DomiNations Nation Breakdown

DomiNations lets you choose from 7 unique civilizations once you enter the iron age. Which one is the best you ask? Well, I don't believe any one nation is the best, but I can explain how each nation differs as well as what their strengths are.

Nations

British:

Special unit and bonuses: Longbowman (replaces bowman). The resources stolen during an attack increases by 10%

Pros: 10% is an incredible bonus for attacking. The longbowman do a terrific job taking out enemy infantry.

Cons: Doesn't provide any sort of defensive bonus. Farms and caravans produce less resources.

Final consensus: The British are a great choice for players who actively play and raid in DomiNations. If you read my other posts and were wary of the wonders that provide you gold or food, good for you! However, their nation power actually makes a difference. The bonus will net you lots of loot on a daily basis.

Chinese:

Special unit and bonuses: Cho ko nu (replaces bowman) Receive an additional citizen. Also receive an additional defender from your town center at each new age.

Pros: Extra citizen provides you with the ability to work on a lot more buildings at once. Provides a defensive, offensive, and economic bonus via extra defender, cho ko nu, and extra citizen, respectively.

Cons: The additional defender from your town center is not helpful at all. Doesn't provide any significant advantage over other nations.

Final consensus: I ended up choosing Chinese when I first played, but am seriously considering switching my nation once I have all my workers free. The extra worker will help you build your nation a lot faster. For instance, you normally have 10 workers in the classical age which means that you generally can only upgrade two buildings. (Most buildings require 3 or 4 workers) However the 11 citizen you get from being Chinese allows you to work on an extra building like the tower or ballista. Working on three buildings at a time greatly increases how quickly you can progress to the next age. The special unit is nice, but not as good as the English longbowman. I would recommend the Chinese to players that have lots of time to play. If you can collect enough resources, you can really benefit from having an extra worker.

French:

Special unit and bonuses: Chevalier (replaces cataphract). Train your army 20% faster. Also can be donated an additional 3 troops from your alliance members.

Pros: Can train troops faster for more attacks before gaining a shield. Chevalier is a terrific troop and cavalry (cataphract, knight, etc.) are one of the most used troops in the game. Extra donated troops provide additional firepower.

Cons: No defensive bonus. Technically no economic bonus. (Additional attacks which leads to additional loot is like an economic bonus. Farms and caravans produce less resources.

Final consensus: With one of the best special unique units, the French are a great nation to choose. The 20% troop increase is very helpful in theory, but not terribly important in earlier ages since you can only train 65 (classical age) or 80 (medieval age) troops. This means most army compositions can be trained from scratch in under 20 minutes, especially if you use one of my compositions. I imagine that this benefit is also cancelled out in later ages by getting the training blessing. The French are for skilled attackers who aren't phased with breaking shield since you will be attacked often.

Germans:

Special unit and bonuses: Vandal (replaces soldier). Decrease cooldown on rally by 5%. Doubles the duration of rally.

Pros: Excellent nation power for attacking strategists. Vandal is a great upgrade over normal soldier.

Cons: Once again, doesn't have a defensive or economic bonus. Soldiers aren't meant to do much damage in attacks. Farms and caravans produce less resources.

Final consensus: Expanding upon the statement that soldiers aren't meant to do much damage--a good attacker uses soldiers to clear less important buildings, distract ballista towers, and destroy enemy cavalry. Therefore, the buffed vandal is as important as a buffed chevalier or companion (Greek). On the other hand, the improved rally is incredibly useful. As you progress in DomiNations, you will find yourself relying on rallying more and more often. Sometimes you need rally to get a last ditch star or to group together your troops before using a war tactic. Regardless of reason, having rally more often is helpful. The Germans are great for an adept DomiNations player who carefully plans his attacks. NOTE: If you are reading this post for advice, that means you have not gotten very far in DomiNations yet. When I was in your shoes, I did not know much about attacking or whether I was a "good" attacker. If you have ever played Clash of Clans, Game of War, and are an experienced player there, you will likely become a great attacker in DomiNations.

Greeks:

Special units and bonuses: Companion (replaces cataphract). Receive a 5% refund on all buildings after they are constructed or upgraded. Buildings can be finished for free under 15 minutes instead of 5 minutes.

Pros: Great economic bonuses. Once again, special unit is a great upgrade. Can really capitalize on stronger knights for raids.

Cons: No defensive bonus. Farms and caravans produce less resources. Free upgrade time extension is mostly useless.

Final consensus: The Greeks have a great special unit and a pretty nifty economic bonus, but the elite players tend to stick away from this nation. The lack of defensive bonus makes players more likely to attack your nation. However, a well defended base in lower medal ranges will fare just as well as other nations. I recommend the Greeks for beginners since the simplest attack strategies involve lots of companions and it is a bit easier to get your upgrades done.

Japanese:

Special units and bonuses: Bushi (replaces soldier). Town center can defend itself. Peace treaties last 25% longer.

Pros: Incredibly strong, defensive-minded nation. Many players will actively avoid Japanese bases due to TC shooting at attackers. Additional peace treaty time can be helpful so you don't get attacked overnight when your farms and caravans are full.

Cons: Soldier is not that helpful of a unit to have upgrade. (I.e. the bushi) Will spend time deciding whether or not to break peace treaties more often.

Final consensus: The Japanese are the most popular nation. Their clear defensive focus makes it a great choice for any type of player. The only bad thing about the Japanese is that you don't have much help for attacking. This is mostly offset by having a stronger base that will lose less resources to enemies. I recommend the Japanese for anyone!

Romans:

Special units and bonuts: Legion (replaces soldier). Can hold 10% more troops.

Pros: Huge increase in offensive success due to extra soldiers. Legion are, once again, a strong unique unit.

Cons: Absolutely no help on the defensive or economic side. Takes more time to train your army.

Final consensus: The fact that the Romans allow you to have a considerably larger army is an amazing bonus. I especially recommend the Romans for beginners so that winning is easier and people who like to attack bases that are in a later age. While the Romans will make attacking much easier, it does not matter to the competent player. At lower medals, you can easily find bases that are weak and don't need extra troops. At higher medals, max units are very powerful and can take down any base for at least one or two stars. I do believe that the Romans will save you from lots of heartbreak when you need just a few more troops to procure a win.

In the end, it's hard for me to steer you towards one nation as it depends on your playstyle. Personally, I would want to be Roman, French, or even British (gasp!) because I attack a lot and am having no trouble on defense.

"It is not the strongest of the species that survive, but the one most responsive to change."

-Charles Darwin