Hello and welcome,
Today we will be discussing the various tactics and build orders that are available for use by a large variety of nations. We will begin with the Indians, a nation I am strongly considering using for the up and coming tournament.
The Indians have the Power of Majesty
• Buildings (except Wonders, which ramp at half and Cities which ramp at full) do not ramp up in cost
• Fortifications ramp up at half normal rate
• City Economic Radius is increased
• War Elephant upgrades are free, and War Elephant units are 15% cheaper • Caravan income is increased
The Indians largest bonus is the first one (and also the second) on the list, the decrease in ramping cost. It is an idea I messed around with in my Byzantine mod nation proposal, which can be found here:
The reason this is so advantageous is not evident to everyone immediately, so allow me to elucidate. As you are well aware by this time, every time you build a building or unit in Rise of Nations, the cost increases a little bit until it reaches a max value.
When playing the Indians, buildings do not increase in cost. This means that a Farm will
Oil Wells and Refineries are not a problem for the Indians either, so you can afford to spend less wealth on oil when you first reach Industrial.
Now then, on to their third bonus "City Economic Radius is Increased
Their fourth bonus is also a huge one "War Elephant Upgrades are free, and War Elephant Units are 15% Cheaper." This bonus is a more noticeable one, and if you like War Elephants it will save you a lot of resources over the course of the game (I'll go more into them later).
Their fifth and final bonus is " Caravan income is increased." I forget the exact number on this, but it is also a useful bonus as it improves wealth income. Add the rare resources "Spices" for an even larger bonus and to give yourself the best caravans in the game!
Unique Units:
The Indians share all their unique units with the Persians, their war elephants. However, unlike the Persians they get the upgrades for these units for free, and they are cheaper in the long run.
In the Classical Age, the War Elephant is a slow melee unit that beats anything in front of it, but will fail against Archers. This unit is arguably not worth using, at least not yet…
When the Medieval Age arrives you get the Mahout. This increases the Elephant's abilities by leaps and bounds. Suddenly your super unit can fire at a range and fight in melee
This trend continues in the Gunpowder Age with the Gun Mahout.
These units reach their pinnacle in the Enlightenment Age, with the Culverin Mahout. This mounts a cannon on the Elephant which lets it act like a semi siege unit as well as a melee unit.
The Indians are an economic nation, so do what you normally do, in a word, raid. Always keep pressure on them, because they will ALWAYS have more buildings and troops because of the removal of building ramping.
If you fail to do so, and the Indians break out with an army supported by War Elephants, target those first. The trick to bringing down the Elephants is to hit them from the flanks. And always… always stagger your troops. This is because they do splash damage with their melee attack and they can easily take on two or three HI in a frontal attack. If you only have melee troops at your disposal, flank them and try and hit each Elephant from three different sides (the rear and both flanks) with one unit on each flank.
However, it is best to counter them with FA, LI, and GI. Elephants are slow, so just hit them and run away before they can close. However, keep in mind that they do have a ranged attack, so you won't get out unharmed.