The Vikings are primarily an offensive civilization with strong infantry and an effective navy.
Strengths[]
Their infantry have increased hit points, which aids in both melee battles and surviving against projectiles. Their unique unit is the Berserk, a powerful infantry unit with the ability to regenerate lost hit points at a rate of 20 per minute, which is doubled with the elite upgrade. All of their infantry deal extra damage to cavalry and gain gold from raiding with Chieftains. The Vikings also have a strong navy, having a naval unique unit, the Longboat. Longboats fire volleys of arrows and can defeat almost any naval unit. In addition, their Docks are cheaper to build, and their ships are cheaper to create. The Vikings also get Wheelbarrow and Hand Cart for free, giving them what is considered the best economy in the game. The Vikings also have respectable archers and siege weapons.
Weaknesses[]
The Vikings have limited cavalry and Cavalry Archers, as they lack Hussars, Paladins, Heavy Cavalry Archers, and lots of cavalry upgrades such as Bloodlines, Husbandry, and Plate Barding Armor. Combined with the lack of Bombard Cannon and Redemption, Vikings can struggle a lot against Onagers. The lack of Thumb Ring also means that their archers are below average between the late Castle Age and early Imperial Age (though Bogsveigar makes up for this once researched).
Despite being depicted as a naval civilization, Vikings are surprisingly vulnerable in Feudal Age water combat because they have no access to the Fire Galley-line. This in turn puts Vikings at a disadvantage when confronting a naval army consisting mainly of Fire Galleys. Although the Demolition Raft counters enemy Fire Galleys, the Vikings are reliant on slowly building up their own Galleys and defending before they can contest for water.
Strategy[]
Viking are one of the most powerful civilizations on water maps. Their Dock bonus and the discount for all their warships allows them to create more warships than their opponents can. This is especially true before the naval rebalance in The African Kingdoms, where the Vikings were considered to be the best civilization at Galley rushes. Now, however, they have a slow start due to the lack of Fire Galleys. Their Longboats are perfectly capable to take down almost all kinds of ships in a unit vs unit combat, but they perform better if massed since these unique vessels can be created very quickly and each one shoots multiple arrows.
On land, Viking players must focus on their infantry and are able to perform infantry rushes from the Feudal Age. They get Wheelbarrow and Hand Cart for free, significantly boosting their mid-game economy, which help counteract their limited options. While the Vikings have some of the worst cavalry in game due to lacking key important technologies, the Vikings can still pull off a viable Knight rush thanks to their strong economic bonuses, meaning the Vikings can pump out Knights much sooner and in higher numbers thanks to their free upgrades, though it drops off sharply during the later stages of the Castle Age. They also possess solid archers, though the lack of Thumb Ring is notable.
Vikings are at their strongest in the Castle Age once they get Berserks and Longboats. Berserks can heal themselves slowly and have generally solid stats. Berserks should be paired up with rams to help against ranged attackers and buildings. Thanks to Chieftains, they rarely need a dedicated counter to Cavalry. While Berserks are the better unit, the Militia line is almost as good, and should be used when building many Castles is not viable.
Strategy changes in The Forgotten[]
Berserks are more useful in this expansion. Chieftains gives an attack bonus against cavalry, making them a powerful counter-unit, and Berserkergang now costs 850 food, 400 gold, from 500 food, 850 gold. Their base hit points and their training time are also improved.
Their naval bonuses (cheaper ships and cheaper Dock) were changed too, but in this case reduced those bonuses; the cost bonus for their ships is now staggered and the team bonus for the Dock was reduced to 15%. However, the cost for the Longboat was reduced to from 100 wood, 50 gold to 90 wood, 50 gold.
Strategy changes in The African Kingdoms[]
As there were introduced 2 new ships, Vikings get a distinctive advantage from these new introductions as they can spam the Demolition raft for a lower cost than other Civilizations since the Feudal Age. However, the new Fire Galley has overtaken the early water meta, which puts the Vikings in a worse position than before (though they are still a great water civilization). Longboats were restored to their original cost, but a Castle is no longer required to access them.
Chieftains' cost was reduced significantly (700 food, 400 gold → 400 food, 300 gold). Additionally, the bonus against cavalry has been raised from +4 to +5.
