Dutchman
consul
If you want to go for a fast ancient age conquest thake Persia, great UU!!!!
Which civ is the best to start with?
- Thread starter spoc148
- Start date
tigerblow
Chieftain
i like use china
Bobby Lee
Confederate General
"Which Civ is the best"
A question I ask myself quite a bit being as i play quite a bit. In all my thinking and infinite wisdom alls I've been able to come up with is that it depends on how you would like to win the game. I am personally a militarist so i generally use civs with strong offensive special units. I also to tend to conquer early so Civs like Rome are great for me. But your style is everything in picking a civ so it would be best for you to experiment with yourself and find out how you generally react in certain situations and what kind of strategies you use to win the game. Once you know that match it with the Civ special units and their special traits.
Good Luck!!
A question I ask myself quite a bit being as i play quite a bit. In all my thinking and infinite wisdom alls I've been able to come up with is that it depends on how you would like to win the game. I am personally a militarist so i generally use civs with strong offensive special units. I also to tend to conquer early so Civs like Rome are great for me. But your style is everything in picking a civ so it would be best for you to experiment with yourself and find out how you generally react in certain situations and what kind of strategies you use to win the game. Once you know that match it with the Civ special units and their special traits.
Good Luck!!
anarres
anarchist revolutionary
Like others on this thread I have to agree that the different CIVs lend themselves to different styles of gameplay, and I also agree that random CIVs are the way to go to spice up your game.
I disagree with the choice of scientific CIVs always being good for science. The bonus is small, and on higher difficulty levels you can not hope to keep up with science by building libraries and researching. I think that scientific CIVs are almost the worst of all...
The only way get level in science on the harder levels is to put money in to the treasury and buy them off other CIVs when the time is right, or to wage war and get them in return for peace.
I think religous CIVs are the best because of the 1 turn revolution (I am always amazed that people don't mind taking a 6 turn hit just to change government - think of the lost production alone!). Religous also allows bulding of temples straight away at half price. This is a huge help to culture, a very good way of keeping other CIVs at bay early on when their military is bigger than yours.
I play diety and I don't like fighting early on - very risky, and if you are playing the GOTM or tournament even more risky (no reloads). Culture is your lifeline. Culture is all.
anarres
I disagree with the choice of scientific CIVs always being good for science. The bonus is small, and on higher difficulty levels you can not hope to keep up with science by building libraries and researching. I think that scientific CIVs are almost the worst of all...
The only way get level in science on the harder levels is to put money in to the treasury and buy them off other CIVs when the time is right, or to wage war and get them in return for peace.
I think religous CIVs are the best because of the 1 turn revolution (I am always amazed that people don't mind taking a 6 turn hit just to change government - think of the lost production alone!). Religous also allows bulding of temples straight away at half price. This is a huge help to culture, a very good way of keeping other CIVs at bay early on when their military is bigger than yours.
I play diety and I don't like fighting early on - very risky, and if you are playing the GOTM or tournament even more risky (no reloads). Culture is your lifeline. Culture is all.
anarres 
The Last Conformist
Irresistibly Attractive
The old Mid-East civs do seem to be popular ...
But I guess I agree; Persia and Eqypt are very good all-rounders, and the Babylonians are very good if you fancy a more peaceful game. I disagree about the Bowman sucking - sure, it's not quite the equal of the Imortal or the Mounted Warrior, but it's cheap, requires no resources, and is equally good at offense and defense.
If you're warlike, Japan, Aztecs and China are some good options. A medieval China on the rampage is a particularly scary prospect - they churn out highly effective Riders at appaling speed, and get them promoted real quick.
But I guess I agree; Persia and Eqypt are very good all-rounders, and the Babylonians are very good if you fancy a more peaceful game. I disagree about the Bowman sucking - sure, it's not quite the equal of the Imortal or the Mounted Warrior, but it's cheap, requires no resources, and is equally good at offense and defense.
If you're warlike, Japan, Aztecs and China are some good options. A medieval China on the rampage is a particularly scary prospect - they churn out highly effective Riders at appaling speed, and get them promoted real quick.
Zerzes
Chieftain
I don't think anyone has really answered the question yet... Though spoc148 probably is a civ3 wiz by now I still feel like answering (maybe other newbies read this) 
- No, there is no dominant civ that makes the game much easier for a first timer. Your choice of favourite civ will probably come later when you know how the game works and how you like to play it. The special abilities etc are too subtle to really make a difference when you are just exploring the game.
However, if I have to name a civ anyway I would go with Greek. That hoplite defender might make you survive a bit longer without you knowing what you are doing. Well, you need to build them first ofcourse...
If you feel self confident and want to kick some ass right away, Romans and Persians are good with their legions and immortals. But then you need to research iron working, find iron, build a city next to or found a colony on the iron, and connect your iron to your cities with roads... I suggest you try one of those civs in your second or third game.
It would be fun to hear some feedback, what civ did you choose, how did it go, etc?
- No, there is no dominant civ that makes the game much easier for a first timer. Your choice of favourite civ will probably come later when you know how the game works and how you like to play it. The special abilities etc are too subtle to really make a difference when you are just exploring the game.
However, if I have to name a civ anyway I would go with Greek. That hoplite defender might make you survive a bit longer without you knowing what you are doing. Well, you need to build them first ofcourse...
If you feel self confident and want to kick some ass right away, Romans and Persians are good with their legions and immortals. But then you need to research iron working, find iron, build a city next to or found a colony on the iron, and connect your iron to your cities with roads... I suggest you try one of those civs in your second or third game.
It would be fun to hear some feedback, what civ did you choose, how did it go, etc?
God
God
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2001
- Messages
- 1,354
I agree with you Zerses, on that new players won't notice different civ advantages. Thats the reason I reccomended not too play as expansionist civ. It took me some time to realize that w/ expansionist civ, the point is too get alot of techs. I used to send my scout to run around for no real reason.
Thats why relgious and industrious would be the best. They are simple to understand, and there's nothing much more to them, then what is the obvious.
Thats why relgious and industrious would be the best. They are simple to understand, and there's nothing much more to them, then what is the obvious.
I agree. Yes, religious and industrious is my favorite civ. Not too mention that those War Chariots are killer at the early stage.
