Anyone else disappointed in the Privateer? You basically can't do anything with them unless you declare war on another civilization. I thought they would be like they were in CIV III with hidden nationality. As they are they aren't really much fun.
Privateers
- Thread starter Bubba
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Harthhal
Chieftain
they are capable of stealing enemy ships.. I think supported by a good amount of ranged ships they are the best ship on the seas
edit: stand corrected on embarking
Esoteric Arcane
Warlord
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- Jun 18, 2006
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- 202
Are you serious its not a "independent" of nation ship anymore? civ 3 and civ 4 bts had that. I wonder if that would be patched or they just gave up on that mechanic.
They don't steal embarked units. I just smashed quite a few and it didn't work.
They do steal ships; two privateers just "acquired" a whole navy for me, which I'm now using to just crush an enemy.
But yes, no operating privateers against other civs without a declaration of war. Incidentally, this was actually accurate, historically. Countries had little success hiding the identities of their privateers, and ships that turned pirate tended to stay pirate.
They do steal ships; two privateers just "acquired" a whole navy for me, which I'm now using to just crush an enemy.
But yes, no operating privateers against other civs without a declaration of war. Incidentally, this was actually accurate, historically. Countries had little success hiding the identities of their privateers, and ships that turned pirate tended to stay pirate.
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That hidden-nationality mechanic is gone now. It really never seemed that great to me, a bit gimmicky. I don't think they will be bringing it back.
Oh, well. It seems we will now endure the Privateer whining.
Oh, well. It seems we will now endure the Privateer whining.
The hidden-nationality Privateers of Civ 3&4 were really not very useful... they were very weak, and you could cause a little bit of trouble with them in packs, but as soon as everyone started producing Frigates, you little pirate fleet would soon be hunted to extinction.
The new Privateers are powerful conventional units with nice abilities to attack/raid cities and capture units. They are much more useful and powerful than before. The only disappointing thing about them to me is that they really wimped out on the graphic -- it's just a slightly modified Frigate.
I realize that people got a kick out of having "pirate" vessels, but real privateers really aren't pirates... they're not allowed to attack vessels unless their patron country is at war. And in game terms, it's hard to make a pirate vessel that's powerful enough to be effective, but not totally overpowered... they failed in both of the previous attempts.
The new Privateers are powerful conventional units with nice abilities to attack/raid cities and capture units. They are much more useful and powerful than before. The only disappointing thing about them to me is that they really wimped out on the graphic -- it's just a slightly modified Frigate.
I realize that people got a kick out of having "pirate" vessels, but real privateers really aren't pirates... they're not allowed to attack vessels unless their patron country is at war. And in game terms, it's hard to make a pirate vessel that's powerful enough to be effective, but not totally overpowered... they failed in both of the previous attempts.
Esoteric Arcane
Warlord
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I wont whine about it just got a kick out of annoying civ's with them
Historically speaking, Privateers were pirates hired by governments to harrass and generally disrupt the flow of trade ships from the new world to Europe. Privateers did not have a "Nationality", they worked for the highest bidder, hence the name "Privateer". One of the perks that Privateers had was the taking of a "prize ship" in payment from the government that they worked for.
Legal privateers were authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime, and flew the flag of the authorizing government. They were considered legitimate combatants and would be treated as such if captured. The famous English "privateers" that harassed Spanish treasure ships prior to the declaration of war during the period you mention were government-sponsored pirates, pure and simple; they did not have letters of marque, and the English authorities disavowed any knowledge of their activities, and those that were captured would be hanged as criminals.
Yeah I've got to admit I do miss the old privateers for their hidden nationality. I was so excited when I heard they were in G+Ks and then equally disappointed
That said they are still a good unit.
On a side note the hidden nationality was especially funny in MP games where you could really troll your "allies".
That said they are still a good unit.On a side note the hidden nationality was especially funny in MP games where you could really troll your "allies".
Louis XXIV
Le Roi Soleil
While true, I'd argue the "other" privateers that flew the flag of their nation were just as important. Combined with the fact that the mechanic never really worked properly and was often a headache, I think it's a fair shift. The ship-stealing mechanic more than makes up for it and still makes them very privateer-like.
attack a barb galley with your privateer and you have a trireme. Essentially, it's a quick way to build a decent navy provided you have the gold to upgrade the ships. Once at war with the AI, I had a battleship and three privateers and I built a navy of 5 battleships using stolen enemy galleas.
Not that I really needed all these ships, but it's actually cheaper to upgrade a galleas to battleship than rush buy one and you don't have to move them to the battlefield to bombard enemy cities. It essentially makes a sure win goes faster.
hobbsyoyo
Deity
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- Jul 13, 2012
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- 26,575
This.
Also, Destroyers upgraded from Privateers keep the Prize Ship promotion. This is why I always build a lot of Privateers, even if I'm not going to use them. A fleet of Prize Ship promoted Destroyers kick serious butt and you end up making a bigger and bigger fleet as you counquer instead of losing ships.
yep. Forgot about the upgrade to destroyers. I used it and it feels almost as OP'd as that weird named korean medieval rocket launcher upgraded from catapult.
A fleet of ship capturing destroyers .
Should be filed in the bug list actually.I find that extremely cheesy and you should only be able to capture ships through Privateers alone - not "Privateer Destroyers".
Besides, Privateers sheltered in a city are extremely dangerous stuff
Spoiler :
hobbsyoyo
Deity
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I find that extremely cheesy and you should only be able to capture ships through Privateers alone - not "Privateer Destroyers".
Besides, Privateers sheltered in a city are extremely dangerous stuff
Spoiler :
Not commenting on the cheese factor. Just saying it's great!
shaglio
The Prince of Dorkness
Be careful, though. I've taken my Privateer over to another continent, attacked barb Galleys, and would up with a bunch of wounded Triremes that I could neither heal nor upgrade because they can't traverse ocean tiles and I didn't have a city on that continent (or a Great Admiral to heal them).
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