Strategy changes in Rise of the Rajas[]
Chieftains now applies to all infantry units, meaning that, along with their extra hit points, the Militia line can now beat fully upgraded Paladins cost-efficiently. Also, Pikemen now become stronger versus cavalry as well, especially against Cataphracts.
Strategy changes in the Definitive Edition[]
Supplies was added to every civilization except the Goths. As this reduces the cost of the Militia-line infantry, it makes a Feudal Age rush with Men-at-Arms more appealing, especially for a civilization like the Vikings which has infantry with more hit points. Also, their Champions will be more easily massed in the later stages of the game.
In update 42848, the cost of Chieftains was raised from 400 food, 300 gold to 700 food, 500 gold. As a result, it is now harder to afford in the Castle Age, which overall puts a higher consideration when the player wants infantry to be effective against cavalry without delaying the way to the Imperial Age.
Strategy changes in Dawn of the Dukes []
The Vikings lost access to Thumb Ring, making their Arbalesters weaker in the Imperial Age. To compensate for the nerf, the Vikings bonus hit points for their infantry is changed to +20% starting from the Feudal Ages instead of scaling proportionally by age (+10%/+15%/+20%). Combined with the increased cost of Palisade Walls and reduced melee armor of Houses, this shifts the Vikings powerspike from the Castle Age to the Feudal Age with their infantry rushes.
The Berserk also has its base attack and melee armor increased, while having its upgrade cost reduced, making Berserks a more appealing option for the Vikings.
Strategy changes in Dynasties of India[]
As an infantry civilization, the Vikings received Gambeson in update 81058, making their Champions the some of tankiest in the game. The Vikings also received a new Imperial Age unique technology, Bogsveigar, that replaces Berserkergang, which increases the attack of their Archer-line and Longboats by 1, which compensates for the Vikings lacking Thumb Ring and putting their Arbalesters at around the same level as a generic Arbalester. In addition, the Elite Berserk's health regeneration was buffed to 40 hit points per minute, the same as with Berserkergang, and the Longboat's bonus damage against ships and buildings has been reduced to compensate for Bogsveigar.
Alliances[]
Vikings make perfect allies on water maps. Their cheaper Dock bonus helps them and their allies control the waterways sooner than the enemy team early in the game. Their Longboats and other cheaper ships are invaluable on any water map. Their tougher infantry also is a great for aggression on land. A Viking ally should bring mobility or range on land and decent Fire Galleys on water. Players should make sure that a Viking ally has a good response to siege, as the Vikings themselves do not. Civilizations that share this weakness are not recommended for this reason.
Armenians: The Armenian team bonus provides +2 Line of Sight to infantry, which is quite useful for the infantry roster of the Vikings. The Armenians being also a naval civilization with good Galleys and Dromons may put the Viking team bonus to good use.
Bengalis: The regenerating ships of the Bengalis will welcome a cheaper Dock. Both players will benefit from better trade from the Bengali team bonus. The Bengalis may also cover the late game and against siege units with powerful elephants and versatile Rathas, while the Viking player may specialize in infantry and archers on land.
Berbers: As they have a good navy, they can benefit from the Viking team Bonus, while enabling their Viking ally to better spam their Berserk thanks to Kasbah.- Britons: Thanks to Bogsveigar, the Viking Arbalesters are above average, so they may use the Briton team bonus.
- Bulgarians: Their team bonus will aid the Viking infantry in a rush by reducing the research time of Blacksmith technologies.
- Byzantines: The Byzantine faster-firing Fire Galleys can give the early-game pressure the Vikings can struggle to apply. The Byzantines also have Bombard Cannons to aid the Vikings. The Byzantine team bonus will aid on land if the Viking player decides to rely more on Champions and Pikemen instead of Berserks, for healing them faster.
- Chinese: Their Farm bonus may help to save wood in the long run, which is very useful on a naval map. This also provides the food necessary for infantry. Outside of naval maps, they are still a good combination, since the Vikings have Wheelbarrow and Hand Cart for free, technologies that are highly impactful on Farm gathering rates.
- Dravidians: Not only do they grant extra population capacity to already-cheaper Viking Docks, Dravidian allies can also screen Viking Longboats with their more heavy-duty Thirisadais.
