The Spanish get a huge early economic boost through their ruins bonus, but no powerful lasting bonuses. With this early lead they can choose to mount a powerful early attack, boom slightly and launch a larger attack, or boom heavily and get to Gunpowder Age before anyone, where their Tercios unique units afford them a huge advantage against cavalry (as the only heavy infantry unit in gunpowder age with a ranged attack). Regardless of the path the Spanish player chooses, he has to maintain the advantage he gets early in the game because he has no lasting bonus.

Start with the map explored and an extra Scout

Why is it important?

The Spanish are able to make the best choices in where to scout early in the game, and able to scout the most ground the fastest. This not only uncovers plenty of rare resources (allowing them to pick which ones they wish to harvest first), it affords them helpful tactical options such as knowing where the good resources are located (particularly important on maps with limited forests or mountains). This allows Spanish players to push their territory out towards these areas sooner than other nations are able to. The other benefit of superb Spanish scouts is, of course, the extra ruins they will pick up.

How do I maximize this nation power?

• Manually scout: Learning to manually scout - and do it well - is a very important skill if you plan on playing the Spanish often. The Auto-Explore AI generally does its job well, but it won't know tricks like checking the corners for the ruin that's almost always found there.

Scout line receives +3 line of sight, is upgraded for free, and uses abilities faster


Why is it important?

Not only do the Spanish start with two scouts, their scouts see farther and are automatically upgraded. Often you won't make too many scouts beyond your starting scouts (except to counter spies) and so generally the automatic upgrading and abilities portions of this bonus go unnoticed. They're still helpful, but this bonus is primarily worthwhile because the extra line of sight lets you capture more ruins - and perhaps spot enemy army movements easier. After the map is entirely explored, it's often a good idea to move your scouts into a location near the enemy border to keep an eye on what he's up to. When they upgrade automatically into explorers, they'll actually remain hidden while not moving! This allows them to provide great scouting of the enemy without revealing themselves.

Until Industrial Age, receive a free Heavy Ship when you build a Dock

Why is it important?

This augments the ability for the Spanish to control the seas. Ensure that you compare the price for a new dock with the price to make a heavy ship - after a couple docks, they actually become much more expensive than simply creating the heavy ships at your existing docks!

How do I maximize this nation power?

• Early sea dominance: Because this heavy ship is instantly created when your dock is finished, it is often very helpful for scouting the seas and (more importantly) attacking your opponent's early fishing ventures. An early heavy ship gives you a great naval advantage early in the game when your opponent is more concerned with creating 3-4 fishing ships than making military vessels.

Receive 35 resources from Ruins, +35 for each Science tech


Why is it important?

It's undeniably the best Spanish bonus and every Spanish player should make full use of it. With the vast resources collected from ruin exploration, the Spanish player will be catapulted ahead in the early game. The only trick is maintaining the early advantage this nation power provides. Once the ruins are gone, you're on your own.

How do I maximize this nation power?

• Research the first two Science technologies immediately: Research the first Science technology right away, get a single ruin (1-2 ruins are usually visible in your territory at the start of the game), then construct a Temple. This will give you enough wealth to research the second Science technology. It's important to note that your first ruin will only provide wealth if that is your lowest current resource - so don't make too many farms or citizens at the start. After the second science tech is started, scout like a madman! Each ruin will give you 105 resources! Depending on the game and how many ruins have already been collected, it may even be effective to research a third Science technology at the library early in the game, further reducing the cost of your early technologies and further increasing the value of whatever remaining ruins you manage to scavenge.

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