Okay, this is something that's always confused me. The experience that drafted units get...is it ONLY civics, or is it buildings and civics, or only buildings? :confused:

Maybe half the total possible XP? (i.e Theo + Vassalage = 4 xp; drafted = 2)

Drafted units get half XP but get it from all sources.

Drafted units get half XP but get it from all sources.

Ohhhh...:goodjob: I see. And I'll bet it's also rounded down. Very cool, thanks.

There's probably some formula through which you can determine which Civs are better off drafting. If you're Aggressive or Protective, you'll still get the free Combat 1 or CG1/Drill1 even if drafting. Ditto if you have an event that gives all your Musketmen Pinch, or Red Cross in a city, etc, etc.

Ohhhh...:goodjob: I see. And I'll bet it's also rounded down. Very cool, thanks.

Yeah, its rounded down I believe... so if I'm right that means if you draft a unit in a city with a barracks, half of that is 1.5, which means that unit would only get 1 XP. :eek:Which sucks.

Yeah, its rounded down I believe... so if I'm right that means if you draft a unit in a city with a barracks, half of that is 1.5, which means that unit would only get 1 XP. :eek:Which sucks.

Yep, with Theo you scrape 2. This is where aggressive shines. ;)

Yeah, its rounded down I believe... so if I'm right that means if you draft a unit in a city with a barracks, half of that is 1.5, which means that unit would only get 1 XP. :eek:Which sucks.

Yes it does, but a units inate free promotions are kept intact, notable the agressive combat I or protective's CG I and Drill I.

Yes it does, but a units inate free promotions are kept intact, notable the agressive combat I or protective's CG I and Drill I.

Certain unique units benefit enormously from the draft too, namely:

Janissaries, as they're bonuses to everything pre gunpowder benefit from rapid mass production and don't suffer from the exp reduction in this role.

Oromo Warriors, 2 promos that pass the rubbish Drill 1 of the otherwise good Drill line,
2-3 first strikes and 20% resistance to collateral, Drill 1 though rubbish does open up the specialising promotion such as medic/pinch etc though.

Redcoats, the 25% bonus againt gunpowder offsets the exp penalty quite well IMO.

A few others may be really good under the draft too:

Musketeers, a lot of 2 move muskets with knights/curraisers may be able to take a lot of land quickly against backwards civs.

Samurai with 2-3 firststrikes to help ensure you damage ciy defenders and often take them without damage post siege, really not sure here though.

Beserkers, I've used this and the AGG C1 with amphibious promotions under the draft are quite ridiculous on archhipelago maps espeically paired with the nav 1 boats the vikings get. Also can be mass drafted for upgrading to rifles :D

The key to drafting is you get a lot of cheap, crappy units. Sure, they may only come out of the line with 1 or 2 XP (your big production cities with settled GG or WP can sometimes get them up to the 5XP they need for 2 promos), but you get a lot of them.

And really, the difference between lots of 2XP units and less 5XP ones is minimal. Just send them in as sacrifices. 60% odds, 30% odds, whatever. Especially units like Redcoats or Janissaries, which get innate bonuses, can still get good odds. Really, one battle won at about 60% odds will still get you about 3XP points, so you just need to win once to make them just as good as a unit build normally. I've gotten a drafted Janissary up to over 20XP points just because I've gotten enough of them early enough to have them fight for a long time.

I'm a new fan of drafting. But I reserve it for "filler cities" with very little infrastructure and a bunch of farms/food.