I find, that my "preferred" (I.e. I do this when everything goes according to plan, so never.) strategy is to do most of my conquest in the rifleman, grenadier, cavalry, cannon age, when castles aren't so bothersome.

So what to do with my army of doom before that? Well, I do conquer people before that if I'm massively stronger than they are, but more often, I run around and pillage their improvements, both to cut at their economy and to give me some nice $$$$$ in which to finance more teching


So I was wondering, how much do you all pillage the enemy?

It depends.

If it's a nearby opponent whose lands I want to integrate into my own, obviously I'm interested in keeping collateral damage low.

If it's an overseas war, I'll pillage relentlessly. Ideally, there won't be a single improvement left standing. I'll raze cities regardless if they house wonders or holy shrines, and then I'll make sure I pillage the ruins as well. If the region is still heavily forested when I come around, I like to use captured workers to chop, slash, and burn all the woodlands as well.

It depends.

If it's a nearby opponent whose lands I want to integrate into my own, obviously I'm interested in keeping collateral damage low.

If it's an overseas war, I'll pillage relentlessly. Ideally, there won't be a single improvement left standing. I'll raze cities regardless if they house wonders or holy shrines, and then I'll make sure I pillage the ruins as well. If the region is still heavily forested when I come around, I like to use captured workers to chop, slash, and burn all the woodlands as well.

Scorched earth policy? :eek:

You should leave the ruins though. They're a nice touch.

I do it occasionally. I'll definitely pillage Iron/Copper during an early rush, often will pillage fishing boats/nets when my opponent has no navy, and will occasionally pillage undefended land improvements while conquering. But as those cities will be mine eventually, I prefer to keep most improvements around.

I like to pick fights, even if I'm not necessarily strong enough (yet) to outright conquer them. So for those cities that are too strongly garrisoned to cap, I may pillage.

Sometimes if I'm playing a "peaceful" game, I may start wars with no intention of capturing cities at all (will raze though). This is always in the late game when I'm content with my number of cities and usually when I'm trying to take advantage of a newly available unit. Pillaging comes naturally in this situation.

Will also take the opportunity to pillage metal in an early war.

I sometimes find it helpful to pillage the roads leading into a city that I'm attacking. Either it leaves the AI unable to bring in extra reinforcements (beyond what it can whip) or makes it take long enough for me to hit them out in the open before they can get the city defense or culture bonuses.

I will generally pillage everything around cities I dont intend to take, or keep after taking, but with cities I plan to make my own, I will only pillage the stuff I would normally build over (AI makes a lot of farms, for example, so I pillage them before taking it if I am playing a CE).

I have been known to go on a "cottage rampage" if I am low on cash, though, simply because you can get a ton of cash out of an enemy town or hamlet.

The only exception is the early rushes, where I will pillage metal, even if I plan to take the city. Oh, and it can be important to pillage roads BEFORE you take cities, since you cant destroy your own roads.

Short answer: never. I suppose the occasional resource, but usually never.

Welcome to CFC Picard :band:

It's a way of life! (with Keshiks) ^^

I don't pillage very often, but this is a weakness. I'm so into 'total conquest' that I miss the benefits of a pillage strategy. Need to work on it!

Best wishes,

Breunor

I usually pillage what I can after a war around cities that I've razed. Healed units might also do a little pillaging if there's time while I'm healing up units in preparation of once more moving a SOD. Perhaps not the optimal for the economy, but the wars are shorter and that's my priority.

Almost never. During an early rush I'll pillage a copper or iron mine, but beyond that, i don't attack unless I can take out the entire civ at once, I dont like doing things half assed. in that situation pillaging is counterproductive as the cities will soon be mine.

Scorched earth policy? :eek:

You should leave the ruins though. They're a nice touch.
If only you could salt the earth so that nothing would ever grow again! As for the ruins, in BtS I think there is at least one positive event involving ruins, so it sounds like a good idea to clear them away.

Well typically I walk around the earth with huge SOD (stacks of death). As I wander, I pillage every cottage I see in order to pay for the maintenance costs of the huge army. I raze cities as I go a long as well.

In BTS, leave ruins as is. A Random Event will give a research bonus if they're in your culture.

I pillage all the time with certain civilizations.

Zulu Pillaging Division: Archer, Axeman, Impi, Impi.

Mongolian Pillage Squad: Longbow, Crossbow/Mace/Axe, Pikeman, Keshik, Keshik.

It only moves one square, but then the Keshiks or Impis pillage whatever square they move into... even mines on hills!

