In a lot of games, I do a little bit of warring throughout, but I don't get really serious until I have researched up to Riflemen. At what point do you usually go on the offensive?

well pretty obviously the praetorian is a pretty good lead unit

Quechua if I am Incas. I have not played Cyrus or Hatty, but those UUs look decent for it too. Usually axemen, sometimes riflemen.

axemen are the first unit i think you can effectivly go on the offensive with, they're just so much fun! *chop chop*

I generally try to hold off until I can do the combined arms thing, so my answer is all of the above... well exept for not warmongering.

I play a defensive game and usually only take the offensive after repelling an attack. I focus on being 1 unit upgrade over the AI. When I'm English, Redcoats are nice.

the warrior is HANDS DOWN the best unit to kick off a war with. I tend to fortify them on a forest square right next to the enemies capital soon after the game begins. This causes them mental angst especially if they are a human player. It also slows them down greatly as they become paranoid to let a settler or worker out of their base without having it heavily escorted...

Axemen are an excellent unit to kick off an attack with, although Catapults are almost a necessity to reduce casualties if the enemy has archer defenses.

I don't really like Swordsmen, as Axes counter them extremely effectively, and their city raider bonus doesn't really make up for it, considering I can promote Axemen to city raider.

Failing an early assault (due to distance or whatever), I WILL roll out with a maceman force, because there should be plentiful catapults by then.

Chop rush a bunch of axemen to carve out a neighbour and a few free cities. However my 'take over the world' unit is Redcoats.

If I'm Russian, the Cossack, if not infantry. Actually I kick off my war with the destroyer.

Usually with Axemen, but it can depend on my situation.

I usually wait until I have Catapults before I go on a rampage. There's usually enough barbarians to keep me busy until then (and beyond), anyway.

Quechua if I am Incas. I have not played Cyrus or Hatty, but those UUs look decent for it too. Usually axemen, sometimes riflemen.
Those UUs are more than decent.

So where is the horsearcher/chariot? Also, it depends on if its single player or multiplayer. In multiplayer, horsearchers are one of the best early offensive units for their annoyance factor, then switch up to axe/catapult for the kill.

Do you guys play on smaller sized maps. I play mainly on huge Archipelago maps and you need a good navy to start any war.

O to be Catherine the Great. The Cossack kicks *. I find myself usually fighting against bows and arrows with guns. Never bring a sword or arrow to a gun fight!

Cho-Ko-Nu usually, but if I need a war earlier i'll use axemen and horse archers.

Toss up between axeman and warrior, but i chose warrior.

Usually play Russia - and wait until Cossacks if I can.

Axemen, since it's a very early unit to get, and at that time the AI usually doesn't have anything more than one or maybe two archers defending their cities. This is the unit I use on my first major war, but they don't last any longer than that. I wouldn't go from one war into another (or crush one civ and move onto the next) without getting Catapaults in between.

I have found that an early attack is quite profitable from an empire-size perspective... (eventually)

How can you start your first war with units that come in the later half of the game? Even playing peacefully, you can't win with a handful of cities unless you get a lucky cultural win.


The key to victory is to war early and war often. I usually start with 8 axes. Then axes + cats then maces + cats and then grenadiers + cats. That's usually enough to get 40-70% of the land.

There is always some early minor conquests...barbarian cities, and maybe a city from one of my neighbors very early. Those are usually done with axemen, or maybe chariots (or war chariots/immortals, as applicable). Those are usually limited to small, fairly isolated battles though...with the objective of getting a key city or two. A significant war chariot/immortal rush is the occasional exception to this rule.

The question, however, was about a 'First Major Offensive'. I usually don't do that until catapults...then I build a major invasion force. Whether it features axemen, swordmen, macemen, or whatever (usually a combination of axemen/swordmen) doesn't matter so much. Throw in a couple spears to help defend the invasion force, some mounted units as 'linebackers' to protect my territory from pillagers or a counter-invasion, and then the major offensive begins...but the key to it all is getting catapults...

