Hi. So, this thread is meant to be a analysis and discussion on the Greek as a civilization, as well as their strenghtes and weaknesses. I am not sure of how much of this is things that everyone already noticed a long time ago, but... Either way, I kind of feel like pointing then all out nonetheless:
Strenghtes
-Versatility: For the most part, as it was pointed out before, the Greek are meant as a borderline "default", jack-of-all-trades civilization. As such, they are designed that one can use then decently well, at least in theory, for rushing, turtling or booming tactics, as well as cavalry, archer, infantry, or myth-unit-based tactics( With the Hoplite being more-or-less top notch by default, and units like the Toxotes and the Hippikon, while they SEEM weaker at a first glance, have access to potentially several myth upgrades that can easily make then some of the best of their cathegory if you pick then all ). For that matter...
-Excellent myth units: Most of the Greek myth units are really powerfull: In fact, some of then( Like the Cyclops and the Colossus ) are considered the most powerfull Myth Units any civilizatiorn in their age can train, at least in terms of raw stats. The Greek also have a fairly simple way to gather favor that is easy to micromanage, what makes it easier for then to use their powerfull myth units.
-Generally great at breaking turtles: The Greek have both top notch siege weapons, and their very powerfull myth units usually deal additional crush damage. To top it off, all of their Greater Gods either give a certain unit type a attack bonus versus buildings, or grant at least one unit that is good at breaking buildings in the Myth Age. All of this combines for making the Greek very good at tearing apart the fortifications of other civilizations.
Weaknesses:
-No heavy cavalry: By "heavy cavalry", what I mean is, a cavalry unit that is meant to be at least as good, if not better, at taking on infantry then at taking on archers, like the War Elephant or the Jarl. Although Greek cavalry is really good at what it is-Suppose-To do, the fact the Greek lack a unit that can deal decently well with both archers and infatry limits their options a bit. It is one of those things you barely notice until you realise just how good units like the Jarl actually are. Then again, maybe I only see this as a "weakness" because I like Jarls slightly too much XD.
Limited booming options: The Greek economy has actually surprisingly little to brag about. They have few Minor gods that grant true economical upgrades, and the ones who do( Aphrodite and Hephaestus ) come somewhat late into the game. And their Major Gods either give no economical bonus( Hades. Though his God technology is decent, but it is still a really slow trickle ), or somewhat circunstancial economical bonuses( Zeus bonuses are good for massing myth units but dont actually do anything to let you age-up faster. Poseidon cavalry-and-stable related bonuses kind of force you to play agressivelly in order to take full advantage of then, what I am sure that some players dont mind, but other ones probably-Do, and his market bonus, again, dont actually let you gather resources any faster nor make your units any cheaper, so probably not the best God out there for a boom tactic, certainly not as good as the likes of Ra and Isis... ). This wouldnt be as much of a problem, wasnt for the fact that in the meanwhile, the Greek are also, though to a lesser extent then the Atlanteans, a civilization meant to focus on quality over quantity, as seen with the power of their Hoplites and myth units, so this can make it a bit hard for then to mass the true trump cards of their army as fast as they should.
-Weak Heroic Age: At least for me, it always seemed the Greek have both a pretty powerfull Classical Age( Because mostly of their powerfull Hoplites, but the rest of their Classical Age forces are nice ), and also a really powerfull Myth Age( Because of a excellent selection of Myth Age Gods, including not one, but-Two-Gods that grant a "disaster"-type God power that does almost no damage to your own troops: Lightning Storm, that can be used both defensively or offensive to help winning what otherwise would be a lost battle, and Earthquake, to level the fortifications of a opponent for good while your fast Chimeras chase away fleeing villagers and troops, ruining the day of a defensive player. And if neither of these are quite your speed, Hephaestus mighty Colossus probably will be. I am only glossing over then, of course, as their God Upgrades, as well as Hephaestus Abundance and Hera and Artemis Myth Units, are all pretty good... Really, there is no wrong pick in for a Myth Age god if you are plaiyng as the Greeks. ), but they enter a awkward power void on the Heroic Age. This is because, where most civilizations will, on the Heroic Age, unlock a set of powerfull, elite human units, what the Greek will unlock on the other hand is a set of gimmicky, overspecialized counter units. I mean... Have I been using then wrong? Are the Greek Heroic Age counter-units actually really awesome units that make their Classical Age counterparts useless by comparisson? I dont know, I guess I am just not a fan of overspecialized counter-units.
Limited healing: The Greek used to have a-Very-Hard time healing their units back in their old days: You used to kind of "have" to pick Apollo in order to have any consistent form of healing, and if you were plaiyng as Poseidon, well, then screw you. Today, they have a unit dedicated specifically to healing, but, since it does nothing-But-Healing, I would understand if someone still disliked then. Personally, I think the Greek currently actually have better healing then either the Norse or the Atlanteans simply on virtue that there is no longer any god they "have" to pick in order to get a consistent form of healing, but for some reason I felt I would be doing a disservice if I described the civilization that -Used-To have the worst healing in the game without even bringing up how bad their healers were.
Limited heroes: Although the Greek heroes are technically the best in the game in terms of raw power, the fact the Greeks can only have up to four of then at a time means they are bound to be overwhelmed eventually in large scale battles. This means that the Greek options to handle enemy myth units are quite limited. However, this is not to say they have nothing at all: They can still try to use myth units against myth units, taking advantage of the raw power of their own myth units or perhaps the special attack of units like the Medusa. The unique units of their Major Gods, with the "Monster Slayers" technology, can also similarly prove kind of usefull when massed, depending on what the opponent has on store.