I recently played on a huge map and China declared war on me and was not much smaller than I was and had a lot of mountains I had to overcome with tanks and infantry. So I sent in armies and pillaged their capitol and every metropolis or city close to becoming a metropolis.

Worked with devastating effect, however, just before I destroyed them it seemed as though the entire world declared war on me including russia who was at that time more powerful than I according to me advisor.

Still playing, so don't know how it is all going to work out. But my vote is that pillaging does have it's times where it levels the ground. For the most part though, I like to leave the improvements, especially railroads, if at all possible.

I find that most overseas wars can pay for themselves by playing with a scorched earth policy. In the long run, trying to pacify the natives and turn them into productive citizens of my empire is usually quite expensive and so in most cases I will fight wars with the objective of crippling or outright eliminating the enemy civs. Overseas wars begin with naval bombardments of coastal cities, with advance raiding parties inserted along coastlines to destroy as many towns, farms and resource tiles as possible. This has the added bonus of confusing the AI and exposing some of his city defenders to attack in the field... Where they are more easily handled. This phase of a war is usually quite profitable, and it serves to get some free experience for my units and piles of gold for the treasury while the main invasion forces are en route. Of course, once they get there, I generally continue along this path by razing most enemy cities, and continuing to pillage the lands. Then again, I really do get a kick out of watching AI cities fall in population as my roaming knights strip it's production cross bare... So this may not be for everyone. :nuke:

The only time I don't pillage is if a) I'm going to keep the city and it has a lot of mature cottages, b) I'll have the city taken within 1-2 turns, or c) I don't have time to do and need to keep my forces moving.

Pillaging is great. It can totally cripple their economy (I think the AI always runs a CE) and can give some decent money. Crank out some Keshiks and go wild!

Never pillaging unless I can cut the enemy's access to metal / horses.

Early on, I love to steal all their workers, then pillage the hell out of an opponent I'm not able to beat outright... it can set them back centuries at virtually no cost to myself.
I can return a number of times raiding and bullying for techs, and when I've grown into my natural borders and wish to expand I will face a crippled civ.

By the time I have access to siege units, I'd rather take cities outright though.

Its especially fun to find a small island with a few barb cities on it, and pillage the whole thing for the cash. You get decent money off cottaged tiles, depending how big they have gotten. Often the cities are in weak areas of tundra and ice, so unless they have a resource you dont, its not worth the maintenance to keep them, so pillage away and crank up that tech slider another notch without fear of a higher "You declared war on our friend" diplomacy hit.

I'll pillage if I have to end a war before taking a bunch of cities - meaning the AI will need to rebuild everything for me before I invade again, but it slows them down.

One exception: Keshiks. I think it's reasonable to keep a 4 AI continent on its knees with nothing but an early enough pile of keshiks. Pillage everything, hunt workers and make sure no one hooks up iron or copper, and you can essentially reserve all the AI capital spots for yourself once you build some catapults and get them there.

Remove culture, suicide a couple, and pile the pillage-happy keshiks in for the kill. It's really quite lovely.

I do milited pillaging (resources + the odd tile now and then) because I often don't have the units/time to do so.
When you send a fast moving stack behind enemy lines, you don't want to stop and go sightseeing, do you? That's what the AI does, and we all know it sucks in wars.
When you have a slow moving stack, it needs to stop to pillage, making it even slower. No good.

Two cottages are like a goody hut gold pop. I feel bad when my armies not doing anything, as in one sense, the more turns armies are doing something useful, the more cost effective they are.

A couple that haven't come up:

Post-razing pillaging. When you raze an enemy city and you're not planning to rebuild in that area soon. You pillage everything in sight so that it's not a freebie for anyone else to build there.

Last turn of war pillaging. You're not going to finish an opponent off for some reason... war weariness, he's ready to capitulate, you've already got his best cities, whatever. On the last turn of the war, you pillage as much as possible, then negotiate peace at the very end of the turn. Depending on circumstances, can net you a few extra GP, and slows his recovery a bit.

Waldo

In the early game before the AI has popped it's borders I pillage the roads the AI builds in neutral territory. This disrupts their trade network and encourages them to send out workers into the neutral territory which are easy to capture when I'm ready to DoW.

I like to pillage when I'm not in a war but two AI's are at war. I'll send up to 5 units over as observers and will relentlessly pillage any tiles that become neutral when the AI captures each others cities.

When in full war mode I will not pillage around cities I intend to capture but I'll pillage improvements I intend to build over and improvements not in the fat cross (the AI has a tendency to improve everything).