Catherine, emporer. Chop rush Axeman for a 2-3 cities rush to get more land/resources. Hunker down and beeline for the killer cossacks.

A nice stack of Axes with City Raider can usually do the job on a few cities that are only defended by 2-3 archers. That's when I go.

I suggest your move is whenever you have a competitive advantage. That may be early with axes, it may require waiting until catapults, or even cavalry. But be in a position to make quick decisive wars when you can.

If my civ has a good early UU, then it will be my trigger point. Otherwise Axe's are often a good place to start.

I want to finish the game as early as possible so my war starting unit is either axeman or praetorian (when I play as Romans).

Macemen, after getting the CS slingshot. Can overwhelm other Civs with just a handful of them. If not, I'll wait until catapults and war elephants.

I usually knock out another civ with axemen (thus my first major war), this will allow me to wait for the renassance with a good tech lead. I skip knights, hit cavalry, victory is assured.

Toss up between axeman and warrior, but i chose warrior.

I won't attack before having axes (emperor), but do you realy attack with warriors or just post 1 or 2 at forest-hill near enemy city's?

Do you ever attack a city with a warrior? Seems impossible to me. Just snatch a worker? But how long does it take to sue for peace?

I am just curious, haven't did it before except the Inca rush/hold up.

For me its axemen.

Axemen, though not always - if there's a weak civ nearby that might fall to some archers, that's it, and if I haven't gotten axemen quickly and the nearby civs have City-I archers, then I might focus inward till I have some swordsmen.

I won't attack before having axes (emperor), but do you realy attack with warriors or just post 1 or 2 at forest-hill near enemy city's?

Do you ever attack a city with a warrior? Seems impossible to me. Just snatch a worker? But how long does it take to sue for peace?

I am just curious, haven't did it before except the Inca rush/hold up.

With Inca, take out the entire civ with Quechuas.

With other civs, use a warrior to steal a worker, bunker up on a forested hill and finish them up with axemen. The war is therefore started with warriors and finished with axemen.

Sue for peace? Not if you're a decent warmonger you don't!

Usually it's my chosen civ's UU. So, Praetorians if I'm Caesar, Redcoats if I'm Elizabeth, Cossacks if I'm Catherine.

In answer to the previous poster wondering about waiting for a mid-game UU before starting a war, yes, it can be done, I do it on a regular basis--especially as Liz or Cathy. The key is an early land-grab, founding a city at a choke-point to seal off a good-sized chunk of your continent from rivals (or a continent all to yourself, but on the higher levels, I have yet to be that lucky). You then delay or even avoid Open Borders agreements and backfill your claimed area with the rest of your core 6-8 cities. When they're good and established, it's time to go a-conquerin'.

A lot depends on your neighbours with that strategy, of course; if Monty, Alex, Isabella, or Tokugawa are next door, forget it--you're fighting an early war just to survive. It works better if you have "slow burn" neighbours like Louis, Bismark, or Huayna, or easily-mollified ones like Cyrus, Hatty, Mansa, and Washington.

the warrior is HANDS DOWN the best unit to kick off a war with. I tend to fortify them on a forest square right next to the enemies capital soon after the game begins. This causes them mental angst especially if they are a human player. It also slows them down greatly as they become paranoid to let a settler or worker out of their base without having it heavily escorted...

The only way you can do this is with open borders. If war is declared, your warriors get booted out of the enemy civ's territory, so I don't know how threatening that can be.

Seems like a waste of precious early-game military units. Those warriors could be clearing the fog, exploring, escorting, etc.

Axemen, but I'm surprised that my second-choice best attacking unit (grenadier) is not in the list

The only way you can do this is with open borders. If war is declared, your warriors get booted out of the enemy civ's territory, so I don't know how threatening that can be.

