Overview
How does your civ fare through the ages? When and where does your favourite civ really shine? Time for some charts!
Domination per Age
Legenda
1st tier | 2nd tier | 3rd tier | 4th tier | 5th tier |
Strength for every civ per age
We consider an average standard map, so a little water, but not enough to go for an all out grush.
Dark | Feudal | Castle | Early Imp | Imp | Post Imp – Trade | Post Imp + Trade | ||
Aztecs | ||||||||
Britons | ||||||||
Byzantines | ||||||||
Celts | ||||||||
Chinese | ||||||||
Franks | ||||||||
Goths | ||||||||
Huns | ||||||||
Japanese | ||||||||
Koreans | ||||||||
Mayans | ||||||||
Mongols | ||||||||
Persians | ||||||||
Saracens | ||||||||
Spanish | ||||||||
Teutons | ||||||||
Turks | ||||||||
Vikings |
A few notes come with these charts: a 5th tier in dark or castle age is not as bad as a 5th tier in imperial. A Saracen player can easily get along with other civs in the castle age, but compared to others, they have no special bonus for anything. Hence they get the 5th tier. Feel free to comment on the rankings, they can be changed through constructive criticism!
Domination per Map
We only considered an average map here, while it must be noted that on watermaps, Vikings would be the 1st tier in every age. So time to take a look at how most civs dominate certain maps.
Aztecs
Arena: Aztecs are unprecedented on arena due to their incredible monks. With a few crucial upgrades they have 65 HP, which makes them withstand up to 3 onager shots! No competition here.
Celts
Michi: The most important civ in michi due to their strong economy, great infantry and demolishing siege. Only Koreans can keep up with their siege but they lack in economy. 1v1 Celts have been proven to be the most popular choice.
Chinese
Nomad/LN: 6 villagers make all the difference here. On LN they have a 2 minutes headstart compared to other civs (1 minute on regular Nomad). Mayans and Persians come close on these respective maps but they’re nothing more than princes who will never get on the throne.
Huns
Arabia/Land: Probably the most arguable choice but after all these years of being the most popular civ on Arabia, it’s unlikely to change. They are the strongest civ on Arabia, although other civs stand a chance too ofcourse! Their domination can also be seen on other open land maps.
Koreans
Michi teamgames: A banned civ on Michi must make it a strong one. 1v1 not the kings, but unmatched in teamgames. Banned with a good reason in other words.
Mayans
Regicide Fortress: Paired up with Chinese for a long time but eventually won the battle for the best RF civ. The games are very straightforward though but despite the predictable flow of the game, it’s still incredibly hard to stop.
Mongols
Yucatan: A very debatable choice here, as mentioned before, Huns are usually the kings on landmaps and Celts rule closed maps. Since Yucatan is a bit of both and Mongols have traits of both civs, it’s not a big stretch to imagine them on top here. Adding the superfluous hunt makes Mongols pretty safe from early rushing and gives them a wide range of tactics to choose from.
Persians
Migration/Nomad: The only civ next to Vikings to make a stand on watermaps. Depending on the structure of the map (docks far away or not) Persians have the advantage or not. Since their stronger docks and faster aging allow a much stronger economy in Dark/Feudal age. Which can be followed by Fireships to fend of the first hostile galleys. On nomad, Persians have been the top tier for a long time due to their “dock first” buildup. Which allowed a fishing boat to gather food even before a TC was built.
Vikings
Islands/Water: The rulers of the sea. Both historically and in the game. Cheap docks and cheap boats. Above that a strong economy on land too.
Out of the Box
These charts are just a reference, and may or may not encourage you to think out of the box. You may start to think of regular tactics because that’s how civs’ strengths are mainly used, however, a regular map can quickly be turned into an irregular game! As an example we take a look at the early imp charts. Turks are without doubt the kings of early imperial age due to their immediate access to strong gunpowder units. Closely followed by Mayans and Aztecs because they can field elite eagles really fast (aided by their light and fast economy). The second tier goes to the incredible booming civs: Vikings and Britons. Byzantines get a top spot too because they imp a lot faster and their trash units can be financed by a less mature economy. Now if we look at the 3rd tier, we see Spanish pop up. Spanish have none of the advantages mentioned above but they have this great unique tech “supremacy”. In early imp, Spanish vils have few counters, which might make them gain a tier in some occasions (and if you’re kick ass enough to pull off a villager rush). For more information on the Spanish villager rush, you can check out this recorded game.
Do these charts also mean that Koreans will always beat Vikings in late game? Not at all, but it does mean that if you go into the flow of a traditional game, you better be braced for either some great playing or some smart out of the box thinking. Dare to act different!
Picking civs
One last note on the civ domination, if a certain civ dominates on a certain map or situation, do not fall for the trap of always picking that civ. If you and your opponent agree to play arabia, Huns are probably the most obvious choice. However, you may fall for the trap of only knowing how to play 1v1 arabia hunswar in the end. If you agree to play a different civ (e.g. Saracen war) you’ll increase your overall game knowledge and overall fun level.
Recorded Game
As an example I’d like to take a Saracen war (Green Arabia) between _DauT_ and Tim_. Saracens really start to shine in Imperial age, and _DauT_ favoured a faster imp above a stronger economy to take on Tim_. Needless to say _DauT_ had an advantage earlier but the game is nice to watch nevertheless!