Barbarians come from "outposts", which may appear randomly in any tile that cannot be seen by a unit. Each Barbarian unit belongs to its own home outpost. There are three types of Barbarian outposts: Naval, Cavalry, and Melee. A civilization will earn a Gold reward for dispersing a Barbarian outpost − in addition to the benefit of stopping it from spawning more Barbarian units.
Naval Barbarian outposts on the coastline can create naval units (equal to those that can be created by the civilization with the most advanced tech). These units will menace your coastline, destroy naval improvements and attack hapless land units which stray too near the coastline. It's important to maintain a navy to keep them off your back, but the best way to stop these attacks is to destroy the coastal outposts nearby.
Cavalry outposts, appearing inland and near a Horse resource, will spawn mounted units.
Melee outposts include every other instance of Barbarians spawned.
Every outpost will first generate a Scout, searching for targets. If you’re spotted by a Barbarian Scout, it will return to its outpost and begin building units for an invasion or raid. Watch out, because you’re going to be the next target. If you don’t move fast, you’ll soon see a party of Barbarians at your borders, ready to destroy your improvements or conquer your city. This is why it's important to periodically sweep the countryside around your civilization, destroying outposts before they become a threat.
Barbarians
Barbarians come from "outposts", which may appear randomly in any tile that cannot be seen by a unit. Each Barbarian unit belongs to its own home outpost. There are three types of Barbarian outposts: Naval, Cavalry, and Melee. A civilization will earn a Gold reward for dispersing a Barbarian outpost − in addition to the benefit of stopping it from spawning more Barbarian units.
Naval Barbarian outposts on the coastline can create naval units (equal to those that can be created by the civilization with the most advanced tech). These units will menace your coastline, destroy naval improvements and attack hapless land units which stray too near the coastline. It's important to maintain a navy to keep them off your back, but the best way to stop these attacks is to destroy the coastal outposts nearby.
Cavalry outposts, appearing inland and near a Horse resource, will spawn mounted units.
Melee outposts include every other instance of Barbarians spawned.
Every outpost will first generate a Scout, searching for targets. If you’re spotted by a Barbarian Scout, it will return to its outpost and begin building units for an invasion or raid. Watch out, because you’re going to be the next target. If you don’t move fast, you’ll soon see a party of Barbarians at your borders, ready to destroy your improvements or conquer your city. This is why it's important to periodically sweep the countryside around your civilization, destroying outposts before they become a threat.