Okay so I've been playing CIV for about a year now (almost everyday to be exact lol) and Ive been through the War Academy etc etc.

I just have one question for you superior players out there, and its one that I always get stuck on:

I can never decide which siege weapons to build! Catapults, trebuchets, canons. I mean, they have their bonuses but some have bonuses others do not. :crazyeye: Could anyone give me some direction here please!?

Much appreciated!:goodjob:

Ummm....

Always build the most advanced seige weapon (EXCEPTION: Cats and Trebs). If you can build cannons / artillary / mobile artillary, build the most advanced one. Its always better.

Cats (after the discovery of the tech that gives trebs ... engineering??) always get the collateral damage promotion, and trebs always get the city raider. 8 power siege is very powerful in raids, and cats are powerful in breaking up SoDs... Try to avoid attacking non-city tiles with trebs, but keep some cats in you SoD in case you run into a rival SoD in your invasion attempt...

Im no pro, but to me it seems a no-brainer. If you can build artillery, don't go building catapults for seige... in the same way that if you can build mobile infantry, don't build warriors (not that its possible, but hey :P)

Trebs are better for bombardment than cats, but cats are cheaper. When cannons come around, they are better for collateral damage, and are better at bombarding cities with walls/castles, but trebs are still better at bombarding wall/castle-less cities.

I thought Cannon was better than Cats and Trebs in every way.

Base treb bombard is -16% (-4% if city has walls+castle). Base cannon bombard is -12%. Go figure.

Is it even possible to still build cats/trebs when you get cannons? I don't think so... I think the only two siege units that can be built at the same time is cats and trebs, and I always go for trebs with the CR promotions

Base treb bombard is -16% (-4% if city has walls+castle). Base cannon bombard is -12%. Go figure.

Well, keep in mind that Cannons do not ever have to worry about walls/castles, so thats why.

Is it even possible to still build cats/trebs when you get cannons? I don't think so... I think the only two siege units that can be built at the same time is cats and trebs, and I always go for trebs with the CR promotions

No, but hopefully, you will have some Accuracy endowed trebs still hanging around. My point is: don't upgrade them all yet, leave some for the cities your next war victim didn't build walls in.

Also, if your enemy has researched Rifling and Economics, does the bombardment reduction still apply? It says all except defense bonus disappears, but I'm not sure if that's a defensive bonus.

Well, keep in mind that Cannons do not ever have to worry about walls/castles, so thats why.
Not always. If the defending civ is behind in tech and still has their walls and castles not obsoleted.

Um... not quite. Castles and walls only apply to non-gunpowder units. Cannons are gunpowder units, and thus the Castles and walls do not apply to them, no matter what the techs of the defender. The defender could have just unlocked castles, and if the attack is with cannons and muskets, they do stuff all. Ironically Galleons are also gunpowder units too (Just found that out today :D). If only I could make them bombard... the only gunpowder unit that doesn't require gunpowder (Frigates require chemistry which requires gunpowder, yes?)

Anyway, that almost sums it up:

For outside cities Cannon > Catapult > Trebs

For attacking cities Cannon > Trebs > Catapult

For bombarding cities Trebs > Cannon > Catapult.

Obviously, use the correct promotions :P And Mobile Artillery > Artillery > All other seige weapons. (I am not sure where machine guns fit in... :P)

wow thanks you guys are awesome!:mischief:

Yeah my main worry was deciding between trebs and catapults. All cleared up now!

Thanks!

I thought a cannon was a siege unit? I don't have it in front of me, but it makes sense.

Machine guns are seige units too

Obviously, use the correct promotions :P And Mobile Artillery > Artillery > All other seige weapons. (I am not sure where machine guns fit in... :P)

Well, Machine guns are classified as seige weapons, but they can only defend. Their use is situational, but I like to have a few around to defend my SOD while entering enemy territory and to guard my newly conquered cities.

As machine guns have become IMMUNE to collateral damage, they do very well against rival siege weapons. Thrown in a few promotions and they do their job better. Drill machine guns in the field absolutely destroy any attacking enemy cannons...The rest of your stack may need to stop and heal, but your MGs will be in good shape. :goodjob:

Well maybe it means that it works in a seige as a seige weapon.

So its a defending seige weapon.

I thought a cannon was a siege unit? I don't have it in front of me, but it makes sense.
Yeeeeeaaaaahhhh, it is.

I think they made MGs a siege weapon so that the ever popular Pinch promotion won't work against them. Even the AI never takes the Charge promotion. Their immunity to collateral damage, +50% vs. gunpowder, immunity to Pinch and those first strikes make them the best defensive units both inside and outside of cities up until tanks and marines.

Artillery and Mobile Artillery also get +50% vs. siege weapons, making them pretty effective against MGs.

I think there should be more Siege Weapons

Catapults are good on the field. They should upgrade to Field Cannons (replaces Cannon. Causes collateral as usual)

Trebuchets are good at taking down cities. So they should upgrade to a Bombard (Gunpowder siege weapon, available with the Cannon and has more strength than a Trebuchet)

Later on, the Field Cannon can upgrade to a Howitzer (uses Artillery graphic and is good on the field for more collateral)

The Bombard can become a Artillery (designed for city raiding and is more armoured and bigger-looking)

In modern times, the Howitzer becomes a MLRS (Multiple Launch Missile System, not accurate but causes a lot of collateral damage) and the Artillery becomes the Mobile Artillery.

That way, you still have to specialise your weapons in combat. What do you think?