By Vincent Haoson (Vincenthaoson), Onrpg Writer
Travian is a browser based game where you are a chief of a village and try to make your town into a prosperous nation that is either centered on warfare or a nation that is wealthy through trading and peaceful settlements with your neighboring villages.
The Three Tribes of Travian
You can choose from the three tribes that are part of Travian, You can become the leader of the Romans, the Teutons or of the Gauls. Each Tribe has its own weakness and strengths and it is your responsibility as the leader of your tribe to maximize the Tribe’s potential.
Romans in Travian are the most balanced in the three tribes. They’re the most newbie friendly among the three tribes. However Roman units take longer to create compared to the Teutons and the Gauls. Furthermore, the Romans are the only tribe that can extend a building and a resource field simultaneously.
Meanwhile the Gauls are the defensive tribe in Travian. Their units have a better defense rating than
any of the three tribes of Travian. The Gauls, if used by players correctly, can be the most versatile among the three tribes.
Lastly the Teutons are the offensive type tribe in Travian. Their units are more tailored for plundering and inflicting serious damage to whoever crosses their paths. Players would need to be very experienced in the game to be able to maximize the bonus this tribe has.
Travian Gameplay
As you play Travian, you’d need to develop the land that you are currently lord over. You have to develop not only the structures within your territory but also the resource zones that are circled around it.
There are four resource tiles that are found in the game. You need to upgrade them as you continue playing to provide the necessary resources that your village needs. The four resource tiles are as follows: wood, clay, iron and wheat. Balancing the field upgrades with the structures is the key to making your tribe into a strong and flourishing empire.
Like most browser games of this genre, resources in Travian arrive in real-time. You won’t have to waste too much time. Almost every action in Travian requires time, that is why the pacing of the game is quite slow. This is a problem perhaps to those players who are itching to have a piece of their action in the shortest amount of time.
Conclusion
Travian is a browser game that is very easy to grasp but very hard to master. Getting down the basics won’t really take long because the game itself is not that complicated. The game quests and guides provide you the knowledge and information you need to know how to get around in the game.
In playing Travian, having information is just half of the battle. If you want to survive you need to have a decent strategy on how you handle your resources. Because resources are the key to survival, you have to make sure you have enough to keep your town in tip top shape.
What makes Travian so appealing is that there are no balance issues between those who subscribe to the Travian Plus and those who just play for free. While it is true that those who have the Travian Plus account do have perks, they don’t cause any major imbalance to the whole game. As long as you have a decent strategy you can keep up with those who have the Travian Plus.
Furthermore, the three Travian tribes are quite balanced. True, each tribe has its own strengths and weaknesses, but these can be often offshoot with proper tactics and strategy from the player. As long as you have your cards right and that you have enough troops and resources you can practically defend or defeat the other tribes.
The Battle system in Travian is another commendable feature for the game. Unlike in some Browser-based games, attacking in Travian takes time. This is very helpful for the defending tribe because they have time to mount a defense in their land, much to the dismay of the attacking tribe. The Travian battle system makes players think more of their actions rather than just blindly attacking whoever tickles their fancy.
Travian as a browser game has a high learning curve unlike most browser games where mastering the game is as easy as pie. New players may try to understand the game or just give up. This happens when the player is unluckily positioned in an area where their neighbors are very aggressive. The same goes to an area where their neighbors are either inactive or passive.
Though the game system has a ‘peaceful existence’ feature, the time provided may not be enough to make a player a good strategist, therefore limiting the fun factor of the game for players who are not much into these kinds of games.
The community element in Travian is good comparing it to other browser games of the same genre. The game provides enough leeway for alliances to be well-crafted and organized, thus, giving the game a more solid in-game community that is hard to come by in browser games.
All in all, Travian is one of those rare browser games where being a good economist goes hand in hand in becoming a good military tactician. With the game difficult enough as it is, it has provided players enough information to at least give you the idea of what structure should be created to get certain units. It is still your call if you want to try this game out or not, if you have enough time or think that you are savvy enough to be a good leader then by all means try the game out.
Pros
– Easy to grasp gameplay
– The game loads fast
– There are quests that help new players understand how the game goes
Cons
– Challenging for casual gamers
– The gameplay is easy to grasp but the learning curve is high to be able to maximize your tribe
– Every action takes time.
