Starter civ

[Legendre]

France is probably my current favorite for the 600AD start (using the Pacifist-Breme-Squatting-Technique PBST!), but my first UHV victory for that start was with the Dutch. As long as you keep Amsterdam relatively defended and don't get exiled (like me!) you can focus on your UHV goals which gives a different feel than playing for your UHV with Russia and just doing what you would normally do. Both Portugal has a similar feel, but I find it's UHV req for all the open borders agreements to be kind of annoying.

 

[Civ Khan]

How many civs can be stopped from spawning?I might use a squatter tactic sometime.

 

[AnotherPacifist]

How many civs can be stopped from spawning?I might use a squatter tactic sometime.

Squatted-Squashed/Squatter-Squasher (easiest to hardest)

Netherlands (France, Vikings, England, Spain, Germany)
Portugal (Spain)
France (Spain)
Germany (France)
England (Vikings)
Rome (Carthage, Greece)
Turkey (Greece, Rome, Babylon)
Arabia (Babylon, Egypt)
Persia (India)
Khmer (China, India)

Rome can squash any European civ easily, while Greece/Carthage can do it too but a little harder.

 

[Civ Khan]

Thanks AnotherPacifist.Thats a pretty fast reply.

 

[blizzrd]

Squatted-Squashed/Squatter-Squasher (easiest to hardest)

Netherlands (France, Vikings, England, Spain, Germany)
France (Spain)
Germany (France)
England (Vikings)
Rome (Carthage, Greece)
Turkey (Greece, Rome, Babylon)
Arabia (Babylon, Egypt)
Persia (India)
Khmer (China, India)

Rome can squash any European civ easily, while Greece/Carthage can do it too but a little harder.

You forgot to mention Portugal, which is one of the easiest spawn territories to squat on with Spain.

 

[Civ Khan]

How easy is it to defend the Iberian Peninsula as Spain against lad and sea attacks?

 

[AnotherPacifist]

How easy is it to defend the Iberian Peninsula as Spain against lad and sea attacks?

If you're talking about England or Arabia attacking you, you can be assured of the fact that I have never, EVER seen England or Arabia land troops in Iberia. I've seen the Vikings do it for pillage, but that was really rare. Once you take out Portugal (peacefully or by force), there's nothing to worry about. (In fact for La Coruna and Toledo I usually just have a warrior and catapult left over from the middle ages) You should be more worried about France invading by land.

 

[blizzrd]

I concur with Pacificist )), I have never seen the AI invade Iberia via the sea.

And even if you are/were worried, just build citadels.

 

[jessiecat]

I concur with Pacificist )), I have never seen the AI invade Iberia via the sea.

And even if you are/were worried, just build citadels.

I would usually agree but twice I've seen England land near Santiago when I was playing as Spain. Once with mech. inf. so citadels weren't much use. But usually it's only the French you have to worry about.

 

[Heathcliff]

I'd recommend a new player to start with Netherlands and Portugal both on Monarch. They are probably the easiest UVH's and let you feel exploration and colonization. And make you learn the map and what other civs there are. If you play as Netherlands, read a guide where the spice is. So you know where to settle your cities.

 

[jessiecat]

I'd recommend a new player to start with Netherlands and Portugal both on Monarch. They are probably the easiest UVH's and let you feel exploration and colonization. And make you learn the map and what other civs there are. If you play as Netherlands, read a guide where the spice is. So you know where to settle your cities.

I still think Turkey has the easiest UHV with France as the next best choice. Though whatever you choose as a new player, you'll learn from the experience.

 

[Civ Khan]

Thank you all for your continued advice.I would still like to know how many other people this has helped though.

 

[mushyman]

I still think Turkey has the easiest UHV with France as the next best choice. Though whatever you choose as a new player, you'll learn from the experience.

The only trouble with Turkey, is that you need a fair element of luck that appropriate civs will be available to vassalise - at least that was my experience anyway. Any respawning mini civs like Egypt became vassals of other bloody empires the instant they appeared
And then they need to survive until the late 1800s, which is quite a while, especially if they were civs that capitulated to you and are therefore super-unstable.

The other thing is that it's one of the longer civs to play, with a largish empire and a UHV that doesn't finish until the late industrial age.

 

[jessiecat]

The only trouble with Turkey, is that you need a fair element of luck that appropriate civs will be available to vassalise - at least that was my experience anyway. Any respawning mini civs like Egypt became vassals of other bloody empires the instant they appeared
And then they need to survive until the late 1800s, which is quite a while, especially if they were civs that capitulated to you and are therefore super-unstable.

The other thing is that it's one of the longer civs to play, with a largish empire and a UHV that doesn't finish until the late industrial age.

I agree with you but because it's a longer civ to play to get your UHV that's why I like it. In my latest, I had all the territories required witin 200 years, collapsed the Arabs who vasslised to me when they respawned. I had the Egyptians who collapsed, respawned and vassalised, and I had the Persians who respawned and vassilised. I also had the French and the Chinese who offered to be my vassal by 1700. After that I just built my military, zoomed to factories and infantry. If the condition was 1700 instead of 1870 I would have won then.
In the meantime I gave everybody gifts to keep them sweet and aided them when attacked.
Result in 1870.- UHV Victory, 5 vassals and 6400 pts. Not hard really but it takes a bit of diplomacy.

 

[sennomulo]

Another really great starter civ, if you're not going for the UHV that is, is China. You have some really excellent land before you and your only real competition is the Mongols, who if you're prepared for them (i.e. you have a decent military in Northern China when they spawn in 1190) shouldn't be much of a bother. Japan can get antsy and will probably declare war on you at some point, but as they never land more than four units or so at a time they should also not pose any serious threat. The Khmer to your south might try to attack you with some of their elephants, but most likely they'll just turtle in Indochina and end up offering to become your vassal.

Plus if you play on the 600 AD start, you start out with two settlers, there are two cities that will flip to you immediately (Xi'an and Qufu) and you can conquer Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Seoul/Hancheng pretty quickly, giving you seven cities right off the bat while everybody else only has three or four.

 

[Samson]

Another really great starter civ, if you're not going for the UHV that is, is China. You have some really excellent land before you and your only real competition is the Mongols, who if you're prepared for them (i.e. you have a decent military in Northern China when they spawn in 1190) shouldn't be much of a bother. Japan can get antsy and will probably declare war on you at some point, but as they never land more than four units or so at a time they should also not pose any serious threat. The Khmer to your south might try to attack you with some of their elephants, but most likely they'll just turtle in Indochina and end up offering to become your vassal.

Plus if you play on the 600 AD start, you start out with two settlers, there are two cities that will flip to you immediately (Xi'an and Qufu) and you can conquer Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Seoul/Hancheng pretty quickly, giving you seven cities right off the bat while everybody else only has three or four.

China is hard to get the UHV (getting the religions (3000BC) or enough cathedrals (600AD)) so I would not recomend that. While there is plenty of fun to be had in Rhye's and Fall of Civilization outside the UHV as a start I would recomend going for one.