[NFP] Are Barbarian Quadriremes a longstanding bug no-one realizes?

[Victoria]

I liked barb quads, they could shoot your city up but would not take it. But if you want to sail to sea you had to be ready to face the pirate fleets. It’s the only time bar a kingship/bireme spam that you feel threatened at sea.

 

[aieeegrunt]

There is a reoccurring trend of barbarians being far more dangerous than the AI and it points to something being seriously wrong with this game

 

[tiamats4esgares]

As someone who primarily plays Maori, I find this super annoying. If barbs are only supposed to get quads when half the civs have shipbuilding, then it sounds like it clearly is a bug. I always just thought as soon as the first civ got it, they did, and so it was something the Maori just had to deal with.

But it can really hurt one of Maori's biggest advantages, because sometimes my units and fishing boats are harassed so much I can't even explore or improve my sea resources, and I have to start producing a quad or two of my OWN just to defend. They take a lot of production to make for that early in the game, don't feel as strong as land units, can't travel as fast (for Maori), and can't heal outside of a city. It just feels bad to make them and a waste of time and production. I mean, I'm used to it by now, but it's still annoying. lol

 

[aieeegrunt]

If you have coastal cities you really need a couple archers per city on standbye to deal with early barbarian galleys/quads and/or city walls

My basic rule is you need two archers/city strikes per coastal city or inland city/harbour district. They can overlap

Or a navy.

Later on you should seriously consider at least one “expeditionary force” consisting of 2 or 3 naval units and a melee land unit to find and wipe out coastal barbs encampments because often the AI cannot and will only provoke them. The naval units should be ranged to bombard the encampment so the melee unit can just walk into it

This doesnt bother me that much because at least something in this game is putting up a fight

 

[Tuvok694]

My basic rule is you need two archers/city strikes per coastal city or inland city/harbour district. They can overlap

I think you are absoutely right, two archers is the minimum. And while I build them I cannot build that campus at the same time. So barbs dictate strategy, in every game. I am so angry about that. Can't switch them off completely because the AI will go crazy aggressive then.

 

[aieeegrunt]

I think you are absoutely right, two archers is the minimum. And while I build them I cannot build that campus at the same time. So barbs dictate strategy, in every game. I am so angry about that. Can't switch them off completely because the AI will go crazy aggressive then.

I basically don’t build coastal cities or harbours until later in the game when I can also spare that expeditionary force

Historically pirates were a huge problem in what would be in Civ terms up to and possibly including the Medieval era

Rome got it’s harbor district (Ostia) sacked by pirates in the late Roman republic.