On September 21, Civilization V celebrates its anniversary – the release of the turn-based strategy from Firaxis Games took place ten years ago. We decided to recall one of the best parts of the series and speculate which nations are the strongest in it.
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One of the most important criteria for a good game, especially in the strategy genre, is balance. Civilization has been looking for itself for many years: studio Firaxis changed the rules, got rid of old mechanics, came up with new ones, and eventually released the very part of the series that has been loved by players for ten years. In many respects, this became possible thanks to the not ideal, but competent balance of the nations represented in the “five”.
The strength of nations in Civilization V is rather arbitrary: each leader has a peak of power by epoch, and random factors such as an unfortunate respawn location or the proximity of neighbors to the capital can affect everyone without exception. In addition, there are many development options in Civilization V, and a nation strong in military craft will surely be inferior in science to players whose strategy is based on pumping scientists and specialists. If the war does not go according to plan or the diplomacy of the opponents is at a higher level, even the most powerful army will die under the walls of the enemy city in a battle with units of a later era.
I am sure that in most multiplayer matches, it is not the choice of the nation that decides, but the ability to play. At the same time, the peak of one of the leaders on my list will increase the chances of a comfortable start in FFA according to one of the strongest strategies – each hero and player has its own. In single-player games, you can choose absolutely any leader, especially if you do not set yourself the task of quickly defeating the AI.
The choice of a nation in Civilization V can also be influenced by the peculiarity of the game lobby: if familiar opponents have gathered in it and you understand that they will certainly not feel sorry for their neighbors and will go to war with them already in ancient times, then the choice of a leader who likes to develop for a long time can become fatal. I am a pacifist and love to “build houses”, so I often see chariots under my walls. All friends are aware that my passion to follow the upper branch of development, where mainly scientific technologies are collected, often overpowers logic – the need to learn a lesson in several stages of the military craft is “forgotten”.
There are players who liked the bonus of one of the leaders – they consider it the best and even “bend” everyone in the network games on it only. Those same “Where is my favorite hero? Fu, the author of the bottom … “in the comments. My rating is subjective, but it will help casual players who do not have the baggage of thousands of hours online to make their choice. I advise experienced users to play at random – it’s more interesting this way.
Sometimes in online games, especially if it is a tournament, the players ban the most powerful, in their opinion, nations. This is one of the criteria by which I made the rating, because at a long distance you can see which of the leaders most often fall on the block list. I also took into account the opinion of experts – for example, I looked at the portal of the streamer Alexei Khaletsky, and also looked through thematic forums. And, of course, she herself played enough in Civilization V to advise you on certain strong leaders.
Each civilization has a bonus from the leader, a unique building or units. The location of the nations is scripted, some cannot appear in a “disadvantaged” climate – in the tundra or the desert. Many respawn on rivers or near the water, and some have a very good ability, therefore, on the contrary, they sacrifice a territory with a lot of resources. I will pay more attention to the features that make certain nations stronger than others.
Babylon is the strongest civilization in the early game. The first scientist after the appearance of writing perfectly boosts scientific progress, and a passive bonus of 50% accelerated appearance of subsequent Nobel laureates allows not to sink in the future. Usually, if a nation is geared towards science, then in the early game it is easy to fight with it, but with Babylon it is not so simple. Unique units of this civilization replace the main firepower of antiquity – archers. Akkadian archers have 2 more defenses and attacks than common fighters, so they always win battles.
Even if you managed to fight the army of Babylon, storming it is not so easy: instead of the usual walls, Nebuchadnezzar II builds the Ishtar Gate. This unique building makes the process of defending even against powerful armies much easier, since its parameters are higher than those of ordinary walls – by 50 health and a defense point.
Many people know that it is Babylon who can quickly overgrow one of the coolest wonders of the world in the early game – the Great Library, and without much effort. The turn on which this miracle will be built depends on the place where the city was built and the cells in its starting border. On average, it is Nebuchadnezzar II who makes her faster than other leaders; only Egypt with a bonus to miracles or a nation with a very good starting potential can compete with him. How can you prevent them from doing this if you choose Babylon?
The first technology to learn is pottery. The first inhabitant must occupy the cage with the maximum possible amount of food, and the next one must sit on the cage with the production when he spawns. If you are lucky enough to receive bonus faith from the ruins or from a nearby city of the state, it makes sense to take the pantheon for a bonus to building wonders of the world. The first buildings were a monument and a barn, or a scout and a barn. The second option in multiplayer games is preferable, especially if you find a culture to study the bonus from the public institute “Tradition”. So you will not waste time studying the territory, which in the future will help to correctly locate the cities. Remember, rushing a miracle in FFA is a huge risk and more often than not worth it. But if you really want to, then you can.
Once you learn writing, your first scientist is born. His task is to found an academy, preferably on a cage with a forest. Thus, he will give the capital not only a good cage with science, but also instantly bring production for cutting down trees. Once the construction of the Great Library has begun in the capital, all residents must process production cells.
Babylon is strong in FFA, and few people like to play against it. The difficulty of assault in the early game and the bonus to science make Nebuchadnezzar II’s civilization very powerful … but only in capable hands.
