Travian: A Guide to Playing as Gauls

Gauls are actually the least well represented tribe in Travian. Teutons get a lot of attention for their fast, powerful armies and Romans get praised for their strong infrastructure and powerful late game hammers, but the truth is that the Gauls are extremely powerful in mid and late-game and have some of the best tools for surviving until that point. While they can be played by any player of any skill, a smart and defensive minded player will get the most out of their double capacity crannies and unique trapper building. The trapper is a relatively cheap building with which you can build traps, which ensnare marauding troops. Once ensnared, those troops can do nothing, but still eat up wheat from the offending city. This is a great way to discourage early game farming - in fact, most savvy Teutons and nearly all Romans will avoid you simply for being a Gaul. With your traps and enormous crannies, a Gaul can survive to expand and build without ever having to worry about being raided.

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As a Gaul, your first troop, the Phalanx, leaves a little to be desired. Compared to the Romans and Teutons, it is much more difficult to raid with a Phalanx or make any truly offensive moves. That does not mean that you can't raid with it - you can and you should, it is just less effective than your opponents starting troops. This is more than made up for by the Gaul's next raiding unit: the Theutates Thunder. By far the fastest unit in the game, the Theutates Thunder will expand your raiding zone by three whole screens or more, and strike fear into the hearts of any Teutons who have failed to upgrade to spearmen quickly enough. While you'll start out weak with just your phalanx, if you use your defenses and raid intelligently, you can easily overtake your neighbors with Theutates Thunder.

What's more, your next two cavalry units, the Druidrider and the Haeduan, are both excellent defenders, allowing you to create a fast, powerful defensive army that is the envy of all your opponents. The Haeduan is also a powerful attacker and decent raider, giving the expensive unit a versatility that more than makes up for its price. You will also find that as time goes on, the phalanx, while still ineffective at attacking, are a cheap and powerful defense. So while the Gaul army starts off relatively weak, it soon grows to become quick and deadly, and extremely effective in mid- and endgame wars.

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As a Gaul, your defenses are you strongest asset. This means that a playstyle that favors them will work out far better than an aggressive strategy, especially if you are new to the game or the race. This does not mean that you cannot raid, or that you shouldn't, because you eventually should, just that if you choose to play defensively, this is the best race for it (if you are interested in tips on raiding as a Gaul, check out the raiding guide). As a Gaul, you should follow the quest line closely, especially if you start late and have more than three days of beginners protection. Make sure your cranny is large enough to hold all of your resources, and if you're worried about being attacked, build traps before leaving BP. Whether or not you started out raiding, you should consider rushing to Theutates Thunder - this will allow you to out raid and utterly destroy your Teuton enemies. If you are surrounded by powerful enemies though, you may want to consider pushing for settlers and trying to move away. This is something that only Gaul's can do effectively, because of their powerful defenses. Other tribes have to negotiate, or risk being farmed as they build up resources, since it would take at least eight crannies to protect a Roman or Teuton from attack until they have settlers.

Frequently underestimated, Gauls are an excellent tribe to play as either a beginner or an expert. The powerful defenses give a new player some room to explore and expand, and can give an aggressive player an edge. While it would seem that your defenses lend themselves to a building strategy, a gaul can also be extremely successful as a raider. Play how you see fit. Perhaps the most important advantage of playing Gaul is the fact that even the most aggressive attackers are unlikely to attack you until later in the game. Use this to your advantage! Build cautiously, stay safe, and punish your attackers with your powerful defensive units and traps. With this strategy you can rise to the top of any server.