Grenadiers vs Riflemen?

[UncleJJ]

Both are very good and able to do the job and which is best depends on the map. Here is what I've found.

If you need to use ships to take the game further then cannons and grenadiers (along with pikes, knights and maces) also give access to galleons, frigates, privateers and ships of the line so go for them first. Privateers can really harass another continent and suppress their research rate. Cannons are so dominant if you have exclusive use of them that the follow up troops really don't have to be anything special maces and muskets easily kill whatever is collateralled down to 50%

If you're fighting mostly on land (and won't need ships for a while) and you want to draft then rifles with cuirassiers/ cavalry and trebuchets and spies is the way to go. This has the advantage of being really good for mid game espionage (jails, citadels and Nationhood civic = 100% EP) and the Taj Mahal can kick off a GA to boost production and give free civic switches. The espionage is great for seeing exactly what troops your targets have and where they are as well as what they're researching.

 

[Slip de Garcon]

By the time I've discovered (actually usually traded) Military Science, I've got Assembly Line, whereas I usually beeline Gunpowder - Rifling, so Riflemen all the way for me.

 

[IagoAlberto]

It really depends to for me, if I have a tech lead then riflemen all the way. If I don't then I often go the grenadiers route since they do such a great job attacking riflemen which as noted above the AI loves to bits. Besides, its usually not too long before I get riflemen anyways. The big downside I see to going for the grenadiers is that it usually means avoiding the top part of the tech tree, in particular, I usually don't get military tradition for some time going the grenadiers routes. Its not a problem playing as the byzantines with a whack of heavily promoted cataphracts but it can be a real pain otherwise.

 

[Catan_Settler]

Personally I find it more of a drag to fall behind with your Navy by sticking to the top side of the tech tree. I guess on Pangaea or Great Plains maps that's not a concern, but seriously who plays those maps other than to learn the ropes at Settler/Warlord levels?

 

[SnowlyWhite]

uck?

leaving aside who builds a navy...

 

[JTMacc99]

I can't remember exactly how the tech tree played the factor in my decision making, but I do remember that I went with Grenadiers for many, many turns before Riflemen because I wanted to rule the seas. It seems to me that naval needs will make a difference when making the choice between the two in some games.

I think it was Gunpowder, Chemistry and Astronmy let me build Privateers, and also meant that I could build G's but not R's. The next move was to get the cannons rather than the rifles, so it was a very long run between the two units. The grenadiers were very useful, especially the CR upgrades from macemen.

Interestingly, the way the game played out, my financial trait on the waterworld map let me rake in the cash for turn after turn. Simultaneously, by the time I picked up rifling, I was a tech trade away from being able to research assembly line. I built a single rifleman and then coughed up 7,000GP to upgrade almost my entire standing military to infantry. Heh. Talk about a jump in the power graph...

 

[Catan_Settler]

uck?

leaving aside who builds a navy...

I don't get what you're saying here... It's not common for you to build a navy? Do you just allow the AI to pillage all your fishing boats, and invade your land at any point along the coast? Or do you stick to the landlocked maps?? Personally I find the all land maps to be pretty dull... And it's kind of like nerfing the difficulty down since you can skip all naval techs, meanwhile the AI is wasting time researching them. I certainly played a few games like that when I was learning, but the naval and exploration aspect of the game is a pretty huge and important part of Civ.

 

[SnowlyWhite]

because 90% of the ships get attack script, thus waste time bombarding defences down and eventually blockading for a few turns(not nearly enough to starve anything)? and the few which actually pillage can be dealt with under 5-6 ships?

plus you only need chemistry for a navy, and chemistry is next to rifles for cannons anyway. Plus it's needed for infantry

you build a couple of ships if you need to land(beside the ton of transports), a couple to defend and ok, you build workboats now and then... big deal. Cheaper then building ships anyway.

 

[Roxlimn]

Dunno about that. I usually have to dedicate a pretty sizable stack to rule the oceans enough to land a force. 5-6 ships is just dogmeat.