Which civ for learning to play a domination game

[PhloxCapacitor]

When I play Civilization, my natural inclination is to play a peaceful game as much as possible. I'd like to try my next few games playing for a domination victory. So I have a few questions:

1. What are a few civs that you would recommend to play as that work well for this type of game? (I would most likely play a BNW game, so any civ goes.)

2. Do I just start attacking as soon as possible? I guess I should start growing first, but is there a general rule-of-thumb for switching to military units? Do I wait for the AI to attack me first to avoid a "warmonger" penalty, or is that even important when going for a military victory?

3. Is there a good map type or size for domination victory?

I'm playing on Prince right now. Thanks!

 

[BeardedLeftie68]

Shaka, insuring you spam Impis, (civil service) unbelievably powerful with Zulu barracks and upgrade straight to rifleman (keeping all promotions)

In terms of a map, I'd take Pangaea for convenience

 

[tetley]

I would play Byzantines--not so much because of domination game, but because you're on prince. Byzantines are better at King and below. Others will recommend Egypt, but at that difficulty level Egypt will get you stuck in some bad habits.

 

[evruthon]

I'm prince as well, having trouble getting started as 1-2 civs always attack me early and I'm forced to pump out a decent standing army that slows me down, meanwhile 1 civ takes over 5 cities and ends up with a significant science advantage...

I have started liberty and tradition and I usually build a monument first as I have read that I shouldn't.

Are there good beginner civs? I'm guessing the ones with strong early game buffs or units or buildings?




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[Xiao Xiong]

Mongolia.

<keshick> <keshick> <keshick> dead.

Nobody war mongers like the sausage man.

 

[DocRock]

I'm prince as well, having trouble getting started as 1-2 civs always attack me early and I'm forced to pump out a decent standing army that slows me down, meanwhile 1 civ takes over 5 cities and ends up with a significant science advantage...

I have started liberty and tradition and I usually build a monument first as I have read that I shouldn't.

Are there good beginner civs? I'm guessing the ones with strong early game buffs or units or buildings?

Try Poland, Korea or Babylon. They are all pretty easy. Look for Tommynts Poland guide here on this forum, it's working great. Poland is also decent for domination.

 

[evruthon]

Oh I'm on king


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[Loucypher]

I'd go with a civ that doesn't have any specific huge war bonuses if you want to learn general warmongery. What works for Germany (Huge army supported by low maintainance) won't work for England (Naval assault) or Mongolia (Keshik rush). A civ like France, perhaps.

 

[Ryika]

1. What are a few civs that you would recommend to play as that work well for this type of game? (I would most likely play a BNW game, so any civ goes.)

If you want a really strong Civ that requires a specific strategy, try Mongolia. Otherwise, try China.

2. Do I just start attacking as soon as possible? I guess I should start growing first, but is there a general rule-of-thumb for switching to military units? Do I wait for the AI to attack me first to avoid a "warmonger" penalty, or is that even important when going for a military victory?

Always develop your empire first. Starting with two cities and building the National College before you start conquering is usually a strategy that works quite well. You could visit the strategy forums to find out how to exactly play, but I'd say finding out for yourself is half of the fun.

3. Is there a good map type or size for domination victory?

Well, the smaller the map, the faster you'll win.
As for map-types, well... I'd say either completely land-based or mostly water-based, both work just fine. Mixed maps (like continents) are a bit harder.

 

[Greyhawk1]

I did pretty well as Germany - due to their UI I got a big army very quickly.

 

[Chris3894]

Playing as Shaka on a domination-only game helped me learn how to warmonger

 

[TurboJ]

To learn, pick a civ that has no military bonuses to speak of - you will learn a universal way of playing domination, and not just rely on special abilities. Once you have learned that, you can start specializing and go with the more war-like civs.

 

[oPunchDrunko]

I'd suggest Zulu. They are arguably the best civ for domination. Those Impi (once upgraded) are straight up murderers. Zulu would be a good choice because you'll learn the basics of combat (assuming you're brand new to being a warmonger).

 

[PhloxCapacitor]

Wow! Lots of ideas. Thanks everyone.

It sounds like there are two schools of thought: go with a civ with no specific military bonuses in order to learn a more general strategy (rather than a specific one that only works for one civ), or go with a civ with a military bonus to make the domination victory easier.

I think I'll first play at least one game with a military civ. It sounds like this would make a domination game more fun to play, which I probably need in order to get over the hurdle I have of playing peacefully. I've played the Mongolia scenario, and they seemed powerful. I'll probably play as Zulu based on the replies I've received.

After that I'll try a for domination victory with a civ with less of a military unique ability. Loucypher mentioned France. I don't actually know what their unique ability is. Something to do with Culture, I think?

 

[Nares]

I would cast my vote with a non-military civ. A composite bowmen attack, with just enough spears to draw AI fire and capture cities, is straightforward.

 

[fallout3dc]

I'd recommend Arabia for war. Easy economy, fantastic pantheon, fantastic UB, fantastic UU.

 

[mclericp]

russia if u want double iron double horses and uranium. Also u get double production of these resources

 

[Lanijon]

Can't believe there's not one mention of Assyria in a thread about learning domination. A free tech upon city capture allows you to narrow your research to one half of the tech tree and just let the other half fill itself in as you conquer. There's so much room for error that you barely even have to strategize. I can't speak for how they fare on Deity, but on Prince, they're borderline OP.

I would actually advise against using one of the really straightforward warmongers like Genghis and Shaka to start with. Their UUs are fierce, but their UUs are also pretty much all they have. You're pigeonholed into a narrow strategy of "wait for appropriate Medieval tech and go on a tear," and if you fail to wreak enough havoc for whatever reason, even just a poor start, then you're basically playing a civ with no strategic advantages. They can be a lot of fun, don't get me wrong, but it's easy to mess up and isn't very conducive to learning.

 

[fallout3dc]

"I can't speak for how they fare on Deity, but on Prince, they're borderline OP. "

Sorry, but HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA

 

[Lanijon]

"I can't speak for how they fare on Deity, but on Prince, they're borderline OP. "

Sorry, but HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA

They are though. If you can get the most out of their UA then you're practically unstoppable, and since Prince doesn't have the same risk of falling way behind if you stray too far from the Education beeline, Assyria can quickly get rolling militarily and keep a tech lead while doing it. And like I said, there's a lot of room for error within your infrastructure, which is great for a learner like OP. I fail to see why that's funny.