Varangians/Strategic Overview


 * Strengths: Strong economic bonuses, ideal for naval rushing.
 * Weaknesses: Mediocre unit, wonder and technology roster, glaring lack of good archers and cavalry.

Like the vanilla Dutch civ of Rise of Nations, the Varangians -- for this time period, being distant far flung cousins of the ancestors of the Dutch -- also place emphasis on trade and naval supremacy. The Varangians, being the traders that they are, can generate +3 resources per every 100 in their stockpile. This makes it profitable for the Varangians to then engage in market trading (facilitated already by their early free Market, and the fact that they struggle less in achieving level 2 Commerce), since once stockpile levels are rounded up to the next hundred, they will begin to produce new resources. Of course, the issue of a Commerce Cap remains, but this economic bonus from the early to mid game can be very powerful.

At sea, the Varangians -- along with the Saxons and the Norse -- maintain a fairly formidable force that makes these three, the so-called "Nordic trio" a powerful match on water. The Norse Longship, being in essence a heavy ship, allows the Varangians to punish people with less developed navies, such as the Visigoths or the Avars. And while the Varangians can't build the Karve (the Norse signature naval unit) they can still spawn these from each Dock built. However, this seeming lack of light ships can pose problems, since Longships are very vulnerable to Fire Raft attacks, so the limited number of Karve that a Varangian player can muster, in comparison to the Norse themselves, makes their naval tactics rather curtailed.

On land, the Varangians enjoy a good mix of units, concentrating primarily on melee units, as exemplified by units such as the Druzhinnik and the Wojaky. Yet, while the Varangian army looks fairly well-rounded out, being capable to recruit all manner of different units, the problem with the Varangians as a military force lies in that they have no genuine specialisation. The ability to raid with Vikingr, as well as hold a line using Slavic infantry can be a life saver, but these units, along with the limited nature of the Varangian mercenary roster, are not ideal for going on long-ranged offensive warfare, given that the Varangians only have the Slavic and Nordic cavalry lines which in themselves aren't as efficient as some of the units used by factions such as the Franks or Indians.