Playing The Malinese Empire in Civilisation IV - How to win in Civilization IV – Ultimate Guide to Civ IV Strategy by John Sinitsky

Civilization 4
Page content

Introduction

Sid Meier’s Civilization was introduced in 1994, becoming the first real turn-based strategy game ever. The latest PC playable version of Civilization, “Civilization IV” was launched in October 2005 and has many fans across the world.

The game is highly rated among strategy players and is a real joy to play. With the victory options described previously and most the pre-game selections (choosing the map, the climate and sea level, game speed and world size, Difficulty Levels (A,B)) covered in other articles, we continue with a review of civilization choice for players of the game. The next nation to be examined is Mali.

Malinese Empire Overview

The Malinese empire have the Skirmisher as unique unit (replacing Archer). Available with the discovery of Archery, the unit has the same attributes (+50% city defense, +25% hills defense) as Archer. However it might get more first strikes (1-2 vs 1) and, more importantly, has more strength (4 vs 3). This makes skirmisher an excellent defender (Axemen and even Swordsman are almost sure to fail when attacking a city defended with Skirmishers; this should be pf particular importance when dealing with barbarians).

The starting technologies for the Mali are The Wheel and Mining. This means that Masonry and Bronze Working are available instantly, and Pottery is easy to achieve (either Agriculture or Fishing will do).

The civilization has only 1 leader – Mansa Musa.

The Leader – Mansa Musa

Mansa Musa traits are “Spiritual” and “Financial”.

“Spiritual” means you have “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.

“Financial” should make you research “Banking” as soon as possible, as the Banks are constructed at double speed. As you will probably have many banks it will bring you closer to the Wall Street wonder. Also, you should concentrate on terrains which produce more commerce, as you have a bonus of +1 for each square that generates 2.

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