Though they existed for only about 300 years, the Vikings reign of terror upon Britain and Scandinavia was so powerful that they were granted an honorary place in Civ 3. The Vikings (or the Scandinavians, whatever) are also one of the few Civs that are made accurately; when you play the Vikings, you really feel like this is how the Vikings worked in real life. This is mainly due to the UU being well-done, but the interesting combination of traits also contributes to this.
The Vikings are militaristic and seafaring, which makes a great battle combination. The seafaring trait provides almost as good an advantage as expansionist and commercial combined, with your curraghs finding the good spots along the coast and your coastal cities getting bonus commerce. The UU is comparatively late for a militaristic Civ, although its not nearly as bad as the Germans. Also, you get compensation the Berserkers are among the best UUs in the game, winning the title first marine unit by a margin of about an era and a half. Your ships provide fast and safe passages to your enemys doorstep, surpassing fortresses and the like easily, and then your berserkers charge hard and fast from the safety of their ships (unfortunately Galleys, not Longships).
A slight word about the power of marine units. It is impossible for a land unit to attack a sea unit, but a unit in a transport can freely attack a land unit. With a high attack and low defense, this allows the sea unit to freely chop away at the opposition, and the unit cannot be touched until he finally beats the city and settles in. Basically, the only way to defeat a berserker (without a great defender like a musketeer) is to wait patiently for him to conquer the city, then attempt retaliation. Or you could build a navy, but that strategy tends not to work so well in the middle ages.
If you know how to do it, the Vikings are possibly the best warmongers in the game. The trick is to build your master plan around one moment the discovery of invention. Because the berserkers are so costly, the best plan is to build dozens of archers in the ancient era (but dont forget to build enough Galleys to carry them) and perform a mass-upgrade the moment you get Berserkers. Even with the extra commerce from seafaring, you will probably be short(its 150 per upgrade!). Just lower your research to 0% - a true Viking cares little for science anyway - and upgrade extra archers gradually. Attacking with waves of galleys, each with two powerful Vikings you should average one or two cities per turn. Also best is to send a few Pikemen with them to secure the cities once theyre captured; Berserkers only weakness is defense.
The seafaring trait lends itself towards early economic mastery. In addition to the extra commerce in coastal cities (and you will build coastal cities, right?), you get to be the first to discover the Civs on the next continent, since the AI will not use the suicide galley trick (where you send galleys into the deep-end, hoping one will survive to find the New World). This helps you greatly since you can multiply any gained tech several times through trading. However, this tends to disappear later in the game, when everyone meets everyone anyway. The latter two eras are particularly rough on the Vikings, since their UU is basically obsolete once the Cavalry come along. Cultural and economic build-up may seem to work early on, but the advantage will vanish by the time you research sanitation (in real-life, the Vikings never made it there). So the only way to win, other than through an ancient or middle-aged conquest, is through establishing a huge empire in the middle-ages. This can only be done with Berserkers. Stick to your historical role and you should be fine; make sure youve conquered a few Civs (you will basically dominate the whole era) and amassed a big enough advantage before you lay down and head for the space race.
Summary:
If you know when to strike and how to strike, the Vikings can produce the most deadly military blow in the game. Their only weaknesses are a UU that takes a while to build, which can be overcome by using their economic mastery from the ancient era. Although the Vikings dont offer that much variety when it comes to playing styles, theres nothing more satisfying than tearing up a continent with your lunatic warriors. An excellent choice for warmongers of all levels.
The Vikings are militaristic and seafaring, which makes a great battle combination. The seafaring trait provides almost as good an advantage as expansionist and commercial combined, with your curraghs finding the good spots along the coast and your coastal cities getting bonus commerce. The UU is comparatively late for a militaristic Civ, although its not nearly as bad as the Germans. Also, you get compensation the Berserkers are among the best UUs in the game, winning the title first marine unit by a margin of about an era and a half. Your ships provide fast and safe passages to your enemys doorstep, surpassing fortresses and the like easily, and then your berserkers charge hard and fast from the safety of their ships (unfortunately Galleys, not Longships).
A slight word about the power of marine units. It is impossible for a land unit to attack a sea unit, but a unit in a transport can freely attack a land unit. With a high attack and low defense, this allows the sea unit to freely chop away at the opposition, and the unit cannot be touched until he finally beats the city and settles in. Basically, the only way to defeat a berserker (without a great defender like a musketeer) is to wait patiently for him to conquer the city, then attempt retaliation. Or you could build a navy, but that strategy tends not to work so well in the middle ages.
If you know how to do it, the Vikings are possibly the best warmongers in the game. The trick is to build your master plan around one moment the discovery of invention. Because the berserkers are so costly, the best plan is to build dozens of archers in the ancient era (but dont forget to build enough Galleys to carry them) and perform a mass-upgrade the moment you get Berserkers. Even with the extra commerce from seafaring, you will probably be short(its 150 per upgrade!). Just lower your research to 0% - a true Viking cares little for science anyway - and upgrade extra archers gradually. Attacking with waves of galleys, each with two powerful Vikings you should average one or two cities per turn. Also best is to send a few Pikemen with them to secure the cities once theyre captured; Berserkers only weakness is defense.
The seafaring trait lends itself towards early economic mastery. In addition to the extra commerce in coastal cities (and you will build coastal cities, right?), you get to be the first to discover the Civs on the next continent, since the AI will not use the suicide galley trick (where you send galleys into the deep-end, hoping one will survive to find the New World). This helps you greatly since you can multiply any gained tech several times through trading. However, this tends to disappear later in the game, when everyone meets everyone anyway. The latter two eras are particularly rough on the Vikings, since their UU is basically obsolete once the Cavalry come along. Cultural and economic build-up may seem to work early on, but the advantage will vanish by the time you research sanitation (in real-life, the Vikings never made it there). So the only way to win, other than through an ancient or middle-aged conquest, is through establishing a huge empire in the middle-ages. This can only be done with Berserkers. Stick to your historical role and you should be fine; make sure youve conquered a few Civs (you will basically dominate the whole era) and amassed a big enough advantage before you lay down and head for the space race.
Summary:
If you know when to strike and how to strike, the Vikings can produce the most deadly military blow in the game. Their only weaknesses are a UU that takes a while to build, which can be overcome by using their economic mastery from the ancient era. Although the Vikings dont offer that much variety when it comes to playing styles, theres nothing more satisfying than tearing up a continent with your lunatic warriors. An excellent choice for warmongers of all levels.
