Ironclaws Guide to choosing your God: Part I.

Intro
One of the top questions that I have gotten is "What god should I play as?" This is a dumb question. Honestly. Your god is like your character, always changing, designed specifically for you (what an analogy). In order to pick your god, there are some questions you have to ask yourself. This guide will help you take that inner journey.
Disclaimer: This guide features some generalized info. Recommended reading of guides before beginning to play as them

I.Civilizations:
If you already know, or have a good idea of what civilization you want to play as then section I. is yours. If you don't, just skip to section II.

• I want to play as the Greeks
  See section I-1.
  
• I want to play as the Egyptians
  See section I-2
  
• I want to play as the Norse
  See section I-3
  
• I want to play as the Atlanteans
  See section I-4
  

I-1.Greeks
The Greeks are what I would consider the "generic" civ. They are what you first play as in the campaign, and tutorial. They have three good gods, and a lot of strategies.

• I like a more "Defensive" style.
  See Section I-1-A
  
• I like a more aggressive, raiding type.
  See Section I-1-B
  
• I like something else, with more options.
  See section I-1-C
  

I-1-A
Hades
One of Hades best bonuses is more hit points for buildings. This combined with a strength in archers gives Hades a more 'defensive" feel but he is still very good. A good guide for hades can be found here.

I-1-B
Poseidon
Poseidon is probably the most aggressive of the Greek gods, and playing as him requires a lot of micro and heavy raiding. For a good guide; look here

I-1-C
Zeus
Zeus is the "king of Greek gods" of course, not necessarily in the game. Zeus does have a lot of options, and one of the best minor god paths. A great guide for Zeus is here.

I-2. Egyptian
The Egyptians have a more economic focus. As they start out with poorer build rates, but have stronger techs. It is almost required that you buy these. The gods are all semi-similar. But if you would like to narrow it down more ask yourself this:

• I like a stronger economy, then I work on military
  See section I-2-A
  
• I like defending against rushes, and the ability to classical fight (easier)
  See section I-2-B
  
• I like Hitting Heroic quickly, and then starting my econ/military work.
  See section I-2-C
  

I-2-A
Ra
Ra is a good god. His best bonus is probably the fact that his priests can also empower. Now instead of your pharaoh giving you that boost on your gold; you can have it everywhere. For a good guide, look here.

I-2-B
Set
Set is great god for stopping rushes. With free animals each age, and the ability to spawn more plus the fact that he could arguably have the best classical Egyptian set up. You can also do the common FH, and the not as common FM with him too. Giving him a lot of options. A very good guide can be found here.

I-2-C
Isis
Isis is the most commonly played gods, and considered to be "Overpowered by many". She naturally has a strong economy and the most common strategy as her is the FH. A good guide/site for Isis is on this link.

I-3. Norse
The Norse are definitely the most aggressive out of other civs. There gods are very similar, yet there are still a few differences which help make them unique. If you want to be a Norse god, ask yourself these questions:

• I like to rush, attacking very early.
  See section I-3-A
  
• I like a good economy, and lots of raiding, but the ability to do other things as well.
  See section I-3-B
  
• I like to do a little bit of everything, and have a lot of options
  See section I-3-C
  

I-3-A
Loki
Loki could easily be called the most aggressive god in the game. His BO's generally cal for very early ups and then early attacks. There is a very good Loki site at this place so good luck with Loki!

I-3-B
Thor
Thor probably has the most diversity in the game. He can have a strong agressive, defensive, or whatever style. There are many guides for him, to start try this site.

I-3-C
Odin
Some people argue that Odin is one of the worst gods in the game. However, I would disagree. Odin may not have some of the bonuses that Thor and Loki have, but he still has a lot of good options, and if you are interested read this guide.

I-4. Atlantean
The Atlanteans are only available for the expansion pack, and are a civilization that require less micro but can do a lot of things. They are different then the other civs and that goes for their strategies as well.

• I like early advancing, but I like slow advancing sometimes as well
  See section I-4-A
  
• I like a lot of raiding and taking map control
  See section I-4-B
  
• I like to have a strong economic focus
  See section I-4-C
  

I-4-A
Kronos
Kronos has the option of the early advance, or Krush, but he can also do other strategies. He is a good god, no matter your rate. A guide to his rush can be found here.

I-4-B
Oranos
Most newcomers go as Oranos, but even if you aren't new, you can still be very effective. Oranos has a heavy emphasis on raiding and map control, and a good guide can be found here.

I-4-C
Gaia
Gaia has the best economic bonuses compared to the other two Atlantean gods, but she lacks the saving of around 700 resources on heroes because she has no Prometheus. Still, she can be good, and the first step is checking out thisguide.

This is the end of Part I.

Part II. will include more varied strategies (i.e: if you like rushing check out II-2-B or something like that). I appreciate any comments/corrections, and keep in mind these are rough summaries of the gods, and I highly suggest reading the linked guides to know if you actually want to play as them. This guide can also be used, not just by newcomers but also if you are in a custom game and are not in the mood for your regular god.

[This message has been edited by Ironclaw77 (edited 12-22-2007 @ 05:09 PM).]