The Best City in the Game World

[myz]

Which one do you think is the best city in the world?
By best I mean, population big, income big, resources, long term potential, production, geography, wonders, essentially those cities we all want to lay our hands on fast.
Here are some candidates in random order
1. Rome
2. Carthage
3. Athens
4. Sparta
5. Alexandria
6. Jerusalem
7. Pergamum
8. Syracuse
9. Thapsus

[doc_bean]

I'm partial to Carthage, probzbly because I played Scipii on my first campaign.

[myz]

also, if you can, give reasons why you think it's the best

[moerty]

sparta is one of the best cities, i always make a go for it unless i'm playing a faction like iberia or numidia. it's the gateway to corinth and the rest of greece, strategically it's a naval checkpoint so it can block the majority of traffic going and coming from the med. money.

3 good reasons why it is the best.

[Count Belisarius]

I like Antioch, along with the other Levantine cities (though Jerusalem is hard to control). Antioch is not that lucrative early on in the game, but by the time the Seleucid war machine gets clicking mid-late game (having punched out Egypt, Parthia, Armenia, and Pontus), they becomes enormous cash cows.

[Mikeus Caesar]

Sparta. Because like the guy above said, it's a naval checkpoint and the gateway to the rest of greece. And the rest of greece is a goldmine.

[Kekvit Irae]

Capture Rome early enough, and you have the ability to produce units you will have no chance of seeing for a long time otherwise. That's why I like Rome, it's already built up. I play mostly as Germania, and when I capture Rome, I'm able to churn out Chosen Archers on the spot.

[Craterus]

I like Sidon, but Alexandria is my favourite out of that list.

[cunobelinus]

my favourite is carthage it grows quick its amazing better than rome but sparta is pretty good

[Craterus]

both are good cities, i prefer Carthage out of Carthage and Sparta

[AntiochusIII]

Personal reasons makes me prefers Antioch...

But Carthage is the best. The massive possibility of growth, wealth, and power. Besides, I heard rumors of some mods trying to depict Carthage's legendary two-docks port (very clever even by Punic standards ) by creating a super port (or tone down the other ones) for special cities like Carthage. Not sure, though.

Though Antioch/Seleucia (port of Antioch) was, in a sense, the older Constantinople as the trade routes from the east often enter the Mediterranean from there.

[Brysk]

Patavium, Maybe its just the fact that I play Barbarians/Romans a lot, but Patavium is a GREAT troop producing city, not the cash maker, but it techs up faster than all cities on Italy.

[Es Arkajae]

This may sound strange but I prefer Crete, it gives great income, whats more it has great mercenaries and a watch tower on its eastern most elevation gives a great view of the Aegean for monitoring enemy action ,it is also a great waystation if you're running the gauntlet of enemy ships.

The island does need some hefty improvements and possibly some forced peasant migration to reach city limit requirements for upgrades but I still like it a lot, it is also an excellent island to defend and I always have fun doing so.

Plus none of the other factions ever seem to grab it, except maybe the Brutii from mid to late game.

Perhaps though its more a 'favourite' than a 'best' city but it certainly has its good points.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

I would have to say Sparta. I prefer Sparta because it is a great naval checkpoint, great for building troops, gateway to Greece and close to Italia so I can take down Rome, I am biased towards Sparta due to their military tradition and finally great baby killing jokes. I am not sick, I swear...

[AntiochusIII]

Carthage beats Sparta in both ways! Mwahaha!

-Site: They're at the heart of the Mediterranean. In game terms, possibilitie of expansion are everywhere.

-Cult: Sparta? Ah, little. Remember the cult of Baal?

I feel sick...

[aw89]

Antioch! One hint;

First shalt thou take out
the Holy Pin. Then, shalt thou count to three, no more, no less.
Three shalt be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the
counting shalt be three. Four shalt thou not count, nor either
count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is
right out. Once the number three, being the third number, be
reached, then lobbest thou thy **** **** ******* ** ******* towards
thou foe, who being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it.

[Titus Livius]

This may sound strange but I prefer Crete...

Crete is a great piece of land to own, strategically placed and a potentially huge trading port. Also, the actual ground favors defenders in a big way. I always grab Crete early in the game, but I have to say my favorite city is Rhodes. It basically has all the virtues and vices of Crete, but it's an oustanding port from which a good-sized fleet can easily dominate the eastern Mediterranean.

[TF923]

Jerusalem. Because if you own Judea as Romans, then you get to reenact the crucifixion thereby setting the stage for the next 2000+ years of history.

Eh, actually the game ends before the crucifixion takes place, so I guess it would be Rhodes then.

[aw89]

You could jest keep it 'til year 0, then let it rebel and slaughter the city, rinse and repeat until the population is 400.

[imdWALRU5]

I would say Sparta. It has a great location in the middle of the map, great troop productions, great income, and great naval dock place. And as Uesugi Kenshin said its a gateway to Greece and close to Italy so you can take down Rome

[hoom]

I vote Carthage.
But basically it doesn't seem to make much difference really most of the time.

[Mikeus Caesar]

This may sound strange but I prefer Crete...

It's not strange at all man! You make it seem like it's weird to like that little island. It's a cool island!! As well as being a great trading port (all of my trade routes pass through it) it's also a great base for controlling the eastern mediterannean.

[Atreides]

Rhodes

It's very wealthy, it's got the BEST WONDER IMO! a great infrastructure.

[Craterus]

Rhodes is nice, and a really cool wonder - (40% increase on naval trade?) ! What does the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus do? Sorry, but I don't remember..

I think Memphis and the pyramids is a nice province to own, especially since you are close to Alexandria, so you can take thast too, if you don't already own it.

[Basileus]

I love cash so it has to be Athens richest city in the game when you get the naval trade going.

[Titus Livius]

Rhodes is nice, and a really cool wonder - (40% increase on naval trade?) ! What does the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus do? Sorry, but I don't remember..

I believe it decreases the building times for structures taking 5 turns or more.

[Craterus]

oh thats why my epic stone walls only take 5 turns now?

I love cash so it has to be Athens richest city in the game when you get the naval trade going.

I don't own Athens and yet I have a huge and prosperous economy of a 2,200,000 denarii treasury and I make 50,000 denarii per turn... Rhodes is a centre of my naval trade but there is a lot of trade between Antioch, Tarsus, Jerusalem, Sidon and Salamis as well. When you own all of those, you'll get some decent naval trade.

[Ellesthyan]

honnourable notice for Crete, I go for Pergamum, one of the better trading cities.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

I am not sure but Carthage does not have good farming does it? That would be a major advantage when blockaded and for population.

[Kekvit Irae]

The Temple of Zeus, for me, is the best wonder in the game. The loyalty bonus to ALL your settlements is VERY nice, especially when you go out on a blitzkrieg campaign and only stop occasionally to train a peasant unit or two. It helps offset the penalty for squalor and distance from your capital.