What's the best strategy for attacking cities?

Hi everyone, I felt a bit frustrated today when my civ (Mongolia) was trying to take the capital of another civ (Poland). I never felt like I knew the proper strategy even though I was already attacking. My strategy, thus far, has been surround the city I'm attacking just on their border, with at least double the military units of the opposition, and when the time seems right, declare war!

I'm at about turn 350 and I've got a mix of Keshiks, Calvary, Gatling Guns, Cannons, Riflemen etc. I have placed my Gatlings in a semi-circle around the front of Warsaw, backed up by Keshiks/Calvary a couple of Cannons flank the city, and Riflemen and random Lancers and Calvary attack all the Polish military units outside the city.

I'm not doing too bad, but I sense that there is a better way, and I'm making a lot of mistakes unknowingly. Would anyone be willing to share their strategies, formations, and attack order, because I need to learn how to do this right.

Thank you for your time and input.

1. Declare war.
2. Kill the units in the area.
3. Fortify some damaged (80-90% health) melee units in cover next to the city.
4. Bombard the city with ranged and/or siege units.
5. If you have artillery or other ranged units the +1 range promotion you dont even need the melee you can just shoot from outside city range.
6. When the city has no health attack it with a melee unit (or a mounted unit, which can be quite effective because they can charge in from outside bombardment range.

If you have a great general keep them in a central position so their 2 tile radius +15% combat strength applies to as many units.

Be careful of just stacking units on the enemies borders, they may ask you about them and if you declare war from their 'request' they will get the first attacks, if you say 'dont worry' you will get a massive diplo hit with every civ when you do declare war.

With Mongols specifically you dont need any normal melee, just mounted, just move your keshiks into range, shoot and then move out of range of the city.

Thanks for your post. Some good ideas and advice.

Is the target coastal (and do you have a coastal city yourself)? If so:

1. Build a small navy consisting of both Frigates and Privateers. (Ideally the Frigates will have been built earlier as the first naval ranged unit and upgraded) The Privateers will ideally have been built in a city with HE and an armory and have been promoted to Coastal Raider III.

2. Use combo of Frigates & Privateers to clear out enemy ships along with any land ranged or siege unit that's out in the open but do NOT end a turn with any of these units within 2 hexes of the city until ready to proceed to the next step.

3. Move all Frigates in the same turn and start bombarding. Keep Privateers outside that zone until ready for the 3rd step. Should you actually be in danger of losing a Frigate, send it back home for repairs. Should a dangerous unit appear go back to step 2.

4. When the city has been weakened enough that with your Privateers you can take it that very turn, then have the Privateers move in for the kill.

5. Kill those enemy melee units that are now within your new territory.

If you are past the point I mentioned you can sub in Battleships and Destroyers that started life as Privateers for the above, only note that Battleships range is 3 so they can fire at the city with no danger.

If instead the city is non coastal see above, only you don't have to literally wait until it has 0 health (if you did you could actually use a lowly scout), it only needs to already have been weakened enough that your melee units can take it that turn. Since this approach has already cleared the field of all enemy units it doesn't matter if you red line two melee units taking the city (as long as you do take it).

I find coastal cities easier to attack.

Random tips:

-Bring range units, clean military ennemies first. Start on shooting the city until 0, capture with a cavalry unit.

-(abuse) Put a worker in range of the city to make the AI range unit move out of the city garrison (none of your units must be in range of being attacked for this to happen). Kill unit capture back worker.

-Replace range units with artilleries later and shoot from 3 tiles away, use spy to give vision if necessary or going back and forth with a cavalry. And later on just pile bombers.

-(abuse) Pillage to heal, repair tiles with a worker to pillage again.

-Use citadels from extra GG when advancing is difficult.

Me too, unfortunately Warsaw is set way off the coast, so I'm fighting with all land units. Funny thing just about the time I kill all the soldiers outside of the city, more appear!

So I keep killing their land units, the city keeps killing mine, then I make more units (artillery and gatling guns) and do it all over again. I'm playing kind of poorly....

Maybe you should focus on taking other cities first.

Acken said:

-(abuse) Put a worker in range of the city to make the AI range unit move out of the city garrison (none of your units must be in range of being attacked for this to happen). Kill unit capture back worker.

Click to expand...

Very clever advice! Thx. I especially like the tip I quoted there.

Or if all else fails, just wait until you can build nukes and bomb the city into oblivion. XD

Basically the AI is programmed to capture a worker if it can (beware of terrain) and cannot make an attack. So technically if you put multiple workers 2 tiles away from the city and your units are 3 tiles away you can even bait multiple enemies at once without being shot by the city It's an abuse of bad AI but I'm a jerk to the AI so I don't mind

Acken said:

Basically the AI is programmed to capture a worker if it can (beware of terrain) and cannot make an attack.

Click to expand...

So would the worker be the most top priority then for the AI?

If the AI unit cannot attack one of your unit but can capture your worker bait, it will go for it 100% of the time. Just make sure the unit doesn't have to cross river or something, it must be able to grab the worker THAT turn and not being able to shoot a target.

Good to know.

It's a very powerful trick for crossbow and composite bow attacks especially on Deity where the AI will match these techs with a CB or XB garrison.

Isn't very useful at Artillery and beyond.

When the Traveling Hoard (melee, ranged, and a few workers) goes visiting, We do not expose Our valued workers to such trivial dangers, We use them for logistics support (roads, repairs). 1) Pillage PAST the target(s),laying waste to ALL of Bozo's economy, killing enemy on sight; 2) Then take cities dying on the vine . 3) Bring LOTS of units, you may lose a few, price of doing business., 4) We NEVER leave Our Home Turf undefended ., 5) IF, after taking Bozo's capital, and he has a city left; We may be generous, and let Bozo live to terrorize the local Barbies .

Ok, I'm losing artillery like crazy. I just verified that the unit has a range of 3 - 3 tiles away it can set up. If that's true, that is. However, I'm not able to acquire the target (city) until 1 tile away. Then I get the red arrow of death....but, the city is just bombing the crap of me at tiles 1, 2, or 3. It shouldn't work like that should it? For a city to have that kind of range. Anyway, on a second try attack, I lined up Gatlins a full 180 degrees on the city so all front and side tiles were covered, then I put Artillery behind each Gatlin. After that I had Calvary and Riflemen on the outskirts.

It's just a vicious cycle: I kill all the outliars, then advance my troops, then the city kills about half of them while dumping new units out, I retreat, and do it all over again....I'm just now getting Flight and Oil. I'm certain with bombers, I could get the job done, but it's turn 460 and I don't see coming even close........

BTW thanks everyone for your help, I'm still a noob. But I learn something new and useful everytime I play the game.

I'll have to ask for screenshot, artillery is range 3 and city is range 2. No reason to lose them from city attacks.

Are you sure you have sight of the city and that your artillery are set up ?

Maybe you should put Infantry in the front of the city so that the city defenses can target that instead of your artillery.

The question I would ask is, how do you attack cities two eras ahead. . My longswordsmen are doing mighty fine holding the line against riflemen. Ranged xbows doing 35 damage on the city, but they keep having to take out units. I'm stalemated, the AI keeps teching, and I'm too far away from home to upgrade. The AI I bribed to DoW him just made peace and then DoFed him the very next turn.