If one of your opponents is way behind in the tech race and he doesn't have astronomy and chemistry, you may produce several privateers and start enjoying the fun, including:

1) caravels killings = experience point + great genreal pojnt, let you have a super-elite naval units eventually and grant you access to West Point.

2) The victims would keep replacing their lost caravels. :lol: Halting their production.

3) The victims cannot use the sea titles, starving their population and ruining their commerce.

4) Blockade their trade routes = kill their economy and extra money for you each turn.

I usually make stacks of 3 privateers, 1 with medic promotion and another 2 for combat and blitz promotion and have no trouble in defeating the caravels but remember to retreat if you see a frigate nearby.

If it is doable, it is very good (and fun). Unfortunately, it works only if all (or nearly all) your rivals are behind in tech. If a rival civ gets possibility to build Frigates, it will do it and attack your Privateers everywhere.

I can remember two games when I was able to do this trick. When enemy Frigates became abundant, I upgraded most of my Privateer fleet to Destroyers, some of them were the Blitz ones.

S.

I've tried this a couple of times. But if you want to upgrade to destroyers, you should have a lake near the coast where your privateers can hide while waiting for the upgrade. Build a fort between the coast and the lake and remove the the fort when all the privateers are inside the lake, safe from enemy frigates.

I've tried this a couple of times. But if you want to upgrade to destroyers, you should have a lake near the coast where your privateers can hide while waiting for the upgrade. Build a fort between the coast and the lake and remove the the fort when all the privateers are inside the lake, safe from enemy frigates.

Or just fortify them in one of your coastal towns....just a thought ;)

My last privateer, which had been quietly blockading a rather remote island city for some centuries, was suddenly attacked by a flotilla of frigates. It sank three of them before finally losing to the fourth, so for once the RNG favoured me.

Simply putting them in the fort should be sufficient, but I stash them in cities and let them snag passersby when it gets to that point.

Or just fortify them in one of your coastal towns....just a thought ;)

They will be attacked by friendly frigates. Inside your town.

They will be attacked by friendly frigates. Inside your town.

Seems strange, but it's quite true.

Also, if you stack your Privateers with your own Frigates, enemy and friendly Frigates will attack your Privateers in your stack while your Fiigates look complacently on :mad:.

Then you're not playing fully patched. My recent games have seen the enemy Frigates wander off as soon as I slip into a city. Likewise, I can't even enter foreign cities with my Privateers. Can't say how it goes against enemy Privateers, as I've only ever seen ONE in all these years, and a DD promptly munched it.

I once sunk 70 caravels and like 15 galleys with my fleet of privateers. I had them blockading just about every coastal city from 4 different civs (half the world). I popped 3 GGs from their successes (imperialistic leader). If you get them early enough, then they can be really fun.

Then you're not playing fully patched. My recent games have seen the enemy Frigates wander off as soon as I slip into a city.

Haven't played with privateers lately. So this is changed in 3.17?

Can't say how it goes against enemy Privateers, as I've only ever seen ONE in all these years, and a DD promptly munched it.

I've seen some while playing archipelago maps. But I think I've never seen one trying to blockade my cities.

I use Privateers routinely to blockade the AI's and sink their caravels - they do then switch to spamming them, especially AI like Ragnar, it can cripple them production-wise until another AI is tempted into attacking them cos they haven't built land units.

I have seen one AI Privateer in all my post 3.17 games, on a terra map, it ruined two of my coastal cities pillaging fisheries etc very quickly, and took out the first Privateer I sent to kill it. On balance, quite glad I've not seen any more!

Hmmm I should build these. :lol:

Not really a naval guy.