Seems like a waste of precious early-game military units. Those warriors could be clearing the fog, exploring, escorting, etc.
Actually, you have it backwards. You declare war, move the unit into position, and let the AI fill its shorts.

I did this to Monty once. Kept him hemmed in, preoccupied, and tied down until I developed and built enough units to take him out, especially since he had to also go by this unit to get to the chokepoint/land bridge to the rest of the continent. That warrior, fortified on a forested hill in Monty's capiol's fat X, took out several units and got to level 3 so I could build heroic epic before he finally succumbed to an onslaught of jaguars.

Axemen with City Raider have a great window of oppurtunity where the AI is mostly defending with Archers and maybe the occasional Spearman. You can usually grab a few border cities, although be sure to watch out for cities on hills. If you wait too long, the AI will also have Axe's or worse, Horse Archers which tend to devestate Axes.

I usually start attacking other civs once I've got either Axemen or Swordsmen. I prefer to have Swordsmen, as their bonuses to attacking cities come in handy early game when you haven't got too many catapults lying around.

"That warrior, fortified on a forested hill in Monty's capiol's fat X, took out several units and got to level 3 so I could build heroic epic before he finally succumbed to an onslaught of jaguars."

Omg...what an inglorious end, lol. How depressing would a "heroic epic" based on that warrior's life be?

I usually start with axemen, although by the end I have cats/swords and sometimes maces. Usually start on the weak cities and save the capital for last, where the cats are needed.

I try to get axemen as soon as possible (even if it involves building a city on the copper to get the resource more quickly), and, preferably with a barracks, start spamming/chopping axeman with the city raider promotion. If my nearest neighbor is not aggressive, this will often be enough to destroy him relatively quickly, but if aggressive, it may take slightly longer to finish the deed. I would then prefer to wait a little while for my next war in order to develop my newly-acquired land.

i usaully use swordsmin since they have the incressed city attack. Lots of swardman, then archers for defence.

I almost always start my first war off with axemen and catapults, but once I get riflemen I take advantage of any civ without gunpowder.

i dont fight until i have swordman they are very good for that time, especialy when you are the first one to have them

Tanks, though calvary is also cool but when i get tanks watch out!

I tend to build my empire by peasful means untill I can´t expand anymore. When that happens I usually got my first macemen out.

Civs have a UU for a reason. Take advantage of them! Whenever I have been Aztec I find that jaguars are amazing in early battles. Praetorians are also very strong for an early unit.

Do you guys play on smaller sized maps. I play mainly on huge Archipelago maps and you need a good navy to start any war.

That's what I was doing, until recently. I went through a rash of just building one wonder after another. Grabbin up land space so I could build more. LOL

Then, once I realized that was my tactic...I had to change it. I haven't, actually, played a arch map in awhile now, since I'm using the Germans. I have been playing more contient maps. Now I rush the tech straight to Panzers, and go from there. :) Usually, by the time the Panzer comes in, I have a fe transports on the way. Then, I'm ready to rule the world. LOL

I don't like starting wars with axemen. It gives the other players a great advantage if they don't have to spend the start of the game building troops.

I don't like starting wars with axemen. It gives the other players a great advantage if they don't have to spend the start of the game building troops.
Not necessarily, if those axes take a couple more cities and snag an extra resource or three. I'd much rather stall infrastructure and sieze 20% more land early on (and extra health and happiness) than be content with my starting cities for too long. You can lean on that land advantage, and the rest of the game will just snowball downhill to an early(er) domination victory (IMO).

Axeman. Chop! Chop!

I raze the enemy civ's outer cities on the way to the capital. The money from razing is used to keep my Science % up and until CoL and Courthouses, I can't usually afford to keep all of the cities anyway.

Usually, I end up capturing the enemy's capital and best city about the time of CoL, so I keep those, build Courthouses and the Forgotten Palace in the enemy capital and then go back and fill in between my capital and the enemy capital (while I'm chop-choping away a third civ).

:) I wait until I got catapult so I can decrease defense %.