The Turks are a military nation with the best siege units in the game. Even though only two of their siege units are unique units, which incidentally appear in Gunpowder  and Enlightenment Age, all of their siege benefits greatly from +3 range. Their siege is also automatically upgraded, often affording them large advantages in the middle of a battle as their already great siege weapons become much better. Added to this great siege bonus are a number of other useful bonuses, including 33% cheaper military research, 33% cheaper citizens, and enemy cities assimilate 200% faster when captured.
During playtesting for Rise of Nations, one playtester became famous for strangely attempting to counter a huge bloodthirsty army by getting absolutely nothing else except two catapults. The failed attempt was labeled "tech to catapults" and was joked about for some time afterwards. Even more entertaining was the fact that the Turks do have a very effective tech to catapults - they just have to have an army to back up those powerful early siege units.
In 1v1 games, "tech to catapults" can be accomplished by advancing rapidly through Military 1, Classical Age, and Military 2, and working on your economy just enough to be able to afford 2 siege factories, a stables, and as many early cavalry units as you can field - usually light cavalry. The Turk player then attacks with this army of catapults and light cavalry, trickling in as many reinforcement cavalry as possible (you'll probably want some horse archers to be able to counter heavy infantry effectively). The savings in food costs of the military techs cause this rush to be slightly faster than the norm, and the 4 catapults make quick work of early buildings. The cavalry army is usually fairly small, yet is large enough to handle most early opposition. Raiding citizens while sieging is encouraged if the enemy is trying to get a barracks up to counter the rush, or simply to further hurt the enemy economy. Once a city is taken, that city will assimilate 200% faster. When it's done assimilating, feel free to create a few citizens at that city to repair it or work nearby farms (remember that you can work enemy gather buildings like farms at a city you capture, even before assimilation).
In team games, "tech to catapults" can be part of a brutal dual rush strategy. The Turk player agrees to provide the siege and concentrates solely on producing siege factories for free siege units. The other player concentrates on his best early military unit(s). When the large double rush reaches one of the enemy players they will be eliminated very quickly - it simply takes too long for his ally to aid him if the rush wasn't expected. The downside to this rush is that the two attacking players have relatively weak economies immediately following the rush. If they manage to take out a player, it's usually worth it.
 All Siege, Bombardment, and Artillery units have +3 range and +3 Line of Sight
Why is it important?
Turk siege has fantastic range, able to strike enemy buildings from much farther away than other nations. This can allow Turk players to siege from a much safer range, perhaps with the aid of an offensive tower. By doing this, Turk siege units are more difficult to destroy because they can stay farther back and be guarded easier.
How do I maximize this nation power?
- Use offensive towers: Offensive towers can cover sieges that occur at or near your own border. They provide helpful cover fire and a spot for frontline troops to heal when they get low on health (with the added benefit of helping the tower shoot faster in most cases).
- Defend siege with your army: Obviously offensive towers only work in situations where you're breaking an outer city. In situations where you're not attacking a city next to your border, ensure that your army forms a natural wall around your siege units. This is easier with the extra siege range because there's more room for you to place that army without being shot at by buildings like forts or cities. Ideally you should keep the back of the siege protected by your wall of units, as well as the front. Remember that cavalry flanking is a favored tactic for killing siege, so heavy infantry are often a good unit choice for siege defense duty.
 Receive 2 free siege units whenever you build a Siege Factory
Why is it important?
This saves lots of time and resources on creating siege units, allowing 2 siege units to be created simply by constructing a siege factory (or a factory, in post-industrial ages). This bonus is used extensively in nearly every strategy the Turks employ.
How do I maximize this nation power?
- Tech to catapults: Follow the descriptions above and try it out!
- Gunpowder age power strike: Of course, this bonus isn't just useful in Classical Age. Another strategy revolves around creating a large Gunpowder Age army with heavy Basilica Bombard support. To use this strategy, concentrate on economy until you approach Gunpowder Age. Cheaper Turk citizens help their economy immensely in this case. Your target army will be composed of mainly janissaries, with pikemen and light cavalry support, but you'll have to start constructing them in early-mid Medieval Age if it's going to be a big enough army by the time you reach Gunpowder Age. Try to have military techs advanced 1-2 columns ahead of your current age - each column results in a 5% cost reduction in military upgrades and units. Your siege should be created last, by plopping down 2-4 siege factories which will yield 4-8 basilica bombard cannons.
During the attack, as with any attack made in Rise of Nations, you should continue to concentrate on military reinforcements, increasing your economy, and of course managing your military units. The trick is finding the correct balance between spending your resources on reinforcements and increasing your economy. Too large an army can sometimes be a bad thing if your opponent manages to secure a large technology advantage. The other side of the coin - not spending enough on military - can result in your current army being massacred on the field of battle. It's a balancing act that relies on your ability to recognize what your opponent is doing and to adapt accordingly. This includes taking in factors like (a) how much damage your attacks are doing, (b) the state of your current economy, and (c) your opponent's nation and the probable state of his current economy. Expert players are those who can go over these things automatically in their head and change their strategy far in advance.
Citizens 33% cheaper
Why is it important?
The amount of food spent on citizens over the course of the game is staggering. This nation power cuts the cost of citizens by a significant amount, providing the Turks a great economic bonus - even though they are primarily a military nation.
How do I maximize this nation power?
- Militia: It's hard to maximize this nation power in any specific way. An enhanced use of militia is probably one of the few ways a player could specifically use this nation power. Even so, most of the time it won't be effective to use militia to bolster your attack forces. It's best to simply let the food savings pile up in the background as you pay less for each citizen than other nations would.
Conquered Cities assimilate 200% faster
Why is it important?
This is a great unique bonus that the Turks have which allows captured cities to be used much quicker than other nations. This works well with their siege and cheaper citizen bonuses. A Turk army can siege a city, wait around briefly for that city to be assimilated, then create cheap citizens at that city to repair it and begin working at any existing gather buildings.
How do I maximize this nation power?
- Build defenses around recently assimilated cities: Quite often it is very difficult to assimilate a city and guard it. This is primarily because the enemy's reinforcements are coming from nearby while your own reinforcements have a long distance to travel. Other nations may capture a city briefly only to have that army destroyed a couple minutes later when the enemy army marches in. The Turks have some pretty great advantages in this situation. The city will have been assimilated in the meantime - and while your reinforcement army is still marching across the map to help out, some citizens created at that city are already working on creating a tower and repairing the city before the enemy even arrives. Additionally, because the city is assimilated you have friendly territory in the area. This means attrition damage to the enemy army and the option to entrench your troops if you have a general. Between all of these advantages, this makes securing cities much easier.
Siege units upgrade for free
Why is it important?
Turkish siege will automatically upgrade when the appropriate military and age prerequisites are met. This saves time and resources and frees up the siege factories to continue constructing new siege units if necessary.
Military research 33% cheaper
Why is it important?
Military technologies at the library are necessary for unit upgrades and also provide a cost reduction of 5% per military tech you have above your current age. For the Turks, this means they can utilize the bonus of keeping military techs ahead of their current age much easier than other nations. It also affords them the ability to use fairly brutal rush tactics, particularly when paired with cheaper citizens. Even if the Turk player decides not to plunge his military research beyond his current age, he will still save a significant amount of resources that can be spent on either military units or other library techs.
How do I maximize this nation power?
- Plunge military techs: Researching military techs ahead of your current age can save a lot of resources if done just before you create a large army.
- Rush your opponent: Utilize one of the rushes already mentioned above, try a 5-hoplite ancient age rush, or devise your own rushing strategy that makes use of their extremely cheap military tech.
» Strategy Index
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