The Civilization for Me.

[Casper001]

Hello! Long time reader - First time poster.

I have been a really on and off Civilization fan, going through patches of constantly playing to none at all, and with the new expansion me and a few friends are getting ready to start a Multiplayer save via lan.

My question to you all is, who would be right for me? I am a decent player, who has decent tactical knowledge. I generally play a passive game, massing a army out of site, then just whittle down one by one

I suppose the real question here is, we are most likely all around the same skill level, me being slightly higher possibly, what would be a good Civilization to mark my ground, be a threat but still play that passive game that will not allow me to screw up or make them think I am a big threat?

Sorry if that is a little hard, but can anybody help?

 

[Dentalfury]

Well, who you want to play as large depends on your aims and play style.

From what i've take away from your post, you want to play passively, build up your infrastructure, and then amass a grand army to and take out your neighbors one by one. So let's assume your going for something like a domination victory carried out mostly in the mid to late game.

Most civ's can do this with a little bit of effort so it's tough to narrow it down. You wan't a civ with both military and infrastructural bonuses so when your ready you can storm out.

A few Civ's come to mind that have this sort of duality but any Civ can do it if played propery...

Persia - Time your assaults with Golden ages and you'll be tough to stop so long as you have the economy and happiness to support it.

America - Focus on peaceful build-up until you can start amassing a huge force of Minutemen. Try to keep this core group of Minutemen alive and upgraded throughout the rest of the game and their travel bonus will help overwhelm your enemies where they least expect it.

Arabia - The combo of Bazaar/Camel Archers in the mid-game and x2 oil in the late game make Arabia great for starting mid-game wars and keep the pressure on in the late game.

Poland - The policy bonuses the Poles get all game long give you a bit of flexibility and their mid-game unit(Winged Hussar) let's you destabilize the front lines.

That's all that comes to mind, but basically any civ will do so long as you can use their strengths to help achieve your overall aims.

 

[Casper001]

Well, who you want to play as large depends on your aims and play style.

From what i've take away from your post, you want to play passively, build up your infrastructure, and then amass a grand army to and take out your neighbors one by one. So let's assume your going for something like a domination victory carried out mostly in the mid to late game.

Most civ's can do this with a little bit of effort so it's tough to narrow it down. You wan't a civ with both military and infrastructural bonuses so when your ready you can storm out.

A few Civ's come to mind that have this sort of duality but any Civ can do it if played propery...

Persia - Time your assaults with Golden ages and you'll be tough to stop so long as you have the economy and happiness to support it.

America - Focus on peaceful build-up until you can start amassing a huge force of Minutemen. Try to keep this core group of Minutemen alive and upgraded throughout the rest of the game and their travel bonus will help overwhelm your enemies where they least expect it.

Arabia - The combo of Bazaar/Camel Archers in the mid-game and x2 oil in the late game make Arabia great for starting mid-game wars and keep the pressure on in the late game.

Poland - The policy bonuses the Poles get all game long give you a bit of flexibility and their mid-game unit(Winged Hussar) let's you destabilize the front lines.

That's all that comes to mind, but basically any civ will do so long as you can use their strengths to help achieve your overall aims.

I think America might be the Civilization of choice from those, in my few practice matches I have played I have been Venice, I really enjoy them but it is a different style of play that I am not sure will work multiplayer, I think I will give America a try, see how I work with them!

 

[aluelkdf]

I like Rome. You get a 25% production bonus while building buildings that are already in your capital. So if you are passive, it's real easy to expand and grow your empire very quickly. And when you are finally ready to attack, you have the infrastructure to build and support a huge military.

 

[aluelkdf]

I think America might be the Civilization of choice from those, in my few practice matches I have played I have been Venice, I really enjoy them but it is a different style of play that I am not sure will work multiplayer, I think I will give America a try, see how I work with them!

America is a good choice too, they are very flexible and adaptable and can do well in just about any situation.

 

[Socratatus]

I think without knowing you it`s impossible to tell you what`s best for you.

My advice is, just a pick a Civ you like the sound of; even just pick one because it represents your country or you`ve always liked the sound of a particular nation and work from there.

I picked England, cos I`m English. That`s pretty much it, though I would`ve prefered someone like Churchill instead of Elizabeth!

 

[DudewiththeFood]

Churchill was British. I'm English and I'd rather have Richard I than Victoria.