So, what would you say? Is there any part of my analysis you disagree with, or any important strenght or weakness that you believed I failed to mention?
Strenghtes
-Versatility: For the most part, as it was pointed out before, the Greek are meant as a borderline "default", jack-of-all-trades civilization. As such, they are designed that one can use then decently well, at least in theory, for rushing, turtling or booming tactics, as well as cavalry, archer, infantry, or myth-unit-based tactics( With the Hoplite being more-or-less top notch by default, and units like the Toxotes and the Hippikon, while they SEEM weaker at a first glance, have access to potentially several myth upgrades that can easily make then some of the best of their cathegory if you pick then all ). For that matter...
-Excellent myth units: Most of the Greek myth units are really powerfull: In fact, some of then( Like the Cyclops and the Colossus ) are considered the most powerfull Myth Units any civilizatiorn in their age can train, at least in terms of raw stats. The Greek also have a fairly simple way to gather favor that is easy to micromanage, what makes it easier for then to use their powerfull myth units.
-Generally great at breaking turtles: The Greek have both top notch siege weapons, and their very powerfull myth units usually deal additional crush damage. To top it off, all of their Greater Gods either give a certain unit type a attack bonus versus buildings, or grant at least one unit that is good at breaking buildings in the Myth Age. All of this combines for making the Greek very good at tearing apart the fortifications of other civilizations.
Weaknesses:
-No heavy cavalry: By "heavy cavalry", what I mean is, a cavalry unit that is meant to be at least as good, if not better, at taking on infantry then at taking on archers, like the War Elephant or the Jarl. Although Greek cavalry is really good at what it is-Suppose-To do, the fact the Greek lack a unit that can deal decently well with both archers and infatry limits their options a bit. It is one of those things you barely notice until you realise just how good units like the Jarl actually are. Then again, maybe I only see this as a "weakness" because I like Jarls slightly too much XD.
Limited booming options: The Greek economy has actually surprisingly little to brag about. They have few Minor gods that grant true economical upgrades, and the ones who do( Aphrodite and Hephaestus ) come somewhat late into the game. And their Major Gods either give no economical bonus( Hades. Though his God technology is decent, but it is still a really slow trickle ), or somewhat circunstancial economical bonuses( Zeus bonuses are good for massing myth units but dont actually do anything to let you age-up faster. Poseidon cavalry-and-stable related bonuses kind of force you to play agressivelly in order to take full advantage of then, what I am sure that some players dont mind, but other ones probably-Do, and his market bonus, again, dont actually let you gather resources any faster nor make your units any cheaper, so probably not the best God out there for a boom tactic, certainly not as good as the likes of Ra and Isis... ). This wouldnt be as much of a problem, wasnt for the fact that in the meanwhile, the Greek are also, though to a lesser extent then the Atlanteans, a civilization meant to focus on quality over quantity, as seen with the power of their Hoplites and myth units, so this can make it a bit hard for then to mass the true trump cards of their army as fast as they should.
-Weak Heroic Age: At least for me, it always seemed the Greek have both a pretty powerfull Classical Age( Because mostly of their powerfull Hoplites, but the rest of their Classical Age forces are nice ), and also a really powerfull Myth Age( Because of a excellent selection of Myth Age Gods, including not one, but-Two-Gods that grant a "disaster"-type God power that does almost no damage to your own troops: Lightning Storm, that can be used both defensively or offensive to help winning what otherwise would be a lost battle, and Earthquake, to level the fortifications of a opponent for good while your fast Chimeras chase away fleeing villagers and troops, ruining the day of a defensive player. And if neither of these are quite your speed, Hephaestus mighty Colossus probably will be. I am only glossing over then, of course, as their God Upgrades, as well as Hephaestus Abundance and Hera and Artemis Myth Units, are all pretty good... Really, there is no wrong pick in for a Myth Age god if you are plaiyng as the Greeks. ), but they enter a awkward power void on the Heroic Age. This is because, where most civilizations will, on the Heroic Age, unlock a set of powerfull, elite human units, what the Greek will unlock on the other hand is a set of gimmicky, overspecialized counter units. I mean... Have I been using then wrong? Are the Greek Heroic Age counter-units actually really awesome units that make their Classical Age counterparts useless by comparisson? I dont know, I guess I am just not a fan of overspecialized counter-units.
Limited healing: The Greek used to have a-Very-Hard time healing their units back in their old days: You used to kind of "have" to pick Apollo in order to have any consistent form of healing, and if you were plaiyng as Poseidon, well, then screw you. Today, they have a unit dedicated specifically to healing, but, since it does nothing-But-Healing, I would understand if someone still disliked then. Personally, I think the Greek currently actually have better healing then either the Norse or the Atlanteans simply on virtue that there is no longer any god they "have" to pick in order to get a consistent form of healing, but for some reason I felt I would be doing a disservice if I described the civilization that -Used-To have the worst healing in the game without even bringing up how bad their healers were.
Limited heroes: Although the Greek heroes are technically the best in the game in terms of raw power, the fact the Greeks can only have up to four of then at a time means they are bound to be overwhelmed eventually in large scale battles. This means that the Greek options to handle enemy myth units are quite limited. However, this is not to say they have nothing at all: They can still try to use myth units against myth units, taking advantage of the raw power of their own myth units or perhaps the special attack of units like the Medusa. The unique units of their Major Gods, with the "Monster Slayers" technology, can also similarly prove kind of usefull when massed, depending on what the opponent has on store.
So, what would you say? Is there any part of my analysis you disagree with, or any important strenght or weakness that you believed I failed to mention?
[This message has been edited by Draco_Wolfgand (edited 03-31-2018 @ 07:03 PM).]