Strong Structures
From the outset, Byzantine buildings have 10 percent more hit points than the buildings of other civilizations. This bonus improves with each age, going to 20 percent in the Feudal Age, 30 percent in the Castle Age, and 40 percent in the Imperial Age. What this does is let the Byzantine player last longer during rushes. His towers are also more effective because they last longer. Sandy Petersen, Age II designer says, "All Byzantine buildings get additional hit points. These increase over time, when more effective siege techniques become available. Fundamentally, this bonus means that attackers need extra time to accomplish their work of destruction. This additional time can be used by an effective Byzantine player for a variety of purposes - to pump out a few more troops from a beset barracks, get out one last demolition ship from the burning dock, gain a few more seconds for allied help to arrive while waiting behind a threatened wall. Consider: A Byzantine keep does 40 percent more damage to attackers than other civs' keeps, simply by outlasting them."

click to enlarge.

Cheap Counter Units
The Byzantines have a significant bonus when purchasing the three counter units of skirmishers, pikemen, and camels. The skirmishers counter archers, the pikemen counter war elephants and cavalry, and the camels counter all horse-mounted units. For Byzantines, these units are 25 percent cheaper. This means when you are being attacked by a horde of one unit type, you can get more counter units out than any other civilization. Coupled with your buildings' high hit points, this bonus lets you counter rushes more effectively than many other civilizations. Says Petersen, "All these [counter units] are significantly cheaper for Byzantines. Add cataphracts to the mix, and the Byzantines have the keys to defeat almost any conceivable combination of enemy troops."

click to enlarge.

Strong Fire Ships
The fire ship is a seagoing counter unit that is best at taking down ships at short range. It spits a rapid stream of Greek fire at enemy ships. Byzantine fire ships do 20 percent more damage per attack. Petersen says, "As the inventors of Greek fire, the Byzantines naturally have excellent fire ships and, as in Rise of Rome, fire ships are best [used] defensively."

Imperial Age Bonus
The last bonus of the Byzantines is that for them, jumping to the Imperial Age costs 33 percent less. This savings lets the Byzantine player leap to the final age faster than anyone else. With the several minutes this bonus buys the Byzantine player, he can quickly crank out Imperial Age troops before the other players and land a killing blow. However, this bonus really needs a plan of attack for a player to take advantage of it. If you scramble up to the Imperial Age but don't know what to do when you get there, you have wasted the bonus. But if you jump to the Imperial Age and have a strategy lined out, it could give you a huge advantage.

Next: Unique unit