I will pillage everything around a city that one of my AI allies captures and any tiles that are not in a fat cross of one of my target cities.

All this depends on having spare units.

I like to pillage when I'm not in a war but two AI's are at war. I'll send up to 5 units over as observers and will relentlessly pillage any tiles that become neutral when the AI captures each others cities.


good catch!
Looting is fun !

I like to pillage when I'm not in a war but two AI's are at war. I'll send up to 5 units over as observers and will relentlessly pillage any tiles that become neutral when the AI captures each others cities.



Very cunning. If the UN did this it would save a lot of money :lol:

Last turn of war pillaging. You're not going to finish an opponent off for some reason... war weariness, he's ready to capitulate, you've already got his best cities, whatever. On the last turn of the war, you pillage as much as possible, then negotiate peace at the very end of the turn. Depending on circumstances, can net you a few extra GP, and slows his recovery a bit.

Waldo
Just did this exact thing to Tokuwanka. Took 3 of his cities, and my cities were VERY unhappy from all the whipping and drafting, so I pillaged with a dozen Cavalry, not fearing having them solo on tiles, and then gave him his peace. Worked like a charm. I wish I had brought more units up to do it, to be honest, next time I go to war with him
I like to pillage when I'm not in a war but two AI's are at war. I'll send up to 5 units over as observers and will relentlessly pillage any tiles that become neutral when the AI captures each others cities.
COOLEST TRICK EVER! I have GOT to try this very soon!

I pillage strategic resources the enemy doesn't have spares of if it will stop them from building better troops. I also pillage tiles that I plan on building over after I capture it anyway, might as well get some free money.

I pillage all the time with certain civilizations.

Zulu Pillaging Division: Archer, Axeman, Impi, Impi.

Mongolian Pillage Squad: Longbow, Crossbow/Mace/Axe, Pikeman, Keshik, Keshik.

It only moves one square, but then the Keshiks or Impis pillage whatever square they move into... even mines on hills!


That's the way I do this also; two mounted units to kill the improvement and the road, and assorted diverse security such as an axeman, spearman, archer, etc.

Each turn <bloop> another of my opponent's squares are wasted


However, if I have any inkling of occupying the territory, I do not pillage towns / villages - they take too long too build up, and I want to use them


Later in the game, for a big, populous country that depends on their resources for health and happiness, they're going to lose all of them through strategic bombing. I know no money comes out of this, but, boy, after that's done it seems like the whole thing collapses at once ....:evil: :mwaha:

If there is a war near my borders then I will go and pillage and chop trees if a city's cultural boundary shrinks due to being captured. Other than that I never seem to have the time or units, probably because I am normally a peaceful builder so am reacting rather than dictating.

Now if I could play William the Conqueror then things would be different.

The King stopped at nothing to hunt his enemies. He cut down many people and destroyed homes and land. Nowhere else had he shown such cruelty.

To his shame he made no effort to control his fury and he punished the innocent with the guilty. He ordered that crops and herds, tools and food should be burned to ashes. More than 100,000 people perished of hunger.

I have often praised William in this book, but I can say nothing good about this brutal slaughter. God will punish him.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrying_of_the_North

every tile, i'm not gonna get in a BFC of a captured city will be doomed.

It depends.

If it's a nearby opponent whose lands I want to integrate into my own, obviously I'm interested in keeping collateral damage low.

If it's an overseas war, I'll pillage relentlessly. Ideally, there won't be a single improvement left standing. I'll raze cities regardless if they house wonders or holy shrines, and then I'll make sure I pillage the ruins as well. If the region is still heavily forested when I come around, I like to use captured workers to chop, slash, and burn all the woodlands as well.

Hehe, thanks to BTS, city ruins can give research boosts. Wow, you and Lord Kitchener must be buddies :lol: !

It depends.

If it's a nearby opponent whose lands I want to integrate into my own, obviously I'm interested in keeping collateral damage low.

If it's an overseas war, I'll pillage relentlessly. Ideally, there won't be a single improvement left standing. I'll raze cities regardless if they house wonders or holy shrines, and then I'll make sure I pillage the ruins as well. If the region is still heavily forested when I come around, I like to use captured workers to chop, slash, and burn all the woodlands as well.


lol! And you say to hug it out...
Chopping enemy trees doesnt give them production bonuses, right?

If I recall correctly, you can't chop trees or jungles in other cultural borders.
I heard that if you chop trees in neutral lands near opponent cities, they can get a boost, don't know if that is true.