Amrunril
Emperor
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2015
- Messages
- 1,236
People frequently cite the use of artillery without spotters when defending America's UA. This makes some sense, as it is one of the only concrete examples of something you can do with the UA that you can't do without it, but I think this really misses the point of the ability. Every other civ in the game functions by providing concrete material advantages. America functions by providing you with information. As you scout the map at the beginning of the game, you can get a sense of the land around you, faster than anyone else, and you can use that knowledge to inform your choice of social policies, whether to pursue a religion and how much and how soon to build up your military. As you fight wars, you can see more easily than anyone else, the size, composition and organization of your opponent's army, and you can use that knowledge to make smarter tactical decisions. I don't mean to imply that America is an amazing civilization in this game (if I had to rank the civs it would be well below the median) but it does have a distinctive UA with the potential to be quite effective.
As for the B17, the main value of the city attack bonus it that it lets you get to the promotions you really want faster- a B17 built in a city with an armory can start with air repair. This is a powerful bonus, if not necessarily one worth waiting until the atomic era to get your second UU for.
As for the B17, the main value of the city attack bonus it that it lets you get to the promotions you really want faster- a B17 built in a city with an armory can start with air repair. This is a powerful bonus, if not necessarily one worth waiting until the atomic era to get your second UU for.