Army Commanders - extremely vulnerable

[HiRezAudio]

How am I supposed to protect commanders please?
I ask because in my only try so far, I had 3 killed even though they were all protected in a formation with several legions and an Archer, yet whenever Franklin's Immortals attacked the formation it was the commander who always, always took the damage and never the legions. I must be missing something as I simply do not understand how this is even possible.
Can someone please explain?

 

[Gehennas]

What do you mean by "formation"? Were units packed into the commander?

 

[HiRezAudio]

What do you mean by "formation"? Were units packed into the commander?

Yes. 3 Warrior Units, yet the commander took all the hit and not one of the units. ONE Xerxes warrior did the damage - how? They also have a negative 5 War Support.
This is frankly ridiculous

 

[Gehennas]

"Packing" units into commander exists only for easier army transporting and moving troops between reserves and frontline. Your commander is not supposed to take hits. You need to unpack your units and keep your commander on the same tile as one of the units. Essentially the same as Civ5/Civ6 great generals.

 

[StargazingDog]

Commanders are powerful and useful, but very fragile. If you are traveling as an army, a scout nearby might help to warn you when to unpack.

 

[ColPaladin]

Packing your army when fighting is like packing your Kevlar when fighting . . . And don't forget, units can't attack on the turn they are unpacked.

 

[Hactar]

And don't forget, units can't attack on the turn they are unpacked.

There is a commander promotion that allows this. It might be pretty valuable in some cases if you run into enemy units you weren't expecting.

 

[Psychotronics]

There is a commander promotion that allows this. It might be pretty valuable in some cases if you run into enemy units you weren't expecting.

I always pick it first. I think being able to move the turn you unpack is really valuable, you can bring your commander adjacent to a city (or as close as possible to adjacent) and get right into the action.

 

[HiRezAudio]

Sorry, but I respectfully call BS - there is literally no way on this earth that ANY travelling army would allow the commander to be attacked and killed whilst doing sweet FA about it.
Whilst I agree that the entire army should probably not get involved here, there ought to be at least one unit that can be assigned as AC Guards at all times. Allowing the AI to snipe my AC whilst a division of 6 legions does nothing at all except stand and watch is ridiculous.
Hopefully this gets changed - and sooner rather than later.

 

[StargazingDog]

Sorry, but I respectfully call BS - there is literally no way on this earth that ANY travelling army would allow the commander to be attacked and killed whilst doing sweet FA about it.
Whilst I agree that the entire army should probably not get involved here, there ought to be at least one unit that can be assigned as AC Guards at all times. Allowing the AI to snipe my AC whilst a division of 6 legions does nothing at all except stand and watch is ridiculous.
Hopefully this gets changed - and sooner rather than later.

There have been several instances of a modern army caravan having a particular vehicle destroyed while surrounded by perfectly capable troops. Ignoring that, this is a video game. There is intentional risk/reward for travelling in a compact form.

 

[Feyd Rautha]

While I think there should be a defensive bonus per unit stacked into a commander, this has historical context when armies have been caught in transit or unawares.

As a side note, I understood the vulnerability of a commander very quickly, but what I didn't realize was that when a commander is hit, every unit packed in takes damage. I had been using my commander as an antiquity Huey chopper getting injured units back from the front lines and came across a lone warrior. He barely damaged the commander, but two of the units died.

 

[Shurdus]

There have been several instances of a modern army caravan having a particular vehicle destroyed while surrounded by perfectly capable troops. Ignoring that, this is a video game. There is intentional risk/reward for travelling in a compact form.

It's a game. The way you suggest it should work would make it so that the commander, when packed, is basically invulnerable unless you camp him several turns in range of an enemy army. I like that that is not a thing and that your commanders, if you manage your army, are at risk just like any other unit.

 

[jammerculture]

While I think there should be a defensive bonus per unit stacked into a commander, this has historical context when armies have been caught in transit or unawares.

As a side note, I understood the vulnerability of a commander very quickly, but what I didn't realize was that when a commander is hit, every unit packed in takes damage. I had been using my commander as an antiquity Huey chopper getting injured units back from the front lines and came across a lone warrior. He barely damaged the commander, but two of the units died.

I think it’s more about simulating an army being attacked while not in battle formation and still in marching order. Considering your commander unit isn’t just one guy leading the army but all of the officers of the army, it’s perfectly reasonable that officers are targeted first during an ambush.

 

[Skyfox]

Yeah I lost so many commanders. They have to be able to fight too, in real life, commanders know how to fight. I was like these guys are useless in battle. All they can do is enable option of focused fire etc. Game devs should not make them that vulnerable. Makes no sense. And I am a newbie saying this.

 

[MasterPaw]

having vulnerale commanders is good, it is risk/reward, do i unpack now and protect my commander and be ready in case, or 1 turn later to not lose time. Do i put him in the backline or on the frontline to reach an extra melee unit in my commander radius

i only lost 1 commander in 3 ages and that was me moving forward too recklessly

Although AI can be too reckless with its commander, moving them around unprotected sometime

 

[StargazingDog]

Yeah I lost so many commanders. They have to be able to fight too, in real life, commanders know how to fight. I was like these guys are useless in battle. All they can do is enable option of focused fire etc. Game devs should not make them that vulnerable. Makes no sense. And I am a newbie saying this.

Useless in battle? They collect experience points, gain very strong abilities, never permanently die, and keep their abilities for the entire game.

 

[Skyfox]

Useless in battle? They collect experience points, gain very strong abilities, never permanently die, and keep their abilities for the entire game.

I am new to civ, Good to know about their ability. That is news to me that they don't permanently die

 

[vorlon_mi]

I am new to civ, Good to know about their ability. That is news to me that they don't permanently die

Welcome to CFC!

Unlike previous civ titles, the Civ7 commanders are used to soak up the experience gained by the troops and get promotions.
One promotion allows the units to move the same turn they are unpacked. Another (later) promotion unlocks those extra slots.
You could even choose promotions to allow them to help production back home, when you're not at war.

I'm not sure about the "never permanently die" part. They do take damage from a ranged unit from the enemy.
I've attacked and killed commanders from the AI; they disappear from the screen. I never noticed if they come back for the AI.

 

[StargazingDog]

I'm not sure about the "never permanently die" part. They do take damage from a ranged unit from the enemy.

I am. That's why I wrote it.

They return to your capital after a few turns of being KO'd. All promotions are intact. I don't think there is any way to permanently lose them. Even if they are "KO'd" during an age transition, they will be there for you at the start of the age.

 

[Feyd Rautha]

I like this as opposed to Civ 6's immediate respawn.