How to win in Civilization IV – Playing with Aztec Empire in Civ IV - Ultimate guide to the strategy game. by John Sinitsky

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Introduction

Sid Meier’s Civilization was the first real turn-based strategy ever. The game had several editions, and latest PC playable version of Civilization is “Civilization IV”, launched in October 2005.

Even now the game is very popular. With the victory options described in this article, and most the pre-game selections (choosing the map, the climate and sea level, game speed and world size, Difficulty Levels (A,B)) covered, we are now reviewing the aspects of civilization choice. The next nation is the Aztecs.

Aztec Empire Overview

The Aztec nation has the Jaguar as their unique unit (replacing the Swordsman). The advantages over Swordsman, however, are not so obvious. On one side, iron is not required and Jungle defense is increased by 25% (along with +10% City attack ability, common for swordsman). On the other hand the melee unit is actually WEAKER than swordsman (strength of 5 instead of 6), making it particularly vulnerable against the Axeman. Since you have no choice but have Jaguars instead of Swordsmen, study Iron working as soon as possible. Yet again, it is advised to progress to Maceman (discovering Civil Service and Machinery) as the unit is far more powerful.

The starting technologies are Mysticism and Hunting, meaning it would be wise to discover Polytheism or Meditation (founding Hinduism and Buddhism respectively) right away, and afterwards turn to Masonry, Archery and Animal Husbandry.

The civilization has only 1 leader – Montezuma.

The Leader - Montezuma

Montezuma is defined as “Aggressive” and “Spiritual”.

“Aggressive” means that you will have a bonus of free promotion (Combat I) for all melee and gunpowder units – making your Jaguars, Axemen, Musketmen etc. 10% stronger from the very beginning. Barracks are constructed at double speed – something you would want to build in all your cities as it requires no technology at all. And, with barracks your units are even stronger (free promotion of your choice). Drydocks are sped up as well, giving you an option to build naval units twice as fast and giving them more experience. Steel should be discovered to take advantage of this building. However, beware – drydocks reduce your city health.

“Spiritual” will give you an edge of “No anarchy” during revolution. This means that you should change your civics and/or religion frequently (there is a general limit of 1 revolution in 5 turns however). Of course, when doing so you must take into account the effects of the chosen Civics and Religion. Temples are constructed at double speed, meaning that you should discover Priesthood and maybe think of founding several religions (discovering Polytheism is beneficial as it gives you both the Hinduism Religion and the path to Monotheism technology (with Masonry), which is required to Judaism). You should consider building missioners to spread religions, as it will lead to more happy people when switching to “free religion” civic in modern times.

This post is part of the series: Civilization IV - Guide To Sid Meier’s Civilization IV PC Game

This series on Civilization IV tells you how to get the best out of the classic Sid Meier PC game. Game strategy and options are reviewed and disscussed

  1. Mastering Civilization IV - Victory Conditions
  2. Mastering Civilization IV – Starting the Game Part I – Selecting a Map (A)
  3. Mastering Civilization IV – Starting the Game - Part II – Selecting a Map (B)
  4. Mastering Civilization IV – Starting the Game - Part III – Climate and Sea Level
  5. Mastering Civilization IV – Starting the Game - Part IV – Map Size
  6. Mastering Civilization IV – Starting the Game - Part V – Difficulty Levels (A)
  7. Mastering Civilization IV – Starting the Game - Part VI – Difficulty Levels (B)
  8. Mastering Civilization IV – Starting the Game - Part VII – Game Speed
  9. Mastering Civilization IV – Choosing the civilization - Overview
  10. Mastering Civilization IV – The American Empire in Civilization IV
  11. Mastering Civilization IV – The Arabian Empire in Civilization IV
  12. Mastering Civilization IV – Choosing Your Player Nation – Aztec Empire
  13. Mastering Civilization IV – Playing As The Chinese Empire - Choosing Your Playable Nation
  14. Mastering Civilization IV – Playing as the Egyptian Empire in Civ IV
  15. Mastering Civilization IV – Choosing Your Nation – English Empire
  16. Mastering Civilization IV – Choosing Which Nation to Play – French Empire
  17. Mastering Civilization IV – Choosing Playable Nations – German Empire
  18. Mastering Civilization IV – Choosing A Playable Nation – Greek Empire
  19. Mastering Civilization IV – Choosing Which Nation to Play – Incan Empire
  20. Mastering Civilization IV – Choosing the nation – Indian Empire
  21. Mastering Civilization IV – Choosing Which Nation to Play in Civ IV – Japanese Empire
  22. Mastering Civilization IV – Choosing Which Nation to Play – Malinese Empire
  23. Mastering Civilization IV – Mongolian Empire in Civ IV - Choosing the Nation to Play in Civ IV PC Game
  24. Mastering Civilization IV – Choosing Playable Nations – Roman Empire
  25. Mastering Civilization IV – Choosing the Nation to Play in Civ IV – Russian Empire
  26. Mastering Civilization IV – Playing as the Persian Empire in Civ IV - Player’s Guide to Choosing their Nation in Civ IV
  27. Mastering Civilization IV – Selecting Playable Nations in Civ IV – Spanish Empire