I figured that the best use of my 1000th post
dance
would be to start this thread off
Here is a mostly completed guide for Russia based on the experiences of my last two games on Emperor level as that country. I figure though that it should only work better for the other levels since they are easier.
I've also chosen to not give them a strength rating (as was the custom for RoX guides) since I don't feel that I've played enough games yet to accurately assess that value.
Now without further adieu I present:
The Russians
By Gunner
So you want to rule the vast land of Russia to follow in the footsteps of, and possibly even surpass, the likes of Ivan, Peter, Catherine, and Stalin? It will not be an easy task to guide Russia to greatness, and certainly not one for the weak. The rewards for your diligence and leadership will, however, be considerable. Russia has huge amounts of potential, and it should easy be able to ascend to supremacy if lead correctly.
The first thing you must learn is that the strength of your country lays in its land, the earth it will be built upon and achieve greatness on. It contains abundant resources which will allow your nation to grow, prosper, and eventually turn into an unstoppable war machine. For this reason it is key that you take an aggressive expansion policy early on to insure that the Germans and others do not claim the land that is right fully yours. Send at least two, preferably three, of your starting settlers west to take that land before it is taken by another. You can worry about expanding to the east later, but since you will not have any real competitor for that land it will not need to be with nearly as much urgency.
The only luxury resources available to you will be furs and then later on gems (there are some gems on the coast northwest of Moscow, its a good idea to build a city there just to get them.) To compensate for the relative lack of happiness that your cities will probably be experiencing because of this its a good idea to stay with Hereditary Rule for a while and use large numbers of cheap troops to garrison your big cities and keep them happy. Also don't forget that the market provides +1 happiness with furs and the forge provides +1 happiness with gems.
Another thing to keep in mind in the early game is that you will probably be receiving a visit from a group of barbarian horse archers from the east at some point, so be sure to keep a few troops in that area (preferably spearmen) to defend. You will also throughout the entire game need to be ready to deal with attacks made against you by the AI, especially since the AI in RFC is more aggressive. Obviously the Germans will be a threat due to their inherent aggressivness and their close proximity to your borders. Be vigilant against the threats which are not quite as obvious also, such as the Mongols and the Arabians. In one of my games I had the Arabians attack me with hordes of camel archers, taking 3 cities from me and nearly taking Moscow. Things would have been much easier if I had positioned a few troops on my southern border.
While Russia is blessed with great levels of production and growth, it main weakness lays in its poor capacity for commerce and trade. If you do not adopt the proper measures to counter this then you will find yourself falling behind in the technological race and with empty coffers, regardless of what type of strategy you pursue to victory. To that end, it is essential that you develop your countys infrastructure with an emphasis on commerce and research. Do this by building cottages frequently and early, as they will be your tool to reach commercial parity with others. You must also focus on building libraries in all of your cities both for the technological benefits as well as the culture they provide. Finally, and most importantly, be very aggressive and active in the game of tech trading.
Tech trading is an important element for any civ in Rhyes and Fall of Civilization, but for Russia it is absolutely essential. No matter what you do, your country will not be able to compete technologically in the early game if you primarily rely on your own research and engage in only the occasional tech trade. Once you fall out of the technological race it is very difficult to catch up, so it is essential that you make an effort to not fall behind early on. Make it a habit to check your foreign advisors technologies screen every turn or two to spot a potential trade. Sell techs for gold to civs that are far behind you, and try to buy, trade, and research techs that some of the top techers do not have. It will be difficult to keep up, but remember that if you have been properly developing your infrastructure (with many cottages and libraries) then things should gradually become easier.
Once your economy is in decent shape then you are presented with 2 main options. The first is to continue peacefully developing your nation. You can also start sending settlers out east to colonize the vast stretches of open land there. Try to build enough courthouses for the Forbidden Palace quickly since you will start paying extravagent maitinence fees once you start expanding. Given time you should come to dominate due to your sheer size.
The other option is to go on the warpath. Russias excellent production abilities make it very suited for building and maintaining a large army. You should be able to out produce any opponent you face and win in a war of attrition if necessary. Try and choose a weak country as your first victim, who this will be depends on each games situation. The wealth and resources provided by the conquest of another countys heartland should add to your strength allowing you to take on a tougher opponent next time.
One final thing I would like to mention is Russias excellent unique unit, the Cossack. It is substantially more powerful than the default cavalry unit, with 3 extra strength points and a +50% bonus versus other mounted units. If you had already been following a military strategy it should give your efforts a great boost and maybe allow you to take a crack at that other superpower that you had been weary of facing before. If not, then the arrival of the Cossack would mark a great time for you to start some aggressive expansion. It would simply be a shame to waste such a great unit by not conquering someone with it. Additionally, if your game has not turned out as well as you had hoped and you find yourself lagging behind, then the Cossack is the opportunity you need to catch up.
Now go forth and bring Mother Russia to its rightful place of greatness. Its great capacity for production and expansion along with your skillful leadership should allow you to overcome early technological and commercial challenges and carry on to victory.
(10 Chars.)
