CELTS
CIVILIZATION OVERVIEW
DARK AGE
FEUDAL AGE
CASTLE AGE
IMPERIAL AGE
SUGGESTED BUILD ORDERS
CIVILIZATION OVERVIEW
Civilization Bonuses:
15% faster movement speed for Infantry starting in the Feudal Age
15% faster work rate for Lumberjacks
25% faster fire rate for Siege Weapons
Enemy Herdables converted regardless of presence of enemy units
Team Bonus:​
20% faster work rate for Siege Workshops
Unique Unit:​
Woad Raider – fast-moving Infantry
Unique Technologies:​
Stronghold – 25% faster firing rate for Castles and Towers
Furor Celtica – 40% extra HP for Siege Workshop units
Key Features:​
Full Infantry technology tree (missing Squires but this absence is negated by Civilization bonus)
Missing Arbalester, Thumb Ring, Parthian Tactics and Hand Cannoneers
Missing Bloodlines
Has Siege Engineers and only missing Bombard Cannons from Siege technology tree
Missing Fast Fire Ships and Elite Cannon Galleons
Missing Redemption, Atonement, Illumination, Block Printing and Theocracy
Missing Ring Archer Armour, Bracer and Plate Barding Armour
Has Masonry and Hoardings but no Architecture or Bombard Tower
Only missing Two-Man Saw (absence negated by Civilization bonus) and Crop Rotation
DARK AGE
The Celts have a familiar start to the game with 3 Villagers and a Scout Cavalry. The Celts early game economy is considerably aided by the faster wood collection rate of their Lumberjacks. This is effective from the start of the Dark Age and while it is not powerful enough to reduce the number of Villagers collecting wood at the start of a build order, it does allow for one less Lumberjack during the transition to Feudal Age.
The Celts also have a bonus that effects Infantry from the start of the Feudal Age – faster movement speed. The faster movement speed allows the Celts player to dictate which fights they take in the early game as their opponent will not be able to keep up with them if withdrawing from a fight. This bonus therefore makes it sensible for the Celts to focus on a Men-at-Arms initial build order but a Drush is still viable (the extra speed will help them distract on reaching Feudal Age if they are still alive).
FEUDAL AGE
If the Celts player reaches Feudal Age with 3 or more near full HP Militia, it is sensible to upgrade to Men-at-Arms as they become significantly stronger with this upgrade. However, the cost of doing this means that the player must get some economy damage in on their opponent, if they are killed before they can do so, then the Celts player will be behind.
A ‘Drush’ or Men-at-Arms is often followed up by an Archery Range or two, but keep in mind you don’t want to commit too heavily to a unit that won’t benefit you in the long term as Celts are missing all of the Imperial Age upgrades for their Archer-line.
On water maps, the Celts can compete throughout the game. Their wood bonus can really help with their water-based production. They have access to most of the dock upgrades but are missing Fast Fire Ships and Elite Cannon Galleons as well as Bracer. These can make their late game water composition slightly lacklustre.
Another option for the Celts is to Fast Castle (often after a ‘Drush’). This allows them to skip through the Feudal Age quickly and into the Castle Age where they have additional bonuses that can pressure your opponent.
CASTLE AGE
Castle Age provides the player with access to a Siege Workshop. It has been popularised recently for players to Drush Fast Castle and then build a forward Siege Workshop and Monastery to pressure your opponent’s base. When doing this, some units are needed to protect these and it is often done with either Knights or Pikemen. The Mangonels are used to pressure the opponent’s Town Centres and other defences, the Monks prevent the opponent from diving in with their own Knights and Knights/Pikemen are there to protect the Monks from Scouts or Light Cavalry. The faster firing rate of Mangonels can destroy Town Centres very quickly. This type of push can be very tight on the economy as there are a lot of gold units involved but if the player is able to maintain production and begin to add economy behind it then they will be in a strong position.
The Celts are missing a large number of Monk upgrades with only Sanctity available of the most important technologies. Sanctity provides the Monks with additional HP making it slightly harder for Light Cavalry to snipe them. This makes Monks viable as part of a very aggressive push but have a limited window. If the opponent has access to Redemption (ability to convert Siege) and Atonement (ability to convert Monks) then it becomes particularly risky to attempt this style of play.
If the Celts have gone for Archers in the Feudal Age, these can be upgraded to Crossbowmen in Castle Age providing an excellent power spike but only if there is a decent ball of Archers still left over. Their Archer-line is missing all of the Imperial Age upgrades as well as Thumb Ring. Knights can provide a little boost too, particularly in small numbers to compliment the Crossbowmen and pick off any Skirmishers or defensive Mangonels the opponent has made. You should still be aware of investing heavily into areas that you will not use in the long term.
IMPERIAL AGE
In Imperial Age, the Celts should largely focus on Infantry and Siege considering they are lacking so many upgrades on their Archery Range and Stable units. The combination of Onager, Siege Ram and Halberdiers provide a strong counter to most compositions from their opponents. The Halberdiers can trade effectively with Cavalry, the Siege Ram can soak up fire from enemy Archers and the Onagers deal considerable damage to massed Archers.
This main composition is excellent as a ‘deathball’ scenario but in order to do effective raiding, the Celts are able to train Hussars. So while they are lacking Bloodlines and Scale Barding Armour, these are still a viable unit in the late game.
The Celts can also add Woad Raiders to their army, particularly if the opponent has not massed Archers. These are fast moving, strong Infantry that alongside the main composition of Halberdiers and Siege Ram can be an excellent use of their gold. Due to their fast movement, Woad Raiders can be used to raid the opponent’s economy but be aware that this can result in the loss of gold units. Woad Raiders will trade favourably with the vast majority of Infantry, only losing to ones with specific bonuses and even with these, they are able to choose their fights due to their speed.
The Celt’s have good upgrades to their fortification defences, an immobile army and strong economy, so Castles are a sensible addition, particularly as a means to secure their economy. It can also be sensible to wall their base or the sides of the map to prevent enemy raids. The Castle Age unique technology Stronghold is rarely utilised as it is a very situational technology that would not often justify the cost.
Against some civilizations (namely the Spanish, Burmese and Mongols) the Celts can struggle in the late game. In these cases, they should focus on an aggressive Castle Age push in order to try to kill off their opponent earlier. Against other civilizations, the Halberdier and Siege composition can be too much for them to cope with.
SUGGESTED BUILD ORDERS
Drush FC
Drush into Archers
Men-at-Arms into Towers
FC Siege-Monk push
Drush FC Siege-Monk-Kight
FC Siege-Pike