, maybe it is. He'll be interesting to play.
Greece is very well-rounded, seems like one of the top-tier to me.
Russia seems to be my favorite, though. So why haven't I played them? I will next game, but I dinked around with a Settler game to try for Culture victory since it changed so much, and now dinking around with America to see if their traits make them at least somewhat better than previous civ games, and they do. (This game on Chieftain.) My first serious game will be with Russia, who I think has the most enjoyable (not to be confused with "best") combination all-around.
