Zardnaar
Deity
Has anyone here used Privateers much? Any strategies th them? How useful/usless are they?
I have only used them once. In a game as the Byzantines some of my cities on the cost ran out of things to build. I was also a democracy and I had a idea. I also had Magellans Expedition. The age of piracy was about to begin.
I had 4-6 cities making them. Unfortionatly I only seemed to have 2 in 1 place at any time. I wanted a 2 packs of 6+of them or so. Anyway it seemed every AI in the game sent boats over to my coast 2 kill them. Since I had nothing better to do at the time I kept on building them for fun. I lost alot due to a weak attack vs frigates but vs caravals they rocked. Also the enslave ability was useful. Its alot of fun to enslave a ship and using the new privateer attack another boat and get another one. 3 Privateers for the price of 1.
In the end due to heavy casualties - AI boats attack them on sight I usd them to raid from my harbours and then retreat back into the harbor. The AI never decleared war and the Sumerians and Incas would have stacks of 5 Frigates cruising off my cost which were bait for me basically. The age of piracy ended with Ironclads turning up. My pirates still attacked them but sustained irreplacable casualties when better things to build turned up.
If I had to do it again I would try and mass them up into squadrons of 6 and have them hide behind Galleons. I also have a theory involving Englands UU and Privateers working togather which will have to be tried out. However at the end of the day although it was alot of fun and gave me a way to strike back at the AI during peacetime I wonder how effective it was. I'm sure I got more bang for my buck for the amount of shields spent vs shields sunk but they weren't decisive in any way methinks. I also wonder at how many galleon/caravals/galleys sunk had units in them.
I have only used them once. In a game as the Byzantines some of my cities on the cost ran out of things to build. I was also a democracy and I had a idea. I also had Magellans Expedition. The age of piracy was about to begin.
I had 4-6 cities making them. Unfortionatly I only seemed to have 2 in 1 place at any time. I wanted a 2 packs of 6+of them or so. Anyway it seemed every AI in the game sent boats over to my coast 2 kill them. Since I had nothing better to do at the time I kept on building them for fun. I lost alot due to a weak attack vs frigates but vs caravals they rocked. Also the enslave ability was useful. Its alot of fun to enslave a ship and using the new privateer attack another boat and get another one. 3 Privateers for the price of 1.
In the end due to heavy casualties - AI boats attack them on sight I usd them to raid from my harbours and then retreat back into the harbor. The AI never decleared war and the Sumerians and Incas would have stacks of 5 Frigates cruising off my cost which were bait for me basically. The age of piracy ended with Ironclads turning up. My pirates still attacked them but sustained irreplacable casualties when better things to build turned up.
If I had to do it again I would try and mass them up into squadrons of 6 and have them hide behind Galleons. I also have a theory involving Englands UU and Privateers working togather which will have to be tried out. However at the end of the day although it was alot of fun and gave me a way to strike back at the AI during peacetime I wonder how effective it was. I'm sure I got more bang for my buck for the amount of shields spent vs shields sunk but they weren't decisive in any way methinks. I also wonder at how many galleon/caravals/galleys sunk had units in them.