If you love to fight in ancient times, the Huns are the best choice. In defense and scientific discoveries, this nation is not enough stars from the sky, but it can conquer its neighbors and get their cities.
The main strength of the Huns is in units. On horseback, they gallop through the territory, not dividing it into “their” and “alien”, because if the chariot of the Huns passed somewhere, it means that this territory now belongs to Attila. Horse archers of civilization replace ordinary ones, have one more strength and receive a 15% bonus to shelling in open areas. And besides, they do not require horses, although civilization can process them immediately.
Attila has no unique building. Instead, the second personal unit is “Battering Ram”. He helps not only to fight, but also to conquer enemy cities with lightning speed. The “Ram”, which replaces the standard spearmen, has +300 strength to attack cities, but it cannot beat ordinary soldiers.
Usually nations that develop one-sidedly cannot show class at a distance. The Huns, due to almost always successful early aggression, compensate for the roughness that may arise in scientific development. In the end, if you have two capitals, it becomes much easier to play.
The Shoshone is the perfect beginner nation. When playing with friends, she forgives many mistakes, and it is not so easy to conquer her – thanks to the passive bonuses of the nation. In addition, Shoshone can choose any path of development – from religious to scientific – and in general feel great at any stage of the game.
Once your city is on a scenic hill, build at least two scouts. If the map is large, you can think about four units of this type, since in the early game Pocatello’s task is to give orders to search for ancient ruins. Unique rangers not only have 3 more strengths than ordinary fighters of this type, but also know how to choose bonuses from ancient settlements that other civilizations receive randomly. Pulling an additional citizen out of the ruins and planting him on a succulent cage that has already been attached to the capital through a passive bonus is great.
Shoshone cavalry is 25 production cheaper than regular units and has a movement bonus. If you really want to, then the Shoshone army can score to the enemy’s borders in a matter of seconds.
The main advantage of Shoshone is flexibility. You can even progress along the cultural line and get a starting cultural bonus from the ruins right away. If you are very lucky, in the first rounds you will have both a free technology and a capital that is “eaten away” on several processed cells. Is this not a guarantee of success with straight arms and a bright head?
Queen of the seas Elizabeth can easily beat you on a map with oceans. With rapid travel and a predominantly maritime infrastructure that includes trade routes by water, England is second to none in the middle of the party.
Although this is not spelled out anywhere, most often, when playing for England, I appear somewhere on the edge of the map, where the neighbors are just a simple “Ay!” do not shout. Even on a tiny map, London manages to line up in such a way that it is difficult for ground forces to approach it with an enemy army, but on the water we are always ahead. There are also disadvantages – for example, the tundra or the desert, which is always somewhere nearby, if not in the city itself. Not Russia, of course, but little pleasant.
England is weak on land. Something can be shown by the unique units of the yeomen, replacing the crossbowmen, but in their right mind, hardly anyone decides to attack Elizabeth during this period. Before or after, you can storm cities without much difficulty. I prefer to play as England so that the bonus spy is not used as an opportunity to steal valuable technology. Just business: to be ahead of the whole map in the study of the skill tree.
The unique battleship that replaces the usual frigate is very good. This ship has one more sight radius and less production cost. At the same time, he has an increased long-range attack, and therefore even enemy fleets of equal number of units will fall faster under your fire. In general, if you wanted to play on the islands or archipelagos and bend everyone, then fight for England with other users. It is unlikely that you will be allowed to utter it without pretensions in the spirit of: “Aha, I’m going to play imba!”
I thought for a long time whether it was worth including Russia on this list on purpose, because patriots would not forgive me for her absence in any case. However, the decisive factor was … the strength of the nation. Russia really shows itself well in online games and has the potential to win.
The main problem of Russia is the appearance of the map in the most unattractive places. In the tundra, which usually borders on snow, which does not give any bonuses. In general, the implementation of the Siberian expanses and harsh climate in most of the country by the studio Firaxis was a success. The bonus is also suitable – there are enough strategic resources in real Russia. And when you first read it, you wonder why such a powerful bonus appeared in the game.
Thanks to the large amount of iron and horses, Russia can build more units, but maintaining an army is an expensive pleasure. It is important for Catherine II not to sink in gold, because the leader cannot get it quickly. The strategic location of cities is also very important: in Civilization, giving Moscow to Napoleon is a bad idea.
Unique units of Russia, Cossacks, replace cavalry. They deal 33% more damage to wounded enemies – a nice little thing. Ostrog, a unique building that is built instead of barracks, allows you to expand boundaries for money and culture 25% more efficiently. My dear country is wide …
The peak of Russia’s power comes in the middle of the game, when the resource bonus begins to accelerate production to unprecedented levels. If, at the same time, there are combat frigates in St. Petersburg, and freedom-loving Cossacks are walking around the borders, a rare enemy will risk attacking the subjects of Catherine II. After all, everyone knows the story.
There are no unplayable leaders in Civilization V. Even Portugal, Indonesia and Morocco, which few people love in FFA, can become leaders on the map and register any of the possible victories. They were not included in the top five, but they may well compete with the nations from my top 5:
Who is your favorite leader in Civilization V?
