Is the Roman Empire too weak in Civ 5?

[Artifex1]

The greatest empire is mediocre in Civ 5 imo, but why?

 

[Sonereal]

The greatest empire is mediocre in Civ 5 imo, but why?

Because you're not using them right.

For the record, the British Empire was greater.

 

[Martin Alvito]

The Classical Age is short, which means that the UUs become obsolete rapidly. The UA is solid but unspectacular.

Compare to Civ 4, where the Praetorian had by far the longest useful life of any unit type in the game (and was absolutely dominant for a good portion of that lifespan). That more than made up for the other shortcomings of the Romans.

 

[Sonereal]

The problem is that the Romans scale for game speed like everyone else. They suck on quick but dominant on marathon.

 

[Martin Alvito]

It doesn't really matter. On Normal, you can have Longswords 20-25 turns after you beeline Iron. (Pottery -> Writing, buy Library in capital and fill it, research Metal Casting, GS Steel.) Even on Marathon, the Legion will obsolete far too fast.

The Ballista is a better deal, as Trebuchets are a minimal upgrade. But you can't deploy them quickly, because you can't spam cheap early Warriors and upgrade them to Ballistae.

 

[Roxlimn]

Martin Alvito:

That's a pretty hard beeline for Steel, though. Isn't it possible to get Iron Working early, then put your research onto things that don't involve bashing your opponents in?

 

[Sonereal]

You don't have to upgrade your Legions to Longswordsmen right away. I think Rome would be a lot better in that department if upgraded Legions bring their ability to build roads and forts even after they upgrade.

Because Legions are pretty nice units to have if you want to REX....into enemy territory. And if you know which cities you're taking. You can have a road built to the city near immediatly, allowing for workers to enter the region once you take it near immediatly and begin repairing infrastructure while your Legions build forts to protect against counterattacks until reinforcements arrive.

 

[TheMeInTeam]

"Greatest empire" my foot. Rome did a lot of impressive things, but it's not like their military was any more godly than the successes of the greeks/mongols/british/etc at different periods in history.

Besides, they're not unreasonably weak. If there weren't a couple broken civs sitting at the top of the OP food chain rome wouldn't seem weak by comparison, either.

 

[InquisitorIsaac]

I don't really like to upgrade Legion to Swordsman. What I usually do is beeline from Iron to Gunpowder and for the duration use the Legion in the most advantageous positions, while maximizing Ballistas during city attacks/defense.

As soon as I start cranking out Musketmen, I'll start disbanding Legion troops to shore the upkeep.

With the right promotions and fortifying on hills, Legion do better than Swordsman in most cases and are slightly cheaper for the cost.


As for Romes UA, its super versatile compared to other ones, as it can be used for any type of victory your gunning for.

 

[Bandobras Took]

Rome is a nice, balanced Civ. The UUs are strong for their era and good for applying a beatdown unless you're playing on a setting where most units obsolete before you get to use them. If you set up your capital city as a production city, then you gain a reasonable discount on any buildings, which allows for a good builder game. They're right about where they should be, in my opinion.

 

[aimlessgun]

Basing game balance off a highly subjective view of "greatest empire",

Rome is balanced and fine. Just my opinion though.

 

[Slvynn]

voted 3 because i think it is 2 but topic is so wrong, so i really wanted to vote 3 here, because , well it rock on anc/classic start but it much closer to option 2..... trait can be very usefull at industrial start mp games, saves prod that can be used on couple of units instead....

 

[Martin Alvito]

That's a pretty hard beeline for Steel, though. Isn't it possible to get Iron Working early, then put your research onto things that don't involve bashing your opponents in?

Other than Calendar and Construction, what early techs are worth your time? Calendar before Steel is usually a good idea so that you don't stall out your Iron rush, but you can get Construction (and other Happy techs if needed) as you're punching out another AI with Steel.

Tech overkill is generally good. It lets you push promotions on a few units rather than spreading promotions out over a larger force, and you eliminate the risk of lost XP due to unit death.

 

[Roxlimn]

Depends on the setting, I suppose. Getting Iron Working and getting Legions online can be enough overkill to punch out an AI. You could punch out another AI, though I'm not entirely sure that's a sound plan if the AI is already not going to be a threat.

 

[aimlessgun]

Rome game walkthrough thread is up in this forum. So far so good, but others civs can maybe do what I'm doing better.

 

[is tin poli]

the best thing about Roman empire was the amazing copy-paste of Greek civilization...

 

[mattdecap]

the best thing about Roman empire was the amazing copy-paste of Greek civilization...

Cut and paste would be more accurate

 

[IgnatiusTBarfat]

I can't vote in your poll because you are missing:

Rome is great if you know how to play them.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

UA seems good for spaceship victories. Just getting all those science and production boosting buildings and the buildings to pay for them faster is nice.

Also, what the poster above me said.

 

[J-man]

I haven't played Rome yet but I reckon the UA can make for a pretty good ICS strategy. Cheap coliseums, libraries, monuments and markets.