- Ethiopians: Sight is highly important on naval maps, and the Ethiopian team bonus comes handy here, enabling players on the team to place far-sighted Outposts that do not cost stone. The Ethiopians also have good siege and a good response against enemy siege in the form of the Shotel Warrior.
- Goths: Being an infantry civilization, the Vikings benefit greatly from the Gothic team bonus.
- Italians: The Vikings will get beefy Condottieri, and the Italians will get cheaper Docks for their powerful navy.
- Japanese: Their team bonus (+2 Line of Sight for Galleys) helps the Viking early-game water rush and scouting, and the Japanese get a bonus to their already-strong navy and water boom.
- Koreans: The Viking team bonus enables the Koreans to save even more wood than they usually would do with their cheaper warships.
- Malay: They grant far-sighted Docks that can be used to build up vigilant, fast-response garrison fleets, and in return, Malay players can build up their own coastal defense network for a bargain price.
- Malians: All Malian buildings cost less wood, and the Viking team bonus stacks for the Dock, enabling the player to save wood for ships. The Malians also have good cavalry for retaliating against siege.
- Persians:, Persian Docks already work faster and have more hit points, so the Viking team bonus boosts them more. The Vikings do not gain much from the Persian team bonus, but the Persians may cover the suboptimal cavalry of the Vikings.
- Portuguese: They provide a 20% faster research rate for faster aggression, either on land or water maps, and solid economy powered by their Feitorias, in exchange for bargain-price Docks to produce extra warships with the Carrack upgrade, especially Caravels with piercing attack.
- Saracens: The Saracen team bonus will benefit the Vikings Arbalesters with Bogsveigar by giving them attack bonus vs buildings. The Saracens will gain a cheaper Dock for their already-powerful navy with better Galleys and Transport Ships.
- Sicilians: In exchange for bargain-price Docks, Sicilian allies provide their Viking teammates 50% cheaper Transport Ships, and this particular synergy may allow for early landings for both teammates.
- Slavs: Having the Slavs as a team mate for the Vikings will work well on both land and naval maps, as it will reduce the reliance on Houses for increasing population limit by building military buildings.
Compared advantages and disadvantages[]
Advantages vs other civilizations[]
- The extra hit points on Viking infantry allow them to perform better in melee fights as well as helping them at approaching ranged units. They also get bonus damage against cavalry, thanks to Chieftains, so their Swordsmen and Berserks can hold up better against them, and their Pikemen can perform as well as a generic Halberdier. When paired with the Vikings' rams, they can create a powerful composition that is hard to counter.
- The Longboat, being a ship that fires multiple arrows while also moving fast and being created quite fast, are a good counter to the majority of naval units, and when combined with the Viking's naval discount, they can snowball in the mid-game and defeat any civilization unable to counter.
- Their great economy makes them an economic powerhouse during the mid-game that can defeat civilizations unable to provide the necessary military presence.
Disadvantages vs other civilizations[]
- The Vikings early water game is poor due to the complete lack of Fire Galleys. This makes them vulnerable to civilizations that have a good early game navy. Additionally, the lack of Shipwright means that they can fall behind in the late game against other strong naval civilizations.
- Civilizations with good cavalry archers may be problematic for the Vikings, as they can also mow down Viking infantry overall by hit-and-running them. These include Mongols, Huns, Cumans, Tatars, and Magyars.
- Their cavalry is very weak, as they lack key cavalry upgrades, such as Bloodlines, Husbandry, the Hussar and the Paladin upgrades. Combined with the lack of Bombard Cannons and Redemption, the Vikings struggle against enemy siege.
- The lack of Thumb Ring, combined with their poor cavalry, hurts their archers during the late-Castle and early-Imperial Ages and makes them very dependent on their infantry, which leads to a linear composition.
Situational advantages[]
- If starting from Feudal Age or Castle Age in Nomad maps, the free Wheelbarrow and Hand Cart gives them a nice advantage, as their Villagers will move faster, enabling the player to reunite them faster at the selected location for their first Town center, while also giving them an early edge on exploring this map. In any other map if starting from Feudal or Castle Age their free Wheelbarrow and Hand Cart will still grant an early economic advantage.
- In Fortress map, where players start with pre-deployed walls and towers and a Barracks, they may get an early offensive advantage since, they can start to deploy their infantry at the beginning of the game.
