Bantu players have elements of Russia's territorial dominance (particularly early in the game) but with more of an economic bonus. The extra City the Bantu receive opens up a number of economic advantages (listed below), not the least of which is the fact that they'll have territorial access to more resources early on than other nations.

Bantu players are fairly flexible, able to choose between using their quick military units to harass their opponent or to utilize their early economic bonus to accelerate their tech to a strong Gunpowder or Enlightenment Age attack. They also are able to field the largest end game armies, provided they have the economy to afford it all.

+1 City Limit (must research at least one Civic) and 75% cheaper Cities.


Why is it important?

This allows Bantu players to get 3 Cities constructed very early. Not only does this allow them to claim a large amount of territory very early in the game, it also is a cheap way to raise early income levels (since Cities innately produce +10 Food and Timber). Bantu players are also generally able to get their 2nd trade route started before other nations.

Not only will this early economic advantage help the Bantu player boom quite well, the bonus will still be felt later in the game when the Bantu dominates more of the map and has more 'buffer cities' to protect the crucial inner economic Cities.

How do I maximize this nation power?

• Build the extra City. It's a no-brainer to construct this City, yet it can be easy to forget to build it. Building a 3rd City very early adds valuable Food and Timber income for cheaper than the cost of a Farm or Woodcutter's Camp.
  
  
• Maximize early territorial control. Early territorial control can lead to many later benefits, such as controlling Mountains, Forests, and key Rare Resources (simultaneously robbing them from opposing nations) exert territorial dominance. The other end of the spectrum is continuing to play a territory-control game in order to keep your opponent starved for resources and to maximize the benefits of Taxation techs (which you'll certainly want to research when you have a large chunk of the land). Just don't underestimate your opponent's ability to produce an army; you can overextend yourself quite easily.
  
  
• One way to avoid letting your opponent exploit your weak points is to put pressure onto one of his major economic Cities (his capital is best, if possible) with a forward Fort or Tower and some military buildings. Once he realizes that one of his major economic Cities is threatened, he'll have to put all his resources into defending it and will have a very hard time splitting off to take one of your more vulnerable Cities. If he does split his resources and take one of your Cities, it's very likely that your force will be able to capture his City - and the City he took will hurt you much less than the important City you took.

+100% population limit. May exceed population limit by 25%.

Why is it important?

Bantu players are much less limited by the population limit than other nations. They can have a significantly larger army than their opponent at any point in the game, particularly in the late game when they're able to field 25% more forces than their opponent. The resources saved researching that military tech can instead go into other purchases instead.

How do I maximize this nation power?

• Spend resources on units instead of Military techs: Instead of getting Military techs to increase your population limit like other nations, spend those resources on a few extra units knowing you won't have to research the Military tech until later. By the time you need to research it, it won't seem nearly as expensive.

Barracks units and Citizens move 25% faster.

Why is it important?

One of the bigger ways this bonus becomes apparent is in how much quicker your Scout moves. This gives you an opportunity for extra ruins. Faster Citizens are harder to kill and while not a very large bonus it's helpful that they'll get to building construction sites and gather buildings faster.

Faster Barracks units have a wide range of uses too. Faster Heavy Infantry means that they'll get into position to attack faster and be able to catch cavalry more easily as well. Fast ranged units means you can potentially use your infantry to harass the enemy, and then disappear into the wilderness with little worry of being caught by anything but cavalry units.

How do I maximize this nation power?

• Light Infantry/Heavy Infantry combo. This works well with the Bantu. Their Umpikati unique Light Infantry line can be massed to force your opponent to go Cavalry, and Heavy Infantry are trickled into the mix. Since your Heavy Infantry are fast, they're both able to reach Cavalry quickly and avoid Archers.
  
  
• Infantry raiding. The Bantu have a definite advantage if they try to use Barracks units to raid. Archers and Light Infantry don't kill Citizens that fast, but if you send them in early enough you can cause severe irritation to your opponent (and possibly convince them to waste valuable resources turtling while you tech ahead of them!)
  
  
• Steal ruins. If you're up to the challenge, try finding the enemy Scout and stealing all of their ruins before they can grab them. It takes a lot of micromanagement prowess, but it can be done if you're fast! Simply have your Scout follow as close to the enemy Scout as possible and then dart in front of him when you spot a ruin. Simultaneously robbing the enemy of extra early resources and gaining resources yourself!

Unit upgrades do not require Military research.

Why is it important?

This bonus is a second reason that Bantu are able to hold off on researching Military technologies until later in the game. As soon as you get to the next age, unit upgrades are already available. This saves you the time and cost of researching the Military tech, potentially giving your army a significant technology advantage for a limited time.

How do I maximize this nation power?

• Upgrade quickly: Immediately use this advantage if you're fighting heavily with your opponent. The increase in attack power and hitpoints may very well end the battle in your favor.
  
  
• Skimp on Military research: Save resources for units and don't get Military techs until you need them. Primarily, Bantu players will research Military techs to fullfill the prerequisite for an Age Advancement, but rarely research them aside from this.

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