Barbarians

[Dope]

Hi, I'm new to Civ 6

I find the barbarians in the game too strong. They create a 10 man army in about 20+ turns at standard pace. As a player, I can't create as many units as they do.

The question is, do I have something clicked or is it meant to be? In civ 5 there was an option to have "raging barbarians" on/off, but I don't see it anywhere here.

Thanks for info.

[Evrach]

Barbarians are very strong, especially for beginners.
You can turn them off in the setting options for your first games if you want. Or play with mods that correct this.

[jmerry82]

The thing to remember is that you don't need as many units as the barbarians. Because your units are better than theirs.
- Your units heal when they skip their turn. Barbarian units never heal except by pillaging improvements such as farms.
- Your units earn experience and can gain promotions. Barbarian units don't.
- Once you research the first civic, you can take the "Discipline" military policy for +5 in combat against barbarians.

So time is on your side. As long as you don't get completely swarmed, you can outlast the barbarians even with numerically inferior forces. And if you have to retreat to your cities, a ranged unit shooting back from the safety of a city center can really wreck them.

[SlasH]

Try playing with aztecs, Eagle Warrior is one of strongest infantry units in early game.

[grognardgary]

Originally posted by Dope:

Hi, I'm new to Civ 6

I find the barbarians in the game too strong. They create a 10 man army in about 20+ turns at standard pace. As a player, I can't create as many units as they do.

The question is, do I have something clicked or is it meant to be? In civ 5 there was an option to have "raging barbarians" on/off, but I don't see it anywhere here.

Thanks for info.

Unless you are playing above king should not be a problem if you start out building troops. 1st they cannot take your capitol so you can park a slinger there, your first build, and just kill them as they come 2nd get that first warrior out clearing the area around you. Hit the barb camp rest and heal hit it again repeat until its gone. watch out for ones the generate cav and mounted archers the later can be a major pain. Tougher than barb slingers and a move of three means that can move on to hills or into woods and still shoot.

[jmerry82]

There are quite a few civs with early-game military advantages that can be used against barbarians.

- Teddy Roosevelt (Rough Rider or vanilla) of America: +5 combat strength on your home continent
- Montezuma of Aztecs: +1 attack strength per luxury (requires tech to improve, or settling on the tile), Eagle Warrior unique unit (+8 base strength over standard warrior, substantially increased cost, and you start with one)
- Hammurabi of Babylon: Sabum Kibittum unique unit (lower strength than warrior, but cheaper and faster-moving). Also can research techs by getting their eurekas, so unlocking units like spearmen and archers can come very fast.
- Qin Shi Huang (Unifier) of China: Melee units can use the "Convert Barbarians" action, sacrificing themselves to turn all adjacent barbarian units into your units. This includes barbarian units you convert this way.
- Menelik of Ethiopia: Units get +4 combat strength on hills. If you're attacking, that's the tile you're attacking into. If you're defending, that's the tile you're standing on.
- Ambiorix of Gaul: Unique Gaesetae unit. Same base strength as the warrior it replaces, substantially higher cost, gets +10 against units with higher base strength. Probably a net negative against barbs, but at least the bonus helps against the spearmen they have defending their camps. Also earns culture from training military units.
- Simon Bolivar of Gran Colombia: +1 movement for all units, promoting doesn't end their turn.
- Gorgo of Greece: Earns culture when killing a unit. Once you can slot in policies, your units get +1 strength for each military policy slotted.
- Kupe of Maori: starts with the tech to build galleys and quadriremes with which to fight naval barbs.
- Lady Six Sky of Maya: +5 combat strength within six tiles of your capital. Not great for hunting barbs down, but it's easy to defend against them.
- Amanitore of Nubia: +30% production and +50% experience for ranged units.
- Nader Shah of Persia: +5 strength when attacking full-health units.
- Julius Caesar of Rome: +5 strength against barbarians (stacks with the policy), increased gold from barbarian camps, keeps gaining full experience from barb fights even after a promotion.
- Tomyris of Scythia: +5 strength against wounded units, heal when you get a kill.
- Gilgamesh of Sumeria: War Cart unique unit (high cost, high strength, fast movement), extra rewards from clearing barb camps.
- Ba Trieu of Vietnam: +5 strength in woods, marsh and rainforest, +1 movement if you start your turn there, both doubled in home territory.

And that's just the bonuses that don't require you to do research. There are plenty more civs/leaders with combat bonuses that open up just a bit into the tech or civics trees.

[MeniliteZ]

No one has mentioned yet:
If a barbarian scout sees your city, kill it before it gets back to its camp. Once it reports back is when the hordes start spawning rapidly and coming at you.

This is especially important if the scout has a ! over it.

(Though sometimes the scout is up against my border and doesn't have the !, so I don't know what's going on there.)


Secondly, if you can find the camp and can spare a warrior, fortify the warrior next to the camp (preferably in a tile with defensive bonus: hills or (rain)forest, preferably both) and wait til they spawn a second melee unit.* The fortified defender of the camp will attack alongside the spawned unit, removing its fortification bonus. You may want to let it and the other unit attack twice to get their health down before trying to take out the camp (hence why good terrain is preferred to fortify in).

*If they're spawning ranged units, though, you may need to get your warrior out of there, or sacrifice it to destroy the camp.

This second tip is best done if the camp did not have a scout that has reported back to it, since its spawns will be slower.

Also I've always had the +5 to strength vs barbarians policy card active when trying this.

