ense7en
n7
Are you still asking about MP or just in general?
Both of those civs (and Korea too btw) are extremely strong, pretty much in the top 5 best out there (according to the civilization elimination thread we had here).
Babylon is a science monster for sure.
Getting that initial academy planted so early is huge, and can definitely make the difference.
My biggest beef with Babylon is how much of a one trick pony they are.
They are basically best suited for science win. Sure, you can do domination with that science advantage too, but overall they seemed suited for science only really.
Their UA is insane; huge in MP where science basically is what wins games (though it's usually science to military advantage ftw).
Their bowmen lets you delay Construction, and their walls, meh. Useful in MP, sure, but overall, other than their UA they aren't that exciting.
Inca is my favorite civ, so i'm a bit biased.
I think they are pretty much the best civ overall out there, as they are strong in any victory condition. Also they are a lot of fun to play.
Their UA, normal movement on hills, is huge in war, initial scouting (without scouts), getting around, etc.
It means you have a huge defensive advantage, and it also means you can do things no one else can when on the offensive (assuming opponent has hills around).
This is a really enormous benefit in MP.
Maintenance-free roads on hills (half price railroads on hills) isn't game breaking, but it allows for getting those trades routes rolling without the GPT cost that's so important early on.
Slingers aren't really the best UU by any means.
I personally like them, and find it rather hilarious in MP when my silly neighbors declare war early and then try to kill my slingers that i use as front line units (since they often back away).
But they can be annoying too, especially if they survive to be upgraded, and i forget about their retreating ability and they retreat into worse situations :\
Terrace farms are just fantastic.
They turn bad locations for any other civs in the game into cities that grow like weeds with insane production.
Obviously you don't always have tons of mountains right beside your capital, but there are pretty much always some nearby, assuming normal maps with normal start biases.
The growth boosts i find work ridiculously well in tall games, with the extra production making wonders a lot easier to build.
In SP, Inca is my fave civ for cultural games because of this.
I don't believe you need to rush to construction either.
Definitely you want to get it unlocked for Terrace Farms soon enough, but unless you've settled only in places where your growth is from them, you shouldn't need to rush it. Keep in mind in MP you'd better have it researched to all but one turn anyway if you have close neighbors, as a CB rush early is deadly, even against the Inca if you don't have comparable defenders.
Inca doesn't really have an "ideal" victory condition. They can do it all.
Their growth is great for tall empires, letting you pump out science/culture.
Their benefits for war mean they do well taking over neighbors as well, and puppets are the best way to get any economy going in a hurry.
Very low road maintenance costs means they tend to have a lot more gold to spare, which only gets better over time. This can translate into more to spend on CSes for diplo, or whatever else you want to be spending it on.
As for MP, playing as Babylon, you will definitely have a target on your back, since you are the best civ out there for science, by far.
As the Inca, you'll have the opposite scenario going on usually, as most know how tough it is to attack on hilly terrain against a civ with hill terrain normal movement.
They are both great civs, but if i'm picking Inca vs. Babylon in MP, i'll take Inca every time.
In war, there's no real contest, and in MP there's always war if good players are playing (and even if not LOL).
Both of those civs (and Korea too btw) are extremely strong, pretty much in the top 5 best out there (according to the civilization elimination thread we had here).
Babylon is a science monster for sure.
Getting that initial academy planted so early is huge, and can definitely make the difference.
My biggest beef with Babylon is how much of a one trick pony they are.
They are basically best suited for science win. Sure, you can do domination with that science advantage too, but overall they seemed suited for science only really.
Their UA is insane; huge in MP where science basically is what wins games (though it's usually science to military advantage ftw).
Their bowmen lets you delay Construction, and their walls, meh. Useful in MP, sure, but overall, other than their UA they aren't that exciting.
Inca is my favorite civ, so i'm a bit biased.
I think they are pretty much the best civ overall out there, as they are strong in any victory condition. Also they are a lot of fun to play.
Their UA, normal movement on hills, is huge in war, initial scouting (without scouts), getting around, etc.
It means you have a huge defensive advantage, and it also means you can do things no one else can when on the offensive (assuming opponent has hills around).
This is a really enormous benefit in MP.
Maintenance-free roads on hills (half price railroads on hills) isn't game breaking, but it allows for getting those trades routes rolling without the GPT cost that's so important early on.
Slingers aren't really the best UU by any means.
I personally like them, and find it rather hilarious in MP when my silly neighbors declare war early and then try to kill my slingers that i use as front line units (since they often back away).
But they can be annoying too, especially if they survive to be upgraded, and i forget about their retreating ability and they retreat into worse situations :\
Terrace farms are just fantastic.
They turn bad locations for any other civs in the game into cities that grow like weeds with insane production.
Obviously you don't always have tons of mountains right beside your capital, but there are pretty much always some nearby, assuming normal maps with normal start biases.
The growth boosts i find work ridiculously well in tall games, with the extra production making wonders a lot easier to build.
In SP, Inca is my fave civ for cultural games because of this.
I don't believe you need to rush to construction either.
Definitely you want to get it unlocked for Terrace Farms soon enough, but unless you've settled only in places where your growth is from them, you shouldn't need to rush it. Keep in mind in MP you'd better have it researched to all but one turn anyway if you have close neighbors, as a CB rush early is deadly, even against the Inca if you don't have comparable defenders.
Inca doesn't really have an "ideal" victory condition. They can do it all.
Their growth is great for tall empires, letting you pump out science/culture.
Their benefits for war mean they do well taking over neighbors as well, and puppets are the best way to get any economy going in a hurry.
Very low road maintenance costs means they tend to have a lot more gold to spare, which only gets better over time. This can translate into more to spend on CSes for diplo, or whatever else you want to be spending it on.
As for MP, playing as Babylon, you will definitely have a target on your back, since you are the best civ out there for science, by far.
As the Inca, you'll have the opposite scenario going on usually, as most know how tough it is to attack on hilly terrain against a civ with hill terrain normal movement.
They are both great civs, but if i'm picking Inca vs. Babylon in MP, i'll take Inca every time.
In war, there's no real contest, and in MP there's always war if good players are playing (and even if not LOL).
