Overview
Do you want to have a dominant religion? How about your own? In this guide, I run through the basics for the Celts, a faith based Civilization. The Celts have Druidic Lore, which gives +1 Faith for 1 unimproved forest tile and +2 Faith for 3 unimproved forest tiles. This guide will explain how to conquer, play, and expand as the Celts. (NOTE: THIS GUIDE CAN ONLY HELP YOU IF YOU HAVE THE GODS AND KINGS EXPANSION FOR CIV 5. OTHERWISE DO NOT BOTHER LOOKING AT THIS GUIDE!)
Celtic Misconceptions
Let’s face it, every Civ has misconceptions. The Celts are overlooked as a faith based Civ. While it is cool to found your religion early, every player wants a strong Civ to play as. Players see no point in playing as the Celts becuase there is no religion victory, so most players will go for a conquering or border expanding Civ (Mongolia, Russia, Korea, etc) Most players go for these Civs because they are ‘cool’. In theory, all Civs can conquer and expande at their own pace. It all depends on who you play. The Celts have the Pictish Warrior, which has a combat bounas in enemy territory! This is good for players who want a religious and conquering Civ.
The Celts are an ok Civ to play as. Their Faith based ability Druidic Lore, gives faith to forest tiles. This guide will walk you through the Celts and help you overcome these common misconceptions.
Celts Rising
Starting is easy for many people, so I will run through how to start. You can use any map that you want, which is good. You might want to find or start on a map with a lot of forest tiles. This can give you faith right off the bat, which can lead you to finding your Pantheon quickly. Move your settler next to 1 forest tile or more(Like I said before, this can increase faith early on) Save up enough faith to purchase your first Pantheon.
Here are the Pantheons/Follower/Founder/Enhancers I chose:
1. Sacred Waters= +1 Happiness from cities on/ next to rivers.
I chose this Pantheon becuase I started out on a map that contained a lot of rivers and forests. I suggest that you used this pantheon if you end up with a map with rivers/forests. Starting a religion can be difficult. Try to advance your religion early on so that you can get founder and follower beliefs. Here are some that I use:
Founder:
1.Interfaith Dialogue= Grants science for every time a missionary spreads your religion to another city that has a relgion. Not very powerful late game, but good for early game.
Enhancer:
1.Itinerant Preachers= This ensures that your religion spreads fast. 30% of your religon will spread to cites further away.
2. Religious Texts= Also spreads your religion 25% faster, 50% faster after Printing Press is researched.
Follower:
1. Mosques= Give +3 Faith, +2 Culure, +1 Happines. This is a balanced faith choice and mostly gives more faith than other faith buildings (I.E Cathedrals, Monestaries)
2. Holy Warriors= I do recommend this only if you are broke and have no gold. This allows you to use faith to buy military units and holy units.
Militarywise, the Celts have only one unique unti, the Pictish Warrior. This unti has combat bounus in your enemies territory and replaces the spearmen unit. I also found out that you can onyl recruit a certain number of these units. I found out that after a cetain time or if you enter a new era, you cant recruit them anymore. I dont know why, but until I figure out how to recrut more or why I cant recruit them, use them wisely. The Pictish Warrior upgrades to a pikemen unit after you get the Technology Civil Service. But besides the Pictish Warrior, the Celts have the same units as any other Civilization.
The Celts also have a unique building called the Ceilidh Hall. This building replaces the Opera House. The only way to build this unique building is if you have built the Amphitheater. This building gives:
1. +4 Culture
2. 1 Great Artist spot
3. (BNW ONLY) 1 Great Work of Music slot
4. +3 Happiness
Now with a dominat religion and a good military unit, you can conquer the world, through religion and military. (I will explain this in the next section)
Celtic Warpath and Expansion
I honestly think that people only think of the Celts as a faith based Civ. This is true, but the Celts are able to kick butt when they have too. With the Pictish Unit, you are able to take cities. Dont use the Pictish Warriors to assult cities all the time(They are fun to use, but are easily destroyed by cities) So use ranged units like the Composite Bowmen to take your enemies cities. Make sure to create puppets for your occupied cities. (Do not annex the captured city if you have low happiness. I know I did not discuss Happiness in theis guide, but I hope you researched happiness techs and built happiness buildings. See my Gandhi India Guide for more on Happiness)
Also you, want to spread your religion to other cities, espically your new occupied cities that you take from your enemies. I suggest that you take Holy Warriors (Whether you are broke or not) to purchase military units and expand your military. You definately want to use this if you have a lot of faith that you are not using for Faith Purchases. You also want to go for Social Policies like Tradition, Liberty, Honor, and most importantly Piety. Tradition helps you expand your cities quickly, Liberty allows free Workers/Settlers, Honor increases your military unit strength/decreases cost, and Piety increases your culture from faith/increases faith overall.
I highly recommend going for Tradition first(Espically if you are on a tiny map and have only one city) This can get your capital to grow fast and can help you build wonders early on. (I am not focusing on wonders, but its good to know that you can build them in early game) I also think that going down Liberty is good. (Do not go down Liberty if you are on a Tiny map size. There will not be enough room) Liberty allows, as some people call it, ‘City Spamming’ with the rewarding of a free settler. Piety and Honor are optional (These 2 Policies have helped me in my playthrough as the Celts)
Even though there is no religious victory, it feels good to eliminate all religions that are a threat to your own religion. Conquering your enemies is as important as converting your occupied cities to your own religion. Now that you know which Policies to go down, how to spread your religion and conquer, you can play as the Celts with ease.
Questions?
Thanks for reading this guide on the Celts. I hope that I helped you and if you have any questions/comments, post them below. I also plan to make more guides, so if you guys could rate this guide, I can make more in the futre. Tell me which Civ you want to see next!