On-Topic
Shoshone - Strong opening game and you can play defensive if anyone attacks until you get Commanches.

Korea - I don't like them but once you get H'wacha and Turtle Ships you can start picking targets nobody likes who are still using lower-tech units.

Greece - The units might not help your playstyle but you can influence the game from city-states at a safe distance.

Polynesia - Slightly unorthodox but you can choose wherever you want to be big away from everybody else.

France - Horde GEs and just wait for Globe/Uffizi/Broadway/Louvre and go for all the themes you like. Not as strong a start but if you can get the GEs you'll rise too quickly for anyone to stop you.

There are probably better civs than all of those but they can do what you want from a different perspective if you want to try different things. Ethiopia also comes to mind.

Edit: The Greek units will help destroy any immediate warmongers before they form gangs. Or anybody else you think could get you invloved before you want to be.

 

[Socratatus]

Churchill was British. I'm English and I'd rather have Richard I than Victoria.

Richard was more French than English. Churchill still stands. But I wouldn`t have a problem with Richard, regardless.

 

[El Caballerion]

I dunno... If you are going for peaceful and want to be a builder, then go for EGYPT. If you want to be a warmonger early game, go for ASSYRIA

 

[NyQuil]

Arabia was a nice civ.

Good units, good building, religious bonus with trade, desert start = desert folklore, lots of gold = lots of happiness.

 

[Keirador]

Map size? Map style? Number of CS? Number of human players, number of AI players, difficulty level for AI players? Kinda gotta know that before giving more specific recommendations.

Keep in mind that unless there's some sort of agreement in place or they're stupid, human players will not do as the AI does and passively sit by while you win a Cultural, Scientific, or Diplomatic Victory. Multiplayer is pretty much always going to devolve into a slugfest, so passive building will only take you so far. Unless you hugely out-tech your opponents, by the time you're ready for a SV or CV, your friends will be atom bombing you.

All that being said, until we get some more information your best bet is probably Ethiopia. The Stele, one of the top 3 UBs in the game, will guarantee you a good, early religion which you can use for happiness, gold, defense, whatever. Focusing on building infrastructure usually means playing tall (a small number of big, highly advanced cities), so if you only found 4 cities or so the Spirit of Adwa ability (+20% Combat when fighting Civs with more cities than Ethiopia) will be a big help in keeping your enemies down. The Mehal Safari is also good on defense.

 

[Muskie]

I'll vote for China. They used to be better, but their library is good. Their unique unit is good at defense and upgrades OK, but their best skill is more great generals.

You can play China peacefully, but once China goes to war, the longer the war goes, the more great generals China generates, especially if you take some social policies. I used to think you only need a couple great generals, but with them becoming the culture bomb, and their great citadels hurting enemy units who try to walk by, you can do a lot with them even if you're not actually at war.

I tend to keep a great general around to lead from the front, but when I gnerate extra I generally settle them either to grab a resource from the AI (often a city state, but sometimes a major power) or I place them in the way of an obvious enemy attack.

Arabia and Babylon are also favourites of mine, but China is among the strongest civs and is very versatile.

 

[ToothedBomb]

I generally play a passive game, massing a army out of site, then just whittle down one by one.

Every Civ can do that. Literally every single one of them. As long as you build the correct wonders (Heroic Epic, Great Wall, Alhambra, Brandenburg Tor) you can just build up your empire at your own pace and start producing elite units when you're ready.

I'm just going to vote for Babylon. They're good at science, which increases your chances of getting all the important wonders, and their UB Walls of Babylon can defend against invasion in the early parts of the game.

 

[Merciorum]

So a turtle-boom-conquest type game... I'd say Korea, Ethiopia, Poland, or the Ottomans.

 

[msawchuk]

1. Poland
With Poland you can get a very nice empire with all of the social policies and build plenty of units in the mid and late game while keeping competitive in tech. The UU is also nice if you get it on the way to artillery.
2. China
China's UU is incredibly good. The double attacks means more damage and more experience. The increased great generals allows you to citadel bomb more than anyone else which can be very decisive in a close war.

 

[Tachii]

^ China and Poland are solid.

Seconding Korea.

 

[Casper001]

Thank you all for the Advice! I have decided I am going to try playing as China for my next match! I'll let you all know how it goes in my practice match before we head into multiplayer