It usually works since they usually spawn a warrior, and the spearman they normally start with is weak vs warriors. I may need to have my warrior promote (which heals it some) before going in for the raze.

If the camp is spawning horse units, this may not work.

Speaking of barbarian horses, if you have horse resources revealed, and there's one near the camp, it's probably going to have horse units. I'm not sure how close it has to be.

[SlasH]

Originally posted by MeniliteZ:

No one has mentioned yet:
If a barbarian scout sees your city, kill it before it gets back to its camp. Once it reports back is when the hordes start spawning rapidly and coming at you.

[Liquid Inc]

Originally posted by MeniliteZ:

Also I've always had the +5 to strength vs barbarians policy card active when trying this.

Someone's mentioned it. That's a useful card at the beginning of the game, when your lack of units is a real concern. Late game you'll probably have gold and faith to buy them outright in such situations, but not at the start.

OP, make sure your units are fully healed if your attacking. If they're damaged, they do less damage.
The environment is also a factor. Rivers can be deadly to cross in an attack, so if your unit is slightly damaged, stick them into defence, and let the barbarians attack your unit. They'll be the ones with the damage debuff in that situation. (Unless it's a scout as MeniliteZ said;, then kill it as quickly as possible!)

[Akuma_Angelus]

Big thing to keep in mind Barbarian units are influenced by If they're on the coast, and by Horses as well as what Civilization has the highest tech progression.

[Dope]

Thank you all very much for your contributions. I read everything, especially the part of the text that mentions scouts was surprising to me.

You seem like a great community and your advice will hopefully make my game more enjoyable and allow me to make better use of the game mechanics.

I have an alert for the discussion here, so I will read here if there is anything new.

[grognardgary]

Originally posted by MeniliteZ:

No one has mentioned yet:
If a barbarian scout sees your city, kill it before it gets back to its camp. Once it reports back is when the hordes start spawning rapidly and coming at you.

This is especially important if the scout has a ! over it.

(Though sometimes the scout is up against my border and doesn't have the !, so I don't know what's going on there.)


Secondly, if you can find the camp and can spare a warrior, fortify the warrior next to the camp (preferably in a tile with defensive bonus: hills or (rain)forest, preferably both) and wait til they spawn a second melee unit.* The fortified defender of the camp will attack alongside the spawned unit, removing its fortification bonus. You may want to let it and the other unit attack twice to get their health down before trying to take out the camp (hence why good terrain is preferred to fortify in).

*If they're spawning ranged units, though, you may need to get your warrior out of there, or sacrifice it to destroy the camp.

This second tip is best done if the camp did not have a scout that has reported back to it, since its spawns will be slower.

Also I've always had the +5 to strength vs barbarians policy card active when trying this.

It usually works since they usually spawn a warrior, and the spearman they normally start with is weak vs warriors. I may need to have my warrior promote (which heals it some) before going in for the raze.

If the camp is spawning horse units, this may not work.

Speaking of barbarian horses, if you have horse resources revealed, and there's one near the camp, it's probably going to have horse units. I'm not sure how close it has to be.

Two things I thing effect the exclam if their originating camp is already dead they won't get an exclam until another camp spawns nearby and two they have to have LOS to either your city center or developed terrain, mine farm or the like., That is what I have seen at any rate. And obviously just because one hasn't discovered the camp doesn't mean it isn't there,

They may also have to maintain LOS for one full turn to get the exclam.

[MeniliteZ]

Originally posted by grognardgary:

Two things I thing effect the exclam if their originating camp is already dead they won't get an exclam until another camp spawns nearby and two they have to have LOS to either your city center or developed terrain, mine farm or the like., That is what I have seen at any rate. And obviously just because one hasn't discovered the camp doesn't mean it isn't there,

They may also have to maintain LOS for one full turn to get the exclam.

Ah original camp dead, thanks! That could certainly turn off the ! mechanism.

And when I put "sees your city" I meant "be in Line of Sight / Sight Range" yeah. I don't think it has to be developed terrain; I think it just has to be your border. If I'm wrong there lemme know, it would be a big help!*

I don't know about the maintaining sight one full turn, though. I think you're right they don't get the !, but do they get the knowledge to bring back to camp?

*Come to think of it that would explain why they come deeper into my territory sometimes before getting the !. I've never noticed if I have improvements in their path or not; I'll have to pay attention.

[grognardgary]

Originally posted by MeniliteZ:

Originally posted by grognardgary:

Two things I thing effect the exclam if their originating camp is already dead they won't get an exclam until another camp spawns nearby and two they have to have LOS to either your city center or developed terrain, mine farm or the like., That is what I have seen at any rate. And obviously just because one hasn't discovered the camp doesn't mean it isn't there,

They may also have to maintain LOS for one full turn to get the exclam.

Ah original camp dead, thanks! That could certainly turn off the ! mechanism.

And when I put "sees your city" I meant "be in Line of Sight / Sight Range" yeah. I don't think it has to be developed terrain; I think it just has to be your border. If I'm wrong there lemme know, it would be a big help!*

I don't know about the maintaining sight one full turn, though. I think you're right they don't get the !, but do they get the knowledge to bring back to camp?

*Come to think of it that would explain why they come deeper into my territory sometimes before getting the !. I've never noticed if I have improvements in their path or not; I'll have to pay attention.

Yeah that's why there is a may in that last line. I'm not one hundred per cent certain either.
I have had a scout move adjacent to my city and me threaten it with a slinger and it move off without acquiring an exclam so there is certainly room for ambiguity.