The Byzantines are primarily a defensive civilization that excels at turtling. However, they are very versatile and are perfectly capable of mounting a good offense as well.
Strengths[]
The Byzantines' primary strengths are defense and their ability to effectively counter a variety of troop types (infantry, ranged, and cavalry). Their buildings have bonus hit points which increase with every age. This makes taking down their buildings more difficult, especially their walls. In addition, the Byzantines' Halberdiers, Skirmishers, and Camel Riders have a significant cost reduction. They also get Town Watch and Town Patrol for free, giving them better access to vision of their base.
Their unique unit, the Cataphract, excels at killing infantry and takes much less bonus damage. This pairs especially well with the Byzantines' discounted counter units. The Byzantines also have a strong navy with faster attacking Fire Ships in the early game and a full tech tree later. They also have great Arbalesters and Monks which, along with their discounted Camel Riders, are great offensive options. This is aided with a considerable discount when researching the Imperial Age upgrade, giving them a strong power spike.
Weaknesses[]
Although Byzantines have a complete Stable unit tree, their Stable units are considered mediocre because they lack Bloodlines and Blast Furnace upgrades. Their siege weapons are also fairly lacking, missing Siege Onager, Heavy Scorpion, and Siege Engineers. While their Cataphracts might seem like a replacement for the Paladin, it performs noticeably worse against cavalry and archers. Lastly, they lack an economic bonus, which means that they tend to struggle to play offensively outside of their powerful bonuses.
Strategy[]
Typically, Byzantines will try to reach the Castle or Imperial Age as quickly as possible, since that is when their tech advantages shine. They are perfectly capable of Dark Age rushing (drushing) or Feudal Age rushing (flushing) if they want to. Generally, the Byzantines will play defensively due to their cheaper counter units and poor economy. One should always be careful to keep enough of an offensive threat to prevent the opponent from taking control of the map and securing themselves a position that the player cannot push.
In the Castle Age, Crossbowmen and Camel Riders are the Byzantines' best offensive options, as the former has all technologies, and the latter is significantly cheaper. The discounted Imperial Age will help the Byzantines in this regard, as it means they can get the power spike of Imperial Age technologies faster than their opponent. Monks are also very strong, thanks to their faster healing rate, giving them extra value when they are not converting. Byzantine Castles are infamously hard to kill thanks to their extra hit points, but with the Byzantines' weak economy, they are better used defensively.
In the Imperial Age, the Byzantines have a long list of viable options, and the player should use this flexibility to adapt to the enemy's main composition. The Cataphract will be the ideal backbone of a Byzantine army, with its solid statistics, though it requires a significant investment. A Cataphract army can be backed by a full trash composition of Elite Skirmishers and Halberdiers, or with more powerful but more expensive Arbalesters or Hand Cannoneers and Heavy Camel Riders or Monks. Bombard Cannons are the ideal siege choice of the Byzantines, though Siege Rams are a viable alternative depending on the situation. Bombard Towers are also strong, thanks to +40% hit points and splash damage with Greek Fire.
On water, the Byzantines are at their best during the early game. This is due to the faster firing rate of their Fire Galleys, providing them with the most powerful Feudal Age water unit, as Galleys lose to Fire Galleys and Demolition Rafts are not an effective enough counter to compensate. On mixed maps, this allows them to gain an early economic edge, which helps alleviate the Byzantines' weak economy. Later in the game, the War Galley and Galleon take over as the main water units, decreasing the Byzantines' power relative to other naval powers. Even then, they still have every naval technology apart from Heated Shot and faster firing Dromons, so their late-game navy still remains above average.
Strategy changes in The Forgotten[]
Their new technology Greek Fire gives Fire Ships +1 range, further complimenting their Fire Ships.
Strategy changes in The African Kingdoms[]
The Byzantines' tech tree was furthered improved with the addition of the Arson and Arrowslits technologies, the latter of which makes the solid Byzantine towers even better. Also, the addition of the Fire Galley in the Feudal Age gives the Byzantines an early edge at sea, since they will benefit from the Fire Ship bonus.
