Indonesia

Indonesia

Leader	Gajah Mada
Benefit	Spice Islanders
Unique Units	Kris Swordsman
Unique Building	Candi

Introduction

Indonesia is meant to spread out and see the world. Its players benefit from settling far and wide, meeting all manner of people and civilizations. Their passive benefit gives them enough Happiness to easily settle new cities on foreign continents without needing excess Luxuries, Policies, and buildings to account for those unhappy population points that young cities can't often counter.

Kris Swordsmen give the Indonesians some teeth while they're moving through the Classical Era, so their player can mix peaceful settling and martial conquest to match whatever challenges the given map provides. This makes Gajah Mada a fun leader for people who like to play dynamically and mix up their strategies each time they start a new game. The unique Indonesian Luxuries are Cloves, Nutmeg, and Pepper.

Passive Benefits

Spice Islanders

The first three cities founded on continents other than the one where Indonesia started provide a unique luxury resource. These cities can never be razed!

Spice Islanders is awesome if you set yourself up on the right type of map. With Pangaea it's hard to find enough islands to get much out of this, though islands do yield the full benefit of the ability, even if they're just off the coast of the mainland. However, Archipelagos are really fun to play on. Settling becomes a very easy affair, and you have the ability to toss out those first three cities without much of a care in the world. Use this and a focus on Liberty Policies to start a powerful expansion before anyone else.

It's interesting to note that you receive two copies from each of your unique resources. This means that you can keep one for its Happiness benefits and still trade another copy to a neighbor for a decent amount of Gold per turn. This lets Indonesia stay afloat during their costly (and fruitful) expansion.

Unique Strengths

Kris Swordsman

Kris Swordsmen are for gamblers. They have standard Swordsman stats at first, they take the same amount of Production to train, and their Combat isn't any higher or lower than a Swordsman. After their first engagement, Kris Swordsmen reveal their hidden trait, which is determined randomly. Some of these traits are quite useful, though others make your unit more vulnerable and less effective in combat.

The best way to handle this is to train a number of Kris Swordsmen, whet them against barbarians or any other soft targets you can find, and weed out the ones that don't get good upgrades. Put them on garrison duty, sacrifice them on the frontlines as you screen for your siege units, and so forth. It takes practice to make the most of Kris Swordsmen, but they're rather fun once you accept that sometimes they come out as duds.

Candi

Candis are upgraded Garden buildings that have a religious focus as well as helping with Great Person generation (as Gardens already do). The bonus Faith is nice if you're working with more than just a single rival in the area, and it becomes extremely impressive if you found your cities in a central area where multiple religious civilizations are battling it out for supremacy. Use Trade Routes to bring in additional influences while profiting from the extra Gold that these routes yield.

The Big Picture

Indonesia is an enjoyable expansionist nation. They often focus on Liberty and Exploration and can become a potent force on the seas even though their native units and buildings don't have any direct influence on naval power. The fact that they get coastal/island cities quickly gives them an edge for their navy that can sometimes even be enough to daunt militaristic naval nations, such as England. Take that early lead with your easier expansion and ensure that no one else ever gets dangerous enough to knock you out of the naval game. If you manage to secure some of the naval Wonders, it makes your job much easier. Be on the lookout for coastal cities with the potential for decent Production.

After getting cities across multiple continents and islands, start working on trade. Indonesia, being spread out over the sea, should focus on naval and trade technologies. Earn money with your internal trade, and expand on that with naval Trade Routes. This accelerates the flow of religions throughout the area, and that's to your benefit as well. Build Candis to get free Faith from encountering other civilizations with their own beliefs.

Be warned, Indonesia isn't the best nation for beginners. It takes some skill to master their complex mix of unique abilities. Expansion, religion, and a wild card of a unit make for exciting play, but it's also a tricky ride for anyone who has a more regimented playstyle.