Viking Strategies Thread

[kmad]

I'm very fond of the Vikings right now, I'm hoping I can get some tips.

I've gotten to a Golden Age in the last three games (Warlord) through attacking another militaristic civ.

Is it wise to start conquering with Berserks or do I wait until I get Military Tradition and make a bunch of Cavalry?

And what are the best wonders for Vikings? I've had the best results from Sun Tzu's War Factory, Leonardo's Workshop, and Hoover Dam.. the rest have been superfluous in a way.. only affected me in terms of gathering culture.

Any tips would be appreciated.

 

[The_Oakster]

I am in no way an expert on this game but i do know that when the Viking berserkers have rampaged through the meagre civs i build, theres not much i can do.

Many a town of mine has been raped and pillaged by the Vikings!!

 

[CivHobo]

wow, those berserkers are nasty, best used at an early stage. They would prob work better with spearmen by their side too. You'll annihilate any1 in your path with these, upto a certain range. If you're into defense, attack, the Sun Tzu wonder is invaluable.

 

[DaveMcW]

Sun Tzu and Hoover - sounds like you play on a pangea map. If so, you would do better with cavalry.

Berserks work best on archipelago maps, on land they are just oversized medieval infantry.

 

[Sirp]

Beserks are only 'ok' if used on land, to be truly good, you have to use their amphibious assault ability from the sea. Galleys can move 3 spaces in one go, so it's kind of like having a unit with an attack of 6 and a movement of 3!

If your enemy's capital, or some powerful core cities are on the coast, you can go straight for the heart. Often Beserks won't be able to hold the cities once they take them, so consider just pillaging them.

The Great Lighthouse is the best wonder to have when you're the vikings, because it means your ships can move even faster.

Get in there, strike at key cities, cripple them, and then get out again. If you want to hold the cities, send a couple of pikemen or musket men along too.

Prepare for beserks to become available by building a decent navy before they arrive, and have archers that can be upgraded.

-Sirp.

 

[Dr Elmer Jiggle]

Originally posted by Sirp
it's kind of like having a unit with an attack of 6 and a movement of 3!

... and a defense of infinity (sort of), because at that stage in the game the AI really doesn't have any way of launching an effective counterattack against your berserkers as long as they stay in their boats. Of course, they can try to sink your ships, but in my experience they typically don't try. I guess they don't view a galley vs. galley fight as a worthwhile matchup.

Also, those stats really extend the useful lifespan of the berserker. With their 6 attack, 3 effective movement, and irrelevant defense, they're as good as cavalry as long as you're attacking coastal cities. Don't waste your money upgrading them to guerillas. For the 4 extra defense points (which, as I said, you don't care about) you lose the amphibious assault ability. It's just not worth it.

 

[amirsan]

Berserkers are the best of thier time. Use them as soon as you can because it will be hard for the AI to even counter it with Knights!!! Espessially effective if you use them on water. The only drawback is the cost, it may take a little while to build a bunch of these but build as much as you can (about 30-40 can take over like 2-3 civs if u move fast). You can use these units only until Riflemens, by then it will be pretty hard. Also when invading always try to stay on the offensive because they dont have much of a defensive capability.

 

[kmad]

Even when my opponents get technologically further (I just wrecked the Celts who had musketmen) Berserkers are pretty damn good. It does take like seven of them to take a city in one turn but it's still worth it. I didn't have access to horses despite owning 1/4 of the whole map so I couldn't build Cavalries.

 

[alpha one]

First: the Vikings are simply the best unit, and their amphibious ability is more worth then the four extra defence point the guerilla has. They should be upgraded to marines and not guerilla.
Second: If you are the Vikings and don't use the berserks, you are an idiot.
Third: If you plan good, and have 30 berserks and 60 musket men, you can take any civ that has less then 30 cities.

 

[alpha one]

Sorry, I ment the berserks are simply the best unit in the game.

 

[zebomba2]

They are good at almost any situation. It takes a long time to get cavalry.
Bring pikes and muskets, however.

 

[Beanzy]

I am by no means an expert on the Vikings, but I do know that when used properly, Berserkers rule! But you have to use them to their full potential, meaning that you need about 5 - 8 galleys stuffed with them! With this force, you just hop from city to city never worrying about being counter attacked. By doing this, you can utterly cripple any and all civilizations.

 

[jmeldorf]

As for Wonders, I agree about the Lighthouse. Can anyone tell me if it is better to go for Battleships first or Air when playing the Vikings on an archipelago map?

 

[jack merchant]

If you're playing as the Vikings on archipelago, chances are you won't even reach the industrial age !l

 

[The Last Conformist]

If you plan on keeping the cities the Berserkers take, bring along extra galleys with Pikemen or Musketmen.

 

[gskyes]

OK, so I haven't actually been able to perform this strategy, but I think it is a good one for the Vikings. This will work best for an archipeligo, and worst on a pangea.

The target AI civ must have several cities on the coast, even better if they are core cities. Your invasion force will consist of berzerkers, calvary, defenders, and galleys or caravels to transport them.

Load bezerkers onto ships that are exclusively for bezerkers. The calvary and defenders should be on the other ships. Place all your galleys/caravels two tiles away from the city(s) that you plan to attack the turn before the attack. Then, on your next turn, move the bezerker-containing ships next to the cities and use their amphibious assault ability to take those cities. Do not burn them! Then, when the city is under your control, move the ships containing the rest of the units into the city and use the unload-all command. The units will be in the town and still have all of their movement points. Then, with their move of 3, the calvary should be able to reach another town and take that one, too.

This will obviously take a lot of planning and preparation, but if done well you should have taken over a good chunk of enemy territory before they even know what hit them.

 

[newbiebad]

I find it hard to keep the cities because of culture flips and counter strikes and whatnot. It's possible if you have a large navy transport, but this massive medieval D-Day style never appealed to me. I HAVE done it before though, but I prefer a strong beach head and just shipping over tons of knights. As for beserkers I prefer to do the hit and run tactics that the beserkers were made for. As mentioned the AI will rarely attack their transport so they just go around raiding coastal cities. Now either hold for one turn and sell back or raze the city. If you planned ahead you could escape with a few slaves in another transport or if worse comes to worse disband them. At least you have weakened your enemy. If somehow you do manage to use combined naval and ground forces effectively then by all means go ahead.

 

[Naval Power]

Galleys haha I go for Galleons. But in an age with Galleys the Great Lighthouse is essential as you dont have to worry about getting counter attacked at sea you just pull into a sea square and wait because in all my experience the AI never puts its galleys at risk of sinking.

 

[Mark2010]

Sun tzu's Factory???? LOL!!!