Strategy changes in the Definitive Edition[]
Watch Towers' base hit points is reduced to 700 in the Dark Age (in the Castle Age, they still have 1,200 base hit points). Despite this, the Byzantines can still perform a Tower rush (and can partially circumvent this nerf, as their HP bonus still applies); it is just a bit harder to make it succeed. Update 39284 reduced the food cost of the Elite upgrade of the Cataphract and the Logistica technology to 1,200 food and 800 food, respectively, encouraging their use.
Alliances[]
The Byzantines are a great supporting civilization in team games, as they have several defensive bonuses that can aid their allies. Their hit point bonus for buildings greatly helps their team, allowing for better defensive structures. The Byzantines are also good playing from a flank position, as it allows them to use their strong offensive options well and place walls and towers at the front. Their team bonus is useful for any ally that uses Monks. Having a wide tech tree, most team bonuses will help them at some point in the game.
Armenians: Their Warrior Priests benefit from the Byzantine team bonus, and Fortified Churches are helpful for a team turtle strategy. On top of this, the Armenian team bonus provides +2 Line of Sight to all infantry, including the cheaper Spearmen line of the Byzantines. The Armenians also cover the early game that the Byzantines struggle with, as they can improve all their infantry one age earlier.
Aztecs: The Byzantine team bonus further increases the effectiveness of the Aztecs' Monks, and the Aztecs have the strong early game that the Byzantines lack.- Cumans: The Cuman team bonus stacks with the Byzantine hit point bonus for buildings in the case of Palisades. making them more useful in the Dark and Feudal Ages. On a team that includes both civilizations, the Byzantines should be the player that supports their Cuman partner with Palisade Walls.
- Berbers: Genitours are considered Skirmishers, so the Byzantine bonus of cheaper Skirmishers applies. The Kasbah technology is also handy for the Byzantines.
- Bohemians: The Bohemian technology Hussite Reforms changes all the costs of Monks and Monastery technologies to food instead of gold, making their Imperial age Monks a powerful tool. The Byzantine team bonus further improves this.
- Ethiopians: The Ethiopian team bonus comes in handy for defensive civilizations such as the Byzantines, as it improves Outposts by giving them +3 Line of Sight and removing their stone cost. The Ethiopians also provide good archers from the Feudal Age on, compensating for the Byzantines' early-game weakness.
- Georgians: Their team bonus reduces the cost of repairing, which a Byzantine ally can appreciate for their already sturdy buildings. The Georgians also have good Monks and are one of the two civilizations with access to Fortified Churches, which can complement a defensive strategy.
- Gurjaras: Their team bonus reduces the time required for training Camel Riders, which in the case of the Byzantines, are cheaper.
- Hindustanis: Their team bonus improves the damage of Camels and Scout Cavalry against buildings. The Byzantines have cheaper Camels that may make a good use of this. The Hindustanis also provide the team with Caravanserais for better trade and better defense for Trade Carts.
- Lithuanians: Their team bonus of faster-working Monasteries complement the Byzantine team bonus, making it easier for all members of the team to train Monks and then use them to support their armies.
- Malay: Their team bonus provides Docks with better Line of Sight. They are also great allies in naval and island maps, as their Harbors may be of help in a turtle strategy.
- Malians: The Byzantines have a nearly complete University tech three, so faster research is great for them. The Malians can already accumulate more gold than most civilizations, meaning they can train more faster-healing Monks.
- Maya: The Mayan team bonus halves the costs of walls and Gates. When paired with a Byzantine ally, they may consider placing double layers of sturdy Byzantine walls for defense. The Mayans can also cover the early game for the Byzantines, and in the later stages of game, tribute resources for them, as theirs last longer.
- Portuguese: Their team bonus reduces research time for all technologies. Considering the Byzantines have a wide tech tree, this team bonus becomes quite useful.
