mabraham
Deity
Only combat promotions are applied to the unit possessing them as a % strength improvement. All other promotions, including Cover are applied to the opposing unit as a % strength reduction. As a consequence of how combat (really any) ratios work, the negative % adjustments have less impact then the +10 % Combat promotions. As a result, CR1 + CR2 (-20% + -25% = -45%) is about as effective as Combat 1 + 2 + 3 (+10% + +10% + +10% = +30%), but the former requires two promotions whereas the latter requires three promotions.
You are wrong about Cover being +25%; it is -25% and is applied to the defending Archery unit when the attacking unit has Cover.
Correct, thanks. So the second promotion on either maces or muskets can be equivalent (CR2 vs cover). I've previously shown that the first promotion (C1 on muskets vs CR1 on maces) is of similar value when attacking longbows with airships and siege in support.
As you say, we'll draft whatever unit our tech suits at the time. So we've established that there is no reason to choose our tech to suit macemen if muskets are a reasonable option.
My point was Rifleman is a more economical use of drafting 1 Population than either a Maceman or a Musketman. I was not implying that we should divert our research from our Mass Media "lazy" bee-line to get these technologies, but if some AI Team complete them, we could possibly steal them and draft Riflemen instead (assuming the timing is right and frankly it probably will not be).
Yeah, we know that, and we'd do that if the situation arises. Meanwhile, raising this kind of hypothetical distracts everyone from the business of the moment.
You do bring up valid considerations, but the timing of when a war is desirable and when a new technology unlocks a new main line unit for drafting, determines whether we can draft Macemen or Musketmen. We might find it reasonable to draft a few Macemen prior to completing Gunpowder, but after Gunpowder we will have no choice but to draft Musketmen unless by some odd circumstances (possession of Banking, Replaceable Parts and Rifling), we end up drafting Riflemen instead.
OK. When this thread started, you said the existence of CR promotions was a key ingredient in the decision of how to arrange what to draft. I'm glad that's no longer an issue.
I believe your "siege" arguments would have greater merit with Canon units (strength 12) rather than Trebuchets (strength 4).
The strength of any siege units is not relevant to the discussion of "promoted maces or promoted muskets vs longbows", except that if you have cannons vs longbows, then you don't need CR3 maces in any situation. In any of the other scenarios you just need to bring more trebs or fewer cannons to reach the same kind of situation before the first non-siege unit attacks.
It can be somewhat strange to have pre-Gunpowder siege units in a stack with Gunpowder non-siege units.
Only if you play it that way. Espionage economies often target Gunpowder-Engineering-Nationalism to draft lots of muskets backed by trebs for heavy medieval-era warfare while using castles, courthouses and Nationalism to drive espionage to continue acquiring tech. Our economy is not really an espionage economy (rather a specialist economy backed by Bureaucratic Oxford and early Gspy-fueled tech stealing). We are quite likely to see trebs and muskets as the bulk of our troops in 30-40 turns' time.