- Slavs: The Slav team bonus reduces the reliance on Houses for supporting population, as military buildings provide +5 population (Barracks, Archery Ranges, Stables, and Siege Workshops), They also have good Monks that can make use of the Byzantine team bonus. The Slavs may also complement a team turtle strategy with their cheaper towers and Castles.
- Spanish: Their Missionaries can make good use of the healing bonus provided by the Byzantines. The Spanish will also provide the team better gold generation from trading units.
- Teutons: Their Monks have double healing range, so they will greatly appreciate the team bonus for faster healing. Both civilizations have a strong defense, allowing them to perform a team turtle strategy. The Byzantines will also appreciate the additional conversion resistance provided by the Teuton team bonus for all their units.
- Vietnamese: the Byzantines have cheaper Skirmishers, so a Vietnamese ally providing them with the Imperial Skirmisher upgrade is very useful.
- Vikings: When playing on naval maps, the additional wood from the Viking team bonus will allow the Byzantines to spam more Fire Ships.
Compared advantages and disadvantages[]
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Advantages vs other civilizations[]
- The Cataphract is a well-rounded cavalry unit with an attack bonus vs infantry, trample damage and a hidden bonus armor against anti-cavalry attacks. They counter all types of infantry, even those of prominent infantry civilizations. It also completely resists the bonus damage of Camel Riders as well.
- With a cheap Imperial Age upgrade, they can advance faster than an opponent, giving them access to a massive power spike that can give them the upper hand even if they are behind.
- As they have cheaper skirmishers and all the basic upgrades for them, they can more effectively counter archer-based civilizations. Similarly, having cheaper Halberdiers and Camels means that they are not particularly vulnerable to cavalry-based civilizations either.
- As they have a fairly open tech tree with almost all technologies available, they can effectively counter civilizations more limited in that regard.
- Defensively, they have an advantage against civilizations that rely on early and mid-game pressure and fall off during the late game (such as the Huns).
- On water maps they are at an advantage against civilizations that rely on Galleons, Cannon Galleons, or other ranged ships for offense (like the Vikings), as they have a fully upgraded Dock and powerful Fire Ships.
Disadvantages vs other civilizations[]
- The Cataphract is not strong statistically, so they can be countered by masses of archers or other heavy cavalry. The Halberdier can hold up well despite being ineffective in a 1v1 engagement as they are much cheaper than the Cataphracts. As Cataphracts are a big target with their high cost, they are also threatened by enemy Monks.
- They lack Siege Engineers along with the Siege Onager and Heavy Scorpion upgrades. This can hurt their ability to kill massed units, although Cataphracts with Logistica can somewhat compensate for this.
- Their cavalry do not have Bloodlines or Blast Furnace, so their Light Cavalry and Knights are mediocre.
- While their navy is strong in the early game, it can fall off later without any bonuses for their Galleons.
Situational advantages[]
- As they have bulkier buildings, they have a better chance to win by Wonder victory in a standard game. This also gives Byzantines an advantage in the game modes "Defend the Wonder" and "King of the Hill". In "Sudden Death" games, where the main objective is to destroy the single Town Center of an opponent, Byzantines also have an edge.
- As their Imperial Age upgrade is much cheaper, the Byzantines have an advantage in " Wonder Race".
- In closed maps like Black Forest, Byzantines have a huge advantage, as they can wall up more effectively, enabling them to boom with nearly complete upgrades in the late game.
- In enclosed maps like Fortress, Arena, and Hill Fort, their building HP bonus gives them a huge edge as they start already walled, protecting from enemy raids early on.
- In the Regicide game mode, every player starts with a Castle (alongside more Villagers and the King, but not gold). The Byzantines get an early advantage here, since their Castle has more HP than others, making a siege attack to their starting location more difficult. This also makes their King harder to snipe (a tactic involving quickly destroying the hiding location of a king and killing them before the opponent can react).
- Arguably, they are one of the best equipped civilizations in Post